For the first time, U.S. government lets hackers break into satellite in space

LAS VEGAS — Hackers in a desert in the Southwest are lobbing a barrage of cyberattacks at a U.S. government satellite on Friday — and it’s exactly what the Pentagon wanted to happen.

The U.S. Air Force and Space Force are hoping the effort, the first-ever attempt to use hackers to break into a live, orbiting satellite, will help them build more secure space systems and identify security gaps that could be exploited by China or other adversaries.

Five teams of hackers are competing at the DEF CON cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas to remotely seize control of SpaceX satellite Moonlighter, currently spinning in Earth’s low orbit. Along with trying to break in and build a data link to the satellite, hackers are also trying to keep enemy teams out of their own vulnerable system by using encryption and firewall protections. The satellite is zooming around the earth at about five miles per second, Air Force and Space Force staffers told reporters Friday.

The event — which comes with a $50,000 prize for first place — may feel like a fun, sci-fi thriller, but it also reflects the growing danger of America’s enemies developing cyber capabilities to infiltrate and block U.S. defenses.

China is developing capabilities to “deny, exploit or hijack” enemy satellites, according to a classified intelligence report among the dozens leaked this spring by an Air guardsman and reviewed by the Financial Times. The U.S. military also uses data from satellites to guide a majority of their munitions, move troops into position, communicate and gather intelligence.

And China has already been making attempts.

In 2018, hackers from China targeted an unidentified company’s satellite communications operator in what appeared to be a mission both to spy on and explore how to gain control of the satellites, according to a report by cybersecurity research firm Symantec. It’s unclear if the attempt was successful, but the plan was foiled.

Russia has also been honing its satellite-hacking capabilities in Ukraine. Just after the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it infiltrated the satellite network of U.S.-based telecommunications company Viasat. It took the hackers about 45 minutes to deploy malware that knocked up to 45,000 modems offline, according to an analysis from Viasat and NSA leadership on Thursday at this week’s earlier Vegas cybersecurity conference, Black Hat.

The company’s vice president and chief information security officer Mark Colaluca said on a panel at Black Hat that the company still can’t confirm exactly how hackers gained access to the VPN, but they “fully expect them to come back.”

For organizers of the “Hack-A-Sat,” the best way to address the security problems is to foster some of cyber's brightest minds.

"We don't want to just be a big, monolithic organization," said Space Force Capt. Kevin Bernert. "We want to get as many people smartly involved. And so the long term impact in that is to understand that you have to bake in cybersecurity — you don't just bolt it on afterwards."

The first points on Friday were scored by "Poland Can Into Space," the defending champs from last year's Earth-based competition. The winning team will be announced this Sunday.

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Francis Suarez: If you don’t make the debate, drop out

DES MOINES — Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has a message to fellow presidential candidates: If you don’t make the debate stage, drop out.

Even if that means him.

“I agree that if you can’t meet the minimum thresholds, you shouldn’t be trying to take the time involved away from being productive,” Suarez, who has yet to qualify for the first Republican debate, said at the Iowa State Fair on Friday.

In response to a question from a reporter, Suarez agreed that if a candidate didn’t meet the minimum requirements to qualify for the debate, then the candidate should drop out.

Suarez, who has met the donor threshold but hasn’t gotten the polling numbers required to qualify, said the polling requirements are unfair for largely unknown candidates.

In order to make the debate, candidates must hit 1 percent in three RNC-sanctioned national polls, or they could hit that mark in two national polls combined with two (not one) state-specific polls. Suarez has hit 1 percent in one state poll.

Still, Suarez said he's confident he’ll make the debate stage on Aug. 23 in Milwaukee.

Suarez met the 40,000 donor threshold in early August. The Miami mayor was one of the few candidates to offer gift cards in exchange for donations.

The polling threshold has proved more difficult for him.

“I’m running against [people] who have been national figures for years. I’ve been a national figure for 60 days,” Suarez said. “So, fortunately for me, you’re sort of new so you have a different threshold, a different timeframe and we’re going to have to compete at the same level.”

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Trump campaign brings in longtime political operative to lead Florida effort

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is bringing on Brian Hughes, a longtime Florida political operative who recently worked for Jacksonville’s Republican mayor, to lead its campaign operation in the Sunshine State.

