The Trump administration has issued a directive against Christopher Krebs, the founding director and former head of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) for weaponizing and abusing his government authority during his tenure. The memorandum issued by the government has not only called for the suspension of Krebs’ security clearance but also ordered a sweeping review of CISA’s activities over the past six years. Citing Krebs — who is also now the chief intelligence and public policy officer at cybersecurity giant SentinelOne — as a bad-faith actor who abused government authority, the memorandum stated, “Krebs’ misconduct involved the censorship of disfavored speech implicating the 2020 election and COVID-19 pandemic.” According to the memorandum, CISA covertly worked to blind the American public to the controversy surrounding Hunter Biden’s laptop. “Krebs, through CISA, promoted the censorship of election information, including known risks associated with certain voting practices. Similarly, Krebs, through CISA, falsely and baselessly denied that the 2020 election was rigged and stolen, including by inappropriately and categorically dismissing widespread election malfeasance and serious vulnerabilities with voting machines. Krebs skewed the bona fide debate about COVID-19 by attempting to discredit widely shared views that ran contrary to CISA’s favored perspective,” read the memorandum. As a result, President Trump has also directed the US Attorney General, the Director of National Intelligence, and all other relevant agencies to immediately take all action as necessary and consistent with existing law to suspend any active security clearances held by individuals at entities associated with Krebs, including SentinelOne, pending a review of whether such clearances are consistent with the national interest. Reacting to the memo, a SentinelOne said, “In regard to the Executive Order dated April 9, 2025 focused on Chris Krebs in his prior role as a government employee, we will actively cooperate in any review of security clearances held by any of our personnel – currently less than 10 employees overall and only where required by existing government processes and procedures to secure government systems. Accordingly, we do not expect this to materially impact our business in any way.” Directive’s fallout The directives taken against CISA have raised alarm among cybersecurity experts raising questions over the agency’s neutrality. Cybersecurity professionals also warn that the latest directive could jeopardize CISA’s credibility and morale at a time when threats to critical infrastructure are surging. “Reviewing six years of activities may divert resources from urgent threats like ransomware or AI-driven attacks. Delays in initiatives like critical infrastructure hardening or threat-intelligence sharing could create vulnerabilities during transitions,” said Amit Jaju, senior managing director at Ankura Consulting Group. As the Trump administration initiatives a comprehensive evaluation of CISA, experts feel it might unfairly target professionals who are neutral and simply doing their job to keep digital systems safe. According to Greyhound Federal Cyber Readiness Pulse 2025, 59% of federal cybersecurity professionals reported having paused or delayed initiatives in the past year — not because of funding or threats, but due to procedural ambiguity and fears of post-decision scrutiny. Reviews of this nature risk compounding those delays by introducing uncertainty at a time when speed and clarity are paramount. “What is being framed as a routine retrospective review may, in practice, carry chilling effects on CISA’s forward-facing operations. This review may create decision bottlenecks, delay funding approvals, and slow project momentum in mission-critical areas such as AI-based intrusion detection, zero-trust architecture rollouts, and quantum vulnerability mitigation,” said Sanchit Vir Gogia, chief analyst and CEO at Greyhound Research.  Jaju said, cybersecurity experts value mission-driven work. “Perceived political targeting (e.g., revoking clearances) may drive talent to private firms, worsening the federal workforce gap (33,000+ unfilled roles) and weakening long-term capacity.” Risks public-private collaboration The directive is likely to have ripple effects on the cybersecurity community as well. CISA has, over the past few years, carved out a critical role as the convening point for public-private cyber collaboration. The agency has been central to fostering trust between federal authorities and private sector entities, especially in areas like threat intelligence and incident response. “This directive risks complicating that role. Even if the intent is accountability, the impact may be hesitation from enterprise stakeholders who fear that participating in federal programs — particularly those around threat intelligence — could carry future reputational or legal baggage,” Gogia said. The increased scrutiny could dampen industry willingness to engage, ultimately weakening collective cyber defenses. Jaju said, “Politicizing CISA’s leadership sets a risky precedent. Private firms could shift partnerships to avoid scrutiny. Reduced coordination might embolden adversaries exploiting societal divides via disinformation or AI-driven attacks.”

