Cameo’s CEO Steven Galanis on Rebuilding After the Pandemic and Embracing Influencers

(To receive weekly emails of conversations with the world’s top CEOs and decisionmakers, click here.)

It’s just a few seconds of video, but for the recipient, a Cameo message can mean the world. Steven Galanis, co-founder and CEO, turned the idea of personalized celebrity messages into a platform, where fans can request anything from birthday wishes to a cheeky roast.

In 2018, Cameo was honored as one of TIME’s 50 Genius Companies. The following year, it was named as one of the fastest growing online marketplaces, by venture capital firm Andresseen Horowitz. The pandemic further fueled its success as celebrities looked for new ways to make money while consumers increasingly moved online, launching Cameo’s value to $1 billion by 2021. However, as COVID-19 restrictions eased, sales slumped, wiping out 90% of Cameo’s value by March 2024.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

Galanis is convinced Cameo is more than a pandemic-era novelty. Through its CameoX pilot, which lowered the platform’s entry requirements, Cameo has welcomed 31,000 new self-enrolled  creators in the past 18 months, including NFL coaches, popular creators like Anthony Polcari, actors like Melissa Benoist, and politicians like George Santos. The company says the new approach has generated millions in bookings. And in March, Cameo raised an additional $28 million. Galanis, whose first entrepreneurial venture involved planning campus parties as a student, believes the platform gives a new class of creators a way to monetize their fame. He spoke with TIME about how Cameo is adapting to a post-pandemic world, artificial intelligence, and the changing nature of fame.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

You led Cameo from its first paying customer to unicorn status, to then see much of that market value evaporate. Cameo’s now hiring again. Has the momentum shifted in your favor?

Yeah, we absolutely think so. The two years prior to this March, when we closed our new financing, were two of the worst years that I’ve ever had in my life. We’d built a world class brand with an exceptional team, and as we had to quickly respond to changing dynamics, coming out of COVID, unfortunately, we had a lot of great people that we weren’t able to keep on the team anymore. That’s something, as a CEO, that always lives with you. 

So many times, you have your big success, you have your big failure, and then you take those lessons and get to do it at the next company. I’m really grateful for our investors and our team, that they’ve believed in me and allowed us the second shot to build a company that we don’t think has reached near its potential yet.

How is Cameo adapting to a post-pandemic world?

Cameo isn’t just a COVID story. Cameo had been [one of] the fastest growing consumer marketplace in the world in both 2018 and 2019, so coming into COVID, business was growing really fast. We absolutely exploded during COVID, and as the COVID-bump ended—instead of having to buy a Cameo for their Mom’s birthday—they could go see them in person, or they could go to a restaurant, or they could go to a concert, or they could travel. The revenge spending led to a big drop in the core business for us.

But at the same time, we were still way up from where we were. And I think one thing people get caught up on is when you go up to infinity and you come down, that’s just a rocky thing and that leads to a valuation crashing, raising money, layoffs, and all the crazy stuff that happened. But I will tell you, if you drew a straight line from 2019 to 2024, I think anybody would have taken that line at the time.

What advice would you give to other emerging leaders on a similarly explosive but unsustainable trajectory?

Devin, one of my co-founders, had a billion loops on Vine and never made $1 from it. These are problems that are really personal to us. In the last eight years, since starting Cameo, there’s been hype cycles. When I started, it was all about micromobility. Then it was AR and VR, and then there was a blockchain cycle. All of a sudden it became the creator economy. Then web 3.0. And now it’s AI. 

When I see founders get in trouble, it’s because they keep chasing the hot thing as opposed to doing the thing that’s in their personal zone, what I call the Ikigai: the intersection of what they love, what they great at, what the world needs, and what they can get paid for. I think anytime founders find themselves out of that, it really does get difficult to get through the tough days.

In May 2023, Cameo started opening up the platform to just about anyone through the CameoX pilot programme. Why?

If you go back and you look at our original slogan, it was always “personalized videos from your favorite people.” Who your favorite people are is different for different people.

When we actually looked back at the data from March of 2020 to May of 2023, we saw there were over 100,000 people that had applied to join the platform that we hadn’t let on. And when we looked at those people, the reason we hadn’t let them on, most of them were under this 25,000 follower threshold at the time they applied. And when we looked back, there were hundreds, if not thousands of people that could have been valuable contributors to our marketplace that we weren’t able to get so there were actors whose hit Netflix show hadn’t come out yet. There were rappers who had just blown up on SoundCloud, but we missed them when they were emerging. And we’ve always been a place for emerging talent to make money until they become the biggest person in the world. 

