Here’s a nuanced look at the deluge of recent news for you to consume — and for me to remember — on geopolitics, Wall Street, MAGA land, AI, New York, and a bit of arts at the end.
GEOPOLITICS
Trump Seeks To Divert Russia’s Reliance on China
If you do not live under a rock, you must know the U.S. and Russia are talking about peace in Ukraine — with no Ukrainian official in sight. But here are some notes you may have missed:
- In a “reverse Nixon scenario,” Trump is cozying up to Moscow in a bid to lower Russia’s dependence on China. Experts say this is unrealistic — “China buys oil and provides components for Russia’s military industrial complex,” Michael McFaul, a former U.S. ambassador to Russia, wrote on X. “What can Trump offer Putin, especially if he’s only in power for four years?”
- Trump suggested Ukraine fork over 50% of its future earth mineral reserves for the $106 billion in direct U.S. support its received since the start of Russia’s invasion. Zelensky “politely refused.”
JD Vance in Munich: “A New Sheriff In Town”
JD Vance was on the minds of many this Valentine’s Day — not for his striking sex appeal, but because of his speech at the 61st Munich Security Conference. The vice president accused European allies of censorship, alienating sects of their societies, and seemed to back the far-right candidate in the race to replace Germany’s Olaf Scholz, in an election happening less than a week away.
“Putin could have given that speech,” an attendee told The Economist’s editor-in-chief, Zanny Minton Beddoes.
Munich’s stage is no stranger to geopolitical drama–think Putin’s stark speech in 2007 and Zelensky’s galvanizing call for support only two years ago–but this year was one to remember: as there is a “new sheriff in town.”
One day prior, the vice president sat down to discuss his speech with the WSJ. Here’s a striking remark he made:
“The threat I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia, it’s not China. What I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values.”
The Vietnam War Ended 50 Years Ago — Its Effects Continue.
In Vietnam, USAID cuts have halted help for 150,000 Vietnamese civilians harmed by a toxic chemical agent deployed by the U.S. during the Vietnam War. This comes as the two countries should celebrate their diplomacy — as the world-stopping-war ended 50 years ago.
(Check out the Apple TV+ series: The War That Changed America.)
WALL STREET
Sabotage Underseas Threatens Financial World
It’s a bird, it’s a plane — it’s undersea cables. Did you know Wall Street relies on them to transmit $10 trillion in daily transactions? Yes sir. But trouble is brewing in the Baltic and East China Seas–due to suspected sabotage from China and Russia.
“The entire financial sector can be impacted by subsea cable disruptions,” Cameron Dicker, the director of global business resilience at the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center, told Business Insider.
Another Forbes 30-Under-30 Faces Jail Time
Today a case between JP Morgan and Charlie Javice, former CEO of Frank, a college financial planning platform, begins in New York. Javice is accused of inflating Frank’s user-base to be in the millions (the real number was closer to 400,000) when she sold Frank to JP for $175 million in 2021.
- The case comes down to due diligence, and whether JPMorgan was deceived or misinterpreted honest data, a governance expert told The Guardian.
MAGA LAND
WSJ Editorial Board: What Constitutional Crisis?
WSJ’s editorial board questioned whether a warning of an imminent constitutional crisis stands on solid ground. They say MAGA’s actions fall into three camps: legal, debatable, illegal (i.e. moves to tee up for the Supreme Court).
They write: “The real crisis would come if Mr. Trump defies a Supreme Court ruling. If that happens, and it could, the left may wish it hadn’t squandered its credibility by crying wolf so often about crises that didn’t exist. Readers can relax in the meantime.”
But the WSJ news division put up an explainer video that seems to argue a crisis is closer than the board thinks. (It’s a must watch!)
Who Is Trump’s Young Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt?
As she held her newborn baby, Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s 27-year-old press secretary, turned on the TV in July to watch her boss deliver a speech in Butler, PA. When she and her husband, Nicholas Riccio, a 59-year-old real estate mogul, saw a bullet graze Trump’s face, they knew right then and there: Leavitt would pass on maternity leave and head straight back to work.
Keep reading about Leavitt here. She is impressive. Sean Spicer, at the end of the WSJ piece, even said “she’s killing it,” admitting he was “a little jealous.”
Is Trump’s Media Blitz Distracting Even Himself?
Trump’s deluge of news is muddling his capacity to work on what he promised voters during the campaign— like lowering costs for consumers, per a recent story in The WSJ.
“The danger is that in the chaos of communication, he’s taking his eye off the very issues that got him elected,” said Julian Zelizer, a presidential historian at Princeton University.
Trump has mastered how to get his message to the public — social media — in the same way Franklin Delano Roosevelt used radio, and John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan used television, she noted.
“It’s about the constant blitz, dominating attention and providing content in many different fragmented platforms,” Zelizer said. “Biden paid a high cost for not being able to do it. In some ways, he erased himself.”
ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE
How One McKinsey Executive Is Using AI
Business Insider asked big-name consulting company executives how AI has impacted their work. Rodney Zemmel, global leader for McKinsey Digital and firmwide AI transformation said: “It’s an excellent aid to brainstorming for our teams. I haven’t seen it as having true unbounded creativity, i.e., a new way of looking at the word. That won’t be far behind, though.”
NEW YORK CITY:
When Will the Eric Adams Saga End?
On a Thursday last week, the mayor sat down with Trump’s border czar–Tom Homan–on Fox and Friends. Honan said he’d be “up his butt” if the mayor wasn’t working with federal immigration officials — so classy.
The next day, Adams promised to sue the Trump Administration over sneakily revoking $80.5 million from one of New York City’s 26 bank accounts. This comes after Trump’s team dropped the charges against Adams, spurring reports the mayor “sold his soul” for his freedom.
On Monday, three senior Adams’ staffers resigned. Today, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected to weigh in on the matter.
What’s For Lunch? Sub Your New York Slice For A Taste of Hawaii
“The portions are enormous, the prices reasonable, the flavors straightforward: salt, fat, acid, meat,” ends a review in The New Yorker of a new Hawaiian-fast-food chain, L&L, sprouting up across the city.
It’s good to see the chain, owned by a brother-duo from Oahu, find its footing in competitive hoods across the Big Apple.
Arts and Culture:
Saturday Night Live’s 50th Anniversary
Billy Preston, a jumpy keys player once known as “the fifth Beatle,” was the first musical guest to bless the audience of the new satirical skit-comedy show Saturday Night Live — the first of its kind — in New York City on Oct. 11, 1975.
To celebrate 50 years on air, NBC aired that old tape on Saturday, followed by a celebrity-heavy live show on Sunday.
Before the weekend, Bill Murray, in a curiously calm interview on Late Night with Seth Myers, said he called up Lorne Michaels to let his old boss know he’d like to give it one last go as host. You know, “before it’s too late,” Murray said. (That’s something to look forward to.)
Check out these links for more:
- “50 Things We Say Now Thanks to SNL” — NYT
- “He’s Been ‘On’ SNL for 50 Years–And You’ve Never Heard of Him” — WSJ
- “Lorne Michaels is the Real Star Behind ‘Saturday Night Live’” — The New Yorker
- “38 Key Musical Moments on SNL” — NYT
- My favorite: Billy Preston performing “Money for Nothing” on the very first episode!
Ashley Elizabeth Miller 
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