Good morning,

Welcome to another round of quick-but-punchy updates from yours truly. Currently, we're juggling everything from monster-catching apps changing hands for billions to people popping heart meds to survive their daily jitters to Trump's plan to put the Education Department on "time-out." Grab a coffee, exhale the stress, and let’s dive in!

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🚨 You'll Know First:

• USDA cuts $1 billion from school meals and food banks.
• The measles cases are still rising in Texas, now expanding to three states.
• ​Real Madrid beat Atletico on penalties in the Champions League; Arsenal, Villa, and Dortmund also advanced.
• Easter and Passover are coming up, but egg prices continue hitting records.

Class (Nearly) Dismissed

With mass layoffs, talks of scrapping civil rights enforcement, and shifting funds to the states, Trump's focus on gutting the Education Department is ramping up. McMahon's marching orders are to "close the department"—though only Congress can truly do it.

Meanwhile, Musk's Department of Government Efficiency has already cut education research programs. If these federal protections are eroded, families wonder if "local control" means "you're on your own," especially for low-income and special-needs students.

Pokémon Go(ne)

With a twist even Team Rocket would envy, Niantic is selling off its games division—including Pokémon Go—to Scopely for $3.5B. That means Pikmin Bloom, Monster Hunter Now, and Campfire and Wayfarer companion apps are all in.

Niantic's geolocation tech will be spun off into a new company called Niantic Spatial, but Scopely's "aggressive monetization" concerns some fans. After years of trying (and failing) to replicate Pokémon Go's magic, this might be the big-time reset Niantic needs—be ready to pay a premium for that next Great Ball.

Bonus: History of the Pokémon world.

Hangxiety

People everywhere are popping beta blockers lately, so you're not wrong. From sweaty-palm presentations to wet-your-pants social events, these heart meds—originally for blood pressure and arrhythmias—are taming everyday freak-outs.

Docs say they're not a cure-all, have bad side effects (hello, dizziness), and won't magically stifle mental chatter fueling deeper anxiety issues (even if they slow your heartbeat). You can think of them as a performance booster—just don’t forget the real MVP might be therapy (and breathing techniques!) for that never-ending brain buzz.

💬 Beyond the Core

Baby Steps: Dalai Lama says he will reincarnate outside China in the 'free world'.

Tree-t Yourself! Discovering the rarest trees on earth.

Model T: Could you tell me why a Tesla dealership was on the White House lawn?

Anima-listic: Here's how animals sound in different languages.

📸 Lens to Life

The 5-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic in photos.

🧮 Core Count: 83%

​How much of the USAID agency is being cut, according to the Secretary of State.

🗓️ Flashback:

624 - Muhammad's Muslim forces defeated the Meccan army in the Battle of Badr.

1781 - Uranus was discovered by William Herschel in what he thought was a comet.

1877 - American Chester Greenwood patents earmuffs after inventing them at age 15.

1884 - Mahdist forces began the Siege of Khartoum, Sudan, which lasted 10 months.

1903 - The British claim over 500,000 square miles of northern Nigeria following the fall of the Sokoto Caliphate.

1930 - Clyde Tombaugh announced the discovery of Pluto at Lowell Observatory.

2003 - The journal Nature reports that 350,000-year-old human footprints have been discovered in Italy.

2004 - Luciano Pavarotti performs in his last opera at New York Metropolitan Opera's "Tosca".

2019 - The US grounded all Boeing 737 Max aircraft after other countries banned them following the plane type's second crash in Ethiopia.

Before you go...

I hope you enjoyed this newsletter. Before moving on, would you consider supporting my work as we prepare for a pivotal, uncertain year?

I rely on readers like you—yes, you! It takes a few dollars a month to keep The Core going.

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

​Fatih Taskiran​

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