The hour was defined by a pivot in AI economics and intensifying geopolitical friction. DeepSeek’s launch of its hyper-cheap V4-Flash model, underscored by a declining Token Expenditure Index, signals a structural shift in AI pricing power that is pressuring the premiums of U.S. frontier labs. This cooling in AI-centric optimism coincides with persistent supply-side energy constraints; Goldman Sachs warned that the ongoing Iran conflict and disruptions to Russian refining have tightened global diesel supplies, keeping fuel markets volatile. Domestically, the political landscape remains sharply bifurcated: California Democrats broke with Governor Newsom to endorse a billionaire wealth tax, while the Supreme Court faces a mounting challenge regarding the federal government's authority over election logistics ahead of the midterms. As AI-driven corporate gains begin to clash with emerging commodity and policy constraints, the prior narrative of untrammeled growth is yielding to a period of acute, systemic volatility.