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| Good morning. It’s Friday, April 24, and we’re having to physically restrain ourselves from booking trips to Rome after seeing what a $100 hotel looks like. Now let’s get to the news. | |
 | President Donald Trump said Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend a ceasefire. | | |
 | Trump intends to invite Vladimir Putin to a G-20 summit in Miami, officials said. | | |
 | A U.S. soldier allegedly won $400,000 betting on Nicolás Maduro’s capture. | | | The Polymarket prediction market website seen in January. (Wyatte Grantham-Philips/AP) | |
 | Elon Musk’s online posts show his increasing focus on race and Whiteness. | | | Musk posted on X about race nearly daily — 166 out of 197 days — from October to mid-April. (Emma Kumer/The Washington Post; Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post) | - In the past seven months: About 850 of the billionaire’s X posts have been about race, nearly triple the rate for the previous two years. He appears to be rallying White people.
- He’s venturing into extreme territory: One expert described his rhetoric as “standard white supremacy.” Even some onetime supporters of Musk have criticized his posts.
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 | The first round of the NFL draft took place last night in Pittsburgh. | | |
 | Teachers are trying new tricks to fix students’ shrinking attention spans. | - In recent years: It has gotten harder to get students to pay attention, educators say. Research shows extended screen time and short-form content are part of the problem.
- How to fix it: Teachers are building in “brain breaks,” limiting screens, shortening lessons and practicing meditation. Some teachers say the efforts appear to be helping.
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 | Scientists just discovered a 60-foot-long, kraken-like octopus. | | | A sketch of the giant octopus in the Late Cretaceous period. (Yohei Utsuki/Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Hokkaido University) | - What is that? A fierce predator that roamed the depths of the ancient world, new research found. Scientists looked at giant jaws to identify two previously unknown species.
- It’s hard to study an ancient octopus: Soft-bodied animals rarely fossilize. But new technology allows researchers to analyze animals that left fewer traces behind.
Before you go … everyone’s talking about the new Michael Jackson movie: Here’s what it leaves out. Plus: Meet the breakout country star who’s not afraid to speak up. One more good read:
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