New: A comedian set up a fake ICE tip line as a joke. Then 100 calls flooded in: neighbors ratting on neighbors, a teacher reporting a kindergartener. Fans say the viral TikToks revealed deportation's "banality of evil." Conservatives say he should be in prison wapo.st/4kM4qbF
I wrote a big explainer on the economics of space data centers for you. It's the story I've been wanting to read about this big space infrastructure project, and I hope it will help people understand what's really going on here:
techcrunch.com/2026/02/11/w...
- The company said it was going to add 20 vessels to its American-flagged fleet; It has added just one (again, too expensive).
- And CMA CGM actually **reduced** its stake in US ports in a recent deal. (it said the deal would lead to more investment but did not identify any in the US).
But only a fraction of the $20 billion has materialized.
- In the White House, CMA CGM's CEO said the company would announce a ship purchase within weeks, but zero American-made vessels have been ordered (too expensive).
The promises to invest in the US have rolled in, often to please President Trump. In March, CMA CGM, a French shipping giant, pledged $20 billion – an improbably large sum for America’s maritime industries.
SCOOP
The admin is making it harder for male vets w/ breast cancer to get their care covered
The admin cites Trump order: “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government”
I got the memo laying it all out
www.propublica.org/article/vete...
If you haven't been following the NYC mayoral race and want to understand the three candidates' positions better, this quiz might help.
As she reflects on her career in a second memoir, Sally Mann warns of a "new era of culture wars" after police pulled several photographs she took of her children decades ago off the walls of a museum.
the seller or UPS should have made it clear at checkout what you'd be paying for the tariff and processing fee. they should have set that up by now. it's not hard to do.
Oy. That appears to be a 45% tariff. From what I can tell, that may be correct for clothes out of China.
that's still only 15%. maybe UPS will give you or has given you a statement that shows the percentage tariff rate, or at least a tariff code and a country of origin.
Interesting. The UK tariff is 10%, but I don't think your top was $700. Maybe it was made in China and the tariffs on that country apply? They're pretty high on Chinese made apparel. #YNWA
In 1885, royal Hawaiian brothers were studying at a military school in California. There, they introduced a sport known as "surfboard swimming." The Princes of Surf exhibit tells what happened next.
The number of purchases by American shoppers fell 12% in July but shoppers spent 23% more, indicating that Shein lifted prices in response to the tariffs.
Temu has not fared well (sales down 30% in July).
This is all based on data from Consumer Edge
The piece:
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/b...
De minimis is no more but Americans have not abandoned Shein, perhaps the biggest beneficiary of the loophole.
Trump ended de minimis for shipments from China in May.
Shein's dollar sales plunged initially, as tariffs began to apply, but then they recovered. They rose 9% in July.
How?
The truck makers say Mr. Trump ‘s action have undermined the pact. But those who were at the agency what forged the deal say, no, the deal was built to withstand Washington’s onslaught on California. “This is very much what it is for,” said one lawyer who worked for the state.
This year, Congress and President Trump took away the waivers for the truck rules, removing California’s authority. (Good story here on how they did that: www.nytimes.com/2025/05/21/u...)
In the pact, truck makers said say they’d follow the rules even if they were litigated and if California lost the authority to impose them.
California got waivers for the truck rules, and then took an extra step to protect them…the deal, known as the Clean Truck Partnership. The state wanted the deal in part because it had watched the first Trump admin go after environmental laws.
Well, many of California’s clean air rules are stricter than in the rest of the U.S. Over the years, the state has gotten many waivers from the federal government to have stricter anti-pollution regulations.
Two years ago, big truck makers like Daimler and Volvo signed a landmark deal with California, saying they’d obey the state’s clean air rules. Why was the deal even needed? Aren’t companies just obliged to follow regulations?
Health care and social assistance accounted for essentially all job growth in July, adding more than 73,000 jobs. If it hadn't been for that sector, employment would have fallen slightly.
I interviewed top execs at Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern about their proposed merger. They lay out their hopes for the deal and respond to its critics...here:
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/b...
piece now has this gorg map:
Robber baron George Jay Gould tried to create a coast-to-coat railroad but he was undone by the 1907 financial panic. Now, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern want to have another try:
www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/b...
Hunter Biden objects here to my scrutiny of his deals with foreign interests seeking help from the U.S. government.
He will not like my forthcoming book, DEVILS' ADVOCATES, which exposes the foreign influence industry, including new reporting on him & others. www.harpercollins.com/products/dev...
