DATA POINTS
- 20 – The percent of independent voters who tuned into President Trump’s joint address
- 25 – The number of new words President Trump used that had never before been spoken in a State of the Union or similar address to Congress
- 100 Minutes – The length of President Trump’s joint address
- 164 – The number of confirmed measles cases in 9 states
- 19.7 Million – The number of viewers who watched the Oscars
- 224,000 – The number of California workers ordered to return to office July 1
Trudeau Buoyed by Tariff Fight
President Trump may have handed his Canadian counterpart, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the political power needed to keep his party competitive. Trump’s tariffs (which we’ll discuss later) have rallied Canadians against their neighbor to the South. Trudeau has sent a message to Trump: Canada will not become the 51st state, and his attempt to weaken their country will fail.
Ironically, Trudeau resigned as the Liberal Party Leader in January as his popularity rating was the lowest since his election. In short, the Great White North chilled on Trudeau. Now, only two months later, the Liberal Party has wind in its sails. As it turns out, Canadians dislike Trump more than they dislike Trudeau – a win for the latter.
This week, Canadian fans booed the U.S. national anthem ahead of the U.S. vs. Canada match (that Canada won in overtime), some provinces will stop selling U.S. liquor, and shoppers are boycotting American products. Regardless of how a potential trade war enfolds, Canadian patriotism is winning today’s battle.
Turning the Other Cheek (On Consumer Checkbooks)
American consumers have been under the thumb of sky-high inflation for the past few years, and now it looks like they’ll need to turn the other cheek. This week, President Trump placed tariffs on the U.S.’ largest trading partners, Canada, Mexico and China. While economy-wide impacts may take a few weeks to reveal the outcomes, consumers will likely feel the heat immediately. Consumers can expect to spend 20 cents more per gallon of gas, 50 cents more per avocado, and thousands more for a new vehicle. Notably, the Trump Administration is offering a one-month exception to the tariffs on cars built in Mexico and Canada if they followed the 2020 USMCA agreement. Retailers say the produce aisle will be the first section to feel the price spike. Prior to the tariffs, grocery prices were already up 28% since 2020.
By the end of the year, these tariffs could cost the typical household over $1,200 per year. Meanwhile, companies are hiring less, manufacturing orders are down, and home purchases are dropping – all before the tariff treatment. If there is a large purchase you have been putting off, it may be time to push up those plans. Depending on what that item is, it may be 20% more expensive next week.
Read More at The Washington Post
U.S. Crypto Crypt
President Trump has doubled down on his crypto compulsion by directing subordinates to take inventory of what the U.S. government already has in stock. On Sunday, Trump said he’s looking into amassing a stockpile of bitcoin, ether, and three other smaller tokens akin to the country’s gold reserves. He did not, however, provide details about how the government would obtain the elusive currency, whether by new purchases, seizure from convicted criminals, or an act of Congress. The Justice Department’s inspector general released that it’s difficult to fully account for the total crypto assets seized from criminals, but it includes at least $18 billion in bitcoin.
The crypto industry went to bat fundraising for Trump’s 2024 election campaign, and proponents have long argued that a federal crypto reserve would legitimize the volatile commodity. Although crypto is difficult to secure – it is routinely targeted by sophisticated hackers – other governments (namely El Salvador and Bhutan) keep crypto in their accounts.
Crypto advocates are certain that decentralized currency is the gold of tomorrow. Will filling U.S. coffers with the stuff be an investment for the ages or the trendiest way to light cash on fire?
Read More at The Wall Street Journal
Viva la Vinyl
In an era dominated by streaming and digital music, something remarkable is happening. Vinyl is back, and it’s thriving. Leading the comeback is Chad Kassem, whose Kansas-based company Acoustic Sounds produces top-quality records.
Over the last decade, vinyl sales have skyrocketed. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), vinyl outsold CDs in 2022 for the first time since 1987, with over 41 million records sold compared to 33 million CDs. This surge isn’t just about nostalgia; it’s about experience. In a world where music fades into the background, vinyl makes you stop and enjoy the album art. Plus, it’s far more difficult to skip a song halfway through and encourages listening to albums as intended – start to finish.
There’s also a bigger movement. Indie artists and mainstream icons like Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and Harry Styles are embracing vinyl. Special editions and colorful pressings have made vinyl albums collectibles, bringing together old and new fans. Even cassette tapes and 8-tracks are making a small comeback, proving physical music still has its touch.
Read More at The New York Times
An AI… Hallucination?
Artificial intelligence is getting smarter by the day, but it still has a big problem: making things up. Hallucinations are when an AI system generates false information or fabricates details to address a question for which it does not know the answer. This is a major challenge for chatbot developers and raises concerns about users’ trust and reliability. Researchers are scrambling to find ways to fix this issue. In the meantime, will AI ever confidently admit, “I don’t know”?
AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini work by predicting what words come next in a sentence, kind of like an advanced version of autocomplete. This means they rely on probabilities rather than certainty. When information is missing, they don’t pause or hesitate… they fill in the gaps with their best guess, even if it’s completely wrong. This sounds a bit human, doesn’t it?
One proposed fix is Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), which pulls in real-time information from reliable sources rather than relying on pre-trained data. This method, already in use by AI companies like OpenAI and Google DeepMind, improves accuracy by providing responses with actual, verifiable information.
While AI may never be perfect, making it more self-aware and honest could be the key to making it truly useful. Until then, always fact-check your AI-generated answers.
Read More at The Wall Street Journal
See you next week!
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