Happy Wednesday Everyone! Today’s newsletter: 918 words…3.4 mins

🗞 Today’s Edition: U.S.-China trade talks, U.S. bases on high alert as Iran threatens to strike, Peter Thiel’s new IPO, LA rioters get free ‘Starter Packs’ … & much more!

🚨 Watch For: US Army’s 250th Birthday Parade - Saturday, June 14th

🧠 ⚡ Quick Intel

Geopolitics Decoded In 3 Moves

🚨BREAKING!!

📌 U.S. on High Alert as Iran threatens to Strike

🚀 Iran just test-launched a missile that can carry a 2-tonne warhead—its most powerful yet—and warned that every U.S. base in the Middle East is now a target if war is “imposed.”

🇺🇸 Washington’s response?

🔍 Bottom Line: If negotiations fail and either side miscalculates, the prospect of war with Iran may move from possibility to reality—almost overnight.

📌 Poland’s Political Deadlock: Tusk Survives, But Can He Govern?

✅ Tusk’s government won 243-210 in a no-confidence vote, averting collapse after his preferred presidential candidate lost to nationalist Karol Nawrocki.

⚠️The problem: Nawrocki—backed by opposition (PiS) and Trump—can now veto Tusk’s EU-aligned reforms (courts, abortion, taxes). No supermajority to override.

🔥 Why It Matters

🔍 Bottom Line: Tusk keeps power, but Poland’s pro-EU momentum just hit a nationalist wall.

👊 EU vs. China: Sanctions Showdown Over Russia Ties

🔥 Hot Take: The EU just slapped sanctions on two Chinese banks (border lenders near Russia) for helping Moscow dodge trade bans—their first direct hit on China’s financial sector.

🎮 Geopolitical Chess Moves:
→ Sanction target banks and 32 Chinese firms selling dual-use goods to Russia
→ EU banks banned from dealing with them
→ Beijing’s response: "Cool story, still buying Russian gas"

🍿 Bottom Line: This isn’t trade war—it’s Succession meets Wolf of Wall Street with less coke and more SWIFT codes. Will China retaliate?

🗽 THE EMPIRE FILES

Political Drama From DC To NYC

🔥🛡️ “F–k ICE” Kits Flood LA Protests

NGOs in LA are handing out protest starter packs—face shields, goggles, masks, gloves, and jail support numbers—to anti-ICE demonstrators.

🚚 Kits are being distributed from trucks downtown, with groups like Operation Healthy Hearts, LA Poverty Department, and MAST leading the charge.

🙄 Some hubs also offer anarchist manuals.

🎭 Critics call it chaos funding. Organizers say it’s about safety and civil rights.

🍎 NYC angle: House Republicans now probing $34M in taxpayer funds to CHIRLA, a key organizer

🚨 “No Kings” Rebellion Protests

Anti-Trump “No Kings” protests will flood 1,500+ cities this Saturday, June 14th— to protest Trump’s military parade, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the American Army which coincides with the President’s 79th birthday.

⚔ Organizers call it a “national rejection” of strongman politics.

🪖 Trump warned protests would face “very big force” if they disrupted the parade

🥩 Philly gets the flagship march; NYC, LA, and Chicago will also host rallies.

Irony Alert: The protestors are sticking it to the President by protesting everywhere - except D.C.

Tech Wars, Crypto Chaos, and AI’s Black Mirror Moments

🪙💰 Bullish’s IPO Redemption Arc: From SPAC Flop to Wall Street Bet

Peter Thiel’s crypto exchange Bullish just filed for a confidential IPO—its second act after a 2021 SPAC collapse. CEO Tom Farley (ex-NYSE) aims to ride Trump’s pro-crypto wave and Bitcoin’s $100K hype.

🍎 NYC Angle: Jefferies underwriting, while hedge funds side-eye Thiel’s "libertarian Goldman Sachs" vibes

🧠 🕶️OpenAI’s "Open" Model: Fashionably Late to Its Own Comeback Tour

Open AI CEO, Sam Altman delays OpenAI’s open-weights model—"something amazing" needs more bake time. Meanwhile, Mistral and Qwen drop rival reasoning models, turning the "summer of open AI" into the Hunger Games.

⚡ Pressure’s on: If this flops, Altman’s "wrong side of history" quote ages like milk.

One killer insight to stash in your back pocket

💼 US-China’s Trade Truce Gets a Makeover

After months of rising tension (and tariffs), Washington and Beijing just hit “pause” again—this time at Lancaster House in London. The new framework builds on the Geneva deal and aims to de-escalate the tech war without either side losing face.

❓ What’s in it?

Why now?
📉 China’s exports to the US just plunged 34.5%—its worst drop since early COVID.
💥 US supply chains are stressed.
💸 Wall Street rallied on the news, but nobody’s betting long-term peace yet.

The Catch: This deal still needs Trump and Xi to sign off. And if past truces are any guide… expect turbulence.

🧠 Bottom Line: It’s less of a breakthrough and more of a “let’s not destroy each other before Q4” handshake. Stay tuned.

Because World Leaders Beg To Be Dragged

🔌 Power Plug: "Wall Street’s crypto hype cycle: From ‘digital gold’ to ‘please god let this pump’ in 3.5 seconds." - @NewzHawk