AI Cage Match

Good morning, curious minds!

We have a sci-fi grab bag today: Musk vs. Altman in an AI battle, a triple storm, Coca-Cola's milk mission, and—drumroll please—Earth's very core isn't what we once thought. Grab a cup of coffee (or fancy filtered milk?), and let's explore a wild world; you won't believe it. Here we go!

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The pulse of today, in just minutes:

Elon Musk really knows how to make an entrance—this time, by offering 97.4 billion to buy OpenAI's nonprofit arm (the one who controls ChatGPT and "Let's not destroy humanity"). Sam Altman’s response? "No thanks," followed by a cheeky counteroffer to buy Twitter back at a fraction of the price. (Ouch.)

It's a bit messy: Musk claims OpenAI got corporate, partnered with Microsoft, and lost its charitable mission, while Altman reportedly landed a $300 billion deal with SoftBank. Lawyers, regulators, and charitable trust rules are all tangled up in this AI soap opera. Maybe next time, they'll just settle it in a cage match.

Triple Threat

Seems winter isn’t messing around: Three new storms are set to hammer almost the entire nation—again. First up, a snow-and-ice combo hitting the Mid-Atlantic and Appalachians, bringing slick commutes to DC, Philly, and New England. Second, more snow dumps from the Plains to the Great Lakes, doubling February snowfall totals in Kansas City and Chicago. Lastly, a major rainstorm hits California, causing debris flow warnings (looking at you, LA burn scars).

Keep your shovels, umbrellas, and weather apps handy—it's going to be a bumpy winter.

Milking the Market

Meet Coke’s secret weapon: Fairlife, an ultra-filtered milk that’s beating the odds in a shrinking dairy market. While the protein-packed drink isn't cheap, its annual sales just passed a billion dollars, helping offset the slump in soda demand.

 Investors are intrigued—over $600 million has been invested in a new plant, and Coke may pay a jaw-dropping $7.4 billion for the brand. Think of it as carbonated capitalism minus the fizz.

Core in Flux

It might be more like a wobbly sphere than a perfect metal ball at Earth's center. New earthquake data suggests our core’s shape is subtly changing—rising and slumping by up to 100 meters along its outer boundary. By the way, it may have slowed down a few years ago, then reversed direction.

You don't have to build a sci-fi survival bunker yet: we've got a few billion years before meltdown. But it’s wild to think Earth’s “heart” is such a dynamic place—like tectonic plates, but (literally) way deeper.

💬 Beyond the Core

Egg Rules: Take note: Costco and Trader Joe's limit how many eggs you can buy.

Nail Salon: Your fingernails can tell you a lot about your health.

Valley of the Wolves: Two rare black wolves were spotted in a Polish forest.

💡 Core Wisdom

📸 Lens to Life

Here's a beautiful look at the World Championships opening week.

🧮 Core Count: 92,300,000

Dubai International Airport's 2024 passenger record number.

.🗓️ Flashback:

660 BC - Traditional date for the founding of Japan by Emperor Jimmu.

1929 - Vatican City, the world's smallest country, becomes an enclave of Rome.

1945 - At the Yalta Conference, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin signed the Declaration of Liberated Europe.

1975 - Margaret Thatcher defeats Edward Heath for leadership of the British Conservative Party.

1990 - Nelson Mandela is released after 27 years of imprisonment in South Africa.

2011 - Hosni Mubarak resigned after 18 days of protests during the Egyptian Revolution and was replaced by the Supreme Military Council.

2013 - Benedict XVI, the first pope to resign since 1415, announced his resignation effective February 28.

I'm glad we could get together here. Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!

Fatih Taskiran