On Thursday, Palantir Technologies Inc. CEO Alex Karp said that artificial intelligence is giving the U.S. and its allies a strategic edge as tensions rise across the Middle East amid the escalating Iran conflict. AI Giving US A Strategic Edge In Modern Warfare Speaking with CNBC, Karp said that AI is increasingly shaping the balance of power on the battlefield. He argued that the U.S. and its all...
On Thursday, Palantir Technologies Inc. CEO Alex Karp said that artificial intelligence is giving the U.S. and its allies a strategic edge as tensions rise across the Middle East amid the escalating Iran conflict. AI Giving US A Strategic Edge In Modern Warfare Speaking with CNBC, Karp said that AI is increasingly shaping the balance of power on the battlefield. He argued that the U.S. and its allies hold an advantage because of their technological capabilities. Karp was speaking during the company's AIPcon 9 event in Maryland. He said the U.S.'s strength comes not only from its military capabilities but also from its leadership in AI. Don't Miss: "What makes America special right now is our lethal capabilities, our ability to fight war," Karp said. He added that another critical advantage is that "the AI revolution is uniquely American." Palantir Platform Helps Coordinate Military Data Karp also pointed to Palantir's technology as a key tool for coordinating intelligence and operational data among allied nations. Referring to the need for real-time coordination during attacks, Karp said countries facing threats require a system capable of connecting information across partners. "If you were attacked and you needed to coordinate, you would have to have a coordinating function," he said. Referring to Palantir's platform, he said, "There's only one product that can actually do that for security." Trending: Own the Characters, Not Just the Content: Inside a Fast-Growing Pre-IPO IP Company Project Maven And AI Surveillance Capabilities One of the company's most prominent defense technologies, Project Maven, analyzes satellite imagery and other data sources in real time using AI. Karp declined to confirm whether the platform was used in a reported U.S.-Israel operation targeting Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, saying only that he had read reports describing the system as a "core backbone" for such operations. Data Centers Emerging As Strategic Targets The growing im...
On Thursday, Palantir Technologies Inc. CEO Alex Karp said that artificial intelligence is giving the U.S. and its allies a strategic edge as tensions rise across the Middle East amid the escalating Iran conflict. AI Giving US A Strategic Edge In Modern Warfare Speaking with CNBC, Karp said that AI is increasingly shaping the balance of power on the battlefield. He argued that the U.S. and its all...
On Thursday, Palantir Technologies Inc. CEO Alex Karp said that artificial intelligence is giving the U.S. and its allies a strategic edge as tensions rise across the Middle East amid the escalating Iran conflict. AI Giving US A Strategic Edge In Modern Warfare Speaking with CNBC, Karp said that AI is increasingly shaping the balance of power on the battlefield. He argued that the U.S. and its allies hold an advantage because of their technological capabilities. Karp was speaking during the company's AIPcon 9 event in Maryland. He said the U.S.'s strength comes not only from its military capabilities but also from its leadership in AI. Don't Miss: "What makes America special right now is our lethal capabilities, our ability to fight war," Karp said. He added that another critical advantage is that "the AI revolution is uniquely American." Palantir Platform Helps Coordinate Military Data Karp also pointed to Palantir's technology as a key tool for coordinating intelligence and operational data among allied nations. Referring to the need for real-time coordination during attacks, Karp said countries facing threats require a system capable of connecting information across partners. "If you were attacked and you needed to coordinate, you would have to have a coordinating function," he said. Referring to Palantir's platform, he said, "There's only one product that can actually do that for security." Trending: Own the Characters, Not Just the Content: Inside a Fast-Growing Pre-IPO IP Company Project Maven And AI Surveillance Capabilities One of the company's most prominent defense technologies, Project Maven, analyzes satellite imagery and other data sources in real time using AI. Karp declined to confirm whether the platform was used in a reported U.S.-Israel operation targeting Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, saying only that he had read reports describing the system as a "core backbone" for such operations. Data Centers Emerging As Strategic Targets The growing im...
