Good morning! The weekend edition is 700 words, a 3-minute read.

What’s on tap: 

• Sleep pods in economy plane seating

• Wild rhinos

• Gatorade rebrand

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Today’s Big Story

Strait Opens, Markets Surge

• Iran's foreign minister announced Friday that the Strait of Hormuz is open for commercial vessels, sending oil prices plunging and US stocks to all-time highs. US crude fell 12% to around $83 per barrel, the Dow jumped more than 1,000 points, and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both hit record highs. Gas prices, currently averaging $4.09 per gallon, could fall below $4 this weekend.

• Iran linked the opening to the Lebanon ceasefire announced Thursday. Trump celebrated on Truth Social but said the U.S. naval blockade remains in force against Iran until a deal is complete. A key uncertainty remains — Iran's reference to a "coordinated route" may mean ships still need to pay a toll. The EU warned that pay-for-passage "will set a dangerous precedent for global maritime routes."

• Major shippers Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd responded cautiously, citing unresolved security concerns before committing to transit. Despite Friday's drop, oil is still up 25% since the war began and 45% since the start of the year.

Saturday’s Quick Hits

• Congress gave US spy agencies a 10-day lifeline late Thursday, extending a surveillance program that lets the CIA, NSA, and FBI collect overseas communications without a warrant — sometimes sweeping up Americans' messages too. The stopgap came after two longer proposals collapsed in the House, with about 20 Republicans joining most Democrats to block an 18-month version Trump had demanded. The program now runs through April 30. (More)

• Tornadoes touched down Friday across northern Illinois and Minnesota as severe weather swept the Midwest, putting 38 million people at risk from North Texas to Michigan. Milwaukee, still recovering after some neighborhoods got a month's worth of rain in just two hours Wednesday, faces more flooding this weekend. Temperatures in the 80s and 90s will drop when a cold front arrives. (More)

• Air New Zealand will offer economy passengers lie-flat sleep pods on its Auckland-to-New York flight — one of the world's longest at up to 18 hours — starting in November. Four-hour slots in the triple-bunk pods cost $291 on top of your ticket. Rules include no food, no kids, no perfume, and no sharing. Earplugs are provided for snoring. The airline calls it a world first for economy travelers. (More)

• Democrat Analilia Mejia won New Jersey's 11th Congressional District in a special election Thursday, beating Republican Joe Hathaway by about 20 points. The seat opened when Mikie Sherrill left to become governor. Mejia, a former Bernie Sanders aide endorsed by Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Elizabeth Warren, will serve the remaining eight months of Sherrill's term. (More)

• Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei met Friday with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, seeking to resolve a legal battle after the Pentagon banned the company from government contracts. The dispute began when Anthropic refused to let the military use its Claude AI for drones and domestic surveillance. A federal judge ruled last month that the ban is likely illegal. Anthropic's new AI model, Mythos, is under White House review for potential government use. (More)

Weekly Dose of Positive

• A Manhattan restaurant owner has fed homeless New Yorkers every Wednesday for six years, inspired by sleeping outside himself as a young Turkish immigrant who couldn't speak English or find his family. (More)

• Uganda welcomed four northern white rhinos back to Kidepo Valley National Park, 43 years after the species vanished from the wild there. Eight total will be released by May to rebuild a sustainable population. (More)

• Chicago expanded a program letting students use their school ID as a library card, after a 2022 pilot boosted library visits among low-income students by 63%. All 81 branches are now included. (More)

• Six university students wired 40 homes in a roadless Peruvian Amazon village that had never had electricity, giving residents emergency response, public services, and economic opportunities for the first time. (More)

Extra Credit

Baby elephant in DC zoo makes friends after mom rejects her.

Gatorade is getting a rebrand.

The best US cities for free furniture.

The history of ranch dressing.