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  • Did Katie Zacharia pass the bar exam? What we know about her legal credentials

    ‘Arizona State Bar Member Directory’. AZStateBar, 2026, www.azbar.org/for-legal-professionals/practice-tools-management/member-directory. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Arkansasfindalawyer’. Arkbar.Com, www.arkbar.com/?pg=Arkansas-Find-a-Lawyer. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    Attorney Good Standing List. 4 Apr. 2026, www.vtcourts.gov/sites/default/files/documents/AttorneyGoodStanding_52.pdf. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Attorney Roster Search’. Idaho State Bar, isb.idaho.gov/licensing-mcle/attorney-roster-search/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Attorney Search | Maryland Courts’. State.Md.Us, 2026, www.courts.state.md.us/attysearch. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Attorneys – South Carolina Judicial Branch’. Sccourts.Org, www.sccourts.org/attorneys/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Can Foreigners Practice Law in China? – China Law in One Minute – China Justice Observer’. Www.Chinajusticeobserver.Com, www.chinajusticeobserver.com/a/can-foreigners-practice-law-in-china. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    Connecticut Bar Association Lawyer Search. members.ctbar.org/search/custom.asp?id=2968. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Directories’. Wisbar.Org, 2026, www.wisbar.org:443/Directories/Pages/Home.aspx. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Directory’. Wvbar.Org, 2026, wvbar.org/directory/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Find a Florida Bar Lawyer’. The Florida Bar, www.floridabar.org/directories/find-mbr/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Find a Lawyer – Oklahoma Bar Association’. Okbar.Org, 2026, my.okbar.org/find-a-lawyer/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Find a Lawyer – State Bar of Nevada’. Nvbar.Org, 2026, nvbar.org/for-the-public/find-a-lawyer/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    Illinois State Bar Lawyer Search. www.isba.org/public/illinoislawyerfinder/search.

    Iowa State Bar Lawyer Search. www.iacourtcommissions.org/ords/f?p=106:10. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Kansas State Bar Search’. Ksbar.Org, 2026, ksbar.org/?pg=search. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Kentucky Bar Association > for Public > Find a Lawyer’. Kybar.Org, 2026, kybar.org/For-Public/Find-a-Lawyer. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Lawyer Search and Referral’. Wyoming State Bar, 9 Mar. 2025, www.wyomingbar.org/for-the-public/hire-a-lawyer/lawyer-search/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Lawyers, Legal Aid & Pro Bono Services – Justia Lawyer Directory’. Www.Justia.Com, www.justia.com/lawyers. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    Legum, Judd. ‘Trump’s New Press Secretary, Katie Zacharia, Claims She’s a Lawyer. Is She?’. Popular.Info, Popular Information, 13 Oct. 2026, popular.info/p/trumps-new-press-secretary-katie. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ———. ‘UPDATE: Katie Zacharia’s Disastrous Response to Popular Information’s Report’. Popular.Info, Popular Information, 14 Oct. 2026, popular.info/p/update-katie-zacharias-disastrous. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    Louisiana State Bar Lawyer Search. www.lsba.org/MD321654/MembershipDirectoryV1.aspx. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    Maine State Bar Lawyer Search. apps.web.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/maine_bar/attorney_directory.pl. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Member Directories – Alaska Bar Association’. Alaskabar.Org, 2025, alaskabar.org/for-lawyers/member-directories/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Member Directory’. Www.Gabar.Org, www.gabar.org/member-directory. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Member Directory | HSBA’. Hawaii State Bar Association, 2026, hsba.org/member-directory. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Member Search’. Alabar.Org, members.alabar.org/Member_Portal/Member_Portal/Member-Search.aspx. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Member Search – Indiana State Bar Association’. Inbar.Org, 2026, www.inbar.org/search/default.asp?m=basic. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Membership Directory | North Carolina State Bar’. Ncbar.Gov, 2026, portal.ncbar.gov/verification/search.aspx. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    Minnesota State Bar Lawyer Search. mars.courts.state.mn.us/Default.aspx. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Missouri Lawyer Directory’. Mobar.Org, 2025, mobar.org/site/content/For-the-Public/Lawyer_Directory.aspx. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    Montana State Bar Lawyer Search. www.montanabar.org/cv5/cgi-bin/utilities.dll/openpage?WRP=membersearch.htm. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    Nebraska State Bar Lawyer Search. attorneys.nejudicial.gov/member-search. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘New Hampshier — Find a Lawyer’. Nhaj.Org, 2026, www.nhaj.org/?pg=Attorneys&dirAction=search. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘New Jersey Attorney Directory’. New Jersey Law TV, newjerseylawtv.com/directory/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    New York State Unified Court System. ‘New York Attorney Directory: Search’. State.Ny.Us, iapps.courts.state.ny.us/attorneyservices/search?1. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Notice by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice of Revising the Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Pilot Program of Employing Foreign Lawyers to Serve as Foreign Legal Consultants in Beijing Law Firms (2019)_Industrial Policies_Beijing Investment Promotion Service Center’. Beijing.Gov.Cn, 2019, invest.beijing.gov.cn/english/Choose/Policies/202012/t20201222_2170198.html. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    Nover, Scott. Katie Zacharia Calls Herself a Lawyer. Legal Experts Aren’t Sure. 13 Oct. 2026, www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/10/13/katie-zacharia-calls-herself-lawyer-legal-experts-arent-sure/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    Ohio Supreme Court — Attorney Directory. www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/AttorneySearch/#/search. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    Ohnesorge, John Karl Murat. ‘Regulation of the Legal Profession in China: An Historical Overview’. SSRN Electronic Journal, 2023, https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4516547.

