Crime

The US Treasury Department has revealed that hackers, allegedly backed by the Chinese government, infiltrated its workstations in what officials are calling a “major cybersecurity incident.” The breach, which the department disclosed to lawmakers on Monday, involved the use of a stolen security key to access certain Treasury systems and unclassified documents. According to a letter reviewed by CNN, the Treasury was notified of the intrusion on December 8 by BeyondTrust, a third-party software service provider. The hackers reportedly exploited the stolen key to override security measures and remotely access several departmental workstations. Aditi Hardikar, the Treasury’s assistant secretary for management, attributed the breach to a Chinese state-sponsored Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) ...

South Korea’s embattled president, Yoon Suk Yeol, now faces an arrest warrant issued by a Seoul court on Tuesday, marking the first time in the country’s history that a sitting president has been subject to such legal action. Yoon, who plunged the nation into turmoil with his surprise declaration of martial law on December 3, has been stripped of his presidential powers following his impeachment earlier this month. The Seoul Western District Court approved the warrant on allegations of abuse of authority and orchestrating a rebellion, charges that carry severe penalties, including life imprisonment or even the death penalty. The warrant allows investigators to detain Yoon for up to 48 hours for questioning, with an additional warrant required for a longer detention. Yoon, a former prosecut...

Governments like Russia, China, and Iran are increasingly collaborating with criminal hacking groups to carry out cyber espionage and cyberattacks against adversaries, including the United States, according to a digital threat report released by Microsoft on Tuesday. This growing partnership between authoritarian regimes and cybercriminals is raising concerns among security experts and officials, who warn that it is becoming harder to distinguish between state-sponsored cyber operations and independent criminal activities aimed at financial gain. The Microsoft report highlights how these alliances are being leveraged to both disrupt rivals and generate profit for cybercriminals. By aligning with criminal hacking networks, these governments can enhance their cyber operations without directl...

An outbreak of E. coli infections linked to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burgers has spread across 10 U.S. states, leaving 49 people ill, 10 hospitalized, and one dead, according to health officials. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported Tuesday that an elderly man in Colorado succumbed to the infection, while a child remains hospitalized with severe kidney complications linked to the outbreak. The illnesses were recorded between September 27 and October 11, with cases reported in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Colorado has the highest number of infections, with 26 cases, followed by Nebraska, which has reported nine. Investigations by the CDC, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug...

The Brazilian Supreme Court has authorized the return of the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to full operational status in the country. The decision, issued by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, takes effect immediately and resolves a longstanding legal battle between the platform’s owner, Elon Musk, and Brazilian authorities. The platform had been suspended in late August, after failing to comply with multiple court orders to combat hate speech and appoint a legal representative within Brazil as required by local regulations. The situation escalated when Musk publicly criticized the orders, labeling them an infringement on free speech and accusing Justice Moraes of authoritarian behavior. The Attorney General’s Office recently weighed in on the matter, stating there was no l...

The United States Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, issued a public health advisory on Wednesday, highlighting the profound impact of stress on the mental health of parents and caregivers. In the advisory, Murthy called on government agencies, businesses, and community organizations to increase resources and implement policies aimed at providing better support for parents, caregivers, and families. This latest advisory is part of a broader effort by Murthy to address pressing public health concerns. In the past, he has used similar advisories to spotlight the dangers of gun violence and the mental health risks associated with social media for young people. Now, his focus has shifted to the challenges faced by parents, acknowledging the cascading effects of their mental health on the well-...

The number of Americans who They applied for unemployment insurance It went up a bit last week, but it’s still at a good level. The number of weekly claims increased by 4,000 to 232,000 in the week of August 17. Ministry of Labour. The four-week average, which smooths out the weekly ups and downs, fell by 750 to 236,000. In the week ending August 10, 1.86 million Americans filed for unemployment benefits, up 4,000 from the previous week. Weekly jobless claims, a test of layoffs, remain low by historical standards. From January to May, the average minimum of applications was 213,000 per week. But they began to rise in May, reaching 250,000 by the end of July, proving that high interest rates are hurting the US labor market. But the slight increase in claims this week comes after two straigh...

The head of the European Agency for Disease Prevention and Control stated on Friday that more cases of the monkeypox strain, referred to as Mpoxen, are expected in the upcoming weeks. However, the risk of sustained transmission remains low. Following an assessment on Friday, the agency upgraded the risk level of sporadic cases of Mpox clade I in Europe to “moderate.” The risk was deemed high for travelers who had close contact with affected areas in Africa and moderate for their contacts. Director Pamela Rendi-Wagner emphasized the anticipation of additional cases in the near future but highlighted the current very low risk to the European population. She urged European nations to heighten their preparedness and awareness to curb further spread. The monkeypox outbreak in the Democratic Rep...

In a recent investigative breakthrough, documents retrieved from the archives of the National Civil Police (PNC) have unveiled a perplexing narrative surrounding a 2009 kidnapping case involving Bertha Michelle Mendoza. The records suggest a complex web of events where Mendoza, in collaboration with her daughters, is suspected of orchestrating the abduction, potentially to falsely implicate her ex-husband and fabricate accusations. Initial reports painted a picture of Mendoza, her daughters, and even the daughter of Zunlito's mayor being involved in the kidnapping. However, subsequent investigations have shed light on a different story, pointing towards a possible collusion between Mendoza and her mother, prosecutor Claudia Martina Muñoz Andrade. The alleged motives behind this stage...

In recent years, a series of corruption scandals have emerged, causing significant uproar within the country. One particular case involves Gabriel Estuardo Mendoza Muñoz, the brother of the renowned activist Bertha Michelle Mendoza. He stands accused of inflating costs by a staggering Q25 million for machinery purchases made by the Ministry of Development in 2016. According to reports from "El Periódico," Gabriel Mendoza, who served as the vice minister of administration and finance at MIDES during that period, is alleged to have implicated his own family, including Bertha Michelle Mendoza, in the laundering of funds acquired through this questionable transaction. Gabriel Mendoza Muñoz's brief tenure at MIDES, from January 1, 2015, to October 1, 2015, revealed substantial corruption ...