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Energy Department among federal agencies breached by Russian ransomware gang

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:48:34 GMT

By FRANK BAJAK (AP Technology Writer)The Department of Energy and several other federal agencies were compromised in a Russian cyber-extortion gang’s global hack of a file-transfer program popular with corporations and governments, but the impact was not expected to be great, Homeland Security officials said Thursday.Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, told reporters that unlike the meticulous, s tealthy SolarWinds hacking campaign attributed to state-backed Russian intelligence agents that was months in the making, this campaign was short, opportunistic and caught quickly. A senior CISA official said neither the U.S. military nor intelligence community was affected. Energy Department spokesperson Chad Smith said two agency entities were compromised but did not provide more detail.Known victims to date include Louisiana’s Office of Motor Vehicles, the Nova Scotia provincial government, British Airways, the British Broadcasting ...

Mayhem erupts at Denver Nuggets parade; reports of shooting, cop hit by firetruck

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:48:34 GMT

The Denver Nuggets championship parade on Thursday was overshadowed by reports of a gunman wounding multiple victims, as well as an incident involving a police officer being hit by a firetruck.Two shooting victims were hospitalized and are currently in critical condition, said Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas during a press conference later in the day.Thomas said the shooting is believed to have been a targeted attack, and was unrelated to the parade celebration.Meanwhile, the officer whose leg was caught under the firetruck in a separate incident was identified as Sgt. Justin Dodge, who is also said to be in critical condition at the hospital.During the press conference at Denver Health, officials said Dodge suffered a limb-threatening injury as he attempted to protect people from the oncoming firetruck, which was carrying Denver Nuggets players.“There were people that had kind of made their way into the street and [Dodge] was trying to protect those individuals from the firetr...

The Revolution release veteran forward Jozy Altidore

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:48:34 GMT

The New England Revolution on Thursday released forward Jozy Altidore and exercised the club’s one buyout on the player’s Salary Budget change.Altidore, 33, was acquired from Toronto FC and signed to a three-year contract on Feb. 22, 2022. Altidore was brought in to help alleviate the loss of Tajon Buchanan, who left the Revs after the 2021 season to join Club Brugge of the Belgium First Division A.Altidore participated in Two FIFA World Cup’s and four Concacaf Gold Cup tournaments. Altidore spent part of the 2022 season on loan Liga MX side Clun Puebla. He appeared in 10 games this season with one start. He scored a goal on 10 shots.RICH THOMPSON

Federal judge won’t rule on Boston’s new redistricting map

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:48:34 GMT

The federal judge who deemed the city’s old redistricting map unconstitutional said there’s no need for her to weigh in on the new voting lines.U.S. District Court Judge Patti Saris, did, however, urge both sides to quickly resolve the lawsuit that resulted in her tossing the first map approved by the Boston City Council last fall, to avoid a disruption to the Sept. 12 preliminary election.“It’s important to bring some closure to this, and rebuild some trust, and move forward in the democratic process,” Saris said at a Thursday status hearing.She said the purpose of the day’s hearing was to “clear the air,” and stated outright that she had no intention to rule on anything.“There is, in fact, a serious question in my mind as to whether the case is moot,” Saris said. “The original complaint only addresses the old map. The City Council has adopted a new map, and with the possible exception of a request for attorneys’ fees, I don’t see anything active with respect to the old case.”Saris...

Breaking down the Chicago Bears’ growing number of options in their stadium search

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:48:34 GMT

Since the Chicago Bears hit a financial roadblock in their proposed move to Arlington Heights, other municipalities have been vying in a sort of roulette to attract — or in Chicago’s case, keep — the team.Naperville, Rockford, Chicago and, most recently, Waukegan have placed themselves in the running to land the white whale of the NFL — though some officials concede the team may be using them for leverage in negotiations with Arlington Heights.The franchise, a founding member of the league, valued at $5.8 billion by Forbes, is looking for a new home. Team officials hadn’t been planning an immediate move from Chicago’s Soldier Field until Arlington International Racecourse went up for sale in 2021. They jumped at the chance and closed the deal to buy the property for $197 million this year.But Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi raised the valuation of the 326-acre property to nearly the sale price, which would have quadrupled the taxes to about $16 m...

