super ace update

super ace update WASHINGTON — With Congress set to adjourn on Dec. 20, Maryland is running short of time and legislative options to achieve top priorities, as an essential bill faces some opposition. House Republicans are raising concerns about legislation Maryland likely needs to ensure the federal government pays the full cost of replacing the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge . The Maryland delegation is working to obtain a bridge funding commitment and complete a deal with the NFL’s Washington Commanders , ensuring the area around the team’s Prince George’s County stadium can be redeveloped if the club relocates to the District of Columbia. Also entangled in ongoing House and Senate negotiations is Maryland’s request to receive one of Washington’s two Air National Guard squadrons . Maryland has been trying to persuade the Air Force to preserve a flight mission in the state because the military is phasing out its A-10 “Warthog” attack aircraft, and no aircraft was designated to replace them. The key to all three of Maryland’s federal priorities appears to lie in legislation called a continuing resolution, or CR, a catch-all funding bill stuffed with amendments that is necessary to keep the government running after Dec. 20. House Republicans, particularly the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus — led by Republican Maryland representative Andy Harris — have raised concerns about the CR’s potential cost. “Congressman Harris believes the Key Bridge should be funded — but with a $2 trillion annual deficit left from the Biden administration, we should look to offset any cost with savings elsewhere,” Harris’ office said in a statement Thursday to The Baltimore Sun. Talks about the measure are continuing, the statement said. As adjournment approaches, lawmakers often look for such vehicles — typically larger pieces of legislation headed for passage — on which to attach amendments that have not been approved as standalone bills. “Time is short,” Sue Walitsky, the spokesperson for Democrat Ben Cardin, Maryland’s senior senator, said Thursday. “There are many priority issues for Maryland that need to get over the finish line before the end of Congress.” In Maryland’s case, lawmakers say the CR may include the 100% bridge commitment, the transfer of the D.C. squadron, and language giving Washington control of the federally owned land on which the Commanders played games at RFK Stadium before moving to Maryland. That control would ease the path of a potential Commanders move back to D.C. “All negotiations are now revolving around the CR,” said Francesca Amodeo, the spokesperson for Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen. The Commanders and Washington elected officials have long expressed interest in the team returning to the D.C., where the team played until 1997. Van Hollen and Cardin have expressed concern that opening up the RFK site to the team would give the District an unfair advantage over Maryland in the franchise’s ultimate decision to relocate. But the senators have not ruled out supporting the RFK Stadium site legislation if they are convinced the Landover area will be redeveloped with the help of the team. The bridge funding request is part of a larger disaster relief measure that has not yet passed. In March, a container ship struck and knocked down the bridge, killing six construction workers and temporarily choking commerce to the Port of Baltimore by blocking the shipping channel. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has visited the bridge site and pledged multiple times that the federal government would pay the full cost of replacement. While members of Congress of both parties have been publicly supportive of a new Baltimore bridge, some have expressed sticker shock at the cost, estimated between $1.7 billion and $1.9 billion. “Congress should not pass a whopping $100 billion unpaid disaster supplemental funding bill — that Democrats will use to cement their own unrelated priorities — in the waning days of Democrat control in Washington right before Republicans take control of the White House and both Chambers,” the Freedom Caucus said recently in a statement. Bridge funding proponents have said their request is for authorization — not a specific funding amount — for the government to fully pay for bridge replacement. Federal highways are generally funded with 90% federal money and 10% from the state level, but the White House has said a 100% percent federal cost share for rebuilding the bridge is consistent with the response to past bridge collapses. The Key Bridge carried about 34,000 vehicles a day. In April, Maryland lawmakers introduced a bill specifying that the federal portion of emergency relief funds for the “bridge and its approaches shall be 100 percent.” It mandates that any money recouped from insurance or liability payments be used to help offset the federal payments. ©2024 Baltimore Sun. Visit baltimoresun.com . Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Gap raises guidance ahead of holidays after storms, warm weather slowed sales

