The Brutalist Report

Fortune

• The saga of the billion-dollar sock: The Muppets’ 50th birthday marks a long and profitable run [25d]
• Remove Tesla’s non-repeatable profits, and the stock has never been more expensive—now boasting a ‘core’ PE of 632 [25d]
• Only 4 democracies have created paramilitary police squads since 1960—if you include ICE [25d]
• ICE keeps getting slapped down by a George W. Bush-appointed, Antonin Scalia acolyte Republican judge in Minnesota [25d]
• Pizza cutter-wielding FBI imposter tried to break Luigi Mangione out of jail, authorities say [25d]
• Landmark crypto bill clears Senate hurdle but Democrats withhold support over lack of ‘gryfto’ rules to prevent Trump family conflicts of interest [25d]
• Trump’s border czar vows ‘zero tolerance’ on assaults against ICE while gesturing at Minnesota drawdown [25d]
• Trump on Ilhan Omar getting apple cider vinegar squirted on her: ‘She probably had herself sprayed, knowing her’ [25d]
• Life is actually getting better—and longer—for Americans, despite everything you read in the news [25d]
• Trump backlash over ICE builds across American culture, from The Boss to Sam Altman to Martha Stewart [25d]
• TikTok’s ‘Ms. Shirley,’ who drew 5 million followers watching her care for the homeless, dies at 58 [25d]
• AI writes 100% of the code at Anthropic, OpenAI top engineers say—with big implications for the future of software development jobs [25d]
• ‘A major problem for America’s economic future’: $38 trillion national debt finds Democratic, Republican supermajority [25d]
• A Guide to All Mattress Dimensions: How to Choose the Right Size Bed [25d]
• Getting deported by Trump can’t stop top influencer Khaby Lame from notching a $975 million deal—including the rights to his AI avatar [25d]
• Walmart doubles down on health, giving 3,000 pharmacy workers a promotion and a raise up to 86%—with no college degree required [25d]
• As Big Tech CEOs speak up about violence in Minneapolis, 1 in 3 corporate leaders think ICE tensions are ‘not relevant to their business’ [25d]
• Silver hits new record of $120—sparking doubt and frustration in Bitcoin land [25d]
• AI has made hacking cheap. That changes everything for business [25d]
• Wall Street is losing patience with OpenAI’s $1 trillion revenue problem—and they’re taking it out on Microsoft [25d]
• Bruce Springsteen dedicates ‘Streets of Minneapolis’ to ‘innocent immigrant neighbors,’ memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good [25d]
• Bessent accuses Carney of ‘virtue signaling’ after his big speech at Davos, with divorce between Canada and America in the air [25d]
• ICE to withdraw from Maine after Susan Collins holds talks with Kristi Noem [25d]
• Struggling to remain relevant during the AI water-cooler chat? Talk about your latest “new collar” hire [25d]
• Sergey Brin makes his biggest donation ever to tackle California’s housing crisis, weeks after moving to the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe [25d]
• Like Gen Z, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman isn’t a fan of using capital letters—but experts say the ‘lazy’ tech habit could kill their careers [25d]
• Inspired by Steve Jobs, New York Stock Exchange’s owner says successful leaders surround themselves with smart people—and ‘get rid of the stupid ones’ [25d]
• Climate change mans Southern Africa got a year’s worth of rain in just 10 days, killing over 100 people [25d]
• German chancellor on Trump’s claim that it didn’t fight in Afghanistan: we lost 59 soldiers [25d]
• A spectre is haunting Europe — the spectre of Trump. Cue the Asian trade deals [25d]
• What Minnesota resistance really looks like: a health care worker who patrols in her beat-up Subaru, watching for signs of federal agents [25d]
• How stroopwafels and saffron tiramisu fit into Starbucks’ plan to get to 40,000 stores around the world [25d]
• ‘NATO needs to be reimagined,’ Rubio insists. Trump just ‘complains about it louder than other presidents’ did [25d]
• Rubio confirms oil sales from Venezuela will get deposited into U.S.-controlled account first [25d]
• Ilhan Omar says ‘death threats skyrocket’ every time Trump attacks her but ‘fear and intimidation doesn’t work on me’ [25d]
• Amy Klobuchar to run for Minnesota governor with Tim Walz vacating seat [25d]
• 11 days before he was shot and killed by ICE, Alex Pretti kicked out a vehicle taillight and got wrestled to the ground [25d]
• EU moves closer to another major Asian power on trade, upgrading ties with Vietnam [25d]
• Jerome Powell says economy has ‘clearly improved’ since December as he defends rate pause [25d]
• Democrats see a ‘moral moment’ over ICE as GOP defends masked, armed feds in the streets with shutdown looming [25d]
• Trump is driving capital out of capitalism [25d]
• John Hancock CEO: We all have a role in driving better health outcomes for Americans [25d]
• The real promise of AI isn’t fewer jobs, it’s cheaper thinking [25d]
• Jerome Powell got a direct question about the U.S. ‘losing credibility’ and the soaring price of gold and silver. He punted [25d]
• 75 years ago, the midlife crisis was a global problem. Now it’s an American affliction and it’s ‘not just about buying a sports car’ [26d]
• Exclusive: Escape Velocity raises a $62 million fund to bet on ‘DePIN’ crypto networks for telescopes, solar energy, and more [26d]
• ADM settles accounting scandal—can AI help prevent the next one? [26d]
• Get used to the K-shaped economy. It’s likely here until 2035, thanks to AI’s outsized benefit for the wealthy [26d]
• The $600 billion wave of AI ‘capex’ growth boosting tech stocks will slow down this year or next, analysts warn [26d]
• Inside the race to build data centers [26d]
• Record-high utility rate hike requests of $31 billion nationwide in 2025 trigger electric bill spikes and public outcries [26d]
• A once-unthinkable C-suite appointment solidifies Walmart’s new identity as a tech company [26d]
• Job clingers, beware: research shows you’re more likely to regret staying in a bad job than quitting it [26d]
• Bonds 101: What investors need to know about the ‘shock absorber of the portfolio’ [26d]
• An architect of California’s billionaire tax says he’s an ‘enthusiastic capitalist,’ but the system ‘doesn’t seem to be working.’ He’s got a plan [26d]
• Amazon is closing its futuristic Go and Fresh stores—showing logistics and tech aren’t enough to make old-school retail work [26d]
• Tesla reveals $2 billion investment in Elon Musk’s xAI and officially kills the Model S and Model X [26d]
• Microsoft demand backlog doubles to $625 billion thanks to OpenAI, but hefty spending and slower revenue growth spook investors [26d]