Meta cut 8,000 jobs. CEO Mark Zuckerberg says AI is creating more work—but not inside Meta – The Economic Times
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Iran readied three huge strikes on Ukraine but ‘pulled out last minute’ | World | News– www.express.co.uk
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Iran has claimed it was poised to strike Ukraine before an apology from Kyiv led to the attack being cancelled. Mohsen Rezaee, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, alleged the country’s armed forces had been preparing to target three sites in retaliation for a strike on a ship in the Caspian Sea that Iranian officials said had been transporting military cargo.
Speaking to Iranian state television, Rezaei said: “We were set to strike three sites in Ukraine, but cancelled the attack after Ukraine’s apology.” He did not provide any evidence to support the claim or identify the alleged targets, and Ukraine has not publicly responded. His comments came after a July 25 attack that Iranian officials say killed one crew member and destroyed the vessel.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later demanded compensation from Ukraine, writing on X: “Iran does not seek escalation either, but made clear any attack on our citizens or interests is unacceptable.”
25 US states sue Trump administration over latest tariffs – nhk.or.jp
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Judge dismisses Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy charges against Oath Keepers – The Washington Post
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Senate Panel Advances Blanche’s AG Nomination After GOP Standoff › American Greatness– amgreatness.com
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The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-10 on Tuesday to advance Todd Blanche’s nomination for attorney general to the full Senate, ending weeks of delay caused by a dispute among Republicans themselves.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., can now schedule a confirmation vote for Blanche, acting attorney general since April.
The nomination had been stalled by two outgoing Republican senators, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas, who withheld support until Blanche rescinded an order creating a $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, which he did Sunday night.
Cornyn said he used his leverage to ensure the fund, created through a Justice Department settlement with the IRS, would not extend beyond the plaintiffs in the original lawsuit against the agency.
Campus free speech hits 20-year high under Trump administration– www.washingtontimes.com
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Colleges are purging restrictive speech codes under the Trump administration and removing “bias reporting” policies that solicited anonymous complaints about microaggressions, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression reports.
The Philadelphia-based free-speech group flagged a record-low 66 schools, or 13.2% of all institutions, with a “red light” rating for written policies stifling campus protests, speaking events and online discussions. That’s down 1.5 percentage points from last year, and reverses two consecutive years of increases under the Biden administration.
At the same time, FIRE’s 20th annual report awarded a “green light” to 76 schools — 15.4% of 493 institutions surveyed — for placing no limits on First Amendment rights. That’s up from 73 last year and marks the second consecutive year of green lights outnumbering reds.
“Pressure from many state legislatures, as well as the reelection of Donald Trump and subsequent federal investigations, lawsuits, and shifts in research funding, have prompted internal review at many schools,” FIRE senior program counsel Ryan Ansloan said in a statement. “We hope this will translate to taking the side of free speech when controversies arise.”
FIRE started rating university speech codes with green, yellow or red lights in 2006, when just 2.4% of schools earned a green light and 97.6% received a yellow or red light.
31 States Now Opting Into Trump’s Federal School Choice Program – RedState– redstate.com
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School choice is still a hot topic for parents, even parents in some deep blue districts who are caught between the teachers’ unions and the local anti-school choice Democrats who are the teacher’s union pets. The Trump administration, thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, has now created a federal school choice program, and 31 states have opted in.
That’s what we call a good start.
Thirty-one states have opted in to the federal Education Freedom Scholarship Program, while 19 states and Washington, D.C. have not done so, ahead of the January 2027 deadline.
The Trump administration launched the school choice initiative in 2025 through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. This created a federal income tax credit of up to $1,700 annually for individuals who donate to certified Scholarship Granting Organizations.
Trump says he’s cancelling strikes on Iran as ‘perimeters of a deal’ agreed– www.euronews.com
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Published on
US President Donald Trump has announced he is cancelling a new attack on Iran after Tehran and a number of unspecified Middle Eastern countries asked the US to postpone strikes as the “perimeters of a deal” had been agreed.
“This would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
He added that he had called off strikes subject to “rapidly” making a deal but warned that US forces remained “locked and loaded and ready to go.”
Capitol agenda: Senate stopgap sets up fall clash with House– www.politico.com
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Senators on Monday will take up a bipartisan funding patch measure that sets them up for a clash with House lawmakers in September.
