Daily Archives: July 5, 2021

(Bloomberg) -- Just weeks after President Joe Biden implored Vladimir Putin to curb cyber crime, a notorious, Russia-linked ransomware gang has been accused of pulling off an audacious attack on the global software supply chain.

REvil, the group blamed for the May 30 ransomware attack of meatpacking giant JBS SA, is believed to be behind hacks on at least 20 managed-service providers, which provide IT services to small- and medium-sized businesses. More than 1,000 businesses have already been impacted, a figure thats expected to grow, according to the cybersecurity firm Huntress Labs Inc.

Based on a combination of the service providers reaching out to us for assistance along with the comments were seeing in the thread we are tracking on our Reddit, its reasonable to think this could potentially be impacting thousands of small businesses, according to John Hammond, a cybersecurity researcher at Huntress Labs.

Biden said he had ordered a deep dive by U.S. intelligence officials on what happened in the attacks. At this point, he said were not sure that Russia is behind them.

I directed the intelligence community to give me a deep dive on whats happened and Ill know better tomorrow, Biden said, recalling that he told Putin during their meeting in June that the U.S. would respond to cyber transgressions. He added that he hasnt called the Russian president about the latest case.

Biden Says Not Sure If Russia Is Behind Latest Cyberattack

Were not sure its the Russians, he said. The initial thinking was, it was not Russian government, but were not sure yet.

Attacking MSPs is a particularly devious method of hacking, since it may allow the attackers to then infiltrate their customers as well. Hammond said more than 20 MSPs have been affected so far.

In Sweden, most of grocery chain Coops more than 800 stores couldnt open on Saturday after the attack led to a malfunction of their cash registers, spokesperson Therese Knapp told Bloomberg News.

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There are victims in 17 countries so far, including the U.K., South Africa, Canada, Argentina, Mexico and Spain, according to Aryeh Goretsky, a distinguished researcher at cybersecurity firm ESET.

The ransomware attack is the latest in a string of devastating hacks in recent months, making cybersecurity an increasingly pressing national security issue for the Biden administration. At a summit on June 16, Biden warned Russian President Putin that 16 types of critical infrastructure -- including food and agriculture, emergency services and health care -- were off limits to future attacks. Its not yet known if the U.S. victims of the latest ransomware attack fell within those sectors.

QuickTake: How Cryptocurrency Turbocharged the Cybercrime Racket

A software supply chain attack revealed in December included nine U.S. agencies and about 100 businesses as victims. Russian-state sponsored hackers were accused of the attack, where hackers implanted malicious code in updates for popular software for SolarWinds Corp. Customers who downloaded the updates inadvertently created a backdoor that the hackers could then exploit. It was particularly sophisticated and highlighted the terrifying potential of supply-chain hacks.

More recently, ransomware attacks on Colonial Pipeline Co., the operator of the nations largest fuel pipeline, and JBS have revealed gaping security vulnerabilities in crucial U.S. businesses. Both Colonial and JBS paid the hackers millions of dollars. The hackers behind the Colonial attack, a group called DarkSide, have also been tied to Russia.

Fridays attack appears to combine a supply-chain attack with ransomware, vastly increasing the number of potential victims and presumably, the payout. Ransomware is a type of attack in which hackers encrypt computer files and then demand payment to unlock them.

Among the companies targeted was Kaseya Ltd., a Miami-based developer of software for managed service providers, as a way to attack its customers, according to cybersecurity experts.

What makes this attack stand out is the trickle-down effect, from the managed service provider to the small business, Hammond said. Kaseya handles large enterprise all the way to small businesses globally, so ultimately, it has the potential to spread to any size or scale business.

In a statement, Kaseya said it has notified the FBI. The company said it had so far identified less than 40 customers that were impacted by the attack.

Allan Liska, a senior threat analyst at cybersecurity firm Recorded Future Inc., said REvil was behind the attacks.

Eric Goldstein, the executive assistant director for cybersecurity at the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said the group is closely monitoring this situation.

We are working with Kaseya and coordinating with the FBI to conduct outreach to possibly impacted victims, he said in a statement. We encourage all who might be affected to employ the recommended mitigations and for users to follow Kaseyas guidance to shut down VSA servers immediately. As always, we stand ready to assist any impacted entities.

Two of the affected MSPs include Synnex Corp. and Avtex LLC, according to two people familiar with the breaches. Avtex President George Demou told Bloomberg News in a text message on Friday night, Hundreds of MSPs have been impacted by what appears to be a Global Supply Chain hack.

We are working with those customers who have been impacted to help them to recover, he added.

A Synnex spokesperson didnt immediately respond to requests for comment. The Republican National Committee said it was alerted that its vendor Synnex may have been affected.

Today, Microsoft informed us that one of our vendors, Synnex, systems may have been exposed, said Mike Reed, a spokesman for the RNC. There is no indication the RNC was hacked or any RNC information was stolen. We are investigating the matter and have informed DHS and the FBI.

(Adds Bidens comments starting in the fourth paragraph, RNCs comment in final paragraph.)

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Massive Ransomware Attack May Impact Thousands of Victims - Yahoo Finance

Yahoo Sports recently released its 2021 consensus fantasy football rankings. The analysts involved in the rankings are Andy Beherns, Scott Pianowski, Dalton Del Don, Liz Loza, and Matt Harmon, the creator of Reception Perception. Its only July, but the interest in fantasy football starts increasing in the coming weeks.

The Scott Fish Bowl draft (a fantasy industry league created for charity that consists of hundreds of contestants) is beginning early in July. Many outlets, including Yahoo Sports, are now releasing fantasy rankings and will continue to update those daily as new information is released.

These rankings are interesting in terms of New York Giants players. The Giants added a lot of talent to their offensive weaponry. This typically results in more fantasy output and a more efficient offense, but there is a fantasy cost; for instance, a team that is winning more football games generally wont be throwing the football as often late in-game because it will be leaning on the rushing attack to kill the clock.

