Nvidia has been doubling down on the opportunity to build robotics and other industrial AI applications, with the launch of its Omniverse platform, and most recently Mega, an Omniverse Blueprint framework to create digital twins to operate these applications. It’s also investing in digital twin startups to get the effort off the ground. Taiwan’s MetAI […]

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• Koyaana Redstar, a luxury bag authenticator, has decades of experience identifying fake Hermès Birkin bags.
• She said that the viral "Walmart Birkin," or "Wirkin," has several telltale signs of being a dupe.
• But Walmart is also not trying to convince anybody that the Wirkin is the real deal, she added.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Koyaana Redstar, the head of luxury buying at Luxe Du Jour, an online luxury boutique for vintage designer handbags. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I've worked for Rebag, The RealReal, and other vintage consignment stores and have 20 years of experience in the resale industry.

To me, the Hermès Birkin and Kelly are the most iconic bags in fashion. They are classic and retain value more than almost any other bag.

So, of course, I have thoughts on the viral $78 "Walmart Birkin" bag.

Signs that the Wirkin is an obvious dupe

First, the proportions of the Wirkin wouldn't look right to anyone who knows their stuff — and knows Birkins.

The handles are too long, and the fact that it comes with a crossbody strap is a dead giveaway — the Birkin doesn't come with one. To my knowledge, the only Birkin with a strap is the Micro Birkin if you exclude Jane Birkin's first Birkin.

The hardware is also almost too gold and has a slightly green undertone, which a real Birkin wouldn't have.

From afar, the imitation leather-like material looks almost puffy, which also throws off the shape. I can also tell the size of various components isn't of regular Birkin proportions.

As far as I'm concerned, the Wirkin's design doesn't seem to have been intentionally created to convince anyone that it's a Birkin.

It does look similar — but major changes have been made to avoid confusion, and they haven't used trademarked branding that would lead someone to believe that it's a real Hermès Birkin.

I think it's likely not the last we'll see of Birkin dupes from other brands, partly due to the demand for this particularly iconic style.

Dupes are fair game

The Birkin is the most coveted handbag in the world, so it's not surprising that there are so many dupes and replicas.

Replicas are attempted duplicates of a luxury bag, down to the types of hardware, fonts, materials, and branding.

Dupes are not branded, like the bags they are trying to imitate. They use a style or concept, alter it, and remove its branding. However, these products may use similar materials and have similar functionalities.

I don't approve of replicas, but I can get behind the idea of dupes because they aren't made to trick people into confusing them with the real deal.

I do find that consumers I've interacted with have become more conservative about spending on luxury products. Now, what I see is that there is brand loyalty — especially among consumers who enjoy buying products from specific brands.

However, an uptick in prices and the idea that dupes are readily available could drive some people to find cheaper alternatives to items that are way out of their budget.

A word of warning, though. Knowingly purchasing, distributing, or shipping inauthentic items is illegal under federal law.

It constitutes "trafficking in counterfeit goods," which can result in significant fines and potential jail time depending on the severity.

Justin Baldoni's legal team is demanding Disney retain communications about the Deadpool character to use in court

After a more than two-year investigation, the Securities and Exchange Commission has sued Elon Musk over his delayed disclosure of the Twitter stock he amassed before announcing his intention to acquire the company in 2022.

In a court filing, the SEC says that Musk filed paperwork with the SEC disclosing his purchase of Twitter shares 11 days after an SEC-mandated deadline to do so. (Federal law, as the SEC notes in its statement, requires investors to publicly report when they have acquired a more than 5 percent stake in a company.) This delay, according to the regulator, allowed Musk to buy up even more Twitter stock at a time when other investors were unaware of his involvement with the company.

From the lawsuit:

During the period that Musk was required to publicly disclose his beneficial ownership but had failed to do so, he spent more than $500 million purchasing additional shares of Twitter common stock. Because Musk failed to timely disclose his beneficial ownership, he was able to make these purchases from the unsuspecting public at artificially low prices, which did not yet reflect the undisclosed material information of Musk’s beneficial ownership of more than five percent of Twitter common stock and investment purpose. In total, Musk underpaid Twitter investors by more than $150 million for his purchases of Twitter common stock during this period. Investors who sold Twitter common stock during this period did so at artificially low prices and thus suffered substantial economic harm.

The regulator has been investigating Musk for years, and has long been at odds with the owner of X. At one point, the SEC accused Musk of attempting to stall and use “gamesmanship” to delay its investigation into his investment in Twitter. Last month, Musk shared a copy of a letter addressed to SEC Chair Gary Gensler in which Musk’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, accused the regulator of “six years of harassment” targeting Musk. The letter indicated that Musk refused a settlement offer from the SEC related to its Twitter investigation.

Musk also faced a class action lawsuit from other Twitter investors and an FTC probe related to the delayed disclosure. However, as The New York Times notes, it’s unclear if the SEC’s latest action will amount to much, as Gensler is expected to step down following the inauguration of President Donald Trump.

X didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. In a statement to The Times, Spiro called the SEC’s action a “a single-count ticky-tack complaint," calling it “an admission by the S.E.C. that they cannot bring an actual case."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/sec-lawsuit-claims-musk-gained-over-150-million-by-delaying-twitter-stake-disclosure-002627091.html?src=rss

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FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, officially endorsed Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense on Tuesday night, despite expressing some initial uncertainty following their first meeting. 

