AT&T Reveals Hackers Stole "Nearly All" Records Of Customer Calls, Texts

 Surprise. Surprise. AT&T has revealed a massive hack of customer data for the second time this year. This latest batch of customer data includes "records of customer call and text interactions" that occurred "between approximately May 1 and October 31, 2022, as well as on January 2, 2023," the company wrote in a regulatory filing Friday. 

AT&T said the data does not include "content of calls or texts, personal information such as Social Security numbers, dates of birth, or other personally identifiable information," but noted the data does include "periods of time, records of calls and texts of nearly all of AT&T's wireless customers and customers of mobile virtual network operators ("MVNO") using AT&T's wireless network." 

The filing explained that hackers "unlawfully accessed an AT&T workspace on a third-party cloud platform and, between April 14 and April 25, 2024." As of the date of this filing, AT&T said, "At least one person has been apprehended." 

According to a Bloomberg report, the third-party cloud platform that the hackers accessed to steal the data is Snowflake.

In markets, AT&T shares fell 3%, while Snowflake shares dropped 5%. 

AT&T does not believe the data has been leaked on the dark web yet. Bloomberg pointed out:

While much remains unknown about the breach, it has the potential — if the data is released — to be devastating for some customers. That includes anyone who doesn't want others knowing who they are calling, such as politicians, executives, activists, journalists and their sources.

We reported on March 31 that the personal data of 73 million AT&T accounts were leaked onto the dark web. Much of the data appeared to be from 2019 or earlier. 

https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/att-reveals-hackers-stole-nearly-all-records-customer-calls-texts

Novo’s Ozempic Linked to Lower Dementia Rate in Oxford Study

 

Novo Nordisk A/S’s Ozempic was linked to lower rates of dementia and a range of other mental problems in a University of Oxford study that raises expectations about the diabetes drug’s potential ancillary benefits.

After a year on Ozempic, patients had a 48% lower risk of dementia compared with those who’d taken sitagliptin, an older drug, as well as a lower risk of cognitive deficits compared with those who’d been on either sitagliptin or glipizide, another older medicine.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-12/novo-s-ozempic-linked-to-lower-dementia-rate-in-oxford-study

Colorado Governor Declares Disaster Emergency Over Bird Flu Outbreak

 by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis issued an emergency disaster declaration in his state over an outbreak of highly pathogenic bird flu in northeastern Weld County as officials recently reported that 1.8 million chickens were impacted by the virus.

The governor “verbally” declared a disaster after “an avian flu outbreak in a commercial poultry facility in Weld County,” according to a statement from his office issued on July 8. Mr. Polis’s office did not name the facility that was impacted by the outbreak.

The declaration means that Colorado can use its emergency powers to “take all necessary and appropriate state actions to assist with response, recovery, and mitigation efforts.”

In an update issued on July 8, the Colorado Department of Agriculture confirmed that 1.78 million chickens were impacted by highly pathogenic avian influenza.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said in a statement on July 3 that a dairy farm worker in northeastern Colorado was infected with the H5N1 bird flu and had direct exposure to cattle infected with the virus. His only symptom was conjunctivitis, colloquially known as pink eye, which was described by the agency as mild.

“He has recovered. This case is an employee at a dairy farm in northeast Colorado who had direct exposure to dairy cattle infected with avian flu. To protect patient privacy, additional details are not being provided,” the agency said last week in a statement.

It’s not clear if the infected farm worker had any connection to the infected chickens in Weld County. Officials in the state said that the bird flu risk to Colorado residents remains low, noting that the virus is spreading among animals.

The virus is “not adapted to spread from person to person,” Rachel Herlihy, state epidemiologist, said in a statement.

“Right now, the most important thing to know is that people who have regular exposure to infected animals are at increased risk of infection and should take precautions when they have contact with sick animals,” she said.

People were advised not to touch sick or dead animals. If necessary, people should wear protective gear such as eye protection, gloves, and an N95 respirator mask.

The H5N1 virus associated with the cases also impacted about two dozen commercial dairy herds in Colorado over the past month or so, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Colorado had no avian influenza cases throughout 2023, but in 2022, eight commercial poultry flocks were impacted by the virus, according to federal data.

In 2022, a human H5N1 case in Colorado was detected in someone who was exposed to infected birds, according to officials.

So far in 2024, three other dairy workers have been infected with the virus, with one case occurring in Texas in April and two in Michigan in May. Two reported conjunctivitis, while one reported having a cough and eye discomfort with a watery discharge, according to federal health officials.

Michigan Confirms More Cases

Meanwhile, on July 9, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development confirmed that avian influenza has been detected in another dairy herd in Gratiot County, located in the center part of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. So far, 26 herds have been affected, according to officials.

