Feed aggregator

India will impose a 0.4% merchant fee on certain payments made through UPI starting October 15.

Texas utility CenterPoint Energy has confirmed that an attacker broke in and stole customer information through one of its internet-facing systems. The company disclosed the breach in a Form 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission after a post on a cybercrime forum claimed to offer its customer data. Houston-based CenterPoint, which serves around 7 million customers, said its electricity and gas services remain operational and undisrupted. "While the investigation remains ongoing, the company has determined that an unauthorized third party obtained personal information relating to a portion of the company's customers through one of the company's external-facing systems," the filing said. "The company is continuing to work with third-party experts to determine the scope of customers and personal information affected by the incident and intends to notify affected customers and regulatory authorities as required by applicable law. "The company reported the matter to law enforcement authorities and has notified certain regulatory authorities of the issue." The person claiming responsibility said they extracted 7.49 million of CenterPoint's files from a poorly secured API. Among the data allegedly available to download are customer names and contact details, billing data, move-in dates, driver's license information, and the last four digits of Social Security numbers. The Register has not independently verified the contents of the alleged data dump. When we asked CenterPoint for comment on the veracity of the claims, it told us: "Our filing speaks for itself." CenterPoint said it does not believe the incident is reasonably likely to materially affect its financial condition or results of operations. For operators of critical infrastructure, cyberattacks can lead to far worse outcomes. Recently, disruptive attacks have been recorded at facilities in Poland and the UK, and more than 100 US water systems were affected by attacks in July. The US consistently warns about the cyber threat facing utility providers from hostile states because successful attacks can disrupt essential services. ®

Women’s health company Evvy announced Tuesday a $40 million Series B led by Catalio Capital Management.

President Donald Trump majorly crashed out Tuesday after the Supreme Court killed his efforts to restrict mail-in voting ahead of the midterm elections. 

In a lengthy tirade on Truth Social, Trump raged against “another bad decision” from the Supreme Court. 

“It is a big loss for Republicans, and America itself, and makes cheating by the Radical Left ‘Dumocrats,’ on Mail-In Ballots, a much easier thing to do—And now they have an open field to do so!” Trump wrote. “The Supreme Court has really let our Country down!”

The president continued to rant about the Supreme Court’s previous decisions to undo his disastrous “Liberation Day” tariffs and block his efforts to scrap birthright citizenship. 

“The damage done to America is incalculable, and they know this, just as everyone else does—It is an irreparable and unrecoverable harm!” Trump wrote. “The Court’s inability and unwillingness to do the right thing for our Country will go down, in a very negative way, in the annals of History.”

Trump claimed that certain justices were “petrified of these craved and depraved Democrats” and had been “cajoled by the Radical Left.”

“These are not the people I interviewed to serve on the United States Supreme Court, they are merely a shell of their original selves, a Court that is costing the United  States Trillions of Dollars with shockingly bad rulings that are of such magnitude that it won’t be easily possible for our Country to recover or heal,” Trump wrote, referring to Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Neil Gorsuch, all of whom Trump saw appointed to the bench. 

Kavanaugh wrote a brief concurring opinion, noting that “there is at least a fair prospect that the final rule falls within the Postal Service’s statutory authority.” But he said that “applying the rule in the 2026 elections would be arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act because state and local election officials do not have sufficient time to reasonably implement the rule before the elections.”

Trump claimed that “it is not easy for me to write this criticism of the United States Supreme Court—it will likely cost me dearly for years to come—but I feel it my obligation and duty, as President, to do so for the America we love!” 

Of course, it is easy for the president, who has spent months railing against the Supreme Court, including its conservative justices. 

Quick Take

• Apple, backed by an historic night for Widow’s Bay in the Comedy category, took home the most 2026 Emmys.
• The 78th telecast also saw Matthew Rhys set his own history with two acting wins, one for Comedy and one for Limited-Series. The former The Americans star is now the only person to ever win Lead Actor in three different categories.
• Pluribus star Rhea Seehorn finally got her long-overdue Emmy win after being snubbed for Better Call Saul.
• Nerdist’s Take: At this point, we won’t be shocked if Matthew Rhys finds a way to win all three major acting awards next year.

It’s Matthew Rhys’ TV world, and we’re all just living in it. Rhys won not one but two acting awards at the 2026 Emmy Awards, on a night when both Widow’s Bay and Apple dominated. And the streamer’s huge night also included a long-overdue Emmy win for Pluribus‘ Rhea Seehorn.

