Hello, my most gracious subscribers!

From “The Night Manager” to “The Bear” to “The Old Man,” some of my favorite TV shows are to be found on Hulu. The great news is, Mickey Mouse now owns the network. Other news today is that I’ve finally discovered who killed JFK, thanks largely to AI. Also, you should be “investing” in trading cards — although that’s not financial advice.

News You Need2Know

• Disney owns Hulu now

• US stocks almost as high as they were in February

• Gabbard says AI is hurrying release of JFK files

• Alternative Investments: Trading Cards

• Self-driving trucks are here to stay

My favorite baseball card is called the “f***face card,” and that’s a fact.

—Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter

$DIS ( ▼ 0.71% )  $CMCSK ( 0.0% )  $HULU ( 0.0% )  $SPX ( ▼ 1.18% )  $DBI ( ▼ 7.88% )  

Disney owns Hulu now

Disney $DIS ( ▼ 0.71% ) has reached an agreement to acquire Comcast’s $CMCSK ( 0.0% ) 33% stake in Hulu $HULU ( 0.0% ) for $438.7 million, gaining full ownership of the streaming service. The deal concludes a lengthy appraisal process that began after Disney first announced plans to invest in the streamer in November 2023.

Hulu — launched in 2007 as a platform for entertainment conglomerates to stream their TV content online — has been under Disney's operational control since 2019, when Comcast became a silent partner. The acquisition aligns with Disney’s broader strategy of integrating Hulu's entertainment content with its Disney+ and ESPN+ streaming platforms.

Disney CEO Bob Iger said completing the acquisition would enable “a deeper and more seamless integration” of Hulu’s content, whatever that means. It probably means Disney will make more money as a result, right?

Today’s song of the day: It takes a muscle to fall in love

The charming Dutch creators of this song maintain a website today, telling people the meaning. “The song is about the idea that falling in love is not a passive experience; rather, it takes effort and courage to open oneself up to love and to maintain a relationship,” they write. I would argue that the experience of really hating somebody or something also requires effort and courage, in the same vein. There’s something about the haunting quality of this song that makes me picture it playing over a scene of horrific destruction, as much as one of haunting romance. What do you think?

US stocks almost as high as they were in February

U.S. stocks edged closer to their record highs on Tuesday as investors awaited results from ongoing trade talks between the United States and China. The S&P 500 $SPX ( ▼ 1.18% ) climbed 0.5%, following a significant rally in stocks that began after a 20% drop two months ago. We all know why that happened, right?

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick indicated that the discussions between the nations were “going well.” Meanwhile trade uncertainty continues to weigh heavily on businesses. Designer Brands $DBI ( ▼ 7.88% ) , the parent company of DSW shoe stores, withdrew its 2025 financial forecasts due to trade policy instability. CEO Doug Howe said the company faced “persistent instability and pressure on consumer discretionary” spending, leading to a 20.4% drop in its stock. We all know why it faced that, right?

Meanwhile, other sectors remained volatile.

Today on the ‘gram: Chat GPT went down

Post of the day: Good old first amendment

Quote of the Day

Gabbard says AI is hurrying release of JFK files

Tulsi Gabbard says AI is revolutionizing the pace at which America’s intelligence community operates, particularly in declassifying sensitive documents like the JFK files. Traditionally, reviewing and declassifying such documents could take months or years, but AI tools now scan pages to detect material requiring classification faster and more efficiently.

“We have been able to do that through the use of AI tools far more quickly than what was done previously — which was to have humans go through and look at every single one of these pages,” Gabbard said at a conference yesterday.

Gabbard also emphasized how AI frees up human intelligence officers to focus on critical tasks, like going after Sergeant Brody and thwarting his attempts to blow up the President. I’m sorry, that was the plot of “Homeland.” I meant: Investigating Donald Trump’s political enemies. Wait. What’s their actual job again?

Discussing her broader vision for the intelligence community, Gabbard said, “How do we look at the available tools that exist — largely in the private sector — to make it so that our intelligence professionals, both collectors and analysts, are able to focus their time and energy on the things that only they can do?"

Sounds like somebody is about to score some fat government contracts, guys. I’d say I know a good contender for the business were it not for the fact that Elon Musk sorta blew his chances at scoring more of those when he mentioned the “Epstein files” on Twitter last week.

Gabbard has vowed to modernize intelligence operations, expand private-sector technology use, and improve declassification efforts — but I can save us all the trouble. Spoiler alert: It was Lyndon Johnson who ordered JFK shot. Seriously read Robert Caro’s “The Passage To Power,” and tell me it wasn’t LBJ. For reals.*

*This is my personal opinion and not backed up by any historical records. Of course I’m being comparatively generous in the misinformation stakes by mentioning that this is a theory I just made up, compared to my media contemporaries, these days, but I realize you’ve come to expect high chedditorial standards from this ‘sletter.

Should you check your 401(k) today?

👍️ 

Yes sir or madam. Yes.

Alternative Investments: Trading Cards

Sure, you could get a financial adviser, diversify your portfolio, and expect seven percent compounded on an annual basis until you retire. Or you could invest in trading cards, a wildly speculative market where you own an asset that has some nostalgia value. It may be a terrible idea, financially, but is it fun? You betcha, and there’s always the slim chance you get lucky.

For example, did you know a 1952 PSA 9 Mickey Mantle card sold for a staggering $5.2 million and was then privately resold for $12.6 million just a couple of years later?

The trading card industry has seen immense growth, with some cards rivaling fine art in value. Tom Brady, the seven-time Super Bowl champion, saw his rookie card sold for $3.1 million in 2021. It's not just sports cards either; Pokemon cards have a dedicated following, with pre-2000 Japanese manufactured cards being highly sought after.

The appeal goes beyond potential returns. There's a strong community aspect. Plus, it's a great way to diversify your asset base. One collector suggests putting 5–10% of a portfolio into collectibles. Just remember, like any investment, insurance is crucial, because trading cards are vulnerable to…house fires.

Self-driving trucks are here to stay

Imagine a world where trucks drive themselves, reducing accidents caused by fatigue and distracted driving. We spoke with Dr. Xiaodi Howe, CEO of Bot Autos, about the future of autonomous vehicles, and it turns out, that world is closer than you think!

Howe claims his company’s trucks can "drive better than humans." Bot Auto does more than develop the technology; they operate the trucks themselves, a key differentiator in the autonomous driving space. Their approach involves integrating sensors, computing units, 3D mapping, and artificial intelligence to create a "virtual representation" of the world, enabling the trucks to make safe driving decisions.

Bot Auto is gearing up for a "driver out pilot program" in Texas, leveraging the state's, er…favorable regulatory environment…to launch their Level 4 autonomous driving system. Level 4 means no human driver is required, focusing on dedicated routes like "hub to hub" trucking.

But what about the poor truck drivers who are already struggling? Don’t worry.

“One of the biggest misconceptions here is that people would always worry about job security,” Howe said. “But right now what we are facing is driver shortage. And the driver shortage is such a big problem that it's starting to becoming a dragger for the entire economy.”

Of course, if we paid truck drivers more and gave them better benefits, they wouldn’t all quit to become dermatologists and brain surgeons, but sure. My bigger concern is who would replace the Snowman in “Smokey and the Bandit” if the Snowman were a robot and not a truck driver. Don’t you dare to suggest that a robot could ever replace the chemistry between Sally Field and Burt Reynolds.

Poll of the Day: Do you trust robot truck drivers?

Poll Results: You don’t dig what Apple is selling

We asked: Do you think Apple needs to do better?

You answered:

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Yep. Short of resurrecting Steve Jobs, we've got a problem, Cupertino. (409 votes)

 🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Nah, baby. Stop hating on my favorite Chinese manufacturing firm. They're fine! (75 votes)

484 Votes via @beehiiv polls