💫 NASA has just launched a new website for its Moon Base missions, which aims to build a permanent $20 billion U.S. base on the Moon.

NASA has unveiled a major update on its long-term plan to build a permanent human settlement on the Moon, following the successful Artemis II mission last month. The agency said the future lunar base could eventually stretch across hundreds of square miles near the Moon’s south pole.

NASA officials described the project as a critical step toward sustained lunar exploration and future missions to Mars. The agency also confirmed new partnerships with private companies, including Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin, as it prepares for a planned crewed Moon landing in 2027.

“The grand return to lunar exploration is getting closer,” — NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said. “NASA will continue figuring out what works and what doesn’t in one of the harshest environments humans have ever attempted to inhabit.“

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🇺🇸 CBP raises accepted tariff refunds to $85 billion

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is on track to process around $85 billion in potential and certified refunds for invalidated tariffs through the agency’s dedicated portal, the CBP said in a court filing on Tuesday.

As of May 22, about $20.6 billion in certified refunds with interest have been completed through Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, or CAPE, which launched on April 20. The refunds have been transmitted to the Treasury Department for disbursement.

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⚡️🇺🇸🇹🇼 US Eases Some Tariffs on Taiwan to Formalize Trade Agreement

The Trump administration is removing some tariffs on imports from Taiwan to implement parts of a previously agreed trade deal with the US. The US will remove derivative aluminum, steel and copper duties from aircraft components imported from Taiwan, according to a notice posted in the Federal Register.

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⚔️ CrowdStrike and Google take down botnet used by hackers to target software developers in supply chain attacks

CrowdStrike, working with Google and Shadowserver, a nonprofit organization that scans and monitors the internet for cyberattacks, took down a botnet that cybercriminals used to push malware and steal passwords from open-source software developers.

❗️The takedown operation had the goal of disrupting the activities of the cybercriminals behind the so-called Glassworm botnet. The Glassworm hackers used several strategies to push out their malicious code.

➡️This included publishing malicious extensions on a marketplace used by developers; by malvertising — where hackers pay for sponsored search results that trick victims into downloading malware; and using credentials stolen in previous hacks, which allowed the hijacking of developer accounts and the planting of malware in their code.

In the end, the hackers were able to poison — as CrowdStrike put it — more than 300 GitHub code repositories.

⛔️ CrowdStrike said it was able to takedown four command-and-control channels used by the Glassworm hackers, which cut the hackers’ access to infected computers and stopped them from delivering more malware.

The command-and-control servers relied on the Solana blockchain, the BitTorrent peer-to-peer network, Google Calendar, and virtual private servers, according to CrowdStrike.

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🇷🇺🇰🇿 Vladimir Putin arrived in the Republic of Kazakhstan on a state visit, and also to attend a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council and the Eurasian Economic Forum.

#BRICS

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