Given the Trump administration’s shift from a military campaign against Iran to primarily one that seeks economic ‘strangulation’ and isolation – there’s been a big diplomatic push by the White House to get regional allies on board.

But the early case remains that reactions from other Gulf allies have so far been muted, after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent earlier confirmed that Trump has been phoning world leaders to join him in isolating Iran.

But this is what makes images coming out Monday from a place further to the east so resounding, symbolic, and defiant: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is busy getting the red carpet treatment while attending the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have arrived in Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek for the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit – the primarily China/Russia founded Eurasian political, economic and international security organization which is now made up of ten member states

The bold defiance in terms of the optics will surely not be missed by Washington:

Chinese President Xi Jinping, his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi have arrived in Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek for the annual Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is also attending the summit, which marks 25 years of its existence.

Also in attendance for the two-day summit which kicked off Monday, and which has already included a Putin-Xi meeting on the sidelines, are the leaders of Uzbekistan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and others.

“Uncertainty grows against the backdrop of unprecedented changes” — China’s Xi Jinping tells Vladimir Putin

Notably, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also there, and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

🇮🇷 Kyrgyz people welcomed President Pezeshkian with traditional sweets.

During his visit to Kyrgyzstan, in addition to participating in and delivering a speech at the summit of heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the “SCO plus” format, President… pic.twitter.com/wL4a6dFSy2

— 𝕊𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕻𝕣𝕖𝕤𝕤 (@SprinterPress) August 31, 2026

Warm greetings between Iranian and Pakistani leaders…

#VIDEO: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meets Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in Bishkek on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. pic.twitter.com/XdU0IBBcbP

— Saudi Gazette (@Saudi_Gazette) August 31, 2026

It must be remembered that Pakistan is a long-running nuclear-armed Washington ally… so this is awkward to say the least, for the US.

But Islamabad has also been a key mediator throughout the now 6-month long Iran war. Whenever its officials get dispatched to Tehran, the relationship with Iranian officials seems chummy and warm. This has already been on display at the SCO conference…

Meeting between the Prime Minister and the President of Iran on the sidelines of SCO CHS Meeting in Bishkek.

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif held a meeting with the President of Islamic Republic of Iran, H.E. Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian today, on the sidelines of SCO Council of… pic.twitter.com/liQazEaA1R

— Prime Minister’s Office (@PakPMO) August 31, 2026

Tehran is hoping that its membership and active involvement in regional accords such as the SCO as well as BRICS can be a key to weathering the US-led economic storm and strong sanctions regimen.

Earlier this month, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian reaffirmed in a statement that cooperation between China and Iran “has always been conducted within the framework of international law and should not be interfered with or disrupted.” So far, US Treasury sanctions have yet to take direct aim at significant Chinese financial institutions. 

Authored by Jonathan Turley via Jonathan Turley,

Below is my column in The Hill on the latest controversy from the chambers of Judge Indira Talwani. While the court could be upheld in halting the executive order on mail-in balloting in this case, Talwani is one of a number of jurists who have been habitual blockers of executive reforms and policies. Talwani has been criticized in the past as something of a one-stop option for forum-shoppers. Her record reaffirms the rationale for justices in using the emergency docket, or so-called “shadow docket,” to deter gaming the system.

Here is the column:

This week, the Trump administration found itself in a familiar position: facing an injunction from Judge Indira Talwani of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Indeed, it had just secured an order from the Supreme Court on its emergency docket lifting her earlier injunction on the U.S. Postal Service requiring voting lists to confirm U.S. citizenship.

The case against the executive order on mail-in ballots has reasonable arguments on both sides, although (as I have said previously) the challengers are likely to prevail in defeating the rule or at least delaying the policy until after the midterm elections. The Constitution gives states the primary responsibility over “the times, places, and manner of holding elections.”

However, the U.S. Postal Service is a federal agency, and the federal government does have a role in the funding and regulation of federal elections. More importantly, the Trump administration is arguing that it is not barring mail-in voting but merely imposing “modest informational requirements.” Non-citizens cannot vote in federal elections, and the new rule “does not displace a single state election law. And it need not and should not prevent a single voter from voting by mail.”

