Mission Everywhere

Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch : Bumble updates its community guidelines to crack down on bots, spam, ghosting, and doxxing, and says it has blocked 8.2M+ accounts this year, mostly using AI   —  Dating app company Bumble has released its updated community guidelines with an aim to crack down on bots, spam, ghosting, and doxing. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/mAMFeIh

Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of Russian private mercenary group Wagner, gives an address in camouflage inside a vehicle at an unknown location, in this still image taken from video possibly shot in Africa and published August 31, 2023. Courtesy Grey Zone via Telegram via REUTERS A new video has surfaced of Yevgeny Prigozhin, where he claims to be in Africa in mid-August. In it, the Wagner Group leader says he's doing "fine" amid speculation over his wellbeing. The footage appears to be from just days before Prigozhin died in a plash crash near Moscow. A newly surfaced video of Yevgeny Prigozhin appears to show the Wagner Group leader crack a joke about his own death just days before he was killed in a plane crash in Russia.  The brief footage, which purports to show Prigozhin traveling in a vehicle somewhere in Africa, was shared to Telegram earlier this week by the Wagner-linked Grey Zone channel and has since spread to other social media sites.  "For those d...

Mark Wilding / The Verge : Investigation: IBM signed a £54.7M deal to develop a UK biometrics platform, including for facial recognition, in July, despite a 2020 pledge to quit such work   —  IBM has returned to the facial recognition market — just three years after announcing it was abandoning work on the technology due … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/v8FlcVk

Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch : Meta is showing a “For you on Threads” carousel on the Instagram app for some users, with a button to open the Threads app   —  Meta is continuously experimenting with features to bump up engagement on Threads, which has fallen off after the initial rush of excitement and installs. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/0BytTZD

Man looking on luxury watches Rolex on his hand. AS photo studio / Shutterstock Bloomberg reported one of Watches of Switzerland's major investors dumped 5 million shares after Rolex's deal to take over Bucherer. Rolex is set to take over the luxury watch seller to gain more control of its retail sales. Watches of Switzerland stock plunged 21% last week on the day news of the deal broke. A big investor in Watches of Switzerland sold 5 million shares of the luxury watch seller, according to Bloomberg , less than a day after news broke that Rolex had agreed to take over rival retailer, Bucherer . The deal was announced last Thursday, and on Friday Edinburgh-based asset manager Abrdn Plc slashed its stake from 8.2% to 6.1%, per regulatory filings with the London Stock Exchange cited by Bloomberg.  Given its legacy status and fame, Rolex is a bellwether for the luxury goods market. That was put on display last week when its new foray into retail sent Watches of Switzerla...

Mark Gurman / Bloomberg : Sources: Apple is testing 3D printing the stainless steel Apple Watch Series 9's chassis to speed up production, boost sustainability, and lower costs over time   —  - New approach will use less material and be more eco-friendly  — Company is trying out the process with steel Apple Watches from Techmeme https://ift.tt/UfRE8gP

Chinese President Xi Jinping and the Chinese government are making key economic data disappear — that should be a warning sign for the rest of the world. Arantza Pena Popo/In China's economy is turning into a big black blob. This transformation means that while the country's economy will still be significant to global business, it will no longer be the lodestar for growth. It will still advance, but much more slowly. And while those on the outside will still be able to observe the economy, it will become increasingly difficult to truly understand what's going on within. The reality of China's blob era pushed its way to the center of the global news cycle earlier this month when the Chinese government announced that it would no longer publish the unemployment rate for young people as part of its monthly jobs report. The final release for the data series — July's number — came in at a record high of 20.5%. The number had become a global shorthand for China'...

