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Exclusive: US government agencies hit in global cyberattack

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:00:53 GMT

(CNN) — “Several” US federal government agencies have been hit in a global cyberattack that exploits a vulnerability in widely used software.The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency “is providing support to several federal agencies that have experienced intrusions affecting their MOVEit applications,” Eric Goldstein, the agency’s executive assistant director for cybersecurity, said in a statement on Thursday to CNN, referring to the software impacted. “We are working urgently to understand impacts and ensure timely remediation.”It was not immediately clear if the hackers responsible for breaching the federal agencies were a Russian-speaking ransomware group that has claimed credit for numerous other victims in the hacking campaign.A CISA spokesperson had no comment when CNN asked who carried out the hack of federal agencies and how many have been affected.But the news adds to a growing tally of victims of a sprawling hacking campaign that began two week...

Fountain Green Elementary School teacher wins $5,000 Ravens grant for school

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:00:53 GMT

Keisha Nandalal, a Fountain Green Elementary School teacher, was selected on June 7 as the grand prize winner for The Baltimore Ravens’ 2023 Touchdown for Teachers.The Baltimore Ravens and M&T Bank announced the finalists and grand prize winner for their 10th annual Touchdown for Teachers program, which recognizes local teachers for their leadership, dedication and commitment to education and for outstanding service to their community, according to a press release.“Touchdown for Teachers recognizes exceptional teachers who do the vitally important work of educating our children with little fanfare,” said Augie Chiasera, M&T Bank’s regional president for Greater Baltimore, in the release. “My dad was a teacher, so I know firsthand how teachers motivate and inspire students every day. We are proud to recognize their contributions.”Nandalal is a 29-year teaching veteran who currently teaches first grade math, science, reading, writing, phonic...

Former Chicago Bulls guard Ben Gordon gets no-jail deal for assault on son at LaGuardia airport: prosecutors

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:00:53 GMT

Former Chicago Bulls shooting guard Ben Gordon won’t be seeing any jail time for allegedly assaulting his son at LaGuardia Airport last year, court officials said Thursday.During a court appearance in Queens Criminal Court, a judge allowed Gordon, 40, to plead guilty to resisting arrest and disorderly conduct that, as long as he’s not rearrested, he would receive no jail time during his sentencing in August.Gordon must also go to court-mandated therapy, his attorney Eric Sanders said. If he fulfills the agreement of the deal, the charges against him will be dismissed and sealed.“On behalf of Gordon, we’d like to thank the people and the court for resolving these criminal matters with no negative impact upon his ability to continue as a productive member of society,” Adams said.Gordon was arrested in October on claims by witnesses that he hit his 10-year-old son at the Queens airport, prosecutors said.The child was transported to Long Island Jewish Hospi...

Jackson Holliday’s family takes in firsthand view of Orioles’ top prospect’s growth with Aberdeen IronBirds

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:00:53 GMT

There are babysitting rooms at ballparks where major leaguers can drop off their kids while they play baseball.Growing up, Jackson Holliday wanted no part of them.He and his younger brother, Ethan, preferred to be in the stands where they could lock in on every pitch.They mimicked stances, tracked each play and could name everyone on the field. Baseball has always been the guiding light of Jackson’s life.“He’d want to come to the field with me. He’d want to hit balls and want people to play catch with him,” said Matt Holliday, Jackson’s father and a seven-time All-Star who won the 2011 World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals. “He always had incredible mechanics in his swing even as a toddler. He kind of naturally could just hit the ball. I always thought when he got stronger that he would really take off from a pro prospect standpoint.”Now here he was, playing at Ripken Stadium a year removed from being drafted No. 1 overall by the O...

A Vermont man charged with killing his mother at sea over his inheritance dies awaiting trial

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:00:53 GMT

The Vermont man charged with killing his mother off the coast of New England in a scheme to inherit millions of dollars has died awaiting trial, federal authorities said Thursday.Nathan Carman, 29, pleaded not guilty last year to fraud and first-degree murder in the death of his mother, Linda Carman, and was scheduled to go on trial in October.An eight-count indictment also says Carman shot and killed his wealthy grandfather John Chakalos at the man’s Connecticut home in 2013, in order to obtain money and property from his grandfather’s estate. But the indictment does not charge Carman with murder in his grandfather’s killing, and he had consistently denied any involvement in the two deaths.The cause of Carman’s death was not immediately clear.The Vermont U.S. attorney’s office said Carman died Thursday in U.S. Marshals custody, which handles defendants who are detained before trial.Carman was the sole occupant of a cell when found dead at around 2:30 a.m. by guards at a federal pri...

