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A Costly Rename: Trump's Pentagon Name Change Could Cost Up to $2 Billion (NBC News)
President Trump’s directive to change the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War could cost as much as $2 billion, as reported by NBC News.
The name change, which must be approved by Congress, would require replacing thousands of signs, placards, letterheads and badges, as well as any other items at US military sites around the world that feature the Department of Defense name.
Russia Latest: Intel Shows Putin Not Ready for Ukraine Deal, Ex-MI6 Chief Says (Bloomberg)
Recent intelligence assessments show Vladimir Putin has no intention of reaching a peace deal with Ukraine, Britain’s former spy chief said, confirming a view underpinning a harder line from the US and its allies.
Richard Moore, who stepped down as head of MI6 in September, told Bloomberg’s The Mishal Husain Show that the Russian president would need more convincing to reach an agreement of the sort sought by President Trump. His assessment backs up reports last month that US intelligence also saw Putin continuing his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Return
to Davos: Trump Plans Appearance at World Economic Forum, Giving Switzerland a Boost (Bloomberg)
Economic Forecasts Improve: UK Markets Buffeted as Reeves Tax U-Turn Fuels Budget Jitters (Bloomberg)
UK markets were buffeted after Chancellor Rachel Reeves was said to have dropped plans to raise income taxes because she received improved fiscal forecasts, sparking concern she may be too optimistic. Gilts, the pound, and UK stocks sold off.
Power at City Hall: Lina Khan Wants to Amplify NYC Mayor-Elect Mamdani’s Power With Little-Used Laws (Bloomberg)
Former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan said she’s exploring ways to maximize New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s executive authority through little-used laws already in place.
Khan, who Mamdani named as co-chair of his transition team last week, said in an interview with Pod Save America host Tommy Vietor that she’s investigating the extent of mayoral powers in preparation for Mamdani taking office on Jan. 1.
Redistricting Battle: Trump’s Dept. of Justice Seeks to Block California’s New Congressional Maps (Bloomberg)
The US Justice Department moved to join a legal challenge to California’s Democratic-leaning congressional districts that were approved by the state’s voters last week, raising the stakes in an ongoing fight over the new maps.
The Trump administration asked for a judge’s permission Thursday to insert itself into a Nov. 5 lawsuit filed by California Republicans, which accuses Governor Gavin Newsom of pushing through a ballot measure that illegally bolsters the voting power of Hispanics in the state.
Election Consequences: A New American Energy Debate Emerges, Main Street's Rescue is Climate's As Well (Carl Pope - Daily Read Blog)
US voters last week reset the national conversation about the energy transition against the backdrop of soaring utility bills and persistent inflation. It placed Main Street affordability at the heart of the debate, and forced both parties to redefine their energy platforms to prioritize providing cheaper and more abundant power for families and Main Street businesses.
No major political candidate endorsed by President Trump won. Not a single political candidate prominently defending a fossil fuel future as affordable was elected. And most of the successful candidates who argued that renewable energy was the key to affordability not only won, but won by record-breaking, landslide margins.
Hope for Health: Big Foundations Unite to Confront Climate-Driven Health Risks (Bloomberg)
Some of the world’s biggest philanthropic funders are committing $300 million over the next three years to address the effects of climate change on human health.
Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Gates Foundation, and Wellcome Trust are among eight organizations that have pledged funds to the initiative, dubbed the Climate and Health Funders Coalition. They expect additional contributions over time from the broader coalition of around 35 groups.
The effort is part of a new focus
on building humanity’s defenses against the mounting consequences of a hotter planet. Intensifying extreme heat now kills nearly one person each minute, according to the latest annual report on climate and health by medical journal The Lancet. Storms and wildfires also take a major toll on public health. That includes the impact of Hurricane Melissa, which climate change intensified, on Jamaica and other Caribbean nations.
This Weekend in Media: MSNBC Sheds Decades-Old Identity on Nov. 15, Rebrands to MSNOW (New York Times)
Tech Shake-Up: Meta Chief AI Scientist Yann LeCun Plans to Exit and Launch Own Start-Up (Financial Times)
Meta’s chief artificial intelligence scientist Yann LeCun is planning to leave the social media giant to found his own start-up, as Mark Zuckerberg seeks to radically overhaul the company’s AI operations.
LeCun, a Turing Award winner who is considered one of the pioneers of modern AI, has told associates he will leave the Silicon Valley group in the coming months.
The impending departure comes as
Meta’s founder shakes up its AI strategy to challenge rivals such as OpenAI and Google in developing more powerful forms of AI.
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Apple Podcasts.
Spotlight on Midtown Manhattan: JPMorgan Chase’s Soaring Skyscraper is 'Thrilling Edition' to NY Skyline (Wall Street Journal)
Designed by Foster + Partners, JPMorgan Chase’s new building at 270 Park Ave. is a thrilling addition to the New York skyline, sensitive to people’s needs and the neighborhood despite its massive scale.
Taking up an entire city block between 47th and 48th streets, it reportedly cost $3 billion and contains 2.5 million square feet. It may not be the tallest of the new Brobdingnagian buildings—the toothpick-thin supertalls below Central Park surpass its 1,388 feet—but none can match its complexity, sophistication and unexpected civic-mindedness.
In choosing Norman Foster as their architect,
JPMorgan Chase was determined to make a commercial tower that is also a civic building, that opens itself up to the street, that respects the architectural culture of the city, and that treats its inhabitants with respect. It affirms the value of city life, a remarkable feat in a building designed during the Covid years, when working remotely seemed to be the future.
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