Nov 21
The Daily Planet staff grows with The Righteous Gemstones star Skyler Gisondo joining Warner Bros.’ Superman: Legacy as Jimmy Olsen.
Nov 21
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao steps down as CEO, will plead guilty to federal charges
Posted in: Today's ChiliBinance CEO Changpeng Zhao is set to plead guilty to federal money laundering charges and step down from his position at the company he founded. Zhao and the cryptocurrency exchange have reached a plea deal with the government, which conducted a multi-year investigation into the company, CNBC reports. As part of the settlement, Binance will forfeit $2.5 billion and pay a $1.8 billion fine. Zhao is slated to personally pay $50 million.
Zhao will be prohibited from having any involvement with Binance for three years. As part of the plea deal, Zhao will plead guilty later on Tuesday to violating and causing a financial institution to violate the Bank Secrecy Act, according to Reuters.
Binance, Zhao and others were accused of failing to institute an effective anti-money laundering program. According to the Justice Department, they willfully violated economic sanctions “in a deliberate and calculated effort to profit from the US market without implementing controls required by US law.” Court documents state that the lack of anti-money laundering measures led to Binance facilitating almost $900 million in financial transactions in violation of sanctions against Iran between 2018 and 2022.
In a statement, Zhao confirmed he is stepping down as CEO, with the company’s former global head of regional markets Richard Teng taking over the top job. “Today, I stepped down as CEO of Binance,” Zhao wrote on X. “Admittedly, it was not easy to let go emotionally. But I know it is the right thing to do. I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility. This is best for our community, for Binance, and for myself.”
Zhao now plans to take a break before perhaps getting more involved in investing. However, “I can’t see myself being a CEO driving a startup again. I am content being an one-shot (lucky) entrepreneur.”
Today, I stepped down as CEO of Binance. Admittedly, it was not easy to let go emotionally. But I know it is the right thing to do. I made mistakes, and I must take responsibility. This is best for our community, for Binance, and for myself.
Binance is no longer a baby. It is…
— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) November 21, 2023
The settlement resolves criminal charges related to breaching sanctions regulations, conspiracy and conducting an unlicensed money transmitter business. Meanwhile, former compliance chief Samuel Lim will reportedly face charges as part of the deal.
This is a major settlement between the company and agencies such as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Treasury Department. The CFTC charged Binance, Zhao and Lim with violating its rules, as well as the Commodity Exchange Act, earlier this year.
“Binance turned a blind eye to its legal obligations in the pursuit of profit. Its willful failures allowed money to flow to terrorists, cybercriminals, and child abusers through its platform,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement. “Today’s historic penalties and monitorship to ensure compliance with US law and regulations mark a milestone for the virtual currency industry. Any institution, wherever located, that wants to reap the benefits of the US financial system must also play by the rules that keep us all safe from terrorists, foreign adversaries, and crime, or face the consequences.”
Binance will remain in operation, albeit under stricter rules. It will need to ensure it abides by anti-money laundering regulations by beefing up its compliance program. The company will also have to appoint an independent compliance monitor.
In June, the Securities and Exchange Commission sued Binance and Zhao, alleging that they helped US traders bypass restrictions and violated securities laws by, among other things, mishandling funds. The SEC also claimed that (in similar allegations to those laid against rival exchange FTX) Binance commingled billions of dollars of customer money with the company’s own funds. The SEC charges were not resolved in this settlement.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/binance-founder-changpeng-zhao-steps-down-as-ceo-will-plead-guilty-to-federal-charges-210627469.html?src=rss
Nov 21
Bruce Willis’ Daughter Rumer Posts About ‘Really Missing’ Her Dad Amid Cognitive Issues
Posted in: Today's ChiliThe “Die Hard” star retired from acting last year after he was diagnosed with aphasia.
Nov 21
With the strikes over, work is back up and running in a galaxy far, far away. First up, Star Wars: Ahsoka creator Dave Filoni has been promoted to a much bigger creative role. Second, he and his team are finally able to speak about all the huge revelations at the end of the latest Star Wars Disney+ show.
Nov 21
AutoZone alerted authorities on Tuesday that it had been a victim of the Clop ransomware gang’s MOVEit attacks earlier this year. According to a breach notification filed with the Office of the Maine Attorney General, the data leak from the auto parts retailer impacted 184,995 people. The hackers acquired personal information, including full names and social security numbers, the notification said.
The incident happened in May, as a part of a string of attacks linked to Clop. The hackers exploited a vulnerability in file transfer software MOVEit, attacking more then 2,000 organizations and impacting 62 million people, according to researchers at Emsisoft.
AutoZone realized it had fallen victim to the Clop attack in August, but it didn’t suss out what data had been affected by the attack until earlier this month. That said, Clop claimed responsibility for an attack on AutoZone in July, publishing 1.1GB of internal and employee data from the auto retailer, according to Bleeping Computer.
