Baker's Take

Home Security Provider Warns Customers After Hacking Gang Claims 4.9 Million Records

Brinks Home is warning customers that their data may have been stolen after the company disclosed a security breach, with the notorious hacking gang ShinyHunters claiming responsibility and threatening to release the information. According to PCMag, ShinyHunters says it stole over 4.9 million records, including some personal information. BleepingComputer reported that the residential security company disclosed that hackers breached some of its systems and are threatening to leak allegedly stolen data. The Register noted that Brinks Home has not named the intruder or identified the affected system, but did confirm that the responsible party has threatened to leak the allegedly stolen information. "The party responsible for this situation has threatened to release information it claims to have taken." The warning leaves customers in an uncertain position as the company works to identify what was taken, and it underscores how the threat of exposure, not just the theft itself, is part of the extortion tactic. scworld.com reported that Brinks Home identified the attack on July 20, though ShinyHunters claimed the breach occurred on July 13. eSecurity Planet reported that the gang says it breached Brinks Home through a Microsoft Entra vishing attack, a social engineering method targeting the identity platform. The Register reported that ShinyHunters claimed it stole millions of records from the company's Salesforce instance. Cyber Web Spider Blog characterized the episode as a major data breach affecting millions of records, reflecting the scale of the hackers' claims. According to The Register, Brinks Home says it is working to determine what information was involved and who may be affected.

7 sources · 1 Aug

Phish Finally Revives XTC's 'Melt the Guns' After Decades Off the Stage

Phish reached deep into its earliest repertoire at Fenway Park, performing XTC's "Melt the Guns" live for the first time since 1987. Both musicianvoice.com and Rolling Stone reported the surprise moment, with musicianvoice.com framing it as the biggest "bust out" in the band's history while Rolling Stone characterized it as the jam band's longest gaps between performances of a song. The rare track surfaced just days after a nostalgic Madison Square Garden run, a stretch that, according to Rolling Stone, saw the band play several songs live for the first time since the mid-1990s. That context made the Fenway deep cut feel like part of a broader opening of the vault, even as "Melt the Guns" stood apart as the most extreme example. "Days after nostalgic MSG run, jam band provides Fenway Park with the biggest 'bust out' in Phistory" That claim of Phistory-making status is a bold one, but Rolling Stone offered a similarly definitive take, explaining exactly why the moment mattered so much to fans tracking the band's setlists. "This marks the biggest 'bust out' (a song not played in a long time) in the jam band's history." With only a handful of performances ever logged before it went dormant, "Melt the Guns" holds an unusual place in Phish's catalog, and both outlets noted that its return at Fenway delivered exactly the kind of deep-cut surprise the band's devoted audience had been hoping for after the MSG run.

2 sources · 1 Aug

Francisca Valenzuela Reframes the Messy Realities of New Motherhood on 'Maldita'

Chilean-American singer-songwriter Francisca Valenzuela's new album 'Maldita' trades the expected glow of new motherhood for something far rawer. Rolling Stone reported that the record is an unflinching and cathartic exploration of motherhood, and Billboard emphasized just how personal it gets: "The Chilean singer-songwriter distills the full range of emotions from her first year as a new mother with heart-wrenching rawness." That sense of exposure reportedly runs through the entire album, with Valenzuela finding musical release in the difficult moments rather than polishing them away. Rolling Stone reported that the 39-year-old artist initially planned an exuberant party record inspired by Italian icon Raffaella Carrá after becoming a mother for the first time. But exhaustion and postpartum depression changed that direction, turning the project toward her emotional breakdown instead. "The album confronts the cruel expectation that new mothers must be happy and put-together, channeling her raw experience into the music." That line cuts to the heart of what shifted for Valenzuela, according to Rolling Stone, framing the album as a refusal to perform flawless maternity. hot1073fm.com similarly described the record as an unflinching and cathartic look at motherhood, writing that Valenzuela finds release through the work: "The Chilean-American singer-songwriter goes deep and finds healing on her new album." Taken together, the coverage paints 'Maldita' as both a document of breakdown and a route toward recovery, with Billboard's emphasis on heart-wrenching rawness and hot1073fm.com's note of healing suggesting the album runs the full arc of Valenzuela's first year as a mother.

3 sources · 1 Aug

A Crowded New Music Friday: Grande, Shaboozey, and Chinouriri Anchor the Week's Roundups

