September 14, 2026

Everything Is Going Very Smoothly. 

Joe Rennison of the New York Times: “The 10-year Treasury yield, one of the most important interest rates in the world, briefly rose to 5 percent on Monday, its highest level in three years, capping a long stretch of turmoil in the bond market that has pushed up borrowing costs for companies and consumers. Rates have reached levels that some worry could pose a risk to the economy. The rise in bond yields, which move in the opposite direction to prices, has been fueled by the effects of the war in the Middle East, worries that government spending is out of control and the explosion of spending — and borrowing — by artificial intelligence companies. The Trump administration has tried to ease Treasury rates by intervening in financial markets, including by aggressively buying back billions of dollars of its bonds. But those efforts have failed to placate bond investors who on Monday pushed yields past 5 percent, as oil prices remained well above $100 a barrel, driving fears of higher inflation. The yield eased lower later in the day, falling to around 4.95 percent.” The link is a gift link.

Joe Rennison of the New York Times: “Technology stocks around the world fell on Monday, after a chorus of senior executives at artificial intelligence companies called for slowing down the rapid pace of development of the transformative technology. The Nasdaq Composite index, which is made up of many of the technology companies that have driven the broader stock market higher in recent years, fell 1.3 percent as trading opened in New York. Nvidia, Intel, Oracle and other companies at the forefront of the A.I. build-out posted declines. The Philadelphia Stock Exchange’s semiconductor index, a benchmark for the companies involved in designing and manufacturing the computer chips that power A.I., fell 5.5 percent.” The link is a gift link.

Jenny Gross & Gregory Schmidt of the New York Times: “Oil prices jumped above $109 a barrel on Monday on concerns that energy supplies from the Persian Gulf would be further diminished by a drone attack on a critical pipeline in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabian Energy Ministry said it had closed its East-West Pipeline as a precautionary measure, but the shutdown came after reports that the Houthi militia had seized a strategic Red Sea island and a port city, which could further choke shipping in the area. Already, most shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, has been halted. The East-West Pipeline, which shuttles oil from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea, has become an important workaround for Saudi oil exports. Adding to the uncertainty, a planned meeting between Iran and several Gulf Arab countries it has attacked during the war was indefinitely postponed on Sunday.” The link is a gift link.

Zach Montague of the New York Times: “As the Supreme Court weighs the legality of a Trump administration plan to change mail-in balloting, a second lower court judge ruled overnight on Sunday that the plan is likely illegal and should be blocked before the November election. The ruling by Judge Carl J. Nichols, a Trump appointee, delivered another blow to ... [Donald] Trump’s effort to add new conditions that could make it harder to vote by mail and easier for the federal government to scrutinize state voter rolls while searching for evidence of fraud. The Supreme Court is considering a similar ruling by a different federal judge based in Massachusetts.... Judge Nichols, of the Federal District Court in Washington, wrote that the Trump administration had not identified any 'evidence that there will be significant fraud in the upcoming elections' if he halted the rule. On the other hand, he wrote, there was an 'increased risk that a significant number of otherwise appropriate absentee or mail-in ballots will ultimately not be counted in the upcoming elections' if the rule took effect.” The link is a gift link.

Greg Jaffe, et al., of the New York Times: “Current and former military officials describe Mr. Hegseth’s tumultuous tenure as a persistent distraction that has pulled top leaders away from focusing on [urgent] priorities and fed a climate of mistrust in the top ranks.... Many current and former military leaders said Mr. Hegseth has instead targeted the military’s most combat-tested leaders, hollowing out an institution at war.... Senior officers have also raised doubts about Gen. Dan Caine, who as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is the primary military adviser to Mr. Hegseth and Mr. Trump.... A question asked by officers up to and including four-star generals is whether the chairman has been unwilling or unable to protect the force from the culture war Mr. Hegseth is waging.” The link is a gift link. See also Akhilleus' commentary below on this bit of reportage.

Russia, et al. Mary Ilyushina of the Washington Post: “Offering a grim assessment of Russia’s relations with the West, President Vladimir Putin pointedly warned European governments not to deploy any troops, including peacekeeping forces, to Ukraine, saying it would mean 'war.' 'They speak of contemplating the dispatch of troops to the territory of Ukraine,' Putin said, following his participation Friday at a summit of leaders of the BRICS bloc of nations in New Delhi. 'This would mean war with Russia.' Putin lashed out at what he called systemic errors committed by the 'West’s globalist circles,' insisting that Russia posed no danger to European countries, which he said 'seek to frighten their populations with a mythical Russian threat.' He also insisted that the West was to blame for the war in Ukraine by seeking to expand NATO.”