    ‘Online Bar Directory’. Sbnm.Org, 2026, www.sbnm.org/For-Public/I-Need-a-Lawyer/Online-Bar-Directory. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    Oregon State Bar Lawyer Search. www.osbar.org/members/membersearch_start.asp. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Pennsylvania Lawyer Search’. Www.Padisciplinaryboard.Org, www.padisciplinaryboard.org/for-the-public/find-attorney. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Public Resources’. Delaware State Bar Association, 20 May 2026, www.dsba.org/resources/public-resources/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Registration’. Www.Massbbo.Org, www.massbbo.org/s/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Rhode Island Bar Association Member Directory’. Ribar.Com, 2025, ribar.com/?pg=memberdirectory&dirAction=search. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Search Results’. Licensedlawyer.Org, 2026, www.licensedlawyer.org/Lawyers/DoSearch. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘State Bar of Michigan’. Michbar.Org, www.michbar.org/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘State Bar of Texas | Find a Lawyer’. Texasbar.Com, 2026, www.texasbar.com/am/Template.cfm;jsessionid=B0E6DC63717ECD12F02AE4EB4824C03C.cfusion?Section=Find_A_Lawyer&template=/Customsource/MemberDirectory/Search_form_client_main.cfm&CFID=18318649&CFTOKEN=b8db70c996fe62be-529CAB46-5056-9551-D4D0681974E3A50C. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    State of Mississippi Judiciary. ‘Bar Roll’. State of Mississippi Judiciary, courts.ms.gov/bar/barroll/barroll.php. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Tennessee — Online Attorney Directory’. Tbpr.Org, 2026, www.tbpr.org/for-the-public/online-attorney-directory. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    The State Bar of California. ‘Attorney Search – the State Bar of California’. Ca.Gov, 2026, apps.calbar.ca.gov/attorney/LicenseeSearch/QuickSearch?FreeText=Kate+Zacharia. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    University of Wisconsin Law School. ‘John K.M. Ohnesorge | University of Wisconsin Law School’. WisconsinLaw, 2023, law.wisc.edu/profiles/john.ohnesorge@wisc.edu. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Utah State Bar Member Directory’. Utahbar.Org, 2026, services.utahbar.org/Licensee-Directory. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    ‘Virginia Lawyer Directory’. Vsb.Org, 2025, vsb.org/Site/Shared_Content/Directory/va-lawyer-directory.aspx. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    Washington, DC Bar Search. my.dcbar.org/MemberDirectoryPage. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    Washington State Attorney Directory. www.mywsba.org/PersonifyEbusiness/Default.aspx?TabID=1536. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

    Wrona, Aleksandra. ‘Did Karoline Leavitt Say Iran War “Would Be Over” If “Trump Had Better Intelligence”?’. Snopes, Snopes.com, 6 Aug. 2026, www.snopes.com/fact-check/trump-iran-intelligence-karoline-leavitt/. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.

  • Ledger Asks Resellers in Seven Asian Markets to Pull Devices After Suspected $86M Drain

    Ledger Asks Resellers in Seven Asian Markets to Pull Devices After Suspected $86M Drain

    In brief

    • Ledger has asked resellers and distributors in six Southeast Asian countries and Hong Kong to suspend sales of its devices while it investigates tampered wallets.
    • The company said the only confirmed incidents remain in Southeast Asia, and that it has not verified a drain linked to a device bought elsewhere.
    • MediaMarkt Saturn has stopped selling Ledger devices in its stores and online after a customer in Germany reported an implant, though no funds were lost.

