Good morning. Two immensely consequential challenges lie ahead of the US: 1) deciding who looked best at the Met Gala and 2) raising the debt ceiling ASAP. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned yesterday that the US could run out of money to pay all its bills as early as June 1 if Congress does not raise or suspend the debt limit before then. The US' first-ever default would be disastrous for financial markets, economists say. Congress better figure it out, or else next year's Met Gala theme will be "America: Remembering a Functioning Economy." —Sam Klebanov, Molly Liebergall, Cassandra Cassidy, Abby Rubenstein. Neal Freyman | | | |  | Nasdaq | 12,212.60 | | | | | S&P | 4,167.87 | | | | | Dow | 34,051.70 | | | | | 10-Year | 3.559% | | | | | Bitcoin | $28,072.85 | | | | | Chegg | $10.94 | | | | *Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 4:00am ET. Here's what these numbers mean. | - Markets: Stocks bobbed up and down yesterday like a drinking bird desk toy, but ultimately ended the day on a low note as everyone waits for a likely interest rate hike from the Fed this week. Regional banks fell, signaling First Republic's fate spooked investors. And online education company Chegg plunged after reporting that students' use of ChatGPT was eating into its business.
| | | | Back to the Future/Universal Pictures via Giphy "Take a deep breath," JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon told everyone yesterday. The aerobic advice came after the banking heavyweight got even bulkier by gobbling up most of the assets of failed First Republic Bank. "This part of the crisis is over," Dimon said, reasoning that after the three recent bank collapses, there just aren't many more financial institutions with a large share of uninsured deposits to make them vulnerable to panics. Our crystal ball isn't quite as clear as Dimon's, so here are three big questions about what's coming for the banking sector: - What's in store for JPMorgan? JPMorgan took over First Republic (and its affluent client list), in return for $10.6 billion paid to regulators and other financial concessions. Purchasing beleaguered banks has been part of its growth strategy for some time, but the bank has experienced buyer's remorse in the past: JPMorgan had to deal with legal issues and extra expenses when it took over Bear Stearns during the 2008 financial crisis. But Dimon thinks this time is different, as First Republic had a simpler business model. Critics, meanwhile, are concerned about the financial industry putting all its eggs in a handful of "too big to fail" baskets.
- What are regulators planning? Yesterday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation recommended raising the $250,000 deposit insurance limit for businesses to make business people less likely to drive banks into the ground by tweeting their anxiety about losing their deposits. And the Federal Reserve said it's considering tightening regulations for midsize banks.
- Are more banking crises coming? Commercial real estate loans could spell trouble for other banks next, according to Berkshire Hathaway's Charlie Munger. He told the Financial Times that he worries about banks that made "bad loans" to owners of troubled malls and office buildings.
For now…no one knows if the credits are truly rolling on the banking crisis, but investors seemed to take Dimon's assurances to heart: Stocks didn't tank yesterday like they did after the bank failures in March.—SK | | It's 2016, and Dr. Doug Unis, an orthopedic surgeon from New York's renowned Mount Sinai Hospital, envisions a potential revolutionary change in joint replacement surgery with the assistance of surgical robots. His inspiration: the 100k+ knee replacements that fail annually and the surgeons across the galaxy using hand saws and hammers, resorting to generic-sized implants. With a burning determination, Dr. Doug founded Monogram. 7 years later, Monogram's precision surgical system may be on the verge of transforming the lives of patients with smaller incisions and custom implants that match each individual's anatomy. 17k+ have already invested in Monogram's mission, and now you can invest before their planned ascension to the prestigious Nasdaq listing. | | View Press/Getty Images  Hollywood writers are on strike. After failing to reach a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, the Writers Guild of America went on strike at midnight. As the union tries to negotiate a contract that takes the new streaming-centric, AI-enabled landscape into account, late-night talk shows and soap operas will be the first impacted. And if the strike drags on, other programming will be, too: The last strike, in 2007, lasted 100 days, prompting studios to turn to more reality TV and other unscripted shows.
 SCOTUS to reconsider federal agencies' power. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case that gives it an opportunity to review its 1984 precedent saying courts should defer to government agencies' interpretations of ambiguous federal laws. Though the decades-old ruling helped the Reagan administration fight challenges from environmental groups, many conservatives now believe it gives the government too much power. The new case specifically concerns the National Marine Fisheries Service rules about herring fishing, but any decision will likely have far-reaching implications.
 Environmental groups sued the FAA over SpaceX's launch. The groups claim the agency gave SpaceX permission to launch its massive Starship rocket (which suffered a "rapid unscheduled disassembly" minutes into its flight last month) near a wildlife refuge without a proper environmental review. They're asking the court to revoke the five-year license the agency granted Elon Musk's company to launch rockets from its Boca Chica, Texas, site.
