Documents

No posts to display

Buffalo
clear sky
50.5 ° F
53 °
46.9 °
59 %
0.3mph
1 %
Tue
62 °
Wed
57 °
Thu
47 °
Fri
55 °
Sat
65 °

Kash Patel ​appears ​to have ripped off iconic Beastie Boys video using AI: report



FBI Director Kash Patel appears to have used an AI-generated ripoff of a Beastie Boys music video to promote the Trump administration's anti-fraud efforts, NPR reported on Tuesday.

"With President Trump’s leadership, this @FBI and our interagency partners are conducting massive fraud takedowns coast to coast — and we’re not stopping," Patel wrote in a post to X at the start of the week.

"An analysis by NPR shows at least six clips in the FBI video were frame-by-frame recreations of shots in the iconic 'Sabotage' music video, which was directed by Spike Jonze," said the report. "The clips featured vehicles, people and buildings that were incredibly similar to the original video, but with small differences that would likely be generated by AI."

"For example, in one shot where a car is spinning out, grilles are clearly visible in some of the windows in the original footage, but they are missing in the FBI version of the clip," said the report. "Another shot shows an individual with a megaphone jumping from roof-to-roof with telephone lines in the background. The lines and dirt on the building all align identically to the 1994 video, which was filmed over 30 years ago. In one frame, one of the telephone lines appears to go through the head of the character: the sort of flaw that can be common in AI video generation."

Neither representatives for the Beastie Boys nor the FBI responded to NPR's requests for comment.

This comes after former Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem was fired following an awkward and blame-shifting testimony to Congress about a taxpayer-funded $200 million ad for the department featuring her on a horse, putting greater scrutiny on how agency heads under the Trump administration use public resources for self-promotion.

It also comes as Patel himself has been reported by The Atlantic to have a drinking problem, to be chronically absent, and paranoid about his own political future — claims Patel denies, and is now suing the publication over.

Gov. Hochul Delivers Remarks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5f0aXPFlY8 Just met with Rep. Morelle on New...

Trump frantically backtracks on core policy as beef prices skyrocket to record highs



President Donald Trump's administration will reportedly suspend some tariffs on beef amid record-high prices.

On Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported that the highest tariff "on all beef-exporting nations" would be temporarily dismantled.

The Small Business Administration was also expected to increase access to loans and capital for U.S. ranchers, the report said. The effort will reportedly include reducing protections for gray and Mexican wolves under the Endangered Species Act. Regulations on electronic ear tags for livestock would also be loosened.

Beef prices in the United States have reached record highs, driven by a combination of factors including drought conditions affecting cattle ranching, supply chain disruptions, and increased feed costs. The surge in beef prices has hit American consumers hard, with ground beef and steaks commanding premium prices at grocery stores nationwide, forcing many families to reduce their meat consumption or seek alternative protein sources.

Ranchers have culled their herds in response to prolonged drought and rising operational costs, which have constrained the overall supply of beef available to markets. Industry analysts point to climate challenges, particularly severe drought conditions in major cattle-producing states such as Texas and the Southwest, as a primary driver of reduced herd sizes and elevated prices.

The combination of supply constraints and strong consumer demand has created a perfect storm, driving beef prices to levels not seen in recent memory and raising concerns about inflation and the cost of living for American households already struggling with elevated grocery bills.