AI video is improving quickly, to the point where it’s difficult to tell the difference between a deep fake of a celebrity and an authentic video. How is Cameo adapting?

One thing that is really important about the Cameo brand: if you get it on Cameo, it’s real. When you look at sports, you might want to buy a jersey of the team you support. You can go buy a fake one on the side of the streets, but if you want the real thing, you’re going to go buy the officially licensed thing. I believe the Cameo watermark, in an age of deep fakes, is the digital certificate of authenticity. 

We’ve dabbled with generative AI and these models ourselves. We had a pretty cool launch of Cameo Kids about a year and a half ago where we partnered with a lot of the top animated IP and brought them to life through generative AI. So you can book Cocomelon or Peppa Pig, or Paw Patrol or Sesame Street on Cameo Kids, and that’s all powered by generative AI. 

[With] let’s say a talent who’s dead like Marilyn Monroe or James Dean, there are people who hold their life rights. What if we could create a model and bring them back to life so their fans could continue to enjoy them? 

We’re not an AI company. We are excited about some of the developments in AI and how that could make our business better and more efficient. But we believe authenticity is always going to matter, and we want to be at the forefront of being authentic in the deep fake world.

source https://time.com/7200525/cameo-steven-galanis-interview/

Trump Says U.S. Shouldn’t Intervene in Syria as Opposition Forces Gain Ground

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States should avoid engaging militarily in Syria amid an opposition offensive that has reached the capital’s suburbs, declaring in a social media post, “THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT.”

Trump’s first extensive comments on the dramatic rebel push came while he was in Paris for the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral. He argued that Syrian President Bashar Assad did not deserve U.S. support to stay in power.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

Assad’s government has been propped up by the Russian and Iranian military, along with Hezbollah and other Iranian-allied militias, in a now 13-year-old war against opposition groups seeking his overthrow. The war, which began as a mostly peaceful uprising in 2011 against the Assad family’s rule, has killed a half-million people, fractured Syria and drawn in a more than a half-dozen foreign militaries and militias.

The insurgents are led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which the United States has designated as a terrorist group and says has links to al-Qaida, although the group has since broken ties with al-Qaida.” The insurgents have met little resistance so far from the Syrian army.

The Biden administration has suggested that their fast-moving advances toward Damascus demonstrate just how distracted those countries are by the war in Ukraine and other conflicts, but said that the U.S. is not backing the offensive and has not suggested the U.S. military will intervene.

The U.S. has about 900 troops in Syria, including U.S. forces working with Kurdish allies in the opposition-held northeast to prevent any resurgence of the Islamic State group.

Syrian opposition activists and regional officials have nonetheless been watching closely for any indication from both the Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration on how the U.S. would handle the sudden rebel advances against Assad.

The United Nations’ special envoy for Syria called Saturday for urgent talks in Geneva to ensure an “orderly political transition” in Syria.

In his post, Trump said Russia “is so tied up in Ukraine” that it “seems incapable of stopping this literal march through Syria, a country they have protected for years.” He said rebels could possibly force Assad from power.

The president-elect condemned the overall U.S. handling of the war, but said the routing of Assad and Russian forces might be for the best.

“Syria is a mess, but is not our friend, & THE UNITED STATES SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT. LET IT PLAY OUT. DO NOT GET INVOLVED!” he wrote in Saturday’s post.

An influential Syrian opposition activist in Washington, Mouaz Moustafa, interrupted a briefing to reporters to read Trump’s post and appeared to choke up. He said Trump’s declaration that the U.S. should stay out of the fight was the best outcome that the the Syrians aligned against Assad could hope for.

Rebels have been freeing political detainees of the Assad government from prisons as they advance across Syria, taking cities. Moustafa pledged to reporters Saturday that opposition forces would be alert for any U.S. detainees among them and do their utmost to protect them.

Moustafa said that includes Austin Tice, an American journalist missing for more than a decade and suspected to be held by Assad.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham renounced al-Qaida in 2016 and has worked to rebrand itself, including cracking down on some Islamic extremist groups and fighters in its territory and portraying itself as a protector of Christians and other religious minorities.

