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Watsonville Poet Laureate Victoria Bañales recently earned a Best Poetry Book Award from the International Latino Book Awards (ILBA) for her latest book, The Sun Will Not Harm You by Day, Nor the Moon by Night.

The cover of Victoria Bañales’s book The Sun Will Not Harm You by Day, Nor the Moon by Night. (Contributed)

Bañales said three books were selected for this category, and winners will receive a gold, silver or bronze medal.

Awardees won’t know which they have won until the ILBA Awards Ceremony Oct. 3 at Cal State University San Marcos.

ILBA is part of Empowering Latino Futures (ELF) and is billed as the largest gathering of Latinx award-winning authors in the United States. Edward James Olmos and Kirk Whistler founded it in 1997.

This year, the awards included 87 categories and 292 judges.

In addition to receiving a Best Poetry Book Award, Bañales’ book received an honorable mention for the Juan Felipe Herrera Best Poetry Book Award, “which is a double honor,” she said.

Bañales was the first in her family to attend college, but like many young people, she was unsure where her path would take her.

She changed her major several times before settling on a path.

Bañales went on to earn a bachelor’s degree and then a master’s degree at San Francisco State University before earning a joint master’s-Ph.D. at UC Santa Cruz in literature and feminist studies.

She now teaches Chicanx/Latinx literature, fiction writing and English composition at Cabrillo College’s Watsonville campus, which she calls her “dream job.”

“You follow your dreams, you follow your passion and things work out in the long run, and I’m glad I did, because that’s what makes me happy,” she said.

In January 2025, Bañales was named Watsonville’s poet laureate, a position she will hold for two years.

Watsonville has named Sandy Takashima Shaw as its new public art coordinator.

In a press release, city officials said Shaw brings more than 20 years of experience in brand strategy, marketing and visual arts, along with professional expertise and firsthand knowledge of the creative process.

In her new role, she aims to develop a public art program that:

• Tells Watsonville’s stories and reflects the experiences of its residents.
• Celebrates diverse cultures and history.
• Supports local artists and creates equal opportunities to participate.
• Strengthens community pride through art and creative expression.
• Creates welcoming, accessible public spaces where everyone feels a sense of connection and belonging.

“I feel honored to be in this role and to be able to contribute to Watsonville’s public arts program,” said Shaw, who started her job in August. “I live in Corralitos and I love this area so much.”

Shaw studied art at the University of Akron in Ohio.

She said she mainly works in painting, using watercolors and acrylics on canvas.

Shaw said she admires the myriad murals that adorn the city.

She is excited about several upcoming projects—some already in the works—such as the new mosaic sculptures coming to Watsonville Plaza.

Another ongoing project includes several mosaic medallions being created at Watsonville’s Muzzio Mosaic Arts Center as part of the major Renaissance Project at Ramsay Park.

The city of Watsonville and the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership will host an Arts Summit Oct. 22 from 10am-2pm in the Community Room on the top floor of the Civic Plaza Building. Artists, arts organizations and community members interested in helping shape Watsonville’s creative community are invited to participate.

To register, visit bit.ly/4j68XH6.

“That’ll be an important date to remember,” Shaw said. “This role is so exciting because I want to engage with our many artists.”

Shaw encourages artists to sign up for the Watsonville Artist Newsletter, which provides updates about workshops, public art opportunities, open calls for artists, artist stipends and other arts-related opportunities.

To sign up, visit bit.ly/4cPM7jk.

London property management biz City Relay has warned customers that intruders may have stolen financial data, passwords, and codes used to access keys after compromising its Metabase Cloud instance. City Relay, marketing itself as "London's most trusted property management company," told landlords via email - seen by The Reg - that attackers accessed the third-party provided cloud twice "as a result of a vulnerability in the platform that we were unaware of." The message to customers stated: "Personal data was extracted from the platform." The potentially compromised data on the platform includes names, email and physical addresses, telephone numbers, financial information, property access details, and account passwords. City Relay said the exposed financial data included bank account numbers, sort codes, IBANs, SWIFT references, and account names and addresses. Attackers may also have obtained data about property amenities and access, including the locations of stored keys and codes for lockboxes containing them. Dray Agha, senior manager of security operations at Huntress, explained that Metabase connects to customers' databases, so the information exposed in an attack depends on the access each customer granted it. "A company linking Metabase to a general analytics database will only expose harmless user metrics," he said. "A company that connects it directly to their core transactional database risks exposing highly sensitive financial records and credentials." Agha said that if the exposed passwords and financial details were stored in readable form, that would point to inadequate data protection practices. "Sensitive financial details should also be encrypted or tokenized when held in a database. Keeping this information readable creates a massive risk if a connected reporting tool is ever compromised." The Register understands that City Relay sent the emails to current landlords and former users of its services. One source claimed City Relay learned of the intrusion on September 8 and notified affected customers on September 14. "As property access and key-storage information was potentially included, we immediately took precautionary action to update the relevant access and key-storage codes," the emails stated. "This work has now been completed. The previously exposed codes can no longer be used and we have no evidence of any unauthorised property access arising from the incident." Beyond the immediate physical security risks, City Relay urged customers to check their bank accounts for suspicious transactions, watch for phishing and other scams, and change any reused passwords on other accounts. The company told us it had found no evidence that the exposed data had been misused. It is continuing to investigate alongside cybersecurity specialists and "the relevant authorities" to establish the attack's full scope. City Relay's website says it has hundreds of "partners" – landlords who outsource management of their property portfolios – and that it manages, or has managed, thousands of London properties. The company has not said how many customers were affected in London or Paris, where it also operates. The Register asked City Relay for more information. City Relay did not identify the vulnerability used in the attack. Metabase disclosed a zero-day SQL injection flaw on August 6, saying attackers compromised fewer than 3 percent of its customers before fixes were automatically deployed, but it has not confirmed that the City Relay incident was part of that campaign. Known victims included laptop maker Framework and workflow automation platform n8n. ®

Editor’s note: This is one of several stories The Pajaronian is running in advance of the Nov. 3 gubernatorial election.

Prooposition 3

If passed, Proposition 3 will amend the California Constitution to add the existing voter-approved tax rates for individuals earning over $371,000 or joint filers earning over $742,000, adjusted annually for inflation. 

This applies to about 2% of California’s population and would maintain the $5 billion to $15 billion of annual state income tax revenue generated by the original tax.

Prop. 3 is nothing new. The tax rate first went into effect in 2012 with Prop. 30, and was extended in 2016 with Prop. 55. The original two propositions did not allow for inflation adjustment, which Prop. 3 includes.

Prop. 3 breaks the state’s higher-income earners into three brackets, meaning residents earning over $371,000 may pay 10.3%, 11.3% or 12.3% in income tax depending on how much they earn above that threshold. If Prop. 3 is defeated, the rates would be 9.3% across all brackets.

The generated tax revenue goes to public education, with 89% to K-12 schools and 11% to state community colleges, and deposited into the Education Protection Account. This division carries over from the initial 2012 passing. 

If there are excess funds, 50% must be allocated to the state Department of Health Care Services for children and their families, primarily through Medi-Cal programs. 

Since its passing in 2012, higher tax rates have generated around $120 billion for schools and other essential services and represent about 5.5% of total General Fund revenues, according to California’s State Controller’s Office.

Prop. 3, officially titled the “California Children’s Education and Health Care Protection Act of 2026,” is supported by the California Teachers Association, California School Nurses Organization, California Medical Association, California State PTA and Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California. 

Supporters argue the proposition is not a tax increase, but prevents a tax cut for millionaires by maintaining the current tax rates that affect the top 2% of the state’s population. They highlight strict accountability and audits that ensure school funding gets to classrooms. 

“Allowing the rates to expire would mean a substantial tax cut for the state’s wealthiest residents and less revenue for schools, health care and other essential programs,” Chris Hoeme, executive director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, wrote in an opinion article for Mercury News. 

Opponents of Prop. 3 include the California Taxpayers Association, Family Business Association of California, Reform California and California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, who argue that California already has some of the highest income taxes in the country and that making these permanent may drive more wealthy residents out of the state. 

No on 3 also calls for the State to fix its spending, and says the tax acts as a bail out from California residents.

“Extending these income tax rates, it’s hitting that same pressure points and it’s causing the same incentives to leave,” said senior fellow at the Pacific Research Institute Wayne Winegarden. “And if you look at the latest IRS migration data, you can see it. People with greater means are leaving the state.”

Proposition 38

On the ballot this November is Prop. 38, which if passed will create $8.4 billion in general obligation bonds for immunology and immunotherapy research targeting diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. 

Of the $8.4 billion, half will be directed to a single UC-affiliated nonprofit medical research institute, and half to both public and nonprofit research grants. 

Other notable provisions include a 20% discount for California residents on any technology, treatment or drug developed through research, and requiring grant recipients to purchase most goods and services from California suppliers.

According to a CalMatters analysis, the criteria for that single institution essentially guarantees the money will go to the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy (CIII), a UCLA-affiliated nonprofit.

Prop. 38 landed on the ballot by petition signatures, but the proposal itself was crafted by billionaire philanthropist and medical inventor Gary Michelson, who also financed the campaign to collect the necessary signatures. Michelson donated $120 million in seed money to the CIII in 2022, which has yet to open.

While Prop. 38 has been endorsed by several patient advocacy groups—especially those focused on chronic diseases like Kidney Cancer Association and the Michael J. Fox Foundation—the American Association of Immunologists is the only national organization of researchers backing the proposal.

Supporters argue the proposal will create a stable source of funding for scientists and medical experts that will speed up the discovery process and create tens of thousands of jobs in the science industry. 

Yes on 38 said the proposal is designed to pay for itself, with 10% of generated revenue going back into California’s General Fund. 

The Legislative Analyst’s Office reports the bond will cost $500 to $600 million annually for 25 years, with the possibility of receiving part or all of that money back in the coming decades if the research generates revenue. 

At the head of the opposition is Robert Kaplan, a senior scholar at the Stanford School of Medicine’s Clinical Excellence Research Center and former associate director at the National Institutes of Health. 

“Voters should reject a measure that channels half of the state funds to one institution based on arbitrary criteria chosen by the proposition authors,” Kaplan said, instead arguing that grants for medical research should be awarded via a competitive process that gives all applicants an equal chance.

Kaplan said Prop. 38 unfairly concentrates half the funding to one unnamed institute and limits California’s flexibility to address changing health priorities.

“There is a lot of talent in immunology, immunotherapy research in California,” Kaplan said in an interview. “All the institutions are scrambling, and so tracking a huge portion of it to one institution, I think, is a bad idea.”

•••

Syd Fluker is a California Local News Fellow. Visit (fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows).

Do you test in production? Microsoft rolled back a configuration change after it prevented some users from loading SharePoint Online sites and pages. Microsoft tracked the incident as SP1472983. Between 1604 and 1730 GMT on September 16, affected users were unable to load SharePoint Online sites or pages and instead received the error message: "Sorry, something went wrong: Thread was being aborted." Microsoft blamed a configuration change affecting how its servers deliver code used to render SharePoint pages. Microsoft reverted the change and said its service telemetry confirmed that the problem had been resolved. It added: "We're further assessing the process by which we validate and deploy configuration changes to ensure future rollouts don't result in similar impact." This is not the first time a configuration change has borked Microsoft's cloud services. An Azure wobble earlier this year rippled through dependent services, while a Microsoft 365 configuration change caused a substantial chunk of the productivity cloud to tumble back down to Earth. In 2025, another change caused problems for users accessing Exchange Online through Outlook on the web. At the time, a Microsoft spokesperson told us: "We are working to enhance our detection of similar events and reduce the time needed to identify, mitigate, or prevent such impacts." Microsoft has not yet responded to our latest request for further detail. It said a preliminary post-incident report will be available within two business days, followed by a final report within five. Spotting problems quickly is only part of operating a business-critical service. Preventing faulty changes from reaching production also matters. The recurring failures suggest Microsoft has yet to get fully to grips with quality control across its cloud and infrastructure – much as Windows Update continues to produce a parade of problems that should have been caught before release. ®

This is a wonderful, refreshing cold soup for hot weather.

Minced raisins add sweetness, walnuts add a subtle crunch, and cucumbers and dill cool and freshen.

The original recipe is from Marian Burros in her “Pure & Simple” cookbook. She was a food columnist for The New York Times from 1981–2014, and before that at The Washington Post. I have made many of her recipes over the years and always loved the results.

I strongly recommend using Pavel’s whole milk yogurt. It is available at Staff of Life. I don’t think you can beat its flavor. It is made in the Bay Area in San Leandro and comes in low-fat, whole milk and organic versions.

They have a new label but still use the same recipe that began with Pavel Malcoff, who learned to make yogurt on a dairy farm in Siberia in 1894. He fought on the losing side of the Russian Revolution and had to escape to Shanghai, where he worked at a dairy. Yogurt is widely consumed in China today.

Malcoff left China and moved to Brazil, where he managed a cattle ranch. There he met a retired American teacher and moved with her to San Francisco, where he worked at Del Monte Foods. He retired at 75 and, wanting to stay busy, began making the same yogurt in 1970 that he had made back in Siberia and China. He never advertised, instead relying on person-to-person recommendations like I’m doing here.

Pavel’s is thinner in consistency than most yogurts, so you won’t need to add a lot of water, just enough to make it soupy. If you use English or Persian cucumbers, you don’t need to peel them first. This is a very light soup and can be served with pita bread, hummus or black olive tapenade.

Former DOGE employees are working on an AI takeover of federal government services for the Trump administration. 

The Washington Sun reports that the staffers are setting up an AI-driven website, America.gov, to help Americans with everything from obtaining and renewing passports to potentially preparing and filing taxes for free. (The latter is still under discussion and would be a reversal from the White House’s earlier decision to kill the free tax filing website launched by the Biden administration, Direct File.) 

While the site is still in planning stages, several workers from Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” are involved. These include Edward Coristine, known by his online moniker “Big Balls,” as well as Joe Gebbia, a former DOGE worker who co-founded Airbnb and now runs the White House’s National Design Studio. That office is leading the project. 

The effort is intended to be housed in the General Services Administration, sources told the Sun. Sam Corcos, a former DOGE official and head of technology at the Treasury Department, moved on to roles at GSA last month. Login.gov, a government identity proofing system at the GSA that Corcos is helping to lead, could be used as an entry point for America.gov. The White House has already mandated its use for multiple public facing agency websites.

Some unnamed Trump administration officials told the Sun they hope the effort will give Republicans something positive to sell for November’s midterm elections. If the website goes up by the end of September, GOP candidates could run on the initiative and say that President Trump is trying to solve problems for the American people. 

But that could easily backfire. The staffers are seeking to have a chatbot be the main way people interact with America.gov, a feature already used for customer service by many businesses. But most consumers hate such bots and prefer human beings, and forcing Americans to go through a bot to get a passport or file their taxes could provoke a major backlash. 

On top of that, the National Design Studio’s other projects, such as TrumpRx and the Trump Gold Card visa website, have had multiple issues, including accessibility problems. That poor track record, along with DOGE’s less than sterling reputation, does not bode well for a government website that purports to make accessing public services easier.  

Pete Zar shows off his 1928 Chrysler on March 5, 1956 in Watsonville.

If you've been on the fence about volunteering at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, this is your sign to stop deliberating and start applying. 

Quick Take

• Amazon MGM Studios is re-releasing Daniel Craig’s first James Bond movie, Casino Royale, in theaters to celebrate the film’s 20th anniversary.
• The film will return to theaters worldwide in October, a month before its big anniversary.
• Nerdist’s Take: A 20th anniversary is reason enough to re-release Casino Royale, but we think it could also serve as a prelude to the announcement of the new James Bond.

One of the biggest questions in Hollywood right now is who will be the next James Bond. I have no idea, I just know it won’t be me. I very much doubt Amazon MGM Studios and Denis Villeneuve want their 007 to have a Boston accent. (Though James “Boston” Bond would probably do numbers, so maybe they shouldn’t rule me out?) But before we find out who will step into the iconic role, we’ll get to celebrate the last one. Casino Royale, the film that kicked off the franchise’s Daniel Craig era, is returning to theaters for its 20th anniversary. But could this re-release of Casino Royale in movie theaters mean the announcement of a new James Bond is imminent?

The official 007 social media accounts for James Bond announced (in news we first saw at Inverse) that Casino Royale will get a big-screen celebration for its big milestone. The film was Craig’s first in the part, turns 20 on November 17. However, the worldwide theatrical re-release for Casino Royale will happen a month earlier in October. (We don’t know exactly when or for how long just yet.)

We doubt the specific date would matter much anyway. Casino Royale was a smash hit with both critics and audiences alike. After two decades, director’ Martin Campbell’s film, which also starred Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Dame Judi Dench, and Jeffrey Wright, still stands as one of the best of the entire, long-running series.

MGM Studios

Wildly popular movies from wildly popular franchises get re-released in movie theaters all the time. Anniversaries are the perfect excuse to do exactly that. But considering one of the biggest topics in Hollywood right now, we do wonder if this Casino Royale re-release will also double as a prelude. It could be a way for Amazon MGM Studios to generate interest before announcing its new James Bond. Reminding everyone that Daniel Craig’s first new movie as Bond was such a success also feels like a great way to warm audiences up for the announcement of the next James Bond. A modern Bond cracked the code once and hopefully he can crack it again. (Whoever he is!) Plus, naming a new Bond on the anniversary of Casino Royale would be a fun way to tie the franchise all together.

I know it (probably) won’t be me, but that’s fine. If the new 007’s first film is as wicked good as Casino Royale, that will mean the right choice was made.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow Mikey on Bluesky at @‌burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post Could CASINO ROYALE Movie Theater Re-Release Signal New James Bond Announcement? appeared first on Nerdist.

President Donald Trump held a rally on Wednesday in North Carolina that was meant to boost Republican nominee Michael Whatley in his flailing bid to hold on to the Tar Heel State’s open Senate seat. Rather than help Whatley, who is badly trailing Democratic nominee Roy Cooper, Trump dissed the GOP candidate he had cleared the Republican primary field for—giving Democrats more soundbites to…

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Tovala offers both a smart oven and a meal-delivery service. Its meals come with QR codes that you scan using the app, allowing the oven to automatically follow the cooking instructions.

House Speaker Mike Johnson just shattered President Donald Trump’s lies about reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

At a rally in North Carolina Wednesday night, Trump insisted—as his administration has claimed for weeks—that the Strait of Hormuz was open. But hundreds of miles away on Capitol Hill, Johnson revealed that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“Now, that ongoing conflict obviously has had an effect on gas prices, for example, because the Strait of Hormuz is not completely open safely for commerce yet, and the Red Sea is affected as well,” Johnson said at a press conference.

“Of course gas prices are too high,” he continued. “When we get that thing resolved in the Strait of Hormuz, that will have a direct effect on that, and it will help to bring down grocery costs.”

The speaker claimed that Republican lawmakers were “working around the clock” to resolve the situation by speaking to people in their districts “with authenticity and frankness.” In reality, House Republicans took a five-week vacation and then returned to work for just seven days before adjourning Wednesday until after the midterms.

The Trump administration has spent weeks claiming that the flow of ships and gasoline through the Strait of Hormuz has resumed—but it’s still far less than the prewar average. Even more concerningly, a consistent gap has emerged between the government’s claims about the flow of energy and the quantities tracked by industry firms.

Meanwhile, crude oil prices pushed above $100 per barrel Wednesday, causing diesel prices to surge to more than $6 per gallon at stations around the country. Trump has continued to claim that prices won’t fall until “right after” the midterm elections—when the White House is reportedly plotting to escalate military action against Iran.

Quick Take

• The new trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 reveals Mads Mikkelsen as its new villain. But who is this The Archer?

The trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 has arrived—and we have eyes for only one thing: Mads Mikkelsen as the game’s new villain. Sure, there was a lot of geopolitics, shooting, and angst in this sneak peek, which we’re sure is wonderfully exciting. But all we can recall from this Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 trailer is Mads Mikkelsen slipping into yet another baddie role where he can threaten us with his deliciously menacing tone. You can watch the trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 below.

