Today in History: America gets its MTV
In 1936, Adolf Hitler presided over the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Berlin.
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In 1944, an uprising broke out in Warsaw, Poland, against Nazi occupation; the revolt lasted two months before collapsing.
In 1957, the United States and Canada announced they had agreed to create the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD).
In 1966, Charles Joseph Whitman, 25, went on an armed rampage at the University of Texas in Austin that killed 14 people, most of whom were shot by Whitman while he was perched in the clock tower of the main campus building.
In 1971, The Concert for Bangladesh, an all-star benefit organized by George Harrison of The Beatles and sitar player Ravi Shankar, was held at Madison Square Garden in New York.
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In 1981, MTV began its American broadcast; the first music video aired on the new cable TV network was 'Video Killed the Radio Star,' by The Buggles.
In 2001, Pro Bowl tackle Korey Stringer, 27, died of heat stroke, a day after collapsing at the Minnesota Vikings' training camp on the hottest day of the year.
In 2004, the Ycuá Bolaños supermarket fire in Asuncion, Paraguay, killed more than 400 people.
In 2007, the eight-lane Interstate 35W bridge, a major Minneapolis artery, collapsed into the Mississippi River during evening rush hour, killing 13 people.
In 2014, a medical examiner ruled that a New York City police officer's chokehold caused the death of Eric Garner, whose videotaped arrest and final pleas of 'I can't breathe!' had sparked outrage.
In 2023, former President Donald Trump was indicted by a federal grand jury on conspiracy and obstruction charges related to his alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
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The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
After only 6 months, Project 2025 is already 47 percent complete
On July 5, 2024, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump wrote in a Truth Social post that he had 'no idea who is behind Project 2025,' the nearly 900-page manifesto published in April 2023 by the conservative Heritage Foundation for use by 'the next conservative president' to reshape the federal government. Trump went on to say that 'some of the things they're saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal,' and that 'anything they do, I wish them luck, but have nothing to do with them.' Many voters presumably believed Trump when he said he knew nothing about Project 2025 and disavowed its objectives. Others — including non-MAGA voters — ignored Project 2025 or simply waved it away as hyperbolic fuel for the base, assuming that such a hellscape could never actually take hold in America, even under Trump 2.0. Now, over six months into Trump's second term, Project 2025's roadmap for dismantling American government is 47 percent complete. That's according to the website Project 2025 Tracker, which bills itself as a 'comprehensive, community-driven initiative to track the implementation of Project 2025's policy proposals.' The website counts 317 proposals in total. So far, 115 are 'complete,' including eliminating the U.S. Agency for International Development, banning transgender individuals from serving in the military and funding ICE for 100,000 detention beds. An additional 64 proposals are 'in progress,' such as cutting off government contracts to entities that enforce a 'woke agenda,' ending a settlement agreement establishing basic standards for immigrant children in federal custody, downsizing the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (too focused on 'climate alarmism'), privatizing TSA airport screening (so constitutional guarantees do not apply to traveler searches), cutting off Justice Department and FEMA grants to states and localities that balk at Trump's immigration policies, prosecuting local prosecutors who exercise discretion in deciding whether to prosecute immigration cases, reducing the corporate income tax rate, 'fully commercializ[ing]' the National Weather Service and eliminating the Department of Education. The other 53 percent — or 138 proposals — remain on the Trump administration's 'to do' list. In 1997, civil rights activist and author Maya Angelou warned the graduating class at Wellesley College that, 'when someone shows you who they are, believe them.' Although the news coming out of the White House can feel relentless and exhausting, it remains imperative that every American in this moment become informed — and brace themselves — for what's coming. If we don't even know what is going on, there's no way to slow it down, let alone stop it. According to the Project 2025 tracker, the list of policies still in the works includes requiring schools that receive federal funding to give all students the military entrance test; adding a citizenship question to the census; focusing census outreach on 'conservative groups;' rescinding