JD Vance's free speech comments: Galvanizing or misleading?
(NewsNation) — Wajahat Ali, editor of 'The Left Hook' on Substack, joins 'On Balance with Leland Vittert' to discuss JD Vance's meeting with German far-right leader Alice Weidel, the vice president's comments about free speech and subsequent fallout from both.
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Fox News
4 hours ago
- Fox News
Substack emerges as solidly progressive platform with ‘liberal thought leaders' flocking, researcher says
The growing media platform Substack is solidly liberal, with 81 of the 100 top-selling titles in the U.S. Politics category being "left-leaning or progressive," according to researcher Kyle Tharp. Tharp, who pens the "Chaotic Era" newsletter, explained that Twitter used to be "the go-to arena for Democratic strategists, elected officials, and a new class of liberal take-makers," but Elon Musk's takeover of the platform has pushed "liberal thought leaders" away. Lefty influencers have searched for a new home and some have migrated to Bluesky or Threads, but Tharp believes "a winner appears to have emerged" in recent months. "Newsletter platform Substack is having a moment, fueled largely by an influx of liberal-leaning political and media figures eager to share their takes. Online pundits and anti-Trump resistance leaders like Heather Cox Richardson, Dan Pfeiffer, Simon Rosenberg, Norm Eisen, Steve Schmidt, and Mary Trump have built sizable audiences by weighing in on the news of the day," Tharp wrote. "Democratic elected officials—including Gavin Newsom, Pete Buttigieg, and Chris Murphy—have launched their own publications on the platform, aiming to grow dedicated followings ahead of potential presidential bids," he continued. "Perhaps most notably for the media industry, mainstream journalists who have left legacy outlets are finding new freedom to share their political opinions more openly on Substack. Among them: Taylor Lorenz, Mehdi Hasan, Tara Palmeri, Jennifer Rubin, Don Lemon, Jim Acosta, Terry Moran, and Dan Rather," Tharp added. Moran, who was axed from ABC News this month after posting an anti-Trump rant on X, quickly joined Substack and used the platform to double down on his social media post that called Trump and White House aide Stephen Miller "world-class haters." "This, while very hot, is an observation, a description that is accurate and true," Moran said. He added later, "It was something that was in my heart and mind. And I would say I used very strong language, deliberately, because he, I felt [was]… spitting venom and lies into our debate, degrading our public discourse, debasing it and using the power of the White House and what he's been given to grind us down in that bile. And, that's very disturbing to me." Tharp noted that "They're building a new echo chamber of left-leaning or anti-Trump commentary" one newsletter at a time. He included a graphic of the Top 50 "bestsellers" in the U.S. Politics category, which reveals the overwhelming majority of political content being consumed on Substack is of the liberal variety. The company appears to be embracing the liberal audience, as Tharp noted that anti-Trump figures Michael Cohen, Joe Walsh and Don Lemon are being used in the company's latest advertising campaign. He's unsure if the platform will continue the momentum "or if it's simply the latest stopover for Twitter refugees in search of an audience." "For now, Substack stands as a key town square for a certain segment of the left, reshaping how political narratives are distributed, debated, and consumed," Tharp wrote. While Substack does feature a handful of prominent non-liberals, such as Bari Weiss, it bills itself as "a new media app that connects you with the creators, ideas, and communities you care about most." "Here, you can discover world-class video, podcasts, and writing from a diverse set of creators who cover politics, pop culture, food, philosophy, tech, travel, and so much more," Substack's website states.
