Gun violence erupts across U.S. on Fourth of July
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NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
AI voice used to impersonate Marco Rubio in messages to high-level officials, State Department says
An unknown individual or group using artificial intelligence impersonated Secretary of State Marco Rubio to contact at least five high-level government officials in mid-June, according to a State Department cable obtained by NBC News. The cable was first reported by The Washington Post. 'The actor likely aimed to manipulate targeted individuals using Al-generated text and voice messages, with the goal of gaining access to information or accounts,' the memo said. At least three foreign ministers, a U.S. governor and a member of Congress all received outreach from the fake Rubio, the cable said. It sent at least one of the targets a text message urging them to speak on Signal, and sent Signal voice messages to at least two of them. The sender used the display name which is not a functional email address, as their Signal nickname. Signal allows users to choose their own nickname, and such a nickname would not necessarily mean that the user has access to that email address. Rubio was among the senior Trump administration officials who were a part of 'Signalgate,' an incident in March in which the group discussed sensitive military strikes in Yemen after inadvertently adding Atlantic Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg into a group chat on the Signal app . The cable noted that the campaign to impersonate Rubio echoed another effort to impersonate unnamed senior U.S. officials that was investigated by the FBI in May. The White House confirmed that month that someone had been impersonating President Donald Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, in texts and phone calls to government officials. A senior state department official confirmed the clandestine campaign and said the agency is investigating the matter. 'The department takes seriously its responsibility to safeguard its information and continuously takes steps to improve the department's cybersecurity posture to prevent future incidents,' the official said. 'For security reasons, and due to our ongoing investigation, we are not in a position to offer further details at this time." It was not immediately clear how the individual or group impersonated Rubio, but foreign disinformation operations have begun to routinely use generative AI chat apps like ChatGPT in order to create text in convincing English. Meanwhile, AI-enabled voice cloning technology has rapidly become extremely sophisticated, and it can be very difficult for many people to distinguish a synthetic voice from a real person's voice. While there is no direct cyber threat to the State Department from the campaign, the diplomatic cable warned that 'information shared with a third party could be exposed if targeted individuals are compromised.' The cable signed by Rubio was sent to all domestic and overseas U.S. diplomatic posts last week, said U.S. diplomats may warn their external partners that cyber threat actors are impersonating State officials and accounts.
NBC News
a day ago
- NBC News
DOJ memo dismissing Epstein conspiracy theories sparks anger from conservatives
Conservative internet and media personalities are criticizing Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Trump administration after a recent government memo appeared to contradict statements Bondi made about the case of convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein. The two-page memo, published by the FBI and Justice Department after an 'exhaustive review' of materials related to Epstein, concluded that there is no evidence of an 'incriminating 'client list',' or evidence that would lead to additional prosecution of third parties. The memo also concluded that Epstein died by suicide in his Manhattan jail cell in 2019 and that no evidence was found to suggest that he had participated in blackmail. The findings closely mirror what NBC News and many other outlets have reported and published for years — that while Epstein sexually abused underage girls, he did not keep a secret list of powerful pedophile clients he was blackmailing. The unsigned memo, first reported by Axios on Sunday, has enraged many prominent conservatives online who have often been supportive of the Trump administration, leading some to allege that Trump's Department of Justice has taken part in a larger conspiracy to cover up aspects of the Epstein affair, which conspiracy theorists say implicates powerful and famous people, particularly Musk, who has recently feuded with Trump and his administration after leaving his post at the White House, led the charge criticizing the Trump administration over the memo, posting eight times on Sunday and Monday and reposting a post from a user saying: 'If the entire government is protecting pedophiles, it has officially become the government against the people.'In particular, conservatives have expressed anger that Trump and other administration members promised tangible disclosures about Epstein if Trump were Monday morning, Musk responded 'anytime now' to a video posted in 2024 showing Trump saying he'd have 'no problem' looking into an Epstein client list. Others have zeroed in on statements made by Bondi. In February, Bondi indicated to Fox News host John Roberts that included in files related to law enforcement's investigations into Epstein — information which in reality was already largely public — was a list of Epstein clients. 