Extra, Extra

Fed Talks: “Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell signaled a possible cut in interest rates in the near future, sending stocks soaring on Friday.” The market continues to react normally to financial news as if the rest of the news weren’t so abnormal. Can that trend hold? I touched on this issue earlier this week: The Burger and the King. Sometimes, the abnormal news crosses the chasm: Intel stock rises as Trump says chipmaker has agreed to sell stake to government.

+ The Circular Files: Justice Department issues transcripts of interviews with Epstein ex-girlfriend Maxwell. (Pretty sure she was more than a girlfriend. And pretty sure this meager offering won’t quiet the controversy.)

+ Wait for It… “Seats many schools had assumed would be filled by now are still in doubt, at least partly because international students have struggled to secure visas or are opting to go elsewhere. Foreign students usually pay full tuition, so a big drop in their numbers leaves universities in a financial bind. Some schools also face a pullback in federal funding.” Bloomberg (Gift Article): Stanford, Duke Tap Waitlists to Fill Spots Before Classes Begin. (Like, right before classes begin.)

+ Cutting a Fine Figure: “The world’s leading authority on food crises said Friday the Gaza Strip’s largest city is gripped by famine, and that it’s likely to spread across the territory without a ceasefire and an end to restrictions on humanitarian aid.”

+ Biggie Small: “Yes, there are those still predicting rapid intelligence takeoff, along both quasi-utopian and quasi-dystopian paths. But as A.I. has begun to settle like sediment into the corners of our lives, A.I. hype has evolved, too, passing out of its prophetic phase into something more quotidian — a pattern familiar from our experience with nuclear proliferation, climate change and pandemic risk, among other charismatic megatraumas.” David Wallace-Wells in the NYT (GIft Article): A.I. May Be Just Kind of Ordinary. (Well, maybe a little extra ordinary…) And an interesting look at how young people are reacting to new market dynamics: California teens are ditching office jobs — and making $100K before they turn 21.

+ Wheels of Fortune: “Across the country, major college football parking lots might as well be outside the Chateau Marmont.” How car dealers became college football’s power brokers.

+ Garcia Released: Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been released from federal prison in Tennessee. That’s a lot of time served for someone else’s clerical error. He’s now awaiting a trial.

+ Hair to the Throne: “President Nayib Bukele defended the “disciplinary measures” which come as he tries to reshape every facet of life in El Salvador.” El Salvador’s Bukele polices school haircuts.

+ Getting Snippy at Clippy: It Took Many Years And Billions Of Dollars, But Microsoft Finally Invented A Calculator That Is Wrong Sometimes.