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Artificial Intelligence
phkrause replied to phkrause's topic in Politics (Mainly US) and other American interest items
đ€ AI gender gap Illustration: AĂŻda Amer/Axios. Stock: Getty Images Women are far more negative about AI than men are, Axios' Emily Peck writes from a new Morgan Stanley report. By the numbers: Morgan Stanley polled 2,000 consumers in late September about their overall perception of AI, positive or negative. It then measured net sentiment (subtracting one from the other). Men were considerably more positive (+30%) than women (-1%). đ 44% of women said they don't want a data center built near their home, compared with 36% of men. đ©âđ» Slightly more women (57%) said they didn't like AI because "it is developing too quickly without enough safeguards." That's compared to 54% of men. Men were more likely to express concerns about data privacy (49% versus 39% of women). Go deeper. -
Kevin H reacted to a post in a topic:
The authority of Ellen White...
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Kevin H reacted to a post in a topic:
The authority of Ellen White...
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Kevin H reacted to a post in a topic:
The authority of Ellen White...
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2025/26/27/28 Primaries & General Elections
phkrause replied to phkrause's topic in Politics (Mainly US) and other American interest items
đłïž Cook's huge swing Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios Cook Political Report unveiled a major shift in its midterm projections today, tilting 18 House seats toward Democrats. The big picture: Per Cook, Democrats need to win just 20% of the current toss-up races to reach a majority, assuming the seats that favor them in the nonpartisan analysis go Democrats' way. The shifts include: Five seats â in Iowa, Pennsylvania and Washington â moving from toss-ups to leaning toward Democrats, including Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks' (R-Iowa) tough rematch race against Democrat â Christina Bohannan. Four races â in Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina and Virginia â from leaning toward Republicans to toss-ups. Republicans' hold on other races in Kentucky, Maine, Pennsylvania, Arkansas and Indiana slipped, shifting them to Lean R or Likely R. Meanwhile, Democrats' hold on Nevada, New York and Nebraska races tightened. The other side: "House races are won in the districts, one by one, with battle-tested candidates and messages that work," NRCC spokesperson Mike Marinella said in a statement provided to Axios. "Pundits in D.C. can keep guessing, but voters on the ground have a clear contrast between common sense and crazy," he said, adding that "in November, we're going to win." â Avery Lotz -
Congress: The Senate & The House
phkrause replied to phkrause's topic in Politics (Mainly US) and other American interest items
đ€ Schumer's 2028 problems Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is going to have his hands full next Congress, even without a threat to his leadership or a primary challenge from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). Why it matters: Schumer will have to grapple with the presidential ambitions of up to eight of his senators who may care more about winning the White House than following their leader. Roughly one in six Democratic senators eyeing the campaign trail would add a degree of difficulty to a job that rarely lacks challenges, as former President Obama acknowledged this week. "Being the head of the Democratic Party is a pain in the butt, because you've got people from every walk of life," Obama said of Schumer at a fundraiser Wednesday. Flashback: This year's ICE funding fights gave Schumer a taste of how presidential ambitions can complicate governing. Potential 2028 contenders competed to take the toughest stance against ICE funding, even at the risk of a government shutdown. Zoom in: The tension between individual ambition and party unity could surface early in Schumer's tenure if he becomes majority leader. Democrats are promising to lower costs and govern responsibly, while insisting they'll challenge and investigate the Trump administration at every turn. Schumer and President Trump have a long, complicated relationship â and each other's cell numbers. Between the