“Chinese automotive groups have cause to celebrate their go-global strategy amid breakneck export growth in recent years, with deliveries in 2026 expected to beat expectations already buoyed by an international energy shock caused by conflict in the Middle East. Leading carmakers from BYD to Chery Automobile have doubled down on overseas expansion, with some evolving into powerful contenders in markets such as Europe and Africa, which were once dominated by the likes of Volkswagen. … The government-backed industry body recently forecast that overseas Chinese vehicle sales – which comprise passenger cars, buses and lorries – could top 12 million units in 2026, up 44 per cent from last year’s 8.3 million.” (10/01/26)
“One of many current controversies over artificial intelligence centers on ‘alignment’: A euphemism for ‘trying to build AI that won’t intentionally kill us all.’ That’s important, but it overshadows a more immediate concern: The misalignment not between AI and humans, but between humans. That is, the misalignment of interests between the people who own AI and the rest of us.” (10/01/26)
“Americans are deeply frustrated with President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy and rising prices, with most panning his performance and blaming his policies as higher costs threaten his party’s chances in November. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that only 17% of U.S. adults approve of the Republican president’s handling of the cost of living. Just 26% approve of his handling of the economy overall, marking a new low. A majority, 65%, of U.S. adults now blame Trump’s policies for persistently high costs more than factors outside of his control, signaling growing weariness over his aggressive use of tariffs and continued unhappiness with the war with Iran.” (10/01/26)
“Glaciers in Switzerland – the home to the most in the Alps – lost 5.5% of their ice volume this year, the second-biggest percentage drop on record due to heat waves and low winter snowfall, experts report. ‘Alpine glaciers have no chance of surviving in the long term under such conditions,’ the GLAMOS Swiss glacier monitoring service and Swiss Academy of Sciences said in a statement released Thursday. The trend has worsened in recent years: Over the past five years alone, the volume of ice in Switzerland has declined by nearly a fifth, the experts say.” (10/01/26)
“On September 17, Julian Assange’s return to Twitter/X did not go unnoticed. With more than fifty-one million impressions, it becomes clear his and WikiLeaks’[s] impact is undeniable. Still, his journalism and WikiLeaks have not come without scrutiny. Former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin stated Assange should be ‘hunted down.’ Current U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said regarding his work, ‘whoever in our government leaked that information is guilty of treason, and I think anything less than execution is too kind a penalty.’ Meanwhile, former secretary of state and CIA Chief Mike Pompeo considered kidnapping and killing Julian Assange, according to reports from Yahoo News.” (10/01/26)