Leaders of the Ruruma Community in Southern Kaduna State have called on the Federal Government to establish a military base in the community due to the hardship they have been through as a result of the insecurity in the state. This is even as they said that they have paid billions of Naira in ransom to kidnappers. The zone, like some parts of the country suffering from insecurity, had been dealing with the payment of ransom, killing, and inability to go to the farm and even harvest their crops for some time now. Recently, the Ruruma community, frustrated by the development, decided to voice out their concern and called on the authorities to come to their aid. According to a statement signed by their National President, Mr. Daniel Dallah, the community alleged that a staggering amount not less than N1 billion in ransom has been paid out to bandits and kidnappers by the communities in the last two years. They said in the recent past, not less than 13 people have been brutally killed, and over 200 abducted by kidnappers. “There has been a continued escalation of insecurity in our communities, leading to brutal killing and displacement of community members,” they said “A former CBN director was abducted in Kwasam where millions were paid as ransom. Also, communities like Fagen Rawa, Kaibi, Kusheka, Fadei, Ruruma, Rafin Rimi, Kurera, Kitimi, Kakude and Kiwollo are all displaced by bandits. “Bandits have rendered our communities incapacitated, as farmers are afraid to go to their farms for fear of being killed or kidnapped for ransom.” the statement said. Before now, the umbrella organization of all Southern Kaduna people, the Southern Kaduna Peoples Union (SOKAPU) had also called for military assistance to the communities. Apart from military assistance, the last leadership of the union led by a one-time member of the House of Representatives, Jonathan Asake, had also contemplated the setting up of a security outfit like the one in the South West, Amotekun. The former SOKAPU National President had said: “As a peace-loving people, who do not want anything to happen to us and our desire to live in peace with all and sundry, irrespective of any difference, we are forced to look elsewhere for the protection of our people and we strongly believe that a security outfit such as Amotekun is an answer to our much-desired peace in Southern Kaduna.” Recently, the state Governor, Mallam Uba Sani, pardoned repentant Bandits, who had decided to lay down their arms and renounce banditry. The governor, who spoke in Birnin Gwari, where he received the first set of repentant bandits, noted that he wants to be fair as a panacea towards tackling insecurity in the state. “I will be fair to everyone, be they farmers, herders and traders, to achieve lasting peace and development,” Mr Sani stated. Sani added: ‘’Through numerous meetings and extensive discussions, we have built bridges of trust. Several senior bandit leaders had laid their arms and embraced peace, along with their followers. “This programme adheres to international standards of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration, ensuring that these individuals can return to society as productive citizens,’’ he said. The governor warned that the rehabilitation of the repentant bandits was based on the principle of carrot and stick. “While we welcome those who chose peace, we will not hesitate to take decisive action against anyone, who continues to perpetuate violence. “The security, law enforcement and intelligence agencies have already achieved significant results, neutralising bandits’ kingpins, dismantling criminal networks and rescuing kidnapped victims,’’ the governor stressed. However, on how to end banditry and kidnapping in their area, the Ruruma community said what was needed was a military base to assist them dislodge the criminal elements. The community appealed to President Bola Tinubu’s administration to establish a military presence in Kwasam, its local government headquarters to halt escalating killings and abduction of their people by bandits. The National President stressed that establishing a military presence in the Kwasam area would not only bring stability to the region but also help restore normalcy in neighbouring vulnerable communities that have been displaced over the years. “The military formation in the Kwasam axis will enable the communities that have been displaced to return to their ancestral land as they have abandoned their farms and farm produce. Currently, our Chief, Alhaji Dauda Abdulsalam, the Pogom Kumana, for some years, has not been at home, due to escalating insecurity in the region. “Bandits have continued to occupy surrounding communities and farmlands unchallenged by security operatives.” He lamented. Also speaking on how to find solutions to the challenges, the Chairman of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) Kaduna