regulations implementing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; phasing out federal funding aimed at schools serving low-income children; passing the 'Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act;' repealing protections for unaccompanied minors encountered near the border; mandating time-and-a-half compensation on a 'sabbath;' classifying teachers and librarians as sex offenders if they discuss 'gender ideology' with minors; repealing child labor laws to allow teenagers to work 'inherently dangerous jobs;' allowing companies to evade paying overtime; prohibiting the intelligence community from monitoring 'so-called domestic disinformation;' and abolishing the Federal Reserve to move to a 'free banking' system. Some people reading this partial list will understandably balk, thinking that Trump cannot do some of these things without Congress or point out that some seem obviously unconstitutional. But those arguments mean very little anymore. The Republican-led Congress has abdicated its constitutional prerogatives in deference to Trump. The far-right majority on the Supreme Court has repeatedly flouted bedrock legal principles (often with no explanation) in furtherance of Trump's agenda. Neither of those branches will save us. Other readers might fall back on shoulder-shrugging, disbelief, denialism or even fear. Many will assume that, however horrific things get, they won't affect 'me.' A perusal of the Project 2025 tracker might change some of those minds. It certainly should. On September 17, 1787, a Philadelphia socialite named Elizabeth Willing Powell reportedly asked Benjamin Franklin after the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention, 'Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?' Franklin responded, 'A republic, if you can keep it.' In a speech to the convention that day, Franklin stated that the new American system 'can only end in despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic government.' So here we are. Increasingly, regular Americans seem to be waking up to the urgent constitutional crisis but have no idea what to do about it. That's a sobering, but eminently understandable, response. But this is for certain: Doing nothing guarantees that nothing will change. Zero plus zero is still zero. We all have to at least try.
CNN
2 hours ago
- CNN
This may look like any other profile photo you'd see on a
In recent years, thousands of North Korean IT workers have used stolen and made-up US identities to pose as Western developers, engineers, and tech consultants to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars a year to Pyongyang's military programs. 'They're everywhere, all over the Fortune 500,' said Michael Barnhart, Principal i3 Insider Risk Investigator at cybersecurity firm DTEX. The North Koreans rely on help from open-source AI and even live face-masking software to hide their true identities and locations during video calls from countries such as China, Laos and Russia. But their ability to embed themselves in corporate America doesn't rely on trickery alone. It requires help from inside the United States. How the operation works LaptopFacilitatorRemote accessRemoteworkersLaptopfarmUScompaniesNorth KoreanIT WorkerUScompany Facilitators in the US help North Korean operatives steal identities and access American financial systems. US companies send them laptops that the North Koreans use to log into corporate networks. Facilitators with many laptops are said to be running 'laptop farms.' Experts say it's difficult to estimate the total number of workers as many of them run multiple identities and work several jobs at the same time. One American woman, Christina Marie Chapman, was last month sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison for helping these operatives land jobs at more than 300 companies, generating over $17 million for Kim's heavily sanctioned regime. A prolific TikToker, Chapman charted her remarkable rise in public videos from poverty to international travel, courtesy of a new job in 'a computer business,' that US investigators used to build their case. Chapman is not the only US resident to have participated in the scheme. Recently unsealed federal indictments show other US-based facilitators played a crucial role in the operation – laundering paychecks, stealing identities and running 'laptop farms' that allowed North Korean workers to appear as if they were physically present inside the country. The stealthy operation has allowed North Korea, formally known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), to circumvent international sanctions, exploit remote hiring practices, and quietly generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually, according to the US Department of Justice – often without employers ever realizing they've hired a North Korean operative. This puts them at risk of violating US sanctions which bar doing business with North Korean individuals or organizations. 'If you take away looking at them as a government and start thinking of them more as kind of a mafia, everything falls into place,' said Barnhart. The DPRK Foreign Ministry addressed the issue in July after the US offered a reward of up to $5 million for information on several North Korean nationals over the alleged IT worker scheme. Rejecting the allegations as an 'absurd smear campaign,' the ministry accused the US of 'fabricating groundless cyber drama.' Drawing on exclusive data sourced from North Korean computers, court records, and interviews with cybersecurity experts and US officials, a CNN investigation reveals the full scope of this scheme – showing how North Korea has turned remote work culture into an effective tool for generating foreign currency and funding its weapons programs, according to a US assessment, putting national security at risk. North Korea showcases military hardware at a parade in Pyongyang in February 2023. Korean Central TV Kim Jong Un's remote workforce Unlike North Korea's more high-profile cyber operations – like billion-dollar crypto thefts or ransomware campaigns – the IT worker scheme is a state-sponsored effort that seeks to place North Korean operatives in Western companies, not as saboteurs, but as employees, experts say. Evolving out of the North Korean scams of the 90s, like fake $100 bills under late leader Kim Jong Il, his son and successor has taken the scam operation online. 'Kim Jong Un is a millennial, and so he has gravitated toward technology a lot more than his father did,' said Barnhart. 'The IT workers are a very large force that they are wanting to continue to beef up.' Barnhart belongs to a group of tight-knit internet sleuths and cybersecurity professionals leading the charge in hunting down North Korean IT workers. For many of them it's more than just a job – Barnhart has a tattoo for every DPRK cyber unit he has busted. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gives field guidance at the Sci-Tech Complex, in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang October 28, 2015. KCNA/Reuters With antiquated technology and little access to unrestricted internet within North Korea, most of these operations are run from abroad. Southeast Asia, and parts of China and Russia near the North Korean border are among the preferred staging areas thanks to their proximity and friendly relations with the regime, according to US prosecutors and cybersecurity experts. Fake resumes and rehearsed lines powered by AI Exclusive datasets, including browser histories and ChatGPT searches from over a dozen North Korean computers, obtained by researchers through open-source analysis and shared with CNN reveal how they engage AI to create job-seeking personas. The datasets show the IT workers looking up LinkedIn and other job-seeking platforms thousands of times, in a matter of months, with some profiles applying for dozens of jobs. Records of their browser histories also confirm what can be seen in their profiles and resumes – consistent use of AI faceswap software, VPNs, remote working software and a heavy reliance on ChatGPT and Google Translate. These operatives are not just using AI to write code or automate tasks – they're using it to fabricate identities, conduct interviews, mimic cultural fluency, and automate applications to apply for jobs en masse. Generic nameCommonly used past experience Many of the fake profiles use common Western names like Paul, Jeremy and Joe, and list previous work experience at major US companies and degrees from prestigious universities. They also alter stock photos using AI to generate fake headshots. These resumes can be enough to secure job interviews, but in video calls they look nothing like their profile photos. On camera they stumble through rehearsed lines about career goals and work ethic, experts and recruiters told CNN. In some cases, they use AI to help them answer the interviewers' questions in real time, or to alter their faces and hide their identity. 'AI is very important to them,' said Barnhart. 'It helps out everything else they're doing.' Outside the professional sphere, AI is also a cultural crutch – helping North Korean workers adapt to American customs and office small talk. ChatGPT records connected to North Korean computers show them asking for New Year's resolutions, guidance on Thanksgiving greetings, and explanations of American football rules. The North Koreans were early adopters of AI tools such as ChatGPT, according to Evan Gordenker, Consulting Director of Unit 42, the threat intelligence arm of cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks. He said they were such prolific users of early open-source AI models that they made significant contributions to training and developing the AI we use today. 