News From Around the Web
#1 Trump Promises $5,000 ‘Dividend’ to U.S. Citizens if Republicans Win Midterms - Chloe Taylor for CNBC, Kelly McCarty, Tyler Bower, Thomas Massie/Rapid Response 47, Catherine Rampell/Bulwark Clips, and Financelot on X
U.S. President Donald Trump has promised every adult American citizen a $5,000 “dividend” if the Republicans are victorious at the upcoming midterm elections. Americans will vote in the midterms in early November, with the Democrats currently projected to win control of the House of Representatives. Such a result would likely create barriers to Trump’s legislative agenda and send a signal about public opinion on the president’s policy mix throughout his second presidential term...
#2 Elon Musk’s Estranged Daughter Vivian Wilson Goes Anti-AI Fronting Desigual Fashion Campaign - Etan Vessling for The Hollywood Reporter, SophieZX, UpdateCharts, Lauren Chen/TMZ, Eva, Oli London, and Darkness/Ryan on X
Elon Musk’s estranged trans daughter, Vivian Wilson, has hit out at artificial intelligence and robotics as the face of a fall 2026 fashion campaign, “Born to Disobey,” from the Spanish fashion label Desigual. In a spot posted to Instagram, Wilson, who is also a model, appears in a series of scenes alongside malfunctioning robot, leading her to conclude: “Some things aren’t meant to be fixed.” In the ad, the DESI84 robot is used as a golf tee, walked like a dog and fails to say “Desigual” on command. As the spot ends, the robot is left banging its head against a wall...
#3 “Trump’s PAC Unloads War Chest, With $49 Million Headed to Key Midterm Races” - Rick Hasen for Election Law Blog, Eric Daugherty, OSZ, Real Political Data/Teddy Schleifer, Chris Pappas/Politics & Poll Tracker, and NEWSMAX on X
President Trump is finally beginning to tap significantly into his super PAC’s $400 million war chest to help Republicans in the midterms. Mr. Trump’s political operation is behind a mysterious new super PAC that began reserving at least $49 million in advertisements to aid Republicans in half a dozen key battleground races on Tuesday and Wednesday. The new group, No Going Back PAC Inc., is financially backed by MAGA Inc., Mr. Trump’s powerful main super PAC, according to two people with knowledge of the matter who insisted on anonymity to disclose the private spending plans. The reservations so far target six Senate races and one House battleground. The biggest reservation on Tuesday had been $9.6 million in New Hampshire. But that was quickly leapfrogged early Wednesday by nearly $15 million in Michigan and $11 million in Ohio...
#4 The Army Isn’t Buying Power. It Is Buying an Industry. - Tracy Beanz and Michelle Edwards for The HighWire, Department of War CTO, NewsForce, Jeff Waksman/Governor Mike Braun, Adam Musclor, and Odelia Energy on X
The headlines declared the Army is going nuclear. On August 26, a new service called Janus commenced. It will cost up to $2.2 billion, include more than twenty small commercial reactors, is composed of five companies and five Army bases, with first power due by September 30, 2028. The project spans from Fort Bragg in North Carolina to Fort Drum in New York, with three posts in between. A quick glance at the headline reads like the Pentagon just bought a working product to keep the lights on for the 82nd Airborne. But not so fast, as these are small machines. Units from a company called Radiant, which holds the largest disclosed deal at up to $750 million, are just one megawatt each and remain connected to the main power grid. In other words, the reactors are not the power source for an Army base of 50,000 soldiers. Instead, they are back up for critical loads if the commercial grid goes down. OK, but there is still much more going on here than the “Army goes nuclear.” In fact, officials running Janus told reporters, out loud, that most of the reactor companies will miss the deadline, that nobody yet knows what the reactors will actually cost, and that the American taxpayer is covering the brutal early costs that no private buyer would ever agree to pay...#5 South Korea Nears Agreement Worth Over $100 Billion in US Investments - Reuters/Wall Street Journal, Gunther Eagleman™, Wall St Engine, QuantFiPro, LWS Financial Research, and Unbiased Headlines on X
