Category: Breitbart
Trump-Backed Defense Bill Survives Critical Hurdle After Brief Conservative Revolt
‘NDAA in current form is NO GO’
Federal Reserve obliges Trump, cuts interest rates for the third time this year
In a move championed by President Donald Trump, the Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate by 0.25% to a range of 3.5% to 3.75% on Wednesday, the third cut this year, lowering borrowing costs and giving some lift to a flagging job market.
Only three members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors voted against the cut: Stephen Miran, who wanted to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 0.5%, and Austan Goolsbee and Jeffrey Schmid, who both figured it was presently best not to have any cuts at all.
‘Available indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace.’
Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist for the financial services firm RSM US, noted in a Tuesday analysis that the Fed was faced with the “difficult choice of either aggressively fighting inflation or hoping to revive a sluggish labor market and slowing economic activity when it meets on Tuesday and Wednesday.”
Rate cuts can help boost the stock market — encouraging spending, investing, and business activity by lowering savings rate and borrowing costs. However, by increasing the supply of money, they can also exacerbate inflation.
The annual inflation rate was around 3% for the 12 months ending September, according to U.S. Labor Department data. The Fed’s inflation target is 2% over the longer run — hence the resistance to another cut by some policymakers.
“The [Federal Open Market Committee] seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run. Uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated,” the Fed said in a statement on Wednesday. “The Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate and judges that downside risks to employment rose in recent months.”
In light of its goals and “the shift in the balance of risks,” the FOMC determined that a drop in the rate by 0.25% was worthwhile.
“Available indicators suggest that economic activity has been expanding at a moderate pace. Job gains have slowed this year, and the unemployment rate has edged up through September,” the Fed noted further. “Inflation has moved up since earlier in the year and remains somewhat elevated.”
The rate-cut decision on Wednesday comes months after the Fed similarly lowered its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points in September to a range of 4% to 4.25%, and after weeks of disagreement on the central bank’s 12-member policy committee regarding the prudent way forward.
Chris Brigati, chief investment officer at the financial services company SWBC, told the Financial Post ahead of the announcement that the Federal Reserve was divided on how to proceed with rate cuts in 2026 “given the delicate balance between job market weakness and still-elevated inflation.”
“There is also uncertainty about the new Fed chair, and that may also add to the central bank’s reluctance to make any major rate moves in the months leading up to Chair Powell’s term ending,” Brigati added.
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Image
In search of someone suitable to replace Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, whose term ends in May, the president has been interviewing various candidates, including Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman, both members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors; former Fed governor Kevin Warsh; and BlackRock fixed-income chief Rick Rieder. Top White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett is, however, reportedly regarded as the frontrunner.
The president told reporters on Air Force One on Tuesday, “We’re going to be looking at a couple of different people, but I have a pretty good idea who I want.”
When asked in his interview with Politico the previous day whether it is “a litmus test that the new chair lower interest rates immediately,” Trump said yes and noted, “We’re fighting through interest rates.”
The Federal Reserve also released on Wednesday its regional bank presidents and governors’ quarterly set of economic projections. They anticipate a rise in the unemployment rate from 4.4% in September to 4.5% by year’s end; the GDP to grow by 2.3% in 2026; and inflation to sink, but nowhere below their 2% target.
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This new malware wants to drain your bank account for the holidays. Here’s how to stay safe.
Android security has come a long way since the early days, thanks largely to Google’s broad suite of virus-busting tools, like Play Protect for apps, Safe Browsing for the web, and the Advanced Protection Program for Google accounts. However, malware can still infect devices from time to time, and the latest threat aims to infiltrate your bank account just before the holidays.
The threat
Dubbed Sturnus, this latest Android threat is a classic Trojan horse malware that bypasses Android’s security protections to gain access to a target device. Once inside, a hacker can spy on your conversations in popular chat apps — like Signal, Telegram, and WhatsApp — and even mimic your bank’s login screen to trick you into handing over your bank login and password.
What makes this malware especially tricky lies in its sophistication. Sturnus doesn’t break the encryption found in the popular apps listed above. Instead it exploits Android’s native accessibility features to view, detect, and record data shown on your screen. The malware even comes with uninstall protection, making it harder to remove from a device once infected.
Here are some things you can do to make sure your Android phone is protected from Sturnus.
How to know if your phone is infected with Sturnus
Sturnus is especially dangerous because it runs completely undetected. There’s currently no way to know for sure that the malware is installed on your device. It could be lurking in your phone right now!
But don’t panic just yet. You’re less likely to be infected if either of these apply to you:
First, Sturnus is only transmitted through downloading and installing an Android app (an APK file, also known as an Android Application Package) directly to your phone. More than that, the infected APK file has to come from a third-party source outside of the Google Play Store — either in an attachment sent through a spam message or via a third-party app store. In a statement provided to Android Authority, Google confirmed that all Android users who strictly download apps from the Google Play Store are safe:
Based on our current detection, no apps containing this malware are found on Google Play. Android users are automatically protected against known versions of this malware by Google Play Protect, which is on by default on Android devices with Google Play Services. Google Play Protect can warn users or block apps known to exhibit malicious behavior, even when those apps come from sources outside of Play.
