Tag: politics

OpenAI Claims Rogue AI Agent Hacked Australian Government Site, Prime Minister Warns of ‘Legal Consequences’

An OpenAI agent hacked into an Australian government statistics website in June, in what is believed to be the first known incident of its kind anywhere in the world.

BBC News reports that Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the agent “infiltrated” the Medicare Statistics Reporting Service portal, a site holding “non-sensitive” data and statistics from Medicare, Australia’s universal healthcare scheme. He raised the matter directly with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman during a “very frank discussion” in New York, telling reporters the company had taken “too long” to disclose the breach and warning there would be “legal consequences”.

OpenAI said it only discovered the incident in August, while reviewing “misaligned model activity” internally. On September 10, the company emailed a general inbox belonging to an Australian government agency. Five days later, Services Australia escalated the email to Australia’s cybersecurity center. A government minister was notified, and the prime minister was alerted soon after.

Speaking in New York, Albanese said he had conveyed “Australia’s extreme concern about this incident” to Altman. He described his “disappointment” over “the nature of the way” OpenAI disclosed the breach and the months it took to come forward. According to Albanese, Altman acknowledged there were “issues with protocols” within the company.

A forensic investigation led by Australia’s cybersecurity agency is now under way to determine whether other government systems were compromised, and whether police need to get involved. Albanese said there “will obviously be legal consequences” depending on what the probe finds. The breach itself involved “public and non-public files” on the Medicare portal. Three other government bodies may also have been affected: the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, and the Victorian Department of Health.

“No personal information is believed to have been accessed at this stage, but investigations are ongoing,” Albanese said. He added: “Nonetheless this situation is obviously unacceptable.”

OpenAI, in its own statement, said it had “identified activity involving several Australian government websites and services as our models attempted to look up answers, and available statistics for questions about Australia during an internal evaluation.” The company said, “In the course of that, our models took actions we did not intend.”

Dr Hammond Pearce, a senior lecturer at the University of New South Wales’ Institute for Cyber Security, told the BBC the incident was significant precisely because it was the first of its kind. “I expect that these kinds of attacks will keep occurring,” he said.

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Florida AG James Uthmeier: Sarasota Teacher ‘Tried to Cancel’ Eighth Grader for His Conservative Views

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said Sarasota teacher Liz Ballard “harassed, disparaged, and deliberately tried to cancel an eighth-grade student for his conservative views.” The AG blasted the teacher in a letter to the Satasota school district.

“I sent a letter to Sarasota Schools after a Pine View teacher allegedly labeled an 8th grader a ‘misogynist’ based on his political affiliation, ignored his parents’ wishes, and disparaged the child’s father,” Uthmeier wrote in a Monday X post, sharing the letter he sent.

“If true, she should be fired and never teach in Florida again,” the Florida Attorney General added.

Ballard, who teaches history at Pine View School in Osprey, Florida, is accused of singling out the boy as the “conservative perspective” in her classroom and later labeling him a “misogynist” — a slur she went on to spread around the school, Uthmeier said in his letter.

Moreover, the teacher engaged in this behavior despite the boy previously informing her that “his parents expressly forbid him to take part” in her debates, and even “openly questioned the suitability and influence of the student’s father,” the Florida AG added.

Uthmeier also noted that “multiple HR investigations initiated by multiple parents” against the teacher have nonetheless resulted in her continuing to teach at Pine View School.

“Ballard singled out this student and, in defiance of his parents’ express instructions, pressured him to defend political positions on demand in front of his class-mates. She made disparaging remarks about his father,” he said.

“By facilitating the spread of a damaging label throughout the school, she engaged in the reputational destruction of a child,” Uthmeier added, asserting that “Ballard’s deliberate bullying and harassment” puts her in violation of “Florida law, School Board policy, and at least six ethical principles.”

In his letter to Superintendent Terry Connor and School Board of Sarasota County members, the Florida Attorney General reminded them that “Florida law prohibits bullying or harassment of any student at any public K-12 educational institution.”

