How Scott Bessent used financial engineering to finance the 2 trillion deficit while leaving it untouched—and created a 1.45 trillion shortfall (news.google.com)
Bill Ackman’s 35 billion hedge fund has under 50 employees and all of them — from janitors to receptionists — own millions in company stock (news.google.com)
Mark Zuckerberg Says Buyers Are Offering Meta a ''Significant Premium'' for Its Compute — But He Turned Them Down, Calls Selling ''Foolish'' (finance.yahoo.com)
President Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, after Mullin made a series of off-message remarks recently that angered many of Trump’s outside allies (on.wsj.com)
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revoked the security clearance of a former high-ranking Biden administration defense official for allegedly leaking classified information about Air Force One (on.wsj.com)
Mark Cuban Says on a 25,000 Heart Transplant, Doctor Gets 2,200 for ‘Literally Taking a Heart Out’ — Pay 10K So They’re Not Thinking About Next ‘Boo-Boo’ (news.google.com)
Ariana Grande and the Disappointment of Diagnosis - The pop star’s appearance has prompted fans to speculate that she’s suffering from an eating disorder. How should we talk about famous women’s bodies? (www.newyorker.com)
My Birthright - When you immigrate, certain bands of cultural experience go dark. Is that why I can’t stop writing about where I’m from? (www.newyorker.com)
Andrew Weissmann Thinks Donald Trump Can Be Held to Account - The President believes he’s above the law. A former federal prosecutor disagrees. (www.newyorker.com)
The Senate’s Shameful Acquiescence to Todd Blanche as Attorney General - A number of Republicans resisted his confirmation, but enough ultimately accepted the notion that Trump could do even worse. (www.newyorker.com)
How Socialist Is the D.S.A.? Megan Romer Explains - Romer, a co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America, defends some of the D.S.A.’s controversial positions: “I think people like us being rather bold. . . . People want a fighter.” (www.newyorker.com)
Sam Smith on Their New Album, “Hazel Eyes” - The Grammy-winning singer talks about “Hazel Eyes,” which marks a departure for them: these love songs are very much requited. (www.newyorker.com)
“Tony,” “Late Fame,” and the Rocky Road to Literary Stardom - The protagonists of two films, an Anthony Bourdain bio-pic and a drama about a neglected poet, find themselves struggling with their writerly destinies. (www.newyorker.com)
Can Extreme Morning Sickness Be Cured? - For decades, the condition was thought to be psychological, and women were shamed for their illness. Now a scientist has found a biological cause. (www.newyorker.com)
Are Psychedelics Right-Wing Now? - How the conservative activist Bryan Hubbard, with help from Rick Perry and Joe Rogan, persuaded Trump and the G.O.P. to embrace ibogaine, a psychedelic drug derived from an African shrub. (www.newyorker.com)
The Modern R. & B. of Olivia Dean and Baby Rose - Also: Cat Cohen’s one-woman musical comedy, the Anthony Bourdain bio-pic “Tony,” Battery Dance Festival by the water, and more. (www.newyorker.com)
The Godmother of the “Conspiracy Mom” - Sixty years ago, a J.F.K.-assassination buff in Oklahoma provided a preview of a contemporary archetype. (www.newyorker.com)
G.P.S. and the Lost Art of Getting Lost - A new book, “Little Blue Dot,” by Katherine Dunn, raises questions about the unintended consequences of knowing where we are. (www.newyorker.com)
Critics’ Cult Classics: Hanif Abdurraqib on Camp Lo’s “Uptown Saturday Night” - The 1997 album marked a crossroads for hip-hop, as the genre was being torn between elaborate mythmaking and a kind of true crime. (www.newyorker.com)
A Mostly True History of Marco Rubio - No one knows Marco Rubio’s age. It’s part of his mystery. So is his height. Look it up. No one knows. (www.newyorker.com)
Max Miller’s Victim Mentality - The Republican congressman’s bitter domestic dispute—in which he’s accused of physical abuse by his ex-wife, the daughter of an Ohio senator—is testing his party’s willingness to defend the indefensible. (www.newyorker.com)
Ryan Murphy’s Sanded-Down Version of “The Shards” - The director’s adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’s metafictional thriller-slash-gay-awakening story is a “Glee”-ified version of its source material. (www.newyorker.com)
The Electability of Abdul El-Sayed - The former public-health official won Michigan’s Democratic primary with an unapologetically progressive platform—and a total defiance of the Party establishment. (www.newyorker.com)
Stella Lefty and the Rise of Nepo-Baby Musicians and “Industry Plants” - There’s a story we tell ourselves on social media any time a child of money or fame vaults into public life. (www.newyorker.com)