Top 5 Live-WURD Friday July 10
1. OPM government data breach impacted 21.5 million
Government investigators now believe that the data theft from the Office of Personnel Management computer systems compromised sensitive personal information, including social security numbers, of over 21 million people from both inside and outside the government.
Hackers obtained information from the security clearance applications of 19.7 million people. Another 1.8 million were non-applicants—mostly spouses and partners of applicants.
OPM had initially estimated the hackers obtained the files of 4 million people.
Republicans called on President Barack Obama to remove OPM Director Katherine Archuleta.
“It has taken this administration entirely too long to come to grips with the magnitude of this security breach — a breach that experts agree was entirely foreseeable.
2. U.S. law enforcement says it foiled July 4th plots
FBI Director James Comey said Thursday that the bureau thwarted ISIS terrorist plots linked to the Fourth of July holiday that were intended “to kill people in the United States.”
He would not discuss the number or nature of the plots, but earlier Thursday, U.S. officials told CNN that the thwarted plots included targets “coast to coast,” and in fitting with calls by ISIS to attack in any way possible, they were unsophisticated, relying on guns, knives and other weapons.
Also fitting with recent patterns, investigators believe the plots, though not directed by overseas terror groups providing specific means of attack or specific targets, were “enabled” by actors abroad, including recruiting the suspects and encouraging them to carry out attacks on U.S. soil.
No further details were immediately available about how the plots were thwarted.
3. Missouri Law Addresses Concerns After Ferguson Shooting
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon signed legislation Thursday limiting cities’ ability to profit from traffic tickets and court fines — the first significant step taken by state lawmakers to address concerns raised after the police shooting of a black, unarmed 18-year-old in Ferguson nearly a year ago.
Nixon announced the bill in an ornate courtroom of the Missouri Court of Appeals in downtown St. Louis, near the suburb where white Officer Darren Wilson fatally shot Michael Brown, setting off protests that occasionally turned violent.
Brown was walking in the street, not driving, when he was stopped by Wilson last August and scuffled with the officer. A Justice Department investigation cleared Wilson of wrongdoing, and a state grand jury declined to bring charges.
Supporters of the legislation have said it will address the predatory revenue-generating practices of Ferguson’s police and court system that were detailed in a Justice Department report.
4. AWOL from City Hall
CITY COMMISSION Chairman Anthony Clark, who is up for re-election in November, is hardly ever in his City Hall office, despite new work rules designed to crack down on no-show employees in his department.
The Daily News tried to track him down over six business days over the past two weeks, visiting his City Hall office each day at different times, morning and afternoon. Clark wasn’t there. He wasn’t on vacation, either, according to office staffers, who gave similar responses, saying he wasn’t in.
Asked repeatedly if Clark would be in later, one staffer or another replied, “I can’t say for certain,” or “I don’t know for sure.”
Clark did not respond to seven requests from the Daily News to comment.
“I think it’s really a sad state of affairs,” David Thornburgh, head of the watchdog group Committee of Seventy, said in a recent interview. “As part of your responsibilities of being a commissioner, you have to make yourself accessible to people.”
5. South Carolina governor: Confederate flag comes down today
South Carolina’s governor relegated the Confederate flag to the state’s “relic room” on Thursday, more than 50 years after the rebel banner began flying at the Statehouse to protest the civil rights movement.
Compelled to act by the slaughter of nine African-Americans at a church Bible study, Gov. Nikki Haley praised lawmakers for acknowledging that the long-celebrated symbol is too painful and divisive to keep promoting.
“The Confederate flag is coming off the grounds of the South Carolina Statehouse,” Haley said before signing the bill. “We will bring it down with dignity and we will make sure it is stored in its rightful place.”
Police then surrounded the rebel flag with barricades and rope, a siege of sorts that will end Friday after the banner is furled for the last time at a 10 a.m. ceremony.
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Solomon Jones is an Essence bestselling author and award-winning columnist. He is the creator and editor of Solomonjones.com and morning host on 900 am WURD radio. Click here to learn more about Solomon
