AI Slashes Jobs, Dems Implode, Florida Gains Billions... Oh, And a New War

The United States launched strikes on Iran and confirmed the death of one of the most ‘arguably’ dangerous actors on the world stage. Cable news is already in overdrive, and the debates about legality, morality, and whether this pulls us closer to a much wider war are just getting started. We’re going to let the dust settle and wait until next week to dig into the details of this massive foreign policy event.

This week in America: you need two forms of ID to shovel snow in some cities, but asking for ID to vote is apparently an attack on democracy. Perfectly logical.

Then we watched Democrats sit on their hands during the State of the Union rather than stand for putting American citizens ahead of illegal immigrants. That alone tells you where the priorities are.

Republicans aren’t flawless. Not even close. But at least they still believe the job description says “serve Americans first.”

Somehow, that’s controversial now.

Politics & Policy:

It has to be said: the President didn’t just deliver a State of the Union — he delivered a clinic. Longest address in history. Commanded the room. Controlled the pace. Landed the punches. Across the aisle? Democrats looked like toddlers who just got told “no” at someone else’s birthday party. Arms folded. Faces sour. Optics brutal.

At one point, Representative Ilhan Omar heckled a sitting President — only to get drowned out by chants of “USA, USA, USA.” Let that sink in. One side chanting the country’s name. The other shouting insults. That’s the divide.

One party still believes in borders, law, and winning. The other acts like national pride is a character flaw. Prioritizing American citizens first is now treated as radical. That tells you everything.

And then Wall Street reminded everyone who really holds the keys.

JPMorgan Chase shut down Donald Trump’s personal and business accounts after January 6. Now Trump is suing for $5 billion, and CEO Jamie Dimon has some explaining to do. When the largest bank in America decides who gets financial access based on politics, that’s not “risk management.” That’s power. And voters notice.

Markets & Money:

If you want the real scoreboard, don’t watch cable news. Watch capital flows.

The Florida Chamber of Commerce says wealth is fleeing high-tax states at roughly $4 million per hour into Florida. Per hour. At this pace, Florida is on track to rank as the 14th largest economy on earth. Turns out low taxes and common sense attract investment.

Meanwhile in New York, Zohran Mamdani pitched a 9.5% property tax hike after promising only “the rich” would pay more. Real estate professionals are waving red flags. Property taxes don’t politely stop at penthouses. They cascade. That’s how housing markets crack.

On mortgages, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William J. Pulte says $200 billion was deployed through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to push rates lower — and claims they dropped “boom right away.” Government intervention with a sound effect. We’ll see how durable that is.

President Trump also renewed calls to ban lawmakers — and their families — from trading individual stocks, taking aim at Nancy Pelosi. Even some Democrats agreed. When Congress outperforms Wall Street year after year, people notice.

And in San Francisco, Gwendolyn Westbrook is accused of siphoning over $1.2 million from a taxpayer-funded homeless charity. More grants. More “oversight.” Same result.

Business & Culture:

Corporate America didn’t whisper this week. It swung.

FedEx marched into the U.S. Court of International Trade demanding its money back after Trump-era emergency tariffs were ruled illegal. When tariffs bite, corporations protest. When courts reverse them, corporations send invoices. Principle is flexible. Cash flow isn’t.

In tech, the axe continues to fall hard.

Block Inc. — parent of Square and Cash App — is cutting roughly 40% of its workforce. Over 4,000 jobs gone. Co-founder Jack Dorsey says it’s about “intelligence tools.” Translation: automation just replaced payroll. The stock jumped 24%. Wall Street applauds efficiency, not empathy.

eBay trimmed 800 jobs days after spending $1.2 billion on a Gen Z fashion app. Cut staff. Buy trends. Call it “strategic alignment.” That’s the script.

And in the real world, CarMax agreed to pay at least $420,000 after allegations it repossessed vehicles from U.S. service members without court orders. When fines are rounding errors, accountability feels optional.

Winners:

American Homebuyers:
For the first time since 2022, buyers are catching a break. Typical mortgage payments are down 8.4% year over year. After two years of getting squeezed by rates and runaway prices, purchasing power is finally breathing again. Not a boom. Not a bubble. Just relief.

Florida Homeowners:
Florida lawmakers are fast-tracking HJR 203 — a proposal that could slash property taxes for primary residences in half or more starting January 2027. One state debates how high to raise taxes. Florida debates how fast to cut them.

Losers:

The Democrats:
In one week: put illegal immigrants ahead of citizens, refused to stand for a murdered Ukrainian’s mother (some whilst wearing Ukrainian flag pins ironically), stalled the SAVE Act, and landed under anti-fraud scrutiny. Then Gavin Newsom ‘tried’ to be relatable, and it did not go well. When optics implode and investigations circle, that’s not bad messaging. That’s damage.

Netflix Executives:
Two months ago, Netflix was ready to swallow Warner Bros. Discovery for $72 billion. Then a $111 billion all-cash offer from Paramount Skydance ended the fantasy. In Hollywood, the bigger check wins.

