The Journal.

OpenAI kickstarted the AI race, but is it now at risk of falling behind Google? As the company behind ChatGPT releases its latest update to fend off Google's Gemini, WSJ’S Berber Jin explains OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's urgent "code red" memo to all employees and why the strategy will come at a cost. Jessica Mendoza hosts. Further Listening: - Is the AI Boom… a Bubble? - AI Is Coming for Entry-Level Jobs - The Journal. Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Starting next year, babies born from 2025 to 2028 can receive $1,000 to start investment accounts. The initiative has gotten corporate America excited, with financial institutions vying for a role in the program, and philanthropists like Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell pledging billions of dollars in donations. WSJ’s Alexander Saeedy unpacks how the accounts work and why Wall Street is buzzing about them. Jessica Mendoza hosts. Further Listening: - Closing the Wealth Gap With a Trust Fund for Babies - The Nvidia CEO’s Quest to Sell Chips in China - Inside Intel's Deal With the U.S. Government Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this year, OpenAI and chip-designer Advanced Micro Devices, or AMD, announced a multibillion-dollar partnership to collaborate on AI data centers that will run on AMD processors, one of the most direct challenges yet to industry leader Nvidia. WSJ’s Robbie Whelan spoke to the CEO of AMD Lisa Su about the deal, her company and the prospect of an AI bubble. Ryan Knutson hosts. Further Listening: - CoreWeave, the Company Riding the AI Boom - Is the AI Boom… a Bubble? - The Unraveling of OpenAI and Microsoft's Bromance Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This morning, Paramount Skydance launched a $77.9 billion hostile takeover offer for Warner Bros. Discovery. It occurred just days after Warner had agreed to a $72 billion deal with Netflix. WSJ’s Joe Flint reports on the twists and turns of the battle to control Warner and, if Netflix succeeds, how it would change Hollywood. Ryan Knutson hosts. Further Listening: - Will Paramount Settle With Trump? - She Swore Off Legacy Media. Now She's Running CBS News. Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Kremlin pitched the White House on peace in Ukraine through business deals. To Europe’s dismay, President Trump and his envoy are on board. WSJ’s Drew Hinshaw and Joe Parkinson take us inside the Trump administration's new approach to diplomacy with Russia and how it could shake up the U.S.'s longstanding alliances. Jessica Mendoza hosts. Further Listening: - Why Trump Is Ready to Send Missiles to Ukraine - Inside the Hunt for Putin's Sleeper Agents - The Suspected Russian Plot to Set Airplanes on Fire Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S. wine industry hasn’t had it this bad since Prohibition. WSJ’s Laura Cooper reports from Sonoma County, California, a major region for American wine production, on why growers are drowning in unsold grapes, shrinking demand and trade-war fallout. Jessica Mendoza hosts. Further Listening: - Who Wants Non-Alcoholic Bear? Everyone, Apparently. - Why Coke Isn't Getting Rid of High-Fructose Corn Syrup Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As part of a year-long investigation, WSJ’s Shalini Ramachandran and Betsy McKay have been reporting on two of the most commonly prescribed psychiatric medications in America: benzodiazepines and antidepressants. These drugs weren’t intended for long-term use, but some Americans end up on them for years. Betsy and Shalini spoke to many patients who experienced the downsides. So a basic question popped up: Is America overmedicated? Further Listening: - A Quick Fix for Hair Loss Is Making Some Men Sick - Uncontrolled Substances, Part 1: Subscribe and Prescribe Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An escalating artificial intelligence race between China and the U.S. is drawing comparisons to the Cold War, and is likely to be just as consequential. As the technology barrels ahead from ChatGPT to DeepSeek and beyond, the competition is now primarily focused on advanced computer chips, but some worry that the race to innovate will lead to loosening safety regulations. WSJ’s Josh Chin explains China’s strategy to Ryan Knutson. Further Listening: - CoreWeave, the Company Riding the AI Boom - Is the AI Boom… a Bubble? - What's the Worst AI Can Do? This Team Is Finding Out. Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Quince is seemingly everywhere. Since launching in 2018, the brand has built an e-commerce empire that brings in $1.1 billion annually, and has catapulted to the top of the "dupe" economy. But the company’s strategy of making its own versions of best-selling products has run into some pushback from competitors. WSJ’s Chavie Lieber takes us inside Quince’s strategy and ensuing legal battles. Jessica Mendoza hosts. Further Listening: - Smucker, Trader Joe's and a Battle Over PB&Js - Why Is Everyone Obsessed With Labubus? - How Target Got Off Target Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After Hermès heir Nicolas Puech announced his $15 billion fortune was missing, accusations started flying. Who had taken the money? Was it his handyman? His financial advisor? Puech himself? In this second episode, WSJ’s Nick Kostov reveals the answer in what could be the fraud of the century. Jessica Mendoza hosts. Further Listening: The