I know some moderate R’s have said if it reaches the point that nobody can get elected speaker the only path forward would be to make a bipartisan deal. But it’s unclear 1 if there is a Republican who can unite the House GOP then 2nd if nobody can get the votes to be elected Speaker how long will they keep trying before approching the Democrats.
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Another former Trump lawyer has agreed to plead guilty and testify in the Georgia election case.
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Rep. Tom Emmer has been nominated by the House GOP for Speaker of the House. Shortly after winning the speaker election he held a roll call vote to see who would support and oppose him. In the roll call vote 26 said they were against Emmer. Some Democrats have indicated they would be willing to vote present to help get Emmer over the finish line if he pushed for the spending levels McCarthy previously agreed to & make rule changes to raise the number of Representatives required to issue a motion to vacate the speaker. So far Tom Emmer hasn’t made any indication if he will try to seek Democratic support or try to win more GOP votes.
Edit: It looks like for the time being Emmer is going to attempt to win over Republican votes.
https://www.axios.com/2023/10/24/tom-emmer-republican-house-speaker-nominee
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Rep. Tom Emmer’s just dropped out of the speakers race. My guy didn’t even last a day.
Back to square one with the House GOP needing to nominate someone for the party.
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Another day, another candidate. Republicans are putting forward the generically-named (and not in a cool way, like Jack Smith 
) Mike Johnson for Speaker. He is being endorsed by–and has been a vocal supporter of–Trump, so that should tell you all you need to know.
So far, Republicans are saying the right things and predicting that he’ll be elected on the first ballot. It certainly seems like he’s far-right enough to satisfy the wing-nuts and not controversial enough (or at least not visible enough) to put off the so-called (but not actual) moderates.
Edit: And it’s done. We have a Speaker who actively worked to overthrow the 2020 election.
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22 dead, 60 wounded and the shooter’s still at large in Maine.
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His wife, son, daughter and grandson had taken refuge in a place in the South of Gaza, where Israel told them it’s “safe”.
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To continue the “AI regulation” saga.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres unveiled an advisory body aimed at fostering global agreement on how to govern the rapidly developing field of artificial intelligence on Thursday.
The expert panel will consist of 39 academics, industry executives and government officials from 33 countries.
US President Biden is expected to soon (as soon as Monday) publish an executive order on AI.
China and the US, both on this new body, have opposite approach to regulation (bottom-up for the US, top-down for China).
And, as I posted before, the EU AI act is continuing its work (we are at the fifth round of negotiations), recommendations are still published. It’s slow, smooth, fast.
One of the largest question being on obligations, and on legal responsibilities.
Th EU also demanded the creation of an IPCC equivalent for AI, which as you can see is well on route.
This happens as more and more industries, and intellectual propriety holders, have unanswered questions as to the expected future landscape. And with it the capacity to prepare, invest, improve, or anything else. Currently, most are in a holding pattern.
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Dang, Mike Pence
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“It’s unconstitutional. It’s utter hypocrisy for someone who railed against left-wing cancel culture,” [Vivek] Ramaswamy posted on X (formerly Twitter) Thursday, alleging that it violates students’ right to free speech.
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Heartbreaking: The worse android you know just made a really good point.
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Good to see no one’s going to be held accountable for poisoning an entire city. 
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Remind me not to go see a show in Kuala Lumpur
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Some interesting work related developments.
https://www.axios.com/2023/11/02/six-flags-cedar-fair-merger-cedar-point#
That being said one of the leading entertainment companies in the United States and Canada is getting larger. I heard rumblings of this merger, earlier in the year, but those rumblings got quiet.
Previously the rumor amongst the public was that Cedar Fair was merging with Sea World, but those deals never materialized. What I do know is Six Flags has had poor management in recent years and has been struggling.
I’m not an enthusiast, but just someone who works within this company who has more questions than answers.
Since Cedar Fair primarily has a licensing deal with the Schultz family (Family who owns The Peanuts/Snoopy Brand) will these mascots bleed into the Six Flags parks?
Next will pre existing licensing agreements with Six Flags between Warner Bros for the usage of DC and Cartoon Characters carry over with the merger?
Lastly will Six Flag parks be renamed or will they retain the Six Flags brand.
Interesting development today especially since it’s directly effecting the company I work for.
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I mean it would still have to pass all of that anti-trust stuff for it to have any impact, it also sounds like the combined company will virtually consolidate the market for amusement parks everywhere but Florida and California. I can’t imagine that being good for he consumer either…
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Donald Trump is testifying in his New York civil fraud trial and the judge is…displeased with his rambling, politically-charged answers.
“I beseech you to control him if you can,” [Judge] Engoron said. “If you can’t, I will. I will excuse him and draw every negative inference that I can.”
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Grok’s website says “Sign in with X to join xAI’s early access program. Participation in the early access program is currently limited to verified users.”
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It appears incumbent Governor of Kentucky Andy Beshear (D) has won reelection. Currently he is outperforming in most counties getting a higher % of the vote than he received back in 2019. Due to how heavily Republican the state usually leans there where hopes in the GOP they could win back the governorship but that looks unlikely now.
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