The Financial Times reports that the U.K. is once again demanding that Apple create a backdoor into its encrypted backup services. The only change since the last time they demanded this is that the order is allegedly limited to only apply to British users. That doesn’t make it any better. The demand uses a power called a “Technical Capability Notice” (TCN) in the U.K.’s Investigatory Powers Act. At the time of its signing we noted this law would likely be used to demand Apple spy on its users. After the U.K. government first issued the TCN in January, Apple was forced to either create a backdoor or block its Advanced Data Protection feature—which turns on end-to-end encryption for iCloud—for all U.K. users. The company decided to remove the feature in the U.K. instead of creating the backdoor. The initial order from January targeted the data of all Apple users. In August, the US claimed the U.K. withdrew the demand, but Apple did not re-enable Advanced Data Protection. The new order provides insight into why: the U.K. was just rewriting it to only apply to British users. This is still an unsettling overreach that makes U.K. users less safe and less free. As we’ve said time and time again, any backdoor built for the government puts everyone at greater risk of hacking, identity theft, and fraud. It sets a dangerous precedent to demand similar data from other companies, and provides a runway for other authoritarian governments to issue comparable orders. The news of continued server-side access to users' data comes just days after the UK government announced an intrusive mandatory digital ID scheme, framed as a measure against illegal migration. A tribunal hearing was initially set to take place in January 2026, though it’s currently unclear if that will proceed or if the new order changes the legal process. Apple must continue to refuse these types of backdoors. Breaking end-to-end encryption for one country breaks it for everyone. These repeated attempts to weaken encryption violates fundamental human rights and destroys our right to private spaces.

"Character.ai is freeriding off the goodwill of Disney’s famous marks and brands, and blatantly infringing Disney’s copyrights," a Disney lawyer wrote.

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“Are bills like SB 53 the thing that will stop us from beating China? No,” said Adam Billen, vice president of public policy at youth-led advocacy group Encode AI. “I think it is just genuinely intellectually dishonest to say that that is the thing that will stop us in the race.”

Bad Bunny is a total hypocrite

Imagine hearing your own song on the radio in the back of a police car. By now we all know what happened with Morgan Wallen’s infamous chair throwing incident that occurred at Eric Church’s downtown Nashville bar, Chief’s, last year. The country music superstar was arrested and charged with three counts of felony reckless endangerment and one count of disorderly conduct after throwing a chair off the roof of the building, and later pled guilty to misdemeanor reckless endangerment in Davidson County court in December of last year. Morgan was ultimately sentenced to two years of probation and seven days in jail, to be served at a DUI education center. Luckily nobody was injured in the incident, and there’s no doubt Morgan wants to put the entire thing behind him. But unfortunately, bodycam video from the arrest was released earlier today that once again has Morgan and his chair throwing arrest in the headlines. In the video, obtained by the AP from the Metro Nashville Police Department, both Morgan and his bodyguard can be heard denying that he threw the chair from the roof: “I ain’t done nothing wrong.” He also could be heard on the video calling his buddy, and the owner of the bar, Eric Church to let him know what was going on: “Hey, these motherf–kers are trying to take me, they’re trying to take me to jail outside of your f–king bar.” Church can’t be heard on the recording, but I imagine his next question was something like, “Who?” because Morgan then replied: “The cops. I’m not sure… They’re trying to. They won’t let me leave.” But unfortunately for Morgan, officers were able to determine after watching the security camera footage that he was in fact the suspect behind the flying chair, and the country superstar was cuffed and placed in the back of the cruiser. In dashcam footage, Morgan seemed to be in decent spirits (probably thanks to some spirits…) all things considered as he was being driven to the jail, with the officer even telling the country star that he was one of their favorite artists. And as his government Uber driver took Morgan to the clink, one of the singer’s own songs came up on the cop’s Spotify playlist – which clearly excited Morgan: “Oh sh-t this is me and Thomas Rhett! Turn it up! That’s me and TR! That’s me right there. Come on now, me and TR.” It’s a little hard to hear, but apparently the song playing was “Mamaw’s House,” Morgan’s 2023 duet with his friend Thomas Rhett. And Morgan had high praise for his duet partner: “TR is one of the best. He’s one of the best dudes in the world. He would DEFINITELY not be getting arrested.” At least he had some good music to listen to on the way to jail. Eric Church On Morgan Wallen’s Arrest Church has served as a mentor of sorts to Wallen throughout his career, and the two even recently teamed up to buy the iconic outdoors brand Field & Stream. And during an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Church recalled hearing about the chair incident for the first time – while Morgan was still standing outside of his bar: “Morgan called me from the street after it happened. I was watching college basketball, and he said, “Hey, this just happened.” I said, “Uh-oh.” I knew it was gonna be noisy, and it was — it was d–n noisy.” Just a little bit. I know on our end it was one of the biggest stories that we posted all year, and it was something not only all over the news but all over social media with memes and jokes. Pretty noisy. But Church says he thinks the incident was a learning moment for Morgan, one that he’s grown from in the year since it happened: “It was actually a good thing for Mo. I think that was a line for him, and he’s done really well since then — it was a thing he’s reacted positively to as a person. I used the old Billy Joe Shaver line on him: “I’m just an old chunk of coal, but I’ll be a diamond one day.” He went down [to Chief’s] and apologized to the staff, shook everybody’s hand. I was proud of him.” Good on him. As for Morgan, he recently revealed during a conversation with Theo Von that his fateful trip to Chief’s was the last time he’s been in a bar: “It’s definitely the best thing for me, you know… I ain’t been in a bar since the last time I was in a bar that everybody knows about. The most public time I was in a bar, that’s the last time I was in a bar.” Smart. Definitely smart.The post “That’s Me, Turn It Up!” – Morgan Wallen Jammed To His Own Music In The Police Car After Being Arrested For Chair Throwing Incident first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

