PICKS are stories from many sources, selected by our editors or recommended by our readers because they are important, surprising, troubling, enlightening, inspiring, or amusing. They appear on our site and in our daily newsletter. Please send suggested articles, videos, podcasts, etc. to picks@whowhatwhy.org.
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FBI Struggled to Disrupt Dangerous Casino Hacking Gang, Cybercrime Experts Say (Maria)
The authors write, “The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has struggled to stop a hyper-aggressive cybercrime gang that’s been tormenting corporate America over the last two years, according to nine cybersecurity responders, digital crime experts and victims. For more than six months, the FBI has known the identities of at least a dozen members tied to the hacking group responsible for the devastating September break-ins at casino operators MGM Resorts International (MGM.N) and Caesars Entertainment (CZR.O), according to four people familiar with the investigation. Industry executives have told Reuters they were baffled by an apparent lack of arrests despite many of the hackers being based in America.”
Michael Flynn and Family Pocketed Leftover Money From His Legal Defense Fund, Filing Claims (DonkeyHotey)
The author writes, “Members of former Trump aide Michael Flynn’s family pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars in leftover money from a legal defense fund that was set up for the retired general as he faced a federal investigation over the 2016 election, Flynn’s sister testified in a defamation case involving CNN.”
USPS Failed to Deliver Ballots From One Seattle Mail Drop Box (Reader Steve)
The author writes, “Ballots dated before the Nov. 7 general election return deadline sat uncounted in one Seattle mail drop of box voters complained to Washington’s King County. Now, a week after the deadline, at least 85 ballots are being added to the count as some Seattle City Council candidates sit within a few hundred votes of their opponents.”
Inside James Comey’s Bizarre $7M Job as a Top Hedge Fund’s In-House Inquisitor (Sean)
From Vanity Fair: “A few years before his unforgettable cameo in the 2016 presidential election, the future FBI director worked at Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates, where he pursued the firm’s goal of ‘radical transparency’ with prosecutorial zeal.”
PODCAST: Earwitness (Dana)
From Lava for Good: Earwitness is an 8-episode docuseries that asks the question, ‘How did an innocent man end up on death row — and why is the state still trying to execute him over the objection of the prosecutor who put him there?’ [Beth] Shelburne’s unprecedented access to key players — the lead detective, lead prosecutor, witnesses, jurors, and the earwitness herself — illuminate a story filled with disturbing twists, frustrating ambiguities, and shocking admissions. The story of Toforest Johnson and the state’s enthusiasm for the death penalty in the face of such troubling evidentiary flaws brings to light the failings of a criminal justice system run amok.”
Years Into a Climate Disaster, These People Are Eating the Unthinkable (Laura)
From The Washington Post: “In South Sudan, parts of the country have been underwater now for four years. Other areas, two or three. Some 15 percent of the country is submerged year-round, as opposed to 5 percent several years ago. One extreme season has followed another, with major rainfalls flowing in from countries upstream, such as Uganda and Ethiopia. Over time, the soil below has turned sticky, sealing the waters in place. Subsistence farmers are bracing for the possibility that their land has changed for good — giving way to a new water mass the size of Lake Michigan, with 1 million people displaced because of flooding, their crops destroyed, their cattle now scattered bones.”
Why Walking Backwards Can Be Good for Your Health and Brain (Reader Jim)
The author writes, “According to research, walking backwards can have surprising benefits for both your physical health and your brain. … Due to the difference in biomechanics, backwards walking can actually bring some physical benefits. It is often used in physiotherapy to relieve back pain, knee problems and arthritis. Some studies even suggest that backwards walking can positively affect cognitive abilities such as memory, reaction time and problem-solving skills.”