Tests conducted at the Michigan State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory detected the case and will send the samples to the USDA for confirmation, according to the agency.

The state agency recommended that farms not share equipment with other farms so as to mitigate the risk of spreading the virus, among other steps being taken.

In a statement issued late last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that a new study confirmed that “pasteurization is effective at inactivating” the H5N1 bird flu virus that sometimes can be found in milk or other dairy products.

The FDA said that its study “found that the most commonly used pasteurization time and temperature requirements were effective at inactivating [the virus].”

“In each of the total of nine repeated experiments, the virus was completely inactivated,” the agency stated.

https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/colorado-governor-declares-disaster-emergency-over-bird-flu-outbreak

Nearly Half Of German Welfare Payments Go To Foreign Migrants

 by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity.news,

The argument that mass migration is needed to support GDP levels and pay for pensions took another blow when it was revealed 47.3% of welfare recipients in Germany are foreign migrants.

According to newly released government statistics, nearly half of the 5.49 million people in Germany on benefits are foreign migrants, four percentage points higher than in 2022.€42.6 billion euros is now being paid out in welfare compared to to €36.6 billion in 2022.

“In addition, there was another record €6.3 billion worth of administration costs for the citizen’s benefit program, which is €300 million more than 2022, according to government data obtained by AfD MP Rene Springer after a parliamentary request,” reports Remix News.

“If this administrative money is added, then total welfare costs equaled €48.9 billion. Bild notes this figure is 14.8 percent higher than in 2023, 18.4 percent higher compared to 2020, and 23 percent higher compared to 2015.”

2.6 million foreign migrants are now citizen’s allowance recipients, a rise of 368,000 on the previous year, which equates to 16.5 per cent.

Right-wing party AfD points out that the 47.3% figure also doesn’t include German citizens from a migration background, since once they obtain citizenship they are considered as German as someone who was born in the country.

“Which country in the world allows itself to be exploited in this manner?” asked the party in statement.

“The percentage of people receiving benefits has more than doubled compared to 2010 (19.6 percent).”

DHK, the largest business association in Germany, accuse the government of worsening the country’s economic position and exacerbating unemployment.

“The data pokes a major hole in the claims that newcomers will help pay for German pensions and help fill demand from German industry, which is desperately searching for skilled workers,” writes John Cody.

“In fact, the data shows that the German state spent €48.2 billion on migrants, including social housing, medical costs, education, integration courses, and other expenses.”

As we previously highlighted, statistics also show that around 6 out of 10 violent crimes in Germany are committed by foreign migrants.

But apparently, diversity continues to be their greatest strength.

*  *  *

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/nearly-half-german-welfare-payments-go-foreign-migrants

Precise Way To Kill Cancer Cells

 by Huey Freeman via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Cancer treatments that aim to destroy deadly cells often cause damage and pain as they wreak havoc on neighboring cells and tissues. However, scientists have discovered a new method of targeting harmful cells using light for precise destruction, according to a recent study.

“Usually treatments for cancer use pharmacological induction to kill the cells, but those chemicals tend to diffuse throughout the tissues and it’s hard to contain to a precise location,” said University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign biochemistry professor and study leader Kai Zhang in a press release. “You get a lot of unwanted effects.”

The researchers deploy optogenetics, an approach that uses optical systems to control cell functions, to focus a light beam on a target smaller than one cell.

“That is how we can use light to very precisely target a cell and turn on its death pathway,” Mr. Zhang said in the press release.

In addition to killing the cancer cell, another intended outcome is to trigger the immune system to respond to the light. Mr. Zhang said that the ruptured cells release cytokines, a type of small protein, attracting white blood cells that help the immune system fight infection. By killing cancer cells, the researchers hope to train T-cell white blood cells to recognize and attack the cancer, Mr. Zhang said.

The researchers made the cells respond to light by borrowing a light-activated gene from plants and inserting it into intestine cell cultures. They then attached those genes to the genes for a protein, RIPK3, that regulates necroptosis, a form of cell death caused by various stimuli.

Teak-Jung Oh, a graduate student and the paper’s first author, said the light activation process causes the RIPK3 proteins to cluster together, mimicking the natural death pathway.

“Understanding the cell signaling pathway for necroptosis is especially important because it has been known to be involved with diseases like neurodegenerative disease and inflammatory bowel disease,” said Mr. Oh. “Knowing how necroptosis affects progression in these diseases is important. And if you don’t know the molecular mechanisms, you don’t really know what to target to slow the progression.”

The study was published in the July issue of the Journal of Molecular Biology.

https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/researchers-find-precise-way-kill-cancer-cells

'China's relentless e-commerce price war leaves sellers struggling to make ends meet'

 Chinese e-commerce vendors are struggling for survival as sales growth slows, price pressure rises and shopping platforms compete with ever-more aggressive policies to attract increasingly cost-conscious customers.

