A Nuclear Hack, A Cuban Agent, & What Is “Rizz”?
December 5, 2023
It Didn’t Take A Bomb To Break Into This Nuclear Facility
According to an investigation by The Guardian, hackers linked to Russia and China have infiltrated the U.K.’s most hazardous nuclear site. The investigation shows that officials detected the breaches into Sellafield, but they still don’t know when they first began or if all of the malware has been removed from the systems.
The Guardian’s sources indicate that the hackers were able to access the highest level of confidential information from the site. This means that foreign entities have accessed activities including the movement of radioactive waste, monitoring for leaks of nuclear material, and processes that check for fires around the site.
Sellafield spans about 6 square kilometers (2 square miles) across the U.K.’s Cumbrian coast. It houses the largest store of plutonium on Earth, and also stores the waste from years of testing by the U.K.’s nuclear weapons programs and power plants. Parts of the site also house emergency planning documents, which would be used by the government if a massive disaster or foreign power hit the U.K.
According to sources at the U.K.’s Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), the nuclear site was placed into “special measures” for consistently failing cybersecurity tests last year, but the office was unable to offer further comment about Sellafield’s current situation. One official close to the ONR investigation of Sellafield said the site’s servers were “fundamentally insecure,” and the issue was nicknamed “Voldemort” at the facility – in other words, “He Who Must Not Be Named,” which reflects the sensitivity of the issue at Sellafield.
“The government has a responsibility to say when it first knew of these allegations, what action it and the regulator took and to provide assurances about the protection of our national security,” said the Labour Party’s shadow secretary of state for energy security and net zero, Ed Miliband.
Some Good News
- Brenda Lee Makes History Topping Hot 100 With 65-Year-Old Hit, ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’ (Variety)
- Sold: 2,000 captive southern white rhino destined for freedom across Africa (Guardian)
Modi’s Party In Winning Mode
- Ahead of national elections scheduled for next year, India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP, has put together a strong showing in three of four state elections that had their results published over the weekend. BJP, the party of sitting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, took control of the states of Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, which had previously been held by the opposition Indian National Congress. Modi’s party also retained control of Madhya Pradesh, but was not able to flip Telangana state, known for its strong BJP opposition.
- “The results in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan indicate that the people of India are firmly with politics of good governance and development, which the @BJP4India stands for,” wrote Modi on X (fka Twitter). The results of the elections, which involved over 160 million voters, bode well for BJP as it gears up for next year’s national elections. Polls suggest that Modi should be able to easily secure his third consecutive term as prime minister next year, meaning he’ll likely remain in power for over a decade.
Our Favorite On-Again, Off-Again Couple
- Two years after France and Australia suffered a big hitch in their diplomatic relationship, the two countries have signed on to a new military access agreement. In 2021, Australia blindsided France by surprise-terminating a submarine contract with the European power in favor of signing a new deal with the U.S. and the U.K. French officials had used words like “treason” and “lack of respect” to describe the deal breakage, but it appears that time has healed the heartbreak delivered unto France by the land down under.
- In a new deal signed on Monday, the former (or, I guess, current) allies promise to provide each other “enhanced” access to their defense facilities, increase the amount of joint military drills, and expand current intelligence sharing programs. “This is a very important part of … a reset of the relationship,” said Australian foreign affairs minister Penny Wong on Monday. The deal also sets goals for partnership on climate action and education – we just hope the happy couple stays together for many years to come.
