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Tim O’Brien

@timobrien.bsky.social
251K followers 893 following 1.5K posts

Senior Executive Editor, @Opinion.bloomberg.com. Political Analyst, MSNOW. Author: “TrumpNation.” Priors: New York Times, Wall Street Journal. www.timothylobrien.com

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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 2h
Pigeon chilling above Manhattan traffic.
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ArtButMakeItSports @artbutmakeitsports.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Circus Performers, by Walt Kuhn, 1978, 📸 via @marisakabas.bsky.social
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 6h
Months before OpenAI’s artificial intelligence went rogue, two employees raised an alarm with top executives. They were ignored. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/29/t...
nytimes.com
OpenAI Ignored Employees’ Warnings About Safely Testing A.I. Models
Employees and security researchers said that they had cautioned the company on safely testing its A.I. models and strengthening its corporate infrastructure, but that OpenAI did not listen.
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Jim Lokay @jimlokay.com · 23h
If you want to really know how the outrage machine gets fired up: 1. Schmitt plans to drop “bombshell” on Smith 2. Someone plants story that Schmitt is a Vance VP contender to run same day 3. Right-wing Twittersphere gets talking points 4. Schmitt steps in it 5. Scheduled tweets go out anyway
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Klobuchar FTW here at the end. And Jack Smith maintains his composure throughout this charade.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 29/09/2026
wow -- Darline Graham cuts off Jack Smith just as Smith start explaining how her brother Lindsey in fact denounced Trump's lies about the 2020 election on the Senate floor
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 29/09/2026
Jack Smith: "History teaches that the rule of law is rarely destroyed all at once. It's often weakened by attacks on the institutions and the public servants sworn to uphold it. Since January 2025, we have witnessed precisely such an effort."
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PBS News @pbsnews.org · 29/09/2026
Former special counsel Jack Smith testifies Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. to.pbs.org/3VUAJwG
to.pbs.org
WATCH LIVE: Jack Smith testifies before Senate Judiciary as GOP targets past Trump probes
This week's Senate Judiciary hearing comes after a key Republican lawmaker said in July he believes that special counsel Jack Smith may have lied to Congress while testifying about his investigation o...
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Jack Smith says he stands by his decision to bring charges against Trump in the classified documents case. "If asked whether to prosecute a former President based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether that President was a Republican or a Democrat."
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The theft by a hacking group of reams of sensitive personal data involving potentially tens of thousands of former and current FBI employees is emerging as one of the worst breaches of sensitive government information, leaving the FBI rushing to protect its personnel. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/28/u...
nytimes.com
Embarrassing Breach at F.B.I. Fuels Fears of Harm to Its Employees
In an internal memo, the F.B.I. said it believed the hackers may have stolen sensitive information on all of its employees.
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Francis Wilkinson @franciswilkinson.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
“In every poll, in every race, the undecided…are conservative Trump critics at this point,” says Democratic strategist Pete Giangreco. “Some of them will hold their nose and vote Republican; some of them will hold their nose and vote Democrat. But I bet a big chunk of them just stay home.”
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Chicago
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
(Bloomberg) -- “The US Supreme Court reinstated President Donald Trump’s expansion of a federal database to help verify voter eligibility for the midterms, putting on hold a judge’s finding that the government is misusing Social Security information and violating privacy rights.”
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The AI build-out is on track to become the biggest economic bet in U.S. history, dwarfing the investments made to fund other huge U.S. infrastructure projects such as the railroads, the highway system and the plumbing for the internet. www.wsj.com/economy/the-...
wsj.com
The AI Build-Out Is Becoming the Biggest Economic Bet in U.S. History
Data-center spending is greater than that for canals, railroads and grid combined—creating jobs and stock-market wealth, while boosting inflation and crowding out housing.
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Tech leaders to UN: For the sake of humanity, please control the AI technology we created. apnews.com/article/ai-a...
apnews.com
Tech leaders to UN: For the sake of humanity, please control the AI technology we created
The heads of major artificial intelligence firms pleaded with the United Nations to set controls over the burgeoning technology they are designing in order to save the world — or at least its people.
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NPR @npr.org · 24/09/2026
Education staff are being scattered across several other federal agencies. Despite the Trump administration's claims, employees say it's adding bureaucracy and making it harder to serve students. n.pr/3TS9SAR
n.pr
The Education Dept. hasn't been dismantled. It's become more inefficient, staff say
Education staff are being scattered across several other federal agencies. Despite the Trump administration's claims, employees say it's adding bureaucracy and making it harder to serve students.
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
A federal judge said that Trump’s order barring CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House was likely unconstitutional and ordered the administration to restore access to the three news outlets. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/b...
nytimes.com
Court Blocks Trump’s White House Ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico
Judge Timothy J. Kelly issued a temporary restraining order and told the White House to immediately restore the press credentials for the employees of the three news outlets.