    Ledger has asked resellers and distributors in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong to stop selling its hardware wallets and take them off the shelves while it investigates devices fitted with a hidden implant, the company said in a tweet on Tuesday.

    The request covers Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

    The only confirmed incidents remain in Southeast Asia, Ledger said, and it has not verified a drain linked to a device bought elsewhere. The company has previously said that all confirmed losses involve devices sold through CryptoBilis, a reseller in the region.

    Ledger is still working to establish who tampered with the devices and at what point in the distribution chain. It said it has no indication that its own infrastructure, systems, services or direct sales channel have been compromised.

    Ledger’s Donjon security team found that the implant reads the 24-word recovery phrase from the device’s screen during setup and sends it out over LTE. Anyone holding that phrase can restore the wallet and move its funds. Onchain investigator Specter has traced more than $86 million in suspected thefts, a figure Ledger says it has not verified.

    Earlier on Tuesday, MediaMarkt Saturn stopped selling Ledger devices in its stores and online, with Ledger’s agreement, after a customer in Germany reported an implant, Ledger said in a separate tweet. No loss of funds was reported.

    Myriad: Where does Ethereum go next? Click to make your prediction.
    Myriad: Where does Ethereum go next? Click to make your prediction.

    Rival hardware wallet maker Trezor said on Tuesday that it will end its authorizations for resellers on January 1, 2027, describing the move as a “precautionary measure.” Trezor said there was no evidence that its own devices had been compromised.

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  • China Seeks to Confiscate Billions in BTC, XRP, DOGE, BCH, BTG and BSV

    China Seeks to Confiscate Billions in BTC, XRP, DOGE, BCH, BTG and BSV

    The application also covers cash denominated in U.S. dollars, euros and British pounds, as well as jewelry, bank deposits and investment portfolios.

    Notably, the $DOGE holdings have reportedly already been converted into cash by British judicial authorities and deposited into an interest-bearing account.

    Massive $6 billion crypto fraud

    The confiscation proceedings stem from a massive investment fraud scheme allegedly orchestrated by Qian through Tianjin Lantian Gerui Electronic Technology.

    Between April 2014 and August 2017, the company illegally raised approximately 40.38 billion yuan (roughly $6 billion) by selling fraudulent investment products that promised substantial returns.

    According to Chinese prosecutors, the scheme affected more than 102,000 investors, who suffered combined losses of approximately 19.98 billion yuan.

    Much of the money was used to repay existing investors, operate fraudulent investment projects and purchase assets, including Bitcoin, real estate, vehicles and jewelry.

    Qian fled China in 2017, eventually arriving in the United Kingdom, where British authorities subsequently seized her cryptocurrency holdings.

    In November 2025, she was sentenced to 11 years and eight months in prison by a British court for money laundering offenses.

    What happens to seized Bitcoin?

    The latest development comes as British courts are also considering the legal ownership of the massive Bitcoin fortune.

    On October 12, the UK’s High Court ruled that Chinese law should govern claims made by victims seeking to recover the seized cryptocurrency.

    The decision could have major implications for whether investors are entitled to the original value of their losses or potentially benefit from Bitcoin’s substantial appreciation since the fraud took place.

    However, the British ruling does not establish final ownership of the assets. Further proceedings will determine whether the victims can demonstrate enforceable rights to the cryptocurrency.

    Meanwhile, the Chinese court has opened a six-month period during which Qian’s relatives and other interested parties, including affected investors, can participate in the confiscation proceedings.

  • NATO scrambles F-16 jets against ‘aerial target’

    NATO scrambles F-16 jets against ‘aerial target’

    Romania sent up two of its F-16 fighter jets after it detected an ‘aerial target’ near the eastern NATO border today.

    The Ministry of National Defence of Romania (MApN) said the ‘aerial target; briefly entered its airspace near Sulina, before it moved over the black sea.

    The target then entered Ukrainian airspace, where it was quickly shot down by Ukraine’s air defence system, MApN said.

    MApN said the target had been spotted by its radar surveillance system this morning (14 October) and notified the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations to trigger alert measures for parts of Tulcea County.

    An emergency message was sent to phones for those impacted at around 10.20am local time.

    And MApN scrambled two Romanian Air Force F-16 aircraft.

