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Quiet Communities and Science for Georgia Release First-of-its-Kind Study on the Impacts of Data Center and Cryptomining Noise
New national survey documents widespread reports of persistent noise and disrupted quality of life as AI data centers and cryptomines rapidly expand across...
EPA is set to eliminate rule that limits planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from power plants
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to repeal rules that limit planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from power plants fueled by coal and natural gas, an action that Administrator Lee Zeldin has said would remove billions of dollars in costs for the industry and help “unleash” American energy. The rule change, proposed last […]
Vance says AI doom warnings from tech CEOs feel like a ‘Trojan horse’
Vice President JD Vance is skeptical of artificial intelligence CEOs calling for a development slowdown, comparing the calls to a “Trojan horse.” Vance told reporters on Monday that President Donald Trump‘s administration is concerned about the speed at which frontier model development is happening but would prefer to “regulate smartly,” considering the benefits and risks […]
NC Dept. of Health recieves nearly $7 million to improve mental health services
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services received three federal grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) totaling almost $7 million.
Jersey City Science Center Kicks Off $40M Expansion That Will Include Goats, Otters, Mini Golf
Liberty Science Center kicked off a $40M expansion of its interactive exhibits on Thursday. See what's coming.
Nigel Farage says £72m donation are compliant 'with the law today'
Ministers are seeking to put a £100,000 annual cap on donations from British expats, backdated to 25 March 2026.
Old Dominion University Selected for Two Federal Genesis Mission Awards Advancing Artificial Intelligence for Scientific Discovery
The next generation of scientific discovery will not come from artificial intelligence (AI) replacing scientists. It will come from AI helping them ask better questions, solve more complex problems and reach reliable answers faster.
SENA Health Secures Series A Financing to Accelerate Growth and Expand AI and Technology Capabilities
SENA Health, a New Jersey-based AI-powered healthcare access and care coordination company, today announced it has secured Series A financing led by Rittenhouse Ventures. The funding will support the expansion of SENA's Clinical Command Center and global operations. SENA is dedicated to relentlessly reducing friction in healthcare by reducing the administrative burden for healthcare organizations, making it easier for patients to access care, and enabling providers and staff to focus on deliveri
7 USB Mini Gadgets That Just Work
Mini USB gadgets can expand the functionality of devices that rely on a single port. Some of the best include a keyboard light and a headphone adapter.
Westminster’s time is ‘coming to an end’, say first ministers of UK’s Celtic nations
Leaders in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland discuss independence and call for ‘constitutional change’ at summit
Testimony of Brian Blase before the United States House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the Administrative State, Regulatory Reform, and Antitrust — "Examining Healthcare Markets: Fraud and Competition"
Government has created incentives to maximize subsidies while weakening incentives to improve productivity and compete for patients.
Ballots set to be mailed to overseas Oregonians this week
Ballots will be mailed to overseas Oregonians on Friday, all while the Trump administration continues to try and restrict mail-in voting.
Sydney Sweeney under fire from athletes over nude sports-prediction ad
Female athletes have reacted with anger and incredulity to a “hypersexualized” advertising campaign featuring a nude or minimally clad Sydney Sweeney posing with sports equipment.
Immigration crackdown continues to hurt Sunnyside businesses
The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown continues to take an indirect toll on Latino-owned businesses in Sunnyside.
Rhelion Life Sciences' Wholly Owned Subsidiary Filament Health to Deliver Oral Comments at FDA Public Hearing on the Potential Future Therapeutic Use of Psychedelic Drugs
Sarit Hashkes, President of Filament Health Corp., will provide oral remarks at the United States Food and Drug Administration public hearing "Considerations for Potential Future Therapeutic Use of Psychedelic Drugs", being held later today, September 14, 2026Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - September 14, 2026) - Rhelion Life Sciences Corp. (CSE: RHEL) (FSE: 4YX0) (OTCQB: TRUFF) ("Rhelion" or the "Company"), an Ontario-based organization advancing innovation and research within the legal...
Chikli surfs with wounded IDF veterans, urges soldiers to seek mental health care
At a Hahazakim Mitgalim gathering in Herzliya, the Diaspora Affairs minister said soldiers should feel no shame in seeking psychological support or taking part in therapeutic activities.
Scientists find nine new sponge species in glimpse of Alaska’s deep-sea diversity
But their habitat is threatened by bottom trawling in the region and Trump’s plan to expand seafloor mining
Gaza Health Ministry says WHO to stop diesel supplies to over 20 hospitals
Decision to take effect Sept. 19 amid severe fuel, oil shortages threatening operation of Gaza hospitals, Health Ministry official says | Anadolu
Korea seeks expanded AI and science partnerships with Central Asia
Bae Kyung-hoon met with fellow science ministers visiting from Central Asia to discuss expanding AI, science and climate technology partnerships.
Carney, locked in US trade war, pitches Canada to global investment titans
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney welcomes dozens of global investors to Toronto this week, hoping to lure investments for more than 160 projects that he says are key to steering Canada's economy through a trade war with the United States.
