Appeals court gave Trump narrow window to seek SCOTUS intervention on ballroom; He moved quickly. 1/3

The Trump administration’s emergency appeal Friday to the Supreme Court to intervene in itsWhite House ballroom case sets up a high-stakes fight over presidential power, congressional control of federal property, and the limits of national-security claims.

The administration is asking the justices to lift a lower-court order that has halted above-ground construction on the project.

In filing the emergency application, Solicitor General D. John Sauer seeks a stay of an injunction issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Earlier this month, a divided appeals court panel, in a 2–1 ruling,upheld a district court order requiring the administration to obtain explicit congressional authorization before continuing work on the project.

The panel gave the government a narrow window to seek Supreme Court intervention, and the administration moved quickly. Unless the justices intervene, the injunction is set to halt construction on August 21.

The case hasquickly emerged as a closely watched test of executive authority, raising questions about who controls federal property, how far national-security justifications can extend, and how courts should respond when a controversial construction project is already well underway.

From Demolition to Lawsuit

The dispute traces back to October 2025, when the administration demolished the White House’s East Wing to make way for a roughly 90,000-square-foot ballroom and underground complex.

The completed structure is expected to accommodate about 1,000 guests and incorporate hardened security features, including a bunker, missile-resistant construction, drone defenses and other fortifications.

The White House has described the project as both a classically styled architectural addition and a necessary modernization of presidential protection and continuity-of-government infrastructure.

Estimates of theproject’s cost have ranged from roughly $400 million to substantially higher figures cited by contractors, with thebulk of the funding coming from private donors rather than a congressional appropriation.

That funding structure, along with the scale of the demolition,prompted the National Trust for Historic Preservation to sue. The organization argued that alterations of this magnitude to the White House and its grounds require congressional authorization under the Constitution and federal property and preservation laws.

In March 2026, Senior U.S.District Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, granted a preliminary injunction blocking most above-ground work. He later allowed underground security construction and other measures strictly tied to protecting the site to continue,but he rejected the administration’s broader argument that the entire ballroom was inseparable from national-security needs.

The D.C. Circuit affirmed the core ruling on Aug. 7, in the 2–1 decision.

The majority – Judges Patricia Millett, an Obama appointee, and Bradley Garcia, a Biden appointee – held that “whether or not a massive ballroom should be constructed is for Congress to decide and is not a matter for Executive self-help.”The court also emphasized that the president is a temporary occupant of the White House, not its owner.

https://justthenews.com/government/white-house/appeals-court-gave-trump-narrow-window-seek-scotus-intervention-ballroom-he

>>24944536

2/3

Judge Neomi Rao, a Trump appointee, dissented, arguing that the National Trust lacked standing and that the courts had exceeded their proper role.

President Trump reacted to the ruling on Truth Social,calling the decision “horrendous, politically motivated, and unlawful,” and a “National Security threat to our Nation.”

He also vowed an immediate appeal to the Supreme Court.

The administration has continued to portray the ballroom as an integral component of presidential security.

Sauer’s filing struck a similar tone, describing the injunction as “extraordinary” and warning that halting construction would disrupt the addition of an integrated military complexessential to protecting the president, his family and executive-branch personnel.

The filing also emphasized the project’s advanced state.Construction is reportedly about 65% complete, with crews working long hours. The administration argues that further delay would be particularly disruptive and costly given how far the project has progressed.

The Legal Questions at the Core of the Case

Several distinct but overlapping issues are likely to shape the Supreme Court’s handling of the dispute,whether the justices rule narrowly on the emergency application or ultimately consider the merits.

Congressional Control Over Federal Property

The U.S. Constitution’s Property Clause (Article IV, Section 3, Clause 2) provides that “Congress shall have Power to dispose of and make all needful Rules and Regulations respecting … property belonging to the United States.”The lower courts have treated the White House grounds as subject to that congressional authority.

The lower courts found no statute clearly authorizing the president to unilaterally demolish and rebuild major portions of the Executive residence.The administration, however, points to historical practice, the president’s responsibility for day-to-day White House operations, and the project’s reliance on private funds as grounds for broader executive authority.

The D.C. Circuit majority rejected that view, emphasizing the unprecedented nature of the project. No prior president, the majority noted, had unilaterally demolished a major, congressionally funded portion of the White House and replaced it with a privately financed structure.

At the core, the disputeasks whether the president’s control over the White House as the seat of the Executive Branch includes the power to make permanent changes to the property without Congress’s approval.

Whether the National Trust Has Standing to Sue

Judge Rao’s dissent focused heavily on standing, as she concluded that the National Trust lacks standing to stop construction at the White House.

The National Trust does not own the White House grounds, which are part of President’s Park, and the administration argues that the organization has not identified the kind of concrete, particularized injury required to invoke federal jurisdiction.

