MMN Editor

TRM Labs has added an AI agent to the services the blockchain analytics firm offers law enforcement agencies.

A Los Angeles jury has found Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta and Google’s YouTube liable in a groundbreaking lawsuit concerning harm to children using their platforms, awarding $3 million in damages to a young woman who claims social media addiction during childhood worsened her mental health.
The post Jury Finds Meta and Google Negligent in Landmark Social Media Addiction Trial appeared first on Breitbart.

Mediators Say Talks ‘Difficult But Not Dead’ After Iran Rejects US Proposed Ceasefire, Counters With 5 Conditions

Summary

Iran Does Not Accept Ceasefire, Issues 5 Conditions, Says US Talks Illogical. The statement says that talks are not viable in current conditions, oil rising. WSJ says talks ‘not dead’.

3,000 elite Army Airborne soldiers & Marines still en route after Trump said Monday says Iran has been destroyed “militarily”. 

Iran is tightening control of Hormuz, demanding detailed ship data and in some cases large fees for passage.

Iran continues to say it is ready for long war, monitors US troop movements: Parliament Speaker says “Do not test our resolve to defend our land.”

*  *  *

WSJ: Talks are Longshot But ‘Not Dead’

The US offered its reported 15 points, while Iran has countered with five, but has not issued them directly to Washington. WSJ says that Iran’s private stance may be more conciliatory and up for flexibility: “Iran is being less strident in private discussions to end the war than it is in public, Arab mediators and other people familiar with the matter said, giving them hope the diplomatic effort they are trying to spark isn’t dead on arrival,” it writes.

“The odds of success remain low, with Iran and the U.S. staking out maximalist demands that are unacceptable to the other side, the mediators said,” continues WSJ. “But while Iranian state media said Tehran has rejected the U.S. proposal to end the war, it is still listening as mediators try to work out compromise language that would at least open the door for the two sides to meet in the next couple of days, the mediators said.” Stocks briefly responded positively to the headline.

More Threats to Impose Steep Economic Costs on West

More threats concerning Red Sea shipping: An Iranian military source has warned via Tasnim that “If the enemy wants to carry out an operation in the territory of the Iranian islands or anywhere else in our territory or through maritime movements to cause damage to Iran in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman – we will open additional fronts for it as a surprise, so that its operation not only will not benefit it but will also cause it double expenses.”

The source emphasized, “The Bab al-Mandab Strait is considered one of the world’s most strategic straits, and Iran possesses both the will and the ability to generate a credible threat against it. Therefore, if the Americans want to think about a foolish solution to the Strait of Hormuz, they should beware of not adding trouble and embarrassments to themselves in another strait.”

Adding a final warning, the source declared, “Iran is fully prepared to escalate the situation. If the enemy has doubts and lacks the sense to learn from its experiences, it can try us again like in the case of the Abdullah and more.”

Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant Attacked Again Tuesday Night, Reports Confirm

Another highly dangerous escalation as Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant has once again come under attack, Iran’s state media has said.

Citing the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, PressTV now confirms a projectile struck the facility Tuesday evening (local), denouncing it as an act of ‘terrorism’ against the Islamic Republic’s civilian infrastructure. 

A prior attack on the plant occurred on March 5, raising significant concerns over issues like potential nuclear and radiation. Iran has reportedly been targeting Dimona in southern Israel.

Iran Issues Its 5 Conditions for Ending the War

Iran lays out five specific conditions under which Iran would agree to end the war, via PressTV. These include:

1. A complete halt to “aggression and assassinations” by the enemy.

2. The establishment of concrete mechanisms to ensure that the war is not reimposed on the Islamic Republic.

3. Guaranteed and clearly defined payment of war damages and reparations.

4. The conclusion of the war across all fronts and for all resistance groups involved throughout the region

5. International recognition and guarantees regarding Iran’s sovereign right to exercise authority over the Strait of Hormuz.

