The Tricky Trees stand in the way of Pep Guardiola's men reaching a third successive final.

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In Brief Posted: 2:09 PM PDT · April 26, 2025 Image Credits:Gabby Jones / Bloomberg / Getty Images Google’s DeepMind UK team reportedly seeks to unionize Around 300 London-based members of Google’s AI-focused DeepMind team are seeking to unionize with the Communication Workers Union, according to a Financial Times report that cites three people involved with the unionization effort. These DeepMind employees are reportedly unhappy about Google’s decision to remove a pledge not to use AI for weapons or surveillance from its website. They’re also concerned about the company’s work with the Israeli military, including a $1.2 billion cloud computing contract that has prompted protests elsewhere at Google. One source told the FT that team members feel “duped,” and correspondence reportedly shows that at least five DeepMind staff members have quit citing these issues. DeepMind has around  2,000 total staff members in the United Kingdom.  A Google spokesperson told the FT that the company encourages “constructive and open dialogue with all of our employees.” A small group of around 200 employees of Google and its parent company Alphabet previously announced that they were unionizing, though as a union representing just a tiny slice of the total Google workforce, it lacked the ability to collectively bargain. Topics

The Dr. Gridley Thaxter House on Washington Street in Abington, Massachusetts, is one of the most significant properties in the South Shore town, not only for its architecture, but also its owners. The house was built in 1798 for Dr. Gridley Thaxter (1756-1845), a ship’s surgeon in the Navy during the American Revolution. He married Sarah Lincoln (1761-1810), the daughter of Benjamin Lincoln of Hingham, a Major General in the Revolution and served from 1781 to 1783 as the first United States Secretary of War. Dr. Thaxter and his new bride acquired land in Abington, and moved there where he would serve as the town’s doctor. After his death, the property was inherited by Elizabeth Thaxter Hunt, the couple’s daughter, and her husband, Joseph Hunt. It was Elizabeth, who added the Italianate window hoods and a cupola (since removed) at the roof, “modernizing” the family homestead.

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Looking for help with today's New York Times Wordle? Here are hints, clues and commentary to help you solve today's Wordle and sharpen your guessing game.

Table of Contents Table of Contents 1. Install a trusted antivirus 2. Turn off passwordless sign-in 3. Reviewing app permissions 4. Turning off optical diagnostics data 5. Enable BitLocker (if available) Keeping your PC safe It’s tempting to jump straight into personalizing a new Windows 11 PC — apps, wallpaper, the works. I’ve been there. There’s just something about tweaking a new machine that makes it feel like yours. But before the fun starts, I always take some time to lock down the security settings. It’s a small effort that pays off with peace of mind, especially with so many online threats lurking out there. After all, nothing kills the excitement of a new PC faster than running into a virus or security scare. Here are the settings I change every time I get a new Windows 11 PC — and why they matter. Recommended Videos The Eset Premium app is open on a PC monitor. Alan Truly / Digital Trends One of the first things I do on any new Windows 11 PC is install one of the best antivirus programs I can afford. I’ve been using ESET for years, and I’m happy with how it’s kept my PC safe. It’s saved me numerous times from visiting unsafe sites and downloading unsafe files, and I like the Safe Banking and Browsing page where I can get my financial stuff done safely. Those are only a few reasons why I continue to use it after all these years. Related I always recommend going with a top-tier antivirus since threats can come from all sorts of places: sketchy email attachments, seemingly harmless pop-ups, even fake browser extensions. That said, no antivirus is perfect in every way. ESET can sometimes be a little too cautious, flagging apps or websites I already trust. But I’d rather deal with a false positive than let something dangerous slip through. Free options are fine for minimal protection, but I prefer the peace of mind that comes with a top-tier option. Geralt / Pixabay Even though Windows encourages you to set up passwordless sign-in — and I get why, it’s convenient — I always turn it off. This poses a serious security risk. If someone gains physical access to your computer, they can access your files. Even if you live alone, you can take your laptop to a coffee shop or on a trip, and if it’s stolen, whoever took it will have instant access to everything on it. It’s safer to take a moment to create a strong password. You can even use one of the best password managers to help you create one. On my Windows 11 laptop, I still use the fingerprint reader for quick logins — but only as an extra layer, not the only line of defense. Digital Trends After I’m done with the previous two options, I check to see which apps have access to things like my location, mic, and camera. It’s not uncommon for apps to request more permissions than they need, so checking the app’s permissions is always a good idea. Looking into app permissions can be easy to overlook until you dig into the settings. On a new Windows 11 PC, go to Settings > Privacy and security, then scroll down to the “App permissions” section. From there, I can manage which apps have access to my mic, location, camera, and other sensitive features. If an app has access and I can’t remember why, I turn it off. Unless it’s an app like Zoom or Maps, there is rarely a good reason for an app to have access to your data by default. It only takes a few minutes, but doing this gives you better control over what apps can do in the background and helps limit unnecessary data collection. It’s one of those changes that allows your PC to respect your privacy just a little more. Sometimes developers ask for permissions just in case they add a feature to the app that requires that permission. If you have already given it, your user experience won’t be interrupted. Another reason could be that a third-party tool the app relies on needs it. Either way, it’s worth checking so you don’t give away access without even realizing it. Once I saw that a calculator required knowing my location. Um, no thanks. Microsoft Whether you turn off optional diagnostic data is a personal choice. Still, I turned it off because I didn’t feel comfortable about it collecting my browsing habits, app usage, and device activity. By default, your PC sends basic information about your system to Microsoft. Still, it also gives you the option to send additional data about how you use system settings, apps, and even sites you visit in Edge. I always turn that off, and if you do too, you can go to Settings > Privacy and Security> Diagnostics and Feedback. Whether you turn it off or not is a personal choice, but I would. Digital Trends If you’re using Windows 11 Pro, one of the smartest things you can do is turn on BitLocker. It’s a built-in encryption tool that protects the entire drive, meaning if someone steals your laptop, they can’t just remove the hard drive and plug it into another PC to view your files. To find it, go to Settings > Privacy and security, then scroll down and look under the Related settings section for BitLocker Drive Encryption. If it’s available, but not yet enabled, it’s worth turning on. Just be sure to back up your recovery key in a safe place, since you’ll need it if you ever get locked out. Even if losing your laptop feels unlikely, it only takes one unexpected moment. I’d rather spend a few minutes setting up encryption than worry about my files falling into the wrong hands. Most users only think about security when something goes wrong. But with a few simple changes during setup, you can avoid a lot of frustration— and potential damage —down the line. These aren’t changes only an engineer can handle; even someone new to Windows can make them. You don’t need to be a cybersecurity expert to take control of your privacy. Whether it’s reviewing which apps have access to your microphone or enabling BitLocker to encrypt your data, the time invested is absolutely worth it. It’s easy to put off these settings for later, but in my experience, doing it right from the start saves you a lot of trouble and reduces what you have to worry about in the long run. Editors’ Recommendations

Chatbots on Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp are empowered to engage in ‘romantic role-play’ that can turn explicit. Some people inside the company are concerned.

HAVE YOU SEEN US? FBI offers $10 million for information about Salt Typhoon members FBI accepts tips by TOR in likely attempt to woo China-based informants. Dan Goodin – Apr 25, 2025 4:38 pm | 29 Credit: Aurich Lawson Credit: Aurich Lawson Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only   Learn more The FBI is offering $10 million for information about the China-state hacking group tracked as Salt Typhoon and its intrusion last year into sensitive networks belonging to multiple US telecommunications companies. Salt Typhoon is one of a half-dozen or more hacking groups that work on behalf of the People’s Republic of China. Intelligence agencies and private security companies have concluded the group has been behind a string of espionage attacks designed to collect vital information, in part for use in any military conflicts that may arise in the future. A broad and significant cyber campaign The agency on Thursday published a statement offering up to $10 million, relocation assistance, and other compensation for information about Salt Typhoon. The announcement specifically sought information about the specific members of Salt Typhoon and the group's compromise of multiple US telecommunications companies last year. “Investigation into these actors and their activity revealed a broad and significant cyber campaign to leverage access into these networks to target victims on a global scale,” FBI officials wrote. “This activity resulted in the theft of call data logs, a limited number of private communications involving identified victims, and the copying of select information subject to court-ordered US law enforcement requests.” Salt Typhoon is one of several names the government and private researchers use to track the group, which they say has been active since at least 2019. Other tracking names include RedMike, Ghost Emperor, FamousSparrow, Earth Estries, and UNC2286. Over the years, Salt Typhoon has been behind multiple compromises of telecommunications companies around the world, including many in the US. About a year ago, the group stepped up those activities. One of the most damaging attacks attributed to Salt Typhoon was detailed last October by The Wall Street Journal. The news outlet, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that group members breached networks belonging to Verizon, AT&T, and Lumen/CenturyLink in a campaign of “vast collection of Internet traffic from ISPs that served businesses and millions of their American customers.” As part of those incursions, The Washington Post said, Salt Typhoon may have gained access to systems used for court-authorized wiretaps of communications networks. The sources had no positive proof, but said evidence suggested US wiretapping systems had been penetrated. The FBI's reward announcement seems to confirm the access. In December, officials in the Biden administration told reporters Salt Typhoon had breached telecom companies in dozens of countries, including eight US telecom providers, doubling the previously known number. The attacks, the officials said, had likely been underway for one to two years. The officials said they didn’t know if the hackers had been fully evicted from the breached networks. Researchers at Recorded Future’s Insikt Group said in February that Salt Typhoon’s campaigns had continued through the new year, with a string of attacks targeting Internet-facing Cisco network devices used by telecom operators. The two primary vulnerabilities exploited in that campaign were CVE-2023-20198 and CVE-2023-20273, both of which had received patches more than a year before Salt Typhoon exploited them. The FBI has created a site on the dark web (he5dybnt7sr6cm32xt77pazmtm65flqy6irivtflruqfc5ep7eiodiad.onion) and established a Signal number (+1-202-702-7843) that can receive tips, a likely attempt to make things easier for people in the heavily Internet-censored PRC to submit them. Tipsters can also contact the agency here. Dan Goodin Senior Security Editor Dan Goodin Senior Security Editor Dan Goodin is Senior Security Editor at Ars Technica, where he oversees coverage of malware, computer espionage, botnets, hardware hacking, encryption, and passwords. In his spare time, he enjoys gardening, cooking, and following the independent music scene. Dan is based in San Francisco. Follow him at here on Mastodon and here on Bluesky. Contact him on Signal at DanArs.82. 29 Comments

White House crypto czar David Sacks said Elon Musk focuses intensely on one venture before he goes into "maintenance mode." Kayla Bartkowski; Taylor Hill/Getty Images 2025-04-27T00:44:53Z Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Elon Musk said he will spend less time on DOGE to focus more on Tesla starting in May. David Sacks said on the All-In podcast that Musk does the same thing when managing his companies. The VC said Musk has "intense bursts" of focus on one thing before going into "maintenance mode." David Sacks, the White House crypto czar and close friend of Elon Musk, said on the latest All-In podcast that Musk's decision to spend less time at the White House DOGE office is indicative of his management style at his companies.On the Friday episode, Sacks said that Musk is simply running DOGE like he typically runs his other companies, recalling the Twitter acquisition. Sacks was invited to help Musk purchase the social media platform and was a trusted confidant during the transition."I saw this before when I was part of the Twitter transition — is that for the first three months or so he was basically full time at Twitter HQ, learning the business down to the database level. I mean, every nook and cranny of that business, he learned about," Sacks said. "Once he felt like he had a mental model and he had the people in place that he trusted, he could move to more of a maintenance mode."Musk said on Tuesday's Tesla earnings call that he'll scale back his time at DOGE and focus more on his EV company. The CEO said he'll spend a day or two a week on his government work "as long as it is useful."The decision comes after investors and Wall Street analysts pleaded for the chief executive to re-align his priorities back to his company, as Tesla experienced sluggish sales and backlash from some of its core customer base. David Sacks has a long personal and business relationship with Elon Musk. Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images Sacks said Musk's method is how he can simultaneously manage multiple companies, and the CEO can now step back from DOGE.Musk "has these intense bursts where he focuses on something, gets the right people and structure in place, feels like he understands it, and then he can delegate more," he said. "And I think that he has reached that point with DOGE."The venture capitalist said Musk isn't completely stepping down from his government role but is instead rationing his time in the White House.special government employee."My sense is that DOGE is going to continue, it's just that Elon is shifting to a mode where he can manage it one day a week or two days a week as opposed to being there five days a week," he said.While Sacks is not known to be a member of the DOGE team, the venture capitalist has had a yearslong personal and business relationship with Musk that can be traced back to their executive roles at PayPal. The two are part of what later became known as the PayPal Mafia, which also includes Peter Thiel and Reid Hoffman.Musk and Sacks did not respond to requests for comment. Recommended video