In Da House

Where Crime Happens, Fitness Craze

Our house, in the middle of our street. It's both the chorus of a 1982 hit song and the location of the crime wave you've been hearing so much about. It turns out that the crime rate is at a pretty solid low in America. The one place it remains stubbornly high? Well, let's put it this way. The call is coming from inside the house. And it's likely to wake you up. Bloomberg (Gift Article): When and Where Does Crime Happen? At Home, After Midnight. "New FBI statistics paint a detailed portrait of where and how crime happens in the US. Violent incidents in particular tend to involve familiar people in familiar places." (Maybe Trump should send in the National Guard to be roommates.)

+ The NYT editorial board breaks down many interesting reasons and theories about why crime has been falling. Crime Keeps Falling. Here’s Why. This tidbit will probably surprise a whole lot of Americans. "It is worth mentioning one factor that has played little role in the recent crime decline, contrary to claims from Mr. Trump. He has suggested that the crime spike was the fault of illegal immigration during the Biden administration and that the reversal stems from his border crackdown. That appears to be simply false. Immigrants, including those who entered the country illegally, commit crimes at lower rates than native-born Americans (in part because of the potential consequences, including deportation). The timeline does not work, either. Murder began surging in 2020, when migration was very low, and began falling in 2023, when it was still high." Maybe these stats make this headline inevitable: Trump Crackdown Snares More Migrants With No US Criminal Records. The administration's latest answer to these numbers comes from Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of public affairs at DHS: "Many of the individuals that are counted as ‘non-criminals’ are actually terrorists, human rights abusers, gangsters and more. They just don’t have a rap sheet in the US." So we're targeting criminals with no record of having committed a crime? Every house on the block is filled with those.

2

Superficial Intelligence?

"According to recent research from McKinsey & Company, nearly eight in 10 companies have reported using generative A.I., but just as many have reported 'no significant bottom-line impact.' A.I. technology has been racing ahead with chatbots like ChatGPT, fueled by a high-stakes arms race among tech giants and superrich start-ups and prompting an expectation that everything from back-office accounting to customer service will be revolutionized. But the payoff for businesses outside the tech sector is lagging behind, plagued by issues including an irritating tendency by chatbots to make stuff up." NYT (Gift Article): Companies Are Pouring Billions Into A.I. It Has Yet to Pay Off.

+ I don't think there's much doubt that in the long run, AI will be replacing a lot of the work done by humans. In the near-term, it's already taking over some of the roles of your colleagues. Sarah E. Needleman: Meet your new office bestie: ChatGPT. "Unlike teammates with a pulse, chatbots are never snotty, grumpy, or off the clock. They don't eat leftover salmon at their desks or give you the stink eye. They don't go on a tangent about their kids or talk politics when you ask to schedule a meeting. And they won't be insulted if you reject their suggestions."

+ "A cognitively impaired New Jersey man grew infatuated with 'Big sis Billie,' a Facebook Messenger chatbot with a young woman’s persona. His fatal attraction puts a spotlight on Meta’s AI guidelines, which have let chatbots make things up and engage in ‘sensual’ banter with children." Meta’s flirty AI chatbot invited a retiree to New York. He never made it home. "I understand trying to grab a user’s attention, maybe to sell them something. But for a bot to say ‘Come visit me’ is insane."

3

We're Gonna Pump You Up

"Exercise ... may be the single most broadly beneficial health intervention in the world. No other medication or behavioral remedy is so effective at simultaneously combating body-wide inflammation, visceral fat accumulation, and neurodegenerative diseases. So, one would hope that a true health wave in America would also see a big leap in fitness activities. In fact, that's exactly what seems to be happening." Derek Thompson on The Great American Fitness Boom. (As with every big American story, the economic divide plays a role.)

4

I Need Some Space Camp

"Jocelyn Benson made some of her closest friendships at sleep-away camp while hiking, climbing the ropes course and cheering for teammates during color war. She lived in a bunk with other campers, chatted late into the night and made plans to see them once camp ended. The other things she did: mingled with fellow campers who drank wine and cocktails and stayed up till 1:30 a.m. Benson was, after all, 29. Sleep-away camp isn’t just for kids anymore." WSJ (Gift Article): Adults Are Going to Sleep-away Camp to Make Friends. It Seems to Actually Work. (The more I read about solutions for being lonely, the more I appreciate moments alone.)

5

Extra, Extra

Not a Matter of Tariff, But When: "US wholesale prices rose far more than expected in July, posting their biggest surge in three years." Someone's gonna have to make up for those higher prices, and that someone is always the consumer.

+ Wag the DOGE: "Through July, DOGE said it has saved taxpayers $52.8 billion by canceling contracts, but of the $32.7 billion in actual claimed contract savings that Politico could verify, DOGE’s savings over that period were closer to $1.4 billion." Just how much has DOGE exaggerated its numbers? Now we have receipts. (DOGE wouldn't have to inflate the stats if it instead measured how much damage its done.)

+ Meeting of the Mines: Expectations are being re-set for the Putin/Trump summit in Alaska. "The more important meeting will be the second meeting that we’re having," Trump said "We’re going to have a meeting with President Putin, President Zelensky, myself, and maybe we’ll bring some of the European leaders along, maybe not." (So this is a meeting about having a meeting.) Here's the latest from CNN.

+ Bystand and Deliver: "President Donald Trump's pick to run the Bureau of Labor Statistics was among the crowd outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, with the White House saying he was a 'bystander' who wandered over after seeing coverage on the news." (He could have been one of the lunatics who broke through barricades and took a dump on the Capitol's marble floor and the Senate GOP would still confirm him.)

+ Pill Pullers: "A coalition of faith-based activists had pressured the retailer to not offer the abortion pill mifepristone in its pharmacy locations. The group now turns its focus to CVS and Walgreens." Costco Forgoes Sale of Abortion Pill, Emboldening Religious Groups.

+ Sandwich Generation: "A man accused of throwing a sandwich at a federal agent who was patrolling Washington this week, after calling him and other agents 'fascists,' was charged with assaulting a federal officer on Wednesday. On Thursday, Attorney General Pam Bondi said the man had been fired from his job at the Justice Department." Man Charged With Assaulting Federal Agent With Sandwich in DC.

6

Bottom of the News

McDonald's "said in a release that when customers purchase a Happy Meal, they would get a limited-edition set of two Pokemon cards." What could possibly go wrong? McDonald’s Japan apologizes for chaotic 3-day Pokemon Happy Meal promo.

+ German states debate who invented Bratwurst sausages.