State media says that upon reviewing the 15 points from the US delivered via the Pakistanis, they must be rejected as they are “excessive”. Other Iranian officials have called it a “list of impossible wishes”. CNN is meanwhile reporting Wednesday that Trump admin officials are working to arrange a meeting in Pakistan this weekend to seek out an offramp to the war, according to senior officials, but the timing remains fluid. Which side is actually in the driver’s seat here?

Iran Rejects US Ceasefire Draft Deal: “Illogical”

Confusion reigns over diplomacy as Pakistan reportedly relays Washington’s ceasefire terms to Iran. “A document given to Pakistan by the Trump administration has been presented to the Iranians,” according to Al Jazeera. An alleged early draft can be viewed here.

Iran’s Fars citing informed source on ceasefire Wednesday: Iran Does Not Accept Ceasefire, Says US Talks Illogical: Fars. The statement says that talks are not viable in current conditions. Oil jumps on the headline:

Tehran has consistently been denying any negotiations outright, with Iran’s ambassador insists no direct or indirect talks are happening, even as “friendly countries” conduct consultations. Iran’s military also brushed off claims by President Trump, vowing to press on with the fight, and asserting that Washington is merely negotiating with itself, trying to will something into existence which isn’t yet reality.

Bloomberg has summarized where things stand: “Iran kept up missile and drone attacks on Israel and Arab Gulf states, even after the US floated a plan to end a war that’s wreaked havoc across the Middle East and in global markets.” The below are also key points:

Iranian officials have told the countries trying to mediate peace talks with the U.S. that they have now been tricked twice by President Trump and “we don’t want to be fooled again,” according to a source with direct knowledge of those discussions. They worry Trump is buying time as he brings more military equipment to the Middle East. 
Iran has received an American 15-point plan for a ceasefire for the Iran war through intermediaries from Pakistan, officials in Islamabad said Wednesday. The proposal was sent even as Washington began to move paratroopers to the Middle East to back up a contingent of Marines already heading to the region. 
Iran military spokesman: “Have your internal conflicts reached the point where you’re negotiating with yourselves?”

🔺NEW: Spokesman for Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters addresses the U.S.:
🔹“Have your internal conflicts reached the point where you’re negotiating with yourselves?”
🔹“Don’t call your defeat an ‘agreement’. You will see neither your investments in the region nor previous… pic.twitter.com/PHackJjyjf
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) March 25, 2026
Trump’s “Very Big Present” & Hormuz Leverage

Trump, meanwhile, claims Iran offered a “present…worth a tremendous amount of money,” tied to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz – but provided no details. At the same time, the US is ramping troop deployments even as it touts negotiations to end the conflict. He also claimed “we are… talking to the right people” in Iran, adding to the confusion and ambiguity.

On the ground, Iran is tightening control of Hormuz, demanding detailed ship data and in some cases fees for passage – especially for oil and gas tankers. Traffic has thinned, with non-compliant vessels turned away, raising pressure on Asian economies like India and drawing pushback from China.

Hundreds of vessels still remain paralyzed, after Iran adopted an “eye for an eye” policy to re-establish deterrence and impose sever costs on both America’s Gulf partners and the global economy. Here’s the latest on Iran’s statements and policy regarding passage:

Iran has said that “non-hostile” ships may transit the Strait of Hormuz amid a collapse of maritime traffic through the waterway that has prompted the biggest global energy crisis in decades.

In a statement on Tuesday, Iran’s mission to the United Nations said vessels may avail of “safe passage” through the waterway, “provided that they neither participate in nor support acts of aggression against Iran and fully comply with the declared safety and security regulations.”

Tit-for-Tat Hits On Key Infrastructure

US-Israeli strikes on Iran continue, while Iranian missiles trigger alarms across Israel. Gulf states are still feeling the pain, with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain intercepted incoming threats, while Kuwait reported a fire at its main airport after a fuel tank was hit, according to Bloomberg.

Israel says it has crossed the 15,000-munitions mark in strikes on Iran since late February – highlighting the scale of the conflict, now far exceeding prior rounds of fighting. On Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the air force has carried out multiple new waves of airstrikes over Tehran, targeting what it described as Iranian regime infrastructure.

