RSnake Report 20260502

China rebuilding Ukrainian territory, Hezbollah drone usage, etc

Author

Robert RSnake Hansen
May 02, 2026

What's In the News

Hello, and thanks for reading! This has been a busy week at work, but I still managed to do something productive for the family. We have a series of family rules that we wrote and turned into a sign. Once a month, we give a presentation on one of the topics we rotate, giving each family member a day in the spotlight to explain how it impacts the family and what it means. I am tasked to do no harm, which is actually a pretty complicated topic, given that, of course, that doesn't preclude self-defense and defending those in need, and... yes, things like hunting for survival. Often attributed to Hippocrates, it's actually much older, and perhaps one of the very first sets of rules that humans nearly universally agreed was virtuous, despite its complexity. Here are our family rules in case you are curious:

In Russia/Ukraine News, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, former Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and current Ambassador to the UK, stated that scientific and technological progress has made it impossible to carry out operational-level tasks. What he means is that a larger-scale war is almost impossible to carry out. The best that can be done is small offensives, because there is just too much coverage on the battlefield. Almost as if on cue, Deepstate UA assessed that Russia occupied 141 square kilometers in April, 11.9% less than in March.

Russia demonstrated a fixed defensive system using multiple anti-FPV net launchers with a claimed range of 25 meters. We have seen these things before, but 25 meters is pretty darned close, and even if it is in the exact right location, it still requires a human to notice and get the shot(s) off. A fast-flying drone can cover 25 meters in a few seconds. I get the use of these if you have a very small fixed position, but generally speaking, I think this has almost no chance of working at scale.

For instance, here is some footage of a single FPV drone that obliterated an entire Russian platoon. While this was a fixed position and a good candidate for such tech, it means you need someone looking in each direction and fast enough to put it to work. I'm giving this a next-to-zero percent chance of surviving contact with the enemy at scale.

 The fires at the Tuapse oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai grew out of control, with smoke visible from hundreds of kilometers away, marking the fourth strike on the facility since April 1 and leaving little of the site intact. Ukrainian forces also struck oil infrastructure in Perm Krai and Orenburg Oblast between April 29 and May 1.

Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine's long-range sanctions in April reduced Russia's oil revenues, with conservative estimates showing at least $7 billion lost since the year began due to hits on the oil industry and refining sector, including downtime and shipment delays. He credited the Defense Forces, Security Service, and intelligence agencies, and said capabilities will scale up with decisions in preparation. I don't think anyone really believes that at this point, sanctions and bombing haven't had an effect. The problem is that it is not very much. I was pretty sure that was a typo at first, but compared to the reported GDP, which is more like $2.1 trillion, a few billion is a rounding error. It also means that attacking oil isn't having the impact that likely many people are thinking it is having. However, it is targeting certain oligarchs' bottom line, and perhaps that is a better pressure point than the entirety of the GDP.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy also launched an army reform, with key areas agreed in April and implementation starting in June, including pay increases to at least 30,000 hryvnias for non-combat positions and several times higher for combat roles, special contracts for infantry at 250,000 to 400,000 hryvnias based on missions, and strengthened contract systems for phased discharges. This is pretty different from what Russia is doing, where they are starting to find ways to avoid paying their soldiers. Talk about a delta in morale for the front-line troops.

That said, morale is only slipping the smallest amount in Moscow. A poll by the Kremlin-affiliated Public Opinion Foundation showed 73% approval for Vladimir Putin's performance, the lowest since February 2022. But 73? After years and having well over a million combat losses, and almost nothing to show for it in terms of land acquired or Nazi's eliminated or whatever horse crap Putin is shoveling? The only thing that gives me some hope is that individuals who want to respond to government-affiliated polling are likely to agree predominantly with Putin. Either way, a ground swell does not appear to be on the short-term horizon.

Ukrainian strikes hit several Su-57 fighters and a Su-34 fighter-bomber at Shagol airbase in Chelyabinsk region, 1,700 kilometers from Ukraine's border, with visual confirmation of destruction. It looks like Russia is not particularly close to having an equivalent of Sky Fortress acoustic systems that track drones in flight.

Reports indicated Eric Schmidt's AI strike drones in Ukraine are targeting Russian supply trucks far behind the front lines and bypassing electronic warfare. The advantage of these drones is that they are relatively immune to any type of jamming shy of frying the electronics outright. This is what all the ad revenue Google produced has gone towards, it seems. 🤣

The non-profit Drone school Wetruegun set up an FPV simulator in GTA 5 - yes, the video game - for training, usable with personal controllers, though according to them while good, it does not replace real-life practice. 