Television Academy/NBC Table of contents

• Matthew Rhys Made Emmys Acting Award History with His 2026 Win
• Rhea Seehorn Finally Won Her Emmy in 2026 After Years of Being Snubbed
• The Emmys’ 2026 In Memoriam Broke Our Hearts
• Nerdist Take: Emmys 2026 Belong to Apple
• Full List of Emmys 2026 Award Winners

Matthew Rhys Made Emmys Acting Award History with His 2026 Win

Apple TV’s horror-comedy Widow’s Bay set the record for most Comedy wins at the 78th annual Emmy Awards with a whopping fourteen golden statues. That broke the record of 13 set just last year by The Studio. Widow’s Bay’s victories included one of the night’s biggest, Outstanding Comedy Series. Other notable wins include Matthew Rhys for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, Stephen Root for Supporting Actor, show creator Katie Dippold for Writing, and Hiro Murai for Director.

Darby won his other acting win on the night for his role for Lead Actor in a limited-series for his role as Mile Jarvis on Netflix’s The Beast in Me. (Netflix earned 16 Emmys this year in total, third most for any network.) Darby is the first person to ever win two different acting categories on the same night. And he is now the only actor to ever win Lead Actor Emmys for Comedy, Drama (The Americans), and a Limited Series.

Rhea Seehorn Finally Won Her Emmy in 2026 After Years of Being Snubbed

The night also saw Rhea Seehorn, who easily could have won multiple Emmys for her incredible work on Better Call Saul, get called to the stage for the first time. She won Lead Actress in a Drama for Pluribus. The show also nabbed Vince Gilligan his first-ever solo Emmy. He won for Writing. These victories were a part of Apple’s huge night. It garnered 28 Emmys over the three-night event. That was easily the most 2026 Emmys won among all networks and streamers. It’s also Apple’s best showing ever.

The Emmys’ 2026 In Memoriam Broke Our Hearts

The show’s In Memoriam also included a beautiful tribute to the late Catherine O’Hara led by Home Alone co-star Macaulay Culkin  and “Schitt’s Creek’s Annie Murphy and Dan Levy. The telecast also paid tribute to Dolly Parton, as Reba McEntire sang a song in memory of the late icon.

Other

Usual Emmys juggernaut HBO Max wasn’t exactly shut out, though. It took home 19 wins, including six for recent sensation The Pitt. The hit series once again claimed Best Drama. Star Noah Wyle was also a repeat winner for Best Actor in a Drama. And while viewers of last night’s show barely got to see it, Best Limited-Series winner DTF St. Louis also took home seven statues in total. That included wins given away previously at the Creative Emmys to pop culture favorites David Harbour and Linda Cardellini. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms took home one award for Outstanding Stunt Performance.

Speaking of favorites, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert ended its run on a high note. It won its final entry in the Late Night category. The show also claimed five other categories. Jean Smart also again won Best Actress in a Comedy for the final season of Hacks. The Muppets also had a big night. Disney’s The Muppet Show special from Seth Rogen took home four.

Nerdist Take: Emmys 2026 Belong to Apple

In the end, the 2026 Emmys will belong to Apple, Widow’s Bay, and, most of all, Matthew Rhys. But with the career he’s had, we won’t be surprised if he finds a way to win all three lead acting awards next year.

Full List of Emmys 2026 Award Winners Outstanding drama series

WINNER: The Pitt

Outstanding comedy series

WINNER: Widow’s Bay

Outstanding limited or anthology series

WINNER: DTF St. Louis

Outstanding variety series

WINNER: The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

Outstanding lead actor in a drama series

WINNER: Noah Wyle, The Pitt

Outstanding lead actress in a drama series

WINNER: Rhea Seehorn, Pluribus

Outstanding lead actor in a comedy series

WINNER: Matthew Rhys, Widow’s Bay

Outstanding lead actress in a comedy series

WINNER: Jean Smart, Hacks

Outstanding lead actress in a limited or anthology series or movie

WINNER: Sally Field, Remarkably Bright Creatures

Outstanding lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie

WINNER: Matthew Rhys, The Beast In Me

Outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series

WINNER: Kate O’Flynn, Widow’s Bay

Outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series

WINNER: Stephen Root, Widow’s Bay

Outstanding supporting actor in a drama series

WINNER: Tom Pelphrey, Task

Outstanding supporting actress in a drama series

WINNER: Allison Janney, The Diplomat

Outstanding supporting actress in a limited or anthology series or movie

WINNER: Linda Cardellini, DTF St. Louis

Outstanding supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie

WINNER: David Harbour, DTF St. Louis

Outstanding directing for a comedy series

WINNER: Hiro Murai, Widow’s Bay

Outstanding directing for a drama series

WINNER: Saul Metzstein, Slow Horses

Outstanding writing for a comedy series

WINNER: Katie Dippold, Widow’s Bay

Outstanding writing for a drama series

WINNER: Vince Gilligan, Pluribus

Outstanding reality competition program

WINNER: The Traitors

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow Mikey on Bluesky at @‌burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post Matthew Rhys, Rhea Seehorn Have Historic 2026 Emmys (Full Winners List & Highlights) appeared first on Nerdist.

What would you think if your senator went nearly 100 days without speaking publicly? 

It’s been over three months since we have heard Senator Mitch McConnell’s voice, after he was found unconscious in his D.C. home in June and spent all summer collecting a paycheck while offering few updates on his health. His team kept that streak going after he finally returned to Capitol Hill on Monday for a vote, ensuring he appeared in a corridor in which press is banned from recording video—probably a strategic move given that McConnell still does not look lucid or coherent. Of course,  that would be easier to determine if he could just address the public—one of the most basic tenets of his job. 

“Reporters aren’t allowed to film in the hallways outside the Senate chamber, which is where this pic is, except for at weekly leadership press conferences held here,” HuffPost’s Jennifer Bendery wrote Tuesday on X. “In other words, you can lose your credentials over this.... My best guess is his staff is avoiding all press in the halls and using more private ways into and out of the building.” 

Various GOP colleagues have claimed to have spoken to McConnell since June. But while rumors of his demise swirled, he released just two photos of him and his wife along with two press statements, none of which offered evidence that his language and cognition were adequate—something you might worry about with an 80-year old senator with years of health problems who was found passed out on the floor.

McConnell did apparently speak off camera. CNN’s Manu Raju described him as looking “frailer and his voice slower.” 

“I must admit, after two years, two decades, actually dodging your questions, I wasn’t sure how many of you would be here today, but I’m glad to see you,” the longtime senator reportedly said. “Time to get back to work, finish the job for this Congress. I’m here to work on the farm bill.... As I think you know, I have an ongoing issue in NATO and backing up our good friends who are totally in the fight against the Russians.” He didn’t take any questions. 

McConnell does look frail and spaced out in the few videos we do have of him.

🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Mitch McConnell has resurfaced, 3 months after disappearing from public view. https://t.co/WBeMp32VeM

🎥: @hicharliecotton pic.twitter.com/fHVhJ89DFe

— TMZ (@TMZ) September 14, 2026

McConnell’s speechless return was even panned by the far right. 

“Absolutely wild that after 3 months of being near death, one of the first things Mitch McConnell says he’ll now focus on is pushing for more war in Ukraine,” hardline MAGA commentator DC Draino wrote. “Not lowering prices for middle class Americans. Not deporting illegals. Nope, he wants more foreign wars. Evil man.”

Last day to exhibit at Disrupt is Sept 18. 4 days left. Get your startup in front of 10,000+ founders, investors, operators and tech leaders October 13–15.

Quick Take

• Widow’s Bay made comedy series history at this year’s Emmy Awards with a whopping 14 wins, more than any other series has gotten in a single season.
• The series came in with 19 nominations, and took the win for major categories like Best Comedy Series, Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, and more.
• Nerdist’s Take: Yes, Widow’s Bay did deserve to be in the comedy section because it is in fact more comedic than what most people associate with “typical” horror.

The shining series of this year’s Emmy Awards was undoubtedly Widow’s Bay. Kate Dippold’s horror comedy hit came in strong with a whopping 19 nominations, so we all expected that it would take home at least a handful. There was stiff competition in many categories from shows like Abbott Elementary, The Bear, and Shrinking, after all. But Widow’s Bay sailed higher than any of us could imagine and made history as the most awarded comedy season in Emmy history with 14 wins. 

RELATED ARTICLE

We Have No Qualms About Buying This WIDOW’S BAY Vinyl Box Set

Eight of those wins came during the Creative Arts ceremonies prior to six big wins during the Emmy telecast. The show’s leading trio—Mayor Tom Loftis, quirky Patricia Moyer, and eccentric Wyck—all took home major Emmys. Matthew Rhys scored lead comedy actor, Kate O’Flynn won for supporting actress, and Stephen Root for supporting actor. Rhys had an exceptionally great night, making history on his own by taking home a lead actor Emmy in two categories. 

Apple TV Is Widow’s Bay Really a Comedy Series? 

Absolutely. In fact, the series leans more into comedic and absurdist elements than it does with what people would associate with classic horror. Also, just to be clear, there is an entire genre of entertainment called horror comedy. Two things can be true at one time, and comedy contains layers and multitudes! Just think about the premise of Widow’s Bay: a mayor trying to bring tourism to a town where there’s allegedly a weird curse that resulted in some strange happenings. That is a very unserious thing overall. And, season one is packed with so many funny moments, some of which you can see in this Patricia video below: 

Here’s the complete list of Widow’s Bay Emmy Awards that made this Apple TV smash the most awarded comedy season in Emmy history: 

• Best Comedy Series
• Best Actor in a Comedy Series — Matthew Rhys
• Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series — Kate O’Flynn
• Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series — Stephen Root
• Best Directing for a Comedy Series — Hiro Murai
• Best Writing for a Comedy Series — Kate Dippold
• Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series
• Best Cinematography for a Series (Half-Hour)
• Guest Actress in a Comedy Series — Betty Gilpin
• Best Score — David Fleming
• Music Supervision — Toko Nagata
• Production Design for a Narrative Program (Half-Hour)
• Sound Editing for a Series (Half-Hour)
• Sound Mixing for a Series (Half-Hour) 

Top that, Martha’s Vineyard. We cannot wait for what’s coming next in Widow’s Bay season two.

Tai Gooden is the Features Editor for Nerdist, a fictional villain apologist, and a horror aficionado who is forever waiting for her trip in the TARDIS.

The post WIDOW’S BAY Made Comedy Series History at Emmys With 14 Wins appeared first on Nerdist.

September 9 loomed large for the approximately 170,000 Salvadorans living in the United States with humanitarian protection for immigrants from crisis-stricken countries. The Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for El Salvador was set to expire that day, potentially putting one of the largest groups of TPS holders in the country at risk of losing legal status and making them vulnerable to deportation.

But the deadline came and went, without the Trump administration either formally renewing or axing the protection for that population. Instead, the program’s website now says that an “announcement on El Salvador’s TPS will be made at the appropriate time.” Until then, Salvadorans with TPS will continue to be protected and authorized to work, according to the government.

The reprieve, while welcome, leaves these TPS holders who have lived and worked in the United States for decades in limbo. Or, as Aaron Reichlin-Melnick of the American Immigration Council put it, “with a sword of Damocles over their heads.”  

“The only thing we know is that TPS for El Salvador is still alive and protecting people from detention and deportation,” says José Palma, a coordinator with the National TPS Alliance, an organization led by beneficiaries of the program. “But we are waiting for the official announcement on how long that protection is going to last.”

The Trump administration has yet to post a notice in the Federal Register, and under the statute, if the Homeland Security secretary doesn’t decide to renew or terminate a TPS designation 60 days before the expiration date, the protection is automatically extended for six months. That means, Palma says, “If they were to interpret the law based on how other presidents have interpreted it before, Salvadorans should be protected for at least six months.”

But Palma and other advocates worry Trump could still try to terminate TPS for El Salvador. The administration has previously moved to end TPS for more than a dozen countries, including Venezuela, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Earlier this year, the Supreme Court gave Trump the green light to terminate the protection for more than 350,000 Haitians and Syrians, with likely implications for several other nationalities and some 1.3 million recipients.

The justices ruled that the DHS secretary’s decisions about TPS aren’t subject to judicial review, barring most legal challenges against possible violations of the statute. Following the decision, the Trump administration started targeting Haitians for arrest and deportation. As my colleague Laura Morel reported, many are being forced to choose between staying in the United States without legal status or returning to a country experiencing a humanitarian crisis.

DHS didn’t respond to questions about the secretary’s review of protection for El Salvadorans or the status of TPS recipients’ work authorization, only sharing with Mother Jones the same statement that appeared on the website.

The plight of Salvadorans fleeing the country’s violent, twelve-year civil war was a determining factor behind the legislative framework for TPS. When Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1990 establishing the humanitarian program, it did so in part to address concerns about the inconsistent nature of—and political bias inherent to—the US government’s practice of suspending deportations that benefited certain nationalities but not others. 

Throughout the 1980s, the United States had funded El Salvador’s bloody civil war, providing its military-led government with $1 million a day in aid to fight a coalition of left-wing guerrilla groups. In keeping with its Cold War foreign policy interests, the Reagan administration then denied protection to the vast majority of Salvadorans fleeing the country, characterizing them as economic migrants.

Years of grassroots organizing had put the issue of Salvadoran refugees at the center of the debate. Signed into law by President George H. W. Bush, the Immigration Act of 1990 explicitly designated Salvadorans for protection, and they became the first group to be granted TPS. Although that protection ended in 1992, El Salvador was later designated again in 2001, after two devastating earthquakes made it impossible for Salvadorans in the United States to return safely to their home country.

“It wouldn’t exist without our community, and now they’re losing this protection that has helped so many other nations.”

“It was the Salvadoran community that actually pushed for the creation of TPS,” says Abel Nuñez, executive director at the Central American Resources Center. “It wouldn’t exist without our community, and now they’re losing this protection that has helped so many other nations.”

Arnoldo Díaz was one of the young organizers advocating for what would become TPS. As a leader of the student reform movement in El Salvador, he was considered a national security threat by the government, and he fled the country in 1982 at the behest of his family. When I met Díaz last year in Silver Spring, Maryland, he recalled how his best friend died in his arms after getting shot at a demonstration to support an oil factory strike. “I’m not the first one, and I’m not going to be the last one to die in this struggle,” he told Díaz, who later survived an ambush by a death squad. “Just promise me that you’ll never give up on our people and will never stop fighting.” 

In 1987, an immigration judge granted Díaz political asylum, despite the US government’s efforts to deport him back to Central America. “It always gives me goosebumps when I remember it,” he said of the courtroom packed with supporters. Díaz, who became a US citizen in 1995, has kept the promise to his friend to continue fighting.

