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Fuck around and find out, read a TikTok post that followed a screenshot announcing that California is suing President Donald Trump for deploying the National Guard to the streets of Los Angeles. But the post wasnt shared by a typical meme accountit came from California Gov. Gavin Newsom. I damn near fell over when I realized this was Gov. Newsoms page, one user commented. Since Friday, demonstrations have erupted across Los Angeles in protest of the presidents immigration policies and the ongoing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. Although many of the demonstrations have remained peaceful, there have been violent incidents including authorities deploying tear gas and rubber bullets, and protestors setting Waymo vehicles ablaze throughout the city. As tensions escalated, the Trump administration deployed the National Guard and Marinesdespite objections from local officialssparking a lawsuit from the state, threats of arrest against Newsom, and a surge of defiant memes. And remember, kids, the next time anybody tells you the government wouldnt do that . . . oh yes they would, says the popular TikTok sound used on Newsoms official account video, playing over screenshots of news headlines and images of armed forces confronting demonstrators. In another viral video from the governors page, which amassed over 5.4 million views, Taylor Swifts “You Need to Calm Down” plays over a series of photos of the two politicians. r u ok? the post asks, with a caption reading: Americas keyboard warrior. Newsoms clapback drew widespread praise in the comments. I do disagree with Newsom a lot, but him standing up to tyranny and standing with your state takes some serious guts. Hats off to you Newsom, wrote one user. Newsom has also taken to his personal account to deliver meme-laced messages to Trumpone featuring a Photoshopped image of the president wearing a crown that’s captioned Send in the troops. The slideshow ends with a shot from the musical Hamilton, with text reading: Democracy is under assault right before our eyes. Its time for all of us to stand up. The online showdown has significantly boosted Newsoms social media presence, growing his personal TikTok account by approximately 397,000 followers and his official governor account by 479,000 since Friday. Newsom is the latest in a growing number of politicians leveraging memes and social media to bypass traditional media and speak directly to the public through humor. Famously, Kamala Harris gained momentum during her presidential campaign with Brat Summer and the coconut tree trend, while Joe Biden leaned into the viral Dark Brandon meme during his reelection campaign. Although meme strategies can generate enthusiasm and visibility, the 2024 election results suggest that online popularity doesnt always translate at the polls.
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E-Commerce
Its 2009. Everyone is rocking ankle socks. TikTok, is just a Ke$ha song. You pull out your BlackBerry Bold 9700 and update your BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) status. All is well. Before the iPhone, the BlackBerry was the it phone. At its peak in the early 2000s, BlackBerry commanded over 50% of the U.S. and 20% of the global smartphone market. But times changed. Physical keyboards gave way to touchscreens, and eventually, BlackBerry discontinued support for its classic phones in 2022. But this isnt where the story ends. The 2000s have since made a comeback. As The New York Times recently reported, Everything Millennial Is Cool Again. Adding to that list, Im happy to report, is the humble BlackBerry. Getting a blackberry bold just because, one TikTok user posted, holding up a BlackBerry Bold they purchased on eBay for $40. This is a sentence I never thought I would say, especially not in 2025, another wrote, unboxing a second-hand BlackBerry Bold 9900. I got a Blackberry. @alyssa.lenore Whats your pin? #blackberryphone original sound – alyssa.lenore She goes on to explain: My first phone was an iPhone in 6th grade so I never got the chance to get a Blackberry like I always wanted. This has always been a dream of mine. The hashtag #blackberry on TikTok now has over 125K posts, with users sharing their retro finds and long-forgotten phones pulled from drawersincluding models like the BlackBerry Classic Q20 and a lilac BlackBerry Curve. @kaia.chanel lillac blackberry curve from 2009. This phone its older than many of you on this app ! #y2kaesthetic #blackberryphone admire the perc – ! Just in time for Digital Detox Summer, Gen Z is putting down their iPhones and bringing back flip phones and trackpads. POV: you bought a blackberry in 2025 bc your iPhone is ruining your life, one post with 6.4 million views reads. This was PEAK technology, a commenter wrote. BlackBerry has the opportunity to make an amazing comeback, another added. @shozi_055 My phone addiction is getting way too out of hand, Im trying to take my life back #fypviral original sound – NOLSTALGIC SOUNDS A recent Reddit post hinted that might just be in the cards. Reddit user u/coldheartedsigma shared a since-deleted post to the r/BlackBerry subreddit but kept most of the details vague, citing an NDA. While some were skeptical, others couldnt contain their excitement. Please be real, one wrote. Color me interested if this ever actually materializes, another added. Whether or not the rumors pan out, Gen Z is bringing back the BlackBerry either wayeven if its just to take a break from scrolling TikTok to play BrickBreaker.
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E-Commerce
The ongoing tariff war, the potential end of federal incentives, and a general slowdown in consumer demand all spell uncertainty for the future of electric vehicles in the United Statesand for automakers future product lineups. Thats according to a recent analysis from Bank of America, which released a Car Wars report looking at the challenges U.S. automakers are currently facing, and what that means for future EV models. The unprecedented EV head-fake has wreaked havoc on product plans. This has driven a pothole in product launches in Model Years 2026 and 2027, Bank of America Securities analyst John Murphy wrote in the report. “The next four-plus years will be the most uncertain and volatile time in product strategy ever. To deal with those uncertainties, Bank of America analysts recommend automakers back away from EV models and instead lean heavily into their core [internal combustion engine] product portfolios to generate the capital to fund the uncertain future. The reports full title emphasizes this change, too: Car Wars 2026-2029: The ICE Age Cometh as EV Plans Freeze. Slowing EV sales EV sales did increase in 2024 compared with the year prior, but the rate of that growth has slowed. That illustrates a challenge for carmakers: All the early adopters who are excited about EVs have already bought electric vehicles, and after that rush of enthusiasm, it becomes harder for the market to attract mainstream buyers. This is the challenge on consumer demand that Bank of America analysts touch on. That, combined with the Trump administrations efforts to kill the Inflation Reduction Acts EV tax credits, which incentivize electric vehicle purchases, and the tariffs on auto parts, are all adding to automakers’ struggles. Over the next four years, the Bank of America report says automakers are expected to launch 159 new vehicles; traditionally, that number is over 200 new vehicles across a four-year outlook. The lower launch count is largely a result of the delay in new EV programs as consumers remain disinterested, the regulatory push for EVs is relaxed, consumer EV incentives are likely to be eliminated, and potential tariffs are roiling production/supply chain management decisions, the report reads. A push for hybrids Automakers do still have EVs in the works, though, and consumers are about to see more hybrid options, too. As EV offerings are losing groundrepresenting 34% of upcoming car models, down from 40% last year and 44% in 2023, per the analysishybrids are growing to 28% of new power-train offerings over the next four years, up from 20% last year and 17% in 2023. Hybrids appear to be gaining more relevancy as many consumers seek more efficient vehicles but are disinterested in EVs, the report reads. That will include hybrids from Toyota, which has long been a leader in hybrid options (though it recently appeared to look to expand its EV portfolio), as well as Hyundai-Kia, Stellantis, Ford, GM, and Honda. GM is expected to launch nine hybrid models during that time period, per the analysis, as will Stellantis. Both Hyundai and Toyota are expected to add eight models to their hybrid lineups. Bank of America forecasts those new models will lead to an estimated 3.4 million hybrid sales in 2028 (for model year 2029), or about a 20% market share. (In 2024, both EV and hybrids together reached a record 20% of all U.S. vehicle sales.) Still, that market penetration rate appears to undershoot the relative hype that has been building in response to the stall in EV sales, the report reads. Simply, automakers need to launch more hybrid vehicles in the U.S. market, in our view.
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E-Commerce
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