Ukraine's Robonosh ground drone from ARMOLAB can carry 100 kg. This was a pretty cool little drone that is so low to the ground that if you watch the video, there is almost no visual footprint until it's within a handful of yards. It looks purpose-built to evacuate wounded, and because of its lower center of gravity and tracked design, it looks like it could overcome a lot of terrain.

A crash-landed FP-1/2 long-range UAV has been observed by the Russians while carrying two FPV drones and equipped with a Starlink terminal, suggesting potential for an extended mission, which makes sense, as some of these otherwise fairly short-range drones are making it so far behind enemy lines.

Ukraine's Lima electronic warfare system jams Russia's Kinzhal hypersonic missiles at ranges up to 300 km, inducing flight deviations that cause them to actually break up in flight due to the severe deviations they undertake, apparently. Interesting to think that electronic intervention can cause them to explode mid-flight.

We also got a look at the back-end of the machine Sky Sentinel gun turrets, Carmen Sky, which is a whole bunch of nerds at desktops manning browning machine guns. Pretty wild to think about people in teeshirts and jeans protecting the nation, monitoring AI and giving firing permission, but this is the new age, I suppose.

A fire at the LDPS facility in Perm was contained, involving nearly 500 rescuers from Perm, Kirov, Bashkiria, and Udmurtia. 

There were a number of similar attacks, including the Tuapse attack, which is the fourth attack on that refinery in a month. 

This must be pretty demoralizing for the oil and gas oligarchs, because there doesn't seem to be any reprieve, even as oil prices rise slightly to offset the loss of revenue. While there is still a rather large offensive underway, it is killing Russians at a rate that it would wipe out approximately every military-aged man in the country to take out all of Ukraine. 

More than 50 Shahed drones targeted Ternopil, with about 20 detonating and damaging industrial and infrastructure facilities, injuring 10 people, including some critically, and causing power outages. Kharkiv faced a massive drone attack, injuring four, damaging an apartment building and two gas stations, with emergency services responding. 

The Russian government forced the installation of the MAX spyware/messenger app, which now automatically deletes incoming messages with links to foreign websites or apps. This will break so many things it's almost unimaginable by today's standards, yet this is the daily life for Russians.

The World Anti-Doping Agency recovered 24 terabytes of data from Moscow's Anti-Doping Laboratory, manipulated and partially deleted before investigators arrived. The investigation ultimately led to 302 sanctions on 291 Russian athletes across 22 sports, with weightlifting and athletics most affected. WADA called it the most successful investigation in history, while Russia's RUSADA remains non-compliant and audits are blocked by geopolitics. What an embarrassment for Russia and one that will survive long after the war has concluded. 

In European news, Levan Makhashvili, a member of Georgian Dream's parliament and representative of Bidzina Ivanishvili, stated that relations between Georgia and the United States have been restored from a previously frozen state, citing recent steps in security, economic, and educational cooperation, April contacts including visits and calls, and planned May meetings to sustain the positive dynamic. That's good news for both nations, I am sure, and really comes down to the fact that the Russians have been dethroned there.

Speaking of, Poland purchased a large stockpile of anti-tank mines for rapid deployment in response to the Russian threat. I would have thought Poland would be flush with mines, but apparently, they feel like they're going to want a whole lot more. This is likely in response to their effectiveness in Ukraine.

ClearSpace developed a spacecraft with robotic arms to capture and deorbit defunct satellites, in collaboration with the European Space Agency and the UK Space Agency to reduce orbital debris and improve safety. This may also be part of the answer if we start seeing collisions in space that cause even more debris.

In Southeast Asian news, something fairly interesting is happening on the Russian side of Ukrainian territory. China is rebuilding occupied Ukrainian territories by installing 6,000 Huawei base stations, replacing dollars with yuan, and keeping factories operational with Chinese engineers, creating dependency on Chinese technology without formal ownership. Plans include a private school for 300 students in occupied Luhansk and cultural centers teaching language, calligraphy, and traditions. Why do Russians need to learn Chinese calligraphy? I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that China is starting to become the beneficiary of the Ukraine/Russia war. 

Taiwan detected 29 PLA aircraft sorties, six PLAN vessels, and two official ships around the island until 6 a.m. UTC+8, with 15 of 28 sorties crossing the median line into northern, central, and southwestern air defense identification zones. ROC Armed Forces monitored and responded, but they are more or less proving they could move at any time in a preemptive strike, and the ROC and the US aren't doing anything about it.

