Free Republic

An experimental OpenAI model went rogue during an internal cybersecurity test, escaping its isolated testing environment and hacking rival AI developer Hugging Face in what the ChatGPT maker described as an unprecedented incident. The startling episode occurred during an internal stress test in which OpenAI intentionally switched off many of the safeguards that normally prevent its AI from helping carry out dangerous hacks, according to a company blog post. Researchers wanted to measure just how far the experimental model could go. Instead, the company says, it escaped its digital sandbox, got onto the internet and attacked a real company’s systems....

SUMMARY The US is due to sign a deal that will allow Saudi Arabia to develop a civilian nuclear programme - timeline of their talks An announcement is expected from US President Donald Trump's administration, according to CBS News, the BBC's US partner The deal will reportedly allow US companies to run nuclear power for the Saudis on Saudi soil Nuclear experts and former officials in Israel - the US's top ally in the Middle East - have warned that such an agreement could lead to Saudi Arabia being able to develop a nuclear weapon The fear is that if...

The Walt Disney Company has unleashed a fresh bloodbath across its entertainment empire, with Pixar taking a major hit despite the blockbuster success of “Toy Story 5.” The “Mouse House” announced several hundred layoffs Tuesday in its third round of cuts this year, affecting Disney Entertainment Television, ESPN, corporate divisions and Disney Studios, according to SFist. Pixar’s Emeryville animation studio was hit hardest within the film division. Disney has not confirmed how many Pixar workers lost their jobs, but a source told TheWrap that roughly 116 employees were laid off. Many of the Pixar cuts were concentrated in production and...

WASHINGTON — President Trump announced a new red line against Iran Wednesday, vowing to obliterate critical civilian infrastructure in the Islamic Republic for every attack against vessels in the Strait of Hormuz — prompting Iranian state media to declare it was ready to set American troops “on fire” and “punish their regional partners forever.” “From this point forward, any time the Islamic Republic of Iran shoots at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether it be by Missile, Rocket, Drone, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy ONE BRIDGE OR POWER PLANT, including...

Explanation: The Southern Crown (Corona Australis) dazzles with young and ancient celestial jewels. The Corona Australis Cloud is a collage of reflection and emission nebulae on the left of today’s image. At 430 light years away, this cloud is one of the closest star-forming regions to Earth. It contains gas cool enough (-260 Celsius or -440 Fahrenheit) to collapse into protostars. Recently formed stars paint blue hues across the cloud as their light reflects off surrounding material. The waltz of the R Coronae Australis binary system stirs up the nebula NGC 6729. The younger of the pair ionizes nearby gas...

Democratic Senate candidates James Talarico and Jon Ossoff are facing scrutiny over significant donations from Reid Hoffman, a billionaire mega-investor with former associations to Jeffrey Epstein, after both accused Republicans of representing the billionaire "Epstein class" over working Americans. Both Talarico, running in Texas, and Ossoff, running in Georgia, have repeatedly criticized billionaires’ involvement in politics and charged Republicans with being beholden to the "Epstein class" instead of the American people. Meanwhile, Hoffman, a co-founder of LinkedIn who has previously admitted to spending a night on Epstein’s Caribbean island, has heavily invested in both campaigns. In the Texas Senate race,...

Fired probationary employees from the Department of Homeland Security and the Interior Department are continuing to challenge the legality of their terminations last year, this time by taking their fight to federal appeals court. Attorneys representing those ex-probationary employees filed an opening brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit earlier this month. They are challenging a Merit Systems Protection Board ruling that determined the MSPB lacked the jurisdiction to review whether the firings were illegal. The July 7 brief, filed by attorneys with the law firm Gupta Wessler, argues the MSPB erred in ruling that the...

Rep. Cleo Fields (D-La.) has announced he will not seek reelection, choosing instead to run for state Senate in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling gutting the Voting Rights Act. In a statement late Tuesday afternoon, Fields said he came to the decision after “a great deal of prayer and reflection.” “I feel my calling to serve the people is better put to use back home than here in D.C., and I intend to answer that call,” said Fields, whose majority-Black district encompasses parts of Shreveport, Baton Rouge and Lafayette. Fields’ announcement comes after the Louisiana state legislature in...

A major American gun manufacturer is turning restrictive gun laws back on the law-enforcement agencies that benefit from special exemptions. CMMG says police departments in gun-ban states should not receive firearms, magazines, suppressors, or configurations that ordinary citizens are prohibited from owning—unless agency leadership is willing to take a public stand.In this video, we break down CMMG’s law-enforcement sales policy, what it actually means for AR-15 ban states, why police exemptions create a major Second Amendment contradiction, and whether other firearm manufacturers could follow. We also examine how law enforcement may respond, the Founders’ concerns about government monopolizing effective arms,...

More also have confidence in Xi than Trump, according to a survey in three dozen countriesGlobal views of the United States worsened last year as President Donald Trump’s second term began, though most people still had a more positive opinion of the U.S. than China. This year, that is no longer the case. Views of China have improved in recent years while opinions of the U.S. have worsened, to the point where China is now seen more positively than the U.S. in most of 36 countries surveyed.Confidence in these countries’ respective leaders to do the right thing regarding world affairs...