lines: Democrats could control majorities in both chambers, giving them immense power against Trump. But majority power is dependent on members being present and unified. Presidential contenders have incentives to spend time outside Washington and show how they differ from their fellow 2028 hopefuls in the Senate. They also may want to pick high-profile fights with the party establishment to prove their progressive bona fides. But Schumer faced a similar challenge during the 2020 presidential cycle, when he was minority leader and seven sitting senators sought the Democratic nomination. Attendance was the biggest headache as candidates crisscrossed the country, complicating Senate scheduling. But Democrats didn't lose any major votes despite their presidential hopefuls being on the campaign trail. Who we're watching: Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) has visited South Carolina, New Hampshire and Nevada (twice). Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.): South Carolina, Nevada, New Hampshire and Iowa. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.): South Carolina (twice), Nevada and Michigan. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.): South Carolina. Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.): Iowa and Nevada. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.): Iowa and New Hampshire (twice). Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.): Nevada (twice) and New Hampshire. Honorable mention: Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) is focused on winning reelection, so he has no documented early-primary-state visits yet. That hasn't stopped presidential rumors from swirling. Zoom out: First, Schumer needs to get to at least 51 seats in November, navigate a high-stakes lame-duck session, and then win a secret-ballot election to reclaim his title as majority leader. Some of his potential new members â especially if Democrats have a good night on Nov. 3 â aren't overly enthusiastic about supporting him. Candidates like Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan and James Talarico in Texas have not committed to voting for him. The bottom line: Presidential candidates want to stand out. Senate majority leaders need their members to blend in â and fall in line. â Hans Nichols and Stef Kight -
I don't know enough of the history and possible options to know if this is the same thing that I've been taught as the "New View of Paul" vs. the "Old View of Paul" The difference is the context that we read into the words of Paul. The "Old View of Paul" tends to read Paul in how he has been applied over church history, especially in the church/synogogue split of AD 135, the work of St. Augustine and the reformers especially Martin Luther. Desmond Ford was an expert in "The Old View of Paul." We find both Adventists and non-Adventist approaches. Among the non-Adventist approaches you will find arguments that the Sabbath and Kosher was done away. At least one commentary had the line "I wish I could have seen the look on Paul's face the first time he had a ham and cheese sandwitch." The "New View of Paul" tries to understand Paul's words in the context of when Paul wrote them. In recient years many Jewish scholars (including Rabbis) have rediscovered and fallen in love with the works of Paul. From a history of Jews saying "The man Jesus and the demon Paul" which viewed Paul through the "Old View of Paul" The New View of Paul makes Paul a faithful Jew, a true Sabbath keeper and eating only clean meats. That Paul offered the gentiles a non-nationalistic version of Judaism. An application of Judaism for outside of the Jewish world. For example the sacrifices we have the perfect sacrifice of Jesus. We have the feast days, but they were very much tied to the agriculture cycle of the land and does not have the same meaning to someone who is not connected to the agraculture of the land, so learn what you can but you don't need to try to follow them. Within the "New View of Paul" there is debate over whether he saw gentiles as needing to keep the Seventh-day Sabbath and eat kosher, but that he saw God expecting these from at least Jews even if they become Christians. Many (not all) believe that the church needs to make accomadations for Jews and those who want to keep the Seventh-day Sabbath to keep the Seventh-day Sabbath within the church.