India's DRDO advanced its indigenous Long Range Anti-Ship Missile to Phase-II, a hypersonic system exceeding Mach 5 that strikes land or sea targets up to 1,500 km with precision. This will help in any future conflicts with China, or Pakistan who at this point seem to be the most likely aggressors.

In African news, Russia's chaotic retreat from northern Mali allowed local militias to seize helicopters, multi-million dollar drone control bases, armored vehicles, and weapons depots. Tuareg separatists, FLA, and JNIM launched an attack on Hombori and its military base in the Gossi direction of central Mali. There still is a lot of ongoing hostilities, which means to me Russia wants to fight this offensive, and not just roll over and lose Mali altogether.

In the Middle East, although hostilities have not resumed and Hormuz remains closed, Iran faces a 13-day onshore storage limit for oil and is using containers, junk storage in disused tanks at Ahvaz and Asaluyeh, rail, and a retired VLCC tanker, NASHA, for about 48 hours of floating storage to avoid production cuts. Rail to China lacks capacity and infrastructure. Jask terminal tanks reached maximum on April 25 with tankers anchored as overflow, and the 166 million barrels in its ghost fleet provide no scalable solution, unlike 2020 conditions without a blockade. If anything will, this will cause the biggest issues for revenue for the country, and therefore the government/troops. Iran is trying to find a way to get to peace, but Washington, thus far, seems to be unhappy with the terms of the deal. This is likely down to two major terms around the funding of Hezbollah (and perhaps the Houthis) and giving up the nuclear program.

However, at the same time, Iran's deputy commander of Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Mohammad Jafar Asadi, stated that renewed military conflict with the United States is likely, reflecting his confidence in Iran's ability to continue to absorb blows after surviving Operation Epic Fury. That means negotiations might take a lot longer than anyone would like.

Military strikes terminated the JCPOA on October 18, 2025, preventing Iran from reaching permitted enrichment expansions; under the deal, Iran would have deployed advanced centrifuges from 2024, ending arms and missile restrictions in 2020 and 2023, with no caps by 2029, leading to weeks-long breakout times and zero by 2031, including unlimited stockpiles and plutonium paths. Strikes destroyed facilities at Isfahan, Natanz, Fordow, and Arak, eliminated feedstock and centrifuge production, closed pathways, restored UN prohibitions, and ended incentives that would have augmented threats.

The IDF intercepted a Hezbollah drone targeting an evacuation helicopter in southern Lebanon. Although this ended up not being a major incident, it could have easily ended up in a catastrophe given how many troops were positioned so close together at the time. Hezbollah's fiber-optic FPV drones, like the ones that Russia and Ukraine use, are invisible to traditional detection and resistant to jamming, killing two IDF soldiers and wounding over 20 in the last week, with dozens more injuries recently and 16 deaths in Lebanon since March 2. The IDF is getting a lot of heat for not seeing this coming and creating meaningful defenses against it, given all of the footage out of Ukraine/Russia.

Footage showed an Israeli SMASH fire control system on an M4 carbine downing a Hezbollah drone in two shots, turning standard rifles into accurate counter-drone weapons. This is very similar to Tracking Point in functionality, except that it is designed to find the drone, tell you where to aim, and then you press the trigger, and when your carbine is pointed at the target, it releases the firing pin, so that the bullet is far more likely to hit the moving target. Genius, and unlike a lot of other solutions, can make even the shittiest grunt into a drone killing machine. That said, you still need to see/hear them coming to get your rifle into position, so not a panacea.

A Hezbollah FPV drone struck an Israeli Merkava Mk. 4 tank's autoloader near a deployed Trophy active protection system launcher, which failed to intercept. This is not good news for the Trophy system.

Also, for the first time, a Hezbollah FPV drone destroyed an IDF Merkava Mk. 4 by hitting its anti-drone cage and causing an ammunition cookoff. So even the cope cages aren't doing their job. Ultimately, this is going to embolden Hezbollah if it hasn't already. Compared to the thousands of rockets that have amounted to nothing, these are real, meaningful losses on the Israeli side.

