Earth’s rotation subtly changes the length of the day. Now our clocks won’t change with it — at least not for a very long time.

© Miguel Román, Joshua Stevens/NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Leap seconds are seconds inserted into or removed from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) to account for differences between Observed Solar Time (UT1) and International Atomic Time (TAI). These discrepancies arise due to the slowdown and other irregularities in the Earth's rotation. On 15 October 2026, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) resolved to allow 3600 seconds of discrepancy between UT1 and TAI. The last leap second of our lifetime (or our children's, or their children's) was added in 2016.

By measuring the squishing and unsquishing of thorium-229 nuclei, two teams created a new type of clock that could someday beat the precision of atomic clocks.

Democratic Party runs more than 60 military-intelligence candidates for Congress. If, as appears likely based on pre-election polling, the Democratic Party makes significant gains in November, the military-intelligence "caucus" inside the Democratic delegation could double or triple in size. They will vastly outnumber the relative handful of self-proclaimed "democratic socialists" to whom the corporate media has given so much attention, and whom pseudo-left groups cite as evidence that the Democratic Party can be pushed to the left.

As we have argued in previous such studies, the large number of military-intelligence operatives entering politics as Democratic Party candidates is the result of a two-way process. The Democratic Party leadership is openly encouraging the recruitment of such candidates, as it seeks ever-closer ties to the Pentagon and CIA. And large sections of the military-intelligence apparatus view the Democratic Party as their preferred political vehicle, in opposition to the erratic policies of Donald Trump and particularly his pullback from direct involvement in the US-NATO war against Russia in Ukraine. Hat-tip to jeffburges in this thread. Why, besides NATO and Ukraine, would former military intelligence officers run for office as Democrats? Apropos of nothing, here are some other recent headlines: Report: Trump Used Grok to Help Talk Him Into Illegal Invasion of Venezuela. President Donald Trump was reportedly encouraged by Elon Musk's AI chatbot, Grok, to carry out his illegal invasion of Venezuela during an hourslong session with the chatbot just weeks before the attack this January. In December 2025, Trump asked Grok questions for hours during a secret visit to the White House by Musk, per new reporting by Time Magazine. How Jared Kushner's firm's investment in an Israeli company could be a major conflict of interest. At the same time Jared Kushner has acted as a key negotiator in the war in Gaza, his private equity company, Affinity Partners, has held the largest stake in an Israeli firm backing businesses involved in Israel's military campaigns, a CNN investigation has found. Jared Kushner is at the center of Trump's corruption. On Monday, Paramount Skydance — run by David Ellison, a billionaire Trump has openly urged to reshape the news industry in his favor — launched an unprecedented bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery by initiating a hostile takeover after losing an earlier bidding contest to Netflix. Paramount's offer draws heavily from Kushner's investment firm, Affinity Partners, and from the sovereign wealth funds of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar... Not even Rupert Murdoch's right-wing media empire was capitalized by foreign monarchies seeking political leverage.

Apple is urging users to treat any suspicious FaceTime call or message as untrusted, especially if it involves payments, refunds, password resets, or requests for personal information.

This warning appears in a broader Apple support article about scams that target iPhone and iPad users through social engineering. Apple says attackers may contact people by phone calls, FaceTime, text messages, or emails while pretending to represent a trusted organization.

The advice comes as many users still delay installing security updates, leaving them exposed even after Apple has released security patches.

Over recent months, we’ve seen a familiar pattern: attackers combine convincing Apple‑branded social engineering with known iOS vulnerabilities, then profit from the gap between “patch available” and “patch installed.”

Criminals have been reported making unsolicited FaceTime calls that look like they come from “Apple Support” or a bank, alongside messages disguised as urgent account alerts or refund offers. Once the victim answers or replies, the script is pretty much standard:

• The caller claims there is fraudulent activity or a technical problem.
• They pressure the user to “verify” card details, online banking credentials, or Apple ID information.
• In some cases, they persuade the victim to install remote‑access software or share one‑time passcodes.

Nothing in this process requires malware on the device. The “exploit” is human trust, backed by familiar names, logos, and a real‑time call that feels inherently more legitimate than a text message. That makes FaceTime a useful delivery channel for social engineering, especially since users are used to seeing Apple notifications and support prompts elsewhere in their digital life.

From an attacker’s point of view, combining social engineering with vulnerabilities is attractive. Social engineering can steal your usernames and passwords, while a browser‑side exploit can silently execute malicious code when users visit a booby‑trapped site. Chain those attacks together and the attacker can move from app‑level compromise to full system control. That’s how campaigns like DarkSword operate.

How to stay safe

Apple’s advice is straightforward:

• Don’t trust unexpected calls or texts.
• Never share sensitive information over unsolicited contact.
• Keep your iPhone updated to the latest iOS version.

We’d add:

• Protect your devices with an up-to-date, real-time security solution.
• Contact companies directly through trusted channels. Don’t use contact details provided in an email, text message, or call.
• Use Malwarebytes Scam Guard to determine whether a message is likely to be a scam.
• Be especially suspicious of unexpected FaceTime calls claiming to be from your bank or Apple. These organizations are unlikely to use FaceTime to contact you about serious account issues.

Apple also asks users to report suspicious FaceTime calls:

“If you receive a suspicious FaceTime call (for example, from what looks like a bank or financial institution), email a screenshot of the call information to reportfacetimefraud@apple.com.”

How to update your iPhone or iPad

To check whether you’re running the latest version of iOS or iPadOS:

• Go to Settings > General > Software Update. If an update is available, you’ll be able to download and install it from there.
• Turn on Automatic Updates if you haven’t already. You’ll find it on the same screen. That way, your device can install important security updates as soon as they’re available.

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Scammers know more about you than you think. 

Malwarebytes Mobile Security protects you from phishing, scam texts, malicious sites, and more. With real-time AI-powered Scam Guard built right in. 

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