Exclusive: Nara Health raises $10M for benefits admin
Khosla Ventures led the third-party administration startup's funding.
Iran Refutes Interference in Yemen Affairs
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry Esmaeil Baqaei stressed that Yemenis independently make decisions concerning their country, rejecting any Iranian interference in Yemen’s affairs and calling for equal maritime security for all countries.
'Here & Now' Highlights: Andrew Mercil, Josh Kaul, Eric Toney
The Trump administration is pushing to alter how the U.S. Postal Service handles absentee ballots, and Dunn County Clerk Andrew Mercil describes what is already happening at the local level. ...
Iran Decries Austria’s Blocking of Nuclear Chief from IAEA Conference
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned Austria’s refusal to issue a visa to Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, to attend an International Atomic Energy Agency conference in Vienna, calling the move completely unjustified.
Collins leans on familiar playbook in hopes of defying political headwinds
While commending the work of the businesses, organizations and schools she visits, Collins always highlights the federal funding she’s been able to secure — or in some cases claw back from President Donald Trump's administration — to bolster or make it possible.
Little-Pengelly criticises O'Neill over meet with first ministers of Wales and Scotland
In Northern Ireland, the first and deputy first minister have identical powers and responsibilities.
Iran Announces Postponement of Persian Gulf States’ Ministerial Meeting
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry announced the postponement of a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Persian Gulf littoral states, which had been scheduled for Monday, following a request from several regional countries and a joint decision by Iran and Oman.
Science minister eyes more partnerships in AI, science with Central Asia
SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Yonhap) -- Science Minister Bae Kyung-hoon said at a ministerial meeting ...
Science minister’s comments on arts and humanities spark dismay
Concern that Chris McDonald appeared unaware his remit extends beyond science
Carney pitches Canada to global investors as Trump tries to pull investment south
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is courting some of the world’s biggest investors as he tries to reduce Canada’s economic dependence on the United States during an escalating trade war with President Donald Trump.
Carney pitches Canada to global investors as Trump tries to pull investment south
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is courting some of the world’s biggest investors as he tries to reduce Canada’s economic dependence on the United States during an escalating trade war with...
Carney Pitches Canada to Global Investors as Trump Tries to Pull Investment South
TORONTO (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump wants factories and investment moving south to the United States. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is betting he can make billions flow north. About 300 CEOs and senior executives from some of the world’s biggest investment firms will descend on the Four ...
Sorbent to acquire Kenvue's Stayfree and Carefree business in Australia and New Zealand
Sorbent Paper Company Pty Ltd ("Sorbent") has signed an agreement with Kenvue's Singaporean subsidiary to acquire its Stayfree and Carefree feminine care business in Australia and New Zealand. Following completion of the transaction, the business in New Zealand will be managed by Sorbent's affiliate, Cottonsoft.
GC Labs Trains Kenyan Health Officials
17 mid-to-high-level officials from the Ministry of Health and local governments of Kenya entered the country to learn South Korea’s know-how on health promoti
A business leader’s guide to rising political risk in the US
Deborah McNamara is executive director at ClimateVoice The Trump administration is a threat to free and fair elections, the rule of law, civil liberties and rights, and an independent press — and authoritarianism is bad for business
A business leader’s guide to rising political risk in the US
Deborah McNamara is executive director at ClimateVoice The Trump administration is a threat to free and fair elections, the rule of law, civil liberties and rights, and an independent press — and authoritarianism is bad for business
UK PM Burnham to meet business leaders to discuss growth
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham will meet the bosses of several major companies on Monday to discuss his plans to generate economic growth, his office said.
‘Sweat the asset’: new development minister plots path to make UK aid count
Kirsty McNeill reaffirms Labour’s 0.7% of GDP pledge and promises value for money to allay voter concerns
Ireand cheers as Trump says he will remove tariffs on Irish whiskey
Trump said he decided to remove the tariffs on Irish whiskey after he was asked to by the Irish prime minister and golfer Shane Lowry.
HP has a new $799 mini PC for fans of the Mac mini form factor
HP has launched a new mini PC that pairs a Mac mini-like design with Windows 11, Intel Wildcat Lake processors, and plenty of ports.
Swedish voters go to polls to choose a new parliament as hard right bids for role in government
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is seeking a second four-year term at the helm of the European Union nation that is also NATO’s newest member. Meanwhile, his predecessor hopes to win the job back.
Trump downplays the need to check AI development and says he doesn’t want to cede edge to China
President Donald Trump is playing down the need for his administration to check the development of artificial intelligence.
Trump dismisses AI leaders’ calls to slow down, citing Chinese competition
Democrats are increasingly attacking the administration’s hands-off approach to artificial-intelligence regulation as midterms approach.
Kosovo gets new government but political impasse persists
Kosovo lawmakers have voted in a new government led by Prime Minister Albin Kurti
Kosovo gets new government but political impasse persists
Kosovo lawmakers have voted in a new government led by Prime Minister Albin Kurti. It follows an early election in June amid a prolonged political crisis. Kurti's government received support
Kosovo gets new government but political impasse persists
Kosovo lawmakers have voted in a new government led by Prime Minister Albin Kurti
Kosovo parliament re-elects Albin Kurti as prime minister, political crisis persists
Kosovo's parliament re-elected Albin Kurti as prime minister on Sunday after his party came first in June elections, but a failure to elect a president could send the country into another snap election.
Reform-style donations rejected by Wales' first minister
Rhun ap Iorwerth says he fears the huge donations will trigger "a race to the bottom".
Gaza hospital generators stop operating amid shortages of fuel, oil: Health Ministry
Ministry warns more generators could shut down due to lack of spare parts, calls for urgent supplies | Anadolu
Arsenal analysis: Raya proves worth with crucial contribution
Arsenal's first-half frustration was encapsulated in manager Mikel Arteta being booked shortly before the break for leaving his technical area too many times. Greece winger Christos Tzolis continued his inconsistent start to the season, more reminiscent here of his toothless showing against Aston Villa rather than the productive display at home to Chelsea. Konsa, even before giving away the penalty, struggled to deal with Sunderland's direct attacking approach and the physicality of striker Brian Brobbey.
Scientists used centuries-old aurora sightings to reconstruct 8 solar cycles from 1560 to 1640; their method placed solar minima within 2 years with more than 90% reliability
Centuries-old reports of strange lights in the night sky have helped scientists reconstruct a missing chapter in the Sun’s history. A study published in Scientific Reports by Kristof Petrovay, Laura G.
Swedes vote in election that could usher far right into government
Sweden’s centre-left opposition holds a narrow lead over the ruling right-wing bloc, but Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has been catching up in the final weeks of campaigning.
At BRICS, India’s Modi warns geopolitical tensions and supply chain shocks threaten global stability
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has warned that rising geopolitical tensions, supply chain disruptions and climate crises are affecting people worldwide.
SBA Offers Disaster Relief to Indiana Businesses, Private Nonprofits, and Residents Affected by Adverse Weather
Press release, U.S. Small Business Administration: Low-interest disaster loans now available WASHINGTON — In response to a Presidential disaster declaration issued Aug. 25, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced the availability of low interest disaster loans for Indiana businesses, private nonprofit organizations, and residents affected by severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding beginning Aug. 11. The declaration covers Indiana primary counties of Carroll, Dearborn, Decatur, Delaware, Fayette, Franklin, Hamilton, Hancock, Henry, LaPorte, Lake, Madison, Marion, Morgan, Porter, Pulaski, Randolph, Rush, Tipton, Union, and Wayne, which are eligible for both physical damage loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans from SBA. Small businesses and most private nonprofit organizations in the following adjacent
Homeowners and businesses can now apply for disaster loans for Bug and Hawk fire losses
This comes after the Small Business Administration declared a disaster for Nevada yesterday.
Benchmarking and bonuses: why Singapore pays its politicians like bankers
The city-state has some of the best-paid ministers in the world
Bone Health Without the Hype
I am at the Australasian Menopause Society meeting and we had a fantastic lecture on Bone Health on Day 2, called, “Everything you need to know about bones - except the boring bits!” Spoiler alert, there were no boring bits. The lecture was given by Dr. Amanda Beech, who is a senior staff specialist in Obstetric Medicine and Endocrinology at the Royal Hospital for Women, where she is director of the Bone Density Unit. I want to summarize my top 10 take-aways for you. Share Osteoporosis is a disease of low bone mass, disruption of bone microarchitecture, and fragility of the skeleton. It is a silent disease…until someone develops a fracture. The diagnosis of osteoporosis is based on either fragility/minimal trauma fractures or a T-score of less than -2.5 on a DXA (Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry) or bone scan. It is important to recognize that about 50% of minimal trauma fractures occur when women have low bone mass (often referred to as osteopenia), but not osteoporosis. This tells us that bone strength is more complicated than a number on a DXA report. I am going to add a little here that wasn’t in the talk (one can only include so much in 25 minutes), as many women might read the above paragraph and think, “Shouldn’t we be treating everyone with low bone mass if this is when 50% of the fractures occur?” Many fractures happen for women with low bone mass because there are so many women with low bone mass –it is a statement about the population on a whole, not about the fracture risk of low bone mass. For you as an individual, bone density is only one component of fracture risk and many women with lower bone mass will not have a significantly elevated fracture risk. This is why individualized risk assessment matters. Subscribe We build bone in our teens and twenties, and by the time we are about thirty we have reached peak bone mass. This is why, when we discuss risk factors for osteoporosis, it is important to consider factors that might have affected us in our teens and twenties when we were actively building bone, such as nutritional restriction/energy imbalance. It is important to ask women about a history of eating disorders, and for those with such a history, getting a bone scan in perimenopause or at age 50 is likely warranted. (This image below isn’t from the talk, but is similar to one that was). Bone mass is relatively stable until about two years before the final menstrual period, and perimenopause marks a time of rapid bone loss for women. Using urinary markers of bone loss we know that the time of significantly accelerated bone loss starts about 1 year before the final period and ends about 2 years after the final period. The Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN) shows that over the menopause transition women lose an average of 10.6% of the bone at their lumbar spine and 9.1% at the femoral neck While this wasn’t covered in the lecture, I want to add that the rapid bone loss during perimenopause is clearly related to more than estradiol, because during this time estradiol levels can be erratic and not uniformly low. Bone loss during perimenopause is likely a multi-hormone event. For example, rising FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) tracks with bone loss better than estradiol, and there is evidence that FSH may act directly on bone. While decreased estrogen matters, there is clearly more going on. FSH and bone is an active area of research. Subscribe Screening for osteoporosis was recommended fairly broadly before age 65, and was taken from the “Practitioner’s Toolkit for Managing Menopause,” from Monash University. Here is a screenshot from the toolkit that was used as a slide: I am going to add a little bit more about body weight here for clarification. Low body mass (typically 152.1 lb): 0 points (risk neutral) 60–69 kg (132.3–152.1 lb): 3 points (adds some risk)
Premature to offer new deal to Borthwick
IT’S hard not to see a large crack in England’s runway to the 2027 World Cup with the RFU’s decision to give head coach Steve Bothwick a contract extension until after the 2028 Six Nations. It is reminiscent of the tangle that RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney, and his Teflon-coated performance director, Conor O’Shea, got […] The post Premature to offer new deal to Borthwick appeared first on The Rugby Paper.
