r67 jy by darielsoreale

SUMMARY

BOOM: ELEVATE YOUR LISTENING EXPERIENCE ON iOS AND ANDROID MAGNET MILESTONES MOVE DISTANT NUCLEAR FUSION DREAM CLOSER iPHONE 13: BREAKTHROUGH CAMERA INNOVATIONS & BIGGER BATTERY INTERNET FUNDING RULE COULD FAVOR RURAL AREAS OVER CITIES

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AMAZON BRINGS PALM-SWIPING TECH TO RED ROCKS CONCERT VENUE 40 UN URGES MORATORIUM ON USE OF AI THAT IMPERILS HUMAN RIGHTS 46 APPLE FIXES SECURITY HOLE REPORTEDLY USED TO HACK AN IPHONE 84 BILLIONAIRE COHEN TO INVEST IN NEW CRYPTO TRADING FIRM RADKL 106 WALMART QUASHES CRYPTOCURRENCY PARTNERSHIP CLAIM 112 GENERAL PROMISES US ‘SURGE’ AGAINST FOREIGN CYBERATTACKS 120 DOORDASH, GRUBHUB, UBER EATS SUE NYC OVER PANDEMIC FEE CAPS 126 3 FORMER US OFFICIALS CHARGED IN UAE HACKING SCHEME 134 EPIC GAMES APPEALS RULING IN LAWSUIT ALLEGING APPLE MONOPOLY 142 DEALING TORTURE AND GUILT IN ‘THE CARD COUNTER’ 162 IN ‘QUEENPINS,’ A KITCHEN SINK FULL OF IDEAS 172 PANDEMIC HASN’T DIMMED BOEING’S ROSY PREDICTION FOR PLANES 190 BEAT YOUR SUMMER ‘REVENGE SHOPPING’ DEBT 196 EU CHIEF OUTLINES AMBITIOUS PLAN TO BOOST BLOC’S CHIPMAKING 204 DUTCH COURT: UBER DRIVERS COVERED BY TAXI LABOR AGREEMENT 208 SKOREA TO FINE GOOGLE $177M FOR FORCING SOFTWARE ON DEVICES 212

MOVIES & TV SHOWS 146 MUSIC 154 TOP 10 ALBUMS 180 TOP 10 MUSIC VIDEOS 182 TOP 10 TV SHOWS 184 TOP 10 BOOKS 186 TOP 10 SONGS 188

Elevate your listening experience on iOS and Android

In recent years, our iPhones have become much more than just our iPhones: they’re where we work, where we hang out with friends, and where we relax and unwind after a long day. It is no surprise, therefore, to learn that we’re listening to more music and engaging with more content on our devices, too, from the latest series of The Morning Show on Apple TV+ to the long-awaited DONDA album from Kayne West, there’s so much going on that we need to listen to. Add into the mix the rise of audiobooks as well as podcasts, fueled by platforms like Apple Podcasts Subscriptions, and it’s clear why millions are buying AirPods and Beats. And though those headphones offer a great listening experience, whether we’re at home or on the go, there are now apps on the market that claim to elevate the listening experience on your iPhone and iPad even further. One of those is Boom, the bass booster and equalizer that’s available on the App Store right now. It uses a patented 3D audio technology to deliver the most realistic, immersive sound experience on any headset, extracting spatial cues from your music to render them in three-dimensional clarity, offering intense listening experiences that are designed to catapult you into the music; you’ll likely feel you’re there in the studio. Boom is now available as a free download on the Apple App Store for iPhones and iPads, and there’s a dedicated version for Android devices too should you have a Samsung or Huawei handset. The developer says that the app could “change the way you listen” by offering a “virtual surround sound experience for your music” - and it does exactly what it says on the tin. 11

With magical 3D surround sound, as well as 29 handcrafted equalizer presets for you to choose from, you can take your listening experience even further, whether you’re listening to Lady Gaga or Queen. For more experienced music fans and professionals, the fully customizable app also offers both 8 and 16-band custom equalizers, and it’s possible to stream from both Spotify and TIDAL using Boom FX. What’s more, the app supports hi-resolution audio, and it hosts more than 40,000 radio and podcast streaming stations, offering endless entertainment on the go.

EXPERIENCE THE ESSENCE OF EACH BEAT Apple made some significant changes to its music streaming service earlier in the year, adding support for lossless audio and Spatial Audio for the first time. For those with AirPods or Beats headphones, the result was almost immediately obvious, allowing performers to showcase their music and artistry in the way they originally intended. Boom takes this one step further by allowing you to experience the very best sound quality across all of your favorite music and audio experience on your iPhone and Android device, not just music on your Apple Music subscription. The developers say that the app offers a “pursuit of mastery, skillfully crafted to change the way you listen as you enrich your listening experience”, with the app coming packed with elite features that will immerse you into the essence of each beat. This really is an app for those who take their music seriously, and the best part is that there’s a companion app for both Windows and macOS, so if you familiarize yourself with the controls and user interface on your smartphone, you can enjoy the same experience on your computer when you want to listen to music and audio files in high-res on the big screen. It’s no wonder why the app was featured by the App Store, with its editor calling it a “sleek and easy-to-use interface” that allows users to “free your music of that compressed feel, breathing new life into every nuance of your favorite tracks — just the way the artists intended.” The App Store Editor said that the app “boasts a range of features to deliver that edge, including a mind-blowing 3D Surround 15

setting, equalizers, and audio intensity effects designed to work with any headphones. Once you’ve heard your choicest tracks on Boom, there’ll be no going back,” and we’d agree with every word having tried out the software for ourselves. Perhaps one of the most interesting and unique features of the app is that it works on any headset - you can enjoy the same realistic, captivating sound whether you have a $500 pair of AirPods Max, or you’re using the free EarPods from your iPhone 6.

DELVING INTO THE DETAIL With the Boom app available to download on your iOS device for free, with a free trial also available, it makes sense to try out the software for yourself. However, we thought we’d run through some of the biggest and most useful features of the app to help you determine whether it’s right for your needs. Boom uses a patented 3D Surround Audio Engine, making it head and shoulders above the competition, allowing users to immerse themselves into a magical 3D surround-sound experience, and thanks to an advanced equalizer preset, you can experience your favorite music through different equalizers that work for you. Each of Boom’s presets has been curated to perfection to match the varied choices in music, from rap and dubstep to classical music and spoken word, with everything in between. If you’re looking for a deeper level of customization and integration, you’ll be pleased to know that the app offers the option to craft your own equalizer, so you can enjoy your music in your own way. This makes Boom the ideal app for those who enjoy tinkering with settings and equalizers to create playback that just makes sense, whether you’re 19

Boom 3D Desktop: Overview Bass Booster & Equalizer 20

listening to music from your favorite artists, or perhaps even listening back to your own music before you head off onto the stage - it’s no wonder why musicians and DJs have Boom installed on their phones. For those who love to feel the pulse, Boom comes with a Bass Boost option, so you can have your favorite tracks delivered in all of their glory. This is super useful for those who love to work out and want to experience pumping, heavy music when they’re running or on the exercise bike. Another benefit to Boom is that it offers users the opportunity to access and

manage multiple libraries - ideal for those who work in the music industry. You can not only access music from the library on your phone, but also connect your Dropbox and Google Drive account to Boom, and download tracks to store on your phone and listen to at your leisure. Considering how Apple is becoming increasingly closed-off with its Apple Music library, it’s never been a better time to invest in a dedicated music library and playback app for your phone - and Boom offers this out of the box, with dozens of more features on top. Another reason why we rate Boom so highly above similar apps on the market is that it offers an eye-catching, user-friendly interface that’s clean, minimal, and easy to use. Its Dark Mode means that your music is front and center. What’s more, Boom supports CarPlay as standard, allowing you to access your music on

a compatible infotainment system when your phone is connected - ideal if you’ve created a new preset for one of your favorite playlists. Boom is available to try for free on the App Store for seven days, after which you’ll enter into a 1 month, 6 months or 1 year subscription to access its features. You can find out more about Boom Mobile and hear from hundreds of satisfied customers on the Global Delight website, and you can check out the AppleMagazine review of the Boom for Mac app on our website.

