THE EIKON

World

Terrorist Attacks in Europe

Europe has seen a wave of attacks this month from Islamic radicals and political protestors.

1. During Berlin's annual gay pride parade, Abdul Ballout drove a car into a crowd killing one and injuring at least 29. Ballout was previously convicted of assault and robbery in 2019 and 2022. He was then found guilty of attempting to join ISIS and was convicted of planning a serious act of violence in 2026. He was transferred to a de-radicalization program, and released shortly after. Ballout was shot and killed while fleeing from police the day after this attack.
2. A 31 year old man stabbed three women Monday morning before being pinned down by bystanders and an off-duty police officer. The suspect remains unnamed as he did not have identification. When subdued, the man was recorded saying, "It is Allah who commanded me". French police say that they are unaware of the motive of the stabbings at this time.
3. Last month, assaulters firebombed the house of three politicians killing one and injuring four in Thessaloniki, Greece. Prime Minister Mitsotakis expressed outrage over the terror attack. The PM stated that Greece has seen an economic resurgence because of the new conservative regime in power and cannot go back to its old ways despite threats and terrorism.
   “The legitimacy of the State and the unity of society must now cast terrorism to where it belongs: the margins!”, said Mitsotakis.

National

Dr. Fauci Testifies

"You've done more to harm science than anybody in my lifetime", Sen. Josh Hawley stated during the hearing this week.
Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs (HSGAC) held Dr. Anthony Fauci to testify, following his subpoena earlier this month. This was aimed to focus on the origins of the Covid-19 virus and the government's response to it. Personal messages, staff e-mails, and diary entries from Fauci were turned over the the committee and reveal fraud and lies from Fauci. He was awarded a literal last hour pardon from President Joe Biden's administration covering any offenses against the United States he may have committed or participated in between January 1, 2014, and January 20, 2025.
One of Fauci's attorneys, was forcibly removed from the committee room by security, following his repeated unrecognized outbursts and many warnings from HSGAC Chairman Rand Paul.
Consequently, this pardoning means a waiver of any Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. This is evident in the landmark Supreme Court Case Brown v. Walker, 1896. The Court ruled 5-4 that the witnesses right to refuse to answer is nullified.
Despite precedent and earlier claims that he had nothing to hide, Fauci stonewalled. He pled the fifth amendment over one hundred times, refusing to answer a single question, including questions like "What color is your tie?" and "What day is it?"
Chairman Paul indicated that he would vote to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify. To be convicted of contempt of Congress is a long process, carries a fairly low punishment, and is only classified as a federal misdemeanor.

Mississippi

Nolan Wells Case Continues

Autopsy results have yet to be publicly released from the Mississippi State Medical Examiner. However, attorney Gary Bufkin sent letters giving notice of an anticipated civil lawsuit. Bufkin, from a Ridgeland, MS based law firm, is representing the Wells family because attorney Ben Crump lacks the credentials to practice law in Mississippi. The letters which state to preserve all electronic evidence in possession were primarily sent to technology companies including Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat. While a civil lawsuit is not confirmed, it is anticipated.

Gubernatorial Race Update

The race for governor intensifies with currently three candidates on the ballot.

• Andy Gipson, the current Agriculture and Commerce Commissioner
• Philip Gunn, former Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives
• Shad White, current State Auditor

Business

The Cost of Compute

In recent times, companies have supposed that the reduction of employees coupled with increased use of AI would yield a net positive for the company. After a series of "AI driven layoffs", some companies have realized that this is not the case.
Ford Motor Company recently rehired more than 350 previously laid off engineers. According to Ford, the AI driven automated systems did not perform at the rate that the company believe they would. Cloud compute prices have soared, making the use of LLM models not as price friendly as it once was. Nvidia reports that the compute price for AI models often exceeds the salary of the employee replaced.