| | Illustration: Morning Brew / Image: Noah Berger/Associated Press The chorus of tech leaders calling for a moratorium on AI development just gained one of the most commanding voices in the sector: Geoffrey Hinton, a trailblazing creator of the deep-learning techniques that underpin ChatGPT and other rapidly evolving AI systems. Yesterday, he announced he had left Google after ten years in an interview with the New York Times. He did so, he said, to be able to speak freely about the dangers of AI without worrying about impacting the company. (He later clarified in a tweet that he believes Google "has acted very responsibly.") Some of Hinton's worries are already coming true Hinton's primary fear is that the proliferation of AI-generated content will make it difficult to know what's real…something many of us have fallen victim to (e.g., pope in a puffer). He sees the situation getting much worse if Google, Microsoft, and others don't pause their AI arms race to assess the risks. Hinton predicts that AI could disrupt the job market and ultimately be used to deploy autonomous weapons, or "robot soldiers," as he calls them. A Skynet situation may be far off, but the former is underway: IBM announced yesterday that it expects to replace nearly 8,000 jobs with AI in the coming years.—ML | | | The best gifts are in bloom: Mother's Day is days away, pals. Need to send a gift from afar? UrbanStems delivers gorgeous, modern bouquets and stylish plants next day, nationwide. Designed by their in-house team of experts, their unique bouquets are always on trend and on time. Use code MORNINGBREW for 15% off your order. | | John Shearer/WireImage via Getty If you couldn't guess by the by the parade of sunglasses and feline homages, the theme of last night's annual Met Gala fundraiser at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty," commemorated the late fashion playmaker and father to the world's fanciest cat, Choupette. Lagerfeld, Chanel's creative director from 1983 until he died in 2019, is credited with transforming the fashion house into a $10 billion multinational company. He revitalized a stale brand by turning fashion shows into dramatic spectacles, partnering with actresses like Nicole Kidman for cinematic ads, and dressing celebs for red carpet events. But Lagerfeld's legacy isn't as sleek as his creative vision. Throughout his career, Lagerfeld made many comments considered fatphobic, sexist, homophobic, and xenophobic, from saying he was "fed up" with the #MeToo movement to criticizing Germany's acceptance of Syrian refugees. In choosing Lagerfeld as the theme, Anna Wintour and co. courted controversy. HF Twit Met Gala, a Twitter fan account that covers the big event every year, announced it was abstaining from coverage this year. "Everything that Karl represented is something that we all generally are very against," one of the account organizers told the Washington Post. But, the Met still filled up with more celebrities than the courtside of a Lakers game dressed "in honor of Karl." Here are the outfits that wowed.—CC | | Hannah Minn Stat: The NYPD, a police force with a budget that dwarfs that of some countries' militaries, is pushing a new solution to protect your ~$25k investment in a Kia or Hyundai: a $29 Apple AirTag. In response to the rash of thefts stemming from TikTok videos showing how easy these cars are to steal, the city is giving away 500 AirTags to residents of certain areas. The police are hoping that the devices can track down stolen vehicles like they do misplaced keys. Of the 4,500 cars reported stolen in NYC this year so far, 966 were Kias or Hyundais, up from just 147 in all of 2022, according to the force's chief of patrol. Quote: "The student told the museum he ate it because he was hungry." Last week, a South Korean art student grabbed a banana that was duct-taped to a museum wall and chowed down, later saying he was hungry because he'd skipped breakfast. Of course, it wasn't just any banana he snarfed before thoughtfully taping the peel back to the wall—it was a $120,000 piece of art by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. Being an artist himself, the student was likely going for more of a statement than a light snack. And it's not the first time another artist has digested Cattelan's work: A performance artist pulled a similar banana-eating stunt in 2019. Read: Inside the secretive life extension clinic with no guarantees—and no refunds. (Wired) | | - The government-appointed board overseeing the special tax district for Disney World voted to countersue Disney in the latest move in the ongoing feud between the House of Mouse and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
- The FAA introduced 169 new flight routes aimed at making trips along the East Coast shorter and faster to mitigate some of the impending summer travel chaos. The agency says the new flight paths will save 6,000 minutes of travel time per year.
- Protesters and police clashed in Paris yesterday during massive May Day demonstrations against the unpopular pension reforms backed by President Macron.
- Las Vegas saw tourism rise to pre-Covid levels in March, partly thanks to a boost from Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.
| |  We lava to see it: It's Volcano Awareness Month.
Take your toast to the next level: An explanation of the difference between European and American butter. Never forget: Freya the Walrus (RIP) gets her due. A real thinker tinker: What would the person who named walkie-talkies have called other inventions? Want more than a week but not a whole semester? Our newest Business Essentials Accelerator will help you master business fundamentals centered around communication, operation, and innovation in just four weeks. Apply today for our June cohort. Take a sip: Get hydration + refreshing flavor delivered straight to your door with Hint Water. New customers get 36 bottles for $36 + free shipping.* Gains for your  . Strength isn't just about your muscles—it's also mental and emotional, which is why we partnered with think! to create a calendar of 28 tips to build mental and emotional strength. Let's get stronger.* *This is sponsored advertising content | | Brew Mini: Race against the clock to complete today's Mini. If you want a benchmark, Neal zipped through it in 27 seconds. Play it here. Gone fishin' Today is World Tuna Day and Mercury is in retrograde, so we have no choice but to give you fish-adjacent trivia. Here's the quiz: We'll give you a type of fish, and you have to determine whether it mostly lives in freshwater or saltwater. - Gotta start with tuna on World Tuna Day
- Beluga sturgeon
- Walleye
- Red snapper
- Largemouth bass
- Swordfish
- Rainbow trout (not the steelhead variety)
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 Make those tough conversations at work not so tough with our one-week online course, Difficult Conversations at Work, returning May 15. Reserve your spot today.
 The Brief, a one-day marketing summit, is almost a week away. As a thank-you for being a loyal member of the Morning Brew community, you can use code MorningBrewFan for 50% off. Check it out.
| | - Saltwater
- Freshwater
- Freshwater
- Saltwater
- Freshwater
- Saltwater
- Freshwater
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