Despite repeated political promises recently saying otherwise, because of federal wants and big business needs over the last 100 years, the U.S. lacks both the low-cost labor and specialized manufacturing workforce needed to bring iPhone production home.Tim Cook visiting a Foxconn assembly line in ChinaOn Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt answered whether Trump believes iPhone production could ultimately move to the US. Allegedly, he thinks the U.S. has the money and labor to float such a project.That is not the case. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

British artist and designer Es Devlin has revealed Library of Light, an installation set within Milan’s historic Pinacoteca di Brera for the 2025 Salone del Mobile. Conceived as an architectural and sculptural ode to light and knowledge, the installation transforms the 17th-century Cortile d’Onore into an interplay of reflection, shadow, and literature. Image credit: Monica SpeziaImage credit: Monica SpeziaAt the heart of the courtyard, Devlin’s cylindrical structure spans 59 feet in diameter, composed of illuminated bookshelves housing over 3,000 volumes. The sculpture slowly revolves, with a mirrored upper plane capturing and redirecting sunlight into the portico’s classical columns which are usually untouched by natural light. By night, the installation becomes a glowing beacon, casting intricate shadows across the courtyard’s stone facades. Image credit: Monica SpeziaImage credit: Monica Spezia“I have always experienced libraries as silently intensely vibrant places where minds ...

Portrait photography often emphasizes sharpness and clarity, but introducing intentional creative blur techniques can breathe dynamic life into your images. Motion blur captures energy, expresses emotion, and transforms portraits from static images into visually compelling narratives. Here’s how you can master this technique and elevate your portrait photography. Why Embrace Motion Blur? Intentional motion blur brings portraits to life by conveying movement, artistic expression, and emotional depth. It allows photographers to push beyond traditional boundaries, creating unique and memorable images that resonate with viewers. Techniques to Capture Motion Blur Mastering Shutter Speed Slow shutter speeds between 1/10 to 1/60 seconds effectively capture motion blur. A slower shutter intensifies the blur, while slightly faster speeds create subtle effects that suggest gentle movement without overwhelming your subject. Intentional Camera Movement (ICM) Moving your camera deliberately during exposure can create striking backgrounds and abstract patterns that highlight your subject. Vertical or horizontal sweeps, rotations, and subtle shakes can all yield compelling artistic results, adding energy and creativity to your portraits. Encouraging Subject Movement Invite your subjects to naturally move—walking, spinning, or dancing—to authentically capture their energy and personality. Pair their movement with slower shutter speeds to artfully blend motion and emotion into your frame. Disrupting depth of field: Creative approaches to blur and focus Enhancing Motion with Creative Flash Techniques Using flash creatively alongside motion blur can lead to extraordinary images. Rear-curtain sync, where the flash fires at the end of the exposure, freezes your subject clearly against dynamic motion trails, emphasizing both clarity and movement. Experimenting with mixed ambient and artificial lighting can further enhance the dramatic effect of your portraits. Advanced Strategies for Exceptional Results Selective Focus Combine motion blur with a shallow depth of field, drawing the viewer’s eye precisely to your subject’s most expressive features. This technique intensifies emotional connection and visual impact. Creative Color and Lighting Using colored gels or carefully chosen lighting setups can amplify the emotional atmosphere of your portraits. Colors and intentional lighting placement reinforce the narrative created by the motion blur, enhancing overall mood. Composition and Directional Blur Align the direction of your blur with your compositional intent. Horizontal blur suggests speed and directionality, while circular blur can evoke chaos or confusion. Careful alignment helps communicate the story clearly and powerfully. Refining Your Artistic Vision Integrating motion blur into portraits requires thoughtful experimentation. Embrace the unpredictability of the technique, and let your creative instincts guide your choices in lighting, color, and movement. Remember, the most compelling portraits often emerge from unexpected results. Trust your vision, explore boldly, and you’ll discover captivating ways to tell visual stories filled with energy and emotion.

After announcing Cristiano Ronaldo and Salvatore Ganacci as fighters in Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, SNK has unveiled the final launch roster member – Hokutomaru. Playable in Garou: Mark of the Wolves, Andy and Mai’s pupil makes his return. Check out some of his moves in the trailer below. Hokutomaru has effectively moved from the mountains to South Town, and despite taking time to adjust, he’s keen on helping people. As a practitioner of Shiranui ninjutsu, he’s capable of dashing forward and striking enemies, throwing shurikens on the ground and in mid-air, and diving at opponents. His Ignition and Redline Gears remain more or less the same, but his Hidden Gear mixes Mai’s techniques with his own. If you’re looking for a fast character with strong hit-and-run tactics, Hokutomaru could be it. Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves launches on April 24th for Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC. Special Edition owners (which is everyone since no other edition is available) gain three days of early access on pre-purchasing.