Hughes confirmed the news in a text message but referred questions to the Trump campaign. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond for comment. The news was first reported by Florida Politics.

The decision by Hughes to join Trump’s campaign represents yet another hire by the former president’s operation who has ties to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is also vying for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination. Hughes was one of the political consultants who helped with DeSantis’ initial campaign for Congress back in 2012 but did not work with him on any subsequent campaigns.

One of Trump’s top advisers, Susie Wiles, also formerly worked for DeSantis. DeSantis hired Wiles in 2018 after she helped Trump win the state in 2016 and lead Rick Scott’s first successful campaign for governor.

Wiles was credited for helping stabilize the governor’s operation and guide DeSantis to a narrow win over Democrat Andrew Gillum in 2018. But Wiles and DeSantis had a notable falling out in 2019 when, at the governor’s urging, she was pushed out of Trump’s 2020 campaign and pressured to leave Ballard Partners, one of the state’s premier lobbying firms. Trump, however, later brought Wiles back into his orbit just months ahead of his campaign for reelection even though the move angered DeSantis.

Florida’s Republican presidential primary is scheduled for March 19, a date that puts it behind the early states and Super Tuesday. But it is also a winner-take-all primary that could give the winning candidate a decisive edge in capturing the nomination.

Hughes has spent the past eight years working hand-in-hand with Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, a former Republican Party of Florida chair, and had risen to the position of chief administrative officer for the city.

Curry left office due to term limits. Republicans had hoped to hold on to the position but Democrat Donna Deegan scored an upset in May over the GOP candidate endorsed by DeSantis.

DeSantis, however, did not do any events with Republican Daniel Davis in the closing days of the campaign, a move that irked some Jacksonville Republicans.

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NYC mayor hasn't spoken to Biden since 2022 amid migrant crisis

NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams said late Wednesday he has not talked with President Joe Biden in 2023 — a striking admission for someone who was once on a list of the president's top surrogates and who is seeking federal help for the city's migrant crisis.

Adams told CNN that he and the president have not conferred since Biden was in New York last year, but added that his team has been talking with White House and other immigration officials about the flow of migrants to New York City shelters. He said he still supports the president’s reelection.

“I believe he's moving the country in the right direction, and we need to continue to move in the right direction,” Adams said. “And I can separate what I believe [is] an issue that we disagree on.”

The two initially seemed to hit it off.

When still the Democratic nominee, Adams visited the White House and referred to himself as the "Biden of Brooklyn." And in 2022, the year Adams officially became mayor, Biden visited New York several times, including an appearance with Adams about fighting crime and seizing guns. Ahead of the visit, Adams mused: “I’m sure if you were to ask him what is his favorite mayor, he would clearly tell you, ‘It’s Eric.’” In March of this year, Adams was listed among 20 Democrats who would sit on a national advisory board and serve as key validators for the president’s bid for a second term.

However, a month later the mayor’s frustrations with the asylum-seeker situation boiled over.

At an April press conference, he said the White House had failed the city, a statement that kicked off weeks of pointed criticism of the president from Adams on an issue that will be top of mind for voters during Biden's reelection campaign.

In May, when the Biden campaign released a list of 50 surrogates for Biden, the outspoken New York City mayor was not among them.

The fraying of relations between the two comes as the city is taking on an ever-growing role in the migrant crisis. On Wednesday, Adams said his administration could spend up to $12 billion providing services to arriving asylum-seekers and again pleaded for assistance from the federal government — albeit in terms less hostile to the White House.

So far, the mayor’s entreaties to Biden for work authorization, funding and a more coherent resettlement strategy at the border have gone largely unanswered, though the president dispatched Tom Perez, the director of White House intergovernmental affairs, to meet with Adams on Thursday morning about the issue, according to a New York Post report.

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Biden declares Hawaii wildfires a major disaster

President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for Hawaii on Thursday, freeing up federal aid to support the island of Maui's recovery from wildfires that have brought vast destruction and killed at least 36 people.

Federal funds can be used for various initiatives to help impacted communities, including grants for temporary housing and home repairs as well as low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, according to the White House.

Biden said Thursday that he had an extensive phone call with Hawaii Gov. Josh Green Thursday morning, assuring him of his commitment to ensuring the state receives “everything it needs from the federal government.”

