“Alibaba Group on Thursday launched a new version of its artificial intelligence assistant app that will be powered by its own flagship Qwen AI reasoning model, amid a heating global race to produce next-generation tech. The launch is the company’s latest effort to gain an edge amid growing competition on the AI application front, further intensified by the emergence of DeepSeek’s blockbuster R1 model model earlier this year. Up till now, Quark, which was launched in 2016, had been using the app’s own AI models, known as QuarkLLM. The updated version will integrate functions including a chatbot, deep thinking, task execution into a one-stop app, Alibaba said Thursday.” (03/13/25)
“The White House has directed the U.S. military to draw up options for increasing the American troop presence in Panama to achieve President Trump’s goal of ‘reclaiming’ the Panama Canal, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the planning. During a joint address to Congress last week, Trump said, ‘to further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal.’ Since then, administration officials have not said what ‘reclaiming’ means. U.S. Southern Command is developing potential plans that vary from partnering more closely with Panamanian security forces to the less likely option of U.S. troops seizing the Panama Canal by force, the officials said. Whether military force is used, the officials added, depends on how much Panamanian security forces agree to partner with the U.S.” (03/13/25)
“Washington, D.C.’s empty federal office buildings rank high among the most visible examples of wasteful government spending. Where else can you find blocks of high-dollar real estate going virtually unused by the very bureaucrats for whom these buildings are supposed to be the nerve centers for their supposed vital functions? Well, as it turns out, you can find similar examples of federal government waste all across the country. Bureaucrats don’t just pay millions to not use their own buildings. They also pay millions in service contracts to outside organizations for facilities they don’t use either.” (03/12/25)
“If you think tariffs are painful, try watching President Donald Trump’s aides and supporters attempt to defend them. Whenever they come up with a rationale for his policies, however dubious, he immediately says or does something to contradict it. They say Trump’s trade strategy is all about containing China — then he slaps tariffs on the allies we would need to do so. They explain that the law lets him impose tariffs on Canada to protect our national security, only for him to let slip that he’s mad about Canadian dairy policies. The truth is that Trump just likes tariffs and people who tell him they make sense. His trade adviser, Peter Navarro, thinks imports harm the economy because he doesn’t understand how gross domestic product data is calculated. The administration has no grand trade strategy. But the demand for sophistry in defense of Trump’s tariffs is apparently inexhaustible.” (03/12/25)
“What exactly have Elon Musk and DOGE been up to? A new court ruling could help provide some answers. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan granted a request for expedited discovery in a lawsuit brought by Democratic-led states challenging Musk’s and the Department of Government Efficiency’s authority. The plaintiff states are seeking ‘to identify DOGE personnel and the parameters of DOGE’s and Musk’s authority — a question central to Plaintiffs’ claims,’ Chutkan wrote in an opinion explaining her decision. If the judge’s name sounds familiar, she also presided over one of Donald Trump’s four criminal cases before he won the 2024 presidential election. In this current civil case, Chutkan emphasized in her ruling that the plaintiffs aren’t seeking information from Trump himself.” (03/13/25)
“Schools and local food banks will lose about $1.1 billion from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the purchase of food from local farms, ranchers and producers. The agency will be marking a return to ‘long-term, fiscally responsible initiatives,’ instead of ‘short-term plans with no plan for longevity,’ the agency said in a statement. Two programs bought food from local farms and ranchers. They are $660 million for the Local Food for Schools and Child Care Cooperative Agreement Program from local farmers, ranchers and fishers to schools; and about $470 million for the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, which helped fill food banks with products from small farmers within 400 miles.” (03/13/25)
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman
“There are two possible interpretations of Trump’s policy. The pessimistic one is that he plans to give Putin what he wants, force Zelensky to accept peace terms that give Russia substantial amounts of Ukrainian territory and leave Ukraine disarmed and defenseless against future Russian demands. On that theory the clash with Zelensky was a pre-planned drama intended to provide an excuse for the US withdrawing support, make it less obvious that Trump now supports Putin. As of Monday that looked like a plausible reading of the situation. The optimistic reading was that Trump wanted to force an end to the war on compromise terms, use the withdrawal of support to force Zelensky to agree. Tuesday’s news, Zelensky agreeing to a proposed cease fire and Trump responding by resuming US support for Ukraine, is evidence for that reading.” (03/13/25)