In 1903, a mining engineer staked a claim on Arizona's Meteor Crater, convinced a fortune in iron lay beneath the floor, and spent 26 years drilling for a meteorite that had mostly vaporized on impact — his family still owns the crater today, and science later proved him right about everything except the treasure
A wealthy engineer bet his fortune on a hole in the ground that science said was worthless, and spent three decades proving the experts catastrophically wrong.
‘We’re not going to fold’: Nevada election chief pushes back on Trump administration scrutiny
Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar said that the Trump administration’s scrutiny of the state’s election process is an effort to intimidate officials and suppress voting in Nov...
5 Mini Gadgets From Belkin That Are Small Enough To Take Anywhere
Belkin's UltraCharge Power Bank, Wireless Microphone, Magnetic Charging Camera Grip, RockStar USB-C Audio Adapter, and Magnetic Wireless Power Bank w/ Stand.
Judge rules Trump administration order to fire FEMA staffers was illegal
A federal judge said in a filing Friday that a Trump administration order for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cut its staffing nearly in half was illegal.
Washington Does Bare Minimum in Win Over Utah State
Good news: Washington is 2-0 after surviving a scare against Utah State, winning 16-14. Bad news: There may not be many wins left on the schedule. In Friday evening’s mailbag, I explained why there is cause for concern, but I wouldn’t quite hit the panic button just yet. Less than 24 hours later, I am […]
Command the Old Gods in Reign of the Black Empire, Hearthstone's Next Expansion
Return to the age of the Black Empire, command the most powerful Old Gods Hearthstone has ever seen, and create custom minions with the new Assemble keyword.
UNDP warns Russian drone attacks on Chernobyl endangers the health and safety of millions
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) administrator Alexander De Croo on Thursday warned in an interview that frequent drone attacks on Chernobyl are 'really gambling with the safety of millions...
12 Fun Mini Gadgets For Your Home Office Desk
Make your workday a little less dull with compact gadgets designed to tidy up, keep you focused, entertain you, or simply look cool.
Trump touches a nerve while in Ireland by saying reunification would be 'fantastic'
At a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin in Dublin, Trump said he would love to see the reunification of the Republic of Ireland with the United Kingdom's Northern Ireland.
Bournemouth 2-2 Brentford: What Rose said
Bournemouth became the first team to have led in each of their first four games of a Premier League season and fail to win any of them (D3 L1). Marcus Tavernier scored his 21st goal in the Premier League for Bournemouth, making him just the sixth player to score more than 20 in the competition for the Cherries, after Joshua King, Callum Wilson, Antoine Semenyo, Dominic Solanke, and Justin Kluivert.
Germany’s Political Tailspin: Your Weekly SPIEGEL Recap
It might be tempting to dismiss the results of last Sunday’s state election in Saxony-Anhalt, in which the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party raked in 43.8 percent of the vote, as a rather unimportant extremist blip in a state that hardly anyone can find on the map. And you wouldn’t necessarily be wrong to do so. The state’s population – around 2.1 million – is a mere 2.5 percent of the German total. And while the state capital of Magdeburg was once the political heart of the Holy Roman Empire back when Otto the Great used to hang out there (more than a millenium … no … milennium … nope … millennium ago), it is today something of a backwater, albeit one with a ginormous cathedral in its center. We wanted to briefly interrupt this week’s newsletter to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our subscribers, both new and old. And to remind you all that a free subscription gets you access to this newsletter every Saturday. A paid subscription, by contrast, gets you one DER SPIEGEL article every weekday, delivered to your inbox. We strive to select pieces that both demonstrate what Europe’s leading newsmagazine has to offer and provide an international audience – namely, you – with an insight into how Germany and Europe view the world. If you haven’t already signed up for a paid subscription, please consider doing so if you can. Our Substack channel relies entirely on reader support and we are excited to continue offering you the best of DER SPIEGEL. Subscribe But even beyond the fact that a huge percentage of the voters in the state decided to place an X next to a party with an ideological lineage that runs rather directly back to the right-wing extremist soup out of which the Nazi Party was born, the results are a perfect example of a phenomenon that has been plaguing German elections in recent years: the lack of an obvious path to a majority. Call it the Balkanization of German politics. There are a number of developments driving the phenomenon, but for the purposes of this newsletter, here are two of the most salient: Persistent voter frustration with the country’s two (former) big-tent parties – the Christian Democrats (CDU) on the center-right (17.2 percent in Saxony-Anhalt last Sunday) and the Social Democrats (SPD) on the center-left (9.3 percent). The presence of parties on the far left (Left Party), the populist left (the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance – BSW) and the far right (AfD) with which mainstream parties are reluctant to form coalitions. So what happens now? Stories of the Week A Lack of Leadership The answer for many people in the country, and particularly within the CDU, is clear: pin (some of) the blame on Chancellor Friedrich Merz. According to a survey taken directly after the election in Saxony-Anhalt, 88 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that if the federal government in Berlin were doing a better job, the AfD wouldn’t be as strong. And it is true that the predominant impression of the federal government ever since Merz was sworn in on May 6, 2025, is one of ineffectiveness and bickering. His rather unique combination of bumbling-plus-bravado has also not exactly endeared him to the German public. Indeed, his standing in the country is so shaky that his popularity – according to recent polls – has now dropped even below the historic lows associated with his predecessor Olaf Scholz. The situation is such that the CDU even opted to keep him largely out of the campaign ahead of the Saxony-Anhalt vote. And since then, dissatisfied rumblings within the CDU have grown louder. DER SPIEGEL’s Swantje Karich notes that the problems with the CDU go much deeper than Merz. “The center-right has a trust problem. At a press appearance following the devastating election result in Saxony-Anhalt, Friedrich Merz said that the party wanted to ‘reach people more effectively’ through ‘emotional engagement.’ It sounded as though he were announcing a political program. On the basis of that statement, it is difficult to take his empathy seriously.” “The Chancellor’s chastened appearance did, at least, reveal where he stands: with his back to the wall. Elections will be held in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania next week, and the CDU could fare even worse there. The party is polling at between 8 and 10 percent in the state.” “What is at stake is the political tradition that has lent stability to the Federal Republic since 1945: a democratic conservatism that understands what must be preserved, but also how to embrace progress and openness to the world. If the Union continues along its current path, it risks becoming politically irrelevant after the 2029 federal election – and Germany could soon find itself with a government of the far right.” The Trumpification of Political Debate? It is often said in Germany that to understand the political and social trends that will soon be dominant in Europe, one need only look across the Atlantic to the United States. When it comes to political debate, that has certainly proven true. Donald Trump understood early on that triggering mouth-foaming outrage among Democrats is an ideal way to both generate headlines and to secure loyalty among supporters. And he realized that far more quickly than the left side of the political spectrum understood that simply ignoring the old man might be the best recipe. To be sure, there have been signs recently that the US president may be over-relying on the strategy. Earlier this week, in an apparent grandpa-discovers-AI moment, Trump sent out 60 posts in the space of 10 hours, many of them AI-assisted images portraying him as a hero – or showing Iceland as part of the US (outrageous!!!). It was also during that slew of schlock that he explicitly backed the AfD with an “MGGA” post. In Germany, though, the outrage cycle remains in full swing, with much of the focus on those who would dare to vote for the AfD. They are alternately portrayed as being dim-witted, ungrateful, backward, racist or all of the above. That, argues DER SPIEGEL columnist Sabine Rennefanz, is not particularly helpful. “Everywhere on election night, people spoke of a watershed moment, a rupture, a turning point. But what is that supposed to mean in concrete terms? A watershed would imply an interruption, a moment of pause – perhaps even a willingness to rethink and learn. At first, there was little sign of that in the main television panels. Instead, the familiar rituals that had already shaped the election campaign continued: outrage, lecturing and abuse.” “That’s just the tone, one might object. They’re only talk shows. Given that the party’s state branch has been classified by domestic