Inflation surges to 3-year high, savings rate collapses

Inflation surges to 3-year high, savings rate collapses

Inflation climbed to nearly 4 percent in April, the highest since May 2023, while Americans' personal savings rate hit a 65-year low outside the pandemic era. DeepSeek, the Chinese AI lab known for bootstrapping, is now raising $7 billion in its first external funding round to compete in the AI arms race. The National Science Foundation is dismantling a critical ocean monitoring network tracking Atlantic currents despite Congress funding it twice.

Jobs surge to 172,000, Iran demands $24B for ceasefire

Nonfarm payrolls more than doubled forecasts in May with 172,000 new jobs, though long-term unemployment is rising sharply. Iran's ceasefire negotiations with the U.S. hit a deadlock over a $24 billion asset release demand, with threats to expand military operations across the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean. The Senate passed its $70 billion immigration enforcement bill after an 18-hour marathon vote, and Google launched an autonomous AI agent that works in the background without keeping your d…

Israel-Lebanon ceasefire collapses as Iran strikes Kuwait, Anthropic files IPO

Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ceasefire framework, but Hezbollah immediately rejected it, saying it demands full Israeli withdrawal first. The deal unraveled further as Iran's Revolutionary Guard struck Kuwait's airport and a U.S. base in Bahrain with missiles and drones. Meanwhile, Anthropic filed to go public with a nearly trillion-dollar valuation, setting up a race with OpenAI for the first frontier AI IPO.

Trump pressures Netanyahu, Iran talks resume; Fed warns on Middle East inflation

After threatening to collapse, Iran-U.S. nuclear negotiations are back on track following Trump's direct intervention with Prime Minister Netanyahu and an unprecedented direct channel opened to Hezbollah. The Federal Reserve's latest Beige Book identified Middle East conflict energy costs as the primary driver of inflation, with oil approaching $100 a barrel and the S&P snapping a nine-day winning streak. Plus: the Trump IRS settlement's compensation fund is being abandoned by the DOJ, though t…

Trump orders AI security review, Russia's deadliest strikes in months

President Trump signed an executive order asking AI companies to voluntarily share advanced models with the government before public release, aiming to assess cybersecurity risks—but the order has no enforcement mechanism. Russia launched its deadliest barrage on Ukraine in months, killing at least 22 people, even as Moscow suffers its first net territorial loss in nearly two years. Plus job openings surge, the FDA approves a new COVID preventive drug, and Scott Pelley is fired from 60 Minutes.