In partnership with

Greetings N2K reader!

Elise Thralow conquered this week’s world famous News Haiku™ competition with this beauty about Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado winning the Nobel Peace Prize for her fight for democracy in the country. Here’s her piece:

Congrats, Elise! Here’s hoping your victory won’t be overturned by a dictator. Also, here’s your gif prize:

The theme of this week’s world famous News Haiku™ competition is that ChatGPT will allow “erotic” content soon, which might help OpenAI become profitable. I can’t wait to read your haikus! Email me by Thursday at noon ET for a chance to be voted on by your Cheddar peers.

Now let’s talk about today’s news you Need2Know, shall we?

—Matt Davis, Need2Know Chedditor

News You Need2Know

• Trump and Putin to meet in Hungary to discuss Ukra …

• CNN launches new $7 subscription plan

• Tariffs turn IKEA’s “low price” promise upside dow …

• Driverless delivery hits the streets of Phoenix

• Sex is a big market for AI — ChatGPT won’t be the …

What’s the stock market up to, eh?

$SPX ( ▲ 0.19% ) $DJI ( ▲ 0.22% ) $NDX ( ▲ 0.31% )

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter

$WBD ( ▲ 6.28% ) IKEA $DASH ( ▲ 1.72% ) OpenAI $UBER ( ▲ 0.36% )  $LYFT ( ▲ 2.0% )  

Trump and Putin to meet in Hungary to discuss Ukraine

President Donald Trump will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary in the coming weeks. The meeting, hosted by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, aims to discuss ways to end Russia's three-year invasion of Ukraine.

Following a two-hour call with Putin on October 16, Trump described the conversation as “productive” and expressed concerns about arming Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles, saying, “We need Tomahawks for the United States of America, too.” He also noted that Putin opposed supplying the weapons to Ukraine, calling them “vicious, offensive, incredibly destructive weapons.”

Critics of Trump’s approach argue his strategy rewards Putin without bringing tangible progress. “After walking away from his Alaska summit with Putin empty-handed, President Trump has now decided to reward Putin again by rolling out the red carpet in Hungary,” said Senator Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Others worry that Putin has consistently undermined past negotiations, such as William B. Taylor, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, who cautioned, “There’s no sign that Putin is interested in ending this war.”

Still, Trump remains confident, citing his recent success in negotiating a Middle East cease-fire. “We hope we’re going to get it stopped," Trump said. "Because of my relationship with President Putin, I thought this would be very quick.”

One of the best books I’ve read this year was “Patriot,” by Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died in a prison camp after years of harassment by Putin’s people. Even the New York Post believes Putin was responsible. Still, good luck negotiating with the guy!

Song of the day: Sam Wilkes, ‘I Said Yes’

Bass legend Sam Wilkes dazzles on his new live album recorded back in 2022 at Public Records in Brooklyn, on a very hot day indeed. You can hear the sweat in the record, but in a good way.

CNN launches new $7 subscription plan

CNN is entering a new era with the launch of its “All Access” subscription service on October 28, priced at $6.99 per month. Subscribers will enjoy live and on-demand content, access to CNN Originals, CNN Films, exclusive live events, and subscriber-only content on CNN.com. The service aims to provide “the complete CNN experience” in a format tailored to modern audiences, the firm said.

“This is an essential step in CNN’s evolution as we work to give audiences the complete CNN experience in a format that reflects how audiences engage with the news today,” said Alex MacCallum, CNN Worldwide’s executive vice president of digital products and services.

Mark Thompson, chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, has been instrumental in driving the shift toward integrating digital and linear news operations. The move comes as a follow-up to previous streaming ventures, including CNN+, which lasted a brief month in 2022, and CNN Max, a service offered via HBO Max that used the network’s international feed.

With an introductory annual rate of $41.99 until November — a discount from the regular $69.99 per year — CNN hopes to entice audiences to commit to the platform. While cable viewers can stream CNN content, access to CNN.com articles requires a subscription to the basic tier. This marks CNN’s latest bid to balance innovation while protecting cable and satellite subscription revenues.

Thompson’s previous efforts to build subscriptions at the New York Times were successful, so let’s see how this one pans out, eh?

