Image: Nintendo LifeAfter a series of pretty disastrous launches for Trading Card Game expansions, The Pokmon Company has today issued a statement outlining its approach to releasing sets moving forward. The problem is, we've heard it all before. Like, almost word for word (thanks, Kotaku).The upcoming Destined Rivals expansion has been the latest set in the firing line, after a woeful launch left hopeful buyers sitting in queues for hours while scalpers listed their pre-orders online with beefed-up prices. TPC broke its silence on this release a few days back, stating it "will continue to explore measures that help create the best possible experience for Pokmon Center customers," and now it has released another statement on the official Pokmon website (shared to BlueSky by Serebii's Joe Merrick), acknowledging the difficult launches.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube800kWatch on YouTube "We are actively working to print more of the impacted Pokmon TCG products as quickly as possible and at maximum capacity," the statement reads, confirming that "reprinted products are expected to be available at participating retailers as soon as possible".The Pokmon Company International have put out a statement about the Pokmon TCG situation Joe Merrick (@joemerrick.bsky.social) 2025-03-27T15:34:15.063ZIt would all sound pretty promising if it wasn't a near-exact replica of what TPC said back in January when it faced stock issues with its Prismatic Evolutions launch. In a statement released to Kotaku two months ago, TPC said it was "actively working to print more of the impacted Pokmon TCG products as quickly as possible," claiming that "reprinted products are expected to be available at participating retailers as soon as possible to help ensure more fans receive opportunities to access Scarlet & VioletPrismatic Evolutions". Does that ring any bells?There's even more crossover between the two statements besides, with both opening to a near-identical introduction and each containing the line, "We understand this inconvenience can be disappointing for fans". Yeah, tell us about it.Now, we know that not every statement can be unique, and it's promising to know that TPC's stance on the issue hasn't changed, but the copy-and-paste job here feels a little sly particularly when the issue still clearly persists.Here's hoping that The Pokmon Company follows through on its promise this time and that we actually see some stock increases to combat the booming demand. If not, expect to see this statement wheeled out again in a couple of months. What's the ETA on those ETBs?Gentlemen, please...Pokntial earningsWhat do you make of this 'new' statement from TPC? Do you reckon we'll actually see any change this time? Let us know in the comments.[source pokemon.com, via kotaku.com]See AlsoShare:100 Jim came to Nintendo Life in 2022 and, despite his insistence that The Minish Cap is the best Zelda game and his unwavering love for the Star Wars prequels (yes, really), he has continued to write news and features on the site ever since. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...Related ArticlesPokmon Company Breaks Silence On Online Shopping Experience After New Expansion's Disastrous LaunchWhat's the ETA on those ETBs?Pokmon Scarlet & Violet: Mystery Gift Codes ListAll the current Pokmon Scarlet and Violet Mystery Gift codesPokmon's Team Rocket Is Returning To The Trading Card Game In A New SetHere's a first lookRumour: Pokmon Legends: Z-A Will Add Lots Of New Mega Evolutions, It's ClaimedA mega teaser of what's to come?

On Thursday, Amnesty International published a new report detailing attempted hacks against two Serbian journalists, allegedly carried out with NSO Groups spyware Pegasus.The two journalists, who work for the Serbia-based Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN), received suspicious text messages including a link basically a phishing attack, according to the nonprofit. In one case, Amnesty said its researchers were able to click on the link in a safe environment and see that it led to a domain that they had previously identified as belonging to NSO Groups infrastructure.Amnesty International has spent years tracking NSO Group Pegasus spyware and how it has been used to target activists and journalists, Donncha Cearbhaill, the head of Amnestys Security Lab, told TechCrunch. This technical research has allowed Amnesty to identify malicious websites used to deliver the Pegasus spyware, including the specific Pegasus domain used in this campaign.To his point, security researchers like Cearbhaill who have been keeping tabs on NSOs activities for years are now so good at spotting signs of the companys spyware that sometimes all researchers have to do is quickly look at a domain involved in an attack.In other words, NSO Group and its customers are losing their battle to stay in the shadows.NSO has a basic problem: they are not as good at hiding as their customers think, John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at The Citizen Lab, a human rights organization that has investigated spyware abuses since 2012, told TechCrunch.There is hard evidence proving what Cearbhaill and Scott-Railton believe.In 2016, Citizen Lab published the first technical report ever documenting an attack carried out with Pegasus, which was against a United Arab Emirates dissident. Since then, in less than 10 years, researchers have identified at least 130 people all over the world targeted or hacked with NSO Groups spyware, according to a running tally by security researcher Runa Sandvik.The sheer number of victims and targets can in part be explained by the Pegasus Project, a collective journalistic initiative to investigate abuse of NSO Groups spyware that was based on a leaked list of more than 50,000 phone numbers that was allegedly entered in an NSO Group targeting system.But there have also been dozens of victims identified by Amnesty, Citizen Lab, and Access Now, another nonprofit that helps protect civil society from spyware attacks, which did not rely on that leaked list of phone numbers.Contact UsDo you have more information about NSO Grop, or other spyware companies? From a non-work device and network, you can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb, or email. You also can contact TechCrunch via SecureDrop.An NSO Group spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment, which included questions about Pegasus invisibility, or lack thereof, and whether NSO Groups customers are concerned about it.Apart from nonprofits, NSO Groups spyware keeps getting caught by Apple, which has been sending notifications to victims of spyware all over the world, often prompting the people who received those notifications to get help from Access Now, Amnesty, and Citizen Lab. These discoveries led to more technical reports documenting spyware attacks carried out with Pegasus, as well as spyware made by other companies.Perhaps NSO Groups problem rests in the fact that it sells to countries that use its spyware indiscriminately, including reporters and other members of civil society.The OPSEC mistake that NSO Group is making here is continuing to sell to countries that are going to keep targeting journalists and end up exposing themselves, Cearbhaill, using the technical term for operational security.

