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    ‘Huff and puff’ exercises slash risk of early death by 20 percent –

    Peter Watson
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    ‘Huff and puff’ exercises slash risk of early death by 20 percent –

    ADELAIDE, Australia — It’s no secret that working out is good for your health, but now, a new study is showing how it can save your life. Researchers from the University of South Australia have found that cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) can lower the risk of premature death, chronic diseases, and complications from poor health by a staggering 20 percent.

    Cardiorespiratory fitness is a measure of how well your heart, lungs, and muscles work together to supply oxygen to your body during sustained physical activity. It’s often measured by VO2 max — the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during intense exercise. The higher your cardiorespiratory fitness level, the more efficiently your body can transport and use oxygen.

    Publishing their work in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the international research team analyzed data from a staggering 199 studies, including over 20 million participants. They looked at how cardiorespiratory fitness levels predicted future health outcomes.

    The results were striking. People with high fitness levels had a 41 to 53-percent lower risk of premature death from any cause compared to those with low fitness. Each incremental increase in fitness of 1 MET (a measure of exercise intensity) was associated with a seven to 51-percent lower mortality risk, depending on the cause of death. The protective effects were applicable to deaths from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and sudden cardiac events.

    “The message is quite simple: if you do a lot of ‘huff and puff’ exercise, then your risk of dying early or developing diseases in the future is reduced. If you avoid exercise your health may suffer,” says senior study author Grant Tomkinson, a professor at the University of South Australia, in a media release.

    The benefits went far beyond longevity

    High fitness was also linked to a 37 to 69-percent reduced risk of developing chronic conditions like hypertension, heart failure, stroke, atrial fibrillation, dementia, and depression. Even in people already diagnosed with heart disease, cancer, and other chronic illnesses, those who were more fit had a significantly lower risk of dying.

    While we’ve long known that being active is good for health, this study provides a more precise understanding of the dose-response relationship between fitness and specific outcomes. It suggests that any improvement in fitness — even modest changes — can provide substantial health benefits, especially for those starting at a low baseline.

    Importantly, cardiorespiratory fitness isn’t just about how much you can exercise — it’s influenced by a combination of physical activity, genetics, and other factors like age and health status. This means that while some people may need to work harder to improve their fitness, almost everyone can boost their cardiorespiratory health through regular aerobic exercise like brisk walking, cycling, swimming, or dancing.

    People with high fitness levels had a 41% to 53% lower risk of premature death from any cause compared to those with low fitness. (© LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS – stock.adobe.com)

    “People can make meaningful improvements through additional moderate physical activity, such as brisk walking, at least 150 minutes a week. And as they improve their fitness, their risk of death and disease will decline,” explains lead study author Dr. Justin Lang, from the Public Health Agency of Canada and adjunct professor at the University of South Australia.

    Researchers noted some limitations in the current evidence that point to areas for future research. Most studies to date have involved male-dominated groups, highlighting a need for more data on women’s fitness. There was also a lack of high-quality studies in some patient populations and research on links between fitness and specific cancers and mental health outcomes beyond depression.

    Overall, the breadth and consistency of the protective associations across diverse health outcomes make a compelling case for the importance of cardiorespiratory fitness as a key vital sign. The authors argue it should be routinely measured in healthcare settings to help identify individuals at elevated risk who could benefit from interventions.

    “Through regular assessment, clinicians and exercise professionals could better identify adults at greater risk of early death and initiate exercise programs aimed at increasing CRF through regular physical activity,” concludes Dr. Lang.

    On a population level, the findings underscore the critical importance of promoting physical activity and providing infrastructure that supports active lifestyles. In an age when sedentary behaviors are a constant part of life, making movement a regular part of our days should be a top public health priority.

    StudyFinds’ Matt Higgins contributed to this report.

    Couple Accidentally Ships Their Cat with an Amazon Return–1 Week and 3 ‘Miracles’ Later They’re Reunited

    Peter Watson
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    Couple Accidentally Ships Their Cat with an Amazon Return–1 Week and 3 ‘Miracles’ Later They’re Reunited
    Carrie Clark, at the moment she reunited with Galena the cat – Courtesy Carrie Clark

    A Utah housecat was reunited with its parents recently after a nap in her favorite hiding place turned into a 6-day nightmare.

    Galena the calico was accidentally shipped—in the box she had snuck into—all the way to a fulfillment center in Jurupa Valley, California.

    Oh yes, epitomizing the internet adage of ‘if it fits, I sits‘ Galena had cozied up inside an Amazon box, unaware that the shoes she was sharing it with were due to be returned.

    Owners Carrier and Matt Clark love their cat, as much as she loves sitting in boxes. But her quiet, demure demeanor got the best of her this time, and she needed all 9 lives to survive in the box for 6 days without food or water.

    But she was aided, said faithful Carrie, by three miracles. The first was that Matt didn’t seal the box perfectly, and so Galena could breathe inside. The second was that the weather was not too hot at the time. The third was that only one person in the whole Amazon location knew how to handle such a situation: and she worked in returns.

    Once at Jurupa Valley, she was discovered by an employee who in turn called their boss Hunter Brandy—the returns manager who also happens to love cats and fosters/rescues them as a side gig. She showed up despite not being at work that day “with a cat carrier and some food.”

    “She eventually warmed up to me and let me pet her,” Hunter said in her statement from Amazon. “I could tell she belonged to someone by the way she was behaving, so I took her home that night.”

    All this time, the Clarks, who had experienced their cat simply vanishing without a trace were in a dire fret. They searched for hours around their home, put up flyers in their neighborhood of Lehi, called friends and alerted neighbors, but eventually there was nothing more that could be done.

    Hunter eventually took Galena to a vet to make sure it was recovering from its ordeal and to check for a microchip. Galena was microchipped, leading to a phone call that Carrie first thought was a joke.

    Galena loves to sit in boxes like the one in this undated photograph from before the incident – courtesy Carrie Clark

    “Galena must have snuck into the box without him seeing and without us knowing, and then he [Matt] came back and taped the box back up,” Carrie Clark said. “She loves to hide in boxes, so she was pretty happy in there. She didn’t make any noise.”