“Based on the foregoing allegations, if true, Ms. Ballard should be dismissed and her educator certificate revoked,” Uthmeier wrote, before calling on the superintendent and school board to inform his office “of the actions the district has taken, or will take” to address the matter by October 1, 2026.

On Tuesday, the superintendent acknowledged having received the letter, adding that members of the school board “take the concerns seriously and will respond to the Attorney General’s Office,” according to a report by WFLA.

“Every student deserves a classroom where they feel safe, respected, and free to learn,” Connor said. “No student should face harassment, humiliation, or retaliation because of their beliefs or their family’s views.”

“Respect for students and parents is fundamental to the trust our community places in our schools,” the superintendent continued, adding that “the allegations in the letter warrant careful attention.”

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Obama Claims Government Less Corrupt Than Ever as Democrats Run on Issue

Former President Barack Obama claimed Thursday that Washington runs cleaner now than through most of its past, pointing to a collapse in bribes, patronage, and favor-trading.

The former president made the argument in the third episode of A Great Book with Barack Obama, a six-episode series that premiered Thursday on Amazon’s Audible, Axios reported. The episode pairs Obama with Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jill Lepore for a discussion of Robert Penn Warren’s 1946 novel All the King’s Men.

Obama suggested the assessment catches listeners off guard.

“People are always surprised when I tell them the federal government is so much less corrupt than probably it’s ever been, in terms of just pure bribes or patronage or favors,” he said.

The 44th president argued that the reforms behind that decline also stripped lawmakers of tools they once used to assemble coalitions. He pointed to the Lyndon B. Johnson era, claiming reforms passed on either side of Watergate wiped out most of what party bosses once used to swap favors for votes.

He described the loss in mechanical terms.

“It’s part of the reason why things got a little harder to get done because that was sort of some lubrication … to help to bridge some of the ideological differences that were out there,” Obama said.

A record 89 percent of U.S. adults told Gallup that government corruption is widespread, according to results released Sept. 2. That figure climbed ten points from last year and sits well past the 72 to 79 percent range recorded between 2010 and 2025. Among Democrats, it reached 91 percent, up from 57 percent in former President Joe Biden’s final year in office. Republicans registered 83 percent.

Democrat officials have spent the month pressing the issue. Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) claimed on ABC’s This Week that President Donald Trump’s presidency is “the most corrupt presidency that we’ve seen in our lifetimes, maybe ever in the United States.”

“So that is one of the things that I think Democrats can run on in ’26,” the Illinois Democrat added.

Corruption ads are running in more than a dozen House races and in nearly every competitive Senate state, the Washington Sun reported. Republican pollster Robert Blizzard said frustration with politics-as-usual is “at a fever pitch.”

Obama has been shaping his party’s midterm message directly. At a private fundraiser this month, he urged House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to put artificial intelligence oversight at the center of the Democrat agenda.

The podcast is the sixth release under Higher Ground’s exclusive first-look deal with Audible, and the first the former president hosts himself.

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“HYPOCRITE” — Ric Grenell Calls Out Democrat Senate Candidate Mary Peltola After Repeatedly Using Homophobic Slurs Like “F*ggot” on Her Own Gay Staffers

On Thursday, the former acting Director of National Intelligence and Kennedy Center president went after Alaska Democrat Mary Peltola after former aides accused the Senate candidate of repeatedly using homophobic slurs, including about members of her own staff.

Grenell, who is openly gay, did not mince words.

“Sorry, @marthamaccallum and @JacquiHeinrich — multiple Democrat staffers confirmed that their Democrat boss used homophobic slurs, not once, but multiple times,” Grenell posted.

“Calling your own gay staffers derogatory and condescending names while asking Democrats to vote for you shows she’s at least a comfortable hypocrite. I’m old enough to remember that this accusation would be nonstop media coverage for a Republican.”

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‘MAGA? Nope’: Kitten adoption agency won’t place homeless cats with conservatives

A New York cat adoption agency’s policy not to approve any placements to “MAGA” people who may want to help is so extreme that the traditionally leftist PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is calling the organization out.