'Just ask them about who they are and they fall apart' Once you've learned how to spot a North Korean on a job-seeking site, it's hard to not see them everywhere, but the sheer number of automated applications they submit can inundate companies that often outsource their recruiting. Human risk management company KnowBe4 estimates they've received at least 100 applications from suspected North Korean IT workers in the past year. And last summer, they inadvertently hired one. The company needed a software engineer for its internal IT AI team and posted a job advertisement on the company's website as well as external platforms. After going through the usual recruitment process, they hired a person and mailed them their work laptop. As soon as the laptop was received on the other end, it began downloading malware. Brian Jack, KnowBe4's chief information security officer, suspects an American facilitator set off internal alarms by downloading remote working software. The company immediately terminated the new employee and asked for the return of the laptop. It came back in its original packaging with one key addition – a post-it note with the word 'KnowBe4' stuck on it, which Jack said indicates it may have come from a laptop farm. North Korean IT workers inside an office at an undisclosed location. US Department of Justice Since that day, Jack said he's been tasked with making sure a North Korean never slips through the cracks again, and KnowBe4 is now known as one of the leading companies in tracking DPRK workers. Rather than choosing to expose suspected North Korean applicants by asking them about Kim Jong Un or the DPRK regime, Jack prefers a more subtle approach – asking them about their favorite restaurants and hobbies. 'Just ask them about who they are and they fall apart,' Jack said. Most North Koreans' lives are heavily regulated by the state, with no connection to the outside world under the Kim family rule. The North Korean IT workers certainly enjoy a degree of freedom and privilege compared to their compatriots back home, but experts say it's hard to discern how closely they are being monitored, or if their families are being used as leverage. Photos shared by DTEX of a North Korean IT worker office show a CCTV camera looking over a small room, with bare, white walls, where a handful of workers are using computers at cluttered desks. A North Korean tech worker poses inside an office. DTEX There's a watercooler in the corner, and what appears to be laundry drying on a rack. 'There are North Korean victims in this, too,' said Jack. 'People don't get to choose where they're born, so they just got to make the best of what they're doing.' But to make this scheme work, the North Koreans needed help – from within the US. Rags to riches To her 100,000 TikTok followers, Chapman seemed to be a typical suburban, middle-aged American. She shared healthy eating tips in selfie videos posted online. Off camera, she was engaged in covert activity that could have seen her jailed for life. According to a 2024 indictment, Chapman became entangled in the IT worker scheme around October 2020, just as the Covid-19 pandemic was sweeping the US, and companies were quickly transitioning to remote work. In a LinkedIn message, Chapman was approached by someone asking her to 'be the US face' of a company and assist in helping remote IT workers secure jobs in the US, despite having no experience in the tech industry herself. Around that time Chapman had been posting about her financial struggles on TikTok. Shortly after, her North Korean contacts began applying to US companies and government agencies, submitting false information from Chapman to the Department of Homeland Security as proof of employment eligibility, according to the indictment. Simultaneously, Chapman sent false information to verify these workers' identities to the companies and, once the North Koreans had secured jobs, received their company-issued laptops. Using login details supplied by their new employers, Chapman installed remote working software on the laptops, allowing the North Koreans to access them from outside the US. By early 2023, Chapman's TikTok videos showed a very different life. Work was picking up. @bestlifethrift/TikTok No longer was she crying and begging for handouts. Now living in a 2,000 sq. ft. home in Litchfield Park, Arizona, with four bedrooms and two bathrooms, Chapman posted videos of her chihuahuas playing in the backyard. She began posting about early starts, her work life and clients. 'I start at 5:30, go straight to my office which is the next door away from my bedroom. Then I start taking care of my clients. Computer business. It's now almost noon, and I'm just now getting to eat,' she says, biting into a piece of watermelon. A message exchange from November 2022 Chapman and 'AT,' a remote North Korean IT worker, offers a revealing look at her working day. At one point, Chapman was even asked to join a Microsoft Teams meeting between AT and their employer to help resolve technical issues. Chapman initially expressed concern about having to join the meeting, but was able to suggest an explanation AT could use. Chapman also shipped dozens of work laptops to Liaoning – a province of China that borders North Korea, according to the DOJ indictment. Images obtained and geolocated by CNN showed workers living relatively freely in