Coinbase recently disclosed a cyberattack on its network. As part of the attack, cybercriminals managed to steal funds from exposed users under false claims. The crypto exchange said it will voluntarily reimburse users affected by the data breach. In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the exchange preliminarily estimated that these remediation expenses could range between millionand million.Coinbase Says Estimates Could Increase or Decrease After Thorough ReviewThe firm submitted its 8-K filing to the SEC on May 14. It said that the losses it has estimated based on preliminary analysis could increase or decrease after a thorough review of other factors is conducted. These include indemnification claims and potential recoveries."The company is continuing to review and bolster its anti-fraud protections to mitigate the risk that the compromised information could be used in social engineering attempts. The company is also in the process of opening a new support hub in the United States and taking other measures to harden its defenses to prevent this type of incident," the filing noted.Coinbase CEO Brain Armstrong said cyber criminals managed to bribe some overseas support agents of the company to gain access to the personal user data of "less than one percent of its users."As per Armstrong, the attackers reached out to the exchange claiming possession of this user data and demanded a ransom of millionfor not leaking the data. The company CEO has refused to surrender to this ransom demand. Instead, he announced a million reward fund inviting information on these attackers."Since receipt of the email, the Company has assessed the email to be credible," the exchange said in its filing.Coinbase, in a blog post, claimed that the insiders who were found involved with the incident have been fired for abusing their access to customer support systems and stealing their data.The attackers have managed to obtain details including the bank account numbers, government IDs, and the account data of the impacted users. Other details such as names, addresses, emails, and masked social security numbers have also been breached as part of this incident.The company does, however, claim that no passwords, private keys, or funds were exposed in the breach. As per a Bloomberg report, the US SEC is also part of the ongoing probe into the incident.Following Coinbase's disclosure of the incident, its stocks reportedly fell by more than six percent.Coinbase has yet to disclose the exact amount of funds its users ended up sending to the attackers. It also remains uncertain if the data breach only affected Coinbase users in the US or if international users were also impacted."While Coinbase has not experienced material operational impacts from these events as of the date hereof, the full financial impact of the Incident on the company is still in the process of being assessed," it added in its SEC filing.Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details. For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube. Further reading: Cryptocurrency, Coinbase, Data Breach, Brian Armstrong, US SEC Radhika Parashar Radhika Parashar is a senior correspondent for Gadgets 360. She has been reporting on tech and telecom for the last three years now and will be focussing on writing about all things crypto. Besides this, she is a major sitcom nerd and often replies in Chandler Bing and Michael Scott references. For tips or queries you could reach out to her at RadhikaP@ndtv.com. More Related Stories #coinbase #faces #million #reimbursement #cost

Bosch Ventures, the corporate investment arm of German technology supplier Robert Bosch GmbH, has announced a new €250 million venture capital fund to support startups developing breakthrough technologies. Introduced during Bosch’s 2024 annual financial presentation, the fund reinforces the company’s long-term strategy of supporting early-stage innovation, even amid global economic turbulence. Bosch CEO Stefan Hartung emphasized that such investments serve both societal and internal strategic goals: “Startups can boost innovation in a way that delivers important growth impetus for a country’s economy.” How does 3DPI content meet your needs and help you in your job? How can we improve? Take the reader survey now. The new fund will expand Bosch Ventures’ existing portfolio by focusing on areas with long-term technological and environmental impact. Since 2007, Bosch’s investment arm has prioritized companies developing solutions in artificial intelligence and energy efficiency, aligned with its broader objectives of sustainable mobility and climate-neutral technology. According to managing director Ingo Ramesohl, “We invest in particular in deep-tech startups, which are based on scientific breakthroughs or technological innovations.” Dr. Ingo Ramesohl, Managing Director and co-head of Robert Bosch Venture Capital GmbH. Photo via Bosch. Startup screening and selection takes place through Bosch Ventures’ global network, which includes offices