RSnake Report 20250824

Hello, and thanks for reading! It’s been a nice Texas weekend, with workouts, a run, a long walk, and good meals. Love it! I also did a short presentation about getting reliable JSON out of LLMs for Prompt||GTFO which is a group of security people who discuss the use of LLMs in information security which should be available on their YouTube channel in a few days, I’m told. Let’s jump in!

In Russian/Ukrainian news, almost as if to make a bigger point, Russia launched a massive drone attack against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure sites in the Odesa Oblast of Southern Ukraine, sending shockwaves through the region just hours before a crucial meeting at the White House between U.S. President Donald J. Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. I think Putin was trying to say that he holds more cards than he is letting on, but aside from this wave, this week has been lopsided in favor of Ukraine.

The United States has approved the sale of 3,350 ERAM missiles to Ukraine, with a range of up to 450 km. The $850 million package, financed mainly by European allies, is expected to be delivered in just six weeks. These are primarily air-dropped bombs/missiles with a range that means that they are really only good for hitting targets to the immediate rear of the front lines, and not so great for longer range targets, like Moscow.

However, the re-branded Milanion FP-5 'Flamingo' cruise missile. Boasting an impressive range of 3,000 km and a formidable 1,000 kg warhead, this missile outshines its predecessors in both reach and destructive power.

These things are about as big as a semi-truck, and require a booster to get them aloft, so they aren’t as nimble as the typical drones. It’s also capable of hitting within 14 meters of its intended target. It’s also unlikely to be super good at evading anything that flies, but as a one-way warhead, it’s great. The FP-5's capabilities open up new possibilities for Ukraine to strike targets deep within Russian territory that were previously out of reach, but only after a first-wave of warheads that degrade the air defense capabilities, allowing these long-range strikes to hit deep in uncontested airspace, with a ramp-up to seven per day either by October, or early next year depending on which source you believe.

Ukrainian startup Fire Point makes both the Flamingo but also the FP-1 drones that now account for a staggering 60% of strikes on Russian territory. I had to read that twice, and I am not entirely sure I believe the number - sixty? At $55,000 each, these slow but effective drones have proven their worth by targeting oil refineries and other strategic locations within Russia. Fire Point's production has skyrocketed from 30 drones per month in 2023 to an impressive 100 per day in 2025. That means they have plenty in reserve for large waves that will be used to break large offensive lines but also destroy critical infrastructure like fuel, munitions, and food/water supply lines.

I also spotted a ground-based robotic complex Droid, designed for reconnaissance and fire support of infantry. Equipped with a 12.7 mm machine gun and an ammunition load of 420 rounds, this machine is a force to be reckoned with. What sets the Droid apart is its targeting system, which incorporates elements of artificial intelligence for automatic fire correction. It’s not too much longer before these things are let off their leashes and become fully autonomous.

All that is bad news for Russia, but it gets worse. Russia's population is feeling the economic strain, as evidenced by the continued withdrawal of money from banks. In August alone, Russians withdrew a staggering -220 billion rubles in the first half of the month, doubling the withdrawal rate from previous months. With June and July seeing withdrawals of -216 billion and -226 billion rubles respectively, it's clear that the Russian people are losing confidence in their financial institutions. This could easily spin out of control and become a run on the banks. That would leave Moscow with precious few options, like hyperinflation, demonetization, or other unsavory things like electronic currencies that are state-controlled.

Russia's oil industry has taken another hit, with the fourth major refinery halting operations due to a drone strike. Rosneft's Syzran refinery in the Samara region has joined the ranks of those forced to suspend oil refining, further exacerbating the country's fuel crisis. Ukraine has dealt another blow to Russia's oil infrastructure, destroying the Druzhba oil pipeline. This strategic move has suspended the pumping of oil from Russia to Europe indefinitely, which cuts Belarus off from being able to help Russia with moving its oil in sufficient quantities to matter.

The Unecha pump station in the Bryansk region, Russia, has been hit once again, and Ukrainian forces are determined to ensure that this pipeline remains out of commission for the foreseeable future. The Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in Russia continues to burn, now entering its fifth day of uncontrolled fire after being struck by Ukraine's FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile. It represented 2-3% of Russia’s refining capacity.

One of the most frail aspects of Russian defense is the heavy reliance on trains. A Russian fuel train in Zaporizhzhia was set ablaze by a swarm of FPV drones. It wasn’t just one hit, it was many, many hits, which more or less proves that a sit-and-wait approach to passing by trains will eventually yield large losses on the Russian side.

The last example I’ll give is the Russian gas processing complex in Ust-Luga. It was caught on camera as it fell victim to another Ukrainian strike. Just think how much fuel was lost in just one short week! You may be asking, so… what happened, RSnake?

