There's "something seriously wrong with his moral compass, if not his perception of reality,"Friend to FoeDuring the early days of the COVID pandemic, Elon Musk lost a bet to a longtime friend and apparently took the loss incredibly poorly, in what sounds like an early warning sign of his now near-permanent state of self-humiliation.Thatnow ex-friend, podcaster-philsopher Sam Harris, is finally revealing how the wager led to them dramatically falling out.The petty saga is a case study in how, in Harris' view, Musk has totally changed as a person and for the worse. In sum: being chronically online melted Elon's brain."The friend I remember did not seem to hunger for public attention." Harris wrote in a post on his Substack. "But his engagement with Twitter/X transformed him.""Let this be a cautionary tale for any of Elon's friends who might be tempted to tell the great man something he doesn't want to hear," he added.COVID Mind VirusIt all started back in March 2020, when the coronavirus was taking hold in the US. "The coronavirus panic is dumb," Musk tweeted at the time.Harris thought this was irresponsible and that it'd hurt Elon's reputation, so he reached out to his friend in a private text. "You have an enormous platform, and much of the world looks to you as an authority on all things technical," Harris cautioned.Elon's response was jarring: "Sam, you of all people should not be concerned with this." The billionaire linked to a page on the CDC website indicating that COVID was not among the top 100 causes of death in the US."This was a patently silly point to make in the first days of a pandemic," Harris wrote on his Substack.After hours of texting, neither saw eye to eye. But they did agree on a bet. Musk bet donating $1 million to charity against a $1,000 bottle of tequila that COVID cases in the US would not exceed 35,000."The terms of the bet reflected what was, in his estimation, the near certainty (1000 to 1) that he was right," Harris said.Podcaster ScornedObviously, this didn't age well. Just a few weeks later, the CDC reported 35,000 deaths and 600,000 cases. A triumphant Harris texted Musk, "Is (35,000 deaths + 600,000 cases) > 35,000 cases?" Musk never replied."This text appears to have ended our friendship," Harris wrote, and Musk "began maligning me on Twitter." (A small sampling: Harris is "actually not that smart," an "utter idiot," is "irrationality personified.")This is despite the fact that the two of them agree on a bevy of political issues, Harris claims. "The problem with Elon, is that he makes no effort to get his facts straight when discussing any of these topics.""Any dispassionate observer of Elon's behavior on Twitter/X can see that there is something seriously wrong with his moral compass, if not his perception of reality," Harris concluded. "There is simply no excuse for a person with his talents, resources, and opportunities to create so much pointless noise."Share This Article

What Youll Do:Work cross-functionally with product, design, and other engineering counterparts to execute on product and business strategy and build novel products and features that our users will love.Contribute to the full development cycle: technical design, development, test, experimentation, analysis, and launch. Youll be reviewing code and design docs, giving feedback on product specs and mocks.Participate with a team of thoughtful, fast-moving, and motivated engineers. Contribute to standards that improve developer workflows, recommend best practices, and help mentor junior engineers on the team to grow their technical expertise.Move fast while balancing quality. We cant afford extensive processes, and we also cant afford show-stopping bugs. We need someone who can balance speed with quality while quickly building brand-new products.Qualifications for this role:Minimum 5+ years of post-internship, full-time, hands-on, professional software development experience developing software in one or more front end focused programming languages; Javascript, Typescript, ES6.Experience with one or more front-end web frameworks such as LIT, Polymer, React, Vue, or Angular with experience with CSS.Experienced with GraphQL, REST, HTTP, Thrift basics, and the ability to design and implement maintainable APIs is a plus.Experienced with distributed caching layers, and distributed large scale data storage systems.Strong organizational skills, the ability to prioritize tasks and to deliver projects on schedule.BS degree in Computer Science, a similar technical field of study or equivalent practical experience.Entrepreneurial spirit. You are self-directed, innovative, and biased towards action in fast-paced environments. You love to build new things and thrive in ambiguity and even failure.Excellent communication skills. You partner effectively with teams in a fully remote environment and discuss complex topics with technical and non-technical audiences.Benefits:Comprehensive Healthcare Benefits401k MatchingWorkspace benefits for your home officePersonal & Professional development fundsFamily Planning SupportFlexible Vacation (please use them!) & Reddit Global Wellness Days4+ months paid Parental LeavePaid Volunteer time offThis role is 100% remote with the option to work in a Reddit office if you live close to one and would like to! (NYC, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago).Pay Transparency:This job posting may span more than one career level.In addition to base salary, this job is eligible to receive equity in the form of restricted stock units, and depending on the position offered, it may also be eligible to receive a commission. Additionally, Reddit offers a wide range of benefits to U.S.