Dance Now, Disappear Later

Good morning, Core readers, and happy Sunday!

Today is the perfect day to sip that extra cup of coffee and let the world's stories unfold at a slower pace. Let's settle in, leave the weekday rush behind, and savor a few headlines worth reading—no hurry, no hustle, just good company and curious minds.

Let's simplify today's world for you:

If you thought it had all died down by now—surprise, it's back and louder than ever. US federal appeals court approved a law to force TikTok's Chinese parent company to sell off the app or see it vanish from Americans' phones by mid-January. So yeah, we're talking full-on "delete your precious app or else" here, not just the half-hearted dance mom scare a few years ago.

The best part? President-elect Donald Trump—who once tried to ban TikTok—has said he wants to rescue it. What does that even mean? Meta, Google, and web hosts are crossing their fingers. If China doesn't like the American buyout approach, they might try some fancy legal gymnastics. TikTok creators may swap challenges and dance routines for job hunting and platform hopping.

Let's picture an app slowly dying: no updates, no cool features, just that spinning wheel of doom as it lags and glitches into irrelevance. So enjoy your For You feed while it's still fresh—this drama's got cliffhangers to spare.

Legacy Jackpot

So, here we are: the United States is on the brink of something colossal—call it the "Ultimate Hand-Me-Down." Trillions of dollars earned painstakingly (or at least slowly snowballing) over generations are poised to tumble to the next. We're talking about America's biggest wealth transfer ever, worth $105 trillion over the next 25 years.

Before you start daydreaming about quitting, remember: this isn't a free-for-all. That money will flow mainly through a thin slice of extremely wealthy households. For everyone else, well, it's probably just a wait.

On the bright side, the passing-around of wealth might reshape how we view money, family, and real security. Maybe you'll get a piece of the pie if your boomer parent has a thriving 401(k) or a tripled home value. If not? We can all enjoy the spectacle of fortunes moving, and maybe it's the nudge we need to get our ducks in a row.

Dine Another Day

You want to try that buzzy steakhouse or gourmet taco spot everyone's talking about, huh? Buckle up: booking a reservation nowadays is like getting Beyoncé concert tickets without the presale code. The reservation game has gone full Hunger Games, with bots hogging prime time slots and apps flipping tables like vintage sneakers.

But hey, don’t panic, though. It’s all part of the weird, wonderful world of dining in 2024. There are a few sneaky moves left in your toolkit. You'll be able to catch last-minute cancellations if you set Resy's "Notify" alerts. Call the place directly—yes, with your real voice—and mention your flexibility. Or, ask if the restaurant has a walk-in or slow-night reservation.

By lining up early and braving the midweek chill, you may get a prime table without touching your rainy-day fund. This wild new world of dining sometimes favors the bold, old-school (and the perfect pasta).

What We Learned This Week?

1. The Truth Behind Food Deserts.

2. Congratulations, you have Brain Rot.

3. How TikTok became America’s emergency fund?

4. Inside South Korea’s six-hour fever dream.

5. Bitcoin at $100k.

6. What really happened to Brian Thompson?

7. How women ruled Spotify’s year-end charts?

8. OpenAI’s o1 serves up vision, reason, and a price tag.

9. A stowaway’s high-flying hide-and-seek journey.

10. Inside the Great Gourmet Pie Robbery.

💡 Core Wisdom

📸 Lens to Life

The 2024 Northern Lights Photographer of the Year entries.

🧮 Core Count: 42

A bear's number of teeth.

🗓️ Flashback:

1863 - Abraham Lincoln issues his Amnesty Proclamation and Reconstruction Plan for the South.

1941 - The US and Britain declared war on Japan.

1941 - A day after Pearl Harbor was bombed, Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his famous "Day of Infamy" speech to Congress, and the US entered World War II.

1965 - Paul VI closed the final session of the Second Vatican Council—an influential ecumenical council that modernized church practices.

2004 - The Union of South American Nations is established by signing the Cuzco Declaration in Peru.

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

Fatih Taskiran