P.M. Edition for Jan. 14. U.S. existing home sales rose 5.1% in December, their biggest gain in two years. Journal reporter Nicole Friedman discusses what’s driving the gains in the struggling housing market and whether the momentum can continue. Plus, the U.S. military is evacuating some personnel from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar as President Trump considers a strike on Iran. And earnings from some of the biggest U.S. banks such as Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo show strong consumer spending in the fourth quarter. Alex Ossola hosts.
An artificial-intelligence tool assisted in the making of this episode by creating summaries that were based on Wall Street Journal reporting and reviewed and adapted by an editor.
When ChatGPT was released, the company most impacted was supposed to be Google. But over the past year Google has surpassed OpenAI’s models and Gemini is gaining market share. This week, the company also won a deal to power Apple’s Siri and announced a shopping protocol. It looks like 2026 may again be the year of Google.
Travis Hoium, Lou Whiteman, and Rachel Warren discuss:
- Google powering Siri
- Google’s shopping protocol
- Delta’s results and the K-shaped economy
Companies discussed: Apple (AAPL), Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), Delta (DAL), United (UAL), Meta Platforms (META).
Host: Travis Hoium
Guests: Lou Whiteman, Rachel Warren
Engineer: Dan Boyd
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Protests are sweeping Iran and the government is cracking down hard, fearing the uprisings pose a threat to the theocratic regime. There is an internet blackout in the country making it hard to get information. We hear a rare first-person account of the protests from a Johns Hopkins professor who visits the Iran frequently and who recently attended a protest there.
The multibillion-dollar project Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park on Chicago’s South Side promises to be one of the largest private investments in the area. Backers of the project say it will be an economic boon for the area, creating jobs and affordable housing.
But some residents are concerned about the economic and environmental impact the 128-acre park will have on the area.
On today’s In the Loop, who benefits from the forthcoming Quantum campus? We ask our panel: John F. Zasadzinski, professor of physics, Illinois Institute of Technology; Samir Mayekar, associate vice president and managing director of the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation; and Clifton Muhammad, member of the South Side Environmental Task Force.
For a full archive of In the Loop interviews, head over to wbez.org/intheloop.
Join Washington Examiner Senior Writer David Harsanyi and Federalist Editor-In-Chief Mollie Hemingway as they analyze the Minneapolis ICE shooting, discuss recent developments regarding the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, dive into the news on Iran, and explain why pro-lifers are upset by the Trump administration and Congress's wobble on the Hyde Amendment. Mollie and David also share their thoughts on Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, Soul on Fire, Fallout, and season two of Landman.
The Federalist is a nonprofit, and we depend entirely on our listeners and readers — not corporations. If you value fearless, independent journalism, please consider a tax-deductible gift today at TheFederalist.com/donate. Your support keeps us going.
As buying a home has become out of reach for so many, some families are having to rent to maintain shelter. But in Texas it's become easier for tenant families to be evicted. A new law, SB 38, empowered property owners to expel “squatters” and also weakened rights of renters.array(3) {
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Hit-Boy is an award-winning producer and rapper from LA. He’s one of my all-time favorite producers, from “Backseat Freestyle” by Kendrick Lamar, to “Sicko Mode” by Travis Scott, to tracks he’s made for Beyonce, Nas, and the Jay-Z & Kanye album Watch the Throne. So I was really excited to talk to him, and when I asked him which song from his incredible catalog he wanted to talk about, I was really moved by his choice. He picked “Racks in the Middle” by Nipsey Hussle, featuring Roddy Ricch. Nipsey Hussle was a rapper and community activist from LA whose career was cut short, tragically, when he was murdered in 2019. He’d released just one album, Victory Lap. “Racks in the Middle” was the last song released in Nipsey’s lifetime. It went platinum, and a year after his death, it won the Grammy for Best Rap Performance, in 2020. This episode features a few short clips from a video that Nipsey Hussle made for the website Genius, back in 2019. There’s a link to the full video that he made in the shownotes. But here in the studio, to tell the story, I spoke to Hit-Boy about how “Racks in the Middle” came together.
