Russia Deploys 3D-Printed ‘Filin’ Cruise Missile With U.S. Electronics in Ukraine
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02 U.S. Politics
Pentagon calls China’s Confucius Institutes a national security threat– www.washingtontimes.com
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The Pentagon is designating China’s Confucius Institutes as threats to U.S. national security for their role in malign activities at American universities, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Palantir CEO says Israel is the “minor exception” in AI race dominated by U.S. and Ch– www.calcalistech.com
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Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir Technologies, believes the global race in artificial intelligence has only two serious contenders, with Israel as a partial exception.
“With a minor exception in Israel, they’re the only relevant countries,” Karp said of the United States and China in a conversation with Leon Kalvaria, Citigroup’s global chairman of banking. Palantir posted the video on October 23.
The remark was brief and came without further explanation, but it fits a pattern of Karp treating Israel as a special case. The wider conversation touched on Palantir’s security work, the political risks of AI-driven wealth concentration and his view that Europe will have to buy its AI technology from one of the two dominant powers.
42% of America’s recent college grads are working jobs that don’t need a degree. From Kathmandu to Paris, young people are taking to the streets
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Trump says he may move White House press corps to new location | Donald Trump News– www.aljazeera.com
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United States President Donald Trump has confirmed he could move the White House press corps to a different location, possibly away from the executive residence.
In a social media post on Friday, Trump described reports that he planned to remove the White House press briefing room in favour of restoring a historic swimming pool located underneath as “Fake News”.
“I NEVER even thought to do such a stupid thing!” he wrote in a Truth Social post.
Trump, however, indicated he may relocate dozens of reporters who cover the White House “to a less obnoxious location”.
The New York Times on Tuesday reported that Trump had pitched his former press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, on an idea to move journalists out of the White House’s storied James S. Brady Press Briefing Room. That proposal did not move forward during Leavitt’s tenure, which ended on August 27.
U.S. Treasury Proposes Expanded China Investment Restrictions; China’s Ministry of Commerce Vows Firm Opposition, Reserves Right to Countermeasures
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‘Not an accident’: Marco Rubio sends shockwaves with ominous ‘coup’ comment– www.rawstory.com
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio publicly invited Cubans to work with the CIA on Friday, and the reaction across the political spectrum was immediate.
“To those who seek to create positive change in Cuba – now is the time,” Rubio wrote on X. “The disappointment of failed promises, corruption, and the privileged lives of only a few; seize this opportunity to create the change you desire through a discrete partnership with the CIA.”
A few hours later, the CIA’s official account posted the same message in Spanish. It included a video ending with the words “Contacte a la CIA” (“Contact the CIA”).
Many people were stunned that the message was public at all.
Ana Navarro Compares French Riots to January 6 Claims Misleading Damage– www.newsbusters.org
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Last weekend’s riots across France were simply brutal, with a reported 2,500 arrests,1000 police officers injured, some 3,000 businesses trashed and looted with damage estimated at over one billion dollars, and multiple attacks on official buildings like the historic city hall in the French town of Limoges, built in 1883, which was burned down. This was nothing like January 6th, but it didn’t stop CNN’s Ana Navarro from claiming that it was, as she ripped Trump and ICE on Tuesday’s The Situation Room.
Co-host Wolf Blitzer began the segment with a clip of President Trump warning that what happened in France could happen here if Democrats win the midterms.
TRUMP CLIP: If you want to see what is at stake in this election, just look at what’s happening in France, a once great nation that is being conquered, looted, and burned to the ground by migrants, jihadists, and communists who hate Christianity, and they hate, frankly, the Western civilization itself.
When you see burning steeples and raging fires in France, just remember, that is what the radical Democrats want to do to America.
A vote for any Democrat this year is a vote to let that small and dangerous group of extremists hold all of us hostage in America. They’re not going to hold us hostage.
