Eric Swalwell and Christine Fang (Facebook)Eric Swalwell, a California Democrat in Congress, of course is famous for dating an alleged Chinese spy. And for recently demanding that any party member desiring…

When Congress eventually reopens, the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) will be moving toward a vote. This gives us a chance to see the priorities of the Secretary of Defense and his Congressional allies when it comes to the military—and one of those priorities is buying technology, especially AI, with less of an obligation to prove it’s effective and worth the money the government will be paying for it.  As reported by Lawfare, “This year’s defense policy bill—the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)—would roll back data disclosures that help the department understand the real costs of what they are buying, and testing requirements that establish whether what contractors promise is technically feasible or even suited to its needs.” This change comes amid a push from the Secretary of Defense to “Maximize Lethality” by acquiring modern software “at a speed and scale for our Warfighter.” The Senate Armed Services Committee has also expressed interest in making “significant reforms to modernize the Pentagon's budgeting and acquisition operations...to improve efficiency, unleash innovation, and modernize the budget process.” The 2026 NDAA itself says that the “Secretary of Defense shall prioritize alternative acquisition mechanisms to accelerate development and production” of technology, including an expedited “software acquisition pathway”—a special part of the U.S. code that, if this version of the NDAA passes, will transfer powers to the Secretary of Defense to streamline the buying process and make new technology or updates to existing technology and get it operational “in a period of not more than one year from the time the process is initiated…” It also makes sure the new technology “shall not be subjected to” some of the traditional levers of oversight. All of this signals one thing: speed over due diligence. In a commercial technology landscape where companies are repeatedly found to be overselling or even deceiving people about their product’s technical capabilities—or where police departments are constantly grappling with the reality that expensive technology may not be effective at providing the solutions they’re after—it’s important that the government agency with the most expansive budget has time to test the efficacy and cost-efficiency of new technology. It’s easy for the military or police departments to listen to a tech company’s marketing department and believe their well-rehearsed sales pitch, but Congress should make sure that public money is being used wisely and in a way that is consistent with both civil liberties and human rights.  The military and those who support its preferred budget should think twice about cutting corners before buying and deploying new technology. The Department of Defense’s posturing does not elicit confidence that the technologically-focused military of tomorrow will be equipped in a way that is effective, efficient, or transparent. 

Ribbon, which provides software and technology to phone and internet giants, said nation-state hackers were in its systems since at least December 2024.

AWS continues to see strong demand as companies gobble up its cloud infrastructure services in the age of AI.

Good news if you’re one of those fans who has to be in the pit. I’m getting to the age (I’m 37 years old, for reference) where I’d much prefer to have a seat at a concert these days. Preferably an aisle seat, and preferably one that’s close to a bar and the bathroom. Not to get too picky or anything. Of course there are also plenty of fans who prefer to stand in the pit, closest to the stage and right in the middle of all the action. And if that’s you, you’re going to love the setup for Morgan Wallen‘s new tour. Yesterday the country music superstar officially announced that he would be hitting the road for his Still The Problem Tour in 2026, a massive 11-stop, 21 show stadium tour. (There’s also one stop yet to be announced, rumored to be at Clemson University, that was blurred out on the schedule, which would bring the total number of stadiums to 12 and the total number of shows to 23). The presale registration for the tour started yesterday, with tickets officially going on presale on Wednesday, November 5. But ahead of the tickets going on sale, fans did some research and spotted a new look for the upcoming tour. According to the map posted on ticketing sites, the Still The Problem Tour will feature a revamped stage with a new configuration, which will also include not one or two but FOUR pit sections for fans to choose from. Here’s the map for the show at Allegiant Stadium, for reference: The seating map for "Still The Problem Tour 2026" by @MorganWallen has been revealed for Allegiant Stadium in Ticketmaster The main stage has been completely reworked, with 4 pits now. This may signal a completely different setlist! The B stage still exists for the acoustic set pic.twitter.com/0DSV0c5z6D — Morgan Chart Updates (@MorganChart) October 31, 2025 And here’s a look at the stage that Morgan used on his I’m The Problem tour this past year: @clevercreativ Morgan Wallen had a stadium singing loud to start off his I’m The Problem tour in Htown #houston #morganwallen #viral #imtheproblem ♬ Crowd – Stadium Cheering Sound Effect – Hollywood Sound Effects As you can see, the new stage appears to have two runways off to the side where Morgan will be able to go further out into the pit, whereas the previous stage had two holes in the middle for pyrotechnics. I’m so no matter what he’s got up his sleeve, the show is going to be a production unlike any