This week, OpenAI launched a new image generator in ChatGPT, which quickly went viral for its ability to create Studio Ghibli-style images. Beyond the pastel illustrations, GPT-4os native image generator significantly upgrades ChatGPTs capabilities, improving picture editing, text rendering, and spatial representation.However, one of the most notable changes OpenAI made this week involves its content moderation policies, which now allow ChatGPT to, upon request, generate images depicting public figures, hateful symbols, and racial features.OpenAI previously rejected these types of prompts for being too controversial or harmful. But now, the company has evolved its approach, according to a blog post published Thursday by OpenAIs model behavior lead, Joanne Jang.Were shifting from blanket refusals in sensitive areas to a more precise approach focused on preventing real-world harm, said Jang. The goal is to embrace humility: recognizing how much we dont know, and positioning ourselves to adapt as we learn.These adjustments seem to be part of OpenAIs larger plan to effectively uncensor ChatGPT. OpenAI announced in February that its starting to change how it trains AI models, with the ultimate goal of letting ChatGPT handle more requests, offer diverse perspectives, and reduce topics the chatbot refuses to work with.Under the updated policy, ChatGPT can now generate and modify images of Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and other public figures that OpenAI did not used to allow. Jang says OpenAI doesnt want to be the arbiter of status, choosing who should and shouldnt be allowed to be generated by ChatGPT. Instead, the company is giving users an opt-out option if they dont want ChatGPT depicting them.In a white paper released Tuesday, OpenAI also said it will allow ChatGPT users to generate hateful symbols, such as swastikas, in educational or neutral contexts, as long as they dont clearly praise or endorse extremist agendas.Moreover, OpenAI is changing how it defines offensive content. Jang says ChatGPT used to refuse requests around physical characteristics, such as make this persons eyes look more Asian or make this person heavier. In TechCrunchs testing, we found ChatGPTs new image generator fulfills these types of requests.Additionally, ChatGPT can now mimic the styles of creative studios such as Pixar or Studio Ghibli but still restricts imitating individual living artists styles. As TechCrunch previously noted, this could rehash an existing debate around the fair use of copyrighted works in AI training datasets.Its worth noting that OpenAI is not completely opening the floodgates to misuse. GPT-4os native image generator still refuses a lot of sensitive queries, and in fact, it has more safeguards around generating images of children than DALL-E 3, ChatGPTs previous AI image generator, according to GPT-4os white paper.But OpenAI is relaxing its guardrails in other areas after years of conservative complaints around alleged AI censorship from Silicon Valley companies. Google previously faced backlash for Geminis AI image generator, which createdmultiracial images for queriessuch as U.S. founding fathers and German soldiers in WWII, which were obviously inaccurate. Now, the culture war around AI content moderation may be coming to a head. Earlier this month, Republican Congressman Jim Jordan sent questions to OpenAI, Google, and other tech giants about potential collusion with the Biden administration to censor AI-generated content.In a previous statement to TechCrunch, OpenAI rejected the idea that its content moderation changes were politically motivated. Rather, the company says the shift reflects a long-held belief in giving users more control, and OpenAIs technology is just now getting good enough to navigate sensitive subjects.Regardless of its motivation, its certainly a good time for OpenAI to be changing its content moderation policies, given the potential for regulatory scrutiny under the Trump administration. Silicon Valley giants like Meta and X have also adopted similar policies, allowing more controversial topics on their platforms. While OpenAIs new image generator has just created some viral Studio Ghibli memes so far, its unclear what the broader effects of these policies will be. ChatGPTs recent changes may go over well with the Trump administration, but letting an AI chatbot answer sensitive questions could land OpenAI in hot water soon enough.OpenAIs viral Studio Ghibli moment highlights AI copyright concernsChatGPTs image-generation feature gets an upgrade

Breakdown & ShowreelsU.S. Palmese: VFX Breakdown by Palantir DigitalBy Vincent Frei - 28/03/2025 In U.S. Palmese, Roma-based studio Palantir Digital provided invisible visual effects to refine key scenes. Their seamless work helps maintain the films authenticity, blending digital elements naturally into the story!WANT TO KNOW MORE?Palantir Digital: Dedicated page about U.S. Palmese on Palantir Digital website. Vincent Frei The Art of VFX 2025

