(Timothy A. Clary/Getty Images)

Hey Snackers,

Single chord changes, especially in experimental music, aren’t often much to get too excited about, but yesterday’s addition of an eighth note in a performance of John Cage’s “ORGAN²/ASLSP (As SLow aS Possible)” is a pretty big deal in the pretty narrow world of avant-garde art projects that span six centuries.

A single small organ in Germany has now played the same Cage composition for 25 years and is, as of yesterday’s new chord, 4% of the way through the piece, meaning that it should wrap up in just 614 years from now. Apparently the full thing still won’t drag as much as the local school orchestra recital you went to that time.

A relatively quiet Wednesday, as the S&P 500 finished slightly lower after a four-day winning streak. Oil prices were flat ahead of a potential deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

MOON LANDING

A huge raft of SpaceX shares are hitting the market today

For anyone who’s followed the high drama of the journey that SpaceX has been on since its record-breaking IPO less than two months ago — and it’s been difficult to avoid, if we’re all honest — you may expect to see a little more turbulence yet.

Today, up to 911.5 million shares held by SpaceX employees and early investors will be made available for sale, as “the most talked-about lockup in the history of IPO lockups,” as one brokerage firm CEO put it, begins to loosen.

To provide a little context, the company’s June IPO put roughly 639 million shares out to the public, meaning that this first tranche of unlocked stock would (if literally everyone sold up) more than double the current market supply.

Obviously there’s been a lot of speculation about what the potential flood of new shares could do to SpaceX’s price, which was down more than 20% going into its first ever earnings report on Tuesday, and further subdued coming out the other side.

Making things a little more tricky to navigate for insiders and investors alike is the structure of the SpaceX lockup release plan, which Bernstein analyst Douglas Harned noted is an “unusually complex scheme” compared to a traditional 180-day expiry date.

This first batch of shares won’t even be the biggest unlock this year; a further 1.3 billion (28% of shares subject to the 180-day lockup period) will be released after the company’s next quarterly earnings release. Almost exactly one year on from the company’s IPO, a whopping 6.4 billion shares of Class A common stock (representing Elon Musk’s total shares in the company) will become available.

THE TAKEAWAY

SpaceX has already had a bumpy ride on the public market so far, and its staggered lockup scheme might only add to that. Indeed, as Harned pointed out in a note released on Sunday before the company’s earnings this week: “We have found many investors unwilling to buy SpaceX shares… based on fundamentals, given the lockup overhang that will exist at least into December.”

— Tom Jones

That’s how many students will have to retake the entrance exam for UNAM, the largest university in Mexico, after the institution’s first fully-remote, AI-monitored admissions test resulted in 16% of the 160,000 prospective students scoring over 100 on the 120-question exam. From 2021 to 2025, just 3.5% of applicants managed the same.

What else we're Snackin'

Uber confirmed that it will plug more than $10 billion into its robotaxi efforts in the coming years, though the stock fell yesterday after its profit outlook for Q3 disappointed investors.
US private companies added just 44,000 new jobs in July, down from 95,000 in June and the lowest level since January, while employees who switched jobs saw their pay rise by 7% on average — the highest level since August 2025, per ADP figures.
It’s all part of the game… Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake Partners, and a PE company headed by Jared Kushner completed the $55 billion acquisition of EA, the videogame company behind Madden, The Sims, and Battlefield.
Google shook up its AI leadership ranks. The market did not care for that.

Snack Fact of the Day

Refuse workers in Italy salvaged a man’s €1 million ($1.15M) winning lottery ticket after a misunderstanding saw him throw it away in a store in Bitonto. The waste operatives spent two days sifting through the contents of a garbage truck and miraculously found the winning slip on Tuesday.

Thursday

Oscar Health, Datadog, Constellation Energy, Warner Bros. Discovery, Peloton premarket, Cloudflare, DraftKings, Atlassian, Airbnb, Rigetti Computing after the close.

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 6, 2026

Good morning! On this day in 1993, 18 tornadoes struck southeastern Virginia, including a deadly F4 that ravaged Petersburg, Colonial Heights, and Hopewell. The outbreak killed four people, injured 256, and caused $52.5 million in damage—Virginia’s rarest mid-summer tornado event.

Old Dominion University researchers are working on a device that can sweep away ticks. Learn more in Et Cetera, then hit reply to let us know if you’ve ever contracted a tick-borne disease.

Some debates polarize a family faster than almost anything else, and this is one of them. Do adult children owe their aging parents care, or is it entirely a choice? Some Americans say kids have a responsibility to step up. But in 29 states, it's more than a moral question. The law can actually force you to pay, and one son learned that the hard way when a court handed him his mother's $93,000 nursing home bill. So where does obligation end and choice begin? Today on The Flyover Podcast, Ayla breaks down both sides of the fight. Tune in here!

What if coal could be transformed into cleaner fuels instead of being burned? Later today, keep an eye out for a message from our partner, Frontieras, about its technology and today's investment deadline.

Today's sponsor is hear.com, introducing AI-powered Horizon IX hearing aids designed to deliver clearer conversations by separating speech from background noise.

Tax-Free Weekend Returns

Virginia’s three-day sales tax holiday starts Friday, temporarily dropping the state sales tax on school supplies, clothing, and emergency-preparedness gear.

The break runs from 12:01 a.m. Aug. 7 through 11:59 p.m. Aug. 9 and can save shoppers 5.3% to 7% at the register.

