Good Morning! Today’s edition is 935 words, a 4-minute read.

What’s on tap: 

• Iceland opts out of the EU

• Keto diet & liver fat

• Group Poop

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Big Stories

Oil Power Shift

• The U.S. and Venezuela have reached an agreement to develop oil fields containing more than 65 billion barrels of proven reserves, roughly one-fifth of Venezuela's total. The 25-year project covers 17 oil fields and aims to eventually produce more than 1.5 million barrels per day, according to Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodríguez.

• Venezuela will retain ownership of its oil, with the U.S. and private partners providing capital, technology, and operational expertise to restore production. Rodríguez said Venezuela will receive about $19 for every barrel produced and sold under the agreement, potentially generating roughly $209 billion in total government revenue.

• The deal could also reduce Iran's long-term leverage over global energy markets by giving the U.S. greater control over a major source of oil outside the Middle East. Venezuela holds the world's largest proven crude reserves but currently produces only about 1% of global supply after years of sanctions and deteriorating infrastructure.

Roman Takes Flight

• NASA launched its $4.3 billion Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope from Florida on Sunday, beginning a five-year mission to survey hundreds of millions of stars and billions of galaxies. The telescope successfully separated from its SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket and is now traveling toward its destination roughly 1 million miles from Earth.

• Roman is designed to survey the sky about 1,000 times faster than Hubble, with each image covering at least 100 times more sky. Its panoramic observations will map large portions of the Milky Way, catalog astronomical objects, and could discover more than 100,000 planets orbiting other stars.

• Two of Roman's major surveys will investigate dark matter and dark energy, which together account for most of the universe but remain poorly understood. The telescope will study how matter is distributed across the cosmos and how the universe's expansion has changed over time, potentially giving scientists new clues about what both phenomena actually are.

Iceland Says No

• Icelanders rejected restarting negotiations to join the European Union, with 52.8% voting against the proposal and 47.2% supporting it. More than 82% of eligible voters participated in Saturday's referendum, with the capital Reykjavik the only part of the country where a majority backed reopening membership talks.

• Iceland already participates in the EU's single market and Schengen free-travel area without being a member, giving it many of the bloc's economic benefits while retaining greater national control. Opposition centered largely on Iceland's fishing industry, which argued that EU membership could threaten the country's authority over its valuable fishing grounds.

• For the EU, Iceland would have brought more than another member state. Its location between Greenland and Britain would expand the bloc's presence in the increasingly important Arctic. Adding Iceland could also help offset some of the economic and political weight the EU lost when Britain left the bloc in 2020.

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Quick Stories

US News

• Illinois has recorded 243 preliminary tornado reports in 2026, the most reported by any state in a single year since records began in 1950. (More)

• President Trump signed an executive order to begin creating a U.S. Space Academy to train personnel for the Space Force, NASA, and the civilian space industry. (More)

• Grand Canyon officials evacuated approximately 50 people by air after flash floods swept through Bright Angel Canyon. (More)

World

• Cuba is preparing to loosen longstanding economic controls by allowing private companies to trade directly with foreign businesses and giving international investors greater freedom to hire workers and develop real estate. (More)

• An NBC News team and a Palestinian woman were reportedly injured when masked Israeli settlers attacked them with sticks and rocks near Nablus in the occupied West Bank. (More)

• Niger’s government said it regained control after young soldiers staged a mutiny in Niamey, prompting hours of fighting and intervention by Russia’s Africa Corps in support of the ruling junta. (More)

Business & Economy

• US stock markets closed lower on Friday (S&P -0.25%, Nasdaq -0.52%, Dow -0.02%) after Fed Reserve Chairman Warsh conveyed worry over inflation. (More)

• Aon is close to acquiring insurance brokerage USI from private equity firm KKR in a deal valued at roughly $17 billion. (More)

• A federal appeals court ruled sports prediction contracts are bets rather than federally regulated derivatives, allowing Nevada to enforce its gambling laws against platforms including Kalshi and Crypto.com. (More)

Sports & Entertainment

• Scottie Scheffler rallied from three strokes behind to win the Tour Championship and his second FedEx Cup. (More)

• North Dakota State won its first game at college football’s top level, beating Jacksonville State 33-7 after scoring 26 unanswered points to break open a first-half tie. (More)

• More than three decades after “Days of Thunder,” Tom Cruise is returning as racer Cole Trickle for a sequel co-starring Anne Hathaway and arriving in summer 2028. (More)

Science, Health, & Tech

• Online reviews can expose users’ social networks to cybercriminals, researchers found, potentially giving attackers information needed to launch more convincing spear-phishing attacks. (More)

• A ketogenic diet reduced liver fat by 67% in a clinical trial, compared with 45% on Mediterranean and low-fat diets, despite participants losing similar amounts of weight. (More)

• A new 3D mapping technique revealed that Utah’s Timpanogos Rock Glacier is mostly ice despite its rocky appearance, holding enough frozen water to fill roughly 600 Olympic swimming pools. (More)

Extra Credit

Science says your productivity changes with the seasons.

Ancient Romans pooped in groups.

Baby goats in NC mobile petting zoo test postive for rabies.

Occupations with the highest divorce rates.