MAGNET MILESTONES MOVE DISTANT NUCLEAR FUSION DREAM CLOSER

Teams working on two continents have marked similar milestones in their respective efforts to tap an energy source key to the fight against climate change: They’ve each produced very impressive magnets. Scientists at the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor in southern France took delivery of the first part of a massive magnet so strong its American manufacturer claims it can lift an aircraft carrier. Almost 60 feet (nearly 20 meters) tall and 14 feet (more than four meters) in diameter when fully assembled, the magnet is a crucial component in the attempt by 35 nations to master nuclear fusion. Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists and a private company announced separately this week that they, too, have hit a milestone 31

with the successful test of the world’s strongest high temperature superconducting magnet that may allow the team to leapfrog ITER in the race to build a ‘sun on earth.’ Unlike existing fission reactors that produce radioactive waste and sometimes catastrophic meltdowns, proponents of fusion say it offers a clean and virtually limitless supply of energy. If, that is, scientists and engineers can figure out how to harness it — they have been working on the problem for nearly a century. Rather than splitting atoms, fusion mimics a process that occurs naturally in stars to meld two hydrogen atoms together and produce a helium atom — as well as a whole load of energy. Achieving fusion requires unimaginable amounts of heat and pressure. One approach to achieving that is to turn the hydrogen into an electrically charged gas, or plasma, which is then controlled in a donut-shaped vacuum chamber. This is done with the help of powerful superconducting magnets such as the ‘central solenoid’ that General Atomics began shipping from San Diego to France this summer. Scientists say ITER is now 75% complete and they aim to fire up the reactor by early 2026. “Each completion of a major first-of-a-kind component — such as the central solenoid’s first module — increases our confidence that we can complete the complex engineering of the full machine,” said ITER’s spokesman Laban Coblentz. The ultimate goal is to produce ten times more energy by 2035 than is required to heat up the plasma, thereby proving that fusion technology is viable. 32

Among those hoping to beat them to the prize is the team in Massachusetts, which said it has managed to create magnetic field twice that of ITER’s with a magnet about 40 times smaller. The scientists from MIT and Commonwealth Fusion Systems said they may have a device ready for everyday use in the early 2030s. “This was designed to be commercial,” said MIT Vice President Maria Zuber, a prominent physicist. “This was not designed to be a science experiment.” While not designed to produce electricity itself, ITER would also serve as the blueprint for similar but more sophisticated reactors if it is successful. Proponents of the project argue that even if it fails, the countries involved will have mastered technical skills that can be used in other fields, from particle physics to designing advanced materials capable of withstanding the heat of the sun. All nations contributing to the project — including the United States, Russia, China, Japan, India, South Korea and much of Europe — share in the $20 billion cost and benefit jointly from the scientific results and intellectual property generated. The central solenoid is just one of 12 large U.S. contributions to ITER, each of which is built by American companies, with funds allocated by Congress going toward U.S. jobs. “Having the first module safely delivered to the ITER facility is such a triumph because every part of the manufacturing process had to be designed from the ground up,” said John Smith, director of engineering and projects at General Atomics. 35

The company spent years developing new technologies and methods to make and move the magnet parts, including coils weighing 250,000 pounds, across their facility and then around the globe. “The engineering know-how that was established during this period is going to be invaluable for future projects of this scale,” said Smith. “The goal of ITER is to prove that fusion can be a viable and economically practical source of energy, but we are already looking ahead at what comes next,” he added. “That’s going to be key to making fusion work commercially, and we now have a good idea of what needs to happen to get there.” Betting on nuclear energy — first fission and then fusion — is still the world’s best chance drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050, said Frederick Bordry, who oversaw the design and construction of another fiendishly complex scientific machine, the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. “When we speak about the cost of ITER, it’s peanuts in comparison with the impact of climate change,” he said. “We will have to have the money for it.”

Simply Better Living

SUPERSTEAM+ BUILT-IN WALL OVEN ™

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The Sharp® SuperSteam+ Built-In Wall Oven is the start of a cooking revolution. With Wi-Fi enabled IoT features, the innovations within this steam oven are a perfect match for modern cooking needs. While regular steam only reaches 212°F, the SuperSteam+ oven can create superheated steam up to 485°F. Steam this hot can roast meats and caramelize sugars so your food can be brown and crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside. With the Sharp SuperSteam+ Oven, you can grill without smoke, roast without drying, and get the roasty-toasty, tasty results you desire.

SEE FOR YOURSELF

Get started right away with built-in recipes and download the Sharp SuperSteam+ Oven app* to enable the smart features and access custom recipes powered by SideChef.

The new Sharp SuperSteam+ Built-In Wall Oven features Steam Bake for superior breads, and Water Bath for cheesecakes, custards and puddings.

www.sharpusa.com | simplybetterliving.sharpusa.com *Mobile Application and Home Assistant Skill available upon commercial release. © 2020 Sharp Electronics Corporation. All rights reserved. Sharp, Supersteam™ Oven and all related trademarks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sharp Corporation and/or its affiliated entities. Product specifications and design are subject to change without notice. Internal capacity calculated by measuring maximum width, depth and height. Actual capacity for holding food is less.

AMAZON BRINGS PALMSWIPING TECH TO RED ROCKS CONCERT VENUE

Your palm could soon be your ticket into a concert. Amazon says it is bringing its palm-recognition technology to the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver and it will be available at other venues in the coming months. It’s the first time the technology, called Amazon One, will be used outside some of Amazon’s stores, where shoppers can pay for groceries and snacks by swiping their palms. Starting Tuesday, concertgoers at Red Rocks can sign up to connect their palm to a ticketing account by hovering their hand over a device. They only need to sign up once and then can use their palm to get into other shows and events at the venue. An Amazon account is not needed to use it. 40

Image: Amazon

Amazon signed a deal with entertainment company AEG to bring the technology to Red Rocks, which sells tickets on AEG’s ticketing site, AXS. Bryan Perez, CEO of AXS, said other venues plan to add the technology in the coming months but he declined to say where or how many. AEG partners with more than 350 stadiums and theaters around the world. Concertgoers can get to their seats faster with their palm than holding up their phone to an attendant to scan a bar code, Perez said. Those who want to scan their palms will have a separate lane to enter. “You don’t have to fumble around with your phone,” said Perez. “Your hand is always attached to your body.” Privacy experts have warned against companies using biometric data, such as face or palm scans, because of the risk of it being hacked and stolen. Amazon said it keeps the palm images in a secure part of its cloud and doesn’t store the information on the Amazon One device. Users can also ask for their information to be deleted at any time, Amazon said.

