Without meaning to, the world’s soccer fans and sportswriters have opened a window into the secretive but influential world of Bermuda reinsurance. Just a glimpse is enough to raise concerns about the retirement security of millions of Americans.

We’re talking here about people who have either earned a defined-benefit pension at work or bought an annuity from a life insurer. No one ever asked them whether they would like to have their nest eggs moved offshore, or leveraged, or put in the hands of a non-U.S. regulator.

But increasingly, this is what’s happening. Countless Americans now depend on the skill and dedication of the Bermuda Monetary Authority, and they don’t even know it.

The full power of next-generation quantum computing could soon be harnessed by millions of individuals and companies, thanks to a breakthrough by scientists at Oxford University Physics guaranteeing security and privacy. This advance promises to unlock the transformative potential of cloud-based quantum computing and is detailed in a new study published in Physical Review Letters. The paper is titled "Verifiable blind quantum computing with trapped ions and single photons."

Quantum computing is developing rapidly, paving the way for new applications that could transform services in many areas like health care and financial services. It works in a fundamentally different way than conventional computing and is potentially far more powerful. However, it currently requires controlled conditions to remain stable and there are concerns around data authenticity and the effectiveness of current security and encryption systems.

"Never in history have the issues surrounding privacy of data and code been more urgently debated than in the present era of cloud computing and artificial intelligence," said Professor David Lucas. "As quantum computers become more capable, people will seek to use them with complete security and privacy over networks, and our new results mark a step change in capability in this respect."

The results could ultimately lead to commercial development of devices to plug into laptops, to safeguard data when people are using quantum cloud computing services.

“No one in law enforcement should be caught off guard if trouble breaks out before, during, or after the November presidential election,” Juliette Kayyem begins in The Atlantic.

It is not too soon for the Biden administration and the Department of Justice to start what-iffing a response, and to take seriously recommendations made by the January 6th Committee . It appears the administration means to get ahead of the next insurrection. “A show of readiness,” Kayyem writes, “can also deter people who might have learned the wrong lesson from the Capitol riot: that just a bit more violence might have changed the outcome of the 2020 election.” Because the most hardcore MAGA soldiers not already in jail (especially those with military training) will have learned from Jan. 6 how to do a coup and how not to.

Kayyem adds:

Any attempts to shore up the nation’s defenses against political violence might be misinterpreted—or intentionally misconstrued—by some of Trump’s supporters as an attempt by a Democratic administration to use federal power to interfere in the 2024 election. But the fact that everything Biden does at this stage will be seen through a politicized lens shouldn’t scare him into inaction.

If Trump and his supporters want to quibble with plans to protect election officials from external pressure during vote counts in Georgia and Wisconsin, or to protect members of Congress from rioters during the certification process, then they should do so out loud, before the election. But preparing for election turmoil shouldn’t be a partisan issue. The right keeps warning us of the potential for left-wing antifa violence; surely conservatives would want the executive branch to prevent it from affecting the vote certification if Trump wins. The best course is to lay out transparent plans to safeguard the electoral process no matter who is ultimately sworn in.

Overview

As of 2013 Russian citizens over 18 years of age can obtain a firearms license after attending gun-safety classes and passing a federal test and background check. Firearms may be acquired for self-defense, hunting, or sports activities, as well as for collection purposes.

Carrying permits may be issued for hunting firearms licensed for hunting purposes. Initially, purchases are limited to long smooth-bore firearms and pneumatic weapons with a muzzle energy of up to 25 joules (18 ft⋅lbf). After five years of shotgun ownership, rifles may be purchased. Handguns were generally not allowed, but with the growing popularity of practical shooting events and competitions in Russia in recent years (e.g., IPSC), handgun ownership has now been allowed and you must be 21 years of age, a legal Russian citizen and possess a valid firearms permit. Originally, handguns were only used for sports and competitive shooting, but have recently been allowed for the purposes of self-defense on an owner's property.

As of 2023, handguns using live ammunition are not allowed to be concealed carry in public. The only legal handguns allowed in public are handguns using rubber bullets, and may be used for the purposes of self-defense. The only exception to this federal law are commemoration pistols, which have special engravings, and these can only be gifted by government officials for acts of heroism. These engraved pistols may use live ammunition and are allowed to be concealed carried, and used for the purposes of self-defense, provided the recipient is 21 years of age or older, and possess a valid firearms permit. Rifles and shotguns with barrels less than 500 mm (20 in) long are prohibited, as are firearms which shoot in bursts or have more than a 10-round capacity. The only exception for the 10-round capacity, is for use on gun ranges. Suppressors are generally prohibited and must receive special government permission. An individual cannot possess more than ten guns (up to five shotguns and up to five rifles, either rifled or smooth-bore) unless they are part of a registered gun collection.[2]

A former national security adviser in the Donald Trump White House has said that the ex-president “hasn’t got the brains” to helm a dictatorship, despite his admiration for such rulers.