Investors are questioning whether demanding "bold moves" from Greg Abel after one weak quarter truly serves long-term shareholders. Explore how headline-driven reactions, short-term price swings, and Berkshire's patient strategy intersect in the video below. *This video was published on March 9, 2026. Continue reading
Investors are questioning whether demanding "bold moves" from Greg Abel after one weak quarter truly serves long-term shareholders. Explore how headline-driven reactions, short-term price swings, and Berkshire's patient strategy intersect in the video below. *This video was published on March 9, 2026. Continue reading
Death comes two months after Alford was jailed for eight-and-a-half years for sexually assaulting two teenage girls The actor John Alford has died in prison two months after being jailed for sexually assaulting two teenage girls. Alford, 54, was jailed for eight-and-a-half years in January after he was found guilty of the assaults which occurred during a party at a friend’s home. The actor, who ap...
Death comes two months after Alford was jailed for eight-and-a-half years for sexually assaulting two teenage girls The actor John Alford has died in prison two months after being jailed for sexually assaulting two teenage girls. Alford, 54, was jailed for eight-and-a-half years in January after he was found guilty of the assaults which occurred during a party at a friend’s home. The actor, who appeared in the drama London’s Burning and BBC show Grange Hill, died at HMP Bure, Norfolk, on Friday, the Prison Service said. Alford, who was tried under his real name, John Shannon, was convicted of four counts of sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl and charges of sexual assault and assault by penetration relating to a 15-year-old girl at a property in Hertfordshire in 2022. Jurors heard during the trial that he had sexually assaulted the girls while they were drunk after a night out at the pub. A Prison Service spokesperson said: “John Shannon died in prison on March 13 2026. “As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate.” Continue reading...
Nuclear energy has been enjoying something of a renaissance in recent years. The United States, Japan, South Korea, China, and India are all investing heavily in expanding their nuclear reactor fleets and/or resuscitating decommissioned reactors. Thus far, that demand for nuclear power was in large part driven by the power needs of data centers. But the current volatility with oil due to the possi...
Nuclear energy has been enjoying something of a renaissance in recent years. The United States, Japan, South Korea, China, and India are all investing heavily in expanding their nuclear reactor fleets and/or resuscitating decommissioned reactors. Thus far, that demand for nuclear power was in large part driven by the power needs of data centers. But the current volatility with oil due to the possibility of the Strait of Hormuz being closed or even possibly mined likely has many more countries looking into more nuclear power if they weren't already. Fortunately for investors tired of oil volatility, there are several companies operating in the nuclear industry that are worth a look. Here are some of the best. Fueling the future Up first is Canada's Cameco (CCJ 6.37%), which is one of the largest uranium miners in the world. It was responsible for 15% of all the uranium produced globally last year. It's the second-largest uranium miner in the world, behind only Kazatomprom, Kazakhstan's state-run miner. Cameco operates both the largest high-grade uranium mine in the world at McArthur River and has one of the highest-grade uranium mines in the world at Cigar Lake. On the back of uranium's 34% price growth over the past year, Cameco generated revenue of $3.4 billion, up 11% over 2024. It's also worth nothing that prior to the Iran conflict, uranium was the only energy resource that had gone up over the past year. And, for operating in an industry as capital-intensive as mining is, Cameco still manages a net profit margin of 16.9% and has a very healthy debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. But Cameco does more than just mine uranium, though that is the core of its business and where it generates the bulk of its revenue. The company also operates a uranium refinery and fuel production facilities, and it holds 49% of Westinghouse. Westinghouse, which Cameco holds as a joint venture with Brookfield Asset Management, is an engineering company that designs and builds nuclear reactor...
Key Points Cameco is one of the planet's largest uranium miners with world-class assets. BWX Technologies is a rapidly growing engineering company with a wealth of experience in small reactor technology. Constellation Energy operates about one-fifth of America's nuclear reactor fleet, more than any other company. 10 stocks we like better than Cameco › Nuclear energy has been enjoying something of ...