UN URGES MORATORIUM ON USE OF AI THAT IMPERILS HUMAN RIGHTS

The U.N. human rights chief is calling for a moratorium on the use of artificial intelligence technology that poses a serious risk to human rights, including face-scanning systems that track people in public spaces. Michelle Bachelet, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, also said that countries should expressly ban AI applications which don’t comply with international human rights law. Applications that should be prohibited include government “social scoring” systems that judge 46

people based on their behavior and certain AIbased tools that categorize people into clusters such as by ethnicity or gender. AI-based technologies can be a force for good but they can also “have negative, even catastrophic, effects if they are used without sufficient regard to how they affect people’s human rights,” Bachelet said in a statement. Her comments came along with a new U.N. report that examines how countries and businesses have rushed into applying AI systems that affect people’s lives and livelihoods without setting up proper safeguards to prevent discrimination and other harms. “This is not about not having AI,” Peggy Hicks, the rights office’s director of thematic engagement, told journalists as she presented the report in Geneva. “It’s about recognizing that if AI is going to be used in these human rights — very critical — function areas, that it’s got to be done the right way. And we simply haven’t yet put in place a framework that ensures that happens.” Bachelet didn’t call for an outright ban of facial recognition technology, but said governments should halt the scanning of people’s features in real time until they can show the technology is accurate, won’t discriminate and meets certain privacy and data protection standards. While countries weren’t mentioned by name in the report, China has been among the countries that have rolled out facial recognition technology — particularly for surveillance in the western region of Xinjiang, where many of its minority Uyghers live. The key authors of the report said naming specific countries wasn’t 48

part of their mandate and doing so could even be counterproductive. “In the Chinese context, as in other contexts, we are concerned about transparency and discriminatory applications that addresses particular communities,” said Hicks. She cited several court cases in the United States and Australia where artificial intelligence had been wrongly applied.. The report also voices wariness about tools that try to deduce people’s emotional and mental states by analyzing their facial expressions or body movements, saying such technology is susceptible to bias, misinterpretations and lacks scientific basis. “The use of emotion recognition systems by public authorities, for instance for singling out individuals for police stops or arrests or to assess the veracity of statements during interrogations, risks undermining human rights, such as the rights to privacy, to liberty and to a fair trial,” the report says. The report’s recommendations echo the thinking of many political leaders in Western democracies, who hope to tap into AI’s economic and societal potential while addressing growing concerns about the reliability of tools that can track and profile individuals and make recommendations about who gets access to jobs, loans and educational opportunities. European regulators have already taken steps to rein in the riskiest AI applications. Proposed regulations outlined by European Union officials this year would ban some uses of AI, such as real-time scanning of facial features, 50

and tightly control others that could threaten people’s safety or rights. U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has voiced similar concerns, though it hasn’t yet outlined a detailed approach to curtailing them. A newly formed group called the Trade and Technology Council, jointly led by American and European officials, has sought to collaborate on developing shared rules for AI and other tech policy. Efforts to limit the riskiest uses of AI have been backed by Microsoft and other U.S. tech giants that hope to guide the rules affecting the technology. Microsoft has worked with and provided funding to the U.N. rights office to help improve its use of technology, but funding for the report came through the rights office’s regular budget, Hicks said. Western countries have been at the forefront of expressing concerns about the discriminatory use of AI. “If you think about the ways that AI could be used in a discriminatory fashion, or to further strengthen discriminatory tendencies, it is pretty scary,” said U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo during a virtual conference in June. “We have to make sure we don’t let that happen.” She was speaking with Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission’s executive vice president for the digital age, who suggested some AI uses should be off-limits completely in “democracies like ours.” She cited social scoring, which can close off someone’s privileges in society, and the “broad, blanket use of remote biometric identification in public space.”

iPhone 13 Breakthrough camera innovations & bigger battery

This year’s iPhone upgrades were never going to be as dramatic as last year’s when Apple overhauled the smartphone and introduced 5G connectivity for the first time, but that’s not to say the iPhone 13 series doesn’t pack its punch. With improved cameras, more storage, and a bunch of under-the-hood features, the world’s greatest smartphone just got even better.

INTRODUCING THE iPHONE 13 FAMILY At a virtual event titled California Streaming, Tim Cook and Co took to the stage to show off what they had been working on over the past year. True to form, this year’s iPhone upgrades aren’t quite as dramatic as the year prior - in fact, this year’s iPhone could very much be sold under an iPhone 12S moniker - but they’re still

worthy additions. Apple has tweaked the design of the model this year with sleek flat edges and five new color options on the mini and standard variant, adding the most advanced dual-camera system ever on iPhone, and an even bigger change on the Pro and Pro Max models. That’s on top of the introduction of the A15 Bionic chip, which offers improved performance, longer battery life, and a new 128GB entry-level storage capacity at no extra cost to consumers. The new iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini will be available in Pink, Blue, Midnight, Starlight, and (PRODUCT)RED shipping from September 24, whilst the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max will be available in four stunning finishes, including graphite, gold, silver, and the allnew sierra blue color option.

Speaking of this year’s iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini, Greg Joswiak, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, said: “Both phones have beautiful designs, industryleading performance, and advanced camera systems with impressive computational photography features, all with incredible durability, water resistance, and a big jump in battery life to ensure customers can depend

on their iPhone when they need it. All of this, tightly integrated with iOS 15 and with privacy built-in, make iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini an unbeatable choice.” For the Pro and Pro Max variants, he added: “iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max make up our most pro iPhone lineup ever with the biggest advancement for our camera system, the best battery life ever in an iPhone, and the fastest performance of any smartphone, setting a new standard for iPhone and enabling incredible experiences never before possible. The new pro camera system offers even more pro photography capabilities like improved telephoto zoom, macro photography, Photographic Styles, Cinematic mode, as well as ProRes and Dolby Vision video. The Super Retina XDR display with ProMotion is our best display ever; it intelligently responds to the content on your screen, offers fantastic graphics performance, and is perfect for any viewing experience.”

ELEVATING THE iPHONE EXPERIENCE Although the iPhone 13 may look similar to the iPhone 12 in terms of design, Apple has redesigned them from the inside out with a durable flat-edge design and an elegant aluminum frame. On the 13 and 13 mini, the displays come with Ceramic Shield on the front, as well as an industry-leading IP68 rating for water resistance, and a redesigned rear camera layout with diagonally arranged lenses enables the advanced dual-camera system. Apple says it’s improved the Super Retina XDR OLED displays to offer an even more powerful contrast ratio, with a 28% increase in max outdoor brightness. That’s alongside new battery 62

improvements, which were made possible by the A15 Bionic chip. According to Apple, the iPhone 13 offers two and a half more hours of battery than the iPhone 12. On the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max, Apple has introduced the Super Retina XDR with ProMotion, which offers adaptive refresh rates of 10Hz to 120Hz, for fast frame rates when users need it and preserving battery life when they don’t. It’s the brightest display ever on iPhone with up to 25% higher max outdoor brightness, at 1000 nits, ideal for on-the-go and at home, too.

