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For obvious reasons, you've probably been feeling nostalgic lately, so maybe it comes as a relief that the 80s are back. We didn't bring back the Sony Walkman, phones attached to walls, VHS rental stores, the glory of personal computers not connected to the internet, our want for MTV, peak John Hughes films, Studio54, or an era before glucose monitors told us exactly the impact Fun Dip was having on our bodies. But, as you may have noticed in movies and TV shows, or perhaps on a more personal level, cocaine is back. If that surprises you, consider this: A Trump policy seems to have actually lowered the price of an internationally shipped good. The war on fentanyl and the refocusing of federal agents from drug interdiction to deportation efforts has led to a drop prices for cocaine—which combined with resurging demand, has resulted in an economic bump that's nothing to sniff at. That's left El Señor Mencho to toot his horn as the latest top dog in drug dealing. WSJ (Gift Article): America Loves Cocaine Again—Mexico’s New Drug King Cashes In. "Cocaine sold in the U.S. is cheaper and as pure as ever for retail buyers. Consumption in the western U.S. has increased 154% since 2019 and is up 19% during the same period in the eastern part of the country ... Oseguera, who grew up poor selling avocados, is making a killing from cocaine buyers in the U.S. His cartel transports the addictive powder by the ton from Colombia to Ecuador and then north to Mexico’s Pacific coast via speedboats and so-called narco subs."
+ Our whac-a-mole drug policies always seem to have unintended consequences. For example, the decriminalization of marijuana has somehow led to a lot of marijuana arrests. The Atlantic (Gift Article): The New War on Weed. "States with some of the loosest marijuana restrictions in the nation arresting and charging sellers of a drug that was made legal at least in part to move away from such charges."
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Buying Buy-In
Victor Kiam used to advertise the Remington Shaver by saying, "I liked it so much, I bought the company." Today, we're seeing a different trend as billionaire Trump cronies are buying companies with features they hate. Consider that Skydance just bought Paramount, which gives the Ellison family control over CBS News (not to mention Stephen Colbert). Now Skydance is making a move for Warner Bros, which includes CNN. But it doesn't stop at traditional news sources, the right-leaning club also wants to control social media. Larry Ellison's Oracle will be among a consortium of buyers (with shared political views) taking over TikTok. "Let’s make a tally. That would mean the Murdoch family (or really now Lachlan Murdoch) controlling Fox News, the Journal, the NY Post and its other properties. Twitter, Tiktok, CBS, CNN and more owned by Elon Musk and the Ellison family. The Washington Post owned by Jeff Bezos." Josh Marshall: Top Trump Ally May Soon Control TikTok and CNN.
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Send Out the Marines
"According to polls, Americans strongly agree that immigrants without legal status should be deported if they have been convicted of a violent crime. But support for Mr. Trump’s immigration sweeps begins to erode when people are asked about the much larger group of undocumented immigrants with no police record who have worked and raised families in the United States." NYT (Gift Article): He Raised Three Marines. His Wife Is American. The U.S. Wants to Deport Him.
+ Why? What's the point? Some argue that those here illegally are taking away jobs from Americans who want them. The numbers suggest otherwise. Trump Secured the Border, So Where Are the Jobs? "As Mr. Trump likes to remind people, illegal immigration climbed even more dramatically during the Biden administration. Yet black unemployment fell to a new record low on Mr. Biden’s watch. This recent history suggests that there is little connection between the presence of foreigners in the labor force and the job prospects of Americans, including black and Hispanic workers."
+ "Trump told voters that they could indulge their resentments and still walk away richer and more prosperous. But they can’t. To embrace nativism in a global, connected economic world is to sacrifice prosperity for the sake of exclusion." NYT (Gift Article): The Trump Fantasy Is Unraveling.
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Pop Mart Made a Bu Bu
"The Wall Street bank’s downgrade comes amid signs that the hype surrounding Pop Mart’s designer toys is fading. The premium once commanded by Labubus — the firm’s rabbit-eared plush dolls sought by celebrities from BlackPink’s Lisa to David Beckham — is narrowing in secondary markets in China." Bloomberg (Gift Article): Fading Labubu Frenzy Wipes $13 Billion From Pop Mart Shares. (Hey, cocaine made a comeback. Why not Labubus?)
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Extra, Extra
Ill Advised: "I was fired for holding the line on scientific integrity. I had refused to commit to approving vaccine recommendations without evidence, fire career officials without cause, or resign." Ex-CDC director Susan Monarez tells senators that RFK Jr. required political sign-off on decisions, called for firings without cause. (That's basically the cabinet M.O. these days. But this example is going to make us ill in addition to making us sick.) Here's the latest on the Monarez hearings from NBC.
+ Gov Cuts Like a Knife: "The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point Wednesday, its first reduction of 2025, and projected two more cuts for the rest of this year."
+ Kings Cross: Parades, banquets, protests, flyovers, and combovers are all on display during Trump's visit with the royals. Here's the latest from BBC and The Guardian.
+ Limitless: "At this tense juncture in Israel’s history, Mr. Netanyahu has one clear advantage: the largely uncritical support of President Trump. A world drifting under Mr. Trump’s impulsion in an authoritarian direction had helped birth a Bibi unbound. He is emboldened because, as never before, he is confident that, no matter what, this America will have his back." Roger Cohen: Netanyahu and an Israel Without Restraint. (Those campaign season protests against Biden and then Harris are arguably the most counterproductive protests in American history.)
+ Stolen Youth: "Investigators have examined instances in which Ukrainian parents were killed by the Russian Army in its invasion and their children were subsequently educated in Russian language and culture. In other cases, Ukrainian children were put up for adoption or placed in foster care with Russian families. Children from Ukraine have been put in schools and cadet academies with military training oriented toward the fight against their own homeland." NYT (Gift Article): Russia Indoctrinates Children From Occupied Ukraine at 210 Sites, Study Says.
+ Where Credit is Due: "For more than a decade, Americans watched their credit scores climb steadily upward, a reassuring sign of improving financial health following the Great Recession. However, it appears the streak has come to an abrupt end." Credit scores are dropping rapidly. Here's why.
+ Good Reception: "The numbers of Sunday further cement the NFL as being conspicuously immune to the ratings erosion affecting nearly every other major league and television property in the industry." Eagles-Chiefs scores Fox 33.8 million viewers, most ever in NFL's early season.
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Bottom of the News
"Reno may be “the biggest little city in the world,” but it's got some serious competition from the miniature New York City that hobbyist Joseph Macken built in his upstate New York basement over two decades." This trucker built a scale model of NYC over 21 years. It’s drawing museums’ attention.