Second, Sturnus has only been detected in devices based in South and Central Europe so far. Users in the United States aren’t under any direct threat right now, but this could change as we get further into the holidays.
How to prevent Sturnus from infecting your phone
Just to be safe, there are some things you can do to make sure your Android phone is protected from Sturnus or any other downloadable security threat.
Google Play Protect
Make sure Google Play Protect is on. This feature regularly scans the apps downloaded to your phone and checks them for “harmful behavior,” including viruses and malware. To enable Play Protect, open the Google Play Store app on your phone, tap your profile picture in the top right corner, then Play Protect. Make sure it’s turned on.
Screenshots by Zach Laidlaw
Disable ‘Install unknown apps’
The Google Play Store is the default app store found on most Android devices sold in the U.S. Although Android phones can download apps from other sources, most of them ship with this feature turned off by default. Still with Sturnus going around, it’s a good idea to check to make sure your phone can’t accidentally sideload an app from a dubious corner of the internet.
If you have a Samsung Galaxy phone, open the Settings app, tap on “Security and privacy,” then “More security settings,” and finally “Install unknown apps.” Make sure every app on this page is unchecked.
Screenshots by Zach Laidlaw
If you have a Google Pixel phone, open the Settings app, tap on “Apps,” then “Special app access,” and lastly “Install unknown apps.” As with Samsung, make sure every app on this page is disabled.
Screenshots by Zach Laidlaw
For those with other-branded Androids, you should be able to find this feature by opening your Settings app and typing “install unknown apps” into the search bar. As with the devices above, make sure this feature is disabled.
Extra features
Depending on your device, some Android phones come with additional security features that protect against malware, both on the software side and the hardware side. For instance, Samsung Knox protects data and defends from cybersecurity threats. As for Pixels 6 and up, they come with a Titan M2 chip that makes it harder for hackers to access your phone if it’s stolen, plus regular monthly security updates directly from Google ensure that their phones are always up to date.
The fix?
At this time, there is currently no fix for Sturnus, and there isn’t likely to be one anytime soon. Since the malware exploits several important features baked directly into the Android operating system, Google would have to disable these features entirely to get rid of the problem, something that simply can’t be done.
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Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
With Sturnus on the rise, it’s probably not a coincidence that Google recently announced that it is making it more difficult to distribute and sideload unverified apps from third-party sources. The move would prevent this exact kind of malware from infecting devices worldwide, though backlash from avid Android users has caused Google to loosen these restrictions just a bit. The final version of the sideloading changes are expected to roll out starting in late 2026.
As for now, your best bet to keep Sturnus out of your phone is to stay away from APKs that come from anywhere outside of the Google Play Store. Do that one simple thing, and you have nothing to worry about.
BLUE STATE LIVING: DHS Torches Newsom Over Healthcare for Illegals as Ambulance Costs Explode Nearly 400%: Report
New data shared by the Department of Homeland Security shows ambulance costs rising at an alarming rate in the Golden State due to taxpayer-funded health services for illegal immigrants.
Felon previously convicted for assault accused of swinging stick with metal screw on the end, bashing elderly woman in face
A 42-year-old male violently attacked an elderly woman in downtown Seattle last week, Seattle Police said.
Just before noon Friday, a number of citizens reported witnessing a male swinging a wooden stick with a metal screw at the end of it along 3rd Avenue and James Street, officials said.
‘He’ll be out in no time to strike again thanks to the Lunatic Leftists running Seattle and Washington State.’
Moments later, the male approached a woman waiting at the crosswalk at 3rd and James and swung the stick like a baseball bat, intentionally striking the woman in the face from behind, officials said.
With that, the victim fell backward to the ground with “a laceration that was bleeding heavily,” officials said, citing the police report.
Numerous bystanders came to the victim’s aid and called 911, officials said.
The Seattle Fire Department treated the 75-year-old woman for serious facial injuries, and paramedics transported her to Harborview Medical Center, where she underwent emergency surgery, officials said.
Even though the suspect walked away from the scene, an analyst with the Real Time Crime Center located the suspect and told officers where he was, officials said.
Within five minutes of the assault, nearby deputies with the King County Sheriff’s Office found the suspect and detained him without incident, officials said.
Deputies transferred the suspect to Seattle police custody, officials said, adding that the suspect was arrested after Real Time Crime Center video of the attack was reviewed.
Officers booked him into the King County Jail for assault in the first degree, officials said, adding that police recovered the weapon as evidence.
Officials added that the suspect had been given a “Violent Person” caution and is a felon previously convicted for assault.
Commenters under KIRO-TV’s video report about the incident don’t appear to be holding out much hope that justice will prevail:
- “He’ll be out in no time to strike again thanks to the Lunatic Leftists running Seattle and Washington State,” one commenter wrote.
- “What’s new,” another commenter wondered, adding that “it’s a third-world sewage dump.”
- “Shocking,” another commenter added, with tongue firmly in cheek. “Failed policies don’t work no matter how you feel about them.”
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