YouTube hopes to boost music profile with new awards show

NEW YORK | Does the world really need another music video awards show? The answer is yes — at least according to YouTube.

The online video-sharing site is rolling out its first YouTube Music Awards on Sunday, with a show that pairs established industry stars such as Lady Gaga and Arcade Fire along with performers from the Google-owned video site.

The show will boost YouTube’s profile just weeks before the site is expected to announce a subscription service that will compete in an already crowded music marketplace.

“On a practical level (YouTube has) put people on the map and it’s generated revenue or other resources like support or recognition from people that normally would not get the exposure,” said Reggie Watts, a performance artist who, along with actor Jason Schwartzman, will host the event.

The awards categories are limited but clearly meant to differentiate the YouTube awards from the Grammys or the MTV Music Video Awards, which grabbed attention this year after a raunchy performance by former Disney star Miley Cyrus as she transitions into a more adult career.

YouTube will also name a video of the year and an artist of the year, with a slate of nominees including Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Eminem, Katy Perry and other top-40 mainstays.

But the categories also range more broadly. “Response of the Year” will pick the best fan remix, parody or response. Other categories include YouTube phenomenon, breakthrough and innovation of the year.

Even the show’s structure aims for something a little different. Watts said he and co-host Schwartzman know the overall sequence of the events but don’t know the blow-by-blow of what will happen at the Spike Jonze-directed show.

“We have no clue what’s going to happen,” he said. “All you can do in the moment is perform.”

The awards show will stream live from New York on Sunday starting at 6PM (2200 GMT).

YouTube has positioned itself in recent years as a major source of new music videos for fans. Lady Gaga alone has racked up well over 1 billion views of her various videos.

The shift highlights some of the challenges — and opportunities — for artists. While accessing fans has never been easier, turning a profit and making a living as a musician has become more challenging.

Sites such as YouTube effectively function as on-demand stations for music, with fans able to listen to play lists over and over just for watching the occasional commercial.

YouTube is expected to introduce an option by the end of the year to let music fans skip the commercials via a paid subscription service.

That would pit YouTube more directly against services such as the online music streaming Web service Spotify, which itself has had its share of musicians such as Radiohead’s Thom Yorke who criticize the company’s business model for squeezing artists.

Into all of this comes the awards show, which will showcase the abundance of changes in the music industry.

The show is “about a certain level of discovery,” Watts said. “It’s going to be an experiment on all levels.”

source: interaksyon.com

Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett lead Brooklyn Nets over Miami Heat

BROOKLYN — Thirteen straight times, the Brooklyn Nets had fallen short to the Miami Heat.

Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were not around for any of those games but having battled the Heat in the postseason with the Boston Celtics, they were determined not to extend that losing streak for their new team.

Pierce scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half, helping the Nets build a double-digit lead before they withstood a furious Miami charge in the final three minutes and pulled out a 101-100 victory Friday night in its much anticipated home opener.

“I think we wanted this a little more,” Garnett said. “No disrespect to the champs and what they are trying to accomplish this year, but we knew playing at home, coming from Cleveland that we would play better.

“We watched a lot of film and saw our mistakes, so we were locked into what we wanted to do and we played with that in mind through the whole game.”

Pierce played 31 minutes, made 5-of-10 shots and went 8-of-8 from the foul line. His biggest plays of the night were a 19-foot jump shot with 6:13 remaining that put the Nets up 90-78 and an emphatic block on LeBron James a minute later.

“Whenever you are trying to establish something against the champs it’s going to be like a playoff atmosphere,” Pierce said. “KG really talked about that coming into the game. Expect it to be like the playoffs, don’t expect anything to go our way because they are the team to beat. It’s good that we got a taste of this type of atmosphere to see where we are at. Miami is the measuring stick for everybody so it was good to come out and get the win.”

“I think it was (a statement game),” Nets center Brook Lopez said. “It’s the defending world champs, you don’t want to come out and be soft and give this one away. So we wanted to show we could come out and compete with them.”

Joe Johnson, who also had 19 points, added a pair of 3-pointers to expand the lead to 96-84 with 2:47 left but then the Heat made their charge. They were within 96-94 on a 3-pointer by Mario Chalmers with 18 seconds left but could not complete the comeback

James led all scorers with 26 points and Dwyane Wade added 21 for Miami, which is under .500 for the second time since James and Chris Bosh joined the team in 2010.