The controversy over Talwani is not necessarily the merits of her decision that the rule convenes the constitutional framework. Indeed, the Supreme Court did not rule on the merits and could well rule in favor of her interpretation.

The controversy is the pattern of sweeping injunctions by Talwani and a few other judges.

Litigants have been accused of forum-shopping by going to liberal, Democratically appointed judges to prevent Trump policies from being implemented in a wide array of areas, including immigration, elections, reduction in government bureaucracies, and foreign aid.

Like her colleague in Boston, U.S. District Court Judge Brian Murphy, Talwani is viewed by many as a one-stop-shop judge for forum-shopping. Both have issued hair-trigger injunctions, and both have been repeatedly reversed.

Talwani was reversed on Aug. 24 for imposing an injunction against the mail-in balloting policy. Her injunction was taken to be premature and without a legal injury, since the administration had not issued a formal rule. The truth is, the challengers had her at hello. She did not wait for a showing of a cognizable injury before issuing another injunction, because the decision appeared made before the case hit her own docket.

Previously, Talwani showed the same inclination in other cases.

For example, she issued an injunction against revoking the humanitarian parole program for hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela. Her order was lifted on appeal.

She also issued an injunction to stop the Trump Administration from defunding Planned Parenthood. That order was also set aside on appeal.

Regardless of the outcome of this latest injunction, Talwani has offered the strongest case in favor of the expanded use of the emergency docket, also known as the “shadow docket.” Liberal law professors and litigants have bewailed the expanded use of this docket at the Supreme Court to resolve cases without the need for a long briefing and oral argument. However, judges like Talwani have created legitimate concerns over the use of the appellate system to slow or freeze new policies. This is why the “shadow docket” has become more prominent.

This year, confidential memoranda were leaked from the court on the use of the emergency docket and published by the New York Times. It was only the latest such strategic leak from a court that was once the paragon of confidentiality and civility.

The internal exchanges of the justices were illuminating as to the majority’s underlying reason for allowing this fast-track review. The immediate issue was a move by the Environmental Protection Agency to impose unlawful regulatory burdens on electric utilities despite a countervailing earlier ruling in Michigan v. EPA. Chief Justice Roberts believed (as did many) that the EPA was using the ongoing litigation to force utilities to spend billions of dollars to comply with new regulations that the Supreme Court had already rejected.

“In other words,” Roberts wrote, “the absence of stay allowed the agency to effectively implement an important program we held to be contrary to law.”

As with the national injunctions that plagued the Trump administration in its first year, this tactic was all too familiar. Litigants would go to liberal judges in Washington, Boston, and other blue cities to secure injunctions that would take years to fully litigate. That approach effectively allowed individual judges to pursue their own preferred policies or to prevent a president from carrying out promises made during an election. At most, the president might have a year left after these cases slogged through the conventional appellate process. It is an administrative version of the old adage that “justice delayed is justice denied.”

What concerned the justices was that many of these injunctions directly contravened earlier precedent, exposing the cynical purpose of these orders. For a president to be able to carry out major changes, he had to run a gauntlet of hundreds of judges, any one of whom could effectively negate reforms. In response, the Supreme Court ramped up the use of the emergency docket and cracked down on national injunctions, quickly reversing the rapidly increasing number of injunctions against the Trump administration.

With the midterm elections rapidly approaching, the odds favor challengers in either running out the clock or prevailing on the merits on the mail-in ballots. But Talwani and some other judges have reinforced suspicions of the Roberts court that some courts are willing allies of partisan groups in seeking to gum up the system.

Ironically, Roberts is one of the most likely conservative justices to be concerned with the Trump administration’s effort to force election integrity reforms on the states. Either way, it is the shadow of these judges, not the docket, that is casting the most ominous concern for many of the Supreme Court justices.

Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the best-selling author of “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.”