-based employees, including medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) program with employer match, generous time off for vacation, and parental leave. To learn more, please visit https://www.redditinc.com/careers/.To provide greater transparency to candidates, we share base pay ranges for all US-based job postings regardless of state. We set standard base pay ranges for all roles based on function, level, and country location, benchmarked against similar stage growth companies. Final offer amounts are determined by multiple factors including, skills, depth of work experience and relevant licenses/credentials, and may vary from the amounts listed below.The base pay range for this position is:$190,800 - $267,100 USDReddit is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, and is committed to building a workforce representative of the diverse communities we serve. Reddit is committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at [emailprotected].

Against the odds, the next game in the beloved Yakuza game series, Like A Dragon: Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii, is shaping up to look like it will live up to its outlandish name. At a themed preview event in Buena Park, California, just outside Knotts Berry Farm, I and other journalists got to take a stab at heretofore unseen parts of the game -- and combat at sea seems like it'll be a fun highlight among the many activities.Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii is a new adventure from Sega studio Ryu Ga Gotoku starring series favorite Goro "Mad Dog" Majima, a wild eye patch-wearing gangster stepping up from manic sidekick in Yakuza 0 and Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth to main character. Picking up right six months after Infinite Wealth, Majima washes up on an island shore with no memory of his past (mis)deeds. After getting a first look at the game late last year, this new preview introduced me to a trio of activities teased in the trailers -- ship-to-ship sea combat, coliseum fights and the returning minigame Dragon Kart.More importantly, I got a feel for the flow of the game, as the first preview session dropped me into the second chapter of the game. Though bereft of many abilities and upgrades, I could still switch between Majima's two fighting styles. The first, the pirate-themed Sea Dog style, had me flailing around swinging twin cutlasses (or throwing them like boomerangs), shooting my flintlock pistol and using a chain whip to pull myself into enemies. The second, Mad Dog style, will be more familiar to Yakuza fans who fought Majima in earlier games: He lunges around with a knife like a back-alley brawler, even summoning doppelgngers to even the odds against masses of enemies.Both styles are fun, and although I got by with button-mashing, I was pushed to use my small pool of skills and tools when enemy groups pulled guns on me (and actual modern ones that put my wee flintlock to shame). While the game is lumped into the Like A Dragon subseries, it wisely ditched the turn-based RPG combat in favor of real-time fighting like the mainline Yakuza series, and it's better for it; flailing around with boomerang cutlasses in a pirate outfit is the kind of zany action that's feasible in nonstop motion (which could fall apart if players are given a moment to think).In that first free-roaming play section, I faced roaming gangs of island tough guys, but mostly I ran around learning the game's odd and pleasing corners: planting herbs to harvest later, cooking stat-buffing meals, winning the favor of animal friends and stocking up on health items and energy drinks. Even on islands, I'm buying supplies for the next lopsided fight.The next play session brought on the good stuff, namely the ship battles teased in earlier trailers. As gamers yearn for the swarthy sea dog days of Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, enjoy Sea of Thieves and mourn what Skull and Bones could've been, the cannonball-stricken waters of Pirate Yakuza In Hawaii will surely appeal. RGG/SegaSea combat, coliseum clashes and moreThe second play session opened up in the wondrously grimy pirate dreamland of Madlantis, the game's big addition to the Yakuza landscape. Scalliwags prowl the rusted metal walkways spoiling for fights and neon signs point to bars, shops