Can Monsanto, the manufacturer of the popular weedkiller Roundup, be held responsible for failing to apply a cancer warning to its label? That’s the question at the heart of arguments heard by the Supreme Court yesterday that could decide the future of the agriculture industry, the fate of settlements in pending lawsuits, and the outcome of the midterm elections. (So, you know, not that big of a deal.)

The justices reportedly asked the company’s lawyers tough questions but didn’t tip their hand on how they might ultimately rule. The case boils down to federal vs. state authority:

• The EPA has never deemed the active ingredient in Roundup, glyphosate, cancer-causing. Bayer, which bought Monsanto in 2018, says that means Roundup doesn’t need the warning label required by state laws.
• However, the World Health Organization found a link between glyphosate and cancer in 2015, prompting a wave of suits against the company.

There are thousands of legal cases against Bayer over Roundup, but the one before the high court involves John Durnell, who claims decades of using Roundup resulted in his blood cancer. In 2023, a Missouri jury awarded Durnell $1.25 million, and Bayer is appealing. A decision is expected by June.

A favorable ruling from SCOTUS on the Durnell case would limit Bayer’s liability in current and future lawsuits, as would the $7.25 billion class-action settlement proposed by the company in February.

Glyphosate saves farmers $21 billion annually, according to SCOTUS Blog, and is the most widely used herbicide in the US. CEO Bill Anderson said Bayer may stop selling Roundup due to lawsuits that he considers an “existential” threat to farmers.

The MAHA quandary: The Trump administration is defending Bayer and supporting a farm bill that includes new protections for glyphosate, rankling MAHA advocates who helped Trump get elected in 2024. Some protested outside the court yesterday, and one wellness influencer told CNN that glyphosate “is going to be a midterm issue” in November.—DL

OpenAI gets more freedom from Microsoft. Like your friend who finally got up the nerve to force the “what are we” conversation with their situationship, Microsoft and OpenAI are redefining the relationship. Their revamped partnership does away with Microsoft’s exclusive rights to sell OpenAI’s AI models, giving OpenAI the ability to work with Microsoft’s rivals amid a fight among tech companies to dominate the AI space. On the flip side, Microsoft will stop sharing revenue with OpenAI. OpenAI will still share revenue with major investor Microsoft through 2030—though the amount will be capped.

Iran offers to stop blocking the Strait of Hormuz—but with conditions. Although peace talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan were canceled this weekend, negotiations appear to be ongoing. Iran has offered to allow ships through the Strait of Hormuz, whose closure has spiked global energy prices, but only if the US ends its blockade of Iranian ships and the war while postponing nuclear talks, officials told multiple news outlets yesterday. President Trump’s national security team discussed the proposal, and officials later suggested that Trump was not satisfied with the offer. Ending Iran’s efforts to get a nuclear weapon has been a key concern for the president.

Trump says Disney should fire Jimmy Kimmel. The White House is feuding with the late-night TV host again, with the president calling on ABC and its parent company, Disney, to fire Kimmel over a joke he made last week that described First Lady Melania Trump as looking like “an expectant widow” in a mock White House Correspondents’ Dinner speech. With the actual dinner subsequently disrupted by a shooter who prosecutors allege was trying to assassinate Trump, both the president and the first lady criticized Kimmel on social media yesterday. Kimmel’s show was briefly suspended from the air in September after pressure from the Trump administration over comments he made about Charlie Kirk’s murder.—AR

Meta is in a pickle like someone who booked a vacation only to learn that their boss won’t grant their PTO request. A Chinese regulator yesterday blocked its acquisition of the AI startup Manus, halting a $2 billion corporate tie-up that was already underway.

Meta acquired Manus after the China-founded AI company moved to Singapore last year. Experts say China’s nixing of the deal is aimed at curbing the transfer of homegrown AI know-how to the US—and discouraging other AI companies from relocating abroad in order to seek foreign investment.

Minus Manus

China has reportedly banned two Manus top executives from leaving the country. Meanwhile, other Manus employees moved into Meta’s Singapore office and reportedly already began learning to use the coffee machine working alongside Meta staff.

Losing Manus would be a hit to Meta as the Facebook parent counted on the deal to bolster its own AI competitiveness:

• Manus’s AI agents wowed users last year by completing multi-step tasks like research and data analysis.
• The startup surpassed $100 million in annual subscription revenue last December.

Meta said yesterday the purchase was legal and that it hopes to resolve the issue.

Looking ahead: The deal’s status could come up when President Trump and China’s leader Xi Jinping meet next month to talk trade and geopolitics.—SK

The British have come to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary and mend a fractured relationship. With US–UK tensions running high, King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrived in Washington, DC, yesterday for a four-day trip that marks the King’s first official visit to the country since taking the throne.

Festivities kicked off yesterday with tea at the White House and a garden party at the British ambassador’s place. Today:

• Charles and Camilla will get a ceremonial military welcome at the White House and hear a speech from President Trump.
• The king will address both houses of Congress—only the second time a UK monarch has done so—before a state dinner at the White House.

Also on the royal itinerary: a stop in New York City for a visit to the 9/11 memorial site and face time with Wall Street tech leaders.

Not on the itinerary: seeing Prince Harry or mentioning Jeffrey Epstein. Charles isn’t expected to heed calls to meet with Epstein survivors or the brother of the late Virginia Giuffre, who accused then-Prince Andrew of assaulting.

Zoom out: Almost half of the British public disapproves of this visit, per a YouGov poll. Still, the UK likely sees it as a de-escalatory bandaid amid recent Trump threats, which reportedly include un-recognizing the Falkland Islands as a British territory to punish the UK’s lack of action in Iran.—ML

Dinner and a movie? In this economy? We have reached the point where a date night with two movie tickets can run you $100—and that doesn’t even include popcorn. Regal Cinemas recently sold out in mere minutes for $50 tickets to see Dune: Part Three projected in 70 millimeter IMAX film over its December opening weekend, according to the Wall Street Journal, which notes it’s part of a larger premium movie ticket trend:

• Last year, 17% of film tickets sold were for theaters with bigger screens and better sound (typically at a higher cost), compared with 13% in 2021.
• Cinema-goers snap up seats in these theaters faster than others, so theater owners are building more of them. By the end of last year, AMC had 517, which is 30% more than the chain had in 2021.

But the WSJ says Hollywood studios aren’t sold on movie theaters going big on screens and prices, fearing that upcharging the most devoted cinephiles could backfire by turning a night at the movies from a bit of fun to a special occasion.—AR