Biden Drops Out Of Presidential Race

President Joe Biden pulled out of the 2024 presidential race, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor.

Biden faced mounting pressure following a poor debate performance and rising doubts about his ability to defeat Donald Trump.

Kamala Harris, vowing to win the nomination, quickly garnered support from key Democratic figures including California Governor Gavin Newsom and former President Bill Clinton. However, figures like Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama endorse an open nominating process.

Harris' stance on issues like tech regulation, climate change, and artificial intelligence shows continuity with Biden’s policies.

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How a Routine Update Crashed the World’s Computers

On July 19, a seemingly minor software update by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike triggered a worldwide outage.

The incident affected 8.5 million Microsoft Windows devices worldwide. Microsoft detailed the impact in a blog post, revealing the affected devices comprised fewer than 1% of all Windows systems.

The travel sector was the hardest hit. Over 8,000 flights were canceled between Friday and Saturday. Authorities warn about new phishing scams targeting those affected.

Scammers are pretending to be CrowdStrike employees or tech specialists offering help. CrowdStrike's CEO urges vigilance and confirms only official representatives should be trusted.

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Algorithmic Rents: RealPage Under Fire for Price-Fixing Claims

Are algorithms behind your rising rent? Real estate software company RealPage faces lawsuits claiming its rental pricing algorithm causes rent hikes.

Tenants argue that landlords use RealPage's YieldStar product to share private data, leading to collusion and inflated rents.

Federal and state lawsuits, including actions from Arizona and Washington DC, accuse RealPage of pushing rents up by millions.

Despite these challenges, RealPage maintains that housing affordability issues are due to broader economic and political forces, not their software.

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US Banks Failing Operational Risk Tests

A secret report by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) found that 11 out of 22 major banks have "weak" or "insufficient" handling of risks.

These shortcomings include threats from cyberattacks, employee mistakes, legal issues, and technology failures.

Operational risk evaluation feeds into the banks' overall CAMELS rating, which influences the level of scrutiny they face from regulators.

The OCC, along with the Federal Reserve and FDIC, issued guidelines to help banks mitigate risks, especially from third-party vendors and new technologies like AI.

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