"Anyone who's lost a loved one, whose home has been damaged or destroyed is going to get help immediately,” Biden said while delivering remarks about the anniversary of the PACT Act in Utah. “We're working as quickly as possible to fight these fires and evacuate residents and tourists. In the meantime, our prayers are with the people of Hawaii. But not just our prayers: Every asset we have will be available to them.”

Powerful wildfires unexpectedly ignited Tuesday in the historic town of Lahaina on Maui island. The extensive blaze, which has been intensified by powerful winds from Hurricane Dora, has led to mass evacuations and widespread power outages, impacting thousands.

“Jill and I send our deepest condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones in the wildfires in Maui, and our prayers are with those who have seen their homes, businesses, and communities destroyed,” Biden said in a statement Wednesday evening. “We are grateful to the brave firefighters and first responders who continue to run toward danger, putting themselves in harm’s way to save lives.”

That same day, the president directed “all available Federal assets” to help local efforts responding to the wildfires. Biden added that the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy fleets would bolster rescue operations following reports of residents jumping into Lahaina harbor to seek refuge from the fire and smoke. The U.S. Marines were also supplying helicopters to battle the flames, while the Department of Transportation was partnering with airlines to safely evacuate tourists from the Big Island, he said.

Biden’s declaration came a day after Hawaii’s congressional delegation sent a letter urging him to “expedite all federal assistance possible” to support the response to the wildfires.

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) thanked the president for moving forward on his declaration Thursday.

“Recovering from these devastating fires will take significant time and resources, and we need all the federal support we can get,” Schatz said in a statement. “It will unlock federal resources and help our state and county governments respond to and recover from these fires and help the people of Maui and Hawaii island.”

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Biden seeking $40B in emergency funds for Ukraine, disaster relief

The Biden administration is asking congressional leaders for about $40 billion in new emergency spending, a request that’s sure to intensify this fall's already arduous government funding fight.

The cash that President Joe Biden requested formally on Thursday includes more than $24 billion in aid to Ukraine, $12 billion to replenish a dwindling pot of federal disaster relief and $4 billion to address issues at the southern border, like shelter and services for migrants and counter-fentanyl efforts.

Biden's emergency aid pitch will almost certainly cause additional angst on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers face a tight timeline to avert a government shutdown by Sept. 30. House conservatives have pushed for further cuts to government funding, already jeopardizing the passage of new spending bills before the White House's request for additional cash.

Lawmakers in both parties have clamored for more Ukraine aid, determined to honor a U.S. commitment to helping the country in its grueling war against Russian aggression that looks likely to continue throughout the rest of the year. But staunch conservatives in both chambers, particularly in the House, are vehemently opposed to giving Ukraine another dime without a fuller accounting of how the $43 billion in assistance already allocated to the country has been spent.

Both Ukraine aid and disaster relief enjoy bipartisan support, however, and the funds could help shore up backing for a stopgap spending bill that averts a government shutdown in October.

In a statement, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said there’s “strong bipartisan support in the Senate” to fund the issues addressed by Biden’s request.

“We hope to join with our Republican colleagues this fall to avert an unnecessary government shutdown and fund this critical emergency supplemental request,” he said.

But passing a short-term funding patch with emergency cash attached still presents a number of politically tricky hurdles for Congress to clear, given GOP hardliners have already signaled they would reject a stopgap that fails to enact steep spending cuts. Ukraine aid is likely to further alienate that group.

The money will also set Kyiv up for months of continued military operations, as critical supplies of artillery ammunition and other supplies run low due to heavy fighting and stiff Russian resistance along hundreds of miles of front lines.

The $13.1 billion Pentagon portion of the Ukraine proposal includes $9.5 billion more for the military to speed up the replenishment of inventories of weapons and equipment sent to the front lines. It also includes $3.6 billion for military, intelligence and other support for Ukraine.

Biden is also requesting $8.5 billion for the State Department and USAID, including $7.3 billion in economic, humanitarian and security assistance for Ukraine and other impacted countries.

Administration officials said the proposal aims to address Ukraine's needs for the first quarter of the new fiscal year that begins in October, adding that existing funding will suffice until then.

"We won't be bashful about going back to Congress beyond the first quarter of next year if we feel like we need to do that," a senior administration official told reporters. "It's really ... the best estimate we can come up with for what we think we're going to need to support Ukraine, at least for those first three months of the year."

