Extra, Extra

A High Marc: Some great news… “Today, President Donald J. Trump and his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are able to announce that Mr. Witkoff is leaving Russian airspace with Marc Fogel, an American who was detained by Russia.” And some news to keep your eye on. “In his statement, Waltz said that the US and Russia ‘negotiated an exchange that serves as a show of good faith from the Russians and a sign we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine.'” It’s worth noting that among all the other news, it was barely mentioned that on Sunday, Trump said of Ukraine: “They may make a deal, they may not make a deal. They may be Russian some day, or they may not be Russian some day.” Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary to visit Ukraine for talks on energy, rare earth minerals.

+ Cutting the Cheese: “Rosenow’s farm in Waumandee, western Wisconsin, is almost entirely reliant on foreign workers. The US president’s pledge to initiate the biggest deportation plan in American history could, he said, destroy that workforce — and threaten the future of his farm.” Wisconsin dairy farmers fret over immigration crackdown. “If there’s no immigrant labor, there’s no milk, no cheese, no butter, no ice cream. We’ll all have to go vegan.” (My guess is that we’ll see a lot more of the deportations happening in blue states and urban areas.)

+ Not Open for Business: Sam Altman to Elon Musk: ‘OpenAI is not for sale.’ “A group of investors led by Elon Musk has offered to buy the nonprofit that controls the AI startup for $97.4 billion.” (Finally, some Elon Musk news…)

+ Me, Myself, and AI: “Leading artificial intelligence assistants create distortions, factual inaccuracies and misleading content in response to questions about news and current affairs.” (Just when I thought I was out…)

+ Assume the Lotus Position: “White specializes in characters who leave viewers unsure of how to feel about them, or about themselves. With ‘The White Lotus,’ though, he has found a way to provide plenty of pleasure along with the pain. The show is both a social satire and a murder mystery, named for the fictional luxury hotel chain where it is set.” The New Yorker: Mike White’s Mischievous Vision for The White Lotus. (The show’s season premiere drops this Sunday, which is just in time because my wife and I just completed TV. All of it.)

+ Nickel Down Economics: And a headline that seems to capture 2025: Getting rid of the penny introduces a new problem: nickels.