🗞️No more pennies

...also Musk's bid to buy ChatGPT and Super Bowl hangovers

February 10th, 2025

What happened today 🇺🇸,

  • The Secretary of the Treasury has been ordered to stop producing pennies, it currently costs the U.S. more than 3 cents to produce each penny and the U.S. lost $179 million in 2023 and about $90 million in 2024 producing them

  • Federal judge, John J. McConnell, ordered the Trump administration to comply with his order to unfreeze federal funding/grants after a group of Democratic state attorneys general last week said that some funds remained frozen

  • Trump has announced 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, meaning this is not directed at any one country but an attempt to increase steel and aluminum production in the U.S.

  • Employees at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were told by acting head, Russell Vought, to cease pretty much all work related activity signally the potential for mass layoffs or the attempt to shut the agency down, since then a Union has hit the Vought with two lawsuits

  • The U.S. Justice Department told federal prosecutors in Manhattan to drop the corruption case against NYC Mayor Eric Adams

  • The Wall Street Journal has reported that an investor group led by Elon Musk is making a $97.4 billion bid to buy OpenAI which owns ChatGPT

  • Super Bowl ads cost $8 million for 30 seconds, per Bloomberg

  • Google Maps now says the ‘Gulf of America’ when viewing maps from the U.S.

  • A record 22.6 million U.S. employees are estimated to be skipping out on work today due to it being the day after the Super Bowl, the main ways they are doing it are calling in sick, just flat out not showing up, swapping shifts with coworkers, and getting a pre-approved day off

  • DOW up .38%/ S&P up .67%

  • Hamas has said the next hostage release scheduled to take place on Saturday will be postponed until further notice, they are accusing Israel of violating the ceasefire deal

Plus: A survey of what Americans think will happen in 2025

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Quote of the day: “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.”
— Albert Einstein

Have a great night!

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