A Big Boost for Cities: Bloomberg Philanthropies Mayors Challenge Winners Use AI and Resident Input to Improve City Services (Associated Press)

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Bloomberg Philanthropies today announced the 24 winners of its latest, and largest, Mayors Challenge, a competition to spur local government innovation that improves lives in cities around the world across 20 countries and reaching over 35 million residents.

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The sixth Challenge awards municipalities that have proposed and tested the best breakthrough ideas to bolster essential services at scale – including cooling homes, reducing waste, lowering utility costs, expanding transit, or increasing jobs – many using some combination of artificial intelligence and the wisdom of their residents.

The 24 winners range from Boise, Idaho, where they are using geothermal energy to lower residents’ heating bills, to Beira, Mozambique, where they are relocating fishermen and their families from flood-prone coastal homes to safer inland houses, the Associated Press writes. 

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Each winner will receive $1 million to implement the program, as well as support from Bloomberg Philanthropies experts to help the new initiative succeed.

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Selected from more than 630 applications, Bloomberg Philanthropies considered prototypes developed by 50 cities during the finalist phase, when each pressure-tested core hypotheses with residents. The 24 winning ideas were ultimately chosen for their novelty, potential impact, and strength of implementation plans.

Vico Sotto, mayor of Pasig City in the Philippines, said becoming one of this year’s Mayors Challenge winners will speed up his project to build floating parks in the Pasig River that will become new community space and reduce flooding threats in the area. Without the support of Bloomberg Philanthropies, Sotto said the initiative wouldn’t be able to start for another year or two.

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“The most effective city halls are bold, creative, and proactive in solving problems and meeting residents’ needs – and we launched the Mayors Challenge to help more of them succeed,” said Mike Bloomberg. “We look forward to supporting this year’s 24 winners as they bring their innovative projects to life – and to seeing their ideas spread to more cities around the world.”

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Read the full press release here to learn more about the winning ideas, and click the photo below to watch a video about the challenge.

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Ukraine War Marks 4 Years

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Ukraine War Enters Year Five as Territorial and Security Disputes Stall Peace Efforts (Associated Press)

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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine four years ago launched Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II, causing immense suffering for civilians and harrowing ordeals for soldiers while rewriting the post-Cold War security order.

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The fighting enters its fifth year today, and it shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. Russia now occupies about 19.4% of Ukraine’s territory, according to estimates cited by the AP.

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The US has brokered talks with delegations from Moscow and Kyiv as part of the Trump administration’s yearlong push for peace. But reconciling key differences, such as the future of Russian-occupied Ukrainian land and postwar security for Ukraine, has thwarted progress.

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Meanwhile, thousands of both countries’ troops have died on the battlefield, and Ukrainian civilians have been battered by Russian aerial strikes that have brought years of power outages and water cuts.

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The scale of the toll is stark: the AP notes estimates of up to 1.8 million soldiers killed, wounded, or missing on both sides since the full-scale invasion began, while the UN has recorded 14,999 civilian deaths (likely an underestimate). The war has also driven mass displacement, with about 5.9 million Ukrainians having fled the country, the AP reports.

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European Gridlock: EU’s Russia Sanctions Hit Roadblock Put Up by Hungary, Slovakia (Bloomberg)

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The European Union failed to approve a fresh round of sanctions against Russia as Hungary and Slovakia halted the measures, laying bare divisions within the bloc as the war in Ukraine drags on.

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Efforts by EU foreign ministers to get the 20th package of sanctions over the line at a meeting in Brussels on Monday were blocked by the two member states, who accuse Ukraine of disrupting oil deliveries from Russia. The dispute is also upending a €90 billion ($106 billion) loan to Ukraine.

What I'm Reading

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In Photos: Blizzard Slams New England as New York Digs Itself Out (New York Times)

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A powerful blizzard buried the Northeast United States with thick layers of snow on Monday, bringing major cities to a standstill, disrupting travel and leaving more than half a million people without power.

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Snowfall totals in dozens of towns across New Jersey, New York and southern New England had reached at least two feet, according to the National Weather Service. The highest unofficial total was in Babylon on Long Island: 29.5 inches at 11:30 a.m.

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Seen across New York City: On the left, a skier treks through more than 15 inches of snow in Central Park; on the right, a fallen tree in Brooklyn lies across the street, burying the road and cars under mounds of snow.

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A man was even spotted snowboarding down a sidewalk slope off Broadway:
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Trade Standoff: Trump Vows Higher Tariffs for Nations That ‘Play Games’ on Deals (Bloomberg)

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President Donald Trump threatened higher tariffs on goods from countries that “play games” with their existing US trade agreements following the Supreme Court’s decision quashing his global duties.

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“Any Country that wants to ‘play games’ with the ridiculous supreme court decision, especially those that have ‘Ripped Off’ the U.S.A. for years, and even decades, will be met with a much higher Tariff, and worse, than that which they just recently agreed to. BUYER BEWARE!!!” Trump posted Monday on social media.

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Trump’s message underscores how the his administration is trying to keep deals intact with US trading partners in the wake of the court’s ruling, which undercut his ability to set tariff rates using an emergency law.

