CNN’s Dana Bash was thrown for a loop by President Donald Trump’s media company selling “quicker access” to his Truth Social posts, and she flat-out asked, “How is this not insider trading?”

Bash spoke with CNN senior reporter Dave Goldman on Friday’s Inside Politics for a report on the latest move by Trump’s media company.

“President Trump’s media company is going to start selling Wall Street firms faster access to Truth Social posts, including the president and his son’s [posts]. It appears to be yet another example of the Trump family profiting off of his presidency,” Bash said before bringing Goldman on.

Goldman explained that Truth Social is selling access to a service known as its API which provides “instant access to high-speed trading machines.” Companies can essentially pay for faster access to posts on Truth Social, including from the president who often makes policy announcements there.

Goldman reported:

Those are the kind of machines that really make money on Wall Street. And we’re talking about when we’re talking about high speed, we’re talking about milliseconds, right? And those milliseconds can make millions of dollars for Wall Street firms and really put retail investors like you and me at a disadvantage. Now we know that President Trump makes news and really announces policies, often before his own administration knows that it’s coming, on Truth Social. And so by selling instant access to that, Wall Street can make more money by buying or selling, depending on what President Trump is saying. Now, the company has a statement about this. It says that until now, “no official integrated api has existed and firms that prioritize tracking influential Truth posts have relied on manual monitoring.” That’s crucial. “Truth API closes the gap for organizations that place a premium on immediate, verified access to information.” So basically, this is the company saying, yes, we acknowledge that people are buying and selling stocks based on what the president says on Truth Social. And now we’re going to sell even faster access to it so that the company can make money.

“I think this is one of those moments where I have to ask you the bottom line question that probably everybody watching is asking, how is this not insider trading?” Bash asked, throwing her hands in the air.

Goldman noted that other social media platforms provide similar services and Trump’s media company is looking for a way to bring in cash.

He said:

Yeah, it’s legal. And this isn’t the only company that’s doing this. X, owned by Elon Musk, and Meta, others either offer for free or sell high speed access to the data that’s available on their platforms. But here’s the key. President Trump owns the platform that he’s making news on. And so by selling access to it, he is thereby making money. Remember, he owns 41% of the parent company, Trump Media, which owns Truth Social. And the company could use some money, Dana, because it only made $3 million in ad revenue last year. It lost, get this, $711 million in operating losses. This is not a profitable company, and they’re looking for ways to make some money.

Watch above via CNN.

The post ‘How Is This Not Insider Trading?’ Dana Bash Thrown for a Loop By Trump Selling Wall Street ‘Quicker Access’ to Social Posts first appeared on Mediaite.

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FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, a Biden appointee, released a statement on Friday hammering President Donald Trump as a “bully” for his call to revoke network’s broadcast licenses for not carrying his speech the night before.

“It is ridiculous to call for broadcasters to lose their license simply for making the same editorial decisions they’ve made under presidents of both parties,” Gomez said in a statement reported on by the Wall Street Journal.

“Those editorial decisions are protected by the First Amendment, and the FCC has no authority to punish a station for refusing to air a blatantly political speech. This is a naked attempt to bully broadcasters, and the FCC should have no part in it,” she added.

Trump raged about the decision on Thursday night, saying, “In a rare move, NBC and ABC fake news have both said that they would not cover this speech. They knew what it was about.”

“Fraud like this should mean a revocation of their licenses,” Trump added.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin also slammed the networks during remarks on Friday. “How shameful is that?” Mullin said of NBC and ABC not carrying Trump’s speech. “Why? What are they trying to cover up? Why wouldn’t they want to inform the American people? Why are they calling themselves a news outlet if they’re not actually trying to put the news out there?”

Notably, even Fox News ran a quick disclaimer of Trump’s claims, saying, “Fox News has not seen the evidence yet and is not in a position to evaluate the accuracy of the president’s statement and claims.”

