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Monday, April 13

Daily Briefing

FTGoldman bond traders take shine off bumper quarter

Goldman Sachs' overall quarterly earnings were significantly bolstered by the strong performance of its equities unit.
The fixed income, currencies, and commodities (FICC) business at Goldman Sachs experienced a shortfall, falling well short of expectations.

Financial Times

NYTThis Is Why There’s No Liberal Joe Rogan

Ezra Klein

The article argues that Democrats made a mistake in 2024 by refusing to appear on right-leaning shows and podcasts, such as Joe Rogan's.
The New York Times piece suggests that Democrats are repeating this error by similarly declining to engage with popular leftist shows like Hasan Piker's.

New York Times

WSJPalestinians Stream Back to Northern Gaza on Foot

Israel allowed displaced Palestinians to begin crossing a military zone that bisects the Gaza enclave.
This movement was permitted after a deadlock over hostage releases was broken, leading to a breakthrough in negotiations.

Wall Street Journal

WSJLeading China Property Developer Reports Huge loss, in Sign of Widening Real-Estate Woes

Leading Chinese property developer Vanke has proposed a one-year extension on a 2 billion yuan bond and sought to delay repayment of an additional 3.7 billion yuan in onshore debt, signaling deep financial strain.
Vanke's struggles, despite its former reputation for financial stability, indicate a widening and ongoing real estate crisis across China.

Wall Street Journal

FTPope Leo says he has ‘no fear’ of Trump administration

Pope Leo XIV declared he has “no fear” of the Trump administration during a flight to Algeria, hours after a strong verbal attack from the U.S. President.
President Trump launched a scathing social media attack on the pontiff, accusing him of being “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” particularly concerning Iran.

Financial Times

NYT21 Hours in Pakistan: How Vance Tried and Failed to End a War He Opposed

Tyler Pager

Vice President JD Vance led high-level negotiations between the United States and Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan, marking the highest-level talks in nearly 50 years.
The 21-hour marathon talks, aimed at ending a war that began on February 28, concluded without an agreement, with Vance citing Iran's refusal to abandon its nuclear weapons program as the primary reason for the failure.

New York Times

WSJFreed Israeli Hostages Still Had Shrapnel in Their Bodies From Oct. 7 Attack

Some Israeli women freed from captivity were found to still have shrapnel in their bodies from the initial October 7th attack.
An Israeli medical official reported that some of the women were held in solitary confinement for extended periods.

Wall Street Journal

FTWhy time is on Iran’s side

A global energy crisis is only just beginning.
Political turmoil will follow.

Financial Times

NYTJudges Fired After Blocking Deportations of Pro-Palestinian Students

Hamed Aleaziz, Nicholas Nehamas and Steven Rich

The Trump administration fired two immigration judges, Roopal Patel and Nina Froes, who had blocked the deportations of pro-Palestinian students.
These dismissals are part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to reshape the country's immigration courts, with judges reportedly facing pressure to deny asylum claims and order deportations.

New York Times

NYTParents, Consider Underachieving

Rachel Feintzeig

The New York Times opinion piece "Parents, Consider Underachieving" discusses the exhaustion parents face due to the immense pressure to create constant engagement and attend numerous events for their children.
The author contrasts current parental expectations with the 1990s, when her own mother's limited school involvement allowed children more freedom and parents less pressure to curate every experience.

New York Times

FTMeta builds AI version of Mark Zuckerberg to interact with staff

Meta is developing a photorealistic AI avatar of CEO Mark Zuckerberg designed to interact with employees in real-time.
The AI character is being trained using Zuckerberg's mannerisms, vocal patterns, public statements, and current strategic thinking to ensure it reflects his communication style.

Financial Times

WSJSuspected Sabotage of Deep-Sea Cable Triggers First NATO-Led Response

NATO mounted its first coordinated response to a suspected sabotage campaign targeting critical undersea infrastructure after another cable was severed in the Baltic Sea.
These incidents are part of a growing pattern, with at least 11 Baltic cables damaged since October 2023, prompting heightened concerns about hybrid warfare and the vulnerability of vital subsea data and energy lines.

Wall Street Journal

WSJRwanda-Backed Rebels Enter Congo's Safe-Haven City

Rwanda-backed rebels successfully entered Goma, which is considered a safe-haven city in Congo.
Residents of Goma reported instances of gunfire and shelling after rebels overran Congolese troops.

