daily plain-text briefing: security, markets, business, and pittsburgh
The cryptographic certificates that anchor Secure Boot on Windows and Linux machines begin expiring June 24, leaving any device that skips firmware updates exposed.
Latest developments: Wired published a detailed explainer June 21 warning that the certificates anchoring Secure Boot start expiring in three days, on June 24, 2026.
Microsoft's Secure Boot certificates, which firmware uses to verify that a machine boots trusted code, reach expiration starting June 24, 2026, and Windows and Linux PCs that skip firmware updates risk losing the protection or failing to boot. Users should apply pending firmware and operating-system updates now.
Sources: Wired Security · ↑ top
Latest developments: Researchers at the University of Tennessee and the University of Florida unveiled HAMLOCK, a backdoor that splits its malicious logic across the FPGA and ASIC silicon that edge devices use to run neural networks.
Edge AI systems often lean on third-party-designed FPGAs and ASICs for speed and efficiency, opening a supply-chain risk. HAMLOCK divides its function between hardware blocks so neither half looks malicious on its own, hiding the implant in plain sight.
Sources: Help Net Security · ↑ top
Latest developments: Apple is reworking Hide My Email so websites can detect and block its masked addresses, a shift Graham Cluley and Wired flagged June 19 and June 20.
Hide My Email generates random forwarding addresses that keep a user's real inbox private. Apple's change lets sites refuse anonymous sign-ups, eroding a feature the company long marketed as proof of its privacy-first stance.
Sources: Graham Cluley · Wired Security · ↑ top
Latest developments: The crew behind the Madison Square Garden breach now claims it leaked the stolen files, escalating a June theft that swept up a risk-rated list of celebrities and players.
Attackers hit Madison Square Garden Entertainment and the New York Knicks, taking internal data that included a ranked list of high-profile attendees, and they say they have published it.
Sources: Wired Security · ↑ top
Latest developments: The U.S. Department of Transportation closed its investigation into Delta Air Lines' handling of the July 2024 CrowdStrike outage that grounded thousands of flights.
A faulty CrowdStrike update crashed Windows systems worldwide in July 2024 and stranded Delta passengers for days. The Transportation Department's now-closed probe examined how Delta treated affected travelers.
Sources: SecurityWeek · ↑ top
Latest developments: Vice President JD Vance and senior Iranian negotiators formally opened the negotiations in Switzerland on Sunday, June 21, beginning with the renewed Israel-Hezbollah fighting in Lebanon before turning to Tehran's nuclear program.
Vance and Iranian officials began a 60-day sprint to settle the technical terms of last week's framework, a push that holds large implications for the world economy, even as Iran's joint command again declared the Strait of Hormuz closed following a fresh exchange of fire.
Sources: WSJ World News · FT World · ↑ top
Latest developments: The Financial Times reported Sunday that Keir Starmer stands on the brink of resigning, an escalation from the earlier expectation that he might merely set a departure timetable.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces intense pressure to quit after Manchester mayor Andy Burnham's by-election win, a move that would make Burnham Britain's seventh leader since the 2016 Brexit vote and that markets are watching for pressure on gilts amid worsening UK finances.
Sources: FT World · FT World · ↑ top
Today: Partly Sunny, high 81F.
Tonight: Mostly Cloudy then Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms, low 62F.
Monday: Chance Showers And Thunderstorms then Showers And Thunderstorms, high 77F.
Latest developments: Independence Health System will open a new behavioral health unit at Latrobe Hospital on Wednesday, June 24, 2026.
Independence Health System, the Westmoreland County hospital network, adds inpatient behavioral health capacity at Latrobe Hospital, expanding mental-health treatment in the region.
Latest developments: Hempfield Township reports more applicants than expected for its new senior property-tax rebate, with approved residents to receive checks in the next few months.
Hempfield Township in Westmoreland County launched a senior property-tax rebate program and drew applications beyond projections, with the first rebate checks due in coming months.
Latest developments: After a dry Father's Day, forecasters now expect heavy rain overnight into Monday, June 22, soaking the morning commute and dropping about an inch north of Pittsburgh.
KDKA and WTAE meteorologists flagged Monday, June 22, as an impact day, with heavy rain arriving overnight and lingering until about noon across western Pennsylvania.
Latest developments: North Huntingdon officials approved hiring a consultant for a feasibility study of a walking and biking trail linking downtown Irwin to the township's Larimer village.
North Huntingdon Township in Westmoreland County will seek proposals to study a proposed trail connecting downtown Irwin to its Larimer village.
Latest developments: KDKA profiled Frontline Dignity, the Pittsburgh immigrant-rights group whose legal observers respond to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.
Frontline Dignity, founded and led by Jaime Martinez, deploys legal observers and neighbor volunteers across the Pittsburgh region in response to ICE enforcement actions.
Pirates (38-39)
Sat Jun 20 · Pirates 1 · Rockies 2 · Final
McCarthy hits leadoff inside-the-park homer off Skenes in Rockies' 2-1 win over Pirates
Up Next · Pirates @ Rockies · Sun Jun 21, 3:10 PM
Latest developments: A Post-Gazette Father's Day feature told how Pirates infielder Brandon Lowe and his wife reached parenthood through IVF after a battle with infertility.
The Post-Gazette profiled Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Brandon Lowe, who called fatherhood 'the greatest gift' after he and his wife overcame infertility through in vitro fertilization.
Sources: Post-Gazette Pirates · ↑ top
Latest developments: ESPN detailed how Antonio Freeman, the former Green Bay Packers Pro Bowl receiver, shaped his son Alex Freeman, the U.S. defender whose goal helped beat Australia.
Alex Freeman, the U.S. men's national team right back who scored in the 2-0 World Cup win over Australia, grew up the son of Pro Bowl Packers receiver Antonio Freeman, though his mother and stepfather taught him to love soccer.
Sources: ESPN Soccer · ↑ top
Latest developments: The Guardian noted John Denver's 'Take Me Home, Country Roads' has become the song U.S. supporters belt out at the team's home World Cup matches.
American fans have made John Denver's 'Take Me Home, Country Roads' the unofficial anthem of the U.S. men's national team, singing it as the squad celebrated its win over Australia at Lumen Field in Seattle.
Sources: Guardian World Cup 2026 · ↑ top
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