News Items (Newsletter)

1. The Wall Street Journal: Fighting between the U.S. and Iran intensified overnight, with the American military hitting a wide range of new targets and Tehran claiming it had launched attacks on several of Washington’s allies in the region. The skirmishes represented a higher level of military activity between the two foes since a ceasefire went into effect last month and raised hopes of a lasting peace deal.

Two of the very best reporters at The New York Times, Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, have written an important book about President Trump’s “second presidency”. The book, Regime Change, makes it abundantly clear that the 47th president is and will be far more consequential than the 45th. There are any number of books that offer, or claim to offer, what you might call a Unified Theory of Trump. Regime Change does not do that.

“Most mornings I learn more from New Items than I do from all of the traditional papers I read combined.” — Michael Blair, former presiding partner, Debevoise & Plimpton. 1. Plan A: AI companies are racing to build AIs that are smarter than humans in every way. In AI 2027, we predicted that this would result in either extinction or irreversible concentration of power.Plan A is our positive vision for what should happen instead.

News Items is as invaluable a way to start the day as a strong cup of coffee or a sip of mild gin” — Graydon Carter, editor and author of ‘When The Going Was Good’. 1. Two Charts: (Source: unctad.org) (Sources: asia.nikkei.com, openrouter.ai) 2.

A new category.

News Items is “the most valuable newsletter out there.” — Peggy Noonan. 1. Anthropic: As you read this sentence, circuits in your brain are adjusting your posture, controlling your breathing, and transforming lines and curves on the screen into recognizable words. Most of this processing is invisible to you. But some of what takes place in your brain you do have access to—an image that pops into your head, or a deliberate plan you make about where to go shopping.

“It’s the first thing I read every morning.“​​​​​​​​​​​ — Rob Manfred, Commissioner, MLB. 1. Declining birth rates around the world have gotten many people worried about the economic impact, with predictions of slower growth and less innovation. But a new paper finds that the opposite may be true.

1. Nicholas Eberstadt: For the first time in generations—since the Great Depression—the prospect of long-term population decline is looming on the American horizon. Almost no serious consideration has yet been devoted to how well America might fare in the face of depopulation. That inattention could prove costly, for depopulation could come upon us with stunning speed. Fortunately, a depopulating America can still prosper—in theory.

1. The price of Brent crude could fall as low as $60 a barrel by the end of this year, say analysts at Citi, less than half its peak during the Iran war, as Wall Street strategists predict the global oil market will swing back to a surplus.

Danny Hillis is an inventor and engineer of complex machines. He has designed some of the fastest computers in the world and one of the slowest mechanical devices: the 10,000-year Clock of the Long Now. What follows is adapted and expanded from “The Rise and Fall of ‘Petty Tyrants,’” published in Noema Magazine (April 2026). This is Danny’s second piece for News Items and Political News Items. A country’s first leader can shape its future.