70: Rheinmetall, Germany’s largest arms manufacturer, depends on China for more than 70% of the raw materials it needs to produce gunpowder. To reduce that vulnerability, the company announced Monday that it plans to purchase German gunpowder manufacturer Hagedorn-NC. Rheinmetall is on the hook for delivering a million rounds of 155mm artillery shells to its customers by the end of next year
0: At the White House on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to reduce his country’s $7.4 billion trade surplus with the US to $0, and to remove all trade barriers. But President Donald Trump gave no sign the US would remove the new 17% tariff on Israel, saying simply, “don’t forget, we help Israel a lot.”
1.2 or 6.0: A dispute over drones has taken flight in the Sahel after Algerian forces shot down a Malian drone over the weekend. Algeria said the craft had strayed 1.2 miles into its airspace, while Mali said it was flying at least 6 miles away from the Algerian border on a counterterrorism mission. The two sides have recalled their ambassadors, and Algeria canceled all flights to Mali. Relations between the two formerly friendly countries soured after the 2021 coup that brought a pro-Russian junta to power in Mali.
600,000: The fun is over, friends. X is cracking down on parody accounts, ordering them to include the words “parody” or “fake” in their account names and prohibiting them from using the same profile images as the targets of their satire. The move comes after an account pretending to belong to platform owner Elon Musk recently rang up more than 600,000 engagements after asking users to “like and comment” for a chance to win a Tesla.
300: Trump’s tariffs on China could add as much as $300 to the production cost of a $550 iPhone produced there. That’s partly why Apple is reportedly shifting some of its production of the smartphones to India, where Trump tariffs are, currently, less than half as high. Sharp readers will note that this would not bring down the overall US trade deficit, which Trump believes is a vulnerability. But analysts say making an iPhone entirely in the US would boost the price to as much as $3,500.
12: The Florida Gators basketball team overcame a 12-point second-half deficit last night to beat the Houston Cougars, 65-63, and win their third Men’s NCAA tournament title. It was a bitter pill to swallow for the Texans, who have now lost three championship games without ever winning the Big Dance. Florida’s star guard Walter Clayton Jr. had a relatively quiet game, but his performances in the earlier rounds earned him the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
