THE SHOW NOTES: Russian Propaganda, Shooting Details, & The Dumbest Headline Of The Day

Welcome! Is Connor McGregor running for President of Ireland?

NEW: Here are the rules for the September 10th presidential debate.

MUST WATCH: Even Mark Cuban disagrees with Kamala Harris’s plan to tax unrealized gains.

DATA: August payroll numbers rose by the smallest amount since 2021.

PUTIN: Kamala Harris laughs ‘infectiously,’ we want her to win - Politico

BRUTAL HEADLINE: Harris move to the center on border wall, asylum contradicts her years of progressive immigration positions - CNN

QUOTE: "Democrats are 'maximizing within constraints'—moving to the center just enough that they might gain some electoral advantage but without really changing the underlying commitments and priorities of the party their liberal, educated base holds dear." - The Liberal Patriot

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Unbelievable

School Shooting

A 14-year-old student at Apalachee High School opened fire with an AR-15 yesterday morning, killing two students, two teachers, and injuring nine others in what has become the deadliest school shooting in Georgia's history.

Details: The shooter (we refuse to use his name) was on the radar of state and local law enforcement agencies after posting online threats of violence against the school last year. The would-be shooter and his father were interviewed by authorities in May of 2023 but were ultimately released due to a lack of evidence.

According to first-hand accounts, the shooter left Algebra class only to return with an AR-15 and demanded to be let back inside. When students refused to let him in, he began shooting. School resource officers were on the scene in a matter of minutes and the shooter immediately surrendered.

Russian Propaganda?

The U.S. Justice Department has filed an indictment alleging that six conservative personalities at a Nashville-based media company unknowingly promoted Russian propaganda and were paid with funds laundered by two employees of Russia Today.

The two employees of Russia Today, Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, are at large but have been charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Tim Pool, Dave Rubin, and Benny Johnson were alleged to have unknowingly created content aligning with Russia’s “interest in amplifying U.S. domestic divisions in order to weaken U.S. opposition.” The conservative influencers have doubled down on their innocence claiming they were victims of the scheme.

However, it’s not just Russia. Here’s a New York Times story on Iran

A website called Savannah Time describes itself as “your trusted source for conservative news and perspectives in the vibrant city of Savannah.” Another site, NioThinker, wants to be “your go-to destination for insightful, progressive news.” The online outlet Westland Sun appears to cater to Muslims in suburban Detroit.

None are what they appear to be. Instead, they are part of what American officials and tech company analysts say is an intensifying campaign by Iran to sway this year’s American presidential election.

Iran has long carried out clandestine information operations against its adversaries, especially Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United States, but until now most of its activities were conducted under the shadow of similar campaigns by Russia and China. Its latest propaganda and disinformation efforts have grown more brazen, more varied and more ambitious, according to the U.S. government, company officials and Iran experts.

North Korean Spies Are Infiltrating U.S. Companies Through IT Jobs

Capitalizing on a post-Covid boom in remote work and advances in generative artificial intelligence, North Koreans have been hired for hundreds—and potentially thousands—of low-level information-technology jobs and other roles in recent years, using stolen identities of foreigners, U.S. officials and security researchers say.

The scheme is netting hundreds of millions of dollars annually for Kim Jong Un’s reclusive regime, according to the U.S. Justice Department, allowing it to evade strict international sanctions and continue to fund its nuclear-weapons and ballistic-missile program.

Full story at The Wall Street Journal (paywall)

Presented Without Comment

Dumbest Headline Of The Day

Trending news:

• Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears has filed paperwork to run for Virginia governor in 2025. - X

• Hunter Biden's criminal tax trial begins with jury selection in California - Fox News

• Liz Cheney says she is voting for Harris for president - CNN

• $50 billion, a million jobs and a red carpet welcome: China woos Africa as U.S. struggles to keep up - NBC

• Iran still plans on attacking Israel - Understanding War

• Family offices are about to surpass hedge funds, with $5.4 trillion in assets by 2030 - CNBC

• Fake Ozempic: How batch numbers help criminal groups spread dangerous drugs - Reuters

• Leaked Reports and Political Heat Are Testing Trust in Economic Data - NYT (free)

• Foreign Automaker Lays Off Thousands of Michigan Workers after Pocketing Hundreds of Millions in Biden EV Subsidies - National Review (paywall)

• How Rent Controls Are Deepening the Dutch Housing Crisis - Bloomberg (paywall)

Market snapshot: