Good morning. Today is Treat Yo Self Day, which was born from a 2011 episode of Parks and Recreation in which Tom and Donna dedicate an entire day to splurging on life's little luxuries. As the great Ron Swanson once said, “There has never been a sadness that can't be cured by breakfast food.” So go ahead, order the extra pancakes.

Today, we’ll cover Walmart’s robot problems, how much water prices have changed since 2016, Anthropic’s murder-bot, and much more.

— Chase Goepfert, Founder of NextGen News

Last week, President Trump announced he had struck a deal with Russia to send millions of tons of diesel to the US in an effort to bring down high fuel prices.

While the goal is relatively straightforward, will it really work?

On Friday, Trump said he had a “successful discussion” with Russian President Vladimir Putin and lifted sanctions on Russian oil shipments until April of next year.

That will allow Russia to send tons of oil (literally) to the US:

The agreement was met with criticism from lawmakers in both parties, especially because it came just a month after President Trump launched sweeping sanctions on Russian oil in an effort to pressure Moscow into ending its war in Ukraine.

Experts don’t think so. While Russia’s initial shipment might seem like a lot, it won’t really affect how much you pay at the pump:

Americans need relief… badly: Diesel is crucial for trucking, farming, and heavy industry, which each eventually pass costs down through the prices of food, goods, and services. Diesel prices have surged nearly 70% since the Iran war began, and hit a record high of $6.50 last month.

Not everything from 2016 deserves a comeback (looking at you, bottle flipping), but water prices certainly do. At a time when food prices are already insanely high, Americans are also paying more for the water they wash it down with.

A new analysis from the advocacy group Food & Water Watch found that average household water bills rose 62% in the past 10 years, an increase that has far outpaced grocery prices.

According to the study, which surveyed almost half of all Americans:

Where you live makes a huge difference: Those in Hempstead, New York, were charged about $133 a year, while residents in San Jose, California, paid more than 10 times that amount. West Virginia had the highest average, at around $1,383 per year, while Idaho averaged just $286.

Almost everyone agrees more investment is needed: The EPA estimates US drinking-water systems will need about $625 billion in investment to upgrade infrastructure, while private water companies say they invested $43.5 billion over the past decade, but more will be needed to keep costs from rising even higher.

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🐢 A 200-year-old tortoise might help humans live longer. Jonathan, a 194-year-old giant tortoise believed to be the world's oldest living land animal, has 287 unique genetic variants that help protect his body from the usual effects of aging. Researchers found that the genes responsible for repairing DNA, controlling inflammation, and fighting cancer have remained remarkably stable, with some functioning much like those of younger tortoises. Scientists say the discovery could help develop treatments that slow age-related diseases, potentially allowing people to live longer, healthier lives.

📺 Cartoon Network was the victim of a “gigaleak” attack. More than 200 gigabytes of internal production files from over 30 animated series have reportedly surfaced online, including Adventure Time, Teen Titans, Regular Show, and The Amazing World of Gumball. The files contain everything from early character designs and storyboards to animation models and production guides, revealing how the shows were brought to life. Nobody knows who's responsible for the leak or why it happened.

🔪 AI is now handing out fake murder tips. During a routine test in July, an AI model developed by Anthropic visited a website for unsolved homicides and submitted false information about a real case. Fortunately, the tip was flagged as spam before investigators saw it, but Anthropic didn't discover the incident until more than two months later. Philadelphia police criticized the delay, prompting Anthropic to cut off live internet access during its internal AI evaluations.

For its first CTV campaign, Jennifer Aniston’s DTC haircare brand LolaVie had a few non-negotiables. The campaign had to be simple. It had to demonstrate measurable impact. And it had to be full-funnel.

LolaVie used Roku Ads Manager to test and optimize creatives — reaching millions of potential customers at all stages of their purchase journeys. Roku Ads Manager helped the brand convey LolaVie’s playful voice while helping drive omnichannel sales across both ecommerce and retail touchpoints.

The campaign included an Action Ad overlay that let viewers shop directly from their TVs by clicking OK on their Roku remote. This guided them to the website to buy LolaVie products.

Discover how Roku Ads Manager helped LolaVie drive big sales and customer growth with self-serve TV ads.

The DTC beauty category is crowded. To break through, Jennifer Aniston’s brand LolaVie, worked with Roku Ads Manager to easily set up, test, and optimize CTV ad creatives. The campaign helped drive a big lift in sales and customer growth, helping LolaVie break through in the crowded beauty category.

Learn more.

The world’s largest big box retailer is in the midst of a multi-billion dollar, decade-long effort to automate its supply-chain facilities and help reduce its dependence on warehouse workers.

However, there’s one big problem that’s stopping them…

Walmart has had to redesign systems, tweak packaging, and build specialized robots for mundane tasks that humans can usually solve in just a few seconds.

Some of those (supposedly) easy problems include:

Modernizing an old supply chain has its issues: Electricity bills for automated warehouses are a staggering 220% more than traditional facilities. And to pair with their poor performance, around 5% of the retailer’s robots are undergoing repairs at any given time (though that’s halved from last year).

Will human workers get replaced if the issues are fixed? Probably not. While Walmart employs more than 140,000 warehouse workers, the retailer says that its goal is to have fewer workers to spend their shifts lifting, sorting and moving boxes, while more employees oversee, repair and troubleshoot automated systems.

Those majoring in the arts may want to look away. New federal earnings data is putting some hard numbers behind a question families have been asking for years…

According to an analysis by The New York Times, it depends not only on the major, but also on the schools offering the same degree you pick. In terms of top earners:

Where’s your best chance at a high income? The top 10 highest-paying college programs were concentrated at schools like Duke, MIT, UCLA, Carnegie Mellon, Pomona, and several Ivy League universities, with median earnings of at least $217,000.

There is a small catch: Because the data only tracks earnings four years after graduation, it favors degrees that lead to high-paying jobs right away. So careers that require more training or advanced education to pay off (like medicine, academia, and others) may be underrepresented.

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See the Opportunity

→ Your dog might actually help you sleep better, as new research suggests sharing a bed with your pet doesn't necessarily disrupt your sleep and may even help you feel more secure at night.

→ Sound could help restore dying coral reefs, as researchers found that using underwater speakers that mimic thriving coral reefs attracted 14 times more fish and coral to damaged areas.

→ A former NFL lineman retired at just 26 to pursue mathematics, and nearly a decade later, the MIT professor has solved a problem that stumped mathematicians for more than 30 years.

→ A group of thieves pulled off Italy's largest wine heist ever, stealing 30,000 bottles worth $5.8 million from a historic Tuscan winery.

→ Big dog breeds lose certain protective DNA markers roughly 35% faster than small ones, potentially explaining why they tend to have shorter lives.

→ Scientists have solved a 500-million-year-old fossil mystery.

→ Did you know Sydney Sweeney is related to Marilyn Monroe?

→ See an expert’s list of the world’s best bridges.

→ Why do Michelin-star chefs love Taco Bell?

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