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Death Row: the Death Penalty and Executions
phkrause replied to phkrause's topic in Politics (Mainly US) and other American interest items
Vance expresses doubts about Pentagon plan to livestream Fort Hood shooterâs execution HEBRON, Ky. (AP) â Vice President JD Vance cast doubt Friday on whether the Pentagon will livestream the execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan in December but told reporters that if it is livestreamed, âIâm not going to be watching it.â https://apnews.com/article/fort-hood-execution-hegseth-vance-e806a305d9c6460aa20b14e40047680e? -
Death Row: the Death Penalty and Executions
Hanseng replied to phkrause's topic in Politics (Mainly US) and other American interest items
15 These six cities shall be for refuge for the people of Israel, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills any person without intent may flee there. 16 "But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. 17 And if he struck him down with a stone tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. 18 Or if he struck him down with a wooden tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death. 19 The avenger of blood shall himself put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death. 20 And if he pushed him out of hatred or hurled something at him, lying in wait, so that he died, 21 or in enmity struck him down with his hand, so that he died, then he who struck the blow shall be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him. 22 "But if he pushed him suddenly without enmity, or hurled anything on him without lying in wait 23 or used a stone that could cause death, and without seeing him dropped it on him, so that he died, though he was not his enemy and did not seek his harm, Numbers 35 30 "If anyone kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the evidence of witnesses. But no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness. 31 Moreover, you shall accept no ransom for the life of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he shall be put to death. 32 And you shall accept no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the high priest. 33 You shall not pollute the land in which you live, for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it. 34 You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, for I the LORD dwell in the midst of the people of Israel." Numbers 35 -
Kevin H reacted to a post in a topic:
The Ultimate Cost
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Donald Trump has sweeping plans for a second administration. Hereâs what heâs proposed
phkrause replied to phkrause's topic in Politics (Mainly US) and other American interest items
Trump establishes committee to investigate Federal Reserveâs Lisa Cook in latest effort to fire her WASHINGTON (AP) â President Donald Trump opened another chapter in his effort to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook Friday by establishing a âcommittee of inquiryâ to investigate allegations that she made false statements in mortgage applications. https://apnews.com/article/cook-federal-reserve-trump-debef61d38fbb6a74e84a57fe8e26fc5? Trump strikes deal with Putin to get diesel in sharp reversal of US policy weeks before midterms WASHINGTON (AP) â President Donald Trump said he has struck a deal to obtain diesel from Russia, a stunning reversal of years of U.S. pressure on Moscow over its war with Ukraine and an attempt to address high fuel prices ahead of the U.S. midterm elections. https://apnews.com/article/trump-russia-diesel-midterms-12baccc7aade559bf329079b0548c9da? ps:The US doesn't need Russia's diesel!! -
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The U.S. Supreme Court
phkrause replied to phkrause's topic in Politics (Mainly US) and other American interest items
A new Supreme Court term begins with cases on climate change, immigration and gun rights WASHINGTON (AP) â The Supreme Courtâs new term begins Monday with cases on climate change, religious rights and President Donald Trumpâs crackdown on immigration high on the agenda. https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-immigration-climate-change-religious-rights-voting-389e2c111d351361c406e5ed7e0728c5? -
Taliban firmly in control in Afghanistan 25 years after US-led invasion to oust them KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) â Dr. Nigar Nangrahari was on a night shift in a Kabul hospital when the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan began 25 years ago â an event that would shape her and her countryâs future for decades to come. https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-taliban-us-invasion-anniversary-war-ee2cf4ec49abcb514d53b4ced748898b?
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Mamdaniâs Oct. 7 commemoration outrages supporters and critics of Israel NEW YORK (AP) â New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani tried to thread a needle on the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks by condemning Hamasâ âhorrific war crimesâ and denouncing Israelâs âgenocideâ in Gaza. It did not go well. https://apnews.com/article/nyc-israel-mamdani-zohran-jewish-hamas-80287b04b0a4f4e73bed42884be2ee5f?