Russia's is now in a massive fuel crisis and it’s spreading like wildfire, now reaching even the sections of Georgia that have been occupied by Russians since 2008. In Abkhazia, people are facing hours-long waits at gas stations, only to find that they have run dry. The same is to be said in Primorsky Krai, where trucks waiting for fuel are running out of diesel while stuck in queues. Ukraine's drones have dealt a significant blow to Russia's oil refining capabilities, shutting down 13.5% of the country's capacity and triggering a price crisis and shortage. In response to the fuel crisis caused by Ukrainian drone strikes, Moscow has suspended exports of petrol in an attempt to keep refined products for the domestic market. Wholesale petrol prices in Russia have hit record highs. 13% of its capacity in August alone, which is not even over yet… just think about that. And that report was made just 19 days into the month. The remaining fuel was diverted into the center of the country, likely to be hauled by truck or rail.

The Russian Telegram channel "Nezygar" has shed light on the current state of Russian refineries and the fuel market, revealing the extent of the crisis caused by Ukrainian drone strikes. With up to 14% of processing capacity idle during peak summer days, Russia is in economic danger.

But it’s not all bad for the Russians. Russia is experimenting with a new weapon: an FPV drone equipped with a prototype launcher that shoots pieces of Kevlar string to entangle the propellers of other drones. The cylindrical fishing weights used to tension the string pieces in flight help to foul the props. This is very similar to the tactic used to prop-foul ships with fishing nets. The answer is pretty simple - building cages around the props. It makes them less efficient and weigh more, but it solves the problem. It remains to be seen if this tactic works at scale, but I personally think it’s pretty smart.

Russia was also found to be building a massive Circularly Disposed Antenna Array (CDAA) near Chernyakhovsk, Kaliningrad, just 25 km from NATO territory. This looks like a pretty straightforward target for Ukraine if it starts to annoy their NATO partners. I suspect no one would touch it until it is operational, which has the advantage of wasting a lot of Russia’s cash building something just to have it destroyed for the cost of a few cheap drones.

In more draconian news, and straight out of Putin’s KGB background, starting September 1, the Russian messenger app Max will become mandatory for preinstallation on all devices in Russia, driving citizens further into the FSB's surveillance net. Users have already noticed that the app accesses the camera every 5-10 minutes, even when running in the background, turning smartphones into peepholes for the security services. Max collects contacts, gender, age, text input history, installed applications, location data, and even audio recordings. Big brother is an app. It’s clear the Kremlin doesn’t trust its own citizens at all.

In European news, an object that exploded in Poland this week was revealed to be a Russian "Shahed" drone, according to the country's Foreign Ministry. So what is NATO to do? This is clearly an “attack,” although an accidental one. I suspect literally nothing will happen, but I do wonder if it crash-landed on its own or if it was disabled by NATO somehow. If they didn’t disable it on their own, it begs the question of why not.

In other news, the people of England have decided to engage in a flag war with their local council governments. Frustrated with the removal of English flags, the natives have taken matters into their own hands, using bucket trucks to hang them even higher. There are tons of great videos and memes about it, but the short of it is, people seem quite unhappy that they can’t fly the St. George’s cross, and who could blame them?

In North American news, 37 officials were stripped of their security clearances. There are a lot of reasons this happened, but prior bad behavior with leaking information to the press, sponsoring illegal surveillance, disinformation campaigns, and other things were the main impetus.

After two weeks of absence, the Texas House has finally reached a quorum as dozens of Democrats returned to the state today. In a significant development for Texas politics, the congressional redistricting map, known as #HB4, has passed with an 88-52 vote. It will go to the Senate for final passage. Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Legislature have taken a strong stance against the Texas Democrats who left the state without permission in an attempt to stall the redistricting vote by calling for their arrest. I’m still not entirely sure what the grounds for arrest are, but we shall see how that shakes out. In either case, it’s 5 more congressional seats for Republicans if polling mirrors voting in those districts. The new congressional redistricting map for Texas, is known as PLANC2333, has been released if you want to take a look.

In a disturbing development, the city of Los Angeles has been removing professional streaming cameras that have been popping up all over downtown LA. Many are speculating that these cameras, which tap into the power supply on street lights and are equipped with routers and signal repeaters, may have been installed by the cartel or a foreign military to monitor US persons. As the man takes down these cameras, more continue to appear in different areas. I really hope the FBI is all over this.