“A little bit of unmotivated basketball I thought at the start,” James said.

James scored his final points on a left corner 3-pointer that made it 99-98 with four seconds remaining but Johnson hit two free throws to push the edge to 101-98. Bosh made the free throw and when he sank the second, the Heat had no chance for the comeback and the Nets simply ran out the clock.

“We tried to make it a game at the end,” Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra said. “It’s pretty clear tonight we didn’t play well. We didn’t play consistently or how we need to play.”

The game had a lot of hype for the budding rivalry with two preseason meetings that featured a few hard fouls, criticism from James about Garnett and Pierce going from Boston to the Nets. Garnett responded to James by telling him to mind his business and the MVP seemed to follow declining to discuss the Nets before and after the game.

“I am not commenting on any other team, OK,” James said. “They won and they are 1-1 and we are 1-2.”

The Nets trailed for just 88 seconds and turned a 47-47 halftime tie into an impressive third quarter showing. Pierce scored 11 points and the Nets took a 78-67 lead into the fourth quarter.

NOTES: Garnett played 26 minutes in the victory, leaving him seven behind Wilt Chamberlain for fifth place in career minutes in NBA history. … Lopez’s eight rebounds give him 2,405 for his career, passing Keith Van Horn for eighth place on the Nets’ career rebounding list. … Andrei Kirilenko was a game-time decision with back spasms but played 12 minutes and scored eight points. … Wade remains seven blocks from breaking Dennis Johnson’s career record for blocked shots by a player 6 feet 4 or shorter at 675. … The Nets travel to take on Orlando on Sunday, and Miami returns home to face Washington. … Joe Prunty coached the Nets as head coach Jason Kidd served the final game of a two-game suspension for a DWI last summer in the Hamptons.

source: interaksyon.com

Motive still unclear behind LAX shooting

LOS ANGELES - Police were hunting for a motive Saturday after a gunman opened fire at the Los Angeles International Airport, killing an unarmed security agent, terrifying hundreds, and sowing chaos at the busy transport hub.

Panicked travelers scrambled to escape after the shooter - identified as 23-year-old Paul Anthony Ciancia - armed with an assault rifle, blasted through a security checkpoint at the airport shortly after 9:00 am (1600 GMT) Friday.

Ciancia then walked calmly through the terminal seeking further victims. He was eventually stopped when police shot and wounded him.

TV footage showed people diving to the floor at the sound of gunfire and scrambling to escape the terminal.

The dead agent was the first Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employee killed in the line of duty since the group was set up following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The lone gunman, who reportedly had a grudge against the TSA, also wounded seven people in the rampage.

But he was still carrying plenty of ammunition when he was arrested, said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

"There were more than 100 more rounds that could have literally killed everybody in that terminal today," he said, praising airport police. "If it were not for their actions, there could have been a lot more damage," he said.

While reports suggested Ciancia -- who was shot several times before he went down -- was a disgruntled loner, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said it could not rule out terrorism.

The shooter opened fire in a crowded terminal of the country's third-busiest airport.

He "came into Terminal Three, pulled an assault rifle out of a bag and began to open fire," said Patrick Gannon, head of the airport police.

"He proceeded up into the screening area ... and continued shooting," he said.

Police chased the gunman, "engaged him in gunfire... and were able to successfully take him into custody."

'Disappointment in the government'

The TSA, which employs screeners at airports, confirmed that one of its employees had died. "Multiple Transportation Security Officers were shot, one fatally," said a TSA statement.

The FBI later named the shooter, and said that he was a Los Angeles resident originally from the eastern state of New Jersey.

Police found a note on the gunman voicing "disappointment in the government" but that he did not want to harm "innocent people," a law enforcement official told the Los Angeles Times newspaper.

It appeared that Ciancia was hunting for TSA agents. During the shooting spree, which lasted less than 10 minutes, he approached a number of people cowering in the terminal and pointed his gun at them, asking if there "were TSA."

If they answered "no," then he moved on, the Times reported, citing witnesses who said he cursed the TSA repeatedly.

Late Friday, the TSA identified the dead officer as Gerardo Hernandez, 39, US media reported.

Before the shooting, Ciancia texted his younger brother that he might harm himself, the Washington Post reported Saturday. This led the shooter's father to contact local New Jersey police, who in turn contacted their counterparts in Los Angeles.

