Month: September 2020

 At least 15 people have died across California, Oregon and Washington as a result of wildfires burning throughout the western United States,

The devastating wildfires have destroyed hundreds of homes and prompted waves of evacuations. The National Interagency Fire Center said that 96 large fires have so far burned more than 3.4 million acres. Fires in Oregon, California and Washington have burned tens of thousands of acres. In Oregon, Gov. Kate Brown declared that the communities of Detroit, Blue River, Vida Phoenix and Talent have been “substantially destroyed,” with hundreds of homes lost and more than 300,000 acres charred.

Meanwhile in California, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said 28 major wildfires are burning throughout the state have resulted in eight deaths, burned more than 2.5 million acres and destroyed 3,700 structures. One of the newest fires in California, the Creek Fire, has burned 136,000 acres and destroyed 360 structures in Fresno County, and at least 30,000 people in the county have been evacuated.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee visited the site of the Sumner Grade Fire, which has burned hundreds of acres, destroyed multiple homes and caused thousands to evacuate. Inslee also said 330,000 acres have burned statewide.

        

Death toll rises from raging wildfires in the West

Via www.yahoo.com

Entire towns are burned to ashes in the Western states and a record 3 million acres have been…

09/10/2020 7:17 PM

 

On Thursday, Microsoft said it has detected an increase in cyberattacks from China, Iran and Russia, related to the upcoming presidential election this November. Microsoft said the attacks have targeted hundreds of people and organizations involved in both the Biden and Trump campaigns.

The tech giant said In China, a group known as Zirconium has attempted to gain intelligence on the upcoming U.S. election starting in March and continuing through this month. The group allegedly caused 150 compromises targeting the presidential candidates, their campaigns, and prominent individuals and organizations in the international affairs community. The company said Zirconium used something called “web bugs” or “web beacons,” sending a URL as targeted emails or text messages to determine if the recipients’ accounts are active.

In Iran, a group known as Phosphorus allegedly attempted to access the personal or work accounts of people involved in the U.S. presidential election between May and June. And in Russia, a group known as Strontium allegedly carried out attacks between September 2019 and this month to harvest login information for more than 200 organizations directly or indirectly affiliated with elections. The organization was previously blamed for a cyberattack on the Democratic presidential campaign in 2016.

Hackers out of Russia, China, Iran are targeting US election, Microsoft finds

Via www.msn.com

Hackers have never stopped trying to interfere in US politics, they’ve only gotten smarter about…

09/10/2020 6:17 PM

 

Jessica Krug, the George Washington University professor who admitted she lied about being Black, has resigned. Krug, who is White, wrote a Medium post last week apologizing for building her life “around a violent anti-Black lie.” 

The university said in a letter to students and alumni: “Dr. Krug has resigned her position, effective immediatelyHer classes for this semester will be taught by other faculty members, and students in those courses will receive additional information this week.”

In her Medium post, Krug said throughout her adult life she has “eschewed my lived experience as a white Jewish child in suburban Kansas City under various assumed identities within a Blackness that I had no right to claim.”  Krug acknowledged that “unaddressed mental health demons” likely contributed to her decision to assume a black identity, but said that those struggles did not excuse the harm she caused to the Black community.   She added, “No white person, no non-Black person, has the right to claim proximity to or belonging in a Black community by virtue of abuse, trauma, non-acceptance, and non-belonging in a white community.”

Jessica Krug resigns from teaching position at George Washington University

Via www.nbcnews.com

An essay published last week on Medium claimed Krug was a white Jewish woman from Kansas City…

09/09/2020 5:05 PM

 

On Wednesday, tech stocks rallied and pushed the Nasdaq Composite to its best day since April. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 439.58 points, or 1.6%, while the S&P 500 grew 2.01% and the Nasdaq ended the day up 2.71% for its largest single-day gain since April 29.

Tesla stock gained 10.92% after falling 21% on Tuesday and tech stocks such as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Facebook also rebounded after all six lost $1 trillion in market value over the past three days. Microsoft stock closed up 4.26%, Apple rose 3.99%, Amazon gained 3.77%, Alphabet grew 1.55% and Facebook climbed 0.94%.

The S&P 500’s tech sector rallied 3.4% on Wednesday but remained down 8.4% for the week.

Stock Market Today: Nasdaq Comes to Life in Raucous Rebound

Via finance.yahoo.com

The Nasdaq reversed course from its quickest-ever correction with sizable gains Wednesday, led…

09/09/2020 4:45 PM

 

On Tuesday, President Trump signed an executive order to extend and expand a ban on oil drilling off the coast of Florida. Trump said he would extend the existing moratorium on offshore oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico off Florida’s west coast through 2032 and expand it to include the Atlantic coasts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

The decision marks a reversal for Trump, who in 2018 announced a five-year drilling plan calling for 19 lease sales offshore Alaska, seven in the Pacific Region, 12 in the Gulf of Mexico and nine in the Atlantic. Florida’s coastline was removed from consideration after then-U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke met with former Florida Gov. Rick Scott — who’s now serving in the U.S. Senate — in Tallahassee.

Current Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis opposed the offshore drilling plan as part of his campaign platform and on Tuesday hailed the order as “another great win” for Florida’s environment.

Reversing course ahead of election, Trump extends drilling ban off Florida

Via www.msn.com

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an order to extend a ban until 2032 on offshore…

09/08/2020 6:24 PM

 

Editorial credit: Andriy Blokhin / Shutterstock.com