This has apparently included Iran’s only submarine development facility, as part of a broader wave of attacks on weapons production sites around Isfahan. According to the IDF, the targeted underwater R&D center is the “only site in Iran responsible for the planning and development of submarines and auxiliary systems for the Iranian navy.” It added: “The regime produced various models of unmanned vessels at the site.”

Reports say Iran again targeted Israel’s largest power plant in Hadera (Orot Rabin):

BREAKING: Reports claim Iran again targeted Israel’s largest power plant in Hadera (Orot Rabin), but the missile landed several kilometers away. pic.twitter.com/bLmnQ5HFWy
— The Breaking Minutes (@BreakingMinutes) March 25, 2026
Israel is also escalating in Lebanon, bombing Beirut and pushing deeper into the south as it signals plans for a longer-term occupation zone.

Tehran ‘Closely Monitoring’ US Troop Deployments

Iranian officials are issuing stark warnings, most importantly with parliament speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf having declared: “We are closely monitoring all US movements in the region, especially troop deployments. Do not test our resolve to defend our land.” He added, “What the generals have broke, the soldiers can’t fix; instead, they will fall victim to Netanyahu’s delusions.” 

Official casualty latest per Pentagon: 232 U.S. service members have been injured since the start of the conflict, a U.S. Central Command spokesperson has said. Of those, 207 have returned to duty and 10 are seriously wounded. At least 13 have been killed.

As for the US troops, it’s anything but clear at this point what comes next after they finally arrive in the region. There’s talk that Trump could order a Kharg Island takeover, which itself would be ultra high-risk, given how deep inside the narrow strait that the island lies. 

Meanwhile WSJ reviews of the above mentioned Ghalibaf: “Iran’s combative Parliament speaker, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, is emerging as an unlikely figure in Washington’s search for a deal to halt a widening Middle East war.”

We went from “no more wars” to Fox News showing where US troops are going to invade Iran. pic.twitter.com/MxftEv5954
— Nathan Hughes (@rallynate) March 24, 2026
“Ghalibaf, a former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air-force commander and Tehran mayor, has denied any talks with the U.S. are under way,” the report continues. “He has taunted President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and called the U.S.-Israeli air war with Iran a quagmire. He served in the Revolutionary Guard during Iran’s brutal war with Iraq in the 1980s and is known as a hard-liner’s hard-liner.”

But, the report notes, “At the same time, he is credited with helping to modernize Tehran while he was mayor, becoming famous for riding his motorcycle around town and expanding major highways and the metro system in a traffic-clogged city. In 2008, he traveled to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, portraying himself as a leader with a more business-friendly attitude than other parts of the regime.” Some analysts have said that Washington could eventually work with him. 

*  *  * Spring is here. Got seeds?

Tyler Durden
Wed, 03/25/2026 – 14:30

The University of Oregon recently announced that the school will begin offering abortion pills to its students beginning in the fall. The Lund Report, an independent outlet that covers health news for Oregon and southwest Washington, reported the school will start offering mifepristone and misoprostol to students only at the university health center. Mifepristone blocks progesterone, a hormone needed to sustain pregnancy, and is typically followed by misoprostol to complete the abortion.PRO-LIFE ORGANIZATION CALLS ON HHS AND FDA TO SUSPEND ABORTION PILL APPROVAL, TIGHTEN SAFETY RULESA study from the Ethics and Public Policy Center last April, authored by Ryan T. Anderson, the organization’s president, and Jamie Bryan Hall, its director of data analysis, reviewed a claims database that included 865,727 prescribed mifepristone abortions from 2017 to 2023.It found that 10.93% of women “experience sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging, or another serious adverse event within 45 days following a mifepristone abortion.” The Lund Report said the decision to provide abortion pills came after a campaign from UO Students for Choice, Associated Students of UO and Young Democratic Socialists of America at the University of Oregon. In February, The Daily Emerald reported that UO YDSA “has been campaigning for campus abortion access for the past three years but has made it a major focus since this fall.”CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY IN CHICAGO COVERS ‘ABORTION CARE SERVICES’ THROUGH STUDENT HEALTH PLANThe group reportedly voted to make access to abortion pills at the school its top campaign priority, “and this fall, Students for Choice pitched a collaboration and launched a student-centered coalition that included ASUO, YDSA, S4C and other groups.” The Lund Report quoted Karlie Windle, president of UO Students for Choice, who said, “During a time when abortion access is being rolled back and literally people are dying as a result of it, this is a huge thing that it’s being expanded in our little corner of the world.”She also said the school providing abortion pills on campus would help students who do not have cars.PRO-LIFE GROUP FINDS BIDEN-ERA FDA POLICY IS DRIVING 500 ABORTIONS PER DAY, SAYS TRUMP HAS POWER TO END IT”The dynamic of calling an Uber or taking public transportation to Planned Parenthood is just adding so many barriers to a situation which is already very difficult and emotionally heavy,” Windle said.Fox News Digital reached out for comment to the University of Oregon, UO Students for Choice, Associated Students of UO and Young Democratic Socialists of America at the University of Oregon.

