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Robots Build World's Largest 3D-Printed Neighborhood in Texas
Texas construction startup ICON is set to complete building what's reported to be the world's largest 3D-printed housing community this summer in Georgetown.
The Wolf Ranch community, built by Dallas-based Hillwood Communities, has 100 homes printed by 46-foot wide robotic printers using Lavacrete, a concrete material.
In 2022, ICON began printing these homes, which cost between $450K and $600K. Over 25 have been sold, and some homeowners have already moved in.
Narrative A
3D-printed homes are revolutionizing construction, solving labor shortages, making more sustainable products, using less energy, and producing less waste. They allow for easy customization as 3D printing enables complex shapes and innovative designs. It can also potentially create stronger structures with less — and even recycled — material. 3D-printed homes are the way forward.
Narrative B
3D-printed homes remain more of a novelty than a viable housing solution. The nascent technology has raised durability, safety, and long-term performance concerns. It can't yet replicate the complexity of traditional home building, which involves multiple materials and techniques. In any case, many "3D-printed" buildings still require significant conventional construction work.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that the seasonally adjusted Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index will be at least 1.98% in December 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Trump and Harris Agree to Debate
ABC News confirmed on Thursday that former Pres. Donald Trump and Vice Pres. Kamala Harris will face off in a presidential debate on Sept. 10, after the Republican agreed to the matchup in a press conference at Mar-a-Lago.
The network added that its anchors, David Muir and Linsey Davis, will moderate the debate. The exact format — including whether or not there will be a live audience — and ground rules are yet to be determined.
This comes as Trump, who was set to debate Pres. Joe Biden on ABC News on Sept. 10, declared last weekend that his agreement had been "terminated" as Biden left the race, and proposed a single debate with Harris on Fox News on Sept. 4.
Democratic narrative
Trump was forced to recalibrate his debate strategy after his take-it-or-leave-it Fox News offer backfired, disappointing even some of his fans. It's no wonder that the candidate who spent weeks running away from a debate is now interested in not just one but three showdowns He is desperate ahead of an imminent defeat.
Republican narrative
Democrats and their media allies have claimed that Trump was dodging the September debate only to have their lies now exposed. Actually, it's Kamala Harris who is terrified to face off against Trump as she has no experience in presidential debates and knows nothing about anything. Trump has already agreed to three debates, will Harris follow suit?
Nerd narrative
There's a 51% chance that Donald Trump will debate the Democratic nominee for president (Kamala Harris) more than once in 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
DOJ: Romanian Businessman Hired Hunter Biden to Influence US Policy
In a court filing on Wednesday, Special Counsel David Weiss accused Hunter Biden of accepting over $3.1M from a Romanian businessman to "influence US government agencies" during his father Pres. Joe Biden's vice presidency.
Named as G.P. in the filing, media reports have identified the associate as Gabriel Popoviciu, who allegedly hired Biden for legal work in 2015 when he was facing a criminal investigation in Romania. Though he denied the charges, Popoviciu was convicted of real estate fraud and sentenced to seven years in prison in 2017.
Weiss claims Biden "entered into an oral agreement" with Popoviciu to sway US policy and public opinion and persuade Washington to probe Popoviciu's bribery charges and end Romania's criminal investigation.
Democratic narrative
Hunter Biden has been the target of politically motivated attacks about his legitimate foreign business dealings and investments. Since he has never been charged with any crime relating to these conspiracy theories, Weiss should be precluded from raising these allegations at the trial. This case is a distraction from former Pres. Donald Trump's criminal cases and indictments to ensure Hunter's plight remains in the news while Democrats campaign to defeat Republicans.
Republican narrative
It's no secret that the Biden family earned millions of dollars from foreign entities during and after Joe Biden's time as vice president. Foreign governments directly paid Hunter Biden to influence his father's actions, which impacted national and international politics. He previously lied about his drug use when purchasing a gun in 2018; he will naturally deny violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act. However, justice will prevail, and he will face the consequences of his actions.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that Hunter Biden will be sentenced to at least 15 months before 2026, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Israel to Send Negotiators to Finalize Gaza Cease-fire Framework Next Week
After the US, Egypt, and Qatar issued a joint call for Gaza cease-fire talks to resume next week, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said an Israeli delegation will take part in the negotiations.
