Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🏦 X ventures into finance
• 🚁 New Jersey drone answers
• 🐍 Welcome to the Year of the Snake

… and more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~4.35-minute read (1,156 words).

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"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved."

–Helen Keller (1880-1968)

On Monday night, the Trump administration ordered a temporary pause in nearly all federal aid programs while it conducts an across-the-board review of potentially trillions of dollars in US government spending.

But, hours later, the order was temporarily blocked from going into effect.

What’s in the order? In a two-page memo, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) ordered federal agencies to temporarily suspend all activities related to the “obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance,” as well as other activities that may be implicated by Trump’s executive orders.

The memo didn’t mention which specific groups or programs are affected – but the Education Department said the freeze won’t affect student loans and has no bearing on FAFSA, and OMB officials said the order wouldn’t affect individual assistance programs like Social Security, Medicare, food stamps, and welfare benefits.

• A separate OMB document obtained by NBC News appears to contain 2,600+ specific spending programs up for review, including the federal Pell Grant program and school meals for low-income students.
• $1+ trillion of federal funds go directly into state, city, and other local governments, supporting things from housing programs to early childhood education.

Driving the move: Trump administration officials say it’s necessary to halt most federal aid programs to ensure government spending complies with Trump’s recent blitz of executive orders. Among other things, the President wants to increase fossil fuel production and end all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts.

The pushback: Many Democratic lawmakers, nonprofits, and other institutions that receive federal assistance have voiced opposition to the White House's latest move.

• A group of six state attorneys general sued yesterday to block Trump’s order – and minutes before it was set to take effect at 5 pm ET, a federal judge temporarily halted federal agencies from implementing the order until arguments can be held.

Looking ahead…Oral arguments in the state AGs’ case are scheduled for Monday morning.

📊 Flash poll: Do you agree with the Trump administration’s order to temporarily pause nearly all federal aid programs pending an across-the-board review?

• Yes
• No
• Unsure/other

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X owner Elon Musk is hearkening back to his early online-payment startup days – but with way more hair and money.

The app inked a deal with Visa, the largest US credit card network, to be the first partner for what it is calling X Money, the companies announced yesterday.

Visa will enable the app’s users to move funds between traditional bank accounts and their digital wallet and make instant peer-to-peer payments, like with Zelle, Venmo, Apple’s Tap to Cash, or…PayPal.

*Ross voice* Pivot!

X currently makes the lion’s share of its revenue from advertising. But the push by Musk – who’s had a notoriously up-and-down relationship with advertisers – to make X an “everything app” allows it to diversify its revenue away from ads.

• In a pitch deck circulated in 2022 to bankers financing his acquisition of Twitter, Musk said the app would bring in ~$1.3 billion from a payments business by 2028.
• Ad dollars would be replaced by subscription businesses and fees from the payments business, per the deck.

Between the lines: Elon Musk said growth on X is “stagnant” and revenue “unimpressive” in a January email to staff that was recently reported by the Wall Street Journal (Musk denies sending the email).

👀 Looking ahead…X Money is expected to launch sometime in Q1, and deals with more financial partners are likely. Other features on the horizon could include certain banking features, such as a high-yield money market account, per Musk.

Google Maps, the world’s most-used navigation app, will soon update the name of a mountain and body of water to comply with updated US federal policy.

• Hours after his inauguration, President Trump signed an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America,” and to change the name of Mount Denali in Alaska back to Mount McKinley.
• The Gulf of Mexico – a body of water that borders the US, Mexico, and Cuba – has held that name since the 17th century, while President Barack Obama in 2015 signed an order changing the name of Mount McKinley to Mount Denali.

But…Not all of Google Map’s 2 billion monthly global users will be exposed to the same nomenclature (one could say it’s…all over the map).

The app routinely uses different names to refer to the same places based on the location of a user, especially if there is a geopolitical dispute (ex: the Persian Gulf/Arabian Gulf and Sea of Japan/East Sea). And in this case: users inside the US will see the new names – Mount McKinley and the Gulf of America – while users outside the US will likely see both old and new names appear for each, CNN reports.

🗺️ Elsewhere: Apple Maps hasn’t commented on whether it will make any changes, while the Associated Press and National Geographic are still calling it the Gulf of Mexico.

