kmacdermott.bsky.social

Huge headlines around the world. In major US media, unreported. Something's fishy here.

Simon & Shuster has responded to Jared Kushner's threats by accelerating the release of Matt Cole’s Princes and Thieves, with the book now available for purchase two days early (today). Buy your copy immediately. www.status.news/p/jared-kush...

GOLDMAN: “.. we are starting to see clearer signs that the AI impact is spreading beyond the technology sector. .. the share of US firms that have adopted AI in regular business functions now shows a statistically significant negative correlation with employment growth ..”

2+2 = 4.

JUST POSTED: Today at The NYT we are publishing a major investigation into how President Trump used his executive powers to expose millions of Americans to greater cancer risks. A six month-long investigation built on more than 10,000 pages of FOIA records. Read it www.nytimes.com/2026/10/24/c...

A wild story: the CEO of a US energy company whose plans were discussed during the Witkoff-Kushner-Putin negotiations resigns. Why? He learned that his company's main investor is a sanctioned Russian company, not the UAE www.nytimes.com/2026/10/23/u...

JUST POSTED: A Russian energy giant has secretly moved to acquire a position in a massive Alaska gas project. Its part of talks between Witkoff/Kushner & Putin. But CEO of US company resigns after learning of Russian money in the project. A wowzer of a story. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/23/u...

Bay of Pigs 2 trailer just dropped

“There is no third potential outcome.” This is a must-read. Share widely.

* TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SUES TO BLOCK ALASKA SENATE RACE CERTIFICATION IF REPUBLICAN LOSES, CITING CANDIDATE NAME CONFUSION -- AP REPORTER ON X @reuters.com #AKsen

We literally have the largest bike-touring event in the world which has been an annual summer state tradition for FIFTY YEARS. There's a giant exhibit in the state historical museum about it. This is comical.

Enormous news. A melanoma vaccine, one of the most deadly cancers out there. Science is good and helpful and there should be more of it. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2026/...

Lights are reflected off a bulletproof screen as President Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Greenville, North Carolina. More photos of the week: reut.rs/4yGkBNh 📷 Evan Vucci

Basically it means that AI is threatening the security of everything on the internet right now because it's getting so good at hacking. But he believes that this will change in 18 months because AI will be writing unhackable code. I'm highly skeptical of the last part.

‘New data shows that this year, the average cost of a family health plan crossed $28,000, rising by 5%. The share coming out of employees’ paychecks shot up even faster—to $7,471, an increase of 9% from 2025.’ www.wsj.com/health/healt...

“While Amazon and the FTC reached a settlement last year, critics note the Biden administration filed the lawsuit in 2023 alleging the company deceived users into signing up for Prime subscriptions and made it difficult to cancel automated renewals.”

Voters who Googled how to donate to Talarico got an AI answer that led them to give to a different senator. A network of fake news websites seeded messaging about state & local candidates that AI answers picked up on. My story on how the AI midterms are going: www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...

“.. The difficulty in distinguishing between a human and an unauthorized bot is forcing banks to block the technology and rapidly rewrite their terms of service.” @axios.com www.axios.com/2026/10/22/a...

Breaking News: The U.S. and Israel have plans for new strikes on Iran after the midterms, according to officials briefed on the discussions.

Past 24 hours. @wsj.com @nytimes.com @nbcnews.com

“.. the document .. cements the power of a small group of people handpicked by the Trump administration to govern and profit from the deal. The role of the Venezuelan government and the potential benefits to its people are largely absent ..” @propublica.org www.propublica.org/article/trum...

In any other admin, this would probably be the most outrageous official statement ever made by a sitting FCC director: Strongly implying that the government forbids broadcast networks from reporting on the president's falling poll numbers. (Sorry to paste from twitter but that's where he posts.)

(WSJ) - 5,000 for every American adult. An $8 billion bailout for farmers; $90 payments for seniors. @wsj.com www.wsj.com/politics/ele...

Jon Husted's ass is now a regular part of Trump's routine. Doesn't matter what state he is in. Ohio. Kentucky. North Carolina. Jon Husted's ass is always on his mind.

