[naviga:h3]Cyberattack hero now faces charges[/naviga:h3]

LAS VEGAS — Marcus Hutchins, a young British researcher credited with derailing a global cyberattack in May, was arrested for allegedly creating and distributing malicious software designed to collect bank-account passwords, U.S. authorities said Thursday.

Hutchins was detained in Las Vegas on his way back to Britain from an annual gathering of hackers and information security gurus. A grand jury indictment charged Hutchins with creating and distributing malware known as the Kronos banking Trojan.

Such malware infects Web browsers, then captures usernames and passwords when an unsuspecting user visits a bank or other trusted location.

News of Hutchins’ detention came as a shock to the cybersecurity community. Many had rallied behind the researcher whose quick thinking helped control the spread of the WannaCry attack that crippled thousands of computers last May.

The indictment was filed in a Wisconsin federal court last month.

[naviga:h3]Niagara Falls gaffe creates an uproar[/naviga:h3]

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Several lawmakers want the board that runs Niagara Falls’ wastewater treatment plant to resign after a sewage-smelling discharge blackened the water near the base of the falls during a busy tourist weekend.

Members of the Niagara County Legislature’s Republican majority said Thursday they also want the New York attorney general, county district attorney and the Environmental Protection Agency to investigate for possible criminal charges. An investigation by the state Department of Environmental Conservation already is under way.

The legislators complained they have received little information about an incident that had the potential to damage the county’s $827 million-a-year tourism industry.

“Residents deserve to know how this happened, why this happened and exactly what this disgusting discharge was,” Niagara County Legislator Rebecca Wydysh said during a news conference. “We also need to be assured that it will never happen again.”

The Niagara Falls Water Board has said the Saturday afternoon discharge occurred during routine maintenance of a sedimentation basin and contained permitted amounts of accumulated solids and carbon residue. It has apologized for alarming residents and tourists.

[naviga:h3]Stephen King’s ‘Pet Sematary’ for sale[/naviga:h3]

ORRINGTON, Maine — The house that inspired Stephen King’s novel “Pet Sematary” is up for sale in Maine.

The 113-year-old, four-bedroom Orrington house is being listed for $255,000. The house sits on three acres about 15 minutes south of Bangor. It’s also where King wrote the story.

King’s website says he was renting the home in 1979 when his daughter’s cat was killed by a truck. Local children had created a pet cemetery in the woods behind the house, and King got the idea for the book after burying the cat.

The novel came out in 1983 and was adapted into a movie in 1989. “Pet Sematary” is also the name of a Ramones song that plays over the credits of the movie.

[naviga:h3]Wayward shed lost at sea[/naviga:h3]

GRAND ISLE, La. — The castaway mermaid and her sea creature pals seem friendly enough, but no one wants to rescue their shed that’s drifted 200 miles across the Gulf of Mexico.

The Coast Guard says a tiny floating dock with a painting of a blue-tailed mermaid is considered a derelict vessel after it apparently bobbed from Florida to south of Louisiana. Petty Officer Brandon Giles says authorities are no longer trying to find the owner and won’t tow it to shore.

Petty Officer Travis Magee says several people reported seeing it on Key West, Florida, before it apparently broke loose during a tropical storm.

A Coast Guard release says nobody was aboard.

The landward side features a painting of the mermaid, a sea turtle and an octopus. Above the blue door, a sign appears to include the word “shed.”