“AutoZone became aware that an unauthorized third party exploited a vulnerability associated with MOVEit and exfiltrated certain data from an AutoZone system that supports the MOVEit application,” AutoZone wrote in a notification to customers. It’s unclear which parts of the AutoZone systems the Clop hackers accessed and, although the Maine notification says social security numbers had been leaked, AutoZone did not provide any specifics.
AutoZone rakes in $17.5 billion in revenue each year, operating more than 7,000 retail locations.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/autozone-warns-almost-185000-customers-of-a-data-breach-202533437.html?src=rss
Nov 21
Whether you’re getting a head start on holiday gifts, want to splurge on some goodies for yourself or have been saving up for a home upgrade, Amazon has you covered.
Nov 21
Halloween is spooky and all, but—if movies are anything to go by—Christmas is the holiday that really sets off knife-wielding fiends who enjoy dress-up. If you have Shudder, you have a wealth of choices at your fingertips; we’ve assembled a list of movies you can watch right now, as well as a few coming very soon.
Nov 21
Meta’s Content Library provides researchers with digital ‘clean room’ for data access
Posted in: Today's ChiliMeta announced that it is rolling out new tools that will give eligible researchers access to data from its social media apps Facebook and Instagram in an effort to “support public interest research.” The Meta Content Library and Content Library API tools, which were previously made available for beta testing, will share real-time information about the user-generated content including metrics like the number of times a Reel on Instagram is viewed or the amount of posts that are made on a Facebook page.
The Meta Content Library will exist on the web through a controlled-access “clean room” that prohibits the export of data. All analysis and review of the real-time content from Facebook and Instagram will be done through an API that has search capabilities. The company’s data search tools will only be available for “eligible researchers and professionals” who will need to be pre-approved. Research groups or individuals seeking to gain access to Meta’s data will need to fill out an application through a form and provide a detailed explanation about the mission of the research project in question and who is involved. Final approval is subject to an independent review by the ICPSR. Once granted access to the API, Meta says there are no fees associated with access to the Content Library.
The new tools, while they may be forging a pathway for data access, are similar to — and in some ways more limited than — what Meta has previously provided to researchers hoping to understand how content circulates on its apps. There’s also every reason to be skeptical. Meta’s Open Research and Transparency team, which similarly developed a researcher API and platform, was the subject of criticism when in 2021 it was caught allegedly sending incomplete and inaccurate data to researchers. That same group of researchers at N.Y.U.’s Center for Cybersecurity later had their API access completely revoked by the company.
The new Content Library and API probably won’t do much to stave off public pressure after years of backlash over how it regulates misinformation and harmful content. Meta has also been under fire for how it moderates content related to the war in Gaza and for how it plans to prevent the proliferation fake content related to the upcoming US presidential election. To top things off, Meta is currently facing a lawsuit filed by 41 states over how it allegedly harms younger users. A highly gatekept API may not be the show of goodwill the company needs to convince regulators it has the public’s best interest at heart.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/metas-content-library-provides-researchers-with-digital-clean-room-for-data-access-190829440.html?src=rss
Nov 21
Teenage Engineering just revealed a, uh, toy car/doodad that costs $250. Yes, it’s $250 for a little piece of metal with wheels that you can roll around a desk for a bit before getting bored. The company tends to releases two kinds of products. There are the extremely expensive, yet pretty darn cool, audio devices and, well, everything else. Today’s surprise release falls squarely in the latter camp.
This might not be quite as egregious as the company’s $1,600 desk that you have to assemble yourself or those little wooden dolls that cost $2,000, but it’s still a doodad that should cost around $2.50, and not $250. Teenage Engineering says its Grip Car is made from aluminum and features smooth ball bearing rubber wheels. The use case scenarios here seem endless, with the company suggesting folks “move it in any direction” or put it on their shelf. Wait, those are the only two.
Teenage Engineering
The Grip Car is available in three colors, to those curious, so you’ll have your pick of red, black or aluminum. It was created by Danish designer Anders Hermansen, who has previously worked with companies like Bang & Olufsen to help make some of its in-wall speakers, among other products.
Incidentally, the official Teenage Engineering website has been acting peculiarly lately, with an abundance of symbols that seem to advertise some kind of announcement for tomorrow. The company confirmed to Engadget that the Grip Car isn’t part of this forthcoming announcement and to keep an eye out for a press release tomorrow afternoon. The announcement looks to be audio-related, due to the floating icons on the site, but it remains unknown if it’ll be hardware or software.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/teenage-engineering-made-a-toy-car-that-costs-250-194638118.html?src=rss
Nov 21
“Such a weird thing to say,” Fox News host Ainsley Earhardt said of the president’s birthday joke.
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