Meatpacker JBS says it paid equivalent of $11 million in ransomware attack

(Reuters) -Meatpacker JBS USA paid a ransom equivalent to $11 million following a cyberattack that disrupted its North American and Australian operations, the company's CEO said in a statement on Wednesday.  

 Reuters/Bing Guan FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: JBS USA Worthington pork plant in Minnesota

The subsidiary of Brazilian firm JBS SA halted cattle slaughtering at all of its U.S. plants for a day last week in response to the cyberattack, which threatened to disrupt food supply chains and further inflate already high food prices.

The cyberattack followed one last month on Colonial Pipeline, the largest fuel pipeline in the United States. It disrupted fuel delivery for several days in the U.S. Southeast.

Ransom software works by encrypting victims' data. Typically hackers will offer the victim a key in return for cryptocurrency payments that can run into hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. The FBI said earlier this month that the agency was investigating about 100 different types of ransomware.

The JBS meat plants, producing nearly a quarter of America's beef, recovered faster than some meat buyers and analysts expected.

Video: U.S. says ransomware attack on meatpacker JBS likely from Russia (Reuters)

"This was a very difficult decision to make for our company and for me personally," said Andre Nogueira, CEO of JBS USA on the ransom payment. "However, we felt this decision had to be made to prevent any potential risk for our customers."

The Brazilian meatpacker's arm in the United States and Pilgrims Pride Corp, a U.S. chicken company mostly owned by JBS, lost less than one day's worth of food production. JBS is the world's largest meat producer.

Third parties are carrying out forensic investigations and no final determinations have been made, JBS said. Preliminary probe results show no company, customer or employee data was compromised in the attack, it said.

A Russia-linked hacking group is behind the cyberattack against JBS, a source familiar with the matter said last week. The Russia-linked cyber gang goes by the name REvil and Sodinokibi, the source said.

The Wall Street journal reported on Wednesday that the JBS ransom payment was made in bitcoin.

The Justice Department on Monday recovered some $2.3 million in cryptocurrency ransom paid by Colonial Pipeline Co, cracking down on hackers who launched the attack.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Nair and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Grant McCool and Christopher Cushing)

Wild elephants: China's internet can't stop watching the wandering herd

By Julia Hollingsworth and Zixu Wang, CNN 

At least a dozen buzzing drones monitor them around the clock. Wherever they go, they're escorted by police. And when they eat or sleep, they're watched by millions online. 

© Xinhua/Sipa The elephant herd on June 7, 2021 in Jinning District of Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province.

For more than a week, China has been gripped by a new internet sensation: a herd of 15 marauding elephants, who are large, lost and wrecking havoc in the country's southwest.

Millions have tuned in to livestreams of the elephants, which have trekked more than 500 kilometers (310 miles) across the country since escaping from a nature reserve in South China last year.

And online, netizens have followed transfixed as the elephants trampled crops, causing more than a million dollars worth of damage, and roamed through towns, prompting local residents to stay inside.

Unsurprisingly, breakout stars have emerged. Viewers are particularly charmed by the herd's three calves, including one who was born during the epic journey, according to Chinese state-run tabloid Global Times.

More than 8 million people watched a video captured this week showing a calf who found itself stuck under an adult elephant during a group nap near the city of Kunming, in southwestern Yunnan province. Another clip showed baby elephants clumsily tripping as they followed the herd across a field, while a separate video showed a calf plunging head-first into a pool as it attempted to gulp down water.

"Will they get cold while sleeping?" worried one user on social media site Weibo as pictures of the herd's naptime went viral. "I want to tuck them up under a quilt."

Human stars have even tried to ride off the elephants' celebrity. According to Global Times, internet stars scrambled to get their hands on leftover corn and pineapple, which authorities left out to lure elephants away from cities. Videos posted online showed the stars picking up and eating leftover pineapple to attract viewers, the outlet reported.

