Our Last Chances to Hold Trump Accountable
Plus: Maybe AI Isn’t Coming for Everyone’s Job After All
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KIM WEHLE: Our Last Chances to Hold Trump Accountable.
YESTERDAY’S TRUTH SOCIAL ANNOUNCEMENT by Donald Trump that he has received a “target” letter from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team regarding his role in the January 6, 2021 insurrection—since confirmed by the New York Times—undoubtedly suggests that we could see the third set of criminal charges filed against the former president as early as Friday. The letter reportedly cites a handful of criminal statutes that the government may be focused on in its investigation.
BRENT ORRELL: Maybe AI Isn’t Coming for Everyone’s Job After All.
GOOD LUCK TRACKING THE ZIG-ZAGS OF academic research on artificial intelligence and the future of work. A University of Pennsylvania/OpenAI study earlier this year found that 80 percent of jobs could see some of their tasks automated through generative AI and around 20 percent could have half or more of their workload fully automated. The same study rang other alarm bells by pointing out how white-collar professionals, rather than lower-skilled workers, were most at risk of AI-driven automation.
🎥 PODCASTS AND VIDEOS 🎧
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PHILIP ALLEN LACOVARA: How Justices with Stature Could Repair Trust in the Supreme Court.
JUSTICE FELIX FRANKFURTER, IN a dissenting opinion issued in 1962 during his final weeks on the bench, observed of the Supreme Court that its “authority—possessed of neither the purse nor the sword—ultimately rests on sustained public confidence in its moral sanction.”
That authority is now in danger due to the public’s lack of confidence in the Supreme Court and the widespread perception that the justices are partisan political actors rather than impartial jurists.
DENNIS AFTERGUT: What Joe Manchin and No Labels Share: Financial Self-Dealing.
ON MONDAY, WEST VIRGINIA SENATOR JOE Manchin headlined the New Hampshire gathering of No Labels, the group seeking to put a third-party presidential candidate on the ballot, which could hand the 2024 election to Donald Trump.
No Labels is courting Manchin to lead its potential 2024 ticket. The senator and his suitors share a self-serving quality—treating political money as a family affair.
🚨OVERTIME🚨
Happy Wednesday! I’m back from my day in the hazy mountains, in the shadow of Mt. Weather.
In local news… The Baltimore Orioles are in first place.
Is Tennessee a democracy? Anne Applebaum on the GOP takeover of the Volunteer state.
The Whistleblower hearing… Didn’t exactly go as planned. Perhaps Republicans need a more serious person than James Comer at the helm. Though, I suspect House Dems don’t mind it.
The Sununu era comes to an end… Gov. Chris Sununu isn’t running for re-election in New Hampshire.
Tommy Tuberville pledged to ‘donate every dime’ to veterans. He hasn’t. (Are you shocked that the guy who’d ditch recruits at a restaurant to take another job would lie?)
Irony department… A Human Rights expert had her invitation to testify before Congress about China’s threats to free speech… for not deleting a tweet critical of Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, in Madison County, VA… The local school board votes to ban 21 books. (Shocker: They do not like Toni Morrison.)
Barry for You… Our very own Barry Rubin provides his review of Elon Musk’s “Burnt Hair” cologne. (This is a real thing.)
Biden on the attack… Off the sidelines, the Biden campaign sharpens its barbs after largely remaining quiet.
Gates of the Arctic… Perhaps because I’m on a Northern Exposure and Yellowstone kick, enjoy this Postcard from Alaska.
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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.