Key Revelations From 4th Batch Of Pentagon UFO Files

Key Revelations From 4th Batch Of Pentagon UFO Files

Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times,

The Pentagon released its fourth new batch of UFO files on July 10, including a transcript from a conference that included scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project.

This release of information on UFOs, which the government refers to as unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP), has a total of 40 files, including 19 videos, 14 documents, four audio clips, and three images.

The mix of partially unredacted files and historical documents is sourced from multiple agencies, including the CIA, FBI, Pentagon, NASA, and the Department of Energy.

The Pentagon said it is not the last release of UFO files in relation to President Donald Trump’s executive order, according to a statement from chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell.

High-Speed ‘Rectangle’

In one report, five U.S. military-affiliated personnel witnessed a strange object over the eastern United States in 2019.

“I noticed an object with flight characteristics unlike anything I had seen in my 28 years of performing [REDACTED] for the [Army] and Navy. A small object was below us and appeared to be traveling in a straight line opposite our direction at high speed,” the observer wrote.

“I tracked it for ~10-15 seconds before we turned on the recorder to provide the attached video. When I zoomed in to try and achieve more resolution, the object’s speed took [it] out of my [field of view] and I was unable to reacquire, even at a lower zoom.”

The military service member said the object “appeared to be rectangular,” and said others “with equal or more experience” were also unable to identify it.

In the 20-second video, the object is tracking quickly to the left of the screen before it zooms out of view.

The report came from a “range fouler debrief,” which is a “standardized reporting form the U.S. Navy uses to record the circumstances surrounding an unauthorized intrusion into controlled airspace during active military operations or training,” according to the Pentagon.

Balloon Over the Atlantic?

Another range fouler debrief described a sighting over the Atlantic in 2020 of what an observer suggested could have been an unidentified balloon.

The heavily redacted report stated that the object “traveled with the wind, the closer we came to it,” and that it was difficult to ascertain which direction it was heading, but it was “generally” moving south without any “maneuvers or change in direction.”

“The object itself was a darker, maroonish color, approximately 12-15ft in height. Structurally, it appeared as a large, somewhat deformed balloon, but we were unable to verify that as we passed at the merge,” the observer wrote.

The strange object slowly comes into focus in the 32-second video, which was captured by a U.S. military infrared sensor, before the footage abruptly cuts off.

Manhattan Project Scientists  

One of the historical documents included in the Pentagon’s fourth batch of UFO files is a transcript of a conference at the-then Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico, in 1949.

Now known as the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the facility was hosting leading scientists and physicists at the time, including many who had worked on the Manhattan Project.

After unknown “green fireballs” had been observed for several months near the laboratory, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission convened the conference to determine their origin and explain the phenomenon.

The panel failed to reach a consensus to explain the “green fireballs,” with one hypothesis suggesting they could be meteors entering the atmosphere at a “shallow” angle and altitude.

Lincoln LaPaz, an expert specializing in meteorics at the time and one of the key witnesses, said “95 percent of the observations indicate a very nearly horizontal path” of the objects, which he estimated were moving “between 3 miles per second and 12 miles per second.”

That would equal roughly 10,800 to 43,200 miles per hour, within the range of speed for a meteor.

However, after running calculations based on the objects’ estimated light, speed, and kinetic energy, Edward Teller suggested that if they were not characteristic of a “material body,” they “might be an electron phenomenon.”

LaPaz replied, “You see why I’m puzzled, Dr. Teller.”

“Nothing like this, to my knowledge, has ever been observed in the case of meteorite drops,” he added.

At the conclusion of the meeting, another scientist said, “The puzzling thing is the long horizontal path; also, absence of noise is puzzling.”

When meteors fall through the atmosphere, their high speed creates a sonic boom, along with other noises, sometimes a crackling or “whooshing” sound.

‘Six-Pointed Star’ Near China

A 12-second infrared sensor video came from the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command last year, showing “an area of contrast resembling a six-pointed star” that remains in the center of the screen.

The Pentagon said the video was taken near China over the Yellow Sea.

The area of contrast looks similar to the “eight-pointed star with arms of alternating length” that was submitted by U.S. Central Command in 2013, and featured in the Pentagon’s initial batch of UFO files released in early May.

Another video taken in 2025, this time over the East China Sea, shows what appears to be an object tracking across the sky for nearly five minutes.

What is seemingly multiple areas of contrast moving in formation across the sky, at times appearing like a curved line similar to a massive, fast-moving flock of birds, was shown in a video taken over the South China Sea in 2024.

Intrusion Near Nuclear Facility

The Energy Department included a file detailing a UFO sighting in the airspace over the Pantex nuclear weapons facility near Amarillo, Texas, in 2015.

Two officers reported seeing the object at 7 a.m. local time flying northward “in a non-threatening manner” at roughly 10 to 15 miles per hour.

As the facility was placed on lockdown, the officers continued tracking the object and, through binoculars, reported that it looked to be approximately four feet tall and two feet wide at the bottom.