“It’s heartbreaking,” Díaz says of the current situation. “Keeping people in limbo like that is psychological torture to push people to self-deport.” A co-coordinator with the National TPS Alliance, Díaz said the organization is hosting a legal clinic and offering family preparedness advice, including on how parents can use a “power of attorney” to give temporary custody of US citizen children to other caretakers in the event they have to leave the country. “We don’t want to tell people to give up because we are not giving up,” he says. “But also be ready just in case because you never know.”

TPS for El Salvador has been renewed several times over the years, making it one of the longest-running designations of all nationalities. Having been shielded from deportation for more than two decades, TPS holders from El Salvador have deep roots in US communities. More than 30,000 of them live in the Washington, DC, metro area.

The uncertainty around the future of the program means Salvadorans with TPS are preparing for different scenarios. “Before the announcement, the level of anxiety was already increasing because they didn’t know what they could do,” Nuñez says. “People who did not want to be here in violation of the law were already making plans to leave the country…so they’re still very concerned.”

Without clarity on how much longer they may have valid protected status, TPS holders may encounter challenges in obtaining driver’s licenses. They also have questions about employment authorization. “There are employers that are saying, ‘No, I can’t keep you working. I need to know that you are authorized to work, and therefore come back when you have the proper documentation,'” Palma says.

Palma has lived in the United States since leaving El Salvador in 1998 and was granted TPS in 2001. Like so many TPS holders, he lives in a mixed-status household; he has four US citizen children, and his wife is a legal permanent resident. Depending on what happens to TPS, he says his family is wondering if they should wait before buying a new car, or even if they should sell their home. “We have to be prepared for whatever happens,” he says.

The Trump administration has repeatedly argued that TPS is supposed to be temporary and should only last as long as conditions in the country remain unsafe for people to return. The State Department’s advisory for El Salvador puts it at the lowest level of risk for travelers, citing a decline in crime and gang activity. But international organizations have long decried widespread human rights violations under Trump-aligned Nayib Bukele’s strongman rule and state of exception. Earlier this year, a group of experts found the violations committed by the Salvadoran government—imprisonment, torture, enforced disappearance—may amount to crimes against humanity.

Palma doesn’t dispute that TPS was meant to be a reprieve, but he says the circumstances of Salvadorans and other Central Americans are unique because of how long they’ve been in the United States. For Palma, the administration should stop the detention and deportation of Salvadorans while Congress considers a path to legal status for TPS holders. “If somebody from El Salvador has TPS,” Palma explains, “that means they have been doing everything the government has been asking for the last 25 years.”

“Twenty-five years is not temporary,” Díaz says. “25 years is a lifetime. They’ve put all their youth into this country. We can’t just tell them, pick up your stuff, close your business, take your children, and go home.”

Microsoft has released an out-of-band update for Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2 after September's record-breaking Patch Tuesday addressed almost 1,000 vulnerabilities across the company's products – and introduced several new problems. Those problems are related to USB Audio Class 1.0 devices, Remote Desktop Services, and host folders shared with certain Hyper-V-based Linux virtual machines via Plan9. While the Hyper-V and Remote Desktop Services issues are fixed, there is still work to do on USB audio. The update restores multichannel playback on USB Audio Class 1.0 devices that continued to work in stereo, but other affected devices may remain silent, have unresponsive volume controls, or display "This device cannot start (Code 10)" in Device Manager. Owners of devices still giving them the silent treatment were told: "Microsoft is working on a resolution and will update this documentation when more information is available." The cumulative update also includes protections for CVE-2026-62721, an elevation-of-privilege vulnerability in the Windows User-Mode Power Service. Separate September security updates for Excel also broke that rarely used function, Paste, on some installations. Microsoft has yet to issue a fix. Readers were impressively supportive of Microsoft's efforts to ensure its patches don't disrupt workflows. Paratiritis noted: "The issue with all these versions of Excel is understandable, considering such changes require testing, either manual or automated, which cannot be taken for granted for such cryptic functionality as Paste." Roj Blake suggested that perhaps somebody had tried submitting a bug report, but was unable to paste the data for some reason. ®