While the U.S. and United Nations still designate it as a terrorist organization, Trump’s first administration told lawmakers that the U.S. was no longer targeting the group’s leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani.

source https://time.com/7200601/donald-trump-advises-against-us-involvement-syria-conflict/

What Trump’s New AI and Crypto Czar David Sacks Means For the Tech Industry

For much of 2024, one of President-elect Donald Trump’s staunchest allies in Silicon Valley was David Sacks, an entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and co-host of the popular podcast All-In. On his podcast and social media, Sacks argued that Trump’s pro-industry stances would unleash innovation and spur growth in the tech industry. In June, Sacks hosted a fundraiser for Trump in San Francisco that included $300,000-a-person tickets.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

Now, Sacks has been rewarded with a position inside the White House: the brand-new role of “AI & crypto czar.” It’s unclear how much power this role actually has. It appears that this will be a part-time role, and that Sacks will remain with his VC fund Craft. This murkiness, and the fact that Sacks will not have to go through the Senate confirmation process, is drawing concerns over conflict of interest and lack of oversight. Regardless, Sacks will start the Administration with Trump’s ear on key policy decisions in these two rapidly growing sectors. Leaders inside both industries largely cheered the decision.

“A whole-of-government approach that collaborates closely with private industry is essential to winning the AI race, and a designated AI leader in the Administration can help do that,” Tony Samp, the head of AI policy at the law firm DLA Piper, tells TIME. 

Sacks and Trump

Sacks has long been close to the center of Silicon Valley’s power structure. A member of the “PayPal mafia,” he was that company’s chief operating officer for several years, and grew close with Elon Musk, who has also been tasked with a new role in Trump’s Administration. While many Silicon Valley leaders espoused pro-Democrat views especially during the Obama years, Sacks became increasingly vocal in his conservative stances, especially around the Russia-Ukraine war and fighting censorship on tech platforms. His podcast All-In is currently the third most popular tech podcast on Apple Podcasts, according to Chartable.

After the Jan. 6 insurrection, Sacks said that Trump had “disqualified himself from being a candidate at the national level again.” But he threw his weight behind Trump this year, including during a speech at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in July, in which he warned Republicans of a “world on fire.” At one lavish fundraiser, Sacks lobbied for Trump to pick J.D. Vance as his running mate. Sacks also hosted Trump on All-In, and complained that it was “so hard to do business” during the Biden Administration.

Sacks’ views on AI

Sacks is a player in the AI ecosystem himself: this year, he launched an AI-powered work chat app called Glue. He has often expressed support for a freer ecosystem empowering AI companies to grow, and has argued that most of what’s on the internet should be available for AI to train upon under fair use.

“This appointment is another signal that startups and venture capital will be a central focus of the incoming Administration’s approach to AI,” says Nik Marda, the technical lead for AI governance at Mozilla. “This also means particular issues like promoting open source and competition in AI will be at the forefront.” 

Sacks has advocated for the integration of AI technology into warfare and national security tools. On an All-In episode in April, he said he hoped Silicon Valley companies would become more involved with U.S. defense efforts. “I do want the United States, as an American, to be the most powerful country. I do want us to get the best value for our defense dollars. The only way that’s going to change is if the defense industry gets disrupted by a bunch of startups doing innovative things,” he said. (Just this week, OpenAI announced a partnership with the defense contractor Anduril.)

Sacks has also come out strongly against AI models displaying any sort of censorship. In this way, Sacks is aligned with Musk, whose AI model Grok will generate controversial images that other AI models will not, including a Nazi Mickey Mouse. 

Read More: Elon Musk’s New AI Data Center Raises Alarms Over Pollution

However, there will be many AI thinkers competing for influence in Trump’s White House, including Marc Andreessen, who wants AI to be developed as fast as possible, and Musk, who has warned of the technology’s existential risks. 

Sacks and crypto

Sacks’ new czar role also includes oversight of crypto. Crypto investors were largely cheered by his appointment, because he is supportive of the space and will likely reinforce Trump’s intentions of offering light-touch regulation. Sacks has invested significantly in Solana, a cryptocurrency attached to its own blockchain that was previously championed by Sam Bankman-Fried. Sacks’ VC fund Craft also invested in the crypto companies BitGo and Bitwise.

Trump, in his announcement of Sack’s appointment, wrote that Sacks will work on “a legal framework so the Crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for, and can thrive in the U.S.” Sacks joins several other recent pro-crypto Trump appointees, including new SEC chair nominee Paul Atkins. The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) under Biden, in contrast, was very aggressive in suing crypto companies it deemed were violating securities laws.

Trump, meanwhile, has been eager to claim credit for the crypto’s recent successes. When Bitcoin crossed $100,000 for the first time, Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, “YOU’RE WELCOME!!!”