In recent years, before the Trump administrations crusade to repeal inclusion initiatives, more women architects had actually feltseen, but that doesnt mean they were beinghearduntil now.Lately when you might expect women architects to be worried about the rebuilding of gender barriers, they already have a solution: all-women teams. Today, you can find entire project teams and construction leadership with no men in sight. That is both a response to the rollback in womens rights in general and a triumphant blow to misogyny in the design industry specifically. Still, career recognition lags behind these efforts. After seven women presidents and two years of all-female leadership at the AIA, the organizations fellows remain decidedly maleapproximately 18 percent of them are women and 81.3 percent are men, according to the groups 2023 Membership Demographics report. It gets worse when considering the Pritzker Prize: Of the 58 laureates recognized with the award, just 6 are women, or about 10 percent of the awardees.Even the most successful women practitioners carry with them a familiar story of being underestimated, undermined, dismissed, micromanaged, harassed and just plain mansplained out of seats at the table.So a growing number are simply done with waiting, and instead are making their own safe, fulfilling spaces where they feel free to focus on actual work.Field Operations led an all-women construction crew in completing the $98 million Presidio Tunnel Tops. (Courtesy Presidio Trust)For Women by WomenTwo years ago in San Francisco, for instance, the firm Field Operations led an all-women construction crew in completing the $98 million Presidio Tunnel Tops, a 14-acre park built over and around that citys traffic tunnels. In Vancouver the same year, an all-women team led by GBL Architects principal Amela Brudar broke ground on a government-funded affordable housing projectfor women residents. Now, the award-winning Mariam Issoufou Architects (formerly atelier masm) is heading up an all-women team who are building the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center for Women and Development (EJS) in Monrovia, Liberia. (Issoufou recently opened a New York office after the coup in Niger prompted a pivot in operations.) Representation on the project team is a priority for the client, because its the first presidential library ever commissioned by a woman head-of-state. Counterspace founder Sumayya Vally and Pan-African Engineering Group principal Karen Richards Barnes round out that crew.Another all-women team led by MASS Design Groupfrom the lead designer to lead landscape architect and lead engineerbuilt the Ellen DeGeneres Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund campus in Kigali, Rwanda, in 2022. In June 2024, the project won a COTE Top Ten Award for excellence in sustainable design.Architect Mariam Issoufou Kamara ( Rolex/Stphane Rodrigez Delavega)Such commissions, which place budgets and design decisions entirely in womens hands, are having a significant industry-shifting impact. Thats especially true when the projects legacy is female, as is the case for the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presidential Center and for Fossey, MASS Design director Emily Goldenberg told AN.I was there for four years leading the design and construction supervision of that project. Our construction arm, MASS.Build, was actually founded out of that projectout of a desire to have a larger impact. We set impact goals at the very beginning related to equity, Goldenberg explained. Goldenbergs team for the Fossey campus not only reflected the projects namesake female primatologist, female funders, and executive director, but also expanded local recruitment of women construction workers to an unprecedented degree. A significant 24 percent of that projects skilled laborers were women, which is an exceptionally high rate of participation, doubling Rwandas average and eclipsing that of women on American projects, Goldenberg said.In 2021, women were only 3.9 percent of all those who work with tools in U.S. construction, according to the Institute for Womens Policy Research. The upside however is that even that modest percentage represents a jump in womens overall employment in construction and extraction to a record high of 11 percent that year from 9.1 percent in 2016. Typically, the only women in sight [on my projects] are the ones from my office. The construction or engineering teams have none, Issoufou said her of jobsites.An astonishing 24 percent of skilled laborers for the construction of the campus for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Funds were women. (Iwan Baan)A Cultural MovementSo with a construction site full of women now seeming like a possibility and architectures gender politics unlikely to disappear (not to mention recent corporate backlash against equity initiatives), these projects suddenly take on the feel of a movement. In fact, Carla Guerrera, developer of the Vancouver project, told the Vancouver Sun she intended to demonstrate the leadership of