(NEW YORK) — Microsoft revealed Friday that some of its corporate email accounts were hacked by a Russian-backed group.
The tech company said in a blog post that its security team detected the attack on Jan. 12 and quickly identified the group responsible: Midnight Blizzard, “the Russian state-sponsored actor also known as Nobelium.”
In late November, the group allegedly used a “password spray attack,” where a user uses a single common password against multiple accounts on the same application, to “compromise a legacy non-production test tenant account and gain a foothold,” according to Microsoft.
The group then “used the account’s permissions to access a very small percentage of Microsoft corporate email accounts, including members of our senior leadership team and employees in our cybersecurity, legal, and other functions, and exfiltrated some emails and attached documents,” the company said.
The hackers allegedly were targeting email accounts for information related to Midnight Blizzard, Microsoft said.
“To date, there is no evidence that the threat actor had any access to customer environments, production systems, source code, or AI systems. We will notify customers if any action is required,” the company said.
The company said it is in the process of informing its affected users.
(UVALDE, Texas) — A grand jury is now empaneled to examine whether any law enforcement officers should be criminally charged for the bungled response to the Robb Elementary shooting, ABC News has confirmed.
News of the grand jury, first reported by the Uvalde Leader-News, comes a day after a scathing report by the Department of Justice, citing the Uvalde shooting as an “unimaginable horror” and series of “cascading failures” in tactics, communications and preparedness.
The 38th Judicial District Attorney Christina Mitchell’s office has yet to respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
On May 24, 2022, 19 children and two teachers were killed at the elementary school. Officers waited 77 minutes to breach two classrooms where deceased and injured students and teachers were trapped inside by an 18-year-old gunman.
Mitchell launched a criminal probe into law enforcement’s response, investigating and analyzing evidence from that day where 376 officers responded to the elementary school from 23 departments.
Special Assistant District Attorney Scott Durfee previously told ABC News in a February 2023 interview, “Ultimately what we want is to know who was there, where they were, and what they were doing. And then the grand jury will make the final decision as to what crimes have been committed and whether indictments should ensue.”
A dozen people were selected to serve on the Uvalde County grand jury. The grand jury is expected to spend at least six months focusing on the school shooting investigation presented by the district attorney’s office, according to the Uvalde Leader-News.
Mitchell has repeatedly refrained from making public comments during the ongoing investigation.
(WASHINGTON) — The White House on Friday announced that the U.S. conducted more strikes against Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen Friday morning.
“This morning, U.S. forces conducted three successful self-defense strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen. This is the fourth preemptive action that the U.S. military has taken in the past week against Houthi missile launchers that were ready to launch attacks — -in this case, anti-ship missiles,” spokesman John Kirby told reporters at the daily press briefing.
The strikes come a day after President Joe Biden said that the U.S. military actions were not deterring the Houthis from attacks in the region, but that he would continue ordering the airstrikes.
Tomahawks were used in the last two days of strikes, launched from either a surface ship or submarine, a U.S. official said.
Kirby told ABC’s Karen Travers that the previous U.S. strikes have had “good effects on degrading some of these Houthi capabilities. They still have some offensive capability and we’re going to keep taking the actions we believe we need to take to defend ourselves.”
Travers pressed Kirby on what he meant Thursday about the U.S. having “additional options available” to take concerning the Houthis, but he did not reveal what that could look like, other than being of the “military realm.”
“The Houthis need to stop these attacks,” he said. “They can make that choice. Clearly, they’ve made opposite choices. So, we have choices to make, too. And — and we have options available to us as well. We’ll continue to explore those options. Clearly, one of the options that we are and will continue to take are in the military realm as needed.”
Asking Alexandria guitarist Ben Bruce has announced his departure from the band.
In a statement posted to Asking Alexandria’s Instagram Story, Bruce begins by thanking fans of the band for their support over the years, noting, “The time I have spent with all of you has been the time of my life.” He then adds, “But now it’s time to dedicate my life to my family.”
“On top of family medical situations, leaving my children means missing out on too many important moments in their lives,” Bruce writes. “It’s so important for me to be there for them as they grow, and to be here for my family as they need me to be, which means, after a lot of thought, I will be stepping away from Asking Alexandria.”
Bruce first started Asking Alexandria while he was living in Dubai as a teenager. He then moved back to England, where the current Asking Alexandria lineup formed.
Asking Alexandria put out their latest record, Where Do We Go from Here?, in August 2023. The band recently announced a U.S. tour, set to launch in April.
