(NEW YORK) — A group of cybercriminals hacked into data systems at insurance company Aflac, possibly gaining access to sensitive information such as Social Security numbers and health reports, the company said on Friday.
Aflac, which boasts millions of customers, “identified suspicious activity” and “stopped the intrusion within hours,” the company said.
The company attributed the attack to a “sophisticated cybercrime group” but did not identify the organization.
The cyberattack marks the latest in a string of data breaches targeting insurance companies, including attacks earlier this month against Philadelphia Insurance Companies and Erie Insurance.
“This attack, like many insurance companies are currently experiencing, was caused by a sophisticated cybercrime group. This was part of a cybercrime campaign against the insurance industry,” Aflac said in a statement. The company has opened an investigation into the cyberattack, saying initial findings indicate the cybercriminals deployed “social engineering tactics” or measures that rely on manipulation to gain network access.
Information tied to customers’ insurance claims and personal data may also have been breached in the cyberattack, Aflac said.
“We regret that this incident occurred,” Aflac said. “We will be working to keep our stakeholders informed as we learn more and continue investigating the incident.”
Aflac generated nearly $19 billion in revenue last year, which marked a 1.2% increase over the previous year, according to an earnings release.
(NEW YORK) — A dangerous heat wave is moving in, with more than 100 million people from the Midwest to the Northeast on alert for life-threatening temperatures.
The widespread heat alerts are first impacting Midwest states including Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska and South Dakota. The heat index — what the temperature feels like with humidity — could reach 110 degrees on Friday and Saturday.
Central U.S. cities like Denver and Minneapolis could shatter heat records this weekend. In the Chicago area, the heat index could hit 105 degrees from Saturday to Monday.
The South will also be feeling the heat. The heat index is forecast to hit 104 degrees in Nashville, Tennessee, and Louisville, Kentucky, on Sunday and Tuesday.
The dangerous and record-shattering heat will shift east by the end of the weekend and the start of next week. Daily record highs are possible from Detroit to Raleigh, North Carolina, to Boston on Monday and Tuesday.
In New York City, the heat index is expected to skyrocket to 103 degrees, 107 degrees and 105 degrees from Sunday to Tuesday. In Washington, D.C, the heat index is forecast to jump to 103 degrees, 107 degrees and 108 degrees.
Boston could feel like 102 degrees on Tuesday.
Heat indices up to 107 are also possible in cities including Detroit, Cleveland, Ohio, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia from Sunday to Wednesday.
Doctors recommend taking excessive heat warnings seriously. Over 700 people die from heat-related illnesses every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and extreme heat is considered the deadliest weather-related hazard in the U.S., according to the Fifth National Climate Assessment.
(ROCKY RIVER, Ohio) — Republican Congressman Max Miller says that he was run off the road by a man waving a Palestinian flag in Ohio — an incident that comes amid a heightened environment of political violence.
“The deranged hatred in this country has gotten out of control,” Miller said on social media Thursday. “Today I was run off the road in Rocky River, and the life of me and my family was threatened by a person who proceeded to show a Palestinian flag before taking off. I have filed a police report with Capitol Police and the local police department. We know who this person is and he will face justice.”
“As a Marine, a proud Jewish American and a staunch defender of Israel, I will not hide in the face of this blatant anti-Semitic violence,” Miller continued.
This incident comes amid a disturbing increase in political violence nationwide and in the immediate aftermath of Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband being fatally shot in their home. State Sen. John Hoffman remain in critical condition after he was shot nine times along with his wife Yvette, who was shot eight times. She has since been released from the hospital and is recovering at home.
“As a Marine, a proud Jewish American and a staunch defender of Israel, I will not hide in the face of this blatant anti-Semitic violence,” Miller continued.
This incident comes amid a disturbing increase in political violence nationwide and in the immediate aftermath of Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband being fatally shot in their home. State Sen. John Hoffman remain in critical condition after he was shot nine times along with his wife Yvette, who was shot eight times. She has since been released from the hospital and is recovering at home.