Los Angeles Times
6 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Wary of Washington, Europe frets it will be left behind on an AI battlefield
THE HAGUE — Days before NATO was set to convene in the Netherlands, one of its top commanders, Pierre Vandier, tasked with transforming the alliance for the next fight, put out a call: Britain will need to step up its intelligence contributions to the alliance going forward. 'The UK has this in its DNA,' Vandier said. It was an acknowledgment that the United States, pivoting toward a far greater intelligence threat from China, may leave its European allies behind in their own existential fight with Russia. A lack of reliability on the world's leading AI superpower, European officials say, will render the continent vulnerable in a race for intelligence superiority set to revolutionize global battlefields. The rush toward artificial intelligence has been a strong undercurrent at the NATO Summit in the Hague this week, serving not only as a gathering for leaders of the alliance, but also as a defense industry forum for emerging power players in Silicon Valley, treated in Holland's gilded halls as a new kind of royalty. 'AI is going to be an important part of warfare going forward, but it's still very new, and NATO tends not to be at the tip of the spear of innovation — and there is some division within the alliance on how to develop AI, when it comes to AI regulation and safety,' said Max Bergmann, director of the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. 'Tech companies don't hold the same pride of place in the European economic system, and they're not consumed with the need to compete with China militarily — they are much more focused on Russia,' Bergmann added. 'While the U.S. is about winning the AI race, Europeans are watching what's happening in Ukraine and saying, 'we just need to deter Russia.'' So far, for European capitals, that has meant incorporating powerful data collection and processing systems into defense departments and improving the performance of automated surveillance systems and drones — skills well within Europe's capabilities. Several German and French companies, such as Helsing, Azur and Quantum Systems, are already developing products based on what they are seeing in Ukraine. But the next fight will require technologies that dwarf existing drone capabilities, experts said. 'We've been predicting for a while that there would be integration of AI into military research and development and defense systems, and I expect, for example, that advanced cyber capabilities will play an important role in the coming years,' said Jonas Vollmer, chief operating officer of the AI Futures Project. 'Europe has influence, but it is grappling with the difficult reality that they don't have access or strong domestic development of frontier AI systems, and they are pretty far behind.' Last year, NATO allies agreed to speed up the adoption of artificial intelligence in its operations. There are signs the bloc senses urgency to do so, signing an agreement with Palantir, a U.S.-based technology company, to incorporate AI into its warfighting systems after just six months of negotiations. The United States and China are far ahead of competitors in the race for AI superiority, measured in raw computing power and proximity to general artificial intelligence — AI that has human-level cognitive capabilities to learn and develop on its own – and ultimately to superintelligence, surpassing the human mind. Still, the United Kingdom is a serious player in the field. The kingdom ranks third in government investment in AI research anywhere in the world and maintains strong partnerships with some of the most powerful U.S. players. In its most recent defense strategy, also published shortly before the NATO summit, Britain committed to integrate artificial intelligence into its 'NATO-first' national security approach. 'Forecasts of when Artificial General Intelligence will occur are uncertain but shortening, with profound implications for Defence,' the document reads. Europe's race for intelligence capabilities is driven, in part, by lessons learned on the battlefields of Ukraine. But Russia is not seen as an AI powerhouse in and of itself. Moscow instead uses low-cost tests of drone incursions and cyberattacks to keep pressure on the alliance, Vandier told the Times of London in an interview. 'The aim, I think, is to consume all our energy in purely defensive actions, which are very costly,' he said. Whether Russia can enhance its own AI capabilities is an open question. 'The key ingredients of being at the frontier with AI are talent and data centers,' said Vollmer, of the AI Futures Project. 'Russia lags far behind on both,' he added, 'but they can collaborate with China, of course.'
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
The top-rated European defence stocks as countries vow to boost spending
NATO leaders have agreed to further ramp up defence spending at a summit on Wednesday, potentially providing another boost to companies operating in the sector. Following a summit at the Hague on Wednesday, the Western military alliance issued a statement saying members had committed to increasing defence spending to 5% of their countries' gross domestic product (GDP) by 2035. NATO leaders said that the pledge came "in the face of profound security threats and challenges, in particular the long-term threat posed by Russia to Euro-Atlantic security and the persistent threat of terrorism." In addition, NATO allies reaffirmed their commitment to provide support to Ukraine, including direct contributions to the country's defence. European leaders have been promising to increase spending on defence, amid increasing geopolitical threats of the Russia-Ukraine war and conflict in the Middle East. There has also been increased pressure under the Trump administration for its allies to share more the responsibility for security. Read more: Stocks that are trending today The new 5% defence spending target marks a large increase from the previous goal of 2% of GDP, which was set at a summit in 2014. Pledges to spend more on defence have seen European stocks in the