    LOST PETS REUNITED: Girl Had Only Been Volunteering at Pet Shelter for Two Days When She Was Reunited With Lost Cat From Childhood

    “We literally had emotions of laughing hysterically to crying hysterically,” she told CNN. “They were so intense. It was just the strangest emotion feeling both of those at the same time.”

    A lover of cats, Hunter asked Carrie if she could record the meeting after they drove down to California to pick up Galena.

    MORE STORIES LIKE THIS: ‘It’s Scratching, Dude’– US Coast Guard Inspectors Rescue Stowaway Dog from Shipping Container

    “This moment (and all the rest of her life with her family) would not have been possible had she not been microchipped!” Hunter wrote on a Facebook post. “Altho I most definitely would have kept her and loved her to pieces myself had she not been chipped, her family would never have known what happened to her and that thought breaks my heart.”

    GNN has reported on how science has shown that cats will find boxes to sit in even if the box itself is an optical illusion. There’s a strange if almost unbelievable lesson in the story of Galena and the Amazon box: if you’ve got to mail something big, check for fur before sending.

    SHARE This Unbelievable Story With A Thankfully Happy Ending With Your Friends…

    Trump gives his strongman’s ambitions free rein on a day off from court

    Peter Watson
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    Trump gives his strongman’s ambitions free rein on a day off from court



    CNN
     — 

    Donald Trump used his day off from a criminal trial related to a past election to cast a dark, familiar shadow over the next one.

    The presumptive GOP nominee declined to say if he’d accept the result of his White House race with President Joe Biden in November, warning in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday that if the election was not “honest,” then “you have to fight for the right of the country.”

    The ex-president was campaigning in Wisconsin and Michigan but was due back in court Thursday in Manhattan for the resumption of his first criminal trial – over alleged falsification of business records to cover up a hush money payment to an adult film star ahead of the 2016 election.

    His remarks on the 2024 contest were especially ominous given his refusal to accept his loss in 2020 based on his false claims of voter fraud. They also recalled his warning to supporters before the January, 6, 2021, mob attack on the US Capitol that if they didn’t “fight like hell,” they wouldn’t have a country anymore.

    Trump’s warning was just the latest example this week of extreme rhetoric that suggests his threats to American democracy are undimmed.

    On a sun-soaked airfield in Michigan on Wednesday, with his improbably long red tie appearing to levitate on the breeze, he conjured a strongman’s vision of a future America that would cause the country’s founders to shudder.

    Trump cut an unrecognizable figure from the grim ex-president who bleats a daily dirge of complaints about his hush money trial outside Judge Juan Merchan’s court. And as if to defy prosecutors trying to call him to account in multiple cases, Trump used his most energetic rally in months on Wednesday to show a second term would test the law even more than his first.

    “When I return to the White House, we will stop the plunder, rape, slaughter, and destruction of the American suburbs, cities and towns,” Trump vowed, pledging mass deportations of undocumented migrants, crackdowns on the bureaucracy and higher education and on what he called the “communists and criminals” in the Democratic Party. Earlier in Wisconsin, he updated his sketch of an “American carnage” national hellscape, warning that the nation was under siege from “radical extremists and far-left agitators who are terrorizing college campuses.”

    Seeking to capitalize on protests sweeping universities countrywide, Trump claimed, “New York was under siege last night” and praised cops for breaking up a protest at Columbia University. “It was a beautiful thing to watch, New York’s finest. You saw them go up in ladders, they’re breaking the windows and getting in and that’s dangerous,” he said.

    Since the hush money trial opened last month, he’s held fundraisers and local political stops but no full-scale rallies. (One event in North Carolina was canceled because of a storm.) But Wednesday was the first time an ex-president and potential future one used a midweek break in his own criminal trial to dash through swing states that could send him back to the White House. His raucous reception before a large crowd in Michigan was a reminder that days of potentially damaging testimony have done nothing to dent his appeal to supporters.

    Trump, according to recent polls, has an even chance of winning the presidency, and his dynamic return to a stage where he, and not Judge Merchan, wields authority underscored his political threat to President Joe Biden’s hopes of a second term. On specific issues, surveys show Trump leading Biden on most issues including the economy, immigration, and the Israel-Hamas war. One of Biden’s few strong points is abortion rights – which Vice President Kamala Harris drove home on a trip to Florida Wednesday that saw her hammer Trump 21 times over the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade as she highlighted the state’s new six-week ban.

    CNN political analyst David Axelrod, a former senior strategist for President Barack Obama, dispensed straight talk on Wednesday after days of media coverage of a trial that in a normal political era would likely have driven Trump out of the race. “The question really is, what effect is this whole thing having on the campaign, and I think there is very little evidence right now is that it is having an effect on the campaign at all,” he said.

    Axelrod acknowledged that the verdict could move the needle but told CNN’s Erin Burnett: “In many peoples’ estimation, this is a non-event. “

    Six months before the election, Trump’s searing campaign rhetoric is becoming less an exercise in performative demagoguery than a blueprint for a potential second term.

    This is especially the case in the wake of an intriguing and at times chilling interview with Time published this week. The transcript, an 86-minute read on the magazine’s website, offers the most categorical personal statement from the man himself of how he’d change the country in a second term. He’s proposing a brand of quasi-autocratic leadership based on personal whim, a desire for retribution and almost no acknowledgement that the presidency is an office constrained by laws, the Constitution and the bedrock republican recoil from unbridled executive power.

    Up to now, pro-Trump think tanks and advocacy groups have laid out policy manifestos for how Trump, as the 47th president, would gut the administrative state, introduce draconian immigration policies and shatter decadeslong traditions of US global leadership with a return of “America First” on steroids. Sometimes, Trump’s aides have cautioned that no one speaks for the ex-president but himself. But in the Time interview, Trump explains in his own words how a president who left office after a failed attempt to overturn democracy would behave if he ever got power back.