Pentagon designates Chinese cultural centers national security threat — RT World News– rt-english.com
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Rebranded Confucius Institute chapters were trying to “infiltrate the minds of American students,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has claimed
The Pentagon has designated cultural programs linked to China’s Confucius Institute as a national security threat, according to US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. He claims that the centers, which largely offer Chinese language courses on American college and university campuses, serve as a front for Beijing’s “propaganda” campaign – an allegation Chinese officials have previously denied.
In a video posted on Facebook on Friday, Hegseth said that while the US Congress had previously “banned” the Confucius Institutes from American educational institutions, they “came back disguised in new forms” and under new names.
Hegseth was apparently referring to several measures passed by Congress in recent years that stripped universities that hosted Confucius Institutes of federal funding. The pressure from the lawmakers has led to the closure of multiple centers on US soil.
Trump announces at a Georgia campaign rally that Audi will build a new auto factory in the state– abcnews.com
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PERRY, Ga. — President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that Audi will build an automobile plant in Georgia as he tries to deliver on his promise to bolster American manufacturing in the final days before the midterm elections.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Perry, Georgia, where he sought to boost Republican candidates, Trump said Audi — the German luxury brand owned by Volkswagen — would commit $4.2 billion in nearby Macon to begin construction on a plant that will produce 200,000 cars a year.
“Think of that. 200,000 cars a year. That’s incredible,” Trump said, crediting his aggressive and unpopular tariff policies for the company’s decision to build the plant.
The announcement seemed timed to offer a last-minute boost to Republican candidates in the battleground state, including Rep. Mike Collins, who is trying to unseat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff. Trump has spent October campaigning in reliably Republican states as the party tries to hold onto its majorities in the House and Senate. Trump won Georgia in 2024 after losing it in 2020.
Trump was joined on stage by Gernot Döllner, the chairman of the board of management at Audi, who said the plant would be producing “our biggest and most premium SUVs.”
“This is a long-term investment, because we believe in the American market,” he said.
Audi, in a news release, said the plant — its first in Georgia — would create approximately 4,500 jobs and that construction was scheduled to begin in 2027, with production beginning in the early 2030s.
Republicans are bracing for losses in the Nov. 3 midterm elections as they contend with an unpopular president and an electorate that is angry over high costs and the ongoing war in Iran.
At the rally, Rick Jackson, the Republican candidate for Georgia governor, thanked Trump for the plans.
“Thank you on behalf of Georgia for putting the biggest economic deal in Georgia history right here today,” he said.
___
Colvin reported from New York.
President Trump told the press that Ukraine’s access to Starlink has been restored. When asked about it, he said, “I don’t want to comment on it, whether I called or whether somebody else called, doesn’t make any difference, I guess. The bottom line — he put it back.”
Ukraine lost Starlink access in critical areas, leading its President, Zelensky, to claim Musk cost Ukrainian lives. At first, Musk suggested the decision was not his. As of now, the facts behind both the access removal and restoration remain conflicting.
Trump Says Musk Restored Ukraine’s Starlink Access, Declines to Say if They Spoke– www.themoscowtimes.com
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Donald Trump said on Thursday that SpaceX CEO Elon Musk had restored Ukraine’s Starlink access but the U.S. president declined to comment when asked whether he had spoken to the billionaire about the matter.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Thursday that Trump had called Musk and asked him to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Starlink.
A New Mexico court is ordering Meta to pay $25 billion in a civil lawsuit for allowing Cambridge Analytica access to user data during the 2016 election. The company was working for the Trump campaign. It used that information to help the Trump campaign more effectively target potential voters.
Meta hit with $25 billion penalty over Cambridge Analytica data lawsuit– www.washingtonexaminer.com
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A New Mexico court ordered Meta, the parent company of Facebook, to pay a $25 billion penalty over data privacy violations connected to the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
The whopping penalty comes more than eight years after the stories of the data-harvesting scandal first broke and sparked political uproar in the United States. Politicians and social media users have raised concerns since the 2018 reports first broke about the United Kingdom-based firm improperly scraping up Facebook profiles without user consent, leading to multiple lawsuits and legal battles.
