Extra, Extra
Working for a Nonliving: “The consequences associated with shrinking labor shares are now becoming tangible. A recent Government Accountability Office report found that across the 11 states sampled, Amazon, the country’s largest company by revenue, has 12,346 workers on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and 11,338 relying on Medicaid. That was nearly triple the number of Amazon employees in need of federal assistance compared to 2020, when GAO conducted a similar report. During that same period, Amazon saw an increase in annual profits from $11.6 billion to $77.7 billion. Amazon’s 2025 revenue soared 12% year over year, from $638 billion to a record $717 billion.” This isn’t really an Amazon story. It’s a math story. “Working Americans are taking home the smallest percentage of economic output, 52.8%, since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking the metric in 1947.”
+ Common Ground: “David Sacks and Lina Khan? Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon? The debate on artificial intelligence limits is creating unlikely alliances.” The Unlikely Political Bedfellows on A.I. Regulation. (Unfortunately, you can be sure that the administration will shit the bed.) As I wrote yesterday, I’m not sure there’s a ten percent chance AI will kill all humans. But I do think there’s a 100 percent chance that the people currently in charge of AI companies and regulation will make bad choices for the rest of us human survivors. I’m Pacing Myself.
+ Leveling Up: As I’ve mentioned, one of my biggest concerns is that we’ve created the tools to help others level the military playing field. “The Houthis are increasingly using artificial intelligence and other tools to produce advanced weaponry on their own, making them less reliant on Iran.” Yemen’s Houthi Militants Are Learning to Arm Themselves.
+ Buy High: “Stocks in other companies that have struck a deal with the Trump administration have tended to move in the opposite direction, often following a common trajectory: a significant bump around the formal announcement, high volatility afterward, and then gains often given back almost as quickly as they came.” Stocks pop when the Trump administration invests, but the gains often fade fast. (Oh, don’t worry. I’m sure this trend has some winners…)
+ In the Hundreds: For the first time, Japan has more than 100,000 centenarians.
+ Macklemore or Less: New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft banned Macklemore (who was on tour with Ed Sheeran) from playing Gillette Stadium because of the rapper’s comments about Israel and Gaza during his shows. The promoter ultimately dropped Macklemore from the tour. Ed Sheeran addresses Macklemore’s tour exit amid Robert Kraft boycott claims.
+ Be Bestiality: And it’s just another normal day in DC. Mitch McConnell is back in town, and FBI chief Kash Patel defended the department’s loosening of employment standards on bestiality, prostitution.