A birthday party fit for the King of Country Music. Remember when you were a kid and you got fun, themed birthday parties? Maybe you’ve stretched those out into adulthood (good on you if you’ve managed to do so), but for most, the birthday gatherings come to an end at some point. They’re replaced with something equally as fun… The once a year “Happy Birthday! Hope you have a good one!” text. Fortunately, today’s youth seems to still be having proper birthday celebrations. One three-year-old named Smith was given the choice to “Check Yes Or No” on a George Strait themed birthday party, and he evidently checked yes. The little guy apparently loves everything about the 73-year-old country artist, and thanks to his family, he got to live out his young dream of having a birthday party that celebrated both his birthday and the musical stylings of George Strait. A TikTok capturing the celebration has gone viral online, garnering over 200,000 views and plenty of praise from country music fans (and fans of kiddos having birthdays that are themed things other than Bluey). And 3-year-old Smith appears to be having the time of his life dressed up as a cowboy and sitting in between a delectable looking cake and a cardboard cutout of the King of Country himself. The song overlaid on the viral video? None other than Strait’s hit “Write This Down.” Its upbeat tempo pairs perfectly with the smiling Smith posing for the camera and blowing out the candles of his birthday cake. If this isn’t a core memory, I don’t know what it is. “POV: You just turned 3 and are obsessed with George Strait.” @califowler58 You’re tinniest but biggest fan @George Strait #georgestrait #cowboy #fyp ♬ Write This Down – George Strait Nothing like a country music themed birthday party. When you watch the video, it’s easy to see why the 3-year-old’s party is spreading quickly online. It’s a dream come true for Smith, and the footage of him enjoying his big, George-Strait-themed day is an instant mood booster. TikTok users can’t get over how well the party turned out, and many expressed that they too want to have a birthday party with George Strait theming: “Well this is just the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.” “Oh my gosh I’m obsessed with this! Happy birthday lil man!” “This kid has good taste.” “Now that is what I’m talking about! Raising that boy right!” “Makes sense… George Strait is the best.” “Young and old, we all love King George.” “Damn I want a George Strait birthday party.” To those who want to have their own King of Country b-day celebration, might I remind you that you have free will? Seems like a George Strait birthday can be yours if a cardboard cutout and a Bluetooth speaker blasting “Amarillo By Morning” can be arranged…The post 3-Year-Old’s George Strait Themed Birthday Party Goes Viral On TikTok: “This Kid Has Good Taste” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Terrifying. Nearly three years ago today, on October 2, 2022, HARDY and his crew were involved in a serious accident while traveling on their tour bus last night after leaving a show in Bristol, Tennessee. While traveling along I-40 West to Nashville, the bus, which was reportedly going 70 miles per hour at the time, veered off the highway, flipped multiple times before coming to a rest down in the woods. Though all four members, including the bus driver who had either an aneurysm or seizure according to HARDY, survived the horrific crash, it was not without its consequences. Beyond the “TRUCK BED” singer fracturing his back and receiving a major gash on his head as a result of the crash, he’s continued to experience the