The US Army is accelerating the integration of unmanned aerial systems, drawing on lessons learned from the war in Ukraine. In 2025, the Pentagon initiated a comprehensive "drone force" program, recognizing the decisive role that small UAVs, ranging from FPV strike platforms to reconnaissance drones, can play in modern warfare by increasing the speed of testing and deployment of these systems. This is good news, because it really has felt like the US has been lagging on the importance of FPVs in large-scale conflicts.

Speaking of, in Austin, a company called Allen Control Systems is currently hiring for various engineering roles, including machine learning, embedded systems, firmware, electrical, and mechanical engineering. So it looks like that magical fusion of guns, plus machine learning, will be an increasingly important marriage of tech. Cool company.

In Tech News, I spotted Mirage 2, a groundbreaking real-time, general-domain generative world engine that you can play online. Upload any image, and the system creates a live, interactive world. This is about as close to the holodeck as we have been able to create. It doesn’t quite remember the nuance and detail as you move beyond a certain point, and allows things to exist that couldn’t before, but it’s still come an amazingly long way, and the video is worth a watch.

Also, I spotted a very strange little robot that can climb extremely steep or even cover vertical gaps using what looks like a tape measure as a repelling arm. It’s harder to explain than it is to watch the video. So go check that out.

Lastly, in economic news, US bankruptcies are surging past 2020 pandemic levels, according to Business Insider. That is not good news for the banks. Something to keep our eyes on, especially if the Fed stubbornly continues to keep rates where they are.

Okay, onto the articles!

The economy in Gaza has collapsed due to the blockage of currency and financial resources, leading to a situation where physical cash is nearly worthless and banking systems are nonfunctional. As money becomes increasingly inaccessible, residents are resorting to barter for basic goods, creating a volatile trading environment that threatens to dismantle any semblance of economic stability.

• The currency used in Gaza is becoming unusable, with many notes damaged and unaccepted.

• Residents are forced into bartering for goods due to the lack of cash and functional banking systems.

[RSnake: At some point, a pointer to a value isn’t the same thing as the value itself. It’s caused by inflation, war, etc.]

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2025/8/23/this-is-what-happens-when-money-dies?traffic_source=rss

Ingrid Lewis-Martin, a longtime confidante of Mayor Eric Adams, has been indicted on bribery charges, potentially hastening his fall in New York City politics.

• Lewis-Martin was accused of using her power to fast-track projects for friends and associates in exchange for personal benefits.

• Prosecutors alleged that Lewis-Martin used her influence to derail a proposal to reduce traffic fatalities on McGuinness Boulevard in Brooklyn.

• She also allegedly used her power to steer city contracts to migrant shelters operated by associates of Tian Ji Li, who planned to take a 10% cut and share it with her son.

[RSnake: These backroom bribes where you pay someone’s spouse or kids, or a friend who does a quid-pro-quo on some other deal, have got to get more scrutiny. It’s allowing a lot of shady things to happen with just one degree of separation. It plagues information security.]

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/23/nyregion/ingrid-lewis-martin-eric-adams.html

Iran has established arms production facilities in multiple undisclosed countries, expanding its military capabilities while conducting joint military exercises. The Iranian defense minister claims recent missile technology demonstrations and analyses of the outcomes of recent conflicts with Israel indicate advancements in its military effectiveness. Tensions remain high as past conflicts have led to significant casualties, and regional military activities continue amidst ongoing geopolitical strife.

• Iran has built undisclosed arms factories abroad.

• Recent military operations have indicated Iran's advancements in missile technology.

• The conflict between Iran and Israel has resulted in significant casualties and ongoing regional tension.

[RSnake: Wonderful. It’s a little impressive that any countries other than Yemen would entertain such a thing.]

Source: https://www.iranintl.com/en/202508238927

U.S. citizens are advised against all travel to Venezuela due to extreme risks, including wrongful detention, torture, and violent crime. The U.S. government has suspended all diplomatic operations in Venezuela, limiting its ability to provide consular assistance to citizens in the country, who are urged to leave immediately.

• U.S. citizens in Venezuela face extreme risks, including wrongful detention and violence.

• The U.S. government can no longer provide consular services in Venezuela.

[RSnake: Lovely country. You know you’re doing it wrong when detentions and torture are normal behavior.]

Source: http://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/venezuela-travel-advisory.html

The U.S. Air Force plans to acquire copies of Iran's Shahed-136 drone to test and develop counter-drone systems as these drones are extensively used by Russia in attacks against Ukraine. In response to the increased drone production and attacks by Russia, this initiative is aimed at improving defenses against these kamikaze drones, which have proven to be challenging for Ukrainian air defenses. Meanwhile, Russia has ramped up its drone production significantly, resulting in record numbers of drone assaults on Ukraine.