in Boston, Sunnyvale, Tel Aviv, Shanghai, Stuttgart, and Frankfurt. Investment professionals at these locations assess more than 2,000 startups annually. From this pool, approximately 100 are shortlisted, with six to ten ultimately receiving financial support and operational guidance. Ramesohl stated that being embedded in local ecosystems enables the team to identify disruptive technologies with high-impact potential across diverse markets. Collaboration between startups and Bosch’s internal divisions is facilitated by Open Bosch, a program launched in 2018 to integrate early-stage technologies into corporate workflows. The initiative allows selected startups to act as suppliers, customers, or technology partners. In return, Bosch gains access to emerging tools and platforms that may enhance its innovation pipeline. Hundreds of partnerships have been formed through this program. “This win-win partnership enables Bosch to strengthen and secure its innovation efficiency and support the company’s long-term success,” said Ramesohl. The Open Bosch Award recognizes outstanding startup partnerships integrated through Bosch’s Open Bosch collaboration program. Photo via Bosch. More than 60 companies currently comprise the active Bosch Ventures portfolio. Notable investments include U.S.-based Xometry, a platform for on-demand industrial parts, and IonQ, a quantum computing firm that completed a public listing. Additional stakes include Quantum Motion in the United Kingdom, Aleph Alpha in Germany, Arduino in Italy, and battery recycling startup Jin Sheng in China. The firm also holds equity in TrunkTech, a developer of autonomous vehicle technologies, and Syntiant and Motive, which operate in the edge AI and fleet management sectors respectively. AI Investment Expands in Manufacturing Infrastructure and Software Platforms Siemens, the German industrial technology firm specializing in automation and electrification, has announced over billion in investments to expand its presence in the United States. The initiative includes two new manufacturing facilities in Fort Worth, Texas, and Pomona, California, totaling million and projected to generate more than 900 skilled jobs. These sites will produce electrical equipment for industrial and construction applications and supply hardware for AI data centers. Siemens also acquired a U.S. software firm as part of its broader strategy to support domestic production and expand AI-related capabilities across its operational footprint. Meanwhile, 3D Spark, a Hamburg-based B2B software startup focused on industrial manufacturing and procurement, secured €2 million in seed funding to expand its AI-powered decision-making platform. The round was led by Swedish investor Triplefair, alongside Fraunhofer Technologie-Transfer Fonds and Innovationsstarter Fonds Hamburg. 3D Spark’s platform provides manufacturability analysis, cost estimation, quoting features with market pricing, and CO₂ tracking. It supports over 15 manufacturing technologies, including 3D printing, casting, milling, and sheet metal fabrication. Customers using the platform include Alstom, Deutsche Bahn, ÖBB, and Siemens Mobility. Siemens’ new manufacturing site in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo via Siemens. Ready to discover who won the 2024 3D Printing Industry Awards? Subscribe to the 3D Printing Industry newsletter to stay updated with the latest news and insights. Featured image shows the Open Bosch Award. Photo via Bosch. Anyer Tenorio Lara Anyer Tenorio Lara is an emerging tech journalist passionate about uncovering the latest advances in technology and innovation. With a sharp eye for detail and a talent for storytelling, Anyer has quickly made a name for himself in the tech community. Anyer's articles aim to make complex subjects accessible and engaging for a broad audience. In addition to his writing, Anyer enjoys participating in industry events and discussions, eager to learn and share knowledge in the dynamic world of technology. #bosch #launches #250m #fund #back

May 16, 20254 min readSee the Dramatic Consequences of Vaccination Rates Teetering on a ‘Knife's Edge’As U.S. childhood vaccination rates sway on a “knife’s edge,” new 25-year projectionsBy Lauren J. Young edited by Dean VisserMeasles, rubella, polio and diphtheria—once ubiquitous, devastating and deeply feared—have been virtually eliminated from the U.S. for decades. Entire generations have barely encountered these diseases as high vaccination rates and intensive surveillance efforts have largely shielded the country from major outbreaks.But amid a major multistate measles outbreak that has grown to hundreds of cases, a recent study published in JAMA projects that even a slight dip in current U.S. childhood vaccination rates could reverse such historic gains, which could cause some of these maladies to come roaring back within 25 years—while just a slight increase in rates could effectively squelch of all four.