• Fake iCloud deletion emails are pressuring Apple users into dangerous clicks
• Poor grammar in iCloud alerts remains a clear sign of fraud
• Clicking fake iCloud upgrade links can expose banking and personal data

A wave of deceptive emails is attempting to pressure Apple users into believing their iCloud data is at immediate risk of deletion, using increasingly aggressive language to force quick reactions.

The messages often claim a user’s storage limits have been exceeded or that an account has been blocked, followed by threats that photos and videos will be permanently erased on a specified date.

While the Trump administration’s extremely aggressive, thoroughly bigoted attempts to eliminate as many non-white people from this country as possible have resulted in some periodic push back from law enforcement officials, we can never forget that federal law enforcement officers are still just law enforcement officers. And, more often than not, they’ll always have the support of their brothers in blue, even though most federal officers prefer camo and face masks these days.

Law enforcement is self-selecting. The people who feel drawn to law enforcement are generally the last people you would want to become law enforcement officers. It’s rarely about being given the chance to serve, protect, and be an active part of your community. It’s almost always about having a badge, a gun, and accountability that’s inversely proportional to the amount of power you immediately obtain.

So, it comes as no surprise that cops who shouldn’t have any skin in the anti-ICE game are stepping up to punish people for daring to criticize the actions of those federal officers. And there’s probably a bit of backlash involved here as well, as this following report details the actions of California law enforcement officers who (one assumes) aren’t thrilled the state’s residents have managed to reclaim much of the power that has always been owed to the people.

Despite the administration’s on/off surges in “blue” states, the furor over ICE and its actions hasn’t died down, not even in California, where the administration rolled out its martial law beta test. At first, it was easy to pretend people protesting ICE were “woke radicals” or “antifa” or “paid organizers” or “lazy trans everywhere college students” or whatever. But it just kept going and expanding, clearly demonstrating a significant portion of the population wasn’t on board with roving kidnapping squads and murders of activists by jumpy recruits recently introduced to the wholly domestic War on Migrants.

Now that it’s everyone rather than just the usual left-wing agitprop cliches federal and local officers expected to confront during protests, cops in California are deciding it’s time to start arresting everyone.

The Clovis Police Department on Tuesday referred Alfred Aldrete, 41, for one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for his role in a February high school student walkout. 

“During the investigation, Aldrete was identified as being present during the walkout and allegedly involved in directing student activity and entering the roadway, which impacted traffic flow,” Clovis police said in a press release. “Investigators also identified Aldrete as being present during a separate student gathering in Clovis on Feb. 5 that occurred outside of school hours.”

Yep, that’s what the Clovis PD actually did: it equated an adult ensuring students made it to their planned protest safely with the sort of horrors — harboring runaways, providing drugs and alcohol to minors, etc. — people usually associate with the crime of “contributing to the delinquency of a minor.” Those would be the sorts of crimes actually prosecuted by county prosecutors under this statute.

This stat may explain why the Clovis PD thought it should explore the fringes of this statute for the sole purpose of punishing someone for speech they (and they people they serve, apparently) don’t care for:

[C]lovis, population 128,000, where Donald Trump won every precinct in the 2024 presidential election — some with more than 70% of the vote. 

That tracks. Fortunately, it doesn’t track as far as the District Attorney’s office:

A representative for Fresno County District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp in a written statement said prosecutors would not file charges against Aldrete.

Hooray for prosecutorial discretion, but in the non-pejorative sense! It’s an unexpected twist that only makes this further twist even more inexplicable:

Within a day of the walkout, Clovis police said they were considering charges against up to six adults under Section 272 of the California Penal Code, which is most often used to prevent chronic truancy. The Los Angeles Police Department has also said it’s considering charges against people who joined immigration-related protests under the same penal code section. 

At the beginning of Trump’s first martial law-esque surge, the LAPD (and the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department) were opposed to the insertion of National Guard units and other federal officers into the mix. Stating that they were capable of handling whatever minimal “violent protests” they had actually encountered, law enforcement officials made it clear that this federal interloping would only make a manageable problem unmanageable.