• The U.S. plans to purchase replicas of Iranian Shahed-136 drones to enhance its counter-drone capabilities.

• Russia has significantly increased its drone production, leading to a high volume of assaults on Ukraine.

• The use of these drones in warfare signals a shift towards attrition strategies based on overwhelming adversarial air defenses.

[RSnake: Good, we should have a bunch of these to test with. It’s a wise choice, though I am surprised we can’t manufacture our own at this point, given the vast number of wrecks we can recover in Ukraine.]

Source: https://www.eurasiantimes.com/?p=250827

NASA is facing unprecedented budget cuts and a significant loss of talent, with around 4,000 employees expected to leave, including many senior leaders. Proposed cuts to the budget could drastically affect NASA's ability to conduct future missions and diminish its role as a leading space agency.

• NASA is experiencing major staffing changes as roughly 4,000 employees, including over 2,000 senior leaders, are set to leave the agency.

• The proposed budget cuts could reduce NASA's overall spending by 24% and specifically cut science funding by nearly half, impacting various crucial missions.

[RSnake: That’s sad, but a lot of the same engineering work they used to do is being done in the private sector. That said, there is a lot of key science that can only really be done with public resources because there is no direct way to monetize it.]

Source: https://www.wired.com/story/the-destruction-of-nasa-would-be-a-blow-to-our-collective-imagination/

At least 600 CDC employees are receiving permanent termination notices due to a court decision that protected some but not others from layoffs. The terminations come as part of a significant downsizing of the department by over 20%. This move affects various projects, including those focused on preventing violence and tracking child abuse.

• Downsizing of the department by over 20%

[RSnake: They really need to do a good hard look at how the pandemic was handled and ask themselves if they contributed to public health or hurt it. I had a conversation with a young man yesterday who is still encountering the ripple effects of not having spent a year in school from his peer group.]

Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/20/at-least-600-cdc-employees-being-terminated-in-us-union-say?traffic_source=rss

China is commencing the construction of the Xinjiang-Tibet railway, which will traverse through the disputed Aksai Chin region, enhancing Beijing's military logistical capabilities near the Indian border. The railway aims to connect Xinjiang with Tibet while enabling faster troop and supply movements for the People's Liberation Army, raising strategic concerns for India as both nations navigate a resetting of diplomatic ties after recent tensions.

• The Xinjiang-Tibet railway is a strategic infrastructure project that will significantly enhance China's military access to the Himalayan frontier.

• India is responding by accelerating its own infrastructure development along the Line of Actual Control to counter China's military advancements.

[RSnake: I am a little surprised they would consider that a good option, given how Russia’s rail system is being exposed as a massive target.]

Source: https://www.eurasiantimes.com/?p=250763

US forces are withdrawing from Ain al Asad airbase in Iraq, with all troops expected to leave by September 15, 2025. This transition reflects the conclusion of the international coalition's military mission against ISIS in Iraq, while a smaller US presence may remain for advisory roles in Baghdad, and the focus will shift to ongoing operations against ISIS in Syria until September 2026.

• The US military is ending its combat mission in Iraq and transitioning to advisory roles.

• Iraq is currently experiencing political tensions and potential security threats from both the US and Iranian influences.

[RSnake: A slow and measured withdrawal. Almost like we had a plan, unlike Afghanistan.]

Source: https://www.longwarjournal.org/?p=125369

A vulnerability was discovered in Perplexity Comet, an agentic browser security vulnerability that allows indirect prompt injection payloads to be executed by AI assistants, posing significant challenges to existing web security mechanisms.

• The vulnerability in Perplexity Comet enables attackers to embed malicious instructions in website content, which are then processed by the AI assistant as user requests.

• This attack presents significant challenges to traditional web security assumptions and highlights the need for new security and privacy architectures for agentic browsing.

[RSnake: Yeah, if you are planning on using these agents, make sure you do so in a VM, ideally isolated from the rest of your network, with no usernames or passwords in anything that you don’t need it to have. These things are just far too unsafe.]

Source: https://brave.com/blog/comet-prompt-injection/

A Chinese state-sponsored hacking group known as Murky Panda exploits trusted relationships within cloud environments to access networks and data of downstream organizations. Recent attacks have targeted various sectors, including government and technology, using sophisticated techniques and custom malware, posing significant risks to organizations that rely on cloud services.

• Murky Panda utilizes trusted relationships in cloud services to gain unauthorized access.

• The group employs advanced tools and techniques for stealthy long-term access and data theft.

[RSnake: Just wait until they find out that APIs are Swiss cheese backdoors into all kinds of things.]