Because the Republican-controlled national legislature failed to pass a measure to block them, California is set to be the definer of AI standards. Now, Anthropic is using California’s AI standards to push a national bill forward that could allow their AI agents to work without government intervention unless the high threshold of 50 lives in danger is met.
Do-Nothing Republicans Did Nothing So Now Gavin Newsom Controls Keys To Most Critical Rules– dailycaller.com
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Republicans might have accidentally given Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California legislature the keys that will end up shaping some of the most important rules involving artificial intelligence.
Politico reported Wednesday that Anthropic’s draft federal AI safety bill, which the company is pitching to lawmakers on Capitol Hill, was directly influenced by California law. The bill lays out the potential risk thresholds at which the government would be allowed to intervene and block an AI model. But unfortunately for Republicans, Newsom and the California legislature had the free opportunity to lay the groundwork and define the arbitrary risk thresholds that could end up triggering federal intervention.
Trump says Musk has restored Ukraine’s internet access– www.bbc.co.uk
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Elon Musk has restored Ukraine’s internet access, Donald Trump has said.
The US president was speaking hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said connectivity, which is provided by Musk’s satellite-based Starlink system, had yet to be fully restored.
Musk has previously denied he was behind the slowdown, which affects Ukraine’s ability to use drones to attack Russia.
Trump refused to be drawn on a report he had put pressure on Musk to restore access to the service, but when asked about it said: “Bottom line, he put it back.”
The Trump administration has previously insisted it did not instruct Musk’s company to restrict access.
The connectivity restrictions came as Trump put pressure on Zelensky to stop attacking Russian oil refineries, which he has argued have caused prices to rise.
Faced with midterm elections next month, Trump has waived some sanctions on Russia and agreed a deal to import Russian diesel for the US market – a move which has been criticised by Ukraine and its European allies.
Ukraine relies on Starlink – owned by Musk’s SpaceX company – for a range of battle communications and early warning systems during Russian missile attacks.
Earlier on Thursday, Zelensky said the speed of the system used by Ukraine’s military had still not been restored fully.
Speaking at a press conference , he said the speed “has not been restored to 400 [km/h; 250mph] yet”, adding: “We are working on it.”
He continued: “I am waiting to hear from US Secretary of State [Marco] Rubio. He promised to get back to me with information within 48 hours or so.”
US Federal Reserve to Raise Rates Twice More in 2026, Says Bank of America – Morningstar
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Italy Cracks Down on Violent Riots, Authorities to Prosecute Parents for Minors’ Actions– slaynews.com
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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government is cracking down on violent rioters and making parents pay when their children participate in leftist violence.
The move follows riots that left businesses looted, police officers injured, and streets damaged across several cities.
Parents of minors who commit violence at demonstrations face fines of €500 to €1,000, doubled for repeat offenses.
The penalties apply even when a child is too young to face prosecution.
Meloni said parents should pay when their children cause damage and called on political parties to stand with legality.
Prison Sentences for Rioters and Violent Organizers
The new crime targets anyone who uses sticks or clubs, or throws objects during a demonstration in a way that endangers others.
Offenders face two to five years in prison and fines of up to €20,000.
Higher penalties apply when rioters conceal their faces or damage public infrastructure or utilities.
Anyone organizing or promoting groups for violent demonstrations, including through online tools, faces four to 12 years behind bars.
The decree also allows police chiefs to bar groups of five or more minors from gathering where they behave in an intimidating manner.