PUTTING THE PRO INTO iPHONE In recent years, the only real distinction between the iPhone and the iPhone Pro has been its camera modules, and this year’s models are no different. On the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max, Apple has introduced new sensors and lenses for all three rear cameras, optimized to work seamlessly with iOS 15. They’re powered by the new image signal processor (ISP) in A15 Bionic for improved noise reduction and tone mapping, making the iPhone 13 Pro lineup features the best camera system ever on iPhone. Apple has added a new Wide camera with a

larger sensor offering 1.9 µm pixels, the largest ever on iPhone, which results in less noise and faster shutter speeds to deliver more detailed photos, whilst the larger ƒ/1.5 aperture Wide camera on iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max works better in low-light settings. Apple also includes sensor-shift optical image stabilization on both of its Pro models, which helps to stabilize the sensor instead of the lens, so images are smooth and video is steady. Apple’s new Ultra-Wide camera on the Pro and Pro Max models offers a wider ƒ/1.8 aperture and a new autofocus system, resulting in a 92% improvement for low-light environments. The new lens offers autofocus capability for the first time on the Ultra-Wide camera, allowing for macro photography. Users can create sharp and stunning images where objects can appear larger than life, whilst a new Telephoto camera allows users to get closer to subjects when recording video to create framed portraits - ideal for professionals. And it’s not just the Pro and Pro Max models that have been given some love in the camera department; Apple offers a “massive leap” for the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini, too. The company has introduced a new Wide camera with 1.7 µm pixels, and it can gather 47% more light for less noise and brighter results. Sensorshift OIS, tech that was previously exclusive to the iPhone 12 Pro Max camera, is now available on both entry-level models. It’s video where iPhone 13 comes into its own, and back to the Proa and Pro Max models, Apple has introduced ProRes, an advanced video codec used widely as the final delivery 69

format for commercials, feature films, and broadcasts. The company showed off the tech in a short Whodunnit featurette, showcasing professionally shot footage from the iPhone camera that looked like something from a Hollywood blockbuster. Thanks to new camera hardware, flash storage, and advanced video encoders and decoders on the A15 Bionic chip, Apple allows users to capture, edit, and share content in Dolby Vision or ProRes; a significant feat.

DELIVERING MORE WITH THE A15 BIONIC CHIP Speaking of that chip, let’s delve deeper into the A15 Bionic. One of the biggest advantages of Apple creating its own chips is that it can maximize power and efficiency, creating iPhones that stand out from the crowd and deliver superior performance. With 5-nanometre technology, A15 Bionic — the fastest chip in a smartphone — features a new 5-core GPU in the Pro lineup which allows Apple to offer consumers the fastest graphics performance in any smartphone - Apple says it’s up to 50% faster than the leading competition, meaning users can use video apps and enjoy high-performance gaming experiences without worrying about their smartphone dropping out. The chip comes packed with a 16-core Neural Engine capable of 15.8 trillion operations per second, allowing for even faster machine learning computations for third-party app experiences, as well as noise reduction and tone mapping.

iOS 15, released on September 20, was designed with the A15 Bionic chip in mind, and consumers should find that apps are even punchier than they were with iOS 14 and the A14. Thanks to enhanced optimizations, the A15 Bionic allows for more power-efficient components on the iPhone, and alongside a larger battery, this year’s iPhones offer the most battery capacity than on any previous model. Naturally, the larger iPhone 13 Pro Max offers the longest battery life on the iPhone, lasting two and a half hours longer than the iPhone 12 Pro Max - the iPhone 13 Pro offers one and a half hours of additional battery life, as well.

BRINGING 5G TO MORE PLACES Apple might not have been the first company to introduce 5G to its smartphones, but last year’s iPhone 12 release made Apple the biggest seller of 5G-enabled devices, practically overnight. What’s interesting to note, however, is that 5G rollouts have slowed around the world as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Apple wants to help more consumers in other territories access faster speeds as soon as possible. Thanks to customized hardware design across the entire iPhone 13 range, the models now feature more 5G bands, meaning they can work in more places on 5G for greater coverage and performance. By the end of this year, Apple says support for 5G on iPhone will double to over 200 carriers in 60 countries, and thanks to SharePlay coming to iOS 15 soon, users around the world can enjoy shared experiences such as watching Apple TV+ shows with family in other countries.

Though changes to this year’s iPhone lineup might be more subtle than in years come by, Apple continues to refine the world’s greatest smartphone and introduces features that will keep us occupied for another 12 months.

With greater battery life, faster speeds, and impressive new camera functionality, we can’t wait to get our hands on the iPhone 13.

APPLE FIXES SECURITY HOLE REPORTEDLY USED TO HACK AN IPHONE

Apple released a critical software patch to fix a security vulnerability that researchers said could allow hackers to directly infect iPhones and other Apple devices without any user action. Researchers at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab said the security issue was exploited to plant spyware on a Saudi activist’s iPhone. They said they had high confidence that the world’s most infamous hacker-for-hire firm, Israel’s NSO Group, was behind that attack. The previously unknown vulnerability affected all major Apple devices — iPhones, Macs and Apple Watches, the researchers said. NSO Group responded with a one-sentence statement saying it will continue providing tools for fighting “terror and crime.” 84

It was the first time a so-called “zero-click” exploit — one that doesn’t require users to click on suspect links or open infected files — has been caught and analyzed, the researchers said. They found the malicious code on Sept. 7 and immediately alerted Apple. The targeted activist asked to remain anonymous, they said. “We’re not necessarily attributing this attack to the Saudi government,” said researcher Bill Marczak. Citizen Lab previously found evidence of zero-click exploits being used to hack into the phones of al-Jazeera journalists and other targets, but hasn’t previously seen the malicious code itself. Although security experts say that average iPhone, iPad and Mac user generally need not worry — such attacks tend to be limited to specific targets — the discovery still alarmed security professionals. Malicious image files were transmitted to the activist’s phone via the iMessage instantmessaging app before it was hacked with NSO’s Pegasus spyware, which opens a phone to eavesdropping and remote data theft, Marczak said. It was discovered during a second examination of the phone, which forensics showed had been infected in March. He said the malicious file causes devices to crash. Citizen Lab says the case reveals, once again, that NSO Group is allowing its spyware to be used against ordinary civilians. In a blog post, Apple said it was issuing a security update for iPhones and iPads because a “maliciously crafted” PDF file could lead to them being hacked. It said it was aware that the issue may have been exploited and cited Citizen Lab.