“They noted that the object did not make any sound. Furthermore, the [lieutenant and security police officer] stated that they were unable to identify any type of propulsion system on the object while using binoculars to assess the object. After viewing it for 1-2 minutes, the object then continued north offsite,” the report states.

Observers were split on the object’s color, with some reporting it looked black, while others said it “appeared to be silver, red, and blue.”

Tyler Durden
Sat, 07/11/2026 – 11:40

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/dDMRmbL Tyler Durden

Was SK Hynix’s US Debut The AI Bubble Top? BNP Says It’s Still 1998

Was SK Hynix’s US Debut The AI Bubble Top? BNP Says It’s Still 1998

With SK Hynix’s American depositary receipts now trading under the temporary ticker SKHYV as of late Friday morning, the seven-times-oversubscribed offering highlights Wall Street’s rush for more direct exposure to high-bandwidth memory amid the AI infrastructure boom.

Against the backdrop of mounting concerns about an AI infrastructure bubble, Roth Capital Partners’ sales trading team asked clients earlier Friday: “How will investors, looking back two years from now, view the timing and significance of SK Hynix’s US offering?”

Taking a look at the GS TMT Memory Exposed Index (GSTMTMEM Index), Goldman Sachs’ thematic basket tracking companies with high exposure to the memory chip cycle, the trade appears to have peaked in mid-June.

Zooming in on the recent price action in the GSTMTMEM Index:

That rollover has since spread into the broader South Korean market, with the Kospi entering a bear market this week as the memory stock euphoria begins to fade.

Adding to the AI bubble doomerism camp is UBS’ proprietary Market Fragility Index, an internal risk gauge measuring how vulnerable markets are to a sharp reversal or volatility shock, which currently prints at an eye-popping high.

But not everyone on Wall Street is pessimistic, and analysts at BNP Paribas say the AI boom increasingly resembles the late 1990s.

João Torres, a European credit strategist at BNP Paribas based at the bank’s Portugal branch, penned a note on Friday with a title that suggests the AI bubble has more room to inflate: “The Bubble Playbook: It’s still 1998.”

“Technological progress can create industrial bubbles. Chart 2: Equity IPOs following late 90s path, led by Tech We analysed the extent to which the AI buildout is evolving in line with previous industrial bubbles. The late 1990s provide a fitting playbook. In our view, AI has similarities of an industrial bubble but is not yet extreme,” Torres wrote in the note.

The BNPP Bubble Indicator currently stands around the 84th percentile, driven by elevated animal spirits, valuations and earnings expectations. At that level, near-term stock returns could be positive, but historical patterns suggest softer performance over six to 12 months if the indicator moves to the 85th percentile level.

Torres put together a compelling chartpack that suggests today’s environment is more like the late 1990s:

Chart 1: Technological breakthroughs can lead to industrial bubbles

Chart 2: Equity IPOs following late 90s path, led by Tech

Chart 3: Spreads tend to widen when balance sheets deteriorate

Chart 4: Supply in late 90s – from K-shaped to a crowding-in effect

Chart 5: Expectations are rising faster just as they did in the late 90s

Chart 6: Great Expectations – a new paradigm ahead

Chart 7: $ HY Risk Premium – low but not extreme

Chart 8: Credit Conditions are not restrictive yet

Chart 9: The Fed could resume rate hikes, as in the late 90s

Chart 10: BNPP Bubble Indicator is currently at the 84th percentile

Chart 11: Closest template is the dotcom bubble

Chart 12: Overweight $ IG Banks vs. $ IG Corporates

Chart 13: € IG TMT: Reverse Yankees are trading wide vs. Domestic

Professional subscribers can read more on memory and KOSPI at our new Marketdesk.ai portal. 

Tyler Durden
Sat, 07/11/2026 – 11:05

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/J2LNSVG Tyler Durden

Muhammad Tops Baby Boys’ Names In England And Wales For Third Straight Year

Muhammad Tops Baby Boys’ Names In England And Wales For Third Straight Year

Official Office for National Statistics (ONS) data released today shows Muhammad – including variant spellings – has once again claimed the top spot as the most popular name for newborn boys in England and Wales.

This marks the third consecutive year Muhammad has led the boys’ chart, continuing a trend that has drawn significant public attention and debate about demographic changes.

The ONS figures for 2025 births confirm Muhammad’s dominant position. In previous years, when spellings are combined, it has frequently outranked traditional English names like Oliver and Noah.

Commentators have linked the sustained popularity to the UK’s growing Muslim population, which now makes up a significant and increasing share of births in many areas.

Reform UK MP Rupert Lowe responded strongly to the news, posting: “Muhammad has comfortably topped the list for the most popular boy name for the third year running. You can call me Islamophobic, I really don’t care… This is awful and demonstrates the rapidly changing demographics of our country.”