More than a year later, the LAPD has flipped the script from blue to red, declaring it’s willing to charge students for truancy (along with the adults who assist them) for participating in walkout that, at best, lasts a few hours. It’s not like these kids are quitting school to pursue a career in protesting. And it’s not like these adults are harming kids by helping them engage fully with their First Amendment rights.

It’s one thing to be the main characters in a pro-Trump town. It’s quite another to be part of the second-largest police force in the United States and decide it’s worth your time, money, and attention to punish people for peacefully protesting. Fuck right off, LAPD. And take the Clovis PD with you.

Filed Under: 1st amendment, acab, alfred aldrete, california, clovis pd, free speech, ice, lapd, mass deportation

AI advancements allow workers to reduce repetitive work and ‘increase velocity’, Spiegel said.

Snap is laying off 16pc of its workforce to cut costs and veer towards long-term profitability. The Snapchat parent company is cutting around 1,000 employees, including 300 open roles.

In a memo sent to employees today (15 April), company CEO Evan Spiegel said that Snap is prioritising investments with the potential for long-term growth. He said that AI advancements allow workers to reduce repetitive work and “increase velocity”.

The layoffs are expected to reduce the company’s annual costs by more than $500m by the second half of the year, according to Spiegel. Snap shares rose more than 7.75pc in pre-market trading, but have overall been down nearly 30pc since last year.

Snapchat, alongside other major social media platforms, has been under regulatory scrutiny over the past few years over issues surrounding child safety and access to content. The platform has been banned for those under 16 in Australia.

Snap last laid off 500 jobs in 2024. At the time, the company said that the layoffs would “reduce hierarchy and promote in-person collaboration”. Two years prior, it cut around 20pc of the company to improve business performance.

Spiegel is the latest in a growing list of company leaders linking layoffs to AI advancements. In his memo, he said small teams leveraging AI tools have already had a positive impact on Snap’s ad platform performance.

In February, Jack Dorsey cut 4,000 jobs at Block in preference for AI tools and flatter teams. Since then, Atlassian cut 10pc of its workforce, Meta laid off several hundred, and Oracle cut thousands, reportedly over AI.

Dorsey, at the time, said that a “majority of companies” will reach similar conclusions around smaller teams, and make similar structural changes “within the next year”.

Journalist Alex Heath, meanwhile, has reported that Snap’s $400m deal with Perplexity has also been axed.

Announced last November, the deal would have seen Perplexity deploy its conversational search tool into Snapchat. The one-year partnership was expected to rebrand Snapchat into a platform where AI companies could connect with the platform’s community.

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The Asus VivoBook and ZenBook laptops are quite the hotcakes in the Indian market, simply because they strike the right balance between portability and performance. Keeping up that momentum, the Taiwanese laptop maker has opened pre-orders for its latest premium Zenbook lineup in India, introducing a range of new laptops focused on design, portability, and AI-powered performance. The lineup includes the Zenbook S14, Zenbook DUO, Zenbook A14, and the upcoming Zenbook A16, alongside refreshed Vivobook models. Prices for the ZenBook series start at ₹1,79,990, while the Vivobook lineup begins at ₹98,990. Here’s everything you need to know about them.

What’s New with the ZenBooks & VivoBooks?

ASUS is doubling down on its “Design You Can Feel” philosophy with this launch. One of the key highlights is Ceraluminum, a proprietary material that aims to combine durability with a lightweight, premium finish. The flagship Zenbook S14, for instance, features an ultra-slim profile of around 1.1cm and weighs roughly 1.2kg, making it highly portable. It also gets a 14-inch 3K OLED display and a claimed battery life of up to 27 hours. Under the hood, the ZenBook S14 series packs Ultra Series 3 processors, with the highest tier going to the Ultra 9.