In an interview with the conservative French outlet Le Figaro, John Bolton, 75, was asked whether Trump had tendencies that mirror dictators like the ones he has previously praised. Bolton not only disparaged Trump’s intellectual capacity, he also disparaged the former president’s professional background, exclaiming: “He’s a property developer, for God’s sake!”
Older white man, poofy hair, dark suit, red tie, standing outside under an umbrella someone else is holding, with police officers in vaunted caps standing in formation behind him.
Trump rebuked for sharing video showing Biden hog-tied on pickup truck
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Now a vocal critic of Trump, Bolton served as the former president’s national security adviser from April 2018 to September 2019. Bolton had previously served as US ambassador to the UN during George W Bush’s presidency, developing a reputation as a foreign policy hawk.

Bolton’s remarks to Le Figaro suggesting Trump is not smart enough to be a dictator will almost certainly do little to allay fears on the political left at home or abroad about a second Trump presidency.

RICHMOND, Calif. — Open flames shot upward from four smokestacks at the Chevron refinery on the western edge of Richmond, Calif. Soon, black smoke blanketed the sky.

News spread quickly that day last November, but by word of mouth, says Denny Khamphanthong, a 29-year-old Richmond resident. "We don't know the full story, but we know that you shouldn't breathe in the air or be outside for that matter," Khamphanthong says now. "It would be nice to have an actual news outlet that would actually go out there and figure it out themselves."

The city's primary local news source, The Richmond Standard, didn't cover the flare. Nor had it reported on a 2021 Chevron refinery pipeline rupture that dumped nearly 800 gallons of diesel fuel into San Francisco Bay.

Chevron is the city's largest employer, largest taxpayer and largest polluter. Yet when it comes to writing about Chevron, The Richmond Standard consistently toes the company line. ---- And there's a reason for that: Chevron owns The Richmond Standard.

Just writing to try to quell the unrest we’ve been hearing in our ranks at the addition of the Joker to our roster of contributors. First, I want to say that you are all valued — not just seen but also heard, unlike a child in the Victorian era. We appreciate the years you’ve put in and the sacrifices you’ve made for this organization. Please don’t be mad we hired the Joker! It’s stressing us out.

Gotham is going through a trying time. And who better to help us understand what’s really at play here than the Clown Prince of Crime? We were looking through our roster, and someone on our board asked, “Are any of the contributors not just clowns but also criminals?” and we were forced to admit that, no, in fact, we had no one whatsoever from that demographic. “Seems like an oversight,” the board said, and we agreed.

Brynn Tannehill, author of , “American Fascism: How the GOP is Subverting Democracy” wrote this twitter thread which I think is a nice succinct recitation of what awaits in a second Trump term:

It’s all there. People can choose to believe that the orange clown won’t do anything crazy and that the people that have managed to turn the Republican Party into a cult and pack the courts with extremists and toadies won’t actually manage to accomplish what they openly say they are going to do. That would be a mistake.

Last June in a White House meeting, President Joe Biden gave India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi an extraordinary gift, an autographed first edition copy of the “Collected Poems of Robert Frost,” one of America’s greatest poets.

Modi responded with an equally unique gift, the “Ten Principal Upanishads” by Purohit Swami and William Butler Yeats, the renowned Irish poet whom Biden occasionally refers to and quotes in his speeches.

In India, however, the gift of Frost’s work was seen as a tribute to Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, who was deeply inspired by the poet. Nehru, apart from being a humanist, great statesman and founding father of Indian democracy, was a prodigious writer with a deep sense of history. He loved poetry and nature, and invariably spent his vacations in the awesome beauty of the Himalayan mountains, horseback riding and exploring woods. No wonder he found a kindred soul in Frost, whose meditations on life, nature and human limitations offered profound insights to Nehru.

The current theoretical model for the composition of the universe is that it’s made of ‘normal matter,’ ‘dark energy’ and ‘dark matter.’ A new study challenges this.

A University of Ottawa study published in The Astrophysical Journal challenges the current model of the universe by showing that, in fact, it has no room for dark matter.

In cosmology, the term “dark matter” describes all that appears not to interact with light or the electromagnetic field, or that can only be explained through gravitational force. We can’t see it, nor do we know what it’s made of, but it helps us understand how galaxies, planets, and stars behave.

Rajendra Gupta, a physics professor at the Faculty of Science, used a combination of the covarying coupling constants (CCC) and “tired light” (TL) theories (the CCC+TL model) to reach this conclusion. This model combines two ideas — about how the forces of nature decrease over cosmic time and about light losing energy when it travels a long distance. It’s been tested and has been shown to match up with several observations, such as about how galaxies are spread out and how light from the early universe has evolved.

This discovery challenges the prevailing understanding of the universe, which suggests that roughly 27% of it is composed of dark matter and less than 5% of ordinary matter, remaining being the dark energy.