State chapter, Luka Binniyat, said the people desire more military formations and presence in Southern Kaduna as a whole. However, he said that the formation of the Volunteers Citizens Guards, where youths from the Middle Belt will be trained to assist the military will be an added advantage. Comrade Binniyat told Sunday Telegraph: “We very much desire more military and police formations in Southern Kaduna, being the larger part of Kaduna State. Kaduna State has a landmass of about 46,000 sq.km with 23 LGAs. Southern Kaduna occupies 26,000 sq.km and has 12 LGs. Yet, 80 per cent of military formations in Kaduna State are in the northern part. So, we need more permanent military presence.” He, however, said the way forward is a very simple: “We have always maintained in the MBF. We have millions of able bodied youths that are educated, easy to train and imbued with basic security training. And most of them are very willing to assist the military as Volunteers Citizens Guards. Why not train them and give them rudimentary arms? “With their sheer numbers and under the command of professional soldiers, I bet you that we can wipe out these bandits under a month. Imagine the billions of dollars or trillion of Naira used in importing jets and sundry arms and the little results we are getting. Deploy a fraction of that into training and arming our idle and willing youths and see the results.” According to him:” It is the refusal of the government to heed to this simple suggestions that makes us doubt the political will of the government to end this evil.” He, however, said the volume of attacks has reduced in the recent past, unlike what opens years ago, adding that, “the mass invasion, mass killings and arson in Zangon Kataf, Kaura, Jemaa, Sanga and Kachia LGAs parts of the Middle in Southern Kaduna has reduced drastically by about 90 per cent. We praise the efforts of the Nigeria military on this. But that has been replaced by mass kidnappings, target individuals and random kidnapping by bandits.” Binniyat, who alleged that those attacking the Southern Kaduna part of the middle belt are “Fulani Ethnic Militia” (FEM) also alleged that apart from the violence, they have “placed taxes on some captured communities before they can farm and before they can harvest their crops.”Gretchen McKay | (TNS) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette PITTSBURGH — Many Americans consider social media a scourge, but for a home cook, it can be a fun and informative place to get help deciding what to eat. Sure, some of the recipes would-be influencers recommend are in fact pretty abominable — check out @chefreactions on TikTok, Instagram or X for many, many examples — but I have stumbled across some pretty good recipes on many occasions, too. Related Articles Restaurants, Food and Drink | In season: The universal joy of carrots Restaurants, Food and Drink | Don’t shun pinot grigio! The good versions of wines you think are bad Restaurants, Food and Drink | Quick Fix: Horseradish Crusted Snapper with Arugula Pasta Restaurants, Food and Drink | 3 recipes to help you through the busy holiday season Restaurants, Food and Drink | Marin father-daughter duo opens Bubbala’s in San Anselmo One that’s been going viral for a while and but only recently caught my eye shines a spotlight on the creamy, tomatoey dish known as Marry Me chicken. There are probably as many recipes for Marry Me chicken on social media as there are cooks. (Delish claims to have created the video recipe for the original dish, also known as Tuscan chicken, in 2016.) But in my opinion, the best variations hang their chef’s hat on a sauce made with sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and cream. Yum! This rich and luxurious entree is a definite step above the “engagement” chicken that caused a similar stir when it made its debut in Glamour magazine in 2004. That proposal-worthy recipe — saved for posterity in the 2011 cookbook “100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know: Engagement Chicken and 99 Other Fabulous Dishes to Get You Everything You Want in Life” — featured a whole chicken roasted with lemon and herbs. Awesome for sure, but not nearly as swoon worthy. I’ve been married for a very long time, so I’m not looking for a dish that will get me engaged. But who wouldn’t want applause when they put dinner on the table? That’s how Delish’s original recipe made it into the latest installment of “Dinner for Four for $25.” Usually when I’m building these economical meals, I do all my shopping in one store. This time, I shopped over the course of a weekend at some of my favorite haunts to see if that made a difference. (And no, I didn’t factor in the cost of gas, but maybe should have!) First stop after downing my Saturday morning latte and Nutella mele at a street-side table at Colangelo’s in the Strip District: Wholey’s Market, where I found boneless chicken breast at the bargain price of $3.89 per pound. I then crossed the