Happy Monday, N2K reader!

Elizabeth Willett won last week’s world-famous news haiku competition™ with this beauty about the best way to honor Martin Luther King’s legacy, written last Thursday, and oddly prescient about the weekend’s news:

Congratulations, Elizabeth! Here’s your celebratory gif!

…and here’s how you voted on the competition, Cheddar friends:

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Civil rights, law, truth | Get into some good trouble | ICE melts; values don’t ~Elizabeth Willett (206)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ The King is not proud | today. Let's make him prouder | into 28. ~ Samantha Sigelakis-Minski (28)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Respect your neighbor | If that feels too difficult | Find a new planet ~ Remy Zane (95)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Honor MLK: Fight for a better future | One heart at a time ~ Lodro Rinzler (114)

⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Fire hoses spew pain | Dog snarl through screams of anger | Justice still running ~ Andy Leeka (21)

464 Votes via @beehiiv polls

This week’s world-famous news haiku competition™ is about how communities across the country came together in the face of the weekend’s snow storm. Think of grilling all your neighbor’s meat because the power went out to their freezer. You know? I believe that you, yes, you, dear reader, can craft a spectacular haiku on the subject. So: Send me your entry — to our spiffy new email address, haiku at cheddar dot com — by noon ET Thursday, for consideration by your Cheddar peers!

And now for something completely different.

Matt Davis — Need2Know Chedditor

News You Need2Know

• Apparently, there was some sort of snowstorm this …

• Minnesota businesses join general strike against I …

• Mr. Wonderful: From Shark Tank to Oscar buzz

• TikTok strikes deal for new U.S. legal entity

• How Dolby's latest TV tech is driving where stream …

• Poll of the day: Let it snow, or make it stop?

What’s the stock market up to, eh?

$SPX ( ▼ 0.2% ) $DJI ( ▲ 0.63% ) $NDX ( ▼ 1.24% )

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter

$COST ( ▲ 0.02% ) TikTok $ORCL ( ▼ 4.22% )  $DLB ( ▲ 5.6% )  

Apparently, there was some sort of snowstorm this weekend?

I imagine this Monday morning looks a little different from most of your Monday mornings, since Storm Fern has now impacted 235 million Americans across nearly 40 states. Viewers could barely see the Denver Broncos go down to the New England Patriots by the fourth quarter yesterday:

…our kid’s school bus is delayed by two hours today, although that’s being optimistic it’ll show up at all, frankly, and the organist and choir stayed home from my church on Sunday, leaving the rector to deliver a sparse “spoken service” without any music. Not gonna lie, it was still rather beautiful. But the weather does suck.

Across the U.S., 10,000 flights have been canceled and fatal cold temperatures — two men died of hypothermia in Louisiana — have brought normal life to a near standstill as a powerful winter storm spanning over 1,800 miles wreaked havoc.

The storm is called “Fern,” but let’s hope we’re not stuck between two of them!

While cities in the Northeast saw feet of snow, ice storms in the South caused widespread destruction, leaving more than a million people without power. Officials warn that outages in hard-hit areas, such as Nashville, could last for days, following extensive damage from trees and power lines brought down by heavy ice. In Tennessee, over 290,000 were without power yesterday, with some areas reporting 90% of residents impacted. Meanwhile, temperatures across the South varied wildly, with Memphis shivering at 16°F while Mobile, Alabama, enjoyed 73°F temperatures.

On Saturday night in Southern Virginia, we tried to grill some chicken wings from Costco $COST ( ▲ 0.02% ) but it turns out, this is what happens to your Traeger grill when you try to fire it up at 17 degrees Fahrenheit:

Not to worry. I took ‘em inside and did ‘em in the oven. We had our wings with WINGS.

Got a good photo of, er, weathering the storm? Send it on over, compadre, and I’ll run it in tomorrow’s ‘sletter. Stay safe and warm out there. Y’all hear?

Minnesota businesses join general strike against ICE

On Friday, life across Minnesota came to something of a standstill as hundreds of businesses closed and residents joined a general strike protesting the killing of protester Renée Good by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. Dubbed the “Day of Truth and Freedom,” the accompanying march saw as many as 50,000 people take to the streets in -20° Fahrenheit weather. That’s [checks notes] -29° Celsius. I mean, it is cold.

Evidently, ICE weren’t paying the strike much attention as the following morning, at least seven federal agents confronted and ultimately fatally shot Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse at the local VA hospital. A judge issued a late-night order on Saturday barring federal officials from destroying evidence, as administration officials continued to maintain that Pretti had threatened agents with a firearm despite video footage contradicting those claims.

President Donald Trump faces a mounting backlash against his immigration crackdown as a result, with some senior Republicans breaking ranks, and Democrats threatening another government shutdown over ICE funding in the coming weeks.

“I think the death of Americans, what we’re seeing on TV, it’s causing deep concerns over federal tactics and accountability,” Oklahoma’s Republican Governor Kevin Stitt told CNN’s “Face the Nation” yesterday morning. “Americans don’t like what they’re seeing right now.”

