Hi all. Brett here with your Saturday update. Buckle up. You can also listen to Ben’s big update here:
Here are the top stories we’re tracking:
A MeidasTouch exclusive: Obama rips the “market will take care of it” approach to AI in newly obtained video
A MeidasTouch scoop: Gov. Newsom just signed sweeping new election security laws ahead of the midterms
Houthi drone strikes hit Saudi Aramco fuel tanks and Riyadh’s King Khalid Airport
Updates after the White House banned CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the grounds
Trump’s AI obsession and his desire to rename AI
Mike Johnson dodges questions on Iran War oversight and brags about how great of a job he’s done (lol)
Hegseth’s new bizarre testosterone policy focusing on soldiers’ erections
NATO’s military chief says the alliance is now bracing for Article 5 scenarios
Europe-wide alarm over Russian “hybrid warfare” drones shut down a Luxembourg airport
France’s fuel crisis deepens as Macron calls an emergency energy meeting
Pentagon weighing pulling 25K+ troops out of Europe
U.S. warns allies of years-long weapons delivery delays due to low munitions as a result of the Iran War
Pentagon lying about Iran War deaths, per WaPo
As you know, media is under attack everywhere we look. Now’s the time to support independent media. If you haven’t yet, join now as a paid subscriber. Let’s fight back.
Meidas Exclusive: Obama’s AI Warning
We received exclusive footage this morning of former President Obama directly calling out the hands-off approach to AI regulation coming out of the Trump regime. Obama remarked that it’s actually a good thing that some of the leading AI companies are saying we need to slow down, but says the government must be the one regulating all of these. We cannot rely on these industry leaders to self-police.
Obama: My view this week has been it is good that some of the leading companies have said we need to slow this down, and we should encourage that. There have been some on the left who’ve said we shouldn’t allow them to make that decision. I agree that that can’t be a long-term solution. Government has to be regulating this.
I heard one of Donald Trump’s main advisers on this make the argument that the market will take care of it. These companies will solve the safety issues because they have every incentive to do so. If it turns out to be dangerous, people will just sue them. And they’re worried about financial liability.
That’s not how we treat airlines, or drug companies, or food companies. We now have 150 years of experience just letting the market do whatever it wants when it comes to things that deeply affect our health and our safety.
And so, there’s no replacement for an effective, government regulatory structure. And the challenge we have is that obviously, we have a president currently that has said that’s for losers. So, we’ve got a gap, at least of a couple of years, where things are moving really fast, and we have an administration that is not capable of or willing to, I would argue both, of putting together a serious regulatory framework, which is why I actually think we should be encouraging some sort of voluntary industry restraint, not because it’s a replacement, but because that may be the best we can do for now until we can get Congress and the White House to start getting serious about this.
Obama also noted how AI leaders’ actions are misaligned with what the public is asking for.
Obama: If we are thinking about AI just in terms of how do we cure cancer or get better energy, you can do that without having agentic AI and having it just roaming free in the internet. The reason you are doing that is because you have to market a product that people will pay money for.
I heard one of Donald Trump’s main advisers on this make the argument that the market will take care of it. These companies will solve the safety issues because they have every incentive to do so. If it turns out to be dangerous, people will just sue them. And they’re worried about financial liability.
That’s not how we treat airlines, or drug companies, or food companies. We now have 150 years of experience just letting the market do whatever it wants when it comes to things that deeply affect our health and our safety.
And so, there’s no replacement for an effective, government regulatory structure. And the challenge we have is that obviously, we have a president currently that has said that’s for losers. So, we’ve got a gap, at least of a couple of years, where things are moving really fast, and we have an administration that is not capable of or willing to, I would argue both, of putting together a serious regulatory framework, which is why I actually think we should be encouraging some sort of voluntary industry restraint, not because it’s a replacement, but because that may be the best we can do for now until we can get Congress and the White House to start getting serious about this.
Meidas Scoop: Newsom Passes Sweeping Election Laws
We’ve also got a scoop this morning on California Gov. Gavin Newsom signing a sweeping package of new election security laws in the state to protect ballots, voting equipment, vote-by-mail, and the chain-of-custody heading into November, with new felony penalties for anyone who interferes with the process. Here’s an exclusive video obtained by us of Newsom speaking about it all:
Riyadh Struck
Now to Saudi Arabia. The Houthis hit Saudi Aramco fuel storage and King Khalid International Airport overnight, with huge plumes of black smoke over the capital. Flights were suspended, runways went dark.
The result of all this chaos and instability is being felt directly on your wallet. I don’t need to even share the latest gas price numbers with you. I’m sure you see them rising every day. It’s like we always say, you can try to hide the truth, CENTCOM and Trump can falsely claim the Strait is open, but metaphorically speaking, no matter how hard you try to paint the Reflecting Pool blue, the algae always comes back.
