Ironically it's the story of the tribe of Benjamin getting kicked out of the pact for covering up for the Benjaminite who raped a Levite priestess.
johnny maga
@_johnnymaga
Trump has D.C. so locked down that even Bret Baier is getting stopped.
https://x.com/_johnnymaga/status/1957624890145616002
Trump administration reportedly weighs 10% stake in Intel via CHIPS Act grants, making government top shareholder
-The Trump administration has reportedly floated converting the company’s CHIPS and Science Act grants into equity.
-At Intel’s current market value, a 10% stake could be worth roughly $10.4 billion.
The Trump administration is discussing taking a 10% stake in Intel
, according to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday, in a deal that could see the U.S. government become the chipmaker’s largest stakeholder.
As part of a potential deal, the government is also considering converting some or all of Intel’s grants from the 2022 U.S. CHIPS and Science Act into equity in the company, the report said, citing a White House official and other people familiar with the matter.
At the embattled chipmaker’s current market value, a 10% stake would be worth roughly $10.4 billion. Meanwhile, Intel has been awarded about $10.9 billion in CHIPS Act grants, including $7.9 billion to support its domestic investment plans and $3 billion to further its semiconductor manufacturing for national security.
The report noted, however, that it remains unclear if the idea has gained traction broadly within the administration or whether officials have broached the possibility with affected companies.
It added that the exact size of the stake remains in flux, and it remains unclear whether the White House will actually proceed with the plan. Intel and the White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s queries regarding the report.
Intel, once a dominant force in the U.S. chip industry, has fallen behind global competitors in advanced chip manufacturing. Reviving the former U.S. chip champion has become a national priority in Washington, with reports about a potential government stake in the company first circulating last week.
The company has been the largest recipient of the 2022 CHIPS Act, passed with bipartisan support under the Biden administration, as part of efforts by Washington to revitalize U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing.
The bill allocated $39 billion in grants for American semiconductor projects, with funding committed to many of the world’s chipmakers such as TSMC and Samsung, as well as American chip companies such as Nvidia, Micron and GlobalFoundries.
U.S. President Donald Trump, though supporting the general goals of the CHIPS Act, has been a vocal critic of the bill and even called for its repeal earlier this year. While republican lawmakers in Washington have been reluctant to act on that call, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in June that the administration was renegotiating some of the bill’s grants.
If Intel’s CHIPS Act funds were to be converted into a potential government stake in the company, it could decrease the total amount of capital infused into the company as part of any deal by Washington.
However, it would serve as the latest example of the Trump administration’s interest in building government-backed national champions in strategic industries.
Intel has struggled to gain an advantage in the artificial intelligence boom and has yet to capture a significant customer for its manufacturing business despite spending heavily on it.
Some analysts have argued that government intervention is essential for the struggling chipmaker and for the sake of U.S. national security. Others contend that Intel’s problems are deeper than funding, and that it’s unclear if the government can steer it in the right direction.
Analysts have also noted that Trump may be able to use the threat of tariffs and regulation to sway companies to buy Intel chips or provide indirect assistance.
On Tuesday, SoftBank announced a $2 billion investment in Intel, which, according to LSEG, would make it the fifth-largest shareholder. Masayoshi Son, Chairman & CEO of SoftBank Group, said: “This strategic investment reflects our belief that advanced semiconductor manufacturing and supply will further expand in the United States, with Intel playing a critical role.”
Intel investors had initially welcomed news of a potential government investment, which resulted in a share rally of nearly 9% on Aug. 14. Shares of Intel fell over 3% on Monday on the Bloomberg report, but rebounded by more than 5% in overnight trading on the trading platform Robinhood following news of the Softbank investment.
Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who was appointed in March 2025, met with Trump at the White House last week, after the U.S. president had called for his ousting due to his past ties to China.
After the meeting, Trump had changed his tune on the Intel chief, saying he had “an amazing story.” It’s unclear if a potential government stake in the company had been discussed at the time.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/19/trump-administration-weighs-10percent-stake-in-intel-via-chip-act-grants.html
China is still buying oil from Russia
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Chinese refineries have purchased 15 cargoes of Russian oil for October and November delivery as Indian demand for Moscow's exports falls away, two analysts and one trader said on Tuesday.
India has emerged as the leading buyer of Russian seaborne oil, which has sold at a discount since some Western nations shunned purchases and imposed restrictions on Russian exports over Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Indian state refiners paused Russian oil purchases last month, however, as those discounts narrowed. And U.S. President Donald Trump is also threatening to punish countries for buying Russian crude.