intelligence officials as confirmed right-wing extremist, there are more important problems than hurt feelings on television. Yet although the condescending tone is not the cause of the AfD’s success, it is an expression of the broader mood within the so-called political center – a kind of institutional blindness that too often treats material concerns as a communications problem.” “People have a pretty good sense of whether you like them – whether you approach them with curiosity or merely study, lecture and manage them as a problem group. They notice whether you genuinely want to understand their fears and pain, or whether you are simply waiting for the chance to correct them. They can also tell whether someone still has the energy to change things, or whether they have barricaded themselves behind platitudes and empty phrases.” “Anyone who wants an egalitarian democratic society cannot promise equality only to those whose language, tastes and moral convictions they share. They must also acknowledge the wounds, resentments and fears of those whose political conclusions they consider wrong. Acknowledging them does not mean agreeing with them. But a democracy that communicates with almost half its citizens only through warnings and labels gives up on political debate before it has even begun. An atmosphere must be created in which people can express their opinions without fearing that they will be canceled. We are currently a long way from that.” East-West? One of the clear undercurrents in the election last Sunday was, of course, Germany’s ongoing east-west divide, particularly as it pertains to the success of the AfD. Historically, the party has been far stronger in the former East German states than in former West German states. The fact that this generalization no longer reliably holds is certainly one of the primary concerns that many have about the party’s growth. And yet, there is still a distinct flavor of “stupid easterners, they don’t understand democracy” to the coverage. In the weeks before the vote, there was even a rather interesting back-and-forth in Germany’s culture pages about how ungrateful eastern Germans allegedly are for being pulled out of their pre-reunification backwardness and into the light of the West. DER SPIEGEL’s Jochen-Martin Gutsch has had enough. “Ten years ago, in 2016, elections were also held in Saxony-Anhalt. The AfD won more than 20 percent, which at the time rightly provoked outrage and incomprehension in western Germany. Today, in 2026, the AfD is also polling at around 20 percent in western German states, but this no longer provokes outrage and incomprehension. Instead, it is now regarded as proof of democratic conviction and civilizational resistance. After all, in the east, it’s 40 percent!” “This allows people to continue feeling morally superior to the East, but the wiser course would be to admit: if something doesn’t happen soon, the West will turn AfD-blue too. Or bluish.” “But will anything happen? The truly depressing thing about election night was not so much the AfD leaders intoxicated by their own success. It was the representatives of the other parties, who once again said that they were utterly shocked, needed some time to digest the result and would, of course, not simply return to business as usual. The SPD, a former big-tent party, celebrated its ‘stable’ result of 9.3 percent. Congratulations!” “For 10 years, the AfD has gone from one electoral success to the next. And still, the established parties remain ‘shocked’ and scratch their heads in astonishment. How long can they keep being shocked? Friedrich Merz says he may need to communicate his reform ideas in a more ‘emotional’ way. So the CDU’s political professionals sit down together after the election, mull over a strategy, and in the end come up with this: Fritz, try to be a little more relaxed, charismatic and emotional – or something. Beyond that: no political plan, no defiance, no promise of a future. That is frightening.” What was good, what was bad for democracy? Good: Voter turnout in Saxony-Anhalt was 77.8 percent, the highest ever recorded in the state. Whatever one thinks of the result, that figure is encouraging. Democracy needs citizens to take an interest. Bad: Although a strong AfD result had been expected in Saxony-Anhalt, many politicians from the mainstream parties – including in Berlin – appeared confused, helpless and overwhelmed in their initial reactions. That is not how they will win back voters’ trust. Last Week’s Highlights: 🗳️ Meet the Germans Who Voted for the AfD: Why would voters in a country like Germany, with its Nazi past, vote for a right-wing party? It’s a question only an editor in Berlin could come up with. On the ground, the view is different. 🟦 How the AfD Wants to Expand Its Power Across Germany: The far-right AfD is planning to decimate public broadcasting in Saxony-Anhalt, revamp education and install extremists in positions of power. And it is eyeing victory on the national stage as well. 🕯️ The Continuing Reverberations of September 11: It was a generational shock, and the consequences can still be felt today - from massive surveillance and significant increases in presidential power to violent excesses at ICE. 🤝 “For Europe, Canada Is the Preferred Partner in Trans-Atlantic Relations”: In an interview with DER SPIEGEL, Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne discusses his country’s failed trade deal with the US and why Canada is looking to Europe. 🏛️ The True Historical Roots of the AfD: During the Weimar Republic in the 1920s, there were numerous parties on the extreme right espousing “Germany first” nationalism. The Nazis may not be the best comparison for today’s AfD. 🌊 AfD in a Landslide: Merz Is the Wrong Leader for Germany: The right-wing Alternative for Germany won in a landslide in Saxony-Anhalt state elections on Sunday. What does that mean for the country at large? Thank you for your continued support and have a wonderful week! Subscribe Share Leave a comment Your SPIEGEL Substack Team Compiled and edited by Charles Hawley
CCHD: Dr. Chad Anderson Awarded With Emerging Health Leader Award
The Christian County Health Department’s (CCHD) Public Health Administrator, Dr. Chad Anderson, has been honored with quite the accomplishment, as he was recently nominated, and awarded with the Emerging Public Health Leader Award by the Illinois Public Health Association (IPHA). Hart Media Group recently […]
Health administrator fired, plans wrongful termination suit against Monroe County
Monroe County health administrator Lori Kelley has been fired, her attorney says, and plans an EEOC charge and lawsuit alleging sexual harassment and retaliation. Her departure comes as the health department is struggling with nursing vacancies.
