Sunday, May 31, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 2005, Former FBI Assistant Director W. Mark Felt was identified as “Deep Throat,” the secret source who helped unravel the Watergate scandal.

Stamp collecting peaked in the U.S. in the 1970s and ‘80s with close to 20 million collectors. But over-inflated prices and the emergence of email killed the stamped letter—and some of the enthusiasm for the hobbyists, as shown in today’s Whatever Happened To... section.

Tomorrow, Flyover Updates officially launches, bringing the day's biggest developing stories straight to your phone each afternoon. Each update is designed to be quick, easy to read, and brief—giving you the most important news happening after your morning edition lands without cluttering your inbox or taking up your day. If you'd like to stay informed between editions of The Flyover, sign up today.

In case you missed it, this week on The Flyover Podcast, Ayla Brown highlighted a groundbreaking new treatment that researchers say could dramatically lower “bad” cholesterol with just a single dose, potentially eliminating the need for daily medications. Cardiologists are calling the approach “revolutionary,” saying it could one day transform how heart disease is treated. Listen here.

Later today, you’ll receive a message from our sponsor, EnergyX, about a current investment opportunity and the lithium extraction technology it’s developing to help meet rising demand from EVs, data centers, and grid storage.

You shouldn’t be getting your news from social media. It’s designed to activate your anxiety, not protect your peace. That’s why we read The Pour Over. It’s one of the sources we trust to deliver the facts, while filtering out the outrage.

Bus Driver Facing Charges in Fatal Crash

The driver of the bus involved in the I-95 crash that killed five people and injured 44 others in Virginia on Friday was a non-English speaker, according to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

Charges are pending for Jing S. Dong, a Chinese native with U.S. citizenship, who was driving the motorcoach from New York City to Charlotte, North Carolina when it struck a Chevrolet Suburban near Quantico, just after 2:30 a.m.

Duffy posted on social media: “Any company, trainer, or school that contributed to putting an unqualified driver on the road will face intense scrutiny.”

In addition to the 25-year-old woman who was killed when the bus struck the Suburban, the accident claimed the life of a family of four when it caught fire after the collision.

US Upholds Hormuz Blockade

The U.S. military stopped another merchant vessel trying to break through the American blockade of Iranian ports on Saturday.

The Gambia-flagged bulk carrier was disabled by U.S. aircraft in the Gulf of Oman, marking the sixth time the military has stopped a ship trying to breach the blockade.

Meanwhile, President Trump is weighing a ceasefire extension with Iran that would restore free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a central condition of a tentative agreement reached between the two sides last week. At stake is a 60-day extension for new talks on ending Iran’s nuclear program.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on Saturday that the U.S. is “more than capable” of resuming war with Iran.

Adult Smoking Reaches Record Low

Cigarette smoking among U.S. adults reached an all-time low of 9% last year, according to findings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the mid-1960s, 42% of U.S. adults were smokers. The rate has been gradually dropping for decades, due to cigarette taxes, tobacco product price hikes, smoking bans, public education campaigns, and changes in the social acceptability of lighting up in public.

The use of electronic cigarettes has increased among adults, but held steady in 2025, at about 7%.

Another recent study shows a connection between violence exposure and increased teen use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes, suggesting a possible coping mechanism.

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The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes, straight from the heart of the country. Clicking the link will take you directly to these stories:

➤ A secretly recorded conversation triggered a firing and renewed a debate over faith in sports. (Hear More)

➤ A historic Ohio church was honored for helping hundreds escape slavery. (Listen Now)

➤ Lottery winners in these states got the jackpot and dodged an extra tax bite. (Podcast Available)

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➤ The San Antonio Spurs erased a 3-2 series deficit and dethroned the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder with a 111-103 Game 7 victory on Saturday, advancing to the NBA Finals behind Victor Wembanyama’s 22 points and seven rebounds. (More)

➤ Coco Gauff’s French Open title defense ended on Saturday as Anastasia Potapova rallied for a 4-6, 7-6 (1), 6-4 third-round victory, outlasting the American in long baseline exchanges at Roland Garros. (More)

➤ Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby admitted placing about $90,000 in bets over four years, including at least 40 wagers on Indiana games while he played for the Hoosiers, as he fights an NCAA ruling that could cost him his 2026 eligibility. (More)

➤ U.S. defender Chris Richards will miss today’s friendly against Senegal after tearing two ankle ligaments, leaving his availability for next month’s World Cup in doubt as the roster deadline approaches. (More)

➤ Former Mets manager Bobby Valentine revived his iconic fake mustache and sunglasses disguise Friday night, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Citi Field on the eve of his induction into the Mets Hall of Fame. (See Disguise and Pitch)

Weekly Market Report Previous Week

▲	NASDAQ National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations	26,972.62	1.44%
▲	SPX S&P 500	7,580.06	0.91%
▲	DJI Dow Jones Industrial Average	51,032.46	0.68%
▼	BTC Bitcoin	$73,372.52	-4.69%
▼	GOLD Per Ounce	$4,560.50	-0.27%
▼	SILVER Per Ounce	$75.62	-3.22%
▼	OIL West Texas Intermediate Crude	$87.36	-6.95%

Bitcoin, gold, silver, and oil are traded 24 hours a day.

