Morning, Kitties. Hackers claim they stole information on FBI employees, DHS is reportedly monitoring activists building tools to track surveillance cameras, and the White House is distributing talking points defending its ban on major news organizations. Meanwhile, Flock spent millions lobbying while its cameras spread across America, an airline passenger says she was trapped beside a man masturbating on a flight, Trump linked business relationships are colliding with Russian sanctions again, and Brendan Carr’s past membership in a deeply controversial recovery group is getting new scrutiny. Apparently everyone is watching everyone, except the people who were supposed to be watching the fucking store.
The Chaos Highlights
United Passenger Says She Was Trapped Beside a Man Masturbating
A United Airlines passenger says she was unable to escape her seat while a nearby passenger masturbated during a flight and that the airline allowed him to leave afterward. The allegations raise questions about passenger safety and how airlines respond to reported sexual misconduct onboard.
Trump Administration Allowed Firm Linked to Ballroom Donor to Work With Sanctioned Russian Bank
ICIJ reports the administration authorized a company connected to a Trump ballroom donor to conduct business involving a sanctioned Russian bank. The authorization does not establish wrongdoing, but the financial and political relationships make transparency around the decision important.
RFK Jr.’s Security Costs Collide With Cuts to Minority Health
The Wall Street Journal examines the cost of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s security operation as HHS eliminates or reduces other programs, including work involving minority health. Spending priorities become policy whether officials call them that or not.
Firm Running Trump Social Media Accounts Alleges $5 Million Embezzlement
X Strategies alleges cofounder Derek Utley embezzled at least $5 million and used company money for gambling and luxury purchases, allegations Utley disputes. The claims are contained in a civil lawsuit and have not been established by a final court judgment.
SpaceX Expansion Reshapes a Corner of Texas
SpaceX’s growing Texas footprint is transforming communities surrounding its operations while raising questions about land, infrastructure, environmental effects, and corporate influence. Building the future apparently requires a surprising amount of argument about who owns the fucking present.
Russia Pushes Europe to Lift Sanctions on Businessmen
Moscow is pressing European governments over sanctions imposed on Russian business figures as the economic confrontation surrounding the war continues. The dispute highlights how sanctions increasingly operate as both economic weapons and bargaining instruments.
Vance Struggles to Hold the Attention of a Rally Crowd
The Daily Beast describes audience members leaving and appearing disengaged during a JD Vance campaign appearance. Crowd behavior can provide colorful campaign imagery, but it is not a reliable substitute for polling or election results.
Congress Should Control Appointments to Its Own Agencies
GovTrack examines whether Congress should reclaim appointment authority over institutions that primarily serve the legislative branch. The debate concerns separation of powers and how much control presidents should exercise over agencies designed to support congressional oversight.
OpenAI Copyright Case Reveals New Details About AI Training
Mother Jones examines documents emerging from copyright litigation involving OpenAI, Microsoft, and ChatGPT that shed light on disputes over AI training data and intellectual property. The courts are increasingly being asked to decide questions technology companies raced ahead without waiting to answer.
FAA’s AI Experiment Makes Airlines Nervous
The FAA is testing AI assisted technology intended to recommend alternative flight routes while airlines raise questions about safety and implementation. Human controllers remain responsible for decisions, which feels like a fairly important fucking sentence.
Judge Rejects DHS Explanation in Immigration Case
The PunchUp examines a federal judge’s criticism of DHS explanations in ongoing immigration litigation. The dispute underscores why government assertions in court eventually have to survive contact with evidence.
Iran Conflict Continues Reshaping the Region
Critical Threats tracks continuing Iranian military activity, regional alliances, American operations, and threats to shipping and infrastructure. The conflict is now approaching eight months, making the cumulative military and economic consequences increasingly important.
Brendan Carr Spent Years in a Controversial Recovery Group
The Guardian reports FCC Chair Brendan Carr spent nearly a decade associated with Washington’s Midtown recovery group, which former members have described as coercive and cult like. Carr is not accused of participating in sexual abuse or predatory behavior and says he was unaware of misconduct attributed to others in the group.
Daily Beast Examines Brendan Carr’s Midtown Past
The Daily Beast also examines Carr’s association with Midtown and allegations former members have made about the organization. The distinction matters: serious allegations concern the group and certain individuals within it, not a finding that Carr committed those alleged acts.
White House Gives Republicans Talking Points Defending Media Ban
The White House distributed talking points to House Republicans defending its decision to ban CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from White House access. The dispute has expanded into litigation and a broader fight over presidential authority and press access.
Donations and Celebrity Politics Collide Over Israel
The Intercept examines donations, celebrity activism, and political pressure surrounding Robert Kraft, Macklemore, Ed Sheeran, and advocacy related to Israel. The reporting illustrates how entertainment, philanthropy, and political advocacy increasingly overlap.
Homeland Security Is Monitoring Anti Surveillance Activists
DHS fusion centers are reportedly monitoring activists associated with technology designed to track police vehicles and challenge automated license plate surveillance. Government scrutiny of lawful political activity raises important First Amendment and oversight questions.
Correspondent Launches Another Independent News Option
Correspondent offers another independent journalism platform entering a media environment increasingly shaped by consolidation, political access fights, and declining trust. More reporting options are useful when readers evaluate sourcing, evidence, corrections, and transparency for themselves.
Charlie McGonigal’s Case Still Has Questions
Hacking But Legal revisits former FBI counterintelligence official Charles McGonigal, his convictions, Russian connections, and unresolved questions surrounding his activities. His case remains a remarkable example of a senior counterintelligence official later becoming entangled financially with a Russian oligarch.
Hackers Claim They Stole Data on FBI Employees
Hackers claim they compromised an FBI system and obtained information covering agency employees, although the scope and authenticity of the claimed breach require continued verification. If confirmed at the scale alleged, the incident would raise serious operational security and privacy concerns.
Flock Safety Spent More Than $2 Million Lobbying
Flock Safety has spent more than $2 million lobbying as lawmakers scrutinize the rapid expansion of automated license plate cameras. The cameras watch the public while the company pays professionals to watch Congress.
Your Digital Fingerprint Is Harder to Hide Than You Think
Nightfire examines how devices can be identified through combinations of browser settings, hardware characteristics, behavior, and other signals even when users attempt to limit conventional tracking. Privacy increasingly resembles trying to disappear while leaving fucking glitter everywhere.
One Stolen Camera Exposed a Larger Surveillance System
Nightfire uses the theft of a surveillance camera to examine the broader infrastructure connecting cameras, databases, police agencies, and private technology companies. A single device can reveal how much larger the surveillance architecture has become.
Closing RK Thoughts
Today’s news has one giant blinking theme: information is power.
The government wants information about activists. Surveillance companies collect information about drivers. Hackers claim they stole information about FBI employees. Political consultants fight over money and records. AI companies are fighting in court over information used to train their systems. The White House is fighting over which journalists get access to information about the presidency.
Everybody wants the database.
Everybody wants the camera.
Everybody wants the microphone.
And everybody suddenly discovers a passionate commitment to privacy when the fucking lens turns around.
Follow the money. Protect your data. Read the court filings. Question the database. Keep the receipts.
Claws out. Elbows Up. Bullshit Tolerance Off!
Featured Resisters and Resources
- 5 Calls.org makes calling Congress stupid easy (and gloriously annoying). Pick your issue, get a script, and flood your rep’s phone like it’s 1997. 5 Calls makes political pressure as easy as scrolling, dialing, and raging politely into voicemail. Effective. Efficient. Infuriating—for them.
- Because they hide the truth in filing cabinets—and MuckRock helps you kick the doors open. MuckRock is a nonprofit platform that helps journalists, activists, and everyday citizens file public records requests (FOIA) and access government documents. It’s your toolkit for exposing corruption, tracking police budgets, and forcing transparency—one request at a time.
What We Are Watching Today
- 9:00 AM EDT
World Leaders Address United Nations General Assembly, Day 2 - 9:15 AM EDT
Governor Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (R-OH) Discusses Gas Tax Plan - 9:30 AM EDT
Board of Peace Meets to Discuss Gaza Recovery Plan - 10:00 AM EDT
Maine Democratic Party Holds Press Conference - 10:00 AM EDT
Senate HSGAC Meets to Consider Granting Dr. Fauci’s Special Assistant Immunity to Testify - 10:00 AM EDT
U.S. Senate - 10:15 AM EDT
Sporting Industry Professionals Testify on Gender Eligibility & Fairness for Female Athletes - 11:00 AM EDT
U.N. Security Council Holds Briefing on Ukraine - 11:30 AM EDT
Military Families and Veterans Hold News Conference on Military Parole in Place - 12:00 PM EDT
Senate Democrats Hold News Conference on AI Export Control Legislation - 12:30 PM EDT
Senate Judiciary Committee Members Hold News Conference Following Hearing on Female Athletes - 2:30 PM EDT
Experts Testify on Flock AI Surveillance Network - 3:00 PM EDT
Artificial Intelligence CEOs Brief the U.N. Security Council on the Risks of AI - 7:30 PM EDT
18th Annual Congressional Women’s Softball Game
Today’s Call to Action
1. Read Today’s Resistance Survival Guides
2. Sign these Petitions and Send These Pre Written Letters
- Sign the petition: Block Trump’s authoritarian assault on press freedom in America!
- Don’t let the Pentagon raid NIH medical research funds
- Stop Trump from Giving Israel Tens of Thousands of Bombs
- Please add your name to the petition to Congress: Bring down energy costs by putting an end to Donald Trump’s war against affordable, renewable electricity generation.
- Tell Congress: Demand AG Blanche release ALL of the Epstein files now
3. Verify your voter registration status and help at least one other person check theirs
4. Save contact information for local legal aid and voting support organizations
5. Attend a Virtual Event
- Thursday, September 24 at 6:00 p.m.: Politics Chat with Heather Cox Richardson. Join the second live politics discussion of the week.
- Any day this week: Virtual Phone Bank for North Carolina Democrats. Contact voters from home and help support Democratic turnout in critical congressional races.
6. Contact Your Lawmakers Directly
- Protect Press Freedom: Hello, my name is [NAME], and I live in [CITY, ZIP CODE]. I am calling to ask the lawmaker to condemn the White House ban on journalists and support protections against government retaliation. Please defend the First Amendment and demand congressional oversight.
- Support Epstein Survivors: Hello, my name is [NAME], and I live in [CITY, ZIP CODE]. I am calling to ask the lawmaker to cosponsor and support the Survivors’ Rights Restitution Act. Survivors deserve meaningful financial and medical support after the federal government failed to protect them.
- End the Unauthorized Iran War: Hello, my name is [NAME], and I live in [CITY, ZIP CODE]. I am calling to demand a War Powers vote to end unauthorized hostilities against Iran. Please oppose further military action without congressional authorization and support immediate diplomacy.
7. Who Are We Boycotting This Week?
- AutoZone for aggressively opposing workers trying to form the company’s first union.
- Starbucks until it delivers a fair contract for unionized baristas.
- Target for retreating from its diversity commitments and abandoning communities that helped build its brand.
