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October 30, 2024

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Authorities in Taiwan are warning residents along its eastern coast to brace for the impacts Super Typhoon Kong-rey, which has rapidly intensified as it barrels towards the island after bashing the Philippines.

Kong-rey, moving northwest over the Philippine Sea, reached super-typhoon strength on Wednesday, according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC). With winds of 240 kilometers per hour (150 miles per hour), it is the equivalent of a Category 4 Atlantic hurricane.

The powerful typhoon is forecast to make landfall early Thursday (Wednesday evening ET) in Taitung, a sparsely populated county on Taiwan’s mountainous southeastern coast.

“As the typhoon continues to move towards the northwest, almost the whole of Taiwan will be covered by the storm circle later tonight,” meteorologist Chu Mei-lin, with the island’s weather agency, said in a press conference on Wednesday morning.

The Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued a sea warning Tuesday as the storm drew closer. On Wednesday, it also issued a land warning for two southern counties expected to be hit by the storm’s outer bands.

Forecasts show the powerful storm could weaken slightly ahead of making direct landfall on its southeastern coast, but it is still expected to unleash intense downpours, bringing flash flooding, storm surges and the risk of landslides.

“We urge everyone to make preparations accordingly,” Chu warned.

Chu added that waves could reach up to eight meters high when the typhoon makes landfall. There will also be heavy rainfall across Taiwan on Thursday, including in Taipei.

Taiwan’s military has placed about 36,000 soldiers on standby to assist with rescue and relief work, according to its Ministry of National Defense.

More than 6,000 first responders have also been put on standby to assist in response to the typhoon, according to the Central Emergency Operations Center. Most flights and ferries across Taiwan are so far operating as usual, the center said on Wednesday.

Taiwan generally has a strong track record of responding to major typhoons, though remote villages in more mountainous regions can be particularly vulnerable to landslides. Earlier this month, Typhoon Krathon killed four people as it brought particularly heavy rains to the south of the island.

Two outlying islands of Taiwan, Green Island and Orchid Island, suspended work and classes on Wednesday, according the county government.

In recent days, northern parts of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon have been lashed by the outer bands of Kong-rey, known locally as Leon, as authorities ordered evacuations and warned of its impacts after already seeing devastation last week from Tropical Storm Trami, known as Kristine, which killed at least 130 people.

As of Wednesday morning, Kong-rey continued to skirt the island’s north as it moved towards Taiwan.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

A large fire has broken out at the site of one of Britain’s biggest defense companies.

Emergency officials said early Wednesday that fire crews and police were responding to the blaze in the vicinity of BAE Systems in Barrow-in-Furness, northwest England.

BAE Systems is one of the largest defense contractors in Europe. Its subsidiary, BAE Systems Submarines, headquartered in Barrow-in-Furness, builds and assembles the UK’s nuclear submarines.

“There is no nuclear risk,” Cumbria Police said in a statement on X. “However, people living nearby are advised to remain indoors and keep doors and windows closed.”

A similar advisory was also shared by the Cumbria Fire & Rescue Services on its X account.

Police said the incident was reported around 12:44 a.m. local time on Wednesday. It did not say the cause of the fire.

Two people have been hospitalized after suffering suspected smoke inhalation, it added.

Photos shared on social media showed flames and smoke rising from an industrial building near the shipyard.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

Cosm, the immersive technology company that broadcasts live sports events using what it calls “shared reality,” is partnering with the National Football League, the company announced Monday.

As part of the deal, Cosm will produce and distribute NFL games at its venues throughout the rest of the 2024 season.

The deal includes broadcasting every Thursday night football game on Amazon, all Sunday night games on NBC, every Monday night football game on ESPN and select games on Sunday with Fox.

The company, founded in 2020 by Mirasol Capital, uses a 360-degree dome with giant 12K+ LED screens to offer viewers a fully immersive “shared reality” experience that mirrors being at the game.

The domes fit about 700 people with the average ticket price ranging between $22 and $127. Cosm uses a dynamic pricing model, similar to concerts or live sports.

Cosm offers a range of live sports and educational programming.COSM

“What’s so unique about a property like the NFL is that fandom is everywhere,” said Jeb Terry, president and CEO at Cosm. “We see fans coming in wearing jerseys, bringing the Terrible Towel, bringing cow bells, having an absolute blast, like they’re at the stadium themselves.”