Herb Scribner of Axios: Donald " Trump lashed out at calls for new AI guardrails and protections, arguing AI only needs a 'STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT' and that AI critics should 'BEWARE!' Trump continues to plant himself against calls for AI safety regulations as a growing chorus of AI leaders and CEOs, spearheaded by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei over the weekend, call for a slowdown in AI's development and better regulations to help keep humanity safe." MB: I guess nobody has told Trump all the U.S. has is a weak, stupid, lazy, corrupt fake president*, so even by his own standards, no protection from A.I. gone wild.  

Lily Kuo of the New York Times: “China’s top spy chief has warned that artificial intelligence could pose a direct threat to the Chinese Communist Party’s hold on power, in what is the highest-level and most detailed articulation yet of how Beijing sees the technology’s security risks. The unusually blunt assessment by Chen Yixin, the head of China’s Ministry of State Security, is in contrast to the warnings dominating the A.I. debate in the United States, which have focused on the possibility that A.I. could slip out of human control or pose a threat to humanity itself. In an article published on Sunday in the state-run magazine China Cyberspace, Mr. Chen called for more party control over A.I. and stricter government oversight. This, he said, was necessary to protect political stability at home; to defend against increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks and misinformation campaigns from 'hostile forces'; and to compete militarily with countries like the United States.” The link is a gift link.

AND from (Pravda's?) Society Pages. Justin Elliott, et al., of ProPublica: “... Umar Kremlev, a Russian oligarch close to President Vladimir Putin ... footed the bill for hundreds of thousands of dollars of wedding expenses [for Donald Trump Junior, and his lovely bride Bettina Anderson], according to records reviewed by ProPublica and interviews with three people familiar with the event. The oligarch paid to rent out one of the private [Bahama] islands, where a reception was held and where guests slept. He also covered other big-ticket items, like the fireworks show, and his team helped plan the event. Kremlev is the head of the International Boxing Association, a scandal-plagued sports group that has been financed by the Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom. The wedding payments came from an IBA-affiliated entity in Dubai that the boxing association uses for financial transactions. The guest list numbered around 50. It included Trump Jr.’s brother-in-law Jared Kushner, Eric Trump — and Kremlev, an imposing man with a shaved head who speaks limited English. 

“The oligarch was part of a large group whose presence puzzled other attendees. They sometimes stood off by themselves, speaking Russian. 'It was really small, like, just really close friends,' Trump Jr. later said on his podcast. 'Tried to keep it really tight. And it was just awesome.' Kremlev’s previously unreported relationship with Trump Jr. represents an extraordinary development: a member of Putin’s circle financially supporting the president’s son and gaining intimate access to the Trump family.... National security experts expressed alarm at Trump Jr. accepting the oligarch’s largesse....” Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: And here I was, so surprised that Jared was taking Putin's side in Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine (story linked below). If only Volodymyr had invited Jared to a Ukrainian wedding, which I'll bet are tremendous fun (when Russia isn't bombing the hell out of them), maybe Jared would have been nicer to Ukraine. Seriously, the corruption is jaw-dropping. I guess the upside here is that Junior tried to keep secret this humongous wedding gift from a major U.S. adversary. And maybe the CIA warned Trump Senior not to show up. And maybe Trump listened for once.

