CISA has warned that state-backed snoops and cyber-mercenaries are actively abusing commercial spyware to break into Signal and WhatsApp accounts, hijack devices, and quietly rummage through the phones of what the agency calls "high-value" users.
U.S. retail sales increased less than expected in September, suggesting consumer fatigue amid higher prices because of tariffs, though the moderation did not dampen economists' expectations for solid economic growth in the third quarter.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is planning for the U.S. military to cut ties with Scouting America, formerly the Boy Scouts, according to a draft memo to Congress reviewed by NPR.
President Donald Trump's administration is promoting efforts to work with Nigeria's government to counter violence against Christians ... read more
President Donald Trump faces an unexpected rift in the MAGA movement as Republican officials from statehouses to Capitol Hill warn his full-throated embrace of the tech industry's artificial intelligence boom risks undermining Americans' economic security and exposing their children to new harms. read more
I asked my search engine of choice about the military and illegal orders. I restricted the date range so that it stopped at the end of 2024, eliminating the current brouhaha from the results.
Here's one article that appeared in the results ...
What Happens if the President Issues a Potentially Illegal Order to the Military? (July 2024)
www.military.com
... t's late on a weekday afternoon and a group of military officers -- the most senior leaders of every branch of the armed forces -- are sitting around a wide wood table under frosty overhead lights in a windowless conference room at the Pentagon.
After days of intense protests in several cities across the country, the defense secretary says the president is getting ready to order a massive deployment of armed troops to replace local police and bring a stop to political opposition. As the group slowly begins to discuss the details of sending active-duty troops to quash protests on American soil, one of the officers stops the group with a question.
"Is any of what we're discussing here even legal?"
The entire scenario is a work of fiction, but given presidential campaign rhetoric as Americans head to the polls in November, Military.com spent several months trying to unearth what existing safeguards and policies are in place to protect what has long been considered a hallmark of the U.S. -- an apolitical military that uses its power to fight the country's enemies, not its own citizens.
In speaking with more than a dozen Pentagon officials as well as outside experts, what emerged was ...
[imo, the article is worth the read]
Tangentially related ...
New limits for a rent algorithm that prosecutors say let landlords drive up prices
abcnews.go.com
... Real estate software company RealPage has agreed to stop sharing nonpublic information between landlords as part of a settlement with the Department of Justice.
Landlords could no longer rely on rent-pricing software to quietly track each other's moves and push rents higher using confidential data, under a settlement between RealPage Inc. and federal prosecutors to end what critics said was illegal "algorithmic collusion."
The deal announced Monday by the Department of Justice follows a yearlong federal antitrust lawsuit, launched during the Biden administration, against the Texas-based software company. RealPage would not have to pay any damages or admit any wrongdoing. The settlement must still be approved by a judge.
RealPage software provides daily recommendations to help landlords and their employees nationwide price their available apartments. The landlords do not have to follow the suggestions, but critics argue that because the software has access to a vast trove of confidential data, it helps RealPage's clients charge the highest possible rent.
"RealPage was replacing competition with coordination, and renters paid the price," said DOJ antitrust chief Gail Slater, who emphasized that the settlement avoided a costly, time-consuming trial. ...
@#3 ... As Secretary Rubio and the entire Administration has consistently maintained, this plan was authored by the United States, with input from both the Russians and Ukrainians. ...
US senators say Rubio told them Trump's Ukraine peace plan is Russia's wish list' (November 22, 2025)
whnt.com
... Lawmakers critical of President Donald Trump's approach to ending the Russia-Ukraine war said Saturday they spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio who told them that the peace plan Trump is pushing Kyiv to accept is a "wish list" of the Russians and not the actual proposal offering Washington's positions. ...
Trump wants peace in Ukraine, no matter what a deal looks like
www.politico.com
... "The ultimate goal is peace. That's the most important thing that can be achieved here. Stop the fighting, stop the killing. Those are the main things he wants out of this," said a senior White House official, granted anonymity to discuss ongoing peace negotiations. ...
@#2 ... How obvious can it be? ...
It has been quite obvious.
I noted it back months ago when Pres Trump gave in to Pres Putin's demands, with nothing in return for those ~gifts~ that Pres Trump gave to Pres Putin.
That's not negotiating. That's not deal-making.
That is surrender, plain and simple, imo.
Back then I noted Pres Trump saying that Ukraine will never be able to join NATO.
To me, that, and that alone, was an indication that Pres Trump cares little about Ukraine sovereignty. That he just wants a deal, no matter what the longer term effect of that deal is upon the Ukrainian people and their country.
Pres Trump wants the transactional deal.