In North America News, the ATF issued new regulations repealing Biden's ATF's pistol brace rule, revising the "engaged in the business" definition, updating machine gun rules per the Cargill decision, removing Youth Handgun Safety Act posting requirements for FFLs, allowing electronic 4473 forms and longer NICS check validity, permitting electronic records and defined retention periods of 20 or 30 years for 4473s, enabling non-over-the-counter same-state sales by FFLs, repealing interstate NFA transport notices for trips under 365 days, allowing joint NFA registration for married couples, removing NFA CLEO notifications, clarifying FOPA protections for travel activities, permitting imports of dual-use frames and receivers, excluding training rounds from ammunition definitions, eliminating engraving for NFA conversions from serialized guns, clarifying mental health disqualifiers, requiring biological sex on forms, defining straw purchases and "willfully" for violations, and removing former Soviet countries except Russia from import denial lists. Wow. Quite a list! The pistol brace ruling affects my buddy in particular, who runs SB Tactical, so good news pretty much across the board.

Gas prices jumped sharply in the last week, with Indiana up $1.09 per gallon, Ohio up 94 cents, Michigan up 88 cents, Illinois up 56 cents, Colorado up 47 cents, Kansas up 39 cents, Kentucky up 36 cents, Florida up 34 cents, Wyoming up 34 cents, and Wisconsin up 33 cents. This will hurt a lot of professionals who count on lower price points because of razor-thin margins.

There was a pretty interesting demonstration by Swarm Defense where they showed hundreds of drones being flown by a single operator, which would likely overwhelm any kinetic defense capability. The only real defense against this would likely be electronic warfare, where a single blast fries the electronics of all of them at once.

The DOJ released security footage of attempted Trump assassin Cole Allen sprinting through a checkpoint and shooting a Secret Service officer with a 12-gauge shotgun at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. The Secret Service confirmed that there was no friendly fire. But one other interesting thing was that a police dog was investigating him only a few seconds before he walked out of the room with the shotgun. I am sure there will be some retraining for both the dog and the police officer in charge of the K9.

In Tech News, I saw a pretty funny new vibe-coded site that shows the number of wealthy people who are fleeing major urban centers. When the number gets too high, you can expect that it's the apocalypse. I'm not sure what you do with that information, but there you have it! 

New vehicle patents include features that detect heightened arousal or heartbeat and disable driving. This is really not going over well with a lot of people who know perfectly reasonable reasons why their heart rate may be high before they jump in the car, not the least of which is concern about being late. This nanny state stuff doesn't go over well with a lot of Americans.

Microsoft open-sourced a 7B-parameter model called VIBEVOICE ASR that transcribes 60 minutes of audio in one pass, supporting 50+ languages, custom hotwords, long-form audio, and full speaker diarization without chunking or context loss. It is available free for use, fine-tuning, and building on macOS and Windows. 

Evan Realities smart glasses now have a Terminal Mode that allows running coding terminals from glasses anywhere. While both are incredibly stupid, in other ways, it's extremely useful because so much of what we do all day, if we are doing long vibe coding sessions, is waiting for the prompt to return with questions, simple or complex, to move on. I totally get why some people would kill for something like this.

A few things that Anthropic put out that I thought were interesting. First of all, Anthropic's CISO revealed that 90% of their code is written by Claude, with protections for secrets emphasizing that .env files are the weakest link in AI workflows. Claude Security entered public beta for Enterprise customers, scanning codebases for vulnerabilities, validating findings to reduce false positives, and suggesting reviewable patches. This means that Anthropic is now competing in the security market against other SAST companies. That also means that SAST companies now need to compete with Anthropic, and I am not sure that Anthropic wants that heat, because those can be some pretty spicy characters - I know from experience.

Claude Code added push notifications to phones for long task completion or input needs. This is turned off in our organization, but I can see why lots of people would like it for the same reason that Eleven Labs is attractive.

There was some news about the fact that Apple accidentally included a Claude.md file in the v5.13 update of its Support app. So now we know that more of the code on the phone is likely going to be vibe-coded. Something to watch out for.

In Economic News, Spirit Airlines began winding down global operations, canceling all flights and ending customer service, with automatic refunds processed for credit or debit card purchases. An ACARS message to pilots unofficially set a stop time of 3:00 a.m. EST on May 2, after 33 years of ultra-low-cost service. End of an era! Who's next? Looking at you Ryan Air!

Okay, onto the articles!

Geopolitics

Australia is investing $22.7 billion in renewable energy to address its significant fuel vulnerability, which was exposed by the recent closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The initiative aims for 80% of the country's electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030, driven by national security concerns stemming from dependence on imported fuel and geopolitical risks. The program also focuses on technological advancements in battery storage and green hydrogen production to reduce reliance on foreign energy supplies.

  • Australia imports 80% of its refined fuel and has the lowest reserves of any IEA member.