Warning Signs: Jamie Dimon Sees Pre-Crisis Parallels as Rivals Do ‘Dumb Things’ (Bloomberg)

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JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, asked about fierce competition across the financial industry, said he’s starting to see parallels to the era before the 2008 financial crisis, when a rush to make loans ended disastrously.

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Tech Buzz: PayPal Attracts Takeover Interest After Stock Slump (Bloomberg)

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PayPal Holdings Inc., the digital payments pioneer, is attracting takeover interest from potential buyers after a stock slide wiped out almost half of its value, according to people familiar with the matter. The shares jumped as much as 9.7% on the news.

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Today at the Pentagon: Anthropic’s CEO to Meet Pete Hegseth Amid Feud Over Pentagon Work (Bloomberg)

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Anthropic PBC Chief Executive Officer Dario Amodei will meet with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth today, according to a senior Pentagon official, as contract talks with the artificial intelligence startup remain deadlocked over the company’s insistence on guardrails for use of its technology.

Tonight in DC: Trump Invites Gold-Winning US Men’s Hockey Team to State of the Union on Capitol Hill (New York Times - The Athletic)

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President Trump invited the United States men’s hockey team to Tuesday night’s State of the Union address in Washington, D.C., and said he wanted to honor the team at the White House on Wednesday.

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The US Women's Hockey Team said it is declining President Trump's invitation to attend his State of the Union address.

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President Trump is heading into tonight's address facing a messy Capitol Hill backdrop: a Supreme Court smackdown of his global tariffs, fresh GOP anxiety over the political fallout and a DHS funding standoff that’s revealing chaos within his own administration.

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Add in a snowstorm scrambling the House and Senate schedule — postponing House votes on aviation safety legislation and delaying a key farm bill markup — and lawmakers are facing a compressed, high-stakes week.

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Attendance could be thin as lawmakers try to get back to Washington after the snowstorm.

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🔊 New Episode Alert: The Daily Read Podcast is live with an AI-fueled breakdown of today’s biggest headlines. Smarter context, sharper analysis—stream it now on Spotify or  Apple Podcasts.

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This Weekend in Space: 6 Planets Will Parade Across the Night Sky at the End of February (Associated Press)

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Six planets are linking up in the sky on Saturday, and most will be visible to the naked eye. It’s what’s known as a planetary parade, which happens when multiple planets appear to line up in the sky at once.

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How to view the parade: Go outside about an hour after sunset and venture away from tall buildings and trees that will block the view. Look to the western sky and spot Mercury, Venus and Saturn close to the horizon. Jupiter will be higher up, along with Uranus and Neptune.

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'Punch' Explained For Those Not on TikTok: After Lonely Baby Monkey Named Punch Goes Viral, His Ikea Comfort Toy Sells Out (Washington Post)

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Punch, an abandoned baby Japanese macaque at Japan’s Ichikawa City Zoo, has captured millions of hearts after going viral for cuddling and hauling around a stuffed orangutan toy given to him as a stand-in for his mother.

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Raised by zookeepers after being rejected shortly after birth, the 7-month-old has clung to the plush, and even latched onto the legs of staff when they enter the enclosure, as he nervously tries to fit in on the zoo’s “Monkey Mountain.”

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Watch the viral video clips of Punch here. 

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Photos: Getty Images

Now, new videos suggest a turning point: Punch has been hugged by another macaque and spotted grooming others — a crucial sign he’s beginning to build bonds with his own kind.

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Punch has also become an accidental influencer of sorts. Ikea told The Washington Post that there has been a marked increase in sales of the DJUNGELSKOG orangutan toy.

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Ikea has leaned into the moment too, donating additional stuffed animals to the zoo as Punch’s story spreads — and as the once-lonely infant learns, step by step, how to be a monkey.

On Feb. 17, Ichikawa City Mayor Ko Tanaka posted a photo on X alongside IKEA Japan President Petra Färe with countless IKEA stuffed animals for Punch and other animals at the zoo.

Best of Late Night

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On The Supreme Court striking down President Trump’s sweeping tariffs in a 6-to-3 ruling on Friday:

“Trump was angry. He lashed out at his own handpicked justices. He called them fools and lap dogs, and said they were an embarrassment to their families. And as father to Eric and Don Jr, that is a man who knows an embarrassment to his whole family.”

-- Jimmy Kimmel

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“The U.S. may have to pay back $140 billion. Trump was like, ‘I’m going to be honest. It’s all tied up in ballrooms right now, so I don’t know.’”
-- Jimmy Fallon

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On companies wanting refunds for the tariffs they paid:

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"And of course, Donald Trump doesn’t give refunds. If he gives a refund, it’s like when Rumpelstiltskin says his own name. He shrivels up and he disappears.”

-- Jimmy Kimmel

And from The Daily Show: Team USA sweeps Canada for gold in Olympic hockey, Jon Stewart navigates how MAGA interprets this win as proof of America's democratic superiority, and Desi Lydic homes in on the US Olympic team's secret weapon: superior political systems. Plus, Jon explains how the Supreme Court took a wrecking ball to Trump’s tariff strategy and examines why the US is on the brink of war with Iran. Click the photo below to watch.

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