Case of the Missing $15 Billion Fortune: Part 1 The World's Richest Person Is Planning for Succession Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hermès is one of Europe’s most storied luxury brands, known for its Birkin bags and expensive silk scarves. One of the company’s biggest shareholders had been fifth-generation Hermès heir Nicolas Puech. But a few years ago, Puech made a shocking admission: he was out of money. And Puech’s Hermès shares, worth some $15 billion, were missing. In this first episode, WSJ’s Nick Kostov digs into one of the most baffling and epic financial sagas of this century. Jessica Mendoza hosts. Further Listening: The World's Richest Person Is Planning for Succession Are Diamonds Even a Luxury Anymore? How a Miami Couple Used Empty Mansions to Pocket Millions Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pokémon cards are beating the benchmark S&P 500 and tech stocks like Meta. WSJ’s Krystal Hur has been talking with a few collectors that have hit it big thanks to some prized sparkly cardboard from their childhoods. But are there signs of a bubble and that we’re reaching peak Pikachu? Jessica Mendoza hosts. Further Listening: - The $55 Billion Deal to Take EA Private - GameStop and the Rise of the Reddit Investor Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kentucky Fried Chicken was once one of the biggest fast-food chain in America. Now, it’s battling declining U.S. sales as rivals attract customers with chicken sandwiches and tenders over KFC’s classic bucket of bone-in chicken. WSJ’s Heather Haddon reports on how the iconic chain is trying to turn things around. Ryan Knutson hosts. Further Listening: - Can Pepsi Make a Comeback? - McDonald’s Wants To Offer Quality And Value. Can It Do Both? Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Corporate layoffs have been rolling across American companies: Amazon, General Motors, Verizon, Target and Microsoft have all cut jobs. WSJ’s Chip Cutter takes us inside his conversations with CEOs about how hiring is changing, and what the AI era means for jobs. Ryan Knutson hosts. Further Listening: - Hollywood Jobs Are Disappearing - Is the Economy Getting Better or Worse? The fed Says it’s Hard to Tell Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once one of President Trump’s most strident allies, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene is now arguing the president is out of touch with his political base. Trump, in turn, has called her a “traitor” and unendorsed her. As WSJ’s Olivia Beavers reports, Greene was one of a few Republicans who broke with Trump this year over the release of the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein-related files. Now, with those files set to be released, Greene is redefining her political identity. Jessica Mendoza hosts. Further Listening: - Trump’s Letter to Jeffrey Epstein - The Healthcare Fight at the Heart of the Longest Ever Shutdown Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After five quarters of lagging sales and a sluggish stock price, Nike CEO Elliott Hill is trying to turn things around. WSJ’s Inti Pacheco spoke with Hill to discuss Nike's return to its roots and plans for future innovation. Ryan Knutson hosts. Further Listening: - The Missteps That Led Nike Off Course - Made in America? Shoe Companies Already Tried That. Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The daylight heist at the Louvre Museum in October, during which thieves made off with more than $100 million in crown jewels, captured the world's attention. But the theft was just one in a series that have taken place at museums all across France this year. WSJ’s Noemie Bisserbe explains how the wave of heists reveals deep-rooted security vulnerabilities in the country’s hundreds of museums— and raises questions about what it takes to protect national treasures. Jessica Mendoza hosts. Further Listening: - How an Antiques Dealer Uncovered a Massive Museum Heist - Six Days of Chaos at MGM's Casinos - How Investigators Cracked a $3.4 Billion Crypto Heist Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The repossession business is booming. More Americans are falling behind on their car payments, a sign that lower-income consumers are struggling. WSJ’s Scott Calvert recently joined a night shift with two repo men and learned that despite a record number of cars now marked for repossession, finding them is easier said than done. Jessica Mendoza hosts. Further Listening: - For Millions of Student-Loan Borrowers It’s Time to Pay - The 20,000 Steps to a Walmart Manager’s Six-Figure Salary Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Americans could soon lose access to Italian-made pasta due to a 107% tariff plan on pasta imports. WSJ's Margherita Stancati unravels how a fight over paperwork spiraled into a full-blown pasta war. Jessica Mendoza hosts. Further Listening: - How One Business Owner Is Getting Ahead of Trump's Tariffs - The Bean at the Center of the Trade War Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WSJ’s Dan Gallagher takes us inside the little-known company playing a pivotal role in the AI spending boom. And Jessica Mendoza speaks to CoreWeave CEO Mike Intrator at WSJ Tech Live conference about whether the boom could be a bubble. Further Listening: - Is the AI Boom… a Bubble? - The Unraveling of OpenAI and Microsoft's Bromance - Artificial: The OpenAI Story Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices