Today’s Big Story

Musk vs. the Government

The billionaire is creating major upheaval as his team sweeps through agencies

Elon Musk has launched a campaign from inside the federal government to radically upend agencies, exercising a level of control so sweeping that it is stunning former top White House officials, even in a political moment when many things are described as unprecedented. Some are calling it an “incursion”—an extraordinary flexing of power by a private individual who was not elected, nor confirmed by Congress like other appointees.

As the New York Times points out, in his first two weeks in government, Musk’s lieutenants gained access to closely held financial and data systems, casting aside career officials who warned that they were defying protocols. “They moved swiftly to shutter specific programs—and even an entire agency that had come into Musk’s cross hairs. They bombarded federal employees with messages suggesting they were lazy and encouraging them to leave their jobs.”

The billionaire adviser to President Trump who runs the Department of Government Efficiency, is waging a largely unchecked war against the federal bureaucracy. The effort prompted outrage from Democrats, and some Republicans, who said Musk doesn’t have the authority to overturn programs and spending priorities decided by Congress. They also raised concerns about the nature of Musk’s operation, which is run by individuals with ties to the tech sector who could benefit financially from the actions DOGE takes.

DOGE had initially been conceived as an outside advisory panel. But Trump signed an executive order shortly after taking office that established the group within the executive branch. Much about DOGE’s operations remains murky. The Trump administration hasn’t released a list of people working for DOGE (or outlined their potential conflicts of interest) and officials haven’t detailed which contracts they have canceled. Senior White House staff members have at times also found themselves in the dark, according to two officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The Associated Press reported DOGE representatives have also gained access to classified information at the U.S. Agency for International Development, a decades-old foreign aid agency Musk says he plans to shut down. And now, Musk’s cut-slashing unit is reported to be eyeing a way to gain access to the systems of the Small Business Administration, which gives loans and support to small firms, according to PBS News Hour. And through it all, Musk kept posting on X, where he has amassed more than 215 million followers. He said he planned to shut down some Health and Human Services Department grants, and asserted—without providing evidence—that terrorist groups had received payments processed by the Treasury Department. (The Treasury Department has a Do-Not-Pay system designed to prevent that.)

‘Day Without Immigrants’ Protests

Businesses are shuttering for the day to protest the Trump Administration’s anti-immigrant policies

On Monday, restaurants and other businesses across the country closed their doors in solidarity with a “Day Without Immigrants”. The protest is intended to combat increasing anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States and demonstrate the essential roles that immigrants have in our society in light of President Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant policies and threats of mass deportations.

According to Eater, immigrants make up more than 22% of the restaurant workforce, and as such, Trump’s threats feel especially personal for restaurant owners and workers. Monday’s protest marks the second iteration of a “Day Without Immigrants”. The first, held in 2017, was organized as Trump called for the building of a border wall during his first term as president. Thousands of small businesses of all kinds took part in the protest, closing their doors as workers stayed home, kept their children home from school, and refused to spend money in an effort to highlight the invaluable contributions that immigrants make in America.

Economist Paul Krugman recently said on his Substack that he thinks an immigration crackdown from Trump will “hobble” the country’s food production and home construction industries. Immigrants also accounted for about 7% of the national hospitality workforce, per the American Immigration Council.

FDA Approves Non-Opioid Pain Drug

Journavx is the first new class of acute pain medicine in two decades

It’s become a familiar tragedy: someone is prescribed pain medication to recover from an injury, then becomes addicted to the medication intended to improve their life. It’s left both healthcare professionals and people recovering from surgery in a difficult position: should you take medication that will make your life more manageable if there’s a risk that it could make your life significantly worse?

That ethical dilemma may now have a solution: The FDA has just approved a non-addictive painkiller. Journavx, from Vertex Pharmaceuticals, is the first new class of acute pain medicine in more than 20 years. It was approved for adults with moderate to severe pain and works by blocking pain signals in the nerves, not in the brain or its reward pathways. That provides relief without the addictive qualities of opioids.

“People have been trying to treat pain at the source with pain signal inhibitors like Journavx has, but it's just proved a very, very tricky problem to crack,” chief operating officer Stuart Arbuckle told Axios. Clinical trials showed the drug worked as effectively as an opioid-based product and also was effective for chronic pain, an application for which Vertex plans to seek expanded use.

Dive Into a Dog’s Inner Life

Experts say ‘they love their lives more than we love ours’

I’ve often joked that I want to be more like a dog: naturally curious, nap more, always stretch before getting up and staying present to enjoy the moment. But there actually might be some truth to this thought. Mark Rowlands, the accomplished author and chair of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Miami, has just published his research on the inherent happiness of our canine companions.

“A dog loves his life with everything he has because it is all he has,” writes Rowlands, in The Word of Dog, which was just published last week. The book offers not so much revelations of the inner workings of our faithful companions, but a philosophical message on how we can live a more fulfilling life inspired by the unselfish joy dogs experience—even in repetitive tasks such as chasing a ball.

The lesson to be learned from dogs in the professor’s deep dive is the love of life and the action a dog experiences in his uncomplicated life. Rowlands leans on the deep and dour philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre to decipher the unspoken wisdom dogs exhibit. He says that a dog can experience more joy than a human because man’s best friend is not burdened by what Sartre referred to as “reflective self-awareness,” which the author contends can cripple man. He found that dogs have no capacity for reflection, but they do have “pre-reflection”—knowing they exist relative to other objects in space, blissfully unaware that it may be anything more than a moving ball they are chasing.

Rolex Submariner Flirts With $50 billion Mark As Asset Class Grows

The total market value of all Rolex Submariner watches ever made is reportedly nearing a mind-boggling $50 billion. But that number is just a drop in the bucket: Rolex and other luxury watches make up an art and collectibles wealth that is projected to hit $2.9 trillion globally by 2026.

As these numbers soar, Bank of America recently learned younger investors are almost two times as likely to own tangible assets than older cohorts. So with a generational wealth transfer potentially underway and enthusiasm for art and collectibles rising among the upcoming generation, Masterworks’ art investing platform saw an opportunity. Now, anyone can invest in blue-chip artwork worth millions without needing a billionaire’s checkbook. Masterworks has already distributed back $60+ million in total proceeds (including principal) to investors across their 23 exits, posting a profitable return from selling a Basquiat painting for $8 million in 2024*.

You’re on your way.