There is currently about $6.2 billion left in a Pentagon account to send existing equipment from U.S. stockpiles to Ukraine, and another $2.2 billion to put weapons and equipment on contract for later deliveries. That money will likely last until early fall, given current U.S. spending rates, meaning a new package will need to be in place soon to allow Ukraine to plan for operations through the winter, which is expected to continue to see heavy fighting as Ukrainian forces continue their push toward Russian-occupied Crimea.

FEMA, meanwhile, has warned that its disaster relief fund is running out of money as natural disasters ramp up in the coming months. Such destruction was evident Wednesday as wildfires ripped through the Hawaiian island of Maui, leading to at least 36 deaths.

An administration official said Thursday that the White House is monitoring the situation in Hawaii, including whether additional funding is needed in the future.

The administration’s request does not include aid to Taiwan’s military, money that had been broadly expected on Capitol Hill. Those funds could have appealed to China hawks, who want to see the U.S. move swiftly to help deter a potential invasion of the island.

A senior administration official told reporters that the funding request was limited to "immediate, emergency funding needs" such as the war in Ukraine, adding that they see "plenty of opportunities" to continue to assist Taiwan's military.

Even before Biden requested more emergency funding from Congress, Senate appropriators decided to add $14 billion in emergency funding to their fiscal 2024 spending bills, padding out both defense and domestic funding amid bipartisan concerns that the budget levels established by the debt ceiling deal earlier this year would hamstring federal agencies.

Of that emergency money, $8 billion goes toward boosting the Pentagon’s budget, including over $1 billion to replenish weapons sent to Taiwan.

But in the House, Speaker Kevin McCarthy has criticized the possibility of extra spending beyond the debt ceiling deal, while conservatives push to slash tens of billions of additional dollars from the bipartisan agreement that McCarthy negotiated with Biden. Granting Biden’s request for more emergency cash risks further angering the ultra-conservative lawmakers who could threaten McCarthy’s speakership, though it's been months since any lawmakers have floated an attempt to strip him of the gavel.

In an interview Wednesday, Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), a senior appropriator and co-chair of the Ukraine Caucus, said he wanted enough aid to last the allied country an entire year “to send a message to [Vladimir] Putin, and our allies and Ukraine that we’re in this for the long haul.” He predicted that moderate Republicans and Democrats will get the funding over the finish line.

“It’s calculus; there are multiple variables that are intertwined and it comes at a difficult time,” he said. “The guys I talk to in the Republican party, and I’m an appropriator, say, ‘Oh no, we’re going to get this done.’ That’s what gives me hope.”

Joe Gould contributed to this report.

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Iran transfers 5 Iranian-American prisoners to house arrest

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran has transferred five Iranian-Americans from prison to house arrest, U.S. officials said Thursday. The move comes after Tehran has spent months suggesting a prisoner swap with Washington in exchange for billions of dollars frozen in South Korea.

Iranian officials at the United Nations confirmed the deal to The Associated Press, saying that the prisoner release “marks a significant initial step in the implementation of this agreement.”

Iran also acknowledged that the deal involved $6 billion to $7 billion frozen in South Korea. The U.N. mission said that money would be transferred to Qatar before being sent onto Iran if the agreement goes through.

The complicated, multinational deal comes amid months of heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S. A major American military buildup in the Persian Gulf is underway, with the possibility of armed U.S. troops boarding and guarding commercial ships traveling through the crucial Strait of Hormuz, through which 20 percent of all oil traded passes.

It remains unclear whether the transfer of the Iranian-Americans guarantees that they will make it home. Iran in past months has overstated progress in talks, likely conducted with mediation from Oman and Qatar, on a potential trade.

The U.S. in March called remarks by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian that a deal for a swap was close a “cruel lie.”

U.S.-based lawyer Jared Genser identified three of the transferred prisoners as Siamak Namazi, Emad Sharghi and Morad Tahbaz. Genser, who has represented Namazi, did not identify the fourth and fifth prisoners. The five likely will be held at a hotel under guard until they possibly leave Iran, Genser added.

“The move by Iran of the American hostages from Evin Prison to an expected house arrest is an important development,” Genser said in a statement. “While I hope this will be the first step to their ultimate release, this is at best the beginning of the end and nothing more. But there are simply no guarantees about what happens from here.”

