Happy Tuesday Everyone! Today’s newsletter: 1,194 words…4.5 mins
🗞 Today’s Edition: Nepal’s Regime Collapses, Israel Strikes Hamas in Qatar, Greta’s Boat Fire, France’s New PM, NASDAQ Bets on Winklevoss’s Gemini, Ferrari’ Revs Up The 80s … & much more!
🚨🚨Correction: In yesterday’s issue, we wrongly stated the term “tohu-bohu” was French, when in fact it is Hebrew. We offer our sincerest apologies and thank one of our readers for pointing that out.
🚨 Watch For:
European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen to make a State of the Union address: Sep 10th
President Trump will address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA): Sep 23rd
📜THE HIGHLIGHT
One killer insight to stash in your back pocket
Clockwise from top-left: Parliament building in flames; Two boys bringing down the communist hammer and sickle flag off the Communist party building; PM K.P. Sharma Oli; Government officials being chased into the river in their delicates; Media building that houses Nepal’s largest media group - “Kantipur TV” in flames.
🇳🇵 🚨Regime Change In Nepal - Happening Live
Nepal is in open revolt. Sparked yesterday by a ban on social media, the ongoing anti-corruption protests against PM K.P. Sharma Oli’s ruling Communist Party, have spiraled into one of the country’s fiercest uprisings in decades.
The Highlights:
Oli’s private home was torched, as were those of other senior government officials.
Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel was stripped down to his underwear and tossed into a shallow river where he was chased by protesters.
Protesters stormed the historic Parliament building, the Supreme Court, and even Nepal’s largest media house; and set them all on fire.
Senior Ministers being pelted with stones, are being evacuated by helicopters
🚨Just In: PM Oli has officially resigned.
Behind the anger:
The rage isn’t just about graft. Since April, Gen Z–led demonstrators have fused anti-China, pro-monarchy, and pro-Hindu revivalist demands into the movement.
They want their former king back, a Hindu state restored, and Beijing’s grip cut loose.
Videos show protestors tearing down the Communist hammer-and-sickle flag, replacing it with royalist banners.
The military now claims it will assume “law and order,” but the streets say otherwise.
With mobs declaring “Nepal is under our control,” this feels less like unrest and more like regime collapse in real time.
💡 Why it matters: Nepal is a Himalayan chokepoint between India and China. With Oli’s fall, Kathmandu could swing back toward India—tilting a fragile borderland that Beijing counts on to buffer.
♟️THE CHESSBOARD
Geopolitics Decoded In 3 Moves
Aftermath of the strike in Doha, Qatar
🇮🇱 🇶🇦 Israel Bombs Hamas in Qatar
Israel bombed Hamas leaders in Doha today—literally striking Qatar's capital while they discussed Trump's ceasefire proposal. Qatar called it a “blatant violation” and suspended mediation efforts.
Strikes aimed at Khalil al-Hayya and Zaher Jabarin—no confirmation on whether they survived, but 5 others died, including al-Hayya’s son and aides.
Israel's first-ever strike on Qatari soil—home to Hamas's political HQ since 2012 AND the region's largest US base (Al Udeid, ~10,000 troops)
Qatar's airspace = basically US-controlled, meaning this needed American "awareness" at a minimum.
U.S. officials confirm they were "informed in advance" and that envoy Steve Witkoff passed along a warning to the Qataris once the U.S. was made aware of the strike.
PM Netanyahu claimed it “was a wholly independent Israeli operation.”
💡 Bottom Line: The operation demonstrates Israel’s willingness to act unilaterally in pursuit of Hamas, but its strategic payoff—and long-term cost to U.S. alliances—remains unclear.
🇫🇷 Macron’s Names A New PM
France just got its fifth prime minister in two years. President Macron tapped Sébastien Lecornu, 39, Defense Minister, to replace François Bayrou after yesterday’s no-confidence vote.
Lecornu inherits a fractured parliament, €3.3T debt, and street protests vowing to “Block Everything.”
The move signals Macron doubling down on centrist, pro-business reforms.
Lecornu—Macron loyalist, ex-conservative, and Yellow Vest-era survivor—must now ram through the 2026 budget before markets and Brussels lose patience.
Bottom line: Macron’s betting loyalty > consensus in a volatile France.
⛵ Greta’s Flotilla (and pants) On Fire
A Gaza-bound "aid" boat in a flotilla featuring Greta Thunberg, became an accidental bonfire in Tunisia.
The activists screamed “Drone attack” — a blockbuster claim that garnered international attention.
To their dismay, the Tunisian Coast Guard released security footage showing the fire started inside the boat.
Apparently, one of the Mensa inductees on the boat misfired a flare that landed back on the boat, igniting life jackets and some other materials.
The officials also debunked any drone claims; confirming that there were no UAVs detected in the skies.
⚡ Bottom Line: Even though their credibility was already under water, one must ask, how much embarrassment is too much embarrassment?
🗽THE EMPIRE FILES
Political Drama From DC To NYC
🕯️ Justice for Iryna
New surveillance footage captures Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska’s final terrified moments before being fatally stabbed on a Charlotte light rail Aug. 22.
The accused, Decarlos Brown Jr., a homeless felon with 13 prior convictions, was free without bail when he attacked her in cold blood.
The FBI has now hit him with federal transit-murder charges, carrying the death penalty.
Many mainstream media outlets refused to cover the story for days after the incident, until mounting video evidence forced their hand.
💡 Bottom line: This isn’t just a crime; it’s an indictment of catch-and-release justice and urban decay that betrays those seeking refuge here.
⚖️ Tariff Wars Hit SCOTUS
The Supreme Court will fast-track the review of Trump’s sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs—imposed under emergency powers on China, Mexico, and Canada—after lower courts ruled he overstepped.
At stake: Whether presidents can bypass Congress to slap massive trade duties under IEEPA.
Arguments start in November, with tariffs staying in place meantime.
A Trump win cements near-unlimited tariff power; a loss could halve U.S. tariff rates and trigger billions in importer refund claims.
💡 Bottom line: SCOTUS is about to decide if tariffs are Trump’s weapon—or Congress’s wallet.
🤖 CODES & POWER
Tech Wars, Crypto Chaos, and AI’s Black Mirror Moments
💸 Nasdaq Buys Into Gemini
Nasdaq is dropping $50M into Gemini—the Winklevoss-founded crypto exchange—just days before Gemini’s IPO.
The deal makes Gemini a custody partner for Nasdaq’s institutional clients and plugs it into Nasdaq’s Calypso trade management system.
It’s non-exclusive, but the timing is bold: Gemini’s gunning to raise $317M in its public debut, while Nasdaq eyes tokenized stocks and ETPs.
💡 Why it matters: TradFi isn’t just flirting with crypto—it’s moving in.
🏎️ Ferrari Revs Up the ’80s
Ferrari just dropped the 849 Testarossa hybrid, a $540K plug-in beast nodding to the iconic ’80s model.
Packing 1,050 HP from a turbo V8 plus three electric motors, it tops 205 mph and dethrones the SF90 Stradale as Ferrari’s flagship.
Coupe deliveries start in Europe next year, with U.S. buyers paying more thanks to tariffs.
💡 Why it matters: Ferrari’s future is electric—but it’s still flexing nostalgia-fueled horsepower.
📺 FUN FACTS & TRIVIA
Sound engineer Charley Douglass
The Laugh Track
The laugh track was invented in the 1950s by sound engineer Charley Douglass, who found live audience reactions were often terrible.
He recorded his own "laugh box" and would manually add the laughs he thought jokes deserved, sometimes even adding a single, distinct "secretary laugh" to cue the audience at home.