Obama welcomes, praises Ukraine leader — but turns aside plea for weapons to fight separatists

WASHINGTON — In a show of solidarity with Ukraine, President Barack Obama welcomed the new leader of the embattled former Soviet republic to the White House Thursday, but he stopped short of fulfilling his visitor’s urgent request for lethal aid to fight Russian-backed separatists.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko renewed his call for American weaponry during an emotional address to a joint meeting of Congress, where his remarks were repeatedly interrupted by applause from lawmakers in both parties. While he expressed appreciation for the non-lethal assistance from the U.S., Poroshenko said it was not enough to quell the violence that has dogged eastern Ukraine.

“Blankets and night vision goggles are important, but one cannot win a war with a blanket,” Poroshenko said before heading to the White House for his meeting with Obama.

The White House did announce a new $46 million security package for Ukraine’s military that includes counter-mortar radar to detect incoming artillery fire. The U.S. will also provide vehicles and patrol boats, body armor and heavy engineering equipment, while also giving $7 million to humanitarian organizations to assist people affected by the violence.

Following his meeting with Obama, Poroshenko was more reserved in discussing his desire for lethal American military assistance. Asked by reporters whether he was disappointed to be leaving Washington without that commitment, Poroshenko said, “I am satisfied with the level of our cooperation with the United States of America in the defense and security sector. I cannot say more, but I am satisfied.”

Flu is in season, and CDC wants healthy adults to do a better job getting inoculated

WASHINGTON — It’s time for flu vaccine again and while it’s important for the whole family, this year health officials have some different advice for different ages: Certain kids should opt for the ouchless nasal spray. Seniors, expect to get a new kind of pneumonia shot along with that flu jab.

And too many young and middle-age adults are skipping the vaccine altogether, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — even though there are more options than ever.

“The best way to protect yourself against the flu is to get a flu vaccination,” said CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden on Thursday, before rolling up his sleeve to get his own flu shot.

Home Depot says data breach affected 56 million payment cards, malware eliminated

NEW YORK — Home Depot said that 56 million payment cards were estimated to have been breached in a data theft between April and September at its stores in the U.S. and Canada. That makes it the second largest breach for a retailer on record.

The nation’s largest home improvement retailer, based in Atlanta, also confirmed Thursday that the malware used in the data breach has been eliminated. The retailer said there was no evidence that debit PIN numbers were compromised or that the breach affected stores in Mexico or customers who shopped online at Homedepot.com. It has also completed a “major” payment security project that provides enhanced encryption of customers’ payment data in the company’s U.S. stores

The disclosure puts the data breach behind TJX Cos.’s theft of 90 million records, disclosed in 2007 and ahead of Target’s pre-Christmas 2013 breach which compromised 40 million credit and debit cards. But unlike Target’s breach, which resulted in falling sales as shoppers worried about the privacy of their security, Home Depot’s business remains intact so far. The reason? Customers appear to be growing accustomed to breaches, following a string of them this past year, including Michaels, SuperValu and Neiman Marcus. Home Depot might have also benefited in the timing in another way — the disclosure came in September, months after the spring season, which is the busiest time of year for home-improvement chains.

By wire sources