Individuals are put in the ‘box’, their hands are shackled and their feet are attached to restraints on the ground.... They are unable to sit down or move positions, and are forced to remain there for hours in the heat with hardly any water or protection from the sun, heat and insects. -- From an Amnesty International report on cages used to punish detainees at Alligator Alcatraz ~~~ 

~~~ Laura Strickler, et al., of NBC News: “Some immigrants detained at Florida’s now-shuttered 'Alligator Alcatraz' were confined in outdoor cages only slightly larger than telephone booths for more than an hour at a time, according to a new report by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general. The watchdog report marks the first time a government agency has confirmed the existence of the cramped cages.... Amnesty International found in a report published in December, based on interviews with detainees and a tour of the facility, that the cages were used to punish detainees and amounted to torture, sparking a congressional probe. The inspector general’s findings don’t go as far, but the report says 'the use of such restrictive spaces is highly unconventional and does not align with standards for humane treatment.' The DHS watchdog findings are a rare instance when a federal inspector general has publicly criticized the Trump administration. Since he returned to office in 2025, President Donald Trump has fired at least 18 inspectors general....”

Florida State House Race. Christopher Mathias of TPM: “The Republican nominee for a seat in the Florida House of Representatives marched alongside neo-Nazis at the deadly 2017 'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, a new Talking Points Memo investigation can reveal. Marshall Rawson — who won an upset victory in Florida’s District 10 Republican primary last month — attended the infamous Charlottesville rally, considered the largest white supremacist gathering in a generation, marching with the League of the South, a racist and antisemitic neo-Confederate group that advocates for the secession of southern states from the U.S.” Thanks to RAS for the link.

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In today's news, two people who are theoretically leaders of the free world (though in fact neither of them is) weigh in on A.I. You decide which of them is the more responsible steward of his country (and the world): our would-be king -- whose job it is to protect the American people -- or the U.K.'s real king -- whose public responsibilities are largely restricted. 

A Threat AND a Bribe. Julia Jacobs of the New York Times: “Officials at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts have warned in documents that the institution faces 'certain fiscal collapse within weeks' unless ... [Donald] Trump’s name is added back to the building in some fashion.... The draft resolution shared with trustees says the center is at risk of bankruptcy and of missing payroll — but that Mr. Trump has 'offered to step in and raise the necessary funds' to save the center. The draft resolution presents 10 options for how to add Mr. Trump’s name below the main signage on the front of the center.” The link is a gift link. The Washington Post story is here; this is a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The Boy Donald must have been enamored of the charismatic, suave, athletic, and wealthy president. Now Old Man Trump is desperate to have his name uttered in the same breath as that of the hero of his youth. Trump's infatuation with JFK has brought us not just this unfortunate mess at the Kennedy Center but also the unfortunate mess of RFKJ. So, thanks to Bobby's worm brain, here is another reason people are dying: young Donald had a crush on President Kennedy.

Marie: In case you are the only person on Earth who thinks Trump's tariffs have some rationale that touches upon the public interest, here is more proof they are entirely whimsical byproducts of Donald Trump's twisted ego: ~~~  

~~~ Shawn Pogatchnik of Politico: “How do you get ... Donald Trump to cut tariffs? Evidently, let him host your nation’s golf tournament in one of his resorts. Trump announced Sunday night he will remove the 10% U.S. tariff charge on Irish whiskey products. He made the move as a crowd-pleaser at the closing ceremony of the Irish Open, where he presented the winner’s trophy to Ireland’s Shane Lowry. The United States is the primary export market for Ireland’s distillers. But they have been at a competitive disadvantage versus U.K. whiskey brands made in Scotland and Northern Ireland since May, when Trump removed tariff charges on U.K. exports of the product. Trump had tied his U.K. move to the just-completed U.S. visit of King Charles.”

Donald Trump on A.I. Cat Zakrzewski, et al., of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump on Sunday appeared to dismiss calls from top artificial intelligence leaders to slow the development of AI models, as Democrats seize on his administration’s resistance to regulation as a line of attack in the midterms. 'We’re leading China in AI, we’re the most sophisticated country in the world, and frankly I want to keep it that way,' he said on the sidelines of the Irish Open golf tournament. 'Whoever wins AI wins.' Trump has staked much of his economic record on speeding up AI advances, as a boom in the technology drives historic highs in the stock market. But that hands-off approach is facing new scrutiny after three of the AI industry’s most prominent leaders — Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI founder Elon Musk — endorsed slowing the pace at which the industry improves AI model capabilities.” The Hill's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Heather Cox Richardson points out that “one of the first things Trump did on January 20, 2025” was to revoke an executive order signed by President Biden that “called for the promotion of 'responsible innovation, competition, and collaboration' and specified that AI must engage U.S. workers and advance equity and civil rights as well as privacy and civil liberties.... During his second term, Trump and his sons have invested heavily in companies tied to the AI boom.” Her letter is a pretty good thumbnail sketch of where thing stands in the political battle over A.I. She notes that Trump (and Bessent) suggested that A.I. will help grow the U.S. out of the massive debt this (and other) administrations have accumulated. ~~~ 