China had secured 15 Russian Urals cargoes for October–November delivery by the end of last week, said Richard Jones, a Singapore-based crude analyst at Energy Aspects.
Each Urals cargo ranges in size from 700,000 to 1 million barrels.
Kpler senior analyst Xu Muyu wrote in an August 14 report that China has likely purchased about 13 cargoes of Urals and Varandey crude for October delivery, along with at least two Urals cargoes for November.
The additional Russian Urals supply could curb Chinese refiners' appetite for Middle Eastern crude, which is $2 to $3 per barrel more expensive, Xu said.
This, in turn, could add further pressure to the Dubai market which is already losing momentum as seasonal demand fades while competition from arbitrage supply intensifies, she added.
A trade source agreed with Kpler's estimate, adding that the cargoes were booked mostly at the beginning of this month by Chinese state-owned and independent refineries.
China, the world's top oil importer and largest Russian oil buyer, primarily buys ESPO crude exported from the Russian Far East port of Kozmino due to its proximity. Its year-to-date imports of Urals crude stood at 50,000 barrels per day, Kpler data showed.
Urals and Varandey crude are typically shipped to India, Kpler data showed.
Indian state-refiners have backed out Russian crude imports by approximately 600,000 to 700,000 bpd, according to Energy Aspects' Jones.
"We do not expect China to absorb all of the additional Russian volumes, as Urals is not a baseload grade for Chinese majors," he said, referring to Chinese state refineries which are not designed to solely process the Russian grade.
Chinese refiners will also be wary about the possibility of U.S. secondary sanctions if Trump's push for a Ukraine peace deal breaks down, he added.
Trump said on Friday he did not immediately need to consider retaliatory tariffs on countries such as China for buying Russian oil but might have to "in two or three weeks".
https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/chinese-refiners-sweep-russian-oil-113100120.html
After 1 million Cybertruck pre-orders, only 52,000 actually bought the vehicle
Sales of Tesla
’s flashy Cybertruck are a fraction of the more than 1 million reservations the company had a month before deliveries began rolling out in November 2023.
So far, U.S. sales total just over 52,000 units, according to Cox Automotive.
“It’s a really remarkable vehicle,” said Sean Tucker, executive editor of Cox Automotive. “I quite like the design, but then I tend to quite like anything that stands out. And it certainly stands out.”
The Cybertruck’s futuristic design caught attention but had limited appeal, especially with truck buyers.
The truck’s specifications also fell short of those Tesla advertised early on, and in some cases fell short of those offered by leading fuel-burning pickups. There have also been many quality and production problems, as the company has issued eight voluntary recalls in little more than a year.
With all those factors, plus a less-than-advertised towing and payload capacity and the disappointing battery range, many truck buyers have stayed on the sidelines.
“I think the problem they ran into with that design: It’s not as functional as it should be,” Tucker said. “Some of the design decisions that truck makers tend to make, they’ve made because of many, many years of people using trucks and determining what’s the best way for them to work.”
The sides of the Cybertruck bed are high, and the vehicle has a pyramidal shape. That makes it tough to load.
“Trucks have been the same for a very long time,” said Tesla CEO Elon Musk when the truck was unveiled in 2019. “Like 100 years. Trucks have been basically the same. We want to try something different.”
But what it created was more likely to appeal to an EV enthusiast thinking about a pickup — or a novelty vehicle — than most of the buyers who buy pickups.
“Electric pickup trucks are a natural place for automakers, particularly American automakers,” said Stephanie Brinley, associate director, AutoIntelligence for S&P Global Mobility. “It’s also a tougher market in terms of its use case, in terms of the sense of conservatism that the buyer has.”
Truck buyers have “come a long way” over the last several years, in terms of their openness to and familiarity with technology and other innovations in pickups, she added.
But truck buyers still tend to favor the tried and true.
Brand loyalty in the segment runs somewhere around 70%-80%, said Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis in a recent interview with CNBC.
A large share of truck buyers rely on their vehicles for work. Even off-roaders and recreational buyers want trucks that will meet their standards for towing, payload, and overall performance.
“I think that those buyers also want a little bit more proof, a little bit more proof that it’s going to do everything they need to do,” Brinley said.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/19/tesla-cybertruck-sales-musk.html
OpenAI in talks to sell around $6 billion in stock at roughly $500 billion valuation
-OpenAI is preparing to sell around $6 billion in stock as part of a secondary sale that would value the company at roughly $500 billion, CNBC confirmed Friday.