A number of US military top generals have taken the rare step of formally registering warnings to Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth over potential plans for a new phase of strikes against a non-compliant Iran. 

The warnings reportedly emerged through the Secretary of Defense Orders Book, which enumerates the availability of US military resources and force posture around the world – with direct input from American regional commanders.

The book is typically published twice a month, but this time it was reportedly filled with pushback by those overseeing operations in Latin America, Europe and Asia – who have seen training missions canceled, and ships and aircraft diverted to the Middle East for counter-Iran operations.

The Washington Post reported over the weekend that a chief complaint by the top officers was that the Iran conflict “has degraded their ability to fulfill homeland-defense obligations.“

Amid fresh troop movements based on new orders reportedly issued in mid-August, commanders made clear they do not agree with the new force trajectory, but are ready to carry out the Commander-in-Chief’s orders regardless.

Still, the leaking of this information, and such a rare public airing of grievances, has Hegseth and the Trump administration furious. The Washington Post reports:

The Aug. 14 orders book directs some troops deployed in the Middle East to remain there through September and some others into 2027, said those familiar with the document. The prospect of extending those forces further compelled military leaders to voice their concern, these people said.

Leaders of the U.S. European Command, the U.S. Pacific Command and the U.S. Southern Command, along with the Navy’s top admiral, responded with what is characterized in the SDOB as a “non-concur,” those familiar with the assessment said — meaning they disagree with the secretary’s order to extend their forces but will execute it nevertheless.

Another key line from generals cited in the WaPo reporting is that the Iran war – which the Trump White House early on had promised would be ‘swift’ – has been “too much for too long”.

Some pundits are warning that this alleged rare leak is an alarming sign Trump could be preparing to do something ‘big’…

I’m telling you guys and gals here: Trump is getting ready to something batshit crazy–which is why the generals and admirals are leaking SDOB to the WaPo. They’re FREAKING OUT because it’s obvious that Trump and his team are going to make them do something nutty. https://t.co/nc0tLcj0b6

— Brandon Weichert (@WeTheBrandon) August 31, 2026

That section from the WaPo report reads as follows:

Army and Air Force leadership concurred with Hegseth’s desire to extend their deployed forces, but each emphasized that doing so would come with significant risk, these people said.

Overall, the tenor from the military leadership is that the ongoing Iran operation, having reached the six-month mark, has been “too much for too long,” said one person familiar with the assessment.

The military’s warning to Hegseth, which has not been previously reported, offers new insight into the administration’s dilemma as Trump seeks to end the conflict on terms favorable to the United States while Iran, cognizant of the war’s unpopularity with most Americans and its mounting toll on the U.S. arsenal, refuses to capitulate.

As expected, the Pentagon has responded by calling it fake news and saying that leakers of classified information will be sought and dealt with.

“This fake news, poorly sourced reporting is full of inaccuracies,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement. More from Parnell on X:

Publishing highly classified assessments from the Secretary’s orders book is a crime.
It’s a betrayal of the force.
And much of what they’re publishing is inaccurate.
Of course, we demand candid military advice. Non-concurs are standard. The Secretary sees them constantly. That’s… https://t.co/Jgc4GzdXcU

— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellASW) August 30, 2026

He added: “Decisions regarding the scope and duration of specific force commitments to any Combatant Command are made based on the current threat assessment, strategic priorities established by the President, and the advice of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Combatant Commanders. However, the Department of War does not discuss internal operational processes, including the Secretary of War Orders Book (SWOB), or specific concurrences, non-concurrences, or risk assessments provided by the Services or Combatant Commands during force allocation deliberations.”

But the reality is that this conflict is a full six months in, and the generals are perhaps keenly aware it is now in quagmire stage, with no plans for an exit or final strategic ‘mission accomplished’ vision in sight. Meanwhile, every escalation in the Persian Gulf tends to beget more escalation. What’s the endgame here? 

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is out. Early Monday evening The Wall Street Journal is the first to break the news, describing that he submitted his resignation to President Trump, following months of tensions with Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth.

