Extra, Extra
Changed Regime: “The internet shutdown came a day after the heads of Iran’s judiciary and its security services said they would take tough measures against anyone protesting. But the threats did not deter demonstrators.” Iran Is Cut Off From Internet as Protests Calling for Regime Change Intensify. The country’s supreme leader lashed out at demonstrators, dismissing them as ‘a bunch of vandals’ trying to ‘please’ US President Donald Trump.” (This is about currency, the economy, and water scarcity. But it’s also about a regime dramatically weakened and exposed by recent military embarrassments.)
+ Healthy Signs? “The House on Thursday passed a bill to resurrect health care subsidies that expired last year, as a breakaway faction of House Republicans joined Democrats in a largely symbolic vote that may bring fresh momentum to bipartisan efforts to find a compromise on health care costs.” This bill on its own won’t change anything. But it’s part of an important trend. WaPo (Gift Article): Trump suffers day of significant Republican defections on House and Senate votes. “Lawmakers voting against their party’s president is common in midterm election years, particularly for vulnerable lawmakers who represent swing districts. Yet the repeated rebukes of the president, and the number of lawmakers defecting, are unusual.”
+ Employment Dent: “For all of 2025, employers added 584,000 jobs — compared to 2 million new jobs in 2024. That meant that last year was the worst for employment growth since 2020.” The story beneath the story. Job growth was bad. Corporate growth and stock prices were good. We could be seeing the beginning of the AI’s impact on jobs.
+ Launchless: “In the 1970s, only 8% of Americans aged 25 to 34 were living with their parents, but by 2023, that figure had jumped to 18%, with men more likely to live at home than women.” More Gen Z men live with parents in Vallejo than anywhere in the US. (My goal is to move in with my mom before my kids try to move back in with me…)
+ Tech Whoas: The Verge lists some of their favorite things from CES 2026.
+ Snoop Dogs: “They can learn the names of new toys not only through direct instruction but also by eavesdropping on the conversations of their owners.” NYT (Gift Article): Dogs Build Their Vocabularies Like Toddlers.
