Associated Press

Yahoo Inc. is warning users of potentially malicious activity on their accounts between 2015 and 2016. It's the latest development in the Internet company's investigation of a mega-breach that exposed 1 billion users' data a few years ago. Yahoo confirmed that it was notifying users that their accounts had potentially been compromised, but it declined to say how many people were affected.

In a statement, the company tied some of the potential compromises to what it has described as the “state-sponsored actor” responsible for the theft of private data from more than 1 billion user accounts in 2013 and 2014. The stolen data included email addresses, birth dates and answers to security questions. The catastrophic breach raised questions about Yahoo's security and destabilized the company's deal to sell its email service, websites and mobile applications to Verizon Communications Inc.

President Donald Trump managed to avoid questions about hot-button issues facing the White House — such as the future of national security adviser Michael Flynn and a North Korean missile launch — in a news conference where selected reporters asked non-challenging questions and other, shouted-out inquiries were ignored. The president selected his questioners: Scott Thuman from Washington's local ABC News affiliate and Kaitlan Collins of The Daily Caller, a conservative website founded in 2010 by Fox News Channel anchor Tucker Carlson. "Personnel questions are interesting, but our readers want substance. They don't want Washington bull----. They want to know where the next war is going to be," Collins said.

Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) repeated his belief in the importance of the free press as tensions between the media and the administration of President Donald Trump remain high. The former congressman and 2016 presidential contender declined to directly take on President Trump, who he refused to endorse, campaign with or vote for in 2016, while speaking to editors and publishers convened by the Ohio Newspaper Association. But Gov Kasich said he wanted to see the industry survive and thrive. "I'd like to stand for all of you, for all of you who have real content, for all of you who've decided in a really crazy, changing world that your point of view, your editorials, your writings, your articles are critically important," Gov Kasich said.

The families of victims of terror attacks in Paris, Brussels and Israel are blaming social media companies including Facebook and Twitter for facilitating communications among terrorists. Twitter says it has suspended hundreds of thousands of user accounts in the past 18 months for threatening or promoting acts of terrorism. But that isn't enough, say lawyers for the families of terror victims, including a brother and sister killed in 2016's bomb attacks in Brussels and an American college student who died in Paris.

In a string of lawsuits filed in New York, they say they want Twitter and Facebook to pay damages for failing to stop violent extremists from using their platforms to recruit followers, intimidate enemies and raise money. "If you or I tried to send money to Hamas, you wouldn't get around the block," said Robert Tolchin, a lawyer for the families of Brussels attack victims Alexander and Sascha Pinczowski and Paris massacre victim Nohemi Gonzalez. "Banks are required to check before they do any wire transfers. Why is it any different to provide a communications platform to Hamas, to ISIS?"

The five-member Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board in disarray just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. It will have only two remaining members as of Jan. 7 — and zero Democrats, even though it is required to operate as an independent, bipartisan agency.

The vacancies mean it will lack the minimum three members required to conduct business and can work only on ongoing projects. Trump would have to nominate new members who would have to be confirmed by the Senate. Jim Dempsey, a Democrat, will leave the board Jan. 3 because for months the Senate has not confirmed his re-nomination by President Barack Barack Obama. And former US Judge Patricia Wald, the only other Democrat, informed the White House this month that she intends to retire effective Jan. 7. The board also will lose its executive director, Sharon Bradford Franklin, who apparently plans to step down before Trump's presidency. One of the board's two remaining Republicans, Rachel Brand, whose term officially expires in January, could continue through March. If Trump were to move forward with any board nomination, she may continue through the end of the year. Should Brand leave, Republican Elisebeth Collins would become the last board member; her term ends in January 2020.

Clearer guidelines are needed for law enforcement's use of secretive and intrusive cellphone tracking technology, and police and federal agents should be upfront with a judge about their deployment, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said in a report.

The report examines the use of cell-site simulators by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The technology works by mimicking a cellphone tower, allowing law enforcement to collect basic data — such as a unique subscriber number — from cellphones in a particular area or neighborhood. The data can help police determine the location of a targeted phone without the user even making a call or sending a text message. The surveillance devices have been broadly adopted by police departments and federal agencies, which see them as vital in helping track the location of criminal suspects. But the technology has raised Fourth Amendment concerns among privacy advocates for its ability to collect data not only about the targets of an investigation but also innocent bystanders who happen to be within range of the simulator device.

21st Century Fox and Sky PLC say they have agreed on a $14.6-billion takeover of the British broadcaster by the US-based media giant. The deal announced Dec 15 values Sky shares at $13.41 each. It is not expected to be complete before the end of 2017. Rupert Murdoch's Fox already owns just over 39% of Sky. An earlier attempt to acquire the rest was scuttled by the 2011 phone-hacking scandal that rocked his British newspapers. Taking control of Sky would give 21st Century Fox, which owns cable networks Fox News, FX and the Fox broadcast channel and a major Hollywood film studio, a distributor in Europe. Sky has 22 million customers in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy.

Gov Scott Walker (R-WI) is asking the state Legislature to pass a bill that allocates about $35 million to expand broadband and technology in rural areas. Gov Walker was in Seymour (WI) where a year ago he held the first of more than 70 listening sessions in the past year. The governor says a re-occurring theme at the sessions has been access to reliable broadband Internet.

The proposed legislation provides an additional $35.5 million for broadband expansion efforts and TEACH grants over the next three fiscal years. The TEACH program provides money to schools, libraries, and other educational institutions to upgrade technology and train teachers from small and rural school districts. The funding comes from a surplus in the Universal Service Fund, which was established in 1993 to address telecommunications needs.

Megyn Kelly says Donald Trump tried unsuccessfully to give her gifts, including a free stay at one of his hotels, as part of what she called his pattern of trying to influence news coverage of his presidential campaign.

In her memoir "Settle for More," Kelly says Trump may have gotten a pre-debate tip about her first question, in which she confronted him with his critical comments about women. Her book also details the insults and threats she received after Trump's tirades objecting to her reporting.

AT&T and Time Warner are playing up how their $85.4 billion merger will lead to innovative new experiences for customers. But analysts, public-interest groups and some politicians are far from convinced. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said it should be killed. Sen Tim Kaine (D-VA), the Democratic vice presidential nominee, said less concentration in media "is generally helpful." And the Republican chairman and Democratic ranking member of the Senate's antitrust subcommittee said that the deal would "potentially raise significant antitrust issues."

The potential harm to consumers from this deal could be subtle — far more so than if AT&T were simply acquiring a direct competitor like a big wireless or home broadband company. Time Warner makes TV shows and movies; AT&T gets that video to customers' computers, phones and TVs. But the concern is that anything AT&T might do to make its broadband service stand out by tying it to Time Warner's programs and films could hurt consumers overall. The company certainly wants to do that. "With great content we believe you can build a truly differentiated service," said AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson. "In particular, mobile." There's another way AT&T could favor its own media offerings. The company currently lets many of its wireless customers stream from the DirecTV app on their phones without counting it against their data caps, a practice known as "zero rating." AT&T has suggested it may also zero-rate its upcoming live-streaming DirecTV Now service, which doesn't require customers to install a dish on their homes.