Massachusetts firefighters heading to Quebec to battle wildfires, smoke from fires has impacted East Coast

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:48:34 GMT

Nearly a dozen state wildland firefighters are heading to Quebec to battle some of the more than 124 wildfires that have burned since the start of June.The out-of-control wildfires have wreaked havoc on Canada, and the smoke from the wildfires has impacted the air quality across Massachusetts and along the East Coast.Gov. Maura Healey and other officials on Thursday sent off the 11 firefighters at the state Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Bureau of Forestry and Fire Control headquarters in Carlisle.“Over the last several years we have seen the impacts of the climate crisis here at home and around the world, in the forms of extreme weather and increasingly severe wildfires that continue to ravage our forests,” Healey said.“We are proud of these 11 Massachusetts wildland firefighters who are heading up to assist our Canadian partners in battling these intense wildfires,” the governor added.Related ArticlesLocal News | Massachusetts ...

Crime Briefs: Taunton mayor’s daughter missing from Ohio rehab facility; Feds: former Bosnian prison guard lied about his past to get US citizenship

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:48:34 GMT

The 18-year-old daughter of Taunton’s mayor has disappeared from an Ohio rehab facility and may be presenting herself under an alias.“Ted and I are devastated and extremely worried about her safety and well being,” Shaunna O’Connell posted on her Facebook page Wednesday afternoon.“We are working with the facility, police and missing persons to find her as soon as possible to bring her home. We are praying for Riley’s safe return. Please keep Riley in your thoughts and prayers,” the one-time GOP state rep added.O’Connell said that her daughter, Riley O’Connell, went missing the night before from the Evoke Wellness, a facility in Ohio that according to its website offers “medical detox and residential treatment programs. She was last seen wearing red shorts, a white tank top and no shoes, according to a wanted poster shared by the mayor.Riley O’Connell is 18 years old, 130 pounds, 5-foot-5, with long blonde hair with red tips and may be going by the aliases “Tiffany Rose” ...

Landon Thome savors Nazareth’s state title. Having his dad, Jim Thome, in the dugout ‘makes it even better.’

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:48:34 GMT

Shortly after Nazareth won its second straight Class 3A state title on June 10, freshman second baseman Landon Thome posed for photos with the championship trophy.Joining him was a very special assistant coach: his father, Hall of Famer Jim Thome, who played for the Chicago White Sox from 2006 to 2009. They soaked in the moment together.“That was great,” Landon Thome said. “Getting to experience this with him makes it even better. It’s something that really hit me when it happened. Not many people get to have their dad with them throughout their baseball lives, so it’s really cool.”The 2023 season was certainly an amazing journey for the Thomes.Landon Thome cracked the starting lineup and was a significant contributor for the Roadrunners, who beat Grayslake Central 7-2 in the Class 3A state championship game at Duly Health & Care Field in Joliet.Jim Thome, meanwhile, got to be part of it all as an assistant.“I never won a state title,...

Florida executes Duane Owen, convicted in rapes and murders in Boca and Delray

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:48:34 GMT

STARKE — Duane Owen was executed Thursday for killing a 14-year-old babysitter and a 38-year-old mother of two in separate attacks months apart in 1984 while children were sleeping in the homes he targeted in Palm Beach County.Owen was pronounced dead at 6:14 p.m. after a lethal injection at Florida State Prison, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office. One of Florida’s longest-held death row inmates, Owen was 23 at the time of the attacks and 62 when he was executed.He was sentenced to death for the March 24, 1984, rape and stabbing attack on Karen Slattery, 14, in Delray Beach and for the rape and killing of Georgianna Worden, 38, in May 1984, in Boca Raton.Owen attacked two other women in Palm Beach County who survived. All four attacks occurred just before and after Owen’s 23rd birthday. Of the more than 290 people on Florida’s death row, Owen was one of the longest held there.Besides his death sentences, he also received six life sentences.Owen awoke at 7 a.m. Thursday and recei...

Chicago White Sox 3B Yoán Moncada returns to the the injured list with lower back inflammation

Published Tue, 24 Dec 2024 12:48:34 GMT

Yoán Moncada’s back has landed him back on the injured list.The Chicago White Sox placed the third baseman on the 10-day IL with lower back inflammation, the team announced Thursday. Moncada previously was on the IL from April 11-May 12 with lower back soreness.Moncada has a .232/.279/.370 slash line with eight doubles, three homers and 13 RBIs in 38 games. He was not in the lineup Wednesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with manager Pedro Grifol saying before the game at Dodger Stadium they were “giving him the day” and that the back was “going to be an ongoing thing.”“We’ll see how we move forward on that and take care of that,” Grifol said Wednesday. Jake Burger started at third and homered twice in the 8-4 victory.Moncada’s IL stint is retroactive to Wednesday. In Thursday’s corresponding move, the Sox selected the contract of infielder Zach Remillard from Triple-A Charlotte.A 10th-round pick by the Sox in 2016 ...