SYM Stock News: Shareholder Rights Law Firm Robbins LLP Urges Symbotic Inc. Stockholders With Large Losses To Seek Legal Counsel In Connection With The Class Action Lawsuit
$150,000 OTF Grant from the Ontario Government Makes Harbourfront Centre a More Secure, Safer SpaceForget driverless cars. One company wants autonomous helicopters to spray crops, fight fires
None
10 Cult Classic Movies Of The 2000sMonogram Technologies Announces Management and Related Parties Complete Open Market Purchases of MGRM Common Stock Totaling $1 MillionNatixis Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. ( NASDAQ:TROW – Free Report ) by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,875 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 33,689 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in T. Rowe Price Group were worth $5,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TROW. Natixis purchased a new position in T. Rowe Price Group during the 1st quarter worth $952,000. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in T. Rowe Price Group by 83.4% during the 1st quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 129,674 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $15,810,000 after buying an additional 58,987 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in T. Rowe Price Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 295,449 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $36,022,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc grew its stake in T. Rowe Price Group by 57.5% during the 1st quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 17,420 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,124,000 after purchasing an additional 6,361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in T. Rowe Price Group by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 161,979 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $19,748,000 after purchasing an additional 13,468 shares during the last quarter. 73.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Insider Buying and Selling In other T. Rowe Price Group news, VP Andrew Justin Mackenzi Thomson sold 11,969 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.83, for a total transaction of $1,230,772.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 123,624 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,712,255.92. This represents a 8.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink . Also, insider Jessica M. Hiebler sold 484 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.73, for a total value of $50,689.32. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,459,831.47. The trade was a 3.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . 2.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Analysts Set New Price Targets Check Out Our Latest Analysis on T. Rowe Price Group T. Rowe Price Group Trading Up 1.4 % NASDAQ TROW opened at $119.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 1.41. T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.48 and a twelve month high of $122.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $112.20 and a 200 day moving average of $112.43. T. Rowe Price Group ( NASDAQ:TROW – Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The asset manager reported $2.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.36 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. T. Rowe Price Group had a return on equity of 20.35% and a net margin of 30.35%. T. Rowe Price Group’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.17 EPS. Equities analysts predict that T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. will post 9.33 EPS for the current fiscal year. T. Rowe Price Group Dividend Announcement The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $1.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $4.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. T. Rowe Price Group’s payout ratio is 54.27%. About T. Rowe Price Group ( Free Report ) T. Rowe Price Group, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm provides its services to individuals, institutional investors, retirement plans, financial intermediaries, and institutions. It launches and manages equity and fixed income mutual funds. The firm invests in the public equity and fixed income markets across the globe. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TROW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. ( NASDAQ:TROW – Free Report ). Receive News & Ratings for T. Rowe Price Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for T. Rowe Price Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .
It's True: These 13 States Don't Tax Retirement IncomeCadmium Appoints Sean Brady as CEO to Drive Next Phase of Growth
WASHINGTON — A top White House official said Wednesday at least eight U.S. telecom firms and dozens of nations were impacted by a Chinese hacking campaign. Deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger offered new details about the breadth of the sprawling Chinese hacking campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans. FILE - The American and Chinese flags wave at Genting Snow Park ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics, in Zhangjiakou, China, on Feb. 2, 2022. A top White House official on Wednesday said at least eight U.S. telecom firms and dozens of nations have been impacted by a Chinese hacking campaign. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File) Neuberger divulged the scope of the hack a day after the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued guidance intended to help root out the hackers and prevent similar cyberespionage in the future. White House officials cautioned that the number of telecommunication firms and countries impacted could grow. The U.S. believes the hackers were able to gain access to communications of senior U.S. government officials and prominent political figures through the hack, Neuberger said. “We don’t believe any classified communications has been compromised,” Neuberger added during a call with reporters. She added that Biden was briefed on the findings and the White House “made it a priority for the federal government to do everything it can to get to the bottom this.” US officials recommend encrypted messaging apps amid "Salt Typhoon" cyberattack, attributed to China, targeting AT&T, Verizon, and others. The Chinese embassy in Washington rejected the accusations that it was responsible for the hack Tuesday after the U.S. federal authorities issued new guidance. “The U.S. needs to stop its own cyberattacks against other countries and refrain from using cyber security to smear and slander China,” embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said. The embassy did not immediately respond to messages Wednesday. White House officials believe the hacking was regionally targeted and the focus was on very senior government officials. Federal authorities confirmed in October that hackers linked to China targeted the phones of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, along with people associated with Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris. The number of countries impacted by the hack is currently believed to be in the “low, couple dozen,” according to a senior administration official. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under rules set by the White House, said they believed the hacks started at least a year or two ago. The suggestions for telecom companies released Tuesday are largely technical in nature, urging encryption, centralization and consistent monitoring to deter cyber intrusions. If implemented, the security precautions could help disrupt the operation, dubbed Salt Typhoon, and make it harder for China or any other nation to mount a similar attack in the future, experts say. Trump's pick to head the Federal Bureau of Investigation Kash Patel was allegedly the target of cyberattack attempt by Iranian-backed hackers. Neuberger pointed to efforts made to beef up cybersecurity in the rail, aviation, energy and other sectors following the May 2021 ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline . “So, to prevent ongoing Salt Typhoon type intrusions by China, we believe we need to apply a similar minimum cybersecurity practice,” Neuberger said. The cyberattack by a gang of criminal hackers on the critical U.S. pipeline, which delivers about 45% of the fuel used along the Eastern Seaboard, sent ripple effects across the economy, highlighting cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the nation’s aging energy infrastructure. Colonial confirmed it paid $4.4 million to the gang of hackers who broke into its computer systems as it scrambled to get the nation's fuel pipeline back online. Picture this: You're on vacation in a city abroad, exploring museums, tasting the local cuisine, and people-watching at cafés. Everything is going perfectly until you get a series of alerts on your phone. Someone is making fraudulent charges using your credit card, sending you into a panic. How could this have happened? Cyberattacks targeting travelers are nothing new. But as travel has increased in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, so has the volume of hackers and cybercriminals preying upon tourists. Financial fraud is the most common form of cybercrime experienced by travelers, but surveillance via public Wi-Fi networks, social media hacking, and phishing scams are also common, according to a survey by ExpressVPN . Spokeo consulted cybersecurity sources and travel guides to determine some of the best ways to protect your phone while traveling, from using a VPN to managing secure passwords. Online attacks are not the only type of crime impacting travelers—physical theft of phones is also a threat. Phones have become such invaluable travel aids, housing our navigation tools, digital wallets, itineraries, and contacts, that having your phone stolen, lost, or compromised while abroad can be devastating. Meanwhile, traveling can make people uniquely vulnerable to both cyber and physical attacks due to common pitfalls like oversharing on social media and letting your guard down when it comes to taking risks online. Luckily, there are numerous precautions travelers can take to safeguard against cyberattacks and phone theft. Hackers can—and do—target public Wi-Fi networks at cafés and hotels to gain access to your personal information or install malware onto your device, particularly on unsecured networks. Travelers are especially vulnerable to these types of cybersecurity breaches because they are often more reliant on public Wi-Fi than they would be in their home countries where they have more robust phone plans. This reliance on public, unsecured networks means travelers are more likely to use those networks to perform sensitive tasks like financial transfers, meaning hackers can easily gain access to banking information or other passwords. One easy way to safeguard yourself against these breaches is to use a virtual private network, or VPN, while traveling. VPNs are apps that encrypt your data and hide your location, preventing hackers from accessing personal information. An added bonus is that VPNs allow you to access websites that may be blocked or unavailable in the country