A once-thriving e-commerce industry punctuated by shopping bonanzas featuring galas and celebrities is bearing the brunt of a sputtering economy that has seen consumers all but tie knots in their purse strings.

While extreme discounting, influencer-led sales campaigns and generous returns policies did much to enrich the sector, those same practices by which vendors have to abide are now hurting those upon which the sector rests.

"The good times for e-commerce are over," said Shanghai-based e-commerce operator Lu Zhenwang, who sells everyday items for small vendors. "This year there is fierce competition and I don't think a lot of sellers will survive another three years."

Profit margins are being squeezed at big platforms such as those of Alibaba and JD.com, but also at the thousands of small businesses which joined the e-commerce boom decade that started around 2013.

That boom has left e-commerce accounting for 27% of retail, with 12 trillion yuan ($1.65 trillion) of goods sold annually.

But as the economy slows, so does e-commerce, with the double-digit growth of recent years set to be replaced by single digits, showed data from Euromonitor.

One outcome is that enthusiasm for participating in sales festivals is noticeably cooling, Lu said, with the biggest - Singles Day, centred on Nov. 11 - a "risky" proposition.

"You have no idea how many products you will be able to sell, but you have to build stock for it," he said. "It's almost impossible to see explosive growth during a shopping event."

BUYER PROTECTION

As the impact of slowdown begins to be felt, vendors are raising their voices against the side effects of sales gimmicks.

During online shopping event "618" - stemming from JD.com's 18 June founding - the owner of womenswear brand Inman called on authorities to rein in platforms' "purchase return protection" policies which force sellers to bear the cost of returns.

Such policies started on PDD's low-price platform Pinduoduo in 2021 and proved so popular that others followed suit - at huge cost to sellers, vendors told Reuters.

"The return rate on e-commerce platforms is 60%," Inman founder Fang Jianhua wrote on social media. Before such policies, it was about 30%, he said.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chinas-relentless-e-commerce-price-013115648.html

'IRS touts ‘major milestone’ of collecting $1B from wealthy taxpayers'

 The IRS announced Thursday it has collected more than $1 billion of tax debt from wealthy taxpayers this year in a “major milestone” – an attempt to sway public opinion about the department as Republican legislators fight to cut funding.

The agency first announced plans in September to increase its scrutiny of those making more than $1 million annually with upwards of $250,000 in debt. 

The $1 billion benchmark is the department’s attempt to prove that it is making good use of the nearly $80 billion in funding from Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

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The IRS first announced plans in September to increase its scrutiny of wealthy taxpayers with high levels of debt.Christopher Sadowski

The IRS has “shown that it can successfully launch strategic new initiatives and achieve the greatest return on investment,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.

The Department of Treasury proposed a rule in June that would prohibit businesses or individuals from shifting assets to avoid paying more taxes.

The department also announced a crackdown on businesses wrongfully deducting personal flights on corporate jets and a group of millionaires who owe hundreds of millions in past due taxes.

These moves are likely attempts to boost public opinion ahead of potential Republican wins in the White House and Congress that would likely lead to funding cuts. Republicans often argue increased IRS funding — and thus, taxpayer scrutiny — will hurt middle-class taxpayers and small business owners.

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The Department of Treasury has announced new rules and regulations to crack down on those evading taxes.Getty Images

The IRS and Treasury Department said in February if the funding remains, the agencies could generate up to $851 billion through 2034.

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said the IRS did not have the funding to pursue high-income tax evaders before the 2022 boost.

“The difference is really like night and day,” he said.

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The IRS has faced stiff opposition from House Republicans, who are fighting to further cut the agency’s budget.AFP via Getty Images

Audit rates dropped significantly over the past decade – from 7.2% in 2011 to 0.7% in 2019, according to the IRS. 

But the whopping 2022 tax package passed by Senate Dems has faced opposition from the right.

House Republicans built an IRS funding reduction into the budget cut package passed by Congress last summer, including a deal to reallocate $20 billion from the IRS over the next two years to other departments.

And the House Republicans’ fiscal 2025 proposal includes further cuts to the IRS.

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Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which was passed by Senate Dems, funneled $80 billion into the IRS.Anadolu Agency
Despite a publicized clampdown on high-income individuals evading taxes, the IRS still largely audits non-high-income parties.

“Nearly two-thirds of audits initiated in 2023 were on those making less than $200,000,” said Demian Brady, vice president of research at the National Taxpayers Union Foundation.

https://nypost.com/2024/07/11/business/irs-touts-major-milestone-of-collecting-1b-from-wealthy-taxpayers/