FIRST ON FOX: Vice President JD Vance is ramping up the administration’s targeting of fraud after President Donald Trump appointed him to head an anti-fraud task force last week, including the implementation of an AI platform to quickly identify and address fraud. Vance’s task force is currently working with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, run by Dr. Mehmet Oz, and last month, CMS identified and suspended 70 hospice and home health providers in Los Angeles after they were flagged as high risk fraudulent providers. The 70 hospice and home health providers had their funding paused in just one week after being identified by the task force and CMS, Fox News Digital is told.”As the task force to root out waste, fraud and abuse ramps up its work, we expect [the number of potentially fraudulent hospice and home health providers] to grow exponentially,” a source familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital.Vance and Oz announced in February that $259.5 million in Medicaid funds would be withheld from Minnesota as a result of fraud concerns that gripped the state shortly before Governor Tim Walz, Kamala Harris’s former running mate, announced that he will not seek a third term.TRUMP ADMIN UNCOVERS ‘STAGGERING’ $8.6 BILLION IN SUSPECTED CALIFORNIA SMALL BUSINESS FRAUDThe task force is going beyond the targeting of Minnesota, and Trump suggested Democratic-led states would be a focus during the unveiling of the task force last week. “It seems that it’s usually in blue states,” the president said. “If it’s in a red state, we’re going there too, but it seems that it’s heavily, heavily Democrat.”Vance’s task force plans to utilize the same template that CMS used to locate fraud in Minnesota, which involves an internal fraud detection artificial intelligence system that flags claims for review or blocks those identified as likely fraudulent.Prior to the Trump administration, Health and Human Services (HHS) and CMS would have to manually dis-enroll organizations suspected of fraud, whereas the system being utilized by the task force and other agencies involved allows the identification of fraud in a more rapid and fluid manner.NEWSOM’S FAILED LEADERSHIP HAS LET CALIFORNIA BECOME A LAND OF FRAUD AND SCAMSThe task force is actively hiring CMS technologists who will deploy the AI system across the country. “Vice President Vance looks forward to carrying out the President’s War on Fraud,” a Vance spokesperson told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement. “The American people deserve better than being ripped off by people who hate this country, and the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud will ensure that essential taxpayer-funded services are used to support the hard-working Americans who rely on them, instead of being used by fraudsters and criminals.”Authorities in Minnesota launched a separate investigation in 2022, under the Biden Departmne of Justice, into the nonprofit Feeding Our Future, which prosecutors later described as a key player in what became one of the largest fraud schemes involving pandemic relief funds.DR OZ DETAILS ‘WEAPONIZATION OF FRAUD’ IN MINNESOTA, ESTIMATES TOTAL MEDICAID FRAUD TO BE $100 BILLIONOver time, investigators uncovered about $250 million in fraudulent claims, and 78 individuals were eventually charged. Prosecutors have also suggested that the total amount connected to the broader scheme could be in the billions. During an event in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, earlier this month, Vance responded to a question by Fox News Digital regarding fraud ahead of Trump’s executive order establishing the anti-fraud task force. Vance said that the administration has uncovered fraud amounting to “$19 billion at least” since the administration has been investigating the Twin Cities, and he alluded to California as being the next big target for identifying fraud.”We know there’s a lot of fraud in California, and we’re trying to get to the bottom of exactly what it looks like and what we’ve done in the Trump administration,” Vance said in response to a question by Fox News Digital.”And the president has really empowered us to do this, is to take the first national look at the way the American people have been defrauded over many, many years,” Vance added.

