Airports, Cold Cases, and AirTags

A loudspeaker blares propaganda through a busy terminal. Screens flash messages no one authorized. People freeze, look up, and wonder who’s actually in control. That’s where we begin—at the intersection of public trust, connected systems, and the unnerving ease of digital disruption.

We walk through the airport hacks in Harrisburg and Kelowna, unpacking how modern PA systems and flight information displays ride on cloud infrastructure and vendor chains that aren’t always built with real-world adversaries in mind. We talk impact beyond headlines: why even “no safety issue” incidents can fray confidence, how to communicate in a breach to keep crowds calm, and what layered defenses—network segmentation, credential hygiene, response drills—look like when the stakes are human, not just technical. If you travel, you’ll hear simple steps to verify information and stay oriented when the screens go sideways.

Then we pivot to a Long Island cold case that finally advances after 40 years. A suspect is arraigned through high-tech DNA testing while the story of three wrongfully convicted men reminds us that justice isn’t just about finding someone—it’s about finding the truth the right way. We dig into evidence integrity, lab standards, and the value of independent reviews that can admit uncertainty and correct course. It’s a sober look at how science can both fail and redeem, depending on how carefully we handle it.

Finally, we tackle the dark flip side of everyday tech: an alleged AirTag-enabled home invasion in Florida. We break down how trackers can be misused, what alert features and device scans can do, and how to layer practical security—from garage habits and alarms to what to do if you find an unknown tracker. It’s actionable without fear-mongering, aiming to make you a little safer at home and on the road. We close with a lighter prompt—a favorite potluck dish—because a good casserole and a shared laugh matter too.

If this mix of real-world cyber risk, forensic insight, and practical safety resonates, follow the show, share it with a friend, and leave a quick review to help others find us. Your notes and stories shape what we cover next—what should we dig into?

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Liberty Line each week on Sunday, look for topics on my X file @americanistblog and submit your 1-3 audio opinions to anamericanistblog@gmail.com and you'll be featured on the podcast. 

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Chapters

• 0:00 Opening, Plans, and Mood-Setter
• 1:11 Airport Hack: PA Systems Hijacked
• 3:34 How And Why The Breach Happened
• 4:44 Wider Cyber Vulnerabilities In Transit
• 5:49 Cold Case Breakthrough After 40 Years
• 8:24 DNA, Wrongful Convictions, And Closure
• 10:49 AirTags Used In Armed Home Invasion

