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Interesting...almost none of this stuff is as predictable as anybody, including experts (which I am not), might pretend. Sounding very sure can sell a lot of books or get a lot of clicks, though, whether it's "AI is going to kill us all", or "AI is going to cause 20% unemployment", or "AI is going to save the world."

AI layoffs aren't sticking, "boomerang" hires hint, amid Amazon panic

Related: For months, US employment data has been weak and the internals have been weaker than the headline with essentially all new net job growth in health care and related services. Yet consumer spending data remains strong. So I'm really conflicted as far as how I feel about the economy and markets. US layoffs for October surge to two-decade high, Challenger data shows

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A listener told me about this restaurant owner a couple of months ago...said he is a great and generous guy: Castle Rock restaurant offers free meals to furloughed federal government workers | 9news.com

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Betting odds on Republicans keeping the majority in the House of Representatives after the 2026 midterms dropped from about 39% to about 32% since Tuesday's elections: Which party will win the House in 2026?

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I don't love any of this but the more local the better because it'll be easier to overturn or modify later if it fails: Two local ballot measures in Colorado seeking more funding for child care on track to pass, others in limbo

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I always like these stories: Children's book returned to Maine library 46 years late - UPI.com

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This seems like an obviously good idea: Free the Air-Traffic Controllers - WSJ

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Good for overweight people on Medicare: White House nears deal to lower prices for weight loss drugs

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Will Mamdani govern as an ideologue or as a pragmatist, or as some blend of the two? Nothing about him suggests anything but the former, but maybe he'll take some advice from his former opponents who are all much more acquainted with the real world than he is. As is the nature of Marxism (and Mamdani is a Marxist as far as I can tell), the policies he supports, to the extent that he is able to implement them, will have much larger negative unintended consequences than any positive effect he hopes for: From Jamie Dimon to Bill Ackman, Wall Street's billionaires are now changing their tune and offering to help Zohran Mamdani | Fortune

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I know that hypocrisy among politicians is par for the course but it's pretty rich for these people who voted to shut down the government to complain about the people who voted to keep the government open:

Colorado Democrat Joe Neguse calls on House GOP to end ‘paid vacation,’ hold town halls | TRAIL MIX - Colorado Politics

These Colorado members of Congress will forgo pay during government shutdown

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Sacré bleu!! "The security system...worked perfectly." Password to Louvre’s video surveillance system was 'Louvre', according to employee - ABC News

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I've had this business story for a couple of days...hope to get to it today:

This is a very interesting decision by Kimberly-Clark. Much cheaper than this deal would have been before the autism stuff. But I wonder if this will end up being like Bayer buying Monsanto even though Monsanto still had significant liability risk due to Roundup.

I note that it’s a stock swap deal and the price of KVUE is trading way under the implied value of the deal, meaning the market thinks there’s a fair chance it won’t happen. The huge plunge in KMB stock price shows that the market thinks that either A) they’re overpaying or B) they’re taking on large unknown risk either of lawsuits or at least lack of growth.

But keep in mind that Kenvue is a LOT more than just Tylenol. Some of their brands include Aveeno and Neutrogena in skin care, Johnson’s baby products, Listerine. Motrin, Zyrtec, and Benadryl, Rogaine, and more.

Kimberly-Clark Strikes $40 Billion Deal for Tylenol Maker Kenvue

Kimberly-Clark bets $40 billion for Kenvue despite Tylenol controversy | Reuters

Mandy Connell