Forty trillion dollars. That’s trillion with a T. And that’s the new number on the national debt, which the Treasury Department made official Wednesday with a balance recorded the day before at $40,047,425,768,420.22. It’s a figure precise enough to feel like a joke and large enough not to be one. Ten years ago the total was $19.4 trillion. It has more than doubled since.

That pace is what’s so astounding. The $30 trillion mark fell about four and a half years ago. The $39 trillion mark fell just back in March. That’s a trillion dollars in roughly five months, and it’s why CNBC and others treated a round number as actual news rather than accounting theater.

What does that mean for the average American? Interest on the debt has totaled nearly $1.2 trillion this year, one of the largest lines in the entire federal budget. Debt held by the public sits near $32.3 trillion against about $34 trillion in annual GDP, and the International Monetary Fund puts gross debt-to-GDP at 125.8%—higher than all but eight countries on Earth, PBS NewsHour reports.

Whether the mounting debt load is a problem to be solved or a function of America’s economic strength remains a matter of debate. Deficits are also a point of political gamesmanship, with Republicans most passionate about eliminating them when they are out of power.

Next pressure point: the Bipartisan Policy Center expects the $41.1 trillion debt limit to bind sometime between late winter and mid-summer 2027. At the current clip, that’s not a distant deadline. It’s a calendar item.

As I’ve probably mentioned before, I survived a pretty scary cancer treatment for melanoma back in my 20s. So this is very good news for me. Merck and Moderna said Wednesday their personalized mRNA cancer vaccine met its main goals in a Phase 3 trial—the first therapy of its kind to clear that bar.

The shot, intismeran autogene, is built from each patient’s own tumor DNA and manufactured in about six weeks. Paired with Merck’s immunotherapy Keytruda, it significantly extended the time patients went without recurrence and reduced the risk of the cancer spreading, compared with Keytruda alone. The trial enrolled patients with high-risk stage IIB-IV melanoma whose tumors had been surgically removed.

And I’m not the only one excited. Merck’s stock rose more than 12%. Moderna went vertical — NBC News clocked the move at roughly 177%. But the results are interim and haven’t been peer-reviewed, and outside experts called them promising without calling them proof. But these are exciting times. Trials in lung, bladder and kidney cancers are already running, which is the part worth watching.

Prince Harry and Meghan are moving back to Britain. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex who exiled themselves six years ago amid royal family discord, will relocate from California later this month to a private, non-royal residence outside London, BBC News reported. Their kids (Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5) will start at a British school in September.

King Charles was told Sunday, as were William and Catherine. But neither Harry nor Meghan will resume royal duties—they will remain “private individuals”. And their businesses and foundation, Archewell and As Ever, aren’t moving, reports Variety.

Security is the unresolved part. Harry lost a 2024 legal challenge over his downgraded U.K. protection, and his request for police protection was rejected ahead of July’s visit. The Home Office won’t discuss arrangements. And the Sussexes haven’t confirmed any of it—their spokesperson simply declined to deny it.