August 5, 2026 - NBC Calls Michigan Cliffhanger for El-Sayed

On Monday, I asked which threat worries you most. Nearly 33,000 of you voted, and climate change won. But look at second place: artificial intelligence, at nearly one vote in four — ahead of war. We are 159 days into a shooting war with Iran, and more of you fear software.

Now consider what the market did with the same two days. Monday, the Dow closed at a record 53,178. Tuesday made Monday look shy: another 900 points, its best day in two months, while the S&P 500 crossed 7,700 for the first time ever. Back-to-back records — in wartime — powered by hopes of a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and corporate earnings on pace to grow 27 percent, the strongest in years.

But the engine underneath this bull market is the very thing you fear. Seven companies are spending roughly $700 billion a year on chips and data centers — perhaps the largest private construction project in history. The Magnificent Seven no longer lead the rally; they fund it. And last week, largely unnoticed, a $45 billion AI fund nearly collapsed and fire-sold its bets to Citadel. Wall Street nicknamed the moment the "Leopold low" — and bought.

We've run this experiment before. A quarter-century ago, telecoms buried millions of miles of fiber; the Nasdaq lost 78 percent and needed 15 years to recover. The internet was real. The bubble was in the financing. Both were true — for the same people, at the same time.

Déjà vu?

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Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan's Democratic Senate primary in a major victory for the progressive left, defeating establishment-backed Rep. Haley Stevens despite being vastly outspent and setting up a high-stakes November showdown with Republican Mike Rogers.

NBC News

The Dow surged more than 900 points and the S&P 500 closed above 7,700 for the first time, powered by Bessent's Iran-deal comments, blockbuster Q2 earnings, a broad tech rebound, a technical breakout and the unwinding of Leopold Aschenbrenner's Situational Awareness fund.

CNBC

The U.S., Iran and Oman are closing in on an interim 60-day arrangement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with separate northern and southern shipping lanes through Iranian and Omani waters, aimed at reviving a ceasefire and restarting nuclear talks.

Axios

Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison defends the company's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, arguing the merger will strengthen Hollywood, preserve independent journalism, and expand investment in films and television despite legal and political opposition.

The New York Times

Jeanine John Taele, 38, was arrested at President Donald Trump's Rancho Palos Verdes golf club after federal agents said he photographed security preparations, claimed to be on a State Department detail, and was found with a loaded pistol, hollow-point ammunition and, later, an illegally modified AR rifle at his home.

ABC7

U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro hauled a box of evidence to the Oval Office to convince President Trump that damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool stemmed from a botched contractor installation, not vandalism, after he publicly rebuked her for dropping charges against Olympic canoeist David Hearn.

CBS News

The preseason 2026 Coaches Poll ranks Ohio State No. 1 ahead of Oregon and Georgia, while highlighting defending champion Indiana's rise to No. 6 and setting the stage for another unpredictable college football season shaped by transfers, returning stars, and lofty expectations.

Bleacher Report

Bridgewater founder Ray Dalio warns that surging AI stock valuations are showing classic bubble signs comparable to 1929 and the dot-com era, cautioning that investors often forget paper wealth is not the same as spendable money and that a market correction could trigger broader economic and political instability.

Yahoo Finance

Paid membership-based groups like Timeleft and EatWith are booming as lonely city dwellers seek social connection, but experts warn that fees can deepen exclusion and that genuine friendship still depends on time, reciprocity and vulnerability rather than curated convenience.

The Independent

Despite endless dating apps and matchmaking options, young Americans are finding love less often as shifting social norms, economic pressures, and modern technology fuel a growing "romance slump."

The Atlantic