“We were quite surprised that we’re right on that knife’s edge,” says the study’s lead author Mathew Kiang, an assistant professor of epidemiology and population health at Stanford University. “A little bit moreand things could be totally fine; a little less and things are going to be quite bad.”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.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization formally declare a disease eliminated when there is zero continuous transmission in a specific region for 12 months or more. The U.S. achieved this milestone for measles, a viral illness that can lead to splotchy rashes, pneumonia, organ failure and other dangerous complications, in 2000. Poliovirus, which can cause lifelong paralysis and death, was effectively eliminated from North and South America by 1994. The U.S. rid itself of viral rubella, known for causing miscarriages and severe birth defects, in 2004. And diphtheria, a highly fatal bacterial disease, was virtually eliminated after a vaccine was introduced in the 1940s. These are “key infectious diseases that we’ve eliminated from the U.S. through widespread vaccination,” says study co-author Nathan Lo, a physician-scientist at Stanford University.Kiang, Lo and their colleagues ran multiple scenarios of childhood vaccination rates over 25 years to see if the four diseases would return to endemic levels. Measles—which is a very contagious disease and requires high population immunity to prevent spread—was the most susceptible to fluctuations in vaccination coverage. The models estimated that a 5 percent coverage decline would lead to an estimated 5.7 million measles cases over 25 years, while a 5 percent increase would result in only 5,800 cases.Polio and rubella would require sharper vaccination rate downturnsbefore reaching comparable risks of reemergence.While projected diphtheria cases were notably lower, Lo notes that the illness has a relatively high fatality rate and can cause rapid deterioration: “Patients with diphtheria get symptomatic and within a day or two can die.”Routine childhood immunization numbers have been slowly but steadily falling in recent years for several reasons, including missed appointments during the COVID pandemic and growing—often highly politicized—public resistance to vaccinations. “The idea of reestablishment of measles is not outrageous and certainly in the moment where we’re looking at erosion of trust through our federal authorities about vaccination,” says Matthew Ferrari, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics at Pennsylvania State University, who was not involved in the study.Reduced U.S. vaccination rates can also cause “knock-on effects” that threaten disease eradication efforts around the world, Ferrari says. Additionally, recent funding cuts to international vaccine development programs such as USAID and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, will “likely lead to increases in measles, rubella, diphtheria and polio elsewhere in the world,” he says. Outbreaks of these diseases in the U.S. largely start when unvaccinated American travelers pick one up while visiting a place where it’s more common. “If you now add the consequences of defunding vaccination around the world, then that’s going to increase the likelihood of these cases coming to the United States,” Ferrari says, adding that the study authors may have made “conservative assumptions” about these international factors.But Ferrari says the study’s scenarios assumed immediate—and in some cases unrealistically high—vaccination rate drop-offs without accounting for other possible public health efforts to control disease. “Even if we anticipated an erosion of vaccination in the United States, it probably wouldn’t happen instantly,” Ferrari says. “Detection and reactive vaccination weren’t really discussed in the paper, nor was the population-level response—the behavior of parents and the medical establishment. That’s something we can’t possibly know.... From that perspective, I think the scenarios were enormously pessimistic.”Lo and Kiang argue that politically driven shifts in vaccine policy, such as reduced childhood vaccination requirements or a tougher authorization process for new vaccines, could make a 50 percent slump in vaccination rates less far-fetched. “I think that there was a lot of pushback from very smart people that 50 percent was way too pessimistic, and I think that—historically—they would have been right,” Kiang says. “I think in the current political climate and what we’ve seen, it’s not clear to me that that istrue.”Kiang and Lo say that while their study shows the dangers of vast vaccine declines, it also highlights how small improvements can make a massive difference.“There’s also a more empowering side, which is that the small fractions of population that push us one way can also push us the other way,” Lo says. “Someone might ask, ‘What is my role in this?’ But small percentages, we find, can really push us back into the safe territory where this alternate reality of measles reestablishing itself would not come to pass.” #how #measles #polio #other #eliminated

Among the persistent mysteries of the 2024 election is the roots of the modern political gender gap, particularly among young people. Though their final vote choices were a bit more nuanced than some pre-election polls suggested, young men and women, aged 18 to 29, had the largest divergence in their vote among the age groups. Gen Z men supported Donald Trump by 14 percentage points; Gen Z women supported Kamala Harris by 17 points, per one post-election analysis.Those dynamics, particularly the aggressive rightward shift of young men, have raised some interesting questions: What was driving this divide? Was something in particular moving young men to the right while pushing young women to the left? Could it be the manosphere, economics, or old-school sexism?Or could it be something else, like the apparent resurgence of organized religion?As I’ve reported, the rapid decline of religiosity within the United States has been slowing down over recent years. Particularly since the pandemic, data shows Gen Z is no longer continuing the rapid decline in religious affiliation, particularly Christianity, that started with previous generations. If anything, religious belief has seen a small revival with that youngest cohort.That shift suggests a curious dynamic at play among America’s youth. As Gen Z has been getting more politically polarized along gendered lines, so too has their religious affiliation. Those trends suggest that modern politics and religious beliefs may be having a bit of self-reinforcing effect on each other: As young men find faith and religious belonging, their politics are drifting to the right too, in turn reinforcing their existing beliefs.The opposite seems to be true with young women: Religious customs are not jibing with their political and social beliefs, pushing them out of churches, and reinforcing that drift away from some organized religions.Those religious trends matter. As religious and political beliefs of young men and women move away from each other, it stands to complicate not just electoral choices, but the future of family life, dating, and social belonging.The religious gender gap is changing The last 10 years have seen American Christianity bottom out. After a steady decline in Christian religiosity since the 1990s, Christian belief began to stabilize at around 60 percent of the American adult population — still a historic low point — sometime around the turn of the 2020s.A key contributor to this slow-down appears to be Gen Z. After years of successive generations losing their religion, Gen Z seemed to get as irreligious as it could be. Now, what we’ve seen since 2020 is a kind of dead cat bounce: a slightly higher level of Christian religious affiliation among the youngest adults. Among the youngest cohort of Gen Z, those born between 2000 and 2006, the share who identify as Christian has increased since 2023, from 45 percent to 51, per the Pew Research Center. And overall, Gen Z seems to be more Christian than past trend lines predicted they should be: at 46 percent compared to a projected 41 percent. At the heart of that halt and slight reversal is a dual dynamic: Young women are leaving religious congregations, while young men’s religious identification and practice rises. These changes come across in a few ways. First, the gender gap in religious participation has not just evaporated in recent years, but reversed. The religious researcher and data scientist Ryan Burge has found in his analysis of survey data from the Cooperative Election Study that while women used to attend religious services more regularly than men, the reverse is now happening. Among the cohort born in the 1990s and 2000, it’s men who are now outpacing women in weekly attendance.Looking at other reference points suggests something similar. Young women are more likely than young men to say they are religiously unaffiliated, according to the American Enterprise Institute’s Survey Center on American Life research. Young women are now as likely as young men to say religion is “not that important” to them — a significant development since women have traditionally been more fervent believers. And the religious gender gap among the youngest cohort appears to be narrowing in other ways, too: Regardless of which religion they identify with, young women and young men report about the same rates of daily prayer. For older generations, women greatly outpace men in praying daily.Is religion making men more conservative? We could still stand to get better data about what is happening. It could be that young men simply remain as religious as older generations of men are, or that men are getting more religious in general, or that men are particularly loyal to organized religion. Some data suggest young women remain religious or spiritual but just don’t identify with organized churches in the same way men do. But the religious gender gap still appears to be changing among Gen Z.But is politics driving these changes in religious