EllisItems

News Items is distributed 6x weekly (not Sundays), covering finance, political disruption, scientific and technological advance. Test drive by clicking on this link: newsitems.substack.com/7e69fd09

The idea that there is a difference between a 1 point lead and a 2 point lead in a poll of 900 Texans is ludicrous. Statistically insignificant it is, but don't let that get in the way of manufacturing a dumbo headline: Poll: Talarico leads Cornyn and Paxton in general election matchups politico.com/live-updates/2… via @politico

Google tested Willow to see how powerful it was. The task: a problem called the Random Circuit Sampling (RCS) benchmark. It would take the world's fastest supercomputers 10 SEPTILLION years to solve.

In search of cost savings, CBS News Management finds th least costly programming across the entire network and shuts it down. One other thing: CBS News radio was beloved by millions of people. All across the country. An Aural Companion for Decades, CBS News Radio Crackles to a Close nytimes.com/2026/03/21/bus…

Could the US really release more of its strategic oil reserves? ft.com/content/2b002c… via @ft

Open For All. Richard Haass's plan for the Strait. open.substack.com/pub/politicali…

BREAKING: New home prices in 70 Chinese cities fell -3.2% YoY in February, the steepest annual drop in 8 months. Home prices in China have now fallen in 44 of the last 47 months, the longest streak in history. The resale market also remains weak with prices falling in tier-one, tier-two, and tier-three cities in both monthly and annual terms. Furthermore, property investment plunged -11.1% YoY in the first two months of 2026, while sales by floor area fell -13.5%. China's 2008 moment continues.

Taking a break from the economic consequences of the Iran war to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the publication of Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations," on this day in 1776. I took a trip to what was then the Athens of the North to pay tribute.

Movies that cost less to make than disgraced former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem's $220M ad campaign: Iron Man The Matrix The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King Top Gun: Maverick Barbie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2) The Hunger Games Oppenheimer

Judging from the prose, the Pentagon appears to be using AI to announce the death of soldiers. If it’s not AI, it’s a person who simply does not care.

Hegseth says Russia assisting Iran in targeting Americans is ok because Trump has a "special relationship" with Putin and that Biden is bad.

Is there any evidence that the "MAGA base" is abandoning Trump because of the war in Iran? Polls show the opposite.

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BlackRock curbed withdrawals from one of its biggest private credit funds after client requests for redemptions spiked, the latest sign of retail anxiety about the $1.8 trillion private credit industry bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

A universal truth: most radar charts should just be bar charts. Love your stuff, Anthropic!

AI-generated “people” are starting to replace humans in market research. Unlike the live originals, the digital clones experience “no fatigue.” wsj.com/cio-journal/ca… via @WSJ

Willkommen to Germany’s ‘super election year.’ Here’s what to expect. This is a good brief. atlanticcouncil.org/dispatches/wil…

Great scoop: Russia is providing Iran intelligence to target U.S. forces, officials say wapo.st/3OUfaJg

They've handed him the perfect populist issue. So, The Campaign to Take Down Alex Bores may Just the Beginning, but ah.....be careful what you wish for. politi.co/4riPCTR via @politico

Dem turnout in texas ~2.27mm. GOP turnout ~1.77mm

It's not often you see Democratic turnout in Texas exceed GOP turnout by a considerable margin: dallasnews.com/projects/2026/…