That issue could provide the Supreme Court with a way to resolve the case without reaching the broader separation-of-powers questions. A ruling that the National Trust lacks standing would allow the project to proceed while leaving unresolved the scope of presidential authority over major changes to federal property.

https://justthenews.com/government/white-house/appeals-court-gave-trump-narrow-window-seek-scotus-intervention-ballroom-he

>>24944564

3/3

How Much Weight Should National-Security Claims Receive?

The administration has increasingly characterized the ballroom as part of a hardened security complex rather than merely an event space. It points to threats against the president, the protective value of the building’s mass and height, and drone- and bullet-resistant design features.

The lower courts allowed underground bunker construction and other security-related workto continue but declined to extend that rationale to the entire above-ground structure. The judges also pointed to inconsistencies in the administration’s descriptions of the project over time.

The Supreme Court could therefore confront a difficult question: How much deference should courts give executive-branch assertions of national-security necessity when those assertions are used to justify permanent changes to federal property? And where a project is designed as an integrated whole, can a court meaningfully distinguish genuine security infrastructure from features that primarily serve other purposes?

Does Private Funding Change the Constitutional Calculus?

The ballroom is being financed through $400 million in private donations, and the administration argues that this distinguishes the project from ordinary federal construction subject to congressional appropriations.

The lower courts rejected that argument, reasoning that private financing does not eliminate a separate requirement of congressional authorization for major changes to federally controlled property.

The Supreme Court’s treatment of that issue could have consequences beyond the White House.A broad ruling for the administration could give future presidents greater latitude to pursue privately financed projectson federal property without going through the traditional appropriations process.

What Happens When Construction Is Nearly Complete?

The government also argues that the project’s advanced stage weighs heavily against continued enforcement of the injunction.With construction reportedly about 65% complete, the administration says the practical consequences of stopping work now would be substantial – and that courts may ultimately be unable to restore the status quo even if the project is later deemed unlawful.

The National Trust, by contrast, argued that the injunction is precisely what prevents the administration from creating an irreversible fact on the ground. Allowing construction to continue simply because it has progressed far enough, the challengers contend, could undermine judicial review by making any eventual remedy effectively impossible.

That tension between preserving the status quo and recognizing the realities of a project already well underwaymay be especially important to the justices as they consider emergency relief.

What Comes Next

Chief Justice John Roberts has called for a response by noon Tuesday. The high court could grant an administrative stay while further briefing proceeds, deny relief and allow the injunction to remain in effect, or agree to take up the underlying case for full review.

Whatever the court decides, the case is already emerging as asignificant marker in the ongoing battle over the boundaries of presidential power– and, ultimately, who has authority to control decisions concerning the White House itself.

https://justthenews.com/government/white-house/appeals-court-gave-trump-narrow-window-seek-scotus-intervention-ballroom-he

@ginamilan_

Only Sophie Cunningham could go from playing a Fever game to randomly showing up at a bar and singing “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” with the fans. 🥰🇺🇸

She’s truly the freaking best.❤️❤️

https://x.com/ginamilan_/status/2088636239431790786

The AI bubble has become the world’s largest marketing campaign | Ed Zitron

“Nothing is where it needs to be. Absolutely nothing. Nvidia’s $200bn in revenue, that’s chump change compared to where they need to be in a year.”

Writer of Where’s Your Ed At and host of the Better Offline podcast Ed Zitron joins The Tech Report’s Isaac Pound to talk about Nvidia exacerbating the AI bubble circular financing problem with a newly announced $500bn financing proposal as the SEC exempts some data center backed securities from regulations put in place after the 2008 financial crisis.

31:29

https://youtu.be/_1vSlv32MWo

ChatGPT reported South Palm Beach man's rape and murder threats to FBI 1/2

'No one deserves the type of conduct you exposed this lady to,' a judge told Darren Zhou, a since-fired Goldman Sachs analyst.

Hannah Phillips

OpenAI reported Darren Zhou, 25, to the FBI after he used ChatGPT to plot the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend.

Zhou's attorney blamed the violent messages on a 'very difficult mental health episode.'

Zhou made a deal with prosecutors to avoid both prison and a felony conviction.

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, reported a 25-year-old South Palm Beach man to the FBI after he shared detailed plans to rape and murder his ex-girlfriend.

"I'm gonna kill her by the end of this month," Darren Zhou told the chatbot, his messages preserved in court records. "If I can't have her then nobody can."

Investigators say Zhou, a since-fired Goldman Sachs analyst, turned to ChatGPT in March to discuss his recent breakup with a girlfriend of six months. He recounted her hobbies, the places she frequented, his jealousy of the men around her and his desire to get back together.

Investigators say the messages quickly turned to threats of rape, murder and murder-suicide. Zhou told ChatGPT he planned to wait in the parking lot of the woman's gym with flowers in hand. If she rejected his offering, Zhou said he would "draw a gun, kill her, then shoot myself."