street and headed down the block to Pennsylvania Macaroni Co., where I found several varieties of sun-dried tomatoes to chose from. I went with a jar of Ponti sun-dried cherry tomatoes for $5.09 — a definite splurge when your budget is only $25, but an ingredient I knew would deliver plenty of flavor. At Aldi, I found a bag of five huge lemons for $3.89, or 78 cents apiece, and a nice package of fresh broccoli for $2.28. A bargain, considering I would only use about two-thirds of it. The German supermarket chain known for its low prices and no-frills shopping experience (you have to deposit a quarter to get a shopping cart) also had butter — a main ingredient in my sandwich cookie dessert — on sale for $3.99 a pound. A bag of powdered sugar was pretty cheap, too, at just $2.09 for a two-pound bag. “Shopping” my pantry for ingredients I always have on hand, including garlic, olive oil, spices, rice, molasses and vanilla, once again helped keep costs down. Total bill: $24.38, or 62 cents under budget. Not bad when you consider the homemade dessert recipe makes more oatmeal sandwich cookies than a family can/should eat at one sitting. Marry Me Chicken PG tested Sun-dried tomatoes could be considered a splurge item because even a tiny jar is expensive, but their concentrated, sweet and tangy tomato goodness add so much flavor to a dish! They are certainly the star of this chicken dish that has been making the rounds on social media platforms. Some say the entree is so good, you’ll get a marriage proposal out of it. At any rate, the Parmesan cream sauce that gets spooned on top of the chicken and rice will certainly make your diners swoon. This original recipe from Delish.com is a pretty easy dish to get on the table in quick fashion. Just remember to use a dry pot holder to take the pan out of the oven because it will be very hot; I very stupidly used a damp dish towel and now have another cooking scar. 4 (8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 3/4 cup chicken broth 1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan Fresh basil, torn, for serving, optional Cooked rice, for serving Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil. Generously season chicken with salt and black pepper and cook, turning halfway through, until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a plate. In same skillet over medium heat, heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Stir in garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in broth, tomatoes, cream, and Parmesan; season with salt. Bring to a simmer, then return chicken and any accumulated juices to skillet. Transfer skillet to oven. Bake chicken until cooked through and juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a knife, 10-12 minutes. Arrange chicken on a platter. Spoon sauce over. Top with basil, if using, and serve with cooked rice. Serves 4. — delish.com Broccoli with Lemon PG tested Broccoli is a reliable veggie when you need a little something extra to round out a meal and don’t want to spend a fortune. Here, it’s blanched until crisp-tender and then tossed with lemon juice and zest and a pinch of red pepper flakes. I used lemon olive oil (already on hand) for an extra burst of citrus flavor. 1 large bunch broccoli, separated into florets 2 tablespoons olive oil or butter 1 clove garlic, minced Juice and zest of 1/2 lemon 1 pinch (or two) red pepper flakes Flaky salt and freshly ground ground black pepper, to taste Place broccolini in a large skillet with about 2 inches of water; bring to a boil and cook until bright green, 1-2 minutes. Drain. Heat olive oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic and cook until golden and fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add broccoli; cook and stir until heated through, 2-3 minutes. Squeeze lemon juice and zest over broccoli and season with red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Serves 4. — Gretchen McKay, Post-Gazette Oatmeal Cream Cookies PG tested Remember how if you were lucky when you were a kid you got an individually wrapped Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pie in your lunchbox? These soft and chewy oatmeal cookies sandwiched with vanilla buttercream taste exactly the same. Actually, they’re better because they’re not made with corn syrup and artificial flavorings, but rather real butter and brown sugar. It’s important to let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a rack. Otherwise they will fall apart. The icing is very sweet, so you might want to reduce the amount of powdered sugar. For cookies 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 cup packed light brown sugar 1 tablespoon molasses 1 large egg, room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt For filling 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 3 cups powdered sugar 2 tablespoons heavy cream 2 teaspoons vanilla Pinch of salt Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line two sheet pans with parchment paper. In