Reports that first surfaced in January saying Bill Belichick would not be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame sparked strong reactions across the sports world.Despite winning two Super Bowls as an assistant and six as Patriots coach, Belichick reportedly fell short of the Hall of Fame’s 50-vote threshold, raising questions about the voting process. The Pro Football Hall of Fame unveiled its 2026 class at NFL Honors — a list that did not include Belichick.ESPN reported that Belichick was initially “puzzled” and “disappointed” by his omission and questioned what more he needed to do to be inducted immediately. While Belichick has largely avoided publicly addressing his Hall of Fame status, he offered a measured response Tuesday when asked about the controversy.CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM”I’m focused on coaching this team and focused on getting Carolina football to the highest level I can. That’s what I’ve always… I focus about what I can do, and things that are not in my control, I don’t worry about,” he told reporters as North Carolina opened spring camp.UNC GM MICHAEL LOMBARDI CLAIMS ‘FAKE STORIES’ HELPED UNDERMINE BILL BELICHICK’S DEBUT SEASONBelichick led North Carolina to a 4-8 record in his first season coaching in Chapel Hill, but a string of off-field headlines largely overshadowed the program.During last year’s widely discussed “CBS Sunday Mornings” interview, Jordon Hudson faced accusations that she attempted to exert control during the former NFL coach’s sit-down. The interview was part of a promotional tour for Belichick’s new book, “The Art of Winning — Lessons from My Life in Football.” Hudson, 24, has drawn attention for dating 73-year-old Belichick for more than two years.The viral moment sparked questions about Hudson’s involvement in both his personal and professional life and whether it could affect football operations.Belichick has previously dismissed the increased attention on his personal life. “Sometimes it’s noisy, and sometimes it isn’t,” he told ESPN last summer. “Sometimes with the Patriots it was noisy, too.”Earlier this month, UNC general manager Michael Lombardi recently addressed the scrutiny and outside criticism that surrounded the program last season, defending the team’s response amid what he characterized as inaccurate accounts.”All during those stormy times, all during when the boat was getting capsized, when people were attacking us with fake rumors and fake stories all over — nobody’s corrected them yet, but that’s OK, we understand — our players hung together,” Lombardi told the “Pat McAfee Show”.Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Loyola University student Sheridan Gorman
Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich joined Laura Ingraham on Fox News to discuss the tragic and preventable murder of 18-year-old Loyola University student Sheridan Gorman.
Early in the morning on Thursday of last week, 18-year-old Loyola University student Sheridan Gorman was shot and killed near the Chicago campus by one of Joe Biden’s illegals.
The masked gunman approached a group of students walking in the Rogers Park neighborhood and opened fire, shooting Gorman in the head. She died at the scene.
On Sunday, it was confirmed that the masked gunman who killed Gorman is a 25-year-old illegal alien from Venezuela who entered the US under the Biden Regime. Police took Jose Medina-Medina into custody.
In its coverage of the tragedy, Loyola’s campus newspaper, The Phoenix, has caved to the woke mob by changing wording in the coverage of the murder of one of its own to placate the left’s agenda.
While originally referring to Medina as an illegal immigrant, they edited the post to frame him as a “Rogers Park Resident.”
The College Fix reports:
Campus newspaper The Phoenix originally reported on the charges with an Instagram post titled: “Immigrant Man Charged in Murder of Sheridan Gorman, DHS Involved.”
The original post also referred to Medina as an “illegal immigrant.”
However, facing backlash, the student newspaper edited the post to remove the term “illegal immigrant.” The newspaper refers to Medina as a “Rogers Park Resident,” referring to the Chicago neighborhood where Loyola’s main campus is located.
An editor’s note was added to the original story, which spent almost as much time bemoaning the “harm” of calling the alleged murderer what he is than spent on the tragic death of a young woman just beginning her life.
Editor’s Note:
On March 23, a post on The Phoenix’s Instagram page carried the following headline: “Immigrant Man Charged in Murder of Sheridan Gorman, DHS Involved.”
That headline didn’t reflect the most important elements in the story, and it was taken down minutes later to prevent any further harm to affected community members.
Additionally, in the body of the original post, we described the man who was charged as an “illegal immigrant,” using language provided by the Department of Homeland Security. That language does not align with Associated Press style, nor does it align with the values of this newspaper.
No human’s existence is illegal, and we quickly changed our wording to reflect that.
We acknowledge the harm such language can cause and the power and importance of the words we choose to use. We deeply regret these errors, and we’re committed to continuing the high standards we hold for ourselves as journalists and members of the Loyola, Rogers Park and Chicago communities.
The post Loyola University Campus Newspaper Apologizes for Calling Murder Suspect an ‘Illegal Immigrant’ Instead of “Rogers Park Resident” appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders could not name a single benefit from the Democrats’ partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) during a Tuesday interview.
The Democrats have kept the DHS shutdown going for over a month as the party pushes immigration demands. The extended funding halt has had a major impact on Americans, most noticeably in enormous travel delays as Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents have gone unpaid or simply left the job.
On Tuesday’s “The Source with Kaitlan Collins” on CNN, Sanders said Democrats are making a political point with the prolonged shutdown that ICE is “out of control,” but could not name any specific thing that has been achieved.
“Do you believe that Democrats have achieved anything as a part of the DHS shutdown?” CNN host Kaitlan Collins asked.
“They try to make the point that ICE is out of control. ICE is out of control and it needs fundamental reforms,” Sanders said.
“And did they make that point in your view?” Collins asked.
“Well, you’ll have to judge that. I think they’re trying very hard,” Sanders replied.
WATCH:

