Colonial Pipeline CEO admits to authorizing $4.4 million ransomware payment
CNN
Colonial Pipeline CEO Joseph Blount said he authorized a ransom payment of $4.4 million in response to a cyberattack on the company's network earlier this month, according to The Wall Street Journal, which published an interview with the CEO Wednesday.
This is the first public announcement by the company that a ransom had been paid and comes after repeated refusals from the company to discuss the payment, which Blount called "a highly controversial decision." "It was the right thing to do for the country," he told The Wall Street Journal. "I didn't make it lightly. I will admit that I wasn't comfortable seeing money go out the door to people like this."
Pete Buttigieg is expected to forgo a run for Michigan’s open US Senate seat in 2026, according to two people familiar with the former transportation secretary’s plans, setting up a potential presidential bid in 2028.
The ambiguity of the president’s warning could pave the way for lawsuits. It also could be damaging, critics say, if it has the effect of stifling freedom of speech, among the nation’s most fundamental and heralded rights.
New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s decision to not seek reelection marks the latest bit of tough luck for Senate Democrats, who face an increasingly challenging midterm election map as they fight to climb out of the minority.
President Trump’s move to revoke deportation protections for Venezuelans has sparked a sense of betrayal in Doral, Florida, a Miami suburb that is home to more Venezuelan immigrants than any other city in the US.
A month after losing her job at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Corinne Bazarnyj is still waiting to be approved for unemployment benefits.
An explosion on the Texas Tech University campus in Lubbock set off fires and power outages Wednesday, leading school officials to issue evacuation orders for several buildings and cancel classes for the rest of the week.
Tim Walz is headed back out on the road – this time, for a tour of House districts represented by Republicans, some of whom have stopped holding town halls amid the raucous receptions their colleagues have gotten across the country.
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has announced a “strategic alliance” to fight organized crime with Erik Prince, the founder of the controversial private defense contractor formerly known as Blackwater.
CNN’s 5 Things PM brings you the stories you might have missed during your busy day.
Indian authorities have arrested a Lithuanian man wanted by the US for allegedly running a $96 billion cryptocurrency exchange that allowed terrorist organizations, drug traffickers and cybercriminals to launder money.
A federal judge on Wednesday halted parts of President Donald Trump’s executive order that targeted a Democratic-linked law firm.
The sister of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett was the target of a bomb threat at her home earlier this month in Charleston, South Carolina, police said Wednesday.
Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire announced Wednesday that she will not seek reelection in 2026, a decision that will bring an end to the senator’s historic career in Congress and sets up a competitive race for the Senate seat in the Granite State.