Read More: What Trump’s Win Means for Crypto

Concerns about conflict of interest

While Sacks is supportive of both industries, it is unclear how much power he will actually have in this new role. Bloomberg reported that Sacks will be a “special government employee”—a part-time role that doesn’t require him to divest or publicly disclose his assets, and sets a maximum number of 130 working days a year. A Craft spokeswoman told Bloomberg that Sacks would not be leaving the VC firm.

It remains to be seen whether Sacks will have a staff, or where his funding will come from. Other related government agencies, like the Department of Commerce, will likely have completely different workflows and prerogatives when it comes to AI. “Czar roles can be a bit funky and more dependent on relationships and less dependent on formal authorities,” Marda says.

Suresh Venkatasubramanian, an AI advisor to Biden’s White House starting in 2021, expressed concern about the lack of oversight of this new position, as well as the conflicts of interest it could lead to. “The roles and responsibilities described in the press announcement describe a lot of what the director of OSTP [Office of Science and Technology Policy] does,” he tells TIME. “The only difference is lack of oversight. Especially given that this particular appointment is of someone who has investments in AI and crypto, you have to wonder whether this is serving the interest of the tech industry, or a particular few individuals.”

source https://time.com/7200518/david-sacks-new-white-house-ai-crypto-czar-trump-administration/

Amber Glenn Becomes First U.S. Woman in 14 Years to Win Figure Skating Grand Prix Final

GRENOBLE, France — Amber Glenn has soared to the top of international figure skating and proved she belonged there Saturday with an historic victory in the Grand Prix Final.

Glenn became the first American to win the women’s Grand Prix Final competition since Alissa Czisny 14 years ago as three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto had to settle for third place.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

That continues a stunning breakout season at the age of 25 for the Texas-born skater, who is unbeaten in 2024-25, and caps a year which began with her first U.S. national title in January. Glenn admitted it’s hard to get used to being on the top step of the podium.

“I’m exhausted,” she said. “It has been a whirlwind of a season and I’ve kind of struggled with this imposter syndrome. Just: ‘Oh, no, no, I’m not winning. That’s not me.’ And I’m just happy my hard work is finally showing, and this is a great event, and I’m honored to even be here.”

Skating last in the six-woman field against five Japanese skaters, there was little sign of the pain which had bothered Glenn in Thursday’s short program.

Glenn started with an emphatic triple axel and overcame a slight wobble part-way through her free skate — doubling a planned triple salchow and slightly under-rotating a triple flip — to finish strongly and score a total 212.07 for the win.

Mone Chiba, a silver medalist at both her Grand Prix events this season, was second again on 208.85. World champion Sakamoto had been out of form in the short program but recovered with a strong free skate to the musical “Chicago” for bronze on 201.13.

The U.S. could win two more titles later Saturday. Ilia Malinin leads the men’s event ahead of the free skate and Madison Chock and Evan Bates lead the ice dance.

source https://time.com/7200575/amber-glenn-us-wins-figure-skating-grand-prix-final/

Federal Court Upholds Law Requiring Sale or Ban of TikTok in U.S.

A federal appeals court panel on Friday upheld a law that could lead to a ban on TikTok in a few short months, handing a resounding defeat to the popular social media platform as it fights for its survival in the U.S.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the law, which requires TikTok to break ties with its China-based parent company ByteDance or be banned by mid-January, is constitutional, rebuffing TikTok’s challenge that the statute ran afoul of the First Amendment and unfairly targeted the platform.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

“The First Amendment exists to protect free speech in the United States,” said the court’s opinion. “Here the Government acted solely to protect that freedom from a foreign adversary nation and to limit that adversary’s ability to gather data on people in the United States.”

TikTok and ByteDance — another plaintiff in the lawsuit — are expected to appeal to the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, President-elect Donald Trump, who tried to ban TikTok during his first term and whose Justice Department would have to enforce the law, said during the presidential campaign that he is now against a TikTok ban and would work to “save” the social media platform.

The law, signed by President Joe Biden in April, was the culmination of a years-long saga in Washington over the short-form video-sharing app, which the government sees as a national security threat due to its connections to China.

The U.S. has said it’s concerned about TikTok collecting vast swaths of user data, including sensitive information on viewing habits, that could fall into the hands of the Chinese government through coercion. Officials have also warned the proprietary algorithm that fuels what users see on the app is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to shape content on the platform in a way that’s difficult to detect.

Read More: As a Potential TikTok Ban Looms, Creators Worry About More Than Just Their Bottom Lines

However, a significant portion of the government’s information in the case has been redacted and hidden from the public as well as the two companies.

