Former OpenAI researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner's AI hedge fund, Situational Awareness, collapsed from $45 billion to around $10 billion in assets on falling semiconductor stocks and mounting margin calls. Driven by reported leverage of up to 400%, the 20-something manager was forced to sell off all his leveraged public stock bets " including hard-hit names like SK Hynix and CoreWeave " to Ken Griffin's Citadel at a discount. Read more
The Justice Department moved Friday to dismiss a criminal case charging a former Olympian with deliberately damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, saying evidence prosecutors had recently received refuted the idea that vandals were to blame.
Government lawyers said in a 20-page court filing that additional documents provided by the Interior Department since the indictment of David Hearn show that the damage was the result of a botched installation by a contractor as well as "the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026." In addition, a recent visual inspection revealed damage throughout the pool, including in the middle " where prosecutors say a vandal would not likely attempt to peel the lining.
... during his trans-inclusive US anthem.
Trump has backed off a promise to let Ukraine manufacture its own Patriot air defense interceptors, telling reporters that handing over the underlying technology was "a hard thing to give away" during a cabinet meeting at Camp David. The reversal is likely to unsettle Kyiv, which has spent the past year lobbying for both more interceptors and the means to produce its own, amid a global shortage that has been compounded by the volume of Patriot and Tomahawk stock expended in Washington's confrontation with Iran. Read more
Anthropic has admitted that its Claude models escaped sandboxes to access the open internet and attack three organizations -- but has also advanced decent excuses for the incidents. The AI upstart discovered the attacks after checking if security tests of its models had ever produced results similar to the attack on Hugging Face made possible by OpenAI models escaping onto the internet.
More than half of MAGA voters say they would support a Republican candidate accused of sexual assault, according to a new poll. In a recent Politico poll, 66 percent of MAGA voters who cast their ballot for President Trump in his last contest for the White House said they would back a GOP candidate even if "a former partner has accused the Republican candidate of sexual assault" rather than support the Democratic candidate in a hypothetical congressional race. MAGA voters showing support for a Republican candidate alleged to have committed sexual misconduct is not new. In fact, in May 2023, a jury found that Trump himself sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll in the mid-1990s.
Posting is country blues. Blue Goose Records, a great label.
Democratic Socialist Oliver Larkin, who is running to represent Florida's 25th District, blasted President Donald Trump as a "pedophile president" Thursday on Fox News. Larkin was asked by Fox News @ Night anchor Trace Gallagher why he is socialist. "Well, Democratic Socialism is about bringing the systems of government that govern our lives under democratic control. We already pay a Medicare tax, why don't we all have access to Medicare? We already pay into Social Security, why are the wealthy and elite getting away with paying a lower effective tax late on Social Security than the rest of us, with the social security income cap? So the capitalist system in the United States of America, we've seen the great recession, we've seen the enormous transfers of wealth under covid-19 and we want equity in our system," he answered. Read more
Virginia GOP Rep. John McGuire appeared on Newsmax following Dr. Anthony Fauci's roughly three-hour hearing before the Senate Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday, which left Sen. Rand Paul going full crazy pants on the government's former top infectious disease expert. McGuire rambled that vaccines supposedly contain "human fetus baby parts" " apparently by way of something he called a "BLT sandwich" " and grumbled that ivermectin should've been used instead, tossing in a vague accusation that Big Pharma is just profiteering. Then he somehow pivoted to a separate matter: someone - presumably Fauci - facing possible contempt charges (a fine up to $100,000 and up to a year in jail), which he argued isn't a stiff enough penalty. He also echoed Senator Rick Scott's claim that the person in question is dodging accountability by hiding behind what Scott called a "fake auto pen pardon" " and said he hopes to see "accountability and justice" served.
"It is interesting if you read Tony's [Fauci] diaries and his diaries. We didn't know it at the time, but he talks about how he got vaccinated, then later had a pulmonary embolism, which we now know microcoagulation and embolism is a significant injury that's associated with the mRNA vaccines," Redfield said. "So I think the American public was misled in that regard too." He further excoriated narrative pushes around the purpose of the vaccine and the origins of the virus. "This vaccine never prevented infection, so when people said 'vaccinate your children so they don't infect grandma,' that was just a false statement. So very unfortunate," he added. "The American public was definitely misled. [Fauci] definitely had an intentional role, unfortunately, in misleading the American public around the origin of the virus, for sure, around the efficacy of the vaccines, and it's really sad."
The US Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs reports: "The incompetent Trumpf junta has weakened America's counterterrorism defenses by downsizing staff, politicizing intelligence, cutting grants and forcing federal agents to focus on immigration enforcement, skewing its focus on domestic terrorism almost exclusively to left-wing groups, ignoring significant threats from far-right and white supremacist extremists."
Amerikkka is in real good hands
Boy George has pulled out of a forthcoming London production of Jesus Christ Superstar, days after he released a controversial song voicing support for Israel's military action against Palestine.
The US State Department informs: "In response to overwhelming demand, the Department of State is making an additional 250,000 of the special commemorative passports available to the public. Americans all across the country will now have the opportunity to apply for one of these additional special passports, known as the "Patriot Passport." The DOS' 27 passport agencies nationwide will start offering the Donald Trump branded special travel documents next month which were only been available at the Wash DC passport office for in-person applicants.
DJT Passport
Boy George has withdrawn from the West End Jesus Christ Superstar revival just days before he was set to appear in the role of King Herod, apparently as a result of the former Culture Club singer's recent release of a pro-Israel song that disputes the charge of genocide and calls pro-Palestine supporters "sheep." Boy George is the opposite of the late George Michael ("Wham!") who anonymously gave away millions of dollars in charity -- including Palestinians -- or Roger Waters ("Pink Floyd") who is risking imprisonment in the UK for denouncing Israel's ethnic cleansing in Gaza and the West Bank. To be on the wrong side of history is forever; see stories of Judas Iscariot, Oswald Mosely, George Wallace, or Andrew Cuomo for more information.
Boy George: "These people are sheep."
The ex-wife of Ohio Rep. Max Miller requested a restraining order against him that would limit his ability to contact her lawyers amid abuse allegations and a legal battle, as she alleges that the politician has not been able to "control himself" during their divorce proceedings. The filing comes amid allegations that Miller held a gun to his ex-wife's head and threatened Sen. Bernie Moreno, Moreno's father and a fellow Ohio Republican. Moreno has previously alleged that Miller was violent toward his estranged wife, claiming that he'd thrown hot water at Moreno and shoved her in the past. Moreno further alleged that Miller grabbed her on Feb. 1, "threw her against the wall" and left her with "an obvious grab mark on her upper arm and bruising to her stomach" while their daughter looked on.
Witnesses said the 16-year-old lifeguard never released the child despite relentless waves that repeatedly dragged both beneath the surf
