Two Women, and Their Dogs, Rescued After Nearly 5 Months Lost at Sea

They were supposed to trade one island paradise for another: a monthlong sailing trip in spring, from Honolulu to Tahiti.

But on Wednesday morning, they were discovered in the wrong hemisphere, 5,000 miles off course and nearly six months into a dream that had curdled into a nightmare.

Jennifer Appel and Tasha Fuiaba were rescued by the Navy vessel the Ashland 900 miles south of Japan, according to a statement released by the Navy on Thursday. After setting out in early May, a storm claimed their 50-foot boat’s engine on May 30. They spent the next five months adrift at sea and unable to make contact with others.

Saudi Arabia ripped after granting citizenship to robot

Saudi Arabians are up in arms because a humanoid robot who doesn’t “cover up” or abide by the country’s strict laws was granted citizenship at a tech conference in Riyadh this week.

Sophia, created by Hanson Robotics in Hong Kong, was given official status Wednesday at the Future Investment Initiative conference.

“I am very honored and proud for this unique distinction,” she told the crowd, according to the BBC. “This is historical to be the first robot in the world to be recognized with a citizenship.”

Sophia gave insightful and witty answers in an interview with moderator Andrew Ross Sorkin, a columnist for the New York Times and CNBC anchor.

George H.W. Bush Groped Me, Too

April of 2014, I was invited to Houston as a guest author for the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy fundraiser, along with two well-known male authors and a male journalist who’d written a book about a Navy SEAL. At a small luncheon at a private home before the big event, I was seated next to Barbara Bush, who was warmly intimate and surprisingly funny. In my nervousness, I knocked a cherry tomato onto her pristine white slacks. She smiled wryly and said, “Seriously, Christina?”

After the luncheon, it was time to take group photos. Barbara Bush and I stood and chatted for a few minutes while the photographer readied his camera. President George H.W. Bush, whom I had not yet met, sat in his wheelchair in the center of the room, while others were arranged around him for photos in various groupings. When it came time for my husband and me to be photographed with him, President Bush beckoned me close.

Spanish leader asks Senate for power to take over Catalonia

In an extraordinary showdown over the future of the country, the Spanish and Catalan parliaments staged dueling sessions Friday — as the central government pressed for permission to take over control of the breakaway region, and the secessionists in Catalonia threatened to declare independence.

In Madrid, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy urged the Senate to grant the central government unprecedented powers to establish control over Catalonia, which earlier this month defied Spanish authorities and held a referendum that backed the push for statehood.

If the Senate invokes the never-before-used Article 155 of Spain’s 1978 constitution, the central government could move swiftly to remove the Catalan president, suspend his ministers and assume authority over the region’s public media, police and finances.

Rajoy told the Senate that his government had repeatedly tried to rein in the secessionists in Catalonia. He scoffed at Catalan President Carles Puigdemont’s repeated offers of “dialogue” to end the impasse.

Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and Joseph Parker all want to unify heavyweight belts

Joshua will defend his WBA ‘super’ and IBF belts against Carlos Takam at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff this Saturday night

Hearn: It’s about money, and who is worth what. Wilder would get much more money to fight Joshua

WBC champion Deontay Wilder and WBO title holder Joseph Parker will be watching their rival with interest, but will we see fights between the three current champions?

Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn, Lou DiBella, who works closely with Wilder, and David Higgins of Parker’s promotional team Duco Events have joined a debate about whether we could see an undisputed champion in the future.                               

Matt Damon Debuts George Clooney's 'Twins' as He Crashes Jimmy Kimmel Live

The actor showed up partway through his Suburbicon director and costar Clooney's chat with Kimmel after Clooney revealed that his infant twins, Ella and Alexander, were actually backstage. (Clooney's wife, human rights attorney Amal Clooney, gave birth back in June.) After teasing the studio audience a few times, Clooney summoned Damon, posing as his "manny," out onto the stage.

"I just want to make something very clear right now: they're cheering for the babies, not this person. Who let him in here?" Kimmel said, bristling as Damon walked out onstage pushing a double stroller, diaper bag hanging off his shoulder.

NSA contractor leaked US hacking tools by mistake, Kaspersky says

An incredible sequence of security mistakes led to a US National Security Agency contractor leaking his own confidential hacking tools to Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab, the Moscow-based company has alleged.

The claim comes as part of an internal investigation into allegations that the company helped Russian spies discover and steal the NSA files, by locating and flagging the contractor.

Kaspersky Lab does not dispute that it discovered hacking tools on the computer of a user of one of its consumer antivirus products. But the timeline it lays out is one of multiple serious security errors on the part of the user, believed to be an NSA contractor.

According to Kaspersky’s report, the contractor was using the company’s home antivirus software when it detected a piece of malware attributed to the “Equation Group” (the security firm’s internal codename for what is believed to be the NSA’s hacking team) on 11 September 2014.

Some time after that, the contractor apparently disabled the Kaspersky antivirus software, the company says, but is unable to pinpoint the exact date as that information is not logged. On 4 October 2014, it appears that the contractor turned the antivirus software back on – because he had downloaded and installed some malware while trying to pirate Microsoft Office.