sector soar this year and there are a number that are still highly rated by analysts. Ahead of the NATO summit this week, Germany announced that it planned to increase core defence spending to 3.5% of GDP through 2029. In a note, published on Wednesday morning, Bank of America (BofA) research analysts said that this was above expectations, as they believed consensus was expecting Germany to increase defence spending to 3% by 2030. "We think the market will reward names in 2H25 with exposure to countries such as Germany where financing for the defence ramp is clearly front-end loaded," they said. Read more: FTSE 100 LIVE: London muted, Europe stocks slip amid fragile Iran-Israel ceasefire One of the names the BofA analysts expected to benefit the most was Düsseldorf-headquarted firm Rheinmetall ( maintaining a "buy" rating on the stock, which has soared 177% year-to-date. The analysts explained that Germany's 3.5% target would mean it is set to spend more than €150bn (£128bn) on defence by 2029. "We expect c.40% of this will be spent on procurement would mean c.€60bn spent on equipment, which compares to c.€8-9bn in 2021," they said. BofA's team estimated that Rheinmetall captured an average of approximately 17% of sales over 2019 to 2024 from German defence procurement. The other name highlighted by BofA's analysts was Hensoldt ( which they also maintained a "buy" rating on, with shares in the company up 171% so far this year. The research analysts estimated that Hensoldt captured an average of approximately 8% of sales from German defence procurement over 2019 to 2024. Hensoldt reported a strong start to the year when it released first quarter results in May, saying it had reached an order intake of €701m, compared to €665m for the same period last year. The company's order backlog rose 18% compared to last year to reach a fresh record of €6.93bn. Revenue for the quarter came in at €395m, up from €329m last year. Hensoldt confirmed its guidance for the 2025 financial year, expecting revenue to be between €2.5bn and €2.6bn. On the London market, FTSE 100-listed (^FTSE) company Babcock (BAB.L) also remains "buy" rated by BofA's analysts according to Wednesday's note. Shares in the engineering company surged 12% on Wednesday, after it posted a strong set of preliminary full-year results, with CEO David Lockwood hailing a "new era for defence". The engineering company reported revenue of £4.8bn ($6.5bn) compared to £4.4bn last year. Babcock posted operating profit of £363.9m, up from £241.6m last year. Babcock also recommended a final dividend of 4.5p per share, taking the total payout for the year to 6.5p per share, compared to 5p last year. Read more: Bank of England governor says interest rates path is 'still downwards' In addition, Babcock announced a £200m share buyback, which it planned to execute over the 2026 fiscal year. Richard Hunter, head of markets at Interactive Investor, said: "With increasing military tensions firmly on the global agenda, Babcock has caught the zeitgeist in delivering a sparkling set of numbers." Shares in Babcock are up 130% year-to-date, compared to a 7% gain in the FTSE 100 in that time. Hunter said that such gains in Babcock shares over the past couple of years "raises questions but an increasing commitment to defence spending, allied to a possible rerating of the sector adds an intriguing set of prospects to the mix. "The initial share price reaction to the numbers [on Wednesday] reflects a further standing ovation, and the market consensus of the shares as a strong buy should therefore remain firmly intact." Shares in Rolls-Royce (RR.L) hit a fresh high on Wednesday, ahead of the NATO defence spending announcement. The stock is up 62% year-to-date, helped by solid sets of results, with the company reporting a "strong start to the year" in a trading update in May. Despite flagging uncertainties related to tariffs and continued supply chain challenges, Rolls-Royce maintained its guidance of underlying operating profit of £2.7bn to £2.9bn for the 2025 financial year. Stocks: Create your watchlist and portfolio According to BofA's note on Wednesday, the bank's analysts continue to have a "buy" rating on the stock. Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank analyst Christophe Menard said in a note on 11 June that he was keeping a buy rating on Rolls-Royce and raised his price target from 860p to 935p. Menard's target price raise came after Rolls-Royce was selected to provide technology for the UK's first small modular reactor (SMR), with the government committing over £2.5bn to the programme. "We estimate that the UK SMR programme will contribute 16p to the share price of Rolls-Royce, and there is potential for more SMR orders in the Czech Republic, Sweden, and other countries, with the global SMR market projected to be substantial.," he said. Another stock with a "buy" rating from BofA analysts, according to Wednesday's note, was BAE Systems (BA.L). Shares are up nearly 59% year-to-date, as another top performer on the UK's blue-chip index. In a trading statement last month, BAE said it was so far trading in line with management's expectations and maintained its guidance for the year. For the 2025 fiscal year, BAE guided to sales growth of 7% to 9%, based on the last year's £28.3bn. Underlying earnings before interest and tax are expected to grow by 8% to 10%, compared with last year's £3bn. On the back of the jump in Babcock shares on Wednesday, Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "As military tensions ratchet up across the world, as part of a geopolitical risk megacycle, the situation is set to keep prospects for defence stocks solid. "As far as valuations are concerned, much of the spending expectations are already being baked in. Nations will also be keen to strike favourable terms for upcoming contracts, given the pressure on public purses, so are likely to try and drive a hard bargain." Read more: Oil price rebounds as traders assess fragile Israel-Iran ceasefire Trending tickers: Tesla, Micron, FedEx, Babcock and Halfords Bitcoin price regains ground as Israel-Iran tensions simmerError in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