LAPD officers visited Ciancia's home on Friday but could not find him, according to the Post.

Brian Adamick, 43, said he saw a wounded TSA worker, with a bloodied ankle, board a shuttle bus helping passengers escape.

"It looked like it was straight out of the movies," he said.

Some 750 flights were disrupted after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a national ground-stop.

Although there was no indication that other people were involved in the attack, the FBI said it could not rule out terrorism.

"It would be premature to comment on a motivation at this time and joint investigators have neither ruled out terrorism, nor ruled it in," said an FBI statement.

This being Los Angeles, a number of celebrities were caught up in the action.

Filming of an episode of the hit TV show "Mad Men" underway in nearby Terminal Four was halted, a crew member wrote on Twitter.

Actor James Franco posted a "selfie" picture of himself on a plane stopped on the tarmac by the incident.

"Some s**tbag shot up the place," he wrote in the first of a series of tweets, ending some five hours later with a more relieved message: "WE'RE OUT! - everyone was calm."

The shooting comes just weeks ahead of the stressful end-of-year travel period that includes Thanksgiving - traditionally the busiest travel time of the year - and Christmas.

source: interaksyon.com

Hallmark Cards regrets switching 'gay' to 'fun' on Xmas carol lyrics

KANSAS CITY, Missouri -- Hallmark Cards has apologized for changing a word in a well-known Christmas carol from "gay" to "fun" on a holiday ornament.

The Kansas City-based company created an ornament for its Keepsake line depicting a miniature sweater bearing the words "Don we now our fun apparel," instead of the lyric "Don we now our gay apparel" from the Christmas carol "Deck the Halls."

"We've been surprised at the wide range of reactions expressed about the change of lyrics on this ornament, and we're sorry to have caused so much concern," Hallmark said in a Twitter posting on its website on Thursday.

"We never intend to offend or make political statements with our products, and in hindsight we realize we shouldn't have changed the lyrics on the ornament," it said.

Hallmark did not say where negative reaction to the ornament came from, but a leader of one Kansas City gay rights organization said on Friday that the company went overboard in using the word "fun" on the ornament.

"The whole thing seems silly to us," said Mitch Levine, community ambassador of the Lesbian and Gay Community Center of Kansas City. "No one was offended by that in the song and the change was not necessary."

Levine said he had received nine media calls about the ornament and wishes so much attention was given to more serious affronts to gays and lesbians, such as homophobic lyrics in some new songs.

In an earlier statement about the ornament, Hallmark said that when the lyrics to "Deck the Halls" were converted from Gaelic to English in the 1800s, the word gay meant festive or merry.

"Today it has multiple meanings, which we thought could leave our intent open to misinterpretation," Hallmark said.

It then explained its selection of the word "fun":

"The trend of wearing festively decorated Christmas sweaters to parties is all about fun, and this ornament is intended to play into that, so the planning team decided to say what we meant: 'fun.' That's the spirit we intended and the spirit in which we hope ornament buyers will take it."

source: interaksyon.com

One dead as gunman opens fire at Los Angeles international airport

A gunman opened fire with an assault rifle at Los Angeles' international (LAX) airport Friday, killing a security agent and wounding seven people, officials said.

Panicked travelers scrambled to escape after the lone suspect, named as 23-year-old Paul Anthony Ciancia, pulled out the gun and shot his way through a security checkpoint before being stopped in an exchange of fire with police.

The motive for the shooting was unclear, but the Federal Bureau of Investigation said it could not rule out terrorism. The gunman was reported to be in critical condition in hospital.



The shooter "came into Terminal Three, pulled an assault rifle out of a bag and began to open fire ... he proceeded up into the screening area ... and continued shooting," said LAX police chief Patrick Gannon.

He then doubled back into the main terminal area, as travelers rushed to get out, and reached a Burger King restaurant before officers "engaged him in gunfire ... and were able to successfully take him into custody."

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which employs screeners and guards at airports, confirmed one of its employees had died.

"Multiple Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) were shot, one fatally," said a TSA statement emailed to AFP.

The Los Angeles Times newspaper cited sources saying the shooter, who opened fire shortly after 9:00 a.m. in the crowded terminal was also believed to be a TSA employee at the airport, which is the country's third-biggest hub.

Gannon would not comment on that report, but said: "We believe at this point that there was a lone shooter," and that he "was the only person who was armed in this incident."

