Foreign threats to the US election are on the rise, and officials are moving faster to expose them
WASHINGTON (AP) — A presidential candidate's phone is hacked. A fake video falsely shows ballots burned in Pennsylvania. National security officials warn that U.S. adversaries may incite violent protests after Election Day.
These developments — all revealed in the past week — show how Russia, China and Iran have increased the pace of efforts to meddle in American politics ahead of next month's election, just as intelligence officials and security analysts had predicted.
At the same time, officials, tech companies and private researchers have adopted a more aggressive defense by swiftly exposing foreign election threats, highlighting the lessons learned from past election cycles that revealed America's vulnerability to disinformation and cyberespionage.
Officials say the U.S. election system is so secure that no foreign nation could alter the results at a scale necessary to change the outcome. Nevertheless, authoritarian adversaries have leveraged disinformation and cyberespionage to target campaigns and voters while stoking distrust and discord.
Here's what to know as the presidential election approaches:
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Israel's first open attack on Iran targets missile sites and apparently spares oil and nuclear ones
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israel attacked military targets in Iran with pre-dawn airstrikes Saturday in retaliation for the barrage of ballistic missiles the Islamic Republic fired on Israel earlier this month. It was the first time Israel’s military has openly attacked Iran.
The Israeli military said its aircraft targeted facilities that Iran used to make the missiles fired at Israel as well as surface-to-air missile sites.
Crucially, there was no indication that Iran’s oil or nuclear sites were struck. Iran insisted the strikes caused only “limited damage,” and Iranian state-run media downplayed them. Taken together, the moves suggested at least for now that both countries are trying to avoid a more serious escalation.
Still, the strikes risk pushing the archenemies closer to all-out war at a time of spiraling violence across the Middle East, where militant groups backed by Iran — including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon — are already at war with Israel.
Following the airstrikes, Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying it “considers itself entitled and obligated to defend against foreign acts of aggression." Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran has “no limits” in defending its interests.
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Five things to know about Israel's attack on Iran
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel delivered its long-expected response to Iranian missile attacks early Saturday by carrying out a series of airstrikes against the Islamic Republic.
Here's what to know:
Under the cover of darkness early Saturday, Israel struck multiple sites in different parts of Iran. Explosions were heard in the capital, Tehran, which sits deep inside the country.
The Israeli military said its “precise and targeted strikes” hit missile air defense systems and “aerial capabilities” as well as missile manufacturing facilities used to produce weapons that have been used against Israel. Iran insisted the strikes caused only “limited damage.”
It was not immediately clear how hard of a blow Israel dealt, with neither country providing detailed assessments of the destruction. Iran said the strikes targeted military bases in the provinces of Ilam, Khuzestan and Tehran.
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'Take our lives seriously,' Michelle Obama pleads as she rallies for Kamala Harris in Michigan
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — Michelle Obama delivered a searing denunciation of Donald Trump on Saturday in Michigan and challenged voters to support Kamala Harris as the United States' first female president.
“By every measure, she has demonstrated that she’s ready," the former first lady said. “The real question is, as a country, are we ready for this moment?”
It was Obama's first appearance on the campaign trail since she spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago over the summer, and her remarks were forceful and passionate, even vulnerable.
She said she fears for the country and struggles to understand why the presidential race remains close.
“I lay awake at night wondering, 'What in the world is going on?'” she said.
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Trump denigrates Detroit while appealing for votes in a suburb of Michigan's largest city
NOVI, Mich. (AP) — Donald Trump further denigrated Detroit while appealing for votes Saturday in a suburb of the largest city in swing state Michigan.
“I think Detroit and some of our areas makes us a developing nation,” the former president told supporters in Novi. He said people want him to say Detroit is “great,” but he thinks it “needs help.”
The Republican nominee for the White House had told an economic group in Detroit earlier this month that the “whole country will end up being like Detroit” if Democrat Kamala Harris wins the presidency. That comment drew harsh criticism from Democrats who praised the city for its recent drop in crime and growing population.
Trump's stop in Novi, after an event Friday night in Traverse City, is a sign of Michigan's importance in the tight race. Harris is scheduled for a rally in Kalamazoo later Saturday with former first lady Michelle Obama on the first day that early in-person voting becomes available across Michigan. More than 1.4 million ballots have already been submitted, representing 20% of registered voters. Trump won the state in 2016, but Democrat Joe Biden carried it four years later.
