Before we know it, worries about AI-besotted partners are going to seem really dated.
Graham Platner’s Maine Senate candidacy is a test for the socialists and progressives taking over the Democratic Party in what has been described as a Tea Party-like revolt from the Left. Platner could jeopardize the Democrats’ chances to win control of the Senate if his multiple scandals prevent him from defeating Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) […]
In an exclusive interview with Meet the Press, President Trump addresses the economy amid the war with Iran and says Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh is “fantastic,” adding, “I want him to do whatever he wants” when it comes to setting interest rates.
The FBI agents arrived at David Bolter’s Milwaukee home on a cool, cloudy Wednesday morning in late May. They were armed with a list of questions for the 2020 poll worker, who had raised concerns about the way local officials handled the 2020 election, Bolter told Votebeat.This article was originally published by Votebeat, a nonprofit news organization covering local election administration and voting access.President Donald Trump relied on Bolter’s claims in an unsuccessful 2020 lawsuit that sought to throw out more than 220,000 votes. That would have been more than enough to move Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes from Democrat Joe Biden, who won the state, to Trump. Though courts, several election reviews, and many audits rejected Trump’s claims, the Republican never stopped believing that he was cheated out of the presidency in 2020.That appears to be why, last month, the FBI sent agents back to Milwaukee to question Bolter as part of an expanding national effort by the second Trump administration to investigate long-debunked claims of fraud in the 2020 election. The investigation into the 2020 election appears to be relying on already disproven allegations from people like Bolter. Bolter declined to divulge more about his conversation with the FBI, which has not been previously reported, but allegations from Bolter’s 2020 affidavit were central to some conspiracy theories about the 2020 election. For example, he alleged that somebody in Milwaukee’s absentee ballot counting facility announced around midnight on Election Day that a “huge truckload of ballots” was going to be delivered — an accusation for which there has so far appeared to be no additional evidence.Around the same time Bolter says he talked to the FBI, two plainclothes agents with FBI badges showed up at the apartment of a former Milwaukee resident and 2020 poll worker about an affidavit she submitted, according to the former poll worker, who asked to be identified only by her first name, Christine, to give her the freedom to discuss an ongoing investigation. Christine had also submitted an affidavit about the 2020 election, saying election workers had been told that all votes were counted, but she then saw workers continuing to count ballots around midnight. That affidavit was the focus of the agents’ questions, Christine told Votebeat.“I suspected wrongdoing, but I’m not saying that it actually happened,” she said. “I’m just one lowly person that was working there.”During the interview, she added, an agent showed her a photograph of Claire Woodall, the former Milwaukee election chief, asking her if she recognized the former election official who has been central to false allegations about the 2020 election. She identified her by name. Woodall didn’t respond to a request for comment.Caroline Clancy, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Milwaukee office, declined to comment.While investigators seem mainly focused on the 2020 vote, some elections experts believe the Trump administration’s wide-ranging probe is actually designed to create more doubts among Americans about future elections, as Republicans face strong political headwinds that could cost them control of Congress later this year.“This isn’t about the 2020 election, this is about the 2026 and 2028 elections,” said David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Center for Election Innovation and Research. “This is about intimidating election officials. This is about creating a stream of disinformation designed to delegitimize an election the president may believe he’s going to lose. This is designed by the president’s underlings to satisfy the unrealistic expectations of a president that still cannot comprehend that he lost an election that he definitely lost, and it’s incredibly destabilizing.” Wisconsin is the latest known target of the Trump administration’s 2020 investigation. The FBI is looking to interview elections officials and Milwaukee police officers in what some worry could be a precursor to an effort to seize ballots from the 2020 presidential race, as it already has in Georgia.The Trump administration is revisiting allegations of election fraud that have been repeatedly scrutinizedIn January, federal investigators seized 600 boxes of ballots from the 2020 election in Fulton County, Georgia. The heavily Democratic county, home to Atlanta, was key to Biden’s narrow 2020 victory in the state. As in Wisconsin, the FBI in Georgia has built its investigation on allegations that have already been repeatedly scrutinized by audits, investigations, and courts without unearthing any evidence of fraud or tampering that could have overturned the results.The Georgia search represented an unprecedented intervention by the federal government into local administration.