Senate appropriators released stopgap bill text Sunday that would fund federal agencies through Dec. 11 at current levels, with some exceptions. Leaders set an initial procedural vote tonight with hopes of passing the measure before the Senate breaks for recess.
But the bill includes several rebukes of President Donald Trump, and House lawmakers will need to decide when they return in the fall whether to take up the Senate’s version or try to muscle their own version forward.
Senators are also facing an immediate deadline crunch: Leaders will need bipartisan time agreements to fast-track legislation in order to accomplish their ambitious schedule this week, including for the funding patch. The chamber’s Republicans are preparing to potentially stay in session through the weekend, two people granted anonymity to disclose private scheduling told POLITICO.
Trump’s despair over Iran revealed in memo seeking ‘creative and unconventional’ ways to punish the enemy: report– www.independent.co.uk
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To Secure AG Job, Blanche Kills off Anti-Weaponization Fund Designed to Compensate Victims of Gov’t Witch Hunts, Like Most J6ers– www.westernjournal.com
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To expedite his confirmation as a permanent replacement to former Attorney General Pam Bondi, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has rescinded the Department of Justice’s May order establishing an “anti-weaponization fund.”
Blanche announced the rescinding of the May 18 order by publishing a signed memo to the social media site X late Sunday evening.
“Although the Acting Attorney General has repeatedly advised that the Fund is not moving forward, and the Department has repeatedly represented to district courts that the Fund is not moving forward, today’s Order officially rescinds the May 18, 2026 Order,” the signed memo read.
Blanche wrote in his post that he’d reached this decision after having “met with committee members and Senators over the past several weeks and addressed any concerns or outstanding questions.”
How to Stop China from Freeriding on American AI– warontherocks.com
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The release of the Chinese open-weight AI model Kimi K3 has compressed a year’s worth of unresolved AI policy debate into a single news cycle. On July 21, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened sanctions against Chinese labs found to have built their models on “theft,” reporting that the government is “finding watermarks of our U.S. large language models on many of the Chinese models.” The following day, White House science advisor Michael Kratsios clarified that the Chinese AI lab behind K3, Moonshot AI, had built a sophisticated platform to copy Anthropic’s Fable model while evading detection.
Industry has been vocal about its own views, with Nvidia’s Jensen Huang declaring that American companies should “absolutely” use Chinese models that outcompete American counterparts on price. In the Washington Post, investor Bill Gurley argued that treating open models as a danger to be licensed and contained runs afoul of the free-market principles that have long powered American innovation.
Blanche withdraws Trump fund plan in writing, ahead of AG confirmation vote– www.bbc.co.uk
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Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche has formally withdrawn President Donald Trump’s plan for a fund that could have been used to compensate people prosecuted over the US Capitol riot by Trump’s supporters in 2021.
The move clears the way for Blanche to be confirmed by US senators to his job on a permanent basis.
Trump’s Republican Party previously lacked the votes for this to happen because a pair of senators were not sufficiently satisfied by verbal assurances from Blanche that the planned fund was dead.
In a post on X late on Sunday, external, Blanche said he had “met with committee members and Senators over the past several weeks and addressed any concerns or outstanding questions”.
Abdul El-Sayed, accused of sexism, says his contempt is for most everyone – The Washington Post
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New Jersey Democrat Josh Gottheimer warns DSA are using party as ‘vessel’ for communism | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com
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The New Jersey congressman warned that the Democratic Socialists of America are attempting to reshape his party while distancing himself from the movement’s platform.
Democratic Representative Josh Gottheimer has warned that members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are attempting to transform the Democratic Party into a vehicle for socialist and communist ideology, saying they “are not Democrats” and should form their own political party.
“I’m a very proud, common-sense Democrat, and I don’t think DSA members are Democrats. They’re socialists,” Gottheimer told Fox. “I’m all for them having their own party if they want one, but if they’re trying to take over our party, that’s unacceptable to me… They’re trying to use the Democratic Party as a vessel for their ideas. As you heard in some of these conventions, literally, they’re supporting the Communist Manifesto and Trotsky. They’re anti-American, they’re anti-cop, they don’t believe in borders.”
GOP Congressman Warns Liberal California Billionaire Is Sabotaging Republican Primary– slaynews.com
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A clean-energy super PAC funded almost entirely by a major Democrat donor is pouring millions of dollars into Tennessee’s Republican primary in an effort to defeat Trump-backed Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN).
The Invest in Tomorrow Coalition has spent roughly $1 million opposing Ogles and supporting his challenger, former Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher, before purchasing another $700,000 in advertising ahead of Thursday’s primary.