TikTok, which sued the government over the law in May, has long denied it could be used by Beijing to spy on or manipulate Americans. Its attorneys have accurately pointed out that the U.S. hasn’t provided evidence to show that the company handed over user data to the Chinese government, or manipulated content for Beijing’s benefit in the U.S. They have also argued the law is predicated on future risks, which the Department of Justice has emphasized pointing in part to unspecified action it claims the two companies have taken in the past due to demands from the Chinese government.

Friday’s ruling came after the appeals court panel heard oral arguments in September.

Some legal experts said at the time that it was challenging to read the tea leaves on how the judges would rule.

In a court hearing that lasted more than two hours, the panel – composed of two Republican and one Democrat appointed judges – appeared to grapple with how TikTok’s foreign ownership affects its rights under the Constitution and how far the government could go to curtail potential influence from abroad on a foreign-owned platform.

The judges pressed Daniel Tenny, a Department of Justice attorney, on the implications the case could have on the First Amendment. But they also expressed some skepticism at TikTok’s arguments, challenging the company’s attorney – Andrew Pincus – on whether any First Amendment rights preclude the government from curtailing a powerful company subject to the laws and influence of a foreign adversary.

In parts of their questions about TikTok’s ownership, the judges cited wartime precedent that allows the U.S. to restrict foreign ownership of broadcast licenses and asked if the arguments presented by TikTok would apply if the U.S. was engaged in war.

To assuage concerns about the company’s owners, TikTok says it has invested more than $2 billion to bolster protections around U.S. user data.

The company also argues the government’s broader concerns could have been resolved in a draft agreement it provided the Biden administration more than two years ago during talks between the two sides. It has blamed the government for walking away from further negotiations on the agreement, which the Justice Department argues is insufficient.

Read More: Here’s All the Countries With TikTok Bans as Platform’s Future in U.S. Hangs In Balance

Attorneys for the two companies have claimed it’s impossible to divest the platform commercially and technologically. They also say any sale of TikTok without the coveted algorithm – the platform’s secret sauce that Chinese authorities would likely block under any divesture plan – would turn the U.S. version of TikTok into an island disconnected from other global content.

Still, some investors, including Trump’s former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and billionaire Frank McCourt, have expressed interest in purchasing the platform. Both men said earlier this year that they were launching a consortium to purchase TikTok’s U.S. business.

This week, a spokesperson for McCourt’s Project Liberty initiative, which aims to protect online privacy, said unnamed participants in their bid have made informal commitments of more than $20 billion in capital.

TikTok’s lawsuit was consolidated with a second legal challenge brought by several content creators – for which the company is covering legal costs – as well as a third one filed on behalf of conservative creators who work with a nonprofit called BASED Politics Inc.

If TikTok appeals and the courts continue to uphold the law, it would fall on Trump’s Justice Department to enforce it and punish any potential violations with fines. The penalties would apply to app stores that would be prohibited from offering TikTok, and internet hosting services that would be barred from supporting it.

source https://time.com/7200357/tiktok-ban-federal-court-upholds-us/

The Power RFK Jr. Would Have Over Food

When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sits for his confirmation hearing to potentially become the head of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), he will face scrutiny over his vaccine skepticism and unorthodox views on medicine. But there’s one area Kennedy may be able to find bipartisan support: food policy.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

Kennedy has spoken out against the dangers of ultra-processed foods, additives, and the influence of large corporations on food production. While his anti-vaccine views have drawn widespread criticism, his stance on combating chronic disease by ridding the nation’s food supply of harmful chemicals and ingredients broadly aligns with efforts from both sides of the political aisle and has been praised by leading public health experts.

Kennedy’s nomination to run HHS would put him in a position to directly influence policies around food regulation, nutrition standards, and federal dietary guidelines. Jerold Mande, a former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) senior adviser and deputy undersecretary for food safety at the Department of Agriculture under two Democratic presidents, says there’s “remarkable, strong bipartisan concern about ultra-processed food.”

As HHS Secretary, Kennedy would oversee the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which has the authority to regulate food safety and nutrition labels. One of the most significant tools Kennedy would have at his disposal, according to Mande, is HHS’ involvement in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a document that shapes federal nutrition advice. The guidelines, updated every five years, inform public health messaging as well as food assistance programs and government food purchasing. The process is political, with each administration shaping the guidelines according to its priorities. “It’s like the phases of the moon,” Mande says of the HHS role. “It’s at its peak in terms of power right now. It’s highly unusual that dietary guidelines would straddle two administrations like this where work would begin in one but be completed in the other.”