Press Banned
When CNN and MS NOW reporters showed up to the White House this morning, they were told to hand over their badges and leave. This comes after Trump banned them from the White House yesterday afternoon. CNN is calling it an illegal assault on their constitutional right to report. MS NOW is vowing to defend its First Amendment rights. Trump told Fox there’s something wrong about a country that allows negative stories to be written about it. Politico is also barred. Trump says the New York Times and Washington Post are next. This is what weakness looks like. But it’s these attacks on the press that make your support of independent media more important than ever, so thank you.
Side note: I’m often asked where I go to do research for my reporting. One of the main research tools I use is called Ground News. Ground News shows me how stories are being covered from different political perspectives, and it highlights “blindspots” where only left-wing or right-wing media is covering a story.
Ground News has been a great sponsor of our YouTube channel and podcast, and they’re now sponsoring this post as well. I worked out a deal with them: if you go to ground.news/meidas, you can get 40% off Ground News’ top-tier Vantage plan, which gives you unlimited access to all the research tools I use.
Ground News is subscriber-funded, so they don’t rely on ads that could introduce bias. By subscribing, you support both our channel and their independent team working to keep the media transparent.
Trump’s AI Rantings and Ravings
While the videos of Obama I showed you reminded us of what an intellectual president looks like, here’s what Trump’s been saying about AI in the past 24 hours. He posted a poll asking if AI should be rebranded as “Superior Intelligence,” “Extreme Intelligence,” or “Supreme Intelligence.” He also said he will be forming an “AI Force” in the military, similar to the Space Force.
MAGA Mike and the Banality of evil
Speaker MAGA Mike Johnson went on TV earlier and insisted we aren’t really in a war, and dismissed the idea that Congress needs to provide oversight. He also claimed, and try not to laugh, that this has been one of the most productive Congresses in the history of the country.
Hegseth’s Erection Obsession
Hegseth spoke from the Department of Defense lectern earlier in a Texas A&M polo talking about “lethal leaders” and making threats against anyone who challenges the U.S. I’m not so sure people are really afraid of the U.S. after we lost the war to Iran. Yesterday, Hegseth rolled out the Pentagon’s latest mandatory testosterone screening for male troops 30 and above, checking for things like “spontaneous erections” in the morning. I’m not making this up. Even the Pentagon’s own guidance says the evidence doesn’t support testosterone therapy improving performing for younger, healthy men.
Europe Braces for All Out War
This is one of the most urgent matters at hand. Polish PM Donald Tusk warned that Russia could launch hybrid drone and missile strikes against NATO countries within months. Macron called these warnings “sound and well-documented” and announced new infrastructure protections. Switzerland even adopted a new security strategy. Sweden and Germany rushed forces to Gotland Island. Finland’s president told citizens to mentally prepare for sabotage and drones. The UK is dusting off its Cold War-era “war book,” with a top general calling this the single most dangerous period of his entire 35 year career. As this was all going on, drones shut down Luxembourg’s airport. NATO’s military chief Giuseppe Cavo Dragone says the alliance has 4,000 pages of Article 5 contingency plans ready to go. This, as the U.S. is reportedly considering pulling more than 25K troops, plus ships and aircraft, out of Europe.
America’s Munitions Crisis Is Now the World’s Crisis
Bloomberg is reporting that the U.S. has told allies to expect big delivery delays, up to 5 years, on weapons like Tomahawks. This is because we have blown through our stockpiles fighting the war in Iran. German was told to wait 5 years. Japan 2. We’ve used over half of our advanced Patriot interceptors and 1/3 of our Tomahawks. And meanwhile, France is now rationing fuel, with 11% of stations nationwide out of gas or diesel and French diesel running over 10 bucks a gallon.
Lying About U.S. Fatalities
The Washington Post reported yesterday that the Pentagon is lying, or in their words, “undercounting,” Iran War deaths, with at least 22 service members killed versus the lower number the Trump regime is telling the public. Hegseth is calling it a total lie. CNN also broke a story that an AI chatbot fed the military an entirely false intelligence report claiming a Chinese vessel was carrying nuclear weapons components to Iran. Armed U.S. forces were ready to board the vessel, aircraft were waiting for their orders. Then, at the last minute, officials caught the “error.” And then on top of that, sensitive F-35 stealth parts somehow got rerouted to Hong Kong in transit from Australia, and Congress is now investigating whether China is now getting an up close look at our military secrets.
We’ll stop there for now. There’s a whole lot more to come. Thanks for support our work. Thank you to our paid subscribers. Thank you to everyone fighting for truth.
And if you haven’t yet, remember to preorder our book WTF America, and let’s get out of this hell.
Shoutout to the Meidas Mighty!
Donald needs the media much more than the media needs Donald.
Would be nice if the media understood this.
Hey, MAGA dumb fucks! Is America great again yet? I want to thank you for what you have done to our country and the world by voting for this vile piece of trash! You will never be forgiven. NONE of you! 🖕