It's Friday. On this day 25 years ago, 2,977 people were killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Take some time to reflect and remember the lives we lost.

☀️ Today's weather: Sunny, high of 105, with a slight chance of thunderstorms tonight.

🎂 Happy birthday to our member Peter David, and happy early birthday to member Monica Spivey!

Today's newsletter is 981 words — a 3.5-minute read.

The Arizona Cardinals are hoping there's nowhere to go but up as they try to bounce back from a historically bad 2025 season.

The big picture: The Cardinals start the season as underdogs in every game on their schedule, per Vegas betting odds.

Catch up quick: The franchise had a record 14 losses last year and ended the season in a four-way tie for the NFL's worst record.

• That cost head coach Jonathan Gannon his job after just three seasons with the Cards.
• Former Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur is taking over in his first head coaching gig.
• And after a tumultuous seven-year run that had its share of ups and downs, the team parted ways with quarterback Kyler Murray, who's now with the Minnesota Vikings.

State of play: Taking over as starting quarterback is journeyman Jacoby Brissett, who stepped into the role last season year after an injury sidelined Murray.

• If Brissett underwhelms or gets traded, third-string rookie quarterback Carson Beck, who's earned praise for his preseason play, could get some starts.

Zoom in: The Cards have some bright spots.

• Trey McBride set the NFL record for receptions by a tight end last season with 126, and had the second-most catches in the league. Expectations are high for 2026.
• And a lot of eyes will be on running back Jeremiyah Love, whom the Cards drafted out of Notre Dame this year with the No. 3 pick.

The intrigue: Arizona is still waiting for receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. to live up to the high expectations it had when the team drafted him three years ago.

Between the lines: The Cardinals had one of the league's worst defenses last year, and they lost veteran defensive end Calais Campbell, who at 40 years old had the second-highest sack total on the team.

• Sack leader Josh Sweat is ready to play after an offseason spent managing a knee injury.

What's next: The Cards open their season Sunday on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Rise up, Red Sea!

Most of the bills passed during the 2026 legislative session go into effect tomorrow, including new laws on drones, HOAs, reckless driving, driver's license photos and vaping.

State of play: New laws typically go into effect 90 days after the end of a legislative session.

The new laws that go into effect Saturday include:

🪪 Smile for the camera: If you like your old driver's license photo or you don't feel like taking the time to get a new one, you've got some extra time — Arizonans now have to update their photos every 16 years instead of every 12.

• Standard licenses still don't expire until you turn 65.

⛱️ Throw some shade: Homeowners associations can no longer prohibit people from putting up permanent or moveable shade structures in their backyards, though they can still adopt "reasonable rules" on size, placement or appearance.

🚫 No drone zones: It's illegal for people to operate drones within a mile of a ticketed entertainment event like concerts and sporting events without permission.

🚗 Eyes on the road: Fines for second or subsequent distracted driving violations increase to $400 from the previous range of $150-250. First offenses will still cost you between $75-149.

More new laws

Nothing has improved my work and life more than my new operating philosophy: "Simplify."

• I've seen such a dramatic improvement at Axios, and in my personal life, that I co-wrote a new book explaining step by step how it works. It's called "Simplify: Do 50% More with 50% Less."

Why it matters: My Axios co-founders Jim VandeHei, Roy Schwartz and I dig deep into real-world experience and science to show you why most people waste years of their lives doing needless stuff out of habit or inertia.

• You'll learn the three-step Simplify operating system we've personally stress-tested: Confront what you do, Delete what you shouldn't do, and Amplify what brings you joy and achievement.

💡 Simplify is a method and a mindset — a set of power tools to help you kill complexity in your life and work so you can be happier and more productive.

• Smart Brevity, our first book, was about simplifying how you communicate. Simplify extends that superpower to how you lead, manage, work and live.

Preorder Simplify today from a spot in your area like Boulder Book Store or wherever you get your books.

🗓️ Phoenix officially renamed its March 31 holiday from Cesar Chavez Day to Farmworkers Day. (ABC15)

🏫 The State Board of Education is revising its letter grade system for Arizona schools after a report found letter grades don't clearly communicate school performance. (KJZZ)

📽️ Harkins Theaters are no longer showing movies from film studio A24 after the chain was unable to come to an agreement with the studio. (AZCentral)

🚔 The Phoenix City Council agreed to a $100,000 settlement with a former Wall Street Journal reporter who sued the city over his 2022 detainment by police. (12 News)

☕️ Tres Leches Cafe will close after 12 years in business. (Phoenix New Times)

It's that time again! See how well you absorbed this week's news with our quiz.

Congratulations to last week's perfect scorers: Guillermo R. and Craig F.

Hit reply or email us at [email protected] with a screenshot of your perfect score for a shoutout next week!

🍎 🍯 Jeremy says "shana tova" to everyone celebrating Rosh Hashanah this weekend.

🗓️ Zach will be back on Monday.

This newsletter was edited by Astrid Galván.