Plus: New Research Underscores The Power Of Healthy Habits When Battling Cancer

Good afternoon,

How ya doing? We’re halfway through the week, and I’m already mixing up my days (it can’t just be Wednesday).

I love when work feels mentally stimulating, but not overwhelming — that elusive sweet spot. Well, researchers might’ve found a new way to track when we’re in that zone…or when we’re veering into burnout.
Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a wireless, non-permanent “e-tattoo” that tracks brain activity.
If you’re wondering what the heck an “e-tattoo” is, it is a thin, flexible electronic device that sticks to your skin like a temporary tattoo and can monitor things like your heart rate, muscle movement, brain activity, or body temperature. It basically acts like a wearable health sensor, but is designed to be more discreet and skin-like. Using a machine learning algorithm, it can detect when someone may need a break .
- The device isn’t market-ready yet, but it’s supposed to be more comfortable and affordable (about $200) than traditional headsets that monitor your brain activity.

But do you want your boss to have all that info on what’s going on up there?

Lauren
Producer

🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING

Debt Ceiling Fight Threatens to Derail Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ in Senate

Billionaire Elon Musk continued his criticism Wednesday of President Trump’s “big, beautiful” bill, which the Senate is taking up this week after the House passed it before the Memorial Day holiday.

It comes just a week after Musk left the White House, where he was leading the Department of Government Efficacy (DOGE) — a federal cost-cutting initiative and was dubbed the “First Buddy.” Now, he says the “massive, outrageous, pork-filled” bill would “massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit” and “burden American citizens with crushingly unsustainable debt.”

So far, Trump has responded to Musk’s attacks on the bill, as he has with GOP lawmakers who are not supporting the legislation. Instead, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “The president already knows where Elon Musk stands on this bill. It doesn’t change the president’s opinion.” But, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) reportedly told colleagues in a closed-door meeting Wednesday that Trump is "pissed off" at Musk.

OVER TO THE SENATE
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said he cannot vote for President Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax and spending bill because it raises the debt ceiling. Trump responded Tuesday by claiming the senator “has very little understanding” of the budget plan and “loves voting ‘NO’ on everything.”

Exactly how much the legislation will raise the debt ceiling remains to be seen. An analyst by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the bill would add approximately $2.4 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade. Republican leadership in the House and Senate have criticized the metrics used by the CBO, but other nonpartisan and even conservative outlets have put the number in a similar $2–$4 trillion range.

REWIND ON THE LEGISLATION
The more than 1,100-page bill would make permanent Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, which were set to expire this year, and delivers on some of his campaign promises, such as eliminating taxes on tips and overtime wages. Those tax cuts are projected to reduce federal revenue by about $3.75 trillion over the next decade. Meanwhile, the bill could cut federal spending by about $1.3 trillion, according to the CBO, through reductions to Medicaid and rollbacks of Biden-era clean energy tax credits.

THE GAME PLAN
Senators returned to Capitol Hill this week to begin considering the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which they plan to revise and send back to the House before it heads to Trump’s desk. The goal is to get the legislation passed before the July 4th holiday, as the U.S. borrowing limit will need to be moved by mid-July or the federal government could default on its bills.

Senate Republicans can only afford to lose three votes before the bill fails.
- GOP Sens. Ron Johnson (WI) and Mike Lee (UT) are calling for deeper spending cuts, while Sens. Josh Hawley (MO), Jim Justice (WV), Lisa Murkowski (AK), and Susan Collins (ME) have expressed concerns about proposed Medicaid cuts.

🚨 ONE SCIENCE THING

Back To The Basics: What Helps When Facing A Cancer Diagnosis

With cancer rates rising in younger people, especially with colorectal cancer, more Americans are confronting the question: What can I do to help myself fight this disease? Increasing evidence shows that exercise and a healthy diet can be powerful tools in that battle.

Studies released at the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s conference on Sunday found that colorectal cancer patients who did structured exercise programs and ate less-inflammatory diets had better outcomes than those who did not. Other researchers presented data suggesting that higher-fiber diets may improve melanoma patients’ responses to immune-boosting drugs.

MORE INTO THE DATA
The study on exercise, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, spanned more than a decade and is the first controlled trial to definitively show that physical activity can improve cancer-related survival.

On exercise: Patients who exercised had a 37% lower risk of death after eight years compared to those who only received educational materials.
- The study: Nearly 900 patients from six countries, who had undergone surgery and chemotherapy for stage 3 or high-risk stage 2 colorectal cancer, were split into two groups: One received educational materials promoting physical activity and nutrition, while the other half were paired with certified exercise consultants — a hybrid of personal trainer and life coach — and aimed for 2½ hours of moderate-intensity exercise per week across three years.
- Results: The exercise program cut cancer recurrence risk by 28%. After eight years, 90% of participants were alive, compared to 83% in the control group — preventing one death for every 14 people who joined.
On nutrition: Another study looked at 1,625 adults with stage 3 colon cancer. Those who had diets high in processed meats, refined grains and sugary drinks were 87% more likely to die from their disease than those in the study who ate less inflammatory diets. Chronic inflammation is a known risk factor for colon cancer, prompting researchers to analyze whether diet influenced outcomes.

While it may seem obvious that movement and a healthy diet benefit overall health, mounting evidence suggests they may also improve cancer patients’ survival or treatment responses. With more people living longer with various cancers, improving quality of life has become a greater focus.

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

Trump’s promised steel and aluminum tariffs go into effect (AP)
Elon Musk warns excessive spending will plunge US 'into debt slavery' (FOX)
Education Department threatens Columbia University’s accreditation over campus antisemitism concerns (CNN)
New Orleans jail escapee posts social media video, appeals to President Trump (MO NEWS)
Man arrested for scaling Mar-A-Lago wall looking to ‘marry’ Trump’s granddaughter (MO NEWS)
Man charged after allegedly supplying chemicals in Palm Springs fertility clinic bombing (NBC)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

Putin tells Trump he'll hit Ukraine back for surprise drone attack (AXIOS)
Cologne, Germany evacuates 20,000 so WW2-era bombs can be defused (BBC)
Vietnam scraps 2-child policy as aging threatens economic growth (ABC)
Muslims from around the world prepare to take part in Hajj, facing extreme temperatures (AP)
Hungry elephant caught on CCTV visiting convenience store (CNN)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

CDC official overseeing agency recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines resigns (CNN)
Report says over half of top 100 mental health TikTok videos contain misinformation (FOX)
Massive planet discovered orbiting tiny star, leaving scientists stumped (CBS)
Measles vaccination rates drop after COVID-19 pandemic in counties across the US (AP)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

‘Diddy’ trial: woman testifies Combs dangled her from 17th-floor balcony (NBC)
Jessie J reveals early breast cancer diagnosis (BBC)
Edmund White, who broke ground in gay literature, has died at 85 (NPR)
Michael J Fox appeals for help in finding lost guitar played by Marty McFly in Back To The Future (SKY NEWS)

ICYMI FROM THE 📲

In case you missed it… Barbara Steinmetz, an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor who was burned Sunday in an antisemitic attack in Boulder, Colorado, had a message for America on Tuesday: “We’re Americans. We are better than this... be kind and decent human beings.”

Steinmetz was among a dozen people injured by Mohamed Sabry Soliman, an Egyptian national who reportedly admitted to planning the Molotov cocktail attack where he yelled “Free Palestine.”
- He told police that he wanted to kill members of a Zionist group and had been preparing for the attack for more than a year. He is facing federal hate crime and attempted murder charges.

The attack, Steinmetz told NBC News, is “about what the hell is going on in our country.”