News Brief: Credit Card Payment Processor Says Hack Affected Nearly 1.7 Million People; New Breast Cancer Screening Requirement Takes Effect

A member of the hacking group Red Hacker Alliance, who refused to give his real name, uses a website that monitors global cyberattacks on his computer at their office in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, China, on Aug. 4, 2020. Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images

Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, we’ve got some very important stories to share with you right now, and here’s what’s going on.

There’s been another major breach, this time at a credit card processing company; we have an important update in health screenings for women; and North Carolina has one less candidate on its presidential ballot. Also, Ohio’s attorney general wants the feds to explain the surge of migrants in one particular city, and a U.S. think tank director has been charged with spying for China.

We have a great deal to get to, and we begin with this. Another substantial data hack is being reported, but there are measures you can take to help protect yourself from fraud and identity theft.

Credit Card Payment Processor Says Hack Affected Nearly 1.7 Million People

Slim CD, a credit card processing service company popular in the United States and Canada, says the hack, which took place last year, exposed the personal information of nearly 1.7 million customers. Slim CD provides payment gateway services and also develops credit card-processing software.

Officials with the Florida-based company say they became aware of suspicious activity this past June, saying it happened between Aug. 17, 2023, and June 15 of this year. You should know that customer names, addresses, credit card numbers, and card expiration dates were potentially accessed by the hacker.

The company started sending letters to customers last week notifying them about the incident. It also encouraged them to be on the lookout against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing account statements and explanation of benefits, along with monitoring free credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors.

So far, Slim CD has not provided any identity theft protection services to affected customers.

So you know, it’s one of the latest companies that have been targeted by hackers in recent months. In June, Tennessee-based Evolve Bank & Trust revealed that a data breach compromised the personal information of the institution as well as its retail banking customers. In that particular case, the stolen information included customers’ names, Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, and contact information.

We'll continue now, and we have some very important health news to share with you. New requirements are now in place regarding mammograms, and this is something you really need to know about.

FDA: New Breast Cancer Screening Requirement Takes Effect

All women undergoing mammograms for breast cancer will be informed of the density of their breasts.

The FDA issued an update in March 2023 to all mammography facilities, saying they need to comply with this requirement, which took effect yesterday.

You may not know this, but the FDA says dense breast tissue can make cancer more difficult to detect on a mammogram. Approximately half of women over 40 in the United States have dense breast tissue, which poses a risk factor for breast cancer development.

So you know, women with extremely dense breasts have the highest chance of cancer being missed, along with a 20 to 40 percent chance of developing breast cancer. In fact, a woman with extremely dense breasts who is never screened has more than a 5 percent chance of dying from breast cancer.

Interesting to note, breasts that are not considered dense have more fat, which actually makes the cancer tumors more identifiable on mammograms since they appear white while the fat appears black.

By the way, the average risk of a woman developing breast cancer in her lifetime is 13 percent. For these women, age is the strongest risk factor, with most developing breast cancer when they turn 50 and older.

One more thing, the American Cancer Society recommends that women who have an increased chance of developing breast cancer due to other risk factors get an MRI in addition to a mammogram.

We’ll make the move from health to politics, and now, the high court in one battleground state says RFK Jr.’s name must be removed from ballots, and here’s the story.

North Carolina Supreme Court Orders RFK Jr. Removed From Ballot

The North Carolina Supreme Court has narrowly voted in favor of taking Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name off the ballot, saying that leaving his name on as an option could disenfranchise voters.

So you know, Kennedy suspended his independent presidential campaign last month and said he planned to have his name removed from ballots in battleground states. In fact, he put North Carolina’s State Board of Elections on notice the day he suspended his campaign, saying he intended to remove his name from ballots there.

However, rather than following up with the campaign, the state’s election director instructed county boards of election to continue preparing ballots with Kennedy’s name in place, even after the state board received a formal withdrawal request from the We the People Party, which nominated Kennedy as its candidate.

You should also know that the North Carolina State Board of Elections fought a lower court’s ruling that ordered the reprinting of ballots without Kennedy’s name.

