The Justice Department indicted two men on Tuesday for allegedly defacing dozens of U.S.-hosted websites in retaliation for the death of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani in a U.S. strike earlier this year. 

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Iranian national Behzad Mohammadzadeh and Palestinian national Marwan Abusrour were indicted for working together to allegedly target and deface over 50 websites hosted in the U.S., including several linked to an unnamed Massachusetts company, with the defendants allegedly replacing the text of the websites with a picture of Soleimani and the Iranian flag along with the message “Down with America.” 

Mohammadzadeh and Abusrour are alleged to have conspired together to target and hack vulnerable U.S. websites, and were linked to earlier ongoing attacks on websites around the world prior to the death of Soleimani. 

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The Justice Department noted that “co-conspirators known and unknown” were also involved, and that Mohammadzadeh and Abusrour are believed to be living in Iran and Palestine respectively, but are wanted by U.S. authorities. 

The two men were charged with intentionally conspiring to commit damage to a protected computer and for damaging a protected computer, with the charges added together carrying a jail sentence of up to 15 years and a $500,000 fine. 

“The hackers victimized innocent third parties in a campaign to retaliate for the military action that killed Soleimani, a man behind countless acts of terror against Americans and others that the Iranian regime opposed,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said in a statement. “Their misguided, illegal actions in support of a rogue, destabilizing regime will come back to haunt them, as they are now fugitives from justice.”

Joseph Bonavolonta, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Boston Division, said in a separate statement that the indictment “should send a powerful message that we will not hesitate to go after anyone who commits malicious cyber intrusions against innocent Americans in order to cause chaos, fear, and economic harm.”

While the specific websites targeted by the defendants were not named, the Texas Department of Agriculture and the Federal Depository Library Program were both hit by attacks during the week in early January the defendants were allegedly defacing websites. Both agency websites were defaced with pictures of Soleimani and text attributing the attack to Iranian hackers. 

Concerns over Iranian retaliation in cyberspace for the death of Soleimani, one of the nation’s highest officials, spiked in January. The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) put out a bulletin in January warning of the increased cyber threats from Iran.

“Iran maintains a robust cyber program and can execute cyber attacks against the United States,” CISA wrote in the bulletin. “Iran is capable, at a minimum, of carrying out attacks with temporary disruptive effects against critical infrastructure in the United States.”

A New York City bus driver was reportedly knocked out by an unmasked rider after he reminded the passenger to wear a face covering on public transit. 

Anthony Reid says that a group of passengers complained on his last run in Brooklyn one night in July that a fellow rider was not wearing a face mask. After Reid, 62, pulled over and called the man out, he said that everything went dark. 

“It was a calm exchange with him, but then he just knocked me out cold,” Reid told The New York Times in an interview published Friday.

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Reid said that he woke up in an ambulance with the taste of blood in his mouth and a swollen eye. The paramedics told him that the mask-less rider had attacked him from behind. 

New York has begun to emerge from a strict set of lockdown and mitigation measures to stem the spread of the coronavirus. However, an order from New York Gov. Andrew CuomoAndrew Cuomo44 percent of high earners have considered leaving New York City: poll Media’s anti-Trump coronavirus spin has real consequences In defense of Trump’s efforts to quell pandemic panic MORE (D) in April requires that passengers on public transit wear masks or face coverings due to people standing in close proximity. That requirement has yet to be lifted. 

The Times reported that the attack on Reid is just one of many experienced by New York City public transit workers. More than 170 transit workers have allegedly experienced attacks for trying to enforce coronavirus rules. Ninety-five percent of these violent incidences have taken place on buses, according to the paper, and two people have been charged for attacking transit workers. 

The attacks have become so frequent that transportation officials have considered issuing $50 fines for people who refuse to comply with mask orders. 

“It’s very dangerous, very dangerous,’’ Reid said, according to the Times. “I was just trying to protect myself and protect the passengers. I paid a price for that.”

