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Minnesota’s first-in-the-nation law banning prediction markets is halted in federal court

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A federal judge has temporarily blocked Minnesota’s law banning prediction markets, which was set to take effect Saturday. The decision marks a clash between President Donald Trump’s administration and states over regulation. U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez found that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Kalshi and Polymarket are likely to succeed in their challenge. The law would have criminalized creating or operating prediction markets. Kalshi, Polymarket and the CFTC argue federal law gives the CFTC exclusive jurisdiction. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison insists prediction markets are gambling and plans to defend the state’s law.

Will tough talk be enough? Fed Chair Warsh faces pressure to combat inflation

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged when it meets Wednesday, but chair Kevin Warsh is under increasing pressure to hike rates soon, a move that could provoke ire from President Donald Trump, who appointed him. The Iran war has reignited, pushing oil and gas prices higher — a trend that will worsen inflation in the coming months. Soaring investment in the artificial intelligence buildout is raising the cost of laptops, smart phones and electricity, and price hikes from tariffs could be in the pipeline. All those trends might lead to only temporary price increases. Yet inflation, according to the Fed’s preferred measure, has topped its 2% target for more than five years.

Americans’ confidence in US economy falls as Iran conflict sends gas prices higher

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans’ confidence in the economy fell this month as gas prices resumed their climb after the U.S. and Iran stepped up their fighting. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to 90.8 in July from 92.2 in June. Consumers view of current business and labor market conditions fell by 3.6 points to 114.9, the third straight monthly decline. Consumer attitudes had improved modestly in June as gas prices came down to around $3.70 a gallon from more than $4.50 a gallon in late April and early May. But consumer anxiety increased in July, along with the price of gas.

Wall Street’s flip from AI to less-loved stocks accelerates, while oil prices keep easing

NEW YORK (AP) — Most U.S. stocks are rising after Coca-Cola and other companies reported stronger profits for the spring than analysts expected. But more drops for chip stocks and other AI winners are keeping Wall Street’s gains in check Tuesday, and the S&P 500 rose a relatively modest 0.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 595 points, while the Nasdaq composite slipped 0.1%. The slides for AI stocks were worse elsewhere in the world, and South Korea’s Kospi index tumbled nearly 11%. Oil prices continued to ease, which helped to pull Treasury yields lower in the bond market. Brent crude fell toward $82 per barrel.

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Democrat’s TV ad targets data centers in drive to oust Republican from swing Pennsylvania House seat

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democrat Paige Cognetti is taking a shot at artificial intelligence data centers in her challenge to Republican congressman Rob Bresnahan, saying “we are not for sale” in a TV ad in a swing Pennsylvania district. The race between Scranton Mayor Cognetti and Bresnahan is considered one of the Democratic Party’s best opportunities to pick up a seat in November. Democrats want to take control of the U.S. House and block President Donald Trump’s agenda. Cognetti is airing the ad in a district that’s been buffeted by data center projects. Bresnahan has introduced legislation he says would limit a corporation’s right to sue over local zoning decisions denying an application to build a data center.

eBay agreed to pay nearly $50 million to couple sent cockroaches, bloody pig mask

BOSTON (AP) — eBay agreed to pay nearly $50 million to Massachusetts journalists David and Ina Steiner under a newly finalized settlement resolving a lawsuit over a 2019 cyberstalking campaign carried out by former company employees. The agreement follows the collapse of an earlier tentative settlement and also includes $7 million in charitable contributions, including donations supporting First Amendment causes, and no confidentiality provision, allowing the Steiners to speak publicly about the case. As part of the settlement, eBay issued a statement apologizing for the harassment, calling it “wrong, reprehensible and should never have happened” and acknowledging the “unprofessional tone” of communications by several former executives.

Mediators see progress in efforts to halt Iran war as drone attacks rattle region

CAIRO (AP) — Mediators have made progress in efforts to bring the United States and Iran back to negotiations and prevent an all-out war in the Middle East. That’s according to two regional officials who spoke to The Associated Press. But scattered attacks by armed groups across the region underscored the lingering tensions. Neither the U.S. nor Iran have claimed any strikes for three days. Mediators led by Qatar and Pakistan are working to bridge the gap between Washington and Tehran. The U.S. has paused attacks after targeting Iranian areas in response to Iran firing at ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Workplaces look for cheaper AI as ‘tokenmaxxing’ fades as a corporate fad

A corporate fad of “tokenmaxxing” on artificial intelligence technology is hitting its limits as workplaces throwing AI at everything are seeing the costs rise without a similar spike in productivity. What started as tech industry-fueled springtime hype over squeezing as much AI-generated work as possible out of products like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude has shifted to a summertime backlash. “Tokenmaxxing” refers to maximizing usage of tokens — the building blocks of generative AI that correspond to small pieces of text that an AI system reads or writes. There’s typically a limit to how many you can use, with pricier versions of AI products offering higher caps.

China hits back at criticism over excess industrial capacity as more US tariffs loom

HONG KONG (AP) — China has rejected criticism that its huge trade surplus reflects excessive manufacturing capacity. The Ministry of Commerce released a report defending Chinese manufacturing and citing its benefits to the world on Tuesday, just days after the U.S. slapped higher tariffs on China and dozens of other countries for allegedly failing to enforce a ban on imports of products made using forced labor. The Trump administration is expected to soon announce another round of tariff hikes based on an investigation into excess industrial capacity in 16 economies, including China. Surging exports pushed China’s trade surplus to a record of nearly $1.2 trillion last year.

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