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- We Can’t Afford an AI Recession
Over the past several days, as Donald Trump has flown across the country to rally Republican voters in contested midterm races, he has returned again and again to a version of the same point: “I had the greatest economy in the history of our country in my first term,” as the president told crowds in Michigan. “This term is going to blow it away.”To the extent Trump can claim the economy as a strength, what he’s mostly talking about is the biggest infrastructure build in American history. The five largest AI-data-center companies, including Amazon and Google, are on track to spend $900 billion on AI in 2026, roughly as much as they did in the previous three years combined. Just two AI chipmakers accounted for one-third of growth in corporate profits this past quarter, while as of September, AI stocks accounted for nearly half of growth in the S&P 500 in 2026. Depending on how you count, AI investments might already make up more than 8 percent of the nation’s GDP.[Read: ]Welcome to the valley of painThen there’s the rest of the economy, which is, if not struggling, at least confusing. AI has been pushing up the stock market for years, but the scale of financial expenditures is beginning to frighten investors, prompting a recent tumble. Gas and grocery prices are rising, while wages are largely flat or falling. There are tariffs and a miserable housing market. Unemployment is low, but at the same time, many Americans aren’t looking for work and job growth is slow. Consumer spending is strong, but that’s due in no small part to AI doubling the value of people’s stock portfolios since roughly the launch of ChatGPT. For years we’ve spoken of AI as a “boom,” describing explosive growth in one industry. It is more correct to speak of the entire market as the AI economy.Meanwhile, there’s real anxiety around the products these AI companies are selling. AI-powered hacks have brought about a cybersecurity apocalypse. OpenAI and Anthropic, the two companies whose futures the U.S. economy rests on, are losing control of their own agents and warning that these bots could end the world. The AI industry appears to be heading in two different directions—one financial, the other technological. Combined, their effect is to induce a sort of dependency: to bring about so much rapid change that AI becomes impossible for us to quit.The AI… [TheTopNews] Read More.2 days ago - WRN Daily: Election Day turnout could decide Wisconsin Senate control
As Wisconsin voters head to the polls Tuesday, political observers say turnout and national political trends could play a major role in determining the outcome of races for governor, the state Legislature and Congress. UW-La Crosse political science professor Anthony Chergosky said voter participation is especially important in midterm elections, when turnout is typically lower […] Source: WRN.com [TheTopNews] Read More.2 days ago - The Backlash to Corruption Is Going GlobalNicole Irvin voted for Donald Trump three times because she thought he had business savvy and appreciated that he was politically incorrect. “I like his roughness,” she told me. I met her in the parking lot of a Walmart Supercenter in Levittown, Pennsylvania, a planned suburban community in the state’s First Congressional District, a midterm battleground. She used to get her news from the right-wing commentator Candace Owens, and she cried when Charlie Kirk was killed last year. Lately, though, she has tuned out the GOP’s messaging because it is so discordant with her own experience.She had just paid $10 for a phone charger—her son had broken her old one—and recalled when she paid half that much. “I asked the lady, ‘Is there any clearance section?’” The cost was significant because Irvin, who works at a tire-repair company, lives paycheck to paycheck. Meanwhile she sees politicians protecting their own wealth, and she can’t remember the greed ever being so blatant as under Trump. “They all make deals with each other,” she said.Corruption is topping voter concerns in recent polls, dominating Democratic messaging, and forcing Republicans to play defense in red states. If that marks a sharp shift from recent American elections, in which such allegations have played a relatively minor role, it mirrors a growing global trend. Around the world, a backlash against corruption has roused voters and undercut populist, right-wing politicians. Now it may play a decisive role in the midterm elections.I first noticed this in Hungary earlier this year. Viktor Orbán, an ally of President Trump and a model for his MAGA movement, was ousted in April after 16 years in power. I asked his former political director, Balázs Orbán—who is not related to the former prime minister—whether he saw parallels between the campaign that cost his boss his job and the contest that could end Republican control of Congress. Like Trump, the long-serving prime minister had confronted corruption accusations in previous elections, but won anyway. “Why is that?” Orbán asked me. “It’s because of the economy. If people feel the economy is going in a good direction, they say, ‘Okay, there are some rich people, but we are also doing well.’” As Orbán sees it, these were the terms of a basic social contract. “The problem right now is that since people don’t feel that they are doing well, they want politicians to keep the social agreement:… [TheTopNews] Read More.2 days ago