The post FCC Commissioner Slams Trump’s Attack on Broadcasters Not Taking His Speech: ‘Naked Attempt to Bully’ first appeared on Mediaite.

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As 4K OLED gaming displays go, the Asus ROG Swift PG32UCDM remains a top choice even years after its release. It earned a PCMag Editor’s Choice Award and is widely praised for its near-instant response times, high refresh rates, and vibrant visuals. Right now, the 32-inch Asus ROG Swift PG32UCDMR—an updated version of that monitor—is at a great price price: $899, 30% off the original $1,299.99 cost.

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Two standout features are its customizable RGB lighting and extensive connectivity. The lighting allows for multi-colored glow patterns and effects on the monitor’s base and rear, while its DisplayPort 2.1, HDMI 2.1, USB-C, and USB hub connections make it easy to switch between a gaming PC, laptop, and other input sources.

With QD-OLED panel tech, the monitor delivers 4K visuals with excellent color accuracy and coverage, as well as high peak HDR brightness (up to 1,018 nits, according to PCMag’s testing of the earlier model). It supports AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and VESA Adaptive Sync for tear-free, low-latency gaming, while a 240Hz refresh rate pairs with a speedy 0.03 ms response time,  making it ideal for competitive gamers. It is also  VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black certified and includes a headphone jack. 

Although curved screens have benefits like reduced glare and deeper perceived blacks, they aren’t for everyone, making this a great flat-screen alternative. The ROG Swift PG32UCDM also comes with a bevy of OLED care features designed with longevity in mind, including OLED Care Pro and a Neo Proximity Sensor that detects when you step away and switches the screen to black to help reduce burn-in risk.

If you want a premium flat-screen monitor with impressive color range and accuracy, and the true blacks of an OLED, the 32-inch Asus ROG Swift PG32UCDMR is a smart pick, especially considering its extensive burn-in protection (along with a three-year warranty). At $400 off, it’s a deal worth considering for PC gamers.

Scam calls are nothing new. They've gotten so bad, in fact, that many of us simply refuse to answer unrecognized phone calls. But FaceTime calls are a bit different—while a phone call can come from any device that knows your number, FaceTime calls (both video and audio calls) require an Apple device to know your FaceTime contact details, which could be either your phone number or email address.

In short, FaceTime feels more personal than a phone call, which is probably why many of our guards fall a bit when we get a call that way. However, that probably shouldn't be the case, if a new scam is anything to go by.

Don't trust strange FaceTime calls

As spotted by Malwarebytes Labs, Apple is now warning users to be skeptical of strange FaceTime calls. It comes as an update to Apple's guide on recognizing phishing schemes, which details the many ways hackers try to trick you into handing over sensitive information or financial data. That might have something to do with the uptick in scams involving FaceTime calls. These calls may come from contacts purporting to be "Apple Support," which can be indistinguishable from legitimate phone calls on the surface. In addition, some scammers text victims directly, including their contact info in the message.

These calls may run the gamut of schemes: The scammer may say the victim has experienced credit card fraud, or an issue with their device, or an authentication request for an account. Maybe they have a refund offer for you to take advantage of, or a limited-time deal you need to claim now. Whatever the case, the situation will likely put pressure on you to act fast, reducing the chance you'll see through the act.

The point of the FaceTime call may be to lure users into a false sense of security, since, as I've said, victims may be less skeptical of a FaceTime call, especially from "Apple Support." However, it may also give hackers an advantage during the scheme: After starting via a FaceTime audio call, scammers can request to switch to a video call, and have the victim share their screen. Scammers often employ the use of video calling or sharing apps to walk victims through specific steps on their device. And while many convince users to install remote control software on their devices, FaceTime lets users request to control the other caller's screen remotely. Malwarebytes says that scammers have successfully emptied bank accounts with these schemes.