Lowe, who recently chaired an independent Rape Gang Inquiry Report, has highlighted concerns about integration, cultural shifts, and failures in addressing grooming gangs. His report estimates that at least 250,000 young, mostly white British girls have been victims of systematic abuse by predominantly Pakistani Muslim grooming networks over decades, with institutional cover-ups exacerbating the crisis.

The report and Lowe’s comments tie into broader discussions about rapid demographic transformation, with critics arguing that names like Muhammad’s dominance reflect communities that have not fully integrated and, in some cases, parallel issues seen in grooming gang scandals where perpetrators often shared similar names and backgrounds.

Broader Implications

While many celebrate Britain’s multiculturalism, others like Lowe warn of parallel societies and strain on social cohesion. The baby name data is often cited alongside grooming gang reports as evidence of deeper cultural challenges.

Full ONS rankings for 2025 are expected to provide more context on rising and falling names across both genders.

Tyler Durden
Sat, 07/11/2026 – 09:55

via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/uoOLdRF Tyler Durden

Florida Politician (Anthony F. Sabatini) Faulted for AI Hallucinations in Briefs

From Akerlund v. Atlas Air, Inc., decided yesterday by the Eleventh Circuit, Judge Britt Grant, joined by Judge Robin Rosenbaum and Embry Kidd:

A group of plaintiffs, employees in the commercial aviation business, personally reject their companies’ pandemic-era policies on masks, testing, and vaccination. The district court dismissed the third amended complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction and failure to state a claim, and we affirm.

The claims in this case are remarkably weak, at least as pleaded. We are more candid than usual in this assessment because the plaintiffs’ counsel Anthony F. Sabatini has not been candid with us. Sabatini filed multiple briefs replete with fake and hallucinated citations. Even after being warned. “Always a bad idea.” Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., 2023 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary, at 6 (2023). By outsourcing his legal work to an AI algorithm, Sabatini violated his ethical duties to both his clients and this Court….

Though the filings in this case were substandard in a variety of ways [I excerpt some of the substantive analysis below -EV], we have saved the worst for last. The plaintiffs’ counsel Anthony F. Sabatini’s filings are riddled with citations to nonexistent, “hallucinated” cases. His opening brief relies on at least eight such cases, including one purportedly decided by this Court.

After the defendants identified this problem, Sabatini acknowledged in his (untimely) proposed reply brief that those citations were “erroneous or unverifiable,” and sought to withdraw his reliance on eight listed cases. At this point, things go from bad to worse: the eight cases Sabatini “withdrew” did not match a single one of the eight hallucinated cases in his opening brief. And not only were they not the right cases—all eight were also hallucinated.

We are far from the first court to see lawyers uncritically rely on artificial intelligence software and submit briefs citing nonexistent cases. The typical response when this kind of violation is identified is some version of an apology from the attorney, often with sanctions to follow. It is rare to see the kind of blatant and repeated misconduct that Sabatini has committed in this case.

The first rule of our profession is that a lawyer “shall provide competent representation to a client”—”competent” in the sense that it requires “legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation.” It goes without saying that completely outsourcing one’s legal work to artificial intelligence software is not competent. Doing so is a dramatic violation of the client’s interests.

But it does not stop there, because lawyers are also officers of the Court. We expect that when lawyers submit briefs, they give us their best view of what the law is, and how that law supports their clients. We read those briefs carefully—not just because they are the product of counsel’s time, effort, and skill, but because they help us as we try to reach the right answer. All that is lost if a lawyer decides that it is not worthwhile to do the work to persuade us—if he is willing to sign his name on whatever a machine churns out without so much as checking it for accuracy. We cannot do our job the same way unless lawyers do theirs.

Whatever the merits of artificial intelligence, it is no substitute for actual intelligence. Any “use of AI requires caution and humility.” When lawyers rely on AI tools, there is no way to get around the obligation to verify that the software got it right, and that what it got wrong will not end up in court filings.

{AI algorithms are notorious for producing “outputs that echo users’ opinions and beliefs, even when those views are incorrect.” This tendency presents a particular danger in legal filings, as one of a lawyer’s chief duties is to give his clients a clear-eyed view of whether the law says what the client wants it to say.}

By signing his name on briefs filled with hallucinated citations—not once but twice—Sabatini violated his professional obligations, both to his clients and to this Court. If he thinks these claims are not worth the effort, he should either tell his clients they fall short or advise them to hire another lawyer—not file obviously insufficient pleadings and briefs generated by AI tools. In a separate order, this Court, through the Chief Judge, will refer the matter to the Committee on Lawyer Qualifications and Conduct.

Orlando Sentinel (Annie Martin) reports that Sabatini is an elected County Commissioner for Lake County, Florida, and a former state representative:

The 37-year-old has made headlines for years for his controversial and often insulting social media posts and was warned by Republican leaders in Tallahassee to tone down his remarks even before he even attended his first legislative session in 2019.

In the past, he has tweeted a picture of an AR-15 targeted at George Floyd protesters, called for ending gay marriage and, when he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House of Representatives four years ago, posted on X, “I’m running for Congress to imprison as many Democrats as possible.”