This week's batch of new releases has arrived, and the outlets are in agreement that it's a full one. Billboard's New Music Friday guide promised a look at the "must-hear releases of the week," spotlighting Ariana Grande, Cardi B, Shaboozey, and Slayyyter, while hot1073fm.com framed its own list as a "Songs You Need to Know" playlist featuring Grande, Shaboozey, and Rachel Chinouriri. Rolling Stone homed in on the standout tracks, calling Grande's contribution a "baroque track 'Petal'", Shaboozey's team-up with Gunna a "countrified collaboration" on "High Noon", and Chinouriri's "One Song Away From Crying" a "glossy new song." "This week highlights Ariana Grande's baroque track 'Petal,' Shaboozey's countrified collaboration with Gunna on 'High Noon,' and Rachel Chinouriri's glossy new song 'One Song Away From Crying.'" That trio emerged as the consensus tentpoles across the coverage, with the outlets largely orbiting the same names even as they each picked a different favorite. Nylon took a broader view, leading its roundup with Slayyyter's "Brand New Chanel$" and tucking in tracks from Rachel Chinouriri, Arca, Ninajirachi, and others. The magazine described its selection as "our weekly roundup of the best new music," an echo of Billboard's framing. "Our weekly roundup of the best new music, including songs from Slayyyter, Rachel Chinouriri, Arca, Ninajirachi, and more." Rolling Stone also flagged releases from Remi Wolf, Cardi B, Moliy, and Benny Blanco, while hot1073fm.com's playlist kept the focus on the week's essential tracks. Between the overlapping picks and the distinct deep cuts, the new music pipeline is clearly running on full tilt this week.

4 sources · 1 Aug

North West's Co-Headlining Debut With Molly Santana Falls Apart Before Opening Night

North West's summer tour is officially over before it began. Showbiz411 reported that all 12 dates of the Molly x North Kimokawaii Tour, co-headlined by the 13-year-old daughter of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West and 21-year-old rapper Molly Santana, have been canceled. Perez Hilton reported the tour was set to begin August 5. The tour was announced in June, a month after North West released her debut project N0rth4evr, according to Perez Hilton. The Standard and Irish News both reported the cancellation came days before the first show, while LADbible said the teenager was forced to call off her touring debut at the eleventh hour. The News International reported that North West issued a statement after canceling her first headlining tour. The abrupt end drew a cheeky response from Showbiz411, which wrote: "If you get your money back, I’m sure there’s a monster truck rally somewhere instead." The outlet's snark underscored the skepticism around a 13-year-old headlining a national tour. For fans holding tickets, Molly Santana offered a promise. Tyla reported that the rapper, whom North West was scheduled to support on tour, "promised she'd 'make it up' to fans that bought tickets." Whether that means refunds or a rescheduled show remains unclear. Perez Hilton, meanwhile, opened its coverage with a blunt warning: "If you had plans to see North West on tour, bad news…" That sums up the situation for ticket holders.

7 sources · 1 Aug

LitRPG Hit 'Dungeon Crawler Carl' Is Coming to TV, With a Talking Cat and Fan Worries in Tow

Peacock has officially ordered a TV series adaptation of Matt Dinniman's sci-fi LitRPG book series "Dungeon Crawler Carl," with Seth MacFarlane attached to the project, TVLine reported. The story centers on Carl, a Coast Guard veteran, and his ex-girlfriend's cat Princess Donut, who must navigate a surreal survival competition after an alien apocalypse. According to ComicBook, the franchise spans eight novels that Dinniman wrote and self-published, and Ace Books has since acquired the physical print rights. For a series built on a self-published success story, the leap to a streaming service represents a major milestone, but not everyone is breathing easy. "it has Matt Dinniman fans excited, but also a little worried about what is coming down the line." That mix of anticipation and apprehension makes sense: the source material's quirky premise, complete with a talking cat, is exactly the kind of thing that could charm audiences or get lost in translation. "The series follows Carl, a Coast Guard veteran, and his ex-girlfriend's cat Princess Donut, who survive an alien apocalypse and are forced to compete in a supernatural reality-style survival quest streamed to alien audiences." TVLine described the books as having gained a devoted following, and its primer for newcomers frames the adaptation as a test of whether the series' oddball appeal can survive the trip to the screen. ComicBook, meanwhile, put the bar even higher, listing three things the show needs to get absolutely right to be successful, a challenge made all the more pointed by the fans' worries.

2 sources · 1 Aug

Seedance 2.5 turns 30-second AI clips into single-pass productions with audio and editing controls

ByteDance officially launched Seedance 2.5 on July 31, rolling the model out to Jimeng AI and Dreamina, according to Techgenyz, which cited TechNode and Chinese outlet Yicai. The model generates 30-second clips in 4K resolution in a single pass, per mlllm.io, and it produces video and audio together rather than as separate steps, according to machinebrief.com. The release lands with an unusually deep set of controls. Pandaily reported that Seedance 2.5 supports multi-round extension, lets users feed in up to 30 images, 10 videos, and 10 audio references, and offers timestamp-controlled editing. That combination is what makes longer scenes practical, mlllm.io argued, since moving from short clips to long scenes changes how production pipelines work. "The transition from short clips to long scenes radically changes video production pipelines, reducing the need for manual interpolation and stitching." That shift is exactly what content creators have been waiting for, in Techgenyz's telling, since most tools stall past ten or fifteen seconds. "If you've been testing AI video tools and hitting a wall every time a clip stretches past ten or fifteen seconds, ByteDance's newest model is built to push past that limit." Dreamina users get even more headroom, per progressiverobot.com, which reported a beta long video mode that reaches three minutes, along with interactive frame editing and plugins for Maya and Blender. The 30-second ceiling still stands out next to rival models: machinebrief.com reported that Seedance 2.5's clips are three times longer than what Google's Gemini Omni Flash produces. That has commercial implications, according to machinebrief.com, especially for ad teams who no longer need to stitch one short clip at a time. More broadly, breakingac.com called the moment the start of a major revolution in how AI builds digital video, while Robotics & Automation News observed that AI video tools have quietly become a normal part of everyday production for marketers, educators, and businesses.

