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Canada and the European Union yesterday announced another round of tariffs on US imports, with Canada applying a 25% levy on steel products and the EU targeting a range of agricultural products. Officials said the moves were retaliatory for tariffs put in place by the Trump administration (see tracker).
The US exports roughly $2T annually to countries around the globe (second to China, at around $3.5T). Generally speaking, tariffs act as taxes on imports into the country that levies the fee. The administration has generally favored using tariffs to affect policy, focusing on fentanyl production and illegal immigration, having put in place broad 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada before moderating the rules. The day-to-day changes have left many in a state of uncertainty.
Check out 1440's overview on tariffs and how they work here. |
Greenland's New Government |
Greenland’s center-right Demokraatit Party won a surprise general election victory yesterday, a closely watched decision that comes amid growing calls from residents for independence and President Donald Trump repeatedly expressing interest in acquiring the mineral-rich territory.
The Demokraatit Party, which advocates for a gradual approach to independence from Denmark, won around 30% of the vote. Party leader Jens-Frederik Nielsen has openly opposed Trump's wishes to acquire the territory and will now hold talks with other parties to try to form a government coalition and move toward full sovereignty.
Greenland has been controlled by Denmark for nearly 300 years, but the Arctic island of approximately 56,000 people has been gradually moving toward greater autonomy, achieving self-rule status in 2009. Greenland's strategic significance is partly due to its mineral, oil, and gas resources. The island's location between Russia, Europe, and the US is also advantageous for defense and trade purposes, including being home to the northernmost US military base.
See details on the country’s strategic value here. |
Video game developer Niantic, maker of the popular augmented reality Pokémon Go, sold its game division yesterday to Scopely for a reported $3.5B. The sale is one of the top 10 largest deals in industry history—behind the acquisition of Scopely by Saudi-owned Savvy Games in 2023.
Pokémon Go, based on the three-decade-old Japanese franchise featuring a range of creatures that protagonists must catch in a ball for study (and combat, deep dive here), boasts around 90 million active players per month. In the game, players walk around real-world environments in an attempt to find and collect a wide variety of creatures. Critics have accused Niantic of amassing user data—both location-based and augmented reality environments—to sell without consent.
Niantic founder and CEO, John Hanke, helped create Meridian 59, one of the first MMORPGs—massively multiplayer online roleplaying games—ultimately selling his game studio in 1996. He then helped lead mapping startup Keyhole, which was acquired by Google and formed the core technology behind Google Maps. Learn more about Hanke's career here. |
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Sports, Entertainment, & Culture |
> Harvey Weinstein's retrial of his 2020 rape and sexual assault conviction set for April 15; Weinstein's conviction was thrown out last year by the New York Court of Appeals (More) |
> UEFA Champions League quarterfinals set after second leg of Round of 16 wraps (More) | See latest bracket (More) | Tiger Woods biopic film in the works, to be produced by Barack and Michelle Obama (More) |
> Spotify paid out all-time high of $10B in royalties to music industry in 2024, including more than $1M to nearly 1,500 individual artists (More) | Sequel to 1984 cult comedy "This Is Spinal Tap" set for Sept. 12 release (More) |
🚀 New 1440 launch: We'll be launching our second 1440 Topics newsletter in the coming weeks, with deep dives into cultural trends—starting with subjects ranging from Disney to Stephen King to Coachella. Sign up here for free! |
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> The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration lays off more than 1,000 people as part of Trump administration's workforce reduction plan; agency's duties include collecting data to monitor and predict storms, coastal restoration, and more (More) |
> DNA analysis reveals Stone Age Europeans successfully voyaged overseas to North Africa roughly 8,000 years ago; marks the first evidence of sea voyaging across the Mediterranean during this period (More) |
> Google reveals Gemma 3, an open-access AI model for developers that can interpret text, images, and short videos (More) |
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> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 +0.5%, Dow -0.2%, Nasdaq +1.2%) after cooler-than-expected inflation data and as traders scoop up tech stocks, including Nvidia (+6.4%) (More) | US consumer price index rises 2.8% year over year in February, down from 3% in January (More) |
> iRobot shares fall over 35% after Roomba maker raises doubt about its future (More) | Intel shares rise over 11% in after-hours trading after former board member Lip-Bu Tan named as CEO; comes three months after former CEO's ousting (More) |
> US budget deficit rises in February, surpasses $1T for first five months of fiscal year 2025; the figure sets a record and is up $318B from the same period in 2024, or roughly 38% higher (More) | Understanding the deficit (More) |
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> Senate Democrats expected to reject GOP-led House-passed funding bill as Friday midnight shutdown nears; House adjourns for the week (More) | Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) won't run for reelection in 2026, adds to list of open seats in states like Michigan and Minnesota as Democrats seek to regain Senate majority (More) |
> Immigration officials arrest more than 32,000 migrants who have been living in the US without legal status since Jan. 21, per latest Homeland Security data (More) |
> Pakistan's army says insurgents who attacked passenger train Tuesday killed 21 hostages; security forces rescued more than 300 others and killed all 33 assailants (More) |
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> A Man Walks into a Bank
Bits About Money | Patrick McKenzie. A deep dive into banking procedures, inspired by a viral article about a $50K scam, uncovers the hidden layers of security and surprising truths behind large cash withdrawals. (Read)
> What If Native American Tribes Had Gotten Their Own State?
Reason | Ilia Murtazashvili. Exploring a moment in history when Oklahoma could have been divided into two states, one of them a Native American state called Sequoyah. (Read) |
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