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Crimes, Homicides & Suicides
phkrause replied to phkrause's topic in Politics (Mainly US) and other American interest items
First suicide memorial by a US archdiocese signals Catholic Church's compassionate shift A memorial for lives lost to suicide and their surviving families who grieve them has been dedicated by the Archdiocese of Chicago. The archdiocese says it's the first memorial of its kind in the United States and illustrates the Catholic Churchâs major shift to a more compassionate understanding of suicide and mental illness. Read more. Why this matters: Catholic teaching still considers suicide a grave sin. But it acknowledges that mental health problems can lead people to suicide and says salvation is possible for those who take their own lives. Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV has dedicated some of his monthly prayer intentions to people suffering from mental health problems and suicidal thoughts. He called on the church to become âa safe space where everyone has a place." Though the memorial is on Catholic grounds, it seeks to support mourners across faiths. It features sculptures of an angel and bronze doves that rise upwards in a symbol of âhope and transcendence.â RELATED COVERAGE †Priest, at funeral, criticized teenager who killed himself Family loses appeal in lawsuit over priestâs funeral remarks Pope convenes cardinals and asks their priorities for 2 years, with Latin Mass off the agenda -
phkrause reacted to a post in a topic:
3 word devotional
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This Day in History
phkrause replied to phkrause's topic in Word of the Day (and other daily nuggets)
THIS DAY IN HISTORY October 9 1967 Che Guevara is executed The socialist revolutionary and guerrilla leader is killed at age 39 by the Bolivian army, one day after the U.S.-military-backed Bolivian forces captured Guevara. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT Arts & Entertainment 1946 âThe Iceman Cometh,â by Eugene OâNeill, opens on Broadway Colonial America 1635 Rhode Island founder banished from Massachusetts Crime 1942 A Chicago bootlegger escapes from prison European History 1974 Oskar Schindlerâcredited with saving 1,200 Jews during the Holocaustâdies 1975 Andrei Sakharov wins Nobel Peace Prize Inventions & Science 1936 Hoover Dam begins transmitting electricity to Los Angeles 1988 Rotary engine inventor Felix Wankel dies 1992 Meteorite crashes into Chevy Malibu Natural Disasters & Environment 1963 Landslide kills thousands in Italy -
South African-born jurist Navi Pillay wins Nobel Peace Prize for her work in international justice OSLO, Norway (AP) â Navi Pillay, a South African-born jurist and former U.N. human rights chief whose career has spanned from defending the rights of an imprisoned Nelson Mandela to leading a panel that found that Israel committed genocide in Gaza, won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for efforts that the award committee said promoted international law as it comes under attack. https://apnews.com/article/nobel-peace-prize-f60744c07df969e50e9e69786fdb7de1?
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> Nobel Peace Prize winner is due to be announced this morning at 5 am ET; watch live broadcast (More) | ... and did you know Adolf Hitler was once nominated? (More via podcast) > President Donald Trump says the US will not attack Iran before next month's midterm elections (More) | USS Abraham Lincoln returns to San Diego Bay after deployment that included 265 uninterrupted days at sea (More) > Russian glide bomb kills at least 30 people on buses in eastern Ukraine (More) | See war updates (More)
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Business & Markets
phkrause replied to phkrause's topic in Politics (Mainly US) and other American interest items
> US stock markets close mixed (S&P 500 -0.5%, Dow +0.1%, Nasdaq -1.3%) after Brent crude oil prices rise 4.1% to $104.3 per barrel (More) | How soaring diesel prices may affect you beyond the gas pump (More) > Trump administration suspends Microsoft, Adobe, and at least six other tech companies from program that allows skilled foreign workers to apply for green cards, accusing them of abusing the visa system (More) | How does it work? (More) > Nvidia and Oracle shares fall 3% and 5.5%, respectively, on reports that OpenAI's annualized revenue is $20B short of a prior $70B estimate due to investor miscalculations (More) -
> Computer scientist Margaret Hamilton, who led the development of the flight software for NASA's Apollo program, dies at age 90 (More) | SpaceX's Crew-12 astronauts return to Earth after nearly eight months in space (More) > Underwater acoustics from healthy coral reefs help restore degraded reefs and rebuild their fish communities (More) | Why are reefs getting sick? (More, w/video) > Collagen-eating enzymes that emerged roughly 550 million years ago may explain why later soft-bodied animals are largely absent from the fossil record, while earlier ones are more commonly preserved (More)
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> Canadian author Anne Carson wins Nobel Prize in literature for her work blending ancient Greek and Roman works with contemporary influences (More) | See all previous winners (More) > Cleveland Guardians force Game 5 against Chicago White Sox in American League Division Series tomorrow at 8 pm ET (More) | Full MLB playoff bracket and schedule (More) > Podcaster Joe Rogan renews multiyear partnership with Spotify that carries a reported earnout of $250M; âThe Joe Rogan Experienceâ has topped Edison Researchâs list of the most listened-to podcasts in the US since 2019 (More)
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Slow and Steady Aging Scientists identified unique genetic traits that may explain how Jonathan, a roughly 194-year-old giant tortoise and the worldâs oldest land animal, has lived so long. The study results, published this week, could offer insights into human longevity. Jonathan is believed to have hatched in 1832, the same year author Lewis Carroll and architect Gustave Eiffel were born. The 400-pound tortoise lives on a remote island off Africaâs west coast, where researchers traveled to swab his saliva. The sample revealed 287 genetic variants unique to Jonathan, including some linked to cancer suppression and inflammation reduction. Researchers also found that his molecular "on-off" switches regulating DNA repair, energy production, and other processes were resistant to wear and tear, resembling those of much younger tortoises. Changes in these switchesâcalled the epigenomeâare one of the nine hallmarks of aging (w/video). Experts say Jonathan's longevity is likely due in part to his vegetable-heavy diet, favorable tropical climate, and attentive veterinary care. Watch him get a bath here.
