Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) has taken aim at the Secret Service’s handling of security during a July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where an assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump occurred. According to whistleblower reports, the lead advance agent assigned to protect Trump was allegedly unqualified, having failed crucial training exams. This individual, who was reportedly new to the Secret Service’s Pittsburgh office, oversaw security at the event, despite known concerns about her competence. Hawley voiced his frustrations publicly, particularly during an appearance on Jesse Watters Primetime, stating, “This advance agent, I’m told, may have failed one or more of her training exams and was known not to be a top-quality agent. I mean, this is absurd”. Intel is cutting 15,000 jobs but giving its CEO a $5 million pay raise. All while shelling out BILLIONS in China. That’s everything wrong with the C-Suite pic.twitter.com/GN0tLqjksz — Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) September 10, 2024 He argued that the decision to put her in charge of Trump’s safety was inexplicable and endangered the former president’s life, as well as that of the rallygoers. The rally, held on July 13, turned tragic when 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired shots from a nearby roof, grazing Trump and killing a rally attendee, Corey Comperatore. Whistleblowers later revealed that the shooter had taken advantage of a significant security lapse—an unmanned rooftop post. Law enforcement personnel were reportedly supposed to be stationed on the roof, but abandoned their position due to hot weather. This absence provided the shooter with a clear line of sight, further exacerbating the security failures​. Now I’m told the Department of Homeland Security is pressuring the Secret Service not to comply with document requests by Congress about the Trump assassination attempt. What are they hiding from the American people? pic.twitter.com/lQt0bu6NNY — Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) September 13, 2024 Hawley has demanded immediate accountability for these lapses. In a letter to Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe, he urged the removal of the lead agent from active duty while the investigation is ongoing. He also expressed concerns that Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents, who partnered with the Secret Service for this event, were inadequately trained and had never staffed a presidential rally before. The senator's complaints extend beyond just individual agent performance. He accused the Secret Service of broader operational failures, including not properly conducting threat assessments at the Butler rally site. One major oversight, according to whistleblowers, was the absence of the Secret Service’s Counter Surveillance Division (CSD), which is tasked with spotting and neutralizing threats from outside the security perimeter. Hawley argued that had CSD agents been present, they could have detected the shooter before he even climbed onto the roof. Hawley’s calls for accountability have sparked broader discussions about the Secret Service’s internal culture and decision-making process. Some have criticized the organization for prioritizing diversity goals over merit in key security roles. Hawley specifically questioned the agency’s push for more female agents, suggesting that it may have influenced the decision to place an underqualified person in charge of such a high-stakes event. The July rally was part of Trump’s continued efforts to rally support ahead of the 2024 election. The event was intended to be a celebration of Trump’s policies but quickly devolved into a chaotic scene after the shooting. Two others were critically injured, and the Secret Service’s inability to prevent the attack has led to significant public scrutiny. In the aftermath, Hawley has called for a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee investigation to uncover what went wrong and prevent future incidents. The post Josh Hawley Calls Out Secret Service Failures at Trump’s Butler Rally appeared first on The Conservative Brief.

The battle against AI bots scraping data from the internet has intensified, with major platforms implementing robust defenses to protect their content. Reddit, among the latest to join this fight, has introduced a series of new tools aimed at repelling bots that scrape user data for training AI systems like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard​. The rise of large language models, which require vast amounts of text data for training, has led companies to harvest content from publicly accessible websites. This practice has sparked frustration among content providers who argue that these AI firms use their data without permission, consequently slowing down website performance​​. To help preserve a safe Internet for content creators, we’ve just launched a brand new “easy button” to block all AI bots. It’s available for all customers, including those on our free tier. Read our blog post for more details: https://t.co/csWFFgqbKM — Cloudflare (@Cloudflare) July 3, 2024 Reddit's recent updates include modifications to its "Robots Exclusion Protocol" and the deployment of technologies to detect and block unknown bots. These measures aim to balance the protection of user data while still supporting legitimate research activities, such as those conducted by the Internet Archive​. However, Reddit has also struck deals with AI companies like OpenAI and Google, allowing them to use Reddit data for training in exchange for compensation​​. Cloudflare, an internet infrastructure company, has also taken a stand by introducing tools that allow its customers to block all AI bots. This feature, part of Cloudflare’s initiative to declare "AIndependence," aims to prevent automated scraping by identifying and blocking bot fingerprints​ ​. Cloudflare has launched a new feature to block AI bots, scrapers, and crawlers with a single click, and it's free. As AI crawlers continue to swallow up web content, this tool helps protect your content from being used without consent. Many AI crawlers ignore robots txt… pic.twitter.com/XBujPeyXiO — Carl Hendy (@carlhendy) July 4, 2024 The stakes in this digital conflict are high. A report by cybersecurity firm Imperva revealed that nearly half of all internet traffic in 2022 was generated by bots, a figure expected to rise with the advent of more advanced AI technologies​​. The report highlights the growing sophistication of these bots, which now often mimic human behavior to evade detection, posing significant threats to online security and business operations​​. Moreover, the potential misuse of AI technology extends beyond data scraping. Experts warn of AI's capacity to empower rogue states, criminals, and terrorists, which could lead to unprecedented physical and digital threats. These dangers include the creation of convincing yet entirely fake videos, phishing attacks, and other forms of digital manipulation​. As AI continues to evolve, the need for comprehensive strategies to mitigate these risks becomes increasingly urgent. Policymakers, researchers, and technology companies must collaborate to ensure AI development proceeds responsibly, safeguarding both digital and physical realms from its potential misuse​​. In conclusion, while AI offers transformative potential, its unchecked exploitation poses significant risks. Efforts by companies like Reddit and Cloudflare to curb unauthorized data scraping are crucial steps in maintaining internet integrity and protecting user data in this rapidly evolving digital landscape. The post AI Bots Threaten Internet Integrity, Prompting New Counter Measures appeared first on The Conservative Brief.

