Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🪖 New National Defense Strategy
• 📵 TikTok US outage
• 💰 Invest like a billionaire

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.67-minute read (976 words).

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"It has been said that history repeats itself. This is perhaps not quite correct; it merely rhymes."

–Theodor Reik (1888-1969)

On Friday, the Trump admin announced a new National Defense Strategy that lays out a new vision for how America plans to protect itself, manage global threats, and redefine its role among allies in the coming years.

First things first: The Pentagon’s National Defense Strategy, required by Congress to be published every four years, is the capstone strategic guidance for America’s military. It builds on the priorities laid out in President Trump’s recent National Security Strategy.

The Pentagon’s new 34-page plan includes four major topics:

1. Defend the US homeland: The strategy aims to renew focus on domestic defense by securing US borders and defending America’s interests throughout the Western Hemisphere (including guaranteed access to Greenland and the Panama Canal).
2. Deter China through strength, not confrontation: The plan calls for keeping a favorable balance of military power in the Indo-Pacific region, and negotiation with China from a position of strength. It also pledges to build a “strong denial defense” along the First Island Chain, which includes Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines.
3. Supercharge the US defense industry: Trump is pitching a revival of America’s defense industry that involves reshoring weapons manufacturing, streamlining how defense projects get approved, and pouring funds into AI and other high-tech military systems.
4. Increase military burden-sharing with allies: NATO’s eastern members are being asked to take the lead in deterring Russian aggression. Instead of the US acting as Europe’s shield, the strategy aims to push allies to modernize their own forces and reduce their reliance on Washington.

Europe is already shifting gears

Countries across the continent have begun building up their own defenses in recent years. Defense spending across Europe reached ~$560 billion in 2025, double what it was in 2014. France is expanding its missile and drone programs, Germany is rebooting its tank factories, and Poland and the Baltic states are rapidly modernizing their forces.

But replacing US capabilities is no small task. It would take a ~$1 trillion investment from Europe to replace America’s current contribution to NATO, per the International Institute for Strategic Studies. And even then, Europe would still fall short in key areas like stealth aircraft, long-range strike capabilities, and satellite intel.

📊 Flash poll: In general, do you support or oppose the Pentagon’s new National Defense Strategy?

• Support
• Oppose
• Unsure/other

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BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 📉 US consumer confidence fell sharply in January to reach its lowest level in 12 years.
• ✈️ Southwest Airlines officially switched to assigned seating yesterday, ending a 50+-year-run of travelers being able to select their seats.
• 🌏 India and the EU have agreed to “the mother of all trade deals” that will remove tariffs on 90+% of goods traded between them.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 📱 TikTok US, the new American version of the app, is working to fix service issues after a data center power outage triggered a range of issues including login problems, glitchy uploads, a wonky “For You” page, and new videos stuck at zero views. | Khaby Lame, the most followed TikToker in the world, sold a stake in his company to Hong Kong-based financial firm Rich Sparkle Holdings for $975 million.
• 🏈🚫 Bill Belichick, who won six Super Bowls as a head coach (an NFL record) and two as a DC, was reportedly not inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. | Buffalo Bills promote OC Joe Brady to take the team’s open head coaching job.
• ✍️Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, published a full-page apology in the Wall Street Journal for his past antisemitic comments; Ye attributed his behavior to bipolar disorder stemming from a brain injury 25 years ago that was only recently diagnosed.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🧓 Caring for grandchildren may protect grandparents against cognitive decline, new study suggests; researchers found grandparents who provided childcare scored higher on both memory and verbal fluency tests.
• ⚒️ Earliest known wooden tools, dating back some ~430,000 years, were recently discovered at an archeological site in Greece.
• 🌌 NASA researchers create most detailed map yet of dark matter using data from the James Webb telescope; the map captures nearly 800,000 galaxies, some of which were detected for the first time.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 🏥 Trump admin is proposing roughly flat rates for Medicare Advantage plans next year (+0.09%); the figure is far lower than analysts’ predictions of a 4%-6% bump, and down from a 5.06% increase in 2026.
• 🥶 Temperatures are projected to fall to 20°F below normal (or more) across the US East, South, and Midwest this week due to a second arctic blast in as many weeks.
• 🌍 Israel has recovered the remains of the last remaining hostage held in Gaza from Hamas’ October 7, 2023, surprise attack; it fulfills a key initial condition of the US-proposed plan to end the war.

☝️ NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope recently captured an extreme close-up of the Eye of Sauron, a (probably evil) nebula centered around a dying white dwarf. The image offers a preview of what most likely awaits our own solar system billions of years from now.

🤔 Did you know? You can’t hum a melody while plugging your nose. (And you just tried, didn't you?) Humming requires air to pass over your vocal cords and escape through your nose. Holding your breath stops the flow of air and causes your vocal cords to stop vibrating, restricting any sustained sound.

📰 Worth a read: How DNA from our Neanderthal ancestors affects our health today

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• TSA's most unusual finds of 2025 include a replica pipe bomb
• Why penpals are making a comeback (and how to start)
• 80 interesting questions to ask besides: “How are you?”

Waiting to sell jewelry? You might be leaving money on the table... With gold near record highs and buyer demand strong, Worthy can help you capitalize. Answer 5 questions to see what your jewelry is worth.

🍕 Set alert to Doughcon 1: Monitor the Pentagon pizza index, which theoretically spikes during international crises.

💰 Invest like a billionaire: This visual guide illustrates how the world’s richest people plan to allocate their money in 2026.

👀 Watch: How to craft the perfect pop song, according to top writers in the industry

📰 Keeping up with industry trends is a process. TheFutureParty makes it easier with its daily newsletter. They provide the latest stories and insights to help you understand the future of tech, business, and culture—all in a quick and witty package. Sign up for free.*

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

1. 🎤 30: Grammy awards won by Beyoncé
2. 🚗 50: Countries that drive on the left side of the road
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