Let Them Fight

Funny.

Apple on Friday sued OpenAI in federal court in Northern California, alleging trade secret theft, saying that the artificial intelligence lab took the iPhone maker’s intellectual property in order to develop its own consumer hardware.

“This much is clear, however: at every level, from members of its Technical Staff to its Chief Hardware Officer, and in coordination with business partners, OpenAI has been stealing Apple’s trade secrets and confidential information,” the company said in a legal filing.

No respect for IP? Shocking. There were no warnings.

Read the full article. There are good bits!

They Could Still Tout It

Don't really understand the entire premise here. Trump isn't gonna veto it (presumably). They passed it. It will become law .

President Donald Trump said Friday that he will not sign a bipartisan housing bill in protest of Republicans’ inability to advance separate elections overhaul legislation, dealing a major political blow to vulnerable lawmakers in his own party.

The housing bill is set to become law at midnight even without Trump’s signature. But GOP leaders had originally hoped to tout the moment as a historic economic achievement ahead of midterm elections that are likely to be defined by Americans’ concerns over the cost of living.

"AI Agents"

I really think the only people who could imagine the computer assistants would work well are the people who have actual assistants do everything for them and therefore don't understand the complexity of "simple" tasks.

NEW YORK, July 2 (Reuters) - Meta (META.O), opens new tab Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged shortcomings ‌in the company's sweeping restructuring at an internal town hall on Thursday, saying the systems known as AI agents had not progressed as quickly as he had expected, according to a recording heard by Reuters.

Sure, Jan

I hope they showed him some scary pictures.

Israel shared new intelligence with the U.S. that it said indicated a fresh Iranian plan to kill President Trump, people familiar with the matter said, a finding that would mark an escalation in the war between Washington and Iran.

Analogous to this one:

Yes of course it's possible. Even likely given recent actions! But I am skeptical that Israel has some additional intelligence beyond "they probably would!"

I Spoke To Mitch McConnell Yesterday For 20 Minutes

I don't think all changing norms regarding are bad. I actually think it's good that marital infidelity isn't A HUGE SCANDAL THAT GETS MONTHS OF COVERAGE, absent other considerations. Voters can think it's important or not, but journalists putting on their Victorian frocks and heading to the fainting couches was always ridiculous.

But being completely unconcerned with the health of the president of the United States and prominent members of Congress is bizarre.

If it comes out that Jennings was completely lying here, CNN won't fire him.

“I spoke to my old friend Mitch McConnell this morning, the senior Senator from Kentucky,” the pundit wrote.

“He’s still recovering in the hospital. We talked for just shy of 20 minutes… about IRAN, UKRAINE, the unfolding situation in MAINE, my visit to the TR Presidential Library, and even a little bit of Senate history. I told him we want to see him back at work as soon as possible.”

Subsequently on appearing on The Arena with Kasie Hunt, Jennings was asked by the anchor whether McConnell would be willing to dial into the studio from his hospital bed.

“As we wrap up here, do you think he’d be willing to call into the show? Could we get him on the phone now?” Hunt asked.

Her guest carefully brushed aside the request, answering instead: “I wasn’t really expecting him to call this morning, to be honest so when the phone rang and I was able to talk to him, I was frankly pretty grateful.

Normal stuff:

Videos taken by the neighbor show emergency responders wheeling a person on a stretcher toward an ambulance. The videos are shot from some distance, and the face of the person is not visible. Once in the ambulance, the person’s lower legs appear to be covered by an orange blanket, but feet are visible.

The neighbor said they asked officers what was going on, and the officers responded that there had been a “medical emergency.” But when the neighbor inquired if McConnell was having a medical emergency, officers said they would block the street for anybody. The neighbor said they learned from another eyewitness who saw the individual’s face that the person on the stretcher was McConnell and he was not wearing an oxygen mask.

...

“In a situation where perhaps time is of the essence, there seems to be a little bit more urgency, but there was no urgency here,” the neighbor told CNN.

Then the emergency vehicles left the street, the neighbor said their sirens were not on.

Obey The Decider

If MY PRESIDENT wants to travel in his fancy new plane, I do not think the Deep State should stop him.

The new Air Force One, which President Trump flew on earlier this week to Turkey, lacks the same defensive countermeasures that were security features of the old model, including its advanced antimissile capabilities, according to multiple officials who have been briefed on how the jet was retrofitted.

...

“The new Air Force One is a state-of-the-art aircraft that has been fitted with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the president and his staff,” Steven Cheung, the communications director, said in a statement. “As the president has said recently, there are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats.”

Morning

Effing Friday. Stock pump time.

Thursday Night

Rock on.

Happy Hour

Get happy.

Sounds Familiar

Where have I heard of cyclospora?

But this summer, with cases of diarrhea caused by a microscopic parasite called cyclospora climbing across several states, you may want to take extra care with how you prepare your produce and where you swim.

The epicenter of an outbreak is Michigan, where more than 1,200 people have fallen ill. Ohio has also seen nearly 200 cases. Other states, including New York, Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, and Texas have also reported a jump in cases, although it’s not clear whether they’re all part of the same outbreak. More than 40 people have been hospitalized.

