U.S. Deficit Grows to $291 Billion in July Despite Tariff Revenue Surge
August 13th, 2025Via: CNBC:
The U.S. government’s budget deficit grew nearly 20% in July to $291 billion despite a nearly $21 billion jump in customs duty collections from President Donald Trump’s tariffs, with outlays growing faster than receipts, the Treasury Department said on Tuesday.
Related: Big Beautiful Bill, “Effectively Dooms the U.S. to Debt Collapse”
Inside MRNA Vaccines
August 13th, 2025Via: Inside MRNA Vaccines:
UK Expands Police Facial Recognition Rollout
August 13th, 2025Via: The Register:
A fresh expansion of UK crimefighters’ access to live facial recognition (LFR) technology is being described by officials as “an excellent opportunity for policing.” Privacy campaigners disagree.
The Home Office said today that more police forces across England will gain LFR capabilities thanks to ten new “cutting edge” vans being wheeled out, adding to those already in use by London’s Metropolitan Police and forces in South Wales.
Seven forces will gain access to LFR vans as part of the latest expansion. These are: Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Bedfordshire, Surrey and Sussex (jointly), and Thames Valley and Hampshire (jointly).
The UK government insists LFR vans, which are strongly opposed by privacy campaigners, are effective policing tools and are used only in targeted cases informed by firm intelligence.
The Computer Science Dream Has Become a Nightmare
August 13th, 2025Via: TechCrunch:
The coding-equals-prosperity promise has officially collapsed.
Fresh computer science graduates are facing unemployment rates of 6.1% to 7.5% — more than double what biology and art history majors are experiencing, according to a recent Federal Reserve Bank of New York study. A crushing New York Times piece highlights what’s happening on the ground.
The individual stories are surreal. Manasi Mishra, 21, graduated from Purdue after being promised six-figure starting salaries, only to receive a single interview, at Chipotle (she didn’t get the job.) Zach Taylor has applied to nearly 6,000 tech jobs since graduating from Oregon State in 2023, landing just 13 interviews and zero offers. He was even rejected by McDonald’s for “lack of experience.”
Sam Altman Looking to Back Neuralink Rival
August 13th, 2025Via: TechCrunch:
Sam Altman is in the process of co-founding a new brain-to-computer interface startup called Merge Labs and raising funds for it with the capital possibly coming largely from OpenAI’s ventures team, unnamed sources told the Financial Times.
The startup is expected to be valued at $850 million. A source familiar with the deal tells TechCrunch that talks are still early and OpenAI has not yet committed to participation, so terms could change.
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Merge Labs will compete with Elon Musk’s Neuralink, which is developing computer interface chips designed to be implanted in the brain. Musk founded Neuralink in 2016 (although its existence wasn’t known until 2017) and the company has made serious progress.
And Now… Bill Gates Butter
August 12th, 2025Via: CBS:
A company in Batavia, Illinois is making butter in a way you’ve never seen before. No animals, no plants, no oils; this butter is made from carbon.
The sustainability-focused approach has the blessing and backing of Bill Gates.
It looks, smells and tastes like the butter we all know, but it’s made without the farmland, fertilizers or emissions tied to the typical process.
Trump Deploying National Guard to Washington DC, Could Happen in Other Large Cities
August 11th, 2025Via: USA Today:
President Donald Trump said he might expand his crackdown on crime in the nation’s capital to other major U.S. cities after he announced plans to send 800 National Guard troops into Washington, D.C.
Trump singled out New York City, Los Angeles Baltimore, Chicago and Oakland, California during a Monday, Aug. 11, news conference as potential future targets in what would be a drastic escalation of federal presence on the streets of American cities.
“We’re not going to lose our cities over this. This will go further. We’re starting very strongly with D.C., and we’re going to clean it up real quick,” Trump said.
Coinbase Britain Ad: “Everything Is Fine”
August 11th, 2025Via: Coinbase:
EU Media Freedom Law Allows for Journalist Arrests if Justified by ‘Public Interest’
August 9th, 2025Via: disclose.tv:
The European Media Freedom Act is now in effect across all EU member states. This legislation aims to protect press freedom and the confidentiality of sources.
However, Article 3 (b) and 4 (c) of the act allow for journalist arrests if justified by a compelling “public interest” on a case-by-case basis.
“Member States shall not take any of the following measures… detain, sanction, intercept or inspect media service providers”… unless it “is justified on a case-by-case basis by an overriding reason of public interest.”
Social Security Insolvency Projected 6 Months Sooner, Chief Actuary Says
August 9th, 2025Via: ZeroHedge:
The Social Security trust funds are projected to run out about six months earlier than previously estimated, according to a new analysis from the program’s chief actuary.
Letters sent on Aug. 5 to Sen. Ron Wyden (D?Ore.) and Rep. Steven Horsford (D?Nev.) say the combined Old?Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and Disability Insurance (DI) funds are now expected to be depleted in the first quarter of 2034, rather than the third quarter of that year as in the most recent trustees’ report.
The 2025 trustees’ report, released in June, had already moved up the combined depletion date by one year—from 2035 in the prior report to 2034—reflecting worsening demographics and legislative changes.
Under the new analysis carried out in response to requests from Wyden and Horsford, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act accelerates that timeline further by about six months.