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Hurricane Isaias is expected to make landfall along the US Gulf Coast late tonight or early tomorrow as a Category 2 or higher storm. See updated forecast cone. The storm, packing sustained winds of 100 mph as of this writing, is expected to strike between Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle, bringing storm surges of up to 7 feet, heavy rainfall, and damaging winds (why the stormâs so-called âdirty sideâ faces the greatest surge risk). Officials have issued evacuation orders, closed schools, and declared states of emergency in Florida and Alabama. Heavy rainfall is expected to spread inland across the eastern US this weekend. Isaias is the first Atlantic hurricane of the 2026 season, forming more than four months after the season began. Its late arrival is attributed partly to El Niño, a weather pattern that increases wind shear and disrupts hurricane formation. The storm formed just one day shy of tying a 121-year-old record for the latest first Atlantic hurricane, set Oct. 8, 1905. Isaias makes landfall as hurricane, hammering US Gulf Coast with powerful winds, dangerous flooding GULF BREEZE, Fla. (AP) â Isaias crashed into the U.S. Gulf Coast on Friday as a dangerous Category 2 hurricane, hammering communities in Alabama and the Florida Panhandle with damaging winds, heavy rain, flooding and life-threatening storm surges. https://apnews.com/article/hurricane-isaias-landfall-gulf-alabama-mississippi-919a46d4bd705726b4e57f18ce677ac5? đ Hurricane Isaias strengthened into a major hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph. Forecasters are warning of "life-threatening storm surge" from the mouth of the Mississippi River to Suwannee, Florida, plus damaging winds and power outages across the Gulf and inland. Latest forecast.
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Artificial Intelligence
phkrause replied to phkrause's topic in Politics (Mainly US) and other American interest items
A new college course proposal: "Living AI" Illustration: AĂŻda Amer/Axios. Stock: Getty Images Jim writes: I met with faculty and the AI task force at Furman University in Greenville, S.C., and got a smart, provocative question: What do I wish liberal arts colleges taught students about AI to prep them for working? In other words, what do CEOs want and need based on the known-knowns of AI capabilities today and our evolving expectations? đ My dream: Every college student, from Day 1, takes a course every semester called "Living AI." It's constantly updated â how to use the newest models and how to grapple with their ethical, philosophical and practical consequences. It fits into a three-track approach: 1. đ§ Think without it. In most classrooms, greatly limit or ban AI. Courses built to deepen and widen thinking should force students to read, reason and write on their own. We need thinkers and problem-solvers. In an AI-saturated world, original thinking becomes your differentiator. You can't steer or judge AI's output if you don't know anything about the world yourself. 2. đ€ Work with it. Every major should graduate students with real expertise in using AI for that specific field. A marketing grad should run AI like a pro for marketing. Same for biology, finance, history, nursing. This means faculty teaching field-specific application, not just the generic tutorial. 3. đĄ Live with it. That's the Living AI course concept for everyone. Hire realists. Find clear-thinking, practical teachers who use and track the models and capabilities, not doomers or cheerleaders. People who marvel at its new capabilities, then clinically assess the real-world impact. Keep it alive. This can't be a static course. The models change constantly, and capabilities grow exponentially. So the "Living" part is vital: Treat it like an ever-evolving topic. Try to match the pace of the class with the pace of tech, which is hard but doable. Teach beyond the tech. These students will face wild philosophical and ethical questions: What is consciousness? Can a machine be a friend? What counts as your own work? Who is responsible when an AI agent screws up? Use each week's AI news to tee up those debates. Treat it as living history. No one gets to sit this one out. This is our electricity moment. It's a generational challenge and opportunity. The course should push students to think about shaping AI to benefit society, not just themselves. đ Worth a read: The New York Times dug into research on students' brains on AI (gift link). This, buried midway through the story, should be stamped on every classroom wall: "These studies so far agree: Artificial intelligence is affecting how people, especially the young, learn and remember. Whether we will be dumber as a result might depend on how â not if â we use AI." -
