The Brownstone Brief

News & Views for The People In The Neighborhood | Wednesday, July 16, 2025 – Mid-Day Edition

Jul 16, 2025

Hey Neighbors,

Here is your real-time rundown. Lunch break is short, so we sorted the noise from the news—just the essentials you need to stay plugged-in.

Capitol & Policy

Epstein files tug-of-war. House Speaker Mike Johnson publicly pressed DOJ to release sealed Jeffrey Epstein records, putting fresh heat on the White House, which called the push a “distraction.” Ed Dept pink-slips hit inboxes. About 1,300 Education-Department workers received termination notices this morning after the Supreme Court cleared a downsizing plan. $9.4 B rescissions bill stalls. GOP leaders still lack the votes after Sen. J.D. Vance balked at pandemic-fund claw-backs; back-room talks continue. $92 B “AI-energy boom.” President Trump highlighted private pledges for data-center power and grid upgrades at yesterday’s Pittsburgh summit.

Economy & Markets

Wall Street midday: S&P 500 +0.3 %, Nasdaq +0.2 %, Dow +0.4 % after softer CPI and upbeat bank earnings.
Bitcoin holds ~$118 K. Crypto markets stay buoyant as House GOP eyes another vote on the GENIUS stable-coin Act.
Fed patience. Boston Fed President Susan Collins says tariffs will nudge core inflation toward 3 % but the central bank can remain “actively patient.”

Business & Tech

Nvidia gets the green light. Commerce granted a license letting the chip giant resume H20 AI-GPU sales to Chinese cloud firms—shares extended gains.
Google’s $3 B hydropower splash with Brookfield is the largest U.S. corporate hydro-purchase on record, locking in 20 years of carbon-free juice for data centers.
Game-actors strike officially over. SAG-AFTRA members ratified a contract that delivers 15 % upfront pay bumps and first-ever AI-replica protections for voice & motion-capture work.

Science & Health

PTSD pill under fire. FDA staff flagged “marginal” efficacy for Otsuka’s brexpiprazole + sertraline combo ahead of Friday’s advisory-panel vote.Cheaper insulin incoming. Kirsty—an interchangeable biosimilar to NovoLog—won FDA approval, widening rapid-acting options for diabetics.

Climate & Environment

Southern Europe is sweltering again. A third extreme-heat pulse has pushed Spanish and Italian highs toward 46 °C (115 °F) and fanned new wildfires across Greece and France.

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Russian drone & missile blitz knocked out power to 80,000 Ukrainian households overnight; Kyiv urges the EU to move on a stalled sanctions package. (Reuters)
Trump warns Kyiv against strikes on Moscow, arguing such attacks risk wider escalation.

Culture & Sport

All-Star drama. Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber smashed three HRs—and won the first-ever swing-off—to snag MVP in last night’s 7-6 NL win. Tour de France, Stage 11. Norway’s Jonas Abrahamsen soloed to victory after a late crash for favorite Tadej Pogačar.

Quick Hits

Google-Brookfield deal alone would power more homes than the city of Denver.
FDA advisers meet Friday on that PTSD therapy—decision could shift a 30-year drought for new treatments.
Heat alerts now cover 70 % of mainland France; authorities restrict outdoor labor after noon.

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