Report: Iran’s Shadow Fleet Tankers Run Out of Oil Amid U.S. Blockade– legalinsurrection.com
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Eight weeks after the Trump administration launched Operation Economic Outcast, Iran’s shadow fleet has run out of oil
After the U.S. imposed a blockade on Iranian ports in mid-July, dozens of China-bound Iranian oil tankers were stranded in Asian ports. Latest news reports suggest that they have now been reduced to empty vessels. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that “dozens of oil tankers holding millions of barrels of crude” floating in Asian waters have “dried up.”
More oil is coming through the Hormuz Strait than it did prior to the conflict.
All while the evil Iranian regime makes up fake hits and kills tens of thousands of protestors. They must never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. pic.twitter.com/X8QN05ByNU
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) October 22, 2026
The revelation comes a day after the WSJ confirmed that energy shipments from the region crossed the pre-war mark. “Persian Gulf oil exports have surpassed prewar levels, as an improvised shipping system under U.S. protection is helping tankers move oil through one of Iran’s fiercest waves of attacks in the Strait of Hormuz,” the business daily reported Tuesday.
.@POTUS on Iran: “We’re not negotiating with them. We are gonna have something, one way or the other — it’ll happen fairly soon.” pic.twitter.com/0bJmeojLTh
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 22, 2026
Pentagon ready to use HEAT RAY weapon at the border to prevent migrants from crossing into US | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com
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The military says this “tingling effect” fades after 10 to 15 minutes, but the weapon also triggers “an instinctive and irresistible urge to run from the effect.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has gotten approval from the Pentagon to test out a military heat-ray weapon along the US-Mexico border, according to a memo that was obtained by CNN.
The weapon, formally called the Active Denial System, is nonlethal and fires an unseen beam of electromagnetic energy with a range of just over half a mile.
When the beam hits a person’s skin, it produces an intense burning sensation, similar to when a person opens an oven. The military says this “tingling effect” fades after 10 to 15 minutes, but the weapon also triggers “an instinctive and irresistible urge to run from the effect.”
DHS has not said how the weapon will be used yet. However, current and former Customs and Border Protection officials say the agency has talked internally for years about using it to break up crowds at the southern border, per the report.
Michael Byers teaches at the University of British Columbia. His book International Law and the Arctic won the 2014 Donner Prize.
On the north shore of Burrard Inlet, at the Vancouver shipyards, the mighty CCGS Imnaryuaq is finally taking shape. On Oct. 14, a “keel laying” ceremony was held as the first module of the 158-metre-long polar icebreaker was set in place. Over the next few years, the rest of the ship will be assembled around that section.
Defence Minister David McGuinty marked the milestone by asserting that “Canada’s Arctic sovereignty depends on our ability to be present, to operate, and to respond.”
Most people – and Mr. McGuinty might be among them – think that the greatest threats to Canada’s Arctic sovereignty come from Russia and China. That’s not actually the case. The greatest threat has always been the United States, and while we could never match the world’s most powerful military, we can, by demonstrating our will to secure the Canadian Arctic against all threats, deny them any excuse to deploy there.
Finns Are Seething After Google Illegally Toppled 250,000 Trees for a Data Center – Mother Jones– www.motherjones.com
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In the northern Finnish town of Muhos, the forest has already been cut down on land acquired by Google.Alessandro Rampazzo/Getty
Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.
This story was originally published by The Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
Behind a wire fence lies a vast gaping wound of earth. Before Google’s arrival a few months ago, an estimated quarter-million trees occupied the 815 acres of forest near the town of Muhos in rural northern Finland. Now they are all gone.
After the tech company illegally stripped the entire area to build a data center— taking even the topsoil with it—all that remains is a vast expanse of mud indented with the trail marks of machinery; puddles; and mounds of earth, roots, and branches. Residents say that brown water flowing off the site is going into a stream that feeds the Oulujoki River. “It doesn’t end. It goes on and on,” says Mari Annala, an ecologist from the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation (SLL), looking at drone footage of the former forest from the perimeter
“I couldn’t believe it. I have never heard that any company has done anything like this in Finland.”