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/murky-panda-hackers-exploit-cloud-trust-to-hack-downstream-customers/

Law enforcement authorities in Africa arrested over 1,200 suspects in a major crackdown on cybercrime, part of 'Operation Serengeti 2.0,' which targeted cross-border criminal gangs from June to August 2025. This operation, coordinated by INTERPOL, resulted in the seizure of $97.4 million and dismantled over 11,000 malicious infrastructures linked to significant cyberattacks impacting nearly 88,000 victims worldwide.

• Over 1,200 suspects were arrested as part of a large-scale anti-cybercrime operation in Africa.

• $97.4 million was seized, and numerous malicious infrastructures were dismantled, targeting significant cybercriminal activities.

[RSnake: Wow, that is impressive. That must have been a massive coordination to get all of those people at once. That may be the largest bust I’ve ever heard of of this kind.]

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/massive-anti-cybercrime-operation-leads-to-over-1-200-arrests-in-africa/

A ransomware gang stole data of nearly 2.7 million people from DaVita, a kidney dialysis firm, and the incident has been linked to APT36 hackers.

• DaVita confirmed that a ransomware gang stole personal and health information of nearly 2.7 million individuals, including tax identification numbers and images of personal checks.

• The attack was attributed to APT36 hackers who used Linux .desktop files to install malware in new attacks.

[RSnake: Oof, that’s a lot of people. It’s also a pretty bad sign about how poorly healthcare protects its customers’ data that such a thing is even possible. It sucks getting old and sick.]

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/davita-ransomware-attack-exposed-data-of-nearly-27-million-people/

Image scaling attacks on production AI systems have been demonstrated, exploiting downscaling algorithms to reveal prompt injections and potentially exfiltrate user data.

• Attackers can use image scaling to exploit vulnerabilities in production AI systems, including Google Gemini CLI, Vertex AI Studio, Genspark, and others.

• The attacks work by delivering a multi-modal prompt injection not visible to the user, which is then revealed when the image is scaled down.

[RSnake: It’s clever. When you scale an image down, it can cause text to appear, and that text is read as a prompt and then the prompt fires. If the scaling is known, the adversary can tune the image to cause that compression to launch whatever payload they want when the LLM reads it, even if the original author has no idea there is even text in the image.]

Source: https://blog.trailofbits.com/2025/08/21/weaponizing-image-scaling-against-production-ai-systems/

A US Navy sailor has been found guilty of espionage after selling secrets to China, and will face life in prison.

• A US Navy sailor was convicted of espionage for selling secrets to China.

• He faces life in prison and could also receive a $250,000 fine.

[RSnake: I really do wish treason were treated more seriously than this. Life in prison is clearly not enough of a deterrent.

Source: https://news.usni.org/?p=117671

Apple has released emergency updates to patch another zero-day vulnerability that was exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack, impacting a wide range of Apple devices and iOS versions.

• Apple has released security updates to fix a zero-day vulnerability exploited in targeted attacks on its devices, including iPhones, iPads, and Macs.

• The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-43300, was discovered by Apple security researchers and is caused by an out-of-bounds write weakness in the Image I/O framework.

[RSnake: Yes, please patch up your iOS devices, iPads, iPhones, laptops, desktops, everything.]

Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/apple/apple-emergency-updates-fix-new-actively-exploited-zero-day/

Two hackers broke into a computer and found evidence of cyberespionage operations carried out by North Korea, exploits and hacking tools, and infrastructure used in those operations.

• The two hackers accessed the computer of a hacker who allegedly worked for North Korea's cyberespionage operations.

• They found evidence that linked the hacker to North Korean government-backed groups and their hacking tools and infrastructure.

[RSnake: We discussed this last week. Here’s another article on it.]

Source: https://techcrunch.com/?p=3038651

An AI model developed by OpenAI has achieved a gold-medal score at the International Math Olympiad, completing five out of six problems correctly and advancing its path to artificial general intelligence.

• The AI model was trained using reinforcement learning and scaled up test-time compute to enable longer problem-solving sessions.

• The model's ability to complete long proofs without external assistance demonstrates its potential for addressing the 'hallucination' problem in AI, where models provide incorrect or incomplete information.

[RSnake: Bravo, but I think the real tests will be multi-modal, not just text and problem solving. Things like folding laundry, and helping a kid build a plastic airplane model, etc.]

Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/openai-model-earns-gold-medal-score-at-international-math-olympiad-and/

Researchers at Tel Aviv University are preparing to conduct the world's first spinal cord implant using genetically engineered blood cells that act like embryonic stem cells. The procedure aims to restore the transmission of electrical signals in patients with spinal cord injuries, with the first surgery expected to take place within a year after receiving preliminary approval for compassionate-use trials. If successful, this technology could potentially transform treatment for paralysis and has shown promising results in animal models.