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Twitter announced Thursday it will order some political candidates, lawmakers and journalists to strengthen their passwords as the platform looks to allay security concerns heading into Election Day.

The platform said in a blog post that the accounts of members of the executive branch and Congress, governors and secretaries of state, various political candidates and “Major US news outlets and political journalists” will be required to have what Twitter deems to be a strong password.

Users under those categories will begin receiving in-app notifications Thursday that Twitter is turning on “password reset protection” for their account and that they will be required to strengthen their password the next time they log into the platform if their current password is considered too weak.

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“Voters, political candidates, elected officials and journalists rely on Twitter every day to share and find reliable news and information about the election, and we take our responsibility to them seriously,” the social media company said in a statement. “As we learn from the experience of past security incidents and implement changes, we’re also focused on keeping high-profile accounts on Twitter safe and secure during the 2020 US election.”

Twitter also rolled out other protections it plans to implement “in the coming weeks,” including more sophisticated methods to detect suspicious activity and “increased login defenses.” 

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“Implementing these security measures is a critical preventative step, and you will continue to see us introduce new protections and features to help safeguard accounts on Twitter,” the platform said. 

Thursday’s announcement comes after Twitter revealed in July that hackers were able to exploit Twitter employees’ credentials to compromise several high-profile Twitter accounts and post messages promising to double bitcoin payments with a link to a bitcoin wallet, which ultimately received more than $117,000. Among the accounts hacked were those belonging to former President Obama, Amazon CEO Jeff BezosJeffrey (Jeff) Preston BezosTwitter mandates lawmakers, journalists to beef up passwords heading into election Hillicon Valley: DOJ indicts Chinese, Malaysian hackers accused of targeting over 100 organizations | GOP senators raise concerns over Oracle-TikTok deal | QAnon awareness jumps in new poll Amazon planning small delivery hubs in suburbs MORE and Kim Kardashian WestKimberly (Kim) Noel Kardashian WestTwitter mandates lawmakers, journalists to beef up passwords heading into election Twitter removes Kanye West tweet suggesting followers harass journalist Kanye West reportedly asked campaign staff to avoid ‘fornicating’ MORE. 

While July’s embarrassing cyberattack did not rely on account passwords, less sophisticated hacks have been centered around gaining access to people’s login credentials.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is pressing House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam SchiffAdam Bennett SchiffDemocrats, advocates seethe over Florida voting rights ruling DHS asks Schiff to reconsider expanded probe after whistleblower complaint, declines additional interview requests Senate panel seeks documents in probe of DHS whistleblower complaint MORE (D-Calif.) to reconsider his panel’s expanded investigation into the agency after a whistleblower complaint raised new allegations while denying his request for 11 additional transcribed interviews.

In a letter Monday, Beth Spivey, the assistant secretary for DHS’s Office of Legislative Affairs, dismissed the broader probe as “unreasonable under the timeframe and circumstances set forth,” questioned whether Schiff’s panel has jurisdiction over all the witness interview requests, needled the investigation for being overly broad, and highlighted that the DHS watchdog was probing the manner.

“With respect to the new inquiry, we are unable to engage in the accommodations process without knowing its context, scope, and legislative purpose,” Spivey wrote, according to a copy of the letter obtained by The Hill.

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“In due course, we may provide the Committee with necessary briefings, written responses to questions, and documents. The Committee’s request for the transcribed interviews  of at least eleven (11) DHS officials—it is unclear that the Committee has any jurisdiction over several of them—will not be accommodated at this time,” she said.

Spivey added that DHS “will engage in the accommodations process for a new inquiry, if doing so is proper” but urged Schiff reconsider his requests and identify the context, scope and legislative purpose of the new probe.

Schiff, in response, has called the refusal to fully cooperate with his panel’s probe “unacceptable.”

Spivey’s letter comes after Schiff on Friday informed Joseph Maher, the top official carrying out the duties of DHS’s undersecretary for intelligence and analysis (I&A), of the panel’s move to expand its probe to encompass not only its intelligence activities in Portland, Ore., but also claims of political interference and the politicization of intelligence raised in a new whistleblower complaint.

