What happened
Elon Musk’s SpaceX makes its stock market debut on the Nasdaq today after selling 555.6 million shares at $135 each. The roughly $75 billion IPO is the largest ever and values SpaceX at $1.77 trillion. If the share price rises slightly after trading begins today, “Musk, already the world’s richest man, could become its first trillionaire,” at least on paper, The Associated Press said.

Who said what
“Like all things Musk, SpaceX’s IPO bucked the norms,” starting with its fixed $135 share price rather than a range that would let the market help determine the optimal price, The Wall Street Journal said. Musk will also “hold the majority of a special class of shares, giving him control over decisions related to company strategy, finances and personnel,” the AP said. Part of SpaceX’s sky-high valuation, and “Musk’s future compensation, depends on SpaceX eventually establishing a colony of at least 1 million people” on Mars.

What next?
“Musk and his investment bankers” are selling lofty propositions “about what the rocket and artificial intelligence company will achieve,” The New York Times said. But some analysts are “concerned with SpaceX’s finances,” and Musk’s “history of overpromising” has some investors “increasingly worried” that SpaceX “may burn them.”

What happened
The Supreme Court last night rejected Alabama’s emergency request to proceed with the execution of convicted murderer Jeffery Lee using nitrogen gas, despite lower courts finding the method unconstitutionally cruel. Three conservative justices — Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch — said they would have allowed last night’s scheduled execution to proceed. Lee, convicted of killing two people in a pawnshop in 1998, would have been the ninth inmate killed by nitrogen hypoxia since Alabama pioneered the oxygen-starvation method in 2024. 

Who said what
The Supreme Court’s decision “capped an extraordinary legal back-and-forth over the humaneness” of nitrogen hypoxia, The Associated Press said, and handed “at least a temporary, rare victory for opponents of capital punishment.” It is “highly unusual for the Supreme Court to stop an execution at the last minute,” The New York Times said, and this aberration “potentially sets the stage for a broader legal battle over the constitutionality” of the controversial execution tool. 

What next?
Alabama is “prepared to do whatever is necessary” to see Lee’s “lawful sentence carried out,” state Attorney General Steve Marshall said. Lee’s legal team urged Gov. Kay Ivey (R) to “restore the jury’s verdict of life without parole,” which the trial judge overruled using a since-abolished override option.

“As pervasive as ketchup” on fries, hot pepper sauce is an “obligatory accompaniment” for Caribbean cuisine, said the BBC. But a shortage of the fiery-flavored condiment is leaving taste buds unfulfilled in the Caribbean, as well as the U.S., Australia, Britain and other countries where consumers have developed a liking for its sweet, smoky punch.

It’s all about the main ingredient: Scotch bonnet, a scorching hot chilli pepper with an intense, fruity flavor. The plant is susceptible to “heavy rain and viruses,” the BBC said, and having been “walloped” by recent hurricanes, harvests have become devastatingly poor.

“From Jamaican jerk chicken to Haitian beef stew,” the Scotch bonnet pepper is a “foundational element” of Caribbean cuisine, said Chowhound. Not only does it pack a punch, but it also adds “sweetness and an unmistakable scent,” plus a “smoky, recognizable spiciness” that has been successfully marketed worldwide. But now it’s “particularly hard to source,” said the BBC.

The Scotch bonnet shortage, blamed by many on climate change, “may be lasting,” said Semafor. And that could change the agricultural landscape of the Caribbean. Continually disappointed by the “temperamental” Scotch bonnet, many producers are instead turning to “hardier crops,” including sweet potatoes, to make a living.

Some parts of the Caribbean do seem to have escaped unscathed, though. The island of Barbados has been “marked ‘safe’” from the hot pepper shortage, said Barbados Today. Its crops remain “resilient, pest-free and available for production.”