Florida became the second U.S. state to ban water fluoridation after Governor DeSantis signed legislation calling it "forced medication" without informed consent; the ban takes legal effect July 1, 2025—that’s when public water systems must stop adding fluoride and state regulators can begin enforcement
ECONOMIC UPDATE—MARKET OVERVIEW
Today, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) reported that builder sentiment fell by 2 points in June from May to 32. Last June it was at 43, and a number below 50 is ranked negative.
$1 TRILLION IN BUYBACKS IN ONE MONTH! ZOMBIFICATION PERSONIFIED
The Scale of the Buybacks Is STAGGERING! $1 trillion in buybacks in one month, this is unprecedented. It’s zombification personified.
GOLD BULLION IS CENTRAL BANKS’ SECOND MOST PLENTIFUL RESERVE ASSET
Gold bullion has surpassed the euro to become central banks’ second most plentiful reserve asset in terms of value, according to a new report from the European Central Bank (ECB).
THE AI FUTURE: THEY HAVE NO IDEA
Want the clearest evidence that unbound AI development is likely an existential danger to natural humanity?
ISRAEL TRIES TO GET THE U.S. TO JOIN ITS WAR WITH IRAN. OR, HAS THE U.S. JOINED THE ISRAEL WAR?
It has been reported that since the start of its attack on Iran, Israel has been pushing the U.S. to join its war, but, while the Trump administration has provided defensive support, it is reported that the White House has not yet agreed to go on the offensive in Tehran.
TRUMP CONSIDERS U.S. STRIKES ON IRAN, MEANING TEHRAN CAN RETALIATE
U.S. President Donald Trump may decide to carry out strikes across Iran before a meeting with his top administration officials in the Situation Room on Tuesday afternoon, meaning Tehran would have the legal right to retaliate against American interests.
Global Economy
SPOTLIGHT: BIGS GETTING BIGGER
Brown & Brown, an insurance company with more than 450 locations around the world, will pay $9.83 billion in cash and stock for Accession Risk Management Group.
SPECIAL REPORT: TRUMP’S TARIFFS, THE UPS AND DOWNS, FOR BETTER AND FOR WORSE
On 12 June, the U.S. dollar fell to its lowest value since March 2022. The buck lost ground after Donald Trump told reporters he will send letters shortly to trading partners assigning them tariff rates when the 90-day pause on the new “Liberation Day” rates runs out in early July.
SPECIAL REPORT: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE EATS THE AD INDUSTRY
As Amazon, Meta, and other tech giants automate advertising using artificial intelligence (AI) tools, advertising agencies wonder if they have a future.
The Israel War
ISRAEL WAS PLANNING ATTACK ON IRAN FOR MONTHS, REPORT SAYS
The Israeli military has been planning its decapitation strike on Iran for at least eight months and aimed to carry out a decisive blow to eliminate Tehran’s top military leaders and nuclear scientists, Axios reported last week.
GALLANT: U.S. HAS OBLIGATION TO COME TO ISRAEL’S AID AGAINST IRAN
Yoav Gallant, the former Israeli defense minister, said in an interview on Monday that he believes the U.S. has an obligation to come to assist Israel’s war in Iran, and said U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent “determination” seems to “pave the way” for the U.S.’s involvement.
GAZA DEATH TOLL
The death toll in Gaza reached 55,432 people—including more than 300 Palestinians who have been killed trying to access humanitarian aid at distribution locations.
Trends in AI
KEY AI BENCHMARKING SERVICE ACCUSED OF BIAS
LMArena, a standard platform ranking the performance of large language model AIs (LLMs), gives preference to models made by giant tech companies, according to a study preprinted on arXiv and not yet peer-reviewed.
RESEARCHERS RELEASE THE KRAKENCODER
Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City have unveiled the Krakencoder, a new AI that weaves together a variety of brain images taken by different devices. The result is a deeper, more integrated view of how a brain affects behavior, thoughts, and how it recovers from injuries.
LEADING AI MODELS “COLLAPSE” UNDER HARD PROBLEMS, STUDY SAYS
When struggling with highly complex problems, “reasoning” AIs from DeepSeek and OpenAI suffer “complete accuracy collapse,” according to a new study released by Apple.
Hi-Tech Science
IBM TO BUILD GIANT QUANTUM COMPUTER BEFORE 2029
IBM has announced a plan to build a quantum computer by 2029 that will hold 10,000 qubits, about 50 times more than today’s most powerful quantum device.
MIDDLE-AGE BELLY: BLAME STEM CELLS, NOT DIET OR LAZINESS
It’s been called “middle-age spread”: as people reach their 40s and beyond, many see their bellies go big and fat pile onto their hips and butts.Some respond by joining a gym, taking up jogging, or eating a lot more salads. Still, the extra fat usually stays put. People at City of Hope—a major U.S. center of research and treatment for......
PLAYING A GAME COULD END CHRONIC PAIN
A brain-training game using biofeedback shows an ability to slash chronic pain at least as well as opioids, researchers at Australia’s University of New South Wales have found in a small trial.