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The complaint filed by Brian Murphy, a career public servant and the former acting undersecretary of I&A, alleges there was a pattern of misconduct among top political appointees, who pushed him to alter vetted intelligence assessments to support or match President Trump‘s public remarks.

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He also alleges that acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf, under the direction of White House national security adviser Robert O’Brien, instructed Murphy earlier this year to stop producing intelligence reports centered on Russian interference efforts and instead focus on threats posed by China and Iran.

Murphy, who has been subpoenaed for a deposition on Sept. 21, says he declined multiple orders to alter or modify intelligence products to help support the administration’s agenda, which he claims led to a retaliatory demotion.

“The Committee is continuing to probe I&A’s activities in Portland and in support of the Department’s protests nationwide. … However, based on information that has recently come to light, the Committee’s investigation must now encompass and review a wider range of reported abuses, deficiencies, and problems, including allegations of improper politicization of intelligence and political interference in I&A’s mission and activities,” Schiff said Friday.

Spivey, however, knocked the letter over its lack of details.

“The letter lacks context as well as any mention of legislative purpose or authority; and is apparently unfettered in its scope,” she wrote.

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Spivey, as DHS has done previously, also denied the allegations against Wolf, who has been formally nominated to serve as DHS chief.

Schiff on Friday also named 11 officials his panel wants to interview related to the probe, including Horace Jen, who is performing the duties of the deputy undersecretary for I&A, I&A chief of staff Matthew Hanna, DHS chief of staff John Gountanis and DHS deputy chief of staff Tyler Houlton. 

Spivey said Schiff did not communicate the “basis for which the Committee believes these witnesses would even have relevant information,” which she argued is inconsistent with the tug-and-pull traditions between Congress and the executive branch. 

Spivey argued that DHS has devoted significant time and resources to provide the committee information about unrest in Portland and that the agency will continue to make two DHS officials — Ian Brekke and Jim Dunlap — available for transcribed interviews as part of the committee’s Portland investigation, as previously agreed upon with the panel, but that they won’t address questions related to the expanded inquiry. 

Schiff, responding to DHS’s letter, claimed that this decision reinforces the panel’s concern that the top brass at DHS is trying to hide from scrutiny.

“The Department is trying to have it both ways by making only a select few witnesses available to answer a very narrow set of questions and selectively releasing a small amount of documents in an obvious effort to whitewash serious allegations of misconduct by DHS’s leadership, all while refusing to make available other documents and witnesses who can testify to a broader pattern of misconduct and politicization of intelligence,” Schiff said in a statement.

“The Office of Intelligence and Analysis, an element of the Intelligence Community, is required to cooperate fully by law with the Committee, and this effort to obstruct the Committee’s legitimate oversight will only cause us to press forward with the investigation and consider all options, including compulsory process, to ensure the Department’s full cooperation,” he added.

The Trump administration is set to approve a large arms sale to Taiwan amid rising tensions between the U.S. and China, multiple outlets are reporting. 

China’s government considers Taiwan to be a territory, though the self-governing island does not recognize Beijing’s government. 

The U.S. government is preparing to sell Taiwan seven packages of weapons, though it’s unclear when Congress would be formally notified about the sales, as is required by law, sources told CNN.

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The packages include anti-ship missiles and other long-range missiles that would allow Taiwanese jets to hit distant Chinese targets in the event of a conflict, according to The New York Times.

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A US official told CNN the administration will soon formally approve a large sale of MQ-9B Reaper drones. The total cost of the drones reportedly amounts to $600 million.

Last month the U.S. finalized a deal with Taiwan to sell them up to 90 F-16 fighter jets at $8 billion. 

“The U.S. is increasingly concerned that deterrence is weakening as Chinese military capabilities grow,” Bonnie S. Glaser, a senior adviser for Asia at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the Times. “The items in this package will help increase Taiwan’s ability to prevent a Chinese invasion — essentially to hold out longer.”