And a few excerpts related to the substance:

Atlas Air is a commercial airline, and Flight Services International hires contractors to staff Atlas Air’s flights. During the Covid-19 pandemic, both companies required employees to vaccinate against Covid-19, unless they obtained a religious or medical exemption—in which case, they had to undergo periodic testing and wear a mask on the job.

The plaintiffs say they object on religious grounds to what they perceive as “a dangerous social and medical experiment.” They explain that, among other things, their “conscience prohibits them from being inoculated with any experimental foreign substance,” and that their religious rights were violated as a result of “the Biden Administration’s goal of achieving universal vaccination and to unlawfully acquire [their] personal, genetic information.” And in their view, the companies’ accommodations for religious objectors to the vaccination requirement were unreasonable: monthly testing imposed “substantial burdens,” and masks were “functionally useless” “symbols” that accomplished “nothing more than political advertising.” Some plaintiffs say that they “succumbed to the pressure” and took the vaccine; others begrudgingly wore masks and tested. The complaint does not allege that anyone lost their job, but does allege that some plaintiffs were assigned to less desirable, lower-paying flights.

The plaintiffs assert that their employers’ Covid-19 protocols led to a hostile work environment under Title VII; a Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act violation; a federal constitutional deprivation; a tortious invasion of privacy; a negligent disclosure of private medical information; and an infliction of emotional distress. The district court dismissed all claims against Flight Services International and some claims against Atlas Air for lack of personal jurisdiction, and the remaining claims against Atlas Air for failure to state a claim….

Exercising personal jurisdiction over Flight Services International in this lawsuit would violate due process because neither general nor specific jurisdiction is available in Florida for this company….

The plaintiffs first allege that Atlas Air created a work environment hostile to their religious beliefs, in violation of Title VII. They say that Atlas Air’s “repeated attempts to coerce” them into getting vaccinated constituted “unwelcomed harassment.”

To prevail on this claim, “the plaintiff is required to prove that the defendant had a discriminatory intent or motive.” But the plaintiffs do not allege any facts indicating that Atlas Air intended to discriminate against their religious beliefs. In fact, the allegations suggest the opposite. Under its policy, Atlas Air exempted from its vaccine requirement employees who professed a sincere religious objection to the Covid-19 vaccine. Instead, they had to wear a mask at work and test once a month.

The plaintiffs now seem to assert that these accommodations are also hostile to their religion. The problem with this argument is that there is nothing to back it up in the pleadings. The plaintiffs do not allege any religious objections to masks or tests—only political and logistical ones. Masks, they say, are “functionally useless” “political symbols” that “serve no other purpose than identifying ‘dissident’ employees.” And the plaintiffs offer no real problem with testing, other than a generalized complaint that it entails “substantial burdens.” What those burdens are, and whether they are religious in nature, the plaintiffs do not say. Nor do they allege that employees who received religious exemptions were treated any worse than those who received medical exemptions.

Whatever one makes of the plaintiffs’ dislike of masks and tests, they have alleged no facts signaling animosity from Atlas Air toward their religious beliefs. The allegation that Atlas Air harbored a discriminatory motive is not only conclusory, but “wildly implausible.” …

The plaintiffs also bring claims under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, alleging that Atlas Air unlawfully required its employees to take medical products authorized for emergency use. But they cannot sue to enforce such claims; only the federal government can bring enforcement actions under that statute….

The plaintiffs also allege several state tort claims. The first is that Atlas Air tortiously invaded their privacy by disclosing private medical information—namely, vaccination status—to company administrators in charge of enforcing Covid-19 protocols. “In Florida, except in cases of physical invasion, the tort of invasion of privacy must be accompanied by publication to the public in general or to a large number of persons.” And publicity “requires that a matter be made public, by communicating it to the public at large, or to so many persons that the matter must be regarded as substantially certain to become one of public knowledge.” The plaintiffs do not allege sufficient facts on this score….

We also reject the plaintiffs’ intentional infliction of emotional distress claims. Those would require showing that Atlas Air intentionally or recklessly caused “severe emotional distress” through “extreme and outrageous conduct.” The challenged conduct must “go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community.”

Like many other employers at the time, Atlas Air required certain precautions designed to prevent the spread of Covid-19. But the fact that the plaintiffs disagree with the steps Atlas Air took does not put the airline’s actions beyond all possible bounds of decency. The district court correctly dismissed the plaintiffs’ intentional infliction of emotional distress claims.

The post Florida Politician (Anthony F. Sabatini) Faulted for AI Hallucinations in Briefs appeared first on Reason.com.

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Florida Politician (Anthony F. Sabatini) Faulted for AI Hallucinations in Briefs

From Akerlund v. Atlas Air, Inc., decided yesterday by the Eleventh Circuit, Judge Britt Grant, joined by Judge Robin Rosenbaum and Embry Kidd:

A group of plaintiffs, employees in the commercial aviation business, personally reject their companies’ pandemic-era policies on masks, testing, and vaccination. The district court dismissed the third amended complaint for lack of personal jurisdiction and failure to state a claim, and we affirm.

