A Bad Year for Women’s Health, Radicalizing Youth with AI Voice Clones, and Why Trump’s Fleet Will Never Set Sail
Friday, December 26 2025
Welcome to The Instrum-Intel Daily, where we break down what you need to know, and why, using What? So What? Now What?.
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Politics • The Trump Administration • Climate • AI & Tech • Culture • Education • What the Right is Reading • Etc.
Politics
What?
The Guardian reports extremist groups including neo-Nazis and the Islamic State are using AI voice-cloning tools to recreate speeches of Adolf Hitler in English, produce audiobooks of extremist texts, and create multilingual propaganda content that has garnered tens of millions of views across mainstream platforms.
So What?
The democratization of AI tools is removing traditional friction from extremist recruitment and propaganda distribution, enabling ideologically intense content to spread across languages and platforms at unprecedented scale while evading moderation, raising urgent questions about platform accountability and the pace of AI safeguards versus malicious adoption.
Now What?
Watch for: Platform responses and updated content moderation policies; EU AI literacy framework development in 2026; potential legislation requiring AI provenance standards. Further reading: Global Network on Extremism and Technology (GNet) research on extremist use of emerging tech.
Headline Haiku
Alternative Headline
What?
The Intercept reports Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is leaving Congress in January after breaking with Trump, engaging in a calculated rebranding effort through mainstream media appearances while sources say she's confided to colleagues about wanting to run for president in 2028 or take over leadership of the MAGA movement post-Trump.
So What?
Greene's strategic positioning as "true MAGA" who believes Trump has lost his way signals a potential fracturing of the far-right coalition and demonstrates how Trump's declining popularity is creating space for challengers to claim his mantle, with implications for the 2028 Republican primary and the future direction of American conservatism.
Now What?
Watch for: Greene's next political moves after leaving Congress; other MAGA figures positioning for 2028; Trump's responses to challenges from within his movement. Further reading: Monitor 2028 Republican primary dynamics and intra-MAGA tensions over foreign policy and domestic priorities.
Headline Haiku
Alternative Headline
The Trump Administration
Headline: The Golden Fleet’s Battleship Will Never Sail | CSIS
What?
President Trump announced a new "Trump-class" battleship intended to be 100 times more powerful than previous models, though experts warn the project is strategically and financially unviable.
So What?
The focus on "aesthetic" naval design and multi-billion dollar legacy platforms threatens to divert essential resources from modern, distributed defense and domestic social programs.
Now What?
Watch for the 2026 reconciliation bill negotiations to see if the proposed $29.2 billion for shipbuilding remains intact despite expert criticism.
Headline: Anti-Capitalist Plot Disrupted | DOJ
What?
Four individuals linked to the Turtle Island Liberation Front were arrested in a Mojave Desert sting for allegedly planning New Year's Eve bombings of U.S. companies.
So What?
The administration is likely to frame this as a "far-left terror" crisis to justify heightened monitoring of environmental and sovereign-rights movements.
Now What?
Monitor upcoming court appearances for the suspects and potential expansion of the investigation to other "Turtle Island" offshoots.
AI & Tech
Headline: Instacart Shuts AI Pricing Experiments | The Packer
What?
Instacart shut down all item price testing on its platform after research showed price discrepancies of up to 23% for identical items, sparking an FTC investigation.
So What?
The backlash proves that algorithmic transparency is no longer optional, and "dynamic pricing" models are now a major reputational liability for retailers.
Now What?
Watch for the FTC to set a national precedent on AI-driven price discrimination and look for retailers to return to transparent pricing models.
Headline: Bitcoin Miners Thrive Off a New Side Hustle: Retooling Their Data Centers for AI | Wsj
What?
As of late 2025, U.S.-based bitcoin mining companies like Core Scientific and Cipher Mining are repurposing their data centers and power contracts to serve the skyrocketing demand for AI infrastructure from major tech firms such as Amazon and Microsoft.
So What?