    He said he’d mount an immediate effort to find, imprison and deport millions of undocumented migrants — a pledge he renewed on Wednesday with the words, “We will begin the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.” Trump told Time he’d be open to firing any US attorney who doesn’t carry out his order to prosecute someone. Trump also said that he’d consider pardoning hundreds of supporters who attacked the US Capitol in a bid to overturn the 2020 election, thereby validating the use of violence as a tool of political expression in a hammer blow to the sanctity of democratic elections. He warned he’d send the National Guard to quell campus protests and to participate in immigration enforcement, apparently willing to smash the narrow exceptions on the use of the military on home soil. Trump spoke of the Guard more as a personal presidential militia than a legally circumscribed reserve force.

    As the implications of the ex-president’s solidifying intentions sharpen, the hours he spends constrained in a Manhattan courtroom seem to be fueling his desire for retribution against his political opponents. “Never forget our enemies want to take away my freedom, because I will never let them take away your freedom,” Trump told his crowd in Freeland, Michigan, blasting four criminal indictments and several huge civil trial verdicts against him. The ex-president did not, however, appear to infringe a gag order that prevents him from taking aim at witnesses, court staff and even members of the judge’s own family. He was fined $9,000 for violations on Tuesday and faces another hearing on the issue before Merchan on Thursday.

    It’s not just the fast-approaching election and Trump’s strength in the polls that makes his words carry more weight. In the Time interview, Trump comes across as confident and determined to learn the lessons of his first term in which he claims he was let down by “bad” officials. And this all comes as the Supreme Court considers his bid to establish almost absolute immunity from prosecution for presidents for acts they undertake in office.

    At one point, the Time reporter, Eric Cortellessa, asked Trump if he understood why so many Americans are troubled by what he claimed were his past jokes about being a dictator for one day or terminating the Constitution. The former president replied simply, in one of the most revealing but disquieting answers of the entire interview: “I think a lot of people like it.”

    He’s not wrong. Trump raced to the Republican nomination, crushing his rivals despite his disgraced exit from Washington in 2021, two impeachments and legal quagmire that would be remarkable for any defendant, let alone a potential future president. His strength shows that millions of Americans support policies that, if implemented, would buckle many of the safeguards on presidential power and that are likely to test the rule of law. So, Trump’s success in this election so far is not just a tale of an idiosyncratic political force, it’s a commentary on the sentiments of millions of people in the most important democracy on Earth at a tense political moment.

    With Trump there are always caveats. His first term was a festival of chaos, led by a president who had a fleeting attention span and often appeared at war with his own administration. Sometimes, Trump is surprisingly loath to take risks that could harm his popularity. So there are no guarantees he could actually implement his hardline agenda. The interview was also a reminder of the way that Trump can come across as dangerous and vacuous at the same time. He often had a rudimentary grasp of policy or global realities. His potential approaches to challenges from abortion rights to China seem based on personal hunches and prejudices as much as considered strategy. And he’d face another showdown with the courts if he followed through as president with some of his harshest policies on immigration and firing civil servants wholesale.

    Yet Trump would not come to Washington in January 2025 as a neophyte. He told Time that “the advantage I have now is I know everybody. I know people. I know the good, the bad, the stupid, the smart. I know everybody. When I first got to Washington, I knew very few people. I had to rely on people.”

    This sense that things are suddenly getting serious was highlighted at the White House Correspondents’ Association annual dinner on Saturday. Biden recalled that Trump had made no secret of his “attack on our democracy” and highlighted his predecessor’s desire for “retribution.” He added: “Eight years ago, you could have written off it as just Trump talk. But no longer. Not after January 6.”

    In the words of two presidents, only one of whom can win a second term in November, the stakes of the 2024 election are becoming increasingly clear.

    Microsoft unveils $2.2bn investment in Malaysia focused on AI, cloud | Technology

    Peter Watson
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    Microsoft unveils $2.2bn investment in Malaysia focused on AI, cloud | Technology

    Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says firm will provide education and training to 200,000 people.

    Microsoft will invest $2.2bn in artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure in Malaysia to support the country’s digital transformation, the tech giant has said, following similar announcements in Indonesia and Thailand.

    The announcement by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Thursday includes plans to establish an AI Centre of Excellence and provide education and training to 200,000 people in the Southeast Asian country.

    “We are committed to supporting Malaysia’s AI transformation and ensure it benefits all Malaysians,” Nadella said as he visited Kuala Lumpur on the final stop of a three-nation tour of Southeast Asia.

    “Our investments in digital infrastructure and skilling will help Malaysian businesses, communities, and developers apply the latest technology to drive inclusive economic growth and innovation across the country.”

    Zafrul Abdul Aziz, Malaysia’s minister of investment, trade and industry, said the investment reflected a “deep partnership built on trust”.

    “Indeed, Malaysia’s position as a vibrant tech investment destination is increasingly being recognised by world-recognised names due to our well-established semiconductor ecosystem, underscored by our value proposition that ‘this is where global starts,’” he said.

    “Microsoft’s development of essential cloud and AI infrastructure, together with AI skilling opportunities, will significantly enhance Malaysia’s digital capacity and further elevate our position in the global tech landscape. Together with Microsoft, we look forward to creating more opportunities for our SMEs and better-paying jobs for our people, as we ride the AI revolution to fast-track Malaysia’s digitally empowered growth journey.”

    Nadella earlier this week announced multibillion-dollar investments in AI and cloud services in Indonesia and Thailand.

    Global consulting firm Kearney has estimated that AI could contribute nearly $1 trillion to Southeast Asia’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030.

    Microsoft is seeking to boost support for the development of AI worldwide, with its recent initiatives also including major investments in Japan and the United Arab Emirates-based AI firm G42.

    How Biden, 81, stacks up in age against other world leaders

    Peter Watson
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    How Biden, 81, stacks up in age against other world leaders

    Joe Biden, at 81, is the oldest American president, a distinction he’s held since entering office at age 78. As Biden runs for reelection in 2024, he is the ninth oldest national leader in the world, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of sitting leaders in 187 United Nations member states.