Today on the ‘gram: Buy the dip, bro…

Post of the day: Very mysterious indeed

Quote of the Day

Tariffs turn IKEA’s “low price” promise upside down

IKEA has announced price hikes on several big-ticket items, citing rising costs due to new tariffs imposed by former President Trump. The tariffs, which include a 25% tax on upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets, and bathroom vanities, are forcing the global home goods retailer to, let’s say, adapt.

“Our ambition is to continue lowering prices,” said Tolga Öncü, retail manager at Ingka, which operates most IKEA stores. “But of course, in the world we live in, sometimes…that becomes very difficult or even impossible at some point.” IKEA’s Uppland sofa has already risen in cost from $849 in August to $899 now, with other products seeing similar increases. And still, I’m sure, it is not exactly the most comfortable sofa on the market, although I have never actually sat on one, so whatever.

Sales in IKEA stores globally dropped by 1% this year, totaling €44.6 billion ($52 billion), despite a 3% increase in sales volume. Still, affordability remains a priority for the company during challenging economic times. “While we’ve made some necessary price adjustments due to rising costs, we are committed to keeping prices low and providing quality goods to our customers,” an IKEA spokesperson told the New York Post.

Although IKEA has been working to increase domestic production to minimize tariff impacts, Öncü acknowledged, “We can’t stay immune to absorb all the costs ourselves…but the big work sits in finding ways to lower the prices.”

Trump’s tariffs are expected to increase further next year. So get your cheap rubbish furniture now, folks. Or, you know, buy American-made?

Should you check your 401(k) today?

👍️ 

Yes.

Driverless delivery hits the streets of Phoenix

Waymo, the self-driving car company owned by Alphabet $GOOG ( ▲ 1.16% ) , is teaming up with DoorDash $DASH ( ▲ 1.72% ) to bring autonomous vehicle deliveries to life in Phoenix. The roll-out could pave the way for broader adoption of this innovative delivery method, as long as, you know, nobody dies not too many people die as a result.

DoorDash customers in metro Phoenix will soon have the option for “contact-free” deliveries via Waymo's autonomous vehicles. These vehicles will deliver orders from DashMart, DoorDash’s service that offers groceries, fresh food, and household staples from local retailers. Waymo explained the process simply: “When Waymo arrives, open the trunk with your DoorDash app and grab your items.”

The partnership aligns with Waymo’s established presence in Phoenix, where its autonomous vehicles have been operational for years. For DoorDash, this marks a significant step in testing robotic delivery services in an effort to streamline operations and reduce human labor costs.

The collaboration is an example of Waymo's broader push into commercial applications for its driverless technology. In addition to this partnership with DoorDash, Waymo has already partnered with Uber $UBER ( ▲ 0.36% ) and Lyft $LYFT ( ▲ 2.0% ) for robotaxi services in select cities.

As self-driving technology continues evolving, it's exciting to see how companies like Waymo and DoorDash are shaping the future of autonomous commercial services.

Sex is a big market for AI — ChatGPT won’t be the first to try to profit from it

AI companies are increasingly exploring the lucrative world of, let’s say, adult-oriented content, with OpenAI being the latest to consider, let’s say, tapping into… the market. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently announced that ChatGPT will soon allow “erotica for verified adults,” granting users greater freedom for mature conversations.

The shift comes after years of banning such content and, possibly relatedly, not making any money. As Altman said on X, “We are not the elected moral police of the world,” explaining that adult interactions with AI will rely on limits similar to other societal standards, such as age restrictions for R-rated movies.

The move is not without precedent. Other companies have already begun exploring this market, despite legal and ethical challenges. Zilan Qian, a fellow at Oxford University’s China Policy Lab, highlighted the popularity of AI chatbots designed for romantic or sexual engagement, which have already attracted 29 million active users globally. Still, Qian expressed concerns about how these tools might impact real-world relationships, saying, “Humans who fall in love with human-like machines have long been a literary cautionary tale.” Time to rewatch Ex Machina!

Other startups are battling controversies. For example, Civitai allowed mature AI-generated content early on but faced backlash over deepfake pornography. Its CEO Justin Maier admitted, “Making money off mature AI won’t be an easy path.”

Poll of the day: Is this chatbot flirting with me?

Need2Know is covered by Cheddar’s Terms of Service.