The shutdown has caused major travel delays and long wait times in security lines at major airports. Hundreds of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents have quit their positions since they have not received paychecks since the shutdown began. The shortage in personnel has also caused safety concerns and worries about terror enforcement.
Democrats shut down DHS as they demanded that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents stop wearing masks, do not enter private property without a warrant, display their identification while conducting an operation and stop racial profiling people. These demands were largely in response to the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis during the widespread protests in January.
Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman was the only member of his party to support the full-year appropriations bill for DHS. He als supported tech mogul Elon Musk’s offer to pay the salaries of TSA agents during the shutdown, and criticized his party for allowing them to rely on food pantries and community donations due to the shutdown.
President Donald Trump’s administration deployed ICE agents to several airports to help manage the short-staffed TSA agents.
‘Blame the Democrats’: Trump may call up National Guard for ‘mess’ at U.S. airports

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Artificial intelligence has already reshaped how companies analyze data, automate workflows, and engage customers. But a new phase is emerging, and it goes further than anything most organizations have deployed so far.Agentic AI refers to systems that can plan, initiate actions, and execute tasks with a degree of autonomy. Rather than waiting for instructions, these systems can monitor conditions, make decisions, and coordinate work across functions in real time. In commerce, for example, a single agentic system could monitor inventory, trigger replenishment, adjust pricing, and route approvals without a human touching the process at each step.For investors and operators, the question is no longer whether this shift will happen. It is whether their organizations are positioned to capture it when it does. Gartner predicts that 40% of enterprise applications will include task-specific AI agents by the end of 2026, up from less than 5% in 2025.Why agentic AI is different from the automation businesses already useTraditional AI has largely been reactive. It classifies, predicts, and recommends. Agentic AI introduces something different: systems that can initiate and coordinate, not just respond.That distinction matters more than it might seem. Most businesses today use AI as a layer on top of existing workflows. Agentic systems, by contrast, can manage workflows end to end. They reduce the number of handoffs required, compress execution timelines, and produce more consistent outcomes at scale.More AI Stocks:Morgan Stanley sets jaw-dropping Micron price target after eventBank of America updates Palantir stock forecast after private meetingMorgan Stanley drops eye-popping Broadcom price targetBut most organizations are not there yet. While nearly two-thirds are experimenting with AI agents, fewer than one in four have successfully scaled them to production, according to McKinsey. The technology is advancing fast, but the gap between running a pilot and embedding agentic AI into daily operations remains wide. Closing it depends less on the AI itself than on what sits underneath it.The step most companies skip before deploying AIThe conversation around agentic AI tends to focus on capability. What can the technology do? How fast can it act? But practitioners who have deployed AI inside complex commercial environments say the more important question is whether the organization is ready to receive it.That readiness gap is already measurable. Many companies still run fragmented systems with overlapping responsibilities and unclear data ownership. In that kind of environment, even advanced AI will struggle to deliver results.”Before adding new tools or AI, it helps to audit your systems and decide what system owns what data. For example, which system manages product and inventory data, which handles customer and order data, and which delivers the customer experience,” Jary Carter, co-founder and CRO at OroCommerce, told TheStreet. “Once those roles are clear, you can consolidate the stack to streamline your