Mr. Wonderful: From Shark Tank to Oscar buzz

Kevin O'Leary, famously known as "Mr. Wonderful," is now adding "actor" to his resume, having starred as Milton Rockwell in the Oscar-nominated film “Marty Supreme.” He earned his famous nickname on the first season of “Star Trek” “Shark Tank” when he made an aggressive demand for 51% equity in a company, prompting fellow shark Barbara Corcoran to sarcastically dub him "Mr. Wonderful." O'Leary embraced the ironic moniker, claiming he is "wonderful" because he delivers the harsh, truthful advice necessary for entrepreneurs to succeed. Just like this newsletter!

In a recent interview with Cheddar, O'Leary shared his reaction to the film’s success: "I think it captures the essence of the American dream in post-Second World War optimism,” he said. He embraced the role of the "real A-hole" financier, noting, "I am Milton Rockwell…so I had a great time making it."

The multi-talented mogul isn’t stopping there. O’Leary has three new scripts and his sights set on his dream role: a James Bond villain. "What I wanna play next is the bad guy in the Bond movie," he said, adding a modern twist: "I think by the time Bond is shot, I may be the largest developer of AI real estate for data centers in North America."

That certainly sounds villainous! Beyond Hollywood, O'Leary remains focused on investment signals, especially following major political speeches. He emphasized the need to look past rhetoric: "You got to forget about the noise, you got to find the signal," he said, assuming, of course, that there is one. O’Leary’s analysis led him to a bullish position on Canada’s defense spending, explaining, "I went long the Canadian dollar and bought the Canadian index. And wow, did that work." For O’Leary, every field, from film to finance, offers a new opportunity to pursue success. He makes me feel like sort of a loser, honestly. Although I did love the movie. Did you see it yet? It’s … wonderful.

Song of the Day: Gorillaz, “The Hardest Thing/Orange County”

Gorillaz are back with two new tracks from their upcoming album, “The Mountain” out next month. The lead single, “Orange County” (ft. Bizarrap, Kara Jackson & Anoushka Shankar), is paired with “The Hardest Thing” (ft. Tony Allen). Written by Damon Albarn, “The Hardest Thing” opens with the late Tony Allen’s voice, exploring themes of grief and hope with the poignant lyric, “You know the hardest thing is to say goodbye to someone you love.” “Orange County” offers an uplifting contrast, featuring vocals by Kara Jackson and sitar melodies by Anoushka Shankar, weaving beauty into the album’s story. So, it’s just like this newsletter!

TikTok strikes deal for new U.S. legal entity

TikTok has finalized a deal with the White House to establish a separate American entity, allowing the app to continue operating in the U.S. despite earlier threats of a ban. The new joint venture, whose name trips off the tongue, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, is majority-owned by American investors, including key figures like Oracle $ORCL ( ▼ 4.22% ) co-founder Larry Ellison, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump. ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, retains a 19.9% stake under the deal, which aims to ease concerns about data security and Chinese government influence.

Oracle will oversee the retraining of TikTok’s powerful algorithm, which now operates exclusively on U.S. user data. “This comprehensive data privacy and cybersecurity program helps ensure Americans can continue expressing their creativity,” TikTok said in a statement almost completely devoid of what you might describe as substance. Republican chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Rep. John Moolenaar, emphasized future scrutiny, saying, “Does it make sure that the [Chinese Communist Party] does not have influence over the algorithm? And can we assure Americans their data is secure?”

It does, John. Or at least I think it’s supposed to. Who really knows? That’s the point.

On TikTok (where else?) reactions have been mixed. Journalist Aaron Parnas told his followers, “I don’t know what this means for us moving forward. They could start retraining the algorithm.”

I’m sure they will, Aaron. And I don’t know, either. But best of luck with that!

How Dolby's latest TV tech is driving where streamers invest in content

At CES 2026, Dolby $DLB ( ▲ 5.6% ) unveiled its next generation of television technology: the “Dolby Vision 2.” The new system uses a powerful image engine to intelligently optimize picture quality on compatible TVs, which are now up to 16 times brighter than previous generations. Key to Dolby’s philosophy is "content intelligence," which ensures the filmmaker's original vision remains primary, with no AI running on the television itself. Instead, the technology acts as a translator of the creator's intent, Dolby says.

Significantly, Vision 2 is not just for premium sets; it offers "a lot of value" even for mainstream TVs, dramatically improving the viewing experience on $300 models. The technology’s ability to deliver a more immersive experience is key to driving engagement metrics — like streaming and watch hours — which is why streaming giant NBCUniversal is making Peacock the first channel to adopt Dolby Vision 2.

Starting in 2026 with the FIFA World Cup, and expanding to MLB, NBA, and the next NFL season, live sports will never look or sound the same. Or at least, that’s the idea! Dolby Vision, along with the “perceptually lossless” AC4 audio codec, allows them to “enhance the experience without really consuming much more bitrate,” tackling a big challenge for live streaming events. Dolby is also making premium sound more accessible with Flex Connect, a new wireless speaker system that adapts to any room.

If you can’t actually be at the Superbowl in 2027, this is probably the next best thing. Plus it’s warmer in your living room, and the snacks are a lot cheaper than at the stadium.

Should you check your 401(k) today?

👍️ 

Sure, whatever. Might as well see what things are up to, eh?

Poll of the day: Let it snow, or make it stop?

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