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Montana lawmakers passed a bill on Friday banning TikTok from operating in the state amid growing concerns about the app’s suspected ties to the Chinese government.

The bill was passed by the state House in a 5443 vote and now heads to Gov. Greg Gianforte’s desk. If Gianforte signs it into law, Montana will become the first state to ban the app outright. (Both the federal government and many states, including Montana, have already forbidden the app on government devices.)

The legislation, which would take effect on Jan. 1, 2024, prohibits mobile app stores from offering TikTok to users and enacts penalties of $10,000 for each violation and an additional $10,000 fee for each day the violation continues.

Coming as some members of Congress call for a complete nationwide ban on the app, the move by lawmakers in Montana will likely lead to legal challenges and expose the technological difficulties of barring access to the platform, which has 150 million active users in the US.

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Technology

Samsung launches thin S25 Edge as Apple reportedly prepares the iPhone ‘Air’

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Samsung launches thin S25 Edge as Apple reportedly prepares the iPhone 'Air'

Samsung launched the Galaxy S25 Edge, a thinner version of its flagship smartphone.

Arjun Kharpal | CNBC

Samsung on Tuesday unveiled a thin version of its flagship smartphone in an unusually timed launch as it looks to maintain momentum in its mobile divison against an uncertain consumer backdrop and U.S. tariff policy.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is just 5.8 millimeters thin and weighs 163 grams, making it one of the thinnest smartphones on the market.

Samsung said the device starts at $1,099 and goes on sale on May 30.

The launch comes just under four months after Samsung staged its annual flagship phone launch for the S25 series. It is unusual for Samsung to launch a new high-end device this soon after the January event with the normal timeline generally being the middle of the year for the unveiling of its latest foldable phones.

The move highlights the South Korean tech giant’s desire to capitalize on the success of the S25 range as it faces rising competition from Chinese players and an uncertain macroeconomic environment.

Samsung reported last month that it saw a jump in revenue and profit in the first quarter of the year at its mobile division thanks to strong sales of its S25 series.

However, Daniel Araujo, vice president at Samsung’s mobile division, warned on an earnings call last month that smartphone demand is expected to decrease in the second quarter due to “seasonality trends” and forecasts could be “adjusted” further due to global tariff policy.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs took effect in April though they were paused shortly after. The White House exempted certain tech products such as smartphones and chips, providing some reprieve for companies like Samsung and Apple. The U.S. and China meanwhile agreed on Monday to pause most of their tariffs on each party.

Araujo said that the S25 Edge could help “sustain flagship-centric sales,” underscoring why Samsung has decided to launch the phone now.

Apple reportedly working on thin iPhone

Thinner phones have become an obsession with smartphone makers who are hoping these devices will appeal to people who want the flagship experience without the size of a traditional device. Samsung’s S25 Edge has a 6.7-inch display, the same as the Galaxy S25+, but it is thinner and lighter.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge on display during a briefing at the Samsung KX store in London, U.K.

Arjun Kharpal | CNBC

The phone also packs a dual camera system and Samsung’s latest AI features.

“For the second half of 2025 ‘thin is most definitely in’,” Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, told CNBC.

“Samsung is first out the gate with a slim design, but Apple is expected to follow in September, and the burgeoning Chinese brands such as Honor and Xiaomi probably won’t be far behind.”

Samsung may be trying to get ahead of its closest rival Apple, which is gearing up to launch a thin version of its flagship device dubbed the iPhone 17 Air, according to a Bloomberg report this year.

“It is hard to believe this is not a pre-emptive strike following the widespread speculation that Apple will have a thin iPhone in its next line-up,” Wood added.

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Sports

Journalism opens as 8-5 favorite for Preakness

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Journalism opens as 8-5 favorite for Preakness

HALETHORPE, Md. — Journalism is the morning line favorite for the 150th running of the Preakness Stakes.

The Kentucky Derby runner-up to Sovereignty opened at odds of 8-5 on Monday night when post positions were drawn for the middle leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown. Journalism is again set to be ridden by jockey Umberto Rispoli and leave the starting gate from the No. 2 post.

Post time is set for 7:01 p.m. EDT on Saturday.

No. 7 Sandman is the 4-1 second choice in the field of nine, which does not include Sovereignty after his owners and trainer decided not to run the Derby winner two weeks after his triumph at Churchill Downs. The Preakness goes on without a true shot at a Triple Crown winner for a fifth time in seven years since Justify swept all three races in 2018.

Bob Baffert, who trained Justify and 2015 Triple Crown champion American Pharoah, is entering Goal Oriented looking for a record-extending ninth victory in the race. Fellow Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas can tie Baffert if he wins the Preakness back-to-back, this time with American Promise a year after Seize the Grey ended Mystik Dan’s Triple Crown bid.

There are three Derby horses running in the $2 million Preakness at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore: Journalism, American Promise and Sandman, the latter of whom will be ridden by John Velazquez for trainer Mark Casse. American Promise drew the No. 3 post and opened at odds of 15-1.

New to the Triple Crown trail, along with No. 1 Goal Oriented (6-1), are No. 4 Heart of Honor (12-1), No. 5 Pay Billy (20-1), No. 6 River Thames (9-2), No. 8 Clever Again (5-1) and No. 9 Gosger (20-1).

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Environment

Hackers turn Nissan LEAF into full-scale RC car, record drivers’ conversations [video]

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Hackers turn Nissan LEAF into full-scale RC car, record drivers' conversations [video]

A team of white hat European hackers using their brains, keyboards, and a couple of bits and baubles from eBay managed to take control of a 2020 Nissan LEAF and violate just about every privacy and safety regulation in the process.

The best part: they recorded the whole thing.

Budapest-based cybersecurity experts PCAutomotive were able to exploit a number of vulnerabilities in a 2020 Nissan LEAF that enabled the white hat team to geolocate and track the car, record the texts and conversations happening inside the car, playing media back through the car’s speakers, and even (this is the genuinely terrifying dangerous part) turning the steering wheel while the car was moving. (!?)

Maybe the scariest part of this hack, however, is how seemingly easy it was to pull off by starting with a “test bench simulator” built using parts from eBay and exploiting a vulnerability in the LEAF’s DNS C2 channel and Bluetooth protocol.

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The PCAutomotive team gave a hugely detailed 118-page presentation of their exploit at black hat Asia 2025, which we’ve included at the bottom of this post, in case the original link goes dead. If you’re into that sort of thing, the fun stuff starts around page 27. And, if you’re not, just know that all the vulnerabilities were disclosed to Nissan and its suppliers between 02AUG2023 and 12SEP2024 (p. 116/118), and the “attack” itself can be seen in the video below that. Enjoy!

Summary of vulnerabilities

  • CVE-2025-32056 – Anti-Theft bypass
  • CVE-2025-32057 – app_redbend: MiTM attack
  • CVE-2025-32058 – v850: Stack Overflow in CBR processing
  • CVE-2025-32059 – Stack buffer overflow leading to RCE [0]
  • CVE-2025-32060 – Absence of a kernel module signature verification
  • CVE-2025-32061 – Stack buffer overflow leading to RCE [1]
  • CVE-2025-32062 – Stack buffer overflow leading to RCE [2]
  • PCA_NISSAN_009 – Improper traffic filtration between CAN buses
  • CVE-2025-32063 – Persistence for Wi-Fi network
  • PCA_NISSAN_012 – Persistence through CVE-2017-7932 in HAB of i.MX 6

Remote exploitation of Nissan LEAF



Electrek’s Take


Nissan-Bolt-EV-LEAF
2024 Nissan LEAF; via Nissan.

This is one of those posts that, on the bright side, does a great job explaining how a remote operator can “log in” to a vehicle and steer it out of trouble when a weird or edge-case-type situation pops up.

Unfortunately, this is also one of those posts that some of the more clueless anti-EV hysterics will point to and say, “See!? EVs can get hacked!” But the reality is that virtually any car with electric power steering (EPS), electronic throttle controls, brake-by-wire, etc. can be hacked in a similar way. But, while steering a target’s car into an oncoming semi might be a great way to pull off a covert CIA assassination, the more worrying issue here is the breach of privacy and recording – unless you want to spend some time in El Salvadoran prison, I guess.

Remember, kids: Big Brother is watching you.

SOURCE | IMAGES: black hat.


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