Overview of The Wall Street Journal: What's News — PM Edition
This episode is a fast-moving news roundup led by a deep dive into Whatnot, the rapidly growing live-shopping app where users bid on collectibles in high-pressure livestream auctions. The show also covers a razor-thin Michigan Senate primary, leadership changes at Google’s AI division, a House Republican’s decision not to seek reelection after an ethics probe, and major business updates from Eli Lilly, CVS, Disney, SpaceX, and the broader markets.
Top Political and Washington Headlines
Michigan Senate primary: Abdul El-Sayed wins narrowly
- Progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed defeated Rep. Haley Stevens in the Democratic Senate primary in Michigan by about 1 percentage point.
- The result suggests the Democratic Party’s internal fight between progressive and moderate factions is still unresolved.
- Reporting from the WSJ suggests:
- There is still hesitancy about the insurgent left-wing message.
- But the result also shows a desire among voters in battleground states for a new direction.
- El-Sayed will face former Rep. Mike Rogers in November, in what is expected to be a key Senate race.
House Republican Chuck Edwards to leave race
- North Carolina Republican Chuck Edwards said he will not seek reelection.
- His decision follows a House Ethics Committee investigation that found he made unwelcome sexual advances toward female staffers and recommended censure.
- Edwards has denied wrongdoing and plans to finish his current term.
AI and Tech News
Google shakes up AI leadership
- Google announced a major reorganization of its AI leadership:
- Demis Hassabis is stepping aside as CEO of Google DeepMind to become chairman and chief scientist.
- Koray Kavukcuoglu will oversee all AI model development.
- Jeff Dean is leaving Google with three other veterans to start a new AI company.
- The shake-up comes amid:
- High-profile departures
- Delays in releasing competitive models
- Pressure from rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic
- Alphabet stock fell 4% on the news.
Meta launches a new coding agent
- Meta announced MuseCode, an AI coding agent intended to compete with tools from OpenAI and Anthropic.
- The company is pitching it as a cheaper alternative as investors push Meta to monetize AI more effectively.
Markets and Business Briefing
Market performance
- U.S. indexes finished mixed:
- Dow: up 0.5%, closing at a record for the third straight day
- Nasdaq: down 0.8%
- S&P 500: down 0.2%
SpaceX
- SpaceX beat earnings expectations, but investors were rattled by plans for massive AI spending.
- The stock fell 14%.
Oil and geopolitics
- Brent crude slipped slightly to $79.23 a barrel.
- The move came amid reports that Middle East mediators are working on a temporary fix involving the Strait of Hormuz.
- Uncertainty remains because of continued shipping attacks and Iran’s fee demands.
Eli Lilly and CVS
- Eli Lilly reported stronger quarterly revenue and profit, driven by demand for its GLP-1 weight-loss drugs.
- Revenue for Mounjaro rose sharply, and Zepbound sales also grew strongly.
- Lilly raised its full-year revenue outlook.
- CVS Health said it will revamp its weight-loss program with Lilly, including:
- Transparent pricing in its app
- Possible same-day pickup for Lilly weight-loss drugs
Disney
- Disney reported higher revenue, helped by:
- Strong domestic theme park traffic
- Strong box office performance
- The company said it is considering:
- Free ad-supported channels in its streaming lineup
- More sports content on Disney+
Main Feature: Why Whatnot Is Growing So Fast — and Worrying Some Users
What Whatnot is
- Whatnot is a live-shopping marketplace that has become one of the fastest-growing consumer platforms in the U.S.
- The app added 20 million new accounts last year and is on track to surpass $1 billion in revenue.
- Users can buy everything from:
- Trading cards
- Collectibles
- Designer fashion
- Squishy toys
- Instant ramen
How it works
- Sellers host high-energy livestream auctions.
- There are two main purchase formats:
- Single-item sales with real-time bidding
- “Breaks”, where buyers pay for a spot in an unopened pack of cards and get whatever is revealed live
- The “breaks” format creates a strong sense of chance, urgency, and excitement.
Why it can feel addictive
- The transcript draws a comparison to gambling-like behavior:
- Buyers may spend money without knowing what they’ll get
- There’s little time for research because auctions move quickly
- The countdown and live format encourage rapid decisions
- Some users say the platform can be hard to walk away from, even when they know they should.
A cautionary example
- One user, Sean Harding, reportedly spent $1.4 million in 43 days on Whatnot, and not on items he could easily resell.
- He described the experience in terms similar to someone dealing with a serious gambling problem.
Whatnot’s response
- Whatnot says these problems do not appear to be a major widespread issue based on its own review of app store and online feedback.
- The company says it has begun adding account controls, including:
- Spending limits
- The ability to change those limits later
Key Takeaways
- Whatnot’s growth is fueled by urgency, entertainment, and the thrill of uncertain outcomes.
- The platform is popular because it makes shopping feel like a live game, but that same design can encourage overspending.
- On the political front, Democrats in Michigan are still grappling with the balance between progressive energy and broader general-election appeal.
- Google’s AI reorganization shows how intense the race for top-tier models has become.
- Across the business world, AI, weight-loss drugs, streaming, and collectibles remain major engines of investor and consumer attention.