The Navigator, Saturday, January 18, 2024

Changing grocery prices, drop in 18-year-olds, State Farm's Superbowl Ad Wipe; new face of stay-at home-moms, measuring AI progress, systems failure—and more

During his farewell address this week, Joe Biden shared a stark message to Americans, warning of the growing oligarchy and concentration of unchecked power with the few. “Americans are being buried under an avalanche of misinformation and disinformation … designed to numb and distract (and) enable the abuse of power. The free press is crumbling. Editors are disappearing. Social media is giving up on fact-checking. The truth is smothered by lies told for power and for profit,” he said. “…It threatens our entire democracy and our basic rights and freedoms.”

Donald Trump will become the 47th president on Monday morning. Tech billionaires Elon Musk (X), Mark Zuckerberg (Meta), Jeff Bezos (Amazon, The Washington Post), and, yes, even Shou Zi Chew (TikTok) are expected to attend. They’ve donated hundreds of millions to support his campaign, inauguration festivities or both.

Thank you, as always, for making us part of your week. We encourage you to join the conversation by sharing your thoughts in the comments below.

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After the Fires, Bidding Wars and Cutthroat Demand Take Over L.A.’s Rental Market (The Wall Street Journal)

Thousands of displaced people need somewhere to live; ‘Trying to find a house right now is a full-time job.’

National Public Radio reporters shopped for 96 items at Walmart to track how prices are really changing (NPR)

NPR has tracked the prices of dozens of items at the same superstore in Georgia, including eggs, T-shirts, snacks and paper towels. Here’s what got cheaper over the past year, and more expensive.

The number of 18-year-olds is about to drop sharply, packing a wallop for colleges — and the economy (The Hechinger Report)

America is about to go over the ‘demographic cliff’

The New Face of Stay-at-Home Motherhood (TIME)

We must dignify time spent on family life as not just of value—but of substance, writes Neha Ruch.

It’s getting harder to measure just how good AI is getting (Vox)

So what happened to that wall AI was supposed to hit?

How Do You Know When a System Has Failed? (The New Yorker)

We see broken systems all around us. At least, we think we do.

Supreme Court denies oil industry plea to block climate lawsuits filed by California, other blue states (The Los Angeles Times)

The Supreme Court will not block California’s suit against big oil companies for damage from climate change.

Cancer deaths are declining, but diagnoses are rising, especially among younger women (NPR)

The American Cancer Society's report shows a mix of lower death rates and rising cancer incidence rates for some groups, especially younger women.

Donald Trump Will Upend 80 Years of American Foreign Policy (The Economist)

The U.S. approach to the world is about to be turned on its head.

State Farm is forced to revoke its Super Bowl ad this year amid growing outrage tied to the LA wildfires (The Daily Mail)

Just months before the devastating LA wildfires broke out, State Farm made the controversial decision to revoke homeowners’ coverage for tens of thousands of residents in the state, leaving many who lost their homes in crisis.