Of the seven people injured, six were taken to hospital, said the head of the LA Fire Department James Featherstone, briefing reporters for the first time a couple of hours after the incident.

One eyewitness recounted the shooter dressed in grayish-green clothing with an assault rifle opening fire as he went up an escalator and through the security area.

Live television footage showed armed police on the top of parking structures, apparently still looking for a possible gunman, while multiple ambulances were parked outside a terminal building.

Flights were disrupted and a "ground stop" was put in place, but about an hour after the incident erupted aircraft could be seen resuming landings at the airport, which is west of downtown Los Angeles.

Eyewitness Brian Adamick, 43, said he was preparing to board a flight when he saw people running through the terminal, away from a security area. He and others responded by going through an emergency exit onto the tarmac.

"While I was on the tarmac, I heard two gunshots from the same area where the people had been running and screaming," he told the LA Times.

A short time later shuttle buses began helping passengers to leave and he saw a wounded airport worker, from the TSA, board one bus, with a bloodied ankle.

"It looked like it was straight out of the movies," said Adamick.

Another non-US passenger, named only as Alex, said he was waiting in line on an upper terminal level when the shooter opened fire on the floor below.

"He shot one guy downstairs," he told KTLA 5, adding that the gunman then went up some escalators toward a security area.

"He fired several shots when he went through the security check," he said, adding: "He just went straight through the security check."

Eyewitness Eric Williams described the gunman to ABC7 television.

"We were standing in the TSA line to get checked through and all of a sudden we heard a shotgun. I saw the shooter and he was a Caucasian probably 18 to 25 years old," he said.

TV footage showed one person on a gurney, being loaded into an ambulance. Another victim was seen being rushed away on a wheelchair.

Hundreds of passengers could be seen streaming away from at least one terminal building, while multiple ambulances and emergency vehicles rushed to the scene.

The White House said President Barack Obama was kept up to date on the shooting.

source: interaksyon.com

The Peninsula Manila and The Farm at San Benito create new wellness menu

The Peninsula Manila Hotel invites us to embrace wellness and experience the restorative powers of nature with its newly expanded 360º Wellness, Naturally, Peninsula menu, a collaborative effort between the talented culinary teams of The Peninsula and The Farm at San Benito, one of the world’s foremost health and wellness resorts, located 90 minutes away from Metro Manila.

The new menu introduces a wide variety of lighter dining fare using natural herbs and spices, together with other organic produce from reputable and sustainable sources, live and raw foods and no meat, fish, fowl, dairy, eggs, butter, cholesterol or saturated fats from animals or animal by-products.

This echoes The Peninsula Manila’s “Naturally Peninsula” cuisine philosophy that focuses on a non-clinical and holistic approach to wellness by harnessing the botanical benefits of nature.

This same philosophy is shared by the chefs of The Farm at San Benito  who have won numerous best cuisine awards, including  winning the “Spa Cuisine of the Year” two years in a row from Asia Spa Magazine. Upon the guidance of The Farm’s chefs, the Peninsula Manila’s new 360° Wellness, Naturally Peninsula menu does not use any flour, wheat, grain, sugar, canned, or anything that is processed, boxed or packaged.

Dishes under this menu are also to be cooked only with certified organic extra virgin olive oil and Absolutely No Heat Process (ANH) virgin coconut oil. Working closely with the Peninsula’s Executive Chef Richard Green and his team, both stellar kitchens have identified and incorporated local ingredients into signature dishes that will ultimately enhance a guest’s destination-inspired experience.

Guest dining in the hotel’s various dining outlets will delight not just in the surprisingly more flavorful take on health food, but also in the knowledge that they are eating ingredients that are free of toxins and harmful chemicals and at the same time helping preserve the environment.

To celebrate the new collaboration, The Farm at San Benito and The Peninsula Manila are launching a joint wellness program package, starting at approximately USD873 (PhP34,916) for two, which includes one-night accommodation at The Peninsula Manila and two-nights’ accommodation at The Farm.

Early Chowbuzz recommendations includes; the Smoked Eggplant-Szechuan dip (90 calories per tablespoon), Mushroom-nut ragout stuffed, Coconut Ravioli with cumin carrot sauce (274 calories per serving), and Penang Curry (174 calories per serving).