Urbanarium has launched Decoding Timber Towers, a global ideas competition which aims to have real-world impact. This marks the Vancouver organization’s fourth installment in its affordable housing competition series, which addresses the impact of climate change on housing and offers winners international portfolio recognition and cash prizes totalling $50,000. This year’s competition is asking participants to consider residential and mixed use design solutions that use mass timber and to design creative solutions to some of the challenges facing mass timber construction today. These include unfamiliarity with the resource, steep upfront costs, the requirement for specialized consultants, insurance coverage, and the design issue of creating all-wood balconies. “Urbanarium has always been a platform that fosters discourse around the urgent issues we face in housing, community building, and urban planning,” says Amy Nugent, executive director of Urbanarium. “As Canada faces US tariffs on steel, Decoding Timber Towers looks for innovative solutions with BC timber that will shape the future of low carbon construction, and stimulate the domestic construction market with design ideas that also maintain a high standard of comfort, livability and connection to land.” Registrants will be assigned hypothetical sites based on a fictionalized Transit-Oriented Area (TOA), or an area within close proximity to rapid-transit such as SkyTrain stations and bus exchanges. Four individual sites have been distributed across the fictional TOA based on typical BC conditions, and have been formed with the input of First Nations and Indigenous housing developers. There is one mass timber high rise in Vancouver, Brock Commons, which is known as the “Tallwood House” at the University of British Columbia. Other projects in development or under construction include the 25-storey residential structure at Main and 5th Street to be completed in 2027 and the Main and Cordova rental building to be completed in 2026. Image credit: Urbanarium The winners of the competition will have their proposals showcased in a publication, on various websites, in the “About Here” series by Uytae Lee and in the upcoming international conference, Woodrise 2025 in Vancouver from September 22 to 25, 2025. The biannual congress is hosted by three nations: Japan, France, and Canada, and focuses on mid- and high-rise timber construction. Urbanarium will host an exhibition and stage presentation on the competition results, and share the winning designs with more than 2,000 industry professionals in attendance from more than 25 countries. This is in addition to the cash prizes which will be $15,000 for first place, $10,000 for second place, $5,000 for third place, and $2,000 each for five honourable mentions. New this year is the $10,000 Digital Award, presented for innovative use of digital technologies and processes in the team’s approach to repeatability, funded by DIGITAL’s Housing Growth Innovation Program. Registration is open until May 2, 2025, and submissions will be due August 25. Winners will be announced at an awards event on September 15. To learn more about Decoding Timber Towers and to register, click here. The post Urbanarium launches Decoding Timber Towers competition appeared first on Canadian Architect.

