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Bahamas cruise capacity to swell with Nassau revamp, new Disney, Royal Caribbean and Carnival destinations

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:48:45 GMT

Richard Tribou | (TNS) Orlando SentinelThe Bahamas have lined up the capacity to take in thousands of more cruise passengers in the coming years with the planned development of private destinations for Disney, Carnival and Royal Caribbean as well as a soon-to-open overhaul of the port of Nassau.The latest cruise line approval came last month as the government gave the OK for Royal Caribbean to develop a 17-acre portion of Paradise Island in Nassau, already the busiest cruise port destination in the world.Called The Royal Beach Club at Paradise Island, it will be on the western edge of the strip of land that runs alongside the waterway through which ships bring more than 3.5 million passengers a year. Plans are for it to open in 2025.The new venture will offer private cabanas, pools, beach access and Bahamian-styled barbecue with local music and artists on site.The project is a public-private partnership under which Bahamians are invited to own up to 49% of the beach club’s equity, t...

FBI warns airport, hotel, shopping mall cell phone charging stations risky

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:48:45 GMT

Harried traveler beware: those dangling chords from a free charge kiosk at an airport or other public area that seem like a lifesaver could actually be a bed of serpents, authorities warn.“Avoid using free charging stations in airports, hotels or shopping centers. Bad actors have figured out ways to use public USB ports to introduce malware and monitoring software onto devices,” the FBI’s Denver field office recently tweeted. “Carry your own charger and USB cord and use an electrical outlet instead.”The phenomena known as “juice jacking” is not new, nor was the FBI the first agency to try to put out the word.“Be aware that juicing up your electronic device at free USB port charging stations … could have unfortunate consequences. You could become a victim of ‘juice jacking,’ a new cyber-theft tactic,” the Federal Communications Commission warned in an October 2021 bulletin.The trick is that the design of smartphones uses the same port for charging as it does for data transfer —...

Manhattan DA sues Jim Jordan over Trump indictment inquiry

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:48:45 GMT

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and FARNOUSH AMIRI (Associated Press)NEW YORK (AP) — Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sued Rep. Jim Jordan on Tuesday, an extraordinary move as he seeks to halt a House Judiciary Committee inquiry that the prosecutor contends is a “transparent campaign to intimidate and attack” him over his indictment of former President Donald Trump.Bragg, a Democrat, is asking a judge to invalidate subpoenas that Jordan, the committee’s Republican chair, has issued or plans to issue as part of an investigation of Bragg’s handling of the case, the first criminal prosecution of a former U.S. president.U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, a Trump appointee who previously served as a federal bankruptcy court judge, declined Tuesday to take immediate action on the lawsuit. She scheduled an initial hearing for April 19 in Manhattan, the day before the committee plans to question, under subpoena, a top former prosecutor who was involved in the Tr...

Urologist accused of patient sex abuse, including of minors

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:48:45 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York-area doctor was charged in an indictment unsealed Tuesday with sexual abuse of multiple male patients over several years, accused of using the prestige of two prominent medical institutions to make his actions seem medically necessary and appropriate.Darius A. Paduch, 55, of North Bergen, New Jersey, was charged in Manhattan federal court with sexually abusing patients, including two males who were allegedly attacked before they became adults. Authorities said the attacks occurred at one Manhattan hospital from at least 2015 through 2019, and afterward at a second institution on Long Island.At an initial court appearance, Paduch pleaded not guilty to the charges. In the event of a conviction, the charges could lead to a 10-year mandatory-minimum prison sentence or as much as life in prison. Paducah was detained with the expectation that his lawyer would make a bail argument at a future date. His attorney declined to comment.The indictment said Paduch had w...

Northwest Territories government spent $716,000 to address cybersecurity breach

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:48:45 GMT

YELLOWKNIFE — The Northwest Territories government says it spent $716,00 to address a cyberattack in November.It says it signed two work orders under existing contracts to help with containment, investigation and response efforts. The territory says the cybersecurity threat was contained and remediated without the exposure of personal or private information.The cyberattack was made public by Cabin Radio late last week after the local news organization reported that it received an anonymous tip. The territorial government has released few details, citing confidentiality reasons. Todd Sasaki, a spokesman for the Department of Finance, did not respond to questions about the date and time the attack occurred and how the territory’s information technology systems were affected.“Keeping the details of cybersecurity events and our response private makes it harder for cyber threat actors to exploit vulnerabilities or discover attack vectors,” Sasaki wrote in an email Tuesd...

