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Anthropic’s Self-Serving Doomsday Narrative

Another week, another apocalyptic warning from the Masters of the Universe.

This time it comes courtesy of Jacob Coxon, a 27-year-old researcher who resigned from Anthropic, the Silicon Valley AI lab behind the Claude chatbot, on Tuesday. Coxon didn’t go quietly. He announced his departure in a seven-part thread on X that has since racked up tens of millions of views, and he gave an exclusive interview to the Wall Street Journal to make sure nobody missed it.

“I resigned from Anthropic today,” Coxon wrote. “I spent the last three years doing pretraining research at both OpenAI and Anthropic. Neither company is acting responsibly. They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives.”

The systems now being built, he continued, “can hack anything, revolutionize any field overnight, and acquire real power and resources.” He told the Journal that “by the end of next year things could be out of control already.” And in a line that has been quoted in just about every establishment media outlet since: “The people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade. This is not a marketing stunt.”

Should we take them seriously?

Axios reports that people inside the AI companies have “sounded increasingly spooked and concerned.” That may well be true. But “spooked and concerned” is a long way from the Terminator scenario Coxon is selling, and the establishment media has shown little interest in the gap between the two.

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Mortality Data Reveal ‘Screaming Safety Signals’ Following COVID Vaccine Rollout

Excess mortality researcher Denis Rancourt, Ph.D., on Tuesday told Canadian lawmakers that national mortality statistics show “screaming safety signals” following the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines — including increases in deaths among infants and children and increases in turbo cancers.

Testifying at Canada’s Allison Inquiry, Rancourt also argued that COVID-19-era government interventions — including lockdowns, isolating the elderly, closing businesses and withdrawing government support programs — also drove excess mortality during the pandemic.

Rancourt based his arguments on his analysis of official mortality data from Statistics Canada and in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He described how COVID-19 vaccines directly harmed individuals, and how specific pandemic policies caused broader societal harm.

His presentation came on the opening day of the Allison Inquiry, a four-day hearing chaired by Canadian Member of Parliament Dean Allison. The inquiry collected testimony from 50 Canadians injured by COVID-19 vaccines, along with testimony from physicians, scientists and other witnesses.

4,000 excess infant deaths in the U.S. alone

Infant mortality had been declining in the U.S. before the pandemic. That trend reversed during the pandemic, according to Rancourt’s data — but not until 2022, nine months after COVID-19 vaccination was recommended for pregnant women.

Rancourt estimated the change represented approximately 4,000 excess infant deaths in the U.S. from 2022 to 2024.

He presented a similar case for Canada, although the raw numbers were much lower due to the smaller population. After Canada issued its vaccine guidance for pregnant women on May 28, 2021, he said mortality rose among infants, with a marked increase nine months after the recommendations.

He estimated there were 200 excess infant deaths in Canada during that time, with 10 excess pregnancy-related deaths.

Data show 2,000+ excess deaths among 1- to 4-year-olds in U.S.

Rancourt identified more than 2,000 excess deaths among children ages 1-4 in the U.S. between 2021 and 2024.

He attributed an initial increase in 2021 partly to the abrupt withdrawal of federal financial assistance in some states.

But Rancourt said the largest increase coincided with the June 17, 2022, authorization of COVID-19 vaccines for young children. Excess deaths peaked precisely with the vaccine rollout.

Canadian mortality data showed a similar age-specific pattern. Rancourt shared mortality trends for Canadian children ages 1-4, 5-9 and 10-14, showing each group experienced a pronounced increase during the year COVID-19 vaccines became available for that particular age group.

The spikes in excess mortality were “very sudden,” he said. The increases did not occur during the first two years of the pandemic, he emphasized.

“As soon as you vaccinated these age groups and not before, not when there was COVID, not in the first two years of the pandemic. But when you started vaccinating them, that is the signature that you see in the mortality [data],” Rancourt said. “It’s absolutely stunning.”