lasting trauma from that day, which included multiple show cancellations in 2023 due to his struggles with anxiety. In an interview with Sirius XM in 2023, he opened up for the first time about dealing with the aftermath of the crash: There’s nothing to be ashamed of… What I’ve learned is that anxiety is an emotion. Everybody in this room gets jealous, everybody in this room gets happy, they get sad, and it’s completely okay and not embarrassing at all to get anxious. It’s part of being a human being. I truly, I feel like this has happened for a reason because I wanna be a voice for people who maybe are afraid to admit, or ashamed to admit, that they go through that shit because it’s really hard and it’s really hard on you. If you don’t talk about it or get help, it can weigh on you really bad and bad things can happen from that. I think it’s important to feel comfortable to talk about it, because I have it and I have friends that have it, celebrities, that some are vocal, some are not. It’s something that a lot of people have and a lot of people deal with. It’s okay to talk about.” Though he’s gone on record plenty of times about the aftermath, HARDY had yet to talk about the horrific events leading up to the nearly fatal crash. That changed today in an interview with Rolling Stone on their Nashville Now podcast. As Hardy recalls, he was actually listening to Kendrick Lamar while on a FaceTime call with none other than Morgan Wallen when his bus driver pulled over to use the bathroom. Sensing something was wrong with him, the Mississippi native asked him how he was doing before receiving a strange response just minutes before the crash itself occurred. “I said, ‘You good?’ And he said, ‘yep,’ and I said, ‘How much longer do we have?’ And he said, ‘Yep.’ We got about two more miles down the road, and he had either an aneurysm or seizure while driving and we barreled off the side of the road. The bus flipped over three times.” After the crash, which knocked all four unconscious, HARDY said he woke up on the ceiling of the bus. Describing the bus as looking like a bomb went off, he’d proceed to get out of it and attempt but fail to wave someone down off the side of the road before finally receiving help more than 30 minutes afterward. “It went from being a bus to a movie set, like a bomb went off. I crawled out of the front windshield, which was busted open… The bus had gone so far down the hill that you couldn’t see it from the highway. So, all these trucks and cars were flying by and they couldn’t see us. I had a black hoodie with a big white circle on it and all I could think to do is take that hoodie off and try to wave people down. I did that for about 30 minutes and I could not get somebody to stop.” HARDY would also reveal the most horrifying tidbit of the whole situation. When he woke up, he realized that his head was underneath the top panel of the bus’ long windows. Obviously, this meant that if the bus had slid down even a foot further after the crash, he very well could have been decapitated. “When I woke up, the bus windows are long… and my head was underneath the top of the panel. If we would have slid another foot, it’d have cut my head off.” Recalling a moment as traumatic as that could not have been easy. Watch the full podcast here: The post HARDY Nearly Died In Horrific 2022 Bus Crash – “Another Foot, It’d Have Cut My Head Off” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

The Chuck Schumer government shutdown, which just began today, will last until Friday at the very least, according to CNN reporter Manu Raju. Why? Because they are leaving town in observance of . . .