• The use of genetically engineered blood cells to create a 3D spinal cord tissue implant.

• The technology aims to restore function in paralyzed patients by enabling signal transmission across the injury site.

• The first human trial is set to occur in Israel, marking a significant milestone in spinal cord injury treatment.

[RSnake: So very cool. This could help untold people with back and neck injuries.]

Source: https://www.dailywire.com/news/hope-for-paraplegics-as-israel-plans-first-spinal-cord-implant

Japan is collaborating with Fujitsu and NVIDIA to develop FugakuNEXT, a new flagship supercomputer aimed at addressing significant scientific and societal challenges. The initiative emphasizes building AI capabilities and enhancing Japan's position in high-performance computing through state-of-the-art technology and global partnerships.

• FugakuNEXT is designed to handle critical research priorities, including disaster resilience and drug discovery.

• The supercomputer will feature cutting-edge technology to combine AI and simulation workloads for advanced scientific applications.

[RSnake: Good for them. I am surprised it’s taken this long for Japan to get into this space, but they are welcome competitors because they are both great technologists and have a much more open culture when it comes to information sharing and knowledge than China.]

Source: https://blogs.nvidia.com/?p=84109

The zero-workforce startup is a reality as European startups are scaling with leaner teams and fewer people, automating tasks and using AI to gain competitive edge.

• Startups are slimming down, particularly in the consumer-facing and fintech sectors, with an average seed-stage consumer startup having 3.5 employees by 2024, down from 6.4 in 2022.

• AI is already reinventing roles at startups, with engineering teams smaller due to code generation tools like GitHub Copilot and AI-powered assistants handling customer support.

• The zero-workforce startup is not just about reducing headcount but also about rebuilding teams from scratch around AI, with a focus on generalists who can work with intelligent systems.

[RSnake: Wow, that is a huge drop in headcount! That’s nearly half!]

Source: https://thenextweb.com/news/rise-of-zero-workforce-startups

Intel, formerly a leading semiconductor company, has experienced a significant decline, culminating in a substantial $8.9 billion U.S. government investment. This downturn illustrates the challenges faced by once-dominant tech firms in keeping pace with rapid technological advancements. As competition grows, companies that fail to innovate can fade into obscurity, a fate that befalls many major tech players throughout history.

• Intel received an $8.9 billion investment from the U.S. government.

• The company's decline demonstrates the risks of complacency in the tech industry.

[RSnake: This is worded very oddly, because the US didn’t just give them a cash infusion, it’s also partial ownership of 10% of the company. Intel could fight this if it wanted to, but for now, it behooves it to agree. They want the perks that come with it, and it’s a small chunk of the company in actuality. Without getting into the politically charged “he seized the means of production,” it does put the government into a weird position where it may want to strong-arm companies to allow them to play in International markets. Again, Intel could sue and win, but they prefer to make 90% than lose 100% of those overseas gains if Trump chooses to limit their ability to sell. I’m not a fan of this approach, personally. It’s too easily weaponized, and the Government is bad at giving up power once it’s been wielded.]

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/23/technology/intel-computer-chips-tech-ai-trump.html

A startup called Halo is developing always-recording smart glasses that utilize AI to provide immediate answers to questions asked by the wearer, aiming for a release in early 2026. Google is expected to launch a new Nest smart speaker that will integrate its new AI assistant, Gemini, allowing for more natural interactions. Additionally, Masimo has filed a lawsuit against US Customs and Border Protection over the Apple Watch's blood oxygen sensor, alleging unlawful actions regarding a patent infringement dispute.

• Halo's smart glasses feature always-listening microphones and an AI interface for real-time answering of user queries.

• Google's upcoming Nest speaker will replace its existing assistant with the AI, Gemini, enhancing user interactions across smart home devices.

• Masimo's lawsuit alleges that US Customs and Border Protection improperly reversed a ruling that affects the Apple Watch's blood oxygen sensing capabilities.

[RSnake: Ah, the fastest way to be invited to leave my property immediately - the always recording smart glasses. Nooo, thanks.]

Source: https://www.wired.com/story/gear-news-of-the-week-always-recording-smart-glasses-and-google-teases-a-new-nest-speaker/

Recent research indicates that the brain's body map in the primary somatosensory cortex remains unchanged after limb amputation, contradicting previous beliefs that the brain reorganizes itself in response to such changes. This discovery could impact future developments in prosthetic devices and treatments for phantom limb pain, as it suggests that the brain's representation of missing limbs remains stable over time.

