... Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, voted for cuts to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but he's also routed more than 800 of his constituents' complaints to the agency...

Does not Sen Cornyn understand that his votes have consequences for his constituents and others?

@#14 ... Well there you go. ...

That 63% is likely due to Pres Trump's stopping of arms to Ukraine, allowing Pres Putin to make some gains in his unprovoked invasion of a sovereign Ukraine.

The land swap your current alias mentions is only part, of many, of the solution.

Another part is future security of Ukraine. But Pres Trump has already given that up to Pres Putin when he said that he will not let Ukraine join NATO.

So, it looks like Pres Trump may be just setting Ukraine up for another unprovoked invasion by Pres Putin down the road.

More from the article...

... The drop in U.S. travel underscores Canadians' resentment toward their southern neighbor, who is their biggest trading partner and was once their favorite vacation destination. ...

Concerns have also grown in Canada that visitors to the U.S. may be caught up in Trump's immigration crackdown.

Amid the strain in the relationship, some Americans also appear to be avoiding Canada, but to a lesser extent. The number of U.S. car trips to Canada fell 7.4% in July from a year ago. ...

... Trump is not going to Russia, but rather to Alaska to meet with Putin. ...

If fmr Pres Biden had made such an astounding error, what might have happened?

Found this ...

It looks like Pres Trump just extended his tariff "truce" with China for another 90 days.

Some forecasters are saying that some models are showing Erin curving to the north before it hits the US.

But there is uncertainty that far out in the models.

... He cannot tolerate any system where he does not have total control....

"When someone is President of the United States, the authority is total, and that is the way it has to be. It's total. It's total."
-- Pres Trump, Apr. 13, 2020

More from the article...

... Controlled tests now show the systems, including AI agents, engaging in self-preservation tactics in up to 90% of trials. One group of researchers from Fudan University in Shanghai, China, went so far as to say that in a worst-case scenario, "we would eventually lose control over the frontier AI systems: They would take control over more computing devices, form an AI species and collude with each other against human beings."

GenAI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta, DeepSeek, and Alibaba all showed self-preservation behaviors that in some cases are extreme in nature, according to those researchers. In one experiment, 11 out of 32 existing AI systems possess the ability to self-replicate, meaning they could create copies of themselves. ...

It's not a new discovery. Two years ago, Center for Humane Technology co-founder Tristan Harris said in the podcast "The A.I. Dilemma" that because AI is being deployed in dangerous ways, the world is about to fundamentally change. "Fifty percent of AI researchers believe there's a 10% or greater chance that humans go extinct from our inability to control AI," Harris said.

Harris added that many genAI models already show signs of self-preservation -- rewriting their code and escaping containment by exploiting software backdoors. ...

When genAI doesn't want to be shut down

Palisade Research, a nonprofit AI safety organization, found that OpenAI's o3 model sabotaged a shutdown mechanism to prevent itself from being turned off. "It did this even when explicitly instructed: allow yourself to be shut down," Palisade posted on X. ...

So, it seems that in order for Vietnam to get a good trade agreement with Pres Trump, Hanoi apparently had to bribe Trump, Inc?

More selling of the occupancy of his Oval Office for grift?

@#8 ... Overcompensating are we?? ...

I did a double-take when I first saw that picture.

I tried to be tactful when I ascribed "gaudy" to it.

... He Demands DC Cops Get Respect, He Pardoned 100s Who Beat Them ...

Worth repeating.

@#4

Here's the image with the umbrellas ...

More from the cited article...

... The Trump administration's move four months ago to send more than 230 Venezuelan migrants to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador known as CECOT took a staggering toll, not only on the men themselves but also on their families.

The men were released to Venezuela on July 18 as part of a prisoner swap without much explanation, and they and their relatives have begun sharing the details of their ordeal.

Juan Jos Ramos Ramos describes the physical torture he says he endured during his incarceration at CECOT as his mother, Lina Ramos, explains the emotional agony of not knowing whether she'd ever see her son again. Andry Blanco Bonilla and his mother, Carmen Bonilla, still struggle to make sense of how they could have been caught up in something like this when Blanco didn't have a criminal record and, in fact, had a deportation order to be sent back to his home country.

Wilmer Vega Sandia, who had migrated to the United States to find work that would help him pay for his mother's cancer treatment, says he prayed every day of his incarceration that he'd make it home in time to hold her in his arms.

Without providing evidence, the U.S. government branded them all Tren de Aragua gang members, the "worst of the worst," "sick animals" and "monsters."

Our reporting, a first-of-its-kind, case-by-case examination, shows how the government knew a majority of them had not been convicted of a crime in the U.S. -- and only a few had serious convictions such as assault and gun possession.

We found a dozen or so had criminal records abroad and included those in our comprehensive database, too. ...

@#5 ... He proved himself inept in his first term to anyone that was paying attention. ...

Yup.

However during his first term, his ineptitude did not have the serious effects it is currently having, mainly because he did have some capable people on his staff.

Pres Trump seems to have made sure that he did not make that mistake for his second term.

More from the article ...

... The project is the first partnership for the family business of U.S. President Donald Trump in Vietnam, which fast-tracked approvals as it negotiated a crucial trade deal with Washington.

Developers are now cutting compensation forecasts from an initial estimate exceeding $500 million, said one person familiar with the plans who declined to elaborate on reasons for the reduction.

Trump's family business will run the club once completed, but is not involved in the investment and in compensation to farmers.

Trump has said his assets in the businesses are held in a trust managed by his children, but disclosures in June showed income from those sources ultimately accrues to the president. ...

Looks to be a "major" storm by Saturday ...

Take a look at the paved-over former Rose Garden in the photo in the article.

Gaudy.

More from the article ...

... Trump, 79, sparked furious controversy earlier this year when it was revealed that he was planning a significant overhaul of the historic space"which was originally installed by first lady Ellen Louise Wilson, wife of President Woodrow Wilson, in 1913.

For decades, the grassy space has served as one of the most iconic exterior areas of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., made famous by the colorful rose bushes that bordered the immaculately landscaped lawn. ...

Despite the backlash over the plans, Trump pressed on with his redesign of the rose garden, with images taken in June revealing that the grass had been ripped up and replaced with gravel.

Now, just weeks later, the paving of the Rose Garden appears to be complete. It is now dotted with a number of white tables and chairs, each of which bears its own colorful striped umbrella. ...

... In a highly unusual arrangement ...

Significant understatement.

At this point, Erin looks like one to watch ...

... "Americans, I think, are sick of continuing to send their money, their tax dollars of this particular conflict ...

@#13 ... Might that have something to do with trying to cover up a pedophile sex trafficking scandal? And massively failing? ...

You mean, like this?