Michigan is home to major car companies and the nation’s largest concentration of members of the United Auto Workers. It also has a significant Arab American population, and many have been frustrated by the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza after the attack by Hamas against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
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FACT FOCUS: Trump repeated election lies in his interview with Joe Rogan. Here are the facts
In his three-hour interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, Donald Trump dug in on his false claims about voting, election fraud and his loss in the 2020 presidential election. Rogan helped encourage some of these claims.
The interview, released late Friday, came on the same day that the former president, on his social media network, re-posted threats to prosecute lawyers, voters and election officials he deems to have “cheated” in the 2024 election.
Here's a look at some of the claims by the Republican nominee for president and the truth.
WHAT TRUMP SAID: “I won by like — they say I lost by like — I didn’t lose.”
THE FACTS: Trump did lose in 2020 to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump's claims that fraud cost him the race were investigated repeatedly.
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Bus in Mexico crashes after colliding with trailer that detached from truck killing 24
MEXICO CITY (AP) — A bus tipped over in central Mexico after colliding with a trailer that detached from a truck transporting corn, killing 24 people and injuring five, Mexican authorities said Saturday.
The crash happened at midnight Friday when the bus was leaving Tepic in the western Mexico state of Nayarit bound for Ciudad Juarez in northern Mexico. The injured were being treated at a hospital in Zacatecas.
Juan Manríquez Moreno, coordinator of the National Guard in Zacatecas, said in a video statement shared on social media that the truck trailer detached on a highway. The passenger bus collided with the trailer and tipped over on its right side.
Rodrigo Reyes Mugüerza, secretary general of the government in Zacatecas, also shared a statement from the scene of the accident. “We send our solidarity and condolences to all the families and people who have lost a loved one in this unfortunate accident,” he said.
He added that the highway where the crash happened was closed as officials secured the area. Authorities said they will soon release the name of the injured for families to locate them.
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Pope Francis' Catholic church reform process ends without giving more equity to women
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis' yearslong process to reform the Catholic Church closed Saturday with recommendations that fell short of giving women more equity as hoped, but reflected the pope’s aims for a church that at least listens more to its followers.
In a significant move, the pope said he would not issue a teaching document from the recommendations, which called for women to be allowed all opportunities that Church law already provides while leaving open the contentious question of permitting women to be ordained as deacons.
As a result, it remains unclear what if any authority or impact the synod’s final recommendations will have, given the purpose of the exercise was to provide the pope with specific proposals on reform.
“In this time of war, we must be witnesses to peace” and give an example of living with differences, the pope said in explaining his decision.
Francis said he would continue to listen to the bishops' counsel, adding “this is not a classic way of endlessly delaying decisions."
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A century after Native Americans got the right to vote, they could put Trump or Harris over the top
RED SPRINGS, N.C. (AP) — Native American communities were decisive voting blocs in key states in 2020, and with the 2024 race remaining stubbornly close both campaigns have tried to mobilize Native voters in the final weeks of the presidential election.
But when it comes to messaging, the two campaigns could not be more different, many Native voters said. It’s been 100 years since Native Americans were given the right to vote, with the passage of the Snyder Act in 1924, and whichever campaign is able to harness their power in this election could swing some of the most hotly contested counties in the country.
In swing states like Arizona, North Carolina, Michigan, and Nevada, the candidates — particularly Vice President Kamala Harris — have been targeting Native Americans with radio ads and events on tribal lands featuring speakers like Bill Clinton and Donald Trump Jr.
Native American voters tend to favor Democrats, but they’re more likely to vote Republican than Latinos or African Americans, said Gabriel R. Sanchez, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He said they are one of the least partisan and youngest voting demographics in the country, often motivated by issues that directly impact their communities, like land rights and environmental protections.
In 2020, the Biden administration campaigned in several tribal nations in critical states like Wisconsin and Arizona, and precincts on tribal lands there helped narrowly tip the election for the Democrats. “Arizona was kind of like a textbook example of what that could look like if you make those early investments,” Sanchez said.
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US approves $2 billion in arms sales to Taiwan including advanced missile defense system
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The United States has approved $2 billion in arms sales to Taiwan, including the first-time delivery to the self-ruled island of an advanced surface-to-air missile defense system, in a move sure to anger China.
Taiwan’s presidential office on Saturday thanked Washington for greenlighting the potential arms sales. Under the island's new president, Lai Ching-te, Taiwan has been stepping up defense measures as China increased its military threats against the territory it claims as its own.
Beijing last week held war games encircling Taiwan for the second time since Lai took office in May.
The U.S. is Taiwan’s strongest unofficial ally and its laws bound it to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.
“Strengthening Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities is the foundation for maintaining regional stability,” Taiwan's presidential spokesperson Karen Kuo said.
The Associated Press