stand mixer outfitted with whisk attachment add butter, brown sugar and molasses and beat on low speed until combined. Gradually increase speed to medium-high and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl with spatula, then add egg and vanilla extract. Beat on medium-high speed until combined. Add flour, oats, baking soda and salt and beat on low speed until just combined and no streaks of flour remain. Use a 1/2 -ounce cookie scoop tor tablespoon measure to portion out equal amounts of dough. Roll the dough in your hands to smooth the edges, then place 2 inches apart on prepared pans. Bake until cookies have puffed up and are set and firm around the edges but still somewhat soft in the middle, 9-11 minutes. Remove sheet pans from oven and allow cookies to rest on the pans for 5 minutes, then use a metal spatula to transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely. Once cookies have cooled, make filling. In stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter, confectioners’ sugar, cream, vanilla and salt. Beat on low speed, gradually increasing the speed to high, until creamy and fully incorporated, about 45 seconds. If filling is dry, add a small splash or two of cream. Assemble cookies. Using a small offset spatula or butter knife to spread about 2 tablespoons of filling onto the bottom side of one cookie, then place second cookie on top to sandwich. Repeat with remaining cookies and serve. Makes 16 sandwich cookies. —”Sweet Tooth” by Sarah Fennel (Clarkson Potter, $35) ©2024 PG Publishing Co. Visit at post-gazette.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Macron to name new French PM Friday after days of deadlockJaylen Blakes, Maxime Raynaud and Oziyah Sellers combined for 35 points in a 47-point, first half explosion Saturday afternoon and Stanford ran away from California for an 89-81 Atlantic Coast Conference road win in Berkeley, Calif. Raynaud and Blakes finished with 20 points apiece for the Cardinal (8-2, 1-0 ACC), who won their first ever game in ACC competition. Andrej Stojakovic had a game-high 25 points and Jovan Blacksher Jr. added 14 for the Golden Bears (6-3, 0-1), who dropped their second in a row after a 6-1 start. Playing just its second true road game of the season, Stanford scored 14 of the game's first 18 points and never looked back. Raynaud and Ryan Agarwal hit 3-pointers in the run. Blakes had 14 points, Raynaud 11 and Sellers 10 in the first half, which ended with Stanford in front 47-31. Cal was still down 81-65, after two free throws by Stanford's Chisom Okpara with 3:58 remaining before making a little run. Mady Sissoko converted a three-point play and Rytis Petraitis and Joshua Ola-Joseph connected on consecutive 3-pointers in a 9-0 flurry that made it a seven-point game with still 2:13 to go. It got as close as six when Stojakovic drilled a 3-pointer with 1:21 left, but Okpara and Blakes dropped in late layups to keep the hosts at arm's length. Seven of the nine Cardinal who saw action hit at least half his field goal attempts, led by Raynaud's 8-for-15 and Blakes' 7-for-13. Stanford finished 52.6 percent as a team. Both were deadly from the 3-point line as well, with Raynaud going 4-for-6 and Blakes 2-for-4. With Sellers adding 3-for-6, the Cardinal made 11 of their 23 attempts (47.8 percent) from beyond the arc. Raynaud also found time for five blocks, while Agarwal and Aidan Cammann shared Stanford rebound honors with seven. Blakes complemented his 20 points with a team-high six assists and two blocks. The Cardinal registered 19 assists on 30 baskets, while Cal had just five on its 30 hoops. Agarwal and Okpara each also scored in double figures with 11 points. Facing his old team for the first time after transferring to Cal over the summer, Stojakovic shot 11-for-25. The Golden Bears finished at 42.3 percent overall and 38.1 percent (8 of 21) on 3-pointers. Ola-Joseph and Sissoko, who had 11 points, were the game's leading rebounders with eight apiece. -Field Level Media

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Drones, planes or UFOs? Americans abuzz over mysterious New Jersey sightings

WASHINGTON >> Leaders of the top telecommunications companies were summoned to the White House on Friday to discuss a security problem that has been roiling the government: how to expel Chinese hackers from the deepest corners of the nation’s communications networks. The meeting in the Situation Room came after weeks in which officials grew increasingly alarmed by what they had uncovered about the hack. They now believe the hackers from a group called Salt Typhoon, closely linked to China’s Ministry of State Security, were lurking undetected inside the networks of the biggest American telecommunications firms for more than a year. They have learned that the Chinese hackers got a nearly complete list of phone numbers the Justice Department monitors in its “lawful intercept” system, which places wiretaps on people suspected of committing crimes or