The front page of the The Wall Street Journal on March 29, when we were one horrid, excruciating year into Evan's wrongful imprisonment in Russian. And the front page of today's The Wall Street Journal. The joy, the relief, the jubilation. Evan is free. Evan is free. Evan is free. #JournalismIsNotACrime

Congress’s Plan to Outlaw Chinese Drones Met With Protest The U.S. is on the precipice of banning DJI - and the outrage from drone users is palpable. wsj.com/politics/natio…

"The U.S. isn’t ready to wean itself from Chinese drones…Police departments, rescue workers are part of the fight against calls to outlaw DJI sales in the U.S." Heather Somerville wsj.com/politics/natio… wsj.com/politics/natio…

1/ New Lux LP letter––Q2 2024 a clarion call for scientific advancement (and all who FOSTER, FIND, FUND and benefit from it) as the cornerstone of our collective future in 5 sections we cover -rebellious scientists -importance of laboratory culture -ambition of Lux Labs -global

Extraordinary 💥 warning from Ukraine to Belarus: Belarusian forces, including Wagner mercenaries, gathering along the border in the Gomel region north of Kyiv and Chernobyl threaten Ukraine’s and the world’s security, and must withdraw beyond the range of their weapons systems.

This is absolutely devastating. Reuters safety adviser is killed, two journalists injured (one seriously) in an attack on hotel in Ukraine's Kramatorsk. reuters.com/world/europe/r… hit-strike-hotel-ukraines-kramatorsk-2024-08-25/

NEW: When the House returns Sept. 9, they will spend the week voting on China-related legislation. Bills include: - End Chinese Dominance of Electric Vehicles in America Act of 2024 - Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act - Protect America’s Innovation

The Economist: "China’s giant economy faces an equally giant crisis of confidence—and a growing deficit of accurate information is only making things worse…The gloom reflects real problems…But it also reflects growing mistrust of information." economist.com/leaders/2024/0…

Blow up pagers, force the surviving Hezbollah cadres to rely on walkie talkies, and then blow up the much bigger explosive devices inside the walkie talkies. A TV spy series producers would rule out this twist plot as impossible to believe in.

This is an amazing outcome for Oyo. Now owner of a ubiquitous American motel chain. Blackstone agrees to sell Motel 6, one of America’s most recognizable lodging chains, for $525 million to India-based hotel giant Oyo wsj.com/real-estate/co… via The Wall Street Journal

"If Russia wins, no state, and no border would feel secure. And the world would enter a new era of imperialist wars of conquest." A brilliant piece in the Economist magazine from the author of “Sapiens” Yuval Noah Harari. 1/n

Kharkiv. Not Beirut. Happens almost daily. Not making news anymore.

U.S. Defense-Tech Startups Need a New Supplier: Anyone but China—A new generation of companies is learning to build high-tech weapons without materials from Beijing Heather Somerville wsj.com/politics/natio… wsj.com/politics/natio…

Defense-Tech Startups Need a New Supplier: Anyone but China wsj.com/politics/natio…

Listen 🎧: U.S. defense companies making weapons to counter China depend on the country for parts. Now they need to remake their supply chains. How are companies decoupling from China? Heather Somerville joins Julie Chang with more. link.chtbl.com/WSJTechNewsBri…

As the U.S. pressures defense companies to stop sourcing parts for weapons from China - the very adversary they want to counter - startups see an existential challenge. And, an opportunity. New on the supply chain overhaul coming for defense tech: wsj.com/politics/natio…

China’s real-estate bust left behind as many as 90 million empty homes. All that property is colliding with the country’s shrinking population, leaving cities stuck. wsj.com/world/china/ch… via The Wall Street Journal

In today’s WSJ China, I write about the parallels between Beijing’s recent economic policy U-turn and the U-turn on zero-Covid. Both point to how Xi’s centralization of power has delayed effective policy response. wsjchina.cmail20.com/t/d-e-eujjyik-…

#ICYMI China is the dominant supplier of batteries, motors, sensors, rare-earth materials and other key components needed by U.S. defense companies. “That’s a national security risk.” buff.ly/3zKkhVd via Heather Somerville

For the past six months, I’ve been trying to figure out why the tech industry – and in particular crypto – have been pouring so much money into political races. The answer is bigger, and much more wide-ranging, than we think, and it appears in the New Yorker today.