QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We’re up against the earth, and the earth’s movement is an extremely powerful thing.”
Fire Chief Willy Watsabaugh of Jackson, Wyo., on efforts to impede the slow, seemingly inexorable collapse of a mountainside in the town Article, 5A
Healthcare.gov users change passwords
WASHINGTON - People who have accounts on the enrollment website for President Barack Obama’s signature health-care law are being told to change their passwords after an administration wide review of the government’s vulnerability to the confounding Heartbleed Internet security flaw.
Senior administration officials said there is no indication that the healthcare.gov site has been compromised.
The government’s Heartbleed review is ongoing, the officials said, and users of other websites also might be told to change their passwords in the coming days, including those with accounts on the popular whitehouse.gov petitions page.
The Heartbleed programming flaw has caused major security concerns across the Internet and affected a widely used encryption technology that was designed to protect online accounts.
A message posted on the health-care website Saturday reads: “While there’s no indication that any personal information has ever been at risk, we have taken steps to address Heartbleed issues and reset consumers’ passwords out of an abundance of caution.”
GM delayed Ion recall despite complaints
DETROIT - General Motors waited years to recall nearly 335,000 Saturn Ions for power-steering failures despite getting thousands of consumer complaints and more than 30,000 warranty repair claims, according to government documents released Saturday.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the government’s auto-safety watchdog, also didn’t seek a recall of the compact car from the 2004 through 2007 model years even though it opened an investigation more than two years ago and found 12 crashes and two injuries caused by the problem.
A recall can be initiated by an automaker or demanded by the government.
Both GM and the safety administration have been criticized by safety advocates and lawmakers for their slow responses to a deadly ignition switch problem in 2.6 million GM small cars. GM admitted knowing about the problem for more than a decade, but it didn’t start recalling the cars until February.
The Ion was one of a few GM cars included in a March 31 recall of 1.5 million vehicles worldwide to replace the power-steering motors; the recall also covered some older Saturn Auras, Pontiac G6s and Chevrolet Malibus.
Body found by roadway is missing boy, 5
WORCESTER, Mass. - The body of a small boy apparently cast off the side of a highway has been confirmed as a missing 5-year-old, authorities said Saturday.
The body found Friday off Interstate 190 has been positively identified as Jeremiah Oliver, Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said. No charges were immediately announced related to Jeremiah’s death.
He was last seen by relatives in September but wasn’t reported missing until December. Authorities had said they feared the Fitchburg boy was dead.
Early said in a statement Saturday that the autopsy report is not complete. The investigation is continuing, he said.
“It appears to be a homicide,” the prosecutor said at a news conference Friday.
Early said the body was found about 9 a.m. Friday by a police search team about 40 feet off I-190 near Sterling, which is about 12 miles from Fitchburg.
Ammo-plant blast an accident, ATF says
McEWEN, Tenn. - A deadly explosion last week at a Tennessee ammunition plant was accidental, according to a preliminary investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
ATF spokesman Michael Knight said it will now be up to the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration to determine fault and whether there were any safety violations at the McEwen plant. The state agency also will determine penalties, if appropriate.
The explosion Wednesday afternoon at Rio Ammunition, about 55 miles west of Nashville, killed Rodney Edwards and injured three others. One of the injured, Joey Clark, was listed in stable condition at Vanderbilt University Medical Center on Saturday. The other two victims were discharged last week.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 04/20/2014