He estimated 410 excess deaths among Canadian children ages 1-14.

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Police Bodycam Footage Shows Drunk Secret Service Officer Caught with His Pants Open In Miami Hotel Hallway

Police bodycam footage of the arrest of a drunk Secret Service agent who was caught with his pants down in a Miami hotel hallway was released on Thursday.

Earlier this year, a Secret Service officer who was in South Florida working security at Trump National Doral was arrested and charged for exposing himself in front of guests at a Miami hotel.

John Spillman, 33, was arrested in May after he exposed himself and masturbated in the hallway of the hotel.

Spillman was allegedly in the lobby of the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Miami Airport and followed a female guest upstairs.

The woman and another guest immediately entered their room because they were afraid.

The victims saw Spillman expose himself and called hotel security.

Police bodycam footage of the arrest shows cops shouting at Spillman, “Against the wall! Against the f*cking wall! Hands on the wall!”

“Stand up!” Officers shouted.

“I got to put my pants up,” Spillman says as officers apprehend him.

Spillman told officers, “I had too much to drink.”

Prosecutors are still seeking footage of Spillman in the act of exposing himself.

Spillman was charged with indecent exposure.

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Supreme Court rules against new Missouri redistricting map again

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Missouri’s new congressional map again after two separate courts gave conflicting rulings.

Republicans had planned to use the new map in November’s elections. It was drawn last year to give Republicans an advantage in Congressional elections in the hopes of keeping a Republican majority in the House of Representatives. Plaintiffs People not Politicians asked the high court Wednesday for an emergency ruling.

The pause in using the map will stay while a legal fight goes through the courts. The Supreme Court justices didn’t offer any reason for blocking the new map.

A snag in the elections, though, is that Missouri already held primaries using the new map.

The Missouri Supreme Court had ruled that the state couldn’t use the map for this fall’s elections. The state appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and Justice Brett Kavanaugh rejected the appeal, kicking it back to the state. At the same time, Federal Judge Stephen R. Clark ruled that the state could use the map, which added more chaos to the elections. It was Clark’s ruling that the Supreme Court decided Thursday.

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Denny Hoskins told local elections officials that the federal judge’s ruling should be followed instead of the Missouri Supreme Court. That court has summoned Hoskins to explain why they shouldn’t find him in contempt.

It’s now unclear what next steps the state will take.

Some map opponents have said the state could continue because the districts are still numbered the same.

“The law is the law, the Missouri Constitution is clear as was the Missouri Supreme Court,” Richard von Glahn, executive director of People Not Politicians Missouri, said in a statement.

Those opposed to the new map collected more than 300,000 signatures to push a referendum on the map, but Hoskins said he didn’t believe that redistricting could be decided in a voter referendum. He refused to add it to the ballot, triggering the legal battles.

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Germany to Assist Zelensky’s Man Hunt

Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has now suggested that Germany could provide Kyiv with information on Ukrainian men of military age living inside Germany. His words were revealing: “We know who lives here.” Of course they do. The government knows who receives benefits, who has registered an address, and who holds a residence permit. These men escaped Ukraine believing Europe was offering them sanctuary from a war. Now Germany is openly discussing using the information collected on those refugees to help Zelensky’s government find them.

Wadephul claims nobody should be sent back “under coercion.” Wonderful. Then why does Kyiv need their information? Ukraine already prevents most military-age men subject to mobilization rules from simply leaving the country, subject to various exemptions, because Zelensky desperately needs bodies for the front. We have all seen reports of the forced mobilization confrontations inside Ukraine. Men have been stopped in public places and confronted by recruitment officers while videos of violent encounters have circulated for years. Kyiv has repeatedly tightened mobilization because it cannot manufacture young men the way Europe can manufacture another billion euros.