Meanwhile, the newest version of my favorite ZenBook Duo takes things to another level by packing dual 14-inch 3K 144Hz ASUS Lumina Pro OLED touch displays. It’s powered by Intel’s latest Core Ultra 7-series processors and offers 32 hours of claimed battery life. Lastly, there’s the Zenbook A Series (A14 & A16), which targets more casual, yet premium users. It’s made from the same Ceraluminum material and focuses primarily on portability, weighing under 1 kg. On the power side, the ZenBook A series uses the Snapdragon X2 series processors. While this should pay pretty big dividends in the battery life department, we have yet to test the laptops, so stay tuned for a full review.

The next-gen VivoBook classic series will be powered by the updated Intel Core Ultra 5 Series 3 processors, delivering 47 TOPS of NPU performance for all your AI tasks. On the other hand, the Vivobook S14 and S16 will feature sleeker metallic designs and Ultra 7 Series processors with up to 49 TOPS of NPU performance. Battery life for these is rated for 29 hours.

OPPO has finally taken the covers off its popular F-series, bringing a strong focus on selfie photography, durability, and long battery life. The lineup includes the OPPO F33 5G and F33 Pro 5G, both of which feature a 50MP ultra-wide front camera, AI-powered editing tools, and a massive 7,000mAh battery, as well as high durability ratings. Here’s what you need to know about them.

Big Focus on Selfies and AI Photography

The highlight of the OPPO F33 series is its 50MP ultra-wide front camera with a 100° field of view, which aims to capture more people in a single frame without distortion. The Pro variant also introduces auto-switching to 0.6x zoom when multiple faces are detected, making group selfies more seamless. OPPO has also added a multicolored front fill light for better low-light selfies, along with features such as autofocus and electronic image stabilization.

On the rear, the phones feature a 50MP main camera paired with a depth sensor for portrait shots. The camera system is backed by a wide range of AI tools, including object removal, scene enhancement, portrait lighting, and more. We are currently putting all these claims to the test, so keep an eye on our review dropping pretty soon.

New Design and Performance

The OPPO F33 Pro 5G introduces a redesigned camera module called the Starry Sea Lens, giving the phone a more premium look. The devices also feature a one-piece unibody design with a mix of glossy and matte finishes. On the front, both models come with a 6.57-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and high brightness levels.

Under the hood, both devices are powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 6360 MAX processor, paired with up to 12GB RAM. As always, durability is another highlight. The OPPO F33 series comes with IP69K, IP68, and IP66 ratings, offering protection against dust, water immersion, and even high-pressure water jets. The phones also feature a 360-degree armor body with aerospace-grade materials and shock-absorbing internals, along with military-grade certifications for harsh conditions

The F33 series runs on ColorOS 16, bringing AI features like document scanning, writing assistance, and system-wide optimizations. It also integrates Google Gemini for smart assistance across apps. Connectivity is another area OPPO is focusing on, with the F33 series being positioned as India’s first Jio-certified 5G++ smartphone. Battery life is handled by a 7,000mAh unit with 80W fast charging, which OPPO claims can fully charge the phone in around 69 minutes.

Price and Availability

The OPPO F33 series will be available via Flipkart, Amazon, OPPO’s online store, and offline retail outlets.

1. OPPO F33 Pro 5G
   • 8GB + 128GB: ₹37,999
   • 8GB + 256GB: ₹40,999
2. OPPO F33 5G
   • 6GB + 128GB: ₹31,999
   • 8GB + 128GB: ₹34,999
   • 8GB + 256GB: ₹37,999

The F33 Pro goes on sale from April 23, while the standard F33 will be available starting April 26.

• Dark solar panels turn desert heat into rain clouds, not just electricity
• A 20 square kilometer solar farm produces more rain than a year of cloud seeding
• The Persian Gulf’s moist winds are what the desert solar needs to make rain

In the United Arab Emirates, where water is more valuable than oil, new research suggests large solar farms could trigger their own rainstorms.

A modelling study led by climate scientist Oliver Branch at the University of Hohenheim found dark solar panels absorb more heat than the surrounding reflective desert sand.

The Mission 1 series is the latest range of GoPro action cameras, flanked by the Mission 1 Pro and Mission 1 Pro ILS. 

So, how does the Mission 1 Pro ILS compare to the Mission 1 Pro? Why should you opt for the ILS model over the “standard” Pro iteration?