and a casino (where you can play poker and blackjack). But the centerpiece is the Pirates Coliseum, which lets you engage in four different kinds of fights with escalating difficulty.The first, Quick Clash, puts your ship in the flooded coliseum to take on enemies in a quick fight. At the lower ranks, you'll take on single ships, but more difficult fights will pit you against multiple vessels of varying sizes. Sea combat is a bit more arcade-style Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag than the more realistic Sea of Thieves, as you'll sail with a birds-eye view as attack reticles pop up for your three slotted weapons: forward-firing machine guns as well as a set of cannons each for port and starboard. These can be traditional cannonball-firing guns, short-range flamethrowers or even laser cannons (stay awesome, Yakuza).While you'll mainly careen between ships to get the best angle for your next cannon salvo and scoot out of range of your opponent's rejoinder, there are a few reasons for stepping away from the wheel to prowl the deck of the Goromaru (as your vessel is called). Most notably, you'll need to do so if your ship catches fire, as putting out the blaze will stop ticking damage as the less health your ship has the less damage it will do. While walking around your ship, you can also man a deck-mounted machine gun or run around firing rocket launchers at enemy ships (never change, Yakuza). Keep in mind that you'll crawl to a stop away from the wheel, so watch out for enemies pouncing on your immobile ship. RGG/SegaOnce you've defeated the enemy ship, it's time to board, and you'll automatically leap into hand-to-hand fighting with your crew against the other vessel's captain and mates. It's a fun end to the fighting, especially in the second Pirates Coliseum mode, Tournament of Captains, wherein your opponents will sport increasingly zany themes -- I played against the Biker Pirates, for instance, who not only dressed like extras in Grease or The Outsiders but after boarding, drove across their deck in motorcycles.The third Pirates Coliseum mode, Madlantis Mania, was a series of deck battles against enemy crews and a bit less exciting than the others. But the fourth mode, Swashbuckler Showdown, was a merry hand-to-hand melee on an island arena pitting you and your crew against dozens of enemies -- a bit like Dynasty Warriors brawling into crowds of goons with some champions sprinkled throughout. It's here where I fought long enough to charge up the Sea Dog style's Madness gauge and summon one of the four dark gods of the sea (shark, parrot, ape or jellyfish) to trounce my enemies en masse.Your crew, by the by, are pulled from a gleefully wide assortment of oddballs you'll pick up as you play through the game, some with different abilities suitable to man the cannons, be squad leaders or make your first mate. From chefs to brothel madams to accountants to gangsters, you'll fill out your squad with a who's who of who's that. During one fight, my preset crew surged on to the enemy ship's deck with me, including one dude wearing a ram's head atop his business suit while another brawled in his underwear. RGG/SegaGangster, pirate, what's the difference?Sadly, we weren't shown much about the story, though we do know that the amnesiac Majima at the start of the game will revel in his freedom and affection for friends he meets. This gets complicated, though, as his memories return of the crime boss he was at the end of the last game, Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth.This preview was more about exposing us to the pirate yakuza vibes awaiting players -- and the vibes are just shy of being too ridiculous. The Yakuza series balances melodrama and zany hijinks in ways that are somehow complementary, and amping up the wilder aspects in Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii works for Mad Dog Majima. It's pushing the envelope for what players can take seriously, but with many familiar features returning from the main games to ground it.One of those recurring perks is the beloved Dragon Kart, which we got to play in the preview. While I was no master of RGG's take on the go-kart racing staple minigame, it was pretty fun to stuff Majima into a mini-vehicle and blast around corners, and there's even a battle royale-like duel mode (which sounds a lot like Mario Kart's battle mode). Of course, no Yakuza game would be complete without karaoke, which you can sing on your ship.But it's the fun new pirate-themed touches that drew my attention, from adorning all of Majima's 10 fingers with different exotic rings (to boost stats and abilities) to acing the cooking minigame so I can set a rowdy feast for my crew to raise their morale and strength. I can sail the waters between the game's four major land areas to fight marauding ships and find secret treasure ashore on remote islands.The game's themes of freedom from rules and supporting your crew nicely replicate the same dynamics in many other Yakuza games, making the earnest silliness more charming than alienating. With snappy combat on land and sea, Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii is shaping up to be a fun jaunt expanding the world of the series without straying from its central message of keeping true to your chosen family (through violence). Watch this: Everything We Expect in Gaming in 2025 05:01