Who Is Mads Mikkelsen’s New Villain in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4?

For now, we only know that Mads Mikkelsen’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 villain is a mysterious figure called The Archer. Mikkelsen’s The Archer is after some kind of new weapon, which, like Mikkelsen’s character, remains unknown. We don’t know what The Archer wants or why, but we know that he is not playing around. Mikkelsen says in the latest Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 trailer, “I’m going to make you cry for mercy. Everything you know and everyone you care for dies in ways you can’t imagine.” Gulp!

Activision Mads Mikkelsen Has Played Some Excellent Bad Guys Before

Mads Mikkelsen is no stranger to using his sharp cheekbones and incredible microexpressions to bring a villain to life. Known for his roles as Le Chiffre in James Bond’s Casino Royale, Hannibal on Hannibal, and Kaecillius in the MCU’s Doctor Strange, Mikkelsen has played all sorts of bad guys before. He’s even starred in video games such as Death Stranding, where his character Cliff Unger was, you guessed it, the antagonist. Although it would be tempting to say Mikkelsen’s appearance and voice are what make his baddies so successful, anyone who knows the actor knows that it’s much more than that. Mikkelsen is a generational talent who has an unparalleled talent for truly inhabiting his characters, bringing out the complex layers in them, and ensuring no bad guy is simply a monolith of evil.

NBC

Although we have to say, Mikkelsen’s villain in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 does seem like the most realistic bad guy Mikkelsen will have played to date. Usually, Mikkelsen’s villains have a touch of surreal fantasy in their stories — but The Archer seems far grittier and more human than all of that. It will be fascinating to see how he takes on this role.

What Else Is Happening in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4?

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 picks up after the events of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3; that is, in the wake of the assassination of General Shepherd. A synopsis notes, “Price is on the run, conflict has erupted on the Korean Peninsula, and a catastrophic weapon of war is on the verge of falling into the wrong hands. Following the assassination of General Shepherd in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Task Force 141 has been disbanded when its leader, John Price, goes on the run. There’s a growing conflict between the remnants of 141, as Ghost questions Price’s unlawful methods. Was Price right to take the law into his own hands, or has he betrayed everything he once stood for? Regardless, there’s a target on his back as Ghost and Gaz are tasked to capture or kill their former captain.”

And then, of course, it’s back to Mikkelsen’s new villain in the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 description. “In parallel with the Korean invasion and the ongoing manhunt for Price lies an even greater threat. An unknown weapon of war is being delivered to a dangerous enemy known only as The Archer. What’s the weapon capable of, and what are the Archer’s motives in acquiring it?”

RELATED ARTICLE

Don’t Go Bowling with Mads Mikkelsen, He MIGHT Steal Your Shoes

So, how does Mads Mikkelsen’s villain fit into all of this chaos? Only time will tell. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 releases on October 23, 2026.

Rotem Rusak is the Editor-in-Chief at Nerdist. She is a great lover of the anti-hero and is always ready for a new ship to set sail. In her work, she likes to combine fandom passion with journalistic sensibilities. Follow her on Instagram.

The post Who Is Mads Mikkelsen’s CALL OF DUTY: MODERN WARFARE 4 Villain? Trailer Offers Hints appeared first on Nerdist.