    Former President Donald Trump, who is running for the White House again this year, is younger than Biden. But at 77, Trump also falls among the 20 oldest world leaders when compared with those currently in power.

    With current U.S. President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump both running for reelection to the country’s highest office, Pew Research Center examined the ages of current national leaders to place the ages of Biden and Trump into a global context.

    This analysis examines the ages of the current heads of government in 187 countries that are member states of the United Nations, relying on government biographies and regional news articles. It reflects the ages of national leaders – and in a few instances, acting or interim leaders – as of May 1, 2024. It excludes six UN member states for which an exact birth date of the leader could not be found: Afghanistan, Haiti, Iraq, Mali, Niger and Somalia. For each of these countries, we reached out to embassy officials in the United States but did not receive further information.

    This analysis focuses mostly on heads of government as defined by a country’s political system or constitution. In some cases, we determined the national leader based on which executive has the power to appoint/dismiss the nominal head of government. In San Marino, where there are two captains regent who share power, we included data for Alessandro Rossi, as he assumed the position most recently.

    This analysis also draws on Freedom House country rankings to determine whether countries are free, partly free or not free. These rankings are based on two numerical scores assigned to each country for its political rights and civil liberties.

    The median age of each country’s overall population is a 2024 projection from the UN’s World Population Prospects 2022 report. The projections are based on “all available sources of data on population size and levels of fertility, mortality and international migration.”

    American voters are skeptical about both candidates’ fitness for the job, according to a recent Center survey. Only about four-in-ten U.S. registered voters are extremely or very confident that Trump has the mental fitness to be president (38%), while a similar share are confident in his physical fitness (36%). Even fewer express this degree of confidence in Biden’s mental (21%) and physical (15%) fitness for the role.

    Below are five key facts about the ages of current national leaders.

    National leaders range in age from their mid-30s to 91. The youngest leader is Burkina Faso’s Ibrahim Traoré, who is 36. He only slightly edges out two fellow 36-year-olds, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa and Montenegrin Prime Minister Milojko Spajić. Only two other world leaders are in their 30s: Irish Taoiseach Simon Harris and Chilean President Gabriel Boric.

    The oldest national leader is President Paul Biya of Cameroon, who was born in 1933 and took office more than 40 years ago. Biya is the only current national leader in his 90s.

    The median age of current national leaders is 62, as of May 1, 2024. The largest share of global leaders today (34%) are in their 60s. Roughly a quarter (22%) are in their 50s; 19% are in their 70s; and 16% are in their 40s. Biden is among the 5% of leaders who are in their 80s.

    Countries that are less free tend to have older leaders. In countries that Freedom House classifies as “not free,” the median age of the national leader is 68. That compares with 62 in countries that are classified as “partly free” and 60 in countries classified as “free.”

    A dot plot showing that countries ranked less free tend to have older global leaders.

    The United States is one of only three countries that are classified as free and have a leader age 80 or older; the other two are Ghana and Namibia. In Ghana, President Nana Akufo-Addo recently turned 80 in office. And in Namibia, 82-year-old Nangolo Mbumba took over as president earlier this year following the previous leader’s death in office at age 82.

    The median age for women leaders and men leaders is the same. Among men who are world leaders, 3% are in their 30s, while no women leaders are in this age group. Yet, of the 14 women leaders currently in power, 29% are in their 40s, compared with 14% of leaders who are men.

    Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark is the youngest female leader at 46, followed closely by fellow 46-year-old Kaja Kallas, the prime minister of Estonia. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh is the oldest female leader at 76.

    A dot plot showing that the median age for men and women leaders is the same.

    In most countries, the leader is significantly older than the median member of the population. For example, the median American is 38, according to UN population projections for 2024, while Biden is more than twice as old. In fact, the only countries that have a leader who is younger than the median resident of the country are Montenegro, Ireland and Italy. Andorran Prime Minister Xavier Espot Zamora, at 44, is the same age as the median Andorran resident. 

    In general, countries that Freedom House classifies as free are more likely than those classified as partly free or not free to have leaders who are closer in age to the median resident of the country.

    Note: This is an update of a post originally published on March 24, 2023.

    Walnuts Recalled From Whole Foods After E. Coli Outbreak

    Peter Watson
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    Walnuts Recalled From Whole Foods After E. Coli Outbreak

    A California company is recalling organic walnuts that were sold at natural food stores and coop retailers in 19 states because of an E. coli outbreak that has sickened 12 people and hospitalized seven, federal officials said.

    Gibson Farms, the company based in Hollister, Calif., is voluntarily recalling its shelled walnuts branded as Organic Light Halves and Pieces after discovering that the nuts could carry the E. coli strain 0157: H7 that “causes a diarrheal illness often with bloody stools,” the Food and Drug Administration said in a notice on Tuesday.

    The recall came after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notified the company of 12 recorded illnesses that were linked to the walnuts. They were distributed at more than 300 food retailers, including Whole Foods Market, New Seasons Market and Rosauers Supermarkets, the F.D.A. said.

    An investigation is underway to determine the potential source of the contamination, the F.D.A. said. The company did not immediately respond to inquiries on Wednesday.

    E. coli symptoms can vary from person to person and may include cramping, diarrhea or gastrointestinal distress. Other common symptoms include vomiting and fever. People begin to feel symptoms three to four days after ingesting food or drinks containing the E. coli bacteria, according to the C.D.C.

    A Whole Foods spokesman said the recalled walnuts were shipped to 10 of their Whole Foods Market stores across Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas and used only as an ingredient in a salad offered on salad bars in those stores. The salad item was removed from the salad bars and the recalled walnuts were destroyed immediately, the spokesman said.

    A spokesman for New Seasons Market said the grocery store chain “promptly removed the affected product” from its shelves, adding it also “placed signage in the relevant sections to alert consumers who may have bought it.”

    This particular strain of E. coli is associated with a toxin called Shiga that can cause bloody diarrhea and “for a small number of people, can cause severe disease,” Dr. Richard Ellison, an epidemiologist at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Mass., said on Wednesday.