In another conversation, he said he would "rape her with the gun too." He wrote in subsequent messages that he planned to force her at gunpoint to drive to his home in South Palm Beach, where he would sexually assault her and hold her hostage. If police arrived to save her, he said he would "shoot her repeatedly" before turning the gun on himself.

He told the chatbot he'd bought an AR-15-style rifle, a Glock handgun and a 12-gauge shotgun, and that he'd sent his girlfriend photos of his guns, zip ties and latex gloves.

"I texted her I was gonna rape her tonight," he told the AI.

Federal agents turned over two months of Zhou's chat logs to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office in May, by which point Zhou's targets had grown to include the young woman's family. A deputy who reviewed the logs — which included only Zhou's messages, not ChatGPT's responses — said they weren't "vague emotional outbursts" but instead showed a pattern of rehearsal and planning.

Girlfriend supplied deputies with violent texts from ex

Deputies performed a welfare check on the girlfriend, a 21-year-old from Lake Worth Beach. She said she'd broken up with Zhou over his "erratic, jealous and controlling behavior," and did so over the phone because she feared how he would react.

Since the breakup, the woman said Zhou dogged her with calls, texts and social-media messages, pressing her about comments that a man left on her TikTok videos. He accused her of moving on quickly and ignored her repeated requests that he not contact her again.

She'd blocked him on a Thursday, and by Friday, he texted from a different number, apologizing for overwhelming her. He did the same through Instagram, where she soon blocked him, too.

'My rampage would be unlike any other': Teen diary lands man in federal court decade later

Investigators say Zhou continued to call and text his ex from various app-generated phone numbers. She took screenshots of the messages, many of which were harassing, insulting, sexual and threatening.

https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/crime/2026/08/14/openai-reported-florida-man-darren-zhou-chatgpt-murder-messages-fbi/91285875007/

>>24944662

2/2

"Can't wait to see you later tonight ;)," he texted on her 21st birthday. "Can't wait to smell you."

One message, sent while the woman was in a West Palm Beach gym, contained the name of the gym and nothing more. Others held lewd photos and the promise of rape.

The woman told deputies her lingering feelings for Zhou, along with her "misguided hope" that he would stop harassing her if she ignored him long enough, had prevented her from reporting him.

While she was screenshotting messages and blocking their sender, Zhou was confiding again in ChatGPT: "She hasn't received any of the threats etc."

Defense attorney says 'he's not a violent person'

Armed with Zhou's messages to the AI and to his ex, deputies arrested him in May. He spent two days in the Palm Beach County jail before posting $100,000 bail.

Assistant State Attorney Ana Cuskova charged him in June with aggravated stalking, written threats to kill and illegal use of a cell phone, felonies punishable by up to 25 years in prison. Zhou pleaded guilty to all three on Aug. 13 after negotiating a deal with Cuskova that spared him both from prison and a felony conviction.

Circuit Judge Scott Suskauer, speaking from the bench, said he only accepted the deal because Zhou's ex-girlfriend had approved it. In accordance with the agreement, the judge withheld adjudication and sentenced Zhou to eight years of probation, during which he must abide by a slew of restrictions.

Zhou will be outfitted with an ankle monitor for the first two years. He must also complete a batterer intervention program, undergo a mental health evaluation, and avoid drugs, alcohol, guns and contact with his ex. Failure to do so could send him back to court.

Before passing the sentence, Suskauer counseled Zhou on what to do in the event of another breakup.

"Get over it and move on," he said. "There are other people in the world. You understand me? No one deserves the type of conduct that you exposed this lady to."

Asked why prosecutors agreed to spare Zhou a felony conviction, State Attorney's Office spokesperson Marc Freeman pointed to the many factors that can influence any case’s outcome: strength of evidence, victim cooperation, prior criminal history and statutory limitations.

He did not specify which factor drove the resolution in Zhou's case but said the decision was made by experienced prosecutors. Zhou's attorney, Steven Bell, called it an "extremely fair and just resolution."

He pointed to the fact that Zhou graduated magna cum laude from Northeastern University in Boston and had no prior criminal record. He also didn't own firearms, Bell said, despite his messages suggesting otherwise.

"He's not a violent person. He is not a bad person," Bell said. "He went through just a very difficult mental health episode and he's doing unbelievable now."

https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/crime/2026/08/14/openai-reported-florida-man-darren-zhou-chatgpt-murder-messages-fbi/91285875007/

Hamas promises Trump envoy it will demilitarize Gaza – Axios

The Palestinian group is reportedly demanding a full Israeli withdrawal and a permanent ceasefire in exchange

Published 17 Aug, 2026 05:52

Hamas has reaffirmed its commitment to disarm and demilitarize Gaza during direct talks with US President Donald Trump’s adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, Axios reported on Sunday, citing a source familiar with the matter.

