Manufacturing Consent For Trump's Invasion Of Cuba Authored by Natasha Bannan via Common Dreams , Yves here. I wish I had the time to research and unpack more clearly is the set of legal theories the US is abusing to prosecute Nicholas Maduro and his wife and now to justify the arrest of Raul Castro and the conquest of Cuba. The US seriously takes the position that we can impose strained invocatio...
Manufacturing Consent For Trump's Invasion Of Cuba Authored by Natasha Bannan via Common Dreams , Yves here. I wish I had the time to research and unpack more clearly is the set of legal theories the US is abusing to prosecute Nicholas Maduro and his wife and now to justify the arrest of Raul Castro and the conquest of Cuba. The US seriously takes the position that we can impose strained invocations of US rules against terrorism and engage in extrajudicial seizures, as in kidnapping. The article below describes how we are now putting a lot of weight on the thin reed of enforcing Batista-era property rights. These days, most of Havana's streets are fairly empty of cars, but full of people walking or riding bicycles, electric bikes, electric "tricycles," or scooters. Trash has piled up on most corners where regular pick-up has become impossible given that the garbage trucks have no gasoline. The average conversation starts off with comparing who's gone the longest without electricity. The sympathy flows, as you exchange stories of what else you are going without: water , gas, food, medicine, transportation . People list the family members they haven't been able to see and the medical appointments they've missed. Inevitably, someone will say better days are coming - "because they have to" - and to keep moving forward. This week alone, the US Department of Justice indicted Raul Castro, the former head of state, who's now 94 years old and largely out of public life. In addition, the Supreme Court gave a green light to Cuban-American-owned companies with property claims in Cuba from 67 years ago to sue tourist industry actors who "profited" from that land. Secretary of State Marco Rubio continues to grow more and more publicly agitated with Cuba's refusal to bow to his demands, and Trump's consistent incoherence shows an absolute lack of any clear policy position towards Cuba, aside from one that may economically benefit him and/or his family. The indictment of Castro is ...
Attempted murder investigation launched after police officer struck by vehicle in Downpatrick Police have launched an attempted murder investigation after an officer was hit by a stolen police vehicle in Northern Ireland. The officer, who fired his gun during the incident at 4.45am on Sunday, had been chasing a suspect on foot after another vehicle had earlier failed to stop for police in the Foun...
Attempted murder investigation launched after police officer struck by vehicle in Downpatrick Police have launched an attempted murder investigation after an officer was hit by a stolen police vehicle in Northern Ireland. The officer, who fired his gun during the incident at 4.45am on Sunday, had been chasing a suspect on foot after another vehicle had earlier failed to stop for police in the Fountain Street area in Downpatrick, County Down. Continue reading...
You don't have to claim Social Security right when you retire. However, many people do start their benefits at the same time as their paychecks stop. This makes sense, because Social Security is often an important source of income for seniors. Since it's so common to retire and start benefits right away, it can be helpful to understand what the average Social Security benefit is at the most popula...
You don't have to claim Social Security right when you retire. However, many people do start their benefits at the same time as their paychecks stop. This makes sense, because Social Security is often an important source of income for seniors. Since it's so common to retire and start benefits right away, it can be helpful to understand what the average Social Security benefit is at the most popular retirement ages. Knowing the size of the benefit checks that the typical senior collects will give you insight into what to expect if you retire when the majority of your peers do. Continue reading
The bearish case against XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) , the native token of the XRP Ledger, is arguably getting stronger. The token was primarily used as a bridge currency for fiat transactions on Ripple's blockchain-based payment platform. Still, Ripple's new stablecoin -- Ripple USD (CRYPTO: RLUSD) -- can achieve the same thing with a lot less volatility. XRP also isn't valued by its scarcity in the same w...
The bearish case against XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) , the native token of the XRP Ledger, is arguably getting stronger. The token was primarily used as a bridge currency for fiat transactions on Ripple's blockchain-based payment platform. Still, Ripple's new stablecoin -- Ripple USD (CRYPTO: RLUSD) -- can achieve the same thing with a lot less volatility. XRP also isn't valued by its scarcity in the same way as Bitcoin , since its developers minted the entire supply of 100 billion tokens before its market debut. Its ledger also doesn't natively support smart contracts, which are used to develop decentralized apps, so it can't be considered a developer-oriented token like Ethereum . Image source: Getty Images. Continue reading
Readers respond to the release of Alan Milburn’s report into the rise of young people not in education, employment or training In considering the release of Alan Milburn’s report, we need to take into account the support structures in the home nations of the UK ( Number of young people out of work or training in UK could hit 1.25m by early 2030s, 27 May ). In the 1970s, 80s and 90s, UK governments...
