Politics
Iran attempting cyberattacks against U.S. critical infrastructure, officials say
WASHINGTON — U.S. intelligence agencies are “urgently warning” private sector companies throughout the nation that Iranian actors “are conducting exploitation activity” that has resulted in “disruptions across several U.S. critical infrastructure,” according to a government notice reviewed by The Times.
The Iranian cyber activity comes as President Trump is threatening to target Iran’s critical infrastructure in the coming hours, particularly its bridges and power plants.
Iran’s attack targeted products by Rockwell Automation’s Allen-Bradley, one of the most widely used industrial automation brands, according to the notice, which said that cyber actors affiliated with Iran were exploiting “programmable logic controllers across U.S. critical infrastructure.”
Tehran’s targeting campaigns against U.S. organizations “have recently escalated, likely in response to hostilities between Iran and the United States and Israel,” the notice warned.
“Iran-affiliated advanced persistent threat (APT) actors are conducting exploitation activity targeting internet-facing operational technology (OT) devices, including programmable logic controllers (PLCs) manufactured by Rockwell Automation/Allen-Bradley,” the notice reads.
“U.S. organizations should urgently review the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and indicators of compromise (IOCs) in this advisory for indications of current or historical activity on their networks,” it continues.
The advisory was issued Tuesday jointly by the FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the National Security Agency, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy and Cyber Command.
Top executives from companies at the core of the nation’s ability to function — those leading America’s largest energy, water, transportation, and communications corporations — had already been taking it upon themselves to increase their vigilance over potential attacks, concerned that Trump’s willingness to target Iran’s critical infrastructure inadvertently put a mark on their backs.
Some fear Iran’s ability to conduct cyber operations that could take down transformers or power inverters, if not a wide-scale power system. Others are concerned about threats to brick-and-mortar sites from proxies of Tehran — physical attacks against facilities such as nuclear plants, or power management systems, the crown jewels of the sector.
Larger, even more capable actors, particularly Russia and China, may also take advantage of the fog of war to launch strikes themselves.
“There remains concern about Iranian cyber capabilities and retaliation if the U.S. carries through on threats to attack their infrastructure,” said Ernest Moniz, former U.S. secretary of energy under President Obama who helped negotiate the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. “There may already be backdoors, Trojan horses and malware hidden in our infrastructure.”
“I have to believe that the government cyber experts — or what’s left of them — are working closely and indeed overtime with the power companies and other infrastructure operators on cyber defense and intrusion detection and warning,” Moniz added.
Iran has demonstrated an ability to penetrate networks tied to critical U.S. infrastructure before.
In 2015, Iran-backed hackers accessed data associated with Calpine Corp., one of California’s largest power producers, obtaining detailed engineering diagrams and credentials related to power plant systems. Some were labeled “mission critical.” U.S. officials feared at the time that the breach would allow Tehran to initiate blackouts nationwide.
Since that time, companies at the center of the U.S. energy and telecommunications sectors have markedly improved their defenses. But Iran’s offensive capabilities have improved, as well.
Large players in the energy sector are operating with “a watchful eye and an elevated posture right now,” said Pedro J. Pizarro, president and chief executive officer of Edison International, the parent company of Southern California Edison, one of the nation’s largest electric utilities.
Companies like Edison have been operating under persistent threat for over a decade. In 2024, a pair of devastating cyber espionage attacks targeting U.S. critical infrastructure attributed to Chinese hackers, Volt Typhoon and Salt Typhoon, were discovered after avoiding detection for at least three years.
The threat of a similarly latent attack — in which malware lies dormant in critical infrastructure systems, waiting for a signal to activate — is a real cause for concern in the sector, despite its best efforts and technological advances, experts and insiders said.
“The threat of cyber and physical attacks targeting critical infrastructure is not new,” said Jennifer DeCesaro, senior vice president of industry operations at the Edison Electric Institute, “which is why we partner with the government through the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council to share actionable intelligence and prepare to respond to incidents that could affect our ability to provide electricity safely and reliably.”