    Although most healthy adults would fully recover within a week, some people may develop a form of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome, which is most likely to occur in young children and older adults, the F.D.A. said in its notice.

    Dr. Ellison said that about 90 percent of people will get better on their own without requiring antibiotics, and about 10 percent will develop the illness that can cause anemia and kidney damage.

    “Generally, we recommend providing supportive care and keeping people well hydrated,” he added.

    Consumers who have symptoms should contact their health care providers to receive care, the F.D.A. said.

    So far, the people who were sickened in the outbreak have been in California and Washington State. No deaths have been reported.

    The Organic Light Halves and Pieces were sold in bulk bins of 25-pound quantities, according to the F.D.A. The expiration dates for the affected product are between May 21, 2025, and June 7, 2025, the agency said.

    A list of store locations where the walnuts were sold can be found on the F.D.A.’s website.

    Consumers who bought the walnuts from bulk containers should check their pantries, refrigerators and freezers, and “not eat or use them,” the F.D.A. said. They should also “clean and sanitize surfaces” that came in contact with the product, the agency said.

    Retailers that received the recalled products should discard the walnuts and sanitize bins before refilling them, the F.D.A. said.

    Giuliani’s Bankruptcy Creditors Demand to Know His Spending

    Peter Watson
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    Giuliani’s Bankruptcy Creditors Demand to Know His Spending

    Besieged by creditors and with his income drying up, Rudolph W. Giuliani laid out an austerity program of sorts in January for a federal bankruptcy court.

    He would stick to a $43,000-a-month budget, he said in court filings, roughly in line with the income he drew from his retirement accounts and Social Security. That amount would cover, among other expenses, $5,000 in alimony payments to his ex-wife Judith Giuliani, $1,050 for food and housekeeping supplies and $425 for “personal care products and services.” He was also obliged to cover $13,500 in monthly nursing-home expenses for his former mother-in-law; she died in March.

    Suggesting that he was mindful of the $153 million he owes to creditors, including two Georgia election workers he defamed in the aftermath of the 2020 election, he budgeted nothing for entertainment, clubs and subscriptions.

    It did not take him long to blow his budget. In another bankruptcy filing, he said he actually spent nearly $120,000 in January. The accounting of his spending that he provided to the court was spotty and incomplete. He later provided more information to the creditors’ lawyers, listing 60 transactions on Amazon, multiple entertainment subscriptions, various Apple services and products, Uber rides and payment of some of his business partner’s personal credit card bill.

    It is not clear whether he has pared back his spending to within his budget in the months since January, because he has failed to submit required disclosures to the bankruptcy court. But his spending, and his inability or unwillingness to give the bankruptcy court a fuller look at his financial status, have left his creditors suspicious and angry.

    “These superfluous court filings are simply part of a larger effort to bully and intimidate the mayor through lawfare and a public smear campaign,” Mr. Giuliani’s spokesman, Ted Goodman, said.

    Once the mayor of New York City and later the personal lawyer to former President Donald J. Trump, Mr. Giuliani filed for bankruptcy in December after a federal judge ordered him to pay $148 million to the two Georgia election workers for falsely accusing them of rigging the outcome in President Biden’s favor. (Mr. Giuliani plans to appeal that judgment.)

    His filing listed $11 million in assets, including his Upper East Side apartment, which he put on the market last year for $6.5 million, took off the market this winter and plans to re-list, and his condo in Palm Beach, Fla., which he valued at $3.5 million.

    Four months into the bankruptcy proceedings, Mr. Giuliani’s financial disclosures have been incomplete, inaccurate and in some cases completely absent. His creditors have asked for more details and clarifications, hired a forensic accounting firm and made a broad request for information to see if he is hiding money and assets.

    The creditors’ lawyers recently issued a slew of subpoenas for documents, communications and information to Mr. Giuliani, people who work or have worked for him and even his son.

    Every additional penny that can be found in Mr. Giuliani’s pocket means a larger payout for his creditors, even if it is far less than what he actually owes them.

    That is why they also want him to collect $2 million that Mr. Giuliani claims he is owed in legal fees from Mr. Trump for the work he did leading the effort to overturn the 2020 election results.

    Mr. Giuliani lived a fairly frugal life during his mob-busting prosecutor and mayoral days.

    “Giuliani and money is a story in and of itself,” said Andrew Kirtzman, who wrote two books on the former mayor. “It begins with him leading a very unpretentious life.”

    These days, Mr. Giuliani brings in about $550,000 a year through disbursements from his dwindling retirement accounts and Social Security. His creditors want him to sell his properties in New York and Florida. But Mr. Giuliani recently told the bankruptcy court he would like to keep the Florida condo and live in it, suggesting that his creditors would not want him to be homeless.

    His creditors are skeptical.

    “It seems hardly worth pointing out that there is a vast gulf of housing options available between residing in an approximately $3.5 million Palm Beach condominium and homelessness,” lawyers for the creditors wrote in a court filing.

    His creditors also do not trust that he is being honest about the assets he does disclose.

    For example, Mr. Giuliani lists among his assets an undisclosed number of shares in Uber, the ride-share service. He declared that he has $30,000 worth of jewelry, but that includes three World Series rings from the New York Yankees that creditors estimate are worth about $15,000 each.

    He also failed to disclose a publishing contract for his upcoming book, “The Biden Crime Family.”

    “As my mother would say, they don’t trust Giuliani as far as they could throw him,” Bruce A. Markell, a bankruptcy law professor at Northwestern’s Pritzker law school, said of the creditors, based on the actions they have taken in bankruptcy court so far.

    His spending report for January was incomplete, with a list of two dozen charges to his American Express card, but no details. Lawyers for the creditors say he provided them a more detailed account, but it was not filed publicly in the court, as missing details typically are. And as of April 26, Mr. Giuliani had not provided details for his Discover card charges in January. The U.S. trustee assigned to his case did not respond to a question about why the additional details were not filed publicly in the court.