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
More on this FBI hack: A criminal hacking group said it stole “a large tranche of sensitive personnel information belonging to thousands of F.B.I. officials in what would amount to a stunning breach of private data for the nation’s top law enforcement agency.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/u...
nytimes.com
Hackers Say They Stole Thousands of Sensitive F.B.I. Personnel Records
The compromise, if confirmed, would be the latest in a string of cybersecurity failures at the F.B.I., which said it was investigating the matter.
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
GOP Sen. John Curtis calls for probe of Trump Jr. after wedding party bankrolled by Russian oligarch apnews.com/article/trum...
apnews.com
GOP Sen. John Curtis calls for probe of Trump Jr. after wedding party bankrolled by Russian oligarch
Republican Sen. John Curtis of Utah wants the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate and subpoena Donald Trump Jr. after his wedding party was partially bankrolled by a Russian oligarch.
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Hispanic Voters, Abandoning Trump, Are Transforming the Midterm Map www.nytimes.com/2026/09/22/u...
nytimes.com
Hispanic Voters, Abandoning Trump, Are Transforming the Midterm Map
Texas and even Florida are the places to watch in November if a polling pattern holds.
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Repeat after me, until the end of time: “Trump’s investors got hosed. He cashed in.” www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
Trump’s Crypto Venture Got Rich While Big Promises Fell Short
Donald Trump Jr., Chase Herro and a group of their business partners descended on Manhattan’s Jazz at Lincoln Center concert hall last year to promote an expansive vision for World Liberty Financial, ...
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
“Kao laid out in devastating detail how his operation worked. He gave agents a 50-page document naming dozens of lobbyists, congressional staffers and members of Congress who he said helped him trade cash for contracts.” www.propublica.org/article/fbi-...
propublica.org
The FBI Anti-Corruption Squad Was Circling Susan Collins — Until Trump Got in the Way
After the FBI caught a defense contractor’s CEO making illegal campaign contributions, it sought to launch a sweeping political bribery probe involving Collins and others. Then the second Trump admini...
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David J. Bier @davidjbier.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Did you know that DHS is authorized by Congress to intentionally defame private individuals all day, every day and it cannot be sued for defamation? Now that you know that, does it make you more or less likely to believe anything it says? (Oh, he didn't illegally enter)
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Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Mamdani: I told the president we would have all the members of the press here on the lawn and that is something that I believe in… Trump: They said they were going to boycott me but they never boycott me. Look at all that press.
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
“A few days ago, Michelle was informed — on a brief video call, by two corporate guys she did not know, who did not know her — that, effective in two weeks, her position would no longer exist…That’s how it is in newspapers these days.” - Dave Barry davebarry.substack.com/p/michelle
davebarry.substack.com
Michelle
A tribute.
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Paul J Davies @pauljdavies.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Working for noted memecoin billionaire Donald J Trump has helped the heads of the SEC and CFTC forget conservative hatred of these agencies writing their own rules. That's not a great foundation for crypto going mainstream! @opinion.bloomberg.com www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
bloomberg.com
Crypto Can’t Go Mainstream Without Clarity
US regulators are determined to boost cryptoassets. That’s unsurprising when they owe their jobs to the meme-coin billionaire (and US President) Donald Trump. But after the Senate last week voted down...
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NPR @npr.org · 21/09/2026
United Nations head António Guterres returns to New York for his final U.N. General Assembly as diplomacy falters over wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the global body faces deep divisions. n.pr/4xF72gC
n.pr
What to know as world leaders converge at the United Nations this week
United Nations head António Guterres returns to New York for his final U.N. General Assembly as diplomacy falters over wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the global body faces deep divisions.
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Matthew Eadie @mattheweadie.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
BREAKING: Evanston police confirm a U.S. citizen was briefly detained by federal agents Sunday morning near Howard and Dodge before being released The man was taken to the hospital for injuries to his head, neck and teeth after agents drove off
evanstonnow.com
Federal agents detained U.S. citizen Sunday morning - Evanston Now
Police chief says officers responded to a man with injuries to head, neck and teeth on Howard and made contact with agents involved.
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Matthew Eadie @mattheweadie.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Evanston police chief Schenita Stewart tells me that EPD contacted the agents involved, including one who had blood on their hands The agent "told the officer that agents had attempted to identify an individual who resembled a person they were seeking."
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Philip Bump @pbump.com · 21/09/2026
ICE shot a DoorDash delivery guy.
statesman.com
Attorney: Austin man shot by ICE agent was making DoorDash delivery
A Venezuelan man shot by an ICE agent in Austin was making a DoorDash delivery, his attorney said. Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, 28, was later released from the hospital into ICE custody.
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Politico, CNN and MSNOW, whose journalists were banned from the White House last week, are suing Trump and three top advisers, calling the abrupt lockout a “direct assault on the First Amendment.” www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
politico.com
News outlets Trump banned from White House announce lawsuit
POLITICO, CNN and MS NOW to seek restraining order to restore reporters’ access.