The meeting was aimed at locking in apledge Hamas first made in late July, when Trump announced that his Board of Peace– an international body he chairs to oversee the implementation of his Gaza peace plan – had reached a “historic agreement” withthe Palestinian group on disarmament and the transfer of civilian and security control to a technocratic administration.

In exchange, theBoard of Peace would press Israel to make corresponding moves, including initial troop withdrawals, while accelerating humanitarian relief and reconstruction.

During a rare 90-minute in-person meeting in Egypt on Sunday,Kushnerreportedly told Hamas political chief Khalil al-Hayya that the group must take “tangible steps on disarmament if they want Israel to take steps of its own.”

Egyptian intelligence chief Hassan Rashad, Qatari diplomat Ali al-Thawadi, and a senior Turkish official also attended, alongside Board of Peace representatives and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, according to Axios.

Al-Hayya reportedly asked Kushner to tell Trump that Hamas remains committed to relinquishing its weapons, the source claimed.

“We thanked them for the commitment, but we want to see real efforts [from Hamas] and not just words,” the source stated. “It was important for Kushner to lock them into this commitment in person.”

Hamas subsequently confirmed in a statement that it remains committed to the roadmap, citing a permanent ceasefire, a full Israeli withdrawal, sustained aid, and reconstruction. However, the group did not explicitly mention disarmament.

Kushner is expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday to discuss reciprocal measures.Last week, Netanyahu rejected the roadmap, insisting that Israeli forces would not withdraw until Hamas was “genuinely disarmed.”

Meanwhile, on Sunday, the foreign ministers of Türkiye, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAEissued a joint statement condemning Israel’s rejection of the peace framework and Palestinian statehood.

The eight countries said West Jerusalem bears “direct and full responsibility” for obstructing peace efforts.They urged active US involvement in implementing the plan, which has been endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2803.

https://www.rt.com/news/644316-hamas-agrees-to-gaza-demilitarization/

NATO scrambles warplanes to shoot down drone over Latvia

A NATO fighter jet has destroyed a drone that entered Latvian airspace, the US-led bloc has said.

The announcement came as Ukraine carried out a major UAV attack against Russia’s northwestern Leningrad Regionon Friday. A total of 54 drones were shot down or intercepted above the region overnight, local governor Aleksandr Drozdenko said. A fire broke out at the key Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga during the raid, but it was swiftly extinguished, according to the governor.

There have been multiple reports in recent months ofUkrainian drones violating the airspace of Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Finland, or crashing inside those countries, while on their way to Russia.

NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said on Friday that “this morning, we saw Italian Eurofighters based in Lithuania and Turkish F-16s out of Estonia scramble, with one Eurofighter downing a drone over Latvian airspace.”

The Latvian Defense Ministry also confirmed the incident, saying in a statement that “fighter jets participating in the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission successfully shot down a foreign unmanned aerial vehicle.”

The ministry claimed that theUAV “entered Latvia as a result of Russian electronic warfare activities.”

“Similar incidents involving foreign unmanned aerial vehicles entering or approaching Latvian airspace may occur” as long as the conflict between Russia and Ukraine continues, the statement added.

Last week, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania issued a joint demarche after Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said Moscowhad “verified data,” showing that Baltic states had provided air corridors for Ukrainian drones attacking Russian civilian infrastructure. The governments in Riga, Tallinn, and Vilnius denied Galuzin’s accusations as “completely unfounded.”

On Thursday, Kremlin spokesmanDmitry Peskov said the Russian military and intelligence services “see where things fly from and how they fly,” referring to incoming UAVs.

“This is well-known to everyone, and we are not going to prove anything to anyone here,” Peskov stressed.

Moscow previously warned that if Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania knowingly help to facilitate Ukrainian drone strikes, Russia could consider them complicitin the attacks and would have the right to self-defense under the UN Charter.

https://www.rt.com/russia/644252-nato-latvia-drone-ukraine/

‘Shadow fleet’ is EU fiction to justify attacks on Russian trade – Lavrov

The top diplomat has reiterated Moscow’s warning that it could respond to Western ship detentions with similar measures at sea

Published 14 Aug, 2026 12

Western governments are using theterm ‘shadow fleet’ to justify what amounts to unlawful attacks on Russian maritime trade, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.

Countries supporting Ukraine have sought to limit Moscow’s oil revenues by imposing a price cap on Russian crude exports. As enforcement proved ineffective, Western authorities increasingly began targeting vessels suspected of transporting Russian cargo, including through detentions based on unilateral sanctions, documentation, and other alleged violations. Proposals to confiscate and sell seized oil and transfer the proceeds to Kiev have also reportedly been discussed.