women in development, design and construction. She added that having previously been the only woman at the table, she felt an all-women team engendered a different culture in how we work together and make decisions.MASSs Goldenberg also spoke of the transformative power of such teams when theyre viewed collectively as an intentional act of resistance. Like most, she has been literally the only female at site visits or in design meetings and has felt isolated and intimidatedeven by contractors who were supposed to report to her. I didnotfeel that way on the Fossey site, she clarified. I was surrounded by brilliant females who led with empathy, and that uplifting feeling is a unique attribute of working in groups of women, she said. Office PoliticsPresumably that feeling is easier to sustain in women-led studios. So it is meaningful that Issoufou,whose accolades span two Global LaFarge Holcim awards for sustainable architecture, a Prince Claus award, distinction as the 2021 Aga Khan Visiting Critic at Harvard GSD, and recognition as one of TheNew York Timess 15 Creative Women of Our Time, also maintains a studio that is 60 percent women. With women, you can skip the pissing contests and just focus on the work, she said.The difficulty that women architects have endured to secure the mental freedom to focus purely on work can be seen in the disciplines own #metoo stories, like the allegations of sexual harassment made against starchitect Richard Meier in 2018 and David Adjaye in 2023, among other fallout from items like the Shitty Architecture Men list.Womens (Home) WorkGiven the fraught history, pros and clients say all-women teams also just feel safer. Thats apparent in residential projects where single women homeowners have outnumbered menfor the past 20 years and yet still complain of trouble with mostly male contractors. The female-to-male homeownership ratio was 58 percent to 42 percent in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, butthat purchasing power hasnt saved women clients or tradeswomen from routine harassment, mansplaining, and other bad behavior from male architects and tradesmen.Lacey Soslow and Gabriela Ainslie, cofounders of Matriarchy Build. (Courtesy Matriarchy Build)That problem is so pervasive that two-year-old online home-services platform Matriarchy Build (MB) was designed to address it. Like other directories, MB maintains a database of plumbers, electricians, and general contractors. But unlike its competitors, MBs directory is exclusively women and nonbinary professionals who are vetted for the value they can bring to women-friendly project teams. The fundamental desire [among our users] is connecting with folks who make them feel safe, said MB cofounder Lacey Soslow. Thats why the companys services require clients and pros to opt into the same code of ethics, added MB cofounder Gabriela Ainslie.Even having completed around ten gut renovations herself and knowing a bit more than the average consumer, Soslow said she still faced condescending attitudes from male contractors. I still get told you cant do that. And its like I actuallyknowyou can. If Im feeling bulldozed, I can imagine how the average person feels, she shared.Conversely, the communication on women-dominated teams like Issoufous can be, as she puts it, quite effortlessand with no biases to overcome in the process.MBs directory is exclusively women and nonbinary professionals who are vetted for the value they can bring to women-friendly project teams. (Courtesy Matriarchy Build)Thats the kind of safe and satisfying renovation experience activist builder Shelley Halstead intended to provide black women homeowners when she founded Black Women Build-Baltimore (BWBB) in 2017. The initiative trains women in trades-related skills by having them restore vacant and deteriorated houses.In the current political climate, with government and private businesses reversing their equity and inclusion efforts, its easy to see why women are seeking the camaraderie of women-led project teams. Less clear is why the industry and the media continues to exalt the narrative of a heroic male architect. Architectural designer Melissa Daniel, who hosts the Architecture is Political podcast, has a theory about why. (Along with three other women, Daniel created Riding the Vortex group, which hosts a speaker series that spreads awareness about Black women architects and was recognized with a Whitney M. Young Jr. Award from the AIA in 2022.) I think many men believe that if they acknowledge systemic gender bias, then they also have to acknowledge their own disproportionate and sometimes undeserved advantages, she said.In the meantime, it seems women will just keep building their own winning teams.Kelly Beamon is a freelance journalist specializing in architecture and design and sustainable building materials. She has held senior editorial roles at Metropolis, Architectural Record, and This Old House, but has slipped the bonds of the corporate office. She now writes from her home in Central New Jersey.

