JFK converted into a museum space

Today’s topics

• Zuck’s $27M Security Tab Makes Him the CEO Everyone Loves to Hate

• Soho House Bids Farewell to Wall Street

• Amtrak Finally Sets Date for Faster Trains

• Human Life: Brought to You by a Body Slam

• U.S. Blocks Global Plastic Pollution Treaty

• JFK Airport Set to Become a Museum

  and more…

Zuck’s $27M Security Tab Makes Him the CEO Everyone Loves to Hate

Meta spends more protecting Mark Zuckerberg than Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Nvidia spend on their CEOs combined. In 2024, his personal security bill hit $27M—covering homes, family, travel, and even wary Hawaiian onlookers—compared to Tim Cook’s $1.4M, Sundar Pichai’s $6.8M, Andy Jassy’s $1.1M, Jensen Huang’s $3.5M, and Elon Musk’s modest $500K. Add them all up, and it’s still less than Zuck’s tab. To be fair, he has no shortage of enemies—privacy critics, Hawaiian activists, angry parents, and anyone still traumatized by FarmVille notifications—but when your security budget looks like a summer blockbuster, maybe the problem isn’t just “the haters.”

OpenAI Shoots for Half a Trillion

OpenAI’s money printer is still humming, as the AI giant looks to sell $6B in employee stock, pegging its valuation at a staggering $500B—half a trillion for a chatbot that occasionally gaslights you on basic facts. SoftBank, Thrive Capital, and Dragoneer are circling, with Thrive expected to lead. The deal follows March’s record $40B raise at a $300B valuation, plus another $8.3B earlier this month. Investors can’t seem to throw cash at OpenAI fast enough, even as GPT-5 sparks grumbles from users nostalgic for GPT-4o’s “vibe.” As Sam Altman admitted, AI may be cutting-edge, but it’s still basically customer service with extra steps.

Soho House Bids Farewell to Wall Street

Soho House is ditching the public markets in a $2.7B buyout led by MCR Hotels, ending a three-year run where profits proved as elusive as its guest list. Shareholders walk away with $9 a share—a modest premium and maybe a Negroni if they’re lucky—while founder Nick Jones and Ron Burkle hold onto control. The twist? Ashton Kutcher joins the board. Launched in 1995 above a London restaurant as a hub for “creatives,” Soho House has always nailed exclusivity and chic, but going private suggests those vibes didn’t translate into sustainable profits.

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Amtrak Finally Sets Date for Faster Trains

After years of delays, Amtrak’s new NextGen Acela trains will finally launch on August 28, 2025, promising Americans rail travel that’s slightly less embarrassing. The upgraded fleet will reach 160 mph—still behind Europe and Asia’s 200+ mph bullet trains—but offer 27% more seats, winged headrests, personal outlets, and 5G Wi-Fi for smooth doomscrolling between D.C. and Boston. Five trains will debut first, with the full 28-train lineup in service by 2027, as the aging 2000-era fleet gets phased out—nearly five years later than the original 2022 target.

SoftBank Drops $2B on Intel—And the U.S. May Follow

SoftBank has committed $2 billion to acquire a 2% stake in Intel, signaling strong confidence in U.S. chipmaking. This move comes as U.S. officials weigh the possibility of the government acquiring up to 10 percent of Intel, potentially becoming the company's largest shareholder. It's part of a broader push to solidify domestic semiconductor production amidst national security concerns.Read more

Blue Origin to Launch NASA’s Mars Mission—First Time

Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin is gearing up to launch NASA’s ESCAPADE mission to Mars on September 29, 2025, using its New Glenn rocket. This marks Blue Origin’s debut interplanetary mission and positions it ahead of SpaceX in the Mars exploration race. The $80 million mission aims to study Mars’s magnetosphere and atmospheric dynamics, and also includes secondary payloads to advance space communication capabilities, spotlighting the growing partnership between government and private space ventures. Read more

Orbit Under Siege: Satellite Hijacks and Lunar Power Rivalries

Space is increasingly becoming a strategic battleground. Recent events include satellite hijacks and cyber intrusions—like pro-Russian hackers taking over a Ukraine-based satellite feed—highlighting vulnerabilities in aging space infrastructure. At the same time, nations are racing to establish power dominance on the Moon, including plans for lunar bases with nuclear-powered energy systems. These developments are prompting the U.S. to bolster its space security efforts through initiatives like the Space Force and unmanned missions such as the X-37B. Read more

Human Life: Brought to You by a Body Slam

Scientists have captured a time-lapse of a human embryo literally body-slamming into a lab-made uterine lining, showing that implantation is less “gentle nesting” and more “home demolition.” In the Barcelona study, researchers watched the embryo grab, pull, and bulldoze its way into the replica tissue — a crucial step for reproduction that’s nearly impossible to observe inside the body. The footage reveals that life’s earliest move isn’t delicate at all, but pure brute-force biology.

U.S. Blocks Global Plastic Pollution Treaty

Global negotiations for a landmark plastic pollution treaty have stalled after 11 days in Geneva. The talks collapsed largely due to the U.S. pushing back against proposed limits on plastic production. Instead of supporting caps, the U.S. aligned with countries like Saudi Arabia and Russia, emphasizing waste management over reduction targets—reversing momentum from earlier progress under the Biden administration. Read more

Space Launches May Be Exempt from Environmental Reviews

A draft executive order from the Trump administration seeks to exempt space launches from key environmental review laws such as NEPA and the Coastal Zone Management Act. Experts warn this move could trigger ecological fallout—rocket pollution, damage to vulnerable habitats, and harm to endangered species—while critics accuse the policy of favoring private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin over environmental protection. Read more

Male Cheerleaders Shake Up the NFL

Twelve NFL teams—including the Vikings, Patriots, and Rams—are now featuring male cheerleaders performing the same routines as women, up from seven teams last year. The move has sparked a firestorm: critics question whether these routines are “suitable for men,” while supporters celebrate the push for representation and inclusivity. Amid homophobic backlash, Vikings' cheerleaders Blaize Sheik and Louie Conn responded with pride. Despite the cultural backlash, no season-ticket cancellations have been reported—underlining that this new chapter in NFL cheer is more than just halftime theatrics. Read more

JFK Airport Set to Become a Museum

JFK’s new $4.2B Terminal 6 is trying to offset airport chaos with culture, teaming up with MoMA, the Met, Lincoln Center, and the American Museum of Natural History. Travelers will pass Yoko Ono installations, a 140-foot Lincoln Center mural, 5,000 years of art from the Met, and science-inspired pieces from AMNH—before their luggage inevitably goes missing. The Public Art Fund is curating 19 permanent works plus rotating local pieces, making the terminal feel like a museum. But don’t worry, the usual airport experience remains: $20 sandwiches and three-hour delays. Six gates open this year, with the rest set for 2028.

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