“They de facto enacted a ban on Russia’s ability to sell energy resources, while designating all ships which are not obeying the European Union, no matter the flag these ships sail under, as being part of the so-called ‘shadow fleet’,” Lavrov said in an interview published on Friday.

“This is an extremely dangerous path since they claim that their decisions prevail over international law,” he added.

Moscow has repeatedly warned that it couldretaliate against what it describes as piracy and theft on the high seas. On Thursday, President Vladimir Putin said Russia “will be forced to take mirror responses” if actions targeting its maritime trade continue, adding that Moscow would decide for itself where and how such measures would be applied.

Lavrov reiterated the warning, saying the Russian Navy could begin“focusing on the ships serving countries which have made pillaging and piracy their official policy.”

At least a dozen vessels accused by Western governments of belonging to Russia’s so-called ‘shadow fleet’ have reportedly been detained since last year.The UK and France have taken prominent roles in the interdictions, while Germany, Belgium, and Estonia have also participated in such operations.

https://www.rt.com/russia/644251-lavrov-shadow-fleet-retaliation/

Young People Hate AI CEOs So Passionately That It’s Almost Hard to Believe

They're even more unpopular than data centers.

By Joe Wilkins Published Aug 16, 2026 12:03 PM EDT Add Futurism

A decade ago, young adults were flocking to vaunted tech giants like Google and Apple in pursuit of exciting jobs on the cutting edge of tech.

In 2026, however, the status quo of young people who are uncritically enamored with the tech industry and its billionaire overlords has gone completely out the window.

A new survey conducted by CNBC‘s Generation Labs asked over 1,000 US adults aged between 18 and 34 to share their thoughts on politics, AI, and the country’s economy.

A particularly interesting branch of questions polled participants on their views of nine executives overseeing AI companies, and the results were dismal. Asked “who do you trust to act responsibly on AI?”the vast majority of participants said they “don’t trust” any of the nine figures. Palantir’s extremely controversial CEO Alex Karp scored the lowest, with 81 percent choosing “don’t trust,” while Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella fared the best — albeit with a pitiful 35 percent “trust” score.

Everyone else fell in between: 79 percent of respondents said they don’t trust Peter Thiel, while a whopping 71, 70, and 69 percent saidthey “don’t trust” Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, and Sam Altman, respectively (Musk will probably be mad he didn’t get that 69 figure.)

Those are some appalling approval ratings, reflecting the massive swing in popularity the tech industry has experienced over the last decade,driven by concerns around data privacy, the purposeful decay of once-useful platforms, and the erosion of democracy.

And if all of those tech executives could be embodied by one collective avatar, it would arguably be AI — a technology increasingly reviled by Americans of all ages.Ironically, even AI and the data centers powering it scored better than the tech CEOsin the eyes of the US youth, according to the polling.

Asked what kind of impact AI will have on their lives, 45 percent of respondents said it will have a negative affect on their careers, while an additional 40 percent opined that the US government should regulate AI.

When it comes to data centers, 60 percent said they think the tech industry’s all-out construction drive should slow down. Though the different questions make a direct comparison difficult,it’s noteworthy that even data centers aren’t as unpopular as the tech billionaires underwriting them.

https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/young-people-ai-ceos-executives-poll

Sensing He’s in Deep Trouble, Flock Safety CEO Says It’s All Been a Big Misunderstanding

"We're not Big Brother."

Victor Tangermann Avatar

By Victor Tangermann

Published Aug 15, 2026 9:03 AM EDT

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In the United States, there’s practically no escaping from mass surveillance company Flock Safety’s 120,000 license plate reading cameras spread across 49 states.

The company has partnered with 6,000 law enforcement agencies and 1,000 private customers, leading to terrifying false arrests and even crooked cops stalking innocent women. Just last week, 404 Media reported that the Flock had been planning to infiltrate the dash cams of Uber and Lyft drivers’ cars to scan license plate numbers of nearby vehicles at unprecedented scale.

In short, it’s no wonder people are being celebrated for physically cutting down Flock’s surveillance towers as the controversy surrounding privacy and civil rights continues to grow. At least 54 cities across the US have voted to cancel, non-renew, or reject Flock’s automatic license plate readers since the beginning of the year, highlighting a major PR crisis for the company.

Consequently, Flock CEO Garrett Langley is now in full damage control mode. The narrative he’s pushing: that it’s all a big misunderstanding. In a new interview, he told Bloomberg that “we’re not Big Brother” — definitely not a thing that Big Brother would say, right? — and that “we’re focused on protecting people.”

The company is still trying to paint itself as the good guy, promising to help law enforcement to fight crime, while underplaying egregious instances its tech being misused.

Flock also announced that it’s making changes to its platform amidst major scrutiny from lawmakers and civil liberties groups in an apparent attempt to address privacy concerns. Langley promised that law enforcement customers will have to use an audit tool to flag abnormal behavior and thatFlock is reducing the data retention window of footage from 30 days to seven.