This shift reveals a significant reallocation of energy and technological resources toward AI development, highlighting evolving power dynamics in digital infrastructure control and raising questions about energy use, environmental impact, and the future of decentralization in cryptocurrency mining.
Now What?
Campaigners and communicators should watch for how the transition impacts local energy grids, regulatory responses to AI data centers, and potential shifts in U.S. bitcoin mining's global competitiveness, with further context available in reports on AI infrastructure growth and cryptocurrency regulation.
Headline Haiku
Alternative Headline
Headline: AI Could Widen Global Divide | UNDP
What?
The UNDP warns that AI may lead to a "Next Great Divergence" where developing nations fall further behind due to lack of technical infrastructure and education.
So What?
This shift threatens to erase the development gains of the last half-century, requiring progressives to advocate for global "AI justice" and infrastructure sharing.
Now What?
Watch for the 2026 UN Global Digital Compact and calls for international "robot taxes" to fund emerging market transitions.
Climate & Environment
Headline: The Pentagon is hoarding critical minerals that could power the clean energy transition | Grist
What?
Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" allocated $7.5 billion to stockpile critical minerals (cobalt, lithium, graphite) for military use; the Pentagon's planned stockpiles could instead electrify 102,896 buses or produce 80.2 gigawatt-hours of battery storage.
So What?
The militarization of energy transition minerals diverts resources from decarbonization to weapons production, with minerals literally "blown up" rather than powering clean energy—a fundamental tension between national security framing and climate imperatives that reveals how military priorities hijack industrial policy.
Now What?
Watch for: Transition Security Project advocacy campaigns; Congressional oversight of Defense Logistics Agency procurement; civilian-led industrial policy proposals; Chinese cooperation frameworks on critical minerals.
Headline: Dominion Energy sues Trump administration after halting 5 wind projects | Yahoo News
What?
Dominion Energy filed federal lawsuit after Trump administration suspended five East Coast offshore wind projects, causing $5 million daily losses in vessel costs alone.
So What?
The suspension weaponizes "national security" to block renewable buildout, threatening grid reliability and customer costs while testing how far executive power can override climate infrastructure already under construction.
Now What?
Watch for: Court ruling on temporary restraining order; other utilities joining litigation; Supreme Court review if lower courts split; Congressional appropriations fights over wind project funding.
Culture & Media
Headline: Inside ICE’s Influencer-Style Social Media Blitz to Promote Mass Deportations | Washingtonpost
What?
An internal Washington Post investigation reveals how ICE’s public affairs team, with White House backing, transformed into a social media-driven operation in 2024, producing flashy videos of immigrant arrests across the U.S. to promote mass deportation policies.
So What?
This strategy represents a shift in government propaganda tactics that amplifies anti-immigrant narratives, potentially normalizing aggressive enforcement and undermining immigrant rights while presenting new challenges and opportunities for progressive communicators to counter misinformation and mobilize advocacy.
Now What?
Watch for further revelations about government social media manipulations of immigration enforcement and legal or policy responses addressing civil liberties, with contextual analysis available from sources like The Washington Post's ongoing coverage and immigration advocacy organizations’ reports.
Headline Haiku
Alternative Headline
Headline: U.S. Drinking Rate at New Low as Alcohol Concerns Surge | Gallup
What?
Only 54% of Americans now drink alcohol (lowest in Gallup's 90-year trend); 53% say moderate drinking harms health; young adults lead shift with 66% viewing moderate drinking as harmful.
So What?
This mirrors tobacco's trajectory post-Surgeon General warnings—a cultural tipping point driven by health research that challenges alcohol industry business models and could reshape social norms around substance use, particularly among Gen Z.
Now What?
Watch for: Federal dietary guideline updates; Surgeon General cancer warning label proposals; alcohol industry lobbying against health messaging; non-alcoholic beverage market growth tracking.
Education
Headline: Inside the Complaint That Shut Down The Harvard Salient | Harvard Crimson
What?