Virginia Senate candidate Corey Stewart (R) claimed in a new interview that his campaign is suffering from negative media coverage because of “ass hurt” establishment Republicans targeting his Senate bid.

Stewart, who has failed to earn support from many establishment Republicans, claimed in an interview with the Independent Journal Review that “a bunch of jealous Republicans who are upset that I defeated their guy in the primary” are “feeding this information to the left-wing media.”

Stewart has sparked controversy with his defense of Confederate monuments, and he also told Hill.TV earlier this year that he didn’t believe the Civil War was about slavery and was instead mostly about states’ rights.

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He also called Michigan gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed (D) an “ISIS commie” in a since-deleted tweet this week. Stewart told The Hill that the tweet was sent from a vendor, who has since lost access to his Twitter account but has not been otherwise punished.

“There’s a whole slew of them,” Stewart told IJR. “And a lot of them are connected to my prior primary opponent,” referring to Nick Freitas (R), who lost to Stewart in the GOP Senate primary.

“I’m not going to blame him for that. It’s just that he’s got a lot of sourpusses out there who have an ax to grind because I beat their guy,” Stewart said.

“They are poor sports willing to take down the Republican nominee for the United States Senate all because their ass hurts,” he added.

Stewart failed to earn support from establishment GOP groups after he secured the Republican nomination for the Senate seat: The National Republican Senatorial Committee said the group had no plans to endorse him in the race, and the Republican National Committee hasn’t said whether it would back the candidate.

President TrumpDonald John TrumpSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote Warren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Esper orders ‘After Action Review’ of National Guard’s role in protests MORE endorsed Stewart after the candidate won the party nomination in June.

Incumbent Sen. Tim KaineTimothy (Tim) Michael KaineWarren, Democrats urge Trump to back down from veto threat over changing Confederate-named bases Senate panel passes amendment to bar using troops against protesters Defense bill turns into proxy battle over Floyd protests MORE (D) is leading Stewart by 23 points in the race, according to a Virginia Commonwealth University poll released Wednesday.

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Sen. Claire McCaskillClaire Conner McCaskillMissouri county issues travel advisory for Lake of the Ozarks after Memorial Day parties Senate faces protracted floor fight over judges amid pandemic safety concerns Amash on eyeing presidential bid: ‘Millions of Americans’ want someone other than Trump, Biden MORE (D-Mo.) pressed a top Trump administration official on Tuesday about a lawsuit challenging ObamaCare’s pre-existing condition protections.

McCaskill, who is facing a tough reelection race this year, used a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing to press the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) about the lawsuit.

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“There does not seem to be any sense of urgency about the fact that this lawsuit is moving its way through the courts and could blow up all of the protections,” McCaskill said in questioning CMS Administrator Seema Verma.

“I just want you to walk us down what happens if the administration is successful in their lawsuit,” she told Verma.

Verma responded that she supports protections for people with pre-existing conditions and that if the lawsuit backed by the administration against ObamaCare is successful she would work with Congress to try to reinstate them.

“I agree with you that those individuals should have the appropriate protections in place, and if the law changes in any way, shape or form around that, we would work with Congress to address that issue to make sure that they had the appropriate protections in place,” Verma said.

McCaskill, though, asked Verma why the administration was supporting the lawsuit in the first place and questioned whether Verma weighed in with the Department of Justice to try to stop the argument against pre-existing condition protections.

“I can’t speak to a pending lawsuit,” Verma replied.

McCaskill has joined other red-state Democrats who have made the Trump administration–backed lawsuit a centerpiece of their campaigns.

A federal judge in Texas has set arguments in the case for Sept. 5. Twenty GOP-led states are bringing the lawsuit, arguing ObamaCare is unconstitutional.

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McCaskill’s Republican opponent, Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, is one of the 20 state attorneys general bringing the lawsuit, which McCaskill has highlighted in her campaign.