    The air alert ended at 11.22am and the public warning was lifted.

    NATO member Romania borders Ukraine and has frequently had to scramble its military aircraft in response to drone activity near the border.

    On Tuesday (13 October), a drone hit two ships off the coast of Bulgaria in the Black Sea, sinking one.

    The MApN said the target was shot down over Ukraine (Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

    The MApN said the target was shot down over Ukraine (Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

    Bulgaria’s Prime Minister Rumen Radev, said one of the ships was sailing under the Maltese flag and was hit by three drones at around 1.30am local time.

    The second ship, which was sailing under the flag of St Kitts and Nevis, was also hit and sank with one sailor rescued.

    In recent weeks, several senior European officials and intelligence services have warned that Russia may be planning to test the NATO alliance with increased covert attacks or even an incursion after a spate of sabotage incidents across the continent.

    Denmark’s defence intelligence service specifically warned Russia could use such tactics to split the NATO alliance.

    Earlier this week, a top NATO military commander said the alliance is ‘ready to fight tonight’ if it is attacked.

    US General Alexus Grynkewich said that he doesn’t believe a conflict is imminent or inevitable but went on to say that the most effective way to preserve peace is to prepare for war and to maintain open lines of communication to ‘resolve misunderstandings’.

    Gen Grynkewich provided no specific details about what kind of attack Nato is preparing for, nor where, nor with what kind of forces.

    But outlining what a response to a Russian attack could look like, Gen Grynkewich said Nato’s combined land, sea and air forces will move to stop Moscow seizing territory and deny Russia the ability to hold ground.

    “My theory of victory is simple,” he said at the Warsaw Security Forum.

    “We will block the initial attack. If the attack persists, we will blunt it and prevent any enemy advance. And if required, we will break the enemy’s forces and the operational war-fighting system arrayed against us.”

    This includes not just the attacking force but anything and everything that supports, sustains and controls it, he said.

    Gen Grynkewich added that it is important that NATO alliance members co-ordinate a ‘coherent’ response to Russian activity to make it clear to Moscow ‘where our red lines are’.

  • Hex Founder Richard Heart Detained in Istanbul on Interpol Red Notice: Report

    Hex Founder Richard Heart Detained in Istanbul on Interpol Red Notice: Report

    In brief

    • Turkish police and intelligence officers detained Hex founder Richard Heart in Istanbul on Wednesday, Turkish media reported, acting on an Interpol Red Notice.
    • Finland sought the notice in 2024 on a charge of aggravated tax fraud, and Heart was detained along with his wife, according to the reports.
    • The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission accused Heart in 2023 of raising more than $1 billion in unregistered crypto offerings, but later dropped the case.

    Turkish authorities have detained Richard Heart, the founder of the Hex cryptocurrency, in Istanbul on an Interpol Red Notice, Daily Sabah reported on Wednesday, citing Turkish news agency IHA.

    Heart, whose legal name is Richard James Schueler, was detained with his wife on Wednesday morning in an operation by Istanbul police and Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT), according to the report. Police had monitored his address in the city’s Beşiktaş district before the arrest.

    Officers seized a dozen mobile phones, several laptops, graphics cards, rifles, pistols, two drones, gold bracelets and a large amount of cash in different currencies, IHA reported.

    A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition or similar legal action, and is not an international arrest warrant. Interpol issued the notice for Heart in 2024 at the request of Finland. The notice lists a single charge, aggravated tax fraud, though Finnish authorities have also sought him over an alleged assault. Daily Sabah described the notice as relating to high-value cryptocurrency fraud.

    Heart and Hex

    Heart launched Hex in 2018, marketing it as a high-yield “blockchain certificate of deposit.”

    In 2023, the SEC charged Heart and three entities he controlled, Hex, PulseChain and PulseX, with conducting unregistered offerings of crypto asset securities that raised more than $1 billion. It also accused him of misappropriating at least $12 million of investor funds to buy luxury goods, including sports cars, watches and a 555-carat black diamond known as “The Enigma.”

    Myriad: Where does Ethereum go next? Click to make your prediction.
    Myriad: Where does Ethereum go next? Click to make your prediction.

    A federal judge dismissed the complaint in February 2025 for lack of jurisdiction, finding that Heart’s activities were not clearly aimed at U.S. investors. The SEC declined to amend it by an April deadline, ending the case, which Heart’s lawyer called “a complete victory.”

    It was not immediately clear whether Finnish authorities have requested Heart’s extradition from Turkey.