UN calls on member states to adapt justice systems to climate-related disputes – Jurist.org
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Judge orders Trump to sit for a deposition in his BBC defamation lawsuit by December 11– www.euronews.com
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A federal judge on Thursday ordered US President Donald Trump to sit for a deposition by 11 December in his $10 billion (€8.6 billion) defamation lawsuit against the BBC.
The order by US Magistrate Judge Enjoliqué Lett came after the BBC’s lawyers accused Trump of delaying his appearance.
Trump could face sanctions, including the possible dismissal of his lawsuit, if he fails to comply, unless the discovery period is extended beyond 18 December.
Charles Tobin, an attorney representing the BBC, said that with two months left in the discovery period, “we still haven’t been able to depose the plaintiff.”
Tobin said Trump had initially agreed to be deposed on 16 October but cancelled, citing a “matter of national importance.” However, the president was campaigning in Georgia that day, according to the lawyer.
“He was participating in party politics and prioritized that over sitting for the deposition,” Tobin said.
Trump filed a lawsuit against the BBC in December 2025, accusing the British broadcaster of defamation and deceptive and unfair trade practices over a documentary titled “Trump: A Second Chance.”
China’s Temu may have funneled your data to the CCP– www.americanthinker.com
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If you’re like me, you constantly see ads for Temu products. They promise things that are stylish, clever, useful, cute, or whatever it is you’re looking for, and they’re all so very cheap. But while you’re buying their product, it turns out that this Chinese company may well be harvesting your information and laundering it to the CCP. Now, though, at least in Texas, Temu can’t do that anymore.
Temu was unknown a few years ago, so it’s worth looking at its history to understand how it suddenly became so ubiquitous. It all started in 2015, when Colin Huang, a Chinese- and American-educated tech guy who also worked at Google, founded Pinduoduo, an e-commerce business he later rebranded as PDD Holdings. It is now one of China’s largest online shopping businesses.
While PDD is a publicly traded company, and Huang (no longer in leadership but still holding significant equity) is not a member of the Chinese government, that doesn’t mean PDD has no government ties. PDD has significant ties to the CCP because several former CCP officials are (or have been) among PDD’s top executives. Moreover, like all China-based companies, it must comply with CCP intelligence agencies when directed under the National Intelligence Law.
In September 2022, PDD launched Temu, a global version of the Chinese company. Its purpose is to connect consumers directly with inexpensive, usually Chinese-made merchandise. It grew at a near-exponential rate thanks to low prices, a huge advertising budget, cute games that drove bargains, cheap international shipping via a loophole Trump finally closed, and piggybacking on PDD’s supply chains.
Musk backs Ellison’s Skydance with $1 billion investment: Report– www.washingtonexaminer.com
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Elon Musk has reportedly invested $1 billion in Skydance, the media conglomerate that completed the merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery earlier this month.
The news comes after previous reporting indicating that Skydance CEO and Chairman David Ellison was asking Musk for a possible equity investment in his entertainment empire.
EU awards human rights prize to International Criminal Court amid Trump attacks– www.cbc.ca
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The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
The European Union has awarded its top human rights prize to the International Criminal Court (ICC), the international tribunal in The Hague that has come under attack from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration.
The European Parliament announced on Thursday that it was awarding the 2026 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to the ICC and its officials.
The decision “recognizes the Court’s important work in upholding international law and justice,” Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament, said in a written statement.
US Grapples With China-Linked Critical Minerals Shortfall Left Unresolved By Trump-Xi Summit
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Netanyahu says ‘toppling’ Iran government only way to end threat– www.channelnewsasia.com
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DIMONA, Israel: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday (Oct 21) that the only way to remove the threat posed by Iran was to topple its government.
“Iran wanted to destroy us; we stopped them. They wanted to produce nuclear bombs; we stopped them … Yet they persist,” he said during an election rally in the southern town of Dimona. “Therefore, there is only one way to end this: by toppling this regime.”
