Crime

Bloomberg News reports: CNA Financial Corp., among the largest insurance companies in the U.S., paid $40 million in late March to regain control of its network after a ransomware attack, according to people with knowledge of the attack. The Chicago-based company paid the hackers about two weeks after a trove of company data was stolen, and CNA officials were locked …

Via press release from the Justice Department: The United States has seized 68 protected lions, tigers, lion-tiger hybrids, and a jaguar from Jeffrey and Lauren Lowe’s Tiger King Park in Thackerville, Oklahoma, pursuant to a judicially-authorized search and seizure warrant, for ongoing Endangered Species Act (ESA) violations. The Justice Department will seek civil forfeiture of these animals and any offspring …

The New York Post reports: People familiar with the family’s particular sect of fundamentalist Christianity, the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP), claim it has played a role in enabling abuse by Josh Duggar and others. Michelle and Jim Bob were expected to speak at an IBLP conference before their son’s arrest. The many Duggar children were home-schooled using a …

Portland, Maine’s CBS News affiliate reports: The Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office says a West Bath man has been arrested after being shot by a 2-year-old. Investigators say the 2-year-old child found a Glock 9mm on a nightstand and fired it in his parents’ bedroom while they were asleep Wednesday morning. The boy’s 22-year-old mother was hit in the leg and …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Joseph Blount, CEO of Colonial Pipeline Co., told The Wall Street Journal that he authorized the ransom payment of $4.4 million because executives were unsure how badly the cyberattack had breached its systems or how long it would take to bring the pipeline back. “I know that’s a highly controversial decision,” Mr. Blount said in …

Law & Crime reports: The Federal Trade Commission accused disgraced pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli on Tuesday of having destroyed evidence relevant to a lawsuit that could lead to his lifetime ban from the industry. Regulators claim that the convicted fraudster invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when asked about a phone he used to conduct business from prison. “It …

NBC News reports: The House on Tuesday passed a Senate bill with a 364 to 62 vote to address the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes during the Covid-19 pandemic. The legislation, which the Senate passed in a 94-1 vote last month, directs the Department of Justice to expedite the review of Covid-related hate crimes that were reported to law enforcement …

The Raleigh News & Observer reports: The district attorney for Pasquotank County will not bring criminal charges against sheriff’s deputies who shot and killed Andrew Brown Jr. in Elizabeth City, a move likely to increase tension and protest over police violence. Pasquotank County District Attorney Andrew Womble [photo] announced the news while discussing the state’s investigation at a press conference …

ABC News reports: An unruly passenger on a Delta flight in December is now facing the largest proposed fine from the Federal Aviation Administration this year — a whopping $52,500. According to the agency, the passenger tried to open the cockpit door on the flight from Honolulu to Seattle before striking a flight attendant in the face and pushing them …

The Washington Post reports: The county clerk immediately knew something strange was going on last fall. A mail ballot had arrived from Suzanne Morphew — a woman missing since May. “There’s posters all over our town,” said Lori Mitchell, the clerk and recorder in Chaffee County, a Colorado community of about 20,000 rocked by Morphew’s disappearance last Mother’s Day. “Constant …

CNBC reports: Ireland’s health service shut down its computer systems on Friday after being hit with a “sophisticated” ransomware attack. The Irish Health Service Executive said there was a “significant ransomware attack” on its IT systems, without commenting further on specifics. Ireland’s vaccination program has not been affected and appointments will go ahead as planned, but the registration portal has …

Columbia, South Carolina’s NBC News affiliate reports: A woman hoarding gas caught on fire following a car accident Thursday night in Pickens County, according to Chief Deputy Chad Brooks. A deputy in a marked patrol unit, saw a Pontiac G6 traveling on Jameson Road in Pickens and determined that the vehicle was displaying a South Carolina license plate that had …

Denver’s Fox News affiliate reports: Prosecutors have filed new charges against Barry Morphew, alleging the man accused of murdering his missing wife submitted a presidential ballot in her name. Morphew was recently arrested on charges of murdering his wife, Suzanne, after she disappeared a year ago. She still has yet to be found. On April 22, Barry was asked by …

Oakland’s Fox News affiliate reports: The San Francisco man infamous for posting social media videos as he rides in the back seat of his Tesla with no one behind the wheel is at it again. He committed the same crime shortly after being released from jail. Param Sharma met KTVU’s Jesse Gary in San Francisco Wednesday afternoon, not far from …

Bloomberg News reports: Colonial Pipeline Co. paid nearly $5 million to Eastern European hackers on Friday, contradicting reports earlier this week that the company had no intention of paying an extortion fee to help restore the country’s largest fuel pipeline, according to two people familiar with the transaction. The company paid the hefty ransom in untraceable cryptocurrency within hours after …

Oakland’s Fox News affiliate reports: A 25-year-old man was arrested after he was seen riding in the back seat of a Tesla with no one in the driver’s seat. Param Sharma was arrested Monday evening by California Highway Patrol on two counts of reckless driving and disobeying a peace officer. Sharma remained unflinching in his attitude about sitting in the …

The New York Daily News reports: Ex-cop Robert Smith was busted Tuesday along with current NYPD officers Robert Hassett and Heather Busch on charges of collecting thousands of dollars in crooked payoffs for steering cars damaged in wrecks to a specific tow-truck business. But the allegedly corrupt Smith, in shocking Brooklyn Federal Court documents, was outed as a racist who …

Law & Crime reports: A defendant showed up to a court’s Zoom stream with a deeply unfortunate screenname. No, his name was not really “Buttfucker 3000.” This happened in an arraignment hearing posted to YouTube on Tuesday from the court of Judge Jeffrey Middleton in St. Joseph County, Michigan. There was a brief pause before the defendant realized the judge …

Atlanta’s ABC News affiliate reports: A man accused of killing eight people in shootings at three Atlanta-area massage businesses has been indicted on murder charges. Six of the victims were women of Asian descent. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis also filed notice that she intends to seek hate crime charges and the death penalty against Long, who is white. …

The New York Daily News reports: A judge slammed the founder of Students for Trump as a “cold blooded fraudster” before sentencing him to 13 months in prison for posing as a lawyer. John Lambert, 25, pretended to be as Eric Pope, of the Manhattan-based firm Pope & Dunn. He falsely claimed to be a graduate of NYU Law School …