In a subsequent statement, Apple security chief Ivan Krstić commended Citizen Lab and said such exploits “are not a threat to the overwhelming majority of our users.” He noted, as he has in the past, that such exploits typically cost millions of dollars to develop and often have a short shelf life. Apple didn’t respond to questions regarding whether this was the first time it had patched a zero-click vulnerability. Users should get alerts on their iPhones prompting them to update the phone’s iOS software. Those who want to jump the gun can go into the phone settings, click “General” then “Software Update,” and trigger the patch update directly. Citizen Lab called the iMessage exploit FORCEDENTRY and said it was effective against Apple iOS, MacOS and WatchOS devices. It urged people to immediately install security updates. Researcher John Scott-Railton said the news highlights the importance of securing popular messaging apps against such attacks. “Chat apps are increasingly becoming a major way that nation-states and mercenary hackers are gaining access to phones,” he said. “And it’s why it’s so important that companies focus on making sure that they are as locked down as possible.” The researchers said it also undermines NSO Group’s claims that it only sells its spyware to law enforcement officials for use against criminals and terrorists and audits its customers to ensure it’s not abused. “If Pegasus was only being used against criminals and terrorists, we never would have found this stuff,” said Marczak.

Facebook’s WhatsApp was also allegedly targeted by an NSO zero-click exploit. In October 2019, Facebook sued NSO in U.S. federal court for allegedly targeting some 1,400 users of the encrypted messaging service with spyware. In July, a global media consortium published a damning report on how clients of NSO Group have been spying for years on journalists, human rights activists, political dissidents, and people close to them, with the hacker-for-hire group directly involved in the targeting. Amnesty International said it confirmed 37 successful Pegasus infections based on a leaked targeting list whose origin was not disclosed. One case involved the fiancee of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi just four days after he was killed in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018. The CIA attributed the murder to the Saudi government. The recent revelations also prompted calls for an investigation into whether Hungary’s right-wing government used Pegasus to secretly monitor critical journalists, lawyers and business figures. India’s parliament also erupted in protests as opposition lawmakers accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of using NSO Groups’ product to spy on political opponents and others. France is also trying to get to the bottom of allegations that President Emmanuel Macron and members of his government may have been targeted in 2019 by an unidentified Moroccan security service using Pegasus. Morocco, a key French ally, denied those reports and is taking legal action to counter allegations implicating the North African kingdom in the spyware scandal.

INTERNET FUNDING RULE COULD FAVOR RURAL AREAS OVER CITIES

Cities and urban counties across the U.S. are raising concerns that a recent rule from President Joe Biden’s administration could preclude them from tapping into $350 billion of coronavirus relief aid to expand high-speed internet connections. Biden has set a goal of delivering fast, affordable internet to every American household. The massive American Rescue Plan took a step toward that by including broadband infrastructure among the primary uses for pandemic aid flowing to each city, county and state. But an interim rule published by the U.S. Treasury Department has narrowed the broadband eligibility. It focuses on areas that lack reliable broadband, which connects devices to the internet through a cable or data line, at download speeds of at least 25 megabits per second and upload speeds of at least 3 Mbps. That threshold ensures funding for remote, rural areas that have slow or no internet service, and it Image: RJ Sangosti

matches the definition of broadband set by the Federal Communications Commission in 2015. But cities contend the eligibility mark overlooks the realities of today’s internet needs. Though most cities already have broadband available, the speed still might not be fast enough to handle multiple people in a home trying to work, study and stream entertainment simultaneously — a common scenario during the coronavirus pandemic. The price also can be more than lower-income residents can afford. “They’re basically prioritizing those rural areas over the underserved urban areas where there is more population,” said Detta Kissel, a retired Treasury Department attorney who helped write agency rules and now advocates for better internet service in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Arlington, Virginia. Several cities, including Washington, Los Angeles, Milwaukee and San Antonio, have submitted public comments to the Treasury Department urging it to loosen the eligibility standard for spending pandemic relief money on broadband. Some want the Treasury to define underserved areas as anything less than download and upload speeds of 100 Mbps. That would increase the number of locations eligible for funding from about 11 million to 82 million households and businesses nationwide, according to a study conducted for America’s Communications Association, which represents small and medium-sized internet providers. Cities argue that the Treasury should use a 100/100 Mbps eligibility threshold because that’s the same speed projects are supposed to achieve if they receive funding. A separate 96

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infrastructure bill working its way through Congress is more flexible, allowing some of its $65 billion in broadband funding to go to “underserved” areas lacking download speeds of 100 Mbps and upload speeds of 20 Mbps. If the Treasury goes forward with its rule as originally written, sparsely populated areas currently lacking broadband could leapfrog certain urban areas in their internet speeds. That doesn’t sit well with some mayors. “The inner city of Memphis is as in a dire need of broadband connection as rural Tennessee,” said Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, who wants Treasury Department assurance before spending $20 million from the American Rescue Plan on a broadband project. Residents almost anywhere in Milwaukee already have access to at least one internet provider offering download speeds of 25 Mbps and upload speeds of 3 Mbps. But in parts of the city, fewer than half the households subscribe to internet service because of its cost, said David Henke, the city’s chief information officer. “If you don’t have a job and you can’t afford broadband, that’s kind of a cycle,” Henke said. “You’re locked out of remote lea rning, remote work, telemedicine and participating basically in a modern society.” Milwaukee has applied for a $12.5 million grant from Wisconsin’s share of the American Rescue Plan and would chip in $2.5 million of its own pandemic relief money to expand affordable broadband into more parts of the city, Henke said. But the city wants the Treasury Department to broaden “the narrow wording” of its rule.

Although the public comment period ended in July, the Treasury has set no date for when it will publish the rule’s final version. A Treasury official said the department is undertaking a thorough review of the comments that is likely “to continue into the fall.” U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, is among those urging the Treasury Department to adopt a broader eligibility threshold. He wrote that it would be “severely misguided” to assume that communities are adequately served by the “woefully outdated” broadband benchmark the department has set. Broadband industry groups generally have urged the Treasury to stick with its original plan of targeting money at areas with the slowest internet speeds. “Rather than reinvesting in locations that already have broadband to make it better,” the pandemic relief money should go to “places that don’t have any broadband at all,” said Patrick Halley, general counsel at USTelecom, whose membership includes AT&T, Verizon and others. The cable industry group NCTA urged treasury officials to tighten eligibility even further. It wants to limit the number of households that already have faster service that can be included in areas targeted for improvements. It also wants to remove the potential for locally subjective decisions about areas that lack reliable service. Allowing improvements in areas that already meet minimum speed thresholds could siphon money away from the neediest, hard-to-reach areas — potentially leaving them without service once the federal money is spent, industry groups said. 100

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To bring super-fast internet service to every place currently lacking 25/3 Mbps speeds could cost between $20 billion and $37 billion, according to the study for America’s Communications Association. That cost jumps to between $106 billion to $179 billion when covering all areas currently lacking speeds of 100/100 Mbps. “As a matter of prioritization, we think it’s best to start with the areas that have the least,” said Ross Lieberman, the association’s senior vice president of government affairs. Though most of the complaints about the Treasury Department rule have come from larger cities, some residents in rural areas also have raised concerns. Charlie Hopkins, a retired computer hardware and software designer, owns a home on a Maine island that is accessible only by boat. The internet speeds at his house registered barely 5 Mbps for downloading and just 0.4 Mbps for uploading when tested recently. Because some homes have faster speeds, Hopkins is concerned the Treasury Department rule could make it difficult for the island to get funding to improve its internet. He said broadband is essential to attract and retain residents. “Other cities and towns in Maine, especially the cities, are getting higher-speed fiberopticbased internet,” Hopkins said. “I don’t like being in a position where we’re essentially being told, `Well, you’re at the end of the Earth, so you don’t qualify.’”

