The Most Sickening Reaction to Charlie Kirk’s Assassination

Welcome back!

Here’s your must-read news this morning:

• Gas burden 20-year low

• World’s first AI bot minister

• Firings over anti-Charlie Kirk posts

I’ve got all the details for you, so let’s dive in.

— Josh

MARKETS

💰 Americans Face Lightest Gas Burden in 20 Years

The Scoop: U.S. drivers are poised to allocate the smallest portion of disposable income to gasoline in over two decades in 2025, according to Fox Business.

The Details:

• Gasoline's share of after-tax income is forecast at under 2% for 2025—the lowest since 2005, excluding the pandemic year—down from a 2.4% decade average, driven by a 4% compound annual growth in disposable income from 2022-2024 outpacing declining fuel costs.

• Retail prices for regular-grade gasoline are projected to average $3.10 per gallon in 2025 and drop to $2.90 in 2026, both below 2024's $3.30 average, with Thursday's national price at $3.19 per AAA data, continuing a downward trend since 2022.

• Brent crude oil prices, comprising over half of pump costs, are expected to slide from $68 per barrel in August 2025 to $59 in Q4 2025 and around $50 in early 2026, as OPEC+ accelerates output increases and non-OPEC supply rises.

What’s Next: With OPEC+ unwinding cuts ahead of schedule, these trends could sustain low prices into 2026 unless geopolitical flare-ups like Strait of Hormuz tensions intervene; monitor EIA's October update for adjustments, as sustained affordability might boost consumer spending but pressure U.S. producers to curb drilling by year-end.

Markets Roundup

🏦 Economy & Policy

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: U.S. consumer prices rose 2.9% annually in August, fueled by a 0.4% monthly increase in shelter and food costs, with core inflation steady at 3.1% and jobless claims surging to 263,000. (CNBC)

• Mortgage rates plummeted to their lowest levels in months, with the benchmark 30-year fixed rate dipping to 6.35%, its sharpest weekly decline in a year. (FBN)

• The U.S. will urge G7 finance ministers to levy tariffs as high as 100% on India and China over their persistent purchases of Russian oil. (FT)

• The Trump administration appealed to a federal court to suspend a lower-court ruling that had shielded Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from dismissal. (RTS)

• Commerce Sec. Howard Lutnick said a "big" trade deal with Taiwan is coming. (POL)

🏢 Industry

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Paramount Skydance is gearing up for an all-cash bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery as early as next week. (CNBC)

• Kenvue CEO Kirk Perry lobbied HHS Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to exclude Tylenol from a report citing the painkiller as a potential autism cause. (WSJ)

• Cracker Barrel will return to making handmade biscuits rolled by hand and baked fresh daily. (FBN)

🛢️ Energy & Commodities

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: The EU will speed up its phase-out of Russian fossil fuels by 2027, banning new contracts from January 2026 and terminating long-term deals by year's end. (EUN)

• The U.S. issued an advisory warning that solar-powered EV chargers may contain hidden radios in Chinese-made inverters and batteries. (IE)

• The Department of Energy announced $134 million in funding for fusion energy initiatives. (DOE)

• Switzerland proposed building a gold refinery or expand refining capacity in the U.S. as a sweetener in trade talks to avert 39% tariffs on its exports. (RTS)

🌕 Crypto

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, is exploring the onchain tokenization of its exchange-traded funds tied to real-world assets like stocks. (BBG)

• Gemini debuted on the public markets with a robust $425 million IPO, its Class A shares pricing at $28 apiece, well above the expected $24-to-$26 range. (TB)

• Coinbase accused the SEC of deliberately destroying nearly a year of Chair Gary Gensler's text messages, demanding court sanctions. (DEC)

• A stealthy new malware strain called ModStealer is infiltrating crypto users' browser extensions to steal private keys and credentials from wallets. (CD)

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TECH

💻 Albania Appoints World’s First AI-generated Minister

The Scoop: Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama appointed AI virtual assistant Diella as the world's first "virtually created" cabinet minister on Thursday, tasking her with overseeing public procurement to eradicate corruption in government tenders, The Guardian reports.

The Details:

• Diella, meaning "sun" in Albanian and depicted in traditional costume on the e-Albania portal, has assisted citizens since January with voice-guided access to 95% of digital government services, issuing over 36,600 documents and handling nearly 1,000 tasks.

• Rama, unveiling his fourth-term cabinet at the Socialist Party conference in Tirana, declared Diella "the servant of public procurement," shifting tender decisions from ministries in a step-by-step process to ensure "100% corruption-free" evaluations and full transparency in public spending.

• The move aims to eliminate bribes, threats, and conflicts of interest in procurement, long plagued by scandals linked to drug and weapons trafficking money laundering, as Albania pushes for EU membership by 2030 amid repeated EU rule-of-law criticisms.

• Albanian media hailed the innovation as a "major transformation," positioning AI not just as a tool but as an active governance participant, though details on human oversight or AI manipulation risks remain unclear.

What’s Next: As Albania's parliament convenes this week to approve the cabinet, Diella's rollout could set a precedent for AI in global anti-corruption efforts, potentially accelerating EU accession talks if successful, or sparking debates on accountability and bias; expect pilot tender implementations and international scrutiny by early 2026.