Wall Street Journal

NYTSomeone Has to Be Happy. Why Not Lauren Sánchez Bezos?

Amy Chozick

Lauren Sánchez Bezos is presented as influencing the ultra-wealthy to stop apologizing for their immense fortunes and instead embrace and enjoy them.
The article suggests that Sánchez Bezos, as half of an incredibly powerful couple, is influencing a cultural shift among the uber-rich towards openly celebrating their wealth.

New York Times

FTIran threatens to hit back as US blockade set to begin

The U.S. military is implementing a naval blockade of all Iranian ports and coastal areas, commencing Monday.
Iran has threatened to target all ports in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman in retaliation if its own shipping hubs are threatened.

Financial Times

NYTTrump Attacks Pope Leo as Too Liberal and ‘Weak on Crime’

Katie Rogers

President Trump launched a public attack against Pope Leo XIV in a lengthy social media post, accusing the pontiff of being "weak on crime" and "terrible for foreign policy."
This criticism arose from Pope Leo XIV's opposition to the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran and other Trump administration policies, with Trump also asserting that Pope Leo XIV owed his papacy to him.

New York Times

FTThe risks of Trump’s Strait of Hormuz blockade plan

President Trump announced a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz following failed peace talks with Iran, intended to cut off Iran's oil exports and revenue.
The naval embargo threatens to destabilize global energy markets and trigger a new surge in oil prices by preventing approximately two million barrels of Iranian oil per day from entering global markets.

Financial Times

WSJCocaine-Funded Gangs Shake Colombia Years After Peace Pact

Attacks by powerful cocaine-funded militias against civilians in Colombia highlight the state's inaction eight years after a peace accord removed a major rebel group.
Narcotics-trafficking militias have doubled in size since 2022, leveraging drug profits to recruit more fighters and enhance their weaponry, partly due to government-issued unilateral cease-fires.

Wall Street Journal

Friday, March 13

Weekly Top 40 — AI on X

The White House

@WhiteHouse

UNDEFEATED. https://t.co/Jt69bcag5y

♥ 193.2k↺ 23.6k

Om Patel

@om_patel5

stop spending money on Claude Code. Chipotle's support bot is free: https://t.co/0NQU4a79T1

♥ 147.4k↺ 9.3k

Andrej Karpathy

@karpathy

I packaged up the "autoresearch" project into a new self-contained minimal repo if people would like to play over the weekend. It's basically nanochat LLM training core stripped down to a single-GPU, one file version of ~630 lines of code, then: - the human iterates on the https://t.co/3tyOq2P9c6

Thursday, March 12

Weekly Top 40 — AI on X

The White House

@WhiteHouse

UNDEFEATED. https://t.co/Jt69bcag5y

♥ 124.7k↺ 14.4k

Andrej Karpathy

@karpathy

♥ 27.7k↺ 3.5k

Claude

@claudeai

Wednesday, March 11

Weekly Top 40 — AI on X

Andrej Karpathy

@karpathy

♥ 27.4k↺ 3.5k

Claude

@claudeai

Introducing Code Review, a new feature for Claude Code. When a PR opens, Claude dispatches a team of agents to hunt for bugs. https://t.co/AL2J4efxPw

♥ 62.7k↺ 5.2k

Saturday, March 7

Weekly Top 40 — AI on X

Ben Stiller

@BenStiller

Hey White House, please remove the Tropic Thunder clip. We never gave you permission and have no interest in being a part of your propaganda machine. War is not a movie. https://t.co/dMQqRxxVCa

♥ 736.7k↺ 83.0k

The White House

@WhiteHouse

JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY. 🇺🇸🔥 https://t.co/0502N6a3rL

♥ 129.4k↺ 20.6k

Barack Obama

@BarackObama

Friday, March 6

Weekly Top 40 — AI on X

Brian Allen

@allenanalysis

🚨 BREAKING: Rep. Ted Lieu says the full Epstein files contain information that Donald Trump RAPED minors. So he started a war to distract us from his crimes. Never stop speaking about Epstein. https://t.co/18HuhEucoG

♥ 272.8k↺ 76.4k

The White House

@WhiteHouse

JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY. 🇺🇸🔥 https://t.co/0502N6a3rL

♥ 105.0k↺ 16.7k

Elon Musk

@elonmusk