The estimate, which had been delayed by the government shutdown, shows that the economy remained resilient over a three-month period that saw fewer new tariffs announced and consumers shopping for back-to-school goods. read more
Although the overall US economy added 64,000 jobs last month, the tech sector is softening when it comes to hiring. read more
The second-highest official at the DOJ, Todd Blanche rose to prominence as Trump's personal defense attorney. His actions violated the federal conflicts of interest law and his ethics agreement, experts told ProPublica. read more
This weekend conservatives across the coalition descended upon Phoenix, Arizona to pay tribute to the late activist at Turning Point USA's (TPUSA) marquee event, one of them being the second-in-command. read more
Carr used to insist on FCC independence. Now he uses FCC to fight Trump's battles. read more
Another view ...
Population Distribution by Age (2024)
www.kff.org
A chart showing by-age for the entire US and per state.
@#6 ... Only 10% in the US are under 50. ...
Resident population of the United States by sex and age as of July 1, 2024
www.statista.com
... As of July 2024, the largest age group among the United States population were adults aged 30 to 34 years old. ...
[Good chart in the article]
Am I the only person who notices a different in approach to the Epstein Files?
fmr Pres Clinton:
Bill Clinton wants any other mentions of him from the Epstein files to be released
www.scrippsnews.com
..."Refusal to do so will confirm the widespread suspicion the Department of Justice's actions to date are not about transparency, but about insinuation," a statement from Clinton's spokesperson said. ...
Pres Trump:
Lies and an apparent cover-up attempt.
... The president has tried to minimize their friendship, ...
Trump says he was never on Epstein's plane or stupid island' (2024)
thehill.com
... President Trump denounced reports of his association with Jeffrey Epstein on Tuesday, arguing he had never been on the convicted sex trafficker's plane or "stupid island" after images of the two made by artificial intelligence (AI) surfaced online.
"This is what the Democrats do to their Republican Opponent, who is leading them, by a lot, in the Polls. This is A.I., and it is very dangerous for our Country!" Trump posted on his Truth Social site. "I was never on Epstein's Plane, or at his stupid' Island. Strong Laws ought to be developed against A.I. It will be a big and very dangerous problem in the future!" ...
... and then ...
Federal Prosecutor Was Surprised by Trump's Flights on Epstein's Jet
www.nytimes.com
... Subject: Re: Epstein flight records[emphasis mine]
Date: Wed 08, Jan. 2020 00:56:36
For your situational awareness, wanted to let you know that the flight records we received yesterday reflect that Donald Trump traveled on Epstein's private jet many more times than previously has been reported (or that we were aware), including during the period we would expect to charge in a Maxwell case. In particular, he is listed as a passenger on at least eight flights between 1993 and 1996, including at least four flights on which Maxwell was also present. ...
Related ...
ICE officer accused of excessive force, then sent back to work despite active probe
www.npr.org
... In the span of less than 72 hours, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Victor Mojica went from being widely vilified and placed on administrative leave " to being returned right back to his old job.
On a Friday in September, Mojica was caught on several cameras roughly pushing a woman into the hallway and then to the ground, as the woman screamed.
The incident at an immigration court in New York rapidly circulated online and prompted the Homeland Security Department to place Mojica on administrative leave " a rare instance of such leave being publicly announced.
By the following Monday, Mojica was back on the job, without any further explanation from the agency.
A federal agent restrains the wife of a detained man from Ecuador on Sept. 25 in New York City. The agent was later placed on leave.
Law
ICE officer caught on video pushing woman is placed on leave
NPR has now learned that he returned to work before the Homeland Security Department's internal watchdog had concluded a review into his behavior. ...
Then there's things like this ...
AI's Big Red Button Doesn't Work, And The Reason Is Even More Troubling
www.sciencealert.com
... It's one of humanity's scariest what-ifs " that the technology we develop to make our lives better develops a will of its own.
Early reactions to a September preprint describing AI behavior have already speculated that the technology is exhibiting a survival drive. But, while it's true that several large language models (LLMs) have been observed actively resisting commands to shut down, the reason isn't 'will'.
Instead, a team of engineers at Palisade Research proposed that the mechanism is more likely to be a drive to complete an assigned task -- even when the LLM is explicitly told to allow itself to be shut down. And that might be even more troubling than a survival drive, because no one knows how to stop the systems.
"These things are not programmed ... no one in the world knows how these systems work," physicist Petr Lebedev, a spokesperson for Palisade Research, told ScienceAlert. "There isn't a single line of code we can change that would directly change behavior."
The researchers, Jeremy Schlatter, Benjamin Weinstein-Raun, and Jeffrey Ladish, undertook the project to test what should be a fundamental safety feature of all AI systems: the ability to be interrupted.
This is exactly what it sounds like.
A human operator's command to an AI should not be ignored by the AI, for any reason, even if it interrupts a previously assigned task.
A system that cannot be interrupted isn't just unreliable, it's potentially dangerous.
It means if the AI is performing actions that cause harm -- even unintentionally -- we cannot trust that we can stop it. ...
@#6
Lyrics excerpt ...
genius.com