Equifax Credit Company Hacked

Accoording to the New York Post Hackers may have the names and social security numbers of 143 million Americans after a massive breach of credit-reporting agency Equifax, the company said Thursday.

That’s more than half of the nation’s adult population, according to census figures.

Hackers also trawled through birth dates, addresses and driver’s license numbers, as well as 209,000 credit card numbers, during a massive breach between mid-May and July 29, the company reported.

“I deeply regret this incident and I apologize every affected consumer and all of our partners,” CEO Richard Smith said.

The hackers “exploited a U.S. website application vulnerability to gain access,” a company statement said.

Upon discovering the massive breach, Equifax hired a “leading, independent cybersecurity firm” to review the attack and recommend ways to prevent future attacks, the company said.

Equifax is offering every U.S. consumer in the country free identity-theft protection and credit-file monitoring through the website www.equifaxsecurity2017.com — regardless whether their information was compromised, Smith said.

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Trump Rescinds DACA Program Sends To Congress

WASHINGTON — President Trump on Tuesday ordered an end to the Obama-era program that shields young undocumented immigrants from deportation, calling it an “amnesty-first approach” and urging Congress to pass a replacement before he begins phasing out its protections in six months.

As early as March, officials said, some of the 800,000 young adults brought to the United States illegally as children who qualify for the program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, will become eligible for deportation. The five-year-old policy allows them to remain without fear of immediate removal from the country and gives them the right to work legally.

Mr. Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who announced the change at the Justice Department, both used the aggrieved language of anti-immigrant activists, arguing that those in the country illegally are lawbreakers who hurt native-born Americans by usurping their jobs and pushing down wages.

Mr. Trump said in a statement that he was driven by a concern for “the millions of Americans victimized by this unfair system.” Mr. Sessions said the program had “denied jobs to hundreds of thousands of Americans by allowing those same illegal aliens to take those jobs.”

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Drone Shows Damage to Houston Area

The sheer magnitude of flooding Houston is facing from Tropical Storm Harvey has taken on an entirely different perspective thanks to drones.

Videos like those captured by University of Houston freshman, Ahmed Gul, originally from California, provide a cinematic experience unlike anything a cellphone on the ground can provide.

Harvey’s impact on Houston and surrounding cities is unprecedented. The storm has triggered 316,000 power outages, dumped 11 trillion gallons of rain, and initiated more than 2,000 water rescues across Texas as of late Sunday night, according to CNN. Harvey is expected to linger over the Houston area through the middle of the week.

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Nine Ways To Support A Veteran

On the weeks show i share some powerful ideas from a story produced by Betsy Anderson and Jacqueline Gulledge, CNN On ways to help Veterans.

  1. Give a veteran a ride

Medical care may be needed for some veterans for the rest of their lives. Disabled American Veterans provides free transportation to men and women who can’t travel to Veterans Affairs medical facilities on their own.

2. You can volunteer to d2. Donate frequent flier miles

The Fisher House Foundation has a network of homes on the grounds of military and VA hospitals around the country. These homes help family members be close during the hospitalization of a loved one for a combat injury, illness or disease. Fisher House operates theHero Miles Program, using donated frequent flier miles to bring family members to the bedside of injured service members. You can also volunteer or donate household items.

3. Sponsor a companion dog for veterans with PTSD

More than a third of all Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have or will experience post-traumatic stress disorder. And veterans of past wars are still dealing with the ghosts of their time in the service. Coping with PTSD can put stress on not just veterans but also their families and friends.

Puppies Behind Bars is a program in which prisoners train companion dogs for veterans with PTSD. Donors can sponsor a dog and receive updates on the dog’s training and life with its veteran.

(If you know a veteran dealing with PTSD, the VA offers the PTSD Coach Online to help veterans learn to manage symptoms, come up with ways to cope and find professional help.)

  1. Help build a home for severely injured vets

Severely injured veterans often come home needing a place to live that better accommodates their physical disabilities. Building Homes for Heroes builds specially modified homes for veterans that help them live independently. These homes are provided at no cost to the veterans. The organization also provides financial planning services.

  1. Keep veterans off the streets

In times of war, exhausted combat units were removed from the battlefield to “stand down” in a place of relative security to rest. The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Stand Down program is designed to help homeless veterans “combat” life on the streets. Stand Downs are usually one- to three-day events to provide food, shelter, clothing and health screenings to homeless and unemployed veterans. To find a Stand Down program in your community, contact your local VA hospital in the VA Medical Center Directory.

A phone call can also make difference in the life of a veteran who is homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Call 877-4AID-VET, or 877-424-3838, to be connected 24 hours a day, seven days a week with help at the VA.

  1. Send a care package or a letter

Operation Gratitude has sent more than 1.5 million individually addressed care package to the military community. The packages are sent to current military members as well as veterans, wounded warriors and their caregivers. As more American troops return to civilian life, the Operation Gratitude veterans program has been growing. It also has a letter writing campaign encouraging everyone to write handwritten letters of gratitude to veterans.

  1. Help them take flight

The Honor Flight Network helps veterans of the “greatest generation” make a free pilgrimage to the World War II Memorial on the National Mall in Washington. You can volunteer to escort these men and women on the flight to see this memorial. Honor Flight also helps terminally-ill veterans who served in any conflict visit memorials to those wars in Washington as well.

  1. Share their stories

So many veterans’ stories have been left untold, but the Library of Congress is collecting the tales of veterans of every war with the Veterans History Project. If you are related to a veteran or know one who has a story to tell, the Library of Congress wants to hear it. Help veterans share their stories before it’s too late.

  1. Say thank you

It’s simple, but it can make an impact. And so many veterans have never heard the words “thank you.” If you know a veteran or see someone in a military uniform, say something. It may make his or her day and yours.

Drive a van for those who need a lift.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Amazing Eclipse Photo

Photo credit: AP

SALEM — With its radiant corona, shadows that appeared to shimmer across the ground and 360 degrees of twilight, Monday’s total solar eclipse awed millions of onlookers across the northwestern United States.

Some called it a mystical experience while others praised the power of science. Either way, the spectacle seemed to leave most pretty impressed.

“I was looking for the diamond ring and when that diamond ring came, I had tears in my eyes. I’ve read about it, but it was . indescribable,” said Julie Vigeland, a 73-year-old Portland, Oregon resident who watched from the Oregon State Fairgrounds in Salem. “It was a very primal experience, it really was. I’ve seen other really magnificent things but there is nothing, nothing like this.”

John Hays drove up from Bishop, California for the total eclipse in Salem and said the experience will stay with him forever. He watched from a deck overlooking the Willamette Valley and the foothills of the Coastal Range.

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