The South Korean government is preparing to announce a major energy investment project in the United States worth more than $100 billion aimed at boosting artificial intelligence build-out, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. The deal would see South Korea financing the construction of up to eight nuclear power plants and a natural gas project, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. South Korea's trade ministry said details regarding investment in the U.S. have not been finalized. The U.S. Commerce Department and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent outside regular business hours...#6 Sheriff’s Investigator Arrested for 4,000 Unauthorized License Plate Searches - Tyler A. McNeil for Times Union, AMB Attorney/Polymarket, DeFlock, CBS 6 Albany - WRGB, J, and TALK 1300/98.7 NEWS on X
An Albany County sheriff’s investigator has been charged with using database information from Flock cameras, including the department’s, to track an ex-girlfriend and four former acquaintances thousands of times, Sheriff Craig Apple said on Wednesday. Laurie Moore, 47, was charged on Wednesday with misdemeanor counts of second-degree falsifying business records and official misconduct. She is also accused of improperly accessing state Department of Vehicle records for unofficial purposes...#7 GOP Firebrand, [Brandon Gill], Says He’s ‘Not Going to Apologize’ After Flipping Script on Dems’ Latest Woke Trend - Elizabeth Elkind for Fox News, Michael Abbott, Americaforever, Dixie Lawrence, SaltyGoat, and John F Kennedy Jr on X
Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, generated another viral moment on Wednesday during his speech at the Republican midterm convention — and he says he’s not sorry. Gill opened his remarks with a land acknowledgment, a growing trend among Democratic politicians to begin speeches by noting the Native American tribes who historically lived on the land their events are on. "I'd like to acknowledge that we stand here today in the great state of Texas and the United States of America is the ancestral homeland of great American patriots, pioneers, and explorers who put down roots, fight for freedom all over the globe, and bled and died to build the greatest civilization ever known to man," Gill said, the Republican crowd roaring in response...
#8 Fetterman Appears at RNC Midterm Convention in Surprise Video, Vows to Work With Trump on Steel - Caitlin Yilek for CBS News, Amy Wood - The Interactive Social TV News Pioneer, Mary Kiewlich, K. B. Eric Riddle, NWRain-Judi, and Kristy O'Brien on X
Democratic Sen. John Fetterman appeared in a surprise video at the Republican Party's midterm convention on Wednesday, as he becomes increasingly isolated from his own party. "Why am I here talking to you today? Because, well, I'm a common-sense Democrat," the Pennsylvania senator said in a one-minute prerecorded video introducing GOP Sen. Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania. "I'm always going to stand with America. I'm always going to reject the extremes in socialism and that anti-American way of life." Standing in front of Western Pennsylvania's Mon Valley Works steel mill, Fetterman said, "We'll work with President Trump to fight and defend the steel way of life right here in the Steel Valley."
#9 Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee Loses Democratic Primary to Businesswoman Helena Foulkes - Adam Edelman for NBC News, Oakland Tribune, Decoded News, Ian Donnis, Adrienne Bradley, and Matthew Yglesias on X
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee has lost his Democratic primary to former CVS executive Helena Foulkes, NBC News projects, after having faced a significant spending disadvantage and voter discontent with his tenure. In an election season that has seen a wave of anti-incumbent energy, McKee, 75, becomes the first governor to fall in a primary this year — and the first in eight years. Public polling had shown McKee, who was running for a full second term, trailing by double digits heading into Tuesday. And Foulkes, 62, outspent him on the airwaves by 3-to-1, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact...
#10 69 Members of Congress Call On Rubio to Help Secure Release of Prominent Palestinian Doctor - Mary Kekatos and Dara Elasfar for ABC News,
Michael F Ozaki MD, Amnesty International, Middle East Eye, and OIAC: Organization of Iranian American Communities on X
Nearly 70 Democratic and independent members of Congress are calling on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to work with the Israeli government to help secure the release of a prominent Palestinian doctor who has been held in custody for more than 500 days. Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, a pediatrician and director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, was arrested in December 2024 and has been held by Israeli authorities since. No formal charges have been filed against him, and no trial has been held...