Here's how some Chicago small businesses are ramping up their use of AI
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The politics and possibilities of ‘AI could kill us all’
I found myself fielding a lot of questions from folks who don’t usually talk much about AI this week. They were mostly along the lines of “do you think AI is going to kill us all?” or “how worried should I be about this human extinction stuff?” Motivating this wave of existential anxiety was the highly dramatic resignation of now-former Anthropic employee Jacob Coxon, who quit his job while publicly sharing his concerns about safety practices at the leading AI companies. More specifically, he declared that almost everyone at OpenAI and Anthropic, the leading AI labs, believes that there’s a decent chance the AI systems they’re producing could “kill us all” by the end of the decade, and the companies aren’t “acting responsibly.” Other AI safety researchers, including those still employed at Anthropic and OpenAI, all confirmed that yes, Coxon is correct, they’re all worried that their company’s products might prove fatal for the entire human race as well. Two more AI employees quit and joined the chorus. Now, the warning shot has been covered everywhere from the Wall Street Journal to Fox News to WIRED to the Guardian. I understand why all this sounds scary, but my response to those who have asked, has generally been: No, you don’t need to worry that AI will kill go rogue and kill us all. But that does not mean we shouldn’t worry, period. Far from it. The companies building AI products are now among the wealthiest and most powerful entities in the world. And they very much are building enormous engines of mass surveillance, extraction, and automation. They can and have allowed their AI systems to carry out felony hacks of other companies, provided the government with autonomously generated kill lists, and sold enterprise technology to firms around the world that is explicitly intended to replace jobs. But “AI” has done these things not because they have all-powerful minds of their own but, ultimately, because people have programmed, calibrated, and directed them to. In other words, it’s not AI we need to worry the most about. It’s the people and corporations working to profit from and gain power by deploying it. The technology is sophisticated, sure, and, especially in cybersecurity contexts, potentially disruptive to plenty of existing systems. But if we want to stop this predatory, profiteering, and extractive form of AI—and it’s worth noting that at this point, most people do—we absolutely can. A quick note/plea: I can only do all of this with the support of readers like you, so if you find value in independent, critical tech journalism and analysis, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. I want to keep as much of this un-paywalled as absolutely possible, and I need your support to do so. Many thanks to all who continue to chip in, it’s very much appreciated. Onward. Subscribe First, some context: AI industry folks like Coxon have been discussing the prospect that AI will destroy humanity for years. Even before the beginning of the AI boom, many working in the industry, from the executive staff to the rank and file researchers, have obsessed over ‘x-risk’, or the possibility that AI will become sentient or semi-sentient and move one way or another to exterminate humanity. This is ostensibly why Elon Musk bankrolled OpenAI in the first place, and is the grounds for his lawsuit alleging OpenAI betrayed its charter by abandoning its nonprofit status to become a commercial enterprise. Many AI engineers and startup founders have calculated their own personal p(doom), or the probability that the tech product they are working on will initiate an actual humanity-extinguishing apocalypse. 10-25% p(doom)s are pretty common. (I wrote about a long weekend I spent among these folks at one of their top conferences here, to give you an idea of their ideas and belief systems.) Sam Altman himself drove the narrative of the imminent rise of a super-powerful AI, or artificial general intelligence, to prominence by declaring that the technology he was building posed an existential risk to humanity. This idea is in other words baked into the DNA of modern AI companies and into the products they engineer. It’s also why the industry is routinely accused, by myself and others, of “doom marketing,” ie, using such proclamations and framings to impart the sheer power of the technology behind your product onto investors, partners, consumers, and the state. Some ambient understanding of this tendency may have helped prevent the press from repeating the claim every time one of the x-risk folks made it over the years, including when they quit their jobs at AI companies while doing so. Yet Coxon’s AI x-risk alarm has broken containment, as they say, and has exposed the idea to the mainstream media once again. This has happened, I think, for a number of reasons. First, when AI CEOs were going around saying AI might kill everyone in 2023, their companies were well-capitalized, but not nearly to the extent they are today. They were more easily dismissed as eccentric geeks of the sort that Silicon Valley is supposed to produce. Now, not only do their products have much greater market saturation, but people are more aware of a) the often unethical ways the executives and companies comport themselves b) the other adverse impacts of AI that have already arrived, and c) the physical cost of building these systems, particularly when it comes to data centers. Finally, toss in the constant stream of headlines in 2026 about AI models going rogue or potentially upending the world’s infrastructure. [ ](https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/with-the-backlash-to-data-centers) [ With the backlash to data centers, Flock and AI glasses, a mass opposition to big tech is underway. Silicon Valley is in denial. ](https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/with-the-backlash-to-data-centers) Brian Merchant · Aug 27 [ Read full story ](https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/with-the-backlash-to-data-centers) As a result, general sentiment was already overwhelmingly skeptical of AI and its overlords, so the table was pretty well set for someone to come along and say ‘just a reminder, the companies that are building the product that promises to take your job and leave a data center in your neighborhood also think that it might exterminate the human race’ and get a strong reaction from the media and the public. The question is: Should we understand this stuff as hype, strategically fanned to feed already swelling valuations? Is it doom marketing? Genuine