Morning NOISE

Washington’s day is defined by escalation: trade tensions with Canada are spilling toward consumers and supply chains, while it advances tighter mail-voting and immigration restrictions, some cleared for now by courts and others shadowed by legal and economic risks.

Washington’s new campaign to isolate Iran is widening the contest, with Tehran resisting and Beijing threatening retaliation, while uncertainty over enforcement and oil trade leaves the sanctions’ reach unclear. US flight to Moscow adds a murky note to Ukraine talks.

Markets are questioning whether Treasury bond buybacks are liquidity policy or price management, while a weaker dollar lifts gold and bitcoin. Oil’s 3% decline says investors see sanctions as a limited near-term supply threat, not that geopolitical risk has vanished.

Today’s tech story is less about shiny launches than who absorbs the costs: AI’s data-center boom is straining power and communities, while courts and scammers expose the same ecosystem’s weak spots, from platform design to fake coding tools.

College basketball’s eligibility rulebook just got a stress test: a Louisiana judge cleared RJ Luis Jr. to play for LSU, while the NCAA prepares to challenge a ruling that could reshape future return-from-pro eligibility disputes.