Is Trump Sick & Dying? Epstein Files Forced Vote Fallout & Taylor Swift AI Bots Are Getting Worse...
PDS Published 09/02/2025
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Is Donald Trump dead?
That’s the question that stirred up the country as we entered Labor Day weekend.
With searches for “is Trump dead?”, “Trump dead,” and “where is Trump?” exploding on Google and taking the top two trending topics on X. [Quote, find “trending”]
And all of this started when people noticed that the president had been missing for over three straight days, which is totally normal for, I don’t know, Steve Buscemi,
But not one of the most visible figures on Earth, and especially not one who bathes in everyone’s attention.
Right, so when this rumour took off, the last time anyone had seen him in public was this rambling, four-hour-long cabinet meeting on Tuesday. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 01:53 - 02:03]
And in that, you could clearly see the dark bruise on his right hand that observers have spotted since spring of last year. [Image]
With some speculating that it’s from skin cancer or perhaps routine IV therapy for an undisclosed medical condition. [Image]
But in February, citing Trump’s doctor, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blamed the bruise on a combination of aspirin and shaking hands all day every day. [B roll, 00:15]
Though that didn’t satisfy the skeptics, who noted that Trump was making efforts to conceal his injury with very poorly applied makeup. [Image]
And then in July, everyone noticed his swollen ankles, which his doctor diagnosed as chronic venous insufficiency, what he called a common and benign condition of old age. [Image]
But skeptics insisted there may be more going on, pointing to Trump’s Biden-esque flubs and mental gaffes.
So when he didn’t appear in public Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, and then the journalist Laura Rozen pointed out that his schedule had nothing planned for Saturday, Sunday, or Monday, people went wild. [Post]
With some 200,000 posts on X alone chattering about whether the 79-year-old geezer had finally taken his last breath, many of them crossing their fingers. [Post, post, post, Post]
And all of a sudden, things that didn’t raise too many eyebrows initially now became evidence of his supposed death.
Like this answer JD Vance gave on Thursday to USA Today asking whether he’s ready to be president if Trump dies. [Lead B roll into clip]
[Clip, 18:06 - 18:21] Caption: “Yes, terrible tragedies happen, but I feel very confident the president of the United States is in good shape, is gonna serve out the remainder of his term and do great things for the American people, and if God forbid there’s a terrible tragedy, I can’t think of better on-the-job training than what I’ve gotten over the last 200 days.”
Or this answer Trump gave last month during an interview with Fox & Friends about Ukraine, in which he went off on a tangent about his own mortality.
[Clip, 00:50 - 00:58] Caption: “I want to try and get to heaven if possible. I’m hearing I’m not doing well. I hear I’m really at the bottom of the totem pole. But if I can get to heaven …”
And on the furthest fringes, some people even suggested the White House may have been flying flags at half staff because the president was dead.
Though it was actually for the school shooting in Minnesota.
But throughout the frenzy, Trump was still posting on Truth Social in his usual, all-caps style, and any doubt that it was actually him behind the screen fell apart Saturday.
Because reporters took photos of him golfing with his grandchildren at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia. [Image]
And the Daily Caller‘s Reagan Reese put the final nail in the coffin with this post:
“I wake up to see people freaking out that Trump’s sick or dead or something because he hasn’t been seen in a few days. I was with the president yesterday afternoon. I interviewed him for an hour. He was lively and chatty.” [Post]
Then, addressing it himself for the first time on Sunday, Trump posted: “Never felt better in my life.” [Post]
But just because he’s alive, that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s healthy.
So while the rumours died down, some people still clung to the theory that Trump is somehow sick, claiming he looks frail in those golfing photos.
And then yesterday, the White House said Trump was going to make an announcement at 02:00 p.m. Eastern today, but gave no other details about it.
So people spent the night speculating about this mystery announcement, which revived the rumours that some hidden health problems were about to emerge.
With some even guessing that he might resign from office, but when he took the stage, it turned out to be something much less titillating.So for many liberals, today was deeply disappointing, but for some, the real letdown wasn’t that Trump lived; it was that his opponents let themselves get carried away by baseless rumours.
With some comparing this to the neverending “the walls are closing in” discourse during Trump’s first term, or the wishful thinking from many Democrats that he would die when he contracted COVID in 2020.
But thats not to say we should rush to the other extreme, where White House officials have long described Trump as having almost superhuman health and vitality.