➤ The U.S. Space Force has awarded Elon Musk's IPO-bound SpaceX a $4.16 billion ‌deal for a satellite program designed to track and ‌target airborne threats. (More)

➤ Shares of Dell Technologies rose more than 32% on Friday after reporting its fastest pace for revenue growth for any period since returning to the public market in 2018. (More)

➤ Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is preparing to cut nearly 1,400 workers across Washington state as the company restructures operations around AI initiatives. (More)

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Today's Rotator section is brought to you by:

Ladies and gentlemen, here are our most-clicked stories of the week:

➤ A new one-time cholesterol treatment is raising hopes that some patients could eventually stop taking daily medication. Early trial results showed the therapy cut “bad” cholesterol by up to 62% after a single infusion. (Podcast Available)

➤ The Eastern European nation of Georgia unsealed a 40,000-bottle wine collection once owned by Josef Stalin and plans to auction the rare French and Georgian vintages to fund a wine education school. (More)

➤ A ranking of nursing home costs by state shows Alaska as the most expensive at nearly $334,000 annually, while Texas ranks among the least expensive at roughly $68,000 per year. (See Rankings)

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➤ U.S. officials believe a Chinese-made shoulder-launched missile likely downed an American F-15 over Iran last month, while investigators also examine reports that China provided Tehran with advanced radar systems. (More)

➤ President Trump endorsed South Carolina Lt. Gov. Pam Evette for governor, bypassing Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman in a crowded Republican primary field. (More)

➤ Three Latvian climbers died after falling near Denali Pass on Alaska’s Mount McKinley, while rescuers airlifted a fourth climber to a hospital and evacuated the remaining expedition members. (More)

➤ Five men trapped for more than a week in a flooded Laos cave have been rescued, while search teams continue looking for two others who remain missing after entering the cave to search for gold. (More)

➤ Wildlife officials tranquilized and captured a mountain lion that wandered through a Santa Monica neighborhood Friday, prompting street closures and shelter-in-place warnings for nearby residents. (See Lion)

➤ Gen Z accounted for nearly 40% of North American movie audiences in 2025, helping drive box office growth as young moviegoers flock to theaters for affordable, social experiences. (More)

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Whatever happened to stamp collecting?

It started with a single British penny. When the world's first adhesive postage stamp, the "Penny Black," bearing a profile of Queen Victoria, went on sale in May 1840, people began hoarding them almost immediately. (You can buy one in mint condition today on eBay for about $4,000).

Within a decade, collecting had spread across Europe and to America, and by the 1880s, an estimated 25,000 U.S. enthusiasts were already cataloguing and trading. In 1893, the first U.S. commemorative series, honoring the World Columbian Exposition, sent interest soaring further. A new hobby had found its audience.

By the early 1970s, philately wasn't just a hobby—it was practically a civic institution. The U.S. Postal Service estimated that 20 million Americans collected stamps, nearly one in 10 people. Kids soaked them off envelopes, catalogued them in albums, and traded them at school.

The USPS leaned in hard, issuing splashier commemorative designs and even declaring October "National Stamp Collecting Month" in 1981. And collectors developed different styles of holding and displaying their treasure, as this video shows.

Then the bubble popped. As the collector base swelled through the late '70s, speculators piled in, and stamp values doubled year over year between 1977 and 1980. When that frenzy collapsed, it left a bad taste.

The organized hobby kept growing—the American Philatelic Society peaked at nearly 58,000 members in 1988—but decline had set in. What followed was a slow bleed that the philately hobby couldn't survive. Email killed the stamped letter. Self-adhesive stamps cut off the easiest entry point for new collectors. The Junior Philatelic Society of America folded entirely. A generation grew up and a stamp album felt about as relevant as a butter churn.

The APS today counts roughly 23,000 members, less than half its 1988 peak, and many collections assembled over decades are worth a fraction of their former value on resale.

Two bright spots remain. At the ultra-rare end, serious money still trades—a single 1856 British Guiana stamp fetched $9.5 million at Sotheby's in 2017. Here’s a list of the 10 most valuable U.S. stamps.

And for anyone who just loves stamps, they’ve never been cheaper or easier to find online. Here's a tutorial for starting your own collection.

Are you a stamp collector or a former stamp collector? Let us know your thoughts by replying to this email.

No goggles? No problem. A Navy SEAL shows how the "air pocket" method can restore clear underwater vision by trapping a small bubble of air around the eyes with nothing more than cupped hands and a controlled exhale.

Have you ever collected stamps?

Yesterday's Results:

Have you ever participated in a live auction?

Yes, bought something: 63%
Yes, but didn't buy: 21%
No, but I'd like to: 12%
No, doesn't interest me: 4%

Daily Quote

"When Trump was elected, things changed, and we knew that he would target Hunter. And we just could not let our son go to jail on a charge that no one would go, I mean, no one has ever gone to jail for."

— Former First Lady Jill Biden, on former President Biden's decision to pardon their son, Hunter, who was convicted on three felony charges related to a gun purchase.