The News And Times Review - NewsAndTimes.org | Links | Blog | Tweets  | Selected Articles 

Categories
Full Text Articles - Audio Posts

Texas megachurch founder Robert Morris indicted on child sex charges

Spread the news

Editor’s Note: This story contains discussions of child abuse that may be disturbing. Reader discretion is advised. If you suspect a child is being abused, find out how to report it in your state here. To connect with a counselor, you can call the National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4253.

(NewsNation) — An Oklahoma grand jury has indicted former televangelist and megachurch founder Robert Morris on child sexual abuse charges dating back to the 1980s.

Morris, who previously served as a spiritual adviser to President Donald Trump, has been charged with five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child, the attorney general’s office said.

The 63-year-old resigned from his role as senior pastor of Gateway Church in 2024 after Cindy Clemishire accused him of sexually abusing her starting in 1982.

Clemishire said Morris was staying in Hominy, Oklahoma, with her family at the time of the abuse.

“There can be no tolerance for those who sexually prey on children,” said Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond. “This case is all the more despicable because the alleged perpetrator was a pastor who exploited his position. The victim in this case has waited far too many years for justice to be done.”

Gateway Church, based in the Dallas suburb of Southlake, was founded by Morris in 2000. The church said in a statement Wednesday that its members are praying for Clemishire and “all of those impacted by this terrible situation.”

During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump named Morris as a member of his evangelical advisory board.

Trump visited Gateway Church’s Dallas campus in 2020, the Dallas Morning News reported, during a trip that included a fundraising dinner.

The Associated Press and NewsNation’s Cassie Buchman contributed to this report.


Spread the news
Categories
Full Text Articles - Audio Posts

Pete Buttigieg says he won’t run for Senate, sparking 2028 rumors

Spread the news

(NewsNation) — Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced he will not run for Michigan’s vacant Senate seat in 2026.

Buttigieg, who grew up near the Michigan border in South Bend, Indiana, said in a social media post that he has “decided against competing in another race.”

Buttigieg was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, despite his highest elected office being the mayor of his hometown. He parlayed that into a role in President Joe Biden’s administration.

Buttigieg did not rule out a run for president in 2028.

Lynda Tran, the former senior adviser to Buttigieg when he was Biden’s transportation secretary, said since he lives in Michigan, he’s talking to “ordinary, everyday folks on a regular basis.”

“I can tell you one thing about my old boss is he will find a way to serve, he will find a way to be relevant, and he will remain part of the conversation,” Tran said on NewsNation’s “The Hill” Thursday. “These things are going to take time to percolate.”


Spread the news
Categories
Full Text Articles - Audio Posts

Experts warn of a coordinated surge in the exploitation attempts of SSRF vulnerabilities

Spread the news

Researchers warn of a “coordinated surge” in the exploitation attempts of SSRF vulnerabilities in multiple platforms.

Threat intelligence firm GreyNoise observed Grafana path traversal exploitation attempts before the Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) surge on March 9, suggesting the attackers may be leveraging Grafana as an initial entry point for deeper exploitation.

The experts believe the attempts are the result of a coordinated attack, threat actors first scan exposed infrastructure before escalating their efforts. In past attacks, attackers exploited Grafana vulnerabilities to access configuration files and internal network details, reinforcing the possibility of reconnaissance-driven targeting.

“On March 9, GreyNoise observed a coordinated surge in SSRF exploitation, affecting multiple widely used platforms.” reads the advisory published by GreyNoise. “At least 400 IPs have been seen actively exploiting multiple SSRF CVEs simultaneously, with notable overlap between attack attempts. “

Most Server-Side Request Forgery exploitation attempts targeted entities in the United States, Germany, Singapore, India, Lithuania, Japan, and Israel.

The experts warn that attackers leverage SSRF for pivoting and reconnaissance and cloud exploitation.

GreyNoise observed a significant rise in SSRF exploitation on March 9, with around 400 unique IPs actively targeting 10 SSRF vulnerabilities. Many of these IPs are attempting to exploit multiple vulnerabilities simultaneously rather than targeting a single flaw. This pattern suggests an automation or pre-compromise reconnaissance, rather than typical botnet activity.