Readers respond to the release of Alan Milburn’s report into the rise of young people not in education, employment or training In considering the release of Alan Milburn’s report, we need to take into account the support structures in the home nations of the UK ( Number of young people out of work or training in UK could hit 1.25m by early 2030s, 27 May ). In the 1970s, 80s and 90s, UK governments had a effective tool to support young people to avoid unemployment: careers services run by local authorities. In the early 2000s, the New Labour government that Milburn was a part of replaced this with Connexions, a more generic advice service for youth in England, not exclusively focused on supporting work and learning. Continue reading...
Dr Richard Carter and Meirion Bowen respond to an editorial which argues that the musician still shapes modern music 100 years after his birth Your editorial marking the centenary of Miles Davis’s birth rather understates his musical intelligence ( The Guardian view on 100 years after Miles Davis’s birth: why he still shapes modern music, 24 May ). Unable to play with the facility of dazzling trum...
Dr Richard Carter and Meirion Bowen respond to an editorial which argues that the musician still shapes modern music 100 years after his birth Your editorial marking the centenary of Miles Davis’s birth rather understates his musical intelligence ( The Guardian view on 100 years after Miles Davis’s birth: why he still shapes modern music, 24 May ). Unable to play with the facility of dazzling trumpeters like Dizzy Gillespie and Fats Navarro, it was less a case of his preferring “restraint and precision” in his playing than accepting that he was technically not up to their level, and having the ability to adapt. Listen, for example, to his earlier recordings with Charlie Parker where, following Parker’s blazing solos, Davis stumbles through the chord changes, to appreciate that instead he decided to concentrate on a gentler approach. This emerged in the collaborations with the arranger Gil Evans, foreshadowed in the Birth of the Cool recordings and later with the recordings of Miles Ahead, Porgy and Bess and Sketches of Spain, and subsequently his quintets with John Coltrane and Wayne Shorter, where his lack of technique became irrelevant when set beside his great lyricism. Continue reading...
As a child born in 1949, I watched hedgehogs, foxes, rabbits, hares, butterflies and weasels, writes Anne Geraghty . I feel privileged but unutterably sad that this has gone Amy-Jane Beer describes witnessing “a devastating demonstration of what we’ve lost” in Britain during her visit to Biebrza marshes, Poland, ( Country diary, 26 May ). I was born in 1949 and remember a childhood full of moths f...
As a child born in 1949, I watched hedgehogs, foxes, rabbits, hares, butterflies and weasels, writes Anne Geraghty . I feel privileged but unutterably sad that this has gone Amy-Jane Beer describes witnessing “a devastating demonstration of what we’ve lost” in Britain during her visit to Biebrza marshes, Poland, ( Country diary, 26 May ). I was born in 1949 and remember a childhood full of moths flying around every streetlight, the dawn chorus waking us even in cities, sitting in fields full of wildflowers, watching hedgehogs, foxes, rabbits, hares, butterflies and weasels, walking through woods with beetles, ants and red squirrels all around us, listening to thrushes, blackbirds, blackcaps, woodpeckers and even nightingales singing in all directions. Continue reading...
Cllr Lucy Shaw says councils could take up many policies to help, including more support for rooftop solar installations Your editorial is right that the government could be doing more to help with the cost of living ( The Guardian view on Britain’s coming energy shock: mini-measures won’t suffice, 22 May ). That extends to local government, too. Renewable energy projects, from the industrial scal...
Cllr Lucy Shaw says councils could take up many policies to help, including more support for rooftop solar installations Your editorial is right that the government could be doing more to help with the cost of living ( The Guardian view on Britain’s coming energy shock: mini-measures won’t suffice, 22 May ). That extends to local government, too. Renewable energy projects, from the industrial scale right down to rooftops, can be scuppered locally even if there is national support. The wealthiest borough in the entire country, Kensington and Chelsea, has the nation’s lowest rooftop solar installation rate, at just 0.6% of households according to the MCS installer database . This is despite touting groundbreaking policies to make it easier to build solar in conservation areas. There are so many local policies that would help. Coordinating solar installations by street could lead to material cost savings, as would simpler permitting rules, and installations on council-owned rooftops. When 80% of cars in the borough are parked on the street , cost-effective public charging is essential to ensure that drivers can make the switch, like offering discounted charging when grid power is cheapest. Partnering with housing associations, charities, and energy suppliers to help people access energy efficiency services and government capital grants, or negotiate payment plans for their bills could go a long way to making people feel more secure. Continue reading...
