Pam Bondi Sparks Free Speech Firestorm

Fed to cut rates

TikTok U.S. investors

Bondi "hate speech" backlash

The committee's Wednesday announcement at 2 p.m. ET will include Chair Jerome Powell's press conference and the updated "dot plot," offering optimistic forecasts for GDP, unemployment, and inflation as the Fed balances its dual mandate of full employment and stable prices.

Miran, sworn in Tuesday following swift Senate confirmation, adds valuable expertise from his role as Council of Economic Advisers chair, with expectations he may advocate for a more substantial cut to align with pro-growth strategies.

Markets reflect confidence with over 70% odds for the 25 bps reduction and further cuts in October and December, according to CME FedWatch.

⭐ Editor’s Pick: U.S. tech companies, including OpenAI and Nvidia, unveiled £30 billion ($41 billion) in investments in the U.K. during Trump's state visit. (POL)

The Trump administration will appeal a court ruling that blocked Trump's effort to dismiss Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. (RTS)

China's youth unemployment rate for those aged 16 to 24 climbed to 18.9% in August, the highest since December 2023. (INV)

India described its recent trade talks with the U.S. as "positive" and forward-looking, signaling an intent to swiftly finalize an agreement. (FBN)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Ben & Jerry's co-founder Jerry Greenfield is stepping down after 47 years, decrying Unilever for stifling the ability to champion leftwing causes. (WSJ)

China has permitted Wells Fargo banker Chenyue Mao, previously barred from leaving amid a criminal probe, to return to the U.S. (WAPO)

Eli Lilly announced a $5 billion investment to construct a manufacturing facility in Goochland County, Virginia, aimed at producing drugs for cancer. (WWBT)

Apollo Global Management is considering selling AOL, acquired in 2021 within a $5 billion Verizon deal, for $1.5 billion. (WSJ)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: The European Union's aggressive net-zero policies, which are already crippling its economy, now threaten to export burdensome climate regulations to American firms. (TEL)

Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced that the first small modular nuclear reactor will be operational by July, 2026, with several more following later that year. (REG)

Gold prices surged to a record high near $3,700 per ounce, driven by expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. (BBG)

Coffee futures in the Intercontinental Exchange in New York approached a record high of $4.24 per pound. (INV)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: The U.S. and U.K. are set to strengthen crypto collaboration, focusing on regulatory alignment and innovation. (FT)

Binance is negotiating with the Justice Department to eliminate the requirement for an independent compliance monitor. (BBG)

Google introduced an AI-driven agent-to-agent payments protocol that supports stablecoin transactions. (TB)

The House is considering barring the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency by using a market structure bill it passed in July. (CT)

Negotiators from both countries met in Madrid this week to discuss the deal, which would create a new U.S. entity to operate the app, with U.S. investors holding approximately 80% ownership and Chinese shareholders retaining 20%.

The structure includes an American-dominated board featuring one member designated by the U.S. government; Oracle would manage all U.S. user data at its Texas facilities.

Existing U.S. users would transition to a new app currently in testing, with TikTok engineers recreating content-recommendation algorithms licensed from parent company ByteDance.

⭐ Editor’s Pick: China directed tech companies, including ByteDance and Alibaba, to halt purchases and cancel orders for Nvidia's advanced AI chips like the RTX Pro 6000D. (FT)

OpenAI is developing a teen-focused version of ChatGPT with enhanced parental controls, including account linking and distress notifications. (AX)

DeepSeek's Chinese AI code generation produces less secure outputs and routinely denies coding help to programmers linked to anti-Beijing groups. (WAPO)

YouTube unveiled generative AI tools for Shorts creators, including Veo 3 Fast for rapid video clip generation, style and motion effects for images. (TC)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Robbyant unveiled the R1, an AI-powered humanoid robot chef capable of preparing over 10,000 recipes and 1,000 tea drinks. (TH)

Ukraine is deploying AI-powered robots to accelerate demining efforts amid its war with Russia. (FOR)

Otonomus Hotel Vegas unveiled "Oto," a multilingual robotic concierge fluent in over 50 languages and designed to assist guests with accommodations. (KLAS)

Unitree's G1 humanoid robot demonstrated remarkable resilience by absorbing a direct dropkick without toppling. (FUT)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Rampart Communications debuted StrataWave at a Pentagon event, a stealth radio hiding drone signals in background noise with encryption, making them nearly undetectable and jam-resistant. (NS)

NATO officials adopted a stark new tone, declaring space the latest war-fighting frontier. (DN)

SpaceX is partnering with chipmakers to enable direct smartphone connectivity to its Starlink satellite network. (BBG)

BAE Systems integrated Formula 1 technology into the CV90 infantry fighting vehicle, making it one of the world’s fastest off-road combat tanks. (IE)

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Robotics startup Figure AI raised over $1 billion in a Series C round led by Parkway Venture Capital, achieving a $39 billion valuation. (TC)

Jack Altman's Alt Capital has raised a $275 million early-stage fund in just one week to lead more Series A investments in AI startups. (WSJ)

AI code-review startup CodeRabbit secured a $60 million Series B funding round led by Scale Venture Partners, lifting its valuation to $550 million. (BW)

Console, the AI platform automating IT support tickets via agents in Slack, secured a $23 million Series A funding round led by DST Global Partners and Thrive Capital. (UM)

Bondi, appearing on The Katie Miller Podcast, said, “There’s free speech and then there’s hate speech,” vowing to target those using hate speech following Kirk’s assassination.

The Foundation for Individual Rights (FIRE) and Megyn Kelly emphasized that the First Amendment has no “hate speech” exception, a stance upheld by Supreme Court rulings protecting even offensive speech.

Matt Walsh slammed Bondi for suggesting she could prosecute an Office Depot employee for not printing Charlie Kirk vigil flyers, tweeting: “Get rid of her. Today. This is insane. Conservatives have fought for decades for the right to refuse service to anyone. We won that fight. Now Pam Bondi wants to roll it all back for no reason.”

Bondi clarified on X that she was referring to “hate speech that crosses the line into threats of violence,” which is already a crime under federal law (e.g., 18 U.S.C. §§ 875(c), 876, 115).

⭐ Editor’s Pick: Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk, was formally charged with aggravated murder and related felonies. (FOX)

Google discontinued a Gmail "blacklist" that flagged Republican fundraising emails from WinRed as "dangerous" and routed them to spam. (NYP)

Anthropic refused to permit its AI models for law enforcement applications, including U.S. citizen surveillance. (SEM)

America First Legal filed a civil rights complaint against Washington University School of Medicine, accusing it of systemic racial discrimination that exceeds the scope of Harvard's practices. (WEX)

Nonprofit hospitals are under congressional scrutiny for potentially claiming expenditures on gender ideology as tax-deductible community benefits, according to a report. (DW)