cause for alarm that the infrastructure that undergirds modern life is facing a novel threat vector? Or reason to be sincerely worried that AI companies are amassing too much power, and that their products are genuinely dangerous? The answer, I’m afraid, is “yes.” Let me try to untangle all of this a bit, because arguments over how to navigate this moment are extremely heated right now, as they are essentially arguments over how to approach the politics of AI at a moment where there may be a unique opening for action. Those sympathetic to AI alignment concerns and x risk arguments—which increasingly includes a faction on the left who want to shut down AI over safety concerns—argue that people who dismiss AI as all hype have their heads in the sand. Meanwhile, critics of the x-risk narrative—which I might note includes a cadre of investors and tech folks on the right, too—argue that it is hype and can be used to further inflate valuations or for pursuing regulatory capture. The challenge is that many feel that dismissing AI as just hype or purely marketing also diminishes the urgency of taking on the AI industry as the novel and threat to labor, civil society, and the public sphere it is; others that by accepting the industry’s own terms, we imbue it with undue power and enable it. But let’s be clear: Declarations that AI is so powerful it might end the world are a kind of marketing, and anyone who says otherwise is just as off base as those who say that’s all that it is. If you don’t think that these sub-trillion dollar companies have higher-ups who noticed that when their founders talked about super-powerful dangerous AI they got spikes in media interest and phone calls from investors, or that those founders didn’t notice that themselves, and lean into certain narratives to advantage their products, then I don’t know what to tell you. Not all marketing is a Pepsi ad campaign with a celebrity spokesperson. Yet confronting the AI industry should certainly be considered an urgent project. Do I share the x-riskers’ fear that out-of-control, super-intelligent AI agents might end the world? I do not. I’ve read a good deal of AI extinction literature over the last couple of years and I have not come across a credible, step-by-step documentation of how exactly AI might move from self-recursively improving AI to killing every single human on the planet. Most of what I’ve read seems predicated on a sort of reverse Ian Malcolmian logic: Eventually, it becomes smart enough and AI, uh, finds a way (to exterminate humanity). Are the AI companies also overstating and dramatizing what their products can do? Yes, pretty much all the time. They’re in a knife fight for market share and are trying to win customers and government contracts before their investors come knocking. And yet. They have concentrated enormous amounts of compute, have extensive data collection and surveillance capacities, have inserted themselves into the state in numerous capacities, including military kill chains, and they are being run by egomaniacal billionaires who are rushing to monopolize an entire new market. The way I think about their most recent frightening-seeming exploits is not as a “swarm of rogue AI agents building a new civilization” or whatever, but as corporations with a hitherto-unimaginable amount of compute at their disposal recklessly experimenting with automation programs, completely unafraid of any repercussions because we have been unwilling or unable to impose any on them. So I think we should welcome any newfound imperative to hold them accountable. I also think that ultimately, the AI critics, Pause AI folks, leftists, doomers, effective altruists, and, honestly, most of the public, want a lot of the same things: legitimate checks and limits on AI companies’ power, actual transparency into what the companies are doing, and for more of AI to be under public control. (Ultimately, a lot of what animates the x-risk fears are rooted in just that: a fear of losing control.) How we move towards all this, exactly, is the question of the day, and while there’s much to be argued over in terms of building a viable political platform to challenge the AI industry’s power, I do want to cast a vote against one particular approach. Not to pick on Chris here, as there are a lot of folks out there proposing stuff like this, and the policy ideas actually stem from AI safety groups. But not only would this be challenging to land politically (I can already hear the ‘China will beat us to AGI’ calls) and all but unworkable in practice, this approach is a) far too limiting, b) fails to address the current harms caused by AI and c) would likely only wind up serving Anthropic and OpenAI; it’s what regulatory capture looks like in action. Full model transparency is the floor for what should be on offer here. If these companies believe their products will kill us, the very least we deserve is to know how. It’s in the public interest. I would also argue we might get a lot of the way to stopping any currently envisioned robot apocalypse simply by forcing AI companies to assume liability, and to submit to the full brunt of the law. If Sam Altman were liable to be charged with a felony for approving the hack on Hugging Face1, if Google was forced to pay defamation fines each time it published a false and injurious AI Overviews, these companies might suddenly find cause to restrain their models’ output, and we might hear less about rogue AI. We would need to introduce new frameworks and available tools for tracking automated lawbreaking, to be sure, but I’d wager that little would frighten the AI companies more than actually being held accountable for what their products enable. To that end, Illinois has passed an AI liability law, which the industry fought tooth and nail, and Florida is considering one. The next steps would be towards moving AI under public control; again, it’s only reasonable, since everyone, not just AI insiders, should get a say over how a technology whose developers say might kill us is developed and deployed. Dismantling the whole industrial project as currently structured should be on the table, too, pending democratic input. But that’s for another post. For now, suffice to say that while I won’t be losing any sleep about an AI-enabled extinction event, Mr. Coxon and co. have given us an opportunity to underscore the urgency of the clear and present damage AI companies are doing, the extreme power they wield and the extent to which they hold themselves unaccountable, and the abundance of political capital there is out there for taking them on. Subscribe 1 Purely speculative! I do not know if he did or not.
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