The Faith Museum by Nall McLaughlin Architects in Bishop Auckland, UK, combines the godly with the profaneJacqueline Stephen of Nall McLaughlin Architects is shortlisted for the MJ Long Prize for Excellence in Practice 2024. Find out more about the W Awards hereFound at the confluence of theRiver Wear and the River Gaunless, Bishop Auckland, in County Durham in the north of England, has a rich but unsung history as ameeting point of the sacred and the civic. Since the 11th century, the bishops of Durham have been central to the towns legacy. Centuries of conquest and religious ceremony laid further layers of history; industrial revolution and decline shaped the Victorian character and grain ofthe town centre. Auckland Palace the home ofthe bishops of Durham until 2012 hassimilarly been subjected to many transformations since it was built in the 12th century. The bishop of Durhams private chapel on the site, built in 1665, isconstructed from stones reclaimed fromthe 12thcentury mansion, which hadthemselves been salvaged from demolished buildings.Click to download drawingsIn 2012, the palace and its contents were purchased by the Auckland Project, aregeneration charity founded by Jonathan Ruffer, a financier and philanthropist; as acollector of religious Spanish art, Ruffer had a particular interest in the palaces collection of Francisco de Zurbarn paintings. By 2020, Ruffer had invested more than a third of his considerable wealth into the area in a bid to establish Bishop Auckland as a mustvisit cultural destination. An ambitious 25year plan was undertaken to transform Bishop Auckland into a centre of art, history and culture, where the lines between spiritual and secular are readily blurred.From the upper floor of the palace, evidence of an everexpanding cultural offering can be surveyed, alongside the significant archaeological excavations taking place within the site and the surrounding square mile. In 2014, NallMcLaughlin Architects (NMA), incollaboration with Purcell, won the competition to transform the Grade Ilisted Auckland Palace and its grounds into a national museum of religion and religious art. The 35mtall Auckland Tower at the tipof the towns high street opened in 2018;reminiscent of a medieval siege tower, the structure offers a viewing platform overlooking the castle, town and parkland beyond. A twostorey, monopitched building at the towers base houses an information centre, ticketing office and theAuckland Project offices. As part of thewider Bishop Auckland development, neighbouring farmhouses were carefully repaired and now contain galleries, arestaurant, a hotel and facilities for thegroundskeepers and gardeners. And inOctober 2023, almost a decade after its inception, the Faith Museum opened its doors to the public an extension to Auckland Palace housing a permanent exhibition showcasing 6,000 years of Britishfaith.References range from tithe barns to the exquisite detail of reliquary boxesEchoing adjacent activities, the architects designs for the museum began with an archaeological study, uncovering the presence of a building that formed acourtyard garden with the palace. This discovery, confirmed by archival drawings, dictated the location of the new museum and the proposed Faith Garden. The palace grounds and Faith Museum lie beyond Robinsons Arch, a squat stone entrance that is partcrenellated castle wall, parttriumphal arch and partclocktower. Once through the arch, the layers of history unfold. Two walls, parallel to the path, stitch together the varied typologies anderas found within the palace curtilage. Tothe south, a 17thcentury walled garden sharply falls away; its beds and orchards provide food for the palaces caf. To thenorth, a stone wall is intermittently interrupted by elevations of adjacent buildings an agricultural yard, timber loadingbay doors, the Faith Museum proudly stepping forward, the palaces grand entrance and finally disappears from view towards woodland.The size and sharpness of the Faith Museum silhouette are imposing, but its simple form, deft details and singularity lend a quietly assured presence. We wanted a bold piece of contemporary architecture from the start, explains ClareBaron, head of exhibitions at the Auckland Project. We wanted to signal that there is a renewed future for the site, through the creation of a destination for art, culture and faith. The monolithic museums design considers themes of monumental and ordinary, secular and sacred, contemporary and historic, says NMA associate Jacqueline Stephen, who led the project between 2016 and 2023. Acombination of the monumental and theordinary informs the references used by the architects, ranging from utilitarian tithe barns used by medieval farmers for their church offerings, to the exquisite detail of reliquary boxes containers forsacred relics. The building is secular inits function as a museum, but because of the nature of its contents and the religious associations of the site, we sought to give ita heightened sense of the sacred, byelevating certain details.Click to download drawingsThis elevation is discernible at every scale, across every surface, from the locally crafted finials at the roofs apex, to the stonelined drains where the museum meets the ground. Locally quarried CopCrag sandstone is used to create amonolith full of depth and interest, in Stephens words. The material specification balances consistency and variety, allowing the assorted tones to neither cluster nor create a clear rhythm. The stone was cut bylocal masons in different ways: at ground level, splitfaced to bring out its richness and depth; cut into largeformat smooth ashlar for the firstfloor walls, which expresses the variation