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Donald Trump's nomination of Fox and Friends co-host Pete Hegseth to lead the Department of Defense surprised not just those in the media, but also Hegseth's old acquaintances from his time in the military, according to a Washington Post report. Trump nominated Hegseth to head the Pentagon, despite the fact that Hegseth has never held a leadership role comparable to the scope of the position. Hegseth's nomination has also been bogged down by an allegation of sexual assault years ago. The Post looked into Hegseth's connections to a past war crimes case involving those close to him. While he wasn't involved in that case, it is considered a "formative experience" that "appears to have influenced his advocacy for troops accused of war crimes," the outlet reported. ALSO READ: The America-attacking Trump is coming for our military — and then he's coming for us The Post's reporting, based on "interviews with eight people familiar with that time in his life, along with a review of military documents and past media accounts," reveals key quotes from those who knew Hegseth. According to the report, some who were interviewed noted what they perceived as his political ambitions. "He deployed in 2004 first to Guantánamo Bay, the U.S. detention facility in Cuba that at the time housed hundreds of 9/11 suspects and combatants in the war on terrorism. After returning to Wall Street for a brief interlude, he volunteered for an assignment to Iraq in 2005, landing a slot as a platoon leader overseeing about 40 men in the brigade’s Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment," according to the report. "One former officer who served with Hegseth said he was surprised to see a National Guard member taking on such a role. He surmised that Hegseth probably wanted to run for office someday and thought a combat tour could help, the former officer said." The surprises didn't end there. When Trump nominated Hegseth for the key Department of Defense role, those who knew Hegseth reportedly touched bases to express such shock. "The former Army officer who served with Hegseth in Iraq said he believes he has latched on to 'populist scenarios' in a quest for personal gain. When news of Hegseth’s potential nomination emerged, old acquaintances from those days got back in touch with one another, the former officer said," the report states. "One text he received especially stood out. All it said: 'WTF?'" Read the report here.
'No Shortage of S**tty Takes': John Fetterman Calls Murder of Insurance CEO IndefensibleBeloved British animated couple Wallace and Gromit are returning to screens in their first feature-length film in 20 years for a typically mad-cap adventure that spotlights the dangers of technology in the wrong hands. “Vengeance Most Fowl” will air on the BBC on Christmas Day for the first time before being made available on the Netflix platform from January 3 worldwide. Inventor and director Nick Park has returned to the technology theme that he explored in his 1993 Oscar-winning hit “The Wrong Trousers”, but updated to take into account the advent of artificial intelligence (AI). The tale centers on tea and cheese-loving Wallace’s latest invention: an “intelligent” robotic gnome called Norbot, which helps around the house and garden, threatening to replace the ever-loyal Gromit, who takes pride in the daily tasks of life. “Wallace is completely deluded and obsessed, whereas Gromit represents the human touch,” Park told AFP in a pre-release interview. “He likes doing his gardening. It’s not about just seeing an end result, it’s the act of doing that is enjoyable. “I love the fact that we have technology. We have to just sometimes ask: is it always enhancing our lives and our relationships, or is it somehow diminishing them in some way?” ‘Real humans’ Park has shown loyalty to the idea of “doing” throughout his four-decade career and still insists on real-world modelling to create Wallace and Gromit instead of resorting to computerized imagery. At his Aardman Animations studio -- makers of other hits including “Chicken Run” and “Shaun the Sheep” -- films are shot frame-by-frame, with clay models slowly moved and altered in a technique known as “stop motion” that dates back to the dawn of cinema. At their fastest rate, the 200-person production team for “Vengeance Most Fowl” produced two minutes of film per week. “Everything’s made by real human beings and that hopefully shines off the screen,” Park said. The limitations actually spur creativity, he insists, and are a core part of the franchise’s appeal. “With CGI (computer-generated imagery) I guess you are tempted to just use it to the full. You’ve got everything at your disposal,” he said. “Whereas I think if you don’t have that, you tend to be more creative with what little you’ve got.” The film sees the return of the villainous penguin Feathers McGraw from “The Wrong Trousers”, which won an Oscar for best short animated film. Feathers McGraw is blank-faced throughout, but his on-screen menace is always obvious -- often to comical effect -- while a full range of emotions are expressed, as ever, through the legendary eyebrows of Gromit. “Very small nuanced movements can say a lot,” Park said. One small change to listen out for in the new film is Wallace’s new voice after the death of English actor Peter Sallis, who had played him since his debut in 1989. Sallis has been replaced by Ben Whitehead, an English voice artist and actor who collaborated with Park on the last full-length Wallace and Gromit film, “The Curse of the Were-Rabbit”, released in 2005. — AFPHow to protect your communications through encryption