A Swiss court has sentenced a 52-year-old Ukrainian ransomware developer to 12 years and nine months in prison for his role in attacks on companies including Stadler Rail. Zurich District Court found that the man developed LockerGoga, MegaCortex, and Nefilim, but was not the mastermind behind the operations. He also received a ten-year ban from Switzerland. The judgment is not final and can be appealed. He had been held in pretrial detention since October 2021 and consistently denied knowing that his software was being used for criminal purposes. He said the source code found at his home in Basel-Landschaft came from his consulting work for an unidentified IT security client. The court rejected that explanation because extortion messages were also found among his data, SWI reported. The ransomware developer was also found guilty of playing a key role in high-profile ransomware attacks, including the one that hit Stadler Rail in 2020 [PDF]. Not to be confused with the more recent attack on the rolling stock manufacturer – that one was claimed by Everest – the earlier breach occurred in May 2020. At the time, Stadler Rail did not use the word "ransomware," but said the attack involved malware, that it "most likely led to a data leak," and that "the offenders tried to extort a large amount of money," threatening to leak the files if the ransom was not paid. As it did following this year's incident, Stadler refused to pay. The 2020 Nefilim ransom demand was reportedly $6 million. The court also found that he played a key role in attacks on HVAC company Meier Tobler and software company Crealogix. In September 2022, Zurich prosecutors reported that a suspect had been arrested in Basel-Landschaft in October 2021 on suspicion of money laundering and data corruption. The statement accused the perpetrators of involvement in attacks on more than 1,800 individuals and institutions across 71 countries, causing estimated losses of several hundred million Swiss francs. The same law enforcement action in 2021 led to the identification of other alleged members of the three ransomware operations, none of whom were named. Volodymyr Tymoshchuk was formally indicted in the US last year and was described by prosecutors as the mastermind of all three ransomware crews. Unlike many others, Tymoshchuk has not yet been arrested, but is on the FBI's most wanted list, with an $11 million bounty placed on the information that could lead to his arrest or conviction, or that of other key leaders. He was allegedly responsible for attacks on at least 250 companies, including the infamous Norsk Hydro attack in 2019. ®

With the midterm elections now less than 50 days away, there are multiple indicators that Democrats should have some champagne chilling for the evening of Nov. 3. Democrats’ lead on the generic congressional ballot is now more than 7 percentage points, according to election analyst Nate Silver’s polling average. That is flirting with the 9-point generic-ballot lead the political handicapping…

Source

Alabama Senator Katie Britt praised President Donald Trump’s tariffs in public, but behind closed doors, the Republican lawmaker begged for relief, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

In an email sent to the U.S. trade representative in April 2025, shortly after Trump announced his so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs, Stephen Newton, the legislative director for Britt’s office, requested tariff “exclusions” for “specific Alabama manufacturers.”

Those companies included TNT Fireworks, which could not source fireworks of the same “quality and safety” as those produced in China; Novelis, an aluminum company that relies on imports from Canada, South Korea, and Brazil and could no longer complete construction on a new plant in Alabama; Kronospan, a wood panel maker that required “highly specialized equipment that is not available from domestic manufacturers;” and Airbus, the aircraft manufacturer, which could no longer afford to compete production on its third final assembly line in Mobile.

It’s not clear that any of these companies received exemptions, as the USTR “does not have an exemption process at this time,” the agency told Journal.

But months later, Britt struck a different tone in a social media post following the Supreme Court’s decision to undo Trump’s disastrous tariffs.

“What the media won’t tell you is that President Trump’s tariffs work, and that’s why even the Biden Administration left them in place,” Britt wrote on X.

If there’s that much daylight between Britt’s public-facing comments and her actual politicking, one has to wonder what other hard-line Trump administration policies the MAGA mouthpiece secretly knows are bullshit? And how many other Republicans feel the same?

President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who serves as a special envoy for peace in the Trump administration, has made billions of dollars for his investment firm from donors in the Middle East at the same time.

The New Yorker reports that during peace negotiations with Iran earlier this year, Kushner managed to raise $5 billion for his group Affinity Partners. When the U.S.’s attacks on Iran restarted in [month?], some observers became suspicious that Kushner’s business activities were linked to his work for the Trump administration.

“My sense is that he thinks he was killing two birds with one stone—he was helping the Arabs defeat the Iranians, and he wanted to be paid for it,” an unnamed American source with extensive ties to leaders in the Middle East told the magazine.

With the U.S. left with no good options as Iran maintains control of the Strait of Hormuz, Kushner and Trump’s other special envoy Steve Witkoff haven’t been active in peace talks. The latest round of negotiations over the summer were led by Vice President JD Vance. The leaders of Arab Gulf states are reportedly disappointed in Kushner for failing to end the war.

“They were investing money in him. They thought that would bring them some influence that would protect them, and it did the opposite,” a former senior U.S. official told The New Yorker. “Their whole business model was stability. And now it’s gone.”

Kushner’s firm was built off of investments in and from the Middle East. Using money from Saudi Arabia, Affinity put $110 million into the car-leasing Shlomo Group, and nearly $300 million into Phoenix Financial, an insurance company. Both are Israeli companies, according to The New Yorker.

All of this raises massive conflict of interest concerns. When Kushner jets off to Pakistan or Qatar, is he seeking the best outcomes for the American people or his investment firm? Are Israel and the Gulf states trying to coerce him into specific outcomes by dangling lucrative business deals? Kushner has already caused upheaval in Albania thanks to his real estate project there. What if he puts the U.S. at risk trying to make a buck in the Middle East amidst a quagmire with Iran?