January 16, 20254 min readWhat to Know about the Ban on Red Dye in Foods and DrugsThe Food and Drug Administration has banned the use of the dye Red No. 3 in all food and ingested drugs. Heres what foods and drugs contain the coloring, and how it compares with Red No. 40 and other artificial dyesBy Tanya Lewis edited by Dean Visser Oleksa/Getty ImagesEarlier this week the U.S. Food and Drug Administration revoked the authorization of the dye Red No. 3, which is used in a variety of foods and medications. This artificial dye, which is made from petroleum and had been found to cause cancer in rats, was removed in response to a 2022 petition from the Center for Science in the Public Interest and other advocacy groups.The cherry-red coloring agent is found in foods such as candies, Maraschino cherries, and strawberry-flavored milk drinks and in medicines such as cough syrups. Manufacturers of foods and ingested drugs have until January 15, 2027, and January 18, 2028, respectively, to remove the dye from their products.Food safety activists had long called for Red No. 3s removal, citing concerns about its possible carcinogenicity in humans, as well as some evidence that similar dyes may contribute to behavioral problems in childrenincluding attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).On supporting science journalismIf you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.Scientific American spoke with experts about why this red dye is being banned, how much exposure may be harmful and how it compares with other food colorings.Which red dye is being banned?Its official name is Red No. 3.What foods or medicines contain it?Its found in candies, fruit juices, snack foods, Maraschino cherries and strawberry-flavored milk. Its also found in some medications such as cough syrups.Why was it banned?Male rats developed thyroid tumors after being exposed to high levels of the dye in lab studies. But according to the FDA, the rats developed cancer through a hormonal mechanism that does not occur in humansand studies in humans and other animals have not shown similar effects. Nevertheless, the dye was removed under the Delaney Clause of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which bans FDA authorization of a food or color additive that has been found to cause cancer in humans or animals.Concerns have also been raised that some other artificial dyes, including another red dye called Red No. 40, may contribute to hyperactivity in children.Why did it take so long for the U.S. to ban this compound in food?The FDA has banned the use of Red No. 3 in cosmetics and topical medications since 1990. The European Union banned the dye in food (except cocktail cherries) in 1994, and in 2023 California banned it as well.The FDA has a really large mandate, and they have focused primarily on drugs. Within the food realm, they focused on food safety with a specific eye on infectious diseases like [Escherichia coli infection], says Sheela Sathyanarayana, a professor of pediatrics and an adjunct professor of environmental and occupational health sciences at the University of Washington and Seattle Childrens Research Institute, but where theres been a hole or a gap is in food safety related to additives and environmental exposures and contaminants.The FDA, under the Biden administration, recently created a new food chemical safety office. I am hopeful, with that new office opening, that they will be able to kind of assess in a more holistic way multiple different exposures, from food additives to contaminants,Sathyanarayana says.Red No. 3 is also found in some cough medicines.Food Drink and Diet/Mark Sykes/Alamy Stock PhotoHow much of this red dye do you need to consume for it to be harmful?The relevant studies exposed rats to doses of the dye that were likely much larger than what a human would normally consume. Its very hard to do studies on the toxic dose in humans because its unethical to conduct randomized, controlled trials that give people food with large amounts of certain additives. Most human studies of food ingredients are epidemiological: they involve asking people to remember what foods theyve eaten and in what amounts, which is notoriously unreliable.According to physician Melinda Ring, director of the Osher Center for Integrative Health at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, the acceptable daily intake of Red No. 3 is a maximum of 0.1 milligram per kilogram of body weight per day. For perspective, this equates to roughly 12 red gummy bears for a child and 36 for an adult based on typical concentrations, Ring wrote in an e-mail to Scientific American. However, research indicates cumulative exposure to toxins can have additive effects, making it safer to avoid synthetic dyes entirely rather than consuming a tolerable amount.Do other artificial food dyes also pose health risks?Red No. 3 may be one of the most well-studied dyes, but others, such as Red No. 40, have also been linked to health concerns. Some studies have tied red dyes to an increased risk of behavioral disorders such as ADHD.Now that Red No. 3 has been banned, it will be interesting to see if the FDA bans some of these other dyes, says Tracy Crane, an associate professor of medical oncology and director of lifestyle medicine, prevention and digital health at the University of Miamis Miller School of Medicine.Should you avoid eating anything with artificial dyes in it?In general, its best to avoid large amounts of foods or medicines that contain artificial dyes. I always tell people [to consume] sparingly, Crane says. What I tell people is: Its always better to not be putting artificial substances in your body. If something was not made by nature that color, its probably synthetic.Instead there are safer natural alternatives, such as dyes made from beets, carrots or even insects.One problem with foods that contain artificial dyes is that they often attempt to target children by using bright, cheery colors. We need to change expectations of what food should look like, Crane says.And its not just artificial dyes that may be harmful; many of the foods that contain these dyes also contain a lot of sugar. From a cancer prevention standpoint, it is recommended to consume less than 10 percent of calories from added sugar, wrote Hannah Manella, a registered dietician at Northwestern Medicine, in an e-mailed statement to Scientific American.Many of these foods are also ultraprocessed, and some studies have linked foods in this category to various diseases or health problems. Choosing whole, unprocessed foods or carefully reading ingredient labels can help consumers reduce exposure to synthetic dyes and other environmental toxins while supporting a cleaner, safer food supply, Ring says.

RedNote "caught unprepared" RedNote may wall off TikTok refugees to prevent US influence on Chinese users Rumors swirl that RedNote may segregate Chinese users as soon as next week. Ashley Belanger Jan 16, 2025 1:49 pm | 105 Credit: Difydave | iStock / Getty Images Plus Credit: Difydave | iStock / Getty Images Plus Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreJust a few days after more than 700 million new users flooded RedNotewhich Time noted is "the most apolitical social platform in China"rumors began swirling that RedNote may soon start segregating American users and other foreign IPs from the app's Chinese users.In the "TikTokCringe" subreddit, a video from a RedNote user with red eyes, presumably swollen from tears, suggested that Americans had possibly ruined the app for Chinese Americans who rely on RedNote to stay current on Chinese news and culture."RedNote or Xiaohongshu released an update in the greater China region with the function to separate out foreign IPs, and there are now talks of moving all foreign IPs to a separate server and having a different IP for those who are in the greater China area," the Reddit poster said. "I know through VPNs and other ways, people are still able to access the app, but essentially this is gonna kill the app for Chinese Americans who actually use the app to connect with Chinese content, Chinese language, Chinese culture."There has been no official announcement that such a change is coming, but Reddit commenters speculated that possibly the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was requiring a change to stop American TikTokers from using the app to influence Chinese citizens."CCP don't want American influence to spread to their citizens," a top commenter wrote. That prompted another commenter to respond, "a bit of irony here," seemingly suggesting China walling off American TikTokers seems a lot like what the US government plans to do through the TikTok ban. But others pointed out that China has long blocked Western social media apps like Reddit and X to prevent such feared influence. "If people couldnt see this coming, then they have no idea what Chinas politics are," one Redditor suggested in the thread.On social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter), others discussed the potential update that could fence off Chinese users, with one post with 1.2 million views suggesting the update could come next week.Unlike other popular Chinese apps that require a Chinese phone number to register as a user, like WeChat, RedNote has never had such a requirement and always operated one single version of its app, Reuters reported. So, a shift to segregating users would be a big change and could possibly take more time.Whether TikTok will be banned in the US in three days is still up in the air. The Supreme Court has yet to announce its verdict on the constitutionality of a law requiring TikTok to either sell its US operations or shut down in the US. It's possible that the Supreme Court could ask for more time to deliberate, potentially delaying enforcement of the law as TikTok has requested until after Donald Trump takes office.While the divest-or-sell law had bipartisan support when it passed last year, momentum has seemingly shifted this week. Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.) has introduced a bill to extend the deadline ahead of a potential TikTok ban, and a top Trump adviser, Congressman Mike Waltz, has said that Trump plans to stop the ban and "keep TikTok from going dark," the BBC reported. Even the Biden administration, whose justice department just finished arguing why the US needed to enforce the law to SCOTUS, "is considering ways to keep TikTok available," sources told NBC News.Many US RedNote users quickly bannedFor RedNote and China, the app's sudden popularity as the US alternative to TikTok seems to have come as a surprise. A Beijing-based independent industry analyst, Liu Xingliang, told Reuters that RedNote was "caught unprepared" by the influx of users.To keep restricted content off the app, RedNote allegedly has since been "scrambling to find ways to moderate English-language content and build English-Chinese translation tools," two sources familiar with the company told Reuters. Time's reporting echoed that, noting that "Red Note is urgently recruiting English content moderators [Chinese]" became a trending topic Wednesday on the Chinese social media app Weibo.Many analysts have suggested that Americans' fascination with RedNote will be short-lived. Liu told Reuters that "American netizens are in a dissatisfied mood, and wanting to find another Chinese app to use is a catharsis of short-term emotions and a rebellious gesture." But unfortunately, "the experience on it is not very good for foreigners."On RedNote, Chinese users have warned Americans that China censors way more content than they're used to on TikTok. Analysts told The Washington Post that RedNote's "focus on shopping and entertainment means it is often even more active in blocking content seen as too serious for the apps target audience." Chinese users warned Americans not to post about "politics, religion, and drugs" or risk "account bans or legal repercussions, including jail time," Rest of World reported. Meanwhile, on Reddit, Americans received additional warnings about common RedNote scams and reasons accounts could be banned. But Rest of World noted that many so-called "TikTok refugees" migrating to RedNote do not "seem to know, or care, about platform rules."Likely as a result of failing to read community guidelines, TechCrunch noted thatmany American RedNote users were quickly being banned. Some were kicked off for reasons they didn't totally understand because "users are joining the app but are unable to read the Community Guidelines, which are written in Mandarin."Some bans were due to posting videos with a TikTok watermark, TechCrunch reported, while others were likely banned as suspected bots after several failed attempts to verify their US-based phone numbers. Several TikTokers have confirmed they're attempting to appeal their bans, TechCrunch reported, but no one's sure how easy it will be to reinstate their accounts.Investors are closely watching to see if American users will stick with RedNote, though. On Thursday, Bloomberg reported that RedNotes biggest shareholders were discussing selling their shares "at a valuation of at least $20 billion." Those negotiations could end, Bloomberg noted, if RedNote ends up being a flash in the pan or if TikTok remains available in the US.RedNote isn't exactly a perfect alternative for TikTok. It was founded in 2013 by Mao Wenchao and Miranda Qu Fang as an Instagram-like knockoff where Chinese users and lifestyle influencers could share pictures and text posts.If TikTokers politicize RedNote and influence Chinese users, some China-based RedNote users suggested, they could draw attention from the CCP, which the app has historically avoided.RedNote's Chinese name, Xiaohongshu, literally translates to "Little Red Book," which seems like a direct reference to a book of quotes from Chinese communist leader Mao Tse-tung. But The Washington Post reported that the app is designed to be apolitical and its co-founder, Mao, maintains that the name instead pays "homage to the colors of his college," Stanford Business School, and his former employer, Bain Capital.Ashley BelangerSenior Policy ReporterAshley BelangerSenior Policy Reporter Ashley is a senior policy reporter for Ars Technica, dedicated to tracking social impacts of emerging policies and new technologies. She is a Chicago-based journalist with 20 years of experience. 105 Comments

Update: Ubisoft says it's in "love" with the Switch 2.Nintendo's new console launch is seemingly on the horizon and apart from first-party titles there is also expected to be plenty of third-party support.The reliable podcaster 'Nate the Hate' has once again chimed in, claiming Ubisoft has "more than half a dozen games for the Switch 2" planned, with many of them expected to be "late ports" of existing releases:Read the full article on nintendolife.com

The Federal Aviation Administration has told TechCrunch that it had to briefly slow and divert a number of aircraft near the area where debris was seen falling after SpaceXs Starship exploded during a test flight Thursday. Multiple flights could be seen entering holding patterns or completely changing course in the airspace near Puerto Rico shortly after the ship exploded on its way to space, according to data from Flightradar24. The FAA said normal airspace operations have since resumed.Airports suffered disruptions as a result of the diversions. Miami International Airport posted a 30 minute delay warning due to the rocket launch anomaly, according to the FAAs website. The Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida also cited the same reason for a short delay.SpaceXs Starship lifted off earlier Thursday from the companys facility in Boca Chica, Texas in what was the seventh test flight of the heavy launch system. SpaceX was able to catch the massive booster rocket on its descent with the launch tower for the second time ever. The company was hoping to test out a load of new equipment and upgrades on the Starship portion.SpaceX had already caught some flak this week when Qantas airlines complained that debris from the spaceflight companys rocket launches was apparently causing delays of some flights.Not long after the ship broke apart Thursday, videos and images of the debris went viral on social media. SpaceX CEO Elon Muskshared one of the videos on X, writing: Success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed!

The main village in Cornwall, Connecticut, looks like a postcard. Mature trees and beautiful, historic homes line the bucolic streets with sweeping views of the Litchfield Hills in the distance; it is what many envision when they think of New England charm. This stately Federal style mansion is sited deep on its lot beyond a field and dates to the first decades of the 19th century, it is the villages grandest early home. The house was built for Amos Barnes, but supposedly remained unfinished when he died suddenly. Barnes widow sold the property to the local Foreign Mission School as a dormitory for students. The schools (in my opinion, problematic) mission was to educate students of non-Christian cultures, including Native Americans, East Asian, and Hawaiian pupils, for them to become missionaries, preachers, translators, teachers, andhealth workersin their native communities in the Christian faith. These types of programs furthered the erasure of other cultures and promoted Christianity in all corners of the world, but I digress. In 1826, this home was acquired by Frederick Kellogg, the long-time town clerk and Judge of Probate, who owned the propertyuntil his death in 1891.

In the wake of a significant action against its infrastructure, the Kremlin-backed advanced persistent threat (APT) actor Star Blizzard has pivoted to exploiting social messaging application WhatsApp in its spear-phishing campaigns against targets of interest to Russias intelligence agencies, Microsoft has warned.Microsoft has been hot on the tail of Star Blizzard for some time, and late last year its Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) received permission from a United States court to conduct a significant takedown operation against almost 70 of the groups domains. Since October 2024, Microsoft and the US Department of Justice (DoJ) have seized or taken offline over 180 websites used by Star Blizzard, which has had a significant short-term effect on the APTs ability to go about its nefarious business.This action has already yielded a treasure trove of information for defenders to pick over, but according to the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) the group has demonstrated remarkable resilience and has swiftly transitioned to new domains and methodology, including the exploitation of WhatsApp.In mid-November 2024, Microsoft Threat Intelligence observed Star Blizzard sending their typical targets spear-phishing messages, this time offering the supposed opportunity to join a WhatsApp group, said the MSTIC team.This is the first time we have identified a shift in Star Blizzards longstanding tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) to leverage a new access vector.We assess the threat actors shift to compromising WhatsApp accounts is likely in response to the exposure of their TTPs by Microsoft Threat Intelligence and other organisations, including national cybersecurity agencies. While this campaign appears to have wound down at the end of November, we are highlighting the new shift as a sign that the threat actor could be seeking to change its TTPs in order to evade detection, they said.In the WhatsApp campaign, Star Blizzard operatives first made contact with their targets via email to engage them, in the guise of a senior US government official. This email contained a quick response (QR) code that purported to direct the recipient to join a WhatsApp group to discuss non-governmental organisation (NGO) work in Ukraine. However, in an attempt to coax their victims into responding, the QR code was intentionally non-functional.If the unlucky target did respond, Star Blizzard then wrote back with a wrapped, shortened link apparently directing them to the WhatsApp group. This sent the targets to a web page containing another QR code for them to scan to join the group.In a final bit of subterfuge, this second QR code was not a link to the group but instead used by WhatsApp to connect an account to the WhatsApp Web portal, which is used legitimately to enable people to access their accounts on a desktop PC instead of their smartphone, should they wish.In scanning this second QR the victims in fact gave Star Blizzard full access to their WhatsApp accounts, from where the cyber spooks were able to read messages and exfiltrate data using browser plugins.MSTIC said that the campaign was limited in its scope and appears to have ended at the end of November 2024. However, said the research team, it marks a clear break in Star Blizzards tradecraft, and highlights its tenacity.MSTIC is advising anybody working in sectors that Star Blizzard typically targets to be extra vigilant when dealing with unexpected or unsolicited email from trusted or new contacts.However, ordinary users should have little to be concerned about from the APT for, as ever, Star Blizzards campaign targets are most commonly individuals holding high-level positions in government or the diplomatic community, defence and international relations experts, and sources of assistance to Ukraine.As exposed by Computer Weekly in 2022, Star Blizzard previously hacked, compromised, and leaked emails and documents belonging to a former head of MI6, alongside other members of a secretive right-wing network devoted to campaigning for an extreme hard Brexit.This data dump also exposed the groups attempts to spread conspiracies about the origins of SARS-CoV2 and influence UK government policy on science and technology during the Covid-19 pandemic.Read more about cyber risk and espionageWorld Economic Forum urges digital business leaders to build the resilience of supply chains, improve cyber defences and develop contingency plans.Threat actors are once again lining up to exploit vulnerabilities in the widely used Ivanti product suite, with an apparent link to Chinese espionage activity.The US Treasury Department said Chinese government hackers gained access to a key for BeyondTrust's Remote Support service and used it to breach the federal agency.

Today's NYT Strands hints and answersCredit: New York TimesLooking for Thursdays Strands hints, spangram and answers? You can find them here:Well its my last day writing these Strands guides for the next couple of weeks, so I must bid you all adieu for the nonce. Its been a fun week of puzzle-solving, though a lot of these have been far, far too easy. I like Strands a lot, but I prefer the tough grids to the easy ones. Todays is actually a bit trickier than many, though yesterdays was pretty good also. In any case, its Friday so lets solve this puzzle and get on with the fun!Strands is the newest game in the New York Times stable of puzzle games. Its a fun twist on classic word search games. Every day were given a new theme and then tasked with uncovering all the words on the grid that fit that theme, including a spangram that spans two sides of the board. One of these words is the spangram which crosses from one side of the grid to another and reveals even more about the days theme.Spoilers ahead.Todays Strands HintsTodays Theme: The time of our livesHint #1: Think about different agesMORE FOR YOUHint #2: Your parents belong to a different one, and so do your kidsTo help you uncover all the words, here are the first two letters of every word, including the spangram.MIALBOGRZOGERemember, spoilers ahead!What Are Todays Strands Answers?Todays spangram is: GENERATIONGAPHeres the full list of words:MILLENIALALPHABOOMERGREATESTZOOMERHeres the completed Strands grid:Today's StrandsScreenshot: Erik KainTodays Strands BreakdownI had a couple thoughts when I saw todays theme: The soap opera Days Of Our Lives and the Green Day song where he sings I hope you have the time of your life. Neither of these ended up being relevant. This was all about GENERATIONGAP, or at least generations. This became obvious not after ALPHA but definitely after BOOMER. The rest fell into place accordingly, especially since I found the spangram pretty quickly. Have a great weekend!How did you do on your Strands today? Let me know on Twitter and Facebook.Be sure to check out my blog for my daily Wordle guides as well as all my other writing about TV shows, streaming guides, movie reviews, video game coverage and much more. Thanks for stopping by!