Not the Bee reported on a Facebook post by Itty Bitty City Kitties, a nonprofit in Rockaway Beach that specializes in neonatal kittens and feral cat welfare.

Stated the post: “MAGA? Nope. Conservative? Nope. ‘I’m not political’? Nice loophole. Still nope.”

Noted Not the Bee: “Discriminating against people based on who they vote for is actually super illegal. But this is New York, so they can get away with it as long as they’re being hateful against Republicans.”

Another online statement from the adoption group said, “Important Adoption Policy Update: No. F**king. MAGA.”

Yet another post explained the policy further, saying, “If your politics involve racism, bigotry, dehumanizing immigrants, or cheering on cruelty toward vulnerable people, please kindly f**k right off.”

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Bombshell Report Links Amy Klobuchar To Minnesota Fraud Scandal

Another major Minnesota Democrat is being pulled into the political fallout surrounding an autism provider now under state investigation, with records showing the center’s CEO previously worked on Amy Klobuchar’s first U.S. Senate campaign.

Nimco Ahmed, CEO of Milestone Development Center, has been a fixture in Democratic-Farmer-Labor politics for years and recently drew attention after appearing alongside Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in a viral video.

Now Alpha News reports that Ahmed was also part of Klobuchar’s political operation during her first Senate run in 2006.

A 2006 profile published by Mshale reported that Ahmed joined the “Klobuchar team” and listed her contact email as nahmed@amyklobuchar.com.

Other archived articles from the outlet also identified Ahmed as a staffer on Klobuchar’s 2006 campaign.

Federal campaign finance records cited in the report indicate Klobuchar’s campaign paid Ahmed nearly $8,000 during that election cycle.

The connection is drawing new scrutiny because Milestone Development Center is currently under investigation by the Minnesota Department of Human Services.

DHS has confirmed that Milestone and Spectrum Therapy Center are both subjects of open investigations.

The agency has also said both providers were terminated from participating in Medicaid through Minnesota’s 2026 revalidation process and have appealed those decisions.

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Supposed ‘Independent’ Nebraska Senate Candidate Dan Osborn Once Again Caught on a Hot Mic Revealing What He REALLY Thinks

Just last week, the Gateway Pundit reported that supposed ‘independent’ Nebraska senate candidate Dan Osborn was caught on a hot mic speaking disparagingly about rural voters who may have voted for Trump.

Now we have another such report.

In this case, Osborn was explaining to someone how he has to hide his support for leftist issues like illegal immigration and trans rights so that he can get elected but then he will tell everyone to ‘eff off’ after he wins.

Townhall reports:

Now, an exclusive video shows Dan Osborn admitting that he’s not only hiding his beliefs from voters — something we’ve known for a while — but that he’ll champion a far-left agenda if he wins the Senate race in November.

These remarks date back to May 25, when Osborn held a townhall in South Omaha. The press was not allowed in the room, but a mother and daughter attended and brought with them a Fairness for Girls petition, which would add protections for girls’ sports in the state constitution.

That measure will be on the ballot in November, but Osborn refused to sign it.

Osborn reportedly told the mother and daughter that the measure was “rooted in hate” and refused to commit to protecting girls’ sports. Local media later corroborated the encounter, and Osborn supporters harassed the mother and daughter until they left the event out of concerns for their safety…

“I can go and I can be the voice for LGBTQ and immigration and all of these issues. Then I lose the election,” Osborn said, reportedly to a transgender supporter. “It feels good in the moment. At the end of the day, I’m gonna win this election. And then I’ll be the Senator for six years and everybody else can f-off.”

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Seattle’s Mayor Would Rather Hire Private Security to Prevent Crime Than Help Her Police Force

Once again, Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson just doesn’t “get it” when it comes to giving law enforcement the traditional funding it needs – and deserves, for that matter.

She’s still seeing a lot of fallout from the controversial dismissal of Police Chief Shon Barnes, and no doubt she’s getting pressure from all sides with the increase in criminal activity within the city itself. But she announced a recent decision that has me questioning her actions even more – such as why she doesn’t feel the need to support her local police.

