🌊 Putin Takes Nashville

Exploring Chicago’s worst hood.

As you may recall, we booked an Airbnb in Chicago’s worst neighborhood for the DNC — dang you, Hilton, for your DNC rates! Well, we decided to explore the neighborhood and interview residents to learn more about it. Here’s the video on that adventure. 

Sorry to make a shameless plug in the intro, but we wanted to take the spotlight away from football for all you ahem Ravens (and, still, ahem Florida State) fans. Ehh, never mind: Football-themed 20 Questions.

–Max, Max, and Owen

KEY STORY

AI Bill Drama

California Governor Gavin Newsom must decide whether to sign a major AI regulation bill

• Last week, Cali’s legislature passed SB 1047, a bill that would force AI companies to conduct safety testing; build “kill switches” into models; and hold them liable if their models threaten public safety

• Cali’s lets it effectively set regulations for the entire US, as companies can’t ignore its market. The bill could, therefore, nationally regulate AI

• It’s sparked a fierce debate between its supporters and those who accuse it of stifling innovation. Newsom has until September 30 to veto or sign it

Dig Deeper

• Those who oppose the bill include Google, Meta, OpenAI, and Nancy Pelosi, one of California’s most prominent politicians

• Its supporters include Anthropic, an OpenAI rival, and Elon Musk, who has his own AI company

KEY STORY

$200M For Pig Organs

Biotech startup eGenesis raised $191M from investors to genetically edit pig organs for human transplant

• eGenesis is the company behind the first-ever successful pig-human kidney transplant earlier this year. The recipient, Rick Slayman, was able to survive for months after the surgery

• On why pigs are the animal of choice, eGenesis’ CEO said: “Pigs are physiologically close to humans in terms of how their kidneys, hearts, and livers work”

• There are 100k+ Americans on the waitlist for kidney transplants, and only around 25k are transplanted each year. Most recipients wait 3-5 years for a kidney

Dig Deeper

• On deciding on pigs, eGenesis’ CEO added, “Because we can clone pigs, we can do editing to their genomes that makes them compatible”

• The company is also actively researching pig-to-human heart and liver transplants

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KEY STORY

Russia Takes Nashville

The Department of Justice (DOJ) accused Russian media of funneling $10M into a Nashville-based company to carry out a “secret influence campaign”

• TENET Media, the Nashville outlet, would hire talent – including Dave Rubin, Tim Pool, and Benny Johnson – to make videos and would pay $100k per video

• Rubin, Pool, and Johnson have all released statements on social media denying their knowledge of the scheme and calling themselves victims

• Conservative influencer Lauren Chen and her husband, Liam Donovan, founded TENET in 2022. The DOJ report suggests they cooperated with Russia

Dig Deeper

• Despite their evident lack of knowledge of Russia’s involvement, Dave Rubin, Tim Pool, and Benny Johnson have all been highly critical of Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, in the past

• In late August, Tim Pool was seen slamming a table in a video, saying, “Ukraine is the enemy of this country”

• Lauren Chen, who knew of the scheme, has not yet released a statement

KEY STORY

Commanders Exec Video, Firing

The Washington Commanders fired VP of content Rael Enteen after a secretly recorded video was leaked

• The video – recorded by an undercover journalist who Enteen met on a dating app – captured him saying that NFL players are homophobic and “dumb as hell”; that the Cowboys’ owner is a racist and runs the NFL; that fans are “high school-educated alcoholics” and “mouth breathers”; and that the NFL’s commissioner is “a $50M puppet,” among other things

• The team suspended Enteen on Wednesday and terminated on Thursday, the NFL’s opening day

Dig Deeper

• The former exec criticized NFL players for being “dumb as hell.” He also called the league’s social justice initiatives “performative,” saying, “It’s not done out of the goodness of their heart. It’s because George Floyd changed the game… It’s to make as much money as possible”

• His termination came on the same day the 2024 NFL regular season began

RUNDOWN
Some Quick Stories for the Office

🔮 An American University professor who has successfully predicted nine out of the last ten elections and each one since 2004 made his official prediction for this year

🇺🇸 Donald Trump said that if elected, he will put Elon Musk in charge of a commission to cut government bureaucracy

🔍 Authorities had interviewed the 14-year-old who killed two teachers and two students at a Georgia high school on Wednesday

🎤 Atlanta rapper Rich Homie Quan (real name Dequantes Devontay Lamar) passed away at 34

⏰ A study of 2,000 sexually active adults by luxury lingerie retailer Pour Moi found that 10:09 PM on Saturday is the exact time that people are most likely to be having sex

COMMUNITY

🧐 Yesterday’s question: What's something that's “not a cult” but feels like a cult?

ASK AND TELL
20 Questions

Ladies and gentlemen, the Weeknd.

After eight months of waiting we can finally say it... football is BACK!!!! As Bills and Notre Dame fans, we are ready to get hurt again. It is funny to think about football from a bird's eye view (which may be obstructed by a Dak Prescott overthrown screen pass): You have 32 teams in the NFL and virtually all but one fanbase will be sad at the end. In college football, you have probably the same number of fanbases with national championship or bust mentalities, and only one will win.

But delusion is a beautiful thing. Keep the hope alive, and enjoy today’s football-themed 20 Questions.

Here’s the link.

Last Week’s 20 Questions:

Highlights from your answers to last week’s Labor Day edition of 20 Qs.

• Dream job today?

  • CEO of Waffle House

  • Florist

  • Being “The Dude”

• Would you date a coworker?

  • No-unless EXTREMELY hot (according to 17 yr old student in my class)

  • At one time in my life I did, and married her. Seems to be working 26 years later

  • Nope. My husband would not appreciate that.

• Favorite fictional office workplace?

  • Hogwarts

  • Bell ringer Notre Dame

  • Oz wizard

  • Yellowstone. Ride horse all day HELL YEAH!!

POPCORN
Some Quick Stories for Happy Hour

👻 Boorito szn: Fast-casual chain Chipotle Mexican Grill launched a Halloween costume collection with Spirit Halloween. The collection features burrito and napkin bodysuits

🌯 …and bearrito szn: Two Canadian men picked up a black bear cub in Northern Ontario, took it on a 10-hour drive to Windsor in Southwestern Ontario, and fed it Taco Bell

⚽️ Small nation, big world: San Marino, FIFA’s lowest-ranked international men’s soccer team (210th out of 210), defied the odds by beating Liechtenstein 1–0 on Thursday in the UEFA Nations League

🏡 Half a house, half a mil: A California house half-destroyed by a fallen tree is on the market for $500k. The realtor says he’s received offers for the home with missing walls, exposed wires, and no ceilings

🔥 Looking the type: A 26-year-old man staying at a Las Vegas hotel has been accused of using a homemade flamethrower to trigger the building’s sprinkler system, prompting a counterterrorism response

EDITOR’S NOTE
Final Thoughts

Hope you enjoyed the Chicago video. We tried to cover a side of the neighborhood that most news companies don’t show which is the human side. The people in East Garfield Park — yes, we understand it changes at night — were extremely friendly. We appreciate their time and willingness to talk. Now have a great weekend!

–Max and Max