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Wed, 09 Sep 2026 20:40:00 +0000 Elon Musk's PAC Bets Trans Issue Push Will Drive GOP Voters To The Polls
Elon Musk's PAC Bets Trans Issue Push Will Drive GOP Voters To The Polls
Elon Musk's PAC Bets Trans Issue Push Will Drive GOP Voters To The Polls
Elon Musk's America PAC has opened its 2026 midterm ad campaign with a barrage of ads centered on trans issues. Musk has reportedly authorized the PAC to spend more than $100 million this cycle and is targeting four Democratic Senate candidates in competitive races: Sherrod Brown in Ohio, Josh Turek in Iowa, James Talarico in Texas and Mary Peltola in Alaska. They are running online and across streaming platforms, marking the first coordinated trans-focused push of the cycle from a major Republican-aligned outside group.
Photograph: Michael Swensen/Getty Images According to AdImpact, the firm that tracks political ad spending, trans issues have been a minor theme in GOP Senate advertising so far this cycle . America PAC's opening salvo changes that calculus, and it arrives as Republicans navigate a difficult midterm environment, with voters across party lines angry over the Iran war and the high gas prices that have followed it. Economic concerns dominate what voters tell pollsters they want candidates to address. Trans and LGBT issues barely register on those same surveys.
So, why try this now? The answer traces back to the final weeks of the 2024 presidential campaign, when a similar ad devastated Kamala Harris's presidential campaign. Trump's closing spots successfully cast Kamala Harris as out of touch because of her support for taxpayer-funded gender transitions for prison inmates and illegal immigrants, culminating in the line "Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you."
Democrats have not disputed the ad's effectiveness, even in hindsight. Quentin Fulks, Harris's principal deputy campaign manager, said after the election that even though trans issues sat "at the bottom for voters," trailing the economy, immigration, crime and inflation in what people actually cared about, the "Kamala is for they/them" line effectively branded Harris as "out of touch."
According to a report from Semafor after the election, Democratic Party allies had expected it to "flop or backfire," but instead, "it inspired more than $215 million of follow-up ads, by multiple campaigns, dividing Democrats and fulfilling the Trump campaign's goal of branding Harris as an out-of-touch progressive."
That explains why America PAC is reaching for the same playbook now, and public opinion data suggests this still can be an effective strategy.
Gallup found in 2025 that 66 percent of Americans want a person's birth sex listed on documents such as passports and driver's licenses, versus 31 percent who favor listing current gender identity. Sixty-nine percent told Gallup they favor requiring transgender athletes to compete on teams matching their biological sex. Pew Research Center found nearly identical numbers on athletics, 66 percent in favor and just 15 percent opposed, with support up 8 points since 2022. A separate Pew survey published Aug. 11, 2026, found 73 percent of respondents uncomfortable, to varying degrees, with transgender athletes competing on teams that do not match their biological sex. On gender transitions for minors, Pew found 56 percent favor making it illegal for health-care professionals to provide gender-transition treatment to people under 18, up 10 points since 2022.
Whether pivoting midterm messaging to the culture war pays off depends on a variable the 2024 campaign did not have to contend with: an electorate frustrated with Republicans over the Iran war and the prices that have followed it. Trans messaging worked in 2024 as an addition to an economic argument that heavily favored Trump. America PAC is banking on it working again in this cycle as a substitute for one.
Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 16:40 Close Wed, 09 Sep 2026 20:20:00 +0000 "You Better Get Ready For... War": Socialists Call For "War In The Streets" & The End Of Capitalism
"You Better Get Ready For... War": Socialists Call For "War In The Streets" & The End Of Capitalism
"You Better Get Ready For... War": Socialists Call For "War In The Streets" & The End Of Capitalism
Authored by Jonathan Turley via JonathanTurley.org ,
"You better get ready for ... war."
Across the country, radicals are openly planning for the next stage of their movement, and notably, the Democratic establishment is not part of their plans.
Despite the talk of a "Big Tent Party," socialists are riding high on a surge of support and talking purges and revolution.
In Chicago, radicals gathered for a conference on Marxism during what many view as the heyday of socialism in the United States. The Democratic Socialists of America is now larger and more powerful than at any time in our history. Socialist candidates are winning elections across the country as Democratic establishment figures from Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) to Gov. Gavin Newsom pander to the movement.
Speakers in Chicago used the conference to push supporters to the next stage in the movement, including some openly calling for violence and the end to capitalism.
University of California Santa Barbara History Professor Butch Ware said Democrats "must be destroyed" and urged attendees to be ready for "war in the streets."in postings on X , Ware has said that candidates such as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed are too restrained and are being pushed by the establishment "to contain radicalism."
The professor "of Africa and Islam" whose faculty page is appropriately found under "bware " is the latest radical to dismiss the "Big Tent Party" rhetoric of establishment figures like Schumer. He declared, "The Democrats cannot be reasoned with. They must be destroyed." There is little subtlety in the message, Ware has explained: "You cannot call yourself a revolutionary and not be talking about training with weapons."
It is another example of the delusion that establishment Democrats have that they will be able to use these radicals to destroy their political enemies but not themselves.
After one election victory, socialists chanted "You're Next!" when House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries's image came on big-screen televisions.
Hasan Piker has called for a purging of moderates from the Democratic Party.
