THE LOGO of CrowdStrike.

What’s being called a “faulty update” to computers running the Microsoft Windows operating system dealt a powerful blow to airlines, financial institutions, news organizations and more on Friday.

The cause was CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity system that – ironically  – imitated the very kind of commuter attack it is employed to prevent.

Mac and Linux systems were not affected.

Airlines grounded flights. Banks were – in some cases – unable to process payments. Some news TV stations in Australia were knocked off the air, Starbucks customers ran into trouble trying to order coffee and some 911 emergency call systems were affected.

A fix is on the way, Crowd Strike has announced.

Biden stands firm; Democrats nervous

President Joe Biden is standing firm – at least publicly – on his vow to press on in his re-election campaign while the calls for him to drop out from within his party grow.

Biden has plans to resume his travels to speak on his response to Republican nominee Donald Trump’s speech Thursday to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Polls show that up to 70 percent of Democrats surveyed wanted Biden to yield. At least three dozen members of his party in Congress have spoken up in favor of him quitting the race.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is the latest, saying “I think the president should end his campaign.

While most polls show a close race, state polls at present show Trump leading in most “swing states,” indicating that even ii Biden were to win the popular vote – as Hillary Clinton did in 2016 – he would be at a disadvantage in the Electoral College, which actually selects the president and vice president.

Disney workers consider a strike

DISNEYLAND CASTLE

Union workers in “The Happiest Place on Earth” are voting today (Friday) on whether to strike at Disneyland in Anaheim.

The results of the balloting will be announced on Saturday. About 9,500 employees are represented by labor unions at the Disneyland Resort, working in a wide variety of occupations from food service to ride operations to security.

The contract under which they had worked expired on June 16, and Disney workers have complained that their wages and salaries aren’t sufficient to pay the bills in Orange County and Southern California where housing costs are particularly high.

Wages at Disneyland now start at $19.90 per hour. The last strike was in 1984 and lasted 22 days.

Weather: You don’t need a weatherman

The coming weekend and what follows will be consistent with partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-80s for our West Orange County cities.

Saturday will have a daytime high of 86 (low of 67) and the days that follow – Sunday through Tuesday – will be 84 (67 or 68). The chance of some rain won’t exceed 5 percent.