Read More: Public Health Experts Alarmed at Trump’s Pick of RFK Jr. to Lead HHS

For Kennedy, overseeing the Dietary Guidelines process could provide a platform to push for stronger recommendations against ultra-processed foods—particularly those laden with sugar, fat, and harmful additives. He has pledged to immediately remove processed foods from school cafeterias and to strengthen efforts to combat food-related chronic diseases, an issue he believes has been neglected by both major parties. Additionally, Kennedy has been outspoken about restricting the use of pesticides and limiting seed oils like canola and sunflower, which he argues contribute to the growing health problems in America. He has also called for a ban on artificial food dyes, such as those used in Froot Loops, which he claims have adverse effects on children’s health. “We need to stop feeding our children poison and start feeding them real, wholesome food again,” Kennedy posted on X on Nov. 2.

Kennedy has criticized the FDA for being overly lenient on food additives and processing standards. If confirmed, he would likely press for stricter regulations, clearer food labeling, and increased transparency on harmful additives. President-elect Donald Trump, who nominated Kennedy for the position, said he would allow Kennedy to “go wild on the food” after Kennedy dropped his own independent presidential bid and endorsed him.

At a Senate hearing on Thursday, FDA officials were asked about the agency’s repeated delays in implementing a proposed rule to place health labels on the front of food and drink packages, which would flag high levels of sodium, saturated fat, or added sugars amid rising obesity rates. “How long does it take to put a bloody label on a product?” asked Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont and chair of the Senate Health Committee. FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf said the delay was necessary to ensure that any proposed rule would withstand potential legal challenges, citing recent Supreme Court rulings that have curtailed the power of federal agencies.

Sanders further said he agreed with some of Kennedy’s positions on food policy, particularly his criticism of how the food industry prioritizes profits over public health, after the hearing. “I think what he’s saying about the food industry is exactly correct,” he told CBS News. “You have a food industry concerned about their profits, could care less about the health of the American people. I think they have to be taken on.”

Read More: What Donald Trump’s Win Could Mean for Vaccines

Any regulatory actions, however, would likely clash with the agricultural industry and large food conglomerates, which have a history of lobbying against changes they deem harmful to their bottom line. The food lobby—which includes companies in processed foods, agriculture, and biotechnology—has long fought efforts to tighten regulations on ingredients, labeling, and food production practices. Kennedy’s call for stricter regulations on pesticides and agricultural chemicals could also alienate some Republicans, who have traditionally opposed government regulation, particularly when it impacts businesses’ ability to operate freely.

Beyond industry pushback, Kennedy could also face practical challenges in funding his initiatives. The FDA’s food division operates on a tight budget, relying on congressional appropriations rather than the self-sustaining user fees that fund the agency’s drug division. Mande notes that fiscal constraints have hindered past efforts to implement major food reforms, and Kennedy could face similar difficulties. “They have less than $25 million to do their nutrition work,” Mande says of the FDA’s budget. “They aren’t able to make an impact in this space because Congress doesn’t fund them.”

Still, even some of Kennedy’s positions on food and nutrition are controversial. His proposed overhaul of the FDA’s food division also includes his desire to fire nutritionists at the agency because they are “not doing their job,” a stance that has raised concerns from some public health experts. Such a drastic move could further complicate his confirmation, particularly among Democrats and public health advocates who are already wary of his broader views. Kennedy has accused the FDA of “aggressive suppression” of various products, including raw milk and hydroxychloroquine. He has previously promoted the consumption of raw milk, claiming that it “advances human health,” even though both the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have warned that drinking raw milk can expose people to dangerous bacteria, such as E. coli and listeria. Kennedy also opposes adding fluoride in drinking water, a practice that boosts oral health and has been a cornerstone of U.S. public health policy for decades, citing studies that suggest a link between high levels of fluoride in drinking water and neurobehavioral problems.

The Senate confirmation process will also scrutinize Kennedy’s views on vaccines. Public health officials are deeply concerned about the possibility of placing one of the country’s leading anti-vaccine advocates at the helm of HHS, an agency responsible for overseeing the safety of vaccines. “Some would say what he says on diet and [the] importance of healthy foods is reasonable,” Sen. Edward Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts, said on Thursday during the Senate Health Committee hearing with FDA officials. “However, one reasonable opinion does not qualify someone to run the United States Department of Health and Human Services.”

source https://time.com/7200323/rfk-jr-hhs-food-nutrition-health/

The Bizarre True Story Of ‘Bitcoin’s Bonnie & Clyde’ in Netflix’s Biggest Heist Ever

When $72 million worth of bitcoin was stolen from Bitfinex, a Hong Kong-based virtual cryptocurrency exchange, it was the second-largest hack of its kind. The 2016 theft sent the entire crypto ecosystem into a tailspin and the value of bitcoin fell about 20% within hours. Bitfinex customers, some of whom had invested their life savings in bitcoin, lost thousands of dollars overnight. Over the next five years, the initial hacked sum grew in value—to approximately $4.5 billion (now it’s worth $10.8 billion.)