The suspect was apprehended and charged after police investigated “suspicious activity” in Mayor Paul Young’s neighborhood, the Memphis Police Department said Wednesday.
The suspect — 25-year-old Trenton Abston — has been charged with attempted kidnapping, stalking and aggravated criminal trespass, police said. He is detained at the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office jail and is scheduled to appear in court on Friday, online jail records show. It is unclear if he has an attorney at this time.
“Let’s make something abundantly clear to anyone who needs to see this, which, apparently, is a lot of people,” Miller said in his social media post. “If you have an issue with a legislator, your city councilman, your mayor, anyone like that. The appropriate thing to do is to reach out to them for a phone call to set up a meeting at one of our district offices. What is not okay is to assault anyone, whether you are a member of Congress or anybody else within our district when you are driving to work.”
(ORMOND BEACH, Fla.) — Police in Florida have arrested a father who they say is responsible for the death of his 18-month-old son after he left him “helpless in a hot truck” for more than three hours while he got a haircut and went drinking at a local bar, police say.
The Volusia Sheriff’s Office along with the Ormond Beach Police Department arrested 33-year-old Scott Allen Gardner on Thursday and charged him with aggravated manslaughter of a child and child neglect causing great bodily harm, according to a statement from the Volusia Sheriff’s Office.
“Gardner is responsible for the death of his 18-month-old son Sebastian, who was left helpless in a hot truck for more than 3 hours on the afternoon of Friday, June 6, while Gardner got a haircut and then went drinking inside Hanky Panky’s Lounge,” authorities said.
Additionally, Gardner gave multiple false accounts of what occurred that day when he was being investigated by police, officials said.
“It was estimated by medical personnel that Sebastian’s body temperature reached 111 degrees during this tragedy,” police said. “The same OBPD officer who tried to revive Sebastian placed Gardner in handcuffs today as he was taken into custody at his mother’s home in Ormond Beach.”
Officials said they will provide more details of the investigation on Friday and that their investigation is currently ongoing.
(PEORIA, Ariz) — A mother in Arizona has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after driving her pickup truck through “a park full of kids” and running over a 12-year-old girl, officials said.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced earlier this week that 31-year-old Brandie Gotch was handed the 10 year sentence which stemmed from an incident that took place in February 2024 when her children “were fighting with each other at Westgreen Park in Peoria,” according to a statement from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, and that “other kids at the park were egging them on and recording the altercation.”
“As this was happening, Gotch arrived at the park to pick up her kids. While walking them back to her truck, a boy on the playground called her a name,” officials said. Gotch went over to him and started pulling him by his hair. A second boy called her a name, and she chased him around the park with a stick. Gotch then got into her truck with her kids. The second boy stood behind the truck, dancing and mocking her. He eventually moved away to stand by his sister.”
It is then that authorities say Gotch backed out of the parking space and revved her engine before driving directly at the boy and his sister.
“He was able to jump out of the way, but his sister’s leg was run over,” officials said. “Gotch kept driving through the park where more than a dozen other children were at the time, including some who had to run to get out of the truck’s path.”
Gotch immediately drove away from the park but was arrested at home a short time later, officials said. “This could have been a much more tragic situation; thankfully the worst injury in this was a sprained ankle and some bad scrapes and bruises,” said Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell. “Even when angry or frustrated, it’s up to adults to act like adults. It is never okay to take to take our rage out on a kid.”
Gotch pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated assault — a class two dangerous felony — will now serve 10 years in prison, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.
Maksim Konstantinov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
(LONDON) — Russia announced on Thursday that it is returning to Ukraine five children who have been separated from their families by the war.
Maria Lvova-Belova, the Kremlin’s commissioner of children’s rights, told reporters that the Ukrainian children will be reunited with their families in Ukraine by the end of this month.
