NEWS OF THE DAY
Russian hacking: The Department of Homeland Security has notified California that Russian hackers attempted to scan networks other than their election systems in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, contrary to details provided last week. On Wednesday, California became the second state — after Wisconsin — to receive the clarification. California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said in a statement that homeland security officials told him the scanning activity took place on the state technology department’s network and not on the Secretary of State website, as the state was told. “Our notification from DHS last Friday was not only a year late, it also turned out to be bad information,” Padilla said.
Police misconduct: Baltimore prosecutors say nearly 300 cases have been dropped due to four allegations of police misconduct, including three body camera videos appearing to show officers planting evidence or reenacting searches, and a federal indictment of eight officers on racketeering and fraud charges. Deputy State’s Attorney Janice Bledsoe said Wednesday that a total of 278 cases have so far been dismissed, including 109 in response to the indictment, and 169 others related to officers involved in the three videos. The indictment accuses eight officers of racketeering in a scheme that included illegally detaining and robbing residents and fraudulently filing for overtime not worked.
Democrats gain: Locked out of power in most of the country, Democrats on Tuesday made their seventh and eighth gains of 2017 in state legislative races. In New Hampshire, they flipped a Republican-held House seat — their third win of the year in the swing state. And in Florida, the party narrowly won a Miami-area state senate seat with an assist from the progressive Priorities USA.
Refugee limits: The Trump administration defended its decision Wednesday to sharply curtail the number of refugees allowed into the United States to 45,000 next year, even as global humanitarian groups decried the move and called the number far too low. The 45,000 cap reflects the maximum the U.S. will admit during the fiscal year that starts Sunday, although the actual number allowed could be far lower.
Passenger removed: Police officers removed a woman from a Southwest Airlines plane before it took off from Baltimore, the latest passenger scuffle to be captured on video and magnified on social media. After saying she was severely allergic to animals — there were two dogs on board — the woman refused the crew’s request to leave the plane. The crew then called on police to intervene. A film producer recorded the ensuing struggle between the woman and officers and posted it online. The scene from Tuesday night was reminiscent of an April incident in which security officers yanked a man out of his seat and dragged him off a United Express flight in Chicago, sparking a public outcry about shoddy treatment of airline passengers. Southwest, perhaps learning from United’s initial hesitant reaction, immediately apologized.
Chronicle News Services