Sergiu Gatlan / BleepingComputer : The FBI led an effort to dismantle the Qakbot botnet, which ransomware gangs used as an infection vector for years, on August 25 after infiltrating its network   —  Qakbot, one of the largest and longest-running botnets to date, was taken down following a multinational law enforcement operation spearheaded … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/fLOcFI9

An Apple store. Jim WATSON / AFP The August sell-off in Apple's stock is poised to reverse, according to top Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo said that the upcoming launch of the iPhone 15 could help catapult Apple to become the world's top smartphone brand. Kuo estimates that Apple will surpass Samsung and sell 250 million iPhones in 2024. The more than 10% sell-off seen in Apple's stock price this month is poised to reverse ahead of the upcoming iPhone 15 launch in September. That's according to Ming-Chi Kuo, a top Apple analyst at TF International Securities, who said on Monday that the likely success of the iPhone 15 will help catapult Apple to become the world's top smartphone brand. Kuo said Apple has a chance to take over Samsung as the top smartphone maker in both 2023 and 2024. Samsung, according to Kuo, has cut its smartphone shipment target to 220 million units this year. "If Apple keeps the 2H24 iPhone orders unchanged, then the iPhon...

Aisha Malik / TechCrunch : Yahoo Mail gets Shopping Saver, a tool to find gift cards, discount codes, and more in inboxes and draft messages to vendors to apply them to previous purchases   —  Yahoo is introducing new AI tools for Yahoo Mail that are aimed at helping users save time and money, the company announced on Monday. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/LjYIma0

Leo Schwartz / Fortune : The US SEC charges Impact Theory, which sold NFTs, with offering unregistered securities, in a first; the LA-based entertainment firm agreed to pay a $6.1M fine   —  Gary Gensler, chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission  —  In an enforcement action announced on Monday … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/Rem4jza

Reuters : Tesla faces its first two trials involving fatalities where Autopilot allegedly malfunctioned, in California and Florida state courts in September and October   —  Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) is set to defend itself for the first time at trial against allegations that failure of its Autopilot driver … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/1NoXAxj

Netflix is shutting down its DVD-by-mail service after 25 years in operation. Michael Liedtke/AP Netflix is shutting down its physical DVD rental service on September 29. The company announced that it will allow customers to keep any unreturned discs. Customers can also enter a chance to get up to 10 extra discs with no charge. Netflix will allow customers to keep its DVDs as the company winds down its physical disc rental operation after 25 years in service . In the past decade or so, as streaming platforms burst to the forefront of the entertainment industry, physical copies of movies and shows have become increasingly unnecessary to many viewers. But Netflix continued to offer its DVD-by-mail service through DVD.com. Then, in April, the company finally announced that it would shut down the service by September 29. Netflix initially told customers that they would have to return the disc by October 29. On Monday, the company clarified that it will not charge for unreturn...

Since Donald Trump's mugshot was released on Thursday fans and critics of the former president are selling t-shirts, mugs, posters — and turning a real profit. Mark Romano via Etsy/Fulton County sheriff's office Donald Trump's mugshot was released to the public on Thursday by the Fulton County Sheriff's office.  Fans and critics of Trump are now selling mugs, t-shirts, and other merch with the mugshot.  Some independent sellers say the mugshot merch has helped them turn a profit for the first time.  It wasn't long after  Donald Trump surrendered to authorities at the Fulton Country Jail that his mugshot became a public good.   The photo — taken after  a sprawling indictment  that brought 13 criminal charges against Trump and his top allies for their attempts to overturn the 2020 election — is one for the history books. In the days since the mugshot has been released, though, fans and critics of the former president have not shied ...

Gillian Tett / Financial Times : How LLMs are transforming computational humor, an AI subfield that uses computers to create jokes, as some artists begin using AI chatbots for improv comedy   —  Machines are getting better at making us laugh — and challenging our notions of humanity in the process from Techmeme https://ift.tt/bEGv47i

A view of the Yale campus. Michelle McLoughlin/Reuters The Yale police union is distributing fliers to students warning them about crime in New Haven. The flier instructs students to "remain on campus" and and "stay off the streets after 8 p.m." The Yale Police chief told The New York Times he's "disgusted" by the union's message to students. Each year, Yale University attracts students from across the globe, drawn to the Ivy League institution for its renowned academics and the vast opportunities that such an education affords its graduates. But in recent days, the Yale Police Benevolent Association — the union representing officers at the sprawling campus in New Haven, Connecticut — has come under criticism from the university and city officials for distributing fliers warning students that it's not safe to venture beyond the the collegiate walls in the evenings. The flier, which says that "some Yalies do manage to survive New...