you are visiting. To use a VPN, simply download a VPN app on your phone or computer, create an account, choose a server, and connect. Pickpockets, scammers, and flagrant, snatch-your-phone-right-out-of-your-hand thieves can be found pretty much everywhere. In London, for instance, a staggering 91,000 phones were reported stolen to police in 2022 , breaking down to an average of 248 per day, according to the BBC. Whether you're visiting a crowded tourist attraction or just want peace of mind, travel experts advise taking precautions to make sure your phone isn't physically stolen or compromised while traveling. There are several antitheft options to choose from. If you want a bag that will protect your phone from theft, experts recommend looking for features like slash-resistant fabric, reinforced shoulder straps, hidden zippers that can be locked, and secure attachment points, like a cross-body strap or a sturdy clip. For tethers, look for those made of tear-resistant material with a reinforced clip or ring. If your phone falls into the wrong hands, there's a good chance you won't be getting it back. Out of those 91,000 phones stolen in London in 2022, only 1,915 (or about 2%) were recovered. The good news is that you can take precautions to make the loss of your phone less devastating by backing up your data before you travel. With backed-up data, you can acquire a new device and still access your photos, contacts, messages, and passwords. Moreover, if you have "Find My Device" or "Find My Phone" enabled, you can remotely wipe your stolen phone's data so the thief cannot access it. It's safest to back up your data to a hard drive and not just the cloud. That way, if you have to wipe your device, you don't accidentally erase the backup, too. In order for the previous tip on this list to work, "Find My Phone" must be turned on in advance, but remotely wiping your device isn't the only thing this feature allows you to do. The "Find My Phone" feature enables you to track your device, as long as it's turned on and not in airplane mode. This is particularly helpful if you misplaced your phone or left it somewhere since it can help you retrace your steps. While this feature won't show you the live location of a phone that has been turned off, it will show the phone's last known location. With "Find My Phone," you can also remotely lock your phone or enable "Lost Mode," which locks down the phone, suspends any in-phone payment methods, and displays contact information for returning the phone to you. If your phone was stolen, experts caution against taking matters into your own hands by chasing down the thief, since this could land you in a potentially dangerous situation and is unlikely to result in getting your phone back. Strong passwords for important accounts help protect your information while you travel, but it's just a first step. The National Cybersecurity Alliance recommends creating long, unique, and complex passwords for every account and combining them with multifactor authentication to create maximum barriers to entry. If you're worried about remembering these passwords, password managers can be a vital tool for both creating and storing strong passwords. Password managers are apps that act as secure vaults for all your passwords. Some even come with a feature that allows you to temporarily delete sensitive passwords before you travel and then easily restore them once you return. Story editing by Mia Nakaji Monnier. Additional editing by Kelly Glass. Copy editing by Tim Bruns. Photo selection by Lacy Kerrick. This story originally appeared on Spokeo and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio. Get the latest local business news delivered FREE to your inbox weekly.‘Mbappe is like Ronaldo’ — Rodriguez on superstars’ attitude
Amid controversy about the Fortnite collab, a Cyberpunk 2077 developer has explained why the female V avatar was chosen over the male version. Following several leaks and rumors, Cyberpunk 2077’s Fortnite collab went live on December 23, introducing Johnny Silverhand and V to the battle royale. The crossover stirred up quite a bit of controversy, though, with many fans of the CD Projekt Red title upset that male V didn’t make the cut like his female counterpart. Some dubbed it “erasure,” while others argued CDPR probably associates male V with the game’s broken launch, hence female V being more prominent during the marketing for Update 2.0 and Phantom Liberty. One developer has offered a simpler explanation. Cyberpunk 2077 dev explains decision behind Fortnite V skin In response to the backlash, Cyberpunk Senior Quest Designer, Patrick K. Mills, said picking female V for the Fortnite skin was ultimately his call. Johnny Silverhand counted as the male representation for the collab, thus including a female character helped balance things out. “...I like femme V a little better and we already had a masc character in the form of Johnny,” Mills wrote on Twitter/X (via SparkyFunbuck ). He then explained that while each version of V is great, they couldn’t “do both in this collab, so a choice had to be made.” Ahead of the crossover content’s release, Cyberpunk 2077 fans hoped male V would feature in an Edit Style as an alternative outfit. Mills’ comments indicate this wasn’t an option at all. Related: In addition to the Johnny and V skins, Fortnite x Cyberpunk 2077 also includes items such as the Mantis Blades pickaxe and a backbling styled after Johnny’s Arasaka nuke . Players can purchase all of the above in a bundle for 2,800 V-Bucks, though those wanting to grab Cyberpunk’s Quadra Turbo-R car will have to fork over an extra 1,800 V-Bucks.