behavior and belief? Or is religion driving stronger political beliefs? The data is a little less definitive here, but two things seem to bear out: According to AEI’s Survey Center, young women who are leaving churches report doing so because their congregations’ beliefs are more conservative than the beliefs they hold. Churches are out of step with where most young women are. Additionally, young Christian women who remain in their churches are still more likely to be liberal and hold progressive beliefs than young Christian men. Even as they remain Christians, they are becoming more politically liberal.Underlying all of this is the fact that Gen Z women are more likely to identify as feminists, as LGBTQ, and as supportive of abortion rights. According to the Pew Religious Landscape Survey, young Christian women are 13 points more likely than young men to say that abortion should be legal. They are 18 points more likely to support gay marriage and 26 points more likely to accept LGBTQ people.As the researcher Daniel A. Cox of the AEI’s Survey Center points out, these are all shifts from what young Christians believed 10 years ago. “The gender gap in views of abortion has since quadrupled,” he notes in a recent analysis, but when it comes to views on homosexuality and gay marriage, it seems like young men have moved right. “Young Christian women have hardly changed their views over the last decade, while young men have become less supportive.”On a range of other views of government, political parties, and ideology in general, what’s happening with non-religious young people is also happening among believers. Young Christian women are much more liberal, and more likely to be Democrats, than young Christian men. Cox notes that it might not be religion making these political views so different but the degree to which young Christian women have more connections and exposure to diverse communities and are consuming different kinds of media. Religious young men seem to be stuck in more homogenous environments, both in the digital and in the real world, he suggests.Still, while we can confidently say young women are becoming more liberal and less religious in that process, we can’t say the same for men. Religion may or may not be making young men more conservative, but it does seem likely that their conservative religious and political beliefs are at least keeping young men in churches. It appears to be slowing down their drift away from organized religion.All of which stands to complicate the future of not just Gen Z’s social and cultural bonds to each other but also those of future generations. It’s the youngest cohort of Gen Z, those born between 2000 and 2006, that is narrowing religious gender gaps while widening political ones. That poses issues for their social, romantic, and familial futures. Gen Z already reports struggles with socializing, dating, maintaining healthy relationships, and combating loneliness. Marriage rates continue to fall. So as young men and women drift away from each other, it’s hard to see how prospective partners breach these divides. And these dynamics may very well end up having electoral effects.See More: #gen #men #are #becoming #more

What just happened? TP-Link, the most popular router brand in the US, could be banned in the country. The ongoing saga over the firm's alleged links to China and anti-competitive behavior has led Republican lawmakers to urge the Commerce Department to ban sales of the company's products. The seventeen senators and representatives wrote a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick this week to support the ongoing investigations into TP-Link. The company is being investigated by the Commerce, Defense, and Justice Departments over whether its China ties pose a security threat and whether the firm engaged in predatory pricing to undercut competitors and dominate the US market. The group essentially claims that TP-Link's cheap prices have helped it become the number one router brand in the US, thereby allowing the Chinese government to launch cyberattacks and surveillance programs against the United States using the devices. The letter also urges Lutnick to prohibit further sales of TP-Link networking products in the United States. The group goes on to accuse TP-Link of having a close association with the Chinese Communist Party, using predatory pricing to eliminate "trusted" US alternatives, and embedding foreign surveillance and destructive capabilities into US networks, all of which make it a "clear and present danger." The letter states that Chinese state actors have exploited TP-Link small and home officenetworking devices to wage cyberwarfare against the United States. It's also claimed that TP-Link is the only router company that refuses to engage in industry efforts to remediate Chinese state-sponsored bots. // Related Stories "Each day we fail to act, the CCP wins while American competitors suffer, and American security remains at risk," wrote the lawmakers. In a statement responding to the letter, TP-Link told PCMag, "The allegations are categorically false, and we look forward to setting the record straight about our company." "To be clear, TP-Link is not a state-sponsored company, has no 'deep ties' to, and is completely independent from, the Chinese Communist Party." Nine of sixteen best-selling routers on Amazon are TP-Link brands, including the top three models. It's estimated that 60-65% of homes and small businesses in the US use the routers, whose cheap prices help make them so popular. In October 2024, Microsoft exposed "CovertNetwork-1658," a Chinese-run botnet siphoning credentials from Azure since August 2023 via password-spray attacks. The network marshalled 16,000 hijacked SOHO routers, cameras and other IoT nodes – chiefly TP-Link models. The company's routers have a history of vulnerabilities: a CVSS-10 flaw hit the Archer C5400X in May 2024, and 2023 reports tied Chinese state actors to custom malware installed on TP-Link routers. The latter incident arrived soon after the US government said Mirai Botnet operators were using TP-Link routers for DDoS attacks. TP-Link, founded in 1996 by brothers Zhao Jianjun and Zhao Jiaxing, established its US arm in 2008 to handle marketing and support in North America, though ownership and operations remained tied to its Shenzhen-based parent. In 2024, TP-Link USA merged with the company's non-Chinese operations to form TP-Link Systems Inc., headquartered in Irvine, California – a move intended to create an "organizational separation," with distinct ownership, governance, R&D, and supply chains on each side. #lawmakers #say #tplink039s #rockbottom #prices

Last week, Epic Games announced that it had submitted Fortnite to the App Store in the United States. The move followed an injunction in which a federal judge said Apple couldn’t charge a 27% commission on out-of-app purchases initiated through in-app links. In a new statement today, however, Epic says that Apple has “blocked” this submission… In a statement posted on social media, Epic Games said: “Apple has blocked our Fortnite submission so we cannot release to the US App Store or to the Epic Games Store for iOS in the European Union. Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it.” There’s no word on why Apple rejected Epic’s Fortnite submission. It’s also unclear why the game is no longer available via the Epic Games Store in the EU. Before today, Fortnite had been available to download for iPhone users in the EU through Epic’s alternative app marketplace as well as AltStore PAL. The version of Fortnite submitted by Epic used both Apple’s In-App Purchase system as well as an external payment option through the Epic Games Store. Fortnite has been unavailable through the App Store since 2020 when it added a backdoor payment option to circumvent Apple’s App Store Guidelines. Epic is trying to use its EU developer account to bring Fortnite back to the App Store after Apple terminated its original U.S. account. In the legal battle between Apple and Epic, a judge ruled that Apple was lawful in its decision to terminate Epic’s developer account for deliberately breaking App Store Guidelines when it added the Fortnite direct payment option. As such, Apple has no legal obligation to allow Fortnite back in the App Store. In 2021, the ruling concluded: Apple’s termination of the DPLA and the related agreements between Epic Games and Apple was valid, lawful, and enforceable, andApple has the contractual right to terminate its DPLA with any or all of Epic Games’ wholly owned subsidiaries, affiliates, and/or other entities under Epic Games’ control at any time and at Apple’s sole discretion. We’ll keep this story updated as the situation continues to evolve. My favorite iPhone accessories: Follow Chance: Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, and Mastodon.  Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed.  FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Don’t know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel #apple #blocks #epics #attempt #bring

“How Zeke Got Religion” In 2019, Deadpool and Terminator: Dark Fate director Tim Miller launched Love, Death & Robots, an animated Netflix anthology series serving as a showcase for Miller’s own Blur Studio, along with other animators. The series has won a Primetime Emmy for each of its three seasons, which feature an eclectic mix of six- to 20-minute shorts spanning horror, science fiction, and fantasy. Miller went on to use the same formula for Prime Video’s Secret Level, where each of the shorts is based on a different video game. But that didn’t stop him from returning to Love, Death & Robots for a new 10-episode season: the series’ longest yet, but also its weakest. An episode of Love, Death & Robots can succeed based on a clever idea or some charming humor. John Scalzi has become a popular writer for the series, penning goofy tales of science and technology gone wrong and he delivers two episodes for volume 4 with varying results. But too much of this season is running on vibes, with episodes that feature cool visuals but not much plot. Others push the very concept too far, ditching any genre ties or even animation. The good thing about an anthology format is that if an individual episode isn’t great it’s over quick and then you can move on to the next one. Unfortunately there are chunks of volume 4 that feature dud after dud.   