The company did not disclose the financial details of its deal with the NFL.

Cosm first opened its doors in Los Angeles and Dallas this summer and recently announced its third venue would be in downtown Atlanta, with future locations to be announced soon.

Cosm already has deals in place with the NBA, UFC, ESPN, NBC Sports, TNT Sports, Fox Sports and Amazon Prime Video, and broadcasts everything from the Summer Olympics in Paris to the current World Series.

Tickets for the first game of the World Series featuring the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees sold out in seven minutes, Cosm said. The second game sold out in one minute.

“Inventory is flying off the shelf,” Terry said.

While live sports act as the core anchor for Cosm, the company also has nonsports offerings, including an animated voyage beyond the planets through the eyes of astronauts and a Cirque du Soleil show. This allows the company to have programs throughout lunch and matinee hours when live sports may not be available.

As fans’ viewing habits are changing, Cosm is finding rapid success in its tech-forward model.

Terry said the venues are already seeing repeat customers and they will soon be introducing membership rewards and season passes.

In July, the company raised more than $250 million in funding to expand globally. Cosm is valued at more than $1 billion, and its investors include sports heavyweights such as former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert and co-managing partner of the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Devils David Blitzer.

Disclosure: Comcast owns NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

JPMorgan Chase has begun suing customers who allegedly stole thousands of dollars from ATMs by taking advantage of a technical glitch that allowed them to withdraw funds before a check bounced.

The bank on Monday filed lawsuits in at least three federal courts, taking aim at some of the people who withdrew the highest amounts in the so-called infinite money glitch that went viral on TikTok and other social media platforms in late August.

A Houston case involves a man who owes JPMorgan $290,939.47 after an unidentified accomplice deposited a counterfeit $335,000 check at an ATM, according to the bank.

A customer uses an ATM outside of a Chase Bank branch in Rolling Hills Estates, Calif. on March 13, 2023. Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images

“On August 29, 2024, a masked man deposited a check in Defendant’s Chase bank account in the amount of $335,000,” the bank said in the Texas filing. “After the check was deposited, Defendant began withdrawing the vast majority of the ill-gotten funds.”

JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. bank by assets, is investigating thousands of possible cases related to the “infinite money glitch,” though it hasn’t disclosed the scope of associated losses. Despite the waning use of paper checks as digital forms of payment gain popularity, they’re still a major avenue for fraud, resulting in $26.6 billion in losses globally last year, according to Nasdaq’s Global Financial Crime Report.

The infinite money glitch episode highlights the risk that social media can amplify vulnerabilities discovered at a financial institution. Videos began circulating in late August showing people celebrating the withdrawal of wads of cash from Chase ATMs shortly after bad checks were deposited.

Normally, banks only make available a fraction of the value of a check until it clears, which takes several days. JPMorgan says it closed the loophole a few days after it was discovered.

The other lawsuits filed Monday are in courts including Miami and the Central District of California, and involve cases where JPMorgan says customers owe the bank sums ranging from about $80,000 to $141,000.

Most cases being examined by the bank are for far smaller amounts, according to people with knowledge of the situation who declined to be identified speaking about the internal investigation.

In each case, JPMorgan says its security team reached out to the alleged fraudster, but it hasn’t been repaid for the phony checks, in violation of the deposit agreement that customers sign when creating an account with the bank.

JPMorgan is seeking the return of the stolen funds with interest and overdraft fees, as well as lawyers’ fees and, in some cases, punitive damages, according to the complaints.

The lawsuits are likely to be just the start of a wave of litigation meant to force customers to repay their debts and signal broadly that the bank won’t tolerate fraud, according to the people familiar. JPMorgan prioritized cases with large dollar amounts and indications of possible ties to organized crime, they said.

The civil cases are separate from potential criminal investigations; JPMorgan says it has also referred cases to law enforcement officials across the country.

“Fraud is a crime that impacts everyone and undermines trust in the banking system,” JPMorgan spokesman Drew Pusateri said in a statement to CNBC. “We’re pursuing these cases and actively cooperating with law enforcement to make sure if someone is committing fraud against Chase and its customers, they’re held accountable.”

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS