Here are 25 talking points for better conversation at cocktails from news of the past week.
1. Only 16 Districts: Of the 435 US House races conducted in 2024, only 16 district electorates voted for a different party's nominee for Representative than they did for President—meaning 96.3% of the US House district electorates voted for a straight party ticket for President and the US House.
2. MI-GOV: Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) announced a run for Michigan governor.
3. SC-GOV: Rep. Nancy Mace (R)says she is considering a run for governor of South Carolina.
4. Egg prices rise nearly 37 percent: In some states, eggs cost as much as $9 per dozen.
5. Donald Trump is the first president in more than 100 years to call for new American territory—including Mars.
6. An Oxfam report claims Colonial Britain drained India of $64.82 trillion.
7. Sweden has sent 550 troops to Latvia, its first major deployment since joining NATO in March, which ended its decades-long neutrality.
8. Turkey is home to more than 3 million Syrian refugees.
9. Wildfires in Brazil last year burned an area larger than Italy, monitor MapBiomas has said. Some 120,000 square miles burned in 2024, up 79% from the previous year.
10. Trade power: Less than 3% of the world's electricity is internationally traded.
11. AI job loss? Last year, the IMF reported that up to 40% of jobs globally would be impacted by or lost to AI.
12. AI data centers need lots of space: About 875 acres in Abilene, Texas, or roughly the size of New York's Central Park, have been set aside to construct data centers dedicated to AI.
13. AI is power-hungry: Legislators in at least eight states have filed or plan to file bills establishing eco-conscious guardrails for the AI industry. According to the US Department of Energy, the AI industry will consume up to 12% of US electricity by 2028.
14. South Carolina will reboot its giant nuclear project to meet the demand for AI.
15. Google is backing artificial intelligence developer Anthropic with a further $1 billion.
16. MrBeast has joined a new bid to buy TikTok.
17. The SEC announced "SEC Crypto 2.0," a task force "dedicated to developing a comprehensive and clear regulatory framework for crypto assets."
18. Citigroup plans a £1 billion upgrade to its London HQ to tempt staff back to the office.
19. 25%: The share of the global population living in cities of over a million people, up from 15% six decades ago.
20. Detroit property values have increased for the 9th year.
21. Netflix surges past 300 million subscribers.
22. According to a paper published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, people with ADHD live shorter lives. Researchers studied the health records of more than 300,000 people in Britain and found that the average life expectancy was 6.8 years shorter for men with neurological conditions and 8.6 years for women.
23. Conan O'Brien will receive the 2025 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.
24. 'Emilia Pérez' garners 13 nominations to lead the Oscars race, followed by 'The Brutalist' and 'Wicked,' each earning 10 nominations.
25. The Paris Olympics medals designed by LVMH are tarnishing.
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