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:14

Hey hey, good morning. Happy Thursday. Guess what? The gent and I tonight are going to go see Rob Schneider. Kind of excited. Uh I know it's a weeknight too. I went ahead and took three hours of pay time off for tomorrow morning because the event doesn't start until 7:30, and normally I'm asleep by 7.30. Uh so yeah, I'm taking some time off in the morning, coming in late to work, just to go see Rob Schneider. Now we had, I bought these tickets back in March for the gents' birthday, which was in April, and then they rescheduled the whole show until tonight. So we have great seats too. I'm excited about it. Let's move on to the stories that I have picked out for you. Hamas Hackers hijack an airport, a Pennsylvania airport and a British Columbia uh airport were stunned Tuesday when loudspeakers, not just the not just the visual digital thing, but the loudspeakers, suddenly blasted pro-Hamas messages and slurs against President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Videos posted by travelers showed the unauthorized recording echoing through the terminals at Harrisburg International Airport in Pennsylvania and Kelowna International Airport in Canada. Why these two airports, I don't know. It doesn't say it doesn't say why these two airports were done, but yeah, you can see them digitally, they took over. They have these messages going across the screens, they have visual, they have pictures, and then they also blasted on the audio. Airport authorities said the digital break-ins targeted both public address systems and flight information displays. Oh my gosh. So a form of cyber vandalism that disrupted boarding and startled passengers but caused no flight safety issues. Uh-huh. I wouldn't be so sure about that. And Mr. Duffy might have some explaining to do. At uh Harrisburg, an unauthorized user gained access to the airport PA system and played in unauthorized recorded messages. Yeah, we know that. We've already talked about it. The message was political in nature and did not contain any threats against the airport, our tenants, airlines, or passengers. But why? Why do this at an airport? That's very interesting. And why these two particular airports? I don't know. Somebody needs to check into that. Miller said the system was quickly shut off and police opened an investigation. Well, I would hope so. One flight already boarding was searched out of an abundance of caution and no security issues were found. The plane later departed safely. Well, that's good. In a statement shared with CNN, the airport stated that a third party accessed both its flight information display screens and PA system. That should be terrifying to everyone. We are experiencing some delay flights. The release read free Palestine chants could be heard in a passenger video reviewed by CNN. Nobody informed us what was going on. There was no crisis response. Everyone was just really confused, one traveler told the network. Images posted on social media showed airport screens displaying pro Hamas slogans before staff disabled the feed. Yep, we know all that. The cybersecurity breachers highlight growing vulnerabilities in airport networks that have become increasingly reliant on cloud-based audio and display systems. Well, there you have it. That's why. In June, a criminal group penetrated the computer networks of several airlines in the US and Canada, according to the FBI. A month later, a software outage caused chaos at the major European hubs. They need to get a Mr. Duffy, Secretary of Transportation, you need to get a hold on this. Hacktivists is what they're called, collectives identifying as pro-Palestinian have claimed hundreds of attacks on transport, finance, and government targets in the past two years. One network known as the Dark Storm Team has previously targeted U.S. airports, NATO servers, and Israeli. This is terrifying. Oh, alright. Just beware out there, people. Alright, moving on to the next story. We have uh oh, there's a break in a cold case. This is fascinating to me. A breakthrough in a Long Island cold case as cops arrest alleged killer of 16-year-old girl after 40 years, y'all. And they had back it back when it happened 40 years ago, they had arrested three men, tried them, and convicted them, and they served 18 years in prison before they found out they were not the ones that did it. Oh my gosh. All right, and they had DNA. So a Walmart worker was charged Wednesday with the brutal 1984 murder and rape of a 16-year-old Long Island girl, ending decades of mystery and speculation, Nassau County prosecutors announced. Richard Bilidow, 63 years old, was arraigned on murder charges for the November 10th, 1984 cold case slaying of there of Teresa Fusco, thanks to a high-tech DNA testing by the FBI. So let's see if I can scroll on further to um Fusco, who was the girl that was murdered, and she was an inspired she was an aspiring dancer, left her job at the popular hot skate skating rink in Lynbrook on November 10th and disappeared and was found dead and naked nearby December 5th. The DN DNA was taken. Um so I'm trying to find where it talks about well, basically I just told you the thing. The Grizzly, the Grizzly case horrified the quiet suburban community for months until three men, John Restivo, Dennis Halstead, and John Cougat, were arrested and convicted in the teen's horrific murder in 1986. However, DNA evidence later cleared all three after they served up to 18 years behind bars. Oh, of course they were freed in 2003, then sued, and were awarded 43 million dollars in wrongful prosecution. I guess so. But they got the right guy now, and hopefully everybody's got closure. I don't know. I mean, how do you get closure on something like that? Uh, it's beyond me. Alright, so the next story we have the last story. Oh, y'all, we have a new thing to worry about. Maybe you've already known about it, but I've just never thought about stuff like this because I'm not tech savvy like the young uns are. So this is terrifying too. I'm bringing you all kinds of terrifying stories today. Uh, armed Florida burglars used air tags to track a couple, abducted them outside their home. Every family's worst nightmare. They these two guys put an air tag on the bottom side of their SUV, then followed them home, attacked them in their garage. Everybody's okay. The couple is okay. They they arrested the the guys, so let's read the story. I mean, the outcome was okay, but still, how awful. Two Florida burglars allegedly tra allegedly, I love the one they use allegedly, uh, tracked a couple using an Apple Air tag before briefly abduc abducting them at their at gunpoint in their own garage during a terrifying home invasion, officials called every family's worst nightmare. Louise Charles, who was 26 years old and Odarty Maldonado Rodriguez, 32, are accused of sticking the location tracker to the bottom of the unsuspecting couple's SUV before following them back to their Odessa home and ambushing them on August 19th. The brazen duo snuck up on the car occupants as they stepped out of their car in their driveway, grabbing the couple and rushing them inside the garage, according to video released by the sheriff's office. One of the men wearing a high visibility safety vest and a bright green shirt pulled a weapon out of his pocket before he grabbed the woman out of the passenger seat. The other suspect, dressed in a darker clothes and hoodie and a mask, snatched the mail driver. The armed man rushed the couple inside the home, but not before the woman fought back and forced the walking highlighter to carry her inside. Yeah, good for you, lady. Fight back. To be ambushed at gunpoint in the very place you should feel safe, safest is very is every family's worst nightmare. How many times do you have to say this? We know this already. Um an alarm was triggered inside the home, and the two suspects fled the scene before cops arrived. Good. Good, good, good. But they did catch them. They did catch them. The police body cam recorded the moment they the wanted suspect was handcuffed outside the car two days later. Yes, both men were charged with a slew of charges, including armed burglary, two counts of armed kidnapping, robbery with a firearm, false imprisonment, and illegal installation of a tracking device. Uh, but let's see, where did this happen? Was this in Florida, did I say? If it's in Florida, hopefully they're gonna be facing yes, it's in Florida. Hopefully they're gonna be facing facing prison time for a long time. Unlike New York, where Mem Dani would just say, ah, slap him on the wrist, no bail, you can walk free, won't even have a probably won't even have a court date, just go on about your business. I mean, that's how different Florida and New York is. Okay, and that's all I've got for you today as far as the stories go. So we need to do the question of the day. Okay, this seems like totally random and out of the blue, but if you are going to a potluck, uh say a church potluck, whatever, what are you bringing? I back in the day when I used to do these kind of things, I don't do them anymore. But if I were to go to another one, I would fix my infamous, my famous all grotten potatoes. Or as my kids used to say when they were little, all rotten potatoes, even though they loved them. It's a cheese, then you slice, you peel the potatoes, slice them up, and let me tell you, it is so easy. You layer a sliced potato in a casserole dish, then put butter and cheese. And I put I put regular American sliced cheeses on it. I know, but it's delicious. Salt and pepper, butter, cheese, and then layer, layer the potatoes again and just repeat the layers. Put a little bit of milk just to cover the just enough to cover the bottom, uh, cover it up and bake it. And they, oh, delicious. And then, of course, at the end, after the potatoes are cooked, take the aluminum, uh, uncover them so you can brown the top a little bit. Yes, delicious. All all my all rotten, my all grotten potatoes, or as my kids used to say, all rotten potatoes. But they're delicious. That's the only thing I ever cook. I can cook spaghetti. You know, I used to think I could cook until I met the gent. And the gent can cook. I mean, I didn't know what cooking was until I met him. To me, cooking meant opening a box or opening a can. I didn't know any of this stuff, you know. Uh, but he can make sauces from scratch. I didn't know that was a thing. So, um, yeah. All right, I know I'm telling on myself. I told y'all I'm just a hillbilly from rural southern Ohio, which you sh would think I would know how to cook, but I don't. So, anyway, I could get by if I had to. All right, I gotta go. Thanks for listening. Love y'all. Bye.