The ESCC works closely with the National Security Council and its intelligence arms, particularly the intelligence agencies and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, to coordinate regular briefings on safety standards, best practices and intelligence tips.
The CIA declined to comment. A spokesperson with CISA, listed as out of office due to the ongoing federal funding hiatus for the Department of Homeland Security, could not be reached for comment.
Last summer, announcing a 40% cut to the workforce of her office, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard eliminated the Cyber Threat Intelligence Integration Center, previously seen as a critical fusion hub of information by private sector partners.
Asked to respond to the potential of retaliatory attacks against U.S. infrastructure, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, repeated the president’s threats.
“The Iranian regime has until 8PM Eastern Time to meet the moment and make a deal with the United States,” she said. “Only the president knows where things stand and what he will do.”
Trump has threatened to destroy every bridge and power plant in Iran if they fail to come to an agreement that ends its control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Ultimately, corporate executives shoulder much of the burden as the first line of defense for the country’s critical infrastructure, roughly 85% of which is owned by private sector companies.
Tom Fanning, former chief executive officer of Southern Co. and now executive committee chairman at the Alliance for Critical Infrastructure, said the threat from Iran is “credible.”
“I have not seen what I would describe as the existential threat, to take down a wide-ranging power system,” Fanning said. “Could those things be turned on? Sure. Is the United States critical infrastructure prepared to act? I think so.”
Last month, early on in the war, the Los Angeles Metro transit system was forced to shut down a portion of its network due to a hack. Authorities say it is still unclear who was behind the breach, but a source told The Times that Iran-backed hackers are being investigated as the potential culprit.
The transportation agency said its security team had “discovered unauthorized activity,” and were making sure its roughly 1,400 servers were secure before bringing them back online. The agency has emphasized the hack did not impact passengers’ commute time.
The FBI said it was aware of the hack. Homeland Security is working with local partners “to address cyber threats to critical infrastructure,” an official said.
“The reality is that the threats are here and now,” Fanning added. “The truth is, the bad guys are already here.”
Times staff writers Kevin Rector, Richard Winton and Rebecca Ellis, in Los Angeles, contributed to this report.
Politics
Video: Acting Attorney General Says Only Trump Knows Why Bondi Was Fired
new video loaded: Acting Attorney General Says Only Trump Knows Why Bondi Was Fired
transcript
transcript
Acting Attorney General Says Only Trump Knows Why Bondi Was Fired
The acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, said during his first news conference on Tuesday that “nobody has any idea” why President Trump fired Pam Bondi last week.
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Nobody has any idea why the attorney general is no longer the attorney general and I’m the acting attorney general, except for President Trump. I grow tired of people in the media saying why President Trump did or did do something, because President Trump’s only one that knows that. I did not ask for this job. And if President Trump chooses to keep me as acting, that’s an honor. If he chooses to nominate me, that’s an honor.
By Jackeline Luna
April 7, 2026
Politics
AOC doubles down on call for Trump’s ouster even after ceasefire announcement
Kayleigh McEnany: AOC is not fooling anyone
Fox News host Kayleigh McEnany talks about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., stumbling on her words while discussing foreign policy at the Munich Security Conference and more on ‘Jesse Watters Primetime.’
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., continued calling for President Donald Trump’s ouster on Tuesday even after the president announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran.
“This statement changes nothing,” she asserted in a post on X, referring to the president’s Tuesday evening ceasefire announcement. “Whether by his Cabinet or Congress, the President must be removed from office.”
Prior to the ceasefire announcement, Trump, who had been threatening to unleash a devastating attack against Iranian power plants and bridges, sent the following warning in a Tuesday morning Truth Social post: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?”
Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the progressive cadre of lawmakers known as “The Squad,” responded by declaring in a post on X, “This is a threat of genocide and merits removal from office. The President’s mental faculties are collapsing and cannot be trusted. To every individual in the President’s chain of command: You have a duty to refuse illegal orders. That includes carrying out this threat.”
But then on Tuesday night, Trump announced a two-week ceasefire.
TRUMP AGREES TO 2-WEEK CEASEFIRE IF IRAN OPENS STRAIT OF HORMUZ
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., speaks during a rally on March 21, 2025, at Civic Center Park in Denver, Colo. (Chet Strange/Getty Images)
“Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks. This will be a double sided CEASEFIRE!” the president wrote in part of a Truth Social post. “Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated.”
Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Seyed Abbas Araghchi said in part of a statement, “If attacks against Iran are halted, our Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations. For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations.”
But even in light of Trump’s ceasefire announcement, Ocasio-Cortez asserted that the president’s “statement changes nothing.”
“The President has threatened a genocide against the Iranian people, and is continuing to leverage that threat. He has launched a massive war of enormous risk and of catastrophic consequence without reason, rationale, nor Congressional authorization – which is as clear a violation of the Constitution as any. Each day this goes on, the risk and criminality of these actions escalate for our nation and the world,” she wrote in the post on X.
EX-TRUMP ALLY MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE JOINS LEFT-WING CALLS FOR THE 25TH AMENDMENT AS IRAN DEADLINE NEARS
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on April 6, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“Moreover, this administration’s self enrichment, insider trading, and pure corruption off this chaos – from crypto currencies to predictive trading markets to bribe ‘settlements’ – has placed the Trump administration’s pursuit of personal wealth squarely against the wellbeing of our nation and its people. All of these incidents, and plenty more, have clearly driven our country past the threshold for impeachment or invocation of the 25th amendment,” she continued.
“We cannot risk the world nor the wellbeing of our nation any longer. None of these considerations should be partisan, but shared in good faith by Americans of all backgrounds who care for the safety and stability of the United States. Whether by his Cabinet or Congress, the President must be removed from office. We are playing with the brink,” she wrote.
AOC TELLS TROOPS TO REFUSE ‘ILLEGAL’ ORDERS AHEAD OF TRUMP’S LOOMING IRAN DEADLINE
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) waves to the crowd ahead of Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration as the 112th mayor at City Hall on Thursday Jan. 1, 2026 in New York, NY. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment early on Wednesday.
Politics
Federal judge could halt Nexstar-Tegna TV station merger
SACRAMENTO — A federal judge appears willing to block a $6.2-billion merger of two large TV station groups as he evaluates whether Nexstar Media Group’s takeover of a rival violates U.S. antitrust laws.
At the conclusion of a two-hour hearing in Sacramento on Tuesday, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Troy L. Nunley signaled he was preparing to issue a preliminary injunction that would prevent Nexstar and Tegna from combining operations amid an ongoing legal challenge.
Nunley said he would draft a written order, which is expected by Friday.
Previously, Nunley had issued a temporary restraining order to pause the merger.
Last month, Nexstar raced to finalize its blockbuster purchase of Tegna — despite a lawsuit filed by California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta and seven other state attorneys general. The state officials, all Democrats, claimed the massive merger would give Nexstar too much control over local TV stations, ultimately hurting consumers by diminishing the diversity and quality of their newscasts.
California Deputy Atty. Gen. Laura Antonini argued that when news consolidates, it results in a loss of diverse viewpoints.
“That’s extremely harmful to democracy and to the citizens of this state,” she said at the hearing.
President Trump has championed the Nexstar-Tegna merger, suggesting it would diminish the clout of the major TV networks, including those he often gripes about: ABC and NBC. Nexstar, based in Irving, Texas, owns dozens of network affiliate stations.
Nexstar, which also owns KTLA-TV Channel 5 in Los Angeles, already is the nation’s largest station group. The deal was expected to reshape the local television industry by extending Nexstar’s reach to 265 television stations, up from 164.