The claims in this case are remarkably weak, at least as pleaded. We are more candid than usual in this assessment because the plaintiffs’ counsel Anthony F. Sabatini has not been candid with us. Sabatini filed multiple briefs replete with fake and hallucinated citations. Even after being warned. “Always a bad idea.” Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., 2023 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary, at 6 (2023). By outsourcing his legal work to an AI algorithm, Sabatini violated his ethical duties to both his clients and this Court….

Though the filings in this case were substandard in a variety of ways [I excerpt some of the substantive analysis below -EV], we have saved the worst for last. The plaintiffs’ counsel Anthony F. Sabatini’s filings are riddled with citations to nonexistent, “hallucinated” cases. His opening brief relies on at least eight such cases, including one purportedly decided by this Court.

After the defendants identified this problem, Sabatini acknowledged in his (untimely) proposed reply brief that those citations were “erroneous or unverifiable,” and sought to withdraw his reliance on eight listed cases. At this point, things go from bad to worse: the eight cases Sabatini “withdrew” did not match a single one of the eight hallucinated cases in his opening brief. And not only were they not the right cases—all eight were also hallucinated.

We are far from the first court to see lawyers uncritically rely on artificial intelligence software and submit briefs citing nonexistent cases. The typical response when this kind of violation is identified is some version of an apology from the attorney, often with sanctions to follow. It is rare to see the kind of blatant and repeated misconduct that Sabatini has committed in this case.

The first rule of our profession is that a lawyer “shall provide competent representation to a client”—”competent” in the sense that it requires “legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation.” It goes without saying that completely outsourcing one’s legal work to artificial intelligence software is not competent. Doing so is a dramatic violation of the client’s interests.

But it does not stop there, because lawyers are also officers of the Court. We expect that when lawyers submit briefs, they give us their best view of what the law is, and how that law supports their clients. We read those briefs carefully—not just because they are the product of counsel’s time, effort, and skill, but because they help us as we try to reach the right answer. All that is lost if a lawyer decides that it is not worthwhile to do the work to persuade us—if he is willing to sign his name on whatever a machine churns out without so much as checking it for accuracy. We cannot do our job the same way unless lawyers do theirs.

Whatever the merits of artificial intelligence, it is no substitute for actual intelligence. Any “use of AI requires caution and humility.” When lawyers rely on AI tools, there is no way to get around the obligation to verify that the software got it right, and that what it got wrong will not end up in court filings.

{AI algorithms are notorious for producing “outputs that echo users’ opinions and beliefs, even when those views are incorrect.” This tendency presents a particular danger in legal filings, as one of a lawyer’s chief duties is to give his clients a clear-eyed view of whether the law says what the client wants it to say.}

By signing his name on briefs filled with hallucinated citations—not once but twice—Sabatini violated his professional obligations, both to his clients and to this Court. If he thinks these claims are not worth the effort, he should either tell his clients they fall short or advise them to hire another lawyer—not file obviously insufficient pleadings and briefs generated by AI tools. In a separate order, this Court, through the Chief Judge, will refer the matter to the Committee on Lawyer Qualifications and Conduct.

Orlando Sentinel (Annie Martin) reports that Sabatini is an elected County Commissioner for Lake County, Florida, and a former state representative:

The 37-year-old has made headlines for years for his controversial and often insulting social media posts and was warned by Republican leaders in Tallahassee to tone down his remarks even before he even attended his first legislative session in 2019.

In the past, he has tweeted a picture of an AR-15 targeted at George Floyd protesters, called for ending gay marriage and, when he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House of Representatives four years ago, posted on X, “I’m running for Congress to imprison as many Democrats as possible.”

And a few excerpts related to the substance:

Atlas Air is a commercial airline, and Flight Services International hires contractors to staff Atlas Air’s flights. During the Covid-19 pandemic, both companies required employees to vaccinate against Covid-19, unless they obtained a religious or medical exemption—in which case, they had to undergo periodic testing and wear a mask on the job.

The plaintiffs say they object on religious grounds to what they perceive as “a dangerous social and medical experiment.” They explain that, among other things, their “conscience prohibits them from being inoculated with any experimental foreign substance,” and that their religious rights were violated as a result of “the Biden Administration’s goal of achieving universal vaccination and to unlawfully acquire [their] personal, genetic information.” And in their view, the companies’ accommodations for religious objectors to the vaccination requirement were unreasonable: monthly testing imposed “substantial burdens,” and masks were “functionally useless” “symbols” that accomplished “nothing more than political advertising.” Some plaintiffs say that they “succumbed to the pressure” and took the vaccine; others begrudgingly wore masks and tested. The complaint does not allege that anyone lost their job, but does allege that some plaintiffs were assigned to less desirable, lower-paying flights.