Sharghi’s sister, Neda Sharghi, also acknowledged the transfer.

“My family has faith in the work that President Biden and government officials have undertaken to bring our families home and hope to receive that news soon,” she said in a statement. “Until that point, I hope you can understand that we do not think it will be helpful to comment further.”

Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the White House’s National Security Council, acknowledged the prisoners’ move to house arrest and described the negotiations for their release as “ongoing and delicate.”

“While this is an encouraging step, these U.S. citizens ... should have never been detained in the first place,” she said in a statement. “We will continue to monitor their condition as closely as possible. Of course, we will not rest until they are all back home in the United States.”

It remains unclear how many Iranian-Americans are held by Tehran, which does not recognize dual citizenship.

The three released prisoners cited by Genser whose identities are known are Namazi, who was detained in 2015 and later sentenced to 10 years in prison on internationally criticized spying charges; Sharghi, a venture capitalist sentenced to 10 years in prison; and Tahbaz, a British-American conservationist of Iranian descent who was arrested in 2018 and also received a 10-year sentence.

Comments by U.S. officials in recent months had suggested there could be a fourth detainee in Iran, and an Iranian newspaper in August had reported there was a fifth prisoner, revealing the case amid apparent negotiations for the release.

Iran, meanwhile, has said it seeks the release of Iranian prisoners held in the U.S.

Iranian media in the past identified several prisoners of interest with cases tied to violations of U.S. export laws and restrictions on doing business with Iran.

The alleged violations include the transfer of funds through Venezuela and sales of dual-use equipment that the U.S. alleges could be used in Iran’s military and nuclear programs. Iran has been enriching uranium and stockpiling it as part of its advancing nuclear program.

The deal hinges on Iranian assets frozen in South Korean banks due to international sanctions on Tehran. Already, Tehran seized a South Korean oil tanker amid the dispute and threatened further retaliation in August.

“Definitely Iran will not remain silent, and we have many options that could harm the Koreans and we will certainly use them,” said Fadahossein Maleki, a member of Iran’s parliament who sits on its influential national security and foreign policy committee.

Iran and the U.S. have a history of prisoner swaps dating back to the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover and hostage crisis following the Islamic Revolution. The most recent major exchange between the two countries happened in 2016, when Iran came to a deal with world powers to restrict its nuclear program in return for an easing of sanctions.

Four American captives, including Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian, flew home from Iran, and several Iranians in the United States won their freedom. That same day, the Obama administration airlifted $400 million in cash to Tehran.

Iran has received international criticism over its targeting of dual nationals amid tensions with the wider world. A United Nations panel has described “an emerging pattern involving the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of dual nationals.” The West accuses Iran of using foreign prisoners as bargaining chips in political negotiations, an allegation Tehran rejects.

Negotiations over a major prisoner swap faltered after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the nuclear deal in 2018. From the following year on, a series of attacks and ship seizures attributed to Iran have raised tensions. While President Joe Biden entered office with hopes of restarting the deal, diplomatic negotiations on the accord have been stalled for a year.

It remains unclear how any possible deal would affect Biden, who now is ordering the Persian Gulf buildup. In 2016, then-President Barack Obama received withering criticism from Republicans over that prisoner swap, though he already was nearing the end of his second term. Biden will face reelection in November 2024, potentially against Trump.

Those in the U.S. long critical of diplomacy with Iran began questioning the deal immediately after Genser’s announcement.

“Paying $6 billion in ransom payments means the regime will only take more hostages,” said Mark Dubowitz of the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which led criticism of the Iran nuclear deal. “This has become a lucrative means of international extortion for Iran’s supreme leader.”

That troop buildup, however, may insulate Biden from criticism from Gulf Arab nations in the Persian Gulf, who rely on American security guarantees. The U.S. also is negotiating with Saudi Arabia over potentially recognizing Israel diplomatically, a deal that may involve further guarantees about military support against Iran. That’s even as Riyadh reached a détente with Iran in March after years of tensions.

Also long missing in Iran is retired FBI agent Robert Levinson, who vanished on the Iranian island of Kish in 2007. A 2013 Associated Press investigation revealed he had been sent on an unauthorized CIA mission. The U.S. alleges he was abducted by Iranian government agents. Iran has denied arresting Levinson or knowing his whereabouts.

He is presumed to have died in Iranian custody. He would be 75 years old now.

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