Some national security sources have already been quoted as saying the development is “unsurprising” – with the WSJ writing that “Driscoll had been expected to step down this year from his role as the civilian leader of the Army after clashing with Hegseth.”

White House spokesperson Anna Kelly has confirmed that Driscoll resigned. It comes just days after the Iran war hit the six month mark, with no apparent exit strategy articulated by the White House or military leadership.

“Secretary Driscoll has been highly effective in advancing President Trump’s agenda to Make America Strong Again at the Department of the Army by providing outstanding leadership during historic military operations, restoring an emphasis on readiness and lethality, assisting with negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and more,” Kelly said in a statement.

There could be more high-level resignations at the Pentagon to come, amid several simultaneous controversies gripping internal Department of War ranks over several months. To review:

• First and foremost, there’s the Iran war and its strategy and direction, and overextension of forces.
• Next, there’s the still raging controversy over dwindling missile and interceptor supplies.
• Also important is that Hegseth has been doing some house-cleaning at the Pentagon – since the start of the administration’s term sacking a series top generals and commanders, also amid questions of loyalty.

On this latter front, the Journal presents some of the latest developments as follows:

Last week, Driscoll attended the retirement ceremony at Fort Bragg for Gen. Chris Donahue, who served as the top Army officer in Europe until Hegseth downgraded his position, effectively bringing an end to his military career. 

Donahue’s abrupt departure was presented as part of Hegseth’s broader push to shrink the number of generals and admirals by 10% overall, plus a 20% cut to the number of four-star positions, the Journal reported. 

Hegseth’s efforts at bringing radical change to the Pentagon has resulted in huge, rare frictions between his office and top generals and admirals across the globe, particularly centered on questions of force readiness and future vision and doctrine.

“Driscoll brought up concerns with the administration surrounding Army transformation and readiness and Hegseth’s blocking those efforts specifically by firing the Generals who were responsible,” the source said. https://t.co/sO1r6dYkZ7

— Idrees Ali (@idreesali114) August 31, 2026

There are some political dynamics as well, with WSJ also noting that “Driscoll is a former law school classmate of Vice President JD Vance. A former Army officer, he forged a close relationship with George, the former Army chief of staff who was fired by Hegseth in April. The two pushed soldiers to adopt new technology and become more adaptable battlefield threats.”

So all this further seems bound up with personalities, loyalties, as well as contrasting visions for the future of America’s armed forces. It should be noted that Driscoll as a Vance-ally was probably – just like the Vice President – deeply skeptical of many of the Trump’s administration’s Iran-related decisions.

Authored by Kimberly Hayek via The Epoch Times,

President Donald Trump’s administration has issued a memo to universities aimed at restricting certain internship work authorizations for international students. Officials cautioned that schools failing to comply could have their certification to enroll foreign students revoked.

The memo, which is dated Aug. 24 and issued by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program under U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), said the agency “has observed a rise in Curricular Practical Training (CPT) authorizations that appear to violate regulatory requirements which permit CPT only where the training is an integral part of an established curriculum.”

“Failure to comply with SEVP regulations may result in an institution losing certification to enroll foreign students,” the memo said.

Some schools have already stopped processing applications. The University of California, Los Angeles ceased issuing certain CPT authorizations while it reviewed the guidance.

“UCLA has paused certain Curricular Practical Training authorizations while it reviews recent federal guidance and determines next steps,” a UCLA spokesperson said.

At the University of California, Berkeley, the international office described the Aug. 24 memo as “more narrow in focus, more direct, and includes content that is more restrictive in nature.”

An earlier memo had been issued in mid-August. Berkeley said it is unlikely to process certain work authorization applications “in the near future” and told international students to plan accordingly.

The university will keep handling “degree-requirement” CPT as usual and plans to resume “Doctoral Dissertation and Master’s Thesis Research CPT.”

University officials said they would consult legal experts to align processes with the new federal requirements.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE’s parent agency, said the underlying regulations have not changed.