The statement, released on Thursday, called for Israel and Hamas "to resume urgent discussion" in Doha or Cairo "to close all remaining gaps and commence implementation of the deal without further delay."
An unnamed senior US official said that only four or five areas of disagreement regarding the cease-fire and hostage release's implementation need to be resolved. Hamas said it was "studying" the new offer for talks without giving details.
Pro-establishment narrative
The US and its allies are confident that after some tough negotiating, a deal between Israel and Hamas can be reached. A guaranteed end to the war will ensure increased humanitarian aid to the besieged enclave, release Israeli hostages, and create a better "day after" in Gaza without Hamas in power. The US will continue to work toward closing the gaps and ensuring that peace and stability can be restored to the region.
Pro-Israel narrative
Though Israel will do what it must to free those taken hostage in Gaza, it cannot rush into a deal that creates a lifeline for Hamas. Israel faces an entire network of Iranian-backed terror and must act wisely to gain as much as it can in negotiations with Hamas while avoiding full-scale regional escalation. Israel may have to make some tough, but necessary, concessions to ensure the release of the hostages and prevent further instability.
Pro-Palestine narrative
There is no indication that a cease-fire is on the horizon. Netanyahu has consistently sought to escalate the situation and prolong his political career. Israel's killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was clearly a move to further complicate cease-fire negotiations and provoke an Iranian retaliation. The US, which has supported Israel every step of the way, including in its genocidal campaign in Gaza, has failed to resolve the situation.
Nerd narrative
There is an 8% chance that a Israel-Hamas conflict ceasefire lasting at least 30 days will be agreed to before November 5th, 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Venezuela's Maduro Bans Access to X for 10 Days
Following a proposal by Venezuela's telecommunications commission, Pres. Nicolás Maduro has ordered a nationwide 10-day block on access to X. As of Thursday night, posts reportedly had stopped loading on the social network.
This comes as Maduro claims that X owner Elon Musk has violated the rules of his own platform and the laws of Venezuela, as they have traded barbs online since Maduro was confirmed as the winner of a contested presidential election last month.
The declaration of victory for Maduro also prompted anti-government protests, which Musk allegedly incited on X, leading to thousands of arrests and about 24 deaths. The platform formerly known as Twitter has faced suspensions in several countries, and Brazil opened a probe into its owner this year.
Left narrative
Elon Musk doesn't care about Venezuelans, let alone democracy. Given the nature of his businesses, it's easy to understand why he has decided to discuss Venezuelan politics almost daily on his social media platform Musk wants to increase his influence with America's rising far-right and reinforce his views that the left is dangerous.
Right narrative
Maduro's desperate refusal to leave power has sent his country into further chaos — and behaving as the dictator he is, he is now attacking every existing social media platform where he can't control information. If Elon Musk were the problem, why would Maduro also attack China-owned TikTok and Meta's Instagram and WhatsApp?
Nerd narrative
There's a 46% chance that if Nicolás Maduro is inaugurated in January 2025, there will be a civil war in Venezuela, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Burkina Faso Encourages Citizens to Report on Each Other
The junta government of Burkina Faso, which took power in a 2022 coup, has called on citizens "to report any suspicious individual, movement or object" as part of its almost decade-long battle against jihadists.
The Security Ministry further warned citizens not to park their cars for too long near "sensitive sites" prone to potential terror attacks. They were also asked not to take pictures of security force positions, sites, or routes; or to rent out cars or houses without adequate vetting of customers.
Burkina Faso has been fighting insurgents alongside the neighboring Sahel countries of Niger and Mali, with the three West African nations agreeing to create a joint force to address the violence earlier this year.
Pro-establishment narrative
Burkina Faso must restore civilian rule as soon as possible. Not only are human rights deteriorating rapidly in the Sahel, but the military government has not made its promised progress toward ending Islamist violence. Instead, Burkina Faso has let the Trojan horse of Russian influence seep into the region and further threaten human rights. A dictatorship will only hurt the country in the long run.
Establishment-critical narrative
The chaos in the Sahel region is thanks to US-backed coups, weapons shipments, and Western impotence regarding the insurgency. While it once cooperated with the West, Burkina Faso's failures in dealing with terrorism have led the country to turn to Russia to fill the security vacuum. While it's a sad reality, democracy won't be restored in Burkina Faso until its current government cleans up the mess created by US foreign policy.