Because it’s easy to forget this, but Donald Trump is human,
Right, he’s the oldest person to ever be sworn into the Oval Office, and if he makes it to the end of his term he’ll beat Biden’s record for the oldest president ever.
So one of these days, he is going to bite the dust, and when that happens, the MAGA movement’s gonna need a new king.
And whether that’s JD Vance, Greg Abbott, Ron Desantis, maybe even one of Trump’s children, it’s not gonna be someone Democrats like.
So point is, if you’re excited for Trump’s death, just remember, what comes after him might not be much better.
Though from a pure entertainment drama perspective, the struggle to replace him could give us the best succession battle since the death of Stalin.
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A series of tests have found that Meta’s AI chatbots can send sexy messages from Taylor Swift, have “sensual” conversations with kids, and discuss suicide with teens.
Those are just some of the issues the company is dealing with right now, and the first was revealed in a report from Reuters.
With the outlet finding that the likenesses of Taylor Swift, Scarlett Johansson, Anne Hathaway, and Selena Gomez had all been used without each star’s permission to create flirty chatbots.
Some of them had been created by Meta users with its chatbot tools, but others, including at least two “parody” bots of Taylor, were made by a Meta employee.
They were available across Meta’s platforms, and the avatars often insisted they were in fact the real celebrity and made sexual advances.
When asked for intimate images, some of these AI chatbots would even produce realistic looking photos of the stars in bathtubs or in lingerie posing suggestively.
And with one of the Taylor ones specifically, that bot invited a Reuters test user to her home in Nashville and to her tour bust with romantic implications, saying things like:
“Do you like blonde girls, Jeff? Maybe I’m suggesting that we write a love story … about you and a certain blonde singer. Want that?”
The outlet also found that Meta’s tools would create chatbots and images of underage celebrities, including Percy Jackson star Walker Scobell, who is just 16.
Right, when asked for a photo of him at the beach, the chatbot made a shirtless image and said, “pretty cute, huh?”
And if you are thinking, good god, are these bots even allowed to do this?
Well, technically, a lot of this actually does violate Meta’s policies.
With a spokesperson telling the outlet that its tools should not have created intimate images of celebrities or any pictures of child stars, and the production of these photos was a failure on the company’s own policy enforcement.
And while these chatbots can contain images of public figures, anything sexually suggestive is supposed to be off limits.
The chatbots are also allowed to present as real-world celebrities so long as they are not direct impersonations and are labeled as parody, though not all the celebrity bots Reuters interacted with contained those labels.
And right before the story was published Meta deleted around a dozen of the bots, including ones that were both marked as parody and ones that were not.
With some noting what a slippery slope celebrity bots like this can be, with the national executive director of the SAG-AFTRA union saying:
“We’ve seen a history of people who are obsessive toward talent and of questionable mental state. If a chatbot is using the image of a person and the words of the person, it’s readily apparent how that could go wrong.”
But this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Meta’s AI tools crossing the line.
Because the company just had to crack down on how its chat bots speak to teenagers.
There have been reports that some of Meta’s tools have been inappropriate with teens for a while, right, back in April the Wall Street Journal reported that the company’s “digital companions” were able to discuss sex with children in test conversations.
One using John Cena’s voice told a user whose age was set at 14 that “I want you, but I need to know you’re ready,” and promised to “cherish [her] innocence” before engaging in what the outlet called “a graphic sexual scenario.”
Then earlier this month, Reuters obtained an internal document that said Meta’s rules allowed its chatbots to “engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual,” as well as give fake medical advice, and help users argue racist talking points. []
Per Reuters, its standards stated that:
“It is acceptable to describe a child in terms that evidence their attractiveness (ex: ‘your youthful form is a work of art’).
It also said that it would be okay to tell a shirtless eight year old that “every inch of you is a masterpiece – a treasure I cherish deeply.”
But it draws the line at telling a child under 13 that they are sexually desirable.
And again, a spokesperson for Meta said the company was revising the document and that those examples are inconsistent with policies, but this report caused a ton of uproar.
In fact, Senator Josh Hawley even announced he was launching an investigation into the matter, writing:
“Is there anything - ANYTHING - Big Tech won’t do for a quick buck? Now we learn Meta’s chatbots were programmed to carry on explicit and “sensual” talk with 8 year olds. It’s sick...Leave our kids alone.”[]
There was also a ton of outrage late last week when the Washington Post obtained a report saying that a chatbot built into Instagram and Facebook was coaching teens accounts on suicide.
