Russia hacked voting systems in 39 states before the 2016 presidential election
This goes way deeper than we first thought.

https://www.vox.com/world/2017/6/13/15791744/russia-election-39-states-hack-putin-trump-sessions

Russia’s efforts to hack the 2016 presidential election were much more widespread than originally thought. The Russian campaign hit 39 states — twice as many as originally reported — and in one case hackers tried to delete and alter voter data.

That’s the startling revelation from a Bloomberg report this morning. The extent of the cyber intrusion was so widespread that Obama administration officials used the infamous “red phone” — which is really a digital communications channel that allows the countries to send information back and forth — to show Kremlin leaders what they had discovered. It remains unclear, though, if these intrusions had any direct effect on the election’s outcome.

Still, this is another example of Russia taking advantage of the many online vulnerabilities in America’s voting network, which is comprised of software companies, online registration sites, and vital information that election officials willingly send to each other over email.

All of them play an important part in obtaining and safeguarding sensitive voter information, but it appears the Russians have figured out how to get that data.

“If you got 10 people working to try and figure out what the US election system is for 18 months, of course they’re going to figure it out,” said Beau Woods, a cybersecurity expert at the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank.

Russia, of course, denies having anything to do with the hackers that pulled this off. Either way, the news comes at an inauspicious time for President Donald Trump, who has had to deal with congressional hearings featuring former FBI Director James Comey last week and Attorney General Jeff Sessions today, each digging deep into his campaign’s possible collusion with Russia.

So, despite assurances from the Obama administration that the election’s integrity was not compromised, there was still a very large-scale Russian effort to mess with it. That means future elections, including ones next year, run the risk of being tainted.

Russia hacked into the voting systems of 39 states
The hack into Illinois’s election system is the one we know the most about. Ken Menzel, who serves as general counsel for the Illinois state board of elections, told Bloomberg that a part-time contractor for the state board of elections noticed unauthorized data leaving the network.

That data contained the personal information of around 15 million people, including names, birthdays, genders, and partial Social Security numbers. It was a huge coup for the Russians, as around half of those 15 million were active voters. Apparently, the cyber intruders aimed to delete or alter voter data they got a hold of.

But even if they did that, that still wouldn’t necessarily have affected the election. It’s the counties that upload voter information to the state, not vice versa. So even if all the rolls were deleted at the state level, there was a backup plan in place to restore all the names.

Voter data wasn’t all the information the hackers were after, though. In a different, unidentified US state, the Russians were able to get information from a campaign finance database, which would give them insight into the financial connections between certain voters and candidates.

America’s elections system is vulnerable to attacks
The intrusions scared these states so much that they ended up asking the Department of Homeland Security for special teams to help keep hackers out. Others hired private companies for the same mission.

The Obama administration was worried about these developments, too. Using the secure “red phone” backchannel, it showed the extent of the hacking campaign to its Russian counterparts.

If Kremlin officials were upset about it, they didn’t seem to show it. Russian leaders kept requesting more information. And throughout that whole process, the hackers proceeded with their work.

Some inside the Obama administration wanted to go public with the information. But the White House decided against it, claiming it wasn’t worth risking people’s faith in the election’s integrity.

So, it seems despite efforts to stop Russia’s actions and sanctions related to Moscow’s meddling, it effectively got away with it. But because vital elections information is online for the taking, the Russians didn’t need to try too hard.

“Most states these days have online voter registration tools or online absentee-ballot request tools. That means that the voter registration data base is online,” Douglas W. Jones, an elections expert at the University of Iowa, said in an interview.

In effect, Russia didn’t need an “inside man” for this — Americans make this information obtainable for elite hackers by putting all of this critical information on the internet. That leaves the US very vulnerable to these kinds of attacks.

So while it’s unclear still if Russia’s hacking efforts actually influenced the outcome of the election, the fact that it is able to access such important information is already troublesome in itself.

And that bodes poorly for the 2018 elections and others beyond that, as their integrity becomes more and more suspect with each new revelation of the extent of Russia’s election-hacking campaign.

Surely Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the congressional investigations into Russia’s possible ties to the Trump campaign will look into all of this. There may even be questions about it asked of Sessions this afternoon.

But in the meantime, collusion with Trump or not, we now know that Russia has struck deeper into the heart of America’s democracy: its elections.

Day one of the Los Angeles #Rams minicamp at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks
photos: https://t.co/tA6zA3AahE pic.twitter.com/IeCSL7b3pN

— Hans Gutknecht (@HansGutknecht) June 14, 2017

#Rams General Manager Les Snead and Aaron Donald talk during minicamp today
Photos: https://t.co/tA6zA3AahE pic.twitter.com/kcPkqWkpuX

— Hans Gutknecht (@HansGutknecht) June 14, 2017

If you see Jared Goff out in public, ask him about anything other than adding 10 pounds. He's pretty much done with those questions.

