The stock's performance will be a barometer for how enthusiastic people are about Elon Musk and all the things he's promised the company will do, like putting data centers into space and even sending people to Mars. It will also test Wall Street's enthusiasm for artificial intelligence since Musk rolled his AI company into SpaceX 2. So far, the hype has been high with investors going allin. But a lot of other people are also about to own a piece of SpaceX whether they wanted to or not. That's because many Americans retirement plans, their 401ks, include index funds that are going to automatically invest in SpaceX. In the past, you normally wouldn't get a newly public company in your index. There'd be a big lag time. It's for a number of reasons, but one of them is that stocks are very volatile in the early days and weeks and even months of trading as the market is established for them. Essentially, they're just much riskier.

Moren Frell covers Wall Street for the Times. She says that earlier this year, according to two people familiar with the situation, SpaceX told the world's largest stock indexes that once it went public, it didn't want to wait to be included like normal. It wanted in ASAP. And some have now changed their rules to allow that.

What we learned from our reporting is basically in a lot of ways the rules are being changed because of SpaceX. I mean some of the index providers told us and have said that they didn't do it just for them but it's been this idea that SpaceX is coming so is anthropic so it's open AI some of the biggest companies ever and there's a fear of missing out on these generational companies and missing out on the potential early gains there before they were in the index. We did talk to economists who said this decision was unprecedented and shocking in so many ways because they're exposing investors to risks of a very newly traded company.

look, NATO was taking advantage of our country.

For years, President Trump has railed against NATO, saying the US was contributing more than its fair share to the transatlantic military alliance, which was formed after World War II.

Disappointed. I'll say it publicly. We're very disappointed with NATO because NATO has done absolutely nothing. Now, the Times has learned that his administration is pulling back some key military resources, essentially scaling back the protections the US has offered its allies in Europe for decades. According to two senior European officials, the US plans to significantly reduce the number of fighter jets, reconnaissance planes, and warships that it has previously committed for NATO operations there. The draw down, which could happen very soon, would limit NATO's ability to launch long range strikes and to conduct surveillance on Russia, for example. Now, the blow will be softened somewhat by the fact that European leaders were listening to Trump's repeated criticism of NATO and have already been taking steps to arm their own countries.

Next, there's been a development in the Trump administration's efforts to exert control over elections. This one involves the United States Postal Service. USPS has proposed a new rule that would allow it to refuse to deliver ballots by mail in states that don't agree to turn over their voter roles. The agency says it wants those lists to be able to screen ballots for eligibility, but that would amount to the unprecedented and potentially unconstitutional involvement of the federal government in elections, which are supposed to be run by individual states. The Postal Service didn't respond to questions about the rule, which is currently open for a 30-day public comment period, but the proposal is in line with attempts by the Trump administration to take over critical parts of the electoral process in the run-up to the midterms. Trump himself has said that a crackdown on mail-in voting could be a way for the GOP to hold its majority in Congress given that more Democrats than Republicans vote by mail.

And last update,

you can probably see some of the grass down on the National Mall making out what looks to be a faint eight and then next to it potentially a seven there.

In DC yesterday morning, a giant set of stains were discovered on the lawn next to the Washington Monument, spelling out 8647. The phrase has been widely used by Trump critics, including online and on flags at protests. 86 is an old slang term meaning to dismiss, remove, kill, or eliminate. And Trump is the 47th president. It wasn't immediately clear how the brown patches in the grass were made. The park service says it's investigating, but the high-profile act of vandalism comes just days before Trump is set to host an ultimate fighting championship at the White House, just across the street from where the 8647 was found.

And finally, I was at Audi Field watching a soccer game and I found one on my head.

In big cities along the East Coast, there has been an uptick in ticks.