A coalition of advocacy groups is trying to counter the AI industry's influence on US politics by asking congressional candidates and elected officials to reject support from a major pro-AI political group. The Stop Bleeding the Future campaign brings together more than 50 national and grassroots organizations to counter Leading the Future, a super PAC network formed last year to support candidates favoring light-touch AI regulation and oppose those backing tighter rules. The effort is led by QuitGPT, which encourages users to cancel their ChatGPT subscriptions and boycott OpenAI over what it describes as the company's support for President Trump. The campaign highlights OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman's $25 million donation to MAGA Inc and the company's $200 million US defense contract. Stop Bleeding the Future says it is concerned about the influence of "Big AI" on US politics and Leading the Future's efforts to defeat common-sense laws intended to protect the American people. The effort comes amid a series of developments that have intensified concerns about AI, including agents breaking out of their sandboxes, the use of AI by miscreants to attack infrastructure, and warnings from AI executives about the dangers posed by their own technology. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that more than half of Americans now view AI negatively, with potential job losses among their concerns. The coalition is asking candidates and elected officials to pledge that they will refuse support from Leading the Future and publicly condemn its efforts to obstruct AI regulation. The campaign says the Leading the Future network has raised more than $140 million for the 2026 election cycle. Its backers include OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman, Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, making it one of the largest single-issue political operations in modern US history. The network has also expanded into the fight over the growing datacenter backlash across the US. Build American AI, an advocacy group affiliated with Leading the Future, has launched a super PAC called Building the Future to support candidates aligned with its datacenter agenda. Industry supporters have claimed that China-linked bots are amplifying opposition to datacenters, while President Trump has called opposition to the facilities a "hoax." "The Big Tech oligarchs behind Leading the Future are spending millions to influence elections and make laws that put AI ahead of people," QuitGPT says in the pledge letter sent out to candidates and elected officials across the country. The pledge has already attracted support. "The Big Tech oligarchs behind Leading the Future only care about their profits. They don't care if AI takes our jobs, destroys our communities' water supply, or if their models commit felony-level cyberattacks," said Pat Ryan, the representative for New York's 18th Congressional District. "The American people are pushing back against them – that's why they're trying to buy our elections, to silence us. I'm proud to be one of the first to sign onto this effort, to stand and fight for the American people and keep the rich and powerful from rigging the rules to get even richer." The Register asked Leading the Future to comment, but had not heard back by publication time. ®

7 minutes agoWalter EinenkelNew Trump coin commercial just dropped.I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.Copy linkShare on FacebookShare on XShare via email 16 minutes agoWalter EinenkelHouse Republicans pretend they’ve been productive@atrupar@atruparJohnson and team have learned one thing from Trump, it seems: if you’re going to lie, lie big.Copy linkShare on FacebookShare on XShare…

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An independent group tapped by the United Nations’ top human rights body reported Thursday that it found “reasonable grounds” to believe that the U.S. committed war crimes in Iran.

The cited atrocity was a pair of Tomahawk missile strikes on the “clearly identifiable” Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in Minab—a city in the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan—and a sports complex in Lamerd that occurred in February. The two attacks killed 178 civilians, most of them children.

The findings were documented in a report by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran and submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.

At the time of the strikes, U.S. military officials denied that they were behind the attack. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted that the U.S. “never” targets civilians during foreign conflicts. Early reports indicated that outdated Pentagon intel had led them to believe that the school was actually an Iranian base.

The fact-finding mission found that the U.S. “failed in its obligation to do everything feasible to verify” that the school site “was a military objective.” It also declared that the U.S. had acted wilfully and recklessly, and had failed to do basic due diligence such as updating its databases or examining publicly available data that would have revealed the site was a school.

“The Mission considers that the U.S.’s failure to update information in relation to the school in its targeting databases and to verify that the building was a military objective before launching the attack went beyond mere negligence,” the report reads. “Rather, the U.S. directed the strikes at the building of the school while being aware of a substantial risk of striking a civilian object and acting recklessly as regards the possibility that this would happen.”

The group confirmed that the U.S. was behind the attacks by analyzing the damage the strikes inflicted on the surrounding area as well as to the victims’ bodies. The group said the distinctive pock-marking left behind by a wide spray of tungsten bullets suggested that the weapon of choice was Lockheed Martin’s Precision Strike missiles, also identified as “PRsM.” The U.S., the independent body concluded, was the only nation in the conflict that possessed such weapons.

Huawei is accelerating the launch of its next-generation Ascend 960DT AI chip as it pushes to compete with Nvidia and close China’s AI computing gap with the U.S.

Last day to book your exhibit table at Disrupt is September 18. Two days left. Get your startup in front of 10,000+ founders, investors, operators, and tech leaders on October 13–15.

People can use these assistants to make restaurant reservations and cancel subscriptions