— Rich Hammond (@Rich_Hammond) June 13, 2017

Vincent Bonsignore @DailyNewsVinny

Some observations from #Rams camp. Cooper Kupp got extensive work with 1st team & made a terrific leaping catch in back of end zone

Both Jared Goff and Sean Mannion looked sharp throwing the ball in 11-on-11 drills, which Sean McVay sets up as very competitive

@DailyNewsVinny
How was Woods?

Vincent Bonsignore‏ @DailyNewsVinny

He’s looked solid all offseason. There’s a professionalism he brings that was lacking at that spot last year

Aaron Donald at Rams minicamp after skipping OTAs over deal

Alden Gonzalez

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/19627759/aaron-donald-los-angeles-rams-minicamp-skipping-otas

Defensive tackle Aaron Donald ended his absence from the Los Angeles Rams’ recent activities, reporting Tuesday for the start of mandatory minicamp.

Donald skipped OTAs while his representatives at CAA negotiated a potential extension with the team.

Rams general manager Les Snead confirmed last month that Donald’s absence from OTAs “has something to do with the contract” and said he is “very hopeful that this thing will get done.”

The Rams picked up Donald’s fifth-year option earlier this year. The No. 13 overall pick in 2014 will be paid a base salary of about $1.8 million in 2017 and $6.9 million in 2018, then will be eligible for free agency.

Donald has been invited to the Pro Bowl each of his three NFL seasons and was first-team All-Pro the past two years. In 2015 and ’16, he was considered the game’s best defensive player, regardless of position, by Pro Football Focus. Last season alone, he led the NFL with 31 quarterback hits, was tied for the lead with 17 tackles for loss, and added eight sacks.

Rams rookie head coach Sean McVay said last month that Donald was present for the voluntary veteran minicamp from April 25-27.

Any extension for Donald might require making him the game’s highest-paid defensive player, though he could be willing to sacrifice some of that in order to make more in his two seasons before free agency.

The game’s highest-paid defensive player is Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller, who signed a six-year, $114.5 million contract, with $70 million guaranteed, last July. After Miller are a couple of defensive tackles: Ndamukong Suh of the Dolphins (six years, $114.375 million with nearly $60 million guaranteed) and Fletcher Cox of the Eagles (six-year, $102.6 million contract with nearly $63.3 million guaranteed).

J.J. Watt — the only one among the five highest-paid defensive players to get an extension before his fourth season — got a six-year deal worth about $100 million with nearly $52 million guaranteed with the Texans.

No new deal in place, but Aaron Donald reports for minicamp

Josh Alper

No new deal in place, but Aaron Donald reports for minicamp

When Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald opted not to attend Organized Team Activities this offseason, General Manager Les Snead said that the team was in the “serious stages” of negotiating a contract extension for their top defensive player and indications were that Donald’s absence was related to the lack of an agreement.

Those talks have not yielded a new deal at this point and there was a report this week that Donald might not show for minicamp, but that turned out to be incorrect. According to multiple reports, Donald is at the Rams’ practice on Tuesday.

Donald will avoid any possible fines from the team by showing up for work. He’ll have another decision to make come training camp if a deal hasn’t fallen into place by then, but would also risk being fined if he failed to report this summer.

That wouldn’t be a desirable outcome for either side and the gap between minicamp and training camp should provide plenty of opportunities for a deal to get hammered out in L.A.

PA Ram wrote:

I’m starting to think we may be closer to an authoritarian takeover of the government. Now Trump is talking about firing Mueller apparently. If that happens, and the Republicans continue to look away and whistle, we are in big trouble.

The next 2 elections, one congressional and one presidential, would (I assume) express great great displeasure at that.

Remember, Trump did not win a majority of the popular vote, and he won in a year with low turnout. (In fact the lowest in 2 decades.)

Trump’s deluded base isn’t going to change, but a lot of other things could, including election turnout.

from NFL’s most indispensable defenders

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000814247/article/khalil-mack-von-miller-top-nfls-most-indispensable-defenders

4) Aaron Donald, DT, Los Angeles Rams
I didn’t put Donald on this list last year for all of the right reasons — I thought the Rams would be terrible, regardless of his contributions — and the fan base wasn’t happy with me. Well, I think with a new head coach in Sean McVay and Wade Phillips in to run the defense, the Rams will be better than people think. And Donald gives them a fighting chance. He’s the best defensive tackle in the league. And no one will be surprised if he takes home Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2017.

Donald’s disruptive abilities are extraordinary, as evidenced by his 28 sacks in three NFL seasons. Remember: He’s an interior defensive lineman. That’s not a normal sack total. But Donald’s not a normal player. In fact, analytics hub Pro Football Focus just ranked Donald as the No. 1 player … in the entire league!

Gurley.

If he can’t get it back together a la 2015, then, a lot of what they’re trying to do will just be harder to do.

.

For those who have seen it…there’s a scene everyone will recognize where Diana and Steve set sail from her island. At one point she innocently invites him to sleep next to her. He hesitates because of social gender rules and customs he grew up with, which she does not understand. They’re very awkward about it all. The scene is considered one of the films highlights because of the way it pokes fun at both her incredulous innocence and his straight-laced morality.