Liaoning, as well as Laos, dining at restaurants, singing karaoke and chartering yachts. Photos published by the DOJ show what appears to be Chapman's office in 2023. Rows of labeled laptops sit on open shelves in a small room that federal investigators say she used to perpetrate a "staggering fraud on a multitude of industries." At one point, Chapman handled as many as 90 laptops for the DPRK IT workers, the DOJ said. Among the companies targeted was the shoe giant Nike, which unwittingly paid more than $75,000 to a North Korean employee and subsequently conducted a review to confirm there was no data breach. Computers and other electronic equipment inside the laptop farm at Chapman's home. United States District Court for the District of Columbia Chapman attached notes to identify the companies and identities associated with each device. United States District Court for the District of Columbia Of the 68 stolen identities that Chapman and her group of North Korea IT workers used, CNN was able to trace one identity with computer data provided by Palo Alto Network's Unit 42. "Breeyan Cornelius' was a stolen identity used by several North Korean IT workers, according to Gordenker, Consulting Director at Unit 42. He told CNN the real Cornelius was a bus driver living in California. CNN reached out to Cornelius but did not receive a response. The North Korean worker behind the fictitious 'Breeyan Cornelius' profile. Unit 42, Palo Alto Networks CNN reviewed computer data belonging to the North Koreans operating under the name 'Breeyan Cornelius' and found dozens of IT-related job applications and searches at American companies. In some cases, companies replied and even offered job interviews to the North Korean. In a fake resume, 'Breeyan Cornelius' claimed to be a 'Well-qualified Full Stack Developer familiar with wide range of programming utilities and languages.' The resume also claimed he graduated from The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science in 2014. Under work history, the profile also claimed previous employment at Bank of America and German pharmaceutical giant Bayer. 'We understand he operates in Liaoning,' Gordenker said, referring to the Chinese province that shares a lengthy border with North Korea. A few years into her new job, Chapman was enjoying the new income stream, travelling to Fukuoka and Tokyo to watch – and meet – a Japanese boyband. Videos from the trip show her marveling at the 'chic' lobby, touring her 'adorable' hotel room and gushing about all the new Japanese foods she'd been trying. Text messages from around the same time show her growing nervous about handling federal documents, according to the indictment. 'I can go to FEDERAL PRISON for falsifying federal documents,' she said in one message in August 2023, to a group that included several co-conspirator overseas IT workers. Shortly after, her life began to unravel. In late October 2023, the FBI executed a search warrant at her home in Litchfield Park. Photo of Chapman from the search warrant. Federal Bureau of Investigation Photo of Chapman's home from the search warrant. Federal Bureau of Investigation By March 2024, Chapman posted a TikTok video describing her struggles: 'I need help and I'm really bad at asking,' she said. 'I haven't worked since the end of October, and that's not by choice, I lost my job and I've gone through all of my savings.' She was arrested in May 2024, and legal proceedings began. By August, the toll was evident. She posted another plea on TikTok: 'I have been struggling quite a bit financially, and I did lose my house, I have to be out by tomorrow morning,' she said. 'If anyone is willing, five, 10 dollars.' Around this time, she began selling products on various websites, including artwork, books, custom poems, and 'credit fixing assistance.' In February 2025, Chapman ended her legal troubles by waiving her right to a jury trial and pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. The DOJ said she claimed she wasn't aware she was working for the North Koreans, but Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division Matthew Galeotti told CNN that that was 'irrelevant.' 'She knew that she was working for individuals abroad. She knew that they were using false identities. She knew that she was forging documents for her bank accounts. She knew that some of the addresses that she was sending hardware to were on the border of China and North Korea,' he said. 'The safety of our nation is at issue' In late June, the DOJ conducted sweeping raids and searches at 29 known or suspected laptop farms across 16 states, seizing around 200 laptops. With all North Korean workers located outside the US, in countries without extradition treaties with the US, these raids are one of the few tangible ways authorities can disrupt the scheme, Galeotti said. 'You will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The defendant in this case [Chapman] made perhaps just north of $170,000. It's not worth it,' he warned. Chapman arrived at her sentencing hearing at a US District Court in Washington DC on July 24 wearing dark glasses and accompanied by a camera crew. Inside the court, public defender Alexis Gardner argued for the lowest possible sentence. 