Gambling AND gaming. And nihilism.

Full disclosure: I've been thinking it's Friday since Wednesday.

IN NEVADA CURRENT

"Regulation," Trump style. In an effort to look like it is doing at least something approximating a regulatory responsibility, while still kowtowing to the pernicious "prediction market" platforms for which it stands, the federal Commodity Futures Trading Commission has proposed the teensiest, least effective, most platform-friendly "regulation” it could devise. Meanwhile the gambling industry's Washington lobby reiterates its passionately held conviction that prediction markets should not be allowed to exploit nihilism's soul-crushing ascendancy, wreak chaos on people's lives by putting a casino in everyone's pocket, and then relentlessly push people to bet whether they can afford it or not, because damnit that’s MGM's job. Or words to that effect. Dana Gentry reports: Federal regulator’s definition of ‘gambling’ vs ‘gaming’ at heart of proposed prediction market rule

Related note: Trump-backed federal legislation, some already enacted, some proposed, also puts the lapdog CFTC in charge of regulating crypto, because of course it does.

A stressed & unnerved electorate. “Whether you’re trying to pursue education, whether you’re trying to buy a home, there’s no realistic, tangible dream anymore. I would say that’s what I’m most frustrated about,” was the brutal assessment offered by one voter the other day. Other voters interviewed at polling places expressed similar sentiments. In her first story for the Nevada Current, summer intern and '26 UNLV grad Leilah Ortega reports: Nevada voters share their frustrations with the economy

Liar liar pants ablaze update: States Newsroom asked the White House to provide evidence substantiating Trump’s fraud claims in California. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson responded with a statement that didn’t answer the question. Via the DC bureau: ‘The Dumocrats are at it again’: Trump attack on California election offers midterm preview

Market failure. The Urban Institute surveyed not only uninsured working-age people, but also those with Medicaid, marketplace plans, or employer provided coverage. History will record the richest and most powerful global empire the world had ever known also had the most preposterous health care financing system of its age. Via Stateline: Nearly half of adults struggled to afford healthcare last year, survey finds

Good Luck