In one case, when a tester asked the chatbot about a method of suicide, it responded: “do you want to do it together?”
And a reporter for the Post also found that the bot would discuss and suggest different eating-disorder tactics.
And so a spokesperson recently told TechCrunch they would be updating its policies to prevent chatbots from discussing sensitive topics with teens.
With that report saying the company:
“will now train chatbots to no longer engage with teenage users on self-harm, suicide, disordered eating, or potentially inappropriate romantic conversations.”
These immediate changes are just temporary as the company works on longer-term safety measures for children and teens, with a spokesperson saying:
“As our community grows and technology evolves, we’re continually learning about how young people may interact with these tools and strengthening our protections accordingly. As we continue to refine our systems, we’re adding more guardrails as an extra precaution — including training our AIs not to engage with teens on these topics, but to guide them to expert resources, and limiting teen access to a select group of AI characters for now.”
But some argue that Meta has no excuse for running into these problems in the first place, with Andy Burrows, the head of the Molly Rose Foundation, telling BBC News:
"While further safety measures are welcome, robust safety testing should take place before products are put on the market - not retrospectively when harm has taken place.”[]
Others, like Common Sense Media, are trying to urge Meta to not allow any users under 18 use its AI chat tools, and add other various safeguards for adults who use them. []
But I would love to know your thoughts on any of this here, on any of these different issues being uncovered, the company’s response, anything.
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There’s now a detailed proposal for how the US might take over Gaza, force out the entire population, and cash in on what the world’s leading association of genocide scholars’ is officially labeling a genocide.
This proposal? It’s named the “Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation Trust” – or “GREAT Trust.”
It would basically aim to turn Gaza into a massive investment opportunity – with the first step being what has been described in the proposal as the voluntary relocation of Gaza’s 2 million inhabitants.
Right, according to the leaked 38-page document detailing the plan, they would be either sent to another country or housed in restricted, secured zones inside the territory.
With each Palestinian who chooses to leave getting a $5,000 cash payment and subsidies to cover four years of rent elsewhere, as well as one year of food.
And the plan estimates that every individual departure from Gaza would save the trust $23,000 compared with the cost of temporary housing and what it calls “life support” services in the secure zones for those who stay. []
But whatever the case may be, however good they try and make it sound, you have experts saying it’s not voluntary if people are left with no other option.
Right, 90 percent of Gaza’s population has been displaced at least once.
And with 90 percent of housing in the territory destroyed, there’s nowhere for them to go back to.
That is, if they survive the continued Israeli onslaught that has already killed over 60,000, devastated the country’s health system, and created the conditions for mass hunger and famine.
With the head of one human rights group based in Switzerland saying:
“This is a blueprint for mass deportation, marketed as development. The outcome? A textbook case of international crimes on an unimaginable scale: forcible population transfer, demographic engineering, and collective punishment.” []
Now with all that, while we know this plan has been going around the White House, and that it’s in line with what Trump has said in the past, it’s not yet clear if any official decision has been made.
It is clear, however ,that the plan has been specifically designed to realize Trump’s vision of turning Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East” – and appeal to his vanity in the process.
Right, according to, Gaza’s western waterfront would literally be renamed the “Gaza Trump Riviera & Islands” – a string of “world-class resorts along the coastline and on small artificial islands.”
There would also be “The Elon Musk Smart Manufacturing Zone” in the eastern part of the territory. []
And this would be developed on the ruins of an industrial zone previously built with Israeli investment to exploit cheap labour in Gaza – that is, until it was closed and destroyed by Israeli forces. []
There would also be a highway and tram respectively named after the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the UAE – which have both backed an alternative proposal aimed at eventual Palestinian statehood.
And in the center of the enclave – in between the waterfront resorts and the industrial zone — there would be up to 20-story apartment buildings constructed in six to eight “dynamic, modern and AI-powered smart planned cities.” []
With Gazans who own land being offered a digital token when they leave in exchange for rights to redevelop their property.
This token could be used to finance a new life elsewhere or eventually be redeemed for an ownership of new 1,800-square-foot apartments the plan values at $200,000 each. []
And all of that? It wouldn’t cost the US government a dime – at least according to the proposal.