Below is the list of SSRF vulnerabilities being exploited in the attacks observed by the experts:

Tag/CVE (Block Malicious IPs at Link) Targeted Software
CVE-2020-7796 Zimbra Collaboration Suite
CVE-2021-22214 GitLab CE/EE
CVE-2021-39935 GitLab CE/EE
CVE-2021-22175 GitLab CE/EE
CVE-2017-0929 DotNetNuke
CVE-2021-22054 VMware Workspace ONE UEM
CVE-2021-21973 VMware vCenter
CVE-2023-5830 ColumbiaSoft DocumentLocator
CVE-2024-21893 Ivanti Connect Secure
CVE-2024-6587 BerriAI LiteLLM
(No CVE Assigned; See Right Link) OpenBMCS 2.4 Authenticated SSRF Attempt
(No CVE Assigned; See Right Link) Zimbra Collaboration Suite SSRF Attempt
SSRF vulnerabilities

Organizations should promptly patch and secure affected systems, apply mitigations for targeted CVEs, and restrict outbound access to necessary endpoints. Additionally, they should monitor for suspicious outbound requests by setting up alerts for any unexpected activity.

Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, Meta)


Spread the news
Categories
Full Text Articles - Audio Posts

U.S. Influencer Draws Ire in Australia for Taking Baby Wombat From Its Mother

Spread the news

Baby Hairy Nosed Wombat Goes On Public Display At Melbourne Zoo, Australia

A U.S. influencer has drawn anger and criticism in Australia, including from the country’s Prime Minister, after she was filmed taking a baby wombat in the wild, separating it from its mother.

The video purportedly shows influencer Sam Jones, who has over 90,000 followers on Instagram under the handle “samstrays_somewhere.” Per her Instagram bio, she’s an“outdoor enthusiast & hunter,” who hails from Montana. The video in question, filmed in an unknown location in Australia, shows Jones running across the road to a car, with the baby wombat in her hands, and the baby’s mother running behind. After the wombat hisses, seemingly in distress, Jones eventually returns the animal to the bush.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

The video has since been deleted, and Jones has now made her Instagram profile private. 

Despite the original video being deleted, the footage continues to be shared across social media, drawing ire worldwide. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has also joined the criticism against Jones.

“To take a baby wombat from its mother… is just an outrage,” Albanese said in a press conference on Thursday. “I suggest to this so-called influencer, maybe she might try some other Australian animals. Take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there. Take another animal that can actually fight back.”

This comes after a statement from Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who said that Jones’ travel visa will be under review to see if she violated the terms of her stay in the country.

“Given the level of scrutiny that will happen if she ever applies for a visa again, I’ll be surprised if she even bothers,” he said in an email statement, according to CNN. “I can’t wait for Australia to see the back of this individual, I don’t expect she will return.”

Animal advocacy groups have also spoken out about the footage. Per The Guardian, Dr. Di Evans, a senior scientific officer at RSPCA Australia, said of the video: “The distress caused by the callous act is obvious with the joey screeching for their mother and the mother being extremely anxious. Removing a joey from their mother is extremely distressing and any separation is harmful.”

CNN notes that according to Australian broadcaster the ABC, Jones spoke out about the incident before switching her social media channels to private, saying the baby wombat was “carefully held for one minute in total and then released back to mom.”

There is also now an online petition to ban Jones from Australia, which is “to send a message to Australian politicians and legal officers to not let this case go” according to the petition organizer in the description.


Spread the news
Categories
Full Text Articles - Audio Posts

Global China Hub associate director Matt Geraci in Liga.net

Spread the news

On February 28th, 2025, Global China Hub associate director Matt Geraci was quoted in a Liga.net article on China’s strategic interests in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The post Global China Hub associate director Matt Geraci in Liga.net appeared first on Atlantic Council.


Spread the news
Categories
Full Text Articles - Audio Posts

How We Chose the World’s Greatest Places 2025

Spread the news

The world is smaller than ever. The global proliferation of video on social media has made other cultures more accessible, tempting travelers to venture farther and do more, whether to experience what they saw online or to find something novel and authentic beyond the grid. The tourism industry rebounded to pre-pandemic levels in 2023, and surged ahead in 2024, setting consumer-spending records and accounting for an estimated 9% to 10% of global GDP, and this year, it looks to pull in even more money.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

For our annual list of the World’s Greatest Places, TIME sought out one-of-a-kind spots and experiences around the globe. In Lima, Peru, we found AWA, a restaurant popularizing traditional Amazonian cuisine. In Zimbabwe, locally owned luxury resort Mbano Manor Hotel overlooks Victoria Falls, just outside Zambezi National Park. In Flagstaff, Ariz., The Lowell Observatory—famous as the site of Pluto’s discovery—now features an open-air planetarium, where visitors can get live commentary on that night’s sky from the comfort of heated seats. And chugging through Europe, the L’Observatoire carriage on the Venice Simplon-Orient Express—designed with precise detail by French artist JR, complete with puzzles and hidden surprises, and observation windows for taking in the scenery—is part of a resurgence of luxury train travel.