“However, schools and employers should consider themselves on notice: under President Trump, abuse of this generous system will no longer be tolerated.”

CPT allows eligible international students to participate in internships or training when the work forms an integral part of their academic curriculum. The memo stresses that the training must connect to an established academic program.

This step fits into an overarching set of changes for foreign students. In July, DHS completed a rule ending the long-standing “duration of status” policy. That system had permitted many F, J, and I visa holders to remain in the country without a fixed departure date.

The new rule, published in the Federal Register on July 17 and effective Sept. 15, limits most stays to four years unless students apply for extensions through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Extensions will require screening, background checks, and fraud reviews. The grace period after the conclusion of studies is reduced from 60 days to 30 days.

“For nearly half a century, the outdated ‘duration of status’ system has compromised national security and created an environment ripe for immigration fraud,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said at the time.

“By implementing clear, finite limits on these visas, the United States is reclaiming its ability to properly screen, vet, and monitor individuals within our borders.”

The rule is being challenged in court by a coalition of unions and advocacy groups that say the new rule makes the United States less competitive as a destination for international talent.

Earlier this year, ICE published the findings of an investigation into Optional Practical Training, a separate post-graduation work program.

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said investigators “have identified over 10,000 foreign students who claim to be working for highly suspect employers.”

Visits turned up empty buildings, locked doors, and addresses associated with hundreds of students who were not involved in the activity they claimed, he said. Officials also found “phantom employees” who never reported to the listed sites, as well as complex international financial transactions, according to Lyons.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Take-Two Interactive shares plunged the most in nearly seven months on Monday as investors weighed a series of “Grand Theft Auto VI” leaks in recent weeks ahead of the Nov. 19 release. 

The leaked clips reportedly expose plot details, character scenes, and gameplay mechanics, prompting Rockstar Games (a studio owned by TTWO) to call the leaks “gut-wrenching” and warn that some of the game’s surprises may have been spoiled. 

What X users are saying:

Time to address the elephant in the room:

No self-respecting man would like to play as an empowered, annoying 2/10 Latina in Grand Theft Auto.

This is lame and woke. pic.twitter.com/dgIVoT5Pf2

— Yorch Torch Games (@YorchTorchGames) August 30, 2026

So let get this straight…some Gaming writer at Forbes is speculating that GTA6 Online (not GTA6) could be 2 years delayed (according to himself) since $TTWO didn’t mention it on their call and now $3B Mkt Cap gets whipped out ? lol

Thank you Mr Market pic.twitter.com/4CSjTucXsT

—  Q-Cap  (@qcapital2020) August 31, 2026

13 years of waiting and 1 BILLION dollars for THIS?

GTA 6 shaping up great pic.twitter.com/fQXy5PQ6HQ

— Rock Solid (@ShitpostRock) August 31, 2026

Omar Dessouky, an equity research analyst at Bank of America focused on gaming, digital advertising, and consumer internet companies, penned a note on Monday titled “GTA 6: Impressive Gameplay Reveal, but Unlikely to Surprise.” 

Dessouky pointed out that the trailer released by Take-Two Interactive last week reduced the risk of another launch delay by showing GTA VI is already playable. 

“Some details in the footage are consistent with access to a genuine playable build. Were a distributable copy to circulate, it could weigh on sales (particularly the PC version); at this stage, however, there is no clear evidence one exists,” the analyst said. 

Dessouky added that the footage delivered few surprises. Many of the mechanics had already been disclosed, while clips released by an anonymous account called CyberLeek stripped away some of the mystery ahead of the mid-November release. 

He forecasts that GTA VI will sell 45 million units during fiscal 2027, generate $3.44 billion in combined bookings with GTA Online, and deliver $898 million in incremental net income. Take-Two’s total bookings are forecasted to jump 36% to $9.16 billion. 

Dessouky maintained his Buy rating and $368 price target. The stock dropped 6.3% late in Monday’s cash session, marking its largest decline since Feb. 12, when it fell 6.6%. 

Gamers have waited 13 years for this point. 