7 sources · 1 Aug

Legendary Clear Unlocks Halo: Campaign Evolved's Sequel Tease and a Familiar Survivor

Players who make it through Halo: Campaign Evolved on Legendary difficulty are being rewarded with more than bragging rights. According to Almabrizita, those completing the campaign on the highest difficulty have discovered a new post-credits scene that confirms Sgt. Johnson's survival and teases a sequel. "Players completing Halo: Campaign Evolved on Legendary difficulty have discovered a new post-credits scene confirming Sgt. Johnson's survival and teasing a sequel." That discovery lines up with coverage from episodebreakdown.com, which noted that the post-credits scene goes beyond a simple sequel hint by also revealing classic characters. The survival of a fan-favorite figure like Sgt. Johnson gives the tease an emotional hook rather than just a plot promise. "Halo: Campaign Evolved includes a post-credits scene teasing a sequel and revealing classic characters." For players still wondering where the scene fits, polygon.com reported on the full picture of the ending, describing exactly what happens across the finale, the secret ending, and the post-credits moment. The shared focus among all three outlets suggests the scene is a deliberate setup rather than an afterthought, rewarding players who push through Legendary with a clear look at where the story could go next. "An explanation of what happens during the Halo: Campaign Evolved ending, secret ending, and post-credits scene." With the sequel tease now confirmed and Sgt. Johnson back in the picture, the community has a concrete reason to replay on Legendary, even beyond the usual challenge.

3 sources · 2 Aug

Sony Purges Spoilers as Spider-Man: Brand New Day Post-Credits Leak Follows Premiere

Spider-Man: Brand New Day's world premiere at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood on Monday night kicked off a wave of online spoilers, with first reactions and post-credits details leaking within hours. Maxblizz reported the premiere was held successfully, and The Direct noted the film is set to launch Peter Parker's new big screen journey with unexpected twists and turns. The most closely guarded secret was quickly exposed. Epicstream reported that the post-credits scene has leaked online, teasing Peter Parker's next MCU chapter. Sony has responded aggressively, as IGN reported: "Sony is battling a major Spider-Man: Brand New Day leak, and using copyright claims to scrub the movie's post-credits scene from social media." IGN noted footage of the scene, seemingly recorded inside a theater, began circulating on X early in the morning, and the studio moved quickly to remove it. For fans hoping to stay unspoiled, both Film and Men's Journal addressed the post-credits question in spoiler-free terms. Men's Journal reported that first screenings took place Monday night across the country and that, while withholding all real spoilers until release, it could confirm whether audiences should stick around through the credits. Film similarly offered a spoiler-free answer about whether any scenes set up Tom Holland's Peter Parker's future. Beyond the leak, a separate rumor ties Brand New Day to a bigger Marvel storyline. SuperHeroHype reported: "A new rumor claims that the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day is serving as a secret origin story for a major Marvel character." That report added that the movie might not just introduce the character, but feature them prominently in the narrative. Taken together, the leaked post-credits scene and the origin story rumor suggest Spider-Man: Brand New Day is building toward more than a single adventure, even as Sony works to keep the surprises under wraps until the film reaches audiences.

7 sources · 2 Aug

Nintendo's Wii and DS Were a Direct Answer to the GameCube's Failure, Miyamoto Reveals

Shigeru Miyamoto has explained that the Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS were born directly from the Nintendo GameCube's commercial struggles, according to insider-gaming. The legendary designer said the two platforms were a deliberate response to the GameCube's poor sales. Insider-gaming reported that Satoru Iwata suggested the GameCube's low sales stemmed from Nintendo's focus on traditional gamers. That insight drove the company to design the Wii and DS to reach beyond the core gaming community and attract more casual players. "According to Miyamoto, Satoru Iwata suggested that the GameCube's low sales were caused by Nintendo's focus on traditional gamers, and this insight drove the company to design the Wii and DS to reach beyond the core gaming community and attract more casual players." That pivot proved transformative for Nintendo, redefining who the company was building hardware and software for. ValoSettings, covering the same remarks, reported that GameCube sales inspired the Wii and DS, per Miyamoto, a framing that aligns with insider-gaming's account: the struggling console was not a dead end but a catalyst for Nintendo's later success. Insider-gaming noted that both platforms went on to become among the most successful in Nintendo's history, largely because they drew in audiences outside the traditional gaming demographic. "Both platforms went on to become among the most successful in Nintendo's history, largely due to their ability to draw in audiences outside the traditional gaming demographic." The Wii and DS effectively rewrote Nintendo's playbook, turning a generation of non-gamers into players.

2 sources · 2 Aug