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Good morning, it's Friday, July 24. Comic-Con has kicked off again this year in San Diego. First time reading? Join over 4.7 million insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.
Also in today's Digest: killer whales ram a fish to smithereens (Need To Know), the FDA is looking into peptides (Sci. & Tech.), unemployment is down to 1969 levels (Bus. & Mkts.), would you trade pythons for pizza (Etc.), and much more.
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Need To Know
Back to Hall H
Comic-Con International 2026 has kicked off in San Diego, bringing four days of studio announcements, celebrity panels, and fan events to one of the world's largest pop culture conventions. More than 135,000 attendees are expected through Sunday.
Founded in 1970 as a gathering of about 100 comic book fans in a hotel basement, Comic-Con now spans nearly 500,000 square feet of exhibit space and features more than 1,000 exhibitors and roughly 2,000 hours of programming, generating an estimated $160M for the local economy (watch how it evolved). Much of the action centers on Hall H, the convention's famed 6,500-seat venue for the biggest studio reveals, where fans often begin lining up two days in advance to secure a spot.
Marvel and DC Studios return to Hall H after both skipped last year's convention. Today's schedule includes a panel for "Spaceballs: The New One," a sequel that reunites original cast members with 100-year-old Mel Brooks nearly four decades after the original film. See Johnny Depp make an appearance as Ebenezer Scrooge and the complete schedule.
Sky-High Oil
Global oil prices topped $100 per barrel for the first time since May yesterday. The milestone came after Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels said they attacked two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea, where they recently announced a blockade.
The war now centers on the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, through which 12% to 15% of global maritime trade—and 7% of the world’s oil—passes (see map). Saudi Arabia can reroute some oil northward through the Suez Canal, but that route slows shipping to Asia by 10 to 15 days or more, and requires supertankers to reduce their oil capacity. With a new trade route threatened, President Donald Trump says he is weighing a “major military punishment” against Iran. Explore US gas prices here (w/map).
Separately, Congress was split yesterday on whether to end the Iran war: Four House Republicans joined Democrats to pass a nonbinding resolution while Senate Republicans blocked a binding measure.
🫶 Humankind: Atlanta dad turns library trips with his infant daughter into a weekly outing that brings dozens of dads and children together.
Orcas Just Wanna Have Fun
Researchers this week published footage of orcas ramming into giant fish so forcefully that the prey explodes into tiny fragments. They believe the well-coordinated tactic may help younger orcas feed—or simply serve as entertainment.
Two separate encounters in the Gulf of California show one adult orca holding a dead sunfish in its mouth while another adult accelerates toward it. The fish is released just before the second orca strikes, sending pieces flying (watch here). Weighing up to 4,400 pounds, sunfish are among the world's largest fish and common prey for orcas, which can weigh up to 22,000 pounds. In both videos, younger orcas feed on the debris, suggesting the adults may be breaking the fish into bite-sized pieces for juveniles.
Scientists say the tactic could also just be a game. Orcas are known to do things that don't seem to serve practical purposes, like balancing dead salmon on their heads and swarming tourist boats.
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In The Know
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Critics Choice Association establishes Creator Awards, honoring people in the digital space with categories including best podcast host, best health/wellness creator, and best business series; inaugural ceremony is set for April 15 (More)
> Venice Film Festival unveils full 2026 lineup, including a four-hour Elon Musk documentary, a dark comedy from Martin McDonagh about the CIA, and an A24 psychological thriller starring Robert Pattinson (More, w/full list)
> Amazon adds video games to Prime Video platform in a push to establish itself as a front-runner in the industry (More) | Global video game industry hit a record high of $201.6B in revenue last year (More)
Science & Technology
> Food and Drug Administration advisory panel votes 8-6 to expand access to peptide BPC-157, which some claim helps heal injuries and reduce inflammation; it is one of seven peptides under review this week (More) | What are peptides? (More)
> OpenAI makes ChatGPT Health available on all US-based plans, allowing users over age 18 to feed health app data into the AI chatbot (More) | ... and a Florida man sues OpenAI for giving him potentially life-threatening medical advice (More)
> Single-dose of immunosuppressive drug temporarily reverses autism-like brain changes in adult mice; while potentially too toxic for human use, the drug suggests autism-related neurological traits may still be treatable in adulthood (More)
Business & Markets
> US stock markets close lower (S&P 500 -1.2%, Dow -1.0%, Nasdaq -2.2%) over Iran concerns, tech stock sell-off (More) | President Donald Trump announces 10% to 12.5% tariffs on dozens of countries, replacing expiring duties (More)
> US weekly jobless claims drop to 187,000 last week; figure is the fewest since September 1969 (More) | Mortgage rates rise to 6.58% for 30-year fixed loans, the highest level in nearly 12 months (More, w/chart)
> European Union fines Google $1B for violating the bloc's Digital Markets Act and undercutting competition by using its app store and internet search engine to funnel users toward its products (More) | How is the EU limiting Big Tech's power? (More)
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Politics & World Affairs
> President Donald Trump adds stipulation to US-Saudi nuclear deal announced this week, saying it is conditional on the kingdom normalizing relations with Israel (More) | See previous write-up (More)
> Man who killed Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband last year is sentenced to two life terms plus 40 years in prison (More) | How did Americans view political violence in 2025? (More, w/poll)
> Justice Department drops subpoenas to New York Times reporters over an article highlighting security concerns about Qatar's Air Force One gift (More) | Read the original article (More) | ... and when might we see it again? (More)
In-Depth
> 'Shmoo & Ozzie Go to Washington'
NY Times | Sopan Deb. Ellie's dad is Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D, NJ-5), and Larra's is Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. The teen girls decided to write a children's book about their—and their fathers'—unlikely bipartisan friendship. (Read)
> Hollywood's Mass Exodus
Stat Significant | Daniel Parris. Less than 15% of American movies are made in Los Angeles as filmmakers flock to Atlanta, London, and Prague. The reasoning comes down to money—and it’s transforming Hollywood from a creative hub into a collection of corporate offices. (Read, w/graphs)
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Etcetera
Meet the world's oldest ballerina.
Top 10 foods that food safety experts avoid.
It's so hot in Japan they came up with a new word for it.
Superworms: the hottest cleaning tool for museums.
What are the top-selling beers since the 1980s? (w/graph)
Also: Ever try a beer that tastes like ranch dressing?
If a source of sound moves fast enough, you can hear music in reverse. (w/video)
What's up with dogs kicking after peeing or pooping?
How did the salamander cross the road? With the help of tunnels.
Clickbait: A Florida coupon exclusive: pythons for pizza.
Historybook: Jacques Cartier claims Canada for France (1534); Aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart born (1897); Machu Picchu is rediscovered (1911); Apollo 11 splashes safely in the Pacific (1969); Jennifer Lopez born (1969).
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- Amelia Earhart
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