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

Federal regulators have authorized a generic ivermectin injection for the prevention of New World screwworm in cattle.

The Food and Drug Administration on Aug. 27 granted emergency use authorization for Bimectin, the injection, for use within 24 hours of birth.

The drug can also be used when castration is performed, or when a wound appears. It cannot be used in lactating dairy cows or in calves destined for veal.

Bimectin is a generic version of Ivomec, which the FDA authorized in February. The FDA previously approved Bimectin for treating and controlling parasites in cattle. The application for Bimectin came from Bimeda Animal Health, an Ireland-based company.

Based on available evidence, FDA officials concluded that the injection may prevent screwworm in cattle, and that the known and potential benefits outweigh known and potential risks. That information includes studies carried out in Brazil and Argentina in the 1990s, and a 2019 study conducted in Brazil, which found ivermectin injection prevented screwworm infestations in cattle, according to an FDA fact sheet.

“The animal safety profile for cattle, including male and female reproducing cattle, is well-characterized, and the information provided support that the food products obtained from the treated animals are safe for human consumption when used under the conditions described in the authorization,” the fact sheet stated.

“This authorization reflects the FDA’s commitment to expanding generic drug options against New World screwworm,” Timothy Schell, director of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, said in a statement. “By authorizing both generic and pioneer products, the Agency is ensuring producers aren’t dependent on a single manufacturer or product to protect their herds.”

Ivermectin is an antiparasitic medication widely used in animals. The drug is also available for humans, primarily to prevent worm infections.

Screwworm, a flesh-eating pest, entered the United States from Mexico earlier in 2026 for the first time in years.

The Trump administration has since approved or authorized more than a dozen drugs for screwworm prevention and/or treatment, including an ivermectin oral solution for horses, a medication for dogs and puppies, and a generic treatment for dogs, puppies, cats, and kittens.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in its latest update, with data current through Aug. 25, said that there have been three screwworm cases in August, all in Texas. Two of the cases were among sheep, and one was in a goat.

There were 14 cases in July and 30 in June.

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

Dr. Anthony Fauci said an aide should delete an email about risky research his agency was funding, according to documents released on Aug. 29 by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).

“Please delete this e-mail and then delete from the deleted file,” Fauci told Dr. Clifford Lane, a senior official at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), in a missive on March 4, 2012.

Fauci, NIAID’s director at the time, was commenting on an op-ed that criticized risky research that created a more transmissible H5N1 influenza virus. The research, led by European scientist Ron Fouchier, was funded by the NIAID.

The op-ed said the virus appeared to spread easily and would be lethal to humans if it escaped confinement or was stolen by terrorists. It highlighted the government’s funding of the research.

It also noted that the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity had recommended that papers prepared by researchers such as Fouchier omit key details that might help terrorists make their own versions of risky viruses.

Fauci told Lane that “people are getting to” Phil Boffey, the writer of the op-ed, “and he is swallowing it.” He said that the board’s decision was wrong. And he wrote that if the board maintained its stance, “the field of research on influenza transmissibility and host adaptability has a very serious problem.”

Fauci and Lane did not respond to requests for comment by publication time.

Boffey could not be reached.

Fouchier had told Science magazine that his team created “probably one of the most dangerous studies you can make.”

Several weeks later, Fauci coauthored an op-ed in the Washington Post that said work by Fouchier and another group funded by the NIAID involved careful work in isolated laboratories and advanced understanding of how mutations of H5N1, sometimes known as avian influenza, worked.

“This research has allowed identification of genetic pathways by which such a virus could better adapt to transmission among people,” the op-ed, titled A flu virus risk worth taking, stated.

Fauci’s agency later funded research in China that made a modified coronavirus more pathogenic than the original version, among other gain-of-function experiments.

Fauci’s directive to Lane was one of five times he told aides to delete emails, according to documents obtained and released by Paul. The other instances took place in 2009, 2011, and 2020. Fauci left the government in late 2022.

