Author: Mandy Nagy

(Featured photo: Tweet) Cutting through the clutter on Twitter during severe weather and other disasters in the midst of breaking news seems to be getting more and more difficult these days. As tornadoes struck the Midwest over the weekend, devastating towns and killing several people, there were unfortunately also the usual instances of trolling with fake photos that ultimately tricked many on social media, some even making their way to media outlets. Mediabistro’s TVSpy blog reported that an “iwitness” submission of a doctored photo that included a fake tornado, a UFO and Bigfoot made its way onto a local Indiana TV station website.  (Spotted by Indianapolis Star reporter Eric Weddle and reported by Jim Romenesko). https://twitter.com/ericweddle/statuses/402273991668146176

After his last few days of antics, actor Alec Baldwin hints today in a lengthy blog post at the Huffington Post that his MSNBC show may not return at all after its two week suspension. Another issue I want to address is the decision by MSNBC...

In a memo it distributed this week, the FBI warned that a breach of US government systems was "a widespread problem that should be addressed," according to a Reuters report. Activist hackers linked to the collective known as Anonymous have secretly accessed U.S. government computers in...

A mere month after its debut, Alec Baldwin’s “Up Late with Alec Baldwin” show on MSNBC has already been temporarily suspended after the actor’s latest public tirades, notably one in particular. From the Hollywood Reporter: MSNBC has suspended Alec Baldwin's new talk show for two weeks after...

In a blog post Thursday, Google said that requests from governments for user information have doubled over three years, as the search giant posted its latest transparency report which also includes added figures on other types of requests specifically from the US government. In a year...

It was a busy day yesterday for Obamacare news, especially as today’s hearing with healthcare.gov IT officials on the Hill has approached.  We’ve collected a small sampling of the day's stories: As the administration prepares to release enrollment numbers later this week, CNN reported the White House lowers Obamacare expectations amid lackluster reports:

The administration is lowering expectations, cautioning the numbers "will be lower than we hoped and we anticipated," White House spokesman Jay Carney said on Tuesday. It is blaming a faulty federally run website that is hindering the ability of consumers to sign up for coverage. "We are working 24-7 to ensure that the site is working smoothly for the vast majority of users by the end of November," said Chris Jennings, deputy assistant to the President for health policy. Unofficial numbers have been calculated, however, and it is estimated that 50,000 people successfully signed up for health coverage through the federal Obamacare website, HealthCare.gov, during the first five weeks of open enrollment, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. That number falls well short of expectations for the period.

As Professor Jacobson noted the other night in highlighting a Washington Post report, the administration will include in its enrollment numbers those who have a plan in their “cart” but haven’t yet paid for it. Obviously, the pressure is on to increase enrollments and quell some of the noise.

The 19 year old suspect accused of hacking into the computer of Miss Teen USA to activate its webcam, take nude photos of her without her knowledge and then threatening to post the photos online, is expected to plead guilty to extortion and computer hacking. From NBC News:

The suspect in the "sextortion" case involving Miss Teen USA Cassidy Wolf and at least seven other women will plead guilty Tuesday to three counts of extortion and one count of computer hacking under a plea agreement with prosecutors. Jared James Abrahams, 19, of Temecula, Calif., is accused of extortion for allegedly using malicious software known as malware to control the computer webcams of victims and take nude photographs or videos, and then allegedly sending emails to the victims threatening to publish the photos or otherwise harm their reputations.

Abrahams' arrest was made public in September, at which time it was revealed that there were multiple victims in the case.  Wolf expressed surprise at the time upon learning that the person who did this to her was a former high school classmate, though they were not friends in high school. Wolf described in multiple interviews that she first suspected something was wrong when she received a message from her Facebook account that someone else had tried to access her account.  Later that evening, she received an anonymous email that included attachments of nude photos of her in her own bedroom, along with a threat to publish the photos if she did not comply with the sender's demands.

Typhoon Haiyan struck the central Philippines late last week, leaving behind immense destruction, many dead, and thousands displaced as they wait for help. From the Wall Street Journal:

As food and water became scarce in areas hit by supertyphoon Haiyan, the Philippines government dramatically raised the death toll to 1,744, greatly exceeding earlier counts from one of the most powerful storms ever to strike the country. Even that was seen as a low number, with the toll expected to rise significantly. Thousands remained missing and reports from stricken areas outline mass graves holding hundreds, with bodies also strewn in the streets. In the city of Tacloban, four days after Haiyan devastated it, the road to the airport was jammed with people trying to get out. The road into town was also snarled with motorbikes and cars trying to fight their way in, even as humanitarian workers warned food and water was rapidly running out.

The scenes of devastation are unbelievable, and while relief is arriving in some areas, it’s complicated by choked roads and other logistical troubles. As is often the case in the immediate aftermath of such disasters, reports of death tolls vary greatly, as many are still missing and workers are trying to retrieve bodies.  But officials fear that the death toll could rise significantly, while many outlets are reporting that more than 600,000 have been displaced. From the Chicago Tribune:

The publisher of a book authored by a source of a recent CBS '60 Minutes' report on the Benghazi attack has halted the book's publication, according to an Associated Press report: https://twitter.com/AP_Politics/status/398909182415347712 Publication has been halted for a disputed book about the attack last year on a...