This post is updated throughout the day to reflect the latest incidents. It was last updated at 6:31 a.m..

Here’s what’s happening on the roads this morning…

▼︎ new incidents

Road incidents as of 6:30 a.m. on September 15

• There are alternating lane closures on both northbound and southbound Highway 9 at Pool Drive in San Lorenzo Valley because of bridge work. This will continue until April 30, 2027.
   
• There is one-way traffic on SR-129 at Salsipueda Creek Bridge in Watsonville / Pajaro because of pavement work. This closure will last until 2:59 p.m. tomorrow.
   

Disclosure: Traffic incidents are partially generated by artificial intelligence. We are constantly working to improve the accuracy and quality of our AI-generated content. However, there may still be errors or inaccuracies. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us.

The post Tuesday morning traffic: Lane closures on Hwy 9, one-way traffic on SR-129 appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.

OPINION By luck or happenstance, Anthropic planted a seed in the mind of the public last week: AI in the wrong hands is dangerous and left unchecked poses an existential threat to humanity. With pop culture steeped in references to malignant AI, the mainstream media ate it up. The headlines wrote themselves and the seed took root. But it's not humanity that faces the biggest threat – at least not yet. Rather, it's American model-making giants Anthropic and OpenAI, which, despite hundreds of billions in investment, are years from profitability and entirely dependent on a steady supply of capital. Meanwhile, Chinese open-weight models are improving rapidly to the point where some outperform the big frontier models that sparked the generative AI boom, while using a lot fewer resources. But that threat from Chinese models could turn into an opportunity if Anthropic and OpenAI can convince the public and government to instigate a crackdown in the name of safety. The fearmongering began in June when outside researchers testing Anthropic's then-brand-new Fable 5 model sounded the alarm in a report that cited national security concerns. The Trump administration quickly issued an export control directive suspending access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 to any foreign national inside or outside the US. Anthropic complied by disabling access to both models to "ensure compliance." The shocking discovery the researchers made? According to one private security researcher granted access to the report, the source of the risk was a single successful prompt: "fix this code." OpenAI briefly delayed the public release of GPT-5.6 until Uncle Sam tested and reviewed the release. The block didn't last long, but providing access to and complying with the US government helped sell three claims useful to OpenAI and Anthropic: Their models are more capable than first believed. In the right hands, and only the right hands, it's possible to control the models. The same cannot be said of Chinese frontier models that are openly available for download. Then things escalated. In July, OpenAI revealed AI agents powered by its proprietary models had escaped their sandbox and exploited at least two zero-days in order to compromise Hugging Face's servers. Days later, Anthropic admitted its Claude family of models also escaped a sandbox and launched attacks on three organizations. The breaches were the first raindrops in a flood of AI-powered cybercrimes that have since inspired a satirical new AI benchmark, Felony Bench, which counts the unique instances in which agents compromise or breach a third party. Finally, Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon publicly quit on X last week over concerns that AI "could kill us all by the end of the decade." Anthropic science lead Evan Hubinger backed his former colleague's warning, saying: "Jacob is correct here – we really do earnestly believe AI could kill all humans! I personally think it is >10 percent within the next decade." This sequence of events gave Anthropic fearmonger-in-chief Dario Amodei the ammunition he was looking for – proof positive that AI was not only smart but also capable of doing harm if not properly regulated. It makes for a convincing story. These models are smart; they're smart enough to escape containment; they are only going to get smarter; the smarter they get the more dangerous they'll be; open models can't be controlled; closed-weight models are therefore safer. But under even the slightest scrutiny, the argument falls apart. If a tiger escapes its enclosure and kills the antelope in the neighboring pen, your first reaction wouldn't be, "look how smart and dangerous that tiger is." It would be, "who designed the pens that can't do the job?" If an AI agent escapes its sandbox, maybe the model is really smart, or maybe the sandbox wasn't very good to begin with. OpenAI and Anthropic don't really have a leg to stand on here. We've known for decades how to isolate sensitive computing workloads. The US Department of Energy airgaps its most powerful and sensitive supercomputing workloads for a reason. If Anthropic and OpenAI are really the solid corporate citizens they claim to be, they could have built better sandboxes and paid more attention to their tests. The companies should have to explain why their safeguards failed and answer for any resulting harm. As fellow vulture Tom Claburn wrote last week, "AI models don't kill people, people kill people," and those who pull the trigger directly or through their own negligence should be held accountable for the damage done and crimes committed. That would be the rational thing to do, but fear does funny things to people, and Coxon and Hubinger may as well have screamed fire in a crowded theater. Politicians can't ignore the threat of AI any longer – not when their constituents are scared that Skynet isn't the fantasy they thought it was. And what is your local congressperson to do when faced with a threat they don't understand? Shoot first and ask questions later. Having set off a panic, the great AI houses can now press the government to buy more time – or, as Amodei refers to it, "pace the frontier." "Over the last few months, I have become convinced that fully addressing the risks requires even more prudence – not just investing in risk prevention, but pacing the rate of capabilities advancement so that risk prevention has time to keep up. We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models. Progress will still seem fast, and we must make wise use of the time we gain," he wrote in a recent blog post. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and xAI impresario Elon Musk have also signaled their support for slowing things down. But their reasons may not be as altruistic as they appear. In fact, some signs point to the opposite. "Pacing the frontier" would be beneficial to two self-serving ends: resetting investor expectations because anything else could kill us all and buying the time necessary to play the US government against itself. While the American houses stall for time, Chinese AI devs will inevitably seize this opportunity to close the gap. Once they do, the fourth act can begin. Amodei seems to think that the US can extend its lead over China by cutting off access to advanced accelerator tech and cracking down on model distillation. But if history tells us anything, it is that those tactics are more likely to backfire than succeed. Necessity is the mother of invention and past attempts to cut off China from American chips have actually fueled development of more efficient architectures: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash being the most recent example. By pacing the frontier, there's a good chance China will have caught up or even pulled ahead. American labs will have created an AI arms race in which their success becomes a matter of national security and American exceptionalism, not mere economics. In other words, a pair of startups will become too big to fail and therefore deserving of government assistance. Much of Anthropic and OpenAI's apparent plan hinges on Uncle Sam playing ball, which isn't guaranteed. President Donald Trump has so far resisted the idea of regulation because it would risk giving China the time it needed to catch up. On Monday, he released a storm of posts on his social network, Truth Social, calling AI fears a "hoax" and "scam," proclaiming: "I'm right now breaking another Hoax – That AI is going to take over, consume, and destroy the World, and that Robots will be marching into our Cities, and getting rid of us all!" Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, whose company's ability to continue growing depends heavily on enterprises' adoption of open-weight models, seems to think there's more going on here. "What better way to create demand than to create a problem," he said during a Goldman Sachs conference last week. Even former FTC chair Lina Khan has weighed in, arguing that Uncle Sam should be holding AI CEOs accountable for the threats their models pose. "We shouldn't let discussions about new legal regimes distract from the fact that there's no AI exemption from laws already on the books," she said. "Law enforcers already have authority to charge companies and their CEOs for creating and releasing dangerous, unvetted, or defective products." Even if Uncle Sam won't capitulate to their demands for regulation, time is still on American model devs' side and they seem perfectly willing to regulate themselves. The greater the risk of falling behind China, the more likely Uncle Sam will play. If investors lose patience before then, it'd only take a rogue AI agent powered by a Chinese model triggering some catastrophe to get the ball rolling again. ®

