Today's DATA PRIVACY story

DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official says

What happened
DOGE operatives uploaded a full copy of a crucial Social Security database to a vulnerable cloud server only they can access, putting the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans at risk, Social Security Administration Chief Data Officer Charles Borges said in a whistleblower complaint yesterday. The database contains every Social Security number plus corresponding full names, addresses, birthdates and other information coveted by identity thieves.

Who said what
Borges said in his complaint, filed by the nonprofit Government Accountability Project, that DOGE workers ignored internal warnings and copied the Numident database to the digital cloud in June, after the Supreme Court lifted a block on Elon Musk's government downsizing operation accessing Social Security data. Borges said he only learned about the data transfer afterward by piecing clues together.

If "bad actors gain access" to the database, "Americans may be susceptible to widespread identity theft" and loss of "vital health care and food benefits," and would likely need "a new Social Security Number, at great cost" to taxpayers, Borges said in the complaint. The DOGE actions "potentially violated multiple federal statutes," he added.

What next?
An SSA spokesperson said the "data referenced in the complaint" is "walled off from the internet," and the agency was "not aware of any compromise" to the servers. Borges "would not risk his career" if "he did not think that this was a huge security risk for the American public," his attorney Andrea Meza told The Washington Post. The complaint asked Congress and the Office of Special Counsel to "take appropriate oversight action."

Today's SPACE Story

SpaceX breaks Starship losing streak in 10th test

What happened
SpaceX yesterday evening conducted a largely successful 10th test flight of its mammoth Starship rocket, with both the upper stage and rocket booster making it back to Earth intact and simulating soft vertical landings in the ocean before exploding, as anticipated. In a first for Starship, the uncrewed spacecraft deployed eight dummy satellites during its hour in space.

Who said what
The "successful demo came after a year of mishaps" for Elon Musk's massive rocket, The Associated Press said. After an impressive fifth launch last year, SpaceX "experienced dramatic failures in four recent tests," The Washington Post said.

Yesterday's "nearly flawless" mission was "a likely relief to both SpaceX and NASA," which is "counting on Starship as the lander to put its astronauts on the moon in the coming years," The New York Times said. Musk also has "much riding on the rocket," envisioning it as a reusable vehicle to "carry satellites, scientific devices and, eventually, astronauts," including to Mars, The Wall Street Journal said.

What next?
SpaceX "appeared to achieve all of their test objectives," but they are still probably "six months behind where they wanted to be" due to this year's earlier failures, Todd Harrison from the American Enterprise Institute told the Times. "If they can get another test flight within six weeks or so, they can start to catch up."

It's not all bad

While studying at Jamaica's University of Technology, Rayvon Stewart developed Xermosol, a self-sanitizing door handle. The device, which can kill 99.9% of pathogens, is being hailed as an inventive way to help with infection control in hospitals. It is under provisional patent protection, and Stewart has spent the last seven years working toward bringing it to market. He told The Guardian he's happy to be "challenging the myth that there isn't awesome life-changing technology in the Caribbean."

Under the radar

The growing underwater subculture of mermaiding

At suburban swimming pools and tropical beaches, "mermaiding" enthusiasts are donning mono-fin tails and wiggling toward the water. What began as a novelty at fantasy conventions in the 1980s has now spawned active communities around the world.

Like wild swimming but with added sparkle, mermaiding is a new way to escape life's stresses and channel your free spirit, proponents say. It's about "finding a place where you can let your guard down and actually get in touch with your inner child and play," part-time mermaid Colleen McCartney told The Washington Post. "That's not a space that exists very often."

Some "merfolk" describe their "pods" as similar to the close-knit circles of drag-ball culture, and the online mermaiding scene has a lot of overlap with the fantasy, LGBTQ+ and body-positivity communities, said i-D magazine. Every swim is documented with group "shellfies," and professional mermaids stage elaborate underwater photo shoots with rainbow wigs and glittering costumes.

Margaux Caillier, a French artistic swimmer who competed in last year's Paris Olympics, offers mermaiding lessons in the sea near Biarritz. "In the swimming pool, what I hate" is doing length after length, she said to Olympics.com. In contrast, mermaiding is "like a dream," and "it's accessible to everyone."

Flitting through the sea doesn't come cheap or easy, however. Custom silicone tails usually weigh about 22 to 33 pounds and cost upwards of $2,000, according to i-D magazine. Fabric and neoprene are cheaper but make swimming more difficult. And not every swimming pool welcomes mermaid tails.

On this day

August 27, 1883

Indonesia's Krakatoa volcano erupted with the force of 200 megatons of TNT. The explosion of ash and lava, plus subsequent tsunamis, killed more than 36,000 people, making it one of the deadliest volcanic events in history. The region around Krakatoa remains volcanically active and is closely monitored.

TODAY'S newspaperS

'Engaged!'

"Engaged!" The Kansas City Star says on Wednesday's front page. "Taylor Swift tells the world she'll marry Travis Kelce." The New York Daily News calls it "the engagement of the century!" It's "her engagement era," The Washington Post says, but in other propositions, President Donald Trump's heavy hand "isn't the help they want" in Washington, D.C. "Will Atlanta be spared from Trump's takeover of cities?" says The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "Trump's bid to control Fed may roil global economy," The New York Times says. "Fuel economy rollback could cost U.S. drivers," USA Today says. "Exxon, Russia in secret talks," says The Wall Street Journal.

► See the newspaper front pages

Tall tale

Coasting to glory

A British thrill-seeker set a Guinness World Record by riding 55 roller coasters across England in one week. Dean Stokes, 36, started his quest on Aug. 2 at Brighton Palace Pier and finished seven days later at Thorpe Park in Surrey. His favorite ride was the Icon at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, a double launch coaster. Stokes said on Instagram he hopes his adventure inspires others to "get out there and do more of what they love."

Morning Report was written and edited by Genevieve Bates, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Rafi Schwartz, Peter Weber and Kari Wilkin, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.