5️⃣ TRUMP FIRES ARTS COMMISSION, CLEARS PATH FOR BALLROOM AND TRIUMPHAL ARCH
Six Biden-appointed commissioners terminated as White House installs allies
The White House terminated all six members of the Commission of Fine Arts on Tuesday—an independent federal agency that traditionally reviews major construction projects in Washington. Biden had appointed these commissioners to four-year terms extending through 2028, but they’re out immediately as the White House prepares to install allies “more aligned with President Trump’s ‘America First’ policies.” The commission was expected to review Trump’s planned $300 million White House ballroom and his proposed triumphal arch, but Trump already tore down the East Wing last week without any review. This follows the July purge of the National Capital Planning Commission, where Trump installed allies including his staff secretary Will Scharf as chairman. Historical precedent: Truman built his White House balcony in 1947 over the commission’s objections, and Trump’s following that playbook to build his palace.
4️⃣ MUSK LAUNCHES GROKIPEDIA—AI PROPAGANDA MASQUERADING AS ENCYCLOPEDIA
White genocide theory gets “empirical underpinnings” while Hitler gets economic credit
Elon Musk yesterday launched Grokipedia, a Wikipedia competitor where every entry is written by his AI chatbot Grok, and the propaganda is immediate. The “white genocide theory” entry presents “empirical underpinnings” for the supposed campaign to eliminate white people and claims the media systematically suppresses this conversation due to “ideological biases favoring multiculturalism.” Adolf Hitler’s entry mentions his leadership and “rapid economic achievements” before the Holocaust. The Islam page questions the religion’s “inherent compatibility with liberal democracy.” Musk’s own entry notes his “reported 20-pound weight loss” and weightlifting routine while omitting any reference to his maternal grandfather’s documented racism and support for South Africa’s apartheid. When The Atlantic asked about the obvious slant, an anonymous xAI spokesperson responded only: “Legacy Media Lies.” This is the next evolution of Musk’s propaganda infrastructure—using AI to legitimize fringe conspiracy theories with an encyclopedia’s authority.
3️⃣ OBAMACARE PRICES JUMP 30% AS SUBSIDIES EXPIRE—20 MILLION AMERICANS FACE STICKER SHOCK
Open enrollment starts Saturday amid shutdown standoff
Insurers have increased rates by an average of 30% for Obamacare plans in federal markets, but the real damage comes from expiring enhanced subsidies at year’s end unless Congress acts. These subsidies made insurance effectively free for lower-income Americans and offered help to middle-class earners for the first time. Sue Monahan in Oregon saw her monthly cost jump from $439 to $1,059 for the same plan, while Belinda Stroud in California faces an increase from $865 to $1,965 monthly. The subsidies are caught in the shutdown standoff—Democrats demand their extension as a condition for reopening the government, while Republican leaders refuse to negotiate until the government reopens. The Congressional Budget Office estimates 2 million more Americans will become uninsured if subsidies expire, with some analyses predicting even larger coverage losses. Open enrollment starts Saturday, and insurance executives worry people will drop coverage when they see the higher costs, even if Congress later renews subsidies.
2️⃣ FED CUTS RATES AGAIN BUT MONTH-LONG SHUTDOWN BLINDS CENTRAL BANK
No jobs data, no inflation reports—Fed flying blind into December decision
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter point Wednesday to 3.75-4%, but the month-long government shutdown means the Fed could be operating without official data on jobs, inflation, and growth when it meets again in December. Major layoffs at Amazon and UPS this week signal labor market weakness, unemployment hit 4.3% in August, but inflation remains stubbornly at 3% partly due to Trump’s tariffs. Two Fed officials dissented for opposite reasons: Stephen Miran, Trump’s economic adviser just added to the Fed board, wanted a larger cut; Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid wanted no cut at all. Trump attacked Powell again from South Korea, calling him “too late” on rate cuts—the president keeps pushing for dramatically lower rates to juice the economy. The Fed faces mild stagflation: elevated inflation paired with a weakening job market, and now they’re flying blind without the data they need to make informed decisions.
1️⃣ TRUMP FAMILY RAKES IN $800+ MILLION FROM CRYPTO—BARRON JOINS THE GRIFT
Foreign buyers with criminal investigations fuel windfall while platform remains vaporware
The Trump Organization’s income soared 17-fold in the first half of 2025 to $864 million, with over 90%—some $802 million—coming from crypto ventures that didn’t exist two years ago. Eric, Don Jr., and now Barron Trump are all listed as co-founders of World Liberty Financial, the crypto venture that’s generated $463 million from token sales alone despite never building the peer-to-peer lending platform it promised. The WLFI tokens offer holders almost nothing beyond limited voting rights and trade at 14 cents, down 65% from their brief September peak. Chinese businessman Guren “Bobby” Zhou—under investigation in Britain for money laundering and found by Chinese courts to have failed repaying $2.4 million in loans—met with Eric in Dubai, and his entity later bought $100 million in tokens. Hong Kong crypto billionaire Justin Sun, charged by the SEC with fraud, bought $75 million in tokens before the commission paused his case and Trump pardoned him last week. Abu Dhabi’s state-controlled MGX used World Liberty’s stablecoin to buy $2 billion in Binance equity, generating about $80 million annually in interest payments to Trump-affiliated entities. As one law professor put it: “These people are not pouring money into the Trump family business because of the brothers’ acumen. They are doing it because they want freedom from legal constraints and impunity that only the president can deliver.”
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