Donald Trump has sweeping plans for a second administration. Hereâs what heâs proposed
phkrause replied to phkrause's topic in Politics (Mainly US) and other American interest items
Corrupt Bargains View in browser Kimberly Guilfoyle was so close to getting it right. The Trump hanger-onâformer fiancĂ©e to Don Jr. and the current ambassador to Greeceâwas exchanging messages with a man named Eric Deters, according to a bombshell Wall Street Journal story last night. Deters, a right-wing podcast host, failed political candidate, and suspended lawyer in Kentucky, wanted help in clearing up some tax issues, and also wanted the Trump administration to extradite a doctor whose alleged fraud victims he was advising in a legal case. Guilfoyle, the messages indicate, wanted moneyâin one instance, a $100,000 wireâand she wanted it untraceable. Guilfoyle was right to worry about secrecy. She was about to begin confirmation hearings for her ambassadorship, and understood the pay-to-play could hurt her. Yet neither she nor Deters could stop breaking the Stringer Bell rule by recording their skullduggery in writing. âIt wonât show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express,â Guilfoyle wrote. âPlease.â And in another: âHoney please I need you to get this done for me today.â Yet even as she laid these instructions out, she kept haranguing Deters for indiscretion. âI really wish you would stop papering all these things. Itâs really dangerous and not helpful to you or me while you could simply just call me on signal,â she wrote, referring to the encrypted messaging app. In one message, she wrote, âIf you write an email or a text about, lâm gonna kill you cause I love you but youâre so out of control.â Unfortunately for Guilfoyle, her Signal messages were not as safe a space as she might have wished. (The Journal does not reveal how it viewed the messages. Guilfoyleâs lawyer broadly disputed their authenticity to the paper but offered no details.) Somehow, this is not the only Trump scandal with Balkan ties in the news this week. The New York Times reported that James Blair and Chris LaCivita, who are ostensibly President Trumpâs top political advisers, traveledâduring an intense midterm campaign in which Republicans appear to be on the verge of serious setbacksâto advise a candidate in Bosnia and Herzegovinaâs self-governing Serbian entity. Both of these stories show the way that many people in Trumpâs orbit view their positions not as public service but as a profit center. Thereâs a long and often depressing pattern of former officials capitalizing on government and political work, but Trumpâs aides arenât even willing to wait until they take their leave to start taking. Forget a team of rivals. Trump world is a team of mercenaries, in some cases literally. Jared Kushner, who was a senior adviser in his first presidency and is married to his daughter Ivanka, continues to work as an envoy for Trump while pursuing business deals around the world. As Dexter Filkins wrote in The New Yorker in September, Kushnerâs record as a diplomat is underwhelming, yet his financial gains have been enormous. âHe represents a new kind of Washington figure, for whom public office serves as a means to extraordinary wealth,â Filkins wrote. Kushner and Ivanka Trump even have their own Balkan boondoggle, an attempt to develop an island in Albania that has run into legal and political difficulties. Earlier this year, the Times reported that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick helped negotiate access to Kazakh tungsten reserves for an American mining company, and the federal government provided $1.6 billion in financing. Lutnickâs sons and Trumpâs sons are both involved with companies that stand to profit from the deal (though representatives for them have said that they did not play a role in the deal). A Washington Post investigation this summer noted that Trumpâs sons have invested heavily in defense-technology companies; the companies have scored âat least $3.2 billion in direct government business since the sons invested and an additional $3.1 billion in future contract options.