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After a sprawling hacking campaign exposed the communications of an unknown number of Americans, U.S. cybersecurity officials are advising people to use encryption in their communications. To safeguard against the risks highlighted by the campaign, which originated in China, federal cybersecurity authorities released an extensive list of security recommendations for U.S. telecom companies — such as Verizon and AT&T — that were targeted. The advice includes one tip we can all put into practice with our phones: “Ensure that traffic is end-to-end encrypted to the maximum extent possible.” End-to-end encryption, also known as E2EE, means that messages are scrambled so that only the sender and recipient can see them. If anyone else intercepts the message, all they will see is garble that can't be unscrambled without the key. Law enforcement officials had until now resisted this type of encryption because it means the technology companies themselves won't be able to look at the messages, nor respond to law enforcement requests to turn the data over. Here's a look at various ways ordinary consumers can use end-to-end encryption: Texting Officials said the hackers targeted the metadata of a large number of customers, including information on the dates, times and recipients of calls and texts. They also managed to see the content from texts from a much smaller number of victims. If you're an iPhone user, information in text messages that you send to someone else who also has an iPhone will be encrypted end-to-end. Just look for the blue text bubbles, which indicate that they are encrypted iMessages. The same goes for Android users sending texts through Google Messages. There will be a lock next to the timestamp on each message to indicate the encryption is on. But there's a weakness. When iPhone and Android users text each other, the messages are encrypted only using Rich Communication Services, an industry standard for instant messaging that replaces the older SMS and MMS standards. Apple has noted that RCS messages “aren’t end-to-end encrypted, which means they’re not protected from a third party reading them while they’re sent between devices.” Samsung, which sells Android smartphones, has also hinted at the issue in a footnote at the bottom of a press release last month on RCS, saying, “Encryption only available for Android to Android communication.” Chat apps To avoid getting caught out when trading texts, experts recommend using encrypted messaging apps. Privacy advocates are big fans of Signal, which applies end-to-end encryption to all messages and voice calls. The independent nonprofit group behind the app promises never to sell, rent or lease customer data and has made its source code publicly available so that it can be audited by anyone to examine it “for security and correctness.” Signal's encryption protocol is so reputable that it has been integrated into rival WhatsApp, so users will enjoy the same level of security protection as Signal, which has a much smaller user base. End-to-end encryption is also the default mode for Facebook Messenger, which like WhatsApp is owned by Meta Platforms. What about Telegram? Telegram is an app that can be used for one-on-one conversations, group chats and broadcast “channels" but contrary to popular perception, it doesn't turn on end-to-end encryption by default. Users have to switch on the option. And it doesn’t work with group chats. Cybersecurity experts have warned people against using Telegram for private communications and pointed out that only its opt-in ‘secret chat’ feature is encrypted from end-to-end. The app also has a reputation for being a haven for scammers and criminal activity, highlighted by founder and CEO Pavel Durov's arrest in France. Making calls Instead of using your phone to make calls through a wireless cellular network, you can make voice calls with Signal and WhatsApp. Both apps encrypt calls with the same technology that they use to encrypt messages. There are other options. If you have an iPhone you can use Facetime for calls, while Android owners can use the Google Fi service, which are both end-to-end encrypted. The only catch with all these options is that, as with using the chat services to send messages, the person on the other end will also have to have the app installed. WhatsApp and Signal users can customize their privacy preferences in the settings, including hiding an IP address during calls to prevent your general location from being guessed.
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck has been ruled out for the second half of Saturday's SEC Championship Game against Texas after being injured on the final play of the first half. Texas' Trey Moore forced a fumble on Beck's pass attempt, appearing to injure the Georgia quarterback's throwing arm. Beck remained motionless on the field for a short time before joining the team in the locker room. Coach Kirby Smart told ESPN at halftime that Beck was done for the day. During the third quarter, Beck was seen with ice on his right elbow. Beck completed 7 of 13 passes for 56 yards and was sacked once before exiting. Georgia backup Gunner Stockton entered and led Georgia on a 10-play, 75-yard opening second-half drive, giving the Bulldogs their first lead at 10-6. Bulldogs punter Brett Thorson injured his left knee in the third quarter and was ruled out of the contest. He was taken off on a cart. --Field Level Media
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Liverpool shines in Champions League, dumping Real Madrid down the table. Dortmund rises to 4thBy Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times (TNS) Every day millions of people share more intimate information with their accessories than they do with their spouse. Wearable technology — smartwatches, smart rings, fitness trackers and the like — monitors body-centric data such as your heart rate, steps taken and calories burned, and may record where you go along the way. Like Santa Claus, it knows when you are sleeping (and how well), it knows when you’re awake, it knows when you’ve been idle or exercising, and it keeps track of all of it. People are also sharing sensitive health information on health and wellness apps , including online mental health and counseling programs. Some women use period tracker apps to map out their monthly cycle. These devices and services have excited consumers hoping for better insight into their health and lifestyle choices. But the lack of oversight into how body-centric data are used and shared with third parties has prompted concerns from privacy experts, who warn that the data could be sold or lost through data breaches, then used to raise insurance