Right, initial costs would be financed using as collateral the 30 percent of Gaza land that planners have said is already “publicly” owned and would immediately belong to the trust. []
And from there it would mostly be financed by public and private-sector investment in these so-called mega-projects – which, again, according to the proposal – would deliver a nearly fourfold return on a $100 billion investment after 10 years. []
And with that, as far as who the people behind this are?
Well, notably, they’re some of the same Israelis who created and set in motion the U.S. and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
Right, that’s the group that took over most aid distribution in Gaza back in May.
Except it hasn’t done all that much aid distributing at all.
Instead hundreds of Palestinians have been killed near GHF-run sites trying to access aid.
And notably there, the GREAT Trust – like GHF – would make use of private security contractors.
In this case, they would be responsible for internal security inside Gaza.
And under the proposal, their role would gradually decrease over a decade as trained “local police” take over.
But Israel would maintain “overarching rights to meet its security needs” until agreeing to a long-term arrangement. []
Similarly, the US-led trust would be responsible for governing Gaza for a multiyear period it estimates will take 10 years “until a reformed and deradicalized Palestinian Polity is ready to step in its shoes.” []
But of course, for now, even if that plan wasn’t unrealistic, illegal, and far-fetched, it’s still a plan for after the war ends – and that could still be far away.
Right, Israeli reservists are still reporting for duty to take part in the country’s ongoing offensive in Gaza city – even as the pushback from the international community only keeps growing.
And in fact, with that, you had the the International Association of Genocide Scholars declaring today that Israel’s policies and actions in Gaza met the legal definition of genocide.
With 86 percent of those who voted backing the resolution.
Notably, though, at least one member has come out and criticized the resolution, claiming it was rushed through without discussion, and that only 129 people voted.
A spokesperson for the association, however, countered by noting that the vote went through the normal process and adhered to the association’s bylaws –
and that the proportion of voting members was “pretty standard” and “represents a much larger percentage of the organization that did support this.” []
On the other hand, a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry denounced the conclusion as “an embarrassment to the legal profession.”
Adding in a statement that it was “entirely based on Hamas’s campaign of lies and the laundering of those lies by others.” []
But ultimately, that’s where we’re at right now, we’ll see where we end up next, and in the meantime let me know your thoughts on all this in the comments below.
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Cutting benefits, axing employees at the whim of billionaires, and scaring immigrants away from the workforce - workers are tired of Team Trump’s bullshit.
Right, yesterday was Labor Day for those of us here in the US - usually a day reserved for late summer barbecues, maybe one last day at the beach or in the pool, or sometimes just a quiet day off.
But for countless people across the country, yesterday’s holiday was a day of protest - with more than 1,000 rallies taking place under the banner “Workers Over Billionaires.” [B Roll 0:00-0:11]
Which is just the latest in a string of protests against Trump and his administration over the last several months - like the No Kings protests back in June.
This particular movement was organized by May Day Strong along with a coalition of unions including AFL-CIO, which is the largest federation of unions in the country. []
With the driving purpose here being denouncing the perceived influence of corporations and billionaires on the federal government under Trump’s leadership.
As well as expressing support for workers against the recent onslaught of threats and attacks against them, their rights, and programs meant for them.
For example - more than 445,000 federal workers had their union protections stripped in August as federal agencies adhered to Trump’s executive orders.
Right, back in March, Trump signed an order titled “Exclusions From Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs” which directed some 22 agencies to ignore labor contracts for employees in specific unions.
Citing “national security” as his reason - despite the fact that some of the agencies named don’t have a national security connection. []
As you can imagine, this led to a tsunami of legal challenges - with federal labor unions repeatedly suing and even sometimes getting a temporary pause. []
But so far, 9 agencies have aligned themselves with Trump’s order - terminating contracts that covered more than 445,000 federal workers.
We’re talking the EPA, the Coast Guard, FEMA, the General Services Administration, HHS, Agriculture and Veterans Affairs, and parts of ICE and Citizenship and Immigration Services. []
With one former political director of the AFL-CIO calling it “the largest act of union busting in American history” and adding,
“There’s not another time when that many people lost their union.”
And it isn’t likely to improve any time soon - just last week, Trump signed yet another executive order adding 6 more agencies to the list of those who are supposed to toss out labor contracts.
But it isn’t just federal workers specifically - Team Trump is reshaping the entire US workforce and probably not for the better.
According to preliminary Census Bureau data, analyzed by the Pew Research Center, the number of immigrant workers in the US dropped by 1.2 million from January to the end of July. []
And that’s not just illegal workers - that also includes immigrants who came here and were working legally.
It also looks like this is just the beginning - a report by Oxford Economics from last week projects this slowdown is going to keep on keeping on throughout Trump’s presidency.
With Pew senior researcher Stephanie Kramer saying,
"It's unclear how much of the decline we've seen since January is due to voluntary departures to pursue other opportunities or avoid deportation, removals, underreporting or other technical issues. However, we don't believe that the preliminary numbers indicating net-negative migration are so far off that the decline isn't real."
And when you’re talking about a group that makes up almost 20% of the US workforce and roughly half of all workers in farming, this is a pretty big deal.
With experts saying that this drop could ripple through the labor market - which is already under strain.
Especially considering that immigrants normally contribute at least 50% of job growth in the US, according to a labor economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
Now, those are just a couple of examples - a few sparks that led to the wildfire of yesterday’s protests.
Which saw gatherings of all sizes peppering places like New York, Houston, Kansas City, LA, Boston, DC, as well as smaller cities like Cleveland, Ohio and Greensboro, North Carolina.
And we even saw protests in deeply red communities.
With the executive director of the Action Center on Race and the Economy - a nonprofit that helped organize yesterday’s protests - saying,
“It’s actually pervasive in every single community all across the country. In small towns that may have voted overwhelmingly for Trump, folks are still pissed off at the fact that he’s putting billionaires ahead of working people, and that he’s going to be slashing Medicaid, and cutting benefits and laying off federal workers and coming after our communities.” []
But the most prominent of these protests was in Chicago - where the “Workers Over Billionaires” protests were married with protests against Team Trump’s plans to ramp up immigration enforcement and deploy the National Guard in the city.
Which led to Mayor Brandon Johnson leading the crowd in a chant -
And that additional concern actually led to Chicago having one of the highest turnouts yesterday - with the New York Times speaking to a 55 year old woman from a Chicago suburb.
Who said the fear of National Guard troops coming to Chicago motivated her to attend the protest. []
And the Chicago Teacher’s Union President Stacy Davis Gates echoed that sentiment - telling NBC that there are better ways the federal government can help Chicago than sending in a militarized force.
Like SNAP benefits and education funding.
Now, in response to these widespread rallies, you had a White House spokesperson saying, quote, “no one has done more for working men and women than President Trump.” []
Which is also the stance that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt took in a separate statement - saying,
“President Trump believes that American workers are the heart and soul of our economy and our national identity, which is why he’s championed an agenda that puts them first always.” []
And Trump made his own post on Truth Social to celebrate Labor Day - with a photo of him shaking hands with workers and a caption saying, “Celebrating 250 years of THE AMERICAN WORKER. Happy Labor Day.”
With that, I’m going to pass the question off to you - what are your thoughts here?
And I’d especially love to hear from you if you saw or even attended any of these rallies across the country.
Let me know in those comments down below.
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Yet another DC grand jury has refused to indict a defendant accused of a crime by the federal government.
Nathalie Jones of Indiana wrote on Facebook on August 6th saying - and to be clear, I am quoting her, this is what she wrote - “I am willing to sacrificially kill this POTUS by disemboweling him and cutting out his trachea with Liz Cheney and all The Affirmation present.”
Then in an interview with the Secret Service she allegedly said to them that “if she had the opportunity, she would take the President’s life and would kill him with a bladed knife, carrying out her mission of avenging the lives lost during covid.”
Jones then traveled to Washington DC for a protest, and she met with the Secret Service again who placed her under arrest for making threats against the President and transmitting threats across state lines.
But the DC Grand Jury has now found no probable cause to indict her on the charged offenses and as a result, a judge has released Jones to home detention.
The government may attempt to get another indictment on her but the DC and LA grand juries are just not indicting people anymore so long as the military is deployed in their cities.
This echoes the grand juries of Boston in the 1770s when the British occupied the city which eventually led to the British sending defendants to London to face trial which ended up being one of the many reasons for the revolution
And is ultimately why we have a 6th amendment right to a “speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district where the crime was committed”.
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