• Markets: Stocks slipped yesterday as investors worried about new Middle East tensions after the US struck Iran for the first time since July on Sunday. But all three major indexes still managed to pull off a winning August.
• Stock spotlight: PG&E and Edison International took a big hit after California lawmakers blocked a bill that would have limited how much money people could recover from utilities when their equipment starts wildfires.

A NEW VERSION OF THE CEO IS AVAILABLE

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Your first day at a new job is always stressful—remembering names, filling out documents, locating the office snacks—but new Apple CEO John Ternus takes the big desk from Tim Cook today under slightly more pressure as he leads the company into the AI future.

Ternus, 51, joined Apple in 2001 and made a name for himself overseeing the company’s hardware division. Now that he’ll be at the top, he is facing big challenges, including:

• Playing catch-up: The company was already behind when Apple Intelligence and Vision Pro landed with thuds in 2024. The next big moment is in two weeks, when Apple releases a new AI-powered Siri it hopes will compete with ChatGPT and Claude.
• Talent acquisition: Apple is no longer the most coveted destination for hardware talent; hundreds of former Apple employees have fled to OpenAI.
• Memory shortage: AI companies are gobbling up chips, making them scarcer and more costly for Apple, which is passing those expenses on to customers.

Cook’s legacy

When he replaced Steve Jobs in 2011, Cook was filling perhaps the biggest shoes in tech boss history and that came with questions of whether he could continue Apple’s enormous growth. The answer was a resounding yes—shares climbed 2,000% under his (Apple) watch, the company briefly reached a $5 trillion market cap in July, and after selling 72 million phones in 2011, Apple will sell 255 million this year, per Counterpoint Research estimates.

The 65-year-old Cook won’t be retiring and giving up his company discount at Apple Stores—he’s staying on as executive chairman, a role where he can continue to work as a liaison with President Trump, aka the guy who schmoozes to keep tariffs from crushing profits.

Hard launch: Cook will be in attendance for the company’s annual product event next Wednesday, but he won’t take the stage. Instead, Ternus will face the public for the first time as CEO to introduce a new foldable iPhone.—DL

      

Sponsored By PwC

PwC CEO and US Senior Partner Paul Griggs notes that AI is creating a workforce dividend. The question is, are you tapping into yours?

In this article, Griggs shares his POV on the debate about AI and jobs and how AI, when leveraged thoughtfully, can actually boost performance and enable capabilities that make new frontiers possible.

Together, AI and the human workforce have the potential to create a new springboard of capacity and resources. Not messily, not in place of, but symbiotically.

Read his take here and see what organizations can ask themselves to understand where they stand.

World

Tour de headlines

Tupac Shakur in 1994. Raymond Boyd/Getty Images

⚖️ Duane “Keffe D” Davis convicted in 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur. A Nevada jury found Keefe, now 63, guilty of murder with a deadly weapon for allegedly orchestrating the hip-hop legend’s killing 30 years ago. It marks the first conviction in the decades-old high-profile slaying, as the case had gone cold until Keefe said in interviews and a 2019 memoir that he had been involved. Keefe, a leader of the Crips, said that he had ordered the killing and procured the gun as revenge amid a feud with the Bloods, a rival gang Shakur was affiliated with. Despite having publicly revealed this, Keefe pleaded not guilty, claiming he had made up the story for money. He said yesterday in court that he wanted to appeal. He could face life in prison.

📦 FTC delivers lawsuit accusing Amazon of secretly upping ad prices. The Federal Trade Commission and 22 states sued the e-commerce giant yesterday in a Seattle federal court, claiming that Amazon overcharged advertisers for sponsored listings. “These higher costs were largely passed on to American consumers,” the FTC’s chair said. Amazon fired back that the FTC “fundamentally misunderstands how advertisers operate” and has “no evidence of consumer price increases.” The two have tangled before: Amazon settled a different suit over Prime subscriptions for $2.5 billion last year, and a separate suit accusing Amazon of illegal monopolization is scheduled for trial next year.

🏛️ Met cancels planned Gala exhibit on designer Galliano after backlash. The first Monday in May 2027 is going to look different from what was originally planned after the Metropolitan Museum canceled plans for a Costume Institute exhibition and gala on John Galliano’s work. The replacement plan is TBD. The decision comes after the plan drew criticism from the Jewish community, local politicians, and museum donors. Galliano was fired from his position at Christian Dior and convicted of a crime in France over antisemitic and anti-Asian statements he made in 2011. After going to rehab and meeting with Jewish representatives, he became the creative director of Maison Margiela in 2014. A renowned designer, he has long been championed by Anna Wintour, who runs the $100,000-a-ticket Met Gala. The designer said on Instagram that he withdrew from the exhibition to avoid placing the museum in a difficult position.—AR

REROUTING

Illustration: Morning Brew Inc., Photos: Google, MapQuest

The hottest app of the moment is the same one that caused your family’s Great Roadtrip Meltdown of 2003: MapQuest. The platform shot from obsolescence to the top of the App Store charts in recent days after it said it wouldn’t change Lake Ontario to Lake America on its maps, despite President Trump’s executive order.

ICYMI: Amid renewed trade tensions between the US and Canada, Trump issued an order on Thursday directing federal agencies to rename the border-straddling body of water Lake America.

“We’re not changing it,” MapQuest announced on X. The company got 100,000+ likes on the post after failing to get more than two on any other post from last month. Business boomed:

• MapQuest for iOS became the No. 1 Navigation app in the US.
• Across all apps and games, it reached No. 8 in the US and No. 2 in Canada.
• Downloads surged 128% day-over-day from August 26 to August 30, according to Sensor Tower.

