Finance/Economy News

• College Enrollment Drop: Freshman enrollment fell 5% this fall, while MBA applications rose 12%, including a 32% spike in full-time, in-person programs.
• Airlines Merger Talks: Frontier and Spirit Airlines are discussing a merger again. Spirit faces debt restructuring and possible bankruptcy, needing to refinance $1.1 billion by year-end.
• Election Prediction Markets: Kalshi offers legal political outcome trading, including bets on the Presidential election, regulated by the CFTC.
• Stock Market: Tech stocks fell sharply, but Tesla led a late recovery. Existing-home sales hit a 14-year low.
• Philip Morris & Zyn: Zyn nicotine pouches boosted Philip Morris’ revenue by 8%. Regulatory scrutiny remains over flavored products.
• Boeing Loss: Boeing posted a $6 billion loss as its worker strike continues after rejecting a new contract offer.
• Cannabis Use: Women now make up 55% of cannabis users, driven by anxiety treatment trends.

Technology News

• Meta’s AR Shift: Meta is losing AR developers to Snap after shutting down its AR studio to focus on AI. Apple’s Vision Pro headset also faces slow sales and production cuts.
• Air Taxi Regulations: FAA cleared regulations for air taxis (eVTOLs), with companies like Joby and Archer securing major airline investments.
• Netflix Gaming Retreat: Netflix closed its AAA gaming studio to focus on mobile games after seeing a decline in gamer spending.
• AI Developments: Anthropic’s new Claude AI model can control computers, marking advancements in AI capabilities.

Harris Faces Bipartisan Scrutiny

Vice President Kamala Harris participated in a CNN town hall with Anderson Cooper, leading to several fact checks across the political spectrum. Critics from both sides found Harris’ performance lacking in specifics.

Left’s Opinion:

• Harris falsely claimed she pledged not to ban fracking during the 2020 campaign.
• Harris exaggerated Trump’s border wall progress, claiming only 2% was built when it was closer to 10%.
• Harris’ statement about Trump’s tax cuts favoring the rich is mostly accurate, but it also reduced taxes for most people.
• Harris’ comments on Trump’s tariff plan need context, as it could significantly impact middle-income families depending on the tariff rates.

Right’s Opinion:

• Harris falsely claimed Trump wanted to “terminate the Constitution”; Trump later clarified his comments.
• Harris referenced unverified claims tying Trump to Hitler’s generals, which Trump’s spokesman denied.
• Harris repeated the disputed “suckers and losers” remark about the military, originally sourced from anonymous claims.
• Harris attributed inflation to “price gouging,” but the right points to government spending as the real cause.