Love, Death & Robots is at its best when it uses a tight short story to deliver a strange and often disturbing tale. Highlights include Peter F. Hamilton’s brutal spin on Pokémon battles “Sonnie’s Edge” or Neal Asher’s horror at sea tale “Bad Traveling,” which was masterfully directed by David Fincher and featured an icy performance from Troy Baker. Fortunately there is one episode in volume 4 that still fits that mold. Written by J.T. Petty based on a short story by John McNichol, “How Zeke Got Religion” fuses aspects of Masters of the Air and Hellboy. Like last season’s excellent episode “In Vaulted Halls Entombed,” it starts out as a war story and becomes pure horror. In this case, the crew of the B-17 Flying Fortress Liberty Belle is antsy that they’ve been treated to chocolate and a John Wayne movie because “when brass is nice to you, you’re about to get fucked.” The best crew the Allies have is being sent on a solo mission to bomb a church in France at the behest of a mysterious new commander. The episode shows off how they work as a team normally, navigating flack, jammed weapons and a vicious dogfight that would be the nastiest part of most missions. But the church is the site of a bloody Nazi ritual to summon a fallen archangel that pursues their plane, leading to an abrupt genre shift and a gore-soaked battle that forces the jaded Zeke to reconsider what he knows about the world. Director Diego Porral, who served as the lead animator for last season’s hyper-violent episode “Kill Team Kill,” and Titmouse, the animation studio behind Scavengers Reign and Pantheon, do a phenomenal job making the fallen very different from the typical horned and bat-winged demon. It’s more like a biblically accurate angel, a cherubic face on a body with far too many eyes that rips soldiers apart with baby hands. When it literally spits out bullets from newly formed screaming mouths, the crew find that faith is their best weapon. If you watch one episode of Love, Death & Robots volume 4, make it “How Zeke Got Religion.” After that, consult this ranked list of the rest of the season’s entries. 10. “Can’t Stop” This is just a Red Hot Chili Peppers music filmed by David Fincher with marionettes standing in for the band and crowd. There’s no love, death or robots which makes it feel like a pretty pointless entry in the series. 9. “The Screaming of the Tyrannosaur” MrBeast plays the Grand Master-like emcee of spectacle featuring triceratops, a tyrannosaur, naked gladiators, and way too much voiceover. This episode is extremely predictable and self-serious for something based on how dinosaur fights are cool. 8. “Spider Rose” The series returns to Bruce Sterling’s universe portrayed in the season 3 episode “Swarm” for a much less compelling tale. “Swarm” was a deeply unsettling story about human greed and the nature of sentience and this is a bland revenge story with a weird, cute alien pet. Though the way Blur Studio animates people floating in space continues to be beautiful. 7. “Golgotha” Rhys Darbybrings his signature affable neurosis to playing a vicar who saw a beached dolphin seemingly return to life, attracting the attention of a group of aquatic aliens. Unfortunately there’s not much to the story and it’s a very odd choice to have a live-action short in the mix. 6. “The Other Large Thing” The weaker of this season’s two Scalzi stories features a fluffy cat called Sanchezwho sees his chance at world domination when his negligent, lazy owners bring home a robot voiced by John Oliver. AGBO’s grotesque animation of the humans makes it feel like they really have it coming, though the story is very basic and the final joke falls flat. 5. “400 Boys” Robert Valley, who directed the Emmy-winning season 2 episode “Ice,” returns to Love, Death & Robots for a beautifully animated tale starring John Boyega as the leader of one of many warring gangs in post-apocalyptic Britain. It’s such a strange rich world filled with psychics and alien giants that I wish it was developed a bit more beyond the stunning action sequences. 4. “Close Encounters of the Mini Kind” Last season, Robert Bisi and Andy Lyon teamed up to use sped-up miniatures to tell a rapid-fire zombie apocalypse story, and they reunited in volume 4 to do the same thing for an alien invasion. It’s a very funny rush through the genre’s tropes with a pretty low opinion of humans, who create a problem and repeatedly make it worse. 