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  • Anthony Edwards Names Justin Bieber ‘White Boy of the Year’ in Satirical Believe That Awards (EXCLUSIVE)

    Anthony Edwards Names Justin Bieber ‘White Boy of the Year’ in Satirical Believe That Awards (EXCLUSIVE)

    Move over, Chalamet — there’s a new white boy of the year.

    Minnesota Timberwolves player Anthony Edwards has brought back his satirical Believe That Awards, which went viral in 2025 — reaching 150 million cross-platform views — for crowning Timothée Chalamet white boy of the year. In the 2026 edition, that honorific went to Justin Bieber, who beat out fellow nominees Tom Holland, Erling Haaland, Robert Pattinson and Travis Kelce. Bieber made an appearance in the awards special alongside fellow winners Michael B. Jordan, Druski, Coco Gauff, 50 Cent and more.

    The Believe That Awards, now live on Edwards’ YouTube channel and social media profiles and presented by PrizePicks, are produced by Edwards through his Three Fifths Media banner alongside Wheelhouse and Portal A. The special is meant to “celebrates standout moments, cultural disruptors and iconic achievements across sports and entertainment, filtered through the unapologetic and uncensored lens of Edwards.”

    The second annual Believe That Awards starring Anthony Edwards

    “We’re back, and we raised the bar across the board this year,” Edwards said in a statement. “You know me, which means you know we have the same unfiltered, totally unpredictable energy that is always built for and aimed directly at the culture. We brought together the biggest names in the game to chop it up, have fun and celebrate real greatness on our own terms. You’re not getting this vibe anywhere else.”

    “From day one, our mission at Three Fifths Media has been to create content that remains fiercely authentic to Anthony and the community that moves with him,” said Justin Holland, who is Edwards’ business manager and co-founder of Three Fifths Media. “The Believe That Awards sits at the true epicenter of sports, entertainment and culture. Year 2 proves that when you give creators and athletes the room to be themselves, audiences show up in a massive way.”

    See the full winners list below.

    • White Boy of the Year – Justin Bieber
    • Iconic Performance of the Year – Michael B. Jordan
    • Main Character of the Year – Druski
    • Creator of the Year – IShowSpeed
    • Stood on Bidness Award – Jaden McDaniels
    • Bring Ya Ass Award – LaMelo Ball
    • Beauty and The Beast Award (Outstanding On/Off Field Performance) – Coco Gauff
    • Lifetime Achievement Award – 50 Cent
  • Goldman Sachs Leads in Solana ETFs

    Goldman Sachs Leads in Solana ETFs

    What the Data Shows

    Current market conditions indicate that Solana’s performance is being closely watched alongside Bitcoin and Ethereum. Analysts are particularly attentive to how institutional interest may shape trading strategies in the coming weeks. Recent discussions have also highlighted the competitive positioning of Solana in relation to its peers, suggesting potential trends that traders should monitor closely.

    Solana is a high-performance blockchain known for its speed and low transaction costs. Its growing popularity is attracting interest from institutional investors, which is crucial for enhancing market credibility. Goldman Sachs has jurisdiction over crypto products, making its involvement in Solana ETFs particularly relevant for market dynamics.

    Where Do We Go From Here

    Traders should watch for increased activity in Solana’s market as Goldman Sachs’ significant holding could lead to heightened institutional interest. With the potential for new ETF flows, the interplay between Solana, Bitcoin, and Ethereum could define future trading strategies. The evolving dynamics among these assets will likely impact investor sentiment and market stability.

    The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice.

  • Baba Vanga predicted disaster for Putin as chilling 2026 prophecies resurface

    Baba Vanga predicted disaster for Putin as chilling 2026 prophecies resurface

    Baba Vanga has some chilling predictions for the next few months, including a change in leadership in Russia and fears of World War III.

    The infamous psychic has previously been credited with predicting some huge events, including the 9/11 terror attacks and the Covid-19 pandemic.

    The Bulgarian grandmother died in August 1996, but before she passed she made a number of predictions, many of which are still to come.

    For this year, Baba Vanga’s predictions reportedly included natural disasters, which we’ve sadly seen.

    She also warned that this is the year that humans may begin to find themselves replaced by machines, which echoes concerns about job losses some AI experts have issued.

    As we hurtle towards the end of the year there are still a few predictions the mystic made that are on the horizon.