Critics, however, are unconvinced, with the American Civil Liberties Union saying calling the moves a “step in the right direction” but downplaying other changes as “merely retreads of previous inadequate safety measures.”

“This is window dressing that doesn’t address the fundamental problem, which is that police officers are the ones deciding who and when to search, and that should be done by judges with real warrants,” Institute for Justice senior attorney Robert Frommer told the Associated Press.

Despite the brewing crisis, Flock is raking in the cash, with annual revenue rates ballooning from $300 million in January of this year to $500 million in June, as Langley told Bloomberg.

Beyond its surveillance network of over 100,000 cameras, the company is hoping to unleash drones, surveillance trailers, and gunshot-detecting hardware — efforts that likely won’t convince an already extremely wary public.

That’s not to mention glaring technological issues plaguing its license plate readers, which remain startlingly ineffective at the task they were designed to do.According to a recent investigation by the police department of Roseville, California, its cameras mistook one license plate number for another an astonishing 71 percent of the time between 2023 and 2024.

While it’s unclear whether the company’s AI models have improved at all since then, the risk of false positives remains high. In one disturbing recent incident, our sister site The Drive‘s director of content Joel Feder was wrongly tracked by the company’s cameras over “stolen” plates.

Feder was ambushed and boxed in by several police vehicles and was accused of not being able to afford the “six-figure luxury SUV” he was driving. As it turns out, the local Flock camera network had failed to register the correct license plate number, mistakenly pinning local law enforcement on him.

Feder’s account was directly referenced in Flock’s announcement this week.

“The central point is simple,” reads the announcement. “An alert is a lead, not a conclusion, which should be confirmed by an officer.”

https://futurism.com/future-society/flock-safety-ceo-big-misunderstanding

(I’m glad I’m in the last quarter of my life! I better not reincarnate!)

Kyrsten Sinema Allegedly Rescued Boyfriend From Jail After His Assault Arrest

TMZ Staff August 16, 2026 1:00 AM PDT

Exclusive

Kyrsten Sinema Rescued Boyfriend From Jail … After He Allegedly Assaulted a Physician

Kyrsten Sinema allegedly bonded her boyfriend, Matthew Ammel, out of jail after he was arrested for assaulting a physician … TMZ has learned.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, Matthew was involuntarily committed to the hospital on November 19, 2025 and arrested the next day for assaulting a physician at the facility.

Matthew's ex-wife, Heather Ammel, previously claimed in their ongoing case that Kyrsten traveled to North Carolina to bond Matthew out of jail and moved him "out of his rental property to her house in Arizona."

Per court docs, Matthew was charged with assault by strangulation and assault against emergency personnel. Authorities said Matthew "slammed the victim to the floor, placed him on his side, hugged his body from behind and wrapped his arm around the victim's neck for a period of time."

The docs also note that the alleged victim suffered "substantial swelling, welts and bruising" on his face, as well as cuts to his neck, left arm, and right elbow.

In May, Matthew pled guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 12 months of unsupervised probation. He was ordered to continue receiving mental health treatment and provide updates to the court. The judge also ordered him to do 48 hours of community service, not possess any firearms during his probation period, and have no contact with the victim.

As TMZ previously reported, Matthew's ex-wife sued Kyrsten in North Carolina, claiming she ruined her marriage. North Carolina is one of the few states that allow a wife to sue her husband's mistress. Kyrsten admitted she hooked up with Matthew when he was a married man, but said they never had sex in North Carolina.

https://www.tmz.com/2026/08/16/kyrsten-sinema-allegedly-bonded-boyfriend-out-of-jail-after-assault-arrest/#google_vignette

KEK The mighty are falling!

Democratic Socialists Celebrate ‘100 Years of Fidel,’ Demand US Pay Reparations to Cuba

Craig Bannister

August 14th, 2026 4:12 PM

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) commemorated “100 Years of Fidel (Castro)” on Thursday and provided the U.S. a list of “unequivocal demands,” including “reparations payments” to Cuba.

The Cuban dictator, born on August 13, 1926, led a successful revolution and seized control of the country in 1959. Since that time, the Communist Party has ruled as a Socialist regime.

“Today is the centenary of Fidel Castro, and the Democratic Socialists of America recognize the historic significance of both this day and the man. Fidel was an organizer, a fighter, and endures as a stalwart symbol of anti-imperialist struggle and self-determination for the Global South,” the statement begins.

“DSA has a long history of solidarity with the Cuban people, their revolution, and their self-determination,” the Democratic Socialists declare.

In the same statement, DSA denounces U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio for an alleged “genocidal war against the Cuban people” caused by the Trump Administration’s blockade of the communist-controlled, one-party socialist nation.

