Andrew Blake

Internet freedom report says rights worsening in U.S., worldwide

Internet freedom in the United States worsened during the last year amid a similar trend witnessed on a worldwide scale, an international monitoring group wrote in its latest report.

November 2, 2018

Putin signs law imposing penalties on protest organizers accused of wasting resources

President Vladimir Putin has placed new rules on Russian protesters, imposing penalties on people accused of requesting permission to rally without following through.

November 1, 2018

Ecuador says U.K. won’t extradite WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange to face death penalty abroad

Ecuador's attorney general said that the British government has repeatedly guaranteed that WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange will not be extradited by the U.K. to face the death penalty abroad, potentially alleviating a major concern for the fugitive, self-exiled Australian native.

November 1, 2018

Dan Coats, intel director, ripped over classified response to Trump’s unfounded meddling remarks

Dan Coats, the U.S. director of national intelligence, has been asked to publicly clarify President Trump's recent comments accusing China of interfering in the 2016 race after privately addressing related questions raised by Senate Democrats.

November 1, 2018

John Bolton’s tribute to slain Russian opposition activist ransacked by vandals: Report

A wreath laid by President Trump's national security adviser at a memorial in Moscow for slain Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was reportedly destroyed after the site was stormed by several suspected pro-Kremlin activists.

October 31, 2018

Steve Bannon questioned by Mueller’s office about Roger Stone’s WikiLeaks comments: Report

Special counsel Robert Mueller's office has reportedly questioned former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon about comments Roger Stone may have privately said during the 2016 U.S. presidential race regarding WikiLeaks and its release of stolen emails.

October 31, 2018

Joshua Schulte, suspected CIA leaker, claims he’s being tortured while awaiting trial

Joshua Schulte, a former CIA computer engineer suspected of leaking classified hacking tools to WikiLeaks, said he is being subjected to "torture" while awaiting trial for espionage.

October 31, 2018

Gab says social network will return despite ‘systematic’ purge from firms after synagogue shooting

Gab, a social networking service where mass-shooting suspect Robert Bowers allegedly posted anti-Semitic comments, plans to persist with providing users a platform in spite of being "systematically removed" from the internet, the company said Tuesday.

October 30, 2018

Julian Assange loses first round in court fight challenging Ecuador’s new embassy rules

WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange has suffered a setback in his efforts to overturn new rules imposed by Ecuador concerning his stay inside its embassy in London.

October 30, 2018

Mueller probing conference calls hosted by Roger Stone during 2016 race: Report

Special counsel Robert Mueller's office has reportedly taken an interest in conference calls hosted prior to the 2016 election by President Trump's former campaign adviser Roger Stone.

October 30, 2018

FBI cites similar typos in Cesar Sayoc’s social media posts, mail bombs

Cesar Sayoc's typos helped investigators tie the 56-year-old Florida man arrested Friday with improvised explosive devices targeting President Trump's opponents.

October 27, 2018

Richard Spencer, Charlottesville protesters banned from University of Virginia over torchlit march

The University of Virginia has banned "alt-right" figurehead Richard Spencer and nine others over their involvement in a torchlit demonstration held on the eve of last summer's deadly "Unite the Right" protest in Charlottesville.

October 27, 2018

Girl Scouts group says email hack may have impacted up to 2,800 members

The Girl Scouts of Orange County, California, said a data breach may have compromised members' personal information including names, addresses, insurance policy numbers and medical histories.

October 27, 2018

Shooting, mass casualties reported at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Eleven people were killed Saturday morning during a mass-shooting at The Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that ended in the arrest of a single suspect, Robert Bowers, and the recovery of multiple weapons.

October 27, 2018

Julian Assange’s lawsuit against Ecuador halted over WikiLeaks publisher’s issue with translator

WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange complained that his court-appointed translator was "not good enough," prompting a judge overseeing his lawsuit against Ecuador to put a pause on proceedings to find a replacement fluent in "Australian," news outlets reported Friday.

October 26, 2018

Russia to impose fine on Google for failing to filter banned sites

Russia said Google will be fined for failing to comply with federal requirements imposed under Moscow's repressive internet censorship regime.

October 26, 2018

Mikhail Gorbachev says withdrawing U.S. from nuclear treaty poses ‘dire threat to peace’

Mikhail Gorbachev, the final leader of the former Soviet Union, has warned President Trump against withdrawing from a nuclear arms control agreement made near the end of the Cold War between Moscow and the Reagan administration.

October 26, 2018

George Papadopoulos, convicted former Trump adviser, considers withdrawing agreement with DOJ

George Papadopoulos, President Trump's former election campaign adviser recently convicted and sentenced for lying to the FBI, said Friday he's considering withdrawing an agreement he reached with prosecutors probing the 2016 race.

October 26, 2018

Democratic fundraiser had internal data exposed, probed from abroad, firm warns

Data belonging to a Democratic fundraising firm was mistakenly made publicly available, exposing sensitive files that may have been accessed by malicious actors based abroad.

October 25, 2018

China touts Apple competitor Huawei as answer to spying concerns surrounding Trump’s phone calls

China reacted Thursday to a news report accusing it of eavesdropping on President Trump's cellphone conversations by suggesting he swap his Apple iPhones for handsets manufactured by the company's Chinese competitor.

October 25, 2018