NYTIMES (Sarah Mervosh) - Texas Book List: See What Students Will Be Required to Read
What is essential reading? Texas has an answer: Classics, including the Bible.
NYTIMES (Andrew E. Kramer) - Ukraine War Momentum Helps Spur Interest in Postwar Investment
At a conference on reconstruction, the focus shifted to private investment, not donor assistance.
NYTIMES (Sheri Fink) - Why Epidemics Breed Rage at Health Workers
Some people have fought Ebola containment measures in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Scholars have seen similar responses across societies and throughout history.
NYTIMES (Emma Goldberg) - Micah Lasher, Congressman in Waiting, Has a Few Tricks Up His Sleeve
Mr. Lasher, the likely successor to Representative Jerry Nadler, has an unusual back story: As a teenager, he was a prodigy who performed magic tricks on national television.
NYTIMES (Reid J. Epstein) - In Maine Senate Race, Democrats Go From Chaos to Coronation
Troy Jackson’s emergence as the clear front-runner to replace Graham Platner spares the party some challenges but points to some new ones.
NYTIMES (Reis Thebault and Kellen Browning) - Can Arizona Republicans Stop Feuding Long Enough to Win Back the State?
Some Republicans fear the party is poised to repeat past mistakes by nominating candidates in Tuesday’s primaries who are viewed as too extreme to sway moderate voters.
NYTIMES (Cade Metz) - Why Silicon Valley Can’t Stop Looking Over Its Shoulder at China
Chinese companies are offering artificial intelligence that is nearly as good as the leading U.S. technologies, but it’s still America’s race to lose.
AXIOS (Maria Curi) - The secret Trump administration battle to fight Chinese AI
The Trump administration is showing signs it could ban cutting-edge Chinese AI models — a momentous move that could lock in dominance by OpenAI and Anthropic. Why it matters: Parts of the administration have tried to implement de facto bans on foreign open-source models before, knowledgeable sources tell Axios. Last week's rise of Chinese model Kimi is reigniting those efforts. Pro-competition voices fear the implications. - U.S. companies are increasingly using open-source models from China because they're cheaper and, as seen by the advent of Kimi , just about as good as the domestic technology. Behind the scenes: The Commerce Department last year considered adding multiple Chinese AI labs to its "Entity List," which would…
AXIOS (Adriel Bettelheim) - How AI is supercharging drug development
Artificial intelligence is dramatically speeding up drug development — and a proprietary survey shows how it's priming a bigger automation push that's changing the trajectory of early stage pharma research. Why it matters: The TD Cowen survey of 80 biopharma leaders and insiders finds AI is compressing drug developers' preclinical costs and timelines by as much as 70%. - That's fueling demand for cutting-edge software, sequencing tools and computer models that will help churn out more experimental treatments in the next five years. The big picture: AI can't replace scientific intuition. But the way it can streamline the grueling R&D before human testing begins is making computer screens as important a feature of drug design as…
AXIOS (Avery Lotz) - Gas again tops $4 per gallon as Iran fighting persists
Drivers can expect pump shock déjà vu as the national average gas price again climbed over $4 per gallon today, as President Trump appears poised to escalate the war in Iran. The big picture: Tanker traffic is once again being choked in the Strait of Hormuz after fighting between Iran and the U.S. reignited, with Washington reinstating a naval blockade that could dramatically escalate tensions. - Oil prices have risen as the conflict has escalated and the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran unravels . Driving the news: The national average is now $4.00 a gallon, per AAA. Catch up quick: Last month, prices slipped back below $4 per gallon, giving some relief following months of pain at the pump. - As a result,…