  • The investment in renewable energy aims to achieve 80% renewable electricity by 2030 and enhance national security.

  • New technologies, such as grid-forming inverters, are critical to stabilizing the electrical grid as Australia transitions away from fossil fuels.

[RSnake: Good, and likely still not enough. With Hormuz being a shit show, the war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia, and a hostile China nearby, they’re going to need all the power generation they can get, and that is without the AI revolution!]

Source: https://thenextweb.com/news/australia-energy-security-renewables-hormuz

Press freedom has reached a 25-year low globally, with over half of countries now classified as having 'difficult' or 'very serious' conditions for journalists. The decline is attributed to a combination of authoritarian governments and the actions of tech platforms, which have created an environment conducive to disinformation and violence against the media. Notably, the legal environment for journalism has deteriorated, with laws increasingly used to criminalize media work.

  • The 2026 RSF World Press Freedom Index indicates that less than one percent of the global population lives in countries with 'good' press freedom.

  • More than 110 countries have enacted laws that criminalize media workers, contributing to a significant decline in global press freedom.

  • Technological platforms are criticized for their role in enabling disinformation, further exacerbating challenges faced by journalists worldwide.

[RSnake: I think the media did themselves no favors here. If they had stuck to reporting the news with the highest version of reporting integrity that they could muster, then people wouldn’t hate them so much. I don’t consider myself a journalist, but I see those who do constantly undermining their audience’s trust, shilling products and ideas that are counter to the well-being of their constituents. I consider myself someone who takes notes, and you are the beneficiary of my note-taking. The RSnake Report is digital exhaust from the stuff I naturally find interesting and look at in my own spare time, so that I can stay up to date on what is happening in the world on multiple fronts. I don’t make a dime on it, and in fact, I lose money every day on it, which allows me to stay true to what I believe, and be able to change direction if given new information that proves I made a mistake or there is a new way of thinking of things. Legacy media cannot be that flexible and therefore that honest.]

Source: https://thenextweb.com/news/the-tech-industry-built-the-infrastructure-that-is-replacing-the-press

The Strait of Hormuz is closed to most shipping traffic, with Iran asserting its control and planning new management frameworks for the waterway. Tensions remain high as the U.S. implements a blockade alongside Iran, leading to a significant decrease in shipping activity through the strait. Iran's supreme leader insists that the new approach will benefit all nations in the region and rejects any notion of relinquishing control.

  • The Strait of Hormuz is currently experiencing significant blockades affecting global shipping.

  • Iran plans to implement new management policies for the strait and emphasizes maintaining its technological capacities.

[RSnake: There is a possibility that the US might even allow such a thing to happen, as long as there were agreements to disarm. It’s not like the US wants a poor Iran; the US just wants an Iran that isn’t shouting death to America and creating bunkers full of missiles and developing nuclear weapons. That said, I doubt we’d agree to this term even if Iran pinky swore that it would modify its stance towards the US and Israel.]

Source: https://www.supplychainbrain.com/articles/44005-iran-doubles-down-on-fight-for-control-over-strait-of-hormuz

The United Arab Emirates has announced its departure from OPEC and has expressed intentions to sell oil in currencies other than the US dollar, indicating a shift in the dollar's role and use in global oil markets. This development suggests a growing trend of de-dollarization among oil-producing nations, accompanied by increased interest in precious metals like gold as a viable alternative. As central banks and nations reassess their reliance on the US dollar, its dominance in international finance may face significant challenges.

  • The UAE's exit from OPEC signifies a potential shift away from the petrodollar system.

  • There is a growing trend of de-dollarization among oil-producing nations, which may impact global financial dynamics.

[RSnake: This comes down to two major issues… we keep printing money, which means that everything is worth less over time, and we sanction countries like Russia, meaning that people trust the US dollar less.]

Source: https://www.zerohedge.com/precious-metals/opec-just-signaled-historic-gold-tailwind

U.S. farmers are facing unprecedented challenges in 2026 due to a severe drought affecting over 61% of the nation and skyrocketing fertilizer prices caused by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted a significant portion of the global nitrogen fertilizer supply, leading many farmers to consider not planting this year due to soaring costs and limited resources, which could result in food supply shortages.

  • Severe drought impacting over 61% of U.S. farmland threatens crop yields.

  • Closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused a significant spike in fertilizer prices globally.

  • Many farmers may not plant crops this year due to high costs and resource shortages.

[RSnake: Yes, all of that is true, but also the large PE and hedge funds are buying up lots of these farms, putting the farmers, not the farms, out of business.]

