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Paramount Buys The Free Press for $150M, Names Bari Weiss Editor-in-Chief of CBS
Paramount confirmed Monday that it is purchasing independent news outlet The Free Press for about $150 million in cash and stock, while appointing the publication's founder, Bari Weiss, as editor-in-chief of CBS News, which was also acquired by Paramount earlier this year.
The Free Press, a center-right publication printed on Substack, has accumulated a combined 1.5 million free and paid subscribers and generates over $15 million in annual subscription revenue, making it Substack's top-performing outlet in the U.S. politics category.
Weiss, who previously worked as an opinion writer at The New York Times before resigning in 2020 over allegedly being "bullied" by liberal colleagues, has no prior experience managing broadcast television news or leading an organization the size of CBS.
Republican narrative
Bari Weiss will be great for CBS News her contrarian Free Press success proves she can rebuild audiences alienated by bias. As a bold voice against woke elites and antisemitism, she'll inject needed balance. Mainstream media has grown so progressive — seen in CBS's scandals like biased Harris edits and one-sided Israel coverage — that trust is eroded. Fixing it demands a team of conservatives and classical liberals to restore credibility.
Democratic narrative
It's laughable that right-wing media could think the left is in charge of powerful institutions these days. Trump, through his control over federal regulators, has now given the conservative Ellison family power over Paramount, CBS and TikTok, and possibly Warner Bros. Discovery, HBO and CNN, if their next merger plan succeeds. The MAGA-tech elites have taken over the entire U.S. media ecosystem in the span of months.
Establishment-critical narrative
This isn't left versus right — it's Israeli propaganda merged with a digital surveillance state. Larry Ellison's media empire, led by son David, seizes CBS and TikTok to control narratives, auditing algorithms to suppress Gaza criticism and promote pro-Israel sentiment, as Netanyahu targets social media as a "weapon." Oracle's AI-driven data centralization, backed by $350 million to the Blair Institute, enforces compliance through digital IDs and relentless monitoring in "New Gaza" and beyond.
Syria Holds First Parliamentary Elections Since Assad's Fall
Syria on Sunday conducted its first parliamentary elections since the fall of Bashar al-Assad at the end of 2024. The Electoral College voted for two-thirds of the 210-member People's Assembly, while the interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, will directly appoint the remaining 70 seats.
More than 1,500 candidates competed for assembly positions. Women comprised 14% of candidates, despite the requirements for 20% female representation in electoral colleges that select the representatives.
Elections were postponed indefinitely in Druze-majority Sweida province and Kurdish-controlled northeastern areas, including Raqqa and Hasakah, due to security concerns and tensions with Damascus.
Government-critical narrative
These elections highlight a flawed system that undermines genuine democracy. The electoral process concentrates excessive power in the hands of al-Sharaa, who directly appoints one-third of parliament and controls the entire electoral apparatus through his appointed committees. This creates a closed loop where the president effectively shapes a parliamentary majority of his choosing, turning what should be an independent legislative body into an extension of presidential power.
Pro-government narrative
Syria has achieved a remarkable transition from war and chaos to democratic participation in the seven months after Assad's fall. These parliamentary elections mark a crucial milestone that fills the legislative gap and enables proper governance during this transitional phase. The electoral system is practically designed for Syria's current circumstances, accounting for displaced populations and missing documentation while ensuring broad national participation in rebuilding the country.
Nerd narrative
There's a 12% chance that Syria will be partitioned into new, internationally recognized sovereign states before 2040, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Australia, PNG Sign Historic Pukpuk Defense Treaty
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape signed the Pukpuk Treaty in Canberra on Monday, establishing Australia's first new alliance in over 70 years and only the third in the nation's history.
The mutual defense treaty requires the nations to act together to respond to common threat in the event of an armed attack, with provisions similar to Australia's ANZUS Treaty commitments with the United States and New Zealand.
The agreement creates a pathway for up to 10,000 Papua New Guineans to serve in the Australian Defence Force, while also allowing Australians to serve in PNG's military forces under the interoperability provisions.
Pro-establishment narrative
The Pukpuk defense treaty represents Australia's first alliance in over 70 years and elevates PNG to the same level as the U.S. and New Zealand. This historic agreement demonstrates Australia's commitment to regional security through diplomacy rather than relying on distant powers. The treaty makes Australia safer by focusing on actual defensive priorities instead of wasteful programs like AUKUS.
Establishment-critical narrative
The Pukpuk treaty risks destabilizing PNG by militarizing a country that needs coastguard capabilities, not combat readiness for foreign conflicts. Australia lacks the capacity to defend PNG effectively and could be drawn into Indonesian border conflicts or tribal violence. This rushed agreement abandons PNG's neutrality policy without proper parliamentary debate or public consultation.
Nerd narrative
There is a 45% chance China will settle its South China Sea maritime boundary dispute with any other state by 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
French PM Lecornu Resigns After Record-Short 27 Days
French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu resigned on Monday after just 27 days in office, making him the shortest-serving prime minister in modern French history and surpassing Michel Barnier's previous record of just 90 days in the position.