President Donald Trump vowed back in January that his administration’s takeover of Venezuela would “benefit” Americans, and yet, just over six months later, that promise appears to be imploding after key players have reportedly gotten cold feet, The Washington Post reported Sunday.In the immediate aftermath of the unprecedented U.S. attack on Venezuela earlier this year, the Trump administration took control of the nation’s oil revenue, which Trump claimed at the time would be “used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States.” The Trump administration had hoped U.S. companies would invest $100 billion into the South American nation’s energy infrastructure.“But businesses don’t want to spend big on capital-intensive projects to extract heavy crude, which take decades to pay off, if there’s a high chance the government will backslide,” the Post’s report reads.“ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance said recently that Venezuela has ‘a lot more work to do on their side of the equation.’ He said the overhaul of the hydrocarbon law was insufficient ‘to attract a whole lot of investment’ because it could amount to a ‘95 percent government take.’ Chevron CEO Mike Wirth has expressed similar sentiments.”The Trump administration was recently in hot water over its handling of Venezuela’s oil revenue. Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-CA) pressed Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week during a congressional hearing on whether the administration was concealing lucrative private contracts related to Venezuela’s oil.“The Venezuelan government’s illegitimacy raises the risk of investing capital,” the Post’s report reads. “Once real elections are held, U.S. companies will gain a clearer sense of whether it’s worth pouring in money.”
President Trump’s boasts of securing a commitment from Iranian leaders not to develop a nuclear weapon have puzzled nuclear experts who note that Tehran has made that pledge for more than 50 years.
President Donald Trump unleashed a flurry of AI-generated images on Truth Social Saturday, targeting a federal judge blocking his White House construction plans, mocking Rosie O'Donnell with a transphobic jab, and taking a shot at Barack Obama's presidential library.The most substantive post concerned U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, who has blocked Trump's proposed White House rooftop drone base — part of the broader $400 million White House renovation project that also includes a ballroom. Trump posted an AI rendering of military drones parked on the White House roof under the label "Drone Port," writing: "This will someday save Washington. Judge Leon has to get out of the way, and FAST. He is putting our Country in danger!"Leon ruled in April that Trump lacked the legal authority to build the ballroom without congressional approval. The Justice Department has pressed him to lift the injunction, invoking national security — an argument Trump amplified Saturday with the AI imagery and a separate post showing military helicopters flying in formation, presumably over Washington.In a separate post, Trump shared an AI-generated collage depicting Rosie O'Donnell daydreaming about him in various domestic settings — doing dishes, reading, driving — with his image appearing in thought bubbles above her head. The caption read: "She (?) is OBSESSED!" The question mark placed after "She" was a transphobic reference to O'Donnell, who has been a Trump antagonist for decades.Trump also posted a black-and-white photo of himself leaning over a desk with the quote: "Just sit back and relax, it will all work out well in the end — It always does!" — an apparent attempt at reassurance directed at his base amid ongoing legal battles and the Iran war.Finally, Trump posted an AI image of what appeared to be a massive garbage can topped with a black trash bag, surrounded by a tent encampment, with a Chicago skyline in the background. The caption: "The Barack Hussein Obama Library, in 10 years, when fully matured!" — using Obama's middle name in the manner Trump has long deployed as a dog whistle.
A top White House adviser on artificial intelligence confirmed Saturday that he will be stepping down from his position at the end of this month. Sriram Krishnan, a tech investor and senior policy adviser on AI, was a key figure in the Trump administration AI efforts, including developing strategic plans for Trump’s goal of AI…
Sriram Krishnan, a top White House adviser on artificial intelligence, is stepping down from the post.