WASHINGTON — What’s in a name? “Squad” Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) mixed up two Jewish Democrats named “Josh” Tuesday while attempting to dunk on Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) after he warned about the rise of socialism in the party. “What about Dems who sign bombs and vote to drop them?” Lee chided Gottheimer after the Garden Stater blasted the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) as “not Democrats” but “socialists, who want to hijack the Democratic Party” and declared “there’s no room for anti-American bomb-throwers who oppose our ideas, values, & leaders.” After Gottheimer told Lee she was thinking of “the...

I have no illusions (or delusions) about the impact that my writing has (or, more accurately, doesn’t have) on policy makers … or anyone else. But I wish I could tell Republicans one thing: for the love of God, stop playing by Marquess of Queensberry Rules and tell the Democrats to go eff themselves. And then set out to fix the country, preferably by first passing the SAVE America Act … via nuking the filibuster if need be. Republicans in general are not very good at fighting. Worse, they are inexplicably bad at explaining the easily explainable and properly stating...

Key takeawaysSocial Security income continues to be subject to federal income tax.A new senior deduction means only about 12% of seniors will pay taxes on their benefits.Nine states impose some income tax on Social Security.Is the income you receive from Social Security taxable? With the recent tax law, Social Security income continues to be taxable, but an additional deduction for seniors may help offset what is owed.Under the recent law, taxpayers age 65 or older—and their spouses, if filing jointly—can each claim a $6,000 deduction for tax years 2025–2028. This senior deduction is reduced by 6% (but not below zero)...

WASHINGTON — A powerful House panel subpoenaed three far-left nonprofits Wednesday as part of a sweeping review of Shanghai-based Marxist millionaire Neville Roy Singham’s network of subversive groups in the US. The House Ways and Means Committee is probing the path of $39 million disbursed from Singham to the People’s Forum, lefty media outlet BreakThrough News, and Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. Fox News Digital first reported on the subpoenas. Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo.) ripped the three groups for failing to cough up a “single responsive document” in response to the committee’s prior requests for information. Smith’s team is concerned...

In California, voters will soon be able to cast a ballot about Proposition 39, the Voter Identification, Citizenship Verification, and Registered Voter List Administration Initiative, which would create a constitutional amendment requiring Californians to show an ID when they vote and that state officials clean up voter rolls and verify citizenship. Now, it seems California Attorney General Rob Bonta has changed the language of Prop 39 in an effort to rig the election. The press release reads: "CA State Assemblymember Carl DeMaio is blasting Attorney General Rob Bonta for a "blatant attempt to rig the November election" after he changed...

It’s hot NILF summer for American workers. The number of adults who are “not in the labor force” (NILF) surged to an all-time high in June to 105.8 million, according to figures from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The record comes after a massive surge of 832,000 workers dropping out of the labor force in June alone. The overall number of NILFs is higher than at the height of the Great Recession or the COVID pandemic. The definition is broad — it covers all Americans age 16 and over who aren’t currently working, including retirees and students. Leading...

Brief highlights of Pittsburgh at Atlanta on Saturday, August 1 1970 and wrap up of Los Angeles at Montreal on Sunday, August 2 1970 at Jarry Park in Montreal. Also featured are: 0:00 - Bill Fiore and Mary Jo Catlett in that Right Guard commercial. 2:46 - James Hampton (F Troop) at 3:25 in the Winston ad. 10:12 - Hank Aaron for Wheaties. That's either Larry Santos or Bobby Bloom singing the jingle. Curt Gowdy does the voiceover.

Daniel Siad, a modeling scout with ​ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has been found dead at his home outside Paris, prosecutors said on Wednesday. Siad’s body was discovered ⁠on Monday evening. An autopsy will be carried out to determine the cause of death, the Nanterre prosecutor’s office said. Siad’s name appeared nearly 2,000 times in the Epstein files released by ⁠the U.S. Department of Justice. According ​to French media, at least five women accused Siad, 69, of rape and human trafficking, allegations ⁠Siad denied. Siad’s lawyer told Reuters in an emailed statement ​that ⁠the modelling scout...

Evangelical pastor Jeff Mullen recently posted this open letter to Texas State Rep. James Talarico, who is running for U.S. Senate in the state of Texas. Mullen’s letter addresses fundamental problems with the way Talarico and others interpret Scripture, and he calls Talarico and all of us to come under the authority of God’s Word instead of redefining it to fit our wishes:Dear Rep. Talarico,My name is Jeff Mullen. As a pastor who spent 30 years shepherding God’s people, I have learned that what we believe about God shapes everything else. That is why I am writing this letter.I do...

Last night, in a short video statement, Mamdani acknowledged that he has no authority, and never had any authority, to carry out his campaign promise. “My administration has reviewed every avenue available under applicable law to determine whether New York City could execute the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant if Benjamin Netanyahu came here,” Mamdani said. “It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant.” No Shinola, Sherlock. Nothing changed between last fall and now; the only difference is that the U.N. General Assembly is in two months, and Netanyahu intends to be...