Qualifying school supplies must be priced at $20 or less per item, while clothing and footwear qualify at $100 or less.

Stocking up for storm season counts too: portable generators up to $1,000, gas-powered chainsaws up to $350, and Energy Star or WaterSense products up to $2,500 are all tax-free.

Virginia Weighs Self-Driving Car Rules

A state work group has recommended Virginia permit only commercial self-driving vehicles at first, holding off on personal ones until the technology proves itself on public roads.

The panel of transportation officials, law enforcement, lawmakers, and industry experts will deliver a final report to the General Assembly by Nov. 1. Much of its July meeting centered on keeping one statewide rulebook instead of a patchwork of local ordinances. Del. David Reid, D-Loudoun, warned against having “133 different” sets of jurisdictional rules.

Staff recommended the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles be able to deny, suspend, or revoke permits, and floated requiring up to $5 million in coverage for self-driving vehicles used for hire.

Backers say the technology could make transportation more affordable and accessible, though researchers are still weighing its safety, traffic, and labor effects.

Virginia Tech Lands $20M Chip Grant

The National Science Foundation has awarded a Virginia Tech-led team $20 million to build an AI-enabled, cloud-based semiconductor lab that scientists across the country could use remotely.

The Blacksburg group is one of 20 teams nationwide funded to create “nodes” for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Genesis Mission, a federal effort to harness AI for scientific discovery.

Dubbed the Programmable Cloud Laboratory Node, the lab would use AI-guided workflows to make chip production faster and more predictable. Project lead Rose Hu, who heads VT’s electrical and computer engineering department, said the network should expand job opportunities.

Partners include Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and a number of industry partners, including NVIDIA and Amazon Web Services.

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Experience clarity

➤ Statewide: Virginia is reviewing eight death penalty cases from 1986 to 1998—including a landmark DNA case—as part of a broader look at the work of late state forensic scientist Mary Jane Burton, five years after the Commonwealth abolished capital punishment. (More)

➤ Northern Virginia: Virginia health officials confirmed the state’s first locally acquired dengue fever case in a Northern Virginia resident who had not traveled abroad, likely contracted via a mosquito that bit an infected traveler. (More)

➤ Eastern Shore: Accomack Indian Nation Chief Lisa Renia Cypress received a 24-year suspended sentence and a $12,000 fine in Northampton Circuit Court for 24 counts of filing false property liens. Cypress, who claimed her tribe held patents to Eastern Shore parcels, plans to appeal. (More)

➤ Norfolk: A flash flood that forecasters called a once-in-60-year event swamped the city Tuesday evening, stranding drivers on flooded streets and snarling traffic across the area. (See Video)

➤ Wallops Island: NASA is seeking federal permission for a major shoreline-restoration project to shield its Wallops Island spaceflight facilities from storms and erosion. The Army Corps of Engineers’ Norfolk District is reviewing the request. (More)

➤ Richmond: The city’s new 686 area code is now live, joining the longtime 804 after it ran out of available numbers. Existing 804 numbers won’t change. (More)

Like The Virginia Flyover? Share it with a friend! ✈️

➤ Commanders cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon was placed on the reserve/retired list this week, and Washington signed veteran Fabian Moreau to replace him. Moreau spent his first four NFL seasons with Washington after the franchise drafted him in the third round. (More)

➤ Jim Toman, who led Liberty baseball to two NCAA tournament appearances and a Big South championship during nine seasons as head coach, died this week of brain cancer. He was 64. (More)

➤ Virginians wagered nearly $590 million on sports in June according to the Virginia Lottery, up 23% from the same month last year. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: MLB | WNBA | Tennis | Soccer | Little League Softball World Series

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➤ State regulators ordered Dominion Energy to develop a policy directly assigning the cost of high-voltage transmission lines to data centers and other large power users, to keep residential customers from subsidizing infrastructure built to serve data centers. (More)

➤ Virginia Steel and Fabrication in Bland County will invest $3.6 million to expand and add 52 jobs, more than tripling its workforce, with help from a $200,000 state grant. (More)

➤ State officials cleared internet provider ZiTel to finish broadband work in Patrick, Franklin, and Henry counties after removing RiverStreet Networks from the project with thousands of locations still unconnected. (More)

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➤ YouTuber MrBeast is granting wishes for 100 children with serious illnesses nationwide, including eight in Hampton Roads through Toby’s Dream Foundation, featuring surprises like meetings, trips, and World Series tickets. (More)

➤ University of Virginia researchers discovered that higher levels of “neural noise” in the brains of some autistic children and teens may explain why they struggle more with communication and speech processing. (See Report)

➤ Old Dominion University researchers are testing a Roomba-like robot dubbed the “TickBot” in a Chesapeake neighborhood to sweep up the pests. (Watch Video)

➤ The 90th Old Fiddlers’ Convention is underway in Galax, drawing old-time and bluegrass musicians from about 40 states and three countries to the Southwest Virginia town. (More)

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The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes. Clicking the links will take you directly to these stories:

➤ Do you think adult children owe their aging parents care? Tune in to hear both sides of the debate. (Hear Debate)

➤ German authorities scrambled a bomb disposal robot after an explosive-laden drone was found beside a Ukrainian cargo plane. (Hear Episode)

➤ Investigators are searching for answers after a famous influencer was shot and killed in public while livestreaming. (Listen Now)