This would result in more fantasy opportunities for the running back. Thats not exactly the case with the Giants when analyzing 2020 into 2021 because, despite being 6-10 in 2020, the team still struggled to throw the football and earn what garbage points late in games.

Another instance of the 2021 additions negatively affecting Giants fantasy output is the great enigma known as Evan Engram. He led the Giants with 102 targets in 2020 - nine more than Darius Slayton at 94. Engrams 21.8 percent target share, which ranked 5th among tight ends, will be reduced with the additions of the wide receivers and, obviously, the presence of Kyle Rudolph.

Furthermore, Slayton, who had a 19.4 percent target share, will see a reduction in his share, yet he still may be more efficient with the opportunities received, due to easier coverage assignments while playing opposite Kenny Golladay. Also, the variable of a Daniel Jones progression is undetermined, as is Jason Garretts ability to maximize the weapons at his disposal.

These factors make the Giants an interesting, yet somewhat high risk, team to invest in offensively - especially with a stout defense that may keep games lower scoring. Lets see where these Yahoo fantasy analysts ranked some of the Giants top offensive personnel.

Its no certainty that star running back Saquon Barkley will return to the team and be his 2018 self right from the get-go. Just last week, Sports Illustrated fantasy analyst Michael Fabiano tweeted that he wouldnt expect a full Barkley until Week 3 or Week 4. Others are throwing cold water on the notion of Barkley as well, and there are reasons for concern. Heres how the fantasy analysts for Yahoo see Barkley in their running back rankings:

Andy Beherns: 4th

Scott Pianowski: 7th

Dalton Del Don: 10th

Liz Loza: 7th

Matt Harmon: 4th

Each had Carolinas Christian McCaffery, Minnesotas Dalvin Cook, and Tennessees Derrick Henry over Barkley and that does make sense with all of the injury concerns. Del Don also had Ezekiel Elliot, Jonathan Taylor, Cam Akers, Alvin Kamara, Najee Harris, and Nick Chubb over Barkley; thats a bit aggressive.

I believe Akers is primed for a huge breakout with the addition of Matt Stafford in an offense where he dominated down the stretch of the season. Elliot at two, with the ascension of Tony Pollard, is a bit too high for my liking, albeit I believe he is being slept on a bit. I havent gone deep into my rankings yet, although I will have them down by the start of the season, I wouldnt have Barkley this low quite yet.

To Del Dons point though, we havent seen a consistently dominant Barkley since his rookie season. He dealt with the high ankle sprain in 2019 and missed almost all of 2020. He had a great run towards the end of the fantasy season in 2019 but went five straight games finishing outside of the top 20 running backs.

Its unlikely, with the additions made in the offseason, that Barkley will see anywhere near the 114 targets that he amassed in his rookie season. Im not scared to select Saquon Barkley if he slides down draft boards in fantasy - he could be a high upside pick at the first round turn that can win someone their fantasy league. But, if youre a bit more risk-averse, there are other options at three.

The consensus rankings have Kenny Golladay at 25th overall. Hes just behind Adam Thielen, Diontae Johnson, and Brandon Aiyuk. Golladay missed the vast majority of the season in 2020, but the reservations arent solely due to injury. Daniel Jones hasnt proven that he can consistently provide reliable fantasy outputs for his receivers, albeit he hasnt had anyone like Golladay to throw to.

Jones is ranked 19th behind Ryan Fitzpatrick, Baker Mayfield, and Trevor Lawrence on their consensus quarterback board. This means hes a streamable asset in the right matchup in one quarterback leagues and an option in super flex. His rushing upside will help provide a baseline of fantasy points, but it doesnt appear analysts are fully convinced Golladay and Jones will be able to unlock Golladays high-end wide receiver two potential.

I understand the consternation - Jones has to prove hes reliably capable - but there isnt another Giants receiver until Sterling Shepard ranked 55th. According to fantasypros.com ADP calculator, which averages the draft position of all their websites drafts, Golladay is selected at 56 and Shepard at 176th. Golladay is being chosen in the mid-to late-fourth round which is encouraging for his value, although he still falls out of the top 24 (wide receiver two) range in Yahoos rankings.

For context, Allen Robinson of the Bears and Stefon Diggs of the Bills were selected around that range in 2020; the latter went on to be the most productive wide receiver in fantasy, but the parallels between the 2020 Bills and the 2021 Giants have already been considered with the Josh Allen, Daniel Jones, discussion.

Darius Slayton isnt too far from Shepard at 62 on Yahoos list. I wouldnt rely on either receiver for fantasy football; the offense is still a question mark and neither will be the top option with the presence of Golladay, a possible healthy Barkley, and an offense that loves to utilize the tight end and now upgraded to a more traditional Y tight end in Kyle Rudolph.

I do, however, believe that both Slayton and Shepard are solid targets for depth in streamable matchups in the double-digit rounds. John Brown (Raiders now), Darnell Mooney, and the Jets Elijah Moore are all ranked around Slayton and Shepard and I believe that theres more upside with those pieces than the two Giants players as of right now. Kadarius Toney was ranked as the 87th receiver and I understand the hesitation with Toney as well.

Engram made a Pro Bowl in 2020, but it was still a year to forget. Engram made multiple mistakes that cost the Giants in clutch situations. Despite the addition of Rudolph, I still believe theres a path for some usage, and a place for Engram in this Giants offense - just not on these quick curls and Y-stick option type of routes.

Engram is ranked 16th according to the consensus with Rudolph ranked 39th as the last player on their list. If Rudolph is healthy to play Week 1 and doesnt miss all of training camp, I believe hell be more utilized from a target perspective than Engram, who will be in a more judicious role that features his unique athletic ability.