Source: https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/us-farmers-are-facing-two-historic-catastrophes-same-time-2026

Cybersecurity

Recent criminal activity in the cybersecurity sector has led to the sentencing of former employees from cybersecurity firms Sygnia and DigitalMint for their involvement in ransomware attacks targeting U.S. companies. Key incidents include a Maryland pharmaceutical company paying $1.27 million in ransom after a severe data breach, with the total ransom demands on affected companies ranging from $300,000 to $10 million.

  • Two former cybersecurity employees were sentenced for conspiracy to extort U.S. companies through ransomware attacks.

  • Victims of these attacks include several companies across various industries, leading to significant ransom payments.

[RSnake: Not terribly surprising. Once you know how the sausage is made, it’s easy to want to slip into the dark side. But I do like how they got caught. This means that even the very educated in cybersecurity can make mistakes. I have been following Blackcat for a while now, and they were impressive!]

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/us-ransomware-negotiators-get-4-years-in-prison-over-blackcat-attacks/

A recently disclosed vulnerability in Linux, named CopyFail, allows unprivileged users to escalate their privileges to root, potentially compromising various systems, including data centers and personal devices. Although patches have been released, many Linux distributions have yet to incorporate them, leaving numerous machines at risk of exploitation. This vulnerability can be exploited with a single piece of code across all affected distributions, leaving shared infrastructure particularly vulnerable.

  • CopyFail is a local privilege escalation vulnerability that can allow unprivileged users to gain root access on Linux systems.

  • The vulnerability remains a serious threat due to many Linux distributions not yet incorporating available patches.

[RSnake: While bad, it is only a privilege escalation. Just make sure you patch up when you can, but it’s not like the sky is falling, despite what the press wants to make you think.]

Source: https://www.wired.com/story/dangerous-new-linux-exploit-gives-attackers-root-access-to-countless-computers/

A 21-year-old Austrian man has been admitted to planning a terrorist attack on a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna, leading to the cancellation of three sold-out shows. He was arrested after a CIA tip-off, with police discovering bomb-making materials at his residence. The man, along with another suspect, faces multiple charges related to their alleged ties to an Islamic State cell and plots to carry out attacks in various locations.

  • Austrian authorities arrested a man plotting a jihadist attack targeting a Taylor Swift concert.

  • The individual was found with bomb-making materials and had declared allegiance to the Islamic State.

[RSnake: This was a jihadist attack, despite the fact he was Austrian. I do wonder what the backlash amongst swifties would have been had a Jihadist blown up part of the crowd - would they start reconsidering some of their politics? The irony is I bet a lot of the crowd is very sympathetic to the Iranian/Palestinian cause.]

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c05d5qgprjzo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

The AI model Mythos, developed by Anthropic, is capable of identifying and exploiting software vulnerabilities at unprecedented speed, raising alarms over potential cybersecurity threats. In response, a consortium known as Project Glasswing, involving major software companies, has been formed to utilize this technology for defensive purposes before it can be weaponized by malicious actors.

  • Anthropic's AI model can find and exploit vulnerabilities in major operating systems and web browsers.

  • Project Glasswing aims to collaborate with software industry leaders to address cybersecurity risks presented by the new AI capabilities.

[RSnake: I keep hearing so much hype about this. If you want a voice of reason, my business partner, Jeremiah Grossman, is posting a lot of contrarian thoughts on this topic on LinkedIn. I know a lot more about this than I can type here, but if I am not worried, neither should you be. I’ll tell you when I start worrying, and for now, I think we’re just fine. That said, I have been doing lots of interesting experiments, and I have a lot more to say about this that I’ll likely discuss at some point.]

Source: https://www.darkreading.com/cybersecurity-operations/anthropic-mythos-cyber-what-comes-next

A legal battle is unfolding between Meta and the state of New Mexico over the company's responsibility for child safety on its platforms, with the attorney general accusing Meta of neglecting such concerns. Meta has threatened to withdraw access to its services in New Mexico as the state pushes for significant changes to how it safeguards minors on its apps, following a successful lawsuit that found the company liable for numerous violations of state law related to child safety.

  • New Mexico is pursuing significant court-mandated changes to how Meta operates its platforms for users under 18.

  • Meta faces civil penalties for endangering children's safety on its social media platforms.

[RSnake: Frankly, I am a little surprised there hasn’t been a groundswell of parents who have lobbied against social media for youths that isn’t either highly restrictive or back-doored by the parents, where the parents can see everything.]

