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A ransomware attack has targeted the central data systems of Paris’ Grand Palais and other museums in the Réunion des Musées Nationaux network, the Paris prosecutor’s office said Tuesday. Some venues in the network are hosting competitions for the Summer Olympics.

The attack, detected on Sunday, hit data systems used by around 40 museums across France. Paris authorities and the Grand Palais-RMN network said there has been no disruption to the Olympic events.

“To date, no data extraction has been detected,” the Grand Palais-RMN said in a statement, adding its technical teams are “fully mobilized” to fix the incident “as best as possible.”

The Grand Palais is hosting fencing and taekwondo competitions, while the Château de Versailles, also part of the RMN network, is the venue for equestrian sports and the modern pentathlon.

The Paris prosecutor’s office has assigned the investigation to a subdivision, the Brigade for Combating Cybercrime, to determine the extent and perpetrators of the attack. Efforts are ongoing to secure and restore the affected systems. read more

By Don Lee, Los Angeles Times

It’s nail-biting time on Wall Street.

Stocks had been dropping at worrisome rates for several days, but on Monday things went from concerning to panicky. At one point, the Dow Jones industrial average plunged more than 1,200 points, on a day when equity markets tumbled across the globe. It closed down 1,034 points, or 2.6%.

Technology stocks have been hit particularly hard lately: The Nasdaq composite was, for a moment on Monday, down more than 10% since the middle of last week, entering into what economists euphemistically call “correction” territory.

The sudden pullback has jolted investors and raised questions that go beyond financial markets to questions about the underlying health of the economy.

And even when things level out, the window-rattling downturn threatened to kill the political euphoria that has swept over Democrats since President Biden withdrew and Vice President Kamala Harris emerged as the party’s standard-bearer.

So what’s happened and what may be next? Here are first-draft-of-history answers to some of the crucial questions: read more

By Drew Gula | NerdWallet

Shopping for cheap car insurance can feel like hunting for Black Friday deals. You know what you want, but you have to compare different prices from different companies. And with each insurer using a unique pricing model, how can you really know when you’ve found the best deal?

Car insurance costs continue going up year after year, so you may be looking for ways to find cheaper coverage. A 2024 J.D. Power study revealed that nearly half of American car insurance customers have shopped for a new policy within the past year.

But while rates may be at an all-time high, it’s still possible to get cheaper car insurance if you consider these steps.

1. Work with an agent

The best way to get cheap car insurance is to compare insurance quotes from several insurers at least once a year, but this process can be time consuming. An independent agent can shop from multiple insurers for you, including smaller, regional insurers that may offer cheaper coverage than the large companies advertised on TV. An agent can also identify available discounts and help you choose appropriate coverage limits. read more

DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER: I recently flew from Miami to Rome on ITA Airways with my wife. I paid an extra $160 for two upgraded seats. ITA Airways changed the type of aircraft, so we were downgraded to economy class. When we checked in, an ITA Airways representative promised that we would get a refund. He gave us a name and number at ITA Airways to contact. I called but got no answer. I emailed but got no response.

On our flight back, I visited the ITA Airways counter in Rome, and a representative gave me a different name and email address. But the result was the same: No response. (This time, the email address was invalid.)

Thinking that there might be a language barrier with the Italian speakers at ITA Airways, I then tried the ITA Airways ticket counter in Miami when we landed. A representative there gave me yet another set of numbers and addresses to contact for our refund.

I reached a representative by phone, who gave me instructions and an email address for submitting refund paperwork. I completed and submitted the paperwork promptly, but I haven’t gotten any response to my repeated requests for an updated status. read more

When they bought the Colonialtown post office back in 2017, Orlando doctors Patrick Dang and Thinh Nguyen had planned to close it when the lease ended in 2020 and build a restaurant on the popular Mills 50 corridor. When COVID stalled those plans, they renewed the post office lease for another five years.

Now the duo is finally bringing its vision to life. Dang said the partners plan to demolish the 70-year-old post office at 611 N. Mills Ave. when the lease expires in 2025, according to a report in GrowthSpotter. In its place, they want to build a new food hall.

“We’re close to downtown,” he said. “I want to bring in something nice where the family can go there and pick out any food they like. Or for a guys’ night out to hang out and have a drink.”

He wants to capitalize on the neighborhood’s reputation as the city’s top destination for Asian cuisine. “Everybody knows you go to Colonial and Mills to get Asian food, that’s where the restaurants are. So my focus is to get an Asian food hall. That’s my main objective.” read more