World's Greatest Places cover 2025

Buy your copy of the World’s Greatest Places issue here

Each year, TIME solicits nominations of places—including hotels, cruises, restaurants, attractions, museums, parks, and more—from its international network of correspondents and contributors, as well as through an application process, with an eye toward those offering new and exciting experiences. The result: 100 extraordinary destinations to stay and to visit this year.

Browse the entire list here. Bon voyage!


Spread the news
Categories
Full Text Articles - Audio Posts

East New York mother indicted in drowning death of 6-year-old daughter: DA

Spread the news

An East New York mother has been indicted in connection with the death of her 6-year-old daughter, who was found unresponsive in a bathtub last month, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced Wednesday.

Karla Espinal, 26, appeared before Brooklyn Supreme Court before Justice Donald Leo on March 12 to face charges of second-degree assault, second-degree reckless endangerment, and endangering the welfare of a child, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors allege that Espinal submerged her daughter, Madeline, underwater in a bathtub. Emergency responders were called to Espinal’s Elton Street home around 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 7 following a 911 call from the child’s father.

The father arrived home to find his daughter unresponsive in the bathtub with Espinal nearby, officials said. The child was transported to Brookdale Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 2:42 p.m.

DA Gonzalez said the case could be superseded once the Medical Examiner completes its investigation and determines the final cause and manner of Madeline’s death.

“This innocent child had her whole life ahead of her when the person she depended on allegedly drowned her in a bathtub,” Gonzalez said. “This is a distressing and unspeakable case, which we continue to investigate to ensure that this defendant is held fully accountable. My thoughts are with the child’s heartbroken father and other family members at this time.”

Following the incident, police took Espinal to a station house for questioning before charging her with felony assault, child endangerment, and reckless endangerment. At her March 12 court appearance, she was ordered held without bail. Espinal is due back in court on May 15.


Spread the news
Categories
Full Text Articles - Audio Posts

What to Know About the Tensions Between Iran and the U.S. Under Trump

Spread the news

Iran US Explainer

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A letter U.S. President Donald Trump wrote to Iran’s supreme leader in an attempt to jump-start talks over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program has arrived in the Iranian capital.

While the text of the letter hasn’t been published, its arrival comes as Trump has levied new sanctions on Iran as part of his “maximum pressure” campaign targeting the country. He also suggested military action against Iran remained a possibility, while emphasizing he still believed a new deal could be reached.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

Iran’s 85-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has mocked Trump, but officials in his country also have offered conflicting signals over whether negotiations could take place.

Here’s what to know about the letter, Iran’s nuclear program and the overall tensions that have stalked relations between Tehran and Washington since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Why did Trump write the letter?

Trump dispatched the letter to Khamenei on March 5, then gave a television interview the next day in which he acknowledged sending it. He said: “I’ve written them a letter saying, ‘I hope you’re going to negotiate because if we have to go in militarily, it’s going to be a terrible thing.’” Since returning to the White House, the president has been pushing for talks while simultaneously ratcheting up sanctions and suggesting a military strike by Israel or the U.S. could target Iranian nuclear sites.

A previous letter Trump the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dispatched during his first term drew an angry retort from the supreme leader.

But Trump’s letters to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in his first term led to face-to-face meetings, though no deals to limit Pyongyang’s atomic bombs and a missile program capable of reaching the continental U.S.

How has Iran reacted?

Iran has offered a series of seemingly contradictory responses. Khamenei himself said he wasn’t interested in talks with a “bullying government.”

But Iranian diplomats including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier suggested that talks over guarantees that Tehran wouldn’t seek a nuclear weapon could be possible. Araghchi, who took part in negotiations for Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal, later toughened his tone and said talks couldn’t happen under U.S. pressure, following Khamenei’s lead.

However, Araghchi still met with the Emirati diplomat carrying Trump’s letter.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday summoned ambassadors from France and Germany, as well as the British chargé d’affaires, to complain about them backing a closed-door Security Council meeting Wednesday at the United Nations.

Why does Iran’s nuclear program worry the West?

Iran has insisted for decades that its nuclear program is peaceful. However, its officials increasingly threaten to pursue a nuclear weapon. Iran now enriches uranium to near weapons-grade levels of 60%, the only country in the world without a nuclear weapons program to do so.

Under the original 2015 nuclear deal, Iran was allowed to enrich uranium only up to 3.67% purity and to maintain a uranium stockpile of 300 kilograms (661 pounds). The last report by the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran’s program put its stockpile at 8,294.4 kilograms (18,286 pounds) as it enriches a fraction of it to 60% purity.