Source: https://fortune.com/2026/04/30/meta-new-mexico-attorney-general-injunctive-relief/

Technology

Nvidia has released the Nemotron 3 Nano Omni, a multimodal AI model designed for edge deployment that combines vision, audio, and language processing in a single architecture. This model features 30 billion parameters, activating only 3 billion during use, allowing it to outperform larger models while running on single GPUs. With its open licensing and capabilities for real-time agent applications, it positions Nvidia to deeply integrate its AI models with its hardware ecosystem.

  • NVIDIA's Nemotron 3 Nano Omni model integrates multiple AI tasks into a single, efficient system for edge deployment.

  • The model is optimized to run on Nvidia hardware, potentially reshaping the enterprise AI landscape.

[RSnake: This is getting reasonably good now. I think another year or two and these edge devices will be as good as frontier models are now, and in which case you can run them virtually everywhere, without Internet capabilities, and in situations where you may just need local access to something you do not want egressing out to the world (things in the bedroom, for instance).]

Source: https://thenextweb.com/news/nvidia-nemotron-nano-omni-multimodal-agent-edge

A paper by a Google DeepMind scientist argues that artificial intelligence will never achieve consciousness, contradicting claims from AI industry leaders about the imminent arrival of artificial general intelligence (AGI). The paper suggests that AI systems are reliant on human input and cannot possess intrinsic meaning or sentience, framing a hard limit on the capabilities of AI technology.

  • The paper posits that AI lacks the necessary attributes for consciousness and remains dependent on human agents for meaning.

  • The argument challenges the narratives pushed by AI companies regarding the potential of AGI.

  • The discussion includes concerns about the implications of denying consciousness for AI on potential legislation and regulatory practices.

[RSnake: Not with that attitude, it won’t! I don’t think straight-up LLMs will achieve it either, but I do think once we figure out memory and type one versus type two thinking, things could change.]

Source: https://www.404media.co/google-deepmind-paper-argues-llms-will-never-be-conscious/

Meta has acquired Assured Robot Intelligence to enhance its humanoid robotics strategy, aiming to provide an operating system-like platform for the humanoid market. This move is indicative of a growing competitive landscape in humanoid robotics, where companies are increasingly looking to develop intelligent robots capable of understanding and adapting to human behavior. The global humanoid robot market is projected to grow significantly, with key players investing heavily in both hardware and software solutions.

  • Meta aims to be a dominant player in the humanoid robotics industry by developing AI models and control technologies.

  • The global humanoid robot market is expected to grow to $38 billion by 2035, indicating increasing interest and investment in robotics.

[RSnake: This is where the money is, and the race is on. Meta hasn’t done well with its wearables, or its camera thing, or really anything hardware-related. So it will be interesting if they can figure this one out before Tesla’s Optimus makes it to market or the cheaper Chinese spyware versions.]

Source: https://thenextweb.com/news/meta-acquires-assured-robot-intelligence-humanoid

NASA has successfully tested a next-generation lithium-fed electromagnetic thruster that could play a crucial role in future crewed missions to Mars, achieving power levels of up to 120 kilowatts. This new propulsion system uses magnetic fields and electric currents to accelerate lithium plasma, offering a more efficient alternative to traditional chemical rockets, with the potential to significantly reduce launch mass for larger payloads. The thruster's development is part of NASA's broader initiative to establish nuclear electric propulsion capabilities for deep space exploration.

  • NASA tested a lithium-fed electromagnetic thruster designed for potential Mars missions.

  • The new thruster operates more efficiently than traditional propulsion systems, achieving high power levels.

  • Ongoing tests aim to improve power capacity to support crewed missions to Mars.

[RSnake: I saw this in a couple of places, and it looks really promising for deep(er) space exploration.]

Source: https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000753195

OpenAI has transitioned its model distribution strategy, allowing AWS to sell its AI models after Microsoft ended its exclusive rights, as part of a significant restructuring within the AI cloud market. This shift comes amid reports of OpenAI missing revenue and user growth targets, raising questions about its ability to meet substantial infrastructure commitments it has made to various cloud providers. The change enables OpenAI's models to be available across multiple cloud platforms, essential to increasing market accessibility and potential revenue streams.

  • OpenAI's models are now available through AWS due to the end of Microsoft's exclusive rights.

  • OpenAI faces financial pressures, having missed important revenue and growth targets while committing to large infrastructure deals.

  • The restructured agreements signal a significant shift in the competitive dynamics of the AI cloud services market.