It's still unclear why the elephants are making the journey north. Some have posited that shrinking rainforests in their home may have prompted the trip. Others say they could just be lost -- something that also worries elephant fans online.

"It's really sad that we don't know when they will reach their destination," another user wrote on Weibo.

Degraded environment

There's a more serious side to the elephant entertainment. Biologists see the situation as a warning of what happens when elephant habitats are degraded.

© Xinhua/Sipa USA Wild Asian elephants in Jinning District of Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province on June 6.

Asian elephants are considered a protected species in China, and around 300 of them live in Yunnan, according to Xinhua.

Over the last few decades, agriculture has led to a loss of elephant habitats, leaving herds fragmented and isolated in ever-shrinking plots of land, according to a paper in Nature. Many elephants are forced to forage for food in agricultural areas instead, leading to a rise in human-elephant conflict in the last 10 years -- something authorities are clearly keenly aware of.

Authorities have been trying to steer the elephants away from populated areas to prevent any clashes. At the end of May, authorities set up a 24-hour command center to monitor the elephants.

But the only way to prevent a future elephant exodus is to restore their habitats and protect natural resources, said Zhang Li, a wildlife biologist and professor at Beijing Normal University, according to Global Times.

"The traditional buffer zones between humans and elephants are gradually disappearing, and the chances of elephants' encountering humans naturally increase greatly," Zhang said.  

© Xinhua/Sipa USA Workers prepare a drone to monitor the migrating wild Asian elephants in Eshan County, Yuxi City, southwest China's Yunnan Province on May 29.

Paging Captain Marvel: Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert asks Forest Service to alter Earth's orbit, or the moon's, to fight climate change

Joel Shannon, USA TODAY , JUNE 10,2021

U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, a Texas Republican, appeared to stun a Forest Service official by suggesting the agency fight climate change by altering the orbits of Earth or the moon.

© Jacquelyn Martin, AP Rep. Louis Gohmert, R-Texas, right, speaks duing a news conference with members of the conservative Freedom Caucus, on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) ORG XMIT: DCJM116

The question came during a live-streamed national parks, forests and public lands subcommittee meeting of the National Resources Committee on Tuesday and was followed by social media mockery.

"I understand from what's been testified to, the Forest Service and the (Bureau of Land Management), you want very much to work on the issue of climate change," Gohmert began his question to Jennifer Eberlein, the associate deputy chief for the National Forest System.

Gohmert said he understood NASA's data shows the Earth's and the moon's orbits are "changing slightly."

"And so, is there anything that the National Forest Service or BLM can do to change the course of the moon's orbit or the Earth's orbit around the sun? Obviously, that would have profound effects on our climate."

Eberlein paused before responding, "I would have to follow up with you on that one, Mr. Gohmert."

"Yeah? Well, if you figure out a way that you in the Forest Service can make that change, I'd like to know," Gohmert said.

Gohmert's question was widely mocked on social media, including by members of Congress.

"I know the answer to the question by Rep. Louie Gohmert," tweeted U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu, a Democrat from California. "Captain Marvel. She can alter planetary orbits with her superpowers. I’m going to work on a bipartisan resolution asking for her help."

Gohmert's idea was shot down by theoretical astrophysicist Katie Mack. She suggested two "equally distressing possibilities" explained Gohmert's question.

If the congressman believes the Forest Service or BLM could possibly move the orbits of Earth or the moon, "he does not understand how orbits work," Mack tweeted.

Or, Mack suggested Gohmert was being sarcastic, suggesting fighting climate change is as impossible as changing those orbits.

Gohmert responded to the backlash on Twitter by pointing out that Tuesday's hearing "was about the BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT & climate change."

USA TODAY has reached out to National Forest Service for comment. The National Forest System includes nearly 200 million acres of land managed by the Forest Service, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Gohmert has a history of making scientifically dubious claims. Last summer, Gohmert suggested he may have contracted COVID-19 because he was wearing a mask, despite health guidance encouraging mask-wearing to reduce the spread of the virus.