The plaintiffs assert that their employers’ Covid-19 protocols led to a hostile work environment under Title VII; a Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act violation; a federal constitutional deprivation; a tortious invasion of privacy; a negligent disclosure of private medical information; and an infliction of emotional distress. The district court dismissed all claims against Flight Services International and some claims against Atlas Air for lack of personal jurisdiction, and the remaining claims against Atlas Air for failure to state a claim….

Exercising personal jurisdiction over Flight Services International in this lawsuit would violate due process because neither general nor specific jurisdiction is available in Florida for this company….

The plaintiffs first allege that Atlas Air created a work environment hostile to their religious beliefs, in violation of Title VII. They say that Atlas Air’s “repeated attempts to coerce” them into getting vaccinated constituted “unwelcomed harassment.”

To prevail on this claim, “the plaintiff is required to prove that the defendant had a discriminatory intent or motive.” But the plaintiffs do not allege any facts indicating that Atlas Air intended to discriminate against their religious beliefs. In fact, the allegations suggest the opposite. Under its policy, Atlas Air exempted from its vaccine requirement employees who professed a sincere religious objection to the Covid-19 vaccine. Instead, they had to wear a mask at work and test once a month.

The plaintiffs now seem to assert that these accommodations are also hostile to their religion. The problem with this argument is that there is nothing to back it up in the pleadings. The plaintiffs do not allege any religious objections to masks or tests—only political and logistical ones. Masks, they say, are “functionally useless” “political symbols” that “serve no other purpose than identifying ‘dissident’ employees.” And the plaintiffs offer no real problem with testing, other than a generalized complaint that it entails “substantial burdens.” What those burdens are, and whether they are religious in nature, the plaintiffs do not say. Nor do they allege that employees who received religious exemptions were treated any worse than those who received medical exemptions.

Whatever one makes of the plaintiffs’ dislike of masks and tests, they have alleged no facts signaling animosity from Atlas Air toward their religious beliefs. The allegation that Atlas Air harbored a discriminatory motive is not only conclusory, but “wildly implausible.” …

The plaintiffs also bring claims under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, alleging that Atlas Air unlawfully required its employees to take medical products authorized for emergency use. But they cannot sue to enforce such claims; only the federal government can bring enforcement actions under that statute….

The plaintiffs also allege several state tort claims. The first is that Atlas Air tortiously invaded their privacy by disclosing private medical information—namely, vaccination status—to company administrators in charge of enforcing Covid-19 protocols. “In Florida, except in cases of physical invasion, the tort of invasion of privacy must be accompanied by publication to the public in general or to a large number of persons.” And publicity “requires that a matter be made public, by communicating it to the public at large, or to so many persons that the matter must be regarded as substantially certain to become one of public knowledge.” The plaintiffs do not allege sufficient facts on this score….

We also reject the plaintiffs’ intentional infliction of emotional distress claims. Those would require showing that Atlas Air intentionally or recklessly caused “severe emotional distress” through “extreme and outrageous conduct.” The challenged conduct must “go beyond all possible bounds of decency, and to be regarded as atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community.”

Like many other employers at the time, Atlas Air required certain precautions designed to prevent the spread of Covid-19. But the fact that the plaintiffs disagree with the steps Atlas Air took does not put the airline’s actions beyond all possible bounds of decency. The district court correctly dismissed the plaintiffs’ intentional infliction of emotional distress claims.

The post Florida Politician (Anthony F. Sabatini) Faulted for AI Hallucinations in Briefs appeared first on Reason.com.

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Small Business Chapter 11 Filings Increase 50% Year Over Year

Small Business Chapter 11 Filings Increase 50% Year Over Year

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,

Small business Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings jumped 50 percent in the first half of 2026 from the same period last year, signaling pressure on business owners.

Chapter 11 is a type of bankruptcy filing that reorganizes a company’s debt to keep it afloat and allow the entity to become solvent. Subchapter V of Chapter 11 relates to small business filings. In the first half of this year, a total of 1,663 Subchapter V bankruptcy filings were made, up from 1,107 filings in the first half of 2025, the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) said in a July 8 statement.

Overall commercial Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings also increased, with 4,589 filings in the first half, up by 28 percent annually.

“The increase in bankruptcy filings over the past year, particularly among small businesses, reflects ongoing financial pressures facing households and employers,” ABI Executive Director Amy Quackenboss said in a statement.

“Higher borrowing costs, increasing expenses, and geopolitical volatility are leading more debtors to turn to the bankruptcy system to restructure obligations and pursue a financial fresh start.”

Optimistic sentiment among small businesses has dipped. In a June 9 statement, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) said that its Small Business Optimism Index declined in May. The index is based on surveys of NFIB members.

Eighteen percent of respondents cited inflation as the single most important business problem they face, the highest level since December 2024.

A net 36 percent of respondents in the survey raised their average selling prices, the highest since March 2023. A net 34 percent said they planned to raise prices.

