Weekly news drop
Iran Has Just Fired the Most Dangerous Shot of This War and It Wasn’t a Missile: The argument that Iran’s most potent weapon isn’t military but economic—the oil market disruption may prove more damaging than any missile strike. (European Business Magazine)
Pentagon Tells Congress First Week of Iran War Cost More Than $11.3 Billion. One week, $11.3 billion. And that’s before the real costs start compounding. In a Capitol Hill briefing, officials gave their most comprehensive assessment of the cost of the first six days of the war, but the number omitted several aspects of the operation. (New York Times)
Judge Smacks Down Trump’s Investigation Into Jerome Powell: The judiciary steps in to protect Fed independence. The attempt to investigate the Fed chair was always legally dubious — now a judge has confirmed it. A federal judge said the Department of Justice had found “zero evidence” of wrongdoing. (New Republic)
The Great American Condo Crisis: If America wants to remain a nation of homeowners, it needs to start building condos again—a compelling argument that the missing middle of housing is the condo, not just the duplex. If the U.S. wants to remain a nation of homeowners, it has no choice but to start building condos again. (The Atlantic)
As AI Threatens Certain Jobs, How Will It Impact the Housing Market? If white-collar workers start earning less — or stop earning altogether — that has real consequences for housing demand.(Housing Notes)
Encyclopedia Britannica Sues OpenAI Over AI Training: Britannica and Merriam-Webster take OpenAI to court over training data, adding to the growing pile of copyright litigation that will ultimately define what AI companies can and can’t scrape. (Reuters)
Coding After Coders: The End of Computer Programming as We Know It. Yes, In the era of A.I. agents, many Silicon Valley programmers are now barely programming. Instead, what they’re doing is deeply, deeply weird. (New York Times)
AI Isn’t Coming for Everyone’s Job: The Atlantic on the limits of artificial intelligence — the things AI does brilliantly and the vast terrain of human work it can’t touch. The rise and fall of the player piano indicates a robust demand for human labor that machines cannot replace. (The Atlantic)
The reviews are in. It’s not looking good, America. Allies are giving the U.S. one-star and two-star ratings on its efforts to protect democracy and dependability in a crisis. (Politico)
Prices for New Cars Have Soared. Here’s One Big Reason Why. Tariffs, supply chain friction, and regulatory costs keep pushing sticker prices higher.(Reuters)
Sucker: My year as a degenerate gambler: When I set out to report on the sports-betting industry—its explosive growth, its sudden cultural ubiquity, and what it’s doing to America—my editors thought I should experience the phenomenon firsthand. Mindful of my religious constraints, they proposed a work-around: The Atlantic would stake me $10,000 to gamble with over the course of the upcoming NFL season. The magazine would cover any losses, and—to ensure my ongoing emotional investment—split any winnings with me, 50–50. Surely God would approve of such an arrangement, my editors reasoned, because I wouldn’t be risking my own hard-earned money. (The Atlantic)