Good morning! The weekend edition is 703 words, a 3-minute read.

What’s on tap: 

• Tea app gains surges in popularity

• World’s most premature baby celebrates 1st birthday

• Chuck E. Cheese arrested for theft

First-time reader? Sign up here!

Today’s Big Story

Education Funding Reversal

• The Trump administration released over $6 billion in frozen education grants Friday. The Education Department said the money will begin flowing to states next week for English language instruction, after-school programs, teacher training, and adult literacy programs.

• The Office of Management and Budget had suspended the funding for review to ensure spending aligned with White House priorities, labeling some programs as supporting a "radical leftwing agenda." The frozen money had been appropriated by Congress in a bill Trump signed earlier this year.

• Multiple lawsuits challenged the freeze while ten Republican senators demanded the money be released, saying the programs have 'longstanding, bipartisan support.' School districts and nonprofits had warned they would have to eliminate services without the funding.

Saturday’s Quick Hits

• The Tea app shot to number one in Apple's App Store this week after gaining 900,000 new users in recent days. The women-only app lets users anonymously rate men as "red flags" or "green flags" and share dating experiences. Tea now has 4 million total users after going viral on TikTok and Reddit. But the app suffered a data breach Friday exposing 72,000 user photos amid growing criticism about cyberbullying. (More)

• Lyft plans to add robot shuttles to its ride app by late 2026 as it races to match Uber's self-driving cars. The eight-seat electric shuttles will be built in Jacksonville and start serving airports and cities. Lyft could deploy thousands worldwide if successful. Riders will book shuttle trips through the normal Lyft app alongside regular car rides. (More)

• Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell met Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche for a second day Friday, continuing talks she requested while appealing her 20-year sentence. Her lawyer called the six-hour Thursday session "productive" and said Maxwell answered all questions. The rare high-level Justice Department meeting happens as Republicans push for more Epstein file releases amid questions about Trump's past connections. (More)

• Christina Chapman got eight years in prison for helping North Korean hackers trick US companies into hiring them as remote workers. She ran 90 laptops from her Arizona home that let the hackers use stolen American identities. The scheme fooled 300 companies and made North Korea $17 million. Chapman must repay $284,000 plus fines. (More)

• Scientists found a way to stop mosquitoes from spreading malaria using gene editing. They changed one amino acid so mosquitoes still pick up malaria parasites when biting infected people, but can't pass the disease to others. The CRISPR technique blocks parasites from reaching mosquito salivary glands, where they normally prepare to infect new victims. Modified mosquitoes stay healthy and pass protection to offspring. (More)

• Extreme heat is shifting from the Midwest to the East Coast, with over 100 million Americans under heat alerts through early next week. The heat dome will increase temps by 10-15 degrees above normal and some areas will feel hotter than 100°F. In the Corn Belt, humidity is being made worse by “corn sweat,” water vapor released by millions of acres of corn crops. (More)

Weekly Dose of Positive

• Sixteen-year-old Tejasvi Manoj built Shield Seniors, an AI app that helps elderly people identify scams, after her grandfather nearly lost money to cybercriminals who cost seniors $3 billion yearly. (More)

• Dutch schools report improved concentration and social environments after banning smartphones in classrooms, with 75% of secondary schools saying students focus better since the January 2024 guidelines. (More)

• Nash Keen, who weighed just 10 ounces at birth after arriving 133 days early, celebrated his first birthday as the world's most premature surviving baby. Doctors initially gave him a 0% chance of survival. (More)

• Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs eliminated $429 million in medical debt for 352,000 residents by spending $10 million to buy unpayable hospital bills through charity Undue Medical Debt. (More)

Extra Credit

Switch up your campfire recipes with banana boat s’mores.

World’s largest turtle nesting spot has 41,000 females.

Chuck E. Cheese arrested in Florida for using a stolen credit cards.

Time Magazine ranks the 100 best podcasts.