Up-and-comer Jonathan Hutcherson has dropped a feel-good song, “Outta Here.” “This one is near and dear to my heart. It’s about getting to your roots and getting back to things that make you you,” says Jonathan, who co-wrote the track with Devin Dawson, Mark Trussell and Ava Suppelsa.
The Valory Music Co.’s Mackenzie Carpenter has given her song “Country Girls (Just Wanna Have Fun)” the remix treatment. “My parents surprised everybody at my wedding with learning the choreography to the song and the whole place erupted into a cheers and dancing—it was a moment I’ll never forget,” says Mackenzie. “With the remix, I wanted to just kick it up that much more. I hope it becomes a soundtrack for good times.”
Dalton Dover has rolled out his cover of John Denver‘s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” “Growing up, this one was a fun singalong, but now I like to play when I’m feeling a little homesick while I’m touring,” Dalton says of the hit. “It’s a little reminder that soon enough, I’ll be on those roads that lead me back home.”
Rising singer/songwriter Redferrin has announced his Warner Music Nashville debut EP, Old No. 7, with a new song, “Doin’ Life.” “It feels good to finally be releasing a project rather than singles. I got to be super hands-on and craft the stories the way I wanted them to be told, and it’s very special to me,” Redferrin says of his forthcoming project, adding that “Doin’ Life” was “one of the most vulnerable songs I’ve released.” Old No. 7 arrives February 16 and can be presaved now.
Lizzo teased Thursday that she has new music on the way. In a new video posted to Instagram, she shared a muted clip of her recording vocals in the studio. While she intentionally kept music out of the video’s audio, we can hear her say, “I felt like Gwen Stefani in the ’90s” after she completed her take. Lizzo captioned the video, “To my dearest lizzo fans, the magic is back.”
Jennifer Lopez sings her latest single “Can’t Get Enough” on top of a car in a new commercial for the “Love More in Dolby” campaign from Dolby Atmos. “This is Me … Now is an emotional and truthful album and cinematic experience,” Jennifer said in a statement. “When you hear it in Dolby Atmos, you will feel the full emotion of the heart and soul that was poured into this new record.”
Teddy Swims has released a live version of his debut album, I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 1). This new live album comes the same week his single “Lose Control” became his first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, rising to #8.
Imagine a single album that features Shawn Mendes, John Mayer, John Legend, Tori Kelly, Lizzy McAlpine, Lawrence, Coldplay‘s Chris Martin, legendary Yacht Rock icon Michael McDonald and more than a dozen other artists. That album is Djesse Vol. 4, the upcoming album from Jacob Collier. The Grammy winner just revealed the full track list for the album, which is due February 29. He’ll appear on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! on January 30.
Jennifer Lopez sings her latest single “Can’t Get Enough” on top of a car in a new commercial for the “Love More in Dolby” campaign from Dolby Atmos. “This is Me … Now is an emotional and truthful album and cinematic experience,” Jennifer said in a statement. “When you hear it in Dolby Atmos, you will feel the full emotion of the heart and soul that was poured into this new record.”
Sara Bareilles shared photos of her antique engagement ring for the first time. She posted a collection of pictures modeling the ring as she held different objects on Instagram. “We have been engaged for a year and this is the ring we chose – we picked it up yesterday,” Sara wrote. “I look at this ring and think of his big blue eyes and how sometimes they are pleading with me to let go and grow into something new with him. So I did.”
You can now hear Dolly Parton sing Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” Eddie Money’s “Two Tickets to Paradise,” Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” Billy Joel‘s “The Entertainer” and Eurythmics‘“Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).” They’re among the nine new tracks the music icon has released on a deluxe version of her 2023 album Rockstar.
Sting and Seal will perform at this year’s BeachLife Festival, taking place May 3-5 at California’s Redondo Beach. Both single-named British singers will perform on May 3. Other acts on the bill include Devo, ZZ Top and Sugar Ray. Info on tickets and the complete lineup can be found at beachlifefestival.com.
(ATLANTA) — The credit card statements of Fulton County special prosecutor Nathan Wade appear to show he paid for multiple trips for him and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, according to copies of the statements included in a new filing submitted by Wade’s wife as part their divorce proceeding.
The filings, made Friday, could support allegations made by a defendant in Willis’ Georgia election interference case that Willis engaged in an improper relationship with Wade that resulted in financial gain for both of them.
The allegations were made in a court filing earlier this month by Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, a former Trump campaign staffer, who is seeking to dismiss the indictment against him and disqualify Willis from the case on the grounds that she potentially committed “an act to defraud the public of honest services” based on her “intentional failure” to disclose the alleged relationship with Wade that she allegedly “personally benefitted from.”
Credit card statements of Wade’s included in Friday’s filing show Willis’ name next to trips booked to San Francisco and Miami. The trips appear to be from Wade’s statements from the fall of 2022 and the spring of 2023, after he had been hired by Willis as a prosecutor on the election interference case.
The filing comes a day after Willis asked the judge in Wade’s divorce case to quash a subpoena she was served as part of that case last week, arguing her deposition in the matter would be “outside the scope of discovery” and amounts to an attempt to “harass” her. Friday’s filing from Wade’s wife urged the judge not to quash the subpoena, saying Willis “has information and knowledge directly relevant to alleged conduct” of Wade.
Former President Trump, responding on social media, accused Willis and Wade of bringing the charges against him “to enrich themselves” and called on his case to be “totally and completely dismissed.”
The Cobb County judge overseeing the divorce case has set a hearing for Monday to hear arguments on Willis’ efforts to quash the subpoena. The judge is also scheduled to hear arguments from Ashleigh Merchant, the attorney for Roman who first filed the allegations, who is now seeking to unseal the divorce case.
The Fulton County judge overseeing the election interference case on Thursday set a hearing date of Feb. 15 to hear evidence over Roman’s allegations. The DA’s office was ordered to respond to the allegations in court by Feb. 2.
Roman’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
A spokesperson from the district attorney’s office repeated a previous statement, saying they “will respond in court.”
Speaking on Sunday at the Big Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day service, Willis appeared to address the allegations for the first time, calling herself a “flawed” and “imperfect” person and defending Wade as a “great friend and a great lawyer.” She did not deny the allegations, and suggested they were motivated by race.
Roman, Trump and 17 others pleaded not guilty in August to all charges in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia. Four co-defendants subsequently took plea deals in exchange for agreeing to testify against other defendants.
(GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.) — Authorities are investigating a mysterious homicide after a human head and hands were found in a freezer at a recently sold Colorado home.
The discovery was made on Jan. 12 at a residence in Grand Junction, according to the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded to a call for a “suspicious incident” around 2:30 p.m. local time, the sheriff’s office said.
People cleaning out the property discovered what they believed to be human remains, the sheriff’s office said. They were found in a freezer, a sheriff’s office spokesperson said.
An autopsy conducted by the Mesa County Coroner’s Office this week confirmed that the remains were a human head and hands, the sheriff’s office said Thursday.
“At this time, we have no other definitive answers until further testing can be completed,” the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. “These types of tests take a significant amount of time, and again, we ask for patience from the public as this investigation continues.”
The sheriff’s office added that it hopes to “positively identify the victim while remaining respectful of the victim and the victim’s family.”
A sheriff’s office spokesperson told ABC News on Friday that the investigation remains active and no further information is being released at this time.
Investigators believe this is an isolated incident, and that there is no threat to the community.
(AUGUSTA, Maine) — Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows on Friday asked the state’s highest appeals court to consider her decision to bar former President Donald Trump off of Maine’s GOP primary ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment — before the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the Colorado 14th Amendment case disqualifying Trump.
In a news release, Bellows said, “Maine law provides the opportunity to seek review from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court,” something she requested on Friday.
Her request comes after Maine’s Superior Court on Wednesday deferred ruling on Bellows’ earlier decision, which was appealed by Trump’s team, until the U.S. Supreme Court settled the Colorado case.
The state’s top trial court punted the case back to Bellows for a decision to wait until there’s a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court.
Bellow’s request Friday is an appeal of the Superior Court’s decision to defer. If considered by the Maine Supreme Court, as Bellows is requesting, the timeline for a ruling on this case might be sped up and settled ahead of the state’s March 5 GOP primary.
“This appeal ensures that Maine’s highest court has the opportunity to weigh in now, before ballots are counted, promoting trust in our free, safe and secure elections,” Bellows said in a statement.
“Like many Americans, I welcome a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in the Colorado case that provides guidance as to the important Fourteenth Amendment questions in this case,” she said.
“In the interim, Maine law provides the opportunity to seek review from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court — which I requested today,” she said. I know both the constitutional and state authority questions are of grave concern to many. This appeal ensures that Maine’s highest court has the opportunity to weigh in now, before ballots are counted, promoting trust in our free, safe and secure elections.”
