Good afternoon,

After a rough start to the year for box offices, “A Minecraft Movie” – based on a video game of the same name – smashed expectations and opened to a record-making $163 million domestic and $313 million worldwide over the weekend. It's on track for a billion dollars by the end of its run.

• Translation: A lot of people are watching this movie. One-third of them are teenagers. And they're delivering standing ovations and screaming memes at the screen.

  • Clips have been circulating on TikTok and YouTube for weeks: "I...am Steve," "Flint and Steel," and (my personal favorite), "CHICKEN JOCKEY!"

Having never played Minecraft, I don't know what they mean. Because I like my hearing intact, I don't plan to find out. But these videos of unbridled joy have brought some much-needed relief on this Monday afternoon. I hope they do the same for you.

Aaryan
Podcast Producer

Industrious is where you want to work

Industrious is the elevated office experience any kind of worker deserves — from the solo'preneurs with WFH fatigue, to the small business looking to expand into their first private suite, to the enterprise-level darling with a worldwide network. Industrious is the best coworking and member experience, period.

Alongside our pals at Mo News, we’re offering listeners (that’s you) 30% off your first Day Pass! Bookable at any location, Day Passes get you access to all Coworking amenities so you can utilize Industrious as a place to focus, a place to gather, or a place to get your best work done.

Use code MONEWS30 when booking a Day Pass or Meeting Room

🚨 ONE IMPORTANT THING

Trump: No Plans To Pause Tariffs Amid Negotiations, Threatens Additional 50% Levy On China

President Trump on Monday ruled out a report that he will pause tariffs for 90 days while he negotiates trade deals with countries. The stock market briefly jumped upward mid-Monday morning after the rumor spread, before plunging again when the White House called the report "fake news." The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 closed slightly down, after the S&P briefly hit bear-market territory (a decline of 20% from a recent peak). It is the third straight day of stock losses.

• The 10% universal tariff on all U.S. imports went into effect Saturday.

The ups-and-downs also came as Trump threatened to impose an additional 50% tariff on China starting Wednesday, if the country doesn’t withdraw its planned 34% retaliatory tariff on U.S. goods, which are set to begin Thursday.

HARDBALL
Trump has already proposed a combined 54% tariff on Chinese goods since taking office: 20% over fentanyl, and 34% tied to trade deficits. China then replied by saying they will raise their tariff on US goods to approximately 54%. Next, it was Trump’s turn. The latest pledge means total tariffs on goods from China could climb to 104%.

• In 2024, Americans bought nearly $440 billion of goods from China, making it the U.S.’s second-largest source of imports behind Mexico. The new tariffs make the cost of those goods about $900 billion.

Trump’s additional tariff threat on China comes as the White House said more than 50 of about 60 countries facing reciprocal tariffs have requested talks to discuss trade deals. Trump wrote Monday that those discussions ”will begin taking place immediately,” despite previously saying tariffs were not up for negotiation.

WHAT OPTION COUNTRIES HAVE
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro rejected Vietnam’s offer to impose zero percent tariffs on the U.S. in order to negotiate down Trump’s 46% reciprocal tariffs. Trump similarly dismissed the European Union’s offer to reduce tariffs on American cars and industrial goods to zero if the U.S. does the same in return. Given the US consumer market size vs most countries, it’s not clear how this will be possible for a number of nations.

• On CNBC, Navarro said the administration is concerned about trade deficits, but also currency manipulation, market dumping, intellectual property theft, sweatshops, child labor, and exploiting pollution havens — saying each country “cheats in a different way.”

• The European Union: The EU repeated its ‘zero tariff for zero tariff’ offer on Monday. Trump said that was not enough, and cited the need to end the $350 billion trade deficit with the EU when it comes to the amount of goods bought by each side. The European Commission has rejected that argument, pointing to the surplus in trade for services the US sells Europe.

• Japan: Early Monday, Trump also spoke with the Japanese prime minister, whose nation faces a 25% levy on auto exports, as well as a 24% reciprocal tariff on other goods set to take effect Wednesday. Trump similarly claimed that while Japan sells millions of cars to the U.S., American vehicles are virtually absent in the Japanese market. Part of tariff deals, he said, would be opening foreign markets to more American products.

