Chinese hackers are said to have targeted data from Trump and Vance’s phones

Trump’s campaign team was notified this week that the Republican presidential nominee and his running mate were among a number of people inside and outside the government whose phone numbers were targeted through the infiltration of Verizon phone systems, officials said.

People briefed on the matter said the targets also included Democrats, including prominent figures on Capitol Hill and possibly staffers from Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign.

Targeting a presidential ticket’s communications underlines the aggressiveness, scale and potential severity of the hacking attack, which Western cybersecurity experts say was carried out by a group they have dubbed Salt Typhoon. The investigation continues, but FBI and national security officials have indicated they are deeply concerned about the potential size of the compromised data and the wide range of possible victims.

NEW YORK TIMES

No presidential endorsement from The Washington Post

For the first time in forty years, The Washington Post editorial board announced Friday that it will not make an endorsement in this year’s presidential election or in future presidential races.

The decision, 11 days before an election that most polls say appears too close, marks the second time this week that a major media organization has declined to endorse the race between the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump. , and his Democratic Party opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, after years of such endorsements. Earlier this week, Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire owner of the Los Angeles Times, blocked a planned endorsement of Harris, prompting the resignations of the paper’s editorial editor and two editorial writers.

An endorsement of Harris had been prepared by Post editorial page staff but had yet to be published, according to two sources briefed on the sequence of events who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly . The decision not to publish, according to the same sources, was made by the owner of The Post – Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

“This is cowardice, a moment of darkness that will leave democracy as a victim. Donald Trump will celebrate this as an invitation to further intimidate The Post’s owner Jeff Bezos (and other media owners),” former Post editor-in-chief Martin Baron, who led the paper while Trump was president, said in a statement text to The Post. “History will mark a disturbing chapter of spinelessness at an institution famed for its courage.”

In a column published Friday on The Post’s website, Post publisher Will Lewis described the decision as a return to the newspaper’s roots of non-endorsement. The Post did not begin regularly endorsing presidential candidates until 1976, when the paper endorsed Jimmy Carter “for reasons that were understandable at the time.”

“We recognize that this will be read in a variety of ways, including as a tacit endorsement of one candidate, or as a condemnation of another, or as an abdication of responsibility. That is inevitable,” Lewis wrote. “We don’t see it that way. We see it as consistent with the values ​​that The Post has always stood for and that we hope for in a leader: character and courage in the service of American ethics, reverence for the rule of law and respect for human freedom in all its aspects . ”

Lewis also portrayed the decision as a “statement in support of our readers’ ability to reach a decision.”

The decision has roiled many in the newsroom, which operates independently of The Post’s news staff, a longstanding tradition of American journalism designed to separate opinion writing from daily reporting.

The Los Angeles Times faced criticism and backlash from readers over Soon-Shiong’s decision not to publish Harris’ planned endorsement. The biotech mogul said he wanted the editors to analyze each candidate’s policies to give readers “clear and unbiased side-by-side information.” The decision led to the resignation of editor-in-chief Mariel Garza, who said it made the paper appear “cowardly and hypocritical.” Two members of the editorial board also resigned.

WASHINGTON POST

Trump expresses his support for the Prime Minister of Israel

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump expressed support for Israel’s offensives against Hamas and Hezbollah in a recent phone call with the country’s prime minister — a position that could complicate his campaign’s outreach to Arab Americans by claiming he opposes the there is war.

Trump told Benjamin Netanyahu in one phone call this month: “Do what you have to do,” according to six people familiar with the conversation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive and confidential information. Trump has said publicly that the two spoke at least twice in October, with one phone call as late as October 19.

“He didn’t tell him what to do militarily, but he said he was impressed with the pagers,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, who was in talks with Trump and Netanyahu this month, referring to the Israeli operation that killed Hezbollah leaders with explosive batteries in pagers. “He expressed his awe at their military operations and what they have done.”

Graham added: “He told them, do what you have to do to defend yourself, but we are openly talking about a new Middle East. Trump understands that a lot of change needs to happen in the corrupt Palestinian state.”

WASHINGTON POST

Mystery super PAC says it spent $20 million to boost Trump

A mysterious new super PAC has reported spending at least $20 million to help elect former President Donald Trump in the final days of the race for the White House, including defending him on one of his most vulnerable issues: abortion.

The group, RBG PAC, was formed so recently that it doesn’t need to advertise to its donors until after the election. But it disclosed to the Federal Election Commission on Friday that it was spending the eight-figure sum to boost Trump with digital ads, text messages and mail.

On YouTube, an account with the same name as the super PAC posted two half-minute ads featuring women, highlighting that Trump has promised he will not sign a national abortion ban if elected. Democrats have vigorously disputed that, arguing he cannot be trusted after appointing the Supreme Court justices who helped overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.

WASHINGTON POST