If at first you don’t succeed, try again — just like this baby elephant during her morning run! In a sweet video on social media, conservationist Cam Whitnall shared some footage of a rescued critter named Pragan getting her daily exercise. Unfortunately, the animal tripped and fell on the trail, which made her feel pretty silly. However, with a little encouragement from Cam and some other caretakers, she was able to get back up on her feet! Once the baby elephant was moving again, she forgot all about her mishap. In the clip, it looks like she had a lot of fun running with her two-legged friends. Cam explained that Pragan is an orphan, as her parents died at the hands of poachers. She now lives at UWEC, a conservation center in Uganda, where she’s thriving! @camwhitnall My favourite moments with Elephants!? #tiktokforgood #tiktok_partner #wildlife #elephants #learnontiktok ♬ Silent Morning – BGM President This adorable baby elephant footage was only the first part of Cam’s video. He included several other clips of his “favourite moments with elephants,” all of which are equally precious! After showing Pragan’s morning run, he demonstrated how another elephant received a prosthetic foot. This poor creature was injured by a snare as a child, so he’s grown up missing one of his front feet. Chhouk was very still and cooperative while wildlife caretakers put the prosthetic on him. He was able to walk with so much more ease once he was wearing it! Cam ended his video with several sweet shots of other adult and baby elephants playing and bathing together. Commenters absolutely loved this heartwarming content! Screengrab from TikTok “What I would do to run with a baby elephant,” one person wrote, wistfully. Another added, “Elephants are too pure for our world.” These beautiful animals deserve all the help they can get from us! We’re so glad that conservationists like Cam are out there caring for elephants in need. You can find the source of this story’s featured image here. The post Precious: Rescued Baby Elephant Goes On Morning Run With Her Caretakers appeared first on InspireMore.

While jealousy is often viewed through the lens of love and romantic relationships, it goes far beyond simple notions of who is with whom. It’s about longing for what we don’t have, coveting another’s success, or feeling threatened by someone else’s presence. In many cases, rock songs initially interpreted as paeans to love, regret, or even rebellion have been, upon closer examination, found to contain a hidden undercurrent of jealousy. This element can take many forms: the subtle possessiveness in The Doobie Brothers’ “You Belong to Me,” the guilt-ridden confession of John Lennon’s “Jealous Guy,” or the brooding suspicion lurking The post 10 Best Rock Songs About Jealousy appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

The Ark 2 launch might still be some way off, and Ark Survival Ascended has certainly faced plenty of issues since the UE5 remaster launched in October 2023. Yet, for all its performance problems and player criticisms around the price of upgrading from Survival Evolved, it’s unmistakably a visual showcase among the best survival games on PC. If you fancy a change of scenery, however, one of the most prolific Ark modders has just unveiled a breathtaking location that’s arriving for free in October with full crossplay support. Continue reading A beautiful Greek-style Ark Survival Ascended map is coming for free MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best survival games, Best dinosaur games, Best co-op games

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Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images Next week, a court will hear arguments about whether the US government can ban TikTok, based on evidence it doesn’t want anyone — including the social media company — to see. On September 16th, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will hear oral arguments for TikTok v. Garland, TikTok’s First Amendment challenge to legislation that it claims amounts to a ban. It’s a fight not just about free speech but whether the Department of Justice can make a case using classified material that its opponent can’t review or argue against. The government argues TikTok is a clear national security threat but says that revealing why would be a threat, too. “I think the courts are going to tread very carefully here,” Matt Schettenhelm, a... Continue reading…

An angular roughshark pulled from the water near Elba, an Italian island near Tuscany.

We saw this post from Kamala and honestly, we thought it sounded familiar. This writer took an initial swipe at her on X just making fun of how the Left likes to be on every side of every issue. They…

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