    Baba Vanga predicted a change in leadership in Russia (Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

    Baba Vanga predicted a change in leadership in Russia (Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

    Baba Vanga reportedly predicted that Russia will have a new leader by 2027, ending Vladimir Putin’s 26-year run and potentially ushering in a new era of political turmoil that could see conflicts sparking out between world powers.

    In fact, both Baba Vanga and fellow psychic Nostradamus both believed this could be the year that World War Three kicks off.

    And if that isn’t enough to put a damper on your day, then Baba Vanga also predicted that by November the first aliens will arrive on Earth, meaning next month could be lively.

    Looking ahead to next year, it seems as though some of us could end with super-human powers.

    According to the psychic, in 2027 some folks may end up with ‘superhuman-like traits’ with the prophecy suggesting it could be caused by a mysterious disease or genetic experiment – sounds a bit like the plot of The Boys, doesn’t it?

    Of course, these are only predictions and it probably doesn’t make much sense to plan your life around some guesses someone made decades ago.

    Alongside that, Baba Vanga never actually wrote her predictions down, instead, they were passed on to those closest to her, including her niece Krasimira Stoyanova.

    This means that things can be misinterpreted or misunderstood, especially as more time passes.

    And, as you may have noticed, lots of the predictions made by Baba Vanga are pretty vague so they can’t really be pointed to as rock-solid proof of what’s to come.

    A scientist once predicted the world would end next month

    A scientist pinpointed the exact date he reckons the world will end (Getty stock image)

    A scientist pinpointed the exact date he reckons the world will end (Getty stock image)

    As well as Baba Vanga’s prediction that aliens might be rocking by the end of next month, back in the 1960s Austrian physicist Heinz von Foerster predicted that the world would end on 13 November 2026.

    Yep, that means if von Foerster is correct then we’ve got less than a month left.

    Unlike Baba Vanga, who relied on her psychic powers, von Foerster examined 24 estimates of the world’s population spanning a couple of thousand years to see how fast population growth was expanding.

    His research showed that where it used to take centuries for the population to double, it had since sped up and each doubling had happened quicker than its predecessor.

    The scientist claimed that if things continued in this way, then there would come a point where these doublings would be so rapid we’d run out of space and – as he put it – end up ‘squeezed to death’.

  • ‘The Lowdown’ Creator Sterlin Harjo on the Films That Inspired Season 2, and What Convinced Tommy Lee Jones to Join the Show

    ‘The Lowdown’ Creator Sterlin Harjo on the Films That Inspired Season 2, and What Convinced Tommy Lee Jones to Join the Show

    As “The Lowdown” Season 2 opens, citizen journalist (or “truthstorian”) Lee Raybon (Ethan Hawke) is in a completely uncomfortable position: success. He’s about accept a local media award for a piece he wrote about the death of Dale Washberg (as detailed in Season 1 of the series), but isn’t happy about it.

    Rather than accept his acclaim, a boozy Lee gets on stage and immediately tears into the crowd for being sellouts. It doesn’t go well. Series creator Sterlin Harjo admits to Variety that Lee’s inability to deal with a bit of acclaim comes directly from his own experience after the launch of his previous FX series, “Reservation Dogs.”

    “I was living in a studio loft in downtown Tulsa, and all of a sudden I had a TV show,” he says. “I had been a kind of quiet independent filmmaker hoping to get some attention from anyone in this industry with my films. But then, ‘Reservation Dogs’ Season 1 truly changed my whole life. And I didn’t handle it well at first. You don’t know what to do. All of a sudden, there’s articles, and there’s all this stuff and you’re very exposed. It was fun thinking of that as Lee Raybon, because how does he handle the little recognition that he got? I bet he handles it really wrong, and I bet that there is a knee-jerk reaction to reject it.”

    The theme of Season 2, Harjo says, is to figure out how to love yourself — and how that love will extend to everyone else in your life. After that initial shock of his “Reservation Dogs” success, Harjo is getting there. It helps that he has another critically acclaimed series on his hands.

    Conceivably, “The Lowdown” could go on forever, given that there’s no shortage of story fodder about the amount of profligacy that exists in the world. After Season 1, “I wasn’t finished telling the story,” he says. “There was more of the corruption that I could tell.”

    As Season 2 premieres on Oct. 14 on FX, Lee is soon recruited by public defender Ginger (Betty Gilpin) to investigate a new mystery: the disappearance of her client inside the Oklahoma prison system.

    This time out, Harjo says he was inspired by the 1972 Lee Marvin/Gene Hackman film “Prime Cut,” 1981’s “Cutter’s Way” and the 1949 noir “The Third Man” to come up with the underlying concept.

