The World's Most Dangerous Woman.

Versus the “most beloved daughter.”

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“Most mornings I learn more from New Items than I do from all of the traditional papers I read combined.” — Michael Blair, Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School and former presiding partner, Debevoise & Plimpton.

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1. In 2024, the United States spent nearly $1 trillion — roughly 3.5 percent of total economic output — on research and development. When it came to the kind of long-term basic research that underpins American technological and scientific advancements, the government accounted for about 40 percent of the spending. That’s the reason political, education and business leaders in advanced countries and emerging economies have long fretted over a brain drain from their own shores. Now they are seizing a chance to reverse the flow. “This is a once-in-a-century brain gain opportunity,” the Australian Strategic Policy Institute declared, as it encouraged its government to act. (Sources: nytimes.com, ncses.nsf.gov, aspi.org. We wrote about this in March.)

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2. According to an Economist analysis, America is splitting into two different economies and markets: one conservative, the other liberal. People on each side think about the economy differently, they buy different things and work in increasingly different industries. Not only that: the MAGA economy is doing surprisingly well. The growing gap between the MAGA and Democratic economies can be seen in both “soft” and “hard” data. (Source: economist.com)

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3. General Motors is bringing in potentially groundbreaking new battery technology that not only has 30 percent more energy density at the existing production cost for cells but also would circumvent China's stranglehold on intellectual property for EV batteries. The company even claims this new type of battery pack could lower the cost of its electric SUVs so they're comparable to their gasoline counterparts. The news came today as GM has announced it will use lithium manganese-rich (LMR) battery cells in its largest electric vehicles, the full-size trucks and SUVs sold by Chevrolet, GMC, and Cadillac. They are to be produced by Ultium Cells, its joint-venture battery company with LG Energy Solutions. The first such cells will come from a pilot line in 2027, with full volume production in 2028 at a plant it hasn’t disclosed. (Source: wired.com)