“This is the directive I have issued to the Israel Defence Forces, to the Mossad, and to all our security branches,” he added, without specifying when or how that directive would be executed.
The sabre-rattling came as the premier headed into the last week of a tight race for re-election.
Netanyahu had instructed the Israeli military to plan for resumed strikes against Iran earlier this month, according to sources cited by the Financial Times on Wednesday, but US President Donald Trump reportedly objected to the idea.
Canada unveils $6.2bn plan to shield manufacturers as Trump trade tariffs bite– www.euronews.com
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Canada has announced a $6.2 billion (€5.7 billion) package to protect its steel and auto industries from US tariffs, as Prime Minister Mark Carney warned that Washington has permanently altered a trade relationship built over decades.
Carney and Ontario Premier Doug Ford jointly unveiled the plan on Wednesday, directing $3.7 billion (€3.4 billion) to steelmakers and $1.8 billion (€1.65 billion) to automakers over five years, with $1.1 billion (€1 billion) of the auto funding coming from the federal government in Ottawa.
The announcement came the same day US-owned Cleveland-Cliffs confirmed layoffs at its Hamilton, Ontario, plant, underlining the human cost of the trade dispute.
“US tariffs have upended a trade bargain that’s existed for decades,” Carney said. “They’ve raised costs for American families while putting Ontario workers and businesses at a disadvantage.”
The damage to the auto sector is already visible in the trade figures, as Canadian auto exports to the US have fallen more than 10 percent, while US exports to Canada have dropped more than 20 percent, a decline Carney said hurts both sides of the border.
Iran says indirect talks with U.S. on ceasefire proposal continue– www.cbsnews.com
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A missile industry veteran has been tapped as Iran’s new defense minister, replacing the previous minister who was killed on Feb. 28, the first day of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran.
Iranian parliamentarians overwhelmingly approved the appointment of Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi, 68, as the country’s new defense chief on Sunday.
Akhlaghi studied chemical engineering at Amirkabir University of Technology and then spent more than four decades working in Iran’s military industries, holding senior positions in the Shahid Bagheri Industrial Group, the Aerospace Industries Organization – which has worked on missile development in cooperation with Russia, China and North Korea – and the Defense Industries Organization.
He worked with Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam, a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander widely regarded as the father of Iran’s missile industry.
Akhlaghi has been under international sanctions since 2007 because of his involvement in Iran’s missile programs.
The Democratic Fundraiser Opening Doors for Big Tech– readsludge.com
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If Democrats win control of the House in the midterms, leaders of the moderate New Democrat Coalition expect their 114-member bloc, already the largest ideological faction among House Democrats, to grow and advance its artificial intelligence agenda. The consultant raising money for the coalition’s political arm also runs a corporate-backed nonprofit that brings executives from Anthropic, Nvidia, and Oracle into private discussions with congressional staff and advises a tech industry group that seeks to shape the party’s AI agenda.
Helen Milby is the longtime treasurer and top paid fundraising adviser to the New Democrat Coalition Action Fund, a PAC that supports the coalition’s candidates. She also runs GlobalWIN, a bipartisan nonprofit with partners including Anthropic and a16z that sponsors congressional travel, private dinners, and policy discussions that connect lawmakers with business executives. Milby also serves on the advisory board of the tech industry group Chamber of Progress, whose corporate backers include Google, OpenAI, and Coinbase and which says it wants to “shape the kind of Democrats who win in 2026.”
These overlapping roles give the tech industry channels into both the electoral operation working to expand the New Democrats and the private policy conversations that reach their staff and members. The Action Fund has endorsed 50 candidates this cycle, including 36 of the 46 in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Red to Blue program of districts it aims to flip. Its website says it has raised and bundled more than $12 million this cycle for its candidates. “We expect that our numbers are going to swell in the next Congress,” Action Fund Chair Greg Stanton, an Arizona Democrat, told Roll Call this month.