    “This idea of a missing man, I was like, how do we amp this up a little bit?” he says. “Well, it’s really hard to go missing in prison. There’s a sign-in sheet. How do you go missing from prison? That was such an intriguing question.”

    Harjo says he, fellow exec producer Duffy Boudreau and Hawke began brainstorming the idea while doing their press tour for Season 1 of “The Lowdown.”

    “That’s when we came up with kind of the bones of the plot,” he says. “Through lots of influences, and also just Oklahoma.”

    Harjo says they also got to know Hawke’s cousin, a public defender in Ft. Worth, who shared stories about her experiences. “And I grew up in a town with a prison, and I saw how that affects a town,” he adds. “You really saw this shift in the town, and not a positive one. Because you have drugs, you have trafficking, you have drug trafficking of guards and prisoners.”

    For inspiration, Harjo also remembers visiting his uncle as a kid in a McAlester, Oklahoma, prison, where he was doing time for repeat alcohol offenses. “The Lowdown” wound up shooting in that very same institution this season.

    But that’s just one half of Season 2. The show’s other bombshell comes at the end of the opening episode: Tommy Lee Jones shows up as Lee’s estranged father.

    “We talked a lot about being a father in Season 1. What’s it like being a son? And how do you forgive your father or a parent?” Harjo says. But just as Lee Sr. neglected his son growing up, Lee Jr. continues to mess things up with his own daughter, Francis (Ryan Kiera Armstrong).

    “He’s trying to not make bad decisions [like his father],” Harjo says. “And at the same time, he’s neglecting his daughter, which is a bad decision. And then, his father, who was a bad father, is connecting with his granddaughter.”

    “The more complicated you can make all that stuff, the better, because you’ve got to fight your way out of it as a writer,” Harjo says. “It was a very painful writing experience, more painful than anything, because I had written myself into so many corners. There was stuff that I was writing, there was episodes being written deep into production. I hope I never have to do that again!”

    After writing the first episode of Season 2, Harjo immediately thought of Jones for the part as Lee’s father. Both he and Jones are both represented by CAA — and once Jones read it, the actor wanted in. Jones had already watched Season 1 — and told Harjo that he specifically loved the bookstore security guards Waylon (Cody Lightning) and Cousin Henry (Jude Barnett), who provide some comic relief.

    “He wanted to be with them, which that told me everything I needed to know,” Harjo says. “If you love the security guards, you love me and the show and the vibe. Because those characters wouldn’t necessarily be on a lot of shows. You would cut that. After the premiere the other day, [Jones] says, ‘Thanks for paying attention to the character Waylon, because most people wouldn’t. It’s characters and storylines like that I think make the show what it is.’”

    Harjo also excitedly notes that Jones started watching “Reservation Dogs” while shooting “The Lowdown.”

    “There was something amazing about every day coming to work and having Tommy Lee Jones describe an episode of the show that I created,” he says. “He’d be talking to Ethan or me about it, and it was nice that he appreciated it so much. ‘Reservation Dogs’ is the type of show that you might think someone like Tommy Lee Jones could miss and not get it, but he’s a sophisticated, really smart artist and he loved it. It was amazing every day.”

    As for the character of Ginger, she’s clearly a love interest for Lee — a tough character who can go toe-to-toe with him, but has a humor to her as well. Once Gilpin came on board, Harjo says she helped redefine who Ginger could be.

    “Lee can be a bit wild, and I needed someone to match that energy,” Harjo says. “Betty can do anything, and I already knew that she was great. And then she came, and it was like another level. All of a sudden she’s doing things in the first scene that I’m filming with her, and there’s things happening that I did not write. From that day forward, I’m trying to write toward her voice and what she’s bringing to that character.”

    Harjo says he aimed to make Season 2 “go harder and faster with everything that we have established. It’s kind of like ‘Reservation Dog’ Season 2 as well. I’ve established the world. I feel like people that like the show will come with me. I have a meter of what feels real and what doesn’t, so I always sort of adhere to that. Let’s make ‘Empire Strikes Back,’ where it’s great and it stands on its own, but you also want more by the end. Gods of TV willing, we’ll be making a Season 3 of this show.”