Analysts and commentators are in a frenzy parsing the winners and losers in Donald Trump’s victory, all while billionaires and special interest groups are posturing to get on the president-elect’s good side. But one group won a surprising victory on Nov. 5 without spending a dime on political donations, lobbying, campaigning or any politicking at all: the classical education movement. Classical education is a nonexistent player on the national political scene. It doesn’t have a super PAC, and, frankly, classical schools don’t represent a large pocket of voters. Instead, those involved in classical education quietly educate a relatively small number of American students in the great Western historical, literary and intellectual tradition. Yet elected leaders — including Mr. Trump — have expended their political capital to support the classical school movement. Mr. Trump did perhaps the most to bring the classical school movement into the spotlight through his stripped-down and innovative Republican Party platform. Eschewing the usual laundry list of lobbyist-approved policy proposals and slashing the traditional length of a platform by dozens of pages, Mr. Trump nonetheless gave a prized place to classical education. In a brief chapter on the Republican plan to “renew the pillars of American civilization,” one of Mr. Trump’s nine policy planks was to support “the restoration of Classic Liberal Arts Education.” The plank was complete with Mr. Trump’s signature liberal use of capitalization, proof that he wrote, or at least edited, the document himself. And again, in one of his nine planks in the platform’s brief chapter on education, Mr. Trump proclaimed the Republican Party’s support for schools that teach “Western Civilization.” The choice of Linda McMahon — an ardent school choice advocate — as secretary of education reveals that Mr. Trump remains committed to upending the often anti-Western education system as we know it. These aren’t one-off concerns. As president, Mr. Trump gave a rousing defense of the glories and traditions of Western civilization in a speech in Poland where he declared that “the West will never, ever be broken. Our values will prevail. Our people will thrive. And our civilization with triumph.” Earlier this year, he praised Hungarian President Viktor Orban for “proudly fighting on the front lines of the battle to rescue Western civilization.” He even attacked Vice President Kamala Harris as “the candidate of the forces who want to destroy Western civilization.” Mr. Trump isn’t alone in supporting classical education and Western civilization. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has embraced classical education in everything from his choices for school board to allowing the use of the Classic Learning Test (where I am the CEO) as an alternative to the SAT and ACT for admission to his state’s public universities. Meanwhile, Texas is poised to become the largest state in the union to embrace school choice, freedom that will pour rocket fuel on the already booming classical school movement that saw enrollment increases of roughly 600% over only 10 years. It’s not only Republicans. Cornel West ran for president to the left of the Democratic Party this last cycle, and he has long supported classical education as a means of justice and liberation, especially for Black and brown people. With support from Mr. Trump on the right to Mr. West on the left and from state governments up to the national level, classical schools are set to grow more rapidly than ever. The biggest obstacle holding the classical movement back is that they can’t build schools and hire teachers fast enough. If our leaders want this movement to take off, it’s time to transform supportive rhetoric into action. That especially means investing in teacher pay at classical schools through private support or public policy. Once great teachers see that they not only can escape traditional public schools’ ideological and bureaucratic constraints by moving to a classical school but also get paid more to do it, this movement will explode. Yet with the classical movement making waves across the nation, a major question remains: Why have such a diverse set of politicians in our country, including the president-elect, lined up to back an educational movement that has effectively no political influence? Maybe it stems from recognizing that the current educational model is failing our students. Maybe our political leaders want to support an educational model that doesn’t embrace propaganda or educational fads from either side but instead favors timeless pedagogy that cultivates intellectually curious, intelligent and free adults. Maybe people do want an education system that actually educates. Copyright © 2024 The Washington Times, LLC. .Longest-lived US president was always happy to speak his mindIRVINE, Calif., Dec. 02, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Inari Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: NARI) (“Inari”), a medical device company with a mission to treat and transform the lives of patients suffering from venous and other vascular diseases, announced today that on December 1, 2024, it received national reimbursement approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) for its ClotTriever Thrombectomy System for DVT. This announcement follows the regulatory approval of the ClotTriever system by the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) in December 2023. Due to ClotTriever’s unique mechanism of action for complete, wall-to-wall thrombus removal in patients suffering from DVT, MHLW created a new functional category that is separate from other catheter-based therapies. This new functional category comes with a reimbursement premium based upon ClotTriever’s wealth of clinical data showing safety and efficacy in removing various types of thrombi. To facilitate commercialization of the ClotTriever system in Japan, Inari has entered into a distribution agreement with Medikit Co., Ltd., a market leading vascular medical device manufacturer serving Japan, the U.S. and over 30 other countries. With this new partnership, Inari plans to accelerate initiation of its 100-patient Post Market Surveillance study, followed by broader commercial expansion. “MHLW’s approval of reimbursement for ClotTriever under a newly designated functional category marks a transformative milestone for Inari in Japan,” said Drew Hykes, Chief Executive Officer of Inari. “This decision underscores the value of ClotTriever in addressing unmet clinical needs, and we are thrilled to collaborate with Medikit to bring this innovative solution to Japanese DVT patients, improving lives and advancing care in the near future. Over time, we look forward to bringing our broader portfolio of purpose-built tools to the Japanese market.” The ClotTriever system is 510(k)-cleared by U.S. FDA and CE-Marked for treatment of DVT. More than 75,000 procedures have been conducted with ClotTriever globally. Recently, two-year outcomes were reported from the 500-patient ClotTriever CLOUT Registry showing a strong safety profile, significant clot removal, and low rates of post-thrombotic syndrome. 1 , 2 , 3 ClotTriever is the most studied thrombectomy device for DVT, including the ongoing Randomized Controlled Trial, DEFIANCE, comparing ClotTriever to anticoagulation alone for patients with DVT. 4 About Inari Medical, Inc. Patients first. No small plans. Take care of each other. These are the guiding principles that form the ethos of Inari Medical. We are committed to improving lives in extraordinary ways by creating innovative solutions for both unmet and underserved health needs. In addition to our purpose-built solutions, we leverage our capabilities in education, clinical research, and program development to improve patient outcomes. We are passionate about our mission to establish our treatments as the standard of care for venous thromboembolism and four other targeted disease states. We are just getting started. Learn more at www.inarimedical.com and connect with us on LinkedIn , X (Twitter) , and Instagram . About Medikit Co., Ltd. Medikit Co., Ltd., based in Tokyo, established in 1973, is a global medical device company and is publicly traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (Code: 7749). Medikit’s mission is to deliver the highest standards of excellence in operating as a health care company whose products and services help to enhance healthy life by minimizing unnecessary suffering and death from disease. Medikit is a market leader in Japan in interventional products, including vascular access devices such as hemodialysis catheters, intravenous catheters, sheaths, and guiding catheters. Medikit products are sold in Japan, the United States, and over 30 other countries. The company has sales, R&D, and manufacturing capabilities with more than 1,300 consolidated employees. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.medikit.co.jp . Investor Contact: Neil Bhalodkar IR@inarimedical.com ___________________________ 1 Bisharat, et al. One-Year Clinical Outcomes Following Mechanical Thrombectomy for Deep Vein Thrombosis: A CLOUT Registry Analysis. JSCAI. 2024. 2 Shaikh, et al. Six-Month Outcomes of Mechanical Thrombectomy for Treating Deep Vein Thrombosis: Analysis from the 500-Patient CLOUT Registry. Cardiovasc Int Rad. 2023. 3 Dexter, D. Interim two-year outcomes from the fully enrolled CLOUT registry. Presented at AVF 2024 (Tampa, FL). 4 Abramowitz, et al. Rationale and Design of the DEFIANCE Study: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Mechanical Thrombectomy Versus Anticoagulation Alone for Iliofemoral Deep Vein Thrombosis. American Heart Journal. doi.org/10.1016/j.ahj.2024.10.016