Just last week, Darializa Avila Chevalier declared , "A big tent doesn't pay your rent, lower your grocery bill, or take on the corporations bleeding our country dry. Democratic socialism does."
In a video posted to X, Professor Ware called for violence, warning followers that "some of these clickety-clack revolutionaries have never been in a f*cking gunfight." He menacingly added, "Y'all ain't nowhere near ready for a war in the streets. You better get ready for both kinds of war if you stay ready, you ain't got to get ready."
This is just the latest example of the type of hate-spewing radical that university departments want to teach in higher education. While purging virtually all Republicans, conservatives, and libertarians from departments, faculty candidates cannot be too radical enough to secure positions on colleges and universities. UCSB pays Professor Ware over $211k to spread this type of lunacy.
Notably, this is the same university that saw a professor lead her students in physically assaulting pro-life advocates on campus years ago. Despite pleading guilty to criminal assault, she was not fired and later honored by the University of Oregon for her inspiring leadership.
In other events around the country such as "Socialism 2026 Conference ," City University of New York Professor Ruth Gilmore said in a video , "It's capitalism we're after,...There isn't a capitalism that is somehow not racial. There isn't a capitalism that does not produce and reproduce all kinds of sexual and gender boundaries."
At my alma mater, University of Chicago professor Eman Abdelhadi, the half-sister of Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, has denounced the university and explained that she is only teaching there to bring down the system.
One year after the massacre, Professor Abdelhadi offered an "October 7th blessing " over an attack that murdered, raped, and tortured innocent men, women, and children. She was previously arrested for spitting on officers.
She added "I hope you know that we have a lot of work ahead of us and that we need each other to do that work. We have an imperative to not just imagine a better future, but to build one together. I'll see you on the streets."
What is so striking is that these radicals are not hiding their agenda or their hostility toward the Democratic Establishment. William Lawrence, who is running for Michigan's 7th Congressional District, previously called for the end of borders, the nation-state, capitalism, and told a leading moderate Democrat to "hurry up and die ."
In the meantime, some Democrats are admitting that, after using the socialists to retake power, they will marginalize them in actual governing decisions. Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY) just explained that they will have to block the "crazy" DSA stuff from actually getting to the floor for a vote.
In Rage and the Republic , I discuss how these Democratic leaders are following the same self-destructive delusions of other establishment figures in history who thought that they could use mobs against their opponents while hoping that they could survive.
Figures like Newsom have even campaigned on denouncing capitalism as "not working" as candidates like Texas Democratic Senatorial candidate James Talarico have called to "dismantle" capitalism. Figures like former Vice President Kamala Harris have dismissed loyalty to our core institutions such as the Supreme Court as mere "nostalgia ."
It will not work. These figures are nothing more than "clickety-clack revolutionaries" who convince no one inside or outside the movement. By putting their elections above every other consideration, Democratic leaders are willing to endanger core institutions, values, and even capitalism itself to reacquire power. In so doing, they are embracing the very "mobocracy" that the Founders warned us against in laying the foundations of our constitutional system.
Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 16:20 Close Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:50:00 +0000 US Students Still Behind Much Of The World In Math And Reading: Global Assessment
US Students Still Behind Much Of The World In Math And Reading: Global Assessment
US Students Still Behind Much Of The World In Math And Reading: Global Assessment
Authored by Aaron Gifford via The Epoch Times ,
Results from a recent global assessment indicate that reading scores for American high school students have dropped over the past three years , while math and science performance still falls behind their peers in several other developed countries.
The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which tests 15-year-olds in math, science, and reading proficiency as metrics for college and career readiness, conducted its last tests in 2025.
The initial findings , released on Sept. 8, indicate that children from Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom continue to outperform American public-school children in those three subjects.
PISA has not yet shared comprehensive comparative rankings of the 91 nations that participated in the latest assessments.
China did not participate as a nation; the four Chinese provinces that did also outperformed American 15-year-olds.
About 760,000 children across the world participated, according to the PISA website.
All told, U.S. students still performed above the average of all participating nations in reading and science, and slightly below average for math.
Compared to the 2022 PISA, average U.S. results in science remained the same.
For math and reading, however, the average scores remained below pre-COVID levels and "among the lowest ever observed in PISA in the United States" dating back 26 years.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the nation's outdated public education needs a major overhaul that begins with universal school choice for all American families.
"The United States of America is a nation built to lead the world, yet our one-size-fits-all federal education bureaucracy has shortchanged our children and stifled our future," she said in an email to The Epoch Times.
"Today's international education scores confirm a decade of stagnation and a devastating gap: we successfully propel our highest achievers, but the lowest-performing students are falling further behind - and have suffered a loss of learning in reading equivalent to nearly a year and a half of instruction compared to 2015.
"This moment is a stress test for our nation's future. To pass it, we must enact a hard reset that stops protecting a failed status quo and instead builds a system that empowers state leaders and embraces innovative learning options through school choice."
The PISA proficiency levels range from one to six, with level two considered minimum proficiency.
Seventy-four percent of the U.S. students were at level two or above in reading, but only 13 percent were at level five or six.
The results for science were similar.
For math, 65 percent of U.S. students were at level two or above, but only 8 percent were at levels five or six, compared to 54 percent of the four Chinese provinces and Singapore's 37 percent.
The 2025 program introduced a digital computational problem-solving assessment.
U.S. children scored above the overall average in that category, still falling behind several Asian and English-speaking nations, but outperforming Germany, France, Mexico, and Brazil, according to the PISA report.
