FIFA officials to be charged, Texas dries out after deadly floods and the IRS deals with another security breach.
It’s Wednesday, and here are five things to know for your New Day:
FIFA
Out of bounds: The Justice Department is about to deliver a body blow to soccer’s governing body. Up to 14 FIFA officials will be charged with corruption today after a three-year FBI probe, according to a federal indictment. Arrests were made overnight in Zurich, where officials had gathered for an election. FIFA President Sepp Blatter isn’t being charged, but he reportedly was investigated. We don’t yet know who will be charged. The charges spring from the FBI’s investigation into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup.
FLOODING
Deadly deluge: The storms may have moved eastward into Louisiana and Mississippi, but Texas and Oklahoma will be dealing with the aftermath of this week’s epic rains and severe flooding for months. Thirty-one people in the U.S. and Mexico have died and many are still missing. Houston was hammered hard, with flooded roadways, stranded cars and extensive power outages. In other parts of the state, more tragic stories: a mom and her two kids are missing after their cabin was swept away, and a popular high school student died while driving home from the prom.
BALTIMORE
Bad stats: Murders are up; arrests are down. Why? Baltimore police are engaged in a work slowdown in parts of the city after last month’s riots. That’s what a Baltimore officer told us, but Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said gang violence is to blame for the uptick in violence. A CNN legal analyst said police may be hesitant about taking risks and aggressively policing in parts of Baltimore after several officers were charged in the Freddie Gray case.
IRS
Bad breach: You’re not safe anywhere online. That’s how a lot of folks feel after the IRS said yesterday that criminals used its website to steal data on 104,000 people. The crooks got Social Security numbers, address and other sensitive personal information. Armed with that they could open bank accounts, credit lines and steal future tax refunds. That’s just lovely. The IRS promises to fix this latest security breach and offer paid credit protection for the victims.
NSA
Patriot games: On Monday the government can’t collect your phone data anymore, unless Congress acts (and we all know that’s always iffy). The NSA’s bulk metadata collection program is part of Patriot Act provisions that expire at midnight Sunday. The obvious solution is for the Senate to OK the USA Freedom Act – which would make phone companies keep the data and force the government to get a warrant for it. Problem is the Senate is in recess until Sunday, and folks like Rand Paul have privacy concerns about the whole thing. Looks like Congress is doing what it does best – legislate by crisis.
Those are your five biggies for the day. Here are a few others that are brewing and have the Internet buzzing.
WTF: It’s in the dictionary now, along with emoji, NSFW, photobomb and other words that used to be slang.
Merriam-Webster's new words
Acrobatic: It was a normal day at this New York park, then the “groundskeepers” started doing flips.
Bikini evolution: Ever wonder how the bikini developed over time?
Windy beverage: Drinking a beverage in the harsh Icelandic winds isn’t easy.
Self-absorbed: One man decided to post 16 years’ worth of selfies to YouTube. Yeah, doesn’t make much sense to us either.