Good morning, Core Crew!

First, I owe you a massive thank-you for all the supportive notes and excitement coming our way. It's the best caffeine boost ever, especially when I'm racing the clock on these hectic mornings.

Quick heads-up: I'm tinkering with the release time (and a few other things), so keep an eye out for a sleeker, sharper newsletter, but at a different time. Hold on, today's stories are too good to miss. Enjoy!

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🚨 Be the First to Know:

• After Harvard rejects Trump's demands, $2bn in funds are frozen.
• San Diego area gets jolted by a 5.2-magnitude earthquake near the San Andreas fault.
• Lil Nas X is in the hospital after he 'lost control' of his right side.
• DoGE may have taken sensitive labor data, according to a whistleblower.

Justice on Repeat

Harvey Weinstein is back in court—again—fighting the same charges and stories that launched the global reckoning. He faces a brand-new jury and a culture that's grown more complex since #MeToo first roared onto the scene. He gets testimonies from three women alleging sexual assault this time.

His defense insists these were consensual affairs—nothing more. But with social tides shifting and a "different" trial on deck, it could be a turning point for #MeToo's second act. Is his defense going to convince jurors that times have changed, or will these disturbing allegations reignite an old movement?

Bonus: Harvey Weinstein timeline: What's happened so far?

Love on Four Wheels

Some tech workers are going retro: leaving handwritten notes in robot taxis to recruit engineers or snag a date. Within days, dozens of summaries were sent to one founder by slipping a paper ad into Waymo.

alli @sonofalli my friend just found this in a waymo 2:4 PM • Apr 11, 2025 82 Retweets 6341 Likes Read 307 replies

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Another lonely heart scrawled his pitch and phone number on a slip of paper, hoping for an old-school date in a cab. No algorithm-driven dating app or polished LinkedIn post here—but it's a literal ride into the unknown that might be worth it.

Chainsaw Chic

Remember Patrick Bateman’s meticulous morning ritual—ice packs, endless crunches, that ridiculous nine-step skincare routine? Now that TikTok floods us with hour-long "get ready" videos and elaborate "looksmaxxing" routines, the idea of a hyper-curated self-care "grind" feels downright normal.

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Ironically, Bateman was meant as a satire of soulless consumerism. His blueprint for brand obsession and physical perfection has become less "psychotic" in this world of haul videos and influencers—minus, I hope, the chainsaw.

💬 Beyond the Core

Bat-signal: Police officers dress up as Batman and Robin for a bizarre undercover sting.

Holy Crepes! Here are the 10 best food and drink cities in the world, according to experts.

AI’m all: Here's how you know you used ChatGPT to do your work.

📸 Lens to Life

A photo tour of Osaka Expo 2025.

🧮 Core Count: 75%

The percentage of US scientists and researchers considering leaving the country.

🗓️ Flashback:

1755 - Samuel Johnson's "A Dictionary of the English Language" is published in London.

1861 - President Abraham Lincoln mobilized the federal army of 75,000 volunteers at the start of the American Civil War.

1874 - The First Impressionist art exhibition opens in Paris and features Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, and Berthe Morisot.

1877 - The world's first home telephone was installed in Somerville, Massachusetts, at the house of Charles Williams Jr.

1896 -The 1st Modern ​Summer Olympic Games​ closed at the ​Panathenaic Stadium​ in ​Athens​; the USA won 11 gold medals, and Greece won 46 total medals.

1912 -Titanic sinks at 2:20 AM off Newfoundland as the band plays on, with the loss of between 1,490 and 1,635 lives.

1947 - Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

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​
​Founder & Chief Daydreamer at The Core​

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