operations. It’s a powerful exercise to ensure technology is working for you effectively.”That kind of operational clarity does more than make AI easier to deploy. It removes the friction that slows growth in the first place, cutting the time to launch a new portal or expand into a new market from months to weeks. The AI then has a clean foundation to work from, rather than inheriting the chaos of a tangled stack.For investors evaluating AI readiness, this is a signal worth watching. Companies streamlining their systems and improving data governance are better positioned to capture the upside from agentic AI than those layering new tools onto a fragmented base.Why governance will separate the winners from the restOne of the defining features of the agentic AI era is the importance of guardrails. Systems that can act autonomously introduce new risks, from unintended decisions to compliance failures. The organizations that succeed will not necessarily be those with the most powerful AI. They will be those that deploy it with the most discipline.”Successful AI deployments give clear guardrails and a specific task, while keeping strong oversight and the ability to audit its output,” Carter told TheStreet. “Innovation moves faster when execution is transparent. Without clear boundaries and parameters to control the flow, you’re left with a puddle, not a river.” That view is echoed at the enterprise level. “Governance will be integrated into every part of the product, and not just bolted on at the end,” Ravi Krishnamurthy, VP of AI platforms at ServiceNow, said. “Products that embody this principle will outpace their competitors in customer adoption and value delivered.”

Western Europeans are adapting AI faster than people in the U.S.Mariyariya/Gettyimages

That framing cuts against the instinct to move fast and experiment broadly. But he points to a real-world signal: AI adoption in Western Europe, where government regulations impose clearer rules on deployment, has, in some respects, outpaced adoption in the US, in his view. Structure, it turns out, can accelerate rather than impede progress.This also aligns with where regulation is heading globally. Companies that build governance into their AI programs now will be ahead of requirements, not scrambling to catch up.How the transition to agentic AI will actually unfoldDespite the excitement around fully autonomous systems, most organizations will get there in stages. Deloitte notes that organizations must adopt a phased approach to agentification, balancing gradual implementation with bold experimentation. The path tends to follow a recognizable pattern.The three phases of agentic AI adoption:Phase one: AI augments existing workflows, handling repetitive tasks and supporting decisions without changing who is accountablePhase two: AI begins coordinating multi-step processes, connecting data and actions across departments with less human involvement at each stagePhase three: AI agents execute complex strategies independently within defined constraints, with humans maintaining oversight of outcomes rather than inputsThe pace of that progression will vary by industry, risk tolerance, and how well companies have laid the groundwork. In B2B commerce, where relationships and trust drive long-term business, the shift is likely to be gradual by design. The stakes around getting a pricing decision or a supplier negotiation wrong are high enough that full autonomy will remain limited for some time.The companies that get this right will have a real edgeAgentic AI moves AI from a supporting tool to an active participant in business execution. That is a meaningful shift, and the competitive implications are real. Companies that learn to balance capability with control will unlock efficiencies that are difficult for slower-moving competitors to replicate.But technology alone will not be the differentiator. The organizations that win will be the ones that did the less glamorous work first: cleaning up their systems, clarifying ownership, and building the governance frameworks that allow AI to operate reliably at scale.In that sense, the rise of agentic AI is less a technology story and more an operational one. The companies best positioned for it are the ones that have already decided to run themselves with discipline.Related: Uber’s CEO says other executives are lying about AI

Politicians say they can “make the economy work better.”