Harvard Crimson obtained documents showing Salient editors used racial slurs in group chats, defended quoting Hitler, included swastikas in article drafts, and prepared October issue calling for mass executions and defending Spanish Inquisition; board suspended publication and forced editor/president resignations.
So What?
This documents how elite conservative student groups have radicalized beyond mainstream right positions into explicit extremism—mirroring national Young Republicans scandals—revealing pipeline from online far-right spaces to institutional conservative politics and legitimized student platforms.
Now What?
Watch for: Salient's January relaunch under new leadership; John Adams Society and Harvard Republican Club positioning; similar exposés at other elite institutions; conservative movement response to extremism within youth ranks.
What the Right is Reading
Headline: Stephen Miller calls for firing of CBS producers | Fox News
What?
Stephen Miller demanded CBS fire "60 Minutes" producers who protested Bari Weiss' decision to spike segment on deported Venezuelans at El Salvador's CECOT prison; Weiss cited lack of Trump administration comment despite administration declining interviews.
So What?
This crystallizes authoritarian media capture mechanics: administration-approved executives block critical coverage, officials then demand employee purges for internal dissent, creating a "kill switch" where government refusal to comment becomes grounds to spike stories.
Now What?
Watch for: CBS staffing decisions; "60 Minutes" morale and retention; Federal Communications Commission responses; Paramount-Skydance merger regulatory scrutiny; pattern of Weiss blocking Trump-critical segments.
Headline: 'Save Women's Sports' 2025 culture war timeline | Fox News
What?
Fox News chronicles 2025 as "year the tides turned" in transgender athlete debate, featuring Trump executive order, state laws, NCAA policy changes, and January 2026 Supreme Court oral arguments on two major cases.
So What?
The framing positions 2025 as an inflection point in a manufactured crisis, with right-wing media constructing narrative momentum around policy wins to sustain mobilization ahead of 2026 midterms—classic culture war escalation tactics that weaponize athletic fairness for broader anti-trans legislation.
Now What?
Watch for: January 13, 2026 Supreme Court arguments and ruling; state legislative sessions introducing copycat bills; Democratic positioning on issue ahead of midterms; Title IX regulatory battles.
Headline: SEC to Investigate Alleged Activist Insiders | Daily Signal
What?
Trump executive order (December 11) directs SEC, FTC, and Attorney General to investigate proxy advisers ISS and Glass Lewis for antitrust activity and conflicts of interest in ESG shareholder proposals; characterizes firms as "foreign-owned and politically-motivated."
So What?
This weaponizes regulatory agencies against ESG movement's infrastructure—targeting the duopoly that advises asset managers on shareholder votes—to dismantle mechanisms through which activists have influenced corporate climate and social policies, part of broader war on "woke capitalism."
Now What?
Watch for: SEC investigation announcements; Fifth Circuit cases on proxy proposal access; corporate ESG policy rollbacks; institutional investor responses; shareholder proposal filing trends for 2026 season.
Etc.
Headline: A Very Bad Year for Women's Health | Ms. Magazine
What?
Ms. Magazine documents a comprehensive year of Trump administration attacks on women's health including defunding Planned Parenthood, dismantling Title X, burning U.S. AID contraceptives, reinstating the global gag rule, and systematically scrubbing public health websites, resulting in increased maternal and infant mortality particularly among Black women despite rising abortion numbers due to telehealth and shield laws.
So What?
The systematic dismantling of women's health infrastructure—from reproductive care to cancer screenings to maternal health programs—combined with escalating criminalization of pregnancy outcomes reveals an orchestrated effort to roll back bodily autonomy that extends far beyond abortion access, with life-threatening consequences disproportionately impacting marginalized communities.
Now What?
Watch for: 2026 implementation of menopause policy reforms across 20+ states; state-level responses to federal program gutting; medical desert expansion in abortion-ban states. Further reading: Track state shield law effectiveness, Title X restoration efforts, and maternal mortality data from states with abortion restrictions.