U.S. intelligence agencies assess that Iran has yet to begin a weapons program, but has “undertaken activities that better position it to produce a nuclear device, if it chooses to do so.”

Why are relations so bad between Iran and the U.S.?

Iran was once one of the U.S.’s top allies in the Mideast under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who purchased American military weapons and allowed CIA technicians to run secret listening posts monitoring the neighboring Soviet Union. The CIA had fomented a 1953 coup that cemented the shah’s rule.

But in January 1979, the shah, fatally ill with cancer, fled Iran as mass demonstrations swelled against his rule. The Islamic Revolution followed, led by Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and created Iran’s theocratic government.

Later that year, university students overran the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, seeking the shah’s return and sparking the 444-day hostage crisis that saw diplomatic relations between Iran and the U.S. severed. The Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s saw the U.S. back Saddam Hussein. The “Tanker War” during that conflict saw the U.S. launch a one-day assault that crippled Iran at sea, while the U.S. later shot down an Iranian commercial airliner.

Iran and the U.S. have see-sawed between enmity and grudging diplomacy in the years since, with relations peaking when Tehran made a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. But Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord, sparking years of tensions in the Mideast that persist today.

—Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed.


Spread the news
Categories
Full Text Articles - Audio Posts

Meta warns of actively exploited flaw in FreeType library

Spread the news

Meta warned that a vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-27363, impacting the FreeType library may have been exploited in the wild.

Meta warned that an out-of-bounds write flaw, tracked as CVE-2025-27363 (CVSS score of 8.1), in the FreeType library may have been actively exploited in attacks.

“An out of bounds write exists in FreeType versions 2.13.0 and below when attempting to parse font subglyph structures related to TrueType GX and variable font files.” reads the advisory published by Meta. “The vulnerable code assigns a signed short value to an unsigned long and then adds a static value causing it to wrap around and allocate too small of a heap buffer. The code then writes up to 6 signed long integers out of bounds relative to this buffer. This may result in arbitrary code execution.”

The company did not disclose details on the attacks exploiting this vulnerability, attackers, or attack scale.

“This vulnerability may have been exploited in the wild.” continues the advisory.

The vulnerability doesn’t impact FreeType versions after 2.13.0.

The experts warn that multiple Linux distributions are using an outdated library version, making them vulnerable to attacks.

Some of the impacted Linux distros are:

  • AlmaLinux
  • Alpine Linux
  • Amazon Linux 2
  • Debian stable / Devuan
  • RHEL / CentOS Stream / Alma Linux / etc. 8 and 9
  • GNU Guix
  • Mageia
  • OpenMandriva
  • openSUSE Leap
  • Slackware, and
  • Ubuntu 22.04

Due to active exploitation, users are recommended to update their installations to FreeType 2.13.3.

Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, Meta)


Spread the news
Categories
Full Text Articles - Audio Posts

Why democracies stick together: The theory and empirics behind alliance formation

Spread the news

Domestic regime type affects both inter-state conflict and alliance formation. Democratic peace theory posits that democracies do not go to war with one another, while democratic alliance theory suggests that they rarely, if ever, join nondemocratic alliances (or alliances led by nondemocratic powers). Empirical evidence strongly supports both theories. The Atlantic Council’s Freedom and Prosperity Index further reinforces the hypothesis that economically prosperous democracies tend to align with one another, whereas authoritarian states gravitate toward similarly nondemocratic and less prosperous partners. 

If these theories hold, they carry significant implications for Western and especially US foreign policy. First, global democratization would reduce the number of potential conflicts, at least among an increasing number of democracies. Second, it would expand the pool of democratic alliance partners, while at the same limiting the alliance options available to nondemocratic powers. This strategic logic underscores the importance of upholding democratic norms abroad and promoting democratization in nondemocratic states. 

However, advocating for democratization of nondemocratic great powers will be perceived as both a geopolitical and domestic political challenge aimed at weakening their international position  and threatening their governments’ domestic grip on power. Efforts to democratize nondemocratic great-power like Russia and China therefore provoke intense countermeasures. If such a strategy is deemed to be too high risk or too difficult to pursue successfully, a less provocative, “peripheral” strategy may focus on fostering democracy and economic development in authoritarian regimes’ weaker, less prosperous partners, thereby depriving them of potential allies. 

About the author

Related content

Explore the program

The Freedom and Prosperity Center aims to increase the prosperity of the poor and marginalized in developing countries and to explore the nature of the relationship between freedom and prosperity in both developing and developed nations.

The post Why democracies stick together: The theory and empirics behind alliance formation appeared first on Atlantic Council.


Spread the news