Good morning. Villanova University is on a heater. First, alumnus Robert Francis Prevost (a math major) was elected on Thursday as the first American pope, taking the name Pope Leo XIV.
And that could be good news for the New York Knicks. The surging “Nova Knicks” boast three stars who went to the same school as the new pope, which many consider an auspicious sign as they take their surprise 2–0 series lead over the Celtics back to Madison Square Garden this afternoon.
While Villanova may be having a moment, it still doesn’t have the thing it wants the most: being known as a Philly school.
—Molly Liebergall, Sam Klebanov, Matty Merritt, Abby Rubenstein, Neal Freyman
Markets: Stocks fell yesterday as investors await news from the trade talks between the US and China (more on that below) with the impatience of the last person in the hourlong line at a bakery whose pastries have gone viral. One notable exception: Lyft, which soared after the ride-hailing company upped its share buyback plan and said consumer demand is holding strong.
iOS developers are busy grinding out app updates that would’ve gotten them suspended from the App Store until very recently.
ICYMI: In a stunning blow to Apple’s “walled garden,” a federal judge last week ordered the elimination of the tech giant’s 27% fee on App Store developers who direct users to make purchases outside of their apps. Apple already takes up to a 30% commission on anything you’ve double-clicked to confirm in-app.
With the court’s blessing, popular services that used to avoid offering in-app purchases are adding link-outs in their apps to make transactions easier for users in the US:
You can now see subscription prices on Spotify’s app and click to go directly to the corresponding section on its website. It’s also now able to hyperlink a three-month free trial offer within the app.
The Kindle app added its first “Get Book” button, which takes readers to 1-Click Amazon checkout.
Patreon also added external purchasing options. And the monetization platform said that its creators probably won’t have to comply with Apple’s previous mandate to migrate subscriptions to iOS by November. That change likely would’ve led Patreon creators to increase their membership prices by 30% to counter Apple’s in-app commission.
The retro gaming simulator Delta Emulator also added a link-out to its Patreon memberships, which the app’s developer said couldn’t even be mentioned in-app before last week’s ruling “without giving Apple 27% of donations.”
Fortnite is returning. Epic Games applied for its goofy shooter to rejoin the App Store yesterday, five years after Apple booted it for directing users to make transactions on its own website.
Since the judge’s ruling last week, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has been on a victory lap—at least for now. Apple asked the court to halt the order’s enforcement this week as it appeals the decision.
A hit to Apple’s bottom line: With fewer commission fees, the tech giant could make $2 billion less per year from US App Store sales, which brought in $11 billion for the company last year, Morgan Stanley estimates.—ML
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Newark Airport lost radar and radio contact with planes—again. Apologies to the aerophobes, but Newark Airport’s air traffic controllers lost radar and communications connections to planes for 90 seconds at around 4am yesterday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. A similar outage struck the troubled transit hub last week. During yesterday’s outage, one controller told a FedEx pilot that radar screens were dark and urged the pilot to “contact your airline and try to get some pressure from them to fix this stuff.” The tech snafu delayed about a third of flights coming into the airport and caused about 10% of flights both in and out to be canceled. On Thursday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy released a plan to update the air traffic control system, but said it would require billions of dollars from Congress.
Tufts student detained by ICE released on judge’s orders. A federal judge ruled yesterday that immigration authorities did not have sufficient evidence to detain Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts PhD student whose arrest on a Massachusetts street more than six weeks ago was one of several high-profile detentions of international students. Noting that the only evidence against her was that she had penned a pro-Palestinian op-ed, the judge said, “Her continued detention potentially chills the speech of the millions and millions of individuals in this country who are not citizens.” She will now be able to continue her studies while the government continues its immigration case against her. Hours later, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said the government is “actively looking at” suspending habeas corpus, i.e., the right to challenge one’s detention, in immigration cases.
Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter died. Souter, who died peacefully at home at age 85 on Thursday, was a Republican appointed to the high court by President George H. W. Bush in 1990, but he became a reliable liberal vote on contentious issues, including abortion. He retired in 2009 and returned to his native New Hampshire, paving the way for President Barack Obama to appoint his replacement. Souter bought a new home shortly after his retirement, reportedly because he feared the farmhouse he grew up in couldn’t handle the weight of the books he brought home with him.—AR
China tariffs are officially making waves in US waters: The first batch of Chinese goods hit with the 145% duty imposed by President Trump is arriving in American ports. Over 12,000 containers filled with products for Home Depot, Procter & Gamble, Ikea, and other familiar brands have either already reached California ports or are due to dock in the coming days.
