Happy Wednesday Everyone! Today’s newsletter: 1,128 words…4.2 mins
🗞 Today’s Edition: Macron’s Royal Fairytale, Zelensky in Rome, Turkey Bans Grok, Harvard Gets Subpoenaed, Brit Parliament Chaos, Bezos Dumps More Stock …& much more!
🚨 Watch For:
Potential finalized deal on Israel-Gaza in the coming week
Potential TikTok deal to be announced next week
💡 Correction: Yesterday’s newsletter incorrectly stated President Macron made his speech at Windsor Castle. It was in fact at the Palace of Westminster.
📜THE HIGHLIGHT
One killer insight to stash in your back pocket
Clockwise from Top-Left: Dinner at St. George’s Hall, Windsor Castle; HM King Charles and President Macron followed by HM Queen Camilla and Mrs. Brigitte Macron at Windsor Castle; Macron toasts HRH Catherine, Princess of Wales; The Prince and Princess of Wales at Windsor Castle
🇬🇧 🇫🇷🫅 A Very Royal Sleepover: Macron’s Windsor Fairytale
Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron just lived every Downton Abbey fangirl’s dream: a three-day state visit to the UK packed with tiaras, horse-drawn carriages, Champagne, and royal shade served chilled.
👑 The Vibe:
From Westminster speeches to Windsor feasts, the Macrons were treated like European royalty. Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, met them at the airfield, then whisked them off—by carriage—to Windsor Castle through flag-lined streets and cheering crowds.
🎩 The Banquet:
Held in the iconic St. George’s Hall (yes, where the Mr. & Mrs. Markle had their wedding reception), the State Dinner was pure pageantry:
Menu: Summer veggies, asparagus-stuffed chicken, iced blackcurrant parfait, vintage port, and a custom gin + pastis cocktail called L’Entente (subtle) - most ingredients sourced from Palace gardens across the nation.
Table setting: No white tablecloths. Just a mile-long polished wood table glowing with candles, fresh palace-picked flowers, and silver-gilt centerpieces.
Music: The BBC Orchestra played 18th-century bangers, because vibes.
💃 The Fashion:
Kate stunned in a deep red Givenchy gown + Princess Di’s tiara.
Queen Camilla wore emerald green and diamonds the size of regret.
Brigitte Macron glowed in sapphire blue with cape drama.
Elton John and Mick Jagger sat among royalty like it was the Met Gala for diplomacy.
🥂 The Moment: Macron and Kate clinking glasses while the King and Queen traded French cheek kisses with Brigitte. Royal gossip? Immaculate. International relations? Irrelevant.
✨ Bottom Line: For 72 hours, Britain and France reminded us that global diplomacy is best served with sequins, silverware, and a tiara or five.
♟️THE CHESSBOARD
Geopolitics Decoded In 3 Moves
Clockwise from Top-Left: President Zelensky greets US Special Envoy Keith Kellogg; Zelensky and Pope Leo XIV on the balcony of Castelo Gandolfo, Zelensky meets the Pope; Zelensky and Kellogg commence meeting
🇺🇦 🇮🇹 Zelensky Lands in Rome, Talks Recovery, Pope & Missiles
🪖 Zelensky’s in Italy for a major Ukraine Recovery Conference, pitching global investors and allies as Kyiv reels from Russia’s largest drone attack in 3 years. Leaders including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz are also due to attend.
🇺🇸 Zelensky met Trump’s Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg after Trump confirmed this week, he will continue sending weapons to Ukraine.
🤝 Also on the agenda:
A lakeside chat with Pope Leo XIV at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo
Talks with Italian President Sergio Mattarella
⚠ Why it matters: Kyiv faces a $19B budget gap and no ceasefire in sight. Ukraine’s rebuilding hinges on global cash—while bombs still fall and U.S. aid hangs by a thread.
🇬🇧 “Will You Shut Up?” - British Parliament Descends Into Chaos
Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage was shouted down as he grilled PM Starmer on migration and accused French Prez Macron of “dictating” to Britain, calling him “an increasingly arrogant anti-Brexit French man.”
