Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley

“It is not every day that a company can settle a case for over $16 billion and celebrate. However, Meta’s settlement with 29 states is a remarkably good deal for a company facing a demand of over $1.4 trillion and years of litigation. In the end, it may not even take a loss from the litigation. The settlement ends the latest mass liability case, following similar settlements in tobacco, opiates, and other products. It will require Meta to make changes to its platform, though the company already appeared to be moving to make such changes. The maximum payment of closer to $17 billion is tied to whether competing platforms (like TikTok and YouTube) adopt parallel protections for children. Otherwise, the company is on the hook for at least $12.1 billion over 10 years under the agreement.” (08/27/26)

https://jonathanturley.org/2026/08/27/monopoly-money-why-meta-likes-the-16-billion-settlement/

Source: The Daily Economy
by Bryan Cutsinger

“Spending growth is still outstripping productive capacity, and the Fed can no longer blame high prices on volatile energy markets.” (08/27/26)

https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/with-energy-prices-falling-inflation-has-nowhere-to-hide/

Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman

“A clear indicator that Trump sycophants realize that they are caught in reality’s snare is how they respond to any question about current economic difficulties. Their first sentence almost always contains the word ‘Biden’, as they make the false claim that things were worse under Joe Biden, or that Biden somehow caused all of our current problems (including high gas prices and depleted munitions), or that Biden left an economy in shambles. Call it a bad case of Biden derangement syndrome, a desperate and utterly transparent attempt to shift the blame for the gratuitous mess that Trump and his minions have made.” (08/27/26)

https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/biden-derangement-syndrome

Source: Brownstone Institute
by Richard Burt

“World War II ended when America dropped the atomic bombs named ‘Little Boy’ and ‘Fat Man’ on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Hundreds of thousands of Japanese died in an instant and of radiation poisoning over the subsequent years. Several American politicians, military brass, and university academics advocated for preemptive war against Russia to prevent it from acquiring nuclear bombs. Francis Matthews, Secretary of the Navy, advocated becoming ‘aggressors for peace.’ The mathematician John von Neuman, who was a pioneer in game theory, remarked: ‘If you say bomb them tomorrow, I say why not bomb them today?'” (08/27/26)

https://brownstone.org/articles/game-theory-and-the-push-to-go-along/

Source: Common Dreams
by Faheem Kazimi

“This week, the argument over Lebanese sovereignty became concrete on a ridge overlooking Nabatieh. The New Arab reported on August 24 that Washington is pressing for the strategic Ali al-Taher ridge, where Hezbollah fighters are present, to be transferred to the Lebanese Army in exchange for Israeli withdrawal. The same area has been subjected to repeated Israeli shelling. In one small patch of southern Lebanon, the larger problem is suddenly hard to hide: Beirut is being asked to move first, while the withdrawal of foreign forces from Lebanese territory remains the inducement offered in return. That pressure did not begin this week. Reuters reported in July 2025 that Washington was pressing Lebanon to make a formal cabinet commitment to disarm Hezbollah before talks could continue on halting Israeli military operations.” (08/27/26)

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/israel-lebanon-sovereignty