A Micron memory chip factory in upstate New York is wrangling with local groups who want legal assurances the project will benefit the local community. Plus, YouTube plans to crack down on AI slop.
But first, it's shaping up to be a big year for very big initial public offerings. Elon Musk is reportedly preparing to take SpaceX public at an anticipated valuation of around $1.5 trillion. AI companies Anthropic and OpenAI are also expected to follow suit this year.
Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Paresh Dave, senior writer at Wired, to discuss all these topics on this week’s “Marketplace Tech Bytes: Week in Review.”
President Trump signs his Board of Peace charter at Davos on Thursday. Also, two updates about ongoing ICE operations. First, ICE is targeting immigrants in what DHS officials are calling "Operation Catch of the Day" in Maine, though state officials there are pushing back on this plan. Meanwhile, California senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff toured, for a second time, California's most recent ICE facility on the books. The detention center is a former prison, and immigrants in a federal class action lawsuit accused DHS of sewage water in showers and foul drinking water. In business, Kim Kardashian's brand Skims pays $200,000 dollars to settle fraud allegations in New Jersey, and Speedo moves its headquarters from Orange County to Long Beach ahead of the 2028 Olympics. Read more at LATimes.com
In Minnesota, protests and business closures spread as immigration operations continue and confrontations with federal agents intensify. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Ukraine’s president delivers a blunt message to Europe, warning that the continent must stop relying on the U.S. and prepare to defend itself as Russia’s war grinds on. And across the U.S., states are bracing for a massive winter storm threatening millions of people with dangerous weather conditions.
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Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Eric Westervelt, Willem Marx, Russell Lewis, Mohamad ElBardicy, and Alice Woelfle.
It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Ben Abrams and Christopher Thomas.
We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis. Our technical director is Carleigh Strange.
Our Executive Producer is Jay Shaylor.
(0:00) Introduction (01:55) Minnesota Protests (05:28) Zelenskyy Slams Europe In Davos (09:00) Winter Storm Approaches
Three years after his appointment as special counsel, Jack Smith finally delivered the legal argument against President Trump on Thursday that he was never allowed to make in court.
Glenn Thrush, who reports on the Justice Department, explains what Mr. Smith told Congress and why his message is likely to make him Mr. Trump’s next target.
Guest: Glenn Thrush, who reports on the Justice Department for The New York Times.
Former Special Prosecutor Jack Smith defends his investigation into President Trump to Congress. “Sinners” sets a new record for Oscar nominations. And a code-breaker claims he’s solved the Zodiac case – and that it’s connected to another famous murder.
After the leaders of Japan and South Korea ended their summit with the two participating in a drumming duet, we’re marching to the beat of our own drum and exploring some rhythmic science.
First, we look at nature’s drummer, the woodpecker, and why their pecking doesn’t give them a concussion. We also discuss how the rhythm of your brain waves impacts your sense of ownership over your own body.
Then, we’re joined by Daniel Levitin, author of Music as Medicine, who tells us all about using rhythm in the treatment of neurological conditions.
Next, we hear about a new claim to the title of the world’s oldest computer, and how flying affects your body’s natural rhythms.
All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.
Presenter: Anand Jagatia, with Sandy Ong and Edd Gent
Producers: Sophie Ormiston, with Ella Hubber, Lucy Davies and Imy Harper
There’s so much more happening than what you see in online video clips.
Congress gave Trump a staggering, military-size budget for immigration enforcement. And it’s hard to keep the scale of what the administration is building in your mind all at once. There are all the additional boots on the ground, as well as a lot of things that are less visible.
I wanted to talk to someone who has followed closely how the whole immigration system is changing under President Trump. Caitlin Dickerson is a journalist at The Atlantic. She’s been covering immigration closely since Trump’s first term, and she won a Pulitzer Prize in 2023 for reporting on his family separation policy. In this conversation, we discuss what the country’s new immigration enforcement infrastructure looks like, what it is being used to do now and what it might mean for the future.
This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Jack McCordick. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Marie Cascione, Annie Galvin, Rollin Hu, Kristin Lin, Emma Kehlbeck, Marina King and Jan Kobal. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Special thanks to Sarah Stillman and Aaron Reichlin-Melnick.
Former special counsel Jack Smith testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday about the steps President Donald Trump and his allies took to overturn the 2020 election and to foment the January 6th insurrection. Smith did this knowing that he is already at the top of Trump’s enemies list — which the President is increasingly using the Department of Justice to prosecute. For more on the Trump administration’s latest investigations, we spoke with Ken White. He’s a former federal prosecutor and criminal defense attorney who hosts the legal podcast, “Serious Trouble.”