-The shares would be sold by current and former employees to investors including SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group and Thrive Capital, according to a source familiar.
-Last week, OpenAI announced GPT-5, its latest and most advanced large-scale AI model. But it’s been a rocky roll out, as some users complained about losing access to OpenAI’s prior models.
OpenAI is preparing to sell around $6 billion in stock as part of a secondary sale that would value the company at roughly $500 billion, CNBC confirmed Friday.
The shares would be sold by current and former employees to investors including SoftBank, Dragoneer Investment Group and Thrive Capital, according to a person familiar with the negotiations who asked not to be named due to the confidential nature of the discussions. The talks are still in early stages and the details could change.
Bloomberg was first to report the discussions. All three firms are existing investors in OpenAI, but Thrive Capital could lead the round, as CNBC previously reported. SoftBank, Dragoneer and Thrive Capital did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
OpenAI’s valuation has grown exponentially since the artificial intelligence startup launched its generative AI chatbot ChatGPT in late 2022.
The company announced a $40 billion funding round in March at a $300 billion, by far the largest amount ever raised by a private tech company. Earlier this month, OpenAI announced its most recent $8.3 billion in fresh capital tied to that funding round.
Last week, OpenAI announced GPT-5, its latest and most advanced large-scale AI model. OpenAI said the model is smarter, faster and “a lot more useful,” particularly across domains like writing, coding and health care. But it’s been a rocky roll out, as some users complained about losing access to OpenAI’s prior models.
“We for sure underestimated how much some of the things that people like in GPT-4o matter to them, even if GPT-5 performs better in most ways,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote in a post on X.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/15/openai-6-billion-stock-500-billion-valuation.html
Russia Responds To Washington Talks With Mass Drone And Missile Strikes On Ukraine
Russia launched one of its most intense aerial assaults of August on Ukraine, just hours after President Zelenskyy met with President Trump and European leaders in Washington to discuss security guarantees. The attack involved 270 drones and 10 missiles, killing 15 and injuring 76 across multiple regions including Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya, Kherson, Poltava, and Chernihiv. Ukrainian officials condemned the strikes as a direct response to peace efforts, while civilians expressed skepticism about any potential summit between Zelenskyy and Putin. Despite Trump’s claim that Putin agreed to meet, the Kremlin remained vague, and European leaders voiced doubts about Putin’s willingness. Meanwhile, the UN reported July’s civilian casualty toll as the highest since May 2022, warning that the escalation is devastating vulnerable populations. Talks in Washington also explored a $90 billion U.S. weapons package and NATO-style security guarantees for Ukraine, though details remain unclear. The situation on the front lines continues to deteriorate, with over 180 combat engagements reported in just 24 hours.
https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-peace-talks-airstrike-casulaties-kharkiv-donetsk-zaporizhzhya-kherson-poltava-chernihiv/33507183.html
Russia launches largest attack of August on Ukraine after Trump-Zelenskyy meeting
Russia launched its largest aerial assault of August on Ukraine just as President Zelenskyy met with Donald Trump and European leaders in Washington to discuss ending the war. The attack involved 270 drones and 10 missiles, targeting energy infrastructure in Poltava and causing widespread fires. Ukraine intercepted some of the weapons, but many struck 16 locations. Meanwhile, Russia claimed to have downed 23 Ukrainian drones over its territory, including Volgograd.
The timing of the strike coincided with high-level talks where Trump pushed for a peace deal, suggesting Ukraine could end the war “almost immediately” if it conceded territory. Putin, in a prior meeting with Trump, demanded Ukraine surrender all of Donetsk in exchange for peace. Despite tensions, the Washington summit was cordial, with leaders expressing support for a future Zelenskyy–Putin meeting, possibly followed by a trilateral session involving Trump.
However, European leaders voiced skepticism about Putin’s intentions, warning that he may still aim to weaken Ukraine and absorb more territory. Discussions about NATO membership and security guarantees for Ukraine remained unresolved, with Trump stating Ukraine would not regain Crimea or join NATO. Zelenskyy thanked the U.S. for its support but emphasized that peace must come with strong security architecture for Ukraine and Europe.
https://abcnews.go.com/amp/International/russia-launches-largest-attack-august-ukraine-after-trump/story?id=124768391
In Chess when you are down a bunch of pieces, you just try to stall as long as possible waiting for your opponent to make a mistake.
State Department revokes over 6,000 student visas, citing law breaking and overstays
Washington — The State Department says it has revoked more than 6,000 student visas for overstays and violations of the law.
