Good morning! The weekend edition is 755 words, a 3-minute read.

What’s on tap: 

• 2027 budget request

• Rope-swinging 78-year-old

• “Ranch-bassadors”

First-time reader? Sign up here!

Today’s Big Story

City Lights Extend Allergy Season

• Artificial light at night from streetlights and buildings is linked to longer pollen seasons, potentially increasing allergy exposure for millions of urban residents. Researchers found areas with more nighttime light had a higher share of severe pollen days — 27% compared with 17% in darker areas.

• The study, led by researchers at Vanderbilt University, analyzed pollen data from 2012 to 2023 across Northeastern US cities and matched it with satellite measurements of nighttime brightness. Plants rely on natural light cycles to time growth and dormancy. Still, artificial light can disrupt those signals, delaying the end of pollen production even after accounting for weather factors like temperature and rainfall.

• While the findings show correlation rather than direct causation, they point to a potential public health lever in urban planning. Adjusting lighting, such as using shielded fixtures or reducing unnecessary illumination, could help shorten pollen seasons and reduce allergy severity as more than 80% of people globally now live under light-polluted skies.

Saturday’s Quick Hits

• One crew member from a downed US F-15E fighter jet was rescued Friday, while a search continued for the second after the aircraft appeared to have been shot down over Iran. Iran's Revolutionary Guard claimed responsibility, and a regional governor offered locals the equivalent of $60,000 to find the crew. The Pentagon and White House did not immediately comment. (More)

• President Trump's 2027 budget asks Congress for $1.5 trillion in defense spending, a 42% increase, while cutting nondefense programs by $73 billion. The military boost covers a 5–7% pay raise for troops and $65.8 billion for new ships and munitions depleted in the war with Iran. Cuts include $5 billion from the National Institutes of Health and $768 million from refugee resettlement. (More)

• The US added 178,000 jobs in March, far exceeding expectations and reversing February's loss of 133,000. Unemployment dipped to 4.3%. Health care led hiring with 76,000 jobs, while federal employment kept shrinking, down 355,000 positions since last fall. But the US-Israeli war on Iran has pushed oil above $110 a barrel and gas to $4.08 a gallon, stoking recession fears. The Fed is holding rates steady while it watches. (More)

• Fossils found in southwest China show complex animal life emerged at least 4 million years earlier than scientists believed, before the Cambrian Period began 535 million years ago. Researchers recovered more than 700 specimens from the Jiangchuan Biota site, including what appear to be the oldest known relatives of vertebrates like humans and fish. (More)

• A Florida fertility clinic is closing after two lawsuits alleged serious failures. The Fertility Center of Orlando faces a suit from a couple who discovered their newborn wasn't their biological child — the clinic had implanted another couple's embryo. A second suit alleges the clinic used a surrogate with severe mental illness; that baby was born with a fatal disorder and died days later. The clinic had filed for bankruptcy in late 2024. (More)

• Brush fires broke out across Southern California on Friday as gusty winds swept the region. The largest, the Springs Fire east of Moreno Valley, grew to nearly 2,850 acres within hours of igniting around 11 a.m., prompting evacuation orders and road closures in Riverside County. A second fire near Acton in Los Angeles County burned 280 acres at a slower pace. Wind advisories remain in effect through Saturday. (More)

Weekly Dose of Positive

• Japan this week became the last G7 nation to allow joint custody after divorce, ending a system where one parent, usually the mother, could legally cut off the other's access to their children. (More)

• The Ocean Cleanup nonprofit has removed 110 million pounds of plastic from the world's oceans since 2013, using floating barriers and autonomous drones to target high-pollution zones. (More)

• A blind Florida man's guide dog repeatedly pressed his chin on his owner's leg, an unusual behavior that led the man to seek medical care and discover a potentially life-threatening blood clot. (More)

• A 78-year-old woman leaped off a 500-foot cliff in Moab, Utah, last week, becoming one of the oldest people to try the longest rope swing in the United States. (More)

Extra Credit

Years to save for a 10% downpayments by US State.

Can you name all US states from their capitals?

Hidden Valley is hiring “Ranch-bassadors” to dress up European food.

Luxury handbag made from lab-grown T. rex leather.