The Watches 09.10.2025
Shocking Charlotte video, AI copyright case, and US "show of force"
“Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching…And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.” ~ Luke 12
First Watch:
Jets to the Caribbean – President Trump has sent fighter jets to the Caribbean amidst tensions with Venezuela over U.S. targeting of drug cartel operations. (CBS)
Trump Assassination Trial – Jurors are being chosen for the trial of Ryan Routh, accused of attempting to kill Donald Trump on a Florida golf course last year. (AP)
Mask Alert in SF – San Francisco health officials recommend mask-wearing again after a single COVID-related death. (Front Page)
AI Goggles for Army – Tech company Rivet has been awarded a contract to develop AI-powered glasses for the U.S. Army. (Defense One)
Social Media Riots – Nepal’s social media ban peaked protests that have left 19 dead. Protestors believe the bans–”in the name of tackling fake news, hate speech and online fraud”–were being used to cover corruption and lavish lifestyles of politicians. (BBC)
Ukraine Security Pledge – French President Emmanuel Macron says that 26 countries have signed on to provide security guarantees for Ukraine. (Politico)
Pearl Harbor Log Found – A rare logbook from Pearl Harbor, documenting events before and after the attack, has been discovered in a storage box. (Smithsonian) | Lost Nobel Patents – A dozen missing patents belonging to Alfred Nobel have been uncovered in a Swedish home. (France24)
Second Watch:
Visa Violations at Hyundai Battery Plant – Between 450–475 workers were detained at Hyundai and LG Energy’s battery plant in Bryan County, GA, during a federal raid. Nearly 300 were South Koreans who overstayed short-term or holiday visas. None of the detainees were directly employed by Hyundai, and all will be repatriated. The plant has been under investigation for months, after the deaths of two workers raised concerns about poor conditions. (WNG, Fox, Prospect)
Ukrainian Refugee Murder Ignored by National Media – Shocking footage has surfaced of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee, being stabbed to death on a Charlotte train two weeks ago. The suspect, a homeless man with a long rap sheet, whose family sought to have him institutionalized, allegedly said he “got that white girl.” While local media covered the story extensively, national outlets downplayed it, focusing instead on the pitfalls of public surveillance footage, “MAGA narratives” and racial dynamics. (New York Post, PJ Media, Outback)
Anthropic Pays $1.5B to Authors – AI company Anthropic will pay $1.5 billion in compensation to authors whose books were used to train its models. While a judge ruled that using books for AI training falls under fair use, Anthropic’s use of pirated copies sourced online tipped the scales. “This settlement marks the beginning of a necessary evolution toward a legitimate, market-based licensing scheme for training data,” the judge said. (NPR) | Midjourney Sued Over Batman and Superman – Warner Bros. is suing AI-image generator Midjourney for allegedly using characters like Batman and Superman without a license. The case could set a precedent for how copyright applies to AI-generated images. (TechCrunch)
Trump’s Epstein Ties Revisited – The Wall Street Journal published a saucy birthday greeting reportedly from Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. Speaker Mike Johnson emphasized Trump’s disdain for the disgraced financier, revealing Trump had once agreed to help the FBI take down sex traffickers as an “informant”. (Red State, NewsNation)
Trans Athlete Drops Supreme Court Case – A transgender-identifying male student has withdrawn his appeal to play on a women’s college sports team. The case, set for the Supreme Court, would have challenged Idaho’s ban on male athletes competing in female categories. His lawyer cited “negative publicity” as the reason for withdrawal, saying his priority is now graduating and “living a healthy and safe life.” (CNN, Scotus Blog)
Third Watch:
📳 The demise of musical ringtones
🌆 A time-lapse Minecraft build of the notorious walled city of Kowloon
🚘 Gotta be the fanciest go-karts you’ve ever seen
A good part of the world was treated to a blood moon lunar eclipse over the weekend:
Let us pray. Lord Jesus, light of the world, You shine with the brightness o the sun in the darkness of our corked and twisted generation. Give us strength to shine as lights in the world as we live out our baptismal life by serving our neighbors with thanksgiving and joy as sacrificial offerings of mercy and love; for You live an reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
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