BREAKING: Trump's head of FEMA just told states to prepare to handle disasters on their own. The Trump admin's disaster chief told state officials they must increase their financial reserves and emergency capabilities to handle most disasters on their own — without federal help.

🧑‍🌾 Let’s be clear — with another bailout before the midterms Trump is trying to buy the support of the farmers his trade wars/actual war are crushing

“.. the internal, taxpayer funded USDA account Trump is tapping doesn’t actually have enough $$ in it right now to make the direct payments. Congress will have to approve the new funds .. or the admin will have to take it from another program ..” www.politico.com/news/2026/10...

“.. Stunning. Pending home sales in the US fell to an all-time low in September.” - Schwab

Insanity

The 56-year-old Mexican man who died Saturday while in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody was a lawful permanent resident in the country, the agency said in a statement. ICE added he was detained because officers believed he obtained his legal status in the U.S. fraudulently.

The wealthiest people in the world are trying again to buy elections in Ohio and across the country. Why? It’s an investment, meant to buy GOP majorities that will keep dismantling any guardrails that might protect the rest of us from their greed. ohiocapitaljournal.com/2026/10/19/e...

Surprise!

🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Top Trump adviser Ric Grenell allegedly outlined a stunning pay-for-influence offer to a Turkish billionaire last year that included access to Trump, according to a text message reviewed by Axios that the White House counsel is investigating.

“.. Once the money comes to the company here, I will arrange the donation to Kennedy Centre [sic], and you'll be joining the VIP events and get close with the administration, even with POTUS," the May 3, 2025, text says. @axios.com www.axios.com/2026/10/19/k...

IRS refuses to publish report. Ahead of the midterm elections, the Trump regime is withholding detailed information that illustrates how King Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act hurt millions of Americans. The data from the IRS was originally scheduled to be released in July & updated in September.

Elon Musk emerges as virtually the sole-source funder for the Texas GOP, particularly Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/16/u...

“After years of media coverage that repeated the industry’s favored explanation of a flu-based shock to egg production, the news that in fact human misbehavior may have been responsible went largely ignored beyond brief attention from the business press.”

The OBBBA was designed so that Medicare cuts “wouldn’t take effect until after the midterm elections. .. .. But for many, it has already arrived.” @politico.com www.politico.com/news/2026/10...

The White House task force that President Trump charged with uncovering evidence of election fraud hasn’t produced any. Instead, it's shifted to releasing records that his administration is using to build a case against those who investigated him.

“.. Rarely has an individual donor been effectively tied to such a large commitment for a single candidate.” @nytimes.com #TXsen www.nytimes.com/2026/10/16/u...

Of course, birds of a feather

Stop what you are doing because you need to read this. Billions of dollars in oil trades were perfectly timed to Trump’s decision to back off attacking Iranian power plants. Trump announced the reversal just 15 minutes after those trades were placed.

Elon didn't run from California's restrictive regulatory environment, he ran towards the ability to buy people like Ken Paxton wholesale

(Reuters) - The order to limit a satellite system used by Ukraine for battlefield communications and drone operations came from inside the White House, according to two US officials and a Western official briefed on the matter. @reuters.com 🇺🇦 www.reuters.com/world/europe...

WAPO: “.. all the major donors to .. Trump’s White House ballroom project, including previously undisclosed contributors who have benefited from regulatory decisions, government contracts and, in one case, a pardon for a family member.” @washingtonpost.com www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

Trump is taking a victory lap that belongs to Biden.

Real wages are shrinking year-over-year for the sixth month in a row. The Iran War brought an end to three years of real wage growth.

Boomer retirees get bigger checks, while those still working will pay more in Soc Sec tax — a big example of the generational inequality that’s resulting from inflation right now.

Scoop: ICE won’t automatically turn on agents’ body cameras, declining a recommendation from Congress’ watchdog. DHS told the GAO it wouldn’t implement a mechanism to start recording if an agent draws their weapon. CBP has this in place. www.washingtonsun.com/immigration/...

“.. Since the start of the Iran war ..” - Bilello