• Israel: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was at the White House on Monday — the first foreign leader to meet in-person with Trump since the tariff announcements. Netanyahu said Israel (which already eliminated their tariffs on the US) would also seek to close its approximately $7 billion trade deficit with the U.S. Still, Trump still did not indicate whether he would eliminate the 17% tariffs on Israel.

🚨 ONE THING WE’LL BE WATCHING

U.S. To Hold Direct Talks With Iran On Nuclear Deal Starting Saturday

President Trump said that his administration will begin direct nuclear talks with Iranian officials on Saturday, marking the first direct negotiations between the two countries since Trump withdrew from the previous nuclear agreement during his first term in 2018. Iran's leadership had initially only agreed to negotiations through a third party.

HOW WE GOT HERE
The administration has laid out the ambitious goal of dismantling Iran's nuclear program entirely, as experts believe the country could be just weeks away from being able to assemble a nuclear weapon.

• Tehran has insisted it is enriching uranium for peaceful purposes and has refused to abandon its nuclear program for decades. Last month, Trump sent a letter to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, giving a two-month deadline for reaching a nuclear deal. He has also threatened to "go in militarily."

"I think everybody agrees that doing a deal would be preferable to doing the obvious. And the obvious is not something that I want to be involved with, or, frankly, that Israel wants to be involved with if they can avoid it," Trump said Monday, while sitting next to the Israeli prime minister. "And hopefully those talks will be successful. And I think it would be in Iran's best interests if they are successful."

🚨 ONE THING THAT’S CONCERNING

RFK Jr. Visits Epicenter Of U.S. Measles Outbreak After Second Child Dies

An 8-year-old girl died from complications related to measles over the weekend — the second child to die from the virus in Texas this year, and the third measles-related death nationwide in 2025. Local officials say the girl was not vaccinated and had no known underlying health conditions.

On Sunday, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he visited the child's family in Texas. He also planned to meet with state health officials to discuss how HHS can better support local efforts to contain the outbreak. In a social media post on Sunday, he stated that “the most effective way to prevent the spread of measles" is the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine — despite previously downplaying the vaccine’s safety and efficacy.

GROWING OUTBREAK
Since the outbreak began in late January, Texas has reported 481 measles cases as of Friday, and health officials warn it could continue for another year. The outbreak has since spread to New Mexico, Oklahoma, and possibly Kansas, pushing the total number of U.S. cases to at least 607.

• The vast majority of cases have been among unvaccinated children and teens. According to the CDC, for every 1,000 children who contract measles, one or two will die.

Public health officials have been sharply critical of HHS’s handling of the outbreak. The former FDA head of vaccines, who was forced out of the agency last week, called the department's stance on vaccines "irresponsible, detrimental to public health, and a clear danger to our nation's health" in his resignation letter.

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 Supreme Court delays midnight deadline for Trump administration to fix mistaken deportation of Maryland man (ABC)

📌 Luna reaches deal with Johnson after standoff over remote votes for new parents (THE HILL)

📌 Visas issued to 6 UC Berkeley, 6 Stanford students revoked (CBS)

📌 Trump threatens veto of bill to curb tariff power (POLITICO)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 American teen fatally shot in Israeli-occupied West Bank as Netanyahu visits Trump (CBS)

📌 Rescue efforts from Myanmar’s deadly earthquake wind down as death toll hits 3,600 (AP)

📌 Le Pen supporters rally in Paris, turning a protest into a populist show of force (NPR)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

📌 Apple plans to source more iPhones from India as potential tariff fix (WSJ)

📌 CEOs think the U.S. is ‘probably in a recession right now,’ says BlackRock’s Larry Fink (CNBC)

📌 The return of the dire wolf (TIME)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 Duke basketball star among South Sudanese who could be deported due to new Trump policy (NBC)

📌 ‘White Lotus’ finale ratings: 6.2 million viewers watch season 3 shootout, smashing series record by 30% (VARIETY)

📌 Sydney Sweeney and Jonathan Davino spotted together in L.A. after calling off wedding (PEOPLE)

📌 Bill Murray says masked kiss led to sexual misconduct allegation that shut down movie (NBC)

ICYMI FROM THE 📲

In case you missed it… We’re not going to spoil “The White Lotus” ending for anyone today (it hasn’t even been 24 hours) — but let’s just say, the memes were bountiful.

One of our favorite’s is above. But after Duke’s loss this weekend, this meme started picking up serious traction 😬