Both players should earn snaps in the offense, due to Garretts proclivity to run 12/13 personnel packages, but, depending on the situation, I believe Rudolph, if healthy, will be the tight end in 11 personnel packages when the Giants are operating in quick game. The Giants signed him for a reason and honored his contract after the injury was revealed. He will be much better suited for the tight end role in Garretts offense than Engram was in 2020.

The Giants can still use Engram in space, on seven routes, up the seam, and in the mesh concept, but I believe Yahoo is underestimating what Rudolph could do in Garretts offense, if healthy. There are a lot of mouths to feed, so I dont believe Rudolph or Engram will be desired fantasy options, albeit the tight end landscape is barren most years.

Barkley is a unique talent who could be facing a lot more lighter boxes, especially if Jones can establish a consistent passing attack in the early parts of the season. With the added weapons and a consistent, and lively, arm from Jones, the defense may have to align in more two-high looks to prevent being beaten deep. They will also have to account for the quarterbacks ability to run the football, which can stress defenses in their RPO game and with the zone read.

A healthy Golladay could be a solid selection towards the end of the fourth round in a 12-team league. Hell be on the backside of a lot of 3x1 sets in Garretts offense, facing a lot of MEG (man everywhere he goes) coverage. His catch radius, leaping ability, and release off the line of scrimmage can help him in these one-on-one matchups.

The rest of the Giants skilled position players arent certain for a consistent role. Rudolph will be more utilized than Yahoo is projecting at the moment, and I would take the flier on either Slayton or Shepard in the double-digit rounds, but they wouldnt be assets Id want to rely on early in the season. I would rather go with a player who has a bit more consistency with their targets, as well as upside with their role.

Excerpt from:

Yahoo fantasy football rankings: Where are the Giants? - Big Blue View

If you have the right skills, finding a job in the surging cryptocurrency field may be as easy as ordering a McDonald's Big Mac from a drive-thru.

But that doesn't mean you should jump on any opportunity. With the crypto job shortage continuing as investment banks such as J.P. Morgan and other players outside of financial services seek out key talent, job seekers are in the driver's seat right now.

Neil Dundon, founder of Crypto Recruit (which provides job placement services for the crypto industry, as the name would suggest), said one part of the market is looking especially opportunistic from where Dundon sits.

There's a huge amount of incoming requests for solidity developers, Dundon told Yahoo Finance Live. A solidity developer uses the object-oriented solidity coding language to build and unleash smart contracts on ethereum-centric applications, according to the Blockchain Council.

"We have not recruited anything less than $100,000. But typically, even a year ago you might find some of these solidity developers would have been looking for $100,000. Right now, they are probably looking for $180,000 to $200,000," said Dundon, who has never been busier. "If you want to make some money as a developer, learn how to code. We are talking anything rom $150,000 to $250,000 for one of those developers at the moment."

The strength in crypto hiring runs counter to concerns about the crypto winter continuing for the foreseeable future. From the record highs of more than $63,000 in mid-April, bitcoin has shed about 50% (including a trip below the $30,000 level a week ago). Major sell-offs have spread to other top cryptos such as dogecoin and ethereum.

Dundon said he isn't surprised, however, that the appetite to hire in the crypto field has remained strong.

"The market was quite different [in 2017]. There was a lot of opportunists there, and I think it's well-documented a lot of scams. There are still scams at the moment, but I think the building blocks and the fundamentals of crypto are a lot different now than they were three years ago," Dundon said. "These are just software projects. It's just another element of the economy. And it's going to be interesting to see how it plays out. But it's just another sector of the economy, and it's performing well."

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Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

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Cryptocurrency jobs: Here's a gig that can pay up to $250,000 a year - Yahoo Finance

Loop Capital Markets analyst Anthony Chukumba was among the first analysts on Wall Street to drop coverage of GameStop in February as the rise of meme traders overran the stock and sent it to dizzying new heights for no real fundamental reason.

But despite a new management team and board arriving to GameStop in recent weeks, don't look for Chukumba to be re-launching coverage anytime soon.

"I will never cover GameStop ever again, there is just no point," Chukumba said on Yahoo Finance Live. "Look the stock is down from $483 to I guess $200. I still don't think it's worth anything even remotely close to that."

It will be interesting to see if other sell-side analysts follow Chukumba's lead on GameStop, refusing to relaunch coverage even as new management eventually lays out a turnaround plan. On paper, the resums of GameStop's new leaders suggest there is a tiny shot of successfully evolving the company.

Matt Furlong officially took over as GameStop's CEO on June 21.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Furlong had spent eight years and eight months at tech beast Amazon. He joined in October 2012 from Procter & Gamble as a senior manager of vendor development. Furlong had spent the last two years leading Amazon's Australian business.

Some 11 days into the job, Furlong sent GameStop's long-time communications person packing. Other changes are likely coming in the months ahead.

Serving as Robin to Furlong's Batman, Mike Recupero was announced as the company's next CFO. Recupero begins at GameStop on July 21. Similar to many other new GameStop executive hires, Recupero was recruited from Amazon.

Recupero had spent the last 17 years with Amazon, rising the ranks through the e-commerce giant's finance functions, per his LinkedIn profile. Most recently, Recupero held the CFO position of Amazon's North America consumer business.

The latest Amazon defectors will join several others recruited by GameStop from the tenure of Jeff Bezos' CEO rule (which ends on Monday).

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Oddly, GameStop's stock has plunged more than 20% over the past month as the new slate of leaders get installed into the company.

Says Chukumba of the hires, "The doctor's prescription doesn't match the disease. Amazon is a great e-commerce retailer, there is no question about that. But GameStop's primary problem is that more and more gamers are downloading video games. So you can have a much better website but it's really not going to make any difference. It's like going to the doctor and saying doctor, I have got stage four lung cancer and he gives you a prescription for erectile dysfunction. It just doesn't make a whole [lot] of sense."

Chukumba's outlook on Amazon is one thing that remains upbeat. Chukumba rates the stock at a Buy with a $3,775 price target.

Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and anchor at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

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'I will never cover GameStop stock ever again': top analyst - Yahoo Finance

Prem Pariyar believed he had left caste oppression behind when he moved from Nepalto the United States.

Here, he would no longer be targeted as an untouchable.

But as a restaurant worker in the Bay Area, Pariyar said, he endured some of the same discrimination and exclusion he faced in his home country. He was ordered to chop up a large sack of onions in less than an hour, and when he had to share an apartment with other Nepali immigrants, he was barred from sharing a bedroom with those of a dominant caste.

While doing social work in Nepal, he had spoken out publicly to protect Dalits, as members of oppressed castes call themselves. In California he found he had to assume the role of activist once again.

In a year when Black Lives Matter and anti-Asian-hate movements have raised awareness of systemic racism and discrimination, many Dalit activists have taken a collective stance to address the intolerance and violence that have followed them into their professional and educational careers in the United States. Formerly known as untouchables, Dalits fall at the bottom of a centuries-old South Asian social hierarchy that affects the lives of over a quarter of a billion people worldwide, including many in the U.S.

By tradition, caste is handed down at birth and determines a person's social status based on so-called spiritual purity. In this feudal system, those deemed impure are excluded from all spheres of life, including access and opportunity to education and work.

Although caste discrimination is officially banned in India and other countries in the region, the practice continues among South Asian communities.

According to the advocacy group Human Rights Watch, police continue to detain, torture, and extort money from Dalits without much fear of punishment. The group says Dalit women are disproportionally raped and forced into prostitution.

Prem Pariyar speaks to a Cal State East Bay professor April 12 while working on a resolution to ban caste-based discrimination on Cal State campuses. (Nani Walker / Los Angeles Times)

Though a person may not reveal their caste background, that silence won't necessarily spare them from discrimination because certain surnames or professions are associated with particular castes, as are geographic areas.

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We view 'untouchable' as an epithet, said Thenmozhi Soundararajan, founder of Equality Labs, a nonprofit organization focused on ending what it calls caste apartheid. No one gets to determine our positions toward God, and thats why we call ourselves Dalit. It means one who is broken but also one who is resilient.

Pariyar embodies that resilience. He earned a bachelor's degree in education in Nepal and came to the U.S. in 2015 to seek asylum after being persecuted by dominant-caste people because he had decriedcaste atrocities in Nepal.

In time he was able to leave his restaurant job and become a student at Cal State East Bay in Hayward, where he earned a master's degree in social work. Soon, Pariyar said, he faced ostracism on campus too. Nepali students kept their distance, and a dominant-caste classmate from India blocked his attempts to organize a conference on campus around Dalit rights. The conference was never held.

Many dominant-caste people deny caste exists.

But the practice of untouchability has been documented in the United States by Equality Labs.

Experience life as a Dalit person working in a tech office. Comments were collected by Equality Labs. For the full augmented-reality experience, launch the link in your mobile browser. (Created with Yahoo Ryot Lab as part of the Yahoo News XR Partner Program)

In 2016, the nonprofit conducted a survey of 1,500 South Asians in the United States and found that 1 in 3 Dalit students surveyed reported being discriminated against during their education in the U.S. and 2 out of 3 Dalits said they had been treated unfairly at their workplace in the U.S.

On June 30, 2020, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed a federal lawsuit against Cisco Systems for alleged caste-based discrimination against a Dalit engineer by two dominant-caste managers. Without explanation, the department later dropped the suit in federal court and refiled in state court, where it is pending.

In a statement, Cisco said it did not tolerate discrimination and took complaints of mistreatment seriously.

"While caste is not currently protected under U.S. discrimination laws, we support legislative efforts to ensure a fair and equal workplace for all," the statement said. "In this case, we thoroughly and fully investigated the employees concerns and found that he was treated fairly, highly compensated, and afforded opportunities to work on coveted projects. If we had found any discrimination or retaliation, we would have remediated it."

The tech industry has been a bastion of caste bigotry, said Soundararajan. Her organization heard from scores of tech workers who said co-workers or supervisors discriminated against them because of their caste. We had 250 complaints," she said, "and it was every single tech company you could imagine."

Soundararajan shared screenshots of casteist comments from Blind, an anonymous tech forum. Some writers left crude remarks about Dalits, while others argued there was nothing wrong with the caste system.

One user, VmBW03, wrote:

"How can caste be derogatory? It's beyond me. Caste is nothing different from surname. It's like ethnicity. Unless you are not proud of your ethnicity, no need to be ashamed of your caste. I for example am proud to be of a Brahmin background."

Soundararajan points out that many tech companies have Indians in leadership positions who are primarily Brahmin, or upper caste.

"There's no way that they don't understand the ramifications of caste," Soundararajan said. "And what's ironic is many of these companies in their operations in India and South Asia do have caste as a protected category. They just have refused to implement that at a global level, which has now created active harm for their caste-oppressed employees here in the United States."

Tech companies Microsoft, Facebook, Google, Apple and Twitter, among them say they do not tolerate discrimination in the workplace and that their anti-harassment policies cover mistreatment based on caste.

Some tech workers are speaking out against caste discrimination in the U.S. In April, the newly formed Alphabet Workers Union released a statement in support of the lawsuit filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing against Cisco. The statement includes the Google parent companys anti-discrimination policy in India, which includes caste as a protected category but points out that caste is excluded in the U.S. and encourages the company to commit to caste equity.

Much of our journey that we have to do as a community is to begin to have open conversations about these taboo fault lines," she said, "and be honest that the problems are occurring, so we can work together to find the remedies.

Prem Pariyar, a social worker, distributes food to South and Southeast Asian immigrants in Oakland on April 3 as part of a pandemic relief program. (Nani Walker / Los Angeles Times)

After years of Dalit-led community organizing, the Cal State Student Assn. passed a resolution in April seeking a ban on caste-based discrimination at its 23 campuses, representing nearly half a million students in California.