and patterns; and assembled into an openjointed rainscreen on the steeply pitching roof. Ageing is part of the composition, as the different stone formats weather in different ways; an elegant concealed gutter subtly highlights the contrast between the pristine facade and the roof that has developed into adeeper shade.At first, the museum appears to be a standalone building; however, the extension is in fact accessed from Auckland Palace via the 16thcentury Scotland Wing. The lower level is partially sunken and the enfilade of galleries are artificially and dimly lit to protect the works on display. On the floor above, however, the main gallery is radiant and weightless. Delicately formed steel trusses carry the faintly stippled acoustic ceiling above; the soaring pitched ceiling engenders an ecclesiastical feel. As elsewhere, everyday details are elevated: floor vents necessitated by the strict environmental conditions needed todisplay such fragile objects reinforce thecadence of patterned parquet floors, popping out to reveal services below. Otherwise, none of the innumerable security and environmental controls are apparent. Sliding timber screens conceal goods lifts with effortless grace. Wooden finishes and parchmentcoloured walls givethe gallery warmth. Walls are intermittently broken by deep arrowslit openings, with predictably perfect reveals.Click to download drawingsNMA made for fitting collaborators. TheLondonbased practices portfolio is typified by its expressive and exquisitely crafted architecture in challenging contexts often steeped in history. From its mending of a listed west London monastery in the early 1990s, to their more recent student halls, auditoriums, sports pavilions and libraries for Oxford and Cambridge universities, the practice often blurs the line between divinity and the everyday intheir work. Toplit, lofty volumes pair with humble materials, and revered finishes fuse with quiet, familiar details.Stephen shares that she has a particular interest in the technical and construction stages of projects and notes the scarcity offemale voices among contractors. We wanted the project to have an inherent simplicity, but knew its success would hinge on the detailing and delivery. This required working closely with the main contractor and specialist subcontractors to ensure the execution matched the projects aspirations, even when that meant having difficult conversations. With a scheme so seemingly simple, there is nowhere to hide. From concept to completion, Stephen has guided the process with an extraordinary level of care. Despite its significant scale and tight tolerances, the finished Faith Museum does not feel weighed down by anyof its constraints. Instead, it is light: sacrosanct.

All images courtesy of Stan Squirewell and Claire Oliver Gallery, shared with permissionIn Vivid Reliquaries, Stan Squirewell Layers Anonymous Portraits and Patterned TextilesMarch 28, 2025ArtPhotographyGrace EbertThrough intimate, mixed-media collages, Stan Squirewell excavates the stories of those who might otherwise be lost in anonymity. The artist gathers images from the Smithsonians archives and from friends and family that he then reinterprets with vibrant prints and patterns. Layering unknown pasts with present-day additions, Squirewell explores how everyday traditions and rituals remain through generations.His new body of work, Robitussin, Hotcombs & Grease, invokes ubiquitous items like the over-the-counter decongestant and hair care. Growing up, I was shaped by elders around me, and everyday objects like Robitussin, hotcombs, and grease became vessels for the rituals that anchored me to my heritage, the artist says. These items transcend their mundane uses: they embody traditions passed down through generations, grounding me in a collective identity.Girls on Saturn (2025)Squirewell cuts and collages images and fabrics from his collection before photographing the composition, which then undergoes a digital editing process. An elaborate frame complements each piece with charred shou sugi ban edgesa Japanese burning techniqueand hand-carved details. The sides bear various inscriptions connecting past and present, including lines from Langston Hughes poems and glyphs from ancestral African languages that have fallen out of use.Because the identities and histories of many of the subjects are unknown, Squirewells work adds a new relevance to their images. How have daily, domestic practices and the legacies of previous generations informed the present? And how do these traditions create a broader collective experience? Rooted in these questions, the dignified works become reliquaries that honor whats been passed down and how that continues to inform life today.Robitussin, Hotcombs & Grease is on view through May 24 at Claire Oliver Gallery in Harlem. Find more from Squirewell on Instagram.Teddy (2024), artist-printed photos collaged with paint and glitter in a hand-carved shou sugi ban frame, 43 x 35 x 3 inchesTeddys Lil Sisters (2024), artist-printed photos collaged with paint and glitter in a hand-carved shou sugi ban frame, 29 x 24 x 2 inchesGirls on Saturn (2025)Next article