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

But unlike other bitcoin heists, these hackers didn’t get away with it. Five years after the theft, the FBI arrested married couple Heather “Razzlekhan” Morgan and Ilya “Dutch” Lichtenstein, whom the Justice Department accused of conspiring to launder $4.5 billion in stolen bitcoin. News of the arrest immediately went viral, not only due to the sky-high amount of money involved, but also because of the perplexing ways Morgan and Lichtenstein documented their lives online. In 2019, Morgan adopted a rap persona called Razzlekhan (“like Genghis Khan, but with more pizzazz,” she wrote on her website) and filmed hundreds of cringe-inducing YouTube videos with crypto-themed raps.

Netflix captures the saga of Dutch and Razzlekhan in Biggest Heist Ever, a new documentary airing Dec. 6. Directed by Chris Smith (Bad Vegan, Fyre) and featuring interviews with investigators, former cyber criminals, and former friends of the couple, Biggest Heist Ever examines the initial Bitfinex hack and works to better understand Morgan and Lichtenstein, or, as they’ve come to be known, “Bitcoin Bonnie and Clyde.” The documentary also raises new questions about the hack, suggesting possible issues about national security and Lichtenstein’s ties to Russia. 

Let’s break down the true story behind Biggest Heist Ever and examine the story’s unresolved threads. 

Who are Heather Morgan and Ilya Lichtenstein?

Heather Morgan is a 34-year-old entrepreneur and aspiring rapper. Originally from Chico, California, Morgan graduated from University of California, Davis in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and international relations. According to her LinkedIn profile, she also received a master’s degree in economics of international development at American University of Cairo.  

After graduation, Morgan worked in Silicon Valley at a startup called Tamatem, later meeting Lichtenstein at a tech conference. The pair moved to a condo in New York, and Morgan pursued multiple projects, including writing articles for Inc. and Forbes and founding a copywriting and email marketing agency called SalesFolk. In addition to pursuing a rap career as Razzlekhan, Morgan promoted herself as an entrepreneur-influencer; her Instagram bio still reads: “I make the weird kids feel at home. ‍♀️ Surrealist artist, rapper @Razzlekhan & tech entrepreneur with synesthesia.”

Meanwhile, Lichtenstein, 35, who goes by the nickname “Dutch” (a character from the video game Red Dead Redemption 2) and is from Glenview, Illinois, comes from a family that emigrated from Russia. At the time of his arrest, his LinkedIn profile described Lichtensetin as a “technology entrepreneur, coder and investor” who is “interested in blockchain technology, automation, and big data.” Lichtenstein graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.

Lichtenstein co-founded a startup called MixRank (“a spy tool for contextual and display ads,” according to its website) but exited the company near the end of 2016. The following year, he and Morgan moved to New York.”  

Who (or what) is Razzlekhan?

Razzlekhan is Morgan’s self-appointed rap name. In a 2019 video, Morgan explains she created the alter-ego, inspired by real-life rapper/actress Awkwafina, after dealing with a bout of professional burnout. “I think I was pretty unhappy … I think I was searching for something more.”

Nick Bilton, who wrote a 2022 piece about the couple for Vanity Fair, tells filmmakers: “If you’re Ilya and Heather and you have this money, you’re probably kind of terrified of being caught. People deal with anxiety and stress and tension differently. Some people start having panic attacks. Some people start obsessively exercising. It’s steam going through you that has to come out some way. I think for Heather, the creation of Razzlekhan and the rapping was the steam valve.”

Razzlekhan’s much-mocked music video for “Versace Bedouin” didn’t make an impression when it was first posted to YouTube in 2019, but it went viral three years later, after news broke of the couple’s arrest.

What new information does Biggest Heist Ever uncover? 

In addition to tracing a timeline from the 2016 Bitfinex hack to the present day and describing how federal authorities discovered Morgan and Lichtenstein’s involvement, Biggest Heist Ever raises a new series of questions about the hack and its implications. In particular, the documentary suggests that Lichtenstein may have been inspired to commit the Bitfinex hack by his father, Eugene, who hacked into the First National Bank of Indiana, as well as a Secret Service computer, many years earlier. 