• The Peninsula Manila, corners of Ayala and Makati Avenues, Makati City. Tel. no. (+632) 810-3456 or (+632) 887-2888.

source: interaksyon.com

Marvin Gaye’s family sues Robin Thicke, Pharrell Williams over ‘Blurred Lines’

LOS ANGELES | Family of late soul singer Marvin Gaye sued R&B recording artists Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams for copyright infringement on Wednesday, accusing them of stealing from the Motown legend’s musical composition for the hit single “Blurred Lines.”

The suit was filed as a counter-claim to a case brought preemptively by Thicke and Williams in August seeking a court ruling to establish that “Blurred Lines” did not infringe on Gaye’s rights to his 1977 hit, “Got to Give it Up,” as members of his family had said publicly.

The suit by three of Gaye’s children cited excerpts of magazine interviews given by Thicke to support their contention that he had admitted to drawing on “Got to Give it Up” when producing and recording “Blurred Lines.”

Thicke sang the raunchy, percussive R&B song, which topped song charts around the world this year and ranked as the biggest U.S. pop hit of the summer, at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards in a provocative performance featuring pop singer Miley Cyrus.

Gaye’s daughter, Nona Marvisa Gaye, and his sons Frankie Christian Gaye and Marvin Gaye III also said in the suit that Thicke’s 2011 song “Love After War” amounted to “unlawful copying” of Gaye’s 1976 song “After the Dance.”

Their lawsuit also named Thicke’s wife, actress Paula Patton, who collaborated with her husband on “Love After War,” along with Interscope Records, Universal Music Group Recordings and Sony/ATV Music, among others.

The suit further accuses EMI, which also happens to manage the copyrights for Gaye’s music, of breach of contract and trust agreements.

The family is seeking damages of up to $150,000 per infringement as well as a portion of the profits from the success of “Blurred Lines” and “Love After War.”

source: interaksyon.com

Singapore threatened over Internet freedom

SINGAPORE — A person claiming to speak for activist hacker group Anonymous on Thursday threatened to “go to war” with Singapore by attacking its financial infrastructure to protest recent licensing rules for news websites.

“We demand you reconsider the regulations of your framework or we will be forced to go to war with you,” a male voice said as a person hiding behind a mask appeared in a clip posted on video-sharing site YouTube.

“Everytime you deprive a citizen his right to information, we will cause you financial loss by aggressive cyber intrusion,” said the speaker.


The video was taken off Youtube by early evening after Singapore media reported on the threat, but other sites had copied it by then.

The voice in the video clip, which lasted for three minutes and 42 seconds, said Singapore’s cyber security defence network would be unable to stop the attack.

It said the “primary objective” of posting the video clip was to “protest the Internet licensing framework” imposed by the government.

While the hacker was speaking, a protest slogan was flashed on the screen saying: “I oppose censorship and support a free and open internet.”

Under the new rules imposed on June 1, websites with at least 50,000 unique visitors from Singapore every month that publish at least one local news article per week over a period of two months must obtain an annual licence.

Websites granted a licence will have to remove “prohibited content” such as articles that undermine “racial or religious harmony” within 24 hours of being notified by Singapore’s media regulator, the Media Development Authority has said.

The new rules have sparked anger in the city-state’s robust blogging and social media community which has accused the government of a lack of consultation and raised fears the regulations are aimed at muzzling free expression.

Blogs and social media have gained popularity as alternative sources of news and opinion in Singapore, where mainstream newspapers are perceived to be pro-government.

In June, around 2,000 Singaporeans led by local bloggers attended a rally to protest against the rules.

Over 130 bloggers in the island-state also organised an Internet blackout in which they replaced their Facebook homepages with black screens featuring the words “#FreeMyInternet”.

In the YouTube post on Thursday, the hacker urged Singaporeans to black out their Facebook profile pictures on November 5.

Singapore authorities have said the new rules provide clarity on existing standards for Internet content, and do not impinge on Internet freedom.

source: interaksyon.com

Asian shares sag, dollar rises on upbeat U.S. data

TOKYO - Asian shares sagged on Friday though upbeat signals on China's manufacturing activity limited losses, while the dollar pushed higher after upbeat U.S. data led some investors to price-in a less dovish stance at the U.S. Federal Reserve.

China's manufacturing sector grew at the fastest in 18 months in October, with the official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rising to 51.4 last month from September's 51.1, beating economists' consensus forecast of 51.2.