The children were on a list of 339 children that Ukrainian officials gave their Russian counterparts during the last round of peace talks earlier this month in Istanbul, Turkey — negotiations that failed to bring the three-year war to an end.
In response to a question from the Russian news agency Interfax, Lvova-Belova, speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, said the delay in sending the Ukrainian children back to their county was “due to their studies.”
“They are finishing the school year and after that they will return to their relatives in Ukraine,” she said.
Lvova-Belova did not mention status of the other children on Ukraine’s list.
According to Lvova-Belova, Russia is preparing its own list of Russian children believed to be in Ukraine. She said it will be handed over to Ukrainian officials whenever the next round of negotiations is scheduled.
“We also have children in Ukraine who require reunification with Russian families,” Lvova-Belova said. “At the moment, we have eight children on the list who are in EU countries. They were evacuated there from Ukraine, and their parents are in Russia. And from Ukraine, we have about 10 people, with whom we are also currently negotiating their return.”
Ukrainian officials have alleged that many of the country’s children have been abducted and taken to Russia since the war began in February 2022, when Russian troops invaded Ukraine.
In 2023, the International Criminal Court issued warrants for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin on war crimes charges related to the abduction of Ukrainian children.
The Kremlin, however, has denied the allegations, saying the children were taken out of war zones for their own protection.
ABC News’ Anna Sergeeva contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — Warming waters are causing the colors of the ocean to change — a trend that could impact humans if it were to continue, according to new research.
Satellite data shows that ocean waters are getting greener at the poles and bluer toward the equator, according to a paper published Thursday in the journal Science.
The change in hue is being caused by shifting concentrations of a green pigment called chlorophyll, which is produced by phytoplankton, Haipeng Zhao, a postdoctoral researcher and lead author of the paper, told ABC News.
Phytoplankton are photosynthetic marine organisms. As algae, phytoplankton has photosynthetic pigments, which absorb green light and cause the waters around it to appear primarily green, Susan Lozier, dean of the College of Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology and co-author of the paper, told ABC News. Where phytoplankton are absent, the water appears blue.
The researchers analyzed satellite data on the open ocean collected from 2003 to 2022 by a NASA instrument that combs through the planet every two days to measure light wavelength, according to the paper.
The presence of chlorophyll in open ocean is a proxy for concentrations of phytoplankton biomass. The colors indicate how chlorophyll concentration is changing at specific latitudes, in which the subtropics are generally losing chlorophyll, and the polar regions — the high-latitude regions — are greening, the researchers said.
Green areas became greener, especially in the northern hemisphere, and blue regions “got even bluer,” according to a press release by Duke University.
“We borrowed concepts from economics called the Lorenz curve and the Gini index, which together show how wealth is distributed in a society,” said Nicolas Cassar, the Lee Hill Snowdon Bass chair at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, in a statement. “So, we thought, let’s apply these to see whether the proportion of the ocean that holds the most chlorophyll has changed over time.”
The researchers examined how the patterns they observed were affected by variables like sea surface temperature, wind speed, light availability and mixed layer depth.
Warming seas correlated with changes in chlorophyll concentration, they found. The other variables did not show any significant associations to chlorophyll concentration.
However, the findings cannot be solely attributed to climate change, the authors said.
The study period was too short to rule out the influence of recurring climate phenomena, Lozier said.
“We haven’t been able to observe the ocean for decades and decades, just because the satellite technology is pretty new,” Lozier said.
After focusing his Ph.D. on regional studies in high-latitude oceans, Zhao said he was inspired to dive deeper to see whether oceans were transforming in color throughout the rest of the world.
“The ocean has been warming, so there’s a big question then about, what are the biological consequences of the ocean warming?” Lozier said.
Several studies since the 1990s have documented enhanced greening on land, attributed to average leaf color increasing due to rising temperatures and other factors, according to the researchers. However, documenting such changes in the ocean has proven to be more difficult.