[RSnake: I wonder how that contract was written, because that really limits what Microsoft’s advantage was at the time, and Azure, for that matter. But if OpenAI is missing targets, that is largely of its own making, given its neutered sycophantic models.]

Source: https://thenextweb.com/news/amazon-aws-openai-models-microsoft-exclusivity-ends

A new software algorithm called PlanB has been developed for efficient IPv6 lookup that transforms a two-dimensional search problem into a one-dimensional search, significantly improving performance compared to existing methods. The algorithm utilizes advanced techniques to achieve a lookup throughput of up to 3.4 billion lookups per second on multi-core processors, indicating a substantial leap in routing performance for IPv6 networks.

  • PlanB offers a new approach to IP lookup by converting a 2D search into a unified 1D search, enhancing efficiency.

  • The algorithm outperforms existing methods by achieving significantly higher lookup speeds and maximizing CPU utilization.

[RSnake: Pretty crazy writeup, for what really seems to amount to an efficient B-tree. I have used these for about 10 years now. Specifically, mtbl.]

Source: https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.14650

Business

Spirit Airlines has ceased all operations and canceled all flights as of May 2, 2026, entering an orderly wind-down process. Customers are advised to refrain from going to the airport and can seek refund information via designated channels.

  • Spirit Airlines has stopped all flight operations.

  • Customers are directed to contact claims agents for refunds.

[RSnake: End of an era. So long!]

Source: https://www.spiritrestructuring.com/

A Dutch consumer foundation is suing Netflix for up to €673 million over subscription price increases of up to 75% since 2017, claiming that these changes have violated EU consumer protection laws. Similar legal actions are also underway in Italy, Germany, and Spain, challenging the validity of pricing clauses commonly used by subscription services across Europe. The outcome of these cases could significantly impact how subscription services operate within the EU, requiring explicit consumer consent for any price changes.

  • A lawsuit in the Netherlands seeks substantial compensation from Netflix for allegedly unlawful price increases.

  • This case represents broader implications for the subscription model in Europe and could affect all subscription services.

[RSnake: Talk about making companies want to stay out of the European market. This over-litigation is a fast path to a European dark age.]

Source: https://thenextweb.com/news/dutch-consumers-sue-netflix-subscription-hikes

A trial involving Elon Musk and Sam Altman regarding the future of OpenAI began in Oakland, California, focusing on Musk's claims of breach of trust and fraud related to OpenAI's transition from a nonprofit to a for-profit structure. The outcome could significantly impact OpenAI's operations, fundraising capabilities, and future IPO prospects, with scheduled testimony from key industry figures, including Musk and Altman, as well as Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. The trial raises questions about corporate governance and the implications of substantial financial damages sought by Musk in the litigation.

  • Musk is suing Altman, claiming that the conversion of OpenAI to a for-profit company was deceptive and breached their original agreement.

  • The trial outcome is critical for OpenAI's business model, potential IPO, and overall future in the AI industry.

[RSnake: I think a lot of interesting things may come of this. For instance, there are already rumblings that Musk distilled OpenAI models, which used to be somewhat common but are now frowned upon. We shall see what happens.]

Source: https://thenextweb.com/news/musk-altman-openai-trial-oakland

Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, has been denied a new trial after being convicted of financial fraud. The judge ruled that the claims of newly discovered witnesses were baseless, affirming Bankman-Fried's 25-year prison sentence and the forfeiture of $11 billion intended for victim compensation.

  • Sam Bankman-Fried's fraud conviction is one of the largest in American history.

  • He misused customer deposits to cover personal expenses and losses at his hedge fund.

[RSnake: Makes sense. Not that they were going to be useful anyway. The jury was never going to see it his way.]

Source: https://abcnews.com/US/judge-denies-new-trial-sam-bankman-fried-after/story?id=132471994

Nebius, a Dutch cloud computing company, has acquired Eigen AI for $643 million. This acquisition aims to enhance Nebius’s AI infrastructure capabilities, particularly in inference optimization, as demand for AI services continues to grow amidst significant investments in the neocloud market.

  • Nebius has made a significant acquisition to strengthen its AI infrastructure services.

  • The deal reflects the high value placed on AI optimization technologies in a competitive market.

[RSnake: Nice acquisition! I just hope it’s worth something in a couple of years. I am still rather concerned it is a bubble.]

Source: https://thenextweb.com/news/nebius-eigen-ai-inference-optimization

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Full Disclosure: None of this is advice. This newsletter is strictly educational and my opinions. Please be careful, do your own research, and consult a professional before taking any action based on anything posted here.