Tech Roundup

🧠 AI

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: AI is poised to revolutionize the battle against cancer and Type 1 diabetes by accelerating drug discovery, predicting disease risks, and enabling personalized therapies. (360)

• OpenAI signed a non-binding MOU with Microsoft outlining their partnership's next phase, facilitating the AI firm's for-profit transition while ensuring Microsoft's ongoing tech access. (CNBC)

• Alibaba and Baidu have begun deploying their own homegrown chips to train AI models, marking a pivotal step in China's quest for tech self-sufficiency. (RTS)

• Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, detailed the Trump administration's blueprint to turbocharge U.S. AI innovation by slashing regulatory hurdles. (AX)

• Microsoft is ramping up significant investments in AI training infrastructure to develop in-house frontier models rivaling those from Meta, Google, and xAI. (VER)

🤖 Hardware & Robotics

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: A surgical robot from the Chinese University of Hong Kong autonomously assisted in a stomach-removal procedure on a live pig, a global first. (TCA)

• A Saskatchewan farmer has pioneered the adoption of FarmDroid, a robot that autonomously seeds crops with pinpoint GPS precision. (WP)

• UC Berkeley researchers unveiled HiTTER, a table-tennis robot that executes against human opponents with the agility and precision of a skilled player. (TWT)

• Spain and Portugal are deploying Realbotix humanoid robots in luxury hotels, resorts, and malls through a deal with tech-tourism leader Grupo Kuo. (TAT)

🚀 Defense & Space

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: A satellite inadvertently captured a SpaceX Starlink spacecraft photobombing a high-resolution orbital image of China's secretive airbase in the Gobi Desert. (SP)

• Lockheed Martin disclosed "very active" negotiations with the Pentagon for an upgraded "Ferrari" version of the F-35 stealth fighter infusing sixth-generation technologies. (BD)

• AeroVironment and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems conducted the first air launch of a Switchblade 600 loitering munition from an MQ-9A Reaper in Arizona, advancing long-range precision strike capabilities for drones. (DP)

• Japan marked a milestone in naval weaponry by successfully firing a ship-mounted railgun at a target vessel for the first time from the JS Asuka. (TWZ)

💰 Venture Capital & Deals

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Born, the AI gaming startup behind the viral virtual pet Pengu, secured $15 million in Series A funding. (TC)

• Cybersecurity startup AegisAI emerged from stealth with $13 million in seed funding co-led by Accel and Foundation Capital, deploying autonomous AI agents to neutralize phishing attacks before they reach inboxes. (SA)

• Clyx, a social platform aimed at Gen Z for cultivating real-life friendships, secured $14 million in Series A funding led by Blitzscaling Ventures. (TSSN)

• Alternative health plan startup XO Health has raised $52.2 million in fresh funding, capitalizing on surging investor interest in non-traditional insurance models. (EP)

FREEDOM

🇺🇸 Teachers, Firefighters, Officials Fired or On Leave for Awful Posts About Charlie Kirk's Assassination

The Scoop: In the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk's assassination at Utah Valley University, a backlash has led to firings and investigations of teachers, firefighters, elected officials, and media figures for social media posts and comments celebrating or justifying his death, The Hill reports.

The Details:

• School employees across states including Tennessee, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Mississippi, Ohio, and South Carolina faced probes or terminations for posts deemed celebratory; one South Carolina teacher was fired for writing, “Thoughts and prayers to his children but IMHO America became greater today. There I said it.”

• A teacher and city councilor in Cornelius, Oregon, drew scrutiny after posting that the assassination “really brightened up my day,” prompting investigations into his dual roles.

• The Carolina Panthers' public relations staffer was terminated after an Instagram post reading, “Why are yall sad? Your man said it was worth it,” paired with a Wu-Tang Clan image.

• MSNBC contributor Matthew Dowd lost his role following on-air remarks linking Kirk's "hate speech" to violent outcomes, saying, “Hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions... You can’t say these awful words and not expect awful actions to take place.”

• A young man was captured on video standing near a roadway, gripping a megaphone as he led a chant, “We got Charlie in the neck!” amid a group of leftist activists celebrating the assassination.

• In the most sickening display, a man in the crowd claiming to be the protester was caught on video appearing to make cheering gestures as Kirk was fatally shot, but he defended his actions in social media posts, saying he "drew attention so the security team could escape."

What’s Next: The FBI's manhunt for the suspected shooter escalated Thursday, with the release of new photos and a $100,000 reward for tips, while President Donald Trump announced plans to attend Kirk's funeral next week in Arizona.

Freedom Roundup

🏛️ Policy & Culture

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen used her 2025 State of the Union speech to unveil a raft of new regulatory measures that introduce new challenges for digital rights and freedom of expression. (RTN)

• Journalism's DEI initiatives are waning sharply, with a mere 59% retention rate for related newsroom roles since then. (NL)

• Turkey blocked access to the official X account of Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok under its internet law, invoking national security and public order protections amid a surge in online censorship. (SCF)

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