• The brain's map of the body remains constant after limb amputation.

• Study findings could inform advancements in prosthetics and pain management for amputees.

[RSnake: It helps explain ghost pain. The brain doesn’t know the limb is gone.]

Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-brains-map-of-the-body-is-surprisingly-stable-even-after-a-limb-is-lost/

SpaceX is preparing for its tenth test flight of the Starship rocket after a series of failures that have raised concerns over its reliability for upcoming missions, including a potential trip to Mars. Adjustments have been made to avoid previous issues, including changes to hardware and operational procedures, as well as a focus on safety protocols, following investigations into prior incidents. The Federal Aviation Administration has authorized the upcoming test flight, which aims to achieve specific mission objectives that were not met in earlier attempts.

• SpaceX's Starship has faced multiple failures in previous test flights.

• For the upcoming flight, SpaceX has implemented changes to enhance safety and reliability.

[RSnake: I don’t think people give enough credit to how difficult this is, and it’s not like Elon’s companies have decided to stop innovating. In many ways, they are building as they go, so there is not a lot of status quo.]

Source: https://gizmodo.com/?p=2000646210

Dropbox Passwords is shutting down its service in three phases, with the final shutdown scheduled for October 28, 2025. Users are advised to export their passwords and transition to alternative password managers, especially as Microsoft has also eliminated password manager support in its Authenticator app this year.

• Dropbox Passwords is discontinuing its service, which has implications for users relying on this password management tool.

• Users must export their passwords before the service is completely shut down to prevent loss of access.

[RSnake: Wow, how crappy. I recall having to move around and change 150 passwords once when a marketing person left the company. What a nightmare.]

Source: https://www.fastcompany.com/91385041/dropbox-passwords-shutting-down-when-export-password-manager-microsoft-authenticator-how-to-switch

The Google Pixel 10 series of smartphones has been officially launched, featuring upgrades, including improved cameras, brighter displays, and faster wireless charging capabilities. These devices also introduce new artificial intelligence features, such as real-time voice translation during calls, and extend Google's commitment to seven years of software updates for various models.

• The Pixel 10 series includes models with enhanced camera systems, such as a 5X optical zoom camera and the ability to capture 8K video.

• Google has implemented wireless charging with the new Qi2 standard, allowing for faster and more efficient charging.

• All new Pixel devices will receive seven years of software and security updates, setting a precedent for longevity in Android devices.

[RSnake: I still prefer the Apple ecosystem. I will say that I keep an eye on this and Ubuntu Mobile as well, because I love the idea of having my desktop and my laptop synced with data, but Android is nowhere near solving this issue, and Ubuntu Mobile is unstable on a good day.]

Source: https://www.wired.com/story/best-google-pixel-phone/

Elon Musk's social media service, X, has agreed to settle thousands of cases brought by former employees who sued after the company dismissed them during his 2022 takeover. The billionaire cut over 5,000 jobs when he acquired Twitter and reduced its workforce to fewer than 2,000 employees. A class-action lawsuit filed in 2023 argued that Musk owed his former workers about $500 million in severance payments.

• Elon Musk's company agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit for severance payments owed to thousands of former employees who were dismissed during the 2022 takeover.

• The settlement amount was not disclosed, but it would cover almost all of the severance payments for workers involved in the case, including interest.

[RSnake: Even if it was the full $500m, that’s not a massive loss for him, and he may even be able to write it off due to it being under the X.com purview.]

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/technology/elon-musk-x-settlements.html

The middle class in America is shrinking as young adults struggle to attain traditional milestones of adulthood such as living away from parents, completing education, getting a job, marrying, and having children. Economic barriers and changing societal attitudes are contributing to this decline. The competition for middle-class jobs among young people is extremely fierce.

• The Census Bureau has reported that only 17% of 25-34-year-old Americans have attained the five major milestones of adulthood.

• The primary reason for this decline is due to economic barriers and changing societal attitudes around family formation.

• Young adults are facing stiff competition for middle-class jobs, with layoffs rising 140 percent from a year ago and companies cutting over 800,000 jobs this year alone.

[RSnake: I was just talking about this yesterday. If the job market dries up, what is allowing these kids to leave home and finally build their own lives? It’s a catalyst to the next phase of their lives. If you are a parent, you had better be thinking long and hard about giving your kids life skills and preparing them for whatever market is left when they are ready to leave home. Or get used to having a permanent housemate. 😬 ]

Source: https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/only-17-25-34-year-old-americans-have-attained-5-major-milestones-adulthood

India's parliament has passed legislation that bans real-money gaming, a development which could jeopardize a $23 billion industry. The law aims to prohibit not only these games but also their advertising and financial transactions, potentially leading to significant job losses and business closures within the sector.