"After four years of weakness in the White House, Americans deserve a strong Secretary of Defense," Ernst told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement.

'WASTE LESS, SAVE MORE': DOGE CAUCUS MEMBER ROLLS OUT EXPANSIVE BILL PACKAGE AHEAD OF TRUMP INAUGURATION

"Our next commander in chief selected Pete Hegseth to serve in this role, and after our conversations, hearing from Iowans, and doing my job as a United States Senator, I will support President Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense. As I serve on the Armed Services Committee, I will work with Pete to create the most lethal fighting force and hold him to his commitments of auditing the Pentagon, ensuring opportunity for women in combat while maintaining high standards, and selecting a senior official to address and prevent sexual assault in the ranks."

President-elect Trump's pick to lead the Department of Defense (DOD) went before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday morning, where he faced questions from both Democratic and Republican members. 

I almost missed it. Amid a bout of prime-time doomscrolling, a social media post reminded me there was something worth seeing in the sky. Mars disappeared behind the full Moon for a little more than an hour Monday night, an event visible across most of North America and parts of Africa.

So I grabbed my camera, ran outside, and looked up just as Mars was supposed to emerge from the Moon's curved horizon. Seen with the naked eye, the Moon's brightness far outshined Mars, casting soft shadows on a cold winter evening in East Texas.

Viewing the Moon through binoculars, the red planet appeared just above several large partially shadowed craters at the edge of the Moon's curved limb. I quickly snapped dozens of photos with my handheld Canon 80D fitted with a 600 mm lens. Within a few minutes, Mars rose farther above the Moon's horizon. Thanks to the parallax effect, the Moon's relative motion in its orbit around Earth appears significantly faster than the movement of Mars in its orbit around the Sun.

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The U.S. Department of Commerce announced a final rule Tuesday that would ban the sale or import of connected vehicles from China and Russia due to national security concerns. The rule would also bar Chinese car companies, such as WeRide and Pony AI, from testing self-driving cars on U.S. roads.  “China is trying to dominate […]

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Reactions poured in on social media and elsewhere as Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth was grilled by Democrats on Capitol Hill following a tense confirmation hearing that often got personal.

"Pete Hegseth is crushing it," Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer posted on X. "It is refreshing to hear someone relentlessly focus on warriors and lethality, without playing Washington’s word-salad game of forcing nominees to talk like social workers who run government agencies."

"The Senate likes to claim that hearings as serious, deliberative acts of policy making and statesmanship, but many Senate Armed Service Committee Democrats’ behavior during Pete Hegseth’s confirmation hearing on Tuesday revealed the sad truth that most Senate hearings, confirmation or not, are kabuki theater," Bradley Devlin, The Daily Signal politics editor, told Fox News Digital. 

Ned Ryun, President of 'American Majority', told Fox News Digital that Hegseth handled himself "magnificently." 

DEM SENATOR'S 'LIES AND STUPIDITY' AT HEGSETH HEARING ROASTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA: 'CLOWN SHOW'

"He communicated a clear vision for a new day at the Pentagon where the Department of Defense leaves behind the weakness of woke and focuses on deterrence through strength," Ryun said. "And when Democrats attempted to use the anonymously sourced attacks to undermine Pete, he handled those with grace. It really was a fantastic hearing for him and leaves little doubt in my mind that he’ll easily be confirmed."

"They didn't lay a glove on Hegseth today," CNN political commentator Scott Jennings posted on X. "Why do Dems send their dumbest members to this important committee?"

THE TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM PETE HEGSETH'S SENATE CONFIRMATION HEARING

"This hearing has made two things abundantly clear: 1. The left remains fully committed to the disastrous, woke, weak, and failed policies that were soundly rejected in November," the account belonging to former HUD Secretary Ben Carson and his wife Candy posted on X. "It’s actually sad. 2. Pete Hegseth is going to be a fantastic Secretary of Defense. This is how it’s done."

"While Democratic senators distracted with hearsay allegations and character assassinations, Pete Hegseth stayed the course on what the military is about: lethality," Caroline Downey, National Review Staff Writer and visiting fellow with Independent Women’s Forum, told Fox News Digital. 

"As the daughter of a West Point graduate and Army Captain who served in Vietnam, I can say that those prime objectives have fallen subservient to progressive political goals," she continued. "The military academies have surrendered to woke ideology, jeopardizing their purpose which is to form upstanding leaders of intellectual, mental, and physical fortitude that can protect and defend the United States. Despite Democratic lawmakers accusing him of forsaking veterans, Hegseth proved that he has always been dedicated to their welfare not just in words but in deeds."

Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., said after the hearing that it is important that Hegseth is confirmed "immediately" and allowed to start as soon as possible.

"To me, it's important he gets on the job immediately," Banks told reporters.

"We can't vote on confirming him out of the committee until President Trump is President Trump again. So January 20th, the committee will meet and we'll pass him out of the committee... and hopefully he immediately goes to a vote on the floor because we can't wait," he continued.

Following the hearing, several Senate Democrats expressed a continued unwillingness to support Hegseth and claimed he wasn't qualified.

Fox News Digital's Morgan Phillips contributed to this report