Pariyar, 37, has been a driving force in the movement to ask for caste protections from one of the largest public university systems in the United States. A Cal State spokesperson, providing few details, said the resolution was under discussion.

I dont want my kids to grow up as untouchable, Dalits. I dont want them to be limited, he said. I dont want them to be untouchables in the United States.

He recalled his first memories of being excluded as a child when his teacher asked him to bring a jug of water to the classroom. She took a sip. When fellow students outed him as an untouchable, he said, she spit out the water.

All the students started laughing.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Excerpt from:

Even in the U.S. he couldn't escape the label 'untouchable' - Yahoo News

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Pennsylvanias highest court threw out Bill Cosbys sexual assault conviction and released him from prison Wednesday in a stunning reversal of fortune for the comedian once known as Americas Dad, ruling that the prosecutor who brought the case was bound by his predecessor's agreement not to charge Cosby.

Cosby, 83, flashed the V-for-victory sign to a helicopter overhead as he trudged into his suburban Philadelphia home after serving nearly three years of a three- to 10-year sentence for drugging and violating Temple University sports administrator Andrea Constand in 2004.

The former Cosby Show star the first celebrity tried and convicted in the #MeToo era had no comment as he arrived, and just smiled and nodded later at a news conference outside, where his lawyer Jennifer Bonjean said: We are thrilled to have Mr. Cosby home."

He served three years of an unjust sentence and he did it with dignity and principle, she added.

In a statement, Constand and her lawyers called the ruling disappointing, and they, like many other advocates, expressed fear that it could discourage sexual assault victims from coming forward. We urge all victims to have their voices heard, they added.

Cosby was arrested in 2015, when a district attorney armed with newly unsealed evidence the comic's damaging deposition in a lawsuit brought by Constand filed charges against him just days before the 12-year statute of limitations was about to run out.

But the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said Wednesday that District Attorney Kevin Steele, who made the decision to arrest Cosby, was obligated to stand by his predecessors promise not to charge Cosby, though there was no evidence that agreement was ever put in writing.

Justice David Wecht, writing for a split court, said Cosby had relied on the previous district attorney's decision not to charge him when the comedian gave his potentially incriminating testimony in Constands civil case.

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The court called Cosby's subsequent arrest an affront to fundamental fairness, particularly when it results in a criminal prosecution that was forgone for more than a decade. It said justice and fair play and decency require that the district attorney's office stand by the decision of the previous DA.

The justices said that overturning the conviction and barring any further prosecution is the only remedy that comports with societys reasonable expectations of its elected prosecutors and our criminal justice system.

Cosby was promptly set free from the state prison in suburban Montgomery County and driven home.

What we saw today was justice, justice for all Americans," said a Cosby spokesperson, Andrew Wyatt. Mr. Cosbys conviction being overturned is for the world and all Americans who are being treated unfairly by the judicial system and some bad officers."

Bonjean said Cosby was extremely happy to be home and looks forward to reuniting with his wife and children. Several supporters outside yelled, Hey, hey, hey! the catchphrase of Cosby's animated Fat Albert character which brought a smile from him.

He later tweeted an old photo of himself with his fist raised and eyes closed, with the caption: I have never changed my stance nor my story. I have always maintained my innocence. Thank you to all my fans, supporters and friends who stood by me through this ordeal. Special thanks to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for upholding the rules of law.

In a statement, Steele, the district attorney, said Cosby went free on a procedural issue that is irrelevant to the facts of the crime. He commended Constand for coming forward and added: My hope is that this decision will not dampen the reporting of sexual assaults by victims.

I am furious to hear this news, actor Amber Tamblyn, a founder of Times Up, an advocacy group for sex-crime victims, said on Twitter. I personally know women who this man drugged and raped while unconscious. Shame on the court and this decision.

But Cosby Show co-star Phylicia Rashad tweeted: FINALLY!!!! A terrible wrong is being righted a miscarriage of justice is corrected!

Four Supreme Court justices formed the majority that ruled in Cosby's favor, while three others dissented in whole or in part.

Peter Goldberger, a suburban Philadelphia lawyer with an expertise in criminal appeals, said prosecutors could ask the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for reargument or reconsideration, but it would be a very long shot.

I cant imagine that with such a lengthy opinion, with a thoughtful concurring opinion and a thoughtful dissenting opinion, that you could honestly say they made a simple mistake that would change their minds if they point it out to them, Goldberger said.

Even though Cosby was charged only with the assault on Constand, the judge at his trial allowed five other accusers to testify that they, too, were similarly victimized by Cosby in the 1980s. Prosecutors called them as witnesses to establish what they said was a pattern of behavior on Cosby's part.

Cosby's lawyers had argued on appeal that the use of the five additional accusers was improper. But the Pennsylvania high court did not weigh in on the question, saying it was moot, given the finding that Cosby should not have been prosecuted in the first place.

In sentencing Cosby, the trial judge had declared him a sexually violent predator who could not be safely allowed out in public and needed to report to authorities for the rest of his life.

In May, Cosby was denied parole after refusing to participate in sex offender programs behind bars. He said he would resist the treatment programs and refuse to acknowledge wrongdoing even if it meant serving the full 10 years.

The groundbreaking Black actor grew up in public housing in Philadelphia and made a fortune estimated at $400 million during his 50 years in the entertainment industry that included the TV shows I Spy, The Cosby Show and Fat Albert, along with comedy albums and a multitude of television commercials.

The suburban Philadelphia prosecutor who originally looked into Constand's allegations, Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor, considered the case flawed because Constand waited a year to come forward and stayed in contact with Cosby afterward. Castor declined to prosecute and instead encouraged Constand to sue for damages.

Questioned under oath as part of that lawsuit, Cosby said he used to offer quaaludes to women he wanted to have sex with. He eventually settled with Constand for $3.4 million.

Portions of the deposition later became public at the request of The Associated Press and spelled Cosby's downfall, opening the floodgates on accusations from other women and destroying the comic's good-guy reputation and career. More than 60 women came forward to say Cosby violated them.