“By intentionally imposing conditions calculated to kill a civilian population, Marco Rubio is leading a genocide,” DSA claims, citing a leftist think tank’s study linking poverty to mortality.

DSA provides a list of U.S. actions it says it “unequivocally demands” - including “reparations payments to be made to Cuba for the trillions of dollars in damages the blockade has cost the Cuban people.”

DSA also demands “the prosecution of Marco Rubio for crimes against humanity.”

Other demands include an end to the blockade, an end to all U.S. “aggression” against Cuba and the normalization of relations between the United States and the dictatorship.

Cuba’s current ruler, Miguel Díaz-Canel, rose to power in 2018 and is the first Cuban leader since the 1959 not related by blood or marriage to the Castro family – though, he was handpicked by Raúl Castro to be his successor.

Díaz-Canel is also First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba.

Read full DSA statement here.

https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/cnsnews/craig-bannister/2026/08/14/democratic-socialists-celebrate-100-years-fidel-demand-us

Former Ukraine Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov Predicts Shift to Robotic War Within a Year

August 17, 2026 | Sundance |

35-year-old Ukraine Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorovwas removed from his position about a month ago. Despite being heralded as the reason for Ukraine’s successful defense and strikes against Russia, there was internal friction about control of thewar spending(ie ‘procurement).The old guard military leaders were unwilling to give up their ability to enrich themselvesand their families, Fedorov was removed by President Zelenskyy.

In this CBS interview with Fedorov the young outsider, who is still connected to the war effortand holds strong relationships with both Palantir (Alex Karp) and SpaceX (Elon Musk),outlines the current status of the conflict and gives his predictions on what comes next.

Fedorov states that Ukraine ballistic missiles should be online within three to six months. He also predicts the ground conflict will be fully autonomous within a year, with robots and drones engaged in most of the combat operations. As a consequence, Eastern Ukraine is now the real time proving ground for an entirely new type of technological warfare.

The interview is interesting both from a narrative perspective,the Hollywood-lite construct which includes elements of the former ‘find Kony’ performances, the youthful drama– David vs Goliath, the handsome characters etc., and from a perspective of Fedorov’s contemplative responses. WATCH:

When Fedorov speaks of “destroying 200 Russians” (6:28 of video),he is speaking about destroying the 200 Wildberries warehouses the Ukraine government is convinced will result in the collapse the Russian economy.

If you get the feeling -a general sense- that we are watching a scripted performance of sorts, that’s because we are.

World War Reddit continues.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/08/17/former-ukraine-defense-minister-mykhailo-fedorov-predicts-shift-to-robotic-war-within-a-year/#more-286128

Former Ukraine Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov Predicts Shift to Robotic War Within a Year

August 17, 2026 | Sundance | 8 Comments

35-year-old Ukraine Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorovwas removed from his position about a month ago. Despite being heralded as the reason for Ukraine’s successful defense and strikes against Russia, there was internal friction about control of thewar spending(ie ‘procurement).The old guardmilitary leaders were unwilling to give up their ability to enrich themselves and their families, Fedorov was removed by President Zelenskyy.

In this CBS interview with Fedorov the young outsider, who is still connected to the war effortand holds strong relationships with both Palantir (Alex Karp) and SpaceX (Elon Musk),outlines the current status of the conflict and gives his predictions on what comes next.

Fedorov states that Ukraine ballistic missiles should be online within three to six months. He also predicts the ground conflict will be fully autonomous within a year, with robots and drones engaged in most of the combat operations. As a consequence, Eastern Ukraine is now the real time proving ground for an entirely new type of technological warfare.

The interview is interesting both from a narrative perspective,the Hollywood-lite construct which includes elements of the former ‘find Kony’ performances, the youthful drama– David vs Goliath, the handsome characters etc., and from a perspective of Fedorov’s contemplative responses. WATCH:

Ukraine could use own ballistic missile against Russia within months, former defense minister says

Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's former defense minister, joined CBS News' Aidan Stretch to discuss the future of the Russia-Ukraine war, including his belief that Ukraine will launch a ballistic missile into Russia by the end of the year.

(https://youtu.be/TuX8jDGggBc

When Fedorov speaks of “destroying 200 Russians” (6:28 of video),he is speaking about destroying the 200 Wildberries warehouses the Ukraine government is convinced will result in the collapse the Russian economy.

If you get the feeling -a general sense- that we are watching a scripted performance of sorts, that’s because we are.

World War Reddit continues.

Remember when the air-raid sirens were sounded exactly at the moment when Joe Biden was walking through Kiev with Zlenenskyy?

At the end of all of this effort is the EU/NATO goal of a fully operational war against Russia.No reasonable person in the EU wants this outcome, no ordinary citizen in the U.K wants war with Russia and only a tiny percentage of Americans would support it.However, 80% of the British/EU political class and around 75% of the Washington DC political class would immediately welcome this outcome.

