Dems’ computers hacked again

WASHINGTON (AP) — The computers of the House Democratic campaign committee have been hacked, an intrusion that investigators say resembles the recent cyber breach of the Democratic National Committee for which the Russian government is the leading suspect.

The digital break-in at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which the organization acknowledged Friday, added another layer of mystery to the hacking of Democratic Party information that has been revealed in the heat of this year’s presidential and congressional elections.

Details were initially unclear about exactly who tapped into the computers and what information was accessed at the congressional campaign committee, which raises money and provides other assistance for Democratic House candidates.

Spokeswoman Meredith Kelly said the committee was “the target of a cybersecurity incident” and was informed by investigators “that this is similar to other recent incidents, including the DNC breach.”

President Barack Obama has said Russia was almost certainly responsible for the hack of the Democratic National Committee, an assertion with which cybersecurity experts have agreed.

That breach led to the release by WikiLeaks on July 22, days before the Democratic national convention began, of 19,000 emails showing that supposedly neutral party officials were favoring Hillary Clinton over Sen. Bernie Sanders during their primary contest for the presidential nomination.

Mosquitoes spreading Zika in US mainland

MIAMI (AP) — Mosquitoes have apparently begun spreading the Zika virus on the U.S. mainland for the first time, health officials said Friday in a long-feared turn in the epidemic that is sweeping Latin America and the Caribbean.

Four recently infected people in the Miami area – one woman and three men – are believed to have contracted the virus locally through mosquito bites, Gov. Rick Scott said.

No mosquitoes in Florida have actually been found to be carrying Zika, despite the testing of 19,000 by the state. But other methods of Zika transmission, such as travel to a stricken country or sex with an infected person, have been ruled out.

“Zika is now here,” said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

San Diego cop killed, another wounded

SAN DIEGO (AP) — One San Diego police officer was killed and another was wounded in a shootout following a late-night stop to check out a person, authorities said Friday.

A suspect was wounded and taken into custody shortly after the gunfight, and police hours later surrounded a home as they searched for a man described as a possible accomplice.

Police Chief Shelley Zimmerman identified the dead officer as Jonathan DeGuzman, a 16-year veteran of the force who was married with two children. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds.

Officer Wade Irwin, 32, underwent surgery after being shot and was expected to survive, Zimmerman said. His wife was at the hospital during surgery.

Both officers were wearing bulletproof vests and body cameras, and quickly called for assistance from other officers, Zimmerman said.

Police initially said the shootout started following a traffic stop, but Zimmerman later clarified that detectives were trying to determine whether it was a traffic stop or an attempt by the officers to check out a pedestrian.

Turkey’s president slams United States

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s president slammed the United States on Friday, claiming it was not standing firmly against a failed military coup and accused it of harboring the plot’s alleged mastermind, as a government crackdown in the coup’s aftermath strained Turkey’s ties with key allies.

Turkey has demanded the U.S. extradite Fethullah Gulen, a cleric living in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania whom it accuses of being behind the violent July 15 coup attempt that left 290 people dead.

It is accusing Western nations of not extending sufficient support to its efforts to counter further threats from followers of the Gulen movement, which it says have infiltrated the country’s state institutions.

Turkey considers Gulen’s movement a terrorist organization. Gulen has denied any prior knowledge of the plot, and says his movement espouses interfaith dialogue. The U.S. has asked Turkey for evidence of his involvement, and said the U.S. extradition process must take its course.

“Instead of thanking this nation that quashed the coup in the name of democracy, on the contrary, you are taking sides with the coup plotters,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an angry speech Friday at a police special forces headquarters in Ankara. The facility was bombed and fired upon during the attempted coup, and 47 police officers were killed.

“The putschist is already in your country,” Erdogan said.

Shoplifter bags 26 detergent containers

NEW YORK (AP) — He didn’t make a clean getaway.

Authorities say a shoplifter tried to steal 26 containers of laundry detergent from a New York City supermarket. The Staten Island Advance says the dirty deed occurred Monday night.

Court documents say the man stuffed the detergent – valued at nearly $200 – into a black bag.

He tried to leave the store without paying – but police had a different destination in mind.