Good Morning!

It's Thursday, June 26, and in today’s edition of Rise & Recap, we look at:

• World’s richest 1% have made trillions of dollars since 2015. 

• What’s inside ultrawealthy prenups?

• Broke Gen Z is ditching night outs and embracing eating in.

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Spill The News

Iran’s Suspends Cooperation With Nuclear Watchdog

Iran has voted to suspend all cooperation with the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, following joint US-Israeli airstrikes on three key nuclear sites. The move, which now heads to Iran’s Guardian Council for approval, blocks independent verification of damage and obscures the location of highly enriched uranium. It signals Tehran’s tougher stance toward the West, after attacks that some European allies only tepidly supported.

Tehran acknowledged for the first time that its nuclear facilities were hit hard. “Our nuclear installations have been badly damaged, that’s for sure,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei, calling the US strikes a “detrimental blow” to international law.

Meanwhile, a leaked Defense Intelligence Agency report suggesting Iran’s nuclear program was set back only by months triggered political uproar. President Donald Trump rejected that claim at the NATO summit in The Hague, insisting the strikes led to the “virtual obliteration” of Iran’s nuclear capabilities, setting the program back “by decades.” CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the program was “severely damaged,” while other U.S. intelligence agencies continue to reassess the extent of the destruction.

World’s Richest 1% Has Just Gotten Richer Since 2015

Since 2015, the world’s richest 1% have grown their wealth by $33.9 trillion, according to a new Oxfam International report — an amount “more than enough to eliminate annual poverty 22 times over,” using the World Bank’s $8.30-a-day poverty line.

Billionaires alone have added $6.5 trillion to their fortunes in that time. Oxfam argues this growing concentration of wealth has fueled a shift toward oligarchy, allowing the ultra-wealthy to “shape political and economic decision-making in ways that increase their wealth.”

Released ahead of a development finance conference in Spain, the report, From Private Profit to Public Power, urges countries to tax the ultra-rich, invest in public services, and abandon the “Wall Street Consensus” — a model that prioritizes private-sector involvement in sectors like health and education. It references economist Gabriel Zucman’s 2024 proposal at the G20 for a 2% global billionaire wealth tax, estimated to raise $200–$250 billion annually.

Breakthrough Womb Test Offers Hope After Miscarriages

UK scientists have developed a new test to identify abnormalities in the womb lining that may cause recurrent miscarriages, offering fresh hope to women who've experienced pregnancy loss. The test is now being trialed at Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research, aiding more than 1,000 women. One participant, Charlie Beattie, had repeated miscarriages until this test revealed her womb was “not hospitable for babies.” After three months on sitagliptin, she carried a pregnancy to term. “She’s a tiny miracle,” Beattie said of her newborn daughter, June.

The test, developed by Warwick University, measures how well the womb lining undergoes a critical transformation needed to support embryo implantation. In many women with a history of miscarriage, “the womb itself may be setting the stage for pregnancy loss, even before conception takes place,” said Dr. Jo Muter, lead researcher.

Historically, research has focused on embryo quality, but this breakthrough highlights the womb's role. Around one in six pregnancies ends in miscarriage, with risk increasing after each loss. The test may also pave the way for repurposing existing drugs beyond sitagliptin, especially given that 80% of drugs are never tested on pregnant women.

Click-Worthy

🧬 HIV vaccine’s victory fades as U.S. withdraws support.

📉 Heart attack deaths fall, but what else is killing us.

🇺🇸 Trump limits intel after Iran leaks, sparking Democratic outrage.

🗳️ America’s political middle is in motion as independent registrations surge.

💍 Inside prenups of the ultrawealthy: jets, horses, NDAs, and drama.

🧔 ‘Daddy’ Trump hails NATO’s new 5% defense spending pledge; meets Ukraine’s Zelenskyy.

🏋️‍♂️ Turns out, weighted vests might really be worth the hype.

🏳️‍🌈 10 years on, same-sex marriage still under attack in the U.S.

💧 Is drinking cold water in hot weather okay? Experts burst myths.

🧒 CDC panel’s new advisers questions vaccines for children including hepatitis B.

Her Hustle

💸 Gen Z is broke and slashing spending as they cut back on dates and drinks, skip luxuries, and second-guess those $8 iced lattes. 

🧍‍♂️ Office loneliness is the new burnout and lonely employees don’t stick around. Create community, not just KPIs because connection might be your best retention strategy yet.

The Glow Guide

🧘‍♀️ Face yoga is the new Botox? People are stretching their way to snatched jawlines. Turns out, all you need is your hands, your face, and exaggerated vowels.

🚿 Itchy post-shower? Invest in filter attachments, they zap hard water, soothe itchy skin, and leave you fresh-feeling.

The Fame Frame

⚖️ Diddy trial: Prosecutors seek to drop some charges.

🎤 Taylor Swift’s country-glam Nashville performance at Travis Kelce’s event.

🎭 ‘White Lotus’ actor Carrie Coon embraces aging — no Botox, playing characters her real age.

🤔 ‘Missed that window’: Brad Pitt reflects on ‘gay experience’.

👑 King Charles hosts George and Amal Clooney at Buckingham Palace reception.

Weigh In

"Sometimes survival is a form of resistance."

— Tressie McMillan Cottom