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BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📈 US markets rebounded yesterday after Monday’s DeepSeek-sparked selloff (S&P: +0.9%; Dow: +0.3%; Nasdaq: +2.0%); Nvidia rose 9%.
• 🏦 The Federal Reserve will reveal its first interest rate decision for 2025 later today; as of last night, markets were pricing in a 98% chance that rates stay the same. | 📉 US consumer confidence fell for the second straight month, per an index published by the Conference Board, a research group.
• 👜 LVMH, the French luxury conglomerate behind brands like Hennessy and Louis Vuitton, reported better-than-expected full-year sales. | ☕ Starbucks reported quarterly results that topped analysts' estimates on revenue and earnings, though same-store sales declined for the fourth straight quarter; the coffee chain also implemented changes in its stores this week, including bringing back the permanent markers used to misspell names.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

in partnership with MANSCAPED®

• 🤝🎶 Spotify and Universal Music Group signed a new multi-year agreement establishing a direct license between the two companies.
• 🏈👀 The AFC Championship Game (Chiefs over Bills) was the most-watched on record with an average of 57.7 million viewers; the NFC Championship Game (Eagles over Commanders) averaged 44.2 million viewers, down 21% from last year’s comparable slot. | ⚽ The Champions League features a record 18 teams in action tonight under the tournament’s new design.
• 📺 Jake and Logan Paul’s cryptic social media announcements – which led many to predict the brothers would fight each other – are actually about a new reality series on Max, per ESPN.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🤖🏛️ OpenAI launched ChatGPT Gov, a new security-focused AI model built specifically for US government use.
• 💉 Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic was approved by the FDA as the first GLP-1 drug to treat chronic kidney disease – one of the leading causes of death globally – in patients with diabetes.
• 🌬️✈️ Boom Supersonic, a private US firm seeking to build the first supersonic jet since the Concorde retired in 2003, achieved its first sound-barrier-breaking test flight.

MISCELLANEOUS

in partnership with Live It Up

• 🚁 The White House said the mysterious drones that caused alarm in New Jersey and other northeastern states late last year “were authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons."
• 🇫🇷 Many in France are furious over President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to replace a few stained-glass windows in Notre Dame. | 🇬🇱 85% of Greenland’s population is against joining the US, a plan recently mentioned by President Trump; that’s per a Verian poll commissioned by Danish newspaper Berlingske and Greenland’s Sermitsiaq.
• 🏛️ The Trump administration is reportedly offering nearly all federal workers an optional buyout; a senior White House official said they expect 5%-10% of the ~3 million-person federal workforce to quit. | ✍️🏥 President Trump signed an executive order seeking to ban federal funding or support towards gender-affirming care for transgender people under 19 years old.

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Salazar Slytherin’s favorite year on the Chinese zodiac calendar is officially in effect. Celebrations for the Lunar New Year (aka Chinese New Year) kick off today, marking the start of the Year of the Wood Snake for billions of people in China, South Korea, and other nations worldwide.

The Lunar New Year is widely considered the most important annual holiday in China, with many employers taking at least two weeks off as most official operations – including governments and factories – come to a standstill.

However, other activities abound:

• China is anticipating 9 billion trips across the country during the 40-day Lunar New Year travel period, mostly by car.
• Consumer spending on shopping and dining in China during the Lunar New Year is projected to exceed $100 billion.

👀 Looking ahead…The snake – the sixth animal in the 12-year zodiac cycle – traditionally symbolizes growth, renewal, and good fortune. Those born during this year are believed to be more charismatic, intelligent, and artistic – but also more cunning, mysterious, and obstinate. Notable figures born in snake years include Chinese President Xi Jinping, JFK, and Taylor Swift; see which zodiac animal you are here. 

☝️ You’re looking at a ranking of the most linguistically diverse countries on the planet, according to Visual Capitalist.

🤔 Did You Know? The British Library is legally required to have a copy of every single book ever published in the UK and Ireland. It hosts an estimated ~200 million works and adds 5 miles of new shelving every year.

📰 Worth a Read: 'The baddies reflect the worries of today': How TV spy thrillers are booming in an age of distrust

🖱 Clickbait: Chicago couple built a 10-foot-high backyard igloo

👕 Primark just released an all-new 49-piece collection tailored specifically for people with disabilities. Notable features include magnetic zippers for easy fastening, hidden access points for stomas, insulin pumps, or other medical equipment, and cropped-cut jumpers that fit better on seated and wheelchair wearers.

🎵 When 24-year-old Jula’s father died, she made a pact that she would one day listen to all of the 10,000+ vinyl records in his collection. She hosts daily listening parties online, attracting hundreds of thousands of viewers who tune in for good music – and find a community through their grief.

😳 A pair of German daredevils recently claimed the world record for highest slackline walk, balancing across the line suspended between two hot air balloons 8,202 feet in the air.

🔎 Da Vinci knows all: Ground-penetrating radar confirms existence of secret passageways previously only seen on sketches from Leonardo da Vinci.

🔖 Bookmark: This hacking simulator. For when you want to convince your friends you’re pulling an Uno reverse card on your FBI agent.

😳 Eerie: Explore headshots of people that don’t exist (refresh the page after you click).

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*A message from our partners.

How it works: We provide an incorrect stat. Then you guess whether the actual number is over or under the given value.

1. 👨‍🎨 700: Total amount of paintings produced by Van Gogh.
2. 🌴 350: Height of the tallest currently living tree, in feet.
3. 🐻‍❄️ 12: Height of an average polar bear, in feet.

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1. 👨‍🎨 Over, 900+ paintings
2. 🌴 Over, 380 feet
3. 🐻‍❄️ Under, usually 8-10 feet for males