Wait, What? WiFi Signals Can Be Used to ID You Even If You Carry No Device

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Your local cafe’s WiFi might reveal who you are, even if you’ve never connected to it. Researchers warn that WiFi networks can identify people without phones or devices, raising major privacy and surveillance concerns for everyday users.

Researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany have discovered that it’s possible to identify and recognize people solely through WiFi signals, even if they’re not connected to a network or carrying a device at all.

As long as there are WiFi networks nearby, you’re effectively visible. Simply walking by your favorite coffee shop or someone’s home router could leave a digital footprint.

“By observing the propagation of radio waves, we can create an image of the surroundings and the persons there,” said Professor Thorsten Strufe from KIT’s Institute of Information Security and Dependability.

“This works similarly to a normal camera, the difference being that in our case, radio waves instead of light waves are transformed into an image,” explained Strufe. (Read more from “Wait, What? WiFi Signals Can Be Used to ID You Even If You Carry No Device” HERE)

POTUS Trial Balloon on Pot

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We need to talk about an idea President Trump floated several weeks ago—a move to downgrade the classification of marijuana at the federal level. Right now, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug, the same category as cocaine, where all use is prohibited. If this change happens, it would make marijuana far easier to promote and sell nationwide. But here’s the thing—this shift is completely out of step with Republican voters. Just last November, four out of five Republican-led states voted down major marijuana legalization efforts. In fact, more than 75 percent of Trump supporters themselves opposed those measures. That tells us someone is giving the President bad advice, becaust this isn’t a winning issue with his base.

This proposal would bring serious law enforcement concerns. Pot farms, both legal and illegal, have become magnets for illegal immigrants and dangerous working conditions. In one massive Homeland Security raid in California, 361 people were arrested—including criminals convicted of rape, burglary, DUIs, and hit-and-run offenses. Even more disturbing, 14 children were found working in these unsafe environments. And it’s not just crime. Under current federal tax law, businesses that deal in Schedule I substances can’t deduct normal expenses like advertising. If marijuana is downgraded, those restrictions vanish, greenlighting expansion of the pot industry and new aggressive promotions.

Health issues are another big concern. Today’s marijuana is far more potent than it used to be. Emergency room visits are climbing, with cases of severe vomiting syndrome tied to high THC levels. Marijuana use has also been linked to memory problems, risky behavior like impaired driving, and addiction. In fact, the CDC estimates about 30% of users develop cannabis use disorder.

Even the environment takes a hit. Illegal pot growers often use toxic pesticides, dump chemicals into groundwater, and create terrible odors for nearby communities. Oddly enough, many environmental groups seem to look the other way. (Read more from “POTUS Trial Balloon on Pot” HERE)

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Russia to Declassify and Deliver 350-Page Document “On Who Assassinated JFK” to US Representative Anna Paulina Luna

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US Representative Anna Paulina Luna said Tuesday that Russia will deliver a 350-page document containing the Russian government’s findings on former President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

“My office just received word from the @RusEmbUSA (Russian Embassy in USA) that the ambassador from Russia to the United States will be hand-delivering the @GovernmentRF’s (Government of Russia) findings on who assassinated JFK to my office,” the Florida Republican wrote on the US social media company, X.

Luna said her office will upload the documents immediately upon receipt, working with Jefferson Morley, an American journalist who wrote a book on the assassination, to ensure “the American people have direct access to them.”

“It is important to note that Congress attempted to obtain these files in the 90’s and was denied,” Luna wrote. “We have been given access to them now for the first time in history.”

Kennedy, the 35th US president, was assassinated Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, while riding in an open-top motorcade. (Read more from “Russia to Declassify and Deliver 350-Page Document “On Who Assassinated JFK” to US Representative Anna Paulina Luna” HERE)

Mitt Romney Speaks Out After Sister-In-Law Carrie Romney Found Dead

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Carrie Elizabeth Romney, the sister-in-law of former Republican Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, was found dead Friday in a Los Angeles-area parking garage, authorities said. She was 64.

Deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department responded to a call around 8:30 p.m. on Town Center Drive in Valencia, California, a department representative told People. Investigators determined that Romney had either jumped or fallen from a parking garage structure near a Hyatt Regency hotel.

People reported that the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office listed Romney’s place of death as “street” and her cause of death as “deferred,” pending further investigation. Her body was marked “ready for release,” according to the outlet.

