Major security breach in Marriott reservations system
The personal information of as many as 500 million guests may have been exposed after Marriott says its guest reservation system was hacked.
The hotel chain announced Friday that the hack affects its Starwood reservation database and that hackers had gained access to the system since 2014 but the issue was only identified last week.
Exposed information includes names, passport numbers and the company says credit card numbers and card expiration dates were potentially compromised but it hasn’t been determined if the hackers were able to decrypt the card numbers.
Russia expected to be hot topic at G20 Summit
Russia’s continued aggression into Ukraine is expected to be a hot topic among world leaders at the G20 summit, which gets underway Friday.
Pressure is mounting on Canada to forge a united diplomatic front against Russia’s actions, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau being urged to use his position as G7 president to deal with the current crisis. Last weekend, Russian border guards opened fire on three Ukrainian naval vessels near Crimea and captured their crews.
Saudi Arabian nationals sanctioned following journalist’s death
Seventeen Saudi Arabian nationals linked to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi have had Canadian sanctions imposed upon them.
However, Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland says that doesn’t mean Ottawa believes the issue is now closed. Freeland says she is continuing to call for a credible, transparent investigation to identify all those who were involved in the writer’s death last month.
Former Trump attorney pleads guilty
The former personal attorney and long-time fixer for American President Donald Trump has confessed in a surprise guilty plea that he lied to Congress about a Moscow real estate deal he pursued on Trump’s behalf during the 2016 Republican campaign.
Michael Cohen says he discussed the proposal with Trump on multiple occasions and with members of the president’s family, according to documents filed by special counsel Robert Mueller. Trump insisted repeatedly throughout the campaign that he had no business dealings in Russia.
Flash flooding washes over parts of northern California
Flash flooding has hit a a wildfire-scarred area of northern California.
Thursday’s heavy downpours inundated roads and forced evacuations of homes. The storms brought down trees and power lines, while receding floodwaters left streets filled with sticky mud and debris.