VP Candidate Walz's Military Record Faces Scrutiny
Democratic vice presidential candidate for the 2024 US election Tim Walz is facing criticism over his military service record, including where he served and what rank he achieved.
The latest controversy was sparked by a video of Walz talking about his support for gun control, during which he claimed that he carried weapons "in war." Critics pointed out that while he did deploy during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, he was deployed to Norway and Italy.
His Republican vice presidential rival JD Vance, who also served but never saw combat, accused him of "abandon[ing] [his] unit right before they went to Iraq," referring to Walz's retirement two months before his unit was ordered to deploy.
Republican narrative
Walz has been exaggerating his military record for almost two decades to boost his political profile. He's lied about his military rank and even tricked voters into thinking he engaged in combat in the Middle East. Walz has strategically and covertly pushed these lies for electoral purposes since 2006, prompting Kamala's campaign staff to revise their website. It's now Walz's turn to step up and take accountability for committing stolen valor.
Democratic narrative
The only thing Walz is guilty of is mistakenly being too vague in the biography section of his campaign website in 2006 — and he's dealt with incessant smear campaigns from Republicans ever since. For years Walz has bent over backward to ensure people know which rank he retired from and that he served in Italy, not Iraq or Afghanistan. There is too much at stake for Republicans to continue bothering voters with these disingenuous attacks.
Nerd narrative
There's a 46% chance that the Republican nominee for President in 2024 will win in Pennsylvania, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
White Sox Oust Manager Pedro Grifol Amid All-Time Losing Season
Amid one of the worst losing seasons in MLB history, the Chicago White Sox have dismissed manager Pedro Grifol in a move that was widely expected to occur this year.
The White Sox currently have the worst record in baseball at 28-89 (a .239 winning percentage) and are on pace to lose 123 games, which would be the most since the 1899 Cleveland Spiders. Former MLB All Star Grady Sizemore will take over for the rest of the season as interim manager.
The 2024 club dubiously owns the organization's two longest losing streaks in franchise history. Chicago dropped 14 straight games from May 22 to June 6 and recently snapped a 21-game skid, which is tied for the longest losing streak in MLB since 1961.
Narrative A
The White Sox may well be the most dysfunctional franchise in all of professional sports, and firing Pedro Grifol does nothing to change that. Aging owner Jerry Reinsdorf has failed to hire the right executives to run his team’s baseball operations, and its members are left picking up the pieces of a once-promising core. It’s difficult to overstate the depth of Chicago’s problems, and the team has little recourse to improve its future after trading away key players for marginal returns. The team needed a scapegoat, but that’s about all that's changed.
Narrative B
While Pedro Grifol isn’t all to blame for the White Sox implosion, he clearly wasn’t the guy to get the team back on a winning track. From feuds with players to uninspiring press conferences, it was evident that Grifol isn’t cut out to be an MLB manager. Of course, the club is still in a difficult situation, and it will take a lot of work to return to contention. Nonetheless, the White Sox have ripped off the band aid and are on the path to rebuilding the team.
Nerd narrative
There is a 38% chance that Major League Baseball will expand by 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
Plane Crash in Brazil Kills All 61 on Board
According to officials, a plane carrying 61 people crashed outside of São Paulo Friday afternoon, leaving no survivors. It reportedly fell 17k feet within a minute's time. Initially it was feared 62 had perished, but one ticketed passenger wasn't onboard.
According to the airline Voepass, the plane took off from the city of Cascavel in southern Paraná — roughly 450 miles from São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport — and later crashed in the city of Vinhedo.
Officials said the plane crashed in someone's yard, but no one on the ground was hurt. The vehicle was an ATR 72 made by European manufacturers Airbus and Leonardo. It was manufactured in 2010 and approved to carry up to 68 passengers.
Narrative A
This tragedy has struck the hearts and minds of government officials and citizens alike. In reponse, emergency workers have been deployed to the scene, including firefighters and police as well as disaster victim identification personnel. Alongside the initial rapid response, an investigation has been launched to find out what was behind this disaster.
Narrative B
While no one knows exactly what happened here and an investigation is needed, footage of the crash appears to show what's called an aerodynamic stall, in which there's not enough air speed over the wings to keep the plane flying. Audio also shows that the engines were still running, meaning the air didn't stall due to a loss of engine power.