Avert your eyes! My Sunday morning look at incompetency, corruption and policy failures:
• Jeffrey Epstein Was Vladimir Putin’s Wealth Manager, FBI Source Claimed in Newly Released Epstein Files: Unsealed evidence related to the billionaire sex offender includes testimony from a “confidential human source” about Epstein’s business dealings, including a source claiming Epstein managed money for Putin — adding yet another layer to an already staggering web of connections. (People)
• Trump Lost on Tariffs, but Trade Will Never Be the Same: The Supreme Court’s ruling Friday that most of his tariffs are illegal has given the world a glimpse of U.S. trade policy long after Trump has gone. It will be more orderly and less chaotic, less driven by impulse and vendetta, more discriminating between allies and adversaries. Even with the Supreme Court striking down his authority, Trump has permanently shifted how the world thinks about American trade commitments. The damage is done. (Wall Street Journal) see also Get Ready for Zombie Tariffs: The Supreme Court may have struck down Trump’s tariff authority, but the economic distortions they created aren’t going away anytime soon. Even after losing at the Supreme Court, Trump has plenty of ways to reconstruct his trade regime. (The Atlantic) see also Trump’s Tariffs Aren’t As Dead As You Think They Are: The Supreme Court ruling was a blow, but the president has other statutory tools and a team of lawyers already working around the decision. (Slate)
• The Man Who Wasn’t There: How an embittered Brit decimated the Washington Post. “He had two settings: charming Brit and asshole Brit. And he quickly moved into the latter category,” a former Post staffer tells me. “He was just like, ‘Fuck the feelings of the newsroom,’” an executive at a rival media organization says. “He was just going to plow through and get his job done for his boss.” (New York Magazine)
• US Brain Drain Threatens Scientific and Biopharmaceutical Leadership: The United States, once the world’s premier destination for scientific talent, now faces a growing risk of brain drain. After major cuts to federal research budgets, hiring freezes across universities, and the termination of key programs, many researchers—especially early-career scientists—are looking abroad. A recent Naturesurvey found that more than 75 percent of U.S.-based scientists are considering leaving the country, most commonly for Europe or Canada. Among early-career researchers, the share was even higher—nearly 80 percent. (Information Technology & Innovation Foundation)
• Revealed: How Substack makes money from hosting Nazi newsletters: Site takes a cut of subscriptions to content that promotes far-right ideology, white supremacy and antisemitism. (The Guardian)
• Meta’s Smart Glasses Are Wreaking Havoc in Schools Across the Country. It’s Only Going to Get Worse. As the discreet wearable cameras become more popular, students are saying they feel constantly watched and harassed—and professors are reshaping their classrooms in response. Students are using Meta AI glasses to cheat on exams and surveil classmates, forcing schools to ban wearable tech entirely. (Slate)
• ‘Deliberate targeting of vital body parts’: X-rays taken after Iran protests expose extent of catastrophic injuries: Expert analysis of images from one hospital suggests severe trauma to the face, chest and genitals was caused by metal birdshot and high-calibre bullets. Smuggled medical scans reveal Iranian security forces shot protesters at close range, deliberately targeting vital organs. (The Guardian)
• Triad: What I Saw at the Battle of Minneapolis The national media has moved on. Minnesota is still under siege. A first-person account of ICE enforcement operations in Minneapolis and the community resistance that followed. (The Bulwark)
• He made a fake ICE deportation tip line. Then a kindergarten teacher called. A Nashville comedian’s deportation hotline, set up as a joke, has gone viral among viewers who say it shows the “banality of evil personified.” Something darker than its creator expected: real people, in real fear, trying to report their neighbors. (Washington Post)
• DOJ Deleted Record Revealing That Maxwell Holds Potential Blackmail Over Trump: A DOJ filing was quietly scrubbed from the record — one that referenced Ghislaine Maxwell’s leverage over unnamed powerful figures. The document, which was re-posted after removal was reported, shows Maxwell’s lawyers possess three FBI interviews with an underage Trump accuser that haven’t been released to the public. (Substack) see also DOJ Removed Record of Multiple FBI Interviews with Underage Trump Accuser, Epstein Data Shows: The FBI spoke at least four times with a woman who credibly accused Trump of sexually assaulting her when she was a minor, Epstein files show. That document is no longer accessible on the DOJ website. An independent analysis of the Epstein files reveals that records of FBI interviews with a minor who accused Trump were scrubbed from the DOJ’s database. The question isn’t just what happened — it’s who authorized the deletion. (RC Sollenberger) see also The Accomplice Who Was Going to Testify Against Jeffrey Epstein—Then Went Dark: French model scout Jean-Luc Brunel was negotiating to provide prosecutors with evidence against the sex offender in 2016—three years before he was finally arrested—but ultimately backed out. (Wall Street Journal)
Be sure to check out our Masters in Business interview this weekend with Hilary Allen, Professor of Law at the American University Washington College of Law. She specializes in financial regulation, banking law, securities regulation, and technology law, with a particular focus on how new financial technologies like fintech, crypto, and AI intersect with financial stability and public policy.
A child born in Spain or Italy can expect to live more than five years longer than a child born in the United States, despite the latter spending a far larger share of GDP on healthcare
Source: @Isabel_Schnabel
Sign up for our reads-only mailing list here.
~~~
To learn how these reads are assembled each day, please see this.
