Does Ticketmaster have a stranglehold on concert ticketing — or is it just ‘bringing joy’?
Does Ticketmaster have a stranglehold on concert ticketing — or is it just ‘bringing joy’?

In a downtown Manhattan courtroom on Monday, lawyers for the US Justice Department and 40 state and district attorneys general warned a jury that the concert industry was being squeezed by a monopolist: Live Nation-Tickemaster. After amassing dominance over ticketing and artists’ use of large amphitheaters, lead DOJ counsel David Dahlquist alleged, Live Nation constructed […]

What Trump’s war on Iran means for the US energy crunch
What Trump’s war on Iran means for the US energy crunch

Fuel prices surged after the Trump administration launched strikes against Iran on Saturday, immediately raising questions about whether the war would increase energy costs for Americans, put more pressure on power grids, and push companies to pump out more oil and gas in the US. If conflict drags on, that could potentially play into Donald […]

AI-generated art can’t be copyrighted after Supreme Court declines to review the rule
AI-generated art can’t be copyrighted after Supreme Court declines to review the rule

The US Supreme Court has declined to hear a case over whether AI-generated art can obtain a copyright, as reported earlier by Reuters. The Monday decision comes after Stephen Thaler, a computer scientist from Missouri, appealed a court’s decision to uphold a ruling that found AI-generated art can’t be copyrighted. In 2019, the US Copyright […]

HBO Max and Paramount Plus could become one streamer
HBO Max and Paramount Plus could become one streamer

Now that Paramount Skydance has become the frontrunner to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, CEO David Ellison wants the two studios’ streaming services to become one. During a call with investors on Monday, Paramount Skydance head David Ellison insisted that, if his deal to acquire the entirety of Warner Bros. Discovery for about $110 billion receives […]

Data Center Batteries Enter The Iron Age

This week’s Current Climate newsletter also looks at how Red Texas is turning green when it comes to energy and building up U.S. supply chains for a better electric grid

Kalshi voids some bets on Khamenei’s ouster because it’s ‘directly tied to death’
Kalshi voids some bets on Khamenei’s ouster because it’s ‘directly tied to death’

In a statement on X, Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour said his company would pay out positions on “Ali Khamenei out as Supreme Leader?” at the last trading price before his death. Mansour said that Kalshi doesn’t “list markets directly tied to death” and that its rules are designed to “prevent people from profiting from death.” […]

Meta won’t let morality get in the way of a product launch
Meta won’t let morality get in the way of a product launch

There’s never been a better time to add facial recognition to everything! The public at large is gradually becoming numb to our Palantirized surveillance state, and American communities are responding to the militarization of federal law enforcement with their own increasingly intricate webs of sousveillance. The Ray-Ban Meta glasses are sleek, unobtrusive wearables with front-facing […]

Warning: AI Is Coming For Your 401(k)

Stocks have low earnings yields and TIPS have good yields. Move money from stocks into bonds.

Polymarket defends its decision to allow betting on war as ‘invaluable’
Polymarket defends its decision to allow betting on war as ‘invaluable’

Polymarket has been allowing people to bet on when the US would strike Iran next. Obviously, now that it’s actually happened and people have died, the prediction betting market is feeling some pressure. The site has been at the center of controversy before, including suspicions of insider trading on the Super Bowl halftime show and […]

Defense secretary Pete Hegseth designates Anthropic a supply chain risk
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth designates Anthropic a supply chain risk

Nearly two hours after President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he was banning Anthropic products from the federal government, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth took it one step further and announced that he was now designating the AI company as a “supply-chain risk,” which Anthropic says it is willing to challenge in court. […]