The NFIB had called on Congress to advance small business priorities this year, according to a Jan. 6 statement from the organization.

Top priorities include lowering healthcare costs for small business owners, reducing fuel and electricity costs, passing regulatory reforms, minimizing labor mandates, and granting the right to repair cars, smartphones, and tractors.

“2025 was an eventful year for small businesses, highlighted by the permanent extension of the 20 percent Small Business Deduction, which stopped a massive tax hike on more than 33 million small business owners nationwide,” NFIB Senior Vice President for Advocacy Adam Temple said in a statement.

A tax relief provision that allowed small businesses to deduct up to 20 percent of their qualified business income was set to expire after 2025, but was made permanent under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed by President Donald Trump last year.

Congress should now “pass legislation that will allow the small business economy to flourish and make life more affordable for consumers,” Temple added.

Supporting Small Businesses

In May, the Small Business Administration announced a new $50 million grant to support the Made in America manufacturing initiative.

The fund aims to ensure small domestic manufacturers receive the necessary technical assistance and training.

During March 30 remarks at a business conference, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act led to a reduction in taxes for roughly 12 million small business owners by almost $7,000 on average.

President Donald Trump, joined by Republican lawmakers, signs the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law during an Independence Day military family picnic on the South Lawn of the White House on July 4, 2025. Samuel Corum/Getty Images

“Across the country, households and businesses are already seeing the benefits of this legislation, with millions of Americans keeping more of what they earn and watching their paychecks go further,” Bessent said at the time.

The unemployment situation has also improved, with fewer Americans applying for unemployment benefits in the week ending July 4 than in the previous week. At 215,000 claims, the figure was also below economists’ expectations of 218,000 claims.

This was a reversal from a rising trend over the previous two months, which economists attribute to the trend of non-teaching staff from educational institutions applying for unemployment benefits during the summer holiday.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce called for maintaining the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) deal in a June 29 statement, citing benefits for American businesses.

The Chamber said that more than 13 million U.S. jobs in agriculture, manufacturing, energy, and service sectors are dependent on North American trade.

Streamlined trade facilitation measures and preferential treatment enabled by the USMCA allowed small businesses to compete in international markets, the Chamber said.

On July 1, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that the United States opted not to renew the USMCA deal in its current form.

Washington will discuss with partners to “address the Agreement’s shortcomings and our trade deficits with these countries,” he said. The deal has not been canceled and remains in force pending the resolution of disagreements or until it expires.

Lawmakers have criticized USMCA for offshoring manufacturing jobs from the United States and causing a depression in domestic wages.

Tyler Durden
Sat, 07/11/2026 – 09:20

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Cuba Plunges Into Second Island-Wide Blackout As Communist System Unravels

Cuba Plunges Into Second Island-Wide Blackout As Communist System Unravels

Cuba suffered its second nationwide blackout in a matter of days late Friday, another sign that the communist-controlled island is sliding deeper into economic collapse amid tightening US sanctions and renewed pressure from the Trump administration.

Havana blames US “gunboat diplomacy” and the financial sanctions for its economic demise, but the roots of the crisis are decades of communist rule, chronic underinvestment, widespread economic mismanagement and a crumbling power grid.

Yet America’s Democratic Party is increasingly embracing socialism and communist ideology, a deeply misguided political messaging campaign at a time when Cuba is offering a real-world case study in how such systems repeatedly fail, leaving economic ruin, institutional decay and human suffering in their aftermath.

The latest islandwide blackout came as four US lawmakers urged the Trump administration to sanction Cuba’s state-run overseas medical-services operator, arguing it exploits healthcare workers and generates revenue for the communist regime.

As we’ve described, the Feds are in the process of dismantling the command and control structure of a Cuba/China foreign subversion network with alleged links to left-wing NGOs and Democratic Party socialists:

Even top Democrats are calling for investigations:

Back to the blackout. Just before the first nationwide outage earlier this week, Raúl Castro’s grandson, Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, told USA Today that he was prepared to negotiate with President Trump.

The timing is notable. The Trump administration is intensifying pressure on Havana as Cuba’s communist regime continues to implode, and at some point, will eventually force the regime toward market reforms and a greater role for capitalism.

Tyler Durden
Sat, 07/11/2026 – 08:45

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Leftists Celebrate Murder Of Conservative British Politician

Leftists Celebrate Murder Of Conservative British Politician

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity News,

The savage killing of 78-year-old Reform UK spokeswoman Ann Widdecombe has unleashed a torrent of vile celebration from left-wing activists, revealing the depths of ideological hatred among the left in the UK.

Widdecombe, the outspoken former Conservative MP and prisons minister, was found dead with serious injuries at her Dartmoor home, prompting an immediate murder investigation by Devon and Cornwall Police.

Police keenly informed the public that a 26-year-old white British man has been arrested on suspicion of the crime. The incident is not being treated as terrorism, but the public reaction – particularly from leftist corners – has shocked many and exposed a chilling tolerance for violence against political opponents.