3. “Smart Appliances, Stupid Owners” John Scalzi and director Patrick Osborne teamed up for last season’s “Three Robots: Exit Strategies” and they’re back together for a series of confessionals from smart electronics fed up with the way their owners are using or neglecting them. Aaron Sims Creative provides the claymation-style animation for the anthropomorphic waffle iron, toothbrush, showerhead and more being voiced by a stacked cast of comedians including Ronny Chieng, Amy Sedaris and Kevin Hart. 2. “For He Can Creep” The Locked Tomb author Tamsyn Muir wrote this charming episode based on Siobhan Carroll Nebula-nominated novelette of the same name. Daniel Stevensplays a dapper version of Satan tormenting a poet he believes can aid his dark cause. Luckily the poet has a loyal cat who, while tempted by the Prince of Darkness’ offer of treats, unites his surprisingly powerful feline friends to fight for the poet’s soul. 1. “How Zeke Got Religion” If you skimmed the intro, go back and read about this wonderful short. Love, Death & Robots volume 4 is streaming now on Netflix. #best #episodes #love #death #ampamp

RT Call of Duty EndowmentStrike in strength for U.S. and U.K. military veterans by purchasing the Call of Duty EndowmentUnited Force: Tracer Pack. Available now in Call of Duty and 🤝 100% of Activision’s net proceeds for this special item, less VAT/sales tax, will be donated to the Call of Duty Endowment. #CODEUnitedForce #call #duty #endowment #strike #strength

To bolster its cellular Starlink service, SpaceX is reviving a regulatory battle for access to the 2GHz radio spectrum, long held by EchoStar, the parent company of Dish Network and Boost Mobile.On Wednesday, SpaceX filed a new application with the Federal Communications Commission to use the 2GHz spectrum, a year after the agency denied an earlier request for access. What’s changed? New FCC Chair Brendan Carr has signaled he wants to free up more radio spectrum for the commercial sector, including satellite services. Carr also sent a letter to EchoStar co-founder Charles Ergen last week, questioning the company’s control over a "large number of FCC spectrum licenses."On Monday, the FCC asked for public comment about whether EchoStar is effectively using the 2GHz band, which the company has exclusive control over for mobile satellite services. That prompted SpaceX to swoop in and request access to the 2GHz band for its cellular Starlink system, which is launching through T-Mobile in July. The company's application says the 2GHz spectrum “will provide a significant boost” to how SpaceX’s cellular Starlink system can connect users in cellular dead zones. "Granting this application will enable SpaceX to augment its MSScapabilities and leverage its next generation satellite constellation to provide increased capacity, reduced latency, and broader service coverage for mobile users across the United States, including those users underserved or unserved by existing networks,” SpaceX wrote.In the US, the cellular Starlink service currently uses T-Mobile's 1.91 to 1.995GHz bands.Recommended by Our EditorsThe same application also criticizes EchoStar over its control of the 2GHz spectrum for mobile satellite services. SpaceX even went as far as to use its own Starlink satellites to measure radioactivity in the 2GHz spectrum, finding “EchoStar’s activity level is 1% to 5% in the 2000-2020MHz range and 1% to 3% in the 2180- 2200MHz range.”The application also claims that EchoStar has no intention of using the 2GHz for a mobile satellite service, citing a comment from EchoStar CEO Hamid Akhavan during an earnings call last week that suggests. "If I had a satellite today, I would not launch it today," he said. "I would not because the satellite has a life of several years in the LEO system. And if the satellite goes up there, but there are no devices to talk to, what is the point?"As a result, SpaceX tells the FCC: “EchoStar’s inaction is not only a fundamental waste of valuable MSS spectrum, but also an opportunity for other more motivated and capable next-generation satellite system operators to more intensively use the spectrum to provide mobile services to Americans in underserved and unserved areas.”SpaceX's goal is to share the 2GHz spectrum, saying it can do so without generating radio interference. To gain faster access, the application also asks the FCC to waive its normal rules concerning spectrum approval. EchoStar didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But in response to the FCC’s inquiry, the company is pushing back on concerns about its spectrum use, telling investors it’s still developing a “direct-to-device” satellite system for phones."We are now testing new S-bandservices in both North America and Europe, and this year we launched an LEO satellite with several more planned in the coming months,” the company wrote in an SEC filing. In the past, EchoStar has also lobbied the FCC to reject SpaceX’s efforts to “pirate” access to the 2GHz band. “SpaceX’s attack is defamatory and anti-competitive. It is a transparently bad faith attempt to usurp the spectrum rights of a competitor, and the Commission should dismiss it as such,” the company wrote in a separate filing last month. #spacex #revives #battle #with #echostar