Now the net may be expanding beyond Ukraine. The European Commission has already proposed that Ukrainian men who were not legally permitted to leave because of military obligations should not automatically receive temporary protection if they arrive in the EU. Think about what that means. Europe spent years proclaiming that Ukrainians were fleeing for their lives and that Europe had a moral obligation to protect them. Apparently that promise comes with an expiration date if Zelensky needs more men.

This is why I have called them cannon fodder. Zelensky is not going to the front. The politicians in Brussels are not going to the front. Their sons are not being grabbed and sent into trenches. They sit behind desks talking about defending democracy “for as long as it takes” because somebody else’s children are doing the dying. Ukraine has a manpower problem that another weapons package cannot solve. You can print money. You can manufacture artillery shells. You cannot print another generation of Ukrainian men.

Wadephul was simultaneously complaining that Ukraine was not buying enough weapons from German manufacturers. Germany sends billions to Ukraine, Ukraine buys weapons, and now Germany discusses helping Kyiv locate military-age Ukrainian men. The defense industry gets another customer, politicians get another speech about democracy, and some Ukrainian kid gets a rifle and a trench. This is what war looks like when the people running it have absolutely no personal risk whatsoever.

Many of these men went to Germany precisely because they wanted nothing to do with this insanity. They were promised safety in Europe. They established homes, found jobs, registered with governments, and trusted that the information they provided would be used to administer their residency rather than potentially assist Kyiv in contacting them over military service. Now those same databases could become useful to the government they escaped. You cannot call yourself a sanctuary and then start discussing handing over information on the refugees when their government needs more soldiers.

The neocons wanted their proxy war against Russia, and Europe went along with it like obedient fools. Every failed strategy required another weapons package. Every battlefield setback required another billion. Every shortage of soldiers required another mobilization. Nobody in government ever admits the policy itself has failed. They simply demand more money, more weapons, and eventually more human beings.

Europe should be demanding negotiations before another generation of Ukrainians is destroyed. Instead, politicians who promised to save Ukraine are reaching the point where they may help Zelensky locate the very Ukrainian men who fled the slaughter. Today Wadephul tells us there will be no coercion. Fine. Remember those words. Governments always begin by saying something is voluntary. The moment the manpower crisis becomes desperate enough, the definition of “voluntary” has a remarkable tendency to change.

This is no longer about saving Ukraine. You do not save a nation by bleeding its young men dry. You do not defend freedom by trapping men inside their own country and then looking abroad for those who escaped. Zelensky needs bodies because this war has consumed an entire generation, and the European political establishment refuses to admit that its strategy has failed. They promised these men refuge. Now they know their names, they know where they live, and they are discussing helping Kyiv reach them. If that does not disturb you, then you have learned absolutely nothing from history.

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Indiana Supreme Court Overturns Trump-Backed Candidate’s 3-Vote Victory, Declares RINO Incumbent Winner of State Senate Primary Race

The Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday overturned a 3-vote victory by Trump-backed candidate Paula Copenhaver and declared RINO incumbent Spencer Deery the winner of the state senate primary race.

Earlier this year, President Trump targeted Spencer Deery as part of his ‘RINO Revenge Tour’ after the Indiana Republican blocked a redraw of the state’s congressional map amid the redistricting wars.

Spencer Deery initially won by three votes; however, Copenhaver challenged several absentee ballots.

Last month, the Indiana Recount Commission tossed out six absentee ballots cast for Deery because they were missing mandatory county clerk initials.

Paula Copenhaver was declared the winner by three votes in Indiana’s 23rd Senate District after the recount commission’s decision.

Deery appealed the recount commission’s decision, and the Indiana Supreme Court ultimately vacated its order.

WFYI reported:

The Indiana Supreme Court has declared incumbent Senator Spencer Deery the winner of his primary race against Trump-backed Paula Copenhaver.

When reached for comment, Deery said the court’s decision made him proud.

“This was a lot bigger than me,” he said. “It says that Indiana is a place where if you do everything right as a voter: you vote, you check all the boxes, you show your ID, you register, your vote should count.”