â (Company representatives told the Post that they secured their business without assistance from Trumpâs sons.) Where do any of these people get the idea that this is appropriate or that they can get away with it? From the president himself, naturally. Trump has moved on from small-scale grifts such as charging the Secret Service exorbitant fees to stay in his hotels during his first term to far more ambitious and lucrative schemes such as crypto ventures; even conservative estimates put his gains during this term alone in the billions. Though Trump doesnât have ethical scruples, he does have a sense of right and wrong: Itâs right for him to profiteer, but wrong for others to make too much money from his name. Thatâs where Blair, LaCivita, and Guilfoyle may run into trouble. Politico reports that Republicansâ âknives are now fully outâ for the two consultants. Trump himself weighed in on Truth Social, saying he was unaware of their clients but adding that he âwill, on reflection, ask them and, if thereâs a conflict, I will terminate them, immediately!â Firing them just before the midterms seems risky, as it might just create more chaos for Republicans, but they could make for good scapegoats after the fact. Trump has not spoken publicly about the Guilfoyle story, although Vice President Vance said he didnât âlove that.â In a further embarrassment, the article emerged while Secretary of State Marco Rubio was visiting Athens. Perhaps inevitably, Guilfoyleâs relationship with Deters ended acrimoniously. âI have paid you $300,000 over the years,â he wrote her in 2025, adding, in an amusingly self-negating flourish, âAs of this memo, I have not received one favor. I am not naive or a sucker.â She was not happy, either. âWhat a nightmare youâll literally cost me my ambassadorship stop writing,â she told him at one point, per the Journal. Her warning may have been too late. Related: MAGA is making the world safe for corruption. The watchdogs are barking themselves hoarse. ps:It's astounding the amount of corruption from this administration!! And not one word from those that complained about the Biden, Obama, Bush2, Clinton, Bush1, Reagan, Nixon, etc.! Actually all combined they don't equal what we've seen from this administration!!!!! Absolutely Pathetic!! -
Gun violence, Terrorism and senseless killings!!
phkrause replied to phkrause's topic in Politics (Mainly US) and other American interest items
Man with a gun and knife is fatally shot by security at Nashville federal courthouse, police say A man armed with a pistol and knife was fatally shot by a security officer Thursday just inside the busy entrance of a federal courthouse in Tennesseeâs largest city, authorities said. Read More. Immigration agents shoot a man during arrest in New York City October 08, 2026 Federal immigration agents shot and wounded a Dominican man while arresting him in New York City on Thursday, in what the Department of Homeland Security called a âtargeted enforcement operation.â The agency did not describe exactly what led to the shooting. Read more -
2025/26/27/28 Primaries & General Elections
phkrause replied to phkrause's topic in Politics (Mainly US) and other American interest items
Rogers and El-Sayed are set for their first debate in Michigan's Senate race after online sparring Republican Mike Rogers and Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, competing for an open U.S. Senate seat in Michigan, are set for their first campaign debate Thursday after weeks of sparring both online and in advertisements that are flooding the state in one of the nationâs most closely watched races. Read More. -
The Housing Market and Home Ownership
phkrause replied to phkrause's topic in Politics (Mainly US) and other American interest items
Average long-term US mortgage rate at highest level in nearly 3 years after 7th weekly rise in a row Mortgage rates marched higher for the seventh week in a row, driving the average long-term U.S. home loan rate to its highest level in nearly three years.The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage climbed to 7.40% from 7.28% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the average rate was 6.30%. Read More.