Paul said in a statement that the documents “show years of ‘delete this email’ orders.” He has referred Fauci to the Department of Justice for prosecution after Fauci, during an appearance before the Senate panel Paul chairs, declined to answer questions. Fauci has not been charged.

Prior to leaving office, President Joe Biden gave Fauci a preemptive pardon covering conduct from Jan. 1, 2014, to Jan. 19, 2025.

It is a federal crime to destroy or attempt to destroy federal records. Dr. David Morens, one of Fauci’s former aides, recently pleaded guilty to violating that law.

The U.S. Supreme Court just issued an order allowing construction of President Trump’s White House ballroom project to continue while the administration contests a lower court order that would block much of the development.

The justices voted 5–4 (with Chief Justice Roberts joining the three ‘liberal’ judges in dissent) to grant the federal government’s request to stay a lower court’s order halting above-ground construction of the ballroom while a lawsuit against the project by a historic preservation group plays out.

“We do not pass upon the legality” of the project, the court said in an unsigned eight-page decision from five of the court’s six Republican-appointed justices.

As The Wall Street Journal reports, two lower courts had declared the ballroom project illegal and said construction must be halted.

But a judge’s stop-work order was put on hold while the administration pursued appeals.

The Supreme Court’s ruling keeps that order on hold indefinitely, effectively giving a green light to one of Trump’s most visibly audacious projects, which critics see as the latest instance of the president ignoring Congress and flouting norms.  

Writing for the dissenters, Roberts said the project is “likely unlawful.”

“The White House is an iconic American building whose symbolism and history are wrapped up in its architecture,” Roberts wrote, adding that it is critical to “ensure that those responsible follow the rules in deciding what to tear down and what to build up at the People’s House.”

Roberts had already blocked the stop-work order from kicking in on Aug. 22 with a temporary measure that gave the justices more time to deliberate.

In his emergency appeal to the high court, the solicitor general warned that stopping work now would leave the half-built project “susceptible to strong winds during extreme weather, and vulnerable to erosion, water, foundation damage, and other setbacks that will fundamentally compromise the integrity of everything currently built.” 

The green light means the project could largely be completed before a final ruling on its legality.

Construction on the project, which calls for building a 90,000-square-foot ballroom, began in September 2025.

Building it required demolishing the East Wing, which Trump said was too small and in poor shape.

The facility is now expected to accommodate 1,000 guests, up from the initial 650 people projected, and its original $200 million price tag has doubled, though the true cost of the project is unknown.

Trump has pledged the project will be paid for entirely with private donations, but taxpayers could help fund security-related upgrades if a GOP-led Congress approves it. 

Developing…

Despite recent polls showing that 70% of Americans oppose building AI data centers in their area (including 60% of Republicans), President Trump on Monday warned that communities that don’t embrace them will “end up being backwards and poor.”

“The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign.”

And if people “kill the Golden Goose” by successfully resisting AI data centers, “you will only have yourselves to blame,” Trump continued, adding “China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement. Actually, they can’t believe it is happening!”

According to a Gallup poll published in May, 71% of Americans oppose building AI data centers in their local area, including 48% ‘strongly opposed’ – and only about a quarter in favor. Opposition crosses party lines: Gallup’s breakdowns showed 63% of Republicans strongly or somewhat opposed to a data center where they live, while a July Fox News poll found that 60% of Republicans and 53% of self-described “MAGA Republicans” oppose data centers where they live.  

At the same time, Beijing structurally benefits from anything that slows US compute (and according to X, are amplifying the outrage).

Some observations

• Eighteen months ago, American frontier models from Google, OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI had virtually no competition – and the entire AI bubble (circle-jerk) was based on already-insane revenue projections. 
   
• Then, Chinese labs began rolling out open-weighted AI models that are up to 90% cheaper per token, for around 95% the same performance as US frontier models. Suddenly, the American AI buildout thesis that led the market to all-time highs this year, was pricked – and companies are migrating towards these cheap Chinese models they can run on their own infrastructure. Chinese providers went from under 2% of OpenRouter tokens a year ago to over 45% of weekly volume by April 2026, and Chinese models surpassed US models in weekly token volume for the first time in February. An a16z partner estimated roughly 80% of US startups build on Chinese base models.
   