The host of Reuters Morning Bid opened the week with a framing that might make investors pause. The current macro environment looks calmer on the surface than the underlying conditions actually warrant, and June is when that gap may close. Two pressures are converging at the same time: energy reserves are depleting due to the ... June Labeled ‘Crunch Point’ as Energy Reserves Burn Through and Rate...
The host of Reuters Morning Bid opened the week with a framing that might make investors pause. The current macro environment looks calmer on the surface than the underlying conditions actually warrant, and June is when that gap may close. Two pressures are converging at the same time: energy reserves are depleting due to the ... June Labeled ‘Crunch Point’ as Energy Reserves Burn Through and Rate Hikes Loom
ARK Space & Defense Innovation ETF (NYSEMKT:ARKX) provides aggressive, high-beta exposure to space technology, while First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF (NYSEMKT:MISL) offers a lower-cost, more conservative index-based approach focused heavily on industrials. Investors looking to capitalize on the expansion of the "final frontier" have two distinct paths available through these funds. One st...
ARK Space & Defense Innovation ETF (NYSEMKT:ARKX) provides aggressive, high-beta exposure to space technology, while First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF (NYSEMKT:MISL) offers a lower-cost, more conservative index-based approach focused heavily on industrials. Investors looking to capitalize on the expansion of the "final frontier" have two distinct paths available through these funds. One strategy follows a structured index of domestic defense players, while the other actively targets global innovation. This analysis evaluates how these differing management philosophies impact costs, risk profiles, and recent performance. Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The one-year return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. Dividend yield is the trailing-12-month distribution yield. Continue reading
As young people increasingly turn away from drinking alcohol, they’re spending more on gym memberships and classes: 30% more than just a year ago, according to market intelligence firm Mintel. These sweaty spaces are beginning to replace bars as places to meet friends and grow relationships. Bloomberg Pursuits Journalist Sarah Rappaport joined Lisa Mateo on Bloomberg This Weekend to discuss. (Sour...
As young people increasingly turn away from drinking alcohol, they’re spending more on gym memberships and classes: 30% more than just a year ago, according to market intelligence firm Mintel. These sweaty spaces are beginning to replace bars as places to meet friends and grow relationships. Bloomberg Pursuits Journalist Sarah Rappaport joined Lisa Mateo on Bloomberg This Weekend to discuss. (Source: Bloomberg)
President Donald Trump said he’s making a “final determination” on a preliminary deal to extend a ceasefire with Iran although mixed messages from both sides over when an agreement might be struck continued to confuse the outlook for a breakthrough. Bloomberg News White House Correspondent Jeff Mason and Bloomberg Economics Lead Economic Statecraft, Lead Chris Kennedy joined David Gura and Christi...
President Donald Trump said he’s making a “final determination” on a preliminary deal to extend a ceasefire with Iran although mixed messages from both sides over when an agreement might be struck continued to confuse the outlook for a breakthrough. Bloomberg News White House Correspondent Jeff Mason and Bloomberg Economics Lead Economic Statecraft, Lead Chris Kennedy joined David Gura and Christina Ruffini on Bloomberg This Weekend to discuss. (Source: Bloomberg)
While Westminster’s attention is focused on Andy Burnham and Makerfield, another pivotal byelection is taking place in Scotland’s north-east The coming byelection in Makerfield, from where Andy Burnham aspires to make rapid progress towards Downing Street, is perhaps the most consequential in British political history. But the decision by the Scottish National party’s former Westminster leader, St...
While Westminster’s attention is focused on Andy Burnham and Makerfield, another pivotal byelection is taking place in Scotland’s north-east The coming byelection in Makerfield, from where Andy Burnham aspires to make rapid progress towards Downing Street, is perhaps the most consequential in British political history. But the decision by the Scottish National party’s former Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, to relocate to Holyrood means that another pivotal contest is taking place more than 350 miles to the north. If Makerfield is a test case for Mr Burnham and Labour’s ability to see off Reform UK, Mr Flynn’s old constituency of Aberdeen South is on the frontline of the increasingly fraught politics of North Sea oil. Labour, despite finishing second in the 2024 general election thanks largely to anti-Tory tactical voting, will not be expecting much this time round. The ramifications of Donald Trump’s reckless war in Iran have exposed Britain’s ongoing vulnerability to fossil-fuel-related energy shocks, highlighting the practical benefits of moving to a green economy. But the knock-on effects of the closure of the strait of Hormuz have also been a gift for the Scottish Conservatives and Reform, who are framing the byelection as a local referendum on reviving oil and gas production beyond Westminster-imposed limits. Continue reading...