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODA

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Paging Captain Marvel: Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert asks Forest Service to alter Earth's orbit, or the moon's, to fight climate change

Biden nominee for public lands boss faces GOP opposition

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Joe Biden's nominee to oversee vast expanses of U.S. public lands was criticized Tuesday by Republicans over her past involvement in partisan politics as a longtime Democratic aide and environmentalist, underscoring the importance lawmakers assign to a relatively small agency with broad influence over energy development and agriculture in western states.

Senate confirmation of Tracy Stone-Manning to direct the U.S. Bureau of Land Management would mark a stark change from the government's catering to oil and gas interests under former President Donald Trump.

It would take every Senate Republican plus at least one Democratic lawmaker to block her nomination. So far no Democratic defectors have emerged.

The land bureau has been in staffing turmoil after four years without a confirmed director and losing nearly 300 employees to retirement or resignation when its headquarters was relocated from Washington, D.C., to Grand Junction, Colorado.

UNION BUSTING BY MOVING HQ
Interior Department officials confirmed Tuesday that only three workers ultimately relocated to Grand Junction. The revelation, first reported by the media outlet Colorado Newsline, marks the latest example of the heavy toll on the federal workforce from a broad reorganization of government under Trump, which left agencies hobbled as they regulated industry and conducted climate research.

With roughly 9,000 employees, the land bureau has jurisdiction over 245 million acres (100 million hectares) of federally owned land in Western states, managing them for uses ranging from fossil fuel extraction, renewable power development and grazing, to recreation and wilderness.

Before joining the National Wildlife Federation four years ago, Stone-Manning worked as chief of staff to former Montana Gov. Steve Bullock and supported him through his failed attempt to unseat Montana Sen. Steve Daines.

During a hearing Tuesday of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Republicans lambasted her role as treasurer and board member of the environmental group Montana Conservation Voters, which ran ads against Daines. The Republicans also raised concerns she would impede energy development.

“You've been incredibly partisan in your past,” said Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. “It seems like from your heart, you really don't care for Republicans.”

Stone-Manning, from Missoula, Montana, said her deceased Republican parents would be “rolling in their graves” over the allegation of partisanship. She indicated she wanted to move on from the 2020 election and said working in a collaborative manner was the only way to make progress in the West’s contentious public lands debates.

“Elections can be tough. I was supporting my former boss, Gov. Bullock. But the election is over, and I will honor the outcome of that election,” she said.

Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper asked Stone-Manning about the headquarters relocation, saying the move was “done in haste” and let down employees of the land bureau and the city of Grand Junction, which hoped for an economic boost.

Stone-Manning said the Interior Department was reviewing the headquarters move but gave no further details.

The director's post and 327 other positions were moved out of Washington under Trump, to Grand Junction and other western cities, bureau spokesperson Jeff Krauss said. The upheaval triggered the resignation or retirement of 278 people.

Of 41 positions created at the new Colorado headquarters, 11 career positions and two political positions including the director's office remain vacant, Krauss said.

Interior officials were unable to immediately say how many positions at the Grand Junction office remain unfilled.

At the National Wildlife Federation Stone-Manning led the group's efforts to preserve public lands in the West for wildlife, hiking, hunting and other nonindustrial uses.

She was previously an aide to Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester and worked for a nonprofit group that pushed the clean up one of the country’s largest contaminated Superfund sites, Montana’s Clark Fork River.

Tester introduced Stone-Manning at Tuesday's hearing and rejected the GOP description of her as an ideologue.

“She is a good person with a good heart who understands the value of our public lands,” Tester said.

Kansas Republican Sen. Roger Marshall questioned Stone-Manning on whether she had a conflict of interest in receiving a personal loan of $50,000 to $100,000 in 2008 while working on Tester's staff. Financial disclosure filings showed she received the 12-year loan from Missoula developer Stuart Goldberg at a 6% interest rate, which Marshall said was below the 11 % going rate for consumer loans at that time.