If the acquisition is finalized , Nexstar stations would cover 80% of the U.S. population, exceeding a 39% ownership cap set by Congress.
El Segundo-based DirecTV separately sued, alleging the combination of the nation’s two largest television station groups would do irreparable harm to its pay-TV business by raising prices and potentially increasing programming blackouts.
Representatives of Nexstar, DirecTV and Bonta’s office declined to comment after Tuesday’s hearing.
During the hearing, Nexstar attorney Alexander Okuliar, argued against an injunction, saying the plaintiffs had failed to demonstrate that the merger posed an immediate threat to the public. He said DirecTV and the attorneys general had offered only proposed financial harms.
In court documents, the state attorneys general and DirecTV alleged the deal would give Nexstar multiple TV stations in dozens of markets. That raised concerns about layoffs in an industry that has sustained significant downsizing in recent years as viewers and advertisers migrate to streaming options and social media platforms like TikTok.
Nexstar could “shut down local newsrooms in dozens of markets, reducing the amount, variety, and quality of local broadcast news that Americans rely on for trusted information about their communities,” DirecTV alleged.
For example, Nexstar owns the Fox station in Sacramento, while McLean, Va.-based Tegna owns the ABC affiliate.
Okuliar pushed back, saying there was no evidence that local newsrooms would be shuttered.
“One of the reasons for this deal is to protect local broadcasters, to protect local journalism,” he told the judge.
Nexstar contends the deal would strengthen TV station economics, allowing stations to bolster their news gathering and expand the number of newscasts. The company cited dozens of awards won by Nexstar journalists, including in Oklahoma City.
In addition to Bonta, the plaintiffs include state attorneys general in Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Virginia.
Nearly two dozen lawyers attended the hearing on behalf of the other plaintiffs. Eight lawyers represented Nexstar and Tegna.
Nexstar Chief Executive Perry Sook and Chief Operating officer Michael Biard also attended.
In its complaint, DirecTV argued that it would suffer financial harm because Nexstar would use its increased heft to demand significantly higher fees for the rights to carry its network-affiliate stations, which carry local news, prime-time shows and professional sports, including NFL football. Such programming disputes can lead to blackouts that infuriate customers.
Nexstar’s lawyers disputed such allegations, telling the judge the merger would ultimately increase the value of content. The company suggested the deal could lower prices for distributors like DirecTV, which has about 10 million customers nationwide.
Nunley recently combined the DirecTV and state attorneys general lawsuits into one.
The judge, who was elevated to the federal bench by President Obama, had already expressed concerns about the merger.
In his March 27 order granting the temporary restraining order, Nunley said DirecTV had demonstrated that it could prevail at a trial due to the merits of its arguments.
He then instructed Nexstar to “immediately cease all ongoing actions relating to integration and consolidation of Nexstar and Tegna.”
Instead, the Tegna unit must continue to operate independently as “an ongoing, economically viable, and active competitor,” the judge wrote.
The Nexstar-Tegna merger took on political overtones in early February after Trump threw his weight behind it, writing in a post on Truth Social that the proposed union was among the “good deals,” because it would provide competition against “THE ENEMY, the Fake News National TV Networks.”
“GET THAT DEAL DONE!” Trump wrote.
The state attorneys general sued to block the merger on March 18, when the transaction was still pending at the U.S. Justice Department, which is tasked with conducting antitrust reviews, and the Federal Communications Commission, which oversees TV station licenses.
The Justice Department and FCC blessed the deal the following day.
Within an hour, Nexstar announced that it finalized the transaction and that Tegna had been disbanded.
“It’s very rare to do what Nexstar did here,” DirecTV’s attorney Glenn Pomerantz said.
Nexstar had asked the judge to require the plaintiffs to post a $150-million bond to compensate it for damages it would suffer from any delays in closing the deal.
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