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🍺 Look who's back
The weeks news in memes
Greetings, loved ones and welcome to all our new subscribers. You won’t regret joining us (probably).
Our mission is to break down the news with memes, and there’s plenty to meme this week with “The Donald” back in his old gig.
We’ll cover his first week back and more in todays meme-mail (pun very much intended).
All that’s left to do is sit back, relax and get stuck into the news you need to know, delivered to you via carefully crafted memes.
⏰ Today's reading time is 5 minutes.
Quote of the Week
“Before you marry someone, you should make them use a computer with slow internet to see who they really are.”
TikTok back online in the United States after Trump pledges to restore the app
TikTok resumed its essential services for its 170 million U.S. users after President Donald Trump announced plans to delay a law banning the app on national security grounds.
The ban had gone into effect on Saturday, prompting TikTok to temporarily “go dark”, albeit for a little over 12 hours. Phew.
Trump, who previously supported the ban, issued an executive order Monday to extend the compliance period, allowing time for TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to find a US buyer and assuage security concerns regarding the app.
While TikTok thanked Trump for his intervention, legal experts remain uncertain about his authority to delay enforcement of an existing law.
The Supreme Court upheld the ban last week, and critics, including Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton, warned companies against supporting TikTok.
The platform has been removed from app stores, and questions linger about its legal future. Trump’s executive order may shield companies from liability, but the administration must demonstrate progress on outstanding national security issues to justify a delay.
Meanwhile, the app remains accessible to existing users as political and legal challenges continue.
Vivek Ramaswamy quits DOGE to run for Governor of Ohio

The newly launched "department of government efficiency" (DOGE) faces early turmoil as Vivek Ramaswamy stepped down from the leadership team hours after Trump took office.
This leaves spectrum Tony Stark Elon Musk, the program's co-leader, in sole charge.
Ramaswamy, reportedly planning a run for Ohio governor, cited political ambitions for his departure, while Musk allegedly sought his removal due to clashes over hiring foreign-born tech workers.
Musk's leadership in a government position has sparked ethical concerns, given his companies, Tesla and SpaceX, benefit from government contracts.
Silvio Berlusconi would be proud.
DOGE has already faced legal challenges, with a lawsuit claiming it violates federal transparency rules, including a lack of balanced representation and public accountability.
Despite the controversy, the outgoing Ramaswamy expressed confidence in Musk's ability to streamline government and reiterated his support for Trump’s agenda.
Chinese startup DeepSeek releases Ai models that outperform American market leaders

A little-known AI lab out of China has ignited panic throughout Silicon Valley after releasing AI models that can outperform America’s best in class despite being built more cheaply and with less-powerful chips.
DeepSeek, as the lab is called, unveiled a free, open-source large-language model in late December that it says took only two months and less than $6 million to build, using reduced-capability chips from Nvidia called H800s.
In contrast, the US recently announced over $500 billion in spending over 4 years for its Ai infrastructure project Stargate.
China’s innovation in AI, driven by necessity amidst strict semiconductor restrictions, has resulted in highly efficient models that operate on lower-end hardware.
However, these models are constrained by government censorship, adhering to "core socialist values" by filtering content related to human rights abuses, historical events, or criticism of Chinese leadership.
In other words, don’t count on DeepSeek for your Tiananmen Square research project.
DeepSeek’s open-source nature has disrupted the industry by allowing developers to bypass the high costs of AI model-building and work with smaller teams and budgets.
It highlights a shift in AI development, showing that advanced models can be created without massive compute resources.
This approach not only reshapes investment strategies in AI but also positions China to influence the global AI ecosystem through the widespread adoption of its open-source model.
Donald and Melania Trump launch rival memecoins as crypto industry hopes rise

Over the weekend, the Donald Trump’s meme-coin, TRUMP, launched ahead of his inauguration, quickly surging to $75 per coin before dropping to $39. Fortunes were made, and then for the most part, promptly lost again in a meme-coin frenzy.
Despite raising billions, Trump downplayed its success, calling it a “stunt,” leading to widespread criticism from industry insiders who view the coin as lacking utility and credibility.
Some analysts have seen the coin as a signal for broader adoption of cryptocurrency for capital formation, and a general sign that crypto has found a trusted friend in the new administration.
The day of his inauguration, he replaced the crypto-skeptic Chairman of the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) Gary Gensler with the more lenient Paul Atkins.
On Thursday, Trump signed an executive order that focuses on establishing regulatory frameworks and a working group to evaluate a national stockpile potentially sourced from lawfully seized cryptocurrencies.
Once a crypto critic himself, Trump shifted his stance during his campaign, drawing significant financial support and optimism from the crypto industry.
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves U-turns on tax changes

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced plans to amend Labour's proposal to abolish non-dom tax status by introducing a more generous phase-out, including a Temporary Repatriation Facility to encourage ex non-doms to bring funds to the UK at a discounted tax rate.
The changes aim to address concerns about wealthy individuals leaving the UK while maintaining the policy’s goal of raising £33.8bn over five years.
Critics argue the tweaks lack clarity and have already deterred investment, with over 10,000 millionaires leaving the UK in 2024 due to higher taxes and declining UK competitiveness.
The waters of the UK Tax Code hardly need any more muddying. The Hong Kong tax code, widely held by tax lawyers to be the most admirably efficient in the world, is 276 pages long.
The British tax code is currently in excess of 17,000 pages.
While Labour defends the policy as fair and growth-oriented, opposition parties claim it alienates struggling citizens and damages the UK’s attractiveness as a destination for high earners.
Reeves also announced visa reforms to attract top talent in AI and pharmaceuticals as part of efforts to boost economic growth.
Purdue Pharma, Sacklers reach $7.4 billion national opioid settlement

Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler family, have agreed to a new $7.4 billion settlement to resolve thousands of lawsuits over the opioid crisis linked to their drug OxyContin.
This settlement follows the U.S. Supreme Court's rejection of a previous deal that sought to grant the Sacklers broad immunity from lawsuits.
Under the new terms, the Sacklers will pay $6.5 billion, with an additional $900 million from Purdue, while allowing states, local governments, and individuals the option to pursue lawsuits if they opt out of the agreement.
The settlement, negotiated by 15 states, including New York and California, still requires approval from a U.S. bankruptcy judge.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong emphasized the settlement’s importance for providing some closure to victims, acknowledging that no amount of money can fully address the harm caused by the devastating opioid epidemic that the family profited from.
🍻Half Pints
Quick-fire news you might have missed
Memes of the Week
George W leaves another weapon of mass destruction in the office toilet….



Comment of the Week
“Hey son, are you hard?”

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