Stone-Manning responded that she had been “smacked by the recession and a friend loaned us some money to make sure we could get through.”

“We honored the loan,” she added.

The land management bureau’s director post went unfilled for four years under Trump, who instead relied on a string of acting directors to execute a loosening of restrictions on industry. Chief among them was conservative lawyer William Perry Pendley, who before he took the position advocated for selling off federal lands.

Pendley was ordered removed by a federal judge after leading the bureau for more than year without required Senate confirmation and getting sued by Bullock.

Stone-Manning backed the effort to oust Pendley and said he was an illegal appointee.

She would serve under Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a former Democratic congresswoman from New Mexico who was confirmed over opposition from Republicans citing her criticisms of the oil and gas industry.

Matthew Brown, The Associated Press

Washington's 'joints for jabs' vaccine program falling flat

SEATTLE (AP) — It was designed as an innovative way to promote COVID-19 vaccinations, but Washington’s new “joints for jabs” program is off to a rough start.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Officials announced Monday that the state's nearly 500 licensed marijuana retailers could begin hosting vaccine clinics and offering a single, free pre-rolled marijuana cigarette to any 21-plus adult who received a shot there.

It's one of many vaccine incentives being offered in Washington, including free pints of beer, sports tickets and prize money to lure those who have been hesitant or just lazy. Washington and Colorado in 2012 were the first states to legalize the adult use of marijuana, with regulated sales beginning in 2014. The industry brought Washington close to $474 million in taxes in the last fiscal year.

But few things are simple in an industry that's illegal under federal law, and the hurdles to offering the free joints are substantial enough that few of the state's legal pot shops are saying they will participate, even if they would like to do so.

Retailers told the state Liquor and Cannabis Board during a meeting Wednesday that many don't have the space to host a vaccine clinic. Some health care providers are queasy about setting up a clinic on the site of a marijuana business because they don't want to jeopardize federal funding by being involved in the distribution of an illegal drug. And the program is set to expire July 12 — too soon for them to offer a second shot to customers who might show up for a first shot in mid- to late June.

The retailers also ruefully noted that the Liquor and Cannabis Board allowed breweries, wineries and bars to offer a free drink to customers who merely showed proof of vaccination — no onsite clinic required.

“We're hearing from retailers that they want to be a part of this,” said Aaron Pickus, a spokesman for the Washington CannaBusiness Association, an industry group. “Why can't we do this like the wineries and breweries did it?”

Board chair David Postman told them it was a member of the business group who late last month suggested the program, which he and Gov. Jay Inslee's office thought was a great idea.

While a marijuana retailer in Arizona offered free vaccines along with complimentary joints or edibles early this month, no other state appears to have a similar “joints for jabs” program. “We are out ahead on this," Postman said.

The requirement that the pot shops hold onsite vaccination clinics was partly motivated by the fact that people aren't allowed to consume cannabis at licensed retailers, unlike alcohol at a brewery or winery, he said — suggesting that people who showed their vaccine cards at multiple pot shops could wind up with a lot of free joints that might be given to youngsters.

He also said that the board gave the marijuana stores an advantage it didn't give to alcohol purveyors: a tax break on the product they give away.

“I guess I just beg for a little understanding,” Postman said. “If it’s not the right thing, then that’ll be too bad, because I think we all need to get as many people vaccinated as possible.”

Daniela Bernhard, the co-owner of Uncle Ike’s cannabis store in Seattle, told the board the industry is excited to be included in efforts to boost vaccination, but “disappointed that our legal and heavily regulated sector continues to be treated differently than our peer sectors in Washington.”

“If we are trusting adults driving with their vaccination cards to get a pint of beer and then responsibly get to their next destination, we can also trust that adults will pick up a joint and enjoy it later in a legal setting,” Bernhard said.

Bernhard said Uncle Ike's effort to host a vaccine clinic had been rejected by two health care providers, though she declined to identify them.

