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David Gewirtz / ZDNET : Anthropic announces an “auto mode” that enables Claude Code to make permission-level decisions while preventing destructive actions like mass file deletion   —  ZDNET's key takeaways  — Claude's auto mode reduces permission prompts for developers.

House Republicans are targeting vulnerable districts in the 2026 midterms over the Department of Homeland Security shutdown and burgeoning Transportation Security Administration security chaos. "House Democrats shut down Homeland Security while TSA agents work for free and Americans sit in hours-long security lines," National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Mike Marinella wrote Monday in a statement, announcing the targeting of Democrats in 28 districts most impacted by TSA security checkpoint delays. The NRCC launched a paid ad campaign, focusing on Democrats it accuses of shutting down DHS and forcing TSA agents to work without pay as travelers face long security lines. "Democrats are being blamed by the American people for the catastrophe going on right now at our airports and at other points of transportation and beyond," President Donald Trump told a Monday gathering on addressing crime in Memphis, Tennessee. MINNEAPOLIS MAYOR CLAIMS TRUMP...

Ben Weiss / Fortune : Doc: Kalshi and Polymarket CEOs are investing in a VC fund, led by two early Kalshi employees, that is raising up to $35M to back prediction market startups   —  The CEOs of Kalshi and Polymarket are locked in a brutal fight to dominate the white-hot prediction market sector.

Kate Clark / Wall Street Journal : AI tools like Claude Code have transformed coders' lives, and AI labs are now eyeing a bigger goal: automating everyone's lives and winning the non-coder market   —  The AI sprint is hurtling toward a world where anyone can build personal concierges to do everything from executive presentations to March Madness brackets

A startup putting high-tech collars on cows could soon be worth more than $2 billion, as investors bet the technology could help farmers cut costs and cope with labor shortages. Halter, a New Zealand-based company, is in talks to raise new funding in a deal expected to be led by billionaire Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, according to a Bloomberg report. The round is attracting heavy investor interest and is close to being filled, though final details are still being negotiated. THE SINGLE CRUSHING PROBLEM AMERICAN CATTLE RANCHERS WISH TRUMP WOULD FIX INSTEAD Farmers are increasingly looking for ways to lower expenses and boost efficiency — changes that could eventually affect food prices for consumers . Beef prices are already soaring, and economists warn Americans shouldn’t expect relief anytime soon as the U.S. cattle herd has shrunk to its smallest size in 75 years. The decline has been driven by years of drought , rising costs and an aging ranching workforce. Experts say rebuild...

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is under fire for backing a plan that would slash New York’s estate tax exemption by nearly 90%, a move opponents say could drag middle-class families into a tax burden long aimed at the rich. New York is one of the states that imposes its own estate tax in addition to the federal levy, and the proposed changes would dramatically expand its reach—potentially sweeping in not just the wealthy, but families whose primary asset is a home they hoped to pass on to their children. MAMDANI'S RENT FREEZE, TAX HIKES A 'ONE-TWO WEALTH DESTRUCTION PUNCH,' ECONOMISTS WARN The plan would sharply reduce how much of an estate can be passed on tax-free, cutting the threshold from $7.35 million to just $750,000, among the lowest in the country, meaning far more estates would be subject to taxation. In addition, Mamdani is proposing to more than triple the state’s top estate tax rate, raising it from 16% to 50%, a combination that could generate billions...