Volv Concierge #68

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Priyanka here with a snapshot of everything happening in the world right now—and it’s a LOT. With the whirlwind of breaking news, don't forget to check out the fascinating headlines you may have missed this week!

🌎 Around the world

The world is reeling from the threat of a new trade war with the US—Canada, Mexico, China, and Europe all appear to be in the kill zone. Sure, Trump’s paused on some plans, but the chaos could completely rewrite trade dynamics worldwide. Global markets can barely keep up, but experts think one country could emerge the clear winner by literally doing nothing in this scenario: the UK. And the biggest loser of Trump’s tariffs? His right-hand man, Elon Musk.

Oh, and Trump also said the US could “take over” the Gaza Strip after meeting with Israeli PM Netanyahu, which has rattled the global community.

🏠 In Trump-merica

Trump does not want Palestinians returning to “unlucky” Gaza. His plan? The US will “own it” and be responsible for “dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs.”

He has signed an order to create a new sovereign wealth fund for the US, à la Norway or Saudi Arabia, which he says could “buy TikTok.” So, that’s fun.

The general idea is to reduce the federal government to its bare bones as the US prepares to “take over” everything—be it Gaza or TikTok. And DOGE is working on slimming down federal agencies. Besides everything else that’s happening, Elon Musk has also reportedly taken control of the inner workings of the US government (locking out actual employees).

🦾 In tech

A new way to ‘get rich’: Gen Z has been obsessed with is this ‘copy trading’ app, Dub. Yes, teenagers want to “copy” the way people like Nancy Pelosi manage their portfolios to start making millions.

DeepSeek has countries banning it and senators proposing 20-year prison sentences for users. Turns out, it isn’t even as “low-cost” as everyone thought it was?! Sam Altman is still getting incessantly mocked for saying DeepSeek copied OpenAI, as people point out that his company was built by “stealing literally the entire internet.” The irony is real!

China strikes again this week with buzzworthy AI coming from TikTok’s parent ByteDance. Omnihuman-1 can render lifelike videos from a single image and audio as reference—this fake clip of Taylor Swift singing in Japanese shows that the possibilities are endless.

🎙️ If pop culture is your jam

...then you already know about all the big Grammy updates. But what you might not know is that it reignited a viral conspiracy about celebs being “forced” to praise and talk up Beyoncé every chance they get.

Kanye and his wife Bianca Censori also turned the drama up several notches when she showed up in a ‘nudefit’ on the red carpet that had people calling for her arrest. Rumors are flying about his “controlling” behavior as Bianca keeps making headlines in barely-there outfits. It has apparently led to Ye losing out on a $20 million gig. Was it worth it?

🗞️ Interesting headlines that caught my eye:

• The first 'approved' iPhone porn app is making waves

• Spotify reports first-ever full year of profit since it launched in 2008

• Lay’s potato chip can cause “death,” FDA warns

• Tarot reader predicts DC plane crash—social media fully freaks out

• One word that explains why the world feels so off nowadays

• We're obsessed with looking like donuts—this could make Hailey Bieber a billionaire

• Gen Z is ditching Botox for 'prejuvenation'

That’s it, see you next Wednesday!

This newsletter was edited by Ishita Sen. 

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