Extra, Extra
Different Sides of the Same Coin: “Morten Christensen made a big bet on digital tokens sold by the Trump family’s World Liberty Financial last year, hoping that a surge in value might be enough to help him retire. Instead, the value of those tokens tanked. While Christensen and many like him lost big, the president made a fortune, netting $800 million from that crypto project.” WSJ (Gift Article): Trump Made $1 Billion on Crypto Deals While His Fans Lost a Fortune. (Tying the corruption to affordability seems to be a possible sweet spot for midterm messaging.) I covered Trump’s crypto haul yesterday. “Donald Trump finally found a business he could succeed at. Presidential Corruption.” You’ve been Crypt Off.
+ Standing Guard: “Rescuers pulled a 43-year-old security guard alive from a collapsed basement early Thursday, ending a grueling days-long operation that became a symbol of hope after the devastation of twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela eight days earlier.”
+ Putin Attacks Kyiv: “Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha described the assault as a ‘night of horror’ and referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin as a ‘war criminal.’ ‘Putin can only wage a vile and terroristic war against civilians, women, and children. Because in his war against Ukraine’s Defense Forces he cannot achieve a single result.” Russia Launches Drone and Missile Attack on Kyiv.
+ Excommunication Breakdown: “An estimated 16,500 people gathered in Ecône for the ceremony, including members of New Force, an Italian neofascist political party, and National Future, a new far-right force threatening the Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s chances of winning a second mandate in general elections next year.” Vatican excommunicates all members of ultra-conservative rebel group SSPX. “Schism caused by Society of Saint Pius X ordaining four bishops without consent presents first crisis for Pope Leo.”
+ Burning Question: “One major concern stemming from wildfire prediction markets is arson.” Will betting on wildfires lead to arson? (Or to ask the same question another way: Have we lost our f-cking minds?)
+ Silver Spoon? AOL, Vimeo, Eventbrite, and Evernote. Web names from the internet past? Actually, they’re all part of a corporate roll-up that just went public. Bending Spoons IPO prices above range at $18.4 billion valuation.
+ A Loss For Words: “Every serious legal mind must inevitably face a fundamental choice: Read the Constitution and apply its words as the bedrock laws of the land, or transcend its tired text and interpret the super-secret invisible version that tells you exactly what you want to hear. Sadly, many Americans remain trapped in the former dimension of understanding; that dim-witted first stage of constitutional awareness where one looks at the document, finds the relevant words, and believes the words mean something.” McSweeney’s: The US Constitution Is for Simple Folk Still Burdened by the Belief That Words Have Meaning.