spying, usually after a warrant is issued. Although officials do not believe the Chinese listened to those calls, the hackers were probably able to combine the phone numbers with geolocation data to create a detailed intelligence picture of who was being surveilled. As a result, officials said, the penetration almost certainly gave China a road map to discover which of China’s spies the United States has identified and which they have missed. This article is based on conversations with more than a dozen U.S. and industry officials who spoke on the condition that their names not be used because of the sensitive intelligence assessments of the hack. Initially, officials thought the hack was limited to the region around Washington. But they have now found evidence of China’s access all around the country, exploiting old or weak entry points in the cellphone network. Officials now believe that the hack has gone beyond phone companies, to internet service providers, potentially allowing the Chinese to read some emails. Although some Americans’ phone calls and emails may have been compromised by the Chinese, officials emphasized that encrypted applications, including WhatsApp and Signal, were not penetrated. In addition, messages sent within Apple’s own network were also safe. And the discovery of the specific targeting of senior national security officials, and some political leaders — including President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance — led the FBI and other officials to conclude that the Salt Typhoon hackers were so deep in the system that they could actually listen in to some conversations and read some unencrypted text messages. “The sophistication was stunning,” said Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. He said his biggest concern — one that dominated the Situation Room meeting at the White House — was the conclusion that “the barn door is still wide open.” A White House statement released Friday night gave no details of the breach or any hint of the tensions over how to deal with it, but said the meeting Friday was led by Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, and one of his deputies, Anne Neuberger, who oversees cybertechnology and emerging technologies. The U.S. communications system is built on a mishmash of aging systems, which made it far easier for the Chinese to break into upward of 10 telecommunications companies. At the White House meeting, the message delivered by top American intelligence and national security officials was that despite the aging technology, the telecommunications companies needed to help find a permanent way to keep China’s agents out of the systems. Some officials and others briefed on the hack say that is no small task and that making the necessary fixes could create painful network outages for consumers. Critical parts of the American telecommunications system are too old to upgrade with modern cybersecurity protections. Some parts of the system date to the late 1970s or early 1980s, when landlines, not cellphones, dominated the network. A participant in the meeting said the only solution to the problem was “ripping out and replacing whole sections of the networks,” a process the companies have been slow to invest in. The executives who attended the meeting included Verizon’s top leader, Hans Vestberg, and AT&T’s top executive, John T. Stankey. But T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert — who had initially doubted that the company had been compromised by the Chinese, then discovered it had been — sent a deputy. The meeting came as arguments have begun to break out over whom was to blame — the telecommunications firms, their regulators or American intelligence agencies — for a hack whose stealth and depth has shaken even veterans of America’s two decades of cyberconflict with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. In recent days, government officials have become increasingly vocal in blaming the firms for being too slow to update key nodes of their networks. In the days leading up to the meeting at the White House, American investigators and national security officials said parts of the telecommunications firms’ systems were not protected with basic “multifactor authentication.” That is the same technology that has become a staple of everyday life for consumers, who have grown accustomed to having a cellphone scan their face, or receiving a six-digit text message before they can access financial accounts or sensitive emails. The hack was considered so severe that President Joe Biden took it up directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping when they met in Peru last weekend, according to Sullivan. “The issue of the hack of American telecommunications providers did come up,” Sullivan told reporters, although he declined to provide details. There are limits to how far the United States can press its case with China. So far, the Chinese hack appears to involve only surveillance. That is something