In 2024, researchers from the University of Illinois found that GPT-4, when provided with a common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVE) description, could autonomously exploit 87% of a curated 15-vulnerability one-day dataset. Without the description, it could only exploit 7%. This provided a “margin of safety” for the industry because while AI could exploit known vulnerabilities, it could not disc...
In 2024, researchers from the University of Illinois found that GPT-4, when provided with a common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVE) description, could autonomously exploit 87% of a curated 15-vulnerability one-day dataset. Without the description, it could only exploit 7%. This provided a “margin of safety” for the industry because while AI could exploit known vulnerabilities, it could not discover them. However, on April 7, Anthropic announced that Claude Mythos Preview had closed that margin, with the model autonomously discovering thousands of zero-day vulnerabilities across major operating systems and browsers. Separately, Mythos scored 83.1% on the CyberGym vulnerability reproduction benchmark. In one campaign targeting OpenBSD across 1,000 scaffold runs, the total compute cost was less than $20,000. Exploitation timelines are collapsing. Langflow’s CVE-2026-33017 (CVSS 9.8) was exploited 20 hours after disclosure with no public proof-of-concept. Marimo’s CVE-2026-39987 (CVSS 9.3) was hit in 9 hours and 41 minutes . The defensive infrastructure most organizations rely on wasn’t designed for this. Rapid7’s 2026 threat landscape report states that the median time from CVE publication to CISA's known exploited vulnerabilities (KEV) listing is five days. Google’s M-Trends 2026 report found that exploitation is happening before a patch is even released. When the Langflow advisory was published, the first exploit arrived in 20 hours. When the Marimo advisory was published, it took under 10 hours. The assumption that your patch window is safe because exploitation takes time is no longer true. Here are your building blocks. Replace CVSS-only prioritization with a three-layer filter Most vulnerability management programs still prioritize by CVSS score alone. CVSS quantifies a vulnerability’s “theoretical” severity without considering whether a vulnerability is being exploited in the wild or how quickly someone could weaponize it. A CVSS 8.8 vulnerability with a histo...
jittawit.21/iStock via Getty Images Market review The cautious optimism that characterized the beginning of 1Q26 quickly succumbed to the escalating geopolitical tensions and widespread market disruption that unfolded as the period progressed. Global markets began the year with positive performance, building on the previous year's strength in international equities. Emerging markets led gains, sup...
jittawit.21/iStock via Getty Images Market review The cautious optimism that characterized the beginning of 1Q26 quickly succumbed to the escalating geopolitical tensions and widespread market disruption that unfolded as the period progressed. Global markets began the year with positive performance, building on the previous year's strength in international equities. Emerging markets led gains, supported by the continued weakness of the dollar, which dropped to a four-year low, as well as rising commodity prices. Investors retreated from mega-cap companies as artificial intelligence (AI) companies faced earnings scrutiny and turned to global real assets, which were among top performers. Kevin Warsh's nomination as US Federal Reserve chairman provided reassurance about central bank independence, helping unwind the "debasement trade" and triggering dramatic reversals in gold and silver. February was dominated by mounting skepticism over AI sector valuations and escalating Middle East tensions. New agentic AI technologies, with potential for widespread industry automation, drove down software, insurance, and consulting stocks. Despite strong earnings from companies like NVIDIA Corp., investor skepticism persisted. The Supreme Court's decision to overturn reciprocal tariffs, followed by President Trump's announcement of new universal tariffs, created additional uncertainty. US equity markets posted negative returns, while international and emerging market equities delivered solid gains, particularly in Japan following Prime Minister Takaichi's decisive electoral victory. The Iran conflict's full impact materialized in March as Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz disrupted energy flows, sending shockwaves across all major asset classes. Asia, heavily dependent on regional energy supply, and Europe, as a net energy importer, suffered heavily. Crude oil surged approximately 50% due to the closure combined with Gulf energy-infrastructure damage. While Asian equity market...