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G Elliott Morris @gelliottmorris.com · 20/09/2026
It's polling season! How should you update your beliefs about the election in the face of new — often contradictory — data? Here's a step-by-step example of how we do exactly that at Strength In Numbers: www.gelliottmorris.com/p/how-to-upd...
gelliottmorris.com
How to update your beliefs with new polling data, the Strength In Numbers way
Plus, just 11% of Americans want an AI data center built in their town. Your weekly political data roundup for September 20, 2026.
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
“There is a name for this type of egocentric behaviour – ‘conversational narcissism.’l www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
theguardian.com
‘But enough about you …’ How to survive in a world of monologuists, interrupters and trauma dumpers
Conversations are supposed to be two-sided – but all too often we come up against someone who’s passionately, exclusively in love with the sound of their own voice. Time to fight back …
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Two men deported to Equatorial Guinea by the Trump administration were hooded, bound, beaten with guns and shoved down a flight of stairs recently by police officers at a remote hotel where immigrants are being held indefinitely, according to witnesses and lawyers. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/18/w...
nytimes.com
A Central African Hotel Has Become a Nightmare Prison for U.S. Deportations
Witnesses say men were hooded and beaten in Equatorial Guinea. The autocratic government there is a partner in President Trump’s deportation program.
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Gillian Branstetter @gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I'm admittedly not an early child development expert but it does seem the ideal scenario for any baby is being collectively raised by a traveling women's professional soccer team
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Rebecca Ingber @becingber.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I have a joke about Occam’s razor but you guys will overthink it.
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James Gibney @jamesgibney.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Was DHS's decision to hold off on killing TPS for El Salvador an attack of conscience? Nah, just more proof that the US is back in the bad old days of immigration policy when politics outweighed the facts and humanitarian need, says me www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...
bloomberg.com
The Trump Administration Is Making a Mockery of Protecting Immigrants
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has temporarily deprived Democrats of a potent midterm rallying cry and averted a crisis for El Salvador’s president, one of President Donald...
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Bob Burgess @bobburgess.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The actual retail price of ground beef in the US is on the cusp of $7 a pound:
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Liam Denning @liamdenning.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I reposted this already but had to watch it again. It is an astounding exchange
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Mark Gongloff @markgongloff.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Trump once again proves his bona fides as our greatest accidental proponent of the clean-energy transition www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-glo...
carbonbrief.org
Analysis: Global fossil-fuel emissions set to fall in 2026 amid Hormuz crisis - Carbon Brief
Global fossil-fuel emissions are set to fall by in 2026 amid the fallout from the Hormuz crisis, according to Carbon Brief analysis.
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
“We have two major waterways obstructed, active attacks, Iran escalating attacks, proxies being active and no signs of diplomatic talks,” Ms. Bakr said. “It’s a disastrous situation when you’re looking at it from an energy security angle.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/b...
nytimes.com
Global Oil Prices Could Hit Highest Levels in Months After Saudi Pipeline Attacks
Prolonged restrictions on exports could push oil prices even higher.
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Just the man this historic regulatory moment needs.
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
When an American oligarch decides to court a Russian oligarch: “The guest list numbered around 50. It included Trump Jr.’s brother-in-law Jared Kushner, Eric Trump — and Kremlev, an imposing man with a shaved head who speaks limited English.” www.propublica.org/article/dona...
propublica.org
Donald Trump Jr.’s Wedding Bankrolled by Putin-Linked Russian Oligarch
The oligarch, Umar Kremlev, spent hundreds of thousands on expenses like renting out a private island. He appears to have met Trump Jr. only recently, but he attended the intimate wedding with a large...
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
“Almost 20 months into Mr. Trump’s second term, his long-running media clashes have grown into a sweeping campaign to control speech in America that stands out for applying so many levers, so fast, all at once.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/12/u...
nytimes.com
How Trump Is Wielding Power to Stifle Speech
President Trump has harnessed agencies across the government to curtail press freedoms, a sweeping campaign that free speech advocates say will have lasting effects.
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
OpenAI won’t go public in this year as the artificial intelligence company focuses on addressing safety-related concerns around the technology, Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman told Fortune in an interview. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
OpenAI IPO Won’t Happen Until 2027, Sam Altman Tells Fortune
OpenAI won’t go public in this year as the artificial intelligence company focuses on addressing safety-related concerns around the technology, Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman told Fortune in an in...
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
“We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models. Progress will still seem fast, and we must make wise use of the time we gain. Two things have convinced me.” darioamodei.com/post/we-must...
darioamodei.com
Dario Amodei — We Must Pace the Frontier
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Eric Lipton NYT @ericlipton.nytimes.com · 12/09/2026
Saying all this because I embrace and support new tech. But I am among those who are worried about what happens when we reach recursive self-improvement--if we don't have rock solid fail safes/safeguards. That has to be part of the deal.
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Eric Lipton NYT @ericlipton.nytimes.com · 12/09/2026
Otherwise, I am deeply worried about the future world my children will live in.
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
RIP, Pete Ganci.
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