I once believed they could.

But years of reporting taught me that politicians’ attempts to “fix” the economy usually make things worse.

Twenty years ago, Republicans and Democrats helped create the Great Recession by telling government-backed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy more peoples’ mortgages because, as President George W. Bush put it, “Owning a home is a part of (the American) dream.”

But that guarantee inspired lenders to approve dubious mortgages, given to riskier borrowers.

Housing prices shot up in a government-created bubble. When many people stopped making mortgage payments and the housing bubble burst, we got the Great Recession.

It’s just one example of what Austrian economists Friedrich Hayek and Ludwig von Mises wrote about years ago.

In “The Fatal Conceit,” Hayek writes, “The curious task of economics is to demonstrate to men how little they really know about what they imagine they can design.”

Mises’ “Human Action” points out that all economics start with individuals making purposeful choices. That “human action” determines prices, and markets coordinate the most efficient use of resources.

But the media believed the socialists. The New Republic wrote: “the major task of our civilization is … to organize our great economic organs.”

On the contrary, wrote Hayek: “To follow socialist morality would destroy much of present humankind and impoverish much of the rest.”

He was right. Every socialist government, everywhere, has failed. They fail because no political leader can ever know as much as millions of individuals doing our own thing.

“That’s the idea that Mises’ introduced to the world,” says Ryan McMaken of the Mises Institute. “Central planning doesn’t work because everybody has different ideas for themselves, wants to do different things with their property. If you take away their ability to do what they want, it eventually causes great impoverishment.”
    
I assumed belief in socialism would die when the Soviet Union did — but bizarrely, it hasn’t. Recently, young people helped elect socialist mayors in Seattle and New York City.

They promise rent control and government-run grocery stores.

“We don’t have to look any further than Mises to find an excellent explanation of why that doesn’t work,” says McMaken in my new video.

Unfortunately, Mises and Hayek were never as popular as economists pushing central planning and government spending.

“There’s a big advantage that the people who are in favor of inflation and more government regulation have. Everyone in government wants that same thing,” says McMaken. “‘Like to spend? Like to regulate the economy? Boy, have we got an economic theory for you.’ (That) of course became instantly popular with people in government.”

And popular with the public.

“Because the public wants government to spend on them as well!” says McMaken. “Here was an economic theory telling them the government can give you boatloads of welfare nonstop forever and there’s no downside. … The reality is that there is a downside: recessions, unemployment, inflation and falling real wages.”

We got that in the 1970s, after years of spending on President Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Great Society” programs. In total, American taxpayers have spent $30 trillion in the name of reducing poverty. Politicians said government agencies would spend the money efficiently.

They rarely did, and the deficit spending contributed to 15% inflation.

“People then saw, ‘Everything we’ve been told for the last 30 years about managing the economy isn’t really true,’” says McMaken. “When you start to inflate the money supply, it sows the seeds for a future economic collapse. That is the cause of everything we’ve seen over the last century. It is Mises’ work that explains why the Great Depression happened … We have to study the economic side of things because if we don’t … we can’t see the ways that the state is ripping us off.”

Hayek and Mises were right. The socialist planners are wrong.

Books like “The Fatal Conceit”, “The Road to Serfdom” and “Human Action,” although I couldn’t get through all of it, are well worth reading today.

Every Tuesday at JohnStossel.com, Stossel posts a new video about the battle between government and freedom. He is the author of “Government Gone Wild: Exposing the Truth Behind the Headlines.”