The AP does not typically identify sexual assault victims without their permission, which Constand has granted.

Cosby, in the deposition, acknowledged giving quaaludes to a 19-year-old woman before having sex with her at a Las Vegas hotel in 1976. Cosby called the encounter consensual.

On Wednesday, the woman, Therese Serignese, now 64, said the court ruling takes my breath away.

I just think its a miscarriage of justice. This is about procedure. It's not about the truth of the women, she said. Serignese said she took solace in the fact Cosby served nearly three years behind bars: "Thats as good as it gets in America for sex crime victims.

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This story has been corrected to show that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court did not express an opinion on the use of additional accusers

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Bill Cosby freed from prison, his sex conviction overturned - Yahoo News

Home price growth in the U.S. surged in April at a pace not seen in more than 30 years.

Standard & Poors said Tuesday that its S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index posted a 14.6% annual gain in April, up from 13.3% in March marking the 11th straight month of accelerating prices. The 20-City Composite posted a 14.9% annual gain, up from 13.4% a month earlier. The results far outpaced analysts expectations of a 14.7% annual gain, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates.

Aprils performance was truly extraordinary. The 14.6% gain in the National Composite is literally the highest reading in more than 30 years of S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller data, said Craig J. Lazzara, managing director and global head of index investment strategy at S&P Dow Jones Indices, in a press statement. "Housing prices in all 20 cities rose; price gains in all 20 cities accelerated; price gains in all 20 cities were in the top quartile of historical performance."

Phoenix, Dan Diego, and Seattle continued to lead the 20-City composite. Phoenix led for the 23rd month in a row posting a 22.3% annual increase, followed by San Diego with a 21.6% increase and Seattle with a 20.2% increase.

Boston Federal Reserve President Eric Rosengren told Yahoo Finance last week that he was "concerned about rising home prices, but noted that the hot real estate market is not at a point where we should be panicked.

A house's real estate for sale sign is seen in front of a home in Arlington, Virginia, November 19, 2020. - (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

The results were expected and follow similar data pointing to skyrocketing home prices well into the busy spring season. Last week, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that the median existing-home price for all housing types in May was $350,300, up 23.6% from May 2020 ($283,500), as every region registered price increases a record high and marking 111 straight months of year-over-year gains since March 2012.

"While the acceleration may be met with concerns, mortgage interest rates remain 50% lower than they were in 2005, when home price growth last peaked, keeping the ratio of mortgage payments to monthly households income lower today," CoreLogic Deputy Chief Economist Selma Hepp said in a press statement. "It's probably that continued massive demand will keep pressure on prices, which are likely to remain at double-digit growth rate throughout the remainder of 2021."

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Higher costs for building materials and labor have been putting upwards pressure on home prices. Strong demand for homes coupled with tight inventories should support further home prices gains, said Bank of America in a recent research note. BofA expected a 14% annual increased in the index.

A new report from the NAR found that the housing market needs to build at least 5.5 million new units, both single-family and multi-family homes, just to keep up with demand and keep home ownership affordable over the next decade.

Total housing inventory at the end of May amounted to 1.23 million units, up 7.0% from Aprils inventory and down 20.6% from one year ago, according to the NAR. Unsold inventory sits at a 2.5-month supply at the present sales pace, marginally up from Aprils 2.4-month supply but down from 4.6 months in May 2020.

The lack of homes for sales is also slowing home buying activity. Existing home sales slid for the fourth straight month in May, according to the NAR.

Home sales fell moderately in May and are now approaching pre-pandemic activity, said Lawrence Yun, NARs chief economist, in a press statement. Lack of inventory continues to be the overwhelming factor holding back home sales, but falling affordability is simply squeezing some first-time buyers out of the market."

Amanda Fung is an editor at Yahoo Finance.

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Home price growth in the US surged at its fastest rate in more than 30 years - Yahoo Finance

Through the first half of this year, weve seen heavy volatility in the NASDAQ; at one point, the tech-heavy index even swung into correction territory. But since mid-May, there has been a sustained gain, on a steeper trend than the NASDAQ has seen recently. And some of the NASDAQs giants, dominant tech firms like Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook, have been sharing in those gains. Its a turnaround from conditions earlier this year, when the tech giants led a retreat.

Investors are moving back into growth-oriented tech stocks after a first half which saw bond yields rise slightly from historic lows and inflationary pressures increase. Stocks are bringing in the most reliable returns, and given the nature of our digital economy, tech stocks are a natural to lead the trend.

Its a trend that has not gone unnoticed. 5-star analyst Jack Andrews, of Needham, has turned his gaze on the tech sector and found the potential for serious gains. Hes tapped several stocks for double-digit upside, and weve used the TipRanks platform to look up two in particular stocks that Andrews sees growing 80% or better in the near-term. Here are the details, fleshed out with the analysts commentary.

JFrog (FROG)

Well start with JFrog, a software development company that has managed to differentiate itself from the competition in a truly unique way it pioneered continuous updates, allowing software to update invisibly and non-intrusively, adding a new layer of convenience for the end user. JFrog has become the standard in automated release and update management. JFrogs products, offered across the companys platform, include software for repository management, security, dev ops, and distribution and that only scratches the surface.

The company has been in business for over a decade, but only went public in September of 2020. The IPO saw JFrog offer $11.6 million shares to the public, at $44 each and it finished its first days trading at more than $64. The company had set an initial pricing target between $33 and $37 per share; clearly, this was a stock in demand. Overall, the IPO raised over $352 million, per company sources. JFrog has a current market cap of $4.3 billion.

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While JFrog, like many peers in the tech business, runs a net loss each quarter, other financial indicators are highly positive. In its three reported quarters since going public, JFrog has shown quarterly revenues of $38.9 million, $42.7 million, and $45.1 million. The companys operating cash flow in Q1 was $8.8 million, of which $7.7 million was free cash flow. As of the end of Q1, JFrog had over $605 million in available cash.