Federal Election Commission records show the group is bankrolled by Chris Larsen, the liberal California billionaire and chairman of cryptocurrency company Ripple.
Javier Milei Just Proposed a Great Idea. Every Government Should Follow His Lead. – PJ Media– pjmedia.com
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Javier Milei has done great things for Argentina — and honestly, the entire region — and will continue to do so, but I have to admit that his latest proposal left me weak in the knees. He’s calling it the grillete fiscal or the “fiscal shackle,” and it’s part of a larger reform of the Central Bank’s charter that he’s sending to the country’s Congress, possibly for a mid-to-late-August vote.
I said we would achieve a fiscal balance in our first year in office, and we achieved it in the first month. Today, we can say that we lifted fourteen million Argentines out of poverty.
LONG LIVE FREEDOM, DAMN IT…!!! pic.twitter.com/7CYUTZcezE
— Milei in English – Official Account (@jmilei_english) August 1, 2026
South Korea focuses on drone mine counters, naval gunnery as attritable unmanned threats proliferate– www.washingtontimes.com
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SEOUL, South Korea — As Ukraine and Iran battle larger, better-armed, high-tech adversaries using economical and attritable unmanned systems, armed forces around the world are taking on board the key lessons.
Take the South Korean navy, which is working up skillsets and technologies capable of countering these asymmetric threats.
The middle power’s navy conducted its first-ever mine-clearance drill combining a crewed vessel with multiple unmanned systems Monday, according to reports from the southeastern port city of Busan.
The trials involved both the South Korean navy and arms company Hanwha Systems, and included an artificial intelligence component. Assets engaged were a 730-ton minesweeper, aerial reconnaissance drones, two surface drones and underwater drones.
Gov. Landry wants to eliminate fraud in government programs using AI – KTALnews.com– news.google.com
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Gov. Landry wants to eliminate fraud in government programs using AI KTALnews.com
Uncertainty on Iranians’ minds as Trump fluctuates on war and talk | US-Israel war on Iran News– www.aljazeera.com
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Tehran, Iran – For months now, US President Donald Trump has been making nearly daily proclamations about the war on Iran – from threats of extensive bombing to claims of renewed negotiations. But Faezeh, a financial firm employee in Iran’s capital, says she has long stopped paying attention.
“His words certainly impact our lives, but I try to escape this toxic environment of uncertainty by focusing on what I can control and protecting myself and my loved ones,” the 27-year-old told Al Jazeera.
She is not the only one to do so.
As the war approaches its six-month mark, a number of Iranians are opting against chasing the non-stop headlines in an effort to protect their mental health. This week, as the threat of large-scale US military action once again loomed large, the level of expectation and concern among Iranians appeared to be much lower than on April 7, when the US president warned that “a whole civilisation will die tonight”, only to announce a ceasefire shortly afterwards.
“The US used to have presidents who talked less and did more,” asserted Roham, a colleague of Faezeh at the financial company in central Tehran. “But now with the role of social media and other outlets in which Mr Trump is well-versed, he talks more and doesn’t have to do as much,” he told Al Jazeera.
US-Iran war, Why Saudi Arabia Is Urging Trump To Step Back From Iran War, US-saudi arabia relation, donald Trump-Mohammed bin Salman– www.ndtv.com
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Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has asked US President Donald Trump to avoid launching more attacks on Iran, according to US officials. The latest episode of US-Israeli strikes on Tehran has led to fresh challenges for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s major economic plan, Vision 2030.
During a phone call on Saturday, MBS expressed concern over Trump’s plan for possible strikes on Iranian targets. The American President is considering attacks on Iran’s energy facilities after Iran’s missile strike on a US military base in Jordan and disruptions to ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Axios.
Abdullah bin Farah al-Shaya, a retired brigadier general, told Newsweek, “The Kingdom’s Vision 2030 is not merely an economic plan, but a comprehensive national project to build a diversified and sustainable economy and strengthen the Kingdom’s position as a global hub for investment, energy, logistics, tourism, and innovation.”
Two deadly flowers could inspire powerful new medicines– www.sciencedaily.com
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Two plants capable of causing nerve damage and paralysis at extremely low doses may also contain compounds with valuable uses against pain, malaria, cancer, and agricultural pests. Researchers have now identified a way to reproduce part of this potent chemistry in a laboratory setting, creating a possible path toward more sustainable treatments based on natural products.