     ~~~ Marie: Trump's pipe dream doesn't make sense. Obviously, government revenue streams -- mainly taxpayer "contributions" -- are what pay down the debt. But Trump & Bessent are simultaneously (a) promoting businesses like A.I. that reduce incomes for ordinary Americans and increase the incomes of billionaires & multi-millionaires, while (b) decreasing taxes and other revenues (like fines) that come from billionaires & multi-millionaires. So even as Trump demands dramatic increases in spending on the military and paramilitary (DHS), there's nobody left to pay for these new expenditures, much less to pay down the debt & lower the deficit. ~~~ 

~~~ AND continuing his trademark "always irresponsible" habits ~~~  

Brendan Ruberry of Semafor: "... Donald Trump said on Sunday that the US should have the world’s lowest interest rates, piling pressure on Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh days before the bank is expected to raise them amid an increasingly hawkish global outlook. Trump’s call comes on the heels of a hotter-than-expected US inflation reading for August and an unexpectedly strong jobs report, prompting traders to say there is an 86% chance of an increase on Wednesday." ~~~

~~~ AND continuing his trademark "avoid responsibility by blaming others" habit ~~~   

Earlier we learned that Ukraine was the cause of Jarhead & Witless's failure to end the war Russia launched against it. Now, it turns out, Ukraine is the cause of problems throughout the world: ~~~

~~~ Sammy Westfall of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump on Sunday said he called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to ask him to 'stop knocking out diesel fuel' targets in Russia, saying the attacks were contributing to a global shortage of the fuel. 'Mr. Zelensky has to do one thing. He has to stop knocking out diesel fuel, let them go after targets but not diesel fuel, because he’s causing a shortage of diesel,' Trump said, adding that there were 'plenty other targets.... This isn’t done by the Middle East, this is done by what’s happening in Russia and Ukraine, he told reporters while traveling in Ireland. Trump made his comments after the U.S. average price for diesel hit an all-time high of $6 per gallon on Friday....” And Trump, you know, he had nothing to do with the world-wide energy crisis. He's just an old duffer trying to enjoy a Sunday afternoon on the links. Fore! (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Tim Zadorozhnyy of the Kiev Independent: "A territorial dispute remains unresolved in efforts to end Russia's war against Ukraine, but Kyiv is not prepared to make concessions..., Donald Trump's envoy Jared Kushner said on Sept. 11.... 'President Putin laid out his line of what he wants to achieve,' Kushner said during a panel. 'If Ukraine wanted to withdraw to that line, then obviously, you know, we have the rest of the deal set up and put together. Ukraine right now does not want to do that.' The Kremlin has repeatedly rejected a ceasefire and demanded that Kyiv cede the partially occupied Donbas, a strategically important region in eastern Ukraine. Moscow is effectively demanding that Kyiv surrender territory that Russian forces have failed to capture militarily." MB: So, according to Jared, the "problem" is that Ukraine won't just give up & cede territory that Russia sought in an unprovoked war of aggression. Yeah, I thought it was all Ukraine's fault. 

Zach Dorfman, et al., of the Washington Post: “The National Security Agency is set to undergo its most extensive internal restructuring in at least a decade, according to current and former officials.... The new design for one of the most powerful U.S. intelligence agencies, which was announced to senior NSA leaders last week, is the brainchild of Army Gen. Joshua M. Rudd, the NSA director.... Rudd’s initiative calls for the creation at NSA’s Fort Meade, Maryland, headquarters of five new organizations inside the agency, in artificial intelligence, China, cybersecurity, combat support or warfighting, and global intelligence. Each will be led by a newly elevated 'mission director.'...” 

Emily Smith of the Telegraph, republished by Yahoo! News: "American officials secretly flew a US diplomat out of Britain without informing the police after he was accused of possessing indecent images of children. The diplomat, working for the embassy in London, was flown to the United States after child abuse images were allegedly found on his phone. American authorities are said to have sought a court order in the US before storming the diplomat's home in Putney on Aug 25, seizing him and taking him to an American air base for removal. American officers have no powers of arrest in Britain, and there was reportedly no formal request for the man to be extradited. British authorities were apparently only informed after the diplomat's removal. Ministers are reportedly in contact with the US embassy over the incident, which could further strain relations between London and Washington...." According to the BBC story (firewalled) the person had "diplomatic protection" even though he (?) was not a diplomat. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~ 

     ~~~ Marie: The U.S. is protecting an alleged pedophile from British justice because -- what? Update: see also Patrick's comment in yesterday's thread; he lets on that rushing this person back to the U.S. is SOP. From my vague recollection of how this type of situation has gone down in the past, that sounds right to me. However, it's one thing to airlift a possible criminal out of Saudi Arabia and another to secretly lift one out of the U.K. Once again, the special relationship seems to be becoming less and less special.

⭐They Have No Shame. Maxine Joselow of the New York Times: “The Trump administration plans to announce Monday that the United States will no longer limit the planet-warming pollution that power plants pump into the air while burning coal and gas, according to two people familiar with the proposal. The shift by the Environmental Protection Agency would complete the administration’s erasure of the most consequential climate policies of Presidents Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Barack Obama. If the move survives expected legal challenges, it could also prevent future administrations from regulating greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The power sector is the second largest source of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the United States. This pollution accumulates in the atmosphere, where it traps the sun’s heat, raising temperatures and supercharging extreme weather events around the globe. Lee Zeldin, the E.P.A. administrator, is expected to announce the change during a meeting of energy ministers from the Group of 20 nations in Houston....” The link is a gift link.

Paul Krugman: “... large-scale international trade, while it may sometimes serve the cause of peace, can also create the potential for conflict. This phenomenon of 'weaponized interdependence' was articulated and analyzed by the political scientists Henry Farrell and Abe Newman. And the weaponization need not be merely metaphorical.... Weaponized interdependence was already a well understood phenomenon in the Sci-Fi literature.” This is a long article that goes on beyond a paywall, which you can pierce by claiming your free post.

OMG! Space lasers may soon be real! (But will they be Jewish?) ~~~