premiums, discriminate surreptitiously against applicants for jobs or housing, and even perform surveillance. The use of wearable technology and medical apps surged in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic, but research released by Mozilla on Wednesday indicates that current laws offer little protection for consumers who are often unaware just how much of their health data are being collected and shared by companies. “I’ve been studying the intersections of emerging technologies, data-driven technologies, AI and human rights and social justice for the past 15 years, and since the pandemic I’ve noticed the industry has become hyper-focused on our bodies,” said Mozilla Foundation technology fellow Júlia Keserű, who conducted the research. “That permeates into all kinds of areas of our lives and all kinds of domains within the tech industry.” The report “From Skin to Screen: Bodily Integrity in the Digital Age” recommends that existing data protection laws be clarified to encompass all forms of bodily data. It also calls for expanding national health privacy laws to cover health-related information collected from health apps and fitness trackers and making it easier for users to opt out of body-centric data collections. Researchers have been raising alarms about health data privacy for years. Data collected by companies are often sold to data brokers or groups that buy, sell and trade data from the internet to create detailed consumer profiles. Body-centric data can include information such as the fingerprints used to unlock phones, face scans from facial recognition technology, and data from fitness and fertility trackers, mental health apps and digital medical records. One of the key reasons health information has value to companies — even when the person’s name is not associated with it — is that advertisers can use the data to send targeted ads to groups of people based on certain details they share. The information contained in these consumer profiles is becoming so detailed, however, that when paired with other data sets that include location information, it could be possible to target specific individuals, Keserű said. Location data can “expose sophisticated insights about people’s health status, through their visits to places like hospitals or abortions clinics,” Mozilla’s report said, adding that “companies like Google have been reported to keep such data even after promising to delete it.” Related Articles A 2023 report by Duke University revealed that data brokers were selling sensitive data on individuals’ mental health conditions on the open market. While many brokers deleted personal identifiers, some provided names and addresses of individuals seeking mental health assistance, according to the report. In two public surveys conducted as part of the research, Keserű said, participants were outraged and felt exploited in scenarios where their health data were sold for a profit without their knowledge. “We need a new approach to our digital interactions that recognizes the fundamental rights of individuals to safeguard their bodily data, an issue that speaks directly to human autonomy and dignity,” Keserű said. “As technology continues to advance, it is critical that our laws and practices evolve to meet the unique challenges of this era.” Consumers often take part in these technologies without fully understanding the implications. Last month, Elon Musk suggested on X that users submit X-rays, PET scans, MRIs and other medical images to Grok, the platform’s artificial intelligence chatbot, to seek diagnoses. The issue alarmed privacy experts, but many X users heeded Musk’s call and submitted health information to the chatbot. While X’s privacy policy says that the company will not sell user data to third parties, it does share some information with certain business partners. Gaps in existing laws have allowed the widespread sharing of biometric and other body-related data. Health information provided to hospitals, doctor’s offices and medical insurance companies is protected from disclosure under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act , known as HIPAA, which established federal standards protecting such information from release without the patient’s consent. But health data collected by many wearable devices and health and wellness apps don’t fall under HIPAA’s umbrella, said Suzanne Bernstein, counsel at Electronic Privacy Information Center. “In the U.S. because we don’t have a comprehensive federal privacy law ... it falls to the state level,” she said. But not every state has weighed in on the issue. Washington, Nevada and Connecticut all recently passed laws to provide safeguards for consumer health data. Washington, D.C., in July introduced legislation that aimed to require tech companies to adhere to strengthened privacy provisions regarding the collection, sharing, use or sale of consumer health data. In California, the California Privacy Rights Act regulates how businesses can use certain types of sensitive information, including biometric information, and requires them to offer consumers the ability to opt out of disclosure of sensitive personal information. “This information being sold or shared with data brokers and other entities hypercharge the online profiling that we’re so used to at this point, and the more sensitive the data, the more sophisticated the profiling can be,” Bernstein said. “A lot of the sharing or selling with third parties is outside the scope of what a consumer would reasonably expect.” Health information has become a prime target for hackers seeking to extort healthcare agencies and individuals after accessing sensitive patient data. Health-related cybersecurity breaches and ransom attacks increased more than 4,000% between 2009 and 2023, targeting the booming market of body-centric data, which is expected to exceed $500 billion by 2030, according to the report. “Nonconsensual data sharing is a big issue,” Keserű said. “Even if it’s biometric data or health data, a lot of the companies are just sharing that data without you knowing, and that is causing a lot of anxiety and questions.” ©2024 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.