US Domestic News Roundup: Obama family dog Bo dies; Colonial Pipeline hackers stole data on Thursday and more


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 09-05-2021 18:33 IST | Created: 09-05-2021 18:30 IST
US Domestic News Roundup: Obama family dog Bo dies; Colonial Pipeline hackers stole data on Thursday and more

Following is a summary of current US domestic news briefs.

Obama family dog Bo, a 'constant, gentle presence', dies

Former U.S. President Barack Obama's family dog Bo, a male Portuguese Water Dog with a mop of black and white fur who became a familiar playful sight around the White House, has died. Obama announced the death late on Saturday, saying the dog had been "a constant, gentle presence in our lives - happy to see us on our good days, our bad days and everyday in between".

Colonial Pipeline hackers stole data on Thursday - Bloomberg News

The hackers who caused Colonial Pipeline to shut down on Friday began their cyberattack against the top U.S. fuel pipeline operator a day earlier and stole a large amount of data, Bloomberg News reported citing people familiar with the matter. The attackers are part of a cybercrime group called DarkSide and took nearly 100 gigabytes of data out of Colonial's network in just two hours on Thursday, Bloomberg reported https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-09/colonial-hackers-stole-data-thursday-ahead-of-pipeline-shutdown?sref=SCAzRb9t late Saturday, citing two people involved in the company's investigation.

U.S. President Biden says he is confident he can meet Russia's Putin soon

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday he expected to be able to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin soon and the White House said ongoing differences between the United States and Russia would not need to be resolved in advance of a summit.

Biden told reporters at the White House he wanted to meet Putin despite Russia's build-up of military forces near Ukraine.

After shock U.S. jobs data, Republicans and Democrats spar over unemployment benefits

What did the disappointing U.S. jobs report on Friday say about the state of the world's biggest economy? As is true for many things in Washington, the answer differs radically depending on which political party you ask.

Musk boosts his brand, and NBCUniversal's, on 'Saturday Night Live'

Billionaire Elon Musk dropped a surprise early in his hotly anticipated turn as host of "Saturday Night Live," saying in his monologue that he "is the first person with Asperger's" to host the show, before clowning through skits for the first global livestream of the NBCUniversal comedy show. Musk, one of the world's richest individuals, opened his monologue by telling an audience in more than 100 countries he is "the first person with Asperger's to host SNL. At least the first to admit it." The billionaire made light of his tendency to speak in a monotone, adding "I'm pretty good at running human in emulation mode."

White House releases first visitor logs since Obama

The White House on Friday released its first batch of records disclosing visits by official guests, returning to a practice set by the Obama administration but ditched by Donald Trump. The White House disclosed 400 visits during President Joe Biden’s first 12 days in office. The White House typically sees hundreds of visitors each day, but the pandemic has slowed those visits dramatically, the records show.

Explainer-Will Colonial Pipeline shutdown spike U.S. pump prices?

The largest U.S. fuel pipeline system, Colonial Pipeline, shut down on Friday after a cyber attack, prompting worries about a spike in gasoline and diesel prices ahead of the peak summer driving season if the outage does not end soon. WHAT IS COLONIAL PIPELINE?

U.S. wants COVID vaccine patent waiver to benefit world, not boost China biotech

The Biden administration is examining ways to ensure that a waiver of COVID-19 vaccine patents to aid poor countries will not hand sensitive U.S. biopharmaceutical technology to China and Russia, responding to a chorus of concerns, U.S. and industry officials say. President Joe Biden on Wednesday backed the U.S. entering negotiations at the World Trade Organization for the waiver of intellectual property rights as a means to boost vaccine supplies by allowing poorer countries to make their own.

Three people, including a 4-year-old, shot in New York's Times Square

Three people including a four-year-old girl were shot in New York City's Times Square after gunfire broke out in a dispute that they were apparently not involved in, the city's top police official said Saturday. Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said a family from Brooklyn had brought the child to Times Square to buy toys. Shea told reporters gathered at Times Square that she and the two other victims - a 23-year-old female tourist from Rhode Island and a 43-year-old woman from New Jersey - did not appear related to one another or to the shooting itself.

Texas is latest U.S. state to advance Republican-backed voting limits

Texas joined other Republican-controlled states on Friday in advancing a slew of new voting restrictions, defying opposition from many of the state's businesses and adding to a fierce national debate over voting rights. The state House of Representatives in Austin gave the legislation preliminary approval at 3 a.m. CDT (0800 GMT) on Friday after hours of debate before delivering final approval around 2:45 p.m. (1945 GMT), largely along party lines.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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