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BILLIONAIRE COHEN TO INVEST IN NEW CRYPTO TRADING FIRM RADKL

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A cryptocurrency company launched by partners of a major Wall Street trading firm said Tuesday that it has snagged the support of billionaire investor Steven A. Cohen, as big names from the traditional financial world continue to embrace the industry surrounding crypto. Cohen, a hedge-fund manager and owner of the New York Mets, has agreed in principle to invest in Radkl, a crypto trading firm, though the deal is not final. The company is being launched by partners of GTS, a firm that trades as much as a billion shares of U.S. stocks on a given day. Radkl, which is pronounced like “radical,” plans to trade across cryptocurrency coins and exchanges, said Ryan Sheftel, the company’s CEO and a partner at GTS. As the crypto industry expands, Radkl plans to grow quickly with it. If government regulators allow the industry to offer exchangetraded funds that track cryptocurrencies so that more investors can get into them, for example, the company could make trades that keep prices of the ETFs in line with the coins themselves. “There’s enormous room to run in digital assets and crypto,” said Sheftel, who said that he personally owns cryptocurrency coins. “The

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community is full of people doing interesting things, and Radkl is our way to plant our flag and be a real part of that.” Radkl has about 10 employees currently. It expects to ramp up to two dozen by the end of the year and to begin trading during the final three months of the year. This is the first foray for GTS into the crypto world, but digital assets and the technology that underlie them have been growing more mainstream as prices for coins soar. One bitcoin fetches about $46,700 today. That’s up from about $10,700 a year ago, but prices can be notoriously volatile, and it’s also down from a peak of nearly $65,000 this spring. Cohen, who will not be involved in the dayto-day operations of Radkl, has been making investments in the crypto world through various avenues. A company backed by Cohen’s family office led a fundraising round announced Monday for Recur, a company involved in digital collectibles. Last month, Cohen’s Point72 Ventures led a $21 million fundraising round for Messari, a crypto data and research firm. In a letter telling investors earlier this year that it’s exploring opportunities around the technology that underpins cryptocurrencies, Cohen’s Point72 said that it would be remiss to ignore a $2 trillion market. “We can assure you that we will be prudent in the nature of and sizing of our investments, both from an allocation and market standards perspective,” it said. “We do, however, believe there is more innovation and evolution to come in the space, and we want to make sure we have a seat at the table.” 108

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WALMART QUASHES CRYPTOCURRENCY PARTNERSHIP CLAIM

Walmart denied any partnership with the digital currency Litecoin after a fake news release led to a brief flurry of inaccurate reports from national news outlets and social media users. A news release claiming a partnership between Walmart and Litecoin is “not real,” according to Walmart spokesperson Molly Blakeman. Charlie Lee, creator of Litecoin and managing director of the Litecoin Foundation, confirmed the release was fake. The false announcement was temporarily featured on a major press release wire and in outlets including Reuters, CNBC and Yahoo Finance, before being deleted and corrected. It wasn’t immediately clear who created it. Here’s a closer look at the facts. 112

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CLAIM: Walmart announced a major partnership with the digital currency Litecoin. THE FACTS: The nation’s largest retailer is not partnering with Litecoin, despite a bogus news release claiming as much, Blakeman told by phone. Walmart added in a statement on its website that it “has no relationship with Litecoin.” Lee, who created Litecoin, confirmed the release was fake in an email to the press. A Litecoin employee mistakenly tweeted the false claim from the currency’s verified account after seeing the bogus announcement on GlobeNewswire, a major distributor of news releases, Lee explained. The employee later realized his error and deleted the tweet, Lee said. The release touted the false headline “Walmart Announces Major Partnership With Litecoin.” It fabricated quotes from Walmart’s CEO and the creator of Litecoin to falsely claim Walmart would allow customers to pay with the digital currency starting Oct. 1. After the release was published, Twitter users pointed out that Walmart hadn’t announced the partnership on its own corporate website, nor did the contact email in the release match the company’s actual website address. Though this announcement is fake, Walmart is looking to hire an expert in digital currencies and blockchain, Blakeman said. The false news release briefly tripped up national news outlets, Twitter users and cryptocurrency buyers. The price of Litecoin jumped from about $175 to about $233 within seconds of the press release being published. The price fell just as fast a few minutes later.

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GlobeNewswire, which briefly featured the release on its site before removing it, is conducting an investigation into what happened, said Dave Pleiss, vice president of investor and public relations for Intrado, which owns the press release wire. “This has never happened before and we have already put in place enhanced authentication steps to prevent this isolated incident from occurring in the future,” Pleiss said. 117

GENERAL PROMISES US ‘SURGE’ AGAINST FOREIGN CYBERATTACKS

The general who leads U.S. efforts to thwart foreign-based cyberattacks, and punish those responsible, says he’s mounting a “surge” to fight incursions that have debilitated government agencies and companies responsible for critical infrastructure. In an interview, Gen. Paul Nakasone broadly described “an intense focus” by government specialists to better find and share information about cyberattacks and “impose costs when necessary.” Those costs include publicly linking adversarial countries to high-profile attacks and exposing the means by which those attacks were carried out, he said. 120

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“Even six months ago, we probably would have said, ‘Ransomware, that’s criminal activity,’” Nakasone said. “But if it has an impact on a nation, like we’ve seen, then it becomes a national security issue. If it’s a national security issue, then certainly we’re going to surge toward it.” A devastating wave of cyberattacks has compromised sensitive government records and at times led to the shutdown of the operations of energy companies, hospitals and schools. The SolarWinds espionage campaign exposed the emails of 80% of the email accounts used by the U.S. attorneys’ offices in New York and several other departments. A separate hack of Microsoft email server software affected potentially tens of thousands. Nakasone jointly leads the National Security Agency, the chief intelligence agency tracking foreign communications, and U.S. Cyber Command, the Pentagon’s force for offensive attacks. While the two organizations work mostly in secret, they have been part of a Biden administration effort to publicly identify the people and countries behind attacks. The White House has linked the SolarWinds breach to Russian intelligence and the Microsoft hackto China. President Joe Biden directly pressed Russian President Vladimir Putin in July to take action against cyber attackers, telling reporters, “We expect them to act if we give them enough information to act on who that is.” FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate said “there is no indication” yet that Russia had acted to crack down on ransomware. Abbate, Nakasone and other U.S. government officials spoke at the Intelligence & National Security Summit. 123

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Nakasone also oversees efforts to track and stop foreign efforts to influence U.S. elections. He disclosed earlier this year that U.S. Cyber Command conducted more than two dozen operations intended to thwart interference in last year’s presidential election. Biden said in July that Russia had already begun efforts to spread misinformation regarding the 2022 midterm elections, calling them a “pure violation of our sovereignty.” Nakasone declined to detail allegations against Russia, saying intelligence agencies were “generating insights which will move to sharing information in the not too distant future.” U.S. agencies are not aware of any specific threats related to the California gubernatorial recall election that concludes Tuesday, Nakasone said.