“Our family is heartbroken by the loss of Carrie, who brought warmth and love to all our lives,” a representative for Mitt Romney told People. “We ask for privacy during this difficult time.” (Read more from “Mitt Romney Speaks Out After Sister-In-Law Carrie Romney Found Dead” HERE)

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Kremlin Calls Time Magazine Editors ‘Freaks’ After Trump Blasts ‘Worst Cover Of All Time’

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The Kremlin tore into Time Magazine on Tuesday after President Donald Trump ripped a new cover photo as “the Worst of All Time.”

Moscow’s broadside came within hours of Time unveiling its “His Triumph” cover praising Trump’s Middle East deal. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova used Telegram to sneer at the editors while amplifying Trump’s gripe about the picture.

“Only unhealthy people, people obsessed with malice and hatred — perhaps even freaks — could have chosen such a photo,” Zakharova wrote on her official Telegram channel.

Trump had set the stage in a pre-dawn Truth Social post, saying Time “wrote a relatively good story about me, but the picture may be the Worst of All Time,” complaining editors “disappeared” his hair and stuck “a floating crown, but an extremely small one” over his head. “Really weird!” he added.

(Read more from “Kremlin Calls Time Magazine Editors ‘Freaks’ After Trump Blasts ‘Worst Cover Of All Time’” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

‘Orwellian:’ GOP Congressman Publicly Hits Back Against Stephen Miller

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U.S. Rep Thomas Massie (R-KY) recently celebrated Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s decision to reject a deal from the Trump administration, leading to a public dispute with Stephen Miller.

Raw Story reported on the MIT’s initial statement saying it cannot support the Trump admin’s plan. That led Massie to reply with, “The surest way to screw up the world’s best technical school is to let feds tell them how to run it… Congrats to my alma mater for turning down a bribe to let the executive branch dictate what happens on its campus.” . . .

Trump adviser Stephen Miller chimed in on that post, writing, “MIT is a federally funded and financed institution. The US government asked MIT, as one of America’s largest recipients of taxpayer dollars, to certify that students and professors will be hired based on objective merit and not skin color.” . . .

Massie himself then responded to Miller.

“Undergrad tuition is privately funded at MIT with a few exceptions like Pell grants which apply to all colleges,” Massie wrote. “I trust MIT more than any party at the White House to know which 18 yr olds can solve differential equations. Also, Feds policing speech on campuses is Orwellian.”

(Read more from “‘Orwellian:’ GOP Congressman Publicly Hits Back Against Stephen Miller” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Goldman Sachs Warns of Looming Layoffs as AI Reshapes Wall Street Giant’s Operations

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Goldman Sachs is preparing for another round of layoffs as part of a sweeping corporate overhaul driven by artificial intelligence, CEO David Solomon’s management team told staff in a companywide memo obtained by The Post.

The Wall Street powerhouse will “constrain headcount growth through the end of the year” and carry out a “limited reduction in roles across the firm,” according to the Tuesday memo — the same day the bank reported record third-quarter profits.

“Even when the business is performing well, we have an obligation to review our operations carefully and position the firm for the future,” Goldman management wrote.

“We don’t take these decisions lightly, but this process is part of the long-term dynamism our shareholders, clients, and people expect of Goldman Sachs.”

Goldman’s global headcount stood at 48,300 as of Sept. 30, nearly 2,000 more than a year earlier.

“The firm will finish the year with a net increase in headcount overall,” Jennifer Zuccarelli, a Goldman spokesperson, told The Post. (Read more from “Goldman Sachs Warns of Looming Layoffs as AI Reshapes Wall Street Giant’s Operations” HERE)

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Is Pam Bondi Creating A Gun Owners Registry In America? Here’s What We Know

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In the case Reese v. ATF, US District Judge Robert Summerhays ordered that plaintiffs including the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) turn over a verified list of their members from November 2020, a decision reached after the Department of Justice (DOJ) convinced the court of its necessity. This order extends only to those groups’ members already identified and verified during the litigation, the DOJ argued. In reaction, SAF immediately filed a motion to amend, declaring that “SAF has never — and will never — provide the government a list of our members.”

The demand, critics say, amounts to a state-sponsored registry of gun rights activists. Gun Owners of America slammed the move on social media: “This is just another illegal, unconstitutional registry of gun owners in the making,” the group argued on Facebook. They directly accused Pam Bondi of orchestrating a gun registry by leveraging DOJ power.

