Good evening. The tech industry is undergoing a massive restructuring as companies pivot hard toward AI, with Meta cutting 10% of its workforce while earmarking $135 billion for data centers this year, and Microsoft offering voluntary buyouts to 7% of US staff as it prepares its own $140 billion AI spending spree. These aren't just cost-cutting measures but strategic realignments as Silicon Valley doubles down on artificial intelligence at the expense of traditional operations and employees.
Meanwhile, tensions are escalating dramatically in the Middle East as Trump declared the US Navy will "shoot and kill" any vessel laying mines in critical shipping straits, sending oil prices climbing amid the latest standoff with Iran. Adding to the geopolitical theater, Iranian forces released what appears to be staged propaganda footage of ship seizures, with analysis showing parts were filmed hours after the alleged incidents, highlighting how information warfare is becoming as important as the physical confrontations in these vital waterways.