that the United States does regularly to Chinese telecommunications companies and is a form of espionage considered fair game as the two superpowers navigate a new, higher-stakes era using updated spy technology. The documents revealed 11 years ago by Edward Snowden, a former contractor for the National Security Agency, revealed extensive efforts by the United States to get into the telecommunications systems and equipment of leading Chinese makers. But the Chinese showed remarkable ingenuity and patience — and a willingness to spend heavily to pierce American systems. “I’d have to say the Chinese have matched, or exceeded, what we can do — and we didn’t see this one coming,” said a senior U.S. official with years of experience in the intelligence community, declining to speak on the record about a classified investigation. It was a dozen years ago that the scope of China’s cyberambitions were made clear by the exposure of Unit 61398, a hacking operation run by the People’s Liberation Army from a 12-story office tower on the road to the Shanghai airport. Studies found that the targets were often companies focused on critical infrastructure: the electrical power grid, gas lines and water systems. The Defense and State departments were also particular targets. A few years later, the United States belatedly discovered that China’s spy agency had stolen 22.5 million security clearance files from the Office of Personnel Management. The Obama administration condemned the hack and what now appear to be related thefts of medical and travel records. Visiting Washington in September 2015, Xi promised to abide by new limits on espionage. For a few months, the accord stuck, and the volume of attacks diminished. But by the time President Barack Obama left office, it was clear that China’s hacking operations had shifted from its military units to its intelligence services, which work with greater stealth. And China’s hackers began focusing on getting inside the telecommunication networks, knowing that American spy agencies are barred, by law, from monitoring communications facilities on American soil. The telecommunications companies might still be in the dark about the most recent hack, officials say, had Microsoft’s threat researchers not seen some anomalies, including data on sites used by Salt Typhoon that trace back to nodes on the networks of Verizon, AT&T and other firms. They told the companies and the government, which launched a secret investigation this past summer. When The Wall Street Journal first reported on elements of the hack, American investigators say, the Chinese intruders receded, making it more difficult to determine what exactly the hackers had done. But officials said investigators are looking through breadcrumbs left by the hackers and believe, with time, they will learn more about what they gained access to and what they did not see. The hack prompted such alarm within the FBI that field offices were told to check if informants had been potentially compromised and, if necessary, take steps to ensure their safety, such as developing cover stories or getting new phones. In particular, FBI officials were concerned that agents who repeatedly contacted informants using a bureau phone could have left them exposed because of the suspicious pattern of calls. A similar hacking technique was successfully used against companies in Taiwan, which is a frequent target of espionage from China, according to people familiar with the case. Other elements of the hack had echoes of techniques used against India. But officials said the operations against Taiwan and India were different enough from the Salt Typhoon operation that it would not have been a clear warning to the United States. In addition to calling in the telecom officials, White House has already organized a task force to assess the damage, and a newly created cyberinvestigations board has been ordered to identify the failures and the system’s vulnerabilities. The Biden administration has said very little about the attack. Much of the resistance came from the Justice Department and the FBI, which did not want to upend their own investigations. Although the telecommunications firms knew about the intrusion, the public statements put out by the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency contained such sparse detail that consumers would have no way of assessing whether their own conversations were at risk. A senior official deeply involved in the matter said the idea that the U.S. telecommunications system was so vulnerable was deeply embarrassing. But with less than two months until Biden leaves office, officials said they had no idea whether Trump’s national security team, which so far has named no officials responsible for cyberoffense or cyberdefense to senior posts, would press for long-term changes in the system. ——— This article originally appeared in The New York Times . © 2024 The New York Times Company2024 Year in Review: The best of New York theater