How to protect yourself from FaceTime scams

Scams are everywhere these days, but that doesn't mean they're inevitable. The best defense here is to follow some simple cybersecurity best practices. That involves assuming every call (FaceTime or otherwise) from someone other than a trusted contact is suspicious—even if the call says it's from an organization like Apple. If on a call, never share private information, especially any that could be used to access your accounts or finances. And while FaceTime scams don't necessarily rely on security vulnerabilities, it's helpful to install the latest security patches to plug any known holes in your defenses.

Apple even invites you to report FaceTime calls you suspect of being malicious. If you receive one, take a screenshot of the caller ID, and send that image to reportfacetimefraud@apple.com.

Gboard is the default keyboard for Pixel smartphones and many devices that use stock Android, but it’s not the only option out there. Recently, Gboard has been swept up in a privacy controversy highlighting how your data is used by Google for its own training and collection. The data that Google collects can be intercepted and tied to individual users. Luckily, you can disable some of those data-sharing settings.

But what if, down the line, Gboard changes its policy or privacy settings? Or we learn about additional ways Google sneakily collects your data from your keyboard? If that concerns you, consider using an open-source keyboard that runs completely on device, no data servers required. Unlike closed software, security experts can audit open-source programs, so vulnerabilities are found and patched quite quickly. As it happens, there are two solid open-source alternatives to Gboard. One is so like Gboard, you won’t even miss it. The second is as private as a keyboard gets.

FUTO Keyboard is a direct Gboard replacement

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

FUTO Keyboard is designed to be a direct Gboard replacement. It looks like Gboard, and it works like Gboard. But underneath, it’s completely open-source, free, and private. By default, none of your keystrokes leave your device.

FUTO includes on-device AI models for text prediction and voice typing. The text prediction model works completely offline and doesn't use any online servers. In my testing, it kept up with my typing, and the suggestions were more or less what you'd expect. For voice typing, the app uses a lightweight Whisper-based model, also running on-device, with no servers involved. In my testing, I found the default model to be a bit underwhelming when compared to Gboard. Downloading the highest-tier model resolved this issue, though, and I saw voice typing results similar to Gboard. (The English-244 voice model is a 280MB download.)

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

FUTO gets a lot more fun when you start customizing the settings and the layout. You can resize the keyboard to make it larger, add a permanent numbers row to the top, an arrow bar, and change the theme to your liking. There are also fine-tuning settings for users who like adjusting every bit of how their keyboard works. For example, there is a section on Long-Press Keys that lets you customize how the backspace long-press gesture works.

In my testing, I found that the FUTO keyboard offers a smoother, more reliable typing experience compared to Gboard. A small example is the spacebar gesture. In Gboard, you can move the cursor by swiping on the spacebar, but it’s a bit confusing for me. You hold it for a split second, and then swipe. In FUTO, swiping on the spacebar instantly moves the cursor, every single time. The downside to being completely private is, of course, that you lose out on cross-device support. Your personal dictionary, or clipboard, can’t sync between all your devices. While Gboard is a more complete package, FUTO's privacy features do make up for that loss.

HeliBoard is the Gboard alternative for security purists

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

HeliBoard has a rich open-source pedigree. It’s based on the old OpenBoard project, which itself was based on the pure Android AOSP keyboard, the original stock Android keyboard.

The times have changed, though, and HeliBoard has kept up, without sacrificing its open-source roots. The app promises a zero-exposure experience, asking for no network permissions whatsoever. As this is a purist’s keyboard, there are no AI features to speak of: no LLM transformer for text prediction, no AI voice typing model.

That said, all the basic features you’d expect from an Android keyboard are all here. You can add an optional number row to the top, and there’s support for gesture typing, along with an on-device clipboard (which can be disabled). You can customize the appearance as well. You can resize the keyboard, bring back the old Holo keyboard style, change icons, and change the color of the keyboard. (You can even use an image as the background.)

