Trump’s Policies Boost U.S.-Born Job Growth as Foreign-Born Employment Falls

Welcome back!

Here’s your must-read news this morning:

• U.S.-born worker job gains

• OpenAI enters Hollywood 

• France’s censorship push

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

— Josh

MARKETS

💰 Trump’s America First Policies Boost U.S.-Born Job Growth as Foreign-Born Employment Falls

The Scoop: The Labor Department’s August 2025 jobs report showcases President Donald Trump’s America First agenda delivering, with U.S.-born workers gaining 2.76 million jobs over the past year, while foreign-born employment fell by 822,000, prioritizing domestic labor.

The Details:

• Bureau of Labor Statistics data for August 2025 shows a decline of 822,000 employed foreign-born workers since August 2024, a metric encompassing both legal and illegal immigrants.

• Over the same period, from August 2024 to August 2025, employed U.S.-born workers increased by 2.76 million, highlighting a stark contrast in labor market trends.

• A Pew Research Center analysis notes a million-plus drop in the U.S. foreign-born population since last year due to Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

What’s Next: With Trump’s policies prioritizing U.S. workers, expect new incentives for businesses to hire domestically, alongside continued immigration enforcement, which could reshape labor markets and drive wage increases.

Markets Roundup

🏦 Economy & Policy

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: U.S. tariff revenues soared to a record $31 billion in August, pushing the 2025 total past $183 billion. (FBN)

• Trump threatens a trade probe to counter "discriminatory" EU fines, including a $3.5 billion penalty on Google, to protect U.S. tech firms. (BBG)

• In a WSJ op-ed, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called for a sweeping, independent review of the Federal Reserve, targeting its monetary policy and bank supervision roles. (WSJ)

• Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said major trade deals, including those with Japan and Europe, will endure despite legal challenges to tariff policies. (CNBC)

🏢 Industry

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Two Powerball tickets sold in Missouri and Texas split a $1.79 billion jackpot, the second-largest in U.S. lottery history. (NYP)

• Nestlé fired CEO Laurent Freixe after a senior executive, allegedly his mistress, reported him for an affair with a subordinate via the company’s anonymous hotline, prompting an internal probe. (PARA)

• Shares of Tylenol-maker Kenvue plummet over 14% after a report suggests HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will link the drug’s use during pregnancy to autism. (FBN)

• Kristin Cabot, spotted on a Coldplay concert kiss cam with Astronomer’s CEO, files for divorce from her husband after the viral incident led to both executives’ resignations. (NBC)

💵 Energy & Commodities

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: OPEC+ approves a restrained 137,000 bpd output hike from October by eight members, balancing market share ambitions with softening global demand. (CNBC)

• Gold's spot price climbs 0.6% to a record $3,611.08 per troy ounce. (YF)

• India’s Finance Minister reaffirmed commitment to purchasing Russian crude oil, despite U.S. pressure. (OP)

• Japan hired Wood Mackenzie to evaluate a $44 billion Alaska LNG pipeline project, signaling strong interest for Trump’s energy initiative. (RTS)

🌕 Crypto

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: The Trump family’s crypto ventures, World Liberty Financial and American Bitcoin, have boosted their fortune by $1.3 billion in weeks. (BBG)

• Tether is eyeing a major expansion into gold investments across the supply chain, from mining to trading. (FT)

• Multicoin Capital, Galaxy Digital, and Jump Crypto are set to launch a $1 billion Solana-focused digital asset treasury, with Kyle Samani as chairman. (BW)

• Kraken acquired crypto prop trading firm Breakout, enhancing its advanced trading offerings with up to $200,000 in funded accounts for skilled traders. (CC)

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TECH

💻 OpenAI Ventures into Hollywood with AI-Driven “Critterz” to Revolutionize Film Production

The Scoop: OpenAI is backing “Critterz,” an AI-generated animated feature film set for a 2026 Cannes debut, aiming to prove AI can slash Hollywood’s production costs and timelines while delivering big-screen quality, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The Details:

• “Critterz,” a story of forest creatures on an adventure, is led by OpenAI’s Chad Nelson, who began developing it three years ago using the DALL-E image-generation tool.

• Produced by London’s Vertigo Films and L.A.-based Native Foreign, the film has a $30 million budget, far below typical animated film costs, and targets a nine-month production timeline instead of the usual three years.

• The team will hire human artists to create sketches fed into OpenAI’s tools, including GPT-5 and image-generation models, and cast human actors for character voices, ensuring copyright eligibility.

• The script is penned by writers from “Paddington in Peru,” with production underway and voice casting decisions expected soon; the 30-person team will share profits under a new compensation model.

What’s Next: If “Critterz” succeeds at Cannes and the box office, it could drive broader AI adoption in Hollywood, reshaping production economics, but failure risks reinforcing industry skepticism and highlighting challenges in marketing AI-driven content to cautious audiences.

Tech Roundup

🧠 AI

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Anthropic agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle a class-action lawsuit by authors over the unauthorized use of their books to train its Claude AI, marking the largest copyright settlement in U.S. history. (NBC)

• Britain’s first clinical professor of AI in radiation oncology highlights AI’s future role in dramatically enhancing cancer care. (FT)

• A new study revealed that AI complexities are driving file security risks to record highs. (CISO)

• A former AI safety researcher staged a hunger strike outside DeepMind’s London office, urging CEO Demis Hassabis to pause frontier AI model releases until stricter safety protocols are met. (BI)

🤖 Hardware & Robotics

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Scientists at Cornell connected mushroom mycelium to a biohybrid robot, allowing the fungus’s natural signals to guide the machine’s movements. (ET)

• At two Calgary schools, students who have never walked are now taking steps thanks to a pilot program using wearable Trexo robotic gait trainers. (CBC)

• At Octane Coffee in Brookfield, Wisconsin, robots now prepare and serve drinks, while customers order via an app, scan a QR code upon arrival, and receive their coffee without any human baristas involved. (CBS)

• Robomart introduced its autonomous shuttle-sized delivery vehicle carrying up to 500 pounds, allowing customers to receive their groceries directly without a human courier. (VER)

🚀 Defense & Space

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Britain’s Royal Navy is turning to autonomous “robot missile warships” to rapidly bolster firepower and offset crew shortages. (TEL)

• The U.S. Army awarded a contract to Rivet to develop AI-enabled “super goggles” and wearable devices to deliver real-time battlefield intelligence to soldiers. (DO)

• The U.S. Navy awarded Anduril, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, and General Atomics contracts to develop conceptual designs for carrier-based autonomous “drone wingmen.” (BD)

• SpaceX was granted permission by the FAA to conduct up to 120 launches per year from Cape Canaveral. (UM)

💰 Venture Capital & Deals

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: Shenzhen’s X Square Robot secured $100 million led by Alibaba, while unveiling an open-source embodied AI model for robotics. (CNBC)

• Recall.ai secured $38 million in Series B funding at a $250 million valuation, led by Bessemer Venture Partners, to expand its offerings for meeting recordings and transcripts. (SA)

• Helsinki-based DataCrunch has raised €55 million ($89 million) in a Series A round, led by Skaala, to scale its AI cloud platform, boosting Europe’s data sovereignty. (EUS)

• San Francisco-based startup Koah raised $5 million in seed funding, led by Forerunner, to integrate contextual ads into AI chat apps. (TC)

FREEDOM

📢 Leaked Files Reveal France’s Covert Push for Global Censorship

The Scoop: Leaked Twitter Files expose France’s sophisticated campaign, orchestrated by President Emmanuel Macron, to impose global censorship on platforms like X, using state-aligned NGOs, lawsuits, and direct pressure to suppress political dissent and anonymous speech.

The Details:

• Internal X communications expose France’s strategy to suppress political content and anonymous users beyond legal requirements, with Macron personally seeking direct contact with former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.

• Four state-aligned NGOs—SOS Racisme, SOS Homophobie, UEJF, and J’accuse—filed a 2020 lawsuit against Twitter, demanding faster content removals and restrictions on anonymous speech, despite ties to government and EU funding.

• France’s 1972 Pleven Law empowered NGOs to prosecute speech, evolving into a tool for political control, with the country leading global censorship demands to Twitter by 2012.

• Post-2016, Macron’s policies, including deepfake bans, mandatory misinformation detection, and a 24-hour content takedown rule, aimed to control platforms globally via legal and surveillance measures like VIGINUM.

• In June, French prosecutors launched a criminal probe into Elon Musk’s X for alleged data crimes, signaling a broader crackdown on non-compliant platforms and political dissenters.

What’s Next: As France’s censorship-by-proxy model gains traction, global platforms face increasing pressure to align with state narratives, while legal battles and investigations, like those targeting X and opposition figures, could escalate tensions over free speech and digital sovereignty.

Freedom Roundup

🏛️ Policy, Free Speech & Woke Overreach

• ⭐ Editor’s Pick: The State Department condemned the U.K.’s arrest of comedy writer Graham Linehan over posts on social media that were critical of transgender people. (RTN)

• Northwestern University president Michael Schill resigned amid mounting pressure over the university's handling of antisemitism concerns. (CF)

• Harry Markopolos, the whistleblower who exposed Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme, has criticized the CFA Institute for prioritizing diversity initiatives over its core mission. (NYP)

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DISCLAIMER: The CAPITAL newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or professional advice. Readers should conduct their own research and consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions. The CAPITAL newsletter and its owner and operator, Josh Caplan, are not liable for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on this information. The CAPITAL newsletter is solely owned and independently operated by Josh Caplan, separate from any employer affiliations.