As the doc lays out, Eugene (under a hacker name “Deuce”) approached a government informant and former cybercriminal named Brett Johnson, who tells filmmakers Eugene asked him how to “cash out” what he’d hacked from the bank. In 2005, the Secret Service flew to Chicago to question Eugene about hacking into their computer, as well as the Indiana Bank hack. Eugene, who admitted to the Indiana Bank hack and agreed to cooperate with the Secret Service as an informant, was never charged with any wrongdoing. Eugene Lichtenstein later became a Chicago real estate agent. He did not respond to requests to participate in the film.

Biggest Heist Ever explains that Eugene’s former hacker name was Manus Dei (which he shortened to Deuce) or “Hand Of God” in Latin, while Lichtenstein operated under the name Deus Machina, shortened to Deus, which translates to “God Machine.”

“I believe Ilya is trying to pay some sort of respect or homage to Daddy,” says Johnson in the film. “The father being the hand of God, the son being the machine of God. In my opinion, the Bitfinex hack is awfully similar to what Eugene did way the hell back in 2005 when he compromised the First National Bank of Indiana.” 

How were Lichtenstein and Morgan caught?

The couple used a darknet market called AlphaBay to move the stolen cryptocurrency to different wallets and accounts. “After being moved into accounts at AlphaBay, the stolen BTC was withdrawn, layered, and ultimately deposited into [virtual currency exchanges] around the world,” reads a 20-page statement given to the IRS by special agent Christopher Janczewski, who was interviewed for the film. 

The FBI seized AlphaBay servers in 2017 and shut down the website. Those servers provided data leading investigators to Lichtenstein and Morgan. 

In January 2022, law enforcement obtained a search warrant for the couple’s Wall Street apartment and electronic devices. In the apartment, they found currencies from other countries, hollowed-out books, and a bag of burner phones actually labeled “burner phones.”

The feds also discovered an encrypted spreadsheet containing a list of 2,000 virtual currency addresses and corresponding private keys linked to the hack and leading to the stolen funds. Lichtenstein and Morgan were arrested in February 2022. 

What were the couple charged with?

Lichtenstein and Morgan were charged with conspiring to launder the stolen bitcoin. (Neither Lichtenstein nor Morgan were accused of perpetrating the actual hack. “It’s potentially more difficult to prove the hack,” Ari Redbord, the head of legal and government affairs at crypto regulatory startup TRM Labs, told TIME in 2022.)

Following his arrest, Lichtenstein was not permitted to leave jail, as the courts perceived him to be a flight risk. (Lichtenstein has a Russian passport, and the couple had traveled extensively to Ukraine the year prior, leading prosecutors to believe that they intended to start a new life overseas.) Morgan was allowed out on bail and permitted to work from home. 

At their plea hearing in August 2023, Lichtenstein admitted to the hack, telling the court he had access to the Bitfinex infrastructure. He admitted to stealing usernames and passwords and that he operated alone. At a certain point, however, he said Morgan became involved in the laundering process. 

Morgan said she didn’t know what was going on at first but eventually realized the source of Lichtenstein’s bitcoin was a theft. She then took steps to help launder the proceeds. Morgan also admitted to destroying some evidence (she admitted to throwing a laptop down a trash chute and burying gold coins; they were recovered by the government).

Lichtenstein cooperated with the FBI and led them to the rest of the missing crypto. He was offered an opportunity to enter the witness protection program as part of a plea agreement, which he accepted. It’s not known why witness protection is part of the deal, but in November 2022, prosecutors filed documents alleging that the ongoing investigation was now a matter of national security. The filing didn’t specify why. 

On Nov 14, 2024, Lichtenstein was sentenced to five years plus three years of supervised release. At his sentencing, Lichtenstein expressed regret for “wasting my talents on crime instead of a positive contribution to society… I want to take full responsibility for my actions and make amends any way I can.” He did not respond to a request to answer further questions, but in May 2022 he did provide a statement to doc director Chris Smith: 

Chris, thank you for your kind note. As you mentioned, I am unable to discuss the case at this time. I look forward to sharing my perspective when the time is right. As your instincts probably tell you, there is more to this story than meets the eye. Best of luck with your film.

On Nov. 18, Heather was sentenced to 18 months and three years of supervised release. She declined to participate in Biggest Heist Ever. In a video posted to X, Morgan said: “It’s over, and I’m very excited that I will soon be telling my story, sharing my thoughts, and telling you more about the creative and other endeavors I’ve been working on.”

source https://time.com/7200219/bitcoin-netflix-biggest-heist-ever/