On June 29, JFrog announced that it had entered to acquire the digital security company Vdoo. The move will bring Vdoos continuous security capabilities to JFrogs platform, for secure operations from development to device. The deal will be conducted in cash and stock, and is worth an estimated $300 million.

Needhams Andrews sees this move as a key to JFrogs near-term growth, saying of the acquisition and of JFrog, In our view, the acquisition delivers deep synergies that allow FROG's existing base to leverage more security features outside the upstream scope of CI/CD. Although Vdoo should have an immaterial impact in the near term and the product's potential uplift was not detailed, we believe the combined solution advances FROG's vision of liquid software delivery by removing security bottlenecks. Moreover, the growing convergence of DevSecOps allows FROG to address a growing range of new personas and markets.

Andrews rates FROG shares as a Buy with an $86 price target, indicating his confidence in a one-year upside potential of 88%. (To watch Andrews track record, click here.)

While Andrews is bullish, Wall Street generally is somewhat cautious on this stock. FROG shares have 8 recent reviews, including 3 to Buy and 5 to Hold; However, the average price target shows the bulls remain in control; at $59.14, the figure implies a 28% upside from the share price of $46.05. (See JFrogs stock analysis at TipRanks.)

C3ai (AI)

The second Needham pick, C3ai, is another newly public firm, having held its IPO last December. C3ai is, as its name says, an AI firm, providing a set of services and products for the building of enterprise-scaled applications. C3ai software uses AI to improve efficiency, make customer end-use apps customizable, and streamline the development process. The companys products are applicable to a range of uses, including customer engagement, fraud detection, supply chain optimization, and predictive maintenance.

In its IPO, C3ai put 15.5 million shares on the market and raised $651 million in gross proceeds. The stock was initially priced at $42 per share but peaked at $112 during its first day and closed at $95. While the stock has fallen in the past six months, the company still boasts a market cap of nearly $6.5 billion.

The IPO set a high bar for C3ai, and the companys most recent quarterly report, for Q4 of fiscal year 2021, ending on April 30, cleared it again. Quarterly revenue was up 26% year-over-year, to $52.3 million, supported by a strong gain in subscription revenue, which rose 17% yoy to reach $43.1 million.

For the companys fiscal year 2021, the results were equally positive. Full-year revenue was a company record, up 17% from 2020 and coming in at $183.2 million. Subscription revenues yoy gain of 16% was in-line with the quarterly gain, and the full year subscription revenues were $157.4 million. The company finished the year with a total AI customer count of 89, for an 82% yoy gain.

Looking at C3ai, Jack Andrews sees the company in a strong position for the future, writing, Our key takeaway is that momentum in the business appears to be accelerating, expansion of strategic accounts continues, and AI progresses on scaling out its unique sales/ partnership model. Importantly, AI reported a substantial acceleration in forward-looking metrics like billings and adjusted RPO, which confirms our confidence in AI's ability to materially accelerate revenue in the near to mid-term. We believe AI's unique solutions, expansive TAM, and veteran leadership could lead to it becoming the default platform for Enterprise AI.

Andrews puts a $146 price target on AI stock, to back up his Buy rating. At current prices, this target implies a robust one-year upside of 141%.

Once again, were looking at a stock that Wall Street is cautious on. Of the 7 reviews on file for this stock, 4 are to Buy, 2 are to Hold, and 1 is to Sell, for a Moderate Buy consensus. The shares are trading for $60.53 and their $101.57 average price target suggests room for an upside of 68% in the next 12 months. (See C3ais stock analysis at TipRanks.)

To find good ideas for stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks equity insights.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

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Needham Bets Big on These 2 Tech Stocks - Yahoo Finance

After the formation of an independent bipartisan commission was blocked by Senate Republicans, the House of Representatives voted to establish a select committee to investigate the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Yahoo News Senior Reporter Caitlin Dickson explains the questions the investigation hopes to answer.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

CAITLIN DICKSON: We've all seen the footage. Thousands of Trump supporters gather in Washington for a rally.

DONALD TRUMP: We will never give up. We will never concede.

CAITLIN DICKSON: Once the speeches are over, many march onto the Capitol.

- We're storming the capitol.

CAITLIN DICKSON: As the crowd advances and become more agitated, they begin clashing with Capitol Police, and eventually they force their way inside.

- Defend the Constitution! Defend your liberty!

- (CHANTING) Treason! Treason! Treason!

CAITLIN DICKSON: More than 140 law enforcement officers were injured in the violence that unfolded on January 6th, and five people, including a Capitol Police officer, died. There's no denying what happened. Millions of people watched it live on television, but half a year later, there's still a lot of questions about how and why.

In May, Republican senators blocked formation of a bipartisan commission to investigate the Capitol riot. So, the Democrat-led House of Representatives have voted to form a select committee instead.

- The resolution is adopted.

[BANGS GAVEL]

CAITLIN DICKSON: The House select committee is separate from the two Senate committees that published a report of their own January 6 probe in June, as well as the hundreds of other criminal cases that are being pursued by law enforcement, and if that sounds confusing, don't worry. You're not alone. Here's what you need to know.

What are they trying to find out? There are tons of unanswered questions when it comes to the January 6 Capitol attack. Why were the Capitol Police and other law enforcement so unprepared? Why weren't potential threats posted on social media sites, like Parler, taken seriously by the FBI? To what extent were those potential threats overlooked because of concerns about upsetting the president? Were Trump or any of his aides warned about the potential for violence resulting from the Stop the Steal rally? If so, how and why did they decide to go ahead with the speech on the Ellipse anyway? What communication did the White House have with Congress during the attack we? Already know that Trump spoke on the phone with House Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy, during the riot. What exactly did that conversation entail? What other communications did Trump and others in the White House, or within his broader orbit, have during the riots? And what did Republican members of Congress know about the potential for violence? Was the attack in any way aided by members of the government?