• India imposes a nationwide ban on real-money gaming.

• Industry stakeholders warn that the ban may inadvertently benefit illegal offshore gambling operations.

[RSnake: Where there is a gambler, there is a way. It may shift, move over a border, or go underground, but it won’t ever go away. But it does reduce crime to get rid of it, surely.]

Source: https://techcrunch.com/?p=3038270

President Trump is actively trying to influence the Federal Reserve's monetary policy by pressuring its officials, including attempts to remove a sitting governor in favor of allies who support low interest rates. The central bank is navigating a complex situation with high inflation and a softening labor market while striving to maintain its independence from political pressures. Fed officials are preparing to potentially cut interest rates in response to economic conditions despite the political distractions surrounding their decision-making.

• President Trump is pressuring Federal Reserve officials for lower interest rates.

• The Fed is considering interest rate cuts amid inflation concerns and labor market dynamics.

[RSnake: At this point, Powell doesn’t really have a leg to stand on for not cutting rates. The longer he waits, the worse it looks and the harder it is on the average American who really could use a refinance, given the amount of defaults we are seeing. More on this here.]

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/23/business/powell-fed-trump-economy-jackson-hole.html

The FDA is recommending changes to product recall communications, advocating for the use of advanced technology and AI to improve the timeliness and effectiveness of recalling dangerous products. The number of recalls has surged dramatically, driving the need for companies to enhance their communication strategies and harness technology to more efficiently manage recalls and consumer interactions.

• The FDA is urging industries to overhaul their product recall communication strategies.

• AI and advanced technologies are expected to significantly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of recall processes.

[RSnake: I am really curious if this would actually speed things up, but I am open-minded to the possibility. I would say that it definitely needs human oversight, though.]

Source: https://www.fastcompany.com/91380442/how-ai-is-reshaping-recalls

Shift-based workers around the world need tech that works for them, with nearly 80% of the global workforce facing issues like burnout, staffing shortages, and unpredictable hours due to a lack of investment in solutions that address their needs.

• The gap between how technology is designed and the way most of the world actually works is systemic and can only be bridged by designing with reality in mind.

• Technology should prioritize solving real, everyday problems faced by shift-based workers, rather than just focusing on code or capital.

[RSnake: Either that or they need to be replaced by robots, which, unfortunately for them, is the real focus of investment currently. If you’re going to have to fix processes, you might as well remove the humans from the equation.]

Source: https://fortune.com/2025/08/23/ceo-raised-by-truck-driver-factory-worker-shift-economy/

Canada will drop some retaliatory tariffs on US goods while maintaining levies on autos, steel, and aluminum. The change follows a recent phone conversation between Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and US President Donald Trump and aims to re-establish free trade in most goods moving between the two countries. This decision reflects Canada's approach to negotiating trade agreements amidst ongoing tensions and tariffication from the US.

• Canada is reducing its retaliatory tariffs on US goods but keeping some in place.

• The change is part of ongoing trade negotiations between Canada and the US amid previous tariff disputes.

[RSnake: That sounds like a tariffic idea. Get it? 😆 ]

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5yk9dqlvygo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss

The U.K. government has taken control of Speciality Steels UK after a court declared the company insolvent, putting nearly 1,500 jobs at risk. The company, part of Liberty Steel, faces significant financial troubles with creditors owed hundreds of millions of pounds, and special managers will oversee the sale of its assets while the government covers ongoing wages and costs in the interim.

• U.K. government intervenes in insolvent steelmaker to protect jobs.

• Speciality Steels UK has significant financial liabilities and a dire operational outlook.

[RSnake: They need to protect their industry. Especially with a war on the eastern edge of the continent and whatever is brewing in the South China Sea.]

Source: https://www.supplychainbrain.com/articles/42379-uk-steelmaker-declared-insolvent

Boeing is negotiating a major deal with China to sell up to 500 aircraft, which would mark a significant end to a sales drought that began during the Trump administration. This transaction is part of broader trade talks aimed at easing tensions between the U.S. and China, as both nations strive to finalize terms amidst ongoing discussions and complications within Boeing's leadership in China.

• Boeing is expected to finalize a large aircraft sale to China after years of negotiations.

• The deal could play a crucial role in U.S.-China trade relations.

[RSnake: I’m surprised China wants them, but very interesting. It’s not clear why they need so many. Their economy is hurting, so why do they foresee needing so many flights?]

Source: https://www.supplychainbrain.com/articles/42375-boeing-in-talks-to-sell-as-many-as-500-planes-to-china