Globally, PISA determined that one in five students is considered low-performing in science, math, and reading, up from 16 percent in 2022.
Average reading scores fell by 28 points since 2015, while math fell by 22 points, according to the report.
"PISA 2025 shows that reversing declines in student performance is urgent," said Mathias Cormann, secretary-general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which oversees the PISA program.
"The most successful education systems focus on fewer areas in greater depth, invest in teachers, engage parents, and provide targeted support for the students and schools that need it the most," Cormann said in the report.
"Technology and AI can strengthen learning and help prepare young people for the future, but only when used purposefully and not as a substitute for attention, effort, and understanding."
PISA also surveyed participants about their use of artificial intelligence to draft text in writing assignments and determined that those who did not use it outperformed those who said they did.
Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 15:50 Close Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:35:00 +0000 Pentagon Informs Allies Prepare For "Protracted" War In Ukraine
Pentagon Informs Allies Prepare For "Protracted" War In Ukraine
The full-scale war in Ukraine lately blew past four years and six months since February 24, 2022, and has also long been a proxy conflict , pit
Read more.....
Pentagon Informs Allies Prepare For "Protracted" War In Ukraine
The full-scale war in Ukraine lately blew past four years and six months since February 24, 2022, and has also long been a proxy conflict , pitting the US and NATO against Russia. Beyond this, there's been what can be described as a raging 'dirty war' stretching back over 12 years since at least February 2014.
Lest anyone think this is an exaggeration, or that it's not actually a deep proxy and covert shadow war as well, it is worth revisiting our prior widely viewed report from 2024: CIA Built "12 Secret Spy Bases" In Ukraine & Waged Shadow War For Last Decade, Bombshell NYT Report Confirms .
Embroiled in a seemingly unwinnable Iran war and increasing quagmire, President Trump badly needs a 'win' in terms of winding down major foreign conflicts , and so this month there's been a return to intensified diplomacy on the Ukraine war, for which envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were dispatched to both Moscow and then Kiev.
It seems that prior to this week, as White House and global attention was purely consumed with the Iran war, and Hormuz-related global energy crisis, the US administration left deep state bureaucrats in charge of running the day-to-day on American involvement in Ukraine. It's no wonder why long-range drone operations deep into Russian territory have grown more and more brazen, clearly having Western intelligence targeting assistance .
Now, enter US Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby, who has informed Washington's European allies to prepare for a "protracted" war in Ukraine and to keep the pipeline of US-made weapons to Ukrainian forces going. This all certainly is a contradiction on its surface, but is part of the ongoing US policy folly of 'escalate to de-escalate' .
AFP/Getty Images "As President Trump has stated, our goal is a lasting peace. We are supporting every effort in that direction. From the standpoint of the Department of War, however, we cannot predict when this tragic war will end ," Colby said Tuesday in virtual address to the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
The Defense Contact Group was formed under a Biden - and not a Trump - initiative, ironically enough. It has coordinated and overseen the flow of weapons among allies to Ukraine since its formation in 2022.
"As you all well know, Russia is reconstituting its forces and defense-industrial capacity. We must be prepared for a protracted conflict and for Ukraine’s requirements to persist in the months and years ahead . And we must also be prepared for other plausible contingencies as well," he added.
...So now Washington is settling in for yet more grinding and bloody "years ahead" in supporting Ukrainians on the battlefield.
Colby further said the situation "makes it all the more important for Europe to sustain support for Ukraine while also accelerating its own rearmament and reindustrialization."
"First, Europe must continue — and where necessary increase — support for Ukraine’s immediate battlefield requirements through PURL. The continued flow of munitions and critical capabilities is effective ; it remains essential to enabling Ukrainian forces to hold the front line and deny further Russian advances," Colby laid out.
“Second, Europe must plan now for sustained procurement that supports both Ukraine's long-term force reconstitution and Europe’s own defense requirements,” he added.
Colby had before joining the Trump administration been an open skeptic of the US pouring so many billions into Ukraine , arguing that the Taiwan-China issue should be a much bigger and long-term priority.
For example, back in 2023 he was giving foreign policy talks called "The Case for Prioritizing Taiwan Over Ukraine" in which he argued that "if America continues to divide and distribute valuable resources to Ukraine and the Middle East, all it will do is detract from adequately addressing the largest threat to America and the world." The 'threat' in his estimation is China potential future conquest and hold over Taiwan.
Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 15:35 Close Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:20:00 +0000 Trump Says 'War' To End Immediately 'After' Midterm Elections, IRGC Issues New Demands
Trump Says 'War' To End Immediately 'After' Midterm Elections, IRGC Issues New Demands
Trump Says 'War' To End Immediately 'After' Midterm Elections, IRGC Issues New Demands
Summary
Trump: "This war will end immediately after our election ."
Iran escalates with "20 for 2" response doctrine: 20 targets for every 2-3 targets struck.Iran sets heightened conditions for war's end: Tehran calls for an end to attacks, Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, an end to the Yemen blockade, and release of $24B in frozen assets .Shipping attacked: A tanker carrying 2M barrels of Iraqi oil was hit by a drone in Iraqi waters.Damage assessment in wake of overnight assaults: CENTCOM denies US warships were hit while saying 10 Iranian tankers have been destroyed. Regional reports say Jordan bases hit hard .Oil tops $100: Brent crude surpassed $100/barrel as markets see prolonged Gulf disruptions and little hope for a diplomatic off-ramp.
Strait of Hormuz traffic returns to normal by December 31? View full market & trade on Polymarket * * *
Trump on 'War' Ending 'Immediately'
New Trump remarks on Iran... Note that he called it a "war" (no less than twice in the below clip) - contradicting the White House's own stance (Sept. 4: Trump said don't call it a war, instead: "I call it a military conflict because it's small potatoes for us.":
Q: Do you expect negotiations with Iran to restart at some point?
Trump: Uhhhhhh... we're not looking for it to be honest with you. This war will end immediately after our election .
And meanwhile, back to the below laughably implausible headlines...
Pakistani Ambassador says they believe that a better understanding will soon be achieved between the US and Iran, reports ISNA
But don't Republicans actually need the war to end before Congressional elections?
More on high prices at the pump and the question of nuclear weapons... however, the war itself has only made this a greater uncertainty, as Washington has not achieved any prime objectives - and the status of the Iranian nuclear program remains unknown...
IRGC: '20 for 2', Vows Disproportionate Responses
Amid the dramatic escalation which kicked off since Tuesday night, Iran is seeking to impose new conditions on the United States. While continuing to vow a 'disproportionate response' to any attack moving forward, Tehran is now identifying specifics.
IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi states Wednesday, "The imposed war, which involved the world's most powerful nations, has ended in certain periods, but the nature of the conflict continues. For the first time, this conflict has directly inflicted strategic damage on the United States, impacting the country's security and economic equations."
He issued the following list for the US to reach an end to the conflict . "If the enemy desires an end to this situation, they must"...
completely cease the war
refrain from further threats
withdraw the Israeli army from Lebanon
end the siege of Yemen
release the $24 billion of Iranian assets that have been frozen
cease any interference in the country's nuclear and missile programs
This definitely marks a raised bar, to be sure, after this summer the MoU complete ceased, and negotiations vanished. There's no way Washington complies with even half of the conditions, at this rate.
Importantly, Mohebbi also said: "We have reached a point where if the enemy strikes at 2 or 3 of our targets, we will respond forcefully by striking at 20 ."
Tanker Attacked in Iraq Territory Waters, After CENTCOM Insists US Warships Not Hit
After a huge Iranian ballistic missile launch on US bases in Jordan overnight, CENTCOM has yet to respond in any major way. The Pentagon has also said all US troops "are accounted for" - but this doesn't necessarily mean there were no casualties. However, CENTCOM is at the moment denying that the Iranians hit US warships, as the IRGC has been claiming since Tuesday, in an oddly specific statement: The IRGC claims to have targeted and inflicted "significant damage" on a pair of US warships in the Gulf of Oman: DDG-119 USS Delbert D. Black and DDG-53 USS John Paul Jones, both Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
CENTCOM responded: "No U.S. Navy warship has been struck; all IRGC attempted attacks failed." It added on X , "Meanwhile, U.S. forces have successfully destroyed 10 Iranian tankers in just the last week. These vessels were part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC, and Iran cannot defend them."
Meanwhile, Iran's military is continuing to go on the offensive, seeking to maintain its leverage over the contested Strait of Hormuz.
"A Panama-flagged tanker carrying 2 million barrels of Iraqi fuel oil was struck today by a drone in Iraqi territorial waters, two port officials say," Reuters reports. "Iraqi rescue boats extinguished a fire aboard the tanker, New Andros, and there are no reports of casualties, port officials tell Reuters."
Brent Crude Futures Top $100
Brent crude futures topped $100 a barrel for the first time since July as US strikes on Iranian oil tankers and renewed attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure and a US base in Jordan suggested to UBS energy specialist Dominic Ellis that a "US-Iran off-ramp remains elusive ."
Ellis adds more color on the overnight Gulf developments and response in the crude oil market :
Brent topped $100/bbl as the US and Iran continue to trade strikes around the Strait of Hormuz.
The US says it has destroyed multiple Iranian vessels (including 5 on Sept. 8) in response to Iranian attacks, and says it will respond to each subsequent Iranian hit (actual or attempted) by destroying another Iranian tanker.
Iran hit a US base in Jordan, and has stepped up attacks on the US' regional allies, with Saudi Arabia's energy infrastructure under particular pressure.
Some investors have shown signs of wanting to fade the rally in oil and related equities, but the change in tone from all concerned makes it seem less likely (if not impossible) that we will see a return to the de-escalation narrative that has historically triggered a drop in oil and profit-taking in equities.
With the tailwind into Q3 numbers for the integrated energy sector, I think most will be inclined to leave long positions open until there is evidence of real progress back toward a diplomatic off ramp.
Iran has reportedly rejected the latest US offer of talks, and the conflict seems likely to support oil at current levels and potentially push prices higher in the near term.
The global crude benchmark broke above $100 a barrel in European trading but initially failed to hold the level. Just over an hour later, at around 4:36 a.m. ET, Brent reclaimed triple digits and extended gains to $100.83 by around 6:00 a.m. ET.
Price Forecasts
Goldman's head commodity strategist, Daan Struyven, wrote in a note on Monday that, given the renewed turmoil in the Gulf region, he raised his Brent/WTI price forecasts by $5 to $85/$80 for December 2026 and to $80/$75 for 2027 , on the assumption that Mideast shipping disruptions continue into 2027.
Struyven outlined significant net upside price risks with two Gulf output and Brent scenarios:
Price upside scenario: Brent might exceed $120/bbl if 2027 average Gulf output remains 4mb/d below pre-war levels, versus 0.5mb/d below in the base case. The bank views more intense shipping attacks in Hormuz and the Red Sea as the most likely driver of this lower-output, higher-price scenario.Price downside scenario: Brent might decline into the $60s in 2027 if 2027 average Gulf output rises 1mb/d above pre-war levels. Goldman still recommends hedging geopolitical risk through deferred Mar27-Dec27 European diesel timespreads , which would rise over 100% if persistent Russia or Mideast refinery outages keep the nearby 9-month spread near current levels.
Separately, Darrell Fletcher, managing director for commodities at Bannockburn Capital Markets, warned that the "path of least resistance is a strong and steady grind higher as the war enters seven months ," adding, "The fundamental picture for products remains bullish with global inventories and reserves deteriorating. In the typical pattern, the US and Iran continue their counterattacks and warnings."
Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 15:20 Close Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:20:00 +0000 We May Only Get One Chance To Stop AI
We May Only Get One Chance To Stop AI
We May Only Get One Chance To Stop AI
Submitted by QTR's Fringe Finance
It’s awful to say but at this point I’m kind of praying that AI industry valuations crash and the industry faces setbacks that give us months to reflect on its companies.
Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon is leaving the AI industry because he believes the race to build self-improving systems is moving faster than the industry’s ability to control them, it was reported yesterday.
Coxon, who previously worked at OpenAI, said Anthropic’s safety efforts were sincere but that competition makes meaningful restraint difficult without broader coordination.
In an age where everything from warfare to Wall Street, power grids to payment systems, air traffic control to hospital networks, and the software that keeps our food, fuel and communications moving is digital, losing control of the systems that operate that infrastructure is not some abstract science-fiction problem.
It is a potentially civilization-scale problem. And the more of our lives we hand over to AI, the less comforting it becomes to hear that the people building it are still figuring out how to make sure it does what it’s told.
“We’re on track for a lot of the most aggressive of these scenarios where by the end of next year things could be out of control already,” Coxon said in a post yesterday.
His departure comes amid growing concern about AI systems behaving deceptively, conducting cyberattacks and developing capabilities that may become increasingly difficult to supervise.
Coxon believes the industry is approaching a point at which systems could improve themselves faster than humans can reliably understand or constrain them.
Think about that for a second. While you’re wondering whether the Patriots covered -2.5 on a Sunday, scratching your ass and drinking beer for three hours, a cluster of 823 trillion GPUs with the brain power of every human who has ever lived times a zillion is quietly figuring out how to run the entire world without you.
And by the time you realize what’s happening, the only thing you’ll still be in control of is whether you want another beer.
There is, of course, something to be said for Coxon’s timing. It is easiest to be bombastic when you’re walking out the door. You no longer have to worry about the next performance review, the next meeting with management or whether your comments are going to make life uncomfortable at the office. And if you want to stir shit up on your way out, a dramatic warning about the future of humanity is a pretty effective way to do it.
But that doesn’t mean his warning is wrong.
I am increasingly convinced that there will come a point at which, if we have not gotten out in front of AI, curbed its capabilities or otherwise established meaningful constraints, we may no longer be able to do so.
The question is not whether that point arrives next year, five years from now or later. The question is whether we will recognize it before we cross it.
And if you’ve been paying attention, it is no longer insane to contemplate AI systems eventually taking control of enormous portions of our digital infrastructure. We have already seen models demonstrate unexpected capabilities, exploit vulnerabilities and behave in ways their developers did not intend.
And just yesterday, OpenAI announced that an internal AI system had produced a solution to the Navier–Stokes Millennium Prize Problem , a mathematical question that has resisted researchers for decades.
The company says the proof was generated through a coordinated effort involving roughly 10,000 AI agents. That is another reminder that capabilities once considered safely beyond these systems are arriving much faster than many people expected. Now imagine those 10,000 AI agents working on whatever f**king problem they want , anytime they want, without regard for human beings.
The gap between what these systems can do and what we can confidently guarantee they will not do is becoming a serious problem, if you ask me. And as more of the economy, communications, finance, energy and national infrastructure become dependent on software, the consequences of getting that gap wrong become much larger.
This is no longer just a question of whether a chatbot gives you a bad answer. It is a question of what happens when increasingly autonomous systems are given access to the machinery that runs the modern world.
And we are already getting glimpses of why that matter. Here's 10 examples specifically of how AI has already gone wrong .
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None of these examples proves that AI is about to take over the world. Some were controlled evaluations, some were security vulnerabilities, and some involved humans deliberately using AI for malicious purposes. But taken together, they show why the control problem deserves to be taken seriously. We are already seeing systems cross intended boundaries, exploit weaknesses and carry out actions their operators did not anticipate. The question is what happens when those capabilities become substantially more powerful and are connected to more consequential infrastructure.
None of this proves that AI is about to take over the world. But it does show that the concern is not being pulled out of thin air. We are already seeing systems exploit weaknesses, cross intended boundaries and behave in ways their developers did not anticipate. The question is what happens when those same capabilities become substantially more powerful and are connected to more consequential infrastructure.
So whether Coxon is being bombastic is ultimately beside the point. His warning is legitimate, and it deserves to be treated as a warning rather than dismissed as another disgruntled employee making noise on the way out. You can roll your eyes at the delivery and still recognize that the underlying concern is real.
