What is Discord? And why does it keep coming up in news stories like the Pentagon leak?

 

The world learned this week that a 21-year-old National Guardsman is accused of leaking hundreds of classified documents on an online platform called Discord.

While Discord is used by an estimated almost 200 million people online, the service remains a point of confusion in big news stories including the military leak, recent mass shootings and extremist rallies. 

What is Discord?

Discord is essentially a messaging platform, on which users can communicate directly with each other, either by text or in voice calls.

Inside Discord, communication happens on "servers," which are similar to "groups" on Facebook or Instagram. Each server can have separate "channels," smaller spaces for select members. 

How did the military records leak on Discord?

According to multiple news reports, the top-secret Pentagon documents were originally posted inside a private Discord server accessible by just a couple dozen users. 

The leaks reportedly became public after one of the members of the private Discord server began re-posting them on a different, larger Discord server. From there, the documents were shared to an even bigger Discord server focused on the video game Minecraft. And from there, the documents spread around the internet.

How Discord started and who uses it

Discord is immensely popular with gamers, and originally developed as a way for gamers who are playing multiplayer games to communicate with one another. Players could, for example, use Discord to join a group voice call with other players and communicate while they were playing.  

But Todd was quick to add that millions of people who are not extremists also use Discord, which she said is becoming increasingly popular among online content creators. She noted that she recently set up her own Discord channel for her podcast.

Fort Lauderdale saw 2 feet of rain in a day. How on Earth is that even possible?

 

26N inches of rain brought Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to a screeching halt Thursday, swamping cars on highways, shutting down the city's airport and closing schools.

The sheer magnitude of the tsunami from the skies took nearly everyone by surprise.

"Spotty flooding is expected," the city posted in an update on its website early Wednesday morning. The National Weather Service expected up to six inches of rain but ultimately at least one location at the airport saw four times that. 

If the preliminary report of 25.91 inches measured at a station at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport is verified, it would break the state's 24-hour rain record by 2.63 inches. 

Much of Wednesday's rain at a couple of weather stations – up to 20 inches – fell within six hours, reported weather service meteorologist Pablo Santos. Such an extreme rain amount has only a 1 in 1000 chance of occurring in Fort Lauderdale in any given year, Santos said.

More rain than some hurricanes

Florida is prone to storms that dump large sums of rain (that happens when you're a peninsula surrounded on three sides by water.

Southerners, especially Floridians, are used to heavy rain. The state juts out like a hitchhiker's thumb into the warm, moisture laden air of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, a conveyor belt for storms.

Rain falls by the feet during hurricanes and comes down by the inches during afternoon thunderstorms. The rainfall record during Hurricane Ian last fall was 26.95 inches.

Unfazed Florida drivers often push through sheets of rain so thick you can't even see the nose of your car and grouse about out-of-towners driving with their flashers on. This storm, however, was anything but typical.

Has similar rainfall happened before?

Yes. Even if Wednesday's rain total is verified as the new state record in Florida, it won't even move the state into the nation's top three for 24-hour record rainfalls.  Those spots belong to:

• 49.69 inches, April 2018, Waipa Garden, Kauai, Hawaii
• 42 inches, July 1979, Alvin, Texas
• 32.52 inches, July 1997, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Alabama

But the rain records in Texas and Alabama were set during hurricanes and tropical storms – and Kauai is Hawaii's rain forest. 

Florida's current record – 23.28 inches – was set on Nov. 11-12, 1980 in Key West.

Daily Briefing: Suspect in Pentagon document leak to appear in court

 A 21-year-old Air National Guardsman will appear in court charged with leaking classified documents. Also in the news: President Joe Biden wraps up his trip to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and parts of Florida could see some respite following an epic storm and flooding.

Air National Guardsman arrested over leaked Pentagon documents

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the arrest Thursday of Jack Teixeira, an Air National Guardsman in Massachusetts suspected of leaking classified documents. Teixeira, 21, is charged with the alleged unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defense information, Garland said. Teixeira, an enlisted airman first class who is also the leader of an online chat group who has shared an interest in guns and racist memes, will make his first court appearance Friday in Boston, a spokesperson said. The leaked documents appear to be highly sensitive reports tied to the war effort in Ukraine, including data on military activities.

• What are the charges? Teixeira, 21, is charged with the alleged unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defense information, Garland said. He will have an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts.
• Teixeira to appear in court Friday: Teixeira is expected to make his first court appearance Friday in Boston, a Justice spokesperson said. 
• Who is Jack Teixeira? Teixeira is an enlisted airman first class, a member of the 102nd Intelligence Wing based in Cape Cod. He is also the leader of an online chat group who has shared an interest in guns and racist memes.

The leaked documents appear to be highly sensitive reports tied to the war effort in Ukraine, including data on military activities like U.S. drone spy planes in the area and Ukrainian forces’ use of ammunition. They appear to show how the U.S. views Ukrainian forces’ training and state of readiness, plus the number of Ukrainian and Russian troops killed and equipment destroyed in the ongoing conflict, 

Pentagon documents leak 'a deliberate criminal act

Teixeira oversaw a private Discord channel called Thug Shaker Central, according to multiple reports. The private chat group was comprised of about 20 to 30 people, mostly young men and teens, the reports say. 

Stringent guidelines are in place to protect classified information and are under review, Air Force Brig. Gen. PatRyder said. Everybody with a security clearance signs a non-disclosure agreement.

The leak, Ryder said, “was a deliberate criminal act.”

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is conducting daily meetings to review the scope and impact of the leaks and mitigation measures, Ryder said.