One public health agency, the Spokane Regional Health District, had not yet been approached by any licensed marijuana shops about setting up a vaccine clinic — but it had an answer ready.

“We would not be able to provide vaccine because of concerns about federal funding,” spokeswoman Kelli Hawkins said.

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

9/6/2021

The world is 'way behind' on investments into water and sanitation systems, CEO says

Abigail Ng 

JUNE 9,2021


The world has a long way to go in finding solutions to water shortages, according to John Streur of Calvert Research and Management, an investment management company.

"We're way behind in terms of the amount of investment we need to bring our industrial water systems, our (agricultural) systems and our residential systems up to where they need to be," Streur said.

TSMC is considered a leader in water management, Streur said, pointing out that at the company's best facility, water is circulated seven times before being disposed.

'A very long road' lies ahead in solving the world's water challenges, CEO says


The world is a long way from finding solutions to water shortages, according to an investment management company that focuses on sustainability.

"We're way behind in terms of the amount of investment we need to bring our industrial water systems, our (agricultural) systems and our residential systems up to where they need to be," said John Streur, chief executive officer of Calvert Research and Management.

Most CEOs of water-reliant companies will admit that the resource is "very underpriced," he said.© Provided by CNBC In an aerial view, low water levels are visible at Lake Oroville on June 01, 2021 in Oroville, California.

"As a result of that, the amount of effort that we've put into creating a safe and secure source of water is behind where we are in terms of our industrial development," he told CNBC's "Street Signs Asia" on Tuesday.

Streur also pointed to a "significant health challenge" for people who don't have a steady supply of safe water.

According to a 2021 report by Unicef, 1.42 billion people live in areas of high or extremely high water vulnerability.

"In many cases, we haven't even built the necessary water infrastructure to provide access to clean drinking water and sanitation systems for population centers," Streur said.

He discussed ways that investors can invest in the water segment, including putting money into companies that develop filtration technology, or firms that use a lot of water and are efficient in conservation efforts.

Calvert Research and Management owns shares in Taiwanese chip foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) because it uses water efficiently, he added.

TSMC is considered a leader in water management, Streur said, pointing out that at the company's best facility, water is circulated seven times before being disposed.

"We and the industry are very tuned into the fact that water is a critical input, (and) it's often in shorter supply than they would like," Streur said. Taiwan is battling its worst drought in more than 50 years.

Semiconductor manufacturing plants require huge amounts of water every day, but have become more efficient in their use of the resource, he said.

SPIRIT ANIMAL

Partially white moose cools of amongst the lily pads (msn.com)

This cow moose was spotted cooling off in Marchington Lake eating lily pads.

Duration: 00:36

Thousands return home in east Congo after volcano eruption

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Thousands of people are returning to Goma and a surrounding region in eastern Congo hoping to find their homes still intact weeks after a volcano erupted, but fearing the worst.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

The eruption on May 22 of Mount Nyiragongo forced tens of thousands of people to flee with no warning as lava flowed through their communities.

More residents living on the outskirts of the North Kivu provincial capital were forced to evacuate again a week later when fears rose there would be another eruption. Authorities sent buses to take a number of people to safety in the town of Sake and other places in the days that followed.

But as people now start the journey home, they are worried about what awaits them and what help they will get.


“We had evacuated and the people stole everything we owned,” said Matuso Sumbuo, from Kihisi, in the outskirts of Goma. She complained that authorities have promised aid but said that they have not received any help yet.

Video: Congo volcano leaves smouldering wreckage but major city spared (Reuters)


“We, who lived from day to day with the small businesses, how we will live now?” she said before boarding a bus with her family to return home.

The government of Nord Kivu said that those who lost their houses will remain in shelters in different regions but the rest can go back to their houses.

The situation in Sake as well as in other towns receiving those displaced by the eruption was challenging.