The final HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at 50.9, up from 50.2 in September and unchanged from a preliminary flash estimate released last week.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell about 0.2 percent, while Australian shares .AXJO gave up 0.2 percent, but still remained just shy of five-year highs. Japan's Nikkei stock average erased early gains and dropped 0.6 percent.

U.S. S&P E-mini futures edged up 0.1 percent, after the S&P 500 Index closed down about 0.4 percent but still gained 4.5 percent for the month.

Later on Friday, the U.S. ISM survey of manufacturing for October could offer investors a fresh signal on the Fed's future course.

"If the ISM report is better than expected, it could add to revived tapering expectations, and U.S. yields and the dollar could go up and stocks could go down," said Masashi Murata, senior currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in Tokyo.

Data on Thursday showed the pace of business activity in the U.S. Midwest jumped more than expected in October, soothing some worries about sluggish fourth-quarter growth after last month's federal government shutdown.

A decline in new jobless claims in the latest week also added to evidence that the economy weathered the shutdown. New claims fell by 10,000 to 340,000, just above the average estimate of 339,000.

Still, not all investors or economists were convinced that the latest U.S. data heralded a shift in monetary policy expectations.

"The existence of noise in the October data will likely make it difficult for the Fed to gather enough evidence to start tapering in December," strategists at Barclays wrote in a note to clients, adding that they still to expect the central bank to begin reducing its current $85 billion monthly bond purchases in March 2014.

Pressure on euro

The euro remained under pressure after plunging in the previous session as euro-zone inflation dropped to its lowest rate in nearly four years, heightening expectations that the European Central Bank will further ease its monetary policy.

The euro dropped about 0.3 percent to $1.3545, moving away from a two-year peak of $1.3833 set one week ago. On Thursday, it suffered its biggest one-day fall against the greenback in six months, tumbling 1.1 percent.

Data on Thursday showed euro-area inflation slowed to a four-year low of 0.7 percent last month, far below the ECB's target of just under 2 percent. Other data showed unemployment held at record highs in September.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major currencies, was on track for a sixth session of gains, rising 0.3 percent to 80.398 after touching a two-week peak of 80.418 and pulling further away from a nine-month trough of 78.998 hit one week ago.

Against the Japanese currency, the dollar was about 0.2 percent lower on the day at 98.18 yen.

In commodities trading, gold steadied but was still trading close its lowest in nearly two weeks, hurt by sharp losses in the previous session from month-end profit-taking, the strong U.S. economic data and the higher dollar. Spot gold edged up 0.1 percent to $1,326.53 an ounce, after sliding 1.4 percent on Thursday.

source: interaksyon.com

Student admits ‘sextortion’ involving Miss Teen USA

LOS ANGELES — A US student has agreed to plead guilty to hacking online accounts of Miss Teen USA and other women and threatening to publish nude photos of them, prosecutors said Thursday.

Jared James Abrahams surrendered in September to FBI agents probing so-called “sextortion” cases, in which he made demands in return for agreeing not to release the pictures.

Abrahams is due in court next Monday, when a judge is expected to set a date for him to formally enter a guilty plea, according to spokesman Thom Mrozek of the US Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.

“Federal sentencing rules call for a sentence of between 27 and 33 months… but if will ultimately be up to a judge,” he told AFP.

In theory, Abrahams could be fined up to $1 million for unauthorized access to computers and extortion.

A plea agreement filed last week detailed how, starting last year and continuing until June, the computer science student hacked into computers, email and social media accounts.

The pictures, sometimes nude, were taken from webcams, said the plea deal, adding that Abrahams “extorted at least 12 young women in their late teens or early 20s in this manner.”

The investigation involved multiple victims in California, as well as Canada, Moldova and Russia. The most high profile was Cassidy Wolf, who won the Miss Teen USA pageant in August.

Wolf, 18, called investigators in March after receiving threatening emails containing nude photos of herself.

The sender said he would distribute the pictures “all over the Internet” unless she either sent him a personal video of herself, joined him on Skype for a five-minute video chat during which she would have to do whatever he said, or sent him “good quality pics” of herself.

“Either you do one of the things listed or I upload these pics… on all your accounts for everybody to see, and your dream of being a model will be transformed into a pornstar,” he wrote, according to an affidavit.

source: interaksyon.com