Detective Chief Inspector Ilona Rosson emphasized the tragedy: “This is an extremely tragic incident and our thoughts are very much with the family and friends of Ann Widdecombe at this difficult time. Our murder enquiry is in its early stages but moving at a significant pace.” The force urged against speculation while deploying resources for house-to-house inquiries.

What followed was a mask-off moment. Rather than universal condemnation, platforms like Bluesky – often touted as a “kinder” alternative – filled with jubilation, with users openly celebrating the death of the elderly conservative.

The stream of derogatory and celebratory posts include accusations that Widdecombe was a “racist old bitch” and a comment that “Science produced an answer to Ann Widdecombe,” referencing her past comments on gender ideology.

Users shared cartoons, GIFs, and barbs that treat her violent end as punchline or progress.

Widdecombe served as MP for Maidstone for many years and held roles including Minister of State for Prisons and Shadow Home Secretary. A staunch Eurosceptic, she backed Brexit and later joined Reform UK. Her socially conservative views – opposition to abortion, support for traditional marriage, and criticism of leftist policies – made her a lightning rod. Yet she commanded respect for consistency and wit, appearing on entertainment shows while maintaining principles.

Leftist celebrations aren’t anomalies; they stem from years of framing conservatives as villains. Terms like “bigot” or “racist” dehumanize, paving the way for glee at misfortune. This echoes reactions to other figures, revealing a worldview where ideological purity trumps basic humanity. Platforms shielding such content while censoring dissent exacerbate division.

Critics rightly note two-tier dynamics. Emphasis on the suspect’s description here contrasts with vagueness elsewhere, fueling skepticism. Broader failures – open borders straining cohesion, cultural erosion, elite dismissal of native concerns – create fertile ground for extremism. Widdecombe warned against these trends. Her death amplifies those warnings.

Reform UK figures now face heightened risks. Leader Nigel Farage’s security needs underscore the stakes. Media and activist demonization of “the right” as fascistic contributes to a climate where violence seems justifiable to some.

Widdecombe’s passing, tragic as it is, spotlights the stakes. A principled voice silenced violently amid cheers reveals civilizational fragility. Defenders of freedom – pro-sovereignty, anti-woke, pro-debate – must push back. The alternative is descent into the very barbarism celebrated by the unhinged.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Tyler Durden
Sat, 07/11/2026 – 08:10

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Visualizing Europe’s Soaring Youth Unemployment

Visualizing Europe’s Soaring Youth Unemployment

Breaking into the workforce looks very different depending on where you live in Europe. While some countries have relatively smooth transitions from education into employment, others continue to struggle with stubbornly high youth unemployment.

This visualization, created by DataPulse Research via Visual Capitalist, uses Eurostat data alongside additional analysis from DataPulse Research to compare unemployment rates among 15- to 24-year-olds across the EU in June 2025. Under Eurostat’s methodology, unemployed young people are those actively seeking work and available to start within two weeks.

Europe’s Youth Employment Divide

The table below ranks youth unemployment rates across EU member states in June 2025.

The spread is striking. Estonia’s 26.9% rate is more than four times Malta’s 6.2%, highlighting how dramatically employment prospects can differ across the bloc even as the EU-wide average remained steady at 14.8%.

Southern European countries continue to feature many of the highest rates of youth unemployment, with Spain (24.0%), Italy (20.1%), Portugal (18.9%), and Greece (18.8%) all posting elevated numbers. France also remained above the EU average at 18.7%, while Nordic economies presented a mixed picture, with Finland and Sweden ranking among the highest despite generally strong labor markets.

Why Are the Gaps So Large?

Youth unemployment reflects more than the health of an economy. Structural factors such as education-to-work transitions, labor market regulations, skills mismatches, and regional economic differences all influence how easily young people secure their first job. Research has long shown that these structural differences help explain why some European countries consistently experience higher unemployment than others.

Spain illustrates this complexity. Although the country continues to record one of Europe’s fastest-growing economies, youth unemployment remains among the continent’s highest, partly due to skill mismatches and regional labor market frictions.

At the same time, Spain has expanded pathways for international workers through new visa programs aimed at attracting talent in sectors facing labor shortages. Similar initiatives are appearing elsewhere in Europe as governments attempt to address demographic pressures and reduce hiring bottlenecks.

Why Some Countries Perform Better Than Others

Countries such as Germany (6.3%), Malta (6.2%), and the Netherlands (8.7%) have benefited from tighter labor markets, strong vocational training systems, and robust employer demand for apprentices and skilled workers. These economies have generally been more successful at connecting education with employment, reducing the time many young people spend searching for their first job.

The uneven outlook also helps explain broader migration trends across Europe, as workers often relocate in search of stronger employment opportunities, contributing to Europe’s shifting talent landscape.

To explore more global demographic and migration trends, check out Ranked: Countries With the Fastest Immigration Growth (2019–2024) on the Voronoi app.

Tyler Durden
Sat, 07/11/2026 – 07:35

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