Quorum Cybers recently released Global Cyber Risk Outlook Report 2025 outlines how nation-state cyber activities, particularly from China, are evolving. According to the report, Chinas cyber espionage operations will likely increase in 2025, with attacks targeting Western critical national infrastructure (CNI), intellectual property, and sensitive corporate data. The report also highlights that AI-powered cyber capabilities are being leveraged by China-state-sponsored, and other, threat actors to conduct advanced campaigns and evade detection more effectively.Chinas alleged involvement in data theft through services like DeepSeek raises significant concerns for cyber security leaders. Reports indicate that DeepSeeks privacy policies allow user data to be stored on servers within China, making it potentially accessible to the Chinese government under local cyber security laws. Cyber security researchers have also found that DeepSeek embeds technology capable of transmitting user data to China Mobile, a state-owned entity, further heightening fears of surveillance and data exploitation. These risks are so severe that US government entities have moved swiftly towards banning its personnel from using DeepSeek, citing security concerns over data interception, including keystrokes and IP addresses. For chief information security officers (CISOs), this serves as a stark reminder of the dangers posed by foreign adversaries.To mitigate the risks of nation-state cyber threats, security leaders must take a strategic, multi-layered approach. Below are key measures that should be considered:1. Adopt a zero-trust Security ModelZero-trust assumes that every request for access whether internal or external must be verified. Implementing zero trust involves addressing the following core principles:Verify connectivity explicitly through strong authentication, for example multi-factor authentication (MFA)Authenticate and authorise identities, devices, infrastructure, services and applications based on strong conditional access policiesEnforce privileged access through tactics such as just-in-time (JIT) and just-enough-access (JEA)Implement data protection controls based on defined classification policiesTake an assume breach stance, operating under the assumption that connecting entities have been exposed to threats.In partnership with many top cyber security solution providers, the NIST National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) has drafted Special Publication (SP) 1800-35 Implementing a Zero Trust Architecture. The practice guide is designed to provide implementation examples and technical details on how security leaders can ultimately achieve zero trust to safeguard modern digital enterprises.2. Strengthen supply chain securityThreat actors often exploit supply chains to gain access to larger targets. Organisations should:Conduct rigorous third-party risk assessments, ensuring additional rigour is applied to connected and critical third partiesImplement contractual security obligations for vendors, ensuring key clauses such as the maintenance of strong cyber security programmes and audit rights are consideredContinuously monitor supplier network connections and other forms of access for suspicious activity.3. Enhance threat intelligence, monitoring and responseThreat management programmes must evolve to counter espionage threats. Organisations should:Maintain cyber threat intelligence (CTI) services to track state-sponsored threat actorsConduct ongoing vulnerability detection and mitigation activities, ensuring programmes monitor the full digital estateQuickly detect and respond to threats with 24x7 detection and response and threat hunting servicesIncreasingly leverage automation, including emerging artificial intelligence (AI) services, to streamline and accelerate cyber security programme processes.4. AI and data governance practicesAs AI becomes an integral part of enterprise environments, organisations must implement governance practices to manage AI solutions securely and protect corporate data. Security teams should:Define policies and supporting controls for the secure use of AI and data within business operationsEnsure AI models used internally are developed and deployed with strict security controlsMonitor third-party AI tools for compliance with security and data protection requirementsDefine and deploy strong AI and data protection controls to prevent unauthorised data exfiltration or manipulation.The Security Think Tank on nation-state espionageMike Gillespie and Ellie Hurst, Advent IM: Will DeepSeek force us to take application security seriously?Elisabeth Mackay, PA Consulting:How CISOs can counter the threat of nation state espionage.5. Educate end-users on AI risksThe rapid adoption of AI-driven tools within the workplace increases the risk of accidental exposure or misuse of sensitive data. Organisations should:Conduct regular security awareness training for employees on the risks associated with AI toolsEstablish guidelines on the appropriate use of AI applications in corporate environmentsImplement policies that prevent employees from sharing sensitive corporate data into public AI models7. Test and improve incident response readinessGiven the sophistication of nation-state actors, organisations must ensure their response strategies are up to par. Best practices include:Conducting regular tabletop exercises simulating attack scenarios, including state-sponsored eventsRunning red team/blue team exercises to test security defencesEstablishing and updating clear escalation protocols and contact lists, including the relevant authorities, in case of detected espionage attempts.As CISOs and security leaders navigate this new AI augmented era of cyber threats, leveraging strategic frameworks, advanced security tools, and frequently tested, highly operationalised processes will be essential in countering nation-state industrial espionage. By staying ahead of emerging risks, organisations can ensure the resilience of their operations in an increasingly hostile digital landscape.Andrew Hodges is vice president of product and technology at Quorum Cyber.

If you've been looking to snag a great entry-level Roomba, this Amazon Big Spring deal is for you.

