• A group of Russian fraudsters created two pyramid schemes, called Recyclix and Juicy Fields, swindling victims out of €700 million.
• They rehearsed their scheme in Poland. At the height of their activity, they were featured in the media and even took photos with Polish president Andrzej Duda.
• After eight years of investigation, the Polish prosecutor’s office charged only a front man — and then let him go free. We later discovered that he became a GRU saboteur who sent out explosive devices that caused fires in Poland, Germany, and the UK.

Part 2: Marijuana Cowboys: The Medical Weed Scam That Swept Across Europe

The European Space Agency’s Gaia mission has spotted an unusual family of stars all strangely eager to leave home – a family we couldn’t have discovered without the star-surveying spacecraft, and one unlike all others we have spotted to date.

Current algorithms for the detection of deepfakes increasingly rely on remote pulse reading to distinguish them from genuine videos of people. Here, scientists show for the first time that the most recent deepfakes feature a global pulse rate which appears realistic. This worrying development makes it necessary for deepfake detectors to become more powerful, for example, by focusing on local variations in blood flow within the face.

You might have heard of Tor in the news a few times, yet never dared to try it yourself. Despite being around for decades, Tor is still a tool too few people know about.

Today, Tor is easy to use for anyone. It helps not only journalists and activists, but anybody who seeks greater privacy online or access to information regardless of location. But what is Tor exactly? How can Tor help you? And why is it such an important tool?

• High Suicide Rate: U.S. farmers are 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide than the general population. In Utah, they die by suicide at the third-highest rate by vocation in the state.
• Temporary Help: A federal program offering Utah farmers free therapy was so successful that it ran out of money in four months. But lawmakers have chosen not to continue funding it.
• Stressors Facing Farmers: Farmers experience unique stressors, including fluctuating market prices, unpredictable weather and the expectation they handle mental health issues on their own.

It’s not clear who will now write the Congressionally mandated National Climate Assessment — or whether it will be written at all.

Tesla’s baking sheet on wheels rides fast in the recall lane toward a dead end where dysfunctional men gather.