Israel launched a series of retaliatory strikes against military targets in Iran, according to a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), which was announced amid reports of explosions heard near the Iranian capital, Tehran.

“Minutes ago several powerful explosions have been heard near Tehran. The origin of the sound is not known yet,” said an anchor on Iranian state media.

IDF spokesman Rear Adminar Daniel Hagari said in a video statement posted on social media that, with the strikes, Israel is asserting its right and duty to defend itself against attacks from multiple fronts by Iran and its regional proxies, including strikes coming from Iranian territory directly. Iran launched a massive ballistic missile attack against Israel on Oct. 1, though the barrage was blunted by Israeli missile defense, which was assisted by two U.S. naval destroyers. Continue reading…

Hackers linked to the Chinese Communist Party have breached America’s commercial telecommunications sector, according to federal agencies, which are “aggressively” working to mitigate the harm, while unconfirmed reports suggest that former President Donald Trump and his running mate are among those targeted.

The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said they are investigating malicious activities targeting the telecommunications sector, which the agencies believe are linked to threat actors affiliated with the Chinese regime.

The breach, for which no group has yet claimed responsibility, was detected as U.S. political campaigns have faced a growing cyber threat environment in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election. In August, Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center reported that Iranian-linked hackers, known as “Mint Sandstorm,” targeted a high-ranking official within a U.S. presidential campaign. Continue reading…

The Washington Post’s decision to forgo endorsing a presidential candidate, for only the second time since 1976, was made by its owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, according to the newspaper.

The paper’s decision was initially explained by William Lewis, the publisher and CEO, in an opinion article as a return to the paper’s “roots” of not endorsing candidates. “We recognize that this will be read in a range of ways, including as a tacit endorsement of one candidate, or as a condemnation of another, or as an abdication of responsibility,” Lewis wrote on Oct. 25. “That is inevitable. We don’t see it that way.”

Two anonymous sources familiar with the events said an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris was drafted by the editorial page staffers, but Bezos decided not to publish it. Marty Baron, a former executive editor who ran The Post during Trump’s presidency, called the decision in a text message to The Post “cowardice” and “a moment of darkness that will leave democracy as a casualty,” likely alluding to the paper’s slogan “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” Continue reading…

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