trendsjournal.com – History Before It Happens

December 19, 2023

20231219202129

TRUMP CAUGHT USING NUKE TALKS AS A RUSE BEFORE ISRAEL’S STRIKE ON IRAN

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that he held a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Iran, which was described in the Israeli media as “heated.”

FRANCE VOWS TO DEFEND ISRAEL, STARMER MOVES ADDITIONAL JETS TO REGION, MERZ SAYS IRAN CANNOT HAVE A NUKE

Top European powers came out in support of Israel after Tel Aviv carried out strikes across Iran under the auspices of preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear bomb.

RESEARCHERS RELEASE THE KRAKENCODER

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City have unveiled the Krakencoder, a new AI that weaves together a variety of brain images taken by different devices. The result is a deeper, more integrated view of how a brain affects behavior, thoughts, and how it recovers from injuries.

WHEN THE ECONOMY FALLS, JOBS GO WITH IT

Job growth slowed for the second month in a row at private-sector firms according to employment estimates released by payroll company ADP. The company noted the private sector companies are hesitant to hire due to economic uncertainty.

WORLD BANK WILL RESUME FUNDING NUCLEAR ENERGY PROJECTS

The World Bank will “re-enter the nuclear space” and “support efforts to extend the life of reactors in countries that already have them and help support grid upgrades and related infrastructure,” bank president Ajay Banga e-mailed staff on 13 June.

NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT: TRUMP EARNS $57M FROM WORLD LIBERTY FINANCIAL TOKEN SALES

U.S. President Donald Trump pulled in more than $57 million in token sales tied to his family’s venture into World Liberty Financial, which was launched just before his election win, according to newly released financial disclosures.

GAZA DEATH TOLL

The death toll in Gaza reached 55,432 people—including more than 300 Palestinians who have been killed trying to access humanitarian aid at distribution locations.

CITI RAISES LOAN LOSS RESERVE AMID POSITIVE ECONOMIC SIGNS

In the current quarter, Citi will raise its cash reserve against bad loans by “a few hundred million dollars…given the macro environment and [interest rates] compared to the last quarter,” Viswas Raghavan, the company’s executive vice-chair and head of banking, told a Morgan Stanley financial conference on 10 June.

THE AI FUTURE: THEY HAVE NO IDEA

Want the clearest evidence that unbound AI development is likely an existential danger to natural humanity?

$1 TRILLION IN BUYBACKS IN ONE MONTH! ZOMBIFICATION PERSONIFIED

The Scale of the Buybacks Is STAGGERING! $1 trillion in buybacks in one month, this is unprecedented. It’s zombification personified.

MONUMENTAL: HEAVYWEIGHTS COME OUT SWINGING AGAINST AI COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT

In a legal first, two major Hollywood studios have launched a copyright infringement lawsuit against one of the most popular AI imaging platforms, Midjourney.

“BIG BEAUTIFUL” TAX BILL TRANSFERS WEALTH TO THE RICHEST, CBO SAYS

Donald Trump’s “big beautiful” tax bill now before the U.S. senate would hand $12,000 a year to the richest Americans, in part by taking $1,600 a year from the poorest, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

TRUMP SAYS ‘WE’ CONTROL THE SKIES OVER TEHRAN, REJECTS GABBARD’S ASSESSMENT ON IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that “we now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran” and told reporters that he rejected Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s March assessment that Iran is not developing nukes.

COAXING AI TO BE SCIENTIFICALLY CREATIVE

Large language model AIs such as ChatGPT or Gemini are good at carrying out rote tasks and copying patterns—writing poems, making pictures—but the folks at Lila Sciences want their AI to think outside the test tube, be wildly original, and make jaw-dropping breakthroughs.

SPECIAL REPORT: TRUMP’S TARIFFS, THE UPS AND DOWNS, FOR BETTER AND FOR WORSE

On 12 June, the U.S. dollar fell to its lowest value since March 2022. The buck lost ground after Donald Trump told reporters he will send letters shortly to trading partners assigning them tariff rates when the 90-day pause on the new “Liberation Day” rates runs out in early July.

META’S ZUCKERBERG HAND-PICKS AGI SUPERGROUP

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is personally recruiting a team of as many as 50 specialists to speed the company’s progress toward creating artificial general intelligence (AGI), a supercharged synthetic intelligence that can outperform humans across a wide range of tasks.