While we’re yet to review any of the Mission 1 series, we’ve looked closely at the specs of both the Mission 1 Pro and Mission 1 Pro ILS to see what really separates the two. Keep reading to learn more about the new Mission 1 line-up.

Check out our GoPro Mission 1 Pro vs Mission 1, where we’ve compared the flagship to the more entry-level model. Otherwise, our list of the best action cameras includes all our favourite models from the past year or so.

Price and Availability

At the time of writing, GoPro is yet to reveal the exact prices of any Mission 1 camera. However, we can expect more information between April 19-22, and we’ll be sure to update this versus once we find out the pricing.

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In terms of availability, GoPro explains that customers will be able to pre-order the Mission 1 Pro from May 21st ahead of its official launch on May 28th. As for the Mission 1 Pro ILS, GoPro has stated that it will be available from the beginning of Q3 2026.

Both have a 50MP sensor and GP3 processor

We’ll start with a key similarity between the two cameras. Both the Mission 1 Pro and Mission 1 Pro ILS are equipped with a 50MP, one-inch sensor and sport GoPro’s GP3 processor. It’s also worth noting that these are the same specs as the GoPro Mission 1.

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The 50MP sensor features a larger surface area, native 1.6µm pixels and 3.2µm fused pixels which GoPro promises ensures both cameras are able to capture more light in darker and trickier environments. Plus, thanks to the 5nm GP3 processor, the Mission 1 series should see “category-leading battery runtimes and thermal performance” too. 

Finally, both the Mission 1 Pro and Mission 1 Pro ILS sport an AI Neural Processor Unit for “next-generation” video pixel processing and better low-light image performance.

We’ll have to wait until we get our hands on either of the cameras to confirm GoPro’s claims, but it’s fair to say at this early stage, the Mission 1 series certainly looks promising.

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GoPro Mission 1 Pro ILS is mirrorless

One of the key differences between the Mission 1 Pro and the Pro ILS is that the latter is mirrorless. In a nutshell, this means the ILS model uses electronic viewfinders (EVFs) to display images digitally, rather than using a mirror to reflect its image onto an optical viewfinder. The ILS model also has an interchangeable lens mount that supports Micro Four Thirds (MFT) lenses and adapters which, according to GoPro, allows a “virtually limitless range of lenses to be paired with the camera”. 

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With this in mind, if you want a more versatile camera that allows you to play around with different lenses and adapters, then the ILS is the more suited option out of the two.

GoPro Mission 1 Pro ILS supports in-camera HyperSmooth stabilisation

A feature first introduced on the Hero 7 Black, the Mission 1 Pro ILS supports GoPro’s in-camera image stabilisation technology, HyperSmooth. This feature works by cropping a small amount from the edge of the frame to help reduce camera motion, so recordings aren’t wobbly or jittery. 

GoPro also states that the ILS’ HyperSmooth works with “any rectilinear, prime focal length lens” for added versatility too.

GoPro Mission 1 Pro is water resistant

Even without housing, which is sold separately, the Mission 1 Pro can survive in up to 20m (66 feet) of water. However, if you opt for a protective case then the Mission 1 Pro will be water resistant down to a whopping 60m (196 feet), plus the case’s built-in mounting fingers will allow you to capture content both horizontally and vertically too.

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In comparison, GoPro states that the Mission 1 Pro ILS is “weatherproof”, but doesn’t actually expand on what that means. Perhaps it might not be as water resistant as the Mission 1 Pro without a case, but we’ll have to wait for GoPro’s confirmation. 

Early Verdict

Promised to be the world’s “smallest, lightest, and most rugged 8K and 4K Open Gate cinema cameras”, the Mission 1 series is undoubtedly one of the most exciting camera launches of the year so far – although we’ll have to wait and see how they really perform in everyday use.

At this early stage, the Mission 1 Pro ILS is best suited for those who want the flexibility and versatility that comes from swapping out lenses. On the other hand, the Mission 1 Pro is a great choice for those looking for a compact action camera that will see them through most uses.

We’ll be sure to update this versus once we review both the cameras.

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