The US and Iran reached a two-week ceasefire agreement following weeks of escalating conflict, finding a way to pivot from potential large-scale air strikes across the country.

The Associated Press reported that the agreement was mediated by Pakistan, with officials suggesting it could lead to a longer-term pause in fighting.

In the hours before the deadline, Donald Trump issued stark warnings online, including that a “whole civilization [would] die” if Iran failed to reach a deal (see the post here).

Not to mention, tensions were already at a high. The President’s threat came shortly after:

Although tensions are simmering… significant disagreements remain over the terms of the ceasefire, particularly around Iran’s nuclear program, sanctions relief, and control of key waterways like the Strait of Hormuz.

The ceasefire is good news for gas prices: Following the announcement, oil prices fell well below $100 per barrel, setting the stage for a sharp drop in gas prices. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 and Dow posted big gains, and airline stocks jumped, with United, Southwest, and Delta all climbing sharply.

Not even a day later, while global markets celebrated the news of a peace agreement, geopolitical tension began stirring again after Israel carried out strikes in Lebanon that killed at least 303 people, stating that Hezbollah was excluded from the ceasefire:

Diplomacy is in full effect: Vice President JD Vance said the situation in Lebanon was a "legitimate misunderstanding," and is set to lead a US team in peace talks in Pakistan later today. Iran’s ambassador in Islamabad said its negotiating team would arrive soon after, but later deleted the post.

We’re tracking this issue live on NextGen+. Click the button below to see its status, momentum, and other key developments.

The upper middle class has become the largest income group in the US as a growing number of Americans gain a better financial footing, according to a new analysis from the American Enterprise Institute.

The analysis defines the upper middle class as a family of three earning between $133,000 and $400,000, which is five to 15 times the poverty line.

Now more than ever, American families are falling within those income levels, leaving the lower tiers of the middle class to experience a noticeable decline:

What’s driving the growth? The rise of the upper middle class has been largely fueled by higher-paying white-collar jobs (particularly among college-educated workers) and the increasing popularity of dual-income households.

Despite climbing the income ladder… many upper-middle-class households say they don’t necessarily feel financially secure, as rising costs for essentials, especially housing, education, and healthcare, continue to put pressure on budgets.

A new report finds that earning a graduate degree increases lifetime earnings by about 17% on average, but the payoff significantly changes depending on the particular field of study.

While graduate degrees in law, medicine, and pharmacy tend to deliver strong returns, secondary degrees in areas like social work and psychology can actually leave graduates worse off financially.

According to a recent American University study that tracked 800,000 Texas public university students’ earnings before and after grad school from 1992 to 2019, adjusted returns varied widely by degree:

What’s with the difference? The fields with positive returns tend to lead to high-paying, in-demand careers that more than offset tuition costs and lost earnings, while the negative-return fields often have lower salaries and longer training periods that don’t fully make up for the cost of graduate school.

However, it’s not always about money: Researchers noted that many people pursue graduate school for reasons beyond higher earnings, such as obtaining certifications, expanding professional networks, or other personal and career goals.

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A new study finds that the cost of raising a child in the US has surpassed $300,000, with child care emerging as one of the largest and most burdensome expenses for families.

The estimate includes major expenses like housing, food, child care, transportation, and health insurance, but notably doesn’t include college, which could add another significant financial burden.

The cost also varies widely depending on location:

It’s getting increasingly out of reach: In some cases, households would need to earn over $400,000 per year to keep child care spending within recommended affordability limits. At the same time, the average cost of child care breaks down to about $16,800 per year for a typical middle-income family, well above what experts consider “affordable.”

This afternoon, the historic Artemis II mission is set to splash down in the Pacific Ocean after completing humanity’s first crewed moon mission in over 50 years, paving the way for lunar and Martian missions.

Just a few days ago, the crew of the Artemis II set the record for the farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth (watch the video here) after flying around the dark side of the moon.

But that’s not the only record that was broken… the mission also became infamous for having the first ever toilet onboard a lunar spacecraft (that’s worth $23 million and ended up breaking anyway) and for having IT issues on Microsoft Outlook. Earth problems always persist, it seems.

Despite the potty problems… NASA is hoping the mission will lead to a moon landing in 2028, with the foundations for a permanent lunar base between 2029 and 2032, and a Mars mission not long after.

> Google’s new AI-generated search summaries are under scrutiny after studies found they provide an accurate response about 90% of the time. Since Google processes trillions of searches per year, that equates to around tens of millions of inaccuracies per hour.

> People who never marry are significantly more likely to develop cancer—70% higher for men and 85% higher for women—with researchers pointing to differences in support systems and financial stability.

> Stanford Law School overtook Yale Law School as the top law school in the nation, ending Yale’s 36-year run as the number one, according to the latest US News & World Report rankings.

> Fossilized ripple patterns in Martian rocks suggest the planet once had an Earth-like atmosphere strong enough to support powerful winds, adding to evidence that Mars may have once had a climate similar to Earth’s.

> Scientists say psychedelics disrupt the brain’s usual patterns, allowing different networks to talk to each other in new ways, which may explain both hallucinations and potential mental-health benefits.