John Ellis

2 months ago | substack.news-items.com | John Ellis |Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

“If I was stuck on a deserted island with only one source of news, News Items would be it.” — Jack Leslie, professor at Georgetown University and former chairman, Weber Shandwick. 1. Ambrose Evans-Pritchard:Donald Trump’s demand for a $500 billion (£400 billion) “payback” from Ukrainegoes far beyond US control over the country’s critical minerals. It covers everything from ports and infrastructure to oil and gas, and the larger resource base of the country.

2 months ago | substack.news-items.com | John Ellis |Parmy Olson

Each morning, News Items brings me the world in a bottle. — Philip K. Howard. 1. People ask us what we read when we read about AI. There are scores of good sources, most of which are well over our heads. At ground level, here are six we think are useful: (1) Big picture: Casey Newton. (2) Beat Reporting: Cade Metz, The New York Times. (3) Informed Commentary: Parmy Olson, Bloomberg. (4) Tech Industry Coverage: The Information. (5) Industry Insider: Jack Clark, Import AI.

Jan 17, 2025 | substack.news-items.com | John Ellis |Ambrose Evans-Pritchard

“Most mornings I learn more from New Items than I do from all of the traditional papers I read combined.” — Michael Blair, Lecturer in Law at Columbia Law School and former presiding partner, Debevoise & Plimpton. 1. The New York Times:Homeowners in places most exposed to climate disasters are increasingly giving up on paying their insurance premiums, leaving them exposed to financial ruin, according to sweeping new government data.

Jan 16, 2025 | substack.news-items.com | John Ellis

News Items is the first thing I read every morning. — Katie Couric. 1. Meta has released a new AI model that can translate speech from 101 different languages. It represents a step toward real-time, simultaneous interpretation, where words are translated as soon as they come out of someone’s mouth. Typically, translation models for speech use a multistep approach. First they translate speech into text. Then they translate that text into text in another language.

Jan 15, 2025 | substack.news-items.com | John Ellis

Coffee, then News Items. Every day. — Katie Couric. 1. Currently Active Incidents:Palisades Fire: 23,713 acres…..18% contained. Eaton Fire: 14,117 acres…………35% contained. Hurst Fire: 799 acres……………….97% contained. Auto Fire: 61 acres……………………47% contained. (Source: fire.ca.gov)2. Many of the world’s richest economies will need to at least double productivity growth to maintain historical improvements in living standards amid sharp falls in their birth rates.