Before I forget…
Let's get the Trump stuff out of the way first. The former president sought a delay in his rape accuser's trial (he blamed the media) and failed to learn the names of his jurors. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sued Congressman Jim Jordan to stop "intimidation" in Trump's criminal case over Stormy Daniels hush-money payments. Trump sued his former lawyer Michael Cohen for half a billion dollars, and visited his friends in the NRA at their convention.
Elsewhere in the US, a California county is monitoring wastewater for illicit drugs. The Biden administration wants public comments on regulating AI including ChatGPT. The banned-books-in-libraries debate in Texas is blazing away. The mother of the Louisville bank shooter frantically called 911 to warn authorities of his plans. More than 18,000 cows died in a dairy-farm fire. And the US Postal Service is raising stamp prices again.
In Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron's incredibly unpopular plan to raise the retirement age is going ahead. Italy is becoming increasingly defensive over keeping itself Italian (It makes sense if you read the story, I promise). Germans are fretting over exploding ATMs (Who wouldn't?). And Estonia's prime minister says she is not a candidate for NATO's next leader and would prefer to push or same-sex marriage equality.
And in business: US banks say commercial real estate is a concern as property values fall and more borrowers default on their loans. Tupperware is tiring after keeping our food sealed for more than half a century. And we asked AI chatbots some classic questions about picking stocks and managing our finances. You do want to read the replies.
Have a good weekend!