Key Points Cameco is one of the planet's largest uranium miners with world-class assets. BWX Technologies is a rapidly growing engineering company with a wealth of experience in small reactor technology. Constellation Energy operates about one-fifth of America's nuclear reactor fleet, more than any other company. 10 stocks we like better than Cameco › Nuclear energy has been enjoying something of a renaissance in recent years. The United States, Japan, South Korea, China, and India are all investing heavily in expanding their nuclear reactor fleets and/or resuscitating decommissioned reactors. Thus far, that demand for nuclear power was in large part driven by the power needs of data centers. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » But the current volatility with oil due to the possibility of the Strait of Hormuz being closed or even possibly mined likely has many more countries looking into more nuclear power if they weren't already. Fortunately for investors tired of oil volatility, there are several companies operating in the nuclear industry that are worth a look. Here are some of the best. Fueling the future Up first is Canada's Cameco (NYSE: CCJ), which is one of the largest uranium miners in the world. It was responsible for 15% of all the uranium produced globally last year. It's the second-largest uranium miner in the world, behind only Kazatomprom, Kazakhstan's state-run miner. Cameco operates both the largest high-grade uranium mine in the world at McArthur River and has one of the highest-grade uranium mines in the world at Cigar Lake. On the back of uranium's 34% price growth over the past year, Cameco generated revenue of $3.4 billion, up 11% over 2024. It's also worth nothing that prior to the Iran conflict, uranium was the only energy resource that had gone up over the past...
Meta Plans 20% Layoffs To Divert Capital To Data Centers On Friday we noted that Meta has delayed the rollout of its latest AI model because it sucks - and may temporarily license superior models like Gemini to power the company's AI products. Now, Meta is reportedly mulling a massive new round of layoffs that could affect more than 20% of its workforce as it accelerates spending on AI data center...
Meta Plans 20% Layoffs To Divert Capital To Data Centers On Friday we noted that Meta has delayed the rollout of its latest AI model because it sucks - and may temporarily license superior models like Gemini to power the company's AI products. Now, Meta is reportedly mulling a massive new round of layoffs that could affect more than 20% of its workforce as it accelerates spending on AI data center buildouts. The move comes as other hyperscalers consider similar workforce restructurings to redirect capital flows toward AI infrastructure. Reuters cited people familiar with the plans and said no final decision or timeline has been set for the restructuring. The report added that senior leaders have already been told to begin planning cuts. Top executives have recently signaled the plans to other senior leaders at Meta and told them to begin planning how to pare back, two of the people said. The sources spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to disclose the cuts. -RTRS The latest Bloomberg data show Meta's total workforce at the end of 2025 was about 79,000, meaning a 20% reduction would amount to nearly 16,000 workers. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has already been downsizing the workforce since the 2022-23 "year of efficiency" layoffs. "This is speculative reporting about theoretical approaches," Meta spokesperson Andy Stone told the outlet. Meta's labor restructuring suggests the insane Covid-era hiring binge is being aggressively unwound. The company cut 11,000 workers in November 2022, or about 13% of its workforce, and it would not be surprising if more cuts are still to come. Meta plans to spend $600 billion on data centers by 2028 and recently announced it had acquired Moltbook, a social networking platform built for AI agents. Meta is also acquiring Chinese AI startup Manus for $2 billion. Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Oracle was planning to lay off thousands of workers as it spends aggressively on AI data center buildouts. Amazon confirmed...
CoreWeave NASDAQ: CRWV executives and a peer AI infrastructure provider outlined how they are financing rapid expansion, managing power constraints, and broadening product offerings as demand for AI compute accelerates, according to remarks from a recent conference discussion. Get CoreWeave alerts: Sign Up CoreWeave leadership role and growth context Nick Robbins, a vice president in corporate dev...
CoreWeave NASDAQ: CRWV executives and a peer AI infrastructure provider outlined how they are financing rapid expansion, managing power constraints, and broadening product offerings as demand for AI compute accelerates, according to remarks from a recent conference discussion. Get CoreWeave alerts: Sign Up CoreWeave leadership role and growth context Nick Robbins, a vice president in corporate development at CoreWeave, said he leads the company’s equity and equity-linked financing efforts and also oversees investor relations. Robbins said he has been with the company as an employee for about seven months, after previously working with the founders as an advisor while at Morgan Stanley and as a pre-IPO investor. In the discussion, the host cited a sharp revenue increase “from $200 million to $5 billion” over a couple of years, expectations to double again this year and in 2027, and a backlog described as roughly $66 billion to $67 billion. Robbins argued that while the company has addressed prior questions about differentiation, the market still appears to wrestle with how a “hyperscale cloud” can be built rapidly without a legacy cash-flow engine like traditional hyperscalers. Contract model and margin framework Robbins said CoreWeave’s model is built around longer-dated “take-or-pay” contracts that provide visibility into future cash flows, even as the company incurs costs ahead of revenue during hypergrowth. He said that at the contract level, stabilized margins are “in the mid-20s,” and that the company is willing to accept earlier-period cost pressure because it expects contracts—described as having a weighted average term of about five years—to generate enough cash flow to service debt, cover operating expenses, and deliver free cash flow to shareholders over the contract life. Credit-market concerns and delayed draw term loans Addressing investor unease about credit markets, Robbins said the market may misunderstand CoreWeave’s primary approach to borrowing, w...