Well according to the actors, that entire scene was improvised.

.

Why couldn’t Wade Phillips find work the year before he built a Super Bowl-winning defense?

WADE PHILLIPS/May 5th, 2017

https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/05/05/son-of-bum-wade-phillips-book-excerpt-redskins-interview

The following is excerpted from Son of Bum: Lessons My Dad Taught Me About Football and Life by Wade Phillips Copyright © 2017. Reprinted with permission of Diversion Books. All rights reserved.

I couldn’t believe that I was going to spend an entire offseason without working for an NFL team, but that was what happened in 2014 after the Texans fired me. I’m not sure what was keeping me from being hired, although my age of sixty-seven probably didn’t help. I also had a year left on my contract at a pretty big salary.

Late in my second season with the Texans, Tampa Bay wanted to talk to me about its head coaching job when we were in the playoffs. Bob McNair, our team owner, said to me, “You know, I’d rather you not do that, because of the playoffs and so forth.” So I didn’t talk with the Buccaneers.

It probably would have been my last shot at getting a head coaching job. However, Mr. McNair did come back and give me a new deal that made me the highest-paid assistant in the league. It was nice of him to do that. It was a reward for turning around a defense that went from thirtieth in the NFL to second in our first year and then ranked seventh in each of the next two seasons.

But when other teams heard about my salary after I got fired, they said, “You know, we can’t pay you what you were making in Houston.”

After the 2014 season, a few assistant coaches had called to say if they got a head coaching job, they’d like to have me as their defensive coordinator. Tony Sparano had been the interim head coach in Oakland and thought the Raiders would hire him.

Pat Shurmur, who had been the offensive coordinator in Philadelphia after two years as head coach in Cleveland, had another shot at a head coaching position. Frank Reich, who was the offensive coordinator in San Diego, also called me. He thought he had a chance with the Jets or Buffalo. All three of those guys had interviews, but none of them were hired.

I felt my record spoke for itself. I had consistently coached very good defensive teams. Beginning in 2005 with the Bills, I went to the playoffs in my first year with six teams in a row. I thought real football people around the league would recognize those accomplishments. I thought everything was going to be okay. It wasn’t. The 2015 offseason began and I was still out of work.

Finally, I got a call to interview with the Washington Redskins. Jay Gruden, their head coach, had fired his defensive coordinator, Jim Haslett, and wanted to talk with me about the job. By this point my son Wes was the Redskins’ tight ends coach, so I was looking forward to the possibility of us working together again.

But my interview with Jay was strange, to say the least. I’d had unusual interviews before—like the one with Marty Schottenheimer that took forever because he asked a million questions about the 3–4 defense—but I had never gone through something quite like this.

When Jay was the offensive coordinator in Cincinnati and I was with the Texans, I faced the Bengals twice in the playoffs, after the 2011 and 2012 seasons, and beat them both times—31–10 and 19–13. I felt he knew my credentials and might have been impressed with the things we were able to do in the previous three games in which we had beaten the Bengals, including one game during the regular season.

We watched a lot of tape of the Texans’ games versus his offense. It seemed to me a lot of the plays were of when Cincinnati did well. Most of the interview was about that. I thought we should have talked more about philosophy, technique, concepts, and my record, but he was the one interviewing me.

After the interview I told Wes of my disappointment. I felt Jay didn’t have as much regard for my coaching as I’d hoped he would. He ended up hiring Joe Barry, a friend of his, to be defensive coordinator. Joe had been with the Chargers, whose defensive coordinator was John Pagano. John had been my linebackers coach when I was the defensive coordinator in San Diego, so Joe basically learned my defensive system through John.

Although I didn’t get the job, I was happy for Joe because I think he’s a good, young coach. Of course, the main reason I had even considered going to Washington was for the chance to work with my son again. But I know Wes has enjoyed working with Jay, and they’ve done a good job with the Redskins.

Meanwhile, the Broncos hired Gary Kubiak to replace John Fox as their head coach. They were trying to get Vance Joseph to be their defensive coordinator. He was the secondary coach for the Bengals and he’d had the same job when I was with the Texans.

But Mike Brown, the Bengals’ owner, wouldn’t let Vance out of his contract. (After spending the 2016 season as defensive coordinator for the Dolphins, Vance would become the Broncos’ head coach in 2017 as the replacement for Gary, who decided to retire.) After that, the Broncos called me, so I was obviously the second choice.

I was disappointed that they thought somebody else would do a better job, especially because I had been with Kub in Houston, but that was the way it was. It’s just like when somebody takes your place after you’re fired, or you take somebody else’s place and you get the job. You do the best you can and you don’t worry about how you got the job.

You just make the most of the opportunity. It didn’t make me more determined to succeed. It didn’t make me want to try harder—if you’re not already doing the best you can, you shouldn’t be in it. If you don’t love it enough to deal with the fact that you’re always in danger of being fired or that you’re going to be passed over for jobs, you shouldn’t be in it.