- Does Morris Katz Know What Working-Class Voters Want?One day over the summer, Morris Katz slouched into our booth at a diner in Brooklyn Heights, removed his backwards baseball cap, and stuffed a Zyn pouch into his mouth. He took out his iPhone (no case, gaping crack down the back) and put it face down on the table. Then, while claiming, “I never do this,” he plunked a Hershey’s kiss into his espresso. The 27-year-old political strategist and Zohran Mamdani confidant was ready to speak.Katz believes that the Democratic Party is beholden to billionaire oligarchs and is out of touch with the economic issues that working people care about. The world has worsened for most Americans, and he thinks Democrats are afraid to name the culprits. “You can’t tell someone they’re getting fucked and not tell them who’s fucking them,” Katz said. He loathes politicians who seek incremental change. The party, he says, needs to run outsiders who promise to blow up a corrupt system.Katz is articulate (profane, but articulate), confident, and podcast-ready. When it comes to his day job, making campaign ads, even Katz’s critics concede that he is a generational talent. He made his name on Mamdani’s New York City mayoral campaign. David Axelrod became a mentor. Other campaigns across the country couldn’t wait to hire him.He was on a vertical trajectory through much of 2026. One of his biggest victories came in June, when his client Graham Platner defeated Maine Governor Janet Mills in the state’s Senate primary. Then everything imploded. Platner dropped out of the race following a cornucopia of scandals, involving everything from Nazi tattoos to rape allegations. Katz was ridiculed, and Democrats seemed to recognize the risk they’d taken in entrusting a crucial Senate race to someone too young to remember September 11.But Katz remains a force in Democratic politics heading into the midterms. Fight Agency, the firm where Katz is a partner, was set up to support progressive outsiders running for office. Katz seeks out candidates who can be credible populist messengers. Whether they are in fact members of the working class—Platner relied on money from his wealthy parents well into adulthood—matters less to him than whether they come across that way. They need to look the part: beards, Carhartt, and tattoos (except Nazi ones) are a plus. And they must be charismatic public speakers, both in front of a crowd and mediated through an iPhone. The ads that Katz makes… [TheTopNews] Read More.2 days ago
- Schneider Q3 2026 Earnings Rise as Trucking Capacity Tightens
What did Schneider report? Schneider National reported $49.5 million in third-quarter net income, up from $19.4 million a year earlier. Diluted earnings rose to 28 cents per share, compared with 11 cents. Revenue increased 9% to $1.59 billion, according to results released October 29, 2026. Meanwhile, operating income climbed 76% to $62.1 million. Management credited stronger pricing, improved productivity, and cost reductions. However, revenue excluding fuel surcharges increased only 3%, showing that fuel-related charges contributed substantially to the headline revenue gain. Why does management expect freight rates to improve? CEO Jim Filter expects tighter trucking capacity to support further price increases despite uneven demand. Driver availability, higher operating costs, and barriers to entry are limiting carriers’ ability to expand. He also pointed to enforcement involving driver training and electronic logging devices. Additionally, rising fuel expenses and driver wages are pressuring smaller carriers. Filter believes removing noncompliant operators will further restrict supply. These conditions could support stronger rates without requiring a sharp increase in shipment volumes. Freight activity softened from the second quarter, which Filter attributed largely to seasonal patterns and inventory adjustments. However, housing and automotive demand remained constrained by borrowing costs and affordability. Spot rates improved late in the quarter, while contract pricing continued advancing. How did Schneider’s business segments perform? Truckload and intermodal operations delivered higher profits, while logistics revenue growth did not translate into operating earnings. Higher prices and productivity supported results despite lower volumes. The following segment revenue figures exclude fuel surcharges. Truckload: Revenue remained nearly unchanged at $624.8 million, while operating income increased 121% to $43.7 million. Revenue per truck per week rose 8% to $4,252. Intermodal: Revenue increased 2% to $287.7 million, and operating income rose 35% to $22.6 million. Higher revenue per order helped offset declining volume. Logistics: Revenue grew 12% to $372.5 million, but operating income fell to zero from $6.4 million. Higher transportation expenses and insurance costs tied to a prior-year claim reduced earnings. Truckload’s improvement also reflected acquisition-related savings, gains from equipment sales, and better equipment utilization. Its average truck count declined to 11,347 from 12,291 a year earlier. Meanwhile, intermodal revenue per order rose 3%, but higher purchased transportation costs partly offset the benefits of pricing and a more favorable freight mix. What is Schneider’s updated outlook? Schneider raised its full-year 2026 adjusted diluted earnings forecast to $1.00–$1.10 per share. It also projected $325 million–$350 million… [TheTopNews] Read More.3 days ago - Catherine Zeta-Jones’s 5 Favorite Places in Wales
The Oscar-winning star of “Chicago,” “Traffic” and the new AMC+ series “Kill Jackie” shares her go-to spots in Wales, where she was born and raised. [TheTopNews] Read More.3 days ago
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