The serious threat to health posed by obesity is a growing global problem, with more than a billion people around the world suffering from the disease. Hong Kong faces a challenge in reversing the worrying trend, which has seen the proportion of residents who are obese or overweight rise from 37.2 per cent in 2004 to 51.3 per cent in 2022. Action is needed. The city’s first comprehensive plan on w...
The serious threat to health posed by obesity is a growing global problem, with more than a billion people around the world suffering from the disease. Hong Kong faces a challenge in reversing the worrying trend, which has seen the proportion of residents who are obese or overweight rise from 37.2 per cent in 2004 to 51.3 per cent in 2022. Action is needed. The city’s first comprehensive plan on weight management was launched by the government on March 4, to coincide with World Obesity Day. It is a much-needed development. The strategy sets five directions and 15 objectives. It signals that the issue is being taken much more seriously than in the past. A comprehensive approach is to be adopted with the aim of ensuring the fight against obesity is embraced by the community. Many departments are involved. The government is right to recognise that policies must be science-based and systematic. Advertisement The plan aims to combat obesity through education, fostering a social environment that supports weight management, health services and monitoring trends. Every stage of a person’s life is to be covered, from prenatal nutrition to ensuring the elderly are active. Initiatives include promoting a healthy lifestyle in schools, making weighing scales more readily available and providing easily accessible health advice. New sports facilities, including cycle tracks and jogging trails, will be introduced and more fitness equipment installed on housing estates. Advertisement Increasing awareness will be the focus of the first year. This is extremely important. A survey in 2022 showed that more than two-thirds of overweight respondents wrongly believed their weight to be just right. There is, as the government recognises, a need to change public perceptions.
You may soon be able to invest in Bill Ackman's hedge fund. The billionaire filed to make Pershing Square shares publicly traded in a dual initial public offering (IPO) of the hedge fund and a new closed-end fund. You could get a small stake in the hedge fund management company if you commit to buying a share of the new closed-end fund. The incentive is designed to offset the likely drop in the fu...
You may soon be able to invest in Bill Ackman's hedge fund. The billionaire filed to make Pershing Square shares publicly traded in a dual initial public offering (IPO) of the hedge fund and a new closed-end fund. You could get a small stake in the hedge fund management company if you commit to buying a share of the new closed-end fund. The incentive is designed to offset the likely drop in the fund's share price once it starts trading. Most closed-end funds trade at a discount to their net asset value. But you don't have to wait for Ackman's IPO to follow the billionaire's investments. His strategy involves buying and holding a concentrated portfolio of undervalued companies for relatively long periods. So investors can use recent filings to reasonably guess what Ackman's currently holding in Pershing Square's portfolio. Based on the company's most recent disclosures, including its annual report from last month, about 48% Ackman's managed stock portfolio is invested in just three outstanding companies. Continue reading
Ludvig Aberg did not provide the fireworks of Friday but will take a three-shot lead into Sunday's final round of the Players Championship in Florida. The Swede, who shot a 63 in round two to move two clear at halfway, backed that up with a one-under-par 71 to improve to 13 under overall as he chases the biggest win of his career at the PGA Tour's $25m (£18.9m) flagship event. But while the 26-yea...