    One of the two Georgia election workers he defamed, Shaye Moss, was selected by Mr. Giuliani’s creditors to serve on a three-person committee to represent their interests throughout the bankruptcy case.

    The other committee members are Noelle Dunphy, a former employee who claims that Mr. Giuliani harassed and assaulted her beginning in 2019; and Lindsey Kurtz, the general counsel at Dominion Voting Systems, one of the largest voting machine vendors in the country, which has accused Mr. Giuliani of peddling falsehoods about it after the 2020 election.

    “The committee has no intention of letting the debtor drive his case and the creditors off a cliff,” the lawyers wrote in a recent motion.

    Mr. Giuliani entered his bankruptcy proceedings with a poor track record responding to discovery requests. Last year, a federal judge told jurors he intentionally hid information about his finances to shield his assets and make his net worth seem smaller.

    In bankruptcy, the debtor has an obligation to disclose all of his assets in a way that his creditors can understand what he has and the transactions he is making, Professor Markell said. Incomplete filings and failing to file requested material could end with the case being dismissed, which would open a debtor to foreclosures and collections.

    “The more there is a pushback and an ignorance of the ability to comply — especially from someone like Giuliani, who is a lawyer — the more concern there is that there is actually something being hidden,” the professor said.

    Mr. Giuliani has missed the filing deadlines for his February and March spending reports. Weeks ago, one of Mr. Giuliani’s lawyers, Gary C. Fischoff, said some filings have been delayed because “the accountant got upset at one point and wanted out.”

    “He’s calmed down,” the lawyer added, “and we persuaded him to stick with the case.” Mr. Giuliani’s accountants did not respond to a request for comment.

    Mr. Giuliani’s unresponsiveness, the creditors said, “leads one to question what he is hiding.”

    Bankruptcy law allows creditors to get even older information from the debtor as well as from his associates. Mr. Giuliani’s creditors have asked the court to use this broad discovery request to obtain details about his finances going back to 2019, as well as information from his associates.

    This request could unearth details about Mr. Giuliani’s foreign work, which has previously drawn scrutiny from the F.B.I. The forensic accounting team hired by the creditors is comprised of former intelligence officials with experience in countries where Mr. Giuliani did business, such as Ukraine, Turkey, Venezuela and Qatar.

    Mr. Giuliani’s age presents its own challenge to creditors getting paid.

    His circumstance differs from that of Alex Jones, 50, the bankrupt Infowars conspiracy broadcaster. Depending on the outcome of upcoming bankruptcy talks, Mr. Jones could work for decades to pay hefty damages to families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims for spreading lies about them. Mr. Giuliani turns 80 in May, and his future potential income is hampered by suspended law licenses in New York and Washington, D.C.

    The financial statements he filed in the court show he is losing money on his revenue-making businesses, such as his WABC radio show in New York.

    Mr. Giuliani continues to need lawyers in and out of bankruptcy court where he faces additional lawsuits, including a criminal indictment in Georgia for his and others’ efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state. And he was recently indicted in Arizona, where and others are also accused of trying to change the 2020 results.

    Friends have set up two legal defense funds. One is a political action committee, and donors include Elizabeth Ailes, the wife of the late media mogul Roger E. Ailes; Arnold Gumowitz, a New York real estate developer; and James Liautaud, the founder of the sandwich chain Jimmy John’s. Another donor is Matthew Martorano, a Puerto Rico-based businessman who is a defendant in a federal fraud case.

    The other fund, the Rudy Giuliani Freedom Fund, does not disclose the donors or the amount raised.

    According to a court filing, as of the end of January, Mr. Giuliani had drawn more than $1.2 million from the two funds to pay his lawyers. The total amount raised from both funds has not been publicly disclosed.

    His creditors’ lawyers have issued subpoenas for the names of the donors to his defense funds and receipts.

    May Day 2024: Workers and activists call for greater labor rights

    Peter Watson
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    0
    May Day 2024: Workers and activists call for greater labor rights

    ISTANBUL (AP) — Workers and activists around the world marked May Day with largely peaceful protests Wednesday over rising prices and calls for greater labor rights. Pro- Palestinian sentiments were also on display.

    Police in Istanbul used tear gas and fired rubber bullets to disperse thousands of people who tried to break through a barricade and reach the main Taksim square in defiance of a ban. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said at least 210 people were detained.

    President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has long declared Taksim off-limits for demonstrations on security grounds. In 1977, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a May Day celebration there, causing a stampede and killing 34 people. On Wednesday, a small group of trade union representatives lay a wreath at a monument to victims.

    May Day, which falls on May 1, is observed to celebrate workers’ rights. It’s also an opportunity to air economic grievances or political demands. “Tax the rich,” one banner in Germany read. “Don’t touch the eight-hour workday!” another read in Sri Lanka. “I want to live, not survive,” read one in France.

    In Paris, police fired tear gas as thousands of protesters marched through the French capital, seeking better pay and working conditions. Police said 12 officers were hospitalized after a homemade explosive was set off on the sidelines of the march. Twenty-nine people were arrested overall.

    A group of protesters set makeshift Olympic rings on fire to show discontent with the Summer Games that start in less than three months. France’s unions have warned of a strike during the Games if the government does not adequately compensate people forced to work during summer holidays.

    Government officials have failed to meet with union leaders, said Sophie Binet, the general secretary of the CGT union, one of France’s largest. “How do you expect it to go well if the authorities don’t respond to our simplest demand?” she said.

    Pro-Palestinian groups joined the Paris rally, chanting slogans in support for people in Gaza. There were similar scenes in Greece as pro-Palestinian protesters joined May Day rallies, waving a giant Palestinian flag as they marched past the Greek parliament. Others displayed banners in support of pro-Palestinian protesting students in the United States.