Oh.

As of July 1, the Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network (FoodNet) program has reduced surveillance to just two pathogens: salmonella and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), a spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told NBC News.

Before July, the program had been tracking infections caused by six additional pathogens: campylobacter, cyclospora, listeria, shigella, vibrio and Yersinia. Some of them can lead to severe or life-threatening illnesses, particularly for newborns and people who are pregnant or have weakened immune systems.

Talent Scouts

It isn't surprising, but this does paint a vivid portrait of the entrepreneurial nature of political consulting. Become the "manager" of the hot new band and you can be set for life, pontificating for cash like James Carville for the next 40 years. 

Last July, in a small town in coastal Maine, a couple of progressive, self-styled recruiters of economic populists showed up at the blue-shingled house of Graham Platner, a little-known oyster farmer and Marine veteran who lived largely off government benefits. 

They knew his name from local labor organizers and activists, and they had watched a video on the internet of him talking about oysters. Struck by his left-leaning ideology, his working-class affect and his gravelly voice, they became convinced that he could win a Senate seat in Maine — and quickly persuaded Mr. Platner of the same. 

 

The initial headhunters, Dan Moraff and Leanne Fan, and then a third out-of-state operative they called up to Maine — Morris Katz — told Mr. Platner he was “the one,” a “hero of the movement,” “a historical figure” who could be “leading a revolution,” according to half a dozen people with knowledge of their conversations. 

But a clutch of people who cared about Mr. Platner were telling him something else. They worried about his mental health, amid his ongoing efforts to heal from post-traumatic stress disorder after tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. They feared this trio of out-of-state operatives was a dangerous combination of inexperienced and overconfident. The worst-case scenario, they thought, wasn’t running for Senate and losing — it was destroying the life he worked hard to build.

They were plotting a 2028 presidential run.

Popularism!

NEW: Our first report on the swing voters of the 2026 midterms finds that when they are asked which policies would make them definitely vote for a Democrat, the most selected option is “raise taxes on the wealthy,” followed by “create a Medicare for All health care system.”

[image or embed]

— Data for Progress (@dataforprogress.org) July 9, 2026 at 2:30 PM

Sorry, I forgot, "popularism" means do popular stuff as long as the people funding my fake think tank like it, too.

The Internet Is Real, But Not All Of Reality

I stayed away from the Platner discourse largely because it seemed like one of those things people were fighting about, pointlessly, on the internet. Probably, most arguing on the internet is pointless, but sometimes the heat/light ratio is off the charts.

Eventually it was obvious he was going to win the Maine primary (which he did) and no arguing about it on the internet was going to change that one way or another. Sometimes it is best not to stir shit up just for the sake of it.

Even if the worst stuff about him hadn't come out, I would have still found it very odd that (some) people both Left and Center were so invested in him.

Too much of the reason is that he used to be the DC bartender for some somewhat influential people.

That kind of explanation applies to too many things.

Quick, Call Boxer

Not especially important but an odd detail.

But some Platner allies moved to canvass national Democrats to assess whether he still had support. Former Senator Barbara Boxer of California said that a representative from the campaign reached out to her on Monday afternoon to see whether she would stand with Mr. Platner.

She refused.

He's out now.

Morning

Be excellent to each other.

Happy Hour

Betting against Elon has been a loser for a long time but his latest is below the IPO price.

Afternoon

I got nothin'

Sure Why Not

I'm sure these commie stores will get as much negative attention as Mamdani's proposed FIVE urban grocery markets.

The White House launched 25 Freedom Fuel gas stations, all selling fuel at $3.47 a gallon.

The White House announced the initiative on July 7 on X with a video of customers thanking President Donald Trump for lowering gas prices. The gas stations are located in the greater Philadelphia area, the White House told USA TODAY in an email on Tuesday, July 7.

In the video, one customer claimed the gas station saved him money. "I thought gas was more expensive, but it's not," the man, who was not identified, said. "Thanks, Trump, for saving me some money."

 They aren't really commie, just some corrupt deal of some sort.

The White House did not immediately respond to CBS News' inquiry about who operates Freedom Fuel, or how it is offering gasoline at more than 30 cents a gallon below the national average. The stations are run by a private company and aren't part of a government program, nor are they receiving funding from the administration, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported, citing the White House. 

Mr. President, Sir, The Stock Market Isn't Happy

 It really is the only check on his behavior.

Sure Why Not

Back to his old games.

ANKARA, July 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday at a NATO summit he had ordered his ​Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to cut off all ‌trade with Spain, calling Madrid a "terrible partner" in the alliance.

I don't even know what this means, or if he knows what it means, but it's funny!

"I don't want to do any trade ​with them, alright?" he said, turning to Bessent, who replied: "Yes, sir."

"Take it ‌immediately, ⁠Don't even talk to them. They're hopeless. They're bad people," he added. "They make so much money with us, and we're going to see that they make a lot less. ​I want no ​business with ⁠them."