Aid only ‘delaying deaths’ as Sudan counts down to famine: agency chiefProtected personal information of more than 1 million people — including about 4,700 Social Security numbers — was accessed from Illinois Department of Human Services files in April, the agency confirmed last week. State agencies are required under the Illinois Personal Information Protection Act to notify the news media of certain reportable breaches of security. In a statement, the Illinois Department of Human Services said it experienced a privacy breach on April 25 when a phishing campaign was used to access a number of employee accounts and the files associated with the accounts. Phishing involves sending seemingly legitimate requests for personal or sensitive information such as passwords or account numbers. IDHS said the files that were accessed included Social Security numbers for 4,704 people. In addition, public assistance account information was accessed for more than 1.1 million people. While that information did not include Social Security numbers, it did have names, public assistance account numbers and some combination of addresses, birthdate, Illinois State Board of Education Student Information System identification numbers and cellphone numbers. People are also reading... "Upon learning of the phishing incident, IDHS worked in partnership with the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology to investigate the extent of the breach and to determine which individuals were included," according to the statement. "This was an in-depth forensic analysis, followed by a manual review of all compromised files to determine the nature of the breach. IDHS continues to train its employees on how to avoid and report phishing attempts." Written notices were sent to those whose Social Security numbers were involved and whose current address was on file. Those notices provide details about available actions, including credit monitoring. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
One Fort Worth high school still has shot at winning state football championship
Longest-lived US president was always happy to speak his mindDave & Buster’s coming summer 2025
URW acquires 38.9% stake in URW Germany JV from partner CPP Investments for 3.254 Mn URW stapled shares
White House says at least 8 US telecom firms, dozens of nations impacted by China hacking campaignSANTA CRUZ, Calif. (AP) — Persistent high surf and flooding threats along California’s coast had residents on high alert a day after a major storm was blamed for one man’s death and the partial collapse of a pier , which propelled three people into the Pacific Ocean. The National Weather Service on Christmas Eve warned of dangerous, large-breaking waves of up to 35 feet (10.7 meters). Its latest high surf warning will be in effect until 6 p.m. Tuesday. “Large waves can sweep across the beach without warning, pulling people into the sea from rocks, jetties and beaches,” the weather service said in a Christmas Eve bulletin. In Santa Cruz, where a municipal wharf under construction partially collapsed on Monday, most beaches were cordoned off as they were inundated with high surf and debris. Residents received an alert on their phones Tuesday morning notifying them to “avoid all beaches including coastal overlook areas such as rocks, jetties or cliffs.” It warned powerful waves could sweep entire beaches unexpectedly. Local officials said there could be further damage to the wharf, but no more pieces broke off overnight. The wharf collapsed and fell into the ocean midday Monday, taking three people with it. Two people were rescued by lifeguards and a third swam to safety. No one was seriously injured. “We are anticipating that what is coming toward us is more serious than what was there this morning,” Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley said Monday. The structure was in the middle of a $4 million renovation following destructive storms last winter about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of San Francisco. “It’s a catastrophe for those down at the end of the wharf,” said David Johnston, who was allowed onto the pier on Monday to check on his business, Venture Quest Kayaking. Tony Elliot, the head of the Santa Cruz Parks & Recreation Department, estimated that about 150 feet (45 meters) of the end of the wharf fell into the water. It was immediately evacuated and will remain closed indefinitely. Some of the wharf’s pilings are still in the ocean and remain “serious, serious hazards” to boats, the mayor said. Each piling weighs hundreds of pounds and is being pushed by powerful waves. “You are risking your life, and those of the people that would need to try and save you by getting in or too close to the water,” the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office said on the social platform X. Building inspectors were looking at the rest of the pier’s structural integrity. Some California cities ordered beachfront homes and hotels to evacuate early Monday afternoon as forecasters warned that storm swells would continue to increase throughout the day. In Watsonville along the Monterey Bay, first responders were called to Sunset State Beach, a state park, around 11:30 a.m. Monday for a report of a man trapped under debris. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office believes a large wave pinned him there. The man was pronounced dead at a hospital. The storm’s high surf also likely pulled another man into the Pacific Ocean around noon Monday at Marina State Beach, nearly 13 miles (21 kilometers) south of Watsonville, authorities said. Strong currents and high waves forced searchers to abandon their efforts roughly two hours later as conditions worsened. The man remained missing Monday evening. In a post on X, the National Weather Service office in Portland, Oregon, said, “It will likely go down as some of the highest surf this winter.”