Additional World News
- 11 hikers dead, 12 missing after Indonesia’s Marapi volcano erupts (CBS)
- ‘No plan B’ for Paris opening ceremony after knife attack (Reuters)
- Justin Trudeau plays the Trump card (Politico)
- US kills 5 Iran-backed militia members in drone strike in Iraq (CNN)
- Europe’s world-leading artificial intelligence rules are facing a do-or-die moment (AP)
- Deputy Russian army corps commander is killed in Ukraine (Reuters)
- The North Korean leader calls for women to have more children to halt a fall in the birthrate (AP)
Middle East Reads
- In Gaza, disease could be even deadlier than airstrikes, WHO says (CNN)
- Dutch lawyers seek court order to halt export of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel (ABC)
- Palestine Red Crescent: 100 aid trucks received on Sunday (CNN)
- Some traders appear to have anticipated October 7 Hamas attack, research finds (CNN)
“Peace demands the most heroic labor and the most difficult sacrifice. It demands greater heroism than war. It demands greater fidelity to the truth and a much more perfect purity of conscience.” – Thomas Merton
Rocha The Revolutionary
- Victor Manuel Rocha, the former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia, was arrested and charged with secretly working for Cuba. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the arrest “exposes one of the highest-reaching and longest-lasting infiltrations of the United States government by a foreign agent.”
- Rocha has been accused of working to promote the Cuban government’s interests since 1981, which is not a crime…unless it’s done on U.S. soil and without registering with the Justice Department as a foreign lobbyist. Rocha reportedly has boasted that he “strengthened the revolution immensely.”
Householder’s House Of Cards Crumbles
- Sam Randazzo, former chair of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, pleaded not guilty to an 11-count indictment centered on allegations that he accepted bribes from Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. in exchange for favors. The case, called the largest corruption case in Ohio history, already resulted in a 20-year prison sentence for former State House Speaker Larry Householder.
- The U.S. attorney’s office in Cincinnati indicted three others on racketeering charges in 2020, and the dark money group used to move FirstEnergy money, Generation Now, also pleaded guilty to a racketeering charge. FirstEnergy dedicated $60 million to get Householder’s chosen Republican candidates elected to the House in 2018 and then to help him get elected speaker in 2019. The money was then used to pass a tainted energy bill, House Bill 6, and prevent a repeal referendum from reaching the ballot.
Additional USA Reads
- Feds: former gang member said he purposely stabbed Derek Chauvin on Black Friday (USA Today)
- Doug Burgum announces he’s suspending his 2024 presidential campaign (CNN)
- Divers have found wreckage, 5 remains from Osprey aircraft that crashed off Japan, US Air Force says (Politico)
- Pro-Palestinian rally outside Israeli-Jewish restaurant Goldie a “blatant act of antisemitism,” Shapiro says (CBS)
- The next Republican debate is in Alabama, the state that gave the GOP a road map to Donald Trump (AP)
- Koch network faces internal scrutiny after Nikki Haley endorsement (NBC)
- Atlanta police use Signal to discuss ‘Cop City’ amid outcry over transparency (Guardian)
Everything You Didn’t Need To Know About ‘Rizz’
- The word of the year, according to the esteemed Oxford University Press (which publishes the also-esteemed Oxford English Dictionary), is ‘rizz.’ If you’re anywhere over the age of 25, you might be asking yourself what the world has come to. We can’t help you with that question (though we try our best), but we can tell you what ‘rizz’ means!
- It’s actually just a shortening of ‘charisma,’ a word we hope you’re more familiar with. Think ‘cha-RIZZ-ma.’ While charisma is applicable in a variety of ways, like making sales or writing daily email newsletters, rizz is more specific to romantic situations. Oxford University Press defines the word as “style, charm, or attractiveness; the ability to attract a romantic or sexual partner.”
- How would you use it in a sentence? Here’s actor Tom Holland for some help: “I have no rizz whatsoever. I have limited rizz,” he told Buzzfeed in an interview. Content creators can teach people ‘rizz tips,’ or show off their rizz by flirting with people of the opposite gender, which can also be described as ‘rizzing someone up.’ What a flexible word!
Additional Reads
- Spotify to cut 17% of its staff (CNN)
- Recordings show how the Mormon church protects itself from child sex abuse claims (AP)
- Breadcrumbing: What it means and examples in dating or relationships (CNN)
- Deer leads police on chase through New Jersey elementary school (NBC)
- Why Montana’s Two-Spirit people are challenging a state law that defines sex as binary (CNN)
- Couple’s property ordeal captivates Chinese internet (BBC)
- Sir David Attenborough polar ship has monster iceberg encounter (BBC)