other in country music. If you’ve seen Morgan on tour previously, you know that he goes all out, from the stage and set to the fireworks and visuals. And he always has a “B-stage” at the back of the arena where he usually performs an acoustic set during the show, which appears to remain unchanged on the seating chart for the new tour. ‘Still The Problem’ Tour Dates April 10 || Minneapolis, Minn. || U.S. Bank Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason April 11 || Minneapolis, Minn. || U.S. Bank Stadium w/ HARDY, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason April 18 || Tuscaloosa, Ala. || Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Vincent Mason, Zach John King May 1 || Las Vegas, Nev. || Allegiant Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason May 2 || Las Vegas, Nev. || Allegiant Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason May 8 || Indianapolis, Ind. || Lucas Oil Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Hudson Westbrook, Zach John King May 9 || Indianapolis, Ind. || Lucas Oil Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Flatland Cavalry, Zach John King May 15 || Gainesville, Fla. || Ben Hill Griffin Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King May 16 || Gainesville, Fla. || Ben Hill Griffin Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King May 29 || Denver, Colo. || Empower Field at Mile High w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason May 30 || Denver, Colo. || Empower Field at Mile High w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason June 5 || Pittsburgh, Penn. || Acrisure Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King June 6 || Pittsburgh, Penn. || Acrisure Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King June 19 || Chicago, Ill. || Soldier Field w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King June 20 || Chicago, Ill. || Soldier Field w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King July 17 || Baltimore, Md. || M&T Bank Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat July 18 || Baltimore, Md. || M&T Bank Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat July 24 || Ann Arbor, Mich. || Michigan Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten July 25 || Ann Arbor, Mich. || Michigan Stadium w/ HARDY, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten July 31 || Philadelphia, Penn. || Lincoln Financial Field w/ ​​Brooks & Dunn, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten August 1 || Philadelphia, Penn. || Lincoln Financial Field w/ Ella Langley, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten A while back, we talked with the team at Raw Cereal, the company that works with Morgan to bring his shows to life. If you’ve never heard of Raw Cereal, the company founded by Cort Lawrence and Anders Rahm has worked with some of the biggest artists in the world to not only help them bring their vision to life, but to make sure the experience is an unforgettable one for fans. In country music, the guys from Raw Cereal have recently worked with names like Morgan Wallen, Lainey Wilson and HARDY to design the production for their shows – and according to Lawrence, while the process of designing a show is different for each artist, it always starts with the music: “The process is always different with each artist. Everybody has their own different style, and that’s the fun part about us digging into the music, whether it’s new music that nobody’s ever heard or all their old stuff that they’re bringing round and round and round again on these shows. It always starts with the music. The music is what drives these tours. The music is what drives our creativity.” From there, it’s up to Lawrence and Rahm to work with the artist to make their vision come to life: “We work on all the fun stuff. Do you want to have pyrotechnics? Do you want to have scenic gags? Do you want to have something nobody’s ever seen before? Morgan breaks through a door – that’s genius. And that was his idea. He’s had that idea for quite awhile, so we’re the team that brings those ideas to life. We’re very fortunate that artists come to us with these ideas because they feel that we’re the team that can bring it to life.” @mswango11 Mlrgan Wallen show opener “Ain’t That Some” at Lucas Oil Stadium #onenightatatimetour #lucasoil #morganwallen #indianapolis #fyp #foryou @morganwallen ♬ original sound – Kenzie Swango It’s things like busting through a door to open his show that Rahm says artists will bring to them – but then it’s up to the Raw Cereal team to not only implement those ideas, but help it fit into the bigger picture of the entire show: “Artists have ideas. Morgan’s been thinking about the door for years. And at the end of the day, you can’t build a show around a door gag. You can have the door, and it’s an exciting moment in the show, but what artists really come to us for is to develop the entire story arc of the show. They come to us to develop the visual elements of the show, work on the timing of said visual elements, the flow of the show.” And while they work closely with the artists themselves, it’s not just the artists: Rahm explained that they work with the entire team to make sure that every element comes together. “On Morgan’s team, we work with the drummer Taco directly on the setlist. He tells us how songs should flow in and out of each other, and then we work with them on the placement so that we can help drive the motion of the show. We work with their management teams on what their future goals are so that we can lead into them creatively, working with any potential album art or new songs that are coming out. And then at the end of the day, most artists don’t know the technicalities behind what’s available to them, so it’s our job to bring the new technologies forward. Usually an artist doesn’t know what they want when they come to us. They may have some sense of creative, like the door, or some piece, but it’s nearly impossible for them to say, ‘I want a giant circle screen, and I want these lights over here, and I want this.’ It’s never happened for me personally… For the most part, we have to come with ideas, and then work with them on what the show looks like, what it feels like, and then what that story is.” The Process For Each Show Is Unique Of course, some artists are more involved than others: While Cort and Anders say that Morgan was passionate about his production, he was “very easygoing” and trusted the team to execute his vision, while other artists are “micromanagers” who are calling every week (I didn’t ask which artists these were – for obvious reasons). But regardless of the artist’s style, Rahm says it’s up to the Raw Cereal team to work closely with the artist to execute their vision: “We’re very collaborative with the artists themselves… Each of these artists are their own brand. Lainey is her own brand. Morgan is his own brand. They have their own bar, they have their own music, they have their own style, they have all these things. Our job is always to represent their brand for them and bring that out during the show… You wouldn’t want Morgan to have the same personality and show as Lainey Wilson.” And not only are the artist’s personalities different, but the goals for each tour are different too, and can vary based on what an artist has done for previous shows, how long they’re going to be on tour, and whether the setlist will be changing throughout the tour. For example, on his One Night At A Time tour, Morgan added “I Had Some Help” into his shows in the middle of the tour – and the Raw Cereal team had to plan for that too: “As these artists continue making new music on their tour, or releasing new music on their tour, the concert has to evolve. Additional programming and visuals. Lainey’s got a new album coming out. HARDY just released a new album. So as all these artists continue developing their own music and style, the show evolves as well.” A Game Of Inches One of the surprising things that Lawrence revealed about designing a show like Morgan’s was that, despite the whole production filling a massive stadium, everything had to be designed down to the inch so that it all fit together. “I think that’s the most tedious part about designing… It’s all about thinking about the venues ahead of time, but it’s funny that we’re dealing with a football field, but we had to dial it in to the exact inches to make everything fit perfectly on that stage.” And it was that attention to detail and ability to bring Morgan’s vision to life that his production manager Chad Guy says he appreciated about working with the Raw Cereal team: “The Raw Cereal team are incredible partners, we truly appreciate their collaboration. Their ability to translate our overall performance vision into the live space, in ways that truly represents the diverse nature of Morgan and his music, is second to none.” Overall, Lawrence says that the process of designing Morgan’s show took around 10 months – including a month of rehearsals. But they don’t always get the luxury of that much rehearsal time, and it’s the Raw Cereal team’s job to make sure that they can put out a finished product no matter how much time they’re given based on the artist’s schedule. Storytelling Through Visual Production At the end of the day though, the goal is always the same: To help the artist tell their story and put on the best show possible for their fans – something that Lawrence says he appreciates about working with country artists, whose music is often all about the storytelling: “Country music is so fun to work in. It’s so exciting, the fans love it. And it can be so simple too, because this is a band, and an artist, and they’re there to sing their music, and sing the music that their fans love, and we’re there to give an environment so that when the audience is listening they have something that can really imprint in their minds. They can visualize it with what they’re seeing and hearing. A lot of country music can be literal too. When we work with Riley Green and HARDY, they want that mood to come out perfectly with the visuals in the show, which is such a great concept. It’s led us to be better storytellers when we’re putting on these concerts as well.” For most people, the work that goes into producing a show probably isn’t something you think about. You show up to the concert, you’re impressed by the visuals and the fireworks and the sets, and you enjoy a concert from your favorite artists. But as Lawrence and Rahm made clear, that’s only possible thanks to months of hard work, collaboration, and an incredible amount of talent from people like the team at Raw Cereal. And once you know what all went into bringing that show to life, it really makes you appreciate it that much more. If you want to see some more of Raw Cereal’s work, check out the stage for Lainey Wilson – complete with a rotating pickup truck: @mallorygreen7 Hang tight honey #countrymusic #fyp #laineywilson ♬ original sound – Mallory Green Or Riley Green’s duck blind: @whiskeyriff Tipping his hat to Toby Keith. @Riley Green // whiskeyriff.com #whiskeyriff #rileygreen #tobykeith ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff And here’s Morgan talking about the replica of his Mamaw’s house that serves as just one piece of his massive set: @atailoredevent His sweet side is pretty great too! #morganwallen #fypage #lasvegas #fypシ゚viral #morganwallentiktok #2024 #morganwallenconcert #mw #onenightatatimetour #musictok #vegas ♬ original sound – LoverOfLive The post Stadium Map For Morgan Wallen’s “Still The Problem” Tour Reveals Revamped Stage Complete With FOUR Pits first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