Nina Raemont/ZDNET$249 at Amazon The Oura Ring Gen 3 remains one of our favorite smart rings on the market and our pick for one of thebest smart ringsyou can buy. While this space got more attention when the new Samsung Galaxy Ringlaunched last year, Oura has plugged away at the smart ring space, and the brand released a new generation smart ring, the Oura Ring 4, last fall. You know what that means: its third-generation smart ring is finally on sale at Amazon, even ahead of the retailer's Big Spring Sale.Also: The best Amazon Spring Sale deals live nowWith this sale, you can save anywhere from $50 to $100, depending on your choice of style and finish. For example, the gold Horizon ring is selling for 22% off, and the silver Heritage ring is only $200 right now. ZD recommends If you're deciding between buying the newer Oura Ring 4 or getting the discounted Oura Ring 3, there are a few factors to consider before making a purchase. The Oura Ring 4 upgraded its battery life one more day, so you'd get an eight-day battery life in the fourth-generation ring, compared to a seven-day battery life in the third. The Oura Ring 4 has receded sensors that don't protrude around your finger, unlike the Ring 3's sensors that does. But in both smart rings you're getting the same software that will tell you information about your sleep, activity, recovery, and stress. The Ring 4 might record more accurate or continuous data than the Ring 3, but only by a margin. If that doesn't matter to you, I'd buy the Ring 3 over the Ring 4.As someone who has tested both, I like that the Ring 4 has sensors that don't irritate my finger after prolonged wear, but I like the Ring 3's affordability.Also:I've tested dozens of smartwatches, but the Oura Ring 4 was first to show me I'm sickBoth the circular Horizon and flat-topped Heritage styles are on sale, but note some colorways may not be available in all sizes. This is one tech product that rarely goes on sale. Since the Ring Gen 3 is now an older model, it's a great time to swipe up savings on a solid wearable.I own the Horizon Oura Ring, and I can't recommend it enough for sleep, activity, and holistic wellness tracking. It offers around five days of battery life, is compatible with both iOS and Android devices (unlike the new Galaxy Ring), and is made with a titanium lightweight build. I can see my stress levels throughout the day, understand why my sleep was good or bad, and motivate myself to exercise thanks to the data the smart ring presents.Every morning I get a readiness score and a sleep score based on yesterday's sleep, stress, activity, and more. It monitors my heart rate, heart rate variability, blood oxygen, and body temperature -- and takes all that data to offer actionable insights into my daily health regimen, such as when to take breaks during the day, stretch my legs, or wind down at night.Also:I tested this new smart ring with no subscription, and it could replace my OuraThere are many competitive features included in the Oura Ring, such as how many apps you can sync Oura with, including Strava, Natural Cycles, and more. The company has also unveiled, within the past few months, several new features that give you more insights into your overall health. There's a new heart health feature where you can learn your cardiovascular age, a new feature for menstrual cycle and pregnancy insights, and a new AI health advisor feature, where you can get fitness and wellness advice from an AI coach.Also: The best smart rings of 2025: Expert tested and reviewedSome of my colleagues also love and use the Oura Ring. ZDNET's Allison Murray complimented Oura's customer service after her ring's battery kept faltering. Oura sent her a brand new smart ring, no questions asked.Oura is trying to clear out its Oura Ring 3 inventory, so this product won't be around forever -- and neither will its substantial discount.Looking for the next best product? Get expert reviews and editor favorites withZDNET Recommends.How I rated this dealThe Oura Ring 3 deal is a deal I rated a 3/5 Editor's deal rating, since some finishes and sizes are discounted by up to 22%. Oura is a notable and reliable brand with a track record of delivering insightful health data to its users.Plus, the ring is up to $100 off on Amazon right now, ahead of Amazon's Big Spring Sale that takes place Tuesday, March 25 through Monday, March 31. Certain ring finishes and sizes will have greater discounts than others, but you can expect to get at least $50 and at most $100 off the third-generation smart ring, and we may even see larger discounts next week. When will this deal expire? While many sales events feature deals for a specific length of time, deals are on a limited-time basis, making them subject to expire anytime. ZDNET remains committed to finding, sharing, and updating the best offers to help you maximize your savings so you can feel as confident in your purchases as we feel in our recommendations. Our ZDNET team of experts constantly monitors the deals we feature to keep our stories up-to-date. If you missed out on this deal, don't worry -- we're always sourcing new savings opportunities atZDNET.com. Show more How do we rate deals at ZDNET? We aim to deliver the most accurate advice to help you shop smarter. ZDNET offers 33 years of experience, 30 hands-on product reviewers, and 10,000 square feet of lab space to ensure we bring you the best of tech.In 2025, we refined our approach to deals, developing a measurable system for sharing savings with readers like you. Our editor's deal rating badges are affixed to most of our deal content, making it easy to interpret our expertise to help you make the best purchase decision.At the core of this approach is a percentage-off-based system to classify savings offered on top-tech products, combined with a sliding-scale system based on our team members' expertise and several factors like frequency, brand or product recognition, and more. The result? Hand-crafted deals chosen specifically for ZDNET readers like you, fully backed by our experts.Here's some insight into how we rate deals.1-9% off: 1 / 5 Editor's deal rating10-19% off: 2 / 5 Editor's deal rating20-29% off: 3 / 5 Editor's deal rating30-39% off: 4 / 5 Editor's deal rating40-50% (or more) off: 5 / 5 Editor's deal ratingWe factor the numerical deal percentage with other important context, like the brand of the product. For rare brand deals, like a discount on a fan favorite Apple product, we might add a point on a 20% discount, taking the rating from a 3/5 to a 4/5 if it's a product that never goes on sale. Show more Amazon Spring Sale 2025