This ruling is the latest in Kennedy’s bid to remove his name from ballots in battleground states. By the way, Michigan’s Supreme Court ruled earlier this week that Kennedy’s name must remain on the ballot there.

Let’s continue with another very critical issue to voters, and that’s the subject of immigration, and one state is very concerned about how it’s affecting one of its cities.

Ohio AG Orders Investigation Into City’s Surge of Haitian Immigrants

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost says he’s ordering an investigation into ways to stop what he describes as “extreme population growth” due to migrants coming into the city of Springfield, which has a population of around 58,000.

So you know, Yost says it’s not the migrants he opposes; rather, it’s the massive influx of them in a relatively short amount of time, without any communication or assistance from the federal government.

In case you didn’t know, earlier this year, the federal government announced Temporary Protected Status for Haitians who arrived in the United States before June 3, including those who entered the country illegally, preventing them from being deported back to Haiti.

Many residents have said that Haitian immigrants are eating ducks found in the park—cats as well—and other animals. The situation has received national attention, including from politicians like Republican vice presidential candidate and Ohio Senator JD Vance.

Karen Graves, Springfield’s strategic engagement manager, told The Epoch Times yesterday that there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.

However, last month, a resident testified before a Springfield City Commission meeting that Haitian migrants were killing ducks at a local pond before taking them home to eat. Another resident testified that she felt unsafe due to homeless immigrants arriving in her neighborhood, saying they camped out on her lawn.

Vance says that, months ago, he raised the issue of illegal immigrants from Haiti draining social resources and causing general chaos for the city.

Switching gears, the head of a Washington-based think tank, who was indicted last year for spying for China, has been re-arrested after jumping bail.

US Think Tank Director to Be Extradited, Charged With Acting as Chinese Agent

Gal Luft, a dual U.S.–Israeli citizen and co-director for the Analysis of Global Security, will be extradited according to prosecutors, who didn’t say when or where he was re-arrested.

Luft was initially arrested in Cyprus in February 2023, but fled after being released on bail pending extradition.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) unsealed an eight-count indictment against Luft in July of last year, accusing him of engaging in several international criminal schemes beginning in 2016.

Charges in the indictment include illicit arms trafficking, making false statements to federal agents, willfully failing to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and evading Iranian oil sanctions.

Prosecutors allege he struck a deal worth $350,000 per year with the head of the Hong Kong-based nongovernmental organization called China Energy Fund Committee, which was affiliated with China’s state-run oil and gas conglomerate, CEFC China Energy.

You should know that once Luft is extradited, he will appear in the Southern District Court of New York and be asked to enter a plea.

By the way, Luft has maintained that the charges against him are politically motivated.

Recently, the DOJ has brought several cases against alleged Chinese agents, including a former deputy chief of staff to New York’s governor, Kathy Hochul.

Intelligence experts say that case has exposed U.S. security issues with China at the state level.

And now, it looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re going to call it a wrap for the Wednesday edition of The Epoch Times News Brief.

Just a reminder, you can reach out to us anytime via email, and we’re at [email protected]. You can also leave comments for us on the Epoch Times app, which you can download for free.

*(Don’t forget the News Brief Motto): We’re portable, affordable, and always on-demand.

And finally, as we do each and every day on this program, we wrap everything up with a very notable quote, and this one comes to us from Carl Sagan, who said: “Preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we’ve ever known.”

Carl Sagan was an American astronomer, planetary scientist, and a science communicator.

Before we go, today is Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance. Patriot Day on Sept. 11 honors the memory of the nearly 3,000 innocent victims who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Each year, Americans dedicate this day to remembering those who died and the first responders who risked their own lives to save others.

It’s a day in our nation’s history that none of us will ever forget.

For all of us here at The Epoch Times News Brief, I’m Bill Thomas.

The Epoch Times News Brief program is written by the extraordinary Sharon Reardon.

Thank you for making us your one-stop source for a concise, accurate, and unbiased daily synopsis of many of the news stories you need to know about.

Enjoy the remainder of your Wednesday, and we’ll see you right back here next time for another edition of The Epoch Times News Brief. For now, let’s all continue to watch out for one another, and have an absolutely superb day today! Bye for now.