On the other hand…some X users called Google “pathetic” after it renamed Lake Ontario as Lake America for US-based Google Maps users on Sunday. Trump’s order didn’t require private companies to do this, but Google said it made the change for US users in keeping with the official federal database of geographic names. Google and Apple similarly complied last year re: Gulf of America. Trump has asked Apple to make the switch to Lake America, but as of last night, Apple Maps still showed “Lake Ontario.”—ML

      

Reader Poll

Sponsored By Timeline

Aging gracefully is a long(evity) game. Support healthy aging, no cold plunge required. Play The Longevity Game, a weekly word game by Timeline, and get a free sample of Mitopure® gummies. A daily dose is clinically proven to boost cellular renewal and increase muscle strength.* Complete the challenges for a chance to win a two-month supply of Mitopure® (valued at $200).

MAJOR PROBLEM

Unsplash

There’s about to be fewer feet sticking to frat floors and hands slapping the bag. US colleges are facing an enrollment cliff after the population of Americans aged 18 peaked last year.

Undergraduate enrollment is projected to decline by 13% in the next 15 years, according to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. Meanwhile, many schools are already in a pickle: Families are increasingly bargain hunting for the most generous financial aid as they doubt the value of a higher education. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has restricted international student visas, denting enrollment in the process.

College recession

Smaller, lesser-known colleges are the first to see tumbleweeds in their quads:

• At least 10 small schools, including Hampshire College and the California College of Arts, have closed this year or plan to shutter in 2027.
• Schools are increasingly dipping into their endowments to fill budget shortfalls, which often leads to downgrades in their credit rating. They are spending an average of 4.9% of their endowment in 2025, compared with 4.2% in 2016, per Bloomberg.

Some schools that need no introduction are also starting to feel the pinch. Syracuse University has an enrollment shortfall for this fall and a 1.5% budget deficit as international student enrollment fell by 50% last year, the Wall Street Journal reported.

But…Ivy League universities are still able to stay selective due to a high volume of applicants. Teens are also flocking to Southern state schools, lured by warm weather and relatively low tuition.—SK

      

Matty’s work-life balance

Studies say you should take a solo cooking class

Niv Bavarsky

On Tuesdays, the Brew’s Matty Merritt brings you the news you need to make life a little easier during your 9-5, 5-9, or OOO.

Science says the best way to be single is to have a good attitude about it. In three recent studies, researchers looked at “singlehood self-expansion potential,” or how willing folks were to meet new people, try new activities, or engage in personal growth—and they found the individuals’ outlook made all the difference.

Past research focused on self-expansion in marriages and close relationships and had assumed that was a necessary part of making it happen, the researchers told the Washington Post, saying their work now shows that such growth can happen solo too.

A self-fulfilling prophecy: The researchers found that single people who believed they could grow while single and that singlehood isn’t something to be escaped were more likely to take part in activities that opened them up to new experiences and perspectives. These activities include trying new restaurants, hiking, playing sports, and even connecting to others. Plus, being single doesn’t mean you always have to go it alone: The studies showed that up to 82% of people had family or friends join them on moments of self-expansion.—MM

Sponsored By Shop

Find products that click. Spend $200 and get $50 in Shop Cash during Shop’s Fall into Place Sale. Score deals on the brands you already love and a few worth discovering—Caraway, OSEA, Flamingo Estate, Nécessaire, Brooklinen, Salt & Stone, and more. Everything you’ve been meaning to buy, finally on sale. Start shopping.

News

What else is brewing

• At least two people were killed by a flash flood in the Grand Canyon over the weekend, and rescuers were still trying to locate more than a dozen missing people yesterday.
• The Supreme Court ruled 5–4 that construction can continue amid legal challenges to the $400 million ballroom President Trump is adding to the White House.
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pitched the US’ economic vision while hosting G20 finance ministers.
• Eli Lilly has agreed to acquire Merida Biosciences for up to $2.875 billion. The company has been on an acquisition spree with its GLP-1 riches.
• Kalshi issued its first lifetime ban, booting former Rep. George Santos from the platform for insider trading.
• Lionel Messi announced his retirement from Argentina’s national team yesterday after nearly two decades and six World Cups.

recs

• Ten trends an interior designer says look good in photos—but not real life.
• This game asks you to guess the mystery animal by testing your knowledge of its extended family tree.
• How to take better photos with your phone.
• An air freshener that lasts up to 600 hours, with the option to release its scent only when you’re home.**

^{*A message from our sponsor. **This is a product recommendation from our writers. When you buy through this link, Morning Brew may earn a commission.}

Play

Brew Mini: Your sample clue of the day is “Tennis star whose last name is also the city in which she was born.” Play the Mini here.

Name what’s next

What comes next in the following sequences?

1. Charlie, Delta, Echo…
2. Magical Mystery Tour, The Beatles, Yellow Submarine…
3. I, V, X…
4. Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut…
5. Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan…

Answer

1. Foxtrot (NATO alphabet)
2. Abbey Road (Beatles albums in chronological order)
3. L (ascending Roman numerals)
4. New Jersey (the smallest US states by area)
5. Daniel Craig (James Bonds in chronological order)

Word of the Day

Today’s Word of the Day is: obsolescence, meaning “the process of becoming outdated.” Thanks to Pauline from San Diego, CA, for the relevant suggestion. Submit another Word of the Day here.