Obama orders review of hacking during election

Obama orders review of hacking during election

WASHINGTON

President Barack Obama has ordered intelligence officials to conduct a broad review of election-season cyberattacks, including the email hacks that rattled the presidential campaign and raised fresh concerns about Russia’s meddling in U.S. elections, the White House said Friday.

The review, led by intelligence agencies, will be a “deep dive” into a possible pattern of increased “malicious cyber activity” timed to the campaign season, White House spokesman Eric Schultz said. The review will look at the tactics, targets, key actors and the U.S. government’s response to the recent email hacks, as well as incidents reported in past elections, he said.

Trump rejoins campaign trail

BATON ROUGE, La.

Appearing jovial and relaxed, Donald Trump plunged back into election politics Friday, a full month after he won the presidency, enthusiastically prodding Louisiana Republicans to turn out for today’s Senate runoff election and protect the party’s 52-48 margin in Washington.

Addressing a large crowd at an airport hangar, at one point he tossed his trademark “Make America Great Again” hat to a supporter.

In private, people close to Trump said he was expected to name yet another Goldman Sachs executive to his White House team. The president-elect’s National Economic Council is to be led by Gary Cohn, president and chief operating officer of the Wall Street bank, which Trump repeatedly complained during the election campaign would control Hillary Clinton if she won.

Syrian forces squeeze Aleppo

BEIRUT

Nearly two weeks into a crushing blitz, Syrian forces and their allies have taken control of nearly all of what was once an opposition stronghold in eastern Aleppo, touching off a new wave of evacuations Friday and raising concerns about hundreds of men who have disappeared and are feared to have been seized by the government.

A flood of civilians streamed out on foot in the wake of the relentless campaign by forces loyal to President Bashar Assad to drive rebels from their rapidly crumbling enclave. They joined tens of thousands who have fled since Nov. 26, seeking shelter from the nonstop bombardment and crippling siege.

Memphis sees 214th homicide of year

MEMPHIS, Tenn.

With its latest apparent shooting death, Memphis hit 214 homicides this year, a record for this city beset by gang activity and gun crime, police said Friday.

The body of the record-setting victim was found Friday by a co-worker who went to check on a colleague, Memphis police spokesman Louis Brownlee said. The body had a gunshot wound, and a preliminary investigation shows it may have been the result of a home invasion, he said.

One person is in custody. Police are still investigating.

Refrigerator ruled out as source of Oakland fire

OAKLAND, Calif.

A refrigerator was ruled out as the cause of a fire at a warehouse in Oakland that killed 36 people, but investigators were still looking at electrical systems as possible ignition sources, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said Friday.

The bureau has brought in a team to create a detailed map of the site, said Jill Snyder, special agent in charge of the ATF’s San Francisco office.

Associated Press