• The July tape made it official: chip stocks shed more than $1 trillion as investors began asking whether AI infrastructure spending is peaking faster than expected – even as the hyperscalers, undeterred, still guide to roughly $660-690 billion in 2026 capex, nearly double last year’s.  
   
• Chinese AI firms are also starting to run proprietary chips – a workaround to years of banning Nvidia’s top of the line AI chips. Beijing’s Cyberspace Administration barred major tech firms from buying Nvidia chips in September 2025, and state-backed data centers now require domestic silicon. Domestic suppliers are projected to capture nearly 90% of Chinese AI accelerator sales this year. That said, Huawei’s Ascend still trails Nvidia on raw performance and software, and its flagship CloudMatrix cluster draws roughly four times the power of Nvidia’s comparable system – a trade Beijing happily makes, because China is substituting electricity (which it has) for chip quality (which it doesn’t).
   
• China is also able to rapidly expand both data centers and electricity generation because the CCP gives zero fucks about NIMBY Chinese ‘having a say’ over whether they plunk a loud data center or power generation facility next to their house. Instead, provincial officials are rewarded for building, the grid is state-owned, and the new Five-Year Plan explicitly treats data centers as a demand sink to soak up surplus renewable generation. In China, data centers are the solution to too much electricity. In America, they’ve become the cause of expensive electricity.

China Is Loving This

Trump isn’t wrong that Beijing benefits from anything that slows the US buildout. But the astroturf version of the argument was quickly dispelled: data center investor Kevin O’Leary claimed China was behind the protests, admitted he had no evidence, and is now being sued for defamation by two Utah groups. And the polling is real too – Heatmap asked the identical question about data centers in Americans’ backyards four times in 12 months and watched a 33-point collapse, from a 43/42 split last August to 75% opposed now. Public opinion doesn’t move like that because of foreign bots. It moves like that because of utility bills.

The grievances have receipts. PJM’s independent market monitor found data centers responsible for 63% of the capacity auction spike – $9.3 billion recovered from ratepayers in a single year, with measured bill impacts of $21/month in DC, $18 in western Maryland, $16 in Ohio. Total PJM capacity costs went from $2.2 billion to $14.7 billion to $16.1 billion in two years – and the latest auction only stopped at $329.17/MW-day because of a price cap Pennsylvania’s governor demanded. Gallup’s own open-ended data shows what’s actually driving opposition: half of opponents cite resource consumption – 18% each naming water and energy – plus noise, pollution, and traffic. Not anti-AI ideology. Bills.

And when the industry had the chance to carry its own costs, PJM members voted down all 12 proposals to shift them in July. Ratepayers remain the unpaid sponsors of the buildout. Meanwhile, dozens of companies – including Meta, Amazon and Google – have signed onto Trump’s “ratepayer protection pledge” to cover increased energy costs. You don’t create a ratepayer protection pledge against an imaginary grievance.

Meanwhile this is about as bipartisan as it gets: Greg Abbott has frozen new data centers in Texas, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee – Senate Republicans’ own campaign arm, warned in an August memo that the campaign against them “will expand far beyond Ohio,” where the issue has Jon Husted in a dead heat with Sherrod Brown – a Democrat Ohio voters fired statewide just two years ago.

And what Trump fails to see, apparently: the CCP would entertain exactly none of this. There is no mechanism in China for citizens to oppose infrastructure – and what the no-veto model produces isn’t just speed. Many local-government data centers run at 20-30% utilization, Beijing is now planning a national scheme to resell the surplus compute, and even SMIC’s own chairman warned the rushed buildout “has not been fully thought through.” The people of Licking County get a say. The people of Gansu get a ghost data center.

Trump says China “can’t believe” the anti-data-center movement is happening. Of course not – there is no version of it available to Chinese citizens.