ECONOMIC UPDATE—MARKET OVERVIEW

Today, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI) reported that builder sentiment fell by 2 points in June from May to 32. Last June it was at 43, and a number below 50 is ranked negative.

$1 TRILLION IN BUYBACKS IN ONE MONTH! ZOMBIFICATION PERSONIFIED

The Scale of the Buybacks Is STAGGERING! $1 trillion in buybacks in one month, this is unprecedented. It’s zombification personified.

GOLD BULLION IS CENTRAL BANKS’ SECOND MOST PLENTIFUL RESERVE ASSET

Gold bullion has surpassed the euro to become central banks’ second most plentiful reserve asset in terms of value, according to a new report from the European Central Bank (ECB).

THE AI FUTURE: THEY HAVE NO IDEA

Want the clearest evidence that unbound AI development is likely an existential danger to natural humanity?

ISRAEL TRIES TO GET THE U.S. TO JOIN ITS WAR WITH IRAN. OR, HAS THE U.S. JOINED THE ISRAEL WAR?

It has been reported that since the start of its attack on Iran, Israel has been pushing the U.S. to join its war, but, while the Trump administration has provided defensive support, it is reported that the White House has not yet agreed to go on the offensive in Tehran.

TRUMP CONSIDERS U.S. STRIKES ON IRAN, MEANING TEHRAN CAN RETALIATE

U.S. President Donald Trump may decide to carry out strikes across Iran before a meeting with his top administration officials in the Situation Room on Tuesday afternoon, meaning Tehran would have the legal right to retaliate against American interests.

June 17, 2025

20250617202531

June 10, 2025

20250610195904

June 3, 2025

20250603194020

May 27, 2025

20250527181221

Global Economy

SPOTLIGHT: BIGS GETTING BIGGER

Brown & Brown, an insurance company with more than 450 locations around the world, will pay $9.83 billion in cash and stock for Accession Risk Management Group.

SPECIAL REPORT: TRUMP’S TARIFFS, THE UPS AND DOWNS, FOR BETTER AND FOR WORSE

SPECIAL REPORT: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE EATS THE AD INDUSTRY

As Amazon, Meta, and other tech giants automate advertising using artificial intelligence (AI) tools, advertising agencies wonder if they have a future.

The Israel War

ISRAEL WAS PLANNING ATTACK ON IRAN FOR MONTHS, REPORT SAYS

The Israeli military has been planning its decapitation strike on Iran for at least eight months and aimed to carry out a decisive blow to eliminate Tehran’s top military leaders and nuclear scientists, Axios reported last week.

GALLANT: U.S. HAS OBLIGATION TO COME TO ISRAEL’S AID AGAINST IRAN

Yoav Gallant, the former Israeli defense minister, said in an interview on Monday that he believes the U.S. has an obligation to come to assist Israel’s war in Iran, and said U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent “determination” seems to “pave the way” for the U.S.’s involvement.

GAZA DEATH TOLL

The death toll in Gaza reached 55,432 people—including more than 300 Palestinians who have been killed trying to access humanitarian aid at distribution locations.

Trends in AI

KEY AI BENCHMARKING SERVICE ACCUSED OF BIAS

LMArena, a standard platform ranking the performance of large language model AIs (LLMs), gives preference to models made by giant tech companies, according to a study preprinted on arXiv and not yet peer-reviewed.

RESEARCHERS RELEASE THE KRAKENCODER

LEADING AI MODELS “COLLAPSE” UNDER HARD PROBLEMS, STUDY SAYS

When struggling with highly complex problems, “reasoning” AIs from DeepSeek and OpenAI suffer “complete accuracy collapse,” according to a new study released by Apple.

Hi-Tech Science

IBM TO BUILD GIANT QUANTUM COMPUTER BEFORE 2029

IBM has announced a plan to build a quantum computer by 2029 that will hold 10,000 qubits, about 50 times more than today’s most powerful quantum device.

MIDDLE-AGE BELLY: BLAME STEM CELLS, NOT DIET OR LAZINESS

It’s been called “middle-age spread”: as people reach their 40s and beyond, many see their bellies go big and fat pile onto their hips and butts.Some respond by joining a gym, taking up jogging, or eating a lot more salads. Still, the extra fat usually stays put. People at City of Hope—a major U.S. center of research and treatment for......

PLAYING A GAME COULD END CHRONIC PAIN

A brain-training game using biofeedback shows an ability to slash chronic pain at least as well as opioids, researchers at Australia’s University of New South Wales have found in a small trial.