Europe is burning through their spending of the confiscated €300 billion Russian sovereign wealth fund. The money will be completely gone within a year as it is the funding mechanism for almost all Ukraine support. When you think about this in very practical terms, this makes the EU war against Russia a foregone conclusion.

In my opinion, the decision to spend that confiscated Russian asset wealth is what changed in early June when Zelenskyy visited King Charles in London.What was once avoidable is now ultimately only a matter of time.

Unless someone is willing to step into the finance side and repay Russia, a western conflict with the Russian Federation to avoid the issue seems to be the overwhelming likelihood. In the interim, Eastern Ukraine remains a meat grinder.

When Fedorov speaks of “destroying 200 Russians” (6:28 of video), he is speaking about destroying the 200 Wildberries warehouses the Ukraine government is convinced will result in the collapse the Russian economy.

If you get the feeling -a general sense- that we are watching a scripted performance of sorts, that’s because we are.

World War Reddit continues.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/08/17/former-ukraine-defense-minister-mykhailo-fedorov-predicts-shift-to-robotic-war-within-a-year/#more-286128

>>24945014

Russia warns UK will ‘pay the price’ over drones used in Ukrainian strikes

Moscow has accused London of deliberately escalating the Ukraine conflict by supplying weapons used to strike Russian territory

Published 17 Aug, 2026 17:30

The UK is deliberately escalating the Ukraine conflict and acting as an accomplice to Kiev’s terrorist attacks, Russia’s embassy in London has said, warning that Britain will be held accountable for its actions.

The statement comes after a Sunday Times report claiming that Ukrainian forces have used dronessupplied by two British manufacturers for long-range attacks inside Russia over the past six months.

Multiple Ukrainian military sources told the newspaper thatBritish UAVs had been deployed against industrial and military targets, including oil refineries in Volgograd and Yaroslavl.

The Russian Embassy responded on Monday, saying that the report confirms that “London is deliberately opting for an escalation of the Ukraine crisis, while hypocritically professing a desire for peace.”

“In doing so, the United Kingdom is acting as an accomplice and co-perpetrator of the bloody crimes and terrorist attacks committed by Ukrainian neo-Nazis, seeking to contain Russia and inflict maximum damage on it by proxy,” the embassy wrote, warning that “London’s actions will inevitably carry consequences for which it will have to answer.”

“The deeper its involvement in the conflict and the greater its support for Kiev’s terrorist machinery, the higher the price it will pay,” the statement concluded.

Britain has been one of Kiev’s most active military backers since the escalation of the conflict in 2022. In June, London pledged to provide Ukraine with 150,000 drones by the end of the year and has already supplied long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles, which have also been used for attacks inside Russia. Several Ukraine-linked drone production facilities are also operating on British soil.

Kiev has sharply intensified its long-range attacks in recent months, launching hundreds of UAVs at a time against Russian territory. Moscow says the strikes have increasingly hit energy infrastructure, residential areas and other civilian sites, killing and wounding dozens of civilians, including children.

Russia has responded by stepping up its own missile and drone strikes against Ukraine’s military-industrial facilities, logistics centers and infrastructure supporting its armed forces.

Moscow has repeatedly argued that Western weapons deliveries, intelligence sharing and targeting assistance make NATO countries direct participants in the conflict. Last week, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that Russia would continue to adopt “much harsher methods to destroy everything that enables the West to fuel Kiev’s war machine.”

Russian officials have also warned that Ukraine-linked weapons manufacturing facilities scattered across Europe could be regarded as legitimate military targets.

https://www.rt.com/russia/644340-russia-uk-drone-warning/

President Trump Hosts Hero Lifeguard Ryder Williams at the White House

August 17, 2026 | Sundance |

Earlier today President Trump hosted 16-year-old hero lifeguard Ryder Williams at the White House. Honoring both young Mr Williams and the 10-year-old young man he saved, Nathaniel Rai.

“What you did was incredible and everybody saw it,” Trump said during the meeting as he chatted with Williams and other lifeguards from the teen’s post. Trump added that Williams is someone young Americans can look up to for how he handled the rescue.

Williams saved 10-year-old Nathaniel Rai from the pounding surf in a dramatic rescue that was captured on video, showing Williams’ heroic effort as he kept the young boy above water. The video went viral shortly after the rescue and caught the attention of Eric Trump and eventually the president himself. WATCH:

Media questions begin at 10:41 of the video.

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/08/17/president-trump-hosts-hero-lifeguard-ryder-williams-at-the-white-house/#more-286133

https://youtu.be/y8DZVgMwq9c

https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/08/17/president-trump-hosts-hero-lifeguard-ryder-williams-at-the-white-house/#more-286133