🤖 AI meets improv

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👋 Good morning. May you have the confidence of a woodcock strutting around Manhattan this weekend. If you have no idea what we’re saying, there’s still time to get in on it: A couple of American woodcocks — they’re birds, ya weirdo — have brought their shimmying to Midtown Manhattan’s Bryant Park, drawing crowds of smartphone-wielding spectators. If you want to catch a glimpse, now’s the time — the birds will continue their migration north mid-April.

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NEWS FLASH

A banana peel and a bone are dropped into a green recycling bin.

♻️ Now that’s a trash idea: North Carolina-based Genesis 1 Technologies isn’t relying on us to recycle correctly — it’s forcing our hands. The startup’s Topper Stopper is a retrofitted lid that mounts directly onto recycling bins and scans items before opening. If an item isn’t recyclable, the lid stays shut, preventing contamination before it occurs. Sensors inside the unit can track when items are deposited, monitor fullness, and one day allow registered users to earn redeemable points for every item they recycle.

📓 Proud owner of a stack of unused journals? Here’s a new one to rule them all: Young American shoppers are flocking to Paris to buy Louise Carmen’s leather notebooks — and they don’t come cheap. The journals start at ~$143 and can cost as much as ~$711 with customizations. Since the TikTok-fueled trend began, US shoppers now drive 60% of the brand’s online orders as part of the $42.7B stationery market.

🍗 Charging with a side of chicken: EV maker BYD and Yum China Holdings — KFC’s parent company — announced a partnership bringing EV chargers to KFC drive-thru locations across China for "9-minute one-stop human and vehicle refueling.” BYD says its second-gen Blade battery can bring a vehicle from a 10% charge to 97% in nine minutes and already has 5k+ flash charging stations across China with a target of 20k by the end of 2026.

MORE NEWS TO KNOW

It can be done: In just 48 hours, manufacturing firm Boyce Technologies assembled a shelter with e-bike charging for NYC’s ~80k delivery workers, a notion that had been proposed over three years ago.
Watch out: Waymo robotaxis will identify potholes and share that data with transportation departments and Waze users through the Waze for Cities platform starting in five pilot markets: the Bay Area and the LA, Phoenix, Austin, and Atlanta metro areas.
Finally: Meta revealed Muse Spark, its first new AI model since it dropped $14B to hire Scale AI’s Alexandr Wang and his team for its Superintelligence Labs.
Back in business: Miyoko’s plant-based dairy products will return to US store shelves in May, according to its new owner, Prosperity Organic Foods, which also makes Melt Organic butters.

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THE BIG IDEA

A Pomeranian wearing a surgical mask below its jaw is seen next to a Mexican flag in front of a cityscape.

Injured pets are going on vacation

Medical care in the US is not cheap. That’s why so many people flock to places like Turkey and Mexico, where treatments ranging from hair plugs to tooth extractions can be significantly cheaper.

Unfortunately for pet owners, the same is true of vet care, which is why medical tourism isn’t just for people anymore but also their furry friends.

With vet costs climbing faster than inflation, up 60%+ since 2014, many Americans are sending their pets south of the border for more affordable MRIs and surgeries, with the help of a growing crop of businesses to chauffeur them there and back.

A paw-tential lifeline

San Diego-based MexiVet Express was founded in 2018 by Anna Ginsky, inspired by her own experience shuttling her dog across the border for cheaper vet visits, per The Cut.

Its employees, who act as translators between Mexican vets and American owners, make multiple trips to and from Tijuana each day, with up to five pets (dogs or cats) at a time and rates starting at $125.
The company says it’s possible your dog may even come back with a little español under their belt (er, collar). ¿Cómo se dice “cute”?

PetMex International — founded by two former MexiVet employees, given the high demand — offers a more personalized experience, taking just one pet down south at a time and providing a write-up of vet recommendations.

The cost savings can be huge

One LA-based dog owner, who was quoted $8k for diagnostic testing and an appointment with a specialist, paid just $180 for all that and more at a Tijuana vet.

The US veterinary community isn’t keen on the trend, given the difference between Mexican and American vet schools’ accreditation standards. But for pet parents who can’t afford treatment in America, it’s better than nothing.

A 2025 survey by Gallup and PetSmart Charities found over 50% of pet owners had forgone necessary vet care, often due to high costs.

A twofer with your floofer

For now, these US-Mexico vet liaisons only offer local transfers, but for those who don't live near the border — and maybe want to get some work done themselves — there’s always Turkey, where you can go under the knife at the same time as your pet.

Pet Clinic Turkey will plan your trip, book your hotel, and shuttle you to its clinic, where you can get a discount nose job while your cat gets surgery.

🔗

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

A teenager made how much? Here’s the breakdown of how a 19-year-old entrepreneur sold his $50m/year app to MyFitnessPal.

NEWSWORTHY NUMBER

Value of vehicles purchased in Montana, by Californians, since 2018 — including several luxury cars, like a $1.8m McLaren and a $1.26m Ferrari — as part of a tax evasion scheme that regulators have dubbed the “Montana Loophole,” per The New York Times.

By purchasing vehicles in sales-tax-free Montana, some of California’s richest cheapos were able to dodge ~$2m in Golden State levies, according to the state’s Department of Justice, which charged 14 people with conspiracy to commit tax evasion, perjury, and money laundering last month.

So, if you’re driving around California with a Montana license plate right now, you’re either on a very scenic road trip, or on the DOJ’s watch list.

AROUND THE WEB

📅 On this day: In 1859, author Samuel Clemens received a steamboat pilot’s license. This is how he came up with his pseudonym, Mark Twain, a riverboat term indicating a safe depth of two fathoms.

🖼️ That’s interesting: What art institutions that aren’t the Louvre consider their “Mona Lisa.”

📰 Newsletter: Half Baked sends you startup ideas that actually have legs every morning.

💔 That’s cool: Leave a message for a lost love.

🐦 Aww: Bird bath cam.

SHOWER THOUGHT

Everything smells like snot. You're just used to it. SOURCE

Today's email was brought to you by Juliet Bennett Rylah and Singdhi Sokpo.

Editing by: Sara "Sick as a dog" Friedman.

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🐾 Vet bills… woof.