Sensitive personal data of US House and Senate members hacked, offered for sale

Listen to this story ![]() |
PICKS are stories from many sources, chosen by our editors or recommended by our readers because they are important, surprising, disturbing, enlightening, inspiring or funny. They appear on our site and in our daily newsletter. Please send suggested articles, videos, podcasts, etc. to [email protected].
Sensitive personal data of members of the US House and Senate hacked, offered for sale (Maria)
The author writes: “Members of the House and Senate were informed Wednesday that hackers may have accessed their sensitive personal information in a breach of a health insurance marketplace in Washington, DC. Legislative staff and their families were also affected. DC Health Link confirmed that data about an unspecified number of customers were affected and said it notified them and was cooperating with law enforcement. It said it is offering identity theft protection to those affected and extending credit monitoring to all customers. The FBI said it was aware of the incident and was assisting the investigation.”
Council Talks Seem to Link Growing Number of NYCHA Entrepreneurs with Vacant Space, Capital (Russ)
From City limits: “New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams will [announced] a proposal during her State of the City address Wednesday that aims to support and expand the growing number of NYCHA resident-owned businesses. The proposed legislation, Adams said, aims to help residents save more money without increasing rent or the cost of living. It would create a directory of NYCHA tenant-owned businesses as well as marketing materials to spotlight their work, and require the city to launch a public education campaign for NYCHA residents to connect with other public housing startups in the five boroughs.”
Bill Allows DACA Recipients to Become Police Officers (Al)
From Urban Milwaukee: “An effort to allow certain immigrants who lack permanent legal status to become police officers and sheriff’s deputies has been reintroduced by a bipartisan group of state lawmakers. The legislation aims to provide more job opportunities for DACA recipients and address recruitment challenges among law enforcement agencies.”
DeSantis’ New Disney World Board Hints at Future Controversy (Reads Steve)
The author writes: “The first meeting of the new board of Walt Disney World’s government—overhauled by sweeping legislation signed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis as punishment for Disney publicly challenging Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law—was about rote issues any other municipal council would handle: demands for better firefighting equipment, lessons on public records requests and bond ratings. But the five board members appointed by DeSantis hinted Wednesday at future controversial actions they may take, including banning COVID-19 restrictions at Disney World and recommending the elimination of two cities created after the 1967 Florida Legislature authorized the theme park resort’s self- governance.”
Privacy loophole in your doorbell (Gerry)
From Politico: “The police investigated his neighbor. A judge granted officers access to all of his security camera footage, including at his home.”
There are 21,000 pieces of plastic in the ocean for every person on earth (Laura)
The author writes: “Humans have filled the world’s oceans with more than 170 trillion pieces of plastic, dramatically more than previously estimated, according to a major new study published Wednesday. The trillions of plastic particles – a “plastic smog”, in the words of the researchers – weigh about 2.4 million tons and double roughly every six years, according to the study carried out by a team of international researchers led by Marcus Eriksen of the 5 Gyres Institute, based in Santa Monica, California. There are more than 21,000 pieces of plastic for each of the Earth’s 8 billion inhabitants. Most of the pieces are very small.”
Black soldiers cycled 1,900 miles across the United States, so he did too. (Military)
The author writes: “A remarkable journey from Montana to St. Louis by 20 black infantrymen in 1897 seemed doomed to obscurity until Erick Cedeño, a bicyclist, returned on the journey.”