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd" Reallusion has unveiled Character Creator 5, the next version of the 3D character creation tool.The update, due in July, and currently available via a pre-release offer, introduces HD character bases, support for cavity maps in the skin shader, and an updated facial animation system. It will be accompanied with new Auto Setup plugins streamlining export of characters to Maya and look development software Marmoset Toolbag. A powerful, intuitive commercial 3D character creator for games, animation and VFX Originally released in 2015, Character Creator is a 3D character creation tool for game development, animation, motion graphics, previs, VFX and visualization work.Users can quickly create characters – primarily humanoids – by customizing a readymade base mesh with intuitive slider controls, or by importing and converting an existing model. The software includes a detail human skin shader, and toolsets for creating hair and clothing, augmented by paid asset packs from Reallusion’s online content store. Characters have a full-body skeletal rig and blendshape-based facial rig, and can be exported in FBX or OBJ format, or transferred directly to iClone, Reallusion’s animation software. There are also an increasing number of official plugins to streamline export to other DCC applications and game engines, including 3ds Max, Blender, Unity, Unreal Engine and ZBrush. Character Creator 5: new HD character bases The biggest update to the software since Character Creator 4 in 2022, Character Creator 5 features updates to the base characters, shaders and facial animation toolset.Its new HD character bases come with two more subdivision levels than those in Character Creator 4, and “offer up to 16 times more mesh detail” for close-up renders or 3D printing. The base characters’ eye structure has also been reworked, with attachable eyelashes and high-resolution tear ducts. Characters can be customized with an “all-new HD Morph system”, although Reallusion’s blog post announcing the update doesn’t go into detail. Updates to the skin shader and facial animation toolset In addition, the skin shader now has “full support” for displacement maps, for big surface details, plus cavity maps for fine pore and wrinkle details.For facial animation, the revamped HD Expression Profile has each expression driving a greater number of facial morphs, and a new Constraint System limits expressions to anatomically plausible ranges. The update also introduces non-linear facial animation capabilities through “advanced curve-based motions and mesh elasticity”. Alongside the core app, Reallusion is introducing new Auto Setup plugins for Marmoset Toolbag and Maya, and there will be updates to the existing Blender, Unreal Engine and ZBrush add-ons. According to the online FAQs, Character Creator 5 will be backwards-compatible with Character Creator 4 content and plugins, and with iClone 8. Price and system requirements Character Creator 5.0 is due for release in July 2025. The software will be free to anyone spending over $399 in a single order on Reallusion’s online stores between now and the eventual release. Read the offer FAQs here. The current stable release, Character Creator 4.52, is compatible with Windows 7+. New perpetual licences cost $299. Read an overview of the new features in Character Creator 5 on Reallusion’s blog Have your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we don’t post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.

Blue Prince has finally opened its doors on Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and Windows, as well as arriving on PS+ Game Catalogue and Game Pass day one! Explore a genre-bending, atmospheric, architectural adventure unlike any you’ve played, involving an ever-changing manor of 45 shifting rooms. Prepare to embark on a genre-defying puzzle strategy adventure, where you will draft rooms, unravel mysteries, solve puzzles, and develop architectural strategies as you try to track down the mysterious “Room 46”. The post Blue Prince Opens Its Doors! appeared first on Raw Fury.

The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) announced a record-breaking $70 million-plus prize pool for the upcoming Esports World Cup 2025.Read More

The Molasses Flood merges into CD Projekt Red Deal occurred on April 1, 2025, CD Projekt Red initially acquired Boston-based developer in 2021 Image credit: The Molasses Flood News by Sophie McEvoy Staff Writer Published on April 10, 2025 Boston-based developer The Molasses Flood has merged with CD Projekt Red as part of the CDPR Group. In a statement posted on its website, it said the merger occurred on April 1, 2025. It had previously been announced in CD Projekt's FY24 financial results "to ensure better alignment in scope and direction" of Project Sirius – a multiplayer set in The Witcher universe announced in 2022. Molasses Flood has "ceased operations" as a "separate legal entity" as a result of the merger, with CD Projekt Red assuming "the rights and obligations" of the studio. The developer clarified the merger will not affect the availability or distribution of its games The Flame in the Flood and Drake's Hollow, and that both will continue to be published by CD Projekt Red. Molasses Flood co-founder Damian Isla said that the decision was "a good and healthy thing for the studio" in post on LinkedIn. "It breaks down some organisational barriers, and better integrates The Molasses Flood team with the rest of the amazing CDPR organisation," Isla wrote. "Overall, it shows a very bright future for Project Sirius. It's going to be an amazing game, and I cannot wait until the rest of the world learns about what we've been working on." Isla also announced that he would be parting ways with the studio. "Molasses Flood has been a huge part of my life for the past decade plus, and I'm proud of having been a part of building something that lasted as long as The Molasses Flood did in a market environment often quite hostile to tiny teams like ours. "I think we made some beautiful, memorable, and quirky things, and I'd also gotten to work with some of the kindest, most generous and talented people in the industry." Molasses Flood was acquired by CD Projekt Red in 2021 for an undisclosed sum. Once acquired, it began working on Project Sirius which was announced in October 2022. Development of this project was written off in March 2023, which cost more than $7 million in 2022 and $2.2 million in 2023. This decision was attributed to a reset in development "based on results of evaluation of the scope and commercial potential of the original concept [...] and ongoing work on formulating a new framework for the company." As a result of this, 29 employees were laid off in May 2023 which made up roughly half its development team. Project Sirius hasn't been abandoned, and is currently still in development. In its latest financial results, CD Projekt Red confirmed that the game had entered pre-production.