Steve Murdock, Texas scholar who headed Census Bureau, dies

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:48:45 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — Steve Murdock, a former state demographer of Texas who served one year as the director of the U.S. Census Bureau, during which he helped keep the 2010 census on track, has died. He was 75.Murdock died last Friday, according to Rice University in Houston, where he spent nearly a decade until his retirement in 2019.After being nominated to head the nation’s largest statistical agency by President George W. Bush, Murdock served in the job from January 2008 to January 2009, when he vacated the position with a change in administrations following the election of President Barack Obama.“When he accepted the job, Dr. Murdock knew that it would only be for one year until a new president took over and made his own appointee – a terrific example of someone who puts public service above personal gain or personal needs,” Robert Santos, the current director of the Census Bureau, said in a statement.Murdock was the first state demographer of Texas from 2001 to 2007. He also he...

Arkansas Gov. Huckabee Sanders signs parole changes into law

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:48:45 GMT

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders approved an overhaul of the state’s sentencing laws Tuesday that will eliminate parole eligibility for certain violent offenses.The Republican governor signed into law legislation that will require anyone convicted of any of 18 violent offenses, including capital murder and rape, to serve 100% of their sentences. That section takes effect next year, so it doesn’t impact people sentenced before 2024.Another part of the law that takes effect in 2025 will require offenders convicted of several other offenses to serve at least 85% of their sentences.“No more letting violent offenders back on the street without serious prison time,” Sanders said at a bill signing ceremony at State Police headquarters.The sentencing overhaul comes as parts of Arkansas have seen a spike in crime in the past year. Arkansas’ capital of Little Rock reported a record number of homicides last year.Republicans in a number of states h...

What we know so far on the leaked Pentagon documents

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:48:45 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s been less than a week since news of highly classified military documents on the Ukraine war surfaced, sending the Pentagon into full-speed damage control to assure allies and assess the scope of the leak. The information on scores of slides has publicized potential vulnerabilities in Ukraine’s air defense capabilities and exposed private assessments by allies on an array of intelligence matters, raising questions about whether the leak will erode allies’ trust in sharing information with the U.S. or impact Ukraine’s plans to intensify the fight against Russia this spring. Overall, the leaked documents present a “very serious risk to national security,” a top Pentagon spokesman told reporters Monday.This is a look at what the documents are, what is known about how they surfaced, and their potential impact. WHAT ARE THEY? The classified documents — which have not been individually authenticated by U.S. officials — range from briefin...

Tribes want US protection for areas next to the Grand Canyon

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:48:45 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — Tribal leaders in Arizona said Tuesday they hope to build on the momentum of President Joe Biden’s recent designation of a national monument in neighboring Nevada to persuade the administration to create similar protections for areas adjacent to the Grand Canyon, which they consider sacred.“This designation is of the highest priority to the Hopi people,” said Timothy Nuvangyaoma, chairman of the tribe in northern Arizona. “We have to protect the beauty and grandeur of this place many tribes call home.” Tribes in Arizona are looking to persuade Biden to use his authority under the Antiquities Act of 1906 to make the designation for a little more than 1 million acres (404,686 hectares), or about 1,560 square miles (4,000 square kilometers).The announcement during a virtual news conference came days before Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is scheduled to visit Nevada. The state is home to Avi Kwa Ame, a newly designated monument on a desert mountain northwest of Laug...

Bodycam video released from Louisville bank shooting

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:48:45 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Police body camera video released Tuesday shows Louisville officers being fired upon as they arrive at the bank where five people were killed and the harrowing minutes while officers confront the shooter and work to rescue a wounded colleague.Two patrol officers who responded to the shooting were wounded, one of them struck in the head by a bullet in the Monday morning shooting. Louisville Metro Police Department Deputy Chief Paul Humphrey walked reporters through edited footage and still photos at a news conference Tuesday.One still image from surveillance video showed the shooter holding a rifle inside the building, surrounded by broken glass. Police said he set up an ambush position to attack officers as they arrived.To watch the bodycam video, click here. Louisville attack shows challenge of curbing violent videos Officer Cory Galloway’s body camera shows him perched behind a stairway outside the building after rookie Officer Nickolas Wilt was ...