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In 2020, there were 1,108 data compromises. By 2023, the number of compromises reached 3,205, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center.

The most recent high-profile breach: An estimated 2.9 billion Social Security records, or 272 million unique Social Security numbers, were stolen from a Florida company in April.

The numbers have been available for months. What does that mean for consumers?

“When someone assumes your identity with your Social Security number, they could apply for credit cards or a loan; they could open cellphone or other accounts in your name or use the information in other ways,” said Luke Ervin, a San Diego-based financial adviser with UBS Financial Services Inc.

Meghan Land, the executive director of Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a national privacy nonprofit, said it’s best to assume your data will eventually end up in the wrong hands.

“Data breaches are unfortunately incredibly common,” Land said. “Even if you weren’t a victim in this one, information about you has likely been compromised in another breach. It can only help you to take proactive steps because this isn’t the first breach to compromise SSNs and it won’t be the last.” read more

Andrew Dehan | (TNS) Bankrate.com

The housing market has an affordability problem. During the pandemic, historically low mortgage rates boosted demand, driving home prices to record highs. After decades of underbuilding, construction labor shortages and rising material costs, the supply shortage continues to push homeownership further out of reach. To afford the typical home today, Americans need at least a six-figure salary, according to a Bankrate study.

While the housing market typically isn’t moved by presidential elections, both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have weighed in with varying proposals. While these would need approval in Congress to move forward, here’s what we know about their plans so far, and what the experts think.

Affordable housing

Vice President Harris has shared plans for 3 million new housing units over the next four years, spurred by a tax break incentivizing home builders to create more starter homes. She has also proposed up to $25,000 in down payment assistance for eligible first-time homebuyers, along with restrictions on how landlords determine rent increases and limits on tax breaks for institutional investors who buy single-family homes. read more

NASA astronaut Don Pettit is on his way to the International Space Station with two Russian cosmonaut crewmates who have helped set a record — they’re among 19 people in orbit at the same time.

Pettit, who was part of the 1996 NASA class of astronauts, made his fourth trip to space Wednesday joining Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner on the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft.

The trio lifted off at 12:23 p.m. EDT (9:23 p.m. local time) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a short, two-orbit trip before a rendezvous with the ISS just over three hours later at 3:32 p.m. EDT to join the nine astronauts and cosmonauts already on board the ISS and become part of Expedition 71.

SpaceX launches Polaris Dawn spacewalk mission taking billionaire to space for 2nd time

The 12 people on board the ISS isn’t a record for the station, but with the three Chinese taikonauts on the Tiangong space station already in orbit and the four passengers orbiting the Earth on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Resilience on the Polaris Dawn mission, that will mark a record 19 people orbiting in space at the same time. read more

The four passengers on the Polaris Dawn mission that launched from Kennedy Space Center early Tuesday reached their goal of flying farther away from Earth than anyone since the last Apollo mission.

SpaceX early Wednesday posted video taken from Crew Dragon Resilience of the event that included the audio exchange from its mission control and Polaris Dawn commander Jared Isaacman, who is making his second trip to space as part of a five-day orbital mission in partnership with SpaceX to test out innovations for Elon Musk’s company.

That included a plan to take Dragon to a much higher orbit, and breaking the low-Earth altitude orbital record set by NASA astronauts Pete Conrad and Richard Gordon when they flew on the Gemini 11 mission at an orbital that reached 853 miles altitude. Apollo missions to the moon traveled farther from Earth, but on lunar trajectories and not part of a low-Earth orbit mission.

Polaris Dawn and Dragon at 1,400 km above Earth – the farthest humans have traveled since the Apollo program over 50 years ago pic.twitter.com/rRDeD1dY1e read more

After months of controversy, Osceola County Commissioners enacted the state’s highest fees on new development to pay for transportation improvements.

The hefty “mobility fees” will provide a critically needed source of funding for road and rail improvements in a rapidly growing county where traffic has grown increasingly oppressive. But in a bow to opposition to the fee levels from the business community, the county will give developers a little over nine months before they take effect.

“The biggest complaint I receive in my community is our transportation network,” Commissioner Brandon Arrington said, after noting that previous boards had waived the fees to encourage new development, which has led to sprawl and gridlock. “We should have done this three years ago.”

The 4-1 vote Monday came after more than a dozen speakers, mostly from the development and real estate industry, objected.

The fee for new single-family homes would more than double from the current rate of $10,000 to $21,710. The rate for new apartments would go from $7,754 per unit to $14,040, representing an 81% increase. The fees would be levied on development in Osceola County that occurs outside of city limits. read more