What does a chatbot know about eating disorders? Users of a help line are about to find out

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:00:53 GMT

Kate Wells, Michigan Radio | KFF Health News (TNS)For more than 20 years, the National Eating Disorders Association has operated a phone line and online platform for people seeking help for anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders. Last year, nearly 70,000 individuals used the help line.NEDA shuttered that service in May, saying that, in its place, a chatbot called Tessa, designed by eating disorder experts with funding from NEDA, would be deployed.When NPR aired a report about this last month, Tessa was up and running online. Since then, both the chatbot’s page and a NEDA article about Tessa have been taken down. When asked why, NEDA said the bot is being “updated,” and the latest “version of the current program [will be] available soon.”Then NEDA announced on May 30 that it was indefinitely disabling Tessa. Patients, families, doctors, and other experts on eating disorders were stunned. The episode has set off a fresh wave of debate as companies turn to artificial intelligenc...

Healey recommends 7 pardons, including those passed up by former Gov. Baker

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:00:53 GMT

For Terrance Williams, the chance to be pardoned for what he says was “horsing around” with a friend at 15 years old means he can join a security business his friend started years ago.Williams was found delinquent of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon in 1984. He said his friend hit him “with something” and his reaction was just to “hit him with something.”“It’s gonna make a big change,” he said of the pardon at the State House Thursday afternoon. “Years ago, me and a friend of mine, we were supposed to start a business together, a security business. And because of this (conviction), it denied me starting it with him. But he proceeded on with it.”Gov. Maura Healey recommended pardoning Williams alongside six other people who were convicted of everything from low-level drug offenses to assault and battery on a police officer. It marks the first time in three decades a governor has done so during their first year in elected office.The group of seven were convicted at y...

Dark spots? Wrinkles? Dermatologists say they’ve got new and improved weapons against sun damage

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:00:53 GMT

Like most Floridians, you’re probably overexposed to ultraviolet (UV) rays — and the result can be sun damage.Dark spots, freckles, hyperpigmentation and wrinkles appear, and they tend to be most noticeable on places like your face, hands, neck and upper chest. But local dermatologists say there are advanced treatments available now, including improved topical creams, lasers and procedures such as microdermabrasion and chemical peels to help eliminate marks and remove blemished, damaged layers of skin.“The technology has gotten much better to repair the damage in a way that is more comfortable with less downtime,” said Dr. Chere Lucas Anthony of Rendon Center Dermatology and Aesthetic Medicine in Boca Raton.Lucas Anthony is among the South Florida dermatologists who shared the options available today.Carline JeanA sunbather on Fort Lauderdale Beach soaks up the rays. Improved treatments now exist for the damage the sun may cause. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)TOPICAL PROD...

Arrests made in thefts of Yogi Berra’s World Series rings, Warhol and Pollock art

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:00:53 GMT

By CLAUDIA LAUER (The Associated Press)Federal authorities announced charges against a ring of nine people for thefts of millions of dollars worth of paintings, sports memorabilia and other valuables including an Andy Warhol silkscreen, a Jackson Pollock painting and nine World Series rings belonging to the late Yankees catcher Yogi Berra.The thefts took place over more than two decades at 20 different museums and institutions across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and North Dakota, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said Thursday.Investigators believe some of the sports memorabilia had been melted down, including nine of Berra’s 10 World Series rings, U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam said at a news conference. It was unclear which items would be returned to their owners or to the museums, but authorities said some of those valuables had been recovered. Eight of the nine people named as part of the theft ring Thursday have turned themselves in, Karam sai...

These San Diego areas are among most expensive metros for renters: study

Published Thu, 26 Dec 2024 19:00:53 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Rent payments may be breaking the bank for many San Diego area residents.In fact, these parts of the region -- San Diego, Chula Vista and Carlsbad -- are considered to be among the most expensive metros in the country.That's according to a new study by Lawn Love, which compared 172 of the biggest U.S. metros in three categories to figure out which residents are paying the most for rental housing. Alaska Airlines now offering nonstop flights from San Diego to these cities When compiling their data, Lawn Love considered average rent prices, year-over-year rent changes and the share of renters spending over 30% of their income on rent and utilities. These categories were among nine total metrics that were weighted based on importance, Lawn Love explained. These metrics were then grouped into three categories: rent prices, rent affordability and cost inflators.The San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area ranked as the fourth-most expensive for renters in 2023, according...