He cracked the code. About a year ago, Post Malone sat down as the guest for Theo Von’s This Past Weekend podcast, and was a great conversation about music, life and they of course shared some of their best stories over the years. Theo asked Post if he has seen all of the costumes where people dress up as him, which of course many people do, and Post had a hilarious story about just how easy it is to go out disguised as… himself. I’m sure it gets old having people constantly come up to you when you’re out in public, but every time I’ve seen a video of Post meeting a fan out in the wild, so to speak, he always seems extremely genuine and kind, so I don’t think it bothers him as much as it does some celebrities, but apparently Halloween is the one night of the year he can go out and sort of fly under the radar. During the episode, Theo asked if Post had seen all oft he photos online of people using his look as a costume, and Post proceeded to tell Theo about one Halloween where he went out on Bourbon Street, and no one knew it was the real Post Malone… they all thought he was someone dressed up as Post Malone, and he got tons of compliments for how good it was. He says he didn’t get stopped one time: “A cool story about Halloween, I don’t know if I’ve told this before… we were on Bourbon Street, I love it there, by the way. It’s like the dopest place. But we went on Halloween, and people thought I was a costume. Didn’t get stopped once. They were like, ‘Sick costume, dude.’ I’m like, ‘Thanks, man.’ Didn’t get stopped once.” Maybe an obvious disguise is really the best disguise? At least on Halloween… It’s also Bourbon Street in New Orleans on Halloween, so I’m sure most of the people couldn’t even see straight, but it’s still funny. Theo also brought up how many people dress up their babies as Posty, which is pretty funny because they have to put all kinds of tattoos on them and stuff like that, which Post says surprises him, and he can’t figure out why he’s so big with the “three and under demographic”: “I don’t know why babies dress up as me so much. I don’t know why my music is so big to the three and under demographic.” They looked through tons of photos of babies dressed up as Post Malone, and it actually is really funny when you think about it… some of the parents really take it all the way. So if you see any Post Malone costumes out and about tonight, you might want to do a double take to make sure it’s not the real Posty: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Theo Von (@theovon) The full episode is available below. The post Post Malone Recalls Hilarious Halloween On Bourbon Street Where People Thought He Was A Random Person Wearing A Costume: “Didn’t Get Stopped Once” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Zach Top does not feel confident in anything but a cowboy hat, noted. Zach Top has a signature look: starched jeans stacked on his cowboy boots and a felt hat of sorts. Of course, this look is complete with his signature mustache, sealing the deal that he’s as country as they come. Zach Top grew up on a farm in Washington state, and always jokes that he’s cowboy enough to wear the hat, but not a true cowboy, which is why he pursued a career off the ranch. And while Top might feel like a little bit of an imposter in his cowboy hat, he feels even more out of place wearing anything other than a cowboy hat. During a recent show in Charleston, South Carolina, Zach Top (kind of) tried out a new look but quickly realized it didn’t jive with him. During the show, a Citadel cadet (military college in Charleston) near the front row threw his cap onto the stage. It was quickly picked up by the “I Never Lie” singer, and he threw it on top of his cowboy hat. But the double hat moment was short-lived before Top took it off and noted that it made him feel some type of way. “That’s a serious hat. I was about to make a joke. Well, I’ll just make the joke anyway. I felt like when I put that on, I was about to be a male stripper or something. But that’s a serious hat.” HA. I think Zach would need to sport a robe or something to give a whole Hugh Hefner male-stripper vibe, but I can see where he was going with that comparison. After taking a second to admire the hat, he asked the crowd where it came from, then asked the identified hat owner whether he bought it at a costume store or served. “Where’d that come from? Him right there? Did you buy this from a costume store, or did you do something for it? We appreciate your service, sir! Let me send this right back to you because I don’t deserve to wear that.” Good on Zach Top for returning the hat to its rightful owner. While it would have been a cool souvenir for Top to have from Charleston, given that it was not a costume, it deserved to be used momentarily and then returned. And as Zach Top said, thank you for your service. @laurenkkane Zach Top repping the Citadel #charleston #zachtop #countryconcert #zachtopconcert #fyp @Zach Top ♬ original sound – LK I mean, the captain’s hat atop the cowboy hat is quite an interesting look. I bet the ladies would have been swooning if he had worn that captain’s hat alone. Hey, maybe he can take some inspiration for his Halloween costume from this night and pull off a Hugh Hefner-like look.  The post “I Don’t Deserve To Wear This” – Zach Top Jokes That He “Felt Like A Stripper” Briefly Sporting A Citadel Cadet’s Cap In Charleston first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

A federal judge is reportedly leaning towards forcing President Trump to use the emergency funds to cover the SNAP program, since benefits expire tomorrow. Fox News explains more and what the administration . . .