The satellite images provide data on the chlorophyll production at the surface, but the picture is still incomplete, the researchers said.
If the trend continues, marine food webs could be impacted, the researchers said. Since phytoplankton are at the base of the food chain, it can be used to determine the presence of fish, too, Lozier said.
A persistent decline in phytoplankton near the equator could cause a redistribution of the location of fisheries, the authors said. This could be especially impactful in low to middle-income nations, such as the Pacific Islands, that rely on commercial fishing for food and economic development, the authors said.
(MEMPHIS, Tenn.) — A man accused of trespassing at the home of the Memphis, Tennessee, mayor has been charged with attempted kidnapping and stalking, according to police, who said the suspect had a Taser, gloves, rope and duct tape in his vehicle at the time of his arrest.
The suspect was apprehended and charged after police investigated “suspicious activity” in Mayor Paul Young’s neighborhood, the Memphis Police Department said Wednesday.
“On Sunday night, around 9:30 pm, a man jumped a wall leading into our subdivision,” Young said in a statement. “We now know that he walked straight to our home, knocking on the door with gloves on, a full pocket, and a nervous demeanor.”
Surveillance footage showed that the individual went directly to the mayor’s residence upon scaling the wall and did not approach any other home in the neighborhood, according to the Memphis Police Department.
The suspect — 25-year-old Trenton Abston — has been charged with attempted kidnapping, stalking and aggravated criminal trespass, police said. He is detained at the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office jail and is scheduled to appear in court on Friday, online jail records show. It is unclear if he has an attorney at this time.
The Memphis Police Department credited the “rapid response” of its officers and the surveillance footage throughout the neighborhood with quickly identifying, locating and arresting the suspect.
“We understand the concerns raised by this incident and want to reassure the public that the Memphis Police Department remains fully committed to the safety of all residents, including our city’s elected officials,” the department said in a press release. “We take any potential threat seriously and will continue to act swiftly and thoroughly.”
The incident comes amid heightened concerns over violence against elected officials, after two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses were shot on Saturday in what prosecutors called “political assassinations.” Democratic Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed, and Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were wounded in the attacks.
Young, who has served as Memphis’ mayor since January 2024, cited the Minnesota shootings while making a plea that political violence “cannot become our norm.”
“In today’s climate, especially after the tragic events in Minnesota and the threats my wife and I often receive online, none of us can be too careful,” Young said in a statement on Instagram while sharing a photo of him and his family. “The link between angry online rhetoric and real-life violence is becoming undeniable.”
“Let’s do better,” he added. “Let’s raise our discourse, reduce the hate, and protect one another — no matter our beliefs. Let’s reclaim our strength as one community. Let’s choose love.”
(WASHINGTON) — The world is waiting for President Donald Trump’s decision on whether the U.S. will join Israel in military action to wipe out Tehran’s nuclear facilities.
As he weighs his options, Trump is being squeezed by different pressures from forces at home and abroad.
The president huddled with advisers in the Situation Room twice already this week, and was set to do so again on Thursday. He approved attack plans presented to him but was waiting to see if Iran would be willing to negotiate and hasn’t made a final decision, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Moving ahead with military action would be a departure from Trump’s “America First” campaign pledge to keep the U.S. out of foreign entanglements. The possibility he may do so has prompted a sharp rift in his Republican base of supporters.
Hawkish members of the GOP are pushing for Trump to take aggressive action rather than pursue diplomacy. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, during an interview on Fox News earlier this week, said the U.S. needs to “finish the job” with Iran.
Meanwhile, hugely popular MAGA media figures like Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon who helped propel Trump’s movement in 2016 and in 2024 are calling for restraint.
A poll out on Wednesday from Fox News found voters split on the issues Trump is facing. A majority of registered voters surveyed believe Israel’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear program would result in more danger. But a majority also believes Iran poses a national security threat to the U.S.
Trump, in response to the disagreement among his base, says his supporters are “more in love” with him than ever.
Democrats in Congress are raising their own concerns over Trump’s war power authority. Sen Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, moved to limit Trump’s powers by introducing a floor resolution that would require approval from Congress before the U.S. could get involved in a military conflict with Iran.
On the world stage, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to press Trump to join the fray, arguing it’s in America’s interest.
“Today, it’s Tel Aviv. Tomorrow, it’s New York. Look, I understand ‘America First’. I don’t understand ‘America Dead.’ That’s what these people want,” Netanyahu told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl last week.
Netanyahu pointedly added, “We’re not just fighting our enemy. We’re fighting your enemy. For God’s sake, they chant, “death to Israel, death to America.” We’re simply on their way. And this could reach America soon.”
Iran, however, and its allies (Russia and China) are pushing against U.S. involvement. Tehran has warned any action would be met with retaliation.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Wednesday: “The Americans should know, the Iranian nation will not surrender, and any intervention by the U.S. will be met with a forceful response and irreparable damage.”
“War will be met with war, bombing with bombing, and strike with strike. Iran will not submit to any demands or dictates,” Khamenei said.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, testifying before a Senate subcommittee on Wednesday, said the U.S. military was “ready and prepared” to carry out any decision Trump will make.
Hegseth told lawmakers that Trump “has options and is informed of what those options might be, and what the ramifications of those options might be.” He also said that “maximum force protection at all times is being maintained” for American troops in the region.
Trump offered a clue into his decision-making process as he took reporter questions in the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon.
“I like to make the final decision one second before it’s due, because things change, especially with war,” the president said.
Leah Lendel was snorkeling near Boca Grande on June 11 when “something hard bit me and then tried to tug me away,” she said at a news conference Thursday alongside her parents and the doctors who treated her.
“Then I pick up my hand and it’s all in blood,” Leah said. “Then I started screaming with my mom.”
“There was so much blood in the water right next to me,” Leah’s mom, Nadia Lendel, said at the news conference. “In an instant, I knew it’s a shark attack.”
“I just started to scream to my husband,” Nadia Lendel recalled. Meanwhile, Leah’s “instincts kicked in” and she ran out of the water, her mom said.
“Then my dad was with me,” Leah said. “He picked me up and we ran to the road.”
Leah’s parents expressed their gratitude for the construction workers who were eating lunch on the beach and immediately ran to help them call 911 and put Leah’s arm in a tourniquet. Leah’s dad said EMS then responded within minutes.
Tampa General Hospital doctors praised the first responders for choosing to fly the two hours in the helicopter to their hospital where they said they had the expertise to help Leah within the six-hour window to save the tendons, tissue and muscle.
Doctors said they operated on Leah’s hand less than an hour after she came through the hospital doors.
At the hospital, “I was trying to hold myself together,” said Leah’s dad, Jay Lendel. “I think I was crying more than she was.”
Tampa General Hospital Dr. Alfred Hess said luckily a shark bite is not jagged, but leaves a clean cut on the wrist that doesn’t ruin all the tissue.
First Leah’s bone was stabilized and then doctors said they worked on blood flow. Some blood vessels were taken from Leah’s leg to help get blood flow back to her hand, the doctors said.
Leah will next undergo physical therapy, her doctors said, and eventually the pins in her hand will be removed.
“I’m just thankful for everybody,” Jay Lendel said. “I’m just very thankful she’s alive.”
Meanwhile, another shark bite was reported on Tuesday on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
The victim suffered a non-life-threatening injury to the leg and was airlifted to a hospital in Savannah, Georgia, according to the Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue.
There were 28 unprovoked shark bites in the U.S. last year, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File. Florida recorded the most with 14; South Carolina had two.
Just one shark attack in the U.S. last year — which occurred in Hawaii — was fatal, ISAF said.
