Happy Thursday Everyone! Today’s newsletter: 1,075 words…4 mins
🗞 Today’s Edition: The U.S. Is Planning Nuclear Reactors On The Moon, Kamala HQ Is Back, Bitcoin Falls Below $70K, NBC Host's Mother Is Missing, Norway Votes To Keep Monarchy, Trump Endorses Japan and Hungary's leaders, Mcdonald's Surpasses Ethereum… & much more!
📺 On this day in history, BBC’s famous ‘pips’ were born. Scroll down to find out more!
🚨 Watch For:
President Trump, Dr. Oz and Joe Gebbia will be officially unveiling TrumpRx - a state-of-the-art website for consumers to purchase low cost prescription drugs: This evening, 7pm at the White House
Opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Italy: Friday, Feb 6th
📜THE HIGHLIGHT
One killer insight to stash in your back pocket
🌕 The U.S. Is Planning Nuclear Reactors On The Moon
NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy are moving from theory to infrastructure on the Moon—pushing a compact nuclear fission reactor as a core pillar of the Artemis program.
NASA’s Artemis program isn’t just about landing astronauts on the Moon again.
The real goal is to stay—with a permanent base near the lunar south pole that can support humans, science, and eventually industry.
That requires one thing above all else: reliable power.
🔩 The problem: The Moon is brutal for energy. A single lunar “night” lasts 14 Earth days, and the regions NASA wants most—the polar craters—are in near-constant darkness because that’s where water-ice is trapped. Solar panels alone don’t cut it.
The Chinese said they’re going to do it — we’re going to do it FIRST…
We’re gonna have rovers on the moon…3D printing the regolith, refining Helium-3… Then we set our sights on Mars and beyond.
⚛️ Enter nuclear: NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy are jointly developing a small nuclear fission reactor under the Fission Surface Power program. Think micro-nuclear, not Chernobyl:
~40 kilowatts initially (enough to power ~30 U.S. homes)
Designed to run continuously for a decade
No refueling, minimal moving parts
Goal: deploy on the Moon by ~2030
🔓 Why this unlocks everything:
That steady power enables lunar mining
Water-ice → drinking water + rocket fuel
Moon dirt (regolith) → oxygen, metals, building material
💡Bottom line: Nuclear is how the U.S. plans to build an economy on the Moon—and stay ahead in the next great resource race.
♟️THE CHESSBOARD
Geopolitics Decoded In 3 Moves
🇳🇴 👑 Norway Votes To Keep Monarchy Despite Epstein Ties, Royal Scandals
Norway’s Parliament (Storting) voted 141–26 to keep the constitutional monarchy, rejecting a proposal to replace King Harald V with an elected president.
Scandal backdrop: Crown Princess Mette‑Marit named 1,000+ times in unsealed Epstein documents detailing post‑2008‑conviction contacts; she apologized Saturday.
Son Marius Borg Høiby faces separate charges.
Polls show support for the monarchy slipping to 61%, down from 72% last year.
💡Why it matters: This wasn’t a snap vote—it was long-planned, and now kicks to the next Storting for another two-thirds approval if republicans persist. Monarchists say the crown offers non-partisan stability since 1905 independence; republicans call hereditary rule undemocratic. King Harald (88) and succession preserved for now.
✍ Mediators Draft Nuclear Framework for U.S.-Iran Talks
Mediators from Qatar, Turkey, and Egypt have handed Washington and Tehran a draft framework for renewed nuclear talks, per Al Jazeera—but neither side has signed on. Proposed terms (per unnamed diplomatic sources):
Iran halts enrichment for 3 years, then caps it below 1.5% (way under JCPOA levels)
Ships its ~440 kg of 60% enriched uranium abroad
Pledges no first‑use ballistic missiles; stops arming regional proxies
Next round of talks: U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian FM Abbas Araghchi expected to meet in Oman.
💡Bottom line: U.S. military posture around Iran remains tense; Tehran’s reviewing multiple regional initiatives. Sources stress, acceptance by either side is uncertain.
🌐 Trump Goes Global on the Campaign Trail
Today, President Trump openly endorsed two foreign leaders—breaking with the usual U.S. taboo on election meddling. The picks:
🇯🇵 Japan PM Sanae Takaichi, ahead of Japan’s Feb. 8 legislative election. Trump praised her as a “strong, powerful, and wise leader” and teased a March 19 White House visit.
🇭🇺 Hungary’s PM Viktor Orbán, ahead of the April 12 vote. Trump cites "new heights of cooperation" and calls ties “stronger than ever.” Repeats 2022 endorsement.
💡Bottom line: This move breaks with traditional US non-interference norms and backs nationalist allies sharing Trump's sovereignty-first ideology.
🗽THE EMPIRE FILES
Political Drama From DC To NYC
Former VP Kamala Harris launching @headquarters_67 on X
🕵️♂️ 🚨 NBC Host’s Mother Missing in Arizona
Nancy Guthrie (84), mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing near Tucson after failing to attend church. Authorities now say it may be a kidnapping - no suspects yet. Key details:
Last seen Saturday night; home flagged as a possible crime scene
Needs daily medication, raising urgency
FBI involved; searches use dogs, drones, helicopters; DNA results awaited.
Investigators are probing a ransom letter sent to the media; plus one person arrested Thursday for "imposter ransom demand."
⚡Family Plea: Savannah and her siblings issued an emotional public plea as searches intensify. Case enters day five.
💡President Trump has personally directed the FBI and all federal law enforcement to be at the Guthrie family’s disposal - reaching out across political lines, as this harrowing story grips the nation.
📱 Kamala HQ Is Back—Now It’s “Headquarters 67”
Former VP Kamala Harris quietly revived her viral KamalaHQ accounts under a new brand, Headquarters (aka HQ / Headquarters 67), pitching it as a Gen Z–led progressive content hub, not a 2028 campaign.
The play:
Run with People For the American Way; Harris is Chair Emerita (no editorial control)
Handles like @headquarters_67 lean hard into Gen Z/Gen Alpha slang + memes
Same snark, same Trump trolling, bigger focus on 2026 midterms
⚡Democrats are rebuilding digital muscle—meme-first.
🤖 CODES & POWER
Tech Wars, Crypto Chaos, and AI’s Black Mirror Moments
📉 Bitcoin Falls Below $70K
Bitcoin tumbled to $65,343 $BTC ( ▲ 2.87% ) wiping out nearly half of its gains since October 2025’s peak of $126K.
Why: Tech sell-offs, Fed policy signals, and whale liquidations sparked panic.
BTC broke key supports at $70K and ~$80K, dragging ETH and Solana even lower.
⚡Crypto winter is real. Support holds at $68K–$65K; if broken, $55K–$60K looms. Dip-buyers may rescue, but volatility isn’t going anywhere soon.
🍟 McDonald’s Is Now Bigger Than Ethereum
For a moment this week, McDonald’s—yes, the burger chain—was worth more than Ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency. McDonald’s market cap hit about $232B, edging past ETH’s ~$220–230B during a crypto pullback.
McDonald’s = safe, predictable stock: steady cash, dividends, global franchises, and shares near all-time highs (~$326).
Ethereum = struggling in a risk-off market, hit by tighter money, regulation worries, and investors stepping back from crypto bets.
⚡When markets get nervous, investors pick fries over futures.
📺 FUN FACTS & TRIVIA
Source: BBC
On This Day In History
The Greenwich Time Signal, commonly known as the "pips," was first broadcast by the BBC on February 5, 1924.
This series of six short tones marks the precise start of each hour and has become a beloved tradition in British broadcasting.