'It's sitting on my desk right now to review,' Bondi said, responding to a question about a potential client list, adding that she had 'not yet' seen any bombshells. In the wake of the memo, conservative critics are pointing to the segment as an indication of a cover-up.'Sorry but this is unacceptable,' said online activist Robby Starbuck, best known for his successful anti-DEI pressure campaigns targeting major corporations.'Was she lying then or is she lying now? We deserve answers,' Starbuck posted alongside the video. On his YouTube show, during a segment on the topic that lasted over 90 minutes, conservative pundit Benny Johnson declared that 'the federal government [is] officially confirming the cover-up is complete with Jeffrey Epstein.' Mike Benz, who worked in the State Department in Trump's first administration, said on the 'Real America's Voice ' talk show that while he trusted the senior Trump officials who released the memo, he nevertheless believed there was a vast deep state conspiracy 'I think you have a global network here that spans the Central Intelligence Agency in the U.S., that spans British intelligence, Israeli intelligence, Saudi intelligence,' he claimed, without evidence. Conservative commentator Rogan O'Handley, who goes by DC_Draino online and participated in a Trump administration photo op in February holding binders labeled 'The Epstein Files,' on Monday called the memo part of a 'shameful chapter' in the country's history. 'Assuming this leaked Epstein Files memo is true, then we all know this is a shameful cover-up to protect the most heinous elites. We were told multiple times the files would be released, and now it looks like backroom deals have been made to keep them hidden,' he wrote in a post. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the memo on Monday, saying at a news briefing that the Justice Department and FBI had 'committed to an exhaustive investigation. That's what they did, and they provided the results of that,' she said. Asked for a message for Trump supporters who expected more people to be held accountable for Epstein's alleged crimes, she said that 'this administration wants anyone who has ever committed a crime to be held accountable.' One former proponent of the Epstein conspiracy theory who has been silent is Dan Bongino, now the deputy director of the FBI. Before taking that job, Bongino boosted claims on his podcast that Epstein was a career blackmailer. In a Jan. 4, 2024, episode, Bongino played a clip of a journalist saying that she was '100%' convinced that Epstein was killed 'because he made his whole living blackmailing people.' Bongino told his listeners that he'd heard the same claims from another reporter and that they were 'super important.' The FBI declined to comment about Bongino's former claims. The memo also acknowledged the challenges in releasing further material because so much of it could be harmful to Epstein's accusers. 'Epstein harmed over one thousand victims,' the memo said. 'Each suffered unique trauma. Sensitive information relating to these victims is intertwined throughout the materials. This includes specific details such as victim names and likenesses, physical descriptions, places of birth, associates, and employment history.' The FBI and Justice Department also released two versions of a nearly 11-hour video of the outside of a prison cell door, purportedly as evidence that no one else was involved when Epstein killed himself. But that has done little to quell conspiracy claims. In both versions, timestamps on the videos jump from 11:58 p.m. to midnight, which has already inspired posts on X with tens of thousands of views claiming a government conspiracy to hide incriminating footage.
Metro
a day ago
- Metro
Terrifying moment war zone-like mass shooting leaves three dead in Philadelphia
A mass shooting that broke out in Philadelphia and left three people dead and 10 injured appeared like a scene out of a war zone. CCTV footage from outside a home showed more than a half dozen people taking cover behind a short wall on the porch as countless gunshots rang out. The 20-second Ring camera clip showed women and teenagers taking cover on top of each other and squirming while at least two men stood up with guns and opened fire toward the street. Others could be seen hiding behind cars across the street. Gunfire erupted on the 1500 block of South Etting Street in the Grays Ferry neighborhood just before 1am on Monday. Police were patrolling the area as people gathered and played loud music, when dozens of shots were fired. Three men, aged 19, 23 and 24, were killed in the massacre. Among those who were injured were a 15-year-old girl, two 17-year-old boys and a 19-year-old man in critical condition. Other victims aged 18 to 24 suffered more minor injuries. Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel condemned the perpetrators for engaging in the shootout with children nearby, and said it was 'hard to understand'. 'You see the size of this block – individuals just shooting randomly into houses, into cars,' said Bethel, according to WPVI. 'I mean, this is coward, wannabe thug stuff.' He added that 'we will get to the root cause and we will bring those individuals to justice'. Police have apprehended at least one person with a weapon. The shooting was 'past frustrating' for Tyrique Glasgow, who is executive director of Young Chances Foundation, which works to end violence and give young men opportunities in Grays Ferry. Glasgow said he knows some of the victims. More Trending 'They are working to get jobs and going to vocational school, and to have their lives stopped by gun violence is something that is frustrating and painful,' he told the news outlet. The shooting happened during a community cookout. 'We are going to come together and clean it up, but the blood and the trash and the food and the activities that we are supposed to have today for our summer camp, we had to put on pause today,' Glasgow said. It happened after a violent Fourth of July weekend, with 46 people shot from Friday to Monday, according to Bethel. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Tributes to 'brave' Camp Mystic counselor, 18, who died saving children in Texas flood MORE: Body cam footage shows brothers 'throwing punches' at Manchester Airport police officers MORE: Girl, 8, killed after illegal firework strike on Independence Day