Concerns over the extent of China-backed Salt Typhoon's intrusions into US telecom networks have prompted the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the National Security Agency (NSA), and the FBI to issue guidance to the sector on addressing the threat. The detailed recommendations come as officials from the authoring agencies this week described victims of the attack — which include Verizon, AT&T, and Lumen — as still working to eradicate the threat actor from their networks. "We cannot say with certainty that the adversary has been evicted, because we still don't know the scope of what they're doing," Jeff Greene, executive assistant director for cybersecurity at CISA, said in a media call this week. "I have confidence that we are on top of it in terms of tracking them down and seeing what's going on, but we cannot, with confidence, say that we know everything," Greene said, according to a transcript of the media call that CISA made available to Dark Reading. Given where most victims are in their investigations, it is "impossible" to predict a timeframe for when they will complete fully evicting the threat actor, he said. Several security experts consider Salt Typhoon's attacks on US telecom infrastructure as one of the most egregious cyber espionage campaigns ever in size and scope. It's unknown how many companies the threat actor has compromised as part of the campaign so far, but known victims include some of the biggest telecom providers in the country, including AT&T and Verizon. The attacks enabled multiple activities, including theft of a large number of call detail records — such as a caller's and receiver's phone numbers, call duration, call type, and cell tower location — of telecom customers. In a smaller number of instances, Salt Typhoon used its presence on telecom provider networks to intercept calls and messages of targeted individuals, which include government officials and politicians. Separately, the threat actor also collected information on an unknown number of individuals who were the subjects of legal national security and law enforcement intercepts . "The continued investigation into the PRC targeting commercial telecom infrastructure has revealed a broad and significant cyber-espionage campaign," an FBI official said on background during this week's media call. "We have identified that PRC-affiliated cyber actors have compromised networks of multiple telecom companies to enable multiple activities. The new guidance for addressing the threat includes recommendations for quickly detecting Salt Typhoon activity, improving visibility, reducing existing vulnerabilities, eliminating common misconfigurations, and limiting the attack surface. The guidelines include a section devoted to hardening Cisco network gear, which the authoring agencies described as a popular target for the attacker in the ongoing campaign. "Right now, the hardening guidance that we put out specifically would make the activities that we've seen across the victims much harder to continue," Greene said. "In some cases, it might result in limiting their access." He described Salt Typhoon actors as employing a variety of tactics to breach victim networks, so response and mitigation approaches will differ on a case by case basis. "These are not cookie-cutter compromises in terms of how deeply compromised a victim might be, or what the actor has been able to do." Green and the FBI official on the media call recommended that individuals concerned about the privacy of their mobile device communications should consider using encrypted messaging apps — examples of which would include WhatsApp and Signal — and encrypted voice communications. "People looking to further protect their mobile device communications would benefit from considering using a cellphone that automatically receives timely operating system updates, responsibly managed encryption, and phishing resistant MFA for email, social media, and collaboration tools," the FBI official said. Trey Ford, chief information security officer (CISO) at Bugcrowd pointed to phishing-resistant multifactor authentication in the new guidance as something that organizations should consider prioritizing. "Everything we can do to raise the cost and work factor for malicious actors and nation state communities helps," he notes. He also recommends that organizations add encryption to all traffic crossing third-party communications infrastructure and leverage apps like WhatsApp and Signal where it makes sense. "Also, I would recommend adding a second factor of authentication, something stronger than SMS, such as Yubikeys, Apple's Secure Element, or pseudo-random code generators like Google Authenticator, Authy, [and] Duo, to all of your online accounts." Chris Pierson, CEO and founder of Blackcloak, perceives the new hardening advice as useful in helping companies in the telecom sector prioritize their controls, remediation, and ongoing assessment activity. The advice to individual consumers and business executives to protect against Salt Typhoon is useful as well, he notes: "From tips on using security messaging as opposed to text/SMS, reducing the likelihood of SIM swapping by using a SIM PIN, and implementing dual factor authentication on key accounts, the guidance makes it easier for key executives and highly targeted persons to protect themselves." Jai Vijayan is a seasoned technology reporter with over 20 years of experience in IT trade journalism. He was most recently a Senior Editor at Computerworld, where he covered information security and data privacy issues for the publication. Over the course of his 20-year career at Computerworld, Jai also covered a variety of other technology topics, including big data, Hadoop, Internet of Things, e-voting, and data analytics. Prior to Computerworld, Jai covered technology issues for The Economic Times in Bangalore, India. Jai has a Master's degree in Statistics and lives in Naperville, Ill.One