“Here we were living on our own because since we arrived, we only received food once from WFP (the World Food Program), but it was not enough” said Esperance Suzane, who carried her belongs in a bag as she prepared to return home.

The last eruption of Mount Nyiragongo, one of the world’s most active volcanos, was in 2002, leaving hundreds dead. The lava coated the airport runways and also left more than 100,000 homeless in the aftermath. The volcano also erupted in 1977, killing more than 600 people.

Justin Kabumba Katumwa, The Associated Press

 

Photographer captures shooting star falling into a volcano

VIDEO Duration: 00:50 

Why North Atlantic right whales are smaller now than they were 40 years ago
Shane Fowler

CBC

JUNE9,2021

© Submitted by Joshua Stewart A recent study shows a significant reduction of the length of the average North Atlantic right whales.

North Atlantic right whales seem to be shrinking: They are an average of a metre shorter today than whales of the same species were in the 1980s.

And some whales are as much as three metres smaller than their predecessors.

To put that into perspective, some of today's 10-year-old whales are only growing the size of a one- or two-year-old whale from 40 years ago.

That's the finding of a recent study looking at several decades of data. It's another blow to the endangered species, which has struggling to survive. The whales, which currently number less than 400, are dying after being trapped in fishing gear or hit by ships each year, despite efforts by both Canadian and American government interventions.

"I was pretty shocked," said Joshua Stewart, a research associate with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and the study's lead author on the paper, which appears in Current Biology, a peer-reviewed journal.

Stewart started looking into the topic when field biologists would photograph what they thought was a one-year-old calf based on its size, only to realize later the whale was actually five to 10 years old.

With the help of various other researchers and biologists, Stewart amassed as much data as he could on the size of the whales dating back to the early 80s.

"The data was being collected before I was even born," he said from Mexico, where he's currently working.

For the study, the researchers compared decades-old aerial shots from planes to more recent shots from drones. Detailed field biologists' notes and measurements dating back to the 80's also proved crucial to their work.

When the research was completed, the size difference became clear.

Video: Rare beluga whale encounter off the coast of Nova Scotia (The Weather Network)

The likely culprit? Whales are getting caught in fishing gear.

"The big thing that we found were that whales that have these extended entanglements that last for months or years are stunted compared to whales that aren't entangled," said Stewart.

Most North Atlantic right whales become trapped in fishing nets and traps at some point in their lives.

"Over 85 per cent of the population has entanglement injuries, either scars or attached gear, so it's a pretty chronic problem for this population," said Amy Knowlton, co-author of the paper and a senior scientist with the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life based in Cambridge, Mass.

Knowlton contributed the entanglement data for the study after spending years documenting whale entanglements.

The toll being caught in nets and lines is extremely damaging to a whale's body and often leads to its death.

"You could sort of imagine like if we were to strap a sandbag to you and you had to drag that around for a few months or a year," said Stewart. "You're going to have a lot less energy to devote to other things, especially if you're still growing. You might end up stunted just because you're burning so much energy dragging that sandbag around."

Stewart says there's a good chance other whale species that are often ensnared are experiencing a similar decrease in size. But as North Atlantic right whales have been on the brink of extinction for so long, they're one of the few species with such a detailed data set dating back decades that researchers can use to prove it.

It's not just the mature whales caught in gear that are getting smaller.

Whale calves whose mothers are entangled are also more likely to be stunted according to the study.

That's because mothers caught in gear are also trying to produce milk and feed their young. Spending energy on trying to survive takes away from energy that would otherwise be spent producing milk.

"For a female with severe injuries there would also be the energy she's needing to heal from those injuries and that's diverting energy away from nursing her calf so that she can try and heal and survive," said Knowlton.

Using weaker ropes for fishing would give whales a better chance at freeing themselves according to Knowlton. Better yet getting rid of ropes altogether, using ropeless traps, would prevent whales from getting caught in the first place.

Both scientists believe that if the whales given the chance to recover the species would eventually return to its normal size.