this is Shades of the Day — bringing you different shades of opinion in news & culture so that you can see the big picture quickly. We believe that seeing multiple POVs is the best way to stay informed.

It’s Wednesday, January 29 — here are today’s two featured stories:

1. Questions of just how good Chinese company & AI model DeepSeek is.

2. Trump cuts support for youth gender transition surgery.

1) Nvidia is in danger of losing its monopoly-like margins.

2) RFK Jr. grilled on his views on vaccines and abortion in first confirmation hearing.

3) Trump and Musk’s plan for a massive purge of the federal workforce, explained.

4) ICE agents tried to enter downtown San Francisco office buildings, Janitors Union says.

5) Former tennis star Anna Kournikova makes rare appearance in wheelchair.

6) Thirty killed in crowd crush at India's Kumbh Mela festival.

How good is DeepSeek?

When it hit the scene, DeepSeek, a Chinese AI bot, revolutionized markets with its advanced AI capabilities. Bloomberg says the tech revolutionized what people thought was economically possible for AI.

The WSJ says DeepSeek is a cut above existing tools: It seems on par with ChatGPT, challenging the necessity of OpenAI's huge training budgets.

The Atlantic says DeepSeek's openness and cost-effectiveness challenge existing AI: It offers capabilities at a fraction of OpenAI's cost, democratizing AI tech.

But a Reddit user says DeepSeek is overrated: The bot makes mistakes and is tough to use.

Overhyped or not, The NYT says DeepSeek successfully challenged the American AI lead: This model performs like OpenAI's but costs far less, impacting market dynamics.

Trump’s youth gender policy

Recently, Trump's Executive Order aims to protect minors from “chemical and surgical mutilation” by cutting federal support for their gender transitions.

NY Post says the order blocks taxpayer dollars for child sex-change procedures, which are linked to potential irreversible impacts.

Forbes highlights that federal programs like Tricare and Medicaid are directly impacted, no longer covering certain gender transition procedures for minors.

Sacbee reports institutions receiving federal funds must halt such procedures to retain their support, impacting healthcare coverage for minors.

Finally, WSAZ mentions that Trump's move is part of a broader narrative emphasizing that these interventions are “harmful” and “irreversible.”