President Emmanuel Macron appointed Lecornu as prime minister in September this year, when he became France's fifth prime minister in two years amid ongoing political instability following snap parliamentary elections that produced a fragmented legislature.
Lecornu announced his new, now disbanded cabinet on Sunday evening. His picks included Bruno Retailleau as interior minister and Bruno Le Maire as defense minister, while Roland Lescure was appointed the new finance minister.
Opposition narrative
Macron's political gamble has spectacularly backfired, creating unprecedented chaos that is paralyzing France. His reckless snap election strategy fractured Parliament into warring blocs, making governance impossible and forcing five prime ministers to resign in just two years. The president's stubborn refusal to step aside is destroying French democracy.
Pro-government narrative
Political parties are selfishly sabotaging France's stability through partisan posturing instead of governing responsibly. Opposition groups immediately attacked Lecornu's cabinet before giving it a chance, prioritizing their 2027 election ambitions over the nation's urgent budget crisis. These destructive power games are wrecking France's economy and international standing.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that French president Emmanuel Macron will call another snap legislative election before 2026, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Three Scientists Win 2025 Nobel Prize for Immune Research
Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi received the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance, which prevents the immune system from attacking the body's own tissues.
Sakaguchi discovered regulatory T cells in 1995, while Brunkow and Ramsdell identified the Foxp3 gene mutation in 2001. Sakaguchi later linked these findings to show how the gene controls the development of regulatory T cells.
Regulatory T cells function as "security guards" that suppress overreactive immune responses, helping to explain why most people do not develop serious autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis.
Narrative A
The 2025 Nobel Prize in Medicine is a monumental breakthrough that will revolutionize health care. These three scientists discovered regulatory T cells and the Foxp3 gene, thereby solving the mystery of how the immune system prevents its own body from being attacked. Their work is already spurring life-saving treatments for cancer, autoimmune diseases and transplant medicine.
Narrative B
The Nobel Prizes spotlight transformative discoveries, shaping our view of scientific genius. Yet, they often celebrate only narrow slices of science while ignoring vast fields like ecology, climate and geology that are equally important. The awards systematically exclude hundreds of researchers who contribute to discoveries, recognizing only lab heads. This creates harmful bias that frequently overlooks women and people of color.
Nerd narrative
There's an 11.7% chance that there will be a Nobel Prize in Physics awarded for work in string theory before 2050, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
AMD Stock Surges With OpenAI Deal Announcement
AMD and OpenAI announced a 6 GW agreement for OpenAI to deploy AMD Instinct Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) across multiple generations, with the first 1 gigawatt deployment of AMD Instinct MI450 GPUs scheduled to begin in the second half of 2026.
As part of the agreement, AMD issued OpenAI a warrant for up to 160 million shares of AMD common stock, which could give OpenAI approximately 10% ownership in AMD based on current shares outstanding.
The warrant vesting is structured around specific milestones, with the first tranche vesting upon the initial 1 gigawatt deployment and additional tranches unlocking as purchases scale up to 6 gigawatts.
Narrative A
Nvidia's stranglehold is crumbling. AMD's monumental 6 GW OpenAI partnership — potentially worth tens of billions — shatters the illusion of Nvidia's invincibility. OpenAI's strategic diversification, granting AMD a core compute partnership alongside massive warrant stakes, signals a seismic market realignment. The AI industry's insatiable demand has opened the floodgates, and AMD's high-performance Instinct processors are poised to demolish Nvidia's monopolistic reign.
Narrative B
Despite AMD's OpenAI partnership, Nvidia's supremacy remains unassailable. The AI giant commands a staggering 92% market share, generates profits exceeding AMD's by orders of magnitude, and continues revolutionizing performance with each GPU generation. Even losing marginal market share is inconsequential — the exploding GPU market ensures Nvidia's dominance persists. AMD's advances merely validate Nvidia's pioneering vision while trailing its technological leadership.
Nerd narrative
There's a 5% chance AMD will have its AI accelerators fabricated in China before 2033, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Court Blocks Trump's Birthright Citizenship Order
The First Circuit Court of Appeals became the fifth federal court since June to block U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship, with Chief Judge David Barron writing that the fundamental question about birthright citizenship scope is not difficult to resolve.
Trump signed the order the day he took office in January, directing federal agencies to refuse citizenship documents to children born to undocumented immigrants or those without at least one parent who is an American citizen or lawful permanent resident.
Trump administration officials argue the 14th Amendment's phrase "subject to the jurisdiction thereof" requires primary allegiance to the U.S., while legal scholars contend it was meant to exclude only children of Native Americans on tribal land and foreign diplomats.
Anti-Trump narrative
Trump's birthright citizenship order is blatantly unconstitutional and has been unanimously rejected by every single judge who reviewed it across multiple courts. The order violates the clear meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment, denying citizenship to children just like freed slaves after the Civil War.