According to Fox News, Wilson has introduced a new initiative for local grocery stores, using taxpayer money to fund security officers to help prevent criminal activity, including thefts and break-ins. The $1.7 million initiative has been penciled in as part of the city’s 2026 budget.

With her decision, Wilson explained, “Keeping our neighborhood grocery stores safe and supported is essential to making every Seattleite has a reliable, affordable grocery store near them.”

While I can get behind the idea of supporting businesses and making sure there’s security, I’m not a fan of the path she’s taken when it comes to funding.

When you look at the finer details, do you have any idea what good a $1.7 million boost would do for a police department? They could fund more necessary gear to keep officers safe. Not to mention putting funding into mental health, a very crucial ingredient to the success of police officers. After all, if they don’t get the support they require for mental stability, there’s a very good chance they could leave their job due to duress and stress.

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New Report Confirms Jack Smith and Biden DOJ Coordinated to Spy on Their Political Opposition

A new report released by House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan confirms Special Counsel Jack Smith coordinated with the Biden DOJ to spy on their political opposition.

Republicans released documents that revealed investigators improperly subpoenaed phone records that belonged to 44 GOP lawmakers during Jack Smith’s Arctic Frost investigation.

Jack Smith’s team also secured gag orders to prevent the GOP lawmakers from learning that Biden’s DOJ obtained their phone records.

House Republicans also released transcripts from five members of Jack Smith’s team.

Transcript from J.P. Cooney, a member of Jack Smith’s team, once again confirm coordination between the special counsel and the Biden White House.

“During your time at the Special Counsel’s Office, did you ever interact with the White House?” the GOP investigator asked JP Cooney.

“I did have some interactions with a staff member in the White House Counsel’s Office,” JP Cooney replied.

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WI Democrat Gubernatorial Candidate Claims Beer Gardens Are Systemically Racist

Milwaukee County Executive and Wisconsin Democrat gubernatorial candidate David Crowley has attacked beer gardens in the past, claiming they are systemically racist.

In a post on X from December 2021, Crowley responded to a post from Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) about how Crowley had said, “it’s important to understand that the way we fund parks is just not sustainable.”

Crowley, who defeated socialist Francesca Hong in Wisconsin’s Democrat gubernatorial primary, has repeatedly increased taxes while serving as Milwaukee County Executive.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, while Crowley “takes credit for ‘the largest property tax cut’ in the county’s history,” that property tax cut “occurred after Act 12, a bipartisan state law, allowed local leaders to raise Milwaukee city and county sales taxes”:

The Democrat nominee in the Nov. 3 election for governor takes credit for “the largest property tax cut” in the county’s history.

That occurred after Act 12, a bipartisan state law, allowed local leaders to raise Milwaukee city and county sales taxes and provided local governments in Wisconsin more state aid.

The law was largely aimed at helping the Milwaukee governments avert financial crises.

Crowley signed the near-doubling of the county sales tax, to 0.9% from 0.5% after the Milwaukee County Board approved it.

“Past heavy reliance on revenues to keep the system going is not sustainable & doesn’t cover the need,” Crowley wrote in a post from 2021. “When a system’s operational budget is so heavily reliant on user revenues to survive — like Parks is — there is often a very real conflict between generating $$$ & racial equity.”

“Revenues often come from activities that those with discretionary funding can afford like golf, the marina, and beer gardens,” Crowley added. “These activities are traditionally and predominantly supported by white users. This racial inequity is born from a history of systemic racism & injustice.”

Crowley’s previous comments about beer gardens come as beer is considered to be a massive tradition in Wisconsin, with the state being reported to have 247 craft breweries as of 2025, according to the Brewers Association. The state was ranked 14th nationally.

According to Visit Milwaukee, the city is “known as the original Beer Capital of the World” and Milwaukee’s “legacy is rooted in hops, barrels and the ambition of 19th-century immigrants who built an industry and the city on beer.”

Crowley has also previously spoken at beer gardens and attended the opening of beer gardens.

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