If any of y'all have seen the thing about New York City having ticks,

experts say the tiny arachnids are no longer just an out in the woods kind of problem. They are now an urban issue, too. For example, a Pennsylvania lab that tests ticks pulled from people says submissions were up 50% this spring with most of them coming from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. One explanation is that as cities have made an effort to have more green spaces, birds, mice, and even deer have moved in, bringing ticks with them. But also, ticks are just becoming more and more of a problem nationwide, raising concerns about tickborne diseases like Lyme disease and alpha gal syndrome, where people become allergic to red meat and dairy. The issue may only get worse from here because of climate change and warmer weather. One epidemiologist told the Times that's because ticks that would normally die out in the winter can increasingly make it through. She said that come spring, quote, they are ready to feed. Turns out wearing socks with your sandals, it's not just a fashion choice, it's a safety choice.

Now, time for the quiz. Every week, we ask you a few questions about stories the Times has been covering. Can you get them all?

First up, Madam President, I would ask unanimous consent to uh have an opportunity to speak here to acknowledge a very important landmark here in the United States Senate. This month, during a series of tangled votes around funding for President Trump's immigration agenda, the Senate paused to mark a record. It is such an honor and I am so grateful for the support of my colleagues. Thank you.

Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine has now officially cast more votes in a row than any other senator in American history. Your question, how many consecutive votes are we talking about here? Is it 500 in a row, a th00and or 10,000? Again, 500, a thousand, or 10,000 consecutive votes?

The answer,

10,000 consecutive votes here in the United States Senate.

10,000. Susan Collins has actually not missed a single roll call since she first entered the Senate in 1997. She told the Times that after she didn't miss any votes her first year in office, her constituents loved it, so she just made it a point to keep going and going and going. At one point, she even chipped a bone in her ankle racing through the halls of the capital to get her vote in in time. Whether Collins will be able to continue her streak is an open question since she's currently facing one of the fiercest fights of the midterms as Democrats try to flip her seat in Maine, blue.

Second question. Across the country, orchestras have been struggling, facing rough financials and the challenge of how to get younger Americans interested in classical music. So, more and more of them have been turning to film scores as a solution, having the musicians perform live while a huge screen overhead plays the movie. It used to be a once in a season kind of thing, but now for many orchestras, it's a regular event. For example, the Pittsburgh Symphony has five of them lined up. We are going to play you a couple little snippets here of orchestras playing some of the most beloved film scores. See if you can name the movie. Ready? First one.

That was from the first Harry Potter movie. Next one.

That is Jurassic Park number three.

It was a quick one, but it's the Indiana Jones theme. And last one.

Would it help if I said come on?

That is Home Alone.

Now, the Times talked to some of the professional musicians who find themselves playing these pieces a lot these days. They said in some cases the scores can be more challenging than traditional classical repertoire because they haven't spent years training for them. But it does seem to be worth it. For the Minnesota Orchestra, for example, more than a third of the audience coming to the movie events has never been to a symphony concert before.

And final question here. In London, there is a prestigious century old club of magicians called the Magic Circle whose members include huge names like David Copperfield. The group is famously exclusive. You have to wow a panel of members with your magic to get in, among other requirements. Now, the Magic Circle is in the news this month because it just turned down an unconventional applicant.

Your question. The applicant was a what?

A hint.

Concentrate on the champagne.

Oh my god. Look. Look at the champagne.

The answer.

Hello everybody. My name is Daryl. Would you like to see some magic?

A robot named Daryl.

Thank you everybody. Daryl regularly performs alongside a human magician who is in the club. But the president of the magic circle told the Times that while technology can enhance magic, they rejected Daryl because quote, "Wonder is emotional, not just mechanical." And the magic circle is not alone on this. The Society of American Magicians also says robots are not allowed.

You know who is in the magic circle, though? Here's a bonus fact. King Charles. Yeah, King Charles. Apparently, back when he was in his 20s, he did a mean cups and balls routine that won him a spot.

That is it for this week's news quiz. If you want to tell us how you did, you can always email us at the headlines@nytimes.com. I'm Tracy Mumford. The show will be back on Monday. And Daryl, please just leave some jobs for the rest of us.