An American flag flies from the back of a truck. Wirestock/Getty Images A high school senior withdrew from his school when they wouldn't let him fly a flag on his truck. A school parking policy says large flags or banners are prohibited because they are distracting. The family has started a GoFundMe for $5,000 to get the car wrapped in the American flag. When a Virginia high school tried to enforce a rule that would keep a student from flying a flag on his truck, his family opted to pull him from school instead of complying.  Christopher Hartless said it is "bull crap" that he can't fly large American flags from the back of his pickup truck at school.  "If we want to represent our flag for our country then we should be able to," 17-year-old Hartless told local Fox affiliate WFXR-TV .  The high schooler did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.  In his first few days of senior year at Staunton River High School, Hartless w...

Donald Trump mugshot. Fulton County Sheriff’s Office via Reuters Connect Maggie Haberman said Trump made a "menacing" face in his mugshot to dispel any notion of weakness. "That does not mean he's enjoying any of this. This is a serious thing," she told CNN's Jake Tapper. The Trump campaign on Saturday announced that they have raised $7.1 million since Thursday. New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman last week said that there was a clear reason why former President Donald Trump gave such a hard stare in the mugshot taken after he turned himself in at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta: his refusal to project any form of weakness. Haberman, who  wrote the book "Confidence Man" and documented Trump's tenure in the White House more extensively than probably any other working journalist, told CNN anchor Jake Tapper that while the former president had made a similar face in public before, he wanted to make a point regarding his most rece...

Benedict Evans : A look at the ethical and legal issues around generative AI, as it makes practical at a massive scale things that were previously only possible on a small scale   —  We've been talking about intellectual property in one way or another for at least the last five hundred years … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/ZizHoxh

Ron DeSantis (left) and Donald Trump (right). Scott Olson, Jeff Swensen/Getty Images Ron DeSantis passed up an opportunity to name one reason voters should pick him over Donald Trump. Instead, he went on a long ramble about why he is the better candidate. He included reasons like his record of action in Florida and the chance he could be elected again. Ron DeSantis avoided heavily criticizing former President Donald Trump in Estherville, Iowa, on Friday, despite being asked a question that would have allowed him to do so. At an event at J&J Ag Solutions, an " average voter " named Ethan Masters asked DeSantis, "So what's your biggest selling point when I'm in the voting stage and it's between you and Trump?" Given the opportunity to name just one thing, DeSantis instead delivered a very long, choppy list of Trump's unmet promises before moving on to his own characteristics and achievements, according to The New York Times . Though D...

Wes Davis / The Verge : Linus Tech Tips founder Linus Sebastian addresses errors and ethics but not sexual harassment claims, responding to accusations that prompted a production pause   —  Linus Media Group (LMG) founder Linus Sebastian explained LMG's HR policies and how it will improve accuracy and ethics in a video posted to YouTube last night. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/JTAvgBl

Zack Whittaker / TechCrunch : Hackers breached WebDetetive, an Android spyware app used mainly in Brazil, and deleted data on its victims; Poland-based LetMeSpy was similarly hacked in June   —  The Portuguese-language app WebDetetive was used to compromise over 76,000 phones to date  —  A Portuguese-language spyware … from Techmeme https://ift.tt/58cYUag

Lionel Messi is loving soccer again with Inter Miami. CHANDAN KHANNA/Getty Images When you buy through our links, Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more Lionel Messi has nothing left to prove after leading Inter Miami to a Leagues Cup win that was more than improbable before his signing, given the team's previous poor form. The club doesn't seem keen on slowing down with the US Open Cup fast approaching, too, and there's still a couple of months of regular season play to get through. We'll show you how to watch Messi and Inter Miami vs. New York Red Bulls live streams online, wherever you are in the world. Luckily, Major League Soccer offers affordable access in many regions through a comprehensive streaming partnership with Apple TV Plus. Read on for all your watch options, including guidance on using VPNs to watch Messi's MLS run in countries that don't carry the MLS Season Pass. See also: Where to watch FIBA Basketball World Cup live st...