Day 475: Unprecedented and coordinated.

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

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1/ A report from the Senate Intelligence Committee concludes that Russia conducted an "unprecedented, coordinated cyber campaign" in order to undermine confidence in U.S. voting systems starting as early as 2014 and continuing through Election Day...

Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Subscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free

1/ A report from the Senate Intelligence Committee concludes that Russia conducted an "unprecedented, coordinated cyber campaign" in order to undermine confidence in U.S. voting systems starting as early as 2014 and continuing through Election Day 2016. Senators report that the Russians targeted at least 18 states looking for vulnerabilities, and in six states they tried to gain access to voting websites. In "a small number of states" they actually breached election computer defenses. The committee said it found no evidence that vote tallies or voter registration information were changed, but that Russian hackers were "in a position to, at a minimum, alter or delete voter registration data." (New York Times / The Hill)

[PDF] Russian Targeting of Election Infrastructure During the 2016 Election: Summary of Initial Findings and Recommendations. (Senator Burr)

2/ Top White House officials withheld information sought by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, siding with senior FBI and national intelligence officials that the information could endanger a top-secret intelligence source. The Justice Department, however, invited Devin Nunes and Trey Gowdy for a classified briefing about their document request related to the Russia investigation after Nunes publicly suggested that he may try to hold Jeff Sessions in contempt for refusing to comply. Some administration officials worry that Trump will change his mind and support Nunes' argument that "Congress has a right and a duty to get this information." (Washington Post / CNN)

3/ One of the women who accused Trump of sexual assault won her uncontested primary bid for a seat in the Ohio state House of Representatives. Rachel Crooks accused Trump of kissing her without her consent in 2005 and went public with her claims in 2016. She is now the Democratic nominee for a seat in the Ohio state legislature. (CNN) / Washington Post)

Don Blankenship lost in the West Virginia Republican U.S. Senate primary on Tuesday following the coordinated effort by Mitch McConnell and Republican leaders to sink his bid. Blankenship called himself "Trumpier Than Trump." (New York Times)

4/ Trump mused about taking away press credentials from media outlets over "negative" coverage of him. "Why do we work so hard in working with the media when it is corrupt?" Trump tweeted. "Take away credentials?" Trump was apparently responding to a segment on Fox and Friends, which cited a study from the Media Research Center – a right-wing media watchdog. The study says 91% of network news stories about him are negative. (WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.