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Good morning, it's Monday, Aug. 3. Minnesota has barred tech companies from allowing users to create deepfake nudes. First time reading? Join over 4.7 million insatiably curious readers. Sign up here.
Also in today's Digest: an at-home test to detect Lyme-infected ticks (Need To Know), the largest known galaxy (Sci. & Tech.), a shooting in Idaho (Pol. & World Affairs), surfing dogs (Etc.), and much more.
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Need To Know
'Nudification' Ban
The nation’s first ban on tools allowing users to generate nonconsensual “nudified” content from images or video of fully clothed people went into effect in Minnesota Saturday, after a judge denied a last-minute suspension request from Elon Musk. A hearing is set for Aug. 19 to decide whether to pause the ban while legal challenges proceed.
Since becoming widely available in 2022, the use of generative AI to produce content involving real people (or “deepfakes”) has skyrocketed—an estimated 96% to 98% of which is explicit, and nearly all of it involves women. Largely done without the person’s knowledge, such tools have been used by high schoolers to make explicit images of female students, leading to a viral undressing trend on the Musk-owned Grok chatbot earlier this year. The first successful prosecution for sharing explicit deepfakes (including some of children) occurred in April under the federal Take It Down Act.
See some tips to spot deepfakes here.
Lyme Test Launch
The first batch of at-home test kits for Lyme disease ships this month. LymeAlert, launched by an MIT researcher, will release 5,000 test kits that claim to identify Lyme-infested ticks within 15 minutes, much like a COVID-19 or pregnancy test.
The test device includes a grinder that opens a tick’s exterior, and an assay that can detect Borrelia burgdorferi—the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. An estimated 31 million Americans get tick bites each year. Of those, about 476,000 people are treated for Lyme disease annually, many concentrated in the Northeast, Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic, where black-legged ticks are prevalent. For Lyme to be transmitted, an infected tick must be attached for at least 24 hours. Early treatment with antibiotics can help reduce the likelihood of chronic Lyme disease, which may involve fatigue, pain, and cognitive impairment.
Learn about Lyme disease here; see prevalence in your county here (scroll to search).
In partnership with Simple
10K Steps Is a Myth—Try This Instead
Did you know the rule of 10K steps has no scientific backing? Surprisingly, it was a marketing tactic from a 1960s pedometer company. Researchers have discovered even fewer steps can trigger real fat loss—if you walk the right way. Enter: a solution where you no longer have to feel the guilt when you can't find the time to hit that step count.
The viral Japanese walking trend has been everywhere, for good reason. This walking technique gives you 10x the benefits in just 30 minutes. Plus, this low-intensity routine boosts fat burn without stressing your joints. It’s safe, sustainable, and achievable because we don't all have 2 hours a day to get in our steps.
No crash diets, no guesswork, just smart, sustainable fat burning. So far, Simple has helped over 18 million users lose millions of pounds. Take this quick, personalized quiz to discover your optimal step count and what your body needs to lose weight.
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🫶 Humankind: Crowd gathers to wish Pancake, one of the world's rarest sea turtles, bon voyage as he is released back into the ocean after almost freezing to death.
Iran Hostilities Pause
President Donald Trump announced a pause in US strikes against Iran Saturday, citing “rapid” progress toward a deal to end the monthslong war.
The parameters of a deal would reportedly include Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz and halting attacks on neighboring countries, including via Iranian proxy militias, in exchange for the US ending its naval blockade. During the ceasefire, the two countries would work toward an agreement on long-term issues, including nuclear concerns. Unlike the previous ceasefire deal, Israel has reportedly agreed to participate in this latest iteration.
The announcement came after Trump spoke with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. MBS reportedly pressed Trump to reconsider large-scale military strikes over concerns Iran would retaliate against oil facilities in the Gulf. A New York Times report Saturday found Iran had coordinated with proxy groups during the last ceasefire on plans to expand the war if US strikes resumed.
In The Know
Sports, Entertainment, & Culture
> Actor Vincent Pastore, who played Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero in “The Sopranos,” dies at age 80 (More) | "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" earns $355M at the domestic box office, second-best opening in history (More)
> Arizona law enforcement releases ransom notes from Nancy Guthrie kidnapping; the mother of “Today” cohost Savannah Guthrie has been missing since Feb. 1 (More) | Trace the investigation from a Tucson suburb to a desert in Mexico (More)
> FIFA reverses plans to sell a stake in its commercial and event operations to private investors after widespread opposition, which included 55 European nations agreeing to boycott the World Cup (More)
Science & Technology
> OpenAI's Astra model advances 10 outstanding math problems that haven't seen progress in at least a decade (More) | Demystifying LLMs with top computer scientist Stephen Wolfram (Listen)
> Scientists identify the first ancient smallpox genome discovered in the Americas, confirm virus arrived via Europeans; strains recovered from Chilean remains dating to the 15th to 17th centuries (More) | What is the variola virus? (More, w/video)
> Astronomers make first measurement of the full size of the largest known galaxy; IC 1101 is roughly 1.7 million light-years across, contains mass equal to roughly 3.4 trillion suns (More)
In partnership with RE:YOU
Finally, Hair Loss Science You Can Trust
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RE:YOU took the opposite route. Using AI, they sifted through 20 million molecules to find three that reactivate dormant cells at the root, then ran a double-blind, machine-graded trial. The result: 90% of users saw thicker hair in 3 months and a 15% average bump in scalp coverage (scroll for the full trial data).
Don't take our word for it—try RE:YOU with code 1440special15 for 15% off, plus a 90-day money-back guarantee (code automatically applied).
Business & Markets
> US stock markets rise Friday (S&P 500 +0.7%, Dow +0.5%, Nasdaq +1.0%); Amazon shares rise almost 16% as cloud service sales jump by more than 37% year-over-year (More)
> US Treasury buys Japanese Yen to help reverse the currency's devaluation; photo taken over Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's notepad shows "to-do list" with $5B-$10B purchase (More, w/photo)
> Chinese AI firm DeepSeek releases new coding model that costs a fraction of leading frontier systems; 1 million output tokens cost 28 cents, 99% cheaper than Claude's Opus 4.8 (More)
Politics & World Affairs
> Female bomber detonates a homemade explosive device at a Moscow restaurant, killing three people and wounding at least 21 others; a motive was not publicly identified as of this writing (More)
> Most migrants leave Spanish territory of Ceuta after an estimated 60,000 reportedly entered from Morocco last week (More) | Italy closes air and sea borders with Spain over the incident (More)
> Gunman attacks In-N-Out Burger location in Twin Falls, Idaho, killing at least three people and wounding seven others (More)
In partnership with Simple
Reformer Pilates—Without the $3,000 Machine
Did you know you have a reformer bed at home? And no, it's not a $3,000 machine. You can sculpt, tone, and burn fat with it, and you've been leaning on it all along—your wall.
This viral weight loss app has launched an at-home Wall Pilates challenge. In just 28 days, they guarantee you’ll feel stronger, leaner, and way more confident. They combine at-home workouts with personalized nutrition coaching to help users transform their body and relationship with food. They have thousands of 5-star reviews and have helped millions of people already; take the quiz and get 3 months free.
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Etcetera
More Americans now support cellphone bans in school than oppose them.
Explore an interactive map of more than 5,800 castles and fortresses.
See photos from the 2026 International Pet Photography Awards.
The mission to recover WWII POWs from the ocean's bottom.
US government map mislabels every African country.
How bullwhips can crack the sound barrier.
Is your state the one with the highest known concentration of serial killers?
The salacious scourge taking over formal events: "naked" dressing.
Where did most of Odysseus' crew members die?
In partnership: Already booked your flight? You could still get money back.*
Clickbait: Who's a good bruh?
Historybook: Christopher Columbus sets sail on his first trans-Atlantic voyage from Spain (1492); Former US Vice President Aaron Burr goes on trial for treason (1807); US businesswoman Martha Stewart born (1941); NBA was formed as a merger of two leagues (1949); Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn dies (2008)
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"The simple step of a courageous individual is not to take part in the lie."
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
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