Pro-Trump narrative
SCOTUS already settled birthright citizenship more than a century ago, in the case of Wong Kim Ark, establishing that citizenship applies only to children whose parents have lawful permission to reside in America. Trump's order substantially complies with this year-old precedent that excludes children of illegal aliens from automatic citizenship.
Nerd narrative
There's a 15% chance that any U.S. authority will refuse to recognize the citizenship of U.S.-born children of non-citizen parents for 90 days in 26.
ICC Convicts Militia Leader in First Darfur War Crimes Verdict
The International Criminal Court on Monday convicted Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, of "27 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes" for his role as a Janjaweed militia leader during attacks in Sudan's Darfur region.
Abd-Al-Rahman was found guilty of crimes including rape, murder and persecution committed between 2003 and April 2004, with judges hearing testimony from 56 prosecution witnesses who described horrific violence during the trial.
The defendant had denied all charges in the trial, which opened in April 2022, and claimed mistaken identity, telling the court he was not Ali Kushayb and had nothing to do with the accusations, but judges unanimously rejected this defense after reviewing witness testimony.
Pro-establishment narrative
The ICC conviction of Abd-Al-Rahman represents a landmark victory for international justice after decades of impunity. This ruthless Janjaweed commander personally orchestrated mass executions, gang rapes and torture across Darfur villages, leaving 300,000 dead. Justice has finally been served for the countless victims who suffered under his brutal reign of terror.
Establishment-critical narrative
The ICC conviction relies on flawed proceedings where the defense faced impossible obstacles to mount a fair case. Sudan's lack of cooperation and ongoing conflict prevented proper investigation, while the defense team never accessed Darfur for evidence gathering. This trial proceeded despite fundamental barriers to justice that compromised the defendant's right to adequate defense.
Narrative C
A world court would be cause for celebration — if the judiciary were indeed impartial. However, the ICC's track record shows otherwise prosecutions are predominantly focused on Africans, while Western powers remain immune from scrutiny. The conviction of Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman may appear as progress, but it will be seen by many as yet another symbol of selective justice masquerading as universality.
Nerd narrative
There is a 70% chance that the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) will come out as the victor in the Sudan Civil War, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Israel Deports Flotilla Activists Amid Reports of Mistreatment
Israel said on Monday that it had deported an additional 171 activists, including Greta Thunberg, from the Global Sumud Flotilla to Greece and Slovakia. More than 400 activists, politicians and lawyers were taken into Israeli custody after Israeli forces intercepted the flotilla last week.
Thunberg and other activists have alleged that they faced mistreatment in Israeli detention, calling the conditions of their captivity "harsh and exhausting." Activists who were released earlier said that they were denied food and harassed by Israeli forces.
Israel's Foreign Ministry described the accusations as "brazen lies." Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir described the flotilla participants as "supporters of terrorism," adding that he was "proud they experienced the same conditions as terrorist detainees."
Pro-Israel narrative
The media is yet again parroting the absurd claims of terrorist sympathizers. Israel provided all those it legally detained with food, water and medical treatment. Furthermore, Thunberg and other detainees refused to expedite their deportation and insisted on prolonging their stay in custody for added publicity.
Pro-Palestine narrative
Considering the systematic abuse and torture that Palestinians face while in Israeli detention, in addition to the statements made by Ben-Gvir and other Israeli extremists, it's unsurprising that Israeli forces have abused the flotilla activists who were illegally kidnapped. Israel continues to demonstrate to the world that it is not a normal country and only confrontation will end its genocidal intentions.
Illinois, Chicago Sue to Block Trump's National Guard Deployment
Illinois and Chicago filed a lawsuit Monday to block President Donald Trump's deployment of National Guard troops to the city, after the administration federalized up to 300 Illinois National Guard members and planned to send 400 Texas Guard members.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued orders on Saturday to federalize Illinois National Guard troops and on Sunday authorized sending Texas National Guard members to Illinois, Oregon and other locations over state objections.
A federal judge in Oregon blocked the Trump administration twice from deploying National Guard troops to Portland, with Judge Karin Immergut ruling the deployments appeared to exceed presidential authority.
Democratic narrative
Trump’s latest move is an invasion and a direct assault on state sovereignty — and that’s why Illinois and Chicago are suing to block it. Without warning or coordination, he is deploying Texas National Guard troops into Illinois and other states and even federalizing state Guard units against their wishes. This is a stunning abuse of power that turns the military into political pawns. America is now on the brink of martial law, and every American must speak out to stop this dangerous overreach before it’s too late.
Republican narrative
Democrat leaders like Pritzker are suing to block lifesaving action even as Chicago remains one of the most dangerous cities in the world. When governors refuse to protect federal officials or restore order, President Trump and Republicans will step up to do their jobs for them. Deploying the Texas National Guard will stop violent ANTIFA rioters and help end the lawlessness Democrats ignore. Chicago desperately needs help — and with strong federal action, it will finally be safe again.