'She's a pawn in this whole scheme,' Gardner told the court. Speaking through tears, Chapman told the court she began running the laptop farm because her mother was ill at the time. She expressed remorse for the harm she had caused people whose identities were stolen and used by the North Koreans. Christina Chapman cries outside a US District Court in Washington DC on the day of her sentencing. CNN 'The fact that I was part of something that caused so much damage to somebody,' Chapman said, sobbing. 'I really hate myself because of that.' Judge Randolph Moss acknowledged she seemed 'genuinely remorseful' but handed down a sentence of 102 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release. 'The safety of our nation is at issue,' he said. US authorities have vowed to track down other American citizens knowingly or unknowingly helping the Kim regime evade international sanctions, offering millions of dollars in rewards in exchange for information. US officials said it's not just money the North Koreans are after – they warn the scheme is evolving, and that as operatives gain access to sensitive roles or become exposed, they may turn malicious and launch malware or ransomware attacks. In a press briefing after Chapman's sentencing, US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Ferris Pirro sent a direct message to corporate America: 'This is a code red.' 'Your tech sectors are being infiltrated by North Korea. And when big companies are lax and they're not doing their due diligence, they are putting America's security at risk,' she said. Experts say the scheme is too big to take down, powered by a regime with no shortage of compliant workers, aided by US facilitators recorded in every state except Hawaii. 'For everyone that we do catch and for every laptop farm that the FBI raids, it is an element of whack-a-mole,' said Gordenker, noting that the alias Breeyan Cornelius is still active and was last seen applying for a job at a large insurance company in May 2025. 'There is no silver bullet,' Gordenker said. 'This is an inherent risk in doing business... you run the risk of hiring a North Korean.'
USA Today
5 hours ago
- USA Today
Former New York Giants RB found guilty in record-breaking dog-fighting operation
Former New York Giants running back LeShon Johnson has been found guilty in the largest federal dog-fighting case in American history. Johnson faced 21 charges after having 190-plus dogs seized from him in Oklahoma last year, the most ever from a single person in a dogfighting case. Ultimately, he was found guilty on six felony counts for violating the federal Animal Welfare Act's prohibitions against possessing, selling, transporting, and delivering animals to be used for fighting. Although sentencing is pending, Johnson faces a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count, potentially totaling 30 years in prison and $1.5 million in penalties. "This criminal profited off of the misery of innocent animals and he will face severe consequences for his vile crimes," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. "This case underscores the Department of Justice's commitment to protecting animals from abuse -- 190 dogs are now safe thanks to outstanding collaborative work by our attorneys and law enforcement components." During the trial, evidence was presented that Johnson bred and trafficked dogs for his fighting ring under the guise of a "sound foundation," Mal Kant Kennels. At M K Kennels we strive to build a sound foundation of American Pit Bull Terriers. We have studied the blood of the past and present to help create the dog of the future. Our goal is to produce all around physically correct athletes that will succeed in multiple working events as well as in the show ring. And we believe that we have done just that, producing the future of many yards to come. We would like you to be a part of our dogs future. We breed for the future with the past in mind. We have some of the best MAYDAY/BOLIO/ LUTHER dogs around. We also use other bloodlines to add a little something if we feel we are lacking a trait. In other words we don't discriminate. "The FBI will not stand for those who perpetuate the despicable crime of dogfighting," FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement. "Thanks to the hard work of our law enforcement partners, those who continue to engage in organized animal fighting and cruelty will face justice." The 54-year-old Johnson previously pleaded guilty to state animal fighting charges in 2004. Johnson was a third-round pick of the Green Bay Packers in the 1994 NFL draft. He also spent time with the Arizona Cardinals before joining the Giants in 1998. He missed that season after being diagnosed with lymphoma but returned to start in 1999. In 62 career games (12 starts), Johnson rushed for 955 yards and five touchdowns.
