Bill Gates on AI:

We care about things way short of the ultimate doomsday scenario, and I’m afraid that’s kind of distracting people.

There is not a current risk of these AIs getting completely out of control. The thing that’s urgent has to do with bad people using AI, not the AI going off on its own.

In a sense, I’d say it’s good that these loss-of-control incidents have gotten people focused on AI, even though that’s not the imminent risk.

Bill Gates on AI:

I wish it was easier to distinguish good intent, like, "I want to design a new drug for a disease," versus negative intent, which is, "I want to design a tool of bioterrorism," because those are so close.

We do need to monitor any sophisticated model and record exactly what’s being done.

Bill Gates on Trump-Xi AI talks:

Well, there’s nothing on the table today, so they can, you know, I hope the tea is good, I hope they smile at each other.

There’s no proposal today to take this imminent danger and to learn from each other and work together to monitor and safeguard against these dangers.

So, you know, it’s great that they’re willing to talk with each other, but there’s no substance to what can be done to have AI curbed from negative activity.

Iran's Ghalibaf:

US gaslighting bureau says Iran doesn’t control SOH, but the market prices a big premium, $35 over pre-invasion and $50 using dated/actual.

So either the market’s dumb or the US narrative-laundromat is faking it. Free-dollar vending machine in Hormuz for believers. Go grab it.

Israel is revoking the diplomatic status of Dutch diplomats in Ramallah after the Netherlands imposed a ban on imports and trade involving products from the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Golan Heights.

Foreign Minister Sa’ar told the Dutch Embassy that the diplomats must return their Israeli-issued diplomatic documents within seven days, after which their immunities and related rights will expire.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić resigned, ending his second and final five-year term and paving the way for early presidential elections.

Netanyahu met UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed today after arriving in the country on a private jet and spending the day there.

Source: N12

Trump:

Trump on AI:

We're about a year, maybe a year and a half up on China. There is nobody in third place.

I spoke a little bit about it with Xi, not too much. I think if you, as they say, open it up, you sort of give up the lead.

Q: Is there any part of you that worries at all about AI going rogue?

Trump: Well, I don't worry about it. It's a huge industry. It's really the industrial revolution, maybe bigger.

And we're leading and we're building tremendous, you know, trillions of dollars worth of places. And why should we give that up?

Trump on Iran:

We're going to win this war very soon, and as soon as we win it, the oil will go down, way down to what it was before the war.

Q: What about an export ban on diesel?

Trump: We’re thinking about it very seriously.

We may do it.

Trump:

I told Zelensky, "You gotta take it easy on the refineries."

There are other things he can do.

Trump on Iran:

We're certainly winning it very big.

Q: Are strikes before midterms still on the table for you?

Trump: I don't want to say that. I mean, it's possible, but I just don't want to say that.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Egypt repeatedly warned Israel before Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack, including a call from Egyptian intelligence chief Abbas Kamel to Netanyahu just days beforehand.

Egypt had issued earlier warnings in June and September, and officials said alerts continued until about 48 hours before the attack.

Netanyahu has denied receiving personal advance warnings and says Israeli security chiefs failed to alert him properly.

Source: WSJ

BIG: Eight US Marines were injured when an Iranian cruise missile hit their vessel in the Strait of Hormuz on September 14, an incident the Pentagon never publicly disclosed.

The ship was described as a "maritime vessel," not a Navy warship (likely a US-contracted vessel).

Marines suffered smoke inhalation and concussion symptoms; all returned to duty.

Injuries were quietly entered into Pentagon casualty records ~10 days later.

Over 800 US servicemembers have been recorded as injured in the conflict this year.

Source: NBC

Trump:

Out nation is winning.

We had an incredible meeting with Xi. We made tremendous progress.

Trump:

With the exception of oil, which is lower than the Biden administration and we no longer have to worry about nuclear weapons with Iran because they're wiped out, everything is going down.

Sudan's Army rejects Ethiopia's accusations of backing opposition groups as "baseless", counter-accuses Ethiopia of supporting RSF from its territory with "training, supplies, strategic drones and suicide drones."

Sudan said it "will not allow any infringement of its sovereignty" and called on Ethiopia to "exercise accuracy and responsibility and resort to dialogue."