Ludvig Aberg did not provide the fireworks of Friday but will take a three-shot lead into Sunday's final round of the Players Championship in Florida. The Swede, who shot a 63 in round two to move two clear at halfway, backed that up with a one-under-par 71 to improve to 13 under overall as he chases the biggest win of his career at the PGA Tour's $25m (£18.9m) flagship event. But while the 26-year-old European Ryder Cup star serenely plotted his way around the famed TPC Sawgrass course, most of his closest challengers also failed to spark. His playing partner, two-time major winner Xander Schauffele, drove the ball well but was wayward with his second shots into greens as he posted a two-over 74 to slip five off the pace. However, unheralded 24-year-old American Michael Thorbjornsen shot a 67 to leap up to second on the leaderboard, on 10 under par. He is one ahead of Cameron Young, who found water off the tee on the 18th and dropped two shots on the last hole to end the day as he started it, on nine under. Young was not the only player to struggle on the last. England's Matt Fitzpatrick was 10 under par on the 18th tee, after birdies on the 16th and 17th holes, but a scruffy double-bogey finish took the shine off his round as he signed for a 69 to be joint fourth on eight under. He is alongside 2021 champion Justin Thomas, who, playing in his second tournament since recovering from a back operation, overcame a triple-bogey seven on the sixth to card a 72. Scotland's Robert MacIntyre started round three at level par but posted the lowest score of the day - and his Players career - holing nine birdies in a superb seven-under 65 - to end the day six off the pace. Justin Rose reached eight under after a birdie on the 15th but hit balls in the water on 16 and 18 as he finished with two bogeys in his final three holes to drop back to six under. The top two in the world had ambitions of joining Jack Nicklaus as a record three-time winner of the event but both have fallen...
AMD Agent Computer System Local AI Workflows with RyzenClaw and RadeonClaw AMD has developed its "Agent Computer" system which enables local artificial intelligence workflows through its RyzenClaw and RadeonClaw technology. AMD has published its Best Known Configuration (BKC) guide which enables users to operate OpenClaw on Windows through local installation. The new system from AMD represents a c...
AMD Agent Computer System Local AI Workflows with RyzenClaw and RadeonClaw AMD has developed its "Agent Computer" system which enables local artificial intelligence workflows through its RyzenClaw and RadeonClaw technology. AMD has published its Best Known Configuration (BKC) guide which enables users to operate OpenClaw on Windows through local installation. The new system from AMD represents a change from traditional Personal Computer systems because it uses its Agent Computer system to operate autonomous AI agents on local systems without needing cloud data centers. Through WSL2 and LM Studio implementation, AMD provides users complete data ownership rights along with no restrictions on usage and continuous system operational time. AMD provides two separate hardware setups which enable local agentic computing with each setup designed to meet specific performance requirements and memory needs. The Qwen 3.5 35B A3B model serves as the common reference point for both paths which use it to perform local inference tasks. 1 RyzenClaw (The "Agent Swarm" Path) This configuration is built for parallel tasking and large context windows. The Framework Desktop uses the Ryzen AI Max+ processor as its core processing unit. Memory capacity consists of 128 GB unified RAM with 96 GB allocated for Variable Graphics Memory storage. The system can process approximately 45 tokens every second. The system can handle a context window that extends to 260K tokens. The system supports operation of six agents at the same time. The complete system costs approximately $2,700 to obtain. 2 RadeonClaw (The High Speed Path) The workstation setup uses high performance graphics processing units to deliver maximum speed and better performance during work tasks. Hardware: The system uses Radeon AI PRO R9700 which comes with 32 GB VRAM. The system can process approximately 120 tokens every second. The system can handle a context window that extends to 190K tokens. The system supports operation of two...
After posting three consecutive years of double-digit returns, only the eighth time it has happened since 1926, the stock market's most important index, the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.61%), has had a slow start to 2026. Through March 11, the index is down about 1% year to date. Even so, the S&P 500 is still at historically expensive levels when looking at the Shiller price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, also know...
After posting three consecutive years of double-digit returns, only the eighth time it has happened since 1926, the stock market's most important index, the S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.61%), has had a slow start to 2026. Through March 11, the index is down about 1% year to date. Even so, the S&P 500 is still at historically expensive levels when looking at the Shiller price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, also known as the CAPE ratio, in reference to cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings. The Shiller P/E ratio looks at the S&P 500's earnings over the past 10 years, adjusting them for inflation to prevent one-off events from skewing the numbers. As of this writing, the Shiller P/E is at 39.2, nearing the highest level since mid-2000. Should investors be worried about the expensive market? The last time the S&P 500 was this expensive was in the thick of the dot-com bubble. In November 1999, the Shiller P/E ratio peaked at nearly 44.2. From that point until the trough of the dot-com bubble in October 2022, the S&P 500 dropped by around 40%. In October 2021, the Shiller P/E ratio reached 38.5. From that point until the S&P 500 bottomed out in October 2022, the index dropped by more than 20%. So, historically, an S&P 500 this expensive isn't quite a reason to jump for joy. However, I can't stress enough that just because it has happened in the past doesn't mean it will happen again. Although it's historically expensive, the situation with today's S&P 500 isn't the same as what we saw during the dot-com bubble or the 2022 bear market. The dot-com bubble was fueled by widespread speculation and by companies without real earnings to justify their valuations, and 2022 was a time of cheap money and extremely low interest rates that led many investors to lose sight of potential risks. Today, the expensive market is largely fueled by the current artificial intelligence boom and a handful of megacap tech companies. That doesn't make it any better -- just different. Expand SNPINDEX : ^GSPC S&P 500...
Key Points The Shiller P/E ratio gives insight into how expensive the S&P 500 is by looking at earnings over the past decade. The only time the S&P 500 has been more expensive than it is now was during the dot-com bubble. Investors should consider dollar-cost averaging to avoid investing a lump sum before a potential market correction. 10 stocks we like better than S&P 500 Index › After posting th...
Key Points The Shiller P/E ratio gives insight into how expensive the S&P 500 is by looking at earnings over the past decade. The only time the S&P 500 has been more expensive than it is now was during the dot-com bubble. Investors should consider dollar-cost averaging to avoid investing a lump sum before a potential market correction. 10 stocks we like better than S&P 500 Index › After posting three consecutive years of double-digit returns, only the eighth time it has happened since 1926, the stock market's most important index, the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC), has had a slow start to 2026. Through March 11, the index is down about 1% year to date. Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an "Indispensable Monopoly" providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue » Even so, the S&P 500 is still at historically expensive levels when looking at the Shiller price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio, also known as the CAPE ratio, in reference to cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings. The Shiller P/E ratio looks at the S&P 500's earnings over the past 10 years, adjusting them for inflation to prevent one-off events from skewing the numbers. As of this writing, the Shiller P/E is at 39.2, nearing the highest level since mid-2000. Should investors be worried about the expensive market? The last time the S&P 500 was this expensive was in the thick of the dot-com bubble. In November 1999, the Shiller P/E ratio peaked at nearly 44.2. From that point until the trough of the dot-com bubble in October 2022, the S&P 500 dropped by around 40%. In October 2021, the Shiller P/E ratio reached 38.5. From that point until the S&P 500 bottomed out in October 2022, the index dropped by more than 20%. So, historically, an S&P 500 this expensive isn't quite a reason to jump for joy. However, I can't stress enough that just because it has happened in the past doesn't mean it will happen again. Although ...
I’ve spent most of my life being devoured by heart-exploding anxiety. “Doing scary things” has meant stuff like being out after dark and calling someone on the phone. It has never, for one minute, meant fist fighting in front of a crowd of people. But a while ago I decided to try countering the anxiety by doing new stuff. With that in mind, I went to a boxing class. At worst, I figured, I could wr...
I’ve spent most of my life being devoured by heart-exploding anxiety. “Doing scary things” has meant stuff like being out after dark and calling someone on the phone. It has never, for one minute, meant fist fighting in front of a crowd of people. But a while ago I decided to try countering the anxiety by doing new stuff. With that in mind, I went to a boxing class. At worst, I figured, I could write a column about being a middle-aged mother in a young man’s world. It was nothing like that. Boxing demands that you do it over and over. You hit a heavy bag and you think, oh wow, that solved at least five of my problems. You get sweaty and furious and the people around you are sweaty and furious and you think, if I punch hard enough, nothing will ever hurt me again. I needed more. I chose a nearby gym and boxed two days a week, then six days a week. I felt as though I had discovered something about myself that had always been true. When the gym management decided to run a fight night, I didn’t think twice. Not thinking is how a lot of Future Anna’s trouble starts but she simply chickens out and goes into witness protection. Even as I said yes, I don’t think I believed I would step into the ring. For six weeks, I trained like a fighter. I skipped. I shadowboxed. I rolled and slipped and pivoted and shuffled and sidestepped, threw straights and hooks and uppers and rips. I imagined what it might be like to cop a fist in the nose, the jaw, the temple. My wonderful boxing friends assured me I could do it and I started to believe them, even though I was definitely going to pull out at the last minute. On the morning of the fight, a friend braided my hair. I bought new wraps. I packed my bag. I did all the things a person might do before a boxing fight, like driving to the gym and warming up and trying on the match gloves. I did all of this knowing I would still, at the 11th hour, run away and never come back. The curtains opened and Limp Bizkit’s Nookie played. I had spent ...