The timing and nature of the membership demand has stirred controversy for Bondi, whose track record includes support for red-flag laws in Florida and backing age-based gun purchase limits. GunRights.org’s profile of her record notes she helped draft Florida’s 2018 “Gun Violence Restraining Order” legislation, giving law enforcement authority to seize firearms temporarily in certain cases. Questions persist as to whether, now as US Attorney General, Bondi’s DOJ will more aggressively push oversight over gun rights groups . . .

The court order is itself limited: it applies only to the small subset of members already identified, verified, and residing in the Fifth Circuit (Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas). The majority outside that jurisdiction appear unaffected. Legal analysts caution, however, that even a narrow ruling can set a precedent. As legal blog Guns.com put it, the court found the federal ban on handgun sales to 18–20-year-olds unconstitutional in principle—but then demanded the lists anyway, “an almost laughable contradiction.” (Read more from “Is Pam Bondi Creating A Gun Owners Registry In America? Here’s What We Know” HERE)

U.S. Troops Deployed to Israel Amid Ceasefire Mission

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The Pentagon has confirmed the deployment of approximately 200 U.S. troops to Israel in support of the recently brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Their mission: to establish and operate a civil-military coordination center aimed at managing humanitarian aid, logistics, and monitoring compliance with the ceasefire agreement. While none of the deployed personnel are expected to enter Gaza, the assignment places them squarely in the middle of a complex and high-stakes regional operation.

Defense officials emphasized that the U.S. troops will work closely with Israeli counterparts to facilitate the flow of aid into Gaza and ensure that both sides adhere to the terms of the ceasefire. The center will serve as a critical hub for communication and logistical planning, helping international organizations, NGOs, and military units coordinate efforts in what remains a tense and politically charged environment.

Though not considered a combat deployment, the mission carries real-world risks. The region remains volatile in the wake of months of violence, and infrastructure in Gaza has been severely damaged, making aid delivery and ceasefire enforcement difficult.

This deployment further reflects the long-standing U.S.-Israel military partnership. Since Israel’s founding in 1948, the United States has provided over $130 billion in military and security assistance. Supporters of the relationship argue that American involvement strengthens regional security, deters hostile actors, and reinforces U.S. influence in one of the most strategically important parts of the world.

Critics, however, have pointed to the scale of ongoing military aid and the risks of deeper entanglement in a deeply polarized conflict. The presence of U.S. troops, even in a support role, symbolizes a broader commitment that continues to shape American foreign policy priorities in the Middle East.

For the 200 troops deployed, the task ahead is demanding but vital. They will be responsible for ensuring that life-saving aid reaches civilians in Gaza, that ceasefire terms are properly observed, and that U.S. credibility as a stabilizing force remains intact.

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Former Obama Official Ben Rhodes Can’t Bring Himself To Give Trump Credit For Israel-Hamas Deal

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Former Obama administration official Ben Rhodes brushed off the deal President Donald Trump brokered between Israel and the radical Islamic terrorist group Hamas as “just a cease-fire” Monday during a MSNBC appearance.

Hamas released the 20 surviving hostages taken during the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on multiple locations in southern Israel that killed over 1,200 people on Monday. Rhodes, the architect of then-President Barack Obama’s deal with Iran over its nuclear weapons program, was asked by MSNBC host Ana Cabrera if he thought Trump could see it through.

“I give Trump credit for essentially finally applying some leverage on the Israeli government, on Bibi Netanyahu in particular, in a way that, you know, frankly, we didn’t even see President Biden do when he was in office,” Rhodes claimed. “And I think simultaneously, Qatar and Turkey were applying a lot of leverage on Hamas. And then that got us into the ceasefire. That’s terrific. It’s great that the Israeli hostages are reunited with their families, that aid is getting to Gaza. I would not go as far as to say that this kind of validates a certain, you know, theory of diplomacy, because frankly, it’s just a ceasefire. The problem has not been solved.”

“It’s not really a peace deal in the sense that we still don’t know who’s going to govern Gaza. We still don’t know if Hamas is going to disarm,” Rhodes continued. “We’re at phase one, quite literally, of what would be a very long road to some kind of lasting peace. So, look, I think a transactional — and, you know, it’s interesting to reflect on that quote you put up, I mean, a transactional style of diplomacy, it can get you that kind of short-term win, right? You know, you take care of a piece of business, but it’s not necessarily designed for the kind of patient follow-through and painstaking work that is necessary to address something as deep as the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians.” (Read more from “Former Obama Official Ben Rhodes Can’t Bring Himself To Give Trump Credit For Israel-Hamas Deal” HERE)