📢 Cue the heckling: MP Iqbal Mohamed kept yelling “Lied to!”, slammed post-Brexit immigration and continued loudly jeering along with others until Farage was nearly inaudible.
🔥 Reform’s Lee Anderson snapped: “Will you shut up?!”
👀 Speaker’s Response: “Farage can fight his own battles.”
💥 Verdict: Nothing was solved, but peak Brexit theatre is back—now with more yelling.
🇹🇷 Turkey Bans Elon’s Grok for Dissing Erdoğan, Atatürk
❌ Turkey blocked access to Grok after Musk’s chatbot spit out insults targeting Erdoğan, Atatürk, and religious figures—triggering a criminal probe and potential 4-year prison charges.
👀 Poland’s also fuming after Grok mocked PM Tusk.
"Freedom of speech belongs to humans, not artificial intelligence"
⚠️ 🤯 This Week: Grok’s been caught praising Adolf Hitler and Nazis (SNL’s taking notes)
😿 Grok Team: We are "actively working to remove the inappropriate posts." and that "xAI has taken action to ban hate speech before Grok posts on X."
🔥 Why it matters: Musk’s chatbot has become a flashpoint in the debate for free speech vs hate speech and the power AI wields in our lives.
🗽THE EMPIRE FILES
Political Drama From DC To NYC
Harvard University
🏫 Harvard’s In Hot Water
⚖ It’s official…Harvard has been formally subpoenaed over information on foreign students. The Education and HHS Depts say Harvard may not meet accreditation standards, citing unchecked antisemitism and civil rights violations.
⚠ If revoked, Harvard could lose federal aid.
🎓 Harvard calls the move political, pointing to reforms and denying the findings.
This marks Trump's second accreditor crackdown—Columbia was first.
🔥 Why it matters: As radicalism and antisemitism surge on U.S. campuses, Harvard’s clash with DHS spotlights growing pressure to confront threats hiding behind academic freedom.
🎫 POV: Your Rent Receipts Just Became Your Golden Ticket
🍾 In a win for first-time buyers, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, now allows rent payment history to help Americans qualify for a mortgage.
💵 A new rule lets lenders use VantageScore 4.0—factoring in rent and utility bills—potentially opening the door for 5M+ renters with thin credit files.
🔥 Why it matters: This levels the housing field for renters and underrepresented communities, making the American Dream a bit more accessible.
🤖 CODES & POWER
Tech Wars, Crypto Chaos, and AI’s Black Mirror Moments
Jeff & Lauren Bezos
💲 Bezos Dumps $666M in Amazon Stock Post-Wedding
💒 Jeff Bezos sold nearly 3M Amazon shares—worth $665.8M—days after his $50M Venice wedding to Lauren Sánchez. It’s part of a plan to offload 25M shares by 2026.
🚀 Why? He plans to use the proceeds to fund his space exploration company, Blue Origin, and support philanthropic efforts.
💰 Bezos is still the largest shareholder of Amazon (>900M shares valued at close to $200B) - where he remains chairman.
💍 Honeymoon + liquidity = billionaire love language.
🤖 Reachy Mini: Meet Your New Desktop Robot
⚡ Hugging Face launches Reachy Mini, a $299 desktop robot. This 11-inch humanoid, designed for developers, is aimed at democratizing AI-powered robotics development.
It Boasts:
10 million users
Open source strategy
Six degrees of freedom, a wide-angle camera, and comes as a DIY kit.
💰 Funding: The company has raised significant sums from venture capital firms and investors, including Sequoia Capital, Amazon, NVIDIA, Intel, Google and IBM.
📺 FUN FACTS & TRIVIA
Marilyn’s Library Was No Joke 📚
Even though Marilyn Monroe played the role of “dumb blonde”, she was actually quite erudite. She owned over 400 books—from Dostoevsky to Freud. Her most marked-up? Ulysses by James Joyce. Now that’s a serious reader.
💀 THE ROAST
Because World Leaders Beg To Be Dragged