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DOORDASH, GRUBHUB, UBER EATS SUE NYC OVER PANDEMIC FEE CAPS

Three of the nation’s largest food delivery companies are suing New York City over a limit on fees it put in place during the pandemic to protect restaurants devastated by the forced closure of their dining rooms. The city has continued to extend those caps even as vaccinations allow more indoor dining which, according to the companies, cost them millions of dollars over the summer. In the suit filed last week the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats call the fee caps government overreach. The companies say they were “instrumental in keeping restaurants afloat and food industry workers employed” after investing millions of dollars in relief for those businesses. 126

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They are filing for an injunction that would prevent the city from enforcing an extension on the fee caps adopted in August. The companies are seeking unspecified monetary damages as well as a jury trial. New York Law Department spokesman Nicholas Paolucci said in an email that the city’s initiative is legally sound and will be defended in court. The city of New York first enacted the price cap in May 2020 in response to the pandemic, limiting the rate that third-party platforms could charge restaurants at 15% of an online order for delivery services, and 5% for all other services, including marketing. Last month, New York City Council passed a handful of bills it said would help small restaurants, like prohibiting some third-party delivery service charges and mandating that their phone numbers are listed on those delivery sites. It also pushed forward an extension on the fee caps that would not expire until at least early next year. Food delivery services, Grubhub, DoorDash and Uber Eats among them, that experienced explosive growth during the pandemic are increasingly clashing with local governments who say restaurants and consumers are getting hit with exorbitant fees and high costs. Last month Chicago officials accused DoorDash and Grubhub of harming the city’s restaurants and their customers by charging high fees and through other deceptive practices. Delivery companies have been the target of legal authorities in other cities and states before, but 128

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those efforts have targeted specific policies compared to Chicago’s attack on numerous elements of the companies’ operations. The companies called Chicago’s lawsuits baseless. San Francisco’s district attorney has accused delivery companies of violating California law by classifying drivers as contractors. And Washington, D.C., reached a settlement with DoorDash in 2019 after alleging the company misled customers about how much drivers received in tips. The Massachusetts attorney general’s office in July filed a lawsuit accusing Grubhub of charging restaurants illegally high fees during the pandemic. The state had capped fees for much of 2020. In the lawsuit filed last week, Grubhub, DoorDash and Uber Eats argue that New York city has continually pushed back the expiration date of the price caps and that now there’s no date at all, making them permanent. They also claim that the law has cost them “hundreds of millions of dollars” through July. “The ordinance is unconstitutional because, among other things, it interferes with freely negotiated contracts between platforms and restaurants by changing and dictating the economic terms on which a dynamic industry operates,” the lawsuit states. Food delivery companies, despite soaring revenues, have delivered mixed economic results even as they were transformed into a critical service during the pandemic. Orders handled by DoorDash reached unprecedented levels during its most recent quarter and while revenue growth slowed from 131

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the height of the pandemic, the company said last month that sales were still up an astounding 83%, to $1.24 billion. Yet the company lost $102 million. Start-ups have to invest large sums to grow and delivery start-ups say that has grown worse as they are forced to spend more to lure new drivers as infections rise. DoorDash said that fee caps cost it $26 million during the most recent three-month reporting period. In a prepared statement, DoorDash said putting caps on fees can lead to higher prices for customers and hurt drivers if rising prices reduce orders overall. “Imposing permanent price controls is an unprecedented and dangerous overreach by the government and will limit the options small businesses rely on to compete in an increasingly competitive market,” the company said. DoorDash has already filed suit to block a cap on fees put into effect by San Francisco.

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3 FORMER US OFFICIALS CHARGED IN UAE HACKING SCHEME

Three former U.S. intelligence and military officials have admitted providing sophisticated computer hacking technology to the United Arab Emirates and agreed to pay nearly $1.7 million to resolve criminal charges in an agreement that the Justice Department described as the first of its kind. The defendants — Marc Baier, Ryan Adams and Daniel Gericke — are accused of working as senior managers at a UAE-based company that conducted hacking operations on behalf of the government. Prosecutors say the men provided hacking and intelligence-gathering systems that were used to break into computers in the United States and elsewhere in the world. The Justice Department alleges that the men committed computer fraud and violated export control laws by providing defense services without the required license. The 135

case also appears to be part of a growing trend highlighted earlier this year by the CIA of foreign governments hiring former U.S. intelligence operatives to bolster their own spycraft — a practice officials have said risks exposing U.S. secrets. “This is a loud statement” that the Justice Department takes such cases seriously, said Bobby Chesney, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law who specializes in national security issues. The charges were filed under a deferred prosecution agreement that, in addition to requiring a $1.68 million payment, will also force the men to cooperate with the Justice Department’s investigation, to sever any ties with any UAE intelligence or law enforcement agencies and to forego any security clearances. If they comply with those and other terms for three years, the Justice Department will abandon the prosecution. As part of the agreement, the three men did not dispute any of the facts alleged by prosecutors. The Justice Department described it as the “firstof-its-kind resolution of an investigation into two distinct types of criminal activity,” including providing unlicensed technology for the purposes of hacking. “Hackers-for-hire and those who otherwise support such activities in violation of U.S. law should fully expect to be prosecuted for their criminal conduct,” Mark Lesko, acting assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department’s national security division, said in a statement.

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According to court documents, the trio left a U.S.-based company that was operating in the UAE to join an Emerati company that would give them “significant increases” in their salaries. The companies aren’t named in charging documents, but Lori Stroud, a former National Security Agency employee, said she worked with the three men in the UAE at U.S.-based CyberPoint and then for UAE-based DarkMatter. Stroud said she quit because she saw DarkMatter hacking U.S. citizens. She said she assisted the FBI in its investigation and was glad to see the case come to a resolution. “This is progress,” Stroud said. The Emirati government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Questions sent by email to officials at Abu Dhabi-based DarkMatter could not be delivered. Since details of DarkMatter’s hacking campaign became public, the company’s profile has dropped over the last few years, with some staff moving onto a new Abu Dhabi-based firm called G42. That firm has been linked to a mobile app suspected of being a spying tool as well as Chinese coronavirus tests that American officials warned against using over concerns about patient privacy, test accuracy and Chinese government involvement. DarkMatter’s founder and CEO, Faisal al-Bannai, told in 2018 that the company takes part in no hacking, although he acknowledged the firm’s close business ties to the Emirati government, as well as its hiring of former CIA and NSA analysts. Prosecutors said that between January 2016 and November 2019, the defendants increased 138