Paula Copenhaver did not respond to WFYI’s request for comment.

The decision ends a months-long legal battle over who is the rightful winner in Indiana’s 23rd Senate District. The initial count in the close race ended with Deery just three votes ahead of Copenhaver.

Copenhaver quickly called for a recount, challenging ballots and calling for voters to be subpoenaed; she claimed they had crossed over and voted for Deery despite being long-time Democrats.

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Most Kids Can Fight Measles Naturally — And Having The Virus May Even Make Them Stronger

Children can overcome measles — and in some cases, even become stronger for having fought it off, according to Dr. Ben Edwards, an integrative medicine family practitioner in Lubbock, Texas, who runs a private practice serving roughly 2,000 patients.

In 2025, Edwards successfully treated roughly 300 children in Gaines County, Texas, who had the measles.

In an exclusive interview this week with The Defender, Edwards shared why he believes recent media reports spreading fear about measles are misguided — and how parents can help their children if they become infected with the virus.

“It’s unfortunate when the fear-mongering starts up instead of just some informed consent and truth-telling, which is what needs to happen,” Edwards said.

Edwards acknowledged that measles is a highly infectious virus, so prevention may not always be realistic once measles starts circulating in a person’s community.

For example, he said he got measles last year from being in close contact with the many children he treated — even though he was fully vaccinated against measles. The latest research shows that vaccinated people can and do spread measles.

“It’s just a pretty contagious thing,” Edwards said. “So from a preventative standpoint, for those who choose not to vaccinate, I think the best bet is just trying to bolster your own ‘terrain,’ is how I would term that — your immune system.”

The stronger a person’s immune system, the more likely it will be able to identify and deal with the measles virus, he said. Someone who has a strong immune system may even be able to handle the measles virus without showing symptoms of illness, he added.

Edwards also mentioned general prevention methods to mitigate the spread of any illness, such as frequent hand-washing and avoiding sharing saliva or airspace with someone who is sick.

However, given how easily measles spreads once it’s in a community, Edwards recommended focusing on how to treat it.

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Brazil’s Dictator-Judge Removed from ‘Fake News’ Inquiry He Used to Persecute Conservatives

The head of Brazil’s Supreme Federal Tribunal (STF), Justice Edson Fachin, on Wednesday removed Justice Alexandre de Moraes from the widely controversial inquiry against “fake news” amid an ongoing crisis at the nation’s Supreme Court.

The decision strips Justice de Moraes from an inquiry he used over the past years to enact a fierce persecution and censorship campaign against Brazilian conservative voices — with former President Jair Bolsonaro being the most prominent target of de Moraes, the inquiry’s now-former rapporteur.

Over the past weeks the Brazilian top court has found itself amidst a “Civil War” between Justices de Moraes and André Mendonça that has plunged the judiciary and its members into an ongoing crisis.

The situation began in early September when Justice Mendonça unsealed a police report containing an analysis of alleged WhatsApp messages involving Justice de Moraes and Daniel Vorcaro, who is a Brazilian banker currently under police custody on corruption accusations stemming from the “Banco Master” financial fraud case involving the eponymous São Paulo-based bank. Justice Mendonça is one of the STF Justices overseeing the fraud case.

Days after the report was unsealed, Justice de Moraes accused fellow Justice Mendonça of having committed “abuse of authority” throughout his supervision of the Banco Master case.

Justice de Moraes formally requested before STF chief Justice Fachin that the inquiry against “fake news” was used to investigate the allegations he presented against Justice Mendonça. Fachin declined de Moraes’ request and instead directly forwarded the complaint against Mendonça to his desk.

On Wednesday, Fachin announced that de Moraes has been removed from the “fake news” inquiry but upheld all rulings and decisions made by de Moraes under its framework. Fachin also called upon an upcoming plenary session of the Brazilian Supreme Court to discuss the ongoing judiciary crisis.

