Trump’s Plan to Squeeze Iran Faces a Major Obstacle: The Strait of Hormuz
“They had no plan to address the crisis in the strait,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D., Conn.), who joined a classified briefing Tuesday with administration officials about the operation. “The fact that these guys didn’t have a plan ahead of time, and a week into the war still didn’t have a plan, was pretty shocking.”
Typically, war preparations include weeks or months of classified deliberations, written planning documents, the airing of dissenting views from diplomats and intelligence officials, and National Security Council meetings with cabinet members to make the most informed decision. Only a small group was looped into the preparations for Iran—including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Hegseth. That narrowed the advice, information and ideas available to the president, who had to balance the many downsides of an attack.
Trump faces two difficult choices, analysts say: End hostilities and leave a wounded regime likely to rebuild its arsenal and terrorize regional allies. Or continue bombing at the risk of broader instability, more casualties and a political backlash among voters who believed Trump would end U.S. involvement in foreign wars, especially in the Middle East.
I read this article about a week before the US and Israel attacked Iran. Now that Dubai is in chaos, I can’t stop thinking about it.
Hong Kong’s property market has turned
Over 300,000 mainlanders have received “talent” visas of various kinds over the past six years, on top of 155,000 others who settled in the city via family ties
Over the next five years the government aims to add 189,000 units, an almost mainlandish pace of construction
Distinct AI Models Seem to Converge on How They Encode Reality
Models think alike. Maybe that means they also have common sense.
A Single, ‘Naked’ Black Hole Rewrites the History of the Universe
We still know very little about black holes. They challenge our understanding of the evolution of the universe. I believe the JWST could be one of the most important scientific projects in human history.
There is also a related video explaining the evolution of black holes (in Chinese): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oltrRIhmgmE
Women’s midlife: the front line of Alzheimer prevention
Women have a higher risk of dementia.
Parity — the number of times a woman has given birth — generally shows a nonlinear relationship with AD risk (10, 11). Several studies report an inverted U-shape association, where having 1–4 children is linked with lower dementia risk (106, 113, 114), while grand multiparity (≥5 children) is associated with increased risk (106, 115, 116). A meta-analysis found that both nulliparous women (RR 1.11, 95% CI 1.06–1.16) and those with 5 or more children (RR 1.28, 95% CI 1.15–1.44) had increased dementia risk, with each additional childbirth increasing risk by 3% (92). Some studies also suggest associations between longer cumulative time spent pregnant or breastfeeding and reduced AD risk (103, 114, 117), although others report the opposite (102). Since estrogen levels are suppressed during lactation, these effects may involve different mechanisms.
Impact of Minimum Pay Rules on Gig Delivery Drivers
A minimum pay law for gig delivery workers in Seattle doubled base pay per task but resulted in reduced tips, fewer available tasks, and no net increase in monthly earnings.
A classic Economics 101 conclusion.
This year, more than 13,800 artists generated at least $100,000 on Spotify.