The vast majority of those violations or alleged violations entailed assault, driving under the influence, burglary, and "support for terrorism," according to a State Department official, although the State Department didn't say whether those were accusations, arrests, charges or convictions.
Two-thirds of the recently revoked visas were because the students violated the law, the official said. Fox News first reported the student visa revocations.
Those roughly 6,000 students represent a fraction of the 1.1 million foreign students who studied at colleges and universities in the U.S. in the 2023-2024 academic year, the most recently available data.
The State Department official said between 200 and 300 of the visas pulled were over accusations that they engaged in "support for terrorism" under federal statute.
The Trump administration has been cracking down on foreign students participating in pro-Palestinian protests on U.S. campuses, as well as universities that allow such protests. In one high-profile incident, Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk's visa was revoked after she wrote an op-ed criticizing U.S. policy in the Middle East, and then was taken into custody by ICE. Her visa was restored and she was released after she spent six weeks in ICE detention.
The Trump administration has also imposed stricter screening for student visa applications. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced in April that international students, among other visa applicants, would have their social media screened for things including antisemitic content. The State Department has also required that student visa applicants make their social media profiles public.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for additional information on the revoked visas.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/student-visas-revoked-state-department/
Lutnick says Intel has to give government equity in return for CHIPS Act funds
-Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC that the U.S. government must receive an equity stake in Intel in exchange for CHIPS Act funds.
-The potential deal would convert the grants into equity and wouldn’t come with governance rights in Intel, Lutnick said.
-President Donald Trump has called for more reshoring of U.S. manufacturing to reduce the country’s reliance on foreign chipmakers.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Tuesday that Intel must give the U.S. government an equity stake in the company in return for CHIPS Act funds.
“We should get an equity stake for our money,” Lutnick said on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” “So we’ll deliver the money, which was already committed under the Biden administration. We’ll get equity in return for it.”
Shares of the struggling chipmaker climbed nearly 7% on Tuesday, continuing to rally on recent reports that the Trump administration is weighing different ways to get involved with the company.
Bloomberg reported Monday that the White House was discussing a 10% stake in Intel, in a deal that could see the U.S. government become the chipmaker’s largest shareholder.
Intel and SoftBank announced Monday that the Japanese conglomerate will make a $2 billion investment in the chipmaker. The investment, equal to about 2% of Intel, makes SoftBank the fifth-biggest shareholder, according to FactSet.
Lutnick said any potential arrangement wouldn’t provide the government with voting or governance rights in Intel.
“It’s not governance, we’re just converting what was a grant under Biden into equity for the Trump administration, for the American people,” Lutnick said. “Nonvoting.”
Intel declined to comment.
Lutnick also suggested that President Donald Trump could seek out similar deals with other CHIPS recipients.
Intel said last fall that it had finalized a nearly $8 billion grant from the law to build its factories. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. was awarded $6.6 billion under the legislation to boost chip fabrication at its Arizona facilities.
Trump has called for more reshoring of U.S. manufacturing to reduce the country’s reliance on companies like Samsung and TSMC to manufacture chips.
Intel has been spending billions near Columbus, Ohio, to build a series of chip factories that the company previously called the “Silicon Heartland.” Intel has said that the factory complex would be able to produce the most advanced chips, including AI chips.
But in July, Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan said in a memo to employees that there would be “no more blank checks,” and that it was slowing down the construction of its Ohio factory complex, depending on market conditions.
The first factory is now scheduled to start operations in 2030.
The Ohio factory was one of the most public projects funded by the CHIPS and Science Act, which became law in 2022. The law committed the U.S. government to fund chip research and development and was estimated to cost about $53 billion.
“The Biden administration literally was giving Intel for free, and giving TSMC money for free, and all these companies just giving them money for free,” Lutnick said. “Donald Trump turns that into saying, ‘Hey, we want equity for the money. If we’re going to give you the money, we want a piece of the action.’ ”
Intel has struggled to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom in advanced semiconductors and has spent heavily to stand up a manufacturing business that’s yet to secure a significant customer. Intel tapped Lip-Bu Tan to be its CEO in March after his predecessor, Pat Gelsinger, was ousted in December.
Tan met with Trump at the White House last week after the president called for his resignation, alleging he had ties to China.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/19/lutnick-intel-stock-chips-trump.html
They be Stallin'.
40 MS-13 gang members arrested in Long Island ICE crackdown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukbHRUlTzfU
Free-range insane asylum.
Exactly the whitegirl wasted stereotype.
Left-wing media agree with President Trump on rampant violent crime
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YTmTto2etk