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operations being providing to the UAE government. They bought exploits to break into computers and mobile devices from companies around the world, including those based in the U.S., according to the Justice Department. That includes one so-called “zero-click” exploit — which can break into mobile devices without any user interaction — that Baier bought from an unnamed U.S. company in 2016. Lawyers for Adams and Gericke did not immediately return messages seeking comment, and a lawyer for Baier declined to comment. The Justice Department described each of them as former U.S. intelligence or military personnel. Baier previously worked at the NSA, according to a former colleague who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity surrounding the matter. The CIA warned in a letter earlier this year about “an uptick in the number of former officers who have disclosed sensitive information about CIA activities, personnel, and tradecraft.” The letter sent to former CIA officials was signed by Sheetal Patel, the agency’s assistant director for counterintelligence. It described as a “detrimental trend” a practice of foreign governments hiring former intelligence officers “to build up their spying capabilities.” Some listed examples included using access to CIA information or contacts for business opportunities as well as “working for statesponsored intelligence related companies in non-fraternization countries.” “We ask that you protect yourself and the CIA by safeguarding the classified tradecraft that underpins your enterprise,” Patel wrote. 140

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EPIC GAMES APPEALS RULING IN LAWSUIT ALLEGING APPLE MONOPOLY

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Epic Games filed notice that is appealing a federal judge’s decision in a lawsuit alleging that Apple has been running an illegal monopoly that stifles competition. The maker of the popular Fortnite video game said in a court filing this week that it will take the ruling to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. In a 185-page decision rendered last week, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ordered Apple to dismantle a lucrative part of the competitive barricade guarding its closely run iPhone app store, but she rejected Epic’s allegations that Apple ran a monopoly. Epic’s notice of appeal said it would appeal the final judgment “and all orders leading to or producing that judgment.” The ruling continues to chip away at the socalled “walled garden” that Apple has built around its crown jewel, the iPhone, and its app store, without toppling it completely. The decision also provided Apple with some vindication. The judge didn’t brand Apple as a monopolist or require it to allow competing stores to offer apps for iPhones, iPads and iPods. Those were two of the biggest objectives sought by Epic, which filed what it would hoped would be a landmark antitrust case last year after brazenly defying an exclusive payment system that funnels 15% to 30% of all in-app digital transactions on iPhones to Apple. Such transactions can include everything from Netflix or Spotify subscriptions to the sale of digital item such as songs, movies or virtual 143

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tchotchkes for video games. Epic cast that highly lucrative fee as a price-gouging tactic that wouldn’t be possible if competing stores were allowed to offer iPhone apps. While parts of her decision raised questions about whether Apple’s fees were driving up prices for consumers, Gonzalez Rogers left the fee structure intact and upheld the company’s right to block other stores from offering apps for its iPhone. She sided with Apple on every other key point of the case. But the judge did conclude Apple has been engaging in unfair competition under California law, prompting her to order the company to allow developers throughout the U.S. to insert links to other payment options besides its own within iPhone apps. That change would make it easier for app developers to avoid paying Apple’s commissions, potentially affecting billions of dollars in revenue annually. Apple did its best to frame the decision as a complete victory, even as it acknowledged it may appeal the portion of the ruling that will make it easier for app developers sidestep Apple’s commissions.

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NO MAN OF GOD - Official Trailer

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&TV Shows

No Man of God While on death row, serial killer Ted Bundy (Luke Kirby) agrees to reveal details of his crimes – but only to one man, FBI analyst Bill Hagmaier (Elijah Wood). A strange and complicated relationship develops between the two men in the years running up to Bundy’s execution.

FIVE FACTS: 1. Over the years, Bundy has been portrayed by various film actors – including Cary Elwes in 2004’s The Riverman and Zac Efron in 2019’s Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile.

by Amber Sealey Genre: Thriller Released: 2021 Price: $14.99

2. Mark Harmon played Bundy in the 1986 television film The Deliberate Stranger, which was released nearly three years before the real-life Bundy’s execution. 3. Wood spoke to the real-life Hagmaier over the phone in preparation for filming No Man of God. 4. However, Wood told The Hollywood Reporter that he regretted not being able to travel to meet Hagmaier in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 5. The Rotten Tomatoes critics’ consensus on No Man of God takes issue with its lack of originality but hails the film’s “excellent performances”.

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No Man of God // Interviews With the Cast and Scenes From the Movie

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The Boss Baby: Family Business Three decades after the events of 2017’s The Boss Baby, Tim Templeton (James Marsden) learns that his infant daughter Tina (Amy Sedaris) is, as Tim’s younger brother Ted Jr. (Alec Baldwin) once was, a Boss Baby. She’s also intent on recruiting Ted for a special mission...

FIVE FACTS: 1. Jeff Goldblum is also a member of the voice-acting cast as antagonist Dr. Erwin Armstrong, a professor and intelligent baby scheming to get rid of every parent. 2. Although the adult Tim and Ted also appeared in the first Boss Baby film, they were only shown there from the chest down.

by Tom McGrath Genre: Kids & Family Released: 2021 Price: $19.99

3. Tobey Maguire provided the voice for the adult Tim in that film, but has not reprised the same role in any form for Family Business. 4. The Boss Baby franchise has also included a TV series, The Boss Baby: Back in Business, running on Netflix from 2018 to 2020. 5. In a video posted to Twitter in June 2021, Baldwin reported “rumblings that a Boss Baby 3 is in the works”.

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The Boss Baby: Family Business Trailer #1 (2021) Movieclips Trailers

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The Boss Baby Family Business Interview Alec Baldwin and Amy Sedaris

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JOSE J Balvin “I wanted to show myself as a human being,” the Colombian singer J Balvin revealed to Apple Music about why his personal and self-reflective new album took part of his personal name as its title. “I wanted to show the things that Jose has gone through to be where I’m at right now.” Genre: Urbano latino Number of Songs: 24 Price: $12.99

FIVE FACTS: 1. “That was really important because that’s what I love to hear,” Balvin said about why the album nonetheless continues to include dance-heavy moments inspired by his reggaetón roots. 2. “JOSE is like my own playlist,” Balvin said – referring to the album’s long list of guest contributors, which includes Ozuna, Zion & Lennox and Dua Lipa. 3. Reggaetón singer Yandel features on the track “Te Acuerdas De Mí”. 4. Meanwhile, Khalid appears on the album’s second single, “Otra Noche sin Ti”.

J. Balvin, Khalid - Otra Noche Sin Ti (Official Video)

5. Calling himself “a big fan of looking for new artists”, Balvin said he recruited Maria Becerra for the album’s second single “Qué Más Pues?” after hearing “all the buzz” about her in Argentina.

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J. Balvin, Maria Becerra - Qué Más Pues? (Official Video)

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star-crossed Kacey Musgraves While Musgraves’ exuberant 2018 album Golden Hour chronicled the early optimism of her marriage to singersongwriter Ruston Kelly, the new album star-crossed is inspired by the psychological fallout – as experienced by Musgraves – of their romance’s later deterioration.

FIVE FACTS: 1. On the day of the album’s release, a tiein film of the same name debuted on the streaming service Paramount+. 2. Speaking to Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Musgraves called the new album a “modern tragedy in three acts.” 3. Those three acts focus, in turn, on sadness, anger and hopeful redemption. 4. Musgraves and Kelly finalized their divorce in September 2020. 5. Musgraves is set to launch a new tour in support of the album next year, starting at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota on January 19.

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Genre: Country Number of Songs: 15 Price: $11.99

KACEY MUSGRAVES - star-crossed (official lyric video)

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