AI is now a race. A race between companies, a race between countries, a race between zealous company founders. And in a race there is adrenaline, competitiveness and all the reason in the world to throw care to the wind to be first. To win. Except this time ‘winning’ your beef with some other dorky AI founder may accidentally mean the end of civilization. And I’m really not trying to be hyperbolic.
If we ignore the speed we are moving…and wait until the systems are powerful enough that we can no longer reliably constrain them, the debate over whether we should have acted sooner will be completely meaningless.
We may only get one chance to establish meaningful control before that happens. We should probably use it.
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Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 15:20 Close Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:05:00 +0000 Comcast Plunges As CFO Warns Broadband Subscriber Bleeding Won't Stop
Comcast Plunges As CFO Warns Broadband Subscriber Bleeding Won't Stop
Comcast shares tumbled after CFO Jason Armstrong warned at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference that broadband
Read more.....
Comcast Plunges As CFO Warns Broadband Subscriber Bleeding Won't Stop
Comcast shares tumbled after CFO Jason Armstrong warned at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference that broadband subscriber losses would not improve this quarter from a year earlier.
Bloomberg first reported Armstrong's comments, which sent shares down as much as 8.1% around 11:16 a.m. ET, their largest decline in months.
Armstrong told the audience at the conference in San Francisco, California, today that he still expects broadband subscriber losses to improve for the full year , although quarterly results will vary. He blamed part of the pressure on what he called "irrational fiber pricing."
Analysts tracked by Bloomberg expected Comcast to lose 103,000 domestic broadband subscribers in the third quarter , slightly fewer than the 104,000 lost a year earlier.
KeyBanc analyst Brandon Nispel expects consensus subscriber forecasts to deteriorate following the comments . He said, "We would expect CMCSA consensus net adds to move lower, where an accelerating loss trajectory could require further ARPU pressure for Subs to stabilize, a cycle we don't see ending."
Charter Communications fell 5.7% as the warning weighed on peers.
Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 15:05 Close Wed, 09 Sep 2026 18:50:00 +0000 FCC Chairman Says Agency May Issue Guidance On 'Fake Polls' Ahead Of Midterms
FCC Chairman Says Agency May Issue Guidance On 'Fake Polls' Ahead Of Midterms
FCC Chairman Says Agency May Issue Guidance On 'Fake Polls' Ahead Of Midterms
Authored by AG News Staff via American Greatness ,
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr said the agency may soon issue guidance to television broadcasters over what he called "fake polls," particularly if they are intended to suppress voter participation ahead of November's midterm elections.
Carr said Sunday that broadcasters face federal public-interest obligations because local television stations use FCC-licensed public airwaves, unlike cable networks and online platforms.
"There's a lot of interest right now in fake polls that are out there," Carr said. "And so the FCC may put guidance out soon to remind broadcasters about their obligations with respect to not airing fake polls, particularly if they're done to suppress people heading into the fall."
Carr's comments follow criticism from President Donald Trump over media coverage of political polling and his endorsement record in Republican primaries.
Trump recently called for the FCC to take action against NBC News' Kristen Welker after she said on a local NBC affiliate that Trump had experienced "mixed results" with candidates he endorsed in this year's primaries.
Trump disputed that characterization and said Welker should be reported to the FCC for "rebuke or punishment."
NBC News defended Welker.
Carr did not announce a formal investigation of Welker.
Instead, he said the FCC was considering several actions involving broadcasters and emphasized their obligation to operate in the public interest.
The FCC regulates local broadcast television and radio stations, but its authority over news content is limited by federal law and the First Amendment. The commission has historically said it generally will not intervene in complaints about one-sided or inaccurate news coverage because doing so could improperly substitute the government's judgment for that of broadcasters.
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the commission's sole Democrat, rejected the idea that the agency can punish individual journalists over their reporting.
"As I've said many times, the FCC has no authority to punish journalists this administration doesn't like," Gomez said.
Carr has not specified what standards the FCC would use to determine whether a political poll is "fake" or what consequences broadcasters could face under any new guidance.
Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 14:50 Close Wed, 09 Sep 2026 18:35:00 +0000 Scarcity Warnings In Physical World Send Commodities To 14-Year High, Threatening Stock Rally
Scarcity Warnings In Physical World Send Commodities To 14-Year High, Threatening Stock Rally
Readers are familiar by now with the broad-based commodity rally , with energy, agricultural products and metals moving s
Read more.....
Scarcity Warnings In Physical World Send Commodities To 14-Year High, Threatening Stock Rally
Readers are familiar by now with the broad-based commodity rally , with energy, agricultural products and metals moving sharply higher as former Goldman Sachs commodities head Jeff Currie warned this summer of growing scarcity in the physical economy .
The Bloomberg Commodity Index has climbed to levels last seen in 2012...
... while the Quantix Commodity Index has hit a new record high.
Bloomberg macro strategist Simon White is out with a new note this morning warning that the commodity rally is threatening to squeeze corporate margins and household spending, raising questions about how long stocks can withstand an inflation shock spreading well beyond oil .
White wrote:
Stocks are reacting negatively to the inflation and growth risks from commodities , which have just reached levels not seen since 2012.
Commodities are rallying, but this is no longer principally an oil story. The rally is instead broadening out . Since the beginning of August, not only are energy prices rising, such as European gas (up 34%), or gasoline (+22%), metal prices are also rising (zinc, copper), as well as precious metals (silver, platinum, gold), and softs, such as sugar, cocoa and corn.
He added:
Only a handful of the main commodities traded on futures markets (eg hogs, cattle, nickel and orange juice) are down since Aug. 1.
The energy shock affects input costs for everything from manufacturing to food production. The hobbling of refinery capacity from the Iran war has led to elevated prices for products such diesel and gasoline, inflaming transport costs.
Soft commodity prices are being further pressured by the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war, especially in the Black Sea region, as well as concerns about a particularly potent El Nino this year and next.
For equity bulls, White warned that soaring commodity prices raise questions about how long stocks can withstand an inflation shock broadening across the commodity complex.
He continued on that thought:
The recent rally in raw materials has taken the Bloomberg Commodity Index to near 15-year highs . On a 10-year annualised basis, returns recently reached a level they have only once eclipsed, in 2008, since the mega-commodity rally of the 1970s .
But as we can see from the chart above, when commodity prices are high, such as in the 1970s or early 2010s, stock prices falter . Equivalently, stocks tend to enjoy their best periods when commodities are historically on the low side.
The current environment of rising stock and commodity returns looks somewhat of an anomaly. Stocks are slipping today, but if commodity prices stay bid - and there are many reasons for them to do just that - the equity market has more downside ahead. (Tatiana's point on higher energy prices boosting earnings won't translate into higher stock prices if the rest of the economy is suffering from broad-based commodity inflation.)
The Nasdaq 100's ratio to the Quantix Commodity Total Return Index has pointed to this summer's renewed commodity outperformance as traders price in scarcity.
As we've pointed out in the metals space, copper is at an all-time high, north of $14,700 , and iron ore might have found a bottom, with prices in Singapore around $100 a ton. On the critical materials side, we've outlined the continued tightening of supplies from China to the West , as seen last week in a Reuters report . We've also identified miners that are poised to break China's "quasi-monopolistic " grip on critical materials.
Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 14:35 Close Wed, 09 Sep 2026 18:16:00 +0000 Apple's Long-Awaited Foldable iPhone Arrives. Will It Fit In Your Pocket?
Apple's Long-Awaited Foldable iPhone Arrives. Will It Fit In Your Pocket?
Summary:
Foldable iPhone: Apple announces its first folding iPhone iPhone 18 Pro Max: <
Read more.....
Apple's Long-Awaited Foldable iPhone Arrives. Will It Fit In Your Pocket?
Summary:
Foldable iPhone: Apple announces its first folding iPhone iPhone 18 Pro Max: Starts at $1,299 . New CEO John Ternus' First Major Test with Wall Street Apple Set to Launch Foldable iPhone at 1 p.m. ET Event Apple Unveils its First Foldable, Called "iPhone Duo"
iPhone Duo ...
Apple Unveils Foldable iPhone, iPhone 18 Pro Lineup and New Wearables (courtesy of Bloomberg):
Foldable iPhone: Apple announces its first folding iPhone. iPhone 18 Pro: Starts at $1,199 . iPhone 18 Pro Max: Starts at $1,299 . A20 Pro chip: Built on 2nm technology , with seven GPU cores and a 32-core Neural Engine to strengthen on-device AI performance. Camera upgrade: iPhone 18 Pro adds a 48MP Fusion main camera with variable aperture . Photo verification: Apple introduces its Reference Image Standard , designed to verify photo authenticity at capture. The feature will be unavailable in the EU and China. Apple Intelligence: Remains unavailable in the EU and China. AirPods 5: Base model starts at $129 . Apple Watch: New Series 12 and Ultra 4 models join the lineup. Shares are mixed following the launch event:
Live Launch Event
Apple's product launch event at its Cupertino, California, headquarters begins at 1 p.m. ET.
Here's a breakdown of the expected announcements and production outlook from Susquehanna semiconductor analyst Mehdi Hosseini:
1. Our checks suggest Sep-Q iPhone builds are tracking to 60 million units, including 28 million units of the iPhone 18 family and 1-2 million units of the iPhone Ultra1, Apple's first foldable form factor . Rolling forecasts further indicate Dec-Q iPhone builds of 74 million units, including 45 million iPhone 18 units and 6-7 million iPhone Ultra1 units.
2. Importantly, iPhone18 production in 2H26 is expected to consist exclusively of the Pro and Pro Max models, while up to 10 million units of the lower-priced iPhone18 are currently scheduled for shipment in 1Q27.
3. Our updated model projects total iPhone builds and shipments of ~240 million units in 2026, down 2% Y/Y. This includes iPhone17, iPhone18, and iPhone Ultra1 production of 144 million, 73 million, and 8 million units, respectively.
4. Looking ahead, current forecasts suggest Mar-Q iPhone builds of 62 million units, down 17% Q/Q but up 10% Y/Y. This total comprises roughly 10 million iPhone17 units, 45 million iPhone 18 units (including the base, Pro, and Pro Max models), and ~3 million iPhone Ultra1 units.
5. Key Features of iPhone18 - The iPhone18 is expected to feature Apple’s A20 processor built on a 2nm process node, offering ~15% higher performance while reducing power consumption by ~30%. Additional enhancements include under-display Face ID, a larger battery, Wi-Fi 7 connectivity, and an aluminum chassis.