The work focused on wolfsbane and larkspur and brought together scientists from Michigan State University and the Czech Academy of Sciences. The findings were published in the journal Molecular Plant.
“These plants have been used in different forms of medicine throughout the world for thousands of years,” said MSU alum Garret Miller, co-first author of the paper and now an assistant professor of biotechnology at the University of Michigan-Flint.
“We know they interact with our bodies in so many ways, and understanding how to create them can help provide totally new routes of testing.”
Trump poses ultimatum on Blanche, will push for “anti-weaponization fund” if AG not confirmed – CBS News– news.google.com
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- Trump poses ultimatum on Blanche, will push for “anti-weaponization fund” if AG not confirmed CBS News
- Tillis says Blanche won’t be confirmed as AG amid Trump fund fight Axios
- Why senators fear Trump’s DOJ payout fund isn’t dead, despite Blanche’s promises The Washington Post
- Todd Blanche’s Loyalty to Trump Is Putting His Attorney General Confirmation at Risk The New York Times
- Blanche vote is rescheduled , but there’s no deal Politico
Michigan’s Senate race has become a referendum on Israel — and the future of the Democratic Party – The Forward
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California launches next phase of state cybersecurity plan as AI changes threat landscape – identityweek.net– news.google.com
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California launches next phase of state cybersecurity plan as AI changes threat landscape identityweek.net
Capitol One Claims It Debanked Trump Organization in 2021 over ‘Money Laundering’ Concerns, Not Political Bias– www.breitbart.com
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Capital One has asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit accusing it of debanking President Donald Trump’s company after the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol in Washington, DC, claiming it closed Trump Organization accounts following an anti-money-laundering review.
The bank submitted a court filing on Friday and said the internal review was conducted due to patterns that “are among the types of activity flagged by federal banking guidance,” Bloomberg reported Saturday.
“The filing does not give details about the transactions at issue or accuse Trump or his company of wrongdoing,” the outlet said. “The decision to close the accounts was made as part of a process involving the lender’s anti-money-laundering professionals ‘with decades of law enforcement experience,’ the bank said.”
Pennsylvania Voter Roll Purge Wipes Out Tens of Thousands Democrats in Just One Week– gellerreport.com
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Pennsylvania just purged its voter rolls and Democrats lost TENS OF THOUSANDS of voters versus Republicans in ONE WEEK
🔵 DEMOCRATS: -54,178
🔴 NET GOP GAIN: +30,195
Last week, Dems led statewide by 56K voters…that D lead has been cut in more than HALF to 26K.
This comes after NJ got CAUGHT letting noncitizens onto the rolls.
Secure our elections at all costs and Republicans win!
We must pass the SAVE AMERICA Act.
UCLA Student Paper Says Misgendering is Too Harmful for Free Speech– legalinsurrection.com
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Mind you, these exceptions only flow in one direction. Leftists will still be allowed to call conservatives Nazis.
Aspiring journalists still want First Amendment exceptions for hurt feelings
A month ago, The College Fix reported on Defending Education’s lawsuit against the University of California system for allegedly requiring the use of “preferred pronouns.”
The lawsuit asserted that a student “who uses ‘he’ or ‘him’ when referring to a biological male who identifies as a female will be punished for ‘misgendering’ that student.”
Defending Education Senior Legal Counsel Sarah Parshall Perry noted colleges certainly can act to prohibit true harassment — “targeted, severe, and pervasive conduct that interferes with a student’s education” — but can’t “weaponize vague harassment policies to regulate viewpoints on matters of public concern, such as biological sex and gender identity.”
Bishop Schneider: ‘Nothing more dangerous for religion’ than liturgical ‘interference’– www.lifesitenews.com
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Bishop Athanasius Schneider warned in a sermon this weekend that “nothing is more dangerous for a religion” than “interference with the liturgy.”
The auxiliary bishop of Astana, Kazakhstan, defended the importance of upholding the Church’s sacred tradition, including its traditional liturgy, during a visit to the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest in Limerick, Ireland.
He emphasized that it is a perpetual precept of the Catholic Church to remain faithful to its tradition, both “doctrinally and liturgically,” The Catholic Herald reported.
“True piety admits no other rule than that only those things which have been (faithfully) received from our fathers, those same are to be (faithfully) consigned to our children,” said Schneider.
Report: Elon Musk to spend millions backing Susan Collins’ reelection – Maine Public
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