Good morning. In today’s edition:

• 🏦 New Fed Chair nominee
• 🚫 Gov’t shutdown begins
• 📝 Major Epstein file release

…and much more.

Ready, Set, Go: Today’s news should be a ~3.83-minute read (1,018 words).

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“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”

–Thomas Edison (1847-1931)

On Friday, President Trump nominated Kevin Warsh to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve, ending a months-long search to replace Jerome Powell, whose term ends May 15.

As Fed Chair, Warsh would lead the central bank in managing monetary policy and setting baseline US interest rates, with a goal of keeping inflation around 2.0% while also maximizing employment.

Some quick background: Warsh has had a long career in economic policy, with roles across Wall Street and Washington.

• After working at Morgan Stanley, Warsh joined the Bush White House in 2002. Four years later, he became the youngest Fed governor in history at 35 years old.
• Warsh left the Fed in 2011, then later joined Stanford’s Hoover Institution with a focus on research into economic policy and central banking.

Reactions were mixed

Conservative lawmakers and economists argue Warsh brings a valuable blend of public- and private-sector experience to the role. They point to his previous Fed tenure, academic work on inflation, and warnings about excessive stimulus as evidence he understands how to navigate complex economic challenges, especially if inflation risks rise again.

On the flip side: Critics of Warsh’s nomination cite what they see as red flags in his past experiences. Warsh was one of the few Fed officials to prioritize inflation during the 2008 financial crisis, a stance some economists say led to slower action during a critical period.

Some critics also question whether Warsh would maintain the Fed’s independence from political influence, noting that Trump has publicly said he won’t nominate anyone who disagrees with him to be Fed Chair.

The markets took note

Prices for gold (-11%) and silver (-31%) fell sharply in response to news that Warsh will be Trump’s nominee, marking the worst day since 1980 for both precious metals. Meanwhile, the dollar gained ground (+0.8%) and major US stock indexes ticked slightly lower on Friday.

Analysts say the dramatic drop in gold and silver is a sign that investors expect Warsh will be more resistant to Trump’s push for lower interest rates, which some fear would devalue the US dollar, compared to other Fed Chair candidates—though Warsh recently aligned with Trump’s push for lower rates.

Looking ahead… Warsh will undergo a Senate confirmation process over the coming months. If approved, he would serve a five-year term starting in May.

📊 Flash poll: In general, do you support or oppose Kevin Warsh as nominee for the next Federal Reserve Chair?

• Support
• Oppose
• Unsure/other

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BUSINESS & MARKETS

• 🤝 An Abu Dhabi royal secretly signed a deal with the Trump family to purchase a 49% stake in their crypto venture World Liberty Financial for $500 million, per the WSJ; the unprecedented investment from Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan—who had been pushing the US gov’t for access to advanced AI chips—came months before the Trump admin allowed the UAE to buy ~500,000 advanced AI chips per year.
• ✋ Nvidia’s plan to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI has reportedly stalled; the deal, first announced in September, would see Nvidia build 10+ gigawatts of computing power for OpenAI, and also invest up to $100 billion to help OpenAI pay for it.
• 🌎 Panama’s Supreme Court canceled a contract held by a Hong Kong company to operate ports at each end of the Panama Canal; the ports will be re-tendered to new operators.

SPORTS, MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT

• 🙏 Catherine O’Hara, an Emmy-winning actress best known for her roles in Schitt’s Creek and Home Alone, passed away at 71.
• 🏟️Carlos Alcaraz wins the Australian Open final over Novak Djokovic, becoming the youngest man ever to complete a career Grand Slam (22 years). | 76ers F Paul George was suspended 25 games for violating the NBA/NBPA anti-drug program.
• 🏆 2026 Grammy Awards were held last night in Los Angeles. | Send Help tops the domestic box office in its opening weekend, at $20 million. | Melania, a new documentary from Melania Trump, earns $8 million in the best domestic opening for a documentary in a decade.

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SCIENCE, SPACE & EMERGING TECH

• 🐻‍❄️ Polar bears are getting fatter in the Arctic as sea ice dwindles in the area, suggesting their diets have shifted from seals to land-based animals like reindeer and walruses, new research suggests.
• 🤖🚕 Federal regulators are investigating an incident last month where a Waymo robotaxi struck a six-year-old child who ran into the street; Waymo says the vehicle braked after detecting the child, who sustained minor injuries.
• 🐋 North Atlantic right whales are in the middle of a baby boom, with nearly two dozen born so far this season; the critically endangered species has ~380 members worldwide.

US, WORLD & POLITICS

• 🏛️ Partial US gov’t shutdown officially began on Saturday; the House will vote this week on a massive funding package that includes a stopgap measure to fund DHS, which was agreed to by President Trump and Senate Democrats last week.
• 📝 Department of Justice released what it says is its final trove of files related to the late Jeffrey Epstein; the 3+ million pages of records include details of Epstein’s interactions with figures including Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and former Prince Andrew.
• 🚨 Former CNN anchor Don Lemon and an independent Minnesota journalist were among four people arrested by federal agents in connection to an anti-ICE protest at a church in Minnesota.

☝️ You’re looking at some of the winners from the 2025 Nature Photography Contest, celebrating the beauty of the natural world in black and white. The competition saw hundreds of entries from 82 different countries.

🤔 Did you know? There’s a name for that weird moment when you repeat a word so much that it stops looking and/or sounding real: semantic satiation. It happens when your brain gets tired of processing a word’s meaning and starts hearing it as meaningless sounds instead.

📰 Worth a read: How Argentina became the epicenter of horse cloning.

🖱️ What we’re clicking:

• Staying up late could harm your heart
• How often Is too often for new ‘Star Wars’ movies?
• The problem with AI-generated animal videos

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On Friday, we covered President Trump’s renewed threats of potential military action against Iran if the country doesn’t reach a deal to dismantle its nuclear program and make other changes.

❓ Our question to you: In general, do you support or oppose the use of military threats and pressure by the US government in an attempt to get Iran’s government to agree to its latest terms?

• Support: 39%
• Oppose: 49%
• Unsure/other: 12%

Click here to read some of the most thoughtful longform responses.

+Note on sample size: We received 555 votes and 68 longform responses.

Monday: Groundhog Day

Tuesday: NFL Pro Bowl Games

Wednesday: Alphabet reports earnings; National Sweater Day

Thursday: Amazon reports earnings; weekly unemployment claims

Friday: Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony in Milan, Italy; Labor Dept.’s January jobs report; new J. Cole album The Fall-Off

+Over the weekend: Super Bowl LX, featuring the Patriots vs. Seahawks, is on Sunday

Guess the definitions of the following Greek/Latin root words:

1. Bibl
2. Cent
3. Crypt
4. Fin
5. Infra

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1. Bibl = Book (e.g., bibliography)
2. Cent = Hundred (century)
3. Crypt = Hidden (cryptography)
4. Fin = End (final)
5. Infra = Below (infrastructure)

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