    The first two episodes of “The Lowdown” Season 2 premiere on FX and Hulu on Oct. 14 at 9 p.m. ET, with remaining episodes airing weekly on Wednesdays

  • Bitcoin Falls as Hot Inflation Puts a Fed Hike Back on the Table

    Bitcoin Falls as Hot Inflation Puts a Fed Hike Back on the Table

    In brief

    • U.S. consumer prices rose 3.7% year over year in September, above the 3.6% forecast, as gasoline jumped 9.1% in a single month.
    • Odds of an October Fed rate hike roughly doubled from 22% after the report, and the 10-year Treasury yield climbed to about 5.3%.
    • Bitcoin fell 1.5% to $82,142 and is holding the $81,847 to $82,305 Fibonacci golden zone, with $81,603 as the next support.

    Bitcoin fell 1.5% to $82,142 on Wednesday after U.S. inflation came in hotter than expected, dragging most of the crypto market down with it. Ethereum dropped 2.8% to $2,440, Solana lost 1.9% and XRP slid 1.3%, while total crypto market cap shed 0.7% to $2.8 trillion.

    The Consumer Price Index rose 0.6% in September and 3.7% over the past year, up from 3.4% in August, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economists expected 3.6%. Gasoline prices jumped 9.1% in a single month and accounted for more than half of the increase.

    Myriad: How low will Bitcoin go? Click to make your prediction.
    Myriad: How low will Bitcoin go? Click to make your prediction.

    Core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose 2.6% annually against a 2.5% forecast. That is the reading the Federal Reserve watches most closely, since it shows whether price pressure is spreading into rent, airfares, and services.

    Expensive gasoline starts with expensive oil, which has traded above $90 a barrel for most of the past two months amid the war between the U.S. and Iran. Pricier fuel raises the cost of shipping and producing almost everything.

    When inflation runs hot, the Fed raises interest rates to cool spending. It already hiked in September to a 3.75%-4.00% range, and traders now see roughly 44% to 49% odds of another hike at its October 27-28 meeting, up from 22% before the report, according to CME FedWatch.

    The 2-year Treasury yield, which closely tracks Fed rate expectations, jumped about 10 basis points to roughly 4.9%, while the 10-year climbed to about 5.3%, near 24-year highs.

    Higher yields hit crypto directly. A government bond paying 5.3% with almost no risk competes with Bitcoin, which pays nothing. Rising rates also make borrowing more expensive and tend to strengthen the dollar, draining the cheap money speculative assets feed on, which is why the S&P 500 fell 0.6% and the Nasdaq 0.8% on the same news.

    Crypto also swings harder than stocks because many traders borrow to bet on rising prices, and when the price drops past a set level, exchanges automatically close those positions, a process called liquidation, and that forced selling can push prices lower and trigger more liquidations in a chain.

    BitcoinBTC · USD

    $81,686−1.71%

    Oct 8Oct 9Oct 11Oct 13Oct 15

    $84.2k$83.1k$81.9k$80.7k

    24h HighHigh$84,025

    24h LowLow$81,376

    VolVol$1.5B

    Market projectionsOdds by Myriad

    →

    At the moment, more than $281 million in crypto derivatives positions have been liquidated in the past 24 hours, with most of it coming in just the last four hours—and the majority of that coming from Bitcoin long positions (the bulls betting the price would go up, and now paying the price when it dropped).

    Bitcoin price: The macro picture is punching hard

    On the daily chart, Bitcoin opened at $83,066 and now trades near $82,211, sitting inside the Fibonacci “golden zone” it reclaimed on Tuesday. That zone marks an area where pullbacks within uptrends often attract buyers.

    The average price of the last 50 days remains above the 200-day average, a setup traders read as an intact long-term uptrend. The Average Directional Index, which gauges trend strength on a 0-to-100 scale where readings above 25 confirm a trend, sits at 27.7 with buyers still ahead, down from 29.9 on Tuesday, meaning traders are bullish, just not as much as they used to be.

    The Relative Strength Index, a momentum gauge from 0 to 100, slipped to 48.7, just under the 50 line that separates bullish from bearish momentum. The Squeeze Momentum Indicator has been on for eight sessions, meaning volatility is compressed and a big move is building, and its -0.76 reading leans bearish by a small margin.

    A daily close below $81,603 would break the golden zone and bring the $80,365 swing low into play, with the trend band near $80,284 right under it; losing that would expose $78,003. On the upside, bulls need to reclaim $84,245 before targeting $85,301, $86,644 and the October high of $87,422.

    The next test arrives Thursday with the Producer Price Index, which tracks what businesses pay for goods and services, and the Fed announces its rate decision on October 28.

    Disclaimer

    The views and opinions expressed by the author are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice.

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