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And those are just some of the loose ends. As more details are uncovered, they'll lead to even more questions. What power does this committee have? The select committee will have full subpoena power. That means they can request documents and records, and also call key people to testify in person. We don't know who will be called yet, but potential witnesses include rally organizers, members of the Trump administration, members of Congress, even possibly Trump himself, though it's not totally clear if they could compel him to appear.

Who will be on this committee? The select committee will have 13 members. Eight of them have already been appointed by House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, including seven democrats and one of the two republicans who voted in favor of the investigation, Congresswoman, Liz Cheney. The other 5 will be chosen in consultation with House Minority Leader, Kevin McCarthy, but ultimately Pelosi has the final say. The establishment of this house select committee is really just the first step in what could be a months or even years-long process. It's going to be partisan. It's definitely going to be divisive, and hopefully, once it's done, we'll know what really happened.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

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How the House will investigate the Capitol riot: Yahoo News Explains - Yahoo News

President Biden at the White House with a bipartisan group of senators on June 24, before delivering remarks on the infrastructure deal. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

I have always believed that there is nothing our nation cant do when we decide to do it together. Last week, we began to write a new chapter in that story.

After weeks of negotiations, a bipartisan group of United States senators forged an agreement to move forward on key portions of my American Jobs Plan a once-in-a-generation investment to modernize our infrastructure that will create millions of good-paying jobs and position America to compete with the world and win the 21st century.

The Infrastructure Deal is part of my economic strategy that, taken as a whole, will help create millions of jobs for years to come and add trillions of dollars in economic growth. According to one study of my Jobs Plan, nearly 90 percent of the jobs it will create wont require a college degree, and 75 percent wont require an associates degree. Its a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America.

Forty percent of the bridges in our country are more than 50 years old. I believe we should put Americans to work repairing those bridges to help our economy and make our communities safer. The agreement we reached contains the largest investment in repairing our bridges since the creation of the interstate highway system. It will rebuild 10 of the most economically significant bridges in the country, as well as 10,000 smaller ones that workers, families and businesses across the country rely on every day.

It will put Americans to work replacing our nations lead water pipes so that every single American child, at home or in school, can turn on the faucet and drink clean water. This would be the largest investment in clean drinking water in American history. Right here in the U.S., up to 10 million homes and 400,000 schools and childcare centers get their water from lead pipes and service lines. This agreement will end the threat of lead-contaminated water once and for all, especially in communities of color and in rural America.

While the bill is missing some critical initiatives on climate change that I proposed initiatives I intend to pass in the reconciliation bill the infrastructure deal nonetheless represents a crucial step forward in building our clean energy future. It would make the largest investment in clean energy transmission in American history, modernizing our power grid to accelerate the build-out of zero-carbon, renewable energy. It would replace thousands of gas-guzzling buses with clean, electric ones including 35,000 electric school buses. It would cap abandoned wells leaking methane gas.

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And more: The deal would deploy a nationwide network of charging stations for electric vehicles 500,000 stations in total. It makes historic investments in rail and transit that will get passenger vehicles off the road and reduce fossil fuel consumption. Theres much more work to do to reach our ambitious climate goals, but the investments in this deal are critical in facilitating our transition to a clean energy economy.

Across the country, we will also strengthen and revitalize our natural infrastructure our coastlines and levees while preparing our physical infrastructure for wildfires, floods and other extreme weather events.

Well put people to work delivering high-speed internet to every American home, including the 35 percent of rural families who currently go without it. No child should have to sit in a fast food parking lot to do online school or homework, and it is a national disgrace that Black families are 9 percent less likely to have high-speed internet than their white peers, and Latino Americans are 15 percent less likely. In the 21st century, high-speed internet is a necessity for all, like water and electricity.

This deal will also make it easier for all Americans to get to work each day, including communities of color who in some cities are twice as likely to take public transit but often have fewer good transit options. In fact, it contains the largest federal investment in public transit in American history making the public transportation that millions of working people rely on safer, quicker, cleaner, more frequent and more reliable.

The deal also makes the largest investment in American rail since the creation of Amtrak, and puts billions toward modernizing our airports and ports. Our business leaders often tell me we are falling behind other countries when it comes to our rail and our airports. China has more than 22,000 miles of high-speed rail. Not a single U.S. airport ranks in the worlds top 25. This deal positions the United States to lead on modern 21st century transportation.

Critically, we are going to get all of this done without raising taxes one single cent on Americans who earn less than $400,000 a year. That means no gas tax increase working families have already paid enough. Instead, well pay for these investments in part by giving the IRS the resources it needs to collect taxes that the wealthiest Americans owe but are currently not paying. It cracks down on tax cheats, not on hardworking middle-class Americans.

This deal is the largest long-term investment in our infrastructure in nearly a century. Economists of all stripes agree that it would create good jobs and dramatically strengthen our economy in the long run.

But the deal also represents much more. It is a signal to ourselves, and to the world, that American democracy can work and deliver for the people.

Neither Democrats nor Republicans got everything they wanted in this agreement. But thats what it means to compromise and reach consensus the very heart of democracy. When we negotiate in good faith, and come together to get big things done, we begin to break the ice that too often has kept us frozen in place and prevented us from solving the real problems Americans face.

I will continue working with Congress to pass the remainder of my economic and clean energy agenda. We have an urgent need to invest in housing, clean energy deployment and the care economy. And we need to make equally critical investments in our human infrastructure: in childcare and paid leave, universal pre-K and free community college, and tax cuts for working families with children. They are inextricably intertwined with physical infrastructure.

There is plenty of work ahead to finish the job. There will be disagreements to resolve and more compromise to be forged. But this is a deal the American people can be proud of.

Joseph R. Biden Jr. is the 46th president of the United States.

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Biden: Americans can be proud of the infrastructure deal - Yahoo News