The Ukraine War

Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman

“My main source of information on the war is the Institute for the Study of War website, which provides detailed daily reports based on satellite evidence of who is doing what where, official statements from both sides, and posts by Russian milbloggers. ISW is openly on the Ukrainian side, reports statements by sources in the Ukrainian military straight, statements from the Russian side more skeptically. … There are three different ways of interpreting the situation with different implications for the future of the war.” (09/14/26)

https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/the-ukraine-war

CA: Two Oakland police helicopter pilots accused of faking FAA certifications

Source: SFGate

“Two Oakland Police Department officers are facing federal charges after allegedly conspiring with a federal aviation official to fake their helicopter pilot certifications. Prosecutors said the scheme happened between July 2023 and March 2024, when the two officers, Brandon Mart and David Mac, allegedly worked with William Miller, an aviation inspector with the Federal Aviation Administration, to fraudulently receive their certificates. The officers are accused of submitting fake documents related to ‘checkrides,’ according to an indictment filed on Aug. 27. A checkride, which is required to obtain a pilot certification, includes a practical flight test with specific maneuvers and an oral exam covering topics like aviation regulations and aircraft systems. The indictment alleges Mart received three fraudulent checkride certifications and Mac received one, even though the officer failed to complete all of the requirements or some checkrides never occurred at all.” (09/14/26)

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/oakland-police-pilot-fraud-22431888.php

Congressional Democrats in Hysterics About Saving the World From AI

Source: The American Prospect
by Whitney Curry Wimbish & David Dayen

“The statement from former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon that AI ‘could kill us by the end of the decade’ has triggered the most hostile setting for sound public policy: mass panic. Events since Coxon’s viral comments have only deepened the frenzy. A senior employee at Anthropic, Evan Hubinger, backed Coxon up (‘We really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans!’) and estimated the chances that AI could cause human extinction at more than 10 percent. Late last week, Anthropic said it had halted ‘several efforts by scientists’ whose research could have developed biological weapons, The New York Times reported; on Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that OpenAI’s artificial intelligence agents attacked the software service RubyGems two months before they attacked Hugging Face.” (09/15/26)

https://prospect.org/2026/09/15/artificial-intelligence-open-ai-anthropic-congressional-democrats/

Yankee Stadium cooling tower tests positive for Legionella bacteria

Source: United Press International

“A cooling tower at Yankee Stadium is one of 10 in the South Bronx that has been ordered for disinfecting on Monday after testing positive for Legionella bacteria. The cleaning order by the New York City Health Department follows an outbreak of a new Legionnaires’ cluster in the South Bronx. A tower at Lincoln Hospital and another at Boricua College Bronx Campus have also been flagged for cleaning. … New York City health officials announced the first fatality related to the cluster on Friday. Health officials were investigating the origin of the cluster and have tested 24 cooling towers so far.” (09/14/26)

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/09/14/legionella-bacteria-new-york-city-yankee-stadium/9271789414363/

The ‘Stop Nick Shirley Act’: Yet Another Anti-Doxxing Law That Chills Free Speech

Source: Reason
by Josh Pauzé

“Conservative [sic] YouTuber Nick Shirley has taken his anti-fraud crusade to California, but a recently passed law, coined by conservatives as the ‘Stop Nick Shirley Act,’ is threatening to derail him, or so he says. Now Shirley is challenging it in federal court. Shirley outlined his argument in a recent YouTube video, claiming that the legislation is a blatant violation of the First Amendment created in response to him exposing fraud across California. In his suit, he also alleges that it discriminates based on the content and viewpoint of speech and is unconstitutionally ‘overbroad and vague.'” (09/14/26)

https://reason.com/2026/09/14/the-stop-nick-shirley-act-yet-another-anti-doxxing-law-that-chills-free-speech/