    Union members scuffle with Turkish police officers as they march during Labor Day celebrations in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

    A union member scuffles with plainclothes policemen as he marches with others during Labor Day celebrations in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

    A union member scuffles with plainclothes policemen as he marches with others during Labor Day celebrations in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

    Anti riot police officers stand guard blocking the route to protesters as Union members march during Labor Day celebrations in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Police in Istanbul detained dozens of people who tried to reach the city's main square, Taksim, in defiance of a government ban on celebrating May 1 Labor Day at the landmark location. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

    Anti riot police officers stand guard blocking the route to protesters as Union members march during Labor Day celebrations in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

    “We want to express our solidarity with students in the United States, who are facing great repression of their rights and their just demands,” said Nikos Mavrokefalos at the march. “We want to send a message that workers say no to exploitation, no to poverty, no to high prices,” he added.

    Several thousand protesters joined the Athens marches as labor strikes disrupted public transport across Greece. The largest union demands a return to collective bargaining after labor rights were scrapped during the 2010-18 financial crisis.

    In Nigeria, unions criticized government efforts to ease the cost of living and demanded bigger salary increases. Inflation is the highest in 28 years, at over 33%. In South Africa, pro-Palestinian demonstrators joined May Day events. In Kenya, President William Ruto called for an increase in the country’s minimum wage.

    In Lebanon, pro-Palestinian marchers mingled with workers demanding an end to a miserable economic crisis. “Politicians do not feel the pain of the worker or the economic conditions,” said one demonstrator, Abed Tabbaa. In Iraq, protesters demanded better wages, the reopening of closed factories and the end to privatization of certain businesses.

    Tens of thousands Sri Lankans paraded through the capital as the country struggles through its worst economic crisis, two years after declaring bankruptcy. Discontent has grown over efforts to increase revenue by raising the price of electricity and imposing taxes on professionals and small businesses.

    Workers march during a May Day rally in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Thousands of workers urged the government to raise minimum wages and improve working condition. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

    Workers march during a May Day rally in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Thousands of workers urged the government to raise minimum wages and improve working condition. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

    In South Korea’s capital, thousands of protesters shouted pro-labor slogans at a rally that organizers said was meant to step up criticism of what they call anti-labor policies pursued by President Yoon Suk Yeol’s conservative government.

    Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions gather to attend a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Workers, activists and others in Asian capitals took to the streets on Wednesday to mark May Day with protests over rising prices and governments' labor polices and calls for greater labor rights. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

    Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions gather to attend a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

    Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions gather to attend a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

    Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions gather to attend a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

    “In the past two years under the Yoon Suk Yeol government, the lives of our laborers have plunged into despair,” Yang Kyung-soo, leader of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, said in a speech. Union members criticized Yoon’s recent veto of a bill aimed at limiting companies’ rights to seek compensation for damages caused by union strikes.

    In Japan, more than 10,000 people gathered in Tokyo, demanding salary increases to set off price increases. Masako Obata, leader of the left-leaning National Confederation of Trade Unions, said dwindling wages have widened income disparities.

    In Indonesia, workers demanded protections for migrant workers abroad and a minimum wage raise. They gathered amid a tight police presence, chanting slogans against the new Job Creation Law and loosened outsourcing rules.

    In the Philippines, hundreds of workers and left-wing activists marched to demand wage increases and job security amid soaring food and oil prices. Riot police stopped them from getting close to the presidential palace.

    Filipino activists march towards the U.S. Embassy during a protest to mark International Labor Day in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Hundreds of Filipino workers from various labor groups took to the streets to mark Labor Day and demand a wage increase and job security amid soaring food and oil prices. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)

    Filipino activists march towards the U.S. Embassy during a protest to mark International Labor Day in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)

    Policemen try to block activists as they tried to march towards the U.S. Embassy during a protest to mark International Labor Day in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Hundreds of Filipino workers from various labor groups took to the streets to mark Labor Day and demand a wage increase and job security amid soaring food and oil prices. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)

    Policemen try to block activists as they tried to march towards the U.S. Embassy during a protest to mark International Labor Day in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)

    People walk towards the site of a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

    People walk towards the site of a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

    Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions shout slogans during a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Workers, activists and others in Asian capitals took to the streets on Wednesday to mark May Day with protests over rising prices and governments' labor polices and calls for greater labor rights. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

    Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions shout slogans during a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

    A man carries a poster during a protest to mark International Labor Day near the presidential palace in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Hundreds of Filipino workers from various labor groups took to the streets to mark Labor Day and demand a wage increase and job security amid soaring food and oil prices. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)

    A man carries a poster during a protest to mark International Labor Day near the presidential palace in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)

    ___

    Turnbull reported from Paris and Kim from Seoul. Associated Press journalists around the world contributed.

    Had to pay more than expected at a California restaurant? A new law will stop surcharges

    Peter Watson
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    Had to pay more than expected at a California restaurant? A new law will stop surcharges

    Under a new California law, California restaurants will no longer be able to charge customers surcharges, or service fees.

    Starting July 1, Senate Bill 478, or the “Consumer Legal Remedies Act: advertisements,” will ban “junk” fees on purchases made across California.

    This includes additional hidden fees related to online purchases, such as concert tickets or hotel rooms, food delivery and surcharges at restaurants.

    The California attorney general’s office confirmed on Tuesday with the San Francisco Chronicle that the law would apply to restaurant surcharges, which are often mistaken as tips or taxes, used to cover additional expenses, including employee health care or credit card processing fees.

    “Californians will know up front how much they’re being asked to pay, and no longer be surprised by hidden junk fees,” Senator Nancy Skinner said in an October statement from the Office of the Attorney General.

    Here’s what you need to know before the law takes effect:

    What are ‘junk’ fees?

    This law aims to prohibit “junk” fees, or drip pricing, where a price shown to consumers is lower than what they actually end up paying for a product or service at the final stage of purchasing, the bill states.

    This strategy has been used by businesses to attract customers by appearing as the most affordable option compared to competitors.

    While existing laws cover “unfair methods of competition,” such as false advertising, there’s no current law regulating hidden fees in California.

    “This act is not intended to prohibit any particular method of determining prices for goods or services,” the bill states. “This act is intended to regulate how prices are advertised, displayed, or offered.”

    How will SB 478 change how I shop and dine?