Meanwhile, in landlocked Switzerland…
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will meet with his Chinese counterpart, Vice Premier for Economic Policy He Lifeng, today to discuss the trade-paralyzing tariffs, as well as non-tariff trade barriers.
Yesterday, Trump appeared to suggest he’s open to deescalation, posting on Truth Social: “80% Tariff on China seems right! Up to Scott B.” Analysts say such a high duty would still make much of US–China trade unfeasible, but there are glimmers of hope for businesses yearning for trade tensions to ease:
Bessent is believed to be less of a tariff fan than other members of Trump’s team.
Still, experts don’t expect any big breakthroughs this weekend, saying that the best-case scenario would be an agreement to…keep talking.
Beyond China: Trump says trade deals with several countries are in the works, after he announced a framework for a trade agreement with the UK this week.—SK
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Moms don’t want a brunch buffet or wilting Trader Joe’s flowers this weekend: They want to party. Yesterday, over 3,000 people descended on Miramar Beach, FL, for the third annual Mothership Weekend, a three-day festival put on by singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile.
If you’ve never heard of Mothership or Carlile’s other, all-inclusive fest in Mexico, “Girls Just Wanna Weekend,” you’re probably not part of the “Bramily,” or the festival’s target demographics: Seventy percent of ticket holders are 45 and up, while 83% are women.
It’s not that Dad can’t come, it’s just that the festivals are set up to speak to middle-aged mothers in everything from the branding to lineups that are light on male performers.
The bills feature a range of ’90s, Mom Rock legends, like Alanis Morissette and Sheryl Crow, as well as newer queer and nonbinary artists that share the earnest acoustic Lilith Fair-vibes, like Joy Oladokun and pop band MUNA.
The fests provide luxury amenities, non-concert experiences, and packages that allow attendees to reserve seats for the entire weekend.
The future of festivals. While the brand-splattered Coachella and other giant festivals have experienced slowing ticket sales over the last few years, pricey, niche festivals like Carlile’s—which costs $895 per person for a 3-day pass and a condo—and even floating music cruises are attracting repeat customers.—MM
It took less than three minutes for two men to fell an iconic sycamore tree that had stood in England for more than 150 years, but now the pair convicted for it are facing facing up to 10 years in prison. Yesterday, a jury found Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers—both of whom claimed they were at home the night the beloved tree was hacked down with a chainsaw—guilty of two counts of criminal destruction for cutting down the tree and damaging the ancient site it crashed into.
The Sycamore Gap tree was not England’s oldest or tallest sycamore, but it was a popular tourist destination thanks to its picturesque location between two hills along the remains of Hadrian’s Wall, a Roman fortification built in the year 122. The tree also gained international fame when it appeared alongside Kevin Costner in the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. The pair allegedly opted to chop it down in September 2023 in what prosecutors described as a “moronic mission” and the “arboreal equivalent of mindless thuggery.” A video of the tree being cut down, which was taken on Graham’s cell phone, quickly went viral, drawing condemnation from around the world. The video later became a key piece of evidence in the trial.—AR
Google agreed to pay $1.4 billion to the state of Texas to settle data privacy allegations.
President Trump said he’d be “OK” with a tax increase for the richest Americans but that Republicans “should probably not do it.”
Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pope, led his first Mass as the pontiff yesterday and warned that people are turning away from faith and toward “technology, money, success, power, or pleasure.”
The FDA on Friday approved the first at-home test to screen for cervical cancer, giving women an alternative to pelvic exams, the test’s maker, Teal Health, said.
The mayor of Newark was arrested while protesting outside an ICE detention center.
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Brew Crossword: By the time you finish today’s puzzle, you’ll know what you’re getting for lunch. Play it here—and save your appetite.
Open House
Welcome to Open House, the only newsletter section looking for the wildest places to stand. We’ll give you a few facts about a listing and you try to guess the price.
Zillow
Today’s home is in Dolton, IL. It’s less than a mile from the childhood home of Pope Leo XIV, and there is something truly spiritual about that giant, two-tiered deck. Amenities include:
5 beds, 3 baths
Enclosed front porch
Bold use of tile
How much for the Chicago-ish home?
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Today’s Word of the Day is: arboreal, meaning “relating to trees.” Thanks to Jenna from Burlington, VT, for a suggestion with roots. Submit another Word of the Day here.
Newark Airport lost radar and radio contact with planes—again. Apologies to the aerophobes, but Newark Airport’s air traffic controllers 
Tufts student detained by ICE released on judge’s orders. A federal judge 
Former Supreme Court Justice David Souter died. Souter, who 
Care for your hair: 
