AI’s massive energy appetite is fueling a U.S. nuclear power revival. The renaissance has begun.
🇺🇸 Chip in: The Trump team is weighing a plan to grab about a 10% stake in Intel by flipping CHIPS Act funds into shares. The goal: boost U.S. chipmaking and lean less on foreign suppliers, since Intel’s been lagging way behind. Markets did a double take, shares dipped on the news, then bounced after SoftBank swooped in with $2B.
70+ years
How long since the U.S. opened a rare earth mine. One dusty spot in Wyoming could supply America with rare earths for over 150 years. That’s phones, fighter jets and EVs covered till 2175. China controls 90% of processing right now, so yeah, this is big news for cowboy country. Yeehaw, meet geopolitics.
🚗 Shock and vroom: Ford says it’s cooking up an EV so revolutionary, it’ll make the original Model T look like a horse and buggy. On Aug. 11, CEO Jim Farley promises to show off a sub-$25K electric car that’s built to scale, fast, cheap and U.S.-powered.
Hands-off AI regulation
In 1993, leaders resisted calls to control the internet and it changed the world. Now, the U.S. is taking the same approach with AI.
$2.3 million
What it now takes to be considered “wealthy” in the U.S. That’s down from $2.5M last year. Still, unless you’ve got a trust fund or a crypto time machine, you’re probably just “comfortable.”
⏰ Clock is TikTokin’: Look for a new app just for U.S. folks ahead of a forced sell-off of the communist Chinese phenomena to American investors. It drops Sept. 5, and yeah, you’ll need to download it. Trump says the deal is “pretty much” done.
1
That’s how many people in the U.S. have gotten a fully robotic heart transplant. Tony Rosales Ibarra is the first, and he’s crushing recovery. He didn’t just get a new heart, he got one installed like a high-tech carburetor. No cracked breastbone, minimal scarring, and he’s already cleared to drive. Your move, Iron Man.
Your receipt is poison: Some receipts are still printed with BPS, a BPA cousin that’s banned in the U.K. but alive and well in the U.S. Scientists say it’s probably fine, but maybe don’t rub your face with it like it’s a love letter. Cancer links are unproven, yet, but just leave it or throw it out.
562,000
That’s how many new millionaires popped up in the U.S. in 2024. It’s more than any other country. A lot of them are also stashing their money in things like crypto and private equity, which now make up 15% of their portfolios. BRB, pitching to Shark Tank.
400 million
That’s how many subscribers MrBeast just hit on YouTube. The data supports it, he’s the undisputed king of the algorithm. He’s got more subscribers than the U.S. has citizens. At this rate, he could drop a video called “I Breathed Air,” and it’d hit 50 million in an hour.
2,700
That’s how many parts are inside an iPhone, sourced from 28 countries. Less than 5% are made in the U.S., and most of the rest come from Asia. Only 30 out of 187 suppliers have no presence in China. “Designed in California” is different when the screws are from four continents.
50
The number of years since spring started this windy. March 2025 was the second windiest March on record across the contiguous U.S. since 1940. Michigan took gold with its windiest March ever, while nine other states logged their second windiest. Chances are your patio umbrella never stood a chance.
22,000 years old
Vehicle tracks were found in the U.S., and they might belong to a travois. That’s a sled-like frame pulled by a person or horse. If that’s the case, humans were wandering America 7,000 years earlier than we thought. Mind blown.
January 18th, 2025
TikTok faces a U.S. shutdown by Jan. 19. Is this really the end? Plus, a scammer posing as Brad Pitt steals $800,000 using AI, and a $765 million bitcoin fortune stays buried in a landfill.
Kitboga exposes a shocking new scam
Scammers have a new trick up their sleeves, and Kitboga is here to break it down for us! Plus, Duolingo’s mean streak, the U.S. House has banned ByteDance apps, and Meta is planning to open-source its latest AI model.
This antivirus software is a danger to national security
Kaspersky, a Moscow-based cybersecurity company, was just banned in the U.S. If you use its popular antivirus software, here’s why it’s time to ditch it.
73 cents for a stamp
Starting next week, following a 5-cent increase. Mailing a postcard in the U.S. will now cost ya 56 cents (a 3-cent increase), and mailing postcards and letters internationally will set you back $1.65, up 10 cents. That’s just not write.
Social media warning labels
What if your social media app came with a warning label? The U.S. Surgeon General thinks it might be a good idea. Will it make a difference?
Major slipup in Cleveland: A man accused of aggravated murder was accidentally released from jail due to a court typo. His case number, 685908, was mixed up with case number 685909. Now, police and U.S. marshals are scrambling to find him. Lock your doors.