The only caveat to using HeliBoard is that it’s not available in the Google Play Store. Instead, you’ll have to download it from the F-Droid third-party app store that specializes in securely hosting free and open-source apps. But that’s easy to do, and once installed, you can explore other useful open-source apps like NewPipe, my preferred way of watching YouTube ad-free on Android.

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The Garmin Forerunner 170 arrived earlier this summer as the successor to the Forerunner 165, slotting in above the (also new) entry-level Forerunner 70 and below the 265/570. At first glance, it's easy to write off as a lateral move from the older device: same GPS chipset, same heart rate sensor, and actually a day less battery life than its predecessor. That makes the $299.99 price tag a little confusing next to a 165 that regularly goes on sale for under $200.

But after spending some time with the 170 on my wrist, I came away impressed with how Garmin has packed it with features and tools previously reserved for watches costing $449 or more. Despite being described as “mid-tier” in Garmin’s lineup, it really does have the training software that used to be reserved for higher-end models, including full Training Status, Training Readiness, wrist-based running power, running dynamics, and even cycling power-meter support. Whether you're upgrading from a 165 or just want to make sure you're actually using what you paid for, here are my five favorite hacks to get the most out of your Forerunner 170.

Garmin Forerunner® 170, GPS Running Smartwatch, Advanced Training Metrics and Recovery Insights, Whitestone with Whitestone/Cloud Blue Band

$299.99 at Amazon

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$299.99 at Amazon

Reprogram the buttons on your Forerunner 170 so you can instantly lock the screen in bad weather

Like Garmin's higher-end watches, the 170's buttons are fully customizable. And if you ask me, the defaults aren't the best setup for how a lot runners actually train.

A few of my favorite reassignments: I run in the rain a lot (it's romantic!), so I set "Hold Start + Up" to Touch Screen Toggle, which is a shortcut to lock the screen instantly in bad weather. I also moved Do Not Disturb to the Down button, since the default path (hold LIGHT, open Controls, tap the icon) is a few too many steps when I'm already annoyed by a notification received mid-run.

If you're a regular interval runner, you might try assigning your lap button to trigger auto-pause. This makes it a little easier to manually stop and restart the clock when you're getting your heart rate down.

Other combinations worth trying:

• Start + Down to broadcast your heart rate, which is popular in some group exercise settings.

• Start + Up to pull up Garmin Pay for a post-run coffee.

• Back + Down to lock the touchscreen, to save you from accidental pauses.

To set any of these reassignments up, hold the Up (Menu) button and go to Watch Settings > System > Shortcuts. (While you're customizing your watch, it's worth stripping down your data screens too. I demonstrate how to do this on a Garmin watch here.)

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Use your Forerunner 170's "Record Only" mode as a breadcrumb trail on unfamiliar routes

The 170 doesn't have full onboard color mapping like Garmin's higher-end watches, but Record Only mode lays down a "breadcrumb trail" of everywhere you've been without the battery cost of turn-by-turn navigation. If you get turned around, you can use those "breadcrumbs" to retrace your own path.

Two more navigation features you should set up in advance:

• Turn Around alerts are a big favorite on this watch. This tool lets you skip planning an out-and-back route entirely. Set one by time or distance before you start, and the watch buzzes at the halfway point, so you'll land back exactly where you began.

• Find My Phone, which I find to be weirdly buried in the controls menu (hold the menu button, look for the phone-with-question-mark icon), pings your connected phone with sound and vibration even if it's on silent. Press back on your watch once you've found it to stop the alert.

Let your Forerunner 170's "Quick Workouts" do the thinking for you

Instead of manually plugging in a pace and distance, the 170 can build a workout on the fly from just a time range and an intensity level (easy, moderate, hard, or very hard). In theory, this generated workout factors in your current Training Readiness score, so "45 minutes, moderate" might look completely different two days in a row depending on how recovered you actually are. It's a fast way to get a workout that matches where your body actually is that day, as opposed where you assumed it should be.

Repurpose the Cycling Coach tool to track your cross-training workouts

A few tools on the 170 get ignored simply because they're new to this price tier and Garmin doesn't call much attention to them during setup—and some of them can be really useful, even if they don't initially seem like they jibe with your workout routine:

• Lifestyle Logging is a useful way to track more than just workouts. Meditation, reading, and other manually logged activities all feed into your overall wellness picture instead of leaving your health data purely exercise-based. It's also just nice perspective to have.

• Cycling Coach doesn't have to be reserved just for dedicated cyclists. Consider giving it a spin during cross-training, since it gives you a structured, adaptive plan based on how well the watch already knows you.

• Running Power doesn't require a chest strap on the 170. Instead, it's estimated from the wrist using motion and elevation data. It may not be a precise metric, but as a real-time effort gauge on hilly routes where pace alone is misleading, it's a nice way to complement your other data points.

Don't let easy workouts drain your Garmin's battery

If you're on a familiar route, running a familiar workout, turn off Always-On GPS. Your battery health holds up longer, and you're not left scrambling to charge the morning of a big race.

In general, I recommend caring for your watch's battery the same way you treat your muscles during a training block. Full charge cycles accelerate battery degradation, so during normal weeks, cap charging around 80% instead of topping off to 100% every time.

A few bonus tips

• Keep an eye on Garmin Connect update notes. It's worth checking in periodically rather than assuming you have everything already.

• And if you have the 170 Music edition, download your playlists the night before a long run, not during your warm-up. Syncing eats battery and needs a solid wifi or Bluetooth connection. Start it early, or you'll be stuck jogging in place, waiting on a progress bar.

• Finally, this one works across most Garmin touchscreen watches, including the 170: Place your palm flat over the entire watch face, and it instantly returns to the main watch face and dims or turns off the backlight, depending on your display settings. It won't work mid-activity while you're recording, but for killing your screen quickly at your desk after checking a notification, it's neat to know.

Vice President JD Vance admitted to Joe Rogan that the release of files related to the case of convicted child sex predator Jeffrey Epstein was fumbled by the administration.

Vance joined Rogan for a Joe Rogan Experience interview that dropped on Wednesday, and during a discussion about the Epstein files, Vance admitted the administration mishandled the release of thousands of documents to the public.

“If people want to say we mishandled the Epstein release, guilty. We did mishandle it, especially the communications of it,” Vance said.

“What do you think should have been done?” Rogan asked.

“I think we should have just dropped everything at the very beginning and, like I was saying, it takes a little time to review the stuff, to find the stuff, to redact things where you have victims and so forth, but we should have just done it as quickly as possible,” Vance explained.

“But some of the stuff that was redacted, some of the names redacted, weren’t victims,” Rogan noted.

Multiple victims of Epstein red-flagged that their identities were briefly revealed in the files, leading to quick redactions by the Department of Justice. The files’ release faced bipartisan backlash over more redactions and the lack of prosecutions coming out of the release.

“I’ve looked into this and my understanding of this, having looked at a lot of this but not all of it, is that it is sometimes hard to draw a distinction between victim and co-conspirator,” Vance said.

The vice president claimed that some victims would be listed as co-conspirators, sometimes because they allegedly helped Epstein procure more girls.

“What DOJ tried to do is make that judgement as best they could and release as much as possible,” Vance said.

He admitted he believes there is a “broader conspiracy” involving Epstein and possible high-level blackmail, but he argued there isn’t enough to prove that.

“There’s a story there and, you know, I will go to my deathbed believing there is a story there, but I can’t prove it,” Vance said. “And I promise you there’s not some document, at least that I’m hiding, that allows us to prove exactly what was going on and how.”

Watch above via The Joe Rogan Experience.

The post JD Vance Admits to Joe Rogan Trump Admin Is ‘Guilty’ of Mishandling Epstein Files Release first appeared on Mediaite.