America Decides:

Last week 80% of you said Voter ID isn’t racist and shouldn’t be political. It’s common sense. You show ID to board a plane, rent a car, or buy cold medicine. But showing ID to vote is somehow controversial? Not here. In this community, secure elections aren’t partisan.

This Week

And now we test something even more basic. A question that shouldn’t require debate — yet somehow does. After watching the reactions this week, it’s clear it needs asking.

Let’s keep it simple.

No surprises after the State of the Union, but we saw a noticeable spike this week in orders for our “Patriot” T-Shirt. Turns out when the chants get loud and the flags come out, people like to wear it.

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Watch this and ask yourself: when did common sense become a radical position?

U.S. producer prices came in hotter than expected, rising 0.5% month over month and 2.9% year over year. Economists were looking for cooler numbers. The Producer Price Index measures inflation before it hits consumers — meaning this hasn’t fully reached checkout lines yet.

Translation: If wholesale costs are climbing again, your “inflation is under control” headline won’t last long.

OpenAI just pulled off a $110 billion funding round, valuing the company at roughly $840 billion. Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank didn’t dip a toe — they cannonballed in. One of the largest private raises in history, just ahead of a mega-IPO.

Translation: AI isn’t a trend. It’s an arms race — and nobody wants to be second.

Gold pushed near $5,200 an ounce, up nearly 6% in six sessions, as Middle East tensions simmer, nuclear talks resume, and tariff uncertainty lingers. President Trump has reportedly given Iran a March 1–6 deadline. Markets are listening.

Translation: When the world feels unstable, investors buy insurance.

He's measuring in gold, not dollars. And that's the point.

The dollar dropped 10% in 2025. So, yeah, your portfolio went up in dollars, but, Dalio says your real return isn’t so exciting.

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Vice President JD Vance says the administration is freezing $259 million in Medicaid funds to Minnesota, accusing the Democrat-led state of letting welfare fraud run wild. Governor Tim Walz calls it “illegal.” President Donald Trump calls it a “war on fraud.” And Mehmet Oz at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is signaling other states could be next.

Translation: Tim Walz might be sweating a little more today — before trying to quietly disappear from politics with a ‘healthy bank balance.

In 2018, Mickey Barreto paid $200.57 for a one-night stay at the New Yorker Hotel. He never checked out — and allegedly used a local housing loophole to live there rent-free for five years. Prosecutors say he even tried to file paperwork claiming ownership and attempted to charge another tenant rent. He pled guilty this February and will now serve six months in jail.

Translation: When bad policy meets bold opportunism, absurdity isn’t far behind.

Apple Inc. will begin assembling Mac minis in Houston later this year, expanding its U.S. manufacturing footprint for the first time on that product line. The move doubles its Houston campus, boosts AI server production for domestic data centers, and adds a 20,000-square-foot workforce training center. CEO Tim Cook says production is already ahead of schedule.

Translation: Turns out “Made in America” still makes business sense.

Lamborghini scrapped its all-electric Lanzador after CEO Stephan Winkelmann admitted demand was “close to zero.” The brand, owned by Volkswagen Group via Audi, will pivot to plug-in hybrids instead. Turns out six-figure supercar buyers prefer horsepower to hashtags.

Translation: Even in the luxury market, ideology doesn’t override demand.

FedEx is suing the federal government after tariffs it paid were later ruled illegal. Following a Supreme Court decision striking down key measures imposed under IEEPA, the company says it will return any refunds to customers who absorbed the cost.

Translation: When Washington plays trade war, businesses foot the bill — until the courts step in.

Federal prosecutors say Christopher Alexander Delgado ran a $328 million crypto Ponzi scheme through Goliath Ventures, allegedly paying old investors with new money from 2023 to 2026. He now faces wire fraud and money laundering charges — and up to 30 years in prison.

Translation: “Guaranteed returns” usually guarantee something else.

A North Dakota judge will order multiple Greenpeace entities to pay roughly $345 million in damages tied to Dakota Access Pipeline protests, after a jury found them liable for defamation and related claims brought by Energy Transfer. Greenpeace says it can’t pay. Appeals are coming.

Translation: Activism is free speech. Destruction is expensive.

Opposition is normal. Disagreement is healthy.

But refusing to stand for the basic idea that the government’s first duty is to protect American citizens? That’s not nuance. That’s a message.

You can spin it. You can style it. You can blame Trump. But voters saw what happened.

No serious country puts non-citizens ahead of its own people. Imagine Spain saying, “Forget the Spanish.” It’s ridiculous. Yet Democrats walked straight into that optics disaster without hesitation.

Disagree with Trump all you want. That’s politics. But when you can’t publicly affirm that Americans come first in America, that’s not strategy. That’s a miscalculation.

Common sense isn’t extreme. Refusing to show it might be.

What’s your take?

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Hit reply and tell us what we got right — and what we didn’t.

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