The Brazilian state-owned news agency Agência Brasil recounted that the controversial inquiry was originally launched by the Brazilian Supreme Court in 2019 with the alleged goal of fighting what was described as the “dissemination of news that undermined the integrity and security” of the STF, its Justices, and relatives.

At the time, Justice de Moraes was appointed as the inquiry’s rapporteur by then-STF chief Justice José Antonio Dias Toffoli, a still-active member of the Brazilian top court who found himself at the center of an unrelated controversy earlier this month after he banned and rapidly unbanned the presidential campaign of outsider right-wing candidate Renan Santos.

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Appeals court rules against Trump admin’s push for stricter mail-in ballot requirements

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston has upheld a preliminary injunction blocking the implementation of a United States Postal Service (USPS) rule that requires stricter measures for voting by mail.

The court sided with the lower court’s decision handed down Thursday, enjoining the USPS rule from being implemented prior to the upcoming November 3rd elections.

“Thus, we see no obvious error in the district court’s conclusion that allowing this Final Rule to be effective for the soon-arriving November 3 election will likely result in the disenfranchisement of millions of voters across the country while providing minimal — if any — gains in combating voter fraud,” the appeals court wrote.

In accordance with President Donald Trump’s Executive Order, “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections,” the USPS finalized a rule, effective August 21st, requiring ballot envelopes to carry unique barcodes and states to submit mail-voter information via a federal portal.

Last week, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani issued the injunction due to the quick timeline of implementation and questions of constitutionality.

All fifty states allow voting by mail, highlighting the significance of any ruling pertaining to mail-in ballots. According to Talwani:

  • 27 states allow mail-in ballots without voters having to provide an “excuse” — Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
  • Two states allow all eligible citizens to vote by mail and permit counties to opt into conducting elections by mail–Nebraska and North Dakota.
  • 13 states allow vote by mail with justifiable “excuses” — Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia.

The Trump administration has already requested that the U.S. Supreme Court issues a ruling in the case.

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Trump Broadens Interior’s Role In National Energy Emergencies

President Donald Trump expanded the number of Cabinet officials who can independently exercise emergency powers involving the nation’s energy supplies for the second time in six months.

An executive order issued Sept. 8 gives the interior secretary authority under the Defense Production Act that had previously rested largely with the energy secretary. Trump added the energy secretary alongside the commerce secretary under a similar provision in March.

Before March, the commerce secretary held authority under one provision intended to maximize energy supplies. Trump’s action Tuesday leaves the three officials independently authorized to act on energy-related matters under the Defense Production Act.

The Defense Production Act, created five years after the end of World War II, allows the president to tell private companies to give federal contracts priority over private-sector customers. It also allows the president to provide financial incentives to increase the supply of materials and technologies considered vital to national defense. Congress has reauthorized the law more than 50 times since its enactment in 1950.

The Interior Department oversees federal lands and waters containing significant energy and mineral resources. Its agencies administer onshore oil and gas leasing and production, while the interior secretary approves the five-year schedule for offshore oil and gas lease sales. The department’s energy portfolio also includes coal, critical minerals, geothermal energy, and wind and solar development on public lands.

The new order gives the interior and energy secretaries independent authority to require that certain energy-related contracts receive priority and to allocate energy resources when necessary to support national defense.

The order also establishes a process for resolving disagreements between the two departments. Energy-related disputes between the interior and energy secretaries will be referred to the National Energy Dominance Council. Disputes involving national defense infrastructure or military operations will be referred to the National Energy Dominance Council and the National Security Council while coordinating with the Department of War.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, a former North Dakota governor, also chairs the White House National Energy Dominance Council. In March, Burgum went to Venezuela to meet with leader Delcy Rodriguez to discuss investments and expansion of the country’s natural resources.

Nearly six months later, Trump announced a deal with Venezuela to take control of 65 billion barrels from Venezuela’s oil reserves. Trump said the deal was a partnership of private businesses and was brokered by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth while working with Rodriguez.

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