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A Massachusetts college student will plead guilty to stealing millions of students' and teachers' private data from two U.S. education tech companies and extorting it for ransom, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Assumption University student Matthew Lane, 19, is accused of using stolen login credentials to access the computer network of a software and cloud storage company serving school systems in the U.S. and abroad, according to U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Leah B. Foley.
PowerSchool was not named in the court filings, but North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson confirmed the connection.

Your Weather Planner

After an isolated shower or two Thursday, we've got one more chance for rain before the weekend.

Another weak cold front could touch off a few showers in the morning, but we'll be mostly dry from afternoon into the holiday weekend.

Expect winds to pick up in the afternoon with gusts of 20 to 25 mph. Temperatures will peak in the upper 70s to lower 80s across most of the area.

Chances for rain return Sunday afternoon with scattered storms into Memorial Day.

Get the full forecast of areas around the state:
Charlotte | Triad | Triangle | Coastal | Mountains


Watch the latest local news and get your Weather on the 1s.

Around North Carolina

1. NOAA predicts above normal activity this hurricane season

The Atlantic hurricane season begins June 1, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is calling for above normal activity. NOAA forecasts a likely range of 13 to 19 named storms, of which 6 to 10 could become hurricanes, including 3 to 5 major hurricanes, which are a Category 3 or higher.

2. Photos: Hegseth visits Fort Bragg, announces raises for paratroopers

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth paid a visit to Fort Bragg on Thursday, observing thousands of soldiers march by as part of the 82nd Airborne Division’s All-American Week celebration. Hegseth told soldiers that the Trump administration has their back and announced a pay raise for paratroopers and for expert paratroopers known as jumpmasters.

3. 'This is a movement': N.C. artists painting mural to honor bullying victims

Rosalia Torres-Weiner, Eva Crawford and Matt Moore will paint a mural in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood in south Charlotte. It will pay tribute to 11-year-old Jocelynn Rojo Carranza from Texas and 13-year-old Gabriela Ortega from Durham, North Carolina. Torres-Weiner said both girls died by suicide after being bullied about their family’s immigration status.

Around The Nation

1. House Republicans pass Trump's big bill of tax breaks and program cuts after all-night session

2. Trump administration bars Harvard from enrolling foreign students

3. U.S. Mint moves forward with plans to kill the penny

Editor's Pick - High school scholar feels space exploration can help solve problems on Earth

Logan Speight is the No. 1 ranked student in her school at The Dudley Early College Academy. Speight says a lot of our problems here on Earth can be solved with solutions that we find in space exploration. Speight has received a full academic scholarship to attend Spellman College.