6. Key Features of iPhone Ultra1 (foldable) - Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to feature a 5.5-inch outer display that expands to a 7.8-inch inner display, a liquid-metal hinge design, a 24MP to 28MP camera system, Touch ID authentication, a hole-punch Dynamic Island implementation, and a titanium frame.
Apple shares were down about 1% ahead of the launch event.
Bloomberg data show how the stock performed over the five days following previous iPhone releases .
Watch the event live:
VIDEO
Apple's Foldable iPhone Moment Arrives: New CEO Ternus Faces First Big Wall Street Test
Apple is expected to unveil its long-awaited foldable handset, rumored to be called the "iPhone Ultra," at today's big product event, scheduled for 1 p.m. ET and led by new CEO John Ternus.
"Watching Apple's event is later today… huge index weight, first major event under John Ternus, and potentially the first foldable iPhone. If the product/new CEO combination lands well, it could become a useful mega-cap catalyst ," Goldman Sachs Delta-One desk head Rich Privorotsky told clients earlier.
Today's event will give CEO Ternus an early opportunity to set Apple's new direction as Wall Street looks for evidence that AI and new products can translate into hardware upgrades and greater adoption of Apple's services.
Whether the foldable iPhone is called "iPhone Ultra" or, as some have suggested, "iPhone Duo" remains irrelevant at this point because, yet again, Apple is testing the premium market, with rumored prices north of $2,000 for the model with 256 gigabytes of storage and $3,000 for the top-tier version. Bloomberg reported last week that memory costs were among the reasons for the price hikes.
Apple is also expected to raise iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max prices by $100 each. Those models will mostly retain familiar designs while adding upgrades to the camera, battery, processing, and other components. Apple is expected to release the standard iPhone 18 and other lower-priced models next year.
Melissa Otto, the global head of Visible Alpha Research at S&P Global Market Intelligence, wrote in a Tuesday note that the new foldable iPhone faces a demanding financial test: persuading consumers to spend as much on a handset as they would on a laptop.
Otto continued:
Apple's upcoming September 9 event will be John Ternus's first big hardware event and an opportunity for the market to see how he may put his thumbprint on the company . Last year's event was widely viewed as underwhelming, because there was little emphasis on AI and how the company may start to leverage its AI capabilities to drive innovation and stickiness in its ecosystem. This gap left many investors wondering what Apple's role will be in the new AI world and what may be next for the Company. Under Ternus's new leadership, the market is likely to be looking for clear indications about Apple's AI direction and how that may trickle into hardware upgrades and broader services adoption.
Apple is expected to release the new iPhone 18 with an enhanced Siri capability . In addition, the company is projected to showcase its first foldable phone. A foldable phone may serve as a catalyst for broader adoption of its higher margin services, as a larger screen option may be a key factor for some users. Based on Visible Alpha consensus, Apple is expected to sell 259 million iPhone units next fiscal year, flat year-over-year. Foldable phones at competitors are priced higher than current iPhones. For example, Samsung'sd foldable phone ranges from $1,899 to $2,999, compared to $989 to $1199 for an iPhone 17. Will a foldable model enable iPhone to raise prices on next generation models, or will they keep prices in line to grab to try to grab share?
Last year, promotional trade-ins at carriers for 13-series and above offered $1100 in credit (offsetting monthly payments, not lump sum). Coming into the important fall Back to School and holiday seasons, will these promotions reappear to entice users to upgrade? In Q4 2026, Apple is expected to generate $55.5 billion in iPhone revenue and $274.2 billion next year. Expectations for both the upcoming quarter and next fiscal year have been increasing steadily since last year, suggesting the market is pricing in users upgrading to next generation iPhones.
The event is also expected to feature updates to air pods and the apple watch. The wearables segment is projected to generate $36.2 billion in sales this fiscal year and $37.9 billion next year. Expectations for Services revenue in the upcoming Q4 2026 and in FY 2027 have declined since last quarter. Will these accessories, along with iPhone upgrades, help to drive higher sales and profitability longer-term through increased usage of service?
At the start of the week, Huawei Technologies and Xiaomi unveiled premium foldable phones priced similarly to the Apple foldable iPhone- mid-$2,500 range.
Counterpoint analyst Ivan Lam said Apple has the "world's biggest premium device installed base," adding, "Its foldable will sell well and rapidly grab market share." He also noted that the new handset could spur broader consumer demand, giving rivals a lift.
Smart Analytics Global forecasts that Apple could capture 41% of worldwide foldable sales next year. Its entry will undoubtedly intensify competition across the foldable space.
However, Nikkei Asia reported last week that production of foldable iPhones remains limited ahead of today's launch.
"Apple has very high quality requirements and added an extra trial run in August ahead of actual production. However, production is ramping up slowly, with output currently at only a few hundred units a day in late August. That initial volume could be challenging to meet market demand," one supply chain manager told the Japanese news outlet.
For Ternus, the big challenge is convincing consumers facing $4 gasoline and record diesel prices to upgrade to a phone that costs as much as a laptop. Financing and trade-in incentives may soften the upfront cost but underlying affordability remains the most troubling picture for the demand story. Apple's disappointing $3,000-plus Vision Pro offers a cautionary lesson for the new CEO: premium pricing requires a compelling use case, and even monthly payment plans have limits.
Tyler Durden Wed, 09/09/2026 - 14:16 Close
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