    Starting July 1, you won’t be caught off guard when it comes time to pay the tab or input your card information.

    Businesses will be required to disclose all charges ahead of time. This does not apply to taxes and government fees.

    Rather than charging a surcharge at the final stage of dining to cover additional costs and move away from tips, restaurants must fold the extra fees into menu prices to maintain transparency with all charges upfront, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Tuesday.

    Are there any exceptions?

    Some exceptions apply to car rental companies and motor vehicle dealerships.

    Car rental companies will not be in violation of the law when including a disclaimer that additional mandatory charges can be imposed. Dealerships will not be in violation for not disclosing exact registration or licensing fees in the payments.

    What do you want to know about life in Sacramento? Ask our service journalism team your top-of-mind questions in the module below or email servicejournalists@sacbee.com.

    Everything Coming In Diablo 4’s Exciting Loot Reborn Re-Work

    Peter Watson
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    0
    Everything Coming In Diablo 4’s Exciting Loot Reborn Re-Work

    Diablo IV is getting a major overhaul on the heels of its one year anniversary. Blizzard recently revealed almost every major change to come in season 4 later this month, and fans are excited for the action-RPG to finally fix some of the biggest complaints players have had since launch.

    Diablo IV – Bear Bender Build

    Season 4 is called Loot Reborn and it goes live on May 14 at 1:00 p.m. ET. It’ll be the first new update since Diablo IV arrived on Game Pass for subscribers on Xbox and PC, and on paper at least, it’s a strong case for why players should care about the fun but inoffensive demon clicker again. While changes to Legendary gear, affixes, and the Codex of Power were first teased back in April, a new Blizzard blog post outlines the upcoming itemization rework in much more detail.

    Traditionally, Diablo IV seasons have only brought changes to the game’s Seasonal Realm. In this mode, players must create a new character from scratch and then journey out into Sanctuary, completing old story content or new seasonal activities while utilizing unique seasonal items, powers, and buildcrafting opportunities. In Loot Reborn, however, the biggest changes will impact players’ core Eternal Realm characters as well, making it the perfect opportunity for lapsed players to return and continue grinding with their original hero.

    Image: Blizzard

    Here are the key ways Loot Reborn is overhauling gear, crafting, and other loot-oriented systems:

    Loot

    • Fewer items drop from slain monsters
    • Legendary gear affixes reduced to three, rare gear only has two
    • Affixes will be more powerful (higher numbers) and easier to understand (fewer modifiers)
    • Materials gained from salvaging are increasing
    • Blacksmith activities will be cheaper
    • Enchanting rerolls will cost less gold
    • Sacred items will only be in World Tier III, Ancestral times will only be in World Tier IV
    • Uniques can drop in all tiers, Uber Uniques can drop at level 55
    • Items with Greater Affixes (Ancestrals and Uniques) drop with a distinct audio cue and icon
    • Each affix on an item has a chance to be a Greater Affix in World Tier III and IV
    • Crude gems are gone, normal gems are available at level 51, flawless at 71, royal at 91
    • Diamonds have had all resistance values increased
    • Topaz now boosts intelligence, sapphires boost willpower, amethyst boosts strength, emeralds boost dexterity

    Aspects

    • Aspects extracted from Legendary items are now permanently stored in your Codex of Power
    • Can be used indefinitely and will only keep the most powerful version found
    • Aspects with max rolls are denoted with a special border
    • Codex of Power keeps the highest Aspect (Seasonal or Eternal) when Seasonal Realm resets

    Tempering

    • Tempering manuals are collected and permanently unlock affixes like the Codex of Power
    • Each manual lets you add one affix from six different categories: Weapons, Offensive, Defensive, Mobility, Utility and Resource
    • Ancestral items can have two Tempered affixes from different categories
    • Tempering Durability limits the number of times an affix can be added

    Masterworking

    • End-game crafting system using materials from The Pit of Artificers
    • Improves overall strength of all affixes on a weapon massively upgrades one every fourth tier
    • The affix that receives the bonus will turn blue, then yellow, then orange
    • Fully masterworked weapons can be rest to boost different affixes

    It’s a lot to digest, but the end result should be a lot less junk dropping and more investment in improving and modifying your best gear, especially in the late game. Permanently unlocking Aspects and Affixes will hopefully cut down on a lot of tedious RNG grinds, while the best drops will still be reserved for those moments when you finally get really lucky. We’ll see how it ends up working in practice, but I’m excited to actually feel something in Diablo IV again come May 14.

    A screenshot shows the Tempering menu in Season 4.

    Image: Blizzard

    Season 4 will bring other changes and new content to the base game, and Helltide events are one of the chief beneficiaries. Surviving a Helltide onslaught will increase your threat level until you eventually become Hell-Marked and swarmed by an even bigger mob of demons, until a Hellborn embodying one of Diablo IV’s classes hunts you down. Baneful Hearts earned during Helltide exploration let you initiate Accursed Rituals, which end with the arrival of a Blood Maiden who’ll drop valuable rewards. Helltide events will also now be available starting at World Tier I.

    Pit of Artificers is a new timed boss rush mode for earning Masterwork crafting materials. Players earn Runeshards throughout the world and use them to activate the Obelisk in Cerrigar and descend into a pit. Players in groups of up to four have 10 minutes to kill everything in sight and defeat a boss before moving on to the next level of the pit.

    Finally, there’s a seasonal story surrounding a mercenary group called The Iron Wolves. Defenders of everyday commoners, the mercenaries are being mysteriously killed off with players left to discover why. That’s the extent of what Blizzard detailed about actual new seasonal content circumstances. Some players suspect this means Season 4 will be content light compared to the previous ones, with Blizzard having invested instead in overhauling deeper systems. If that’s the case, it seems like a worthwhile trade-off, especially ahead of Diablo IV’s Vessel of Hatred expansion later this year.

    Or it could just be that Blizzard is keeping Loot Reborn’s story content close to the vest until closer to release. A developer livestream on May 2 will dive deeper into the upcoming changes, with full patch notes for season 4 going up soon after.

        

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