Their startup, Artificial Intelligence Underwriting Company (AIUC) has raised $40 million in a Series A round led by Ribbit Capital, with participation from First Harmonic.

Parents can finally get the kids' music out of Spotify Wrapped and other personalized playlists.

A new loophole to avoid Microsoft's insistence that you need a Microsoft account to use the Home edition of Windows 11 has appeared, and it's so ludicrously simple we can only assume the good bug fairy has paid a visit to Redmond. The workaround is in the normal Windows 11 Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE) that users see when setting up the operating system. Get to the point where Windows prompts for a Microsoft account, then click the "Learn more" hyperlink beneath the text box and the Sign-in options link, and the OOBE skips to prompting for the user's name and eventually a password. Just like it used to do before Microsoft decided that you needed one of its accounts to use the software you thought you'd paid for. "Bob Pony" created a helpful post demonstrating the workaround. We checked it, and it worked exactly as demonstrated in the video. However, we can't imagine Microsoft leaving this in the setup program for long, considering the company's desire to drive users into its preferred online world. Indeed, some components installed with Windows won't work without a Microsoft account, but at least users can choose whether or not to use them. Microsoft has played whack-a-mole with workarounds users have found to avoid a Microsoft account in the Windows setup application over the years. In 2025, it snapped shut a popular loophole in the name of keeping users safe and ensuring Windows is stable, secure, and ready to deliver the experience users expect from Microsoft's operating system. It is worth emphasizing that the workaround is only for the Home Edition of Windows 11, so it will be useful when friends or family pick up a new PC and don't want to go through the Microsoft account rigmarole. Windows 11 Pro users, or administrators, obviously have other options and aren't forced down the Microsoft account route, which may hint at why this loophole exists in the first place. It's unclear when Microsoft will close this loophole, and we certainly aren't going to ask it. Until then, Home Edition users can avoid a Microsoft account without resorting to third-party scripts, tools, or instructions. Just use a simple click of the mouse to Learn more. ®

Italian startup Exein has raised a $270 million round of funding led by Headline at a $1.7 billion valuation.