August 20, 2026

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Hold our spot. Not content to simply spend their weekends waiting in lines for pastries that have gone viral on TikTok, New Yorkers are now bringing that energy to a less trendy pastime: buying movie tickets. Business Insider reports that the line at one Manhattan cinema to snag tickets to see Dune: Part 3 in 70-millimeter IMAX format when it opens in December stretched 1,500 feet. They’re one enormous bed sheet away from honoring Shai Hulud with an epic group costume.

—Dave Lozo, Molly Liebergall, Matty Merritt, Abby Rubenstein

In today’s newsletter, we’ll get into:

A promising cancer vaccine
The Treasury Department boosting the bond market
Why Jason Kelce is asking for your pee

Markets

Nasdaq

26,331.09

+0.16%

S&P

7,707.98

+0.21%

Dow

53,463.05

+0.22%

10-Year

4.653%

-5.0 bps

Bitcoin

$69,632.5

+7.86%

Marvell

$237.27

+9.85%

Data is provided by

*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 6:00pm ET. Here's what these numbers mean.

Markets: Stocks snapped their three-day losing streak like a graham cracker being prepared for s’mores yesterday, after the Treasury Department moved to shore up the bond market (more on that below). Moderna was the day’s biggest winner (we’ll get to that below too). Marvell also jumped on the news of a deal that would let Google buy up to $12.2 billion in shares of the chipmaker.

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MRNA BREAKTHROUGH

We’re one step closer to a cancer vaccine

Illustration showing a lasso coming out of a hypodermic needle, wrapping around a group of cancer cells to gather them up.

Niv Bavarsky

Moderna and Merck announced a breakthrough in late-stage trials of their jointly developed, personalized cancer vaccine yesterday, giving hope to melanoma patients living in fear of a recurrence and sending each company’s stock soaring.

The announcement pushed Moderna’s stock up 177% to $174 as of yesterday’s closing bell. It’s a shot (get it?) of good news for a company that has seen sales dwindle since it created an mRNA Covid-19 vaccine at warp speed under the direction of President Trump nearly six years ago. Meanwhile, Merck’s shares jumped 13%.

How the vaccine/drug combo works

In the trials, the mRNA injection coupled with Merck’s immunotherapy medication Keytruda gave patients a longer window before their melanoma returned after surgery. It also reduced the risk of the cancer spreading to other parts of the body.

But the bespoke nature of the treatment—as opposed to a one-size-fits-all approach—makes it expensive to produce:

After removing a melanoma tumor, scientists used a biopsy and blood sample to create a genetic profile of the cancer.
They found unique mutations likely to attack the immune system, encoded them into an mRNA, and created a vaccine that worked with Keytruda to keep the cancer in remission.

Big potential: Moderna and Merck are studying the treatment’s effect on other tumors, including lung cancer, bladder cancer, and renal cell carcinoma.

The positive results come as mRNA vaccines need a boost. Last year, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. canceled 22 government mRNA vaccine development contracts worth $500 million, arguing that “broader vaccine platforms” are more effective.

Looking ahead…The test results have yet to be independently reviewed—the drugmakers plan to present the data at an upcoming international medical meeting. Dr. Dean Li, president of Merck Research Laboratories, told CNBC the companies will speak to regulatory agencies “in the next few months.” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel hopes to have the treatment available by 2027.—DL

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World

Tour de headlines

Photo of the exterior facade of the US Treasury Department, showing its government seal at the entrance.

lastair Pike / Getty Images

💵 The Treasury Department steps in to support the bond market. In a surprise announcement yesterday, the Treasury Department said it would step up its plans to repurchase government debt, sending bond yields down sharply a day after 30-year bond yields reached their highest level in 19 years. Remember: bond yields and bond prices move in opposite directions, and investors worried about inflation were selling off bonds. The department’s decision to increase the buybacks “by at least double” this quarter was seen as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s reaction to recent high yields—which can increase the cost not just of government borrowing but also mortgages and other consumer loans. But while the market reaction was swift, it remains to be seen if the relief will be long-lasting.

💰 US national debt surpasses $40 trillion. Gross US government debt hit $40.047 trillion on Tuesday, the Treasury Department disclosed yesterday, reaching a symbolic milestone after years of escalating budget deficits. That’s up from $19.4 trillion a decade ago. Much of the current figure represents interest to investors who purchased US debt, but the US is also still borrowing heavily to cover expenses, including the war in Iran—it’s expected to borrow $2+ trillion this year alone, per the New York Times.

📦 Amazon plans drone delivery for 500 US cities and towns. The next overpriced moisturizer you impulse buy with one click at 3am might be delivered by drone, as Amazon plans to dramatically enlarge its Prime Air drone delivery service by the end of the year. The drones can deliver packages weighing less than 5 pounds within 30 minutes of the order being placed. It’s not necessarily about avoiding the cost of trucks and drivers (at least not yet) as the drones can only carry one package at a time, but Amazon hopes the speedy delivery adds convenience for shoppers, giving it a competitive edge. Launches are expected soon in the Chicago, Cleveland, Atlanta, Boise, and Syracuse areas, with more to come later.—AR

BEEP BOOP BACKFLIP

Dancing robot company pops 460% in Shanghai IPO

Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

To put it in terms familiar to anyone who’s seen clips of these humanoids, shares of China’s Unitree Robotics did more than a quadruple backflip yesterday in its stock market debut.

It’s a blowout showing from a company whose bots have attracted viral attention over the past year (see: Unitree robots doing synchronized kung fu, surviving martial-arts kicks, and mouthing off as the TikTok star Rizzbot):

Shares of Unitree surged nearly 630% in China, before closing up 460%.
The company raised $900 million in its debut. Strategic investors included Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, a group associated with tech giant Tencent, and several state-owned utility companies.
The IPO valued Unitree at ~$9 billion. That’s more than 200x its earnings last year.

This is the first humanoid company to go public in mainland China, and demand was overwhelming. Retail traders were 5,000x oversubscribed, as China’s world-leading humanoid market is predicted to balloon from $2 billion this year to $15 billion by 2030, per Morgan Stanley.

Zoom out: Unitree is the second major Chinese company in a month to list its shares in Shanghai rather than the US, underscoring China’s efforts to keep its tech players domestic and away from Silicon Valley.—ML

Reader Poll

Would you invest in a humanoid robot company?

Yes, they’re the future.
No, they creep me out.
Maybe, but I’d need more info on the specific company.

Three Headlines and a Lie

Three of these headlines are real and one is faker than a popcornless trip to the movies. Can you spot the odd one out?

US Army battalion reportedly giving soldiers time off to play GTA 6 in exchange for reenlisting
How this Massachusetts sanctuary takes in hundreds of guinea pigs from across the US
Kentucky middle school sends students home on first day of class with AI-generated educational materials full of inexcusable hallucinations, including a map labeled with “North Dahota” and “Olkchoma”
Hollywood assistants compete in first-of-its-kind games to prove who can parallel park the smoothest, score difficult reservations quickly, and stall famous people the longest

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Word of the Day

Today’s Word of the Day is: mouthfeel, meaning “the sensation created by food or drink in the mouth.” Thanks to James from New Jersey for a suggestion we can sink our teeth into. Submit another Word of the Day here.

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Written by Abigail Rubenstein, Dave Lozo, Molly Liebergall, and Matty Merritt

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