Crowley ISD high school’s football season has come to an end, while another’s — just 3 miles away — will see at least one more game. Though Crowley High School fell to Denton Guyer High School Nov. 30 in a 44-7 loss in its Class 6A Division II regional, North Crowley High School advanced to the quarterfinals of the Class 6A Division I tournament after its Nov. 30 win against Coppell High School. North Crowley, located near the border of Fort Worth and Crowley, is the only public high school team from Fort Worth that still has a chance to win a trophy and bring a state championship to the city. Down 21-13 with just minutes remaining in the first half against Coppell, North Crowley found itself in unfamiliar territory. During the team’s historic 10-0 regular season — which propelled them to No. 9 in MaxPrep’s national high school football rankings — the Panthers had taken a losing score into halftime just once, against DeSoto High School in early September. The game ended with a 57-51 North Crowley win. Get essential daily news for the Fort Worth area. Sign up for insightful, in-depth stories — completely free. Since then, North Crowley has outscored opponents 622-125 on its path to the regional finals. In the final minutes of the first half, and the entirety of the second half of Saturday’s game, North Crowley outscored Coppell 21-3 on its way to a 35-24 win to reach the quarterfinals. The win forces a case of deja vu for the Panthers, who will take on Allen High School for the second year in a row at 2 p.m. Dec. 7. North Crowley, now 13-0, will aim to end its opponent’s similarly flawless season at Mansfield’s Vernon Newsom Stadium. Crowley High School, which has earned only eight seasons above a .500 win percentage out of its last 20, ended its historic 8-5 season with a loss to Denton Guyer High School. Crowley found itself down 30-0 at halftime and was never able to recover, scoring a single touchdown in the third quarter to avoid a shutout. Crowley High School senior Derrick Tasby Jr. catches a pass for a touchdown during a playoff matchup against Denton Guyer on Nov. 30, 2024. (Marshall Gardner | Cowtown Images) A member of the Crowley High School Mighty Eagle Band performs during halftime of a Nov. 30, 2024, playoff game against Denton Guyer. (Marshall Gardner | Cowtown Images) Crowley High School senior Jonathan Blake returns a Denton Guyer punt during a playoff matchup on Nov. 30, 2024. (Marshall Gardner | Cowtown Images) A member of the Crowley High School Talonettes dances during halftime at a Nov. 30, 2024, playoff game against Denton Guyer. (Marshall Gardner | Cowtown Images) Crowley High School quarterback Caleb Williams looks for a receiver down field during a Nov. 30, 2024, playoff game against Denton Guyer. The senior’s season ended with a 44-7 loss. (Marshall Gardner | Cowtown Images) Despite the loss, Crowley’s 8-5 record is the school’s best performance in football since the 2019-20 season, when the Eagles went 9-2 but lost to Colleyville Heritage High School in a bi-district playoff game. Though North Crowley High School is the final public high school team within Fort Worth still standing, one other Tarrant County school is still in the running. Southlake Carroll High School will face the team that ended Crowley High’s playoff hopes when it takes the field against Denton Guyer at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 7 in the Class 6A Division II quarterfinals. Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at matthew.sgroi@fortworthreport.org or @matthewsgroi1 . At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here . Your support makes TRIPLE the impact today. Tomorrow is Giving Tuesday ! Don’t miss your chance to triple your impact and support local news. Every gift up to $5,000 will be tripled before 11:59 PM on Dec. 3! Related Fort Worth Report is certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative for adhering to standards for ethical journalism . Republish This Story Republishing is free for noncommercial entities. Commercial entities are prohibited without a licensing agreement. Contact us for details. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License . Look for the "Republish This Story" button underneath each story. To republish online, simply click the button, copy the html code and paste into your Content Management System (CMS). Do not copy stories straight from the front-end of our web-site. You are required to follow the guidelines and use the republication tool when you share our content. The republication tool generates the appropriate html code. You can’t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style. You can’t sell or syndicate our stories. Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization. If you use our stories in any other medium — for example, newsletters or other email campaigns — you must make it clear that the stories are from the Fort Worth Report. In all emails, link directly to the story at fortworthreport.org and not to your website. If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using @FortWorthReport on Facebook and @FortWorthReport on Twitter. You have to credit Fort Worth Report. Please use “Author Name, Fort Worth Report” in the byline. If you’re not able to add the byline, please include a line at the top of the story that reads: “This story was originally published by Fort Worth Report” and include our website, fortworthreport.org . You can’t edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style. Our stories may appear on pages with ads, but not ads specifically sold against our stories. You can’t sell or syndicate our stories. You can only publish select stories individually — not as a collection. Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization. If you share our stories on social media, please tag us in your posts using @FortWorthReport on Facebook and @FortWorthReport on Twitter. by Matthew Sgroi, Fort Worth Report December 2, 2024