~~~ Evan Halper & Layli Nazarova of the Washington Post: “In a laboratory amid Northern Virginia’s sprawling data centers, a group of scientists ... want[s] to harness the sun’s rays and shoot a kilometer-wide laser — they prefer the term 'power beam' — down from satellites in space to solar panels on Earth. The idea is to overcome solar power’s biggest weakness: that it stops working when there is no sunlight. If all goes according to plan — a big if, as this is a vision innovators and investors have been chasing for decades — those beams could turn the energy industry on its head. They would enable off-the-shelf solar panels to generate electricity even at night and could more than triple the amount of energy produced by a conventional solar farm.” MB: AND leave us hope they do not get careless and start wildfires.

Marie's Sports Report. It turns out sports fans are good for something, even if it's only their talent for booing Ted Cruz: ~~~  

~~~ Alex Nguyen of Mother Jones: “Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) was on the receiving end of a nearly 10-minute chorus of boos on Saturday morning ahead of the heavyweight college football matchup between Texas and Ohio State, during an interview in which he shamelessly promoted his congressional bill live on ESPN. His proposed legislation, the Protect College Sports Act, would allow the NCAA to unilaterally enforce its own rules on issues like revenue sharing with college students and athletes transferring between schools. It also shields the NCAA from antitrust liability. Groups like the NAACP and AFL-CIO oppose the bill for further diminishing the voice and power of college athletes. Other proponents of the bill have used ESPN airtime to support it. But the absence of an opposing viewpoint was glaring Saturday morning. As The Atlantic’s Jemele Hill wrote on Threads: 'ESPN using its flagship college football show to openly advocate for this bill is egregious. Fine, have Ted Cruz on. But have on Senator Chris Murphy, who opposes this bill.'s from the FCC. (Though it’s important to note that the FCC does not have oversight over cable television.)” Includes video. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In fairness to Ted (who would not be so fair to others), the ESPN interviewer (you genuine sports fans probably know who he is; I don't) began the interview by promoting Ted's bill and asking him to discuss it.  

Michael Grynbaum & Benjamin Mullin of the New York Times: “...  for all the Sturm und Drang that has surrounded '60 Minutes' since the arrival of CBS News’s high-profile editor in chief, Bari Weiss, the version of America’s most watched news program that returned to CBS on Sunday looked a lot like the show viewers have come to expect.... There were some changes. The pardon segment revived the use of a hidden camera, a once-common technique at '60 Minutes' that had dwindled in recent years. The show’s signature ticking stopwatch received a makeover, and the 'book' graphics that used to appear behind correspondents were replaced with sleek screens.” The link is a gift link. MB: Pardon my skepticism, but I suspect that starting with nothing more than a few cosmetic changes and a few slightly jarring asides -- one from Ross Douthat & one from one of the usual White House suspects -- is the plan. Once again, New York Times reporters are watching the battle but reporting only on set decoration. That's how wars are won. IMO. ~~~

     ~~~ Here's (what appears to be) the transcript of  Lesley Stahl's "60 Minutes" segment on the for-hire pardon brokers who negotiate Donald Trump's mercy-for-money pardons. The segment aired last night. A related "60 Minutes" story, by Gabe Kaminsky & others, is here.

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Pennsylvania. Rachel Roubein of the Washington Post: “A 40-year old woman from Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, died from complications associated with a probable case of measles, the local county coroner said in an interview Sunday evening. The death had first been announced in a news release, which said a woman died Saturday in the county’s first measles-related death. A copy of a preliminary death certificate reviewed by The Washington Post on Sunday afternoon states that the immediate cause of death was respiratory failure due to 'suspected measles,' chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. However, Jefferson County Coroner Greg Furlong said Sunday night he is planning to change the death certificate to say 'probable,' which came after a meeting with the woman’s family. The woman had contact with another person who had a laboratory-confirmed case of measles. A finding of 'probable' indicates there is more evidence linking measles to the death than “suspected” pending final lab tests....” 

Texas. Bayliss Wagner of the New York Times: Bo French, the GOP nominee for a spot on the state's Railroad Commission, which regulates oil & gas companies in the state, reposted on X a short video of Texas Longhorn fans celebrating in the stands during a game. (MB: Although I would not have noticed it, upon looking more carefully at the video while trying to understand what this story is about, I guess) the fans in focus might be of Middle Eastern or Indian descent. “'I heard UT graduation this year looked like this,' ... French ... wrote in a post on X that showed cheering fans of color. 'I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.' He later posted a complaint about the admission of foreign students at the University of Texas, seeming to assume they could not have been born in the state because of their skin color. Numerous Texas Republicans condemned the post. Some distanced themselves without explicitly denouncing it. And a handful of others responded to a Republican senator’s disapproval of the post by castigating the senator.... Mr. French ... has a history of making anti-Muslim, antisemitic and anti-immigrant comments.” The link is a gift link. Politico's story is here. 

Wisconsin. Leo Sands of the New York Times: “Representative Tom Tiffany, the Republican nominee for governor of Wisconsin, said he sustained minor injuries after his aircraft made an emergency landing on Saturday, forcing him and the pilot to swim to safety. Mr. Tiffany was returning to his district from a dinner in La Crosse County, about 100 miles away, when the small plane lost power on its approach to Wausau Downtown Airport, he said on Sunday. The pilot, the only other person aboard, landed the aircraft on Lake Wausau. 'As the plane began to submerge, we exited the aircraft and swam to a shallow area, where we waited until emergency responders reached us by boat,' Mr. Tiffany said in a social media post. The local fire department transferred the two to Aspirus Wausau Hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries.” The link is a gift link.

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Swedish General Election. Tim Ross of Politico: “Sweden’s high-stakes general election is heading toward a knife-edge finish that could yet hand power to the far right, according to official forecasts. With most results now declared, the left-wing bloc of Social Democrat opposition leader Magdalena Andersson has a one-seat lead over conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s four-party right-wing alliance. The final outcome of Sunday’s vote may not be known until Wednesday.  For months, Andersson’s left-wing bloc had been leading comfortably in the polls, but the race tightened dramatically in the last two weeks of the campaign.... If he continues in office, Kristersson has promised to give ministerial posts to members of the populist nationalist Sweden Democrats, a strongly anti-immigration party founded in the 1980s by neo-Nazis.” 

U.K. Charles Rex on A.I. Ephrat Livni of the New York Times: “King Charles III of Britain will meet with leaders from major artificial intelligence companies this week in Scotland amid mounting fears that rapid, unchecked development of the technology could lead to a global catastrophe. The king will convene leaders from companies including Nvidia, Google, DeepMind, OpenAI and Anthropic, as well as government officials and others, 'to discuss how A.I. can be developed and deployed in ways that benefit society,' according to a statement from Buckingham Palace. They will meet in Ayrshire, in southwest Scotland, at Dumfries House, the headquarters of the King’s Foundation, an educational charity. The gathering comes as A.I. insiders and chief executives of some of the industry’s most powerful companies have raised alarms about these tools and how quickly they are developing. Some have called for the creation of shared guidelines and a deliberately slower pace of progress to ensure humans can keep up.” The link is a gift link.