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Cory Booker’s secret weapon: Cheese?

If you asked me to stand up and talk for a full day, I would not be able to do it. Cory Booker, however, did it on the Senate floor Tuesday, going 25 hours straight and setting a Senate record. How did he do it? Our first guess was: cheese. For some people, it has the effect of, let’s say, gumming up the works. (Not, alas, for the lactose-intolerant.) Then we were informed that Senator Booker is vegan, so that theory went out the window. So how did he do it? Email me your best theories—and be sure to read our story down below.

Today's Cheddlines You Need2Know

• ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs hit China, UK, India

• Cory Booker breaks Senate speech record

• Time a-ticking for TikTok sale

• Four new Beatles movies coming in 2028

• Chatting fitness with the Oura Ring CEO

You’re welcome.

—Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor

P.S. When you win $10 million, make sure to pay your taxes. That’s the advice on our ‘gram!

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‘Liberation Day’ tariffs hit China, UK, India

Fresh off a disastrous election result in the Wisconsin Supreme Court Race yesterday — where voters rebuked Elon Musk’s $25 million in support for a favored candidate by handing that candidate a big loss — President Donald Trump pivoted to a planned attack.

In an extraordinary press conference in the White House’s Rose Garden, Trump announced plans for sweeping tariffs.

“Our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, plundered” by other nations, he said.

Trump held up a chart while speaking, showing the United States would charge a 34% tax on imports from China, a 20% tax on imports from the European Union, 25% on South Korea, 24% on Japan and 32% on Taiwan.

“Taxpayers have been ripped off for more than 50 years,” Trump said. “But it is not going to happen anymore.”

Futures on the S&P 500 $SPX ( ▲ 0.67% ), which allow investors to trade when exchanges are not officially open, began to tumble after Trump started outlining the tariff rates. The index had ended the day higher, but futures were down sharply—2.2%, according to the Wall Street Journal—after the press conference began:

Democrats responded negatively, too.

“The president is risking a recession with this national sales tax he calls tariffs — while needlessly alienating our closest allies,” Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, said in a statement. “When American families see what this does to the price of goods, such as cars, groceries, and gas, it is going to create a negative economic force across this country and cost a lot of American jobs.”

Cory Booker breaks Senate speech record

Senator Cory Booker, the New Jersey Democrat, delivered a record-breaking 25-hour speech (long enough to watch “The Brutalist” seven whole times) to protest the policies of President Donald Trump's second term and the spending cuts proposed in the Republican Party’s tax legislation. It began Monday and ended a full day later, on Tuesday.

Booker underwent a rigorous regimen of self-deprivation, foregoing food and water for some time in advance, to avoid the need for any breaks. A former high school football player, he leaned on his athletic training to combat the physical challenges. Muscle cramps and spasms were a constant battle. Booker also cited his faith as a pillar of strength, sharing how prayers and verses from the Bible fueled his resilience throughout the marathon speech.

"Our institutions are being recklessly and unconstitutionally attacked and even shattered," Booker said during the speech. The senator streamed it live on his TikTok account, where it garnered 350 million likes. At least 110,000 people were watching on YouTube by the time he concluded.

The next step here is for a Senator to wear adult diapers and bring along an IV—and given the average age of the 119th Congress (64.7 years old), we may not have to wait very long.

From @cheddar

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Time a-ticking for TikTok sale

High-ranking White House officials are poring over a variety of proposals to bring TikTok's operations stateside. ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, has become a household name as its wildly popular video app has captivated a global audience. But that’s also put the Chinese tech juggernaut into the crosshairs of U.S. legislators.

Selling the firm to a U.S. firm — as mandated by Congress — is a tall order that puts the spotlight on potential American suitors, including tech heavyweight Oracle $ORCL ( ▲ 2.76% ) and private equity firm Blackstone $BX ( ▲ 3.4% ) . Amazon $AMZN ( ▲ 2.0% ) also put in a last-minute bid, addressed to the vice president, reports said.

As the latest deadline for TikTok's mandated divestiture approaches this Saturday, reports suggest President Trump is considering coupling the TikTok deal with broader negotiations on U.S.-China trade relations, hinting that a relaxation of tariffs might sweeten the pot for China's agreement on a TikTok buyout.

Four new Beatles movies coming in 2028

As if you didn’t have enough to look forward to in 2028, director Sam Mendes is set to release four new Beatles movies, each one focusing on a different member of the Fab Four. Still, it’ll be a long and winding road to theatrical release. Paul Mescal will step into the shoes of Paul McCartney, Harris Dickinson will be portraying John Lennon, Joseph Quinn will embody George Harrison, and Barry Keoghan will give life to Ringo Starr, as CinemaCon attendees in Las Vegas were informed on Monday. With credits that include “American Beauty” and “Revolutionary Road,” Sam Mendes is no stranger to stories that [checks notes] pierce the heart of the human experience. Now he gets to make four movies about the second greatest rock band of all time. That’ll be a hard day’s night if you watch them all at once, though, eh?

Chatting fitness with the Oura Ring CEO

Oura Ring, founded 11 years ago in Finland, began with a focus on sleep. Since then it’s moved into other aspects of wellbeing. As CEO Tom “And Hearty” Hale said in a recent interview with Cheddar, the founders envisioned "a ring for your health" that would provide "the best and highest quality data" to help individuals "manage and be the CEO of your own health journey," presumably toward a bodywide IPO on the apps.

The latest iteration, the Oura Ring 4, is a testament to the company's commitment to innovation. It now encompass heart health, longevity, and aspects of women's health, too. Weighing about 4 grams and made of titanium, it boasts an 8-day battery life. Hale explains, "What's amazing about it, though, is that you wear it and you barely feel like you have it on, which makes it a great sleep tracker, obviously. You just don't notice it."

One of the standout features of the new ring is the "Symptom Radar," which Hale describes as "sort of like a check engine light for your body." He elaborates, "One of the powerful features of symptom radar is that it can make a prediction that you're getting sick before you actually have symptoms." The feature was developed based on a study during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hale shared a personal anecdote: "My symptom radar went off, and it was like, you look like you might be getting a little bit sick. And...I spent the day resting...and you know what, I managed to kind of forestall that illness."

I bet you did, Tom. When my Whoop tells me I’m sick, I’m usually like, “Do you really mean that? Or can I still go play squash?” And then I go play squash anyway. But I would say I’m more like middle management of my health journey, rather than the CEO. Maybe I should promote myself to an Oura Ring, eh?