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FBI brings alleged China-linked hacker to US in rare extradition as Patel defends Italy trip
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FBI Director Kash Patel says a trip to Italy that raised questions earlier in 2026 helped set the stage for the arrest of a Chinese national accused of hacking U.S. COVID-19 research.
Xu Zewei is now in U.S. custody after what Patel described as a coordinated operation with Italian authorities, marking a rare case in which an alleged state-linked hacker has been extradited to face charges in the United States.
Xu was extradited from Italy in recent days and faces federal charges tied to a 2020–2021 cyber campaign that prosecutors say targeted sensitive research, including work related to COVID-19 treatments and vaccines.
Patel told Fox News Digital in an interview the bureau was able to «directly tie» Xu to China’s Ministry of State Security and its Shanghai bureau, though additional details remain classified pending declassification.
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Patel said the arrest was the result of a carefully coordinated effort with Italian authorities led by Prefect Vittorio Pisani of the Italian National Police, carried out within a narrow window before additional legal challenges could delay the suspect’s extradition.
Xu Zewei is now in U.S. custody after what FBI Director Kash Patel described as a coordinated operation with Italian authorities. (FBI )
Officials from both countries worked to ensure Xu would be in Italy, and «we created an opportunity with our partners in Italy to have him apprehended there,» Patel said.
Patel told Fox News Digital the trip, which the FBI said included meetings with Italian law enforcement and Olympic security coordination, also helped lay the groundwork for the arrest. He faced criticism at the time after being seen attending Olympic events, with questions raised about whether the travel was primarily official.
Patel described the suspect as «one of the top two cyber criminals in the world for China,» alleging he played a key role in hacking efforts aimed at American universities, immunologists and virologists during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
«We were able to bring him to Houston for prosecution, which is most of what I was doing when people said I was on vacation in Italy,» Patel said.
Xu allegedly reported to Chinese intelligence officials after compromising a U.S.-based research university in early 2020, according to the indictment, and allegedly was directed to access email accounts belonging to virologists and immunologists studying COVID-19.
Patel told Fox News Digital in an interview the bureau was able to «directly tie» Xu to China’s Ministry of State Security and its Shanghai bureau, though additional details remain classified pending declassification. (FBI)
Patel said Chinese officials sought to intervene in recent days to prevent Xu’s extradition from Italy.
Timing was critical, according to Patel, who pointed to past cases where suspected Chinese operatives were able to avoid extradition.
In one instance in 2025, he said, a Chinese national detained in Serbia was ultimately returned to China despite U.S. efforts to secure custody.
Authorities allege Xu and his co-conspirators targeted U.S.-based universities, immunologists and virologists working on COVID-19 during the height of the pandemic, gaining access to email accounts and sensitive research.
But the Justice Department has not publicly detailed the specific data allegedly exfiltrated, including whether it included proprietary vaccine formulas, clinical trial data or internal communications between researchers.
Patel said the operation was «specifically engineered at a time when our adversaries were looking to hurt us during COVID,» adding that the suspect targeted research tied to treatments and vaccines.
FBI Director Kash Patel looks on before the men’s gold medal ice hockey match between Canada and the United States at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 22, 2026. (Elsa/Getty Images)
Prosecutors also allege Xu was involved in exploiting vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server, a widely used email system, as part of the broader «HAFNIUM» hacking campaign that compromised thousands of computers worldwide, including more than 12,000 organizations in the United States.
The indictment also describes how Chinese intelligence services allegedly rely on private contractors to carry out cyber operations, allowing the government to obscure its direct involvement.
Among the alleged victims was a law firm with offices in Washington, D.C., where prosecutors say attackers searched email accounts for information related to U.S. policymakers and government agencies.
Xu’s alleged co-conspirator, who was also charged in the case, remains at large.
Patel declined to discuss specifics about the broader network but said China’s Ministry of State Security continues to actively target the United States through cyber operations.
«The MSS is always a target of this FBI’s. They’re always operating whether it’s to steal our classified information, our nation’s research and scientific information, or anything they can use to embarrass us or leverage against us,» Patel said. «They’re going to keep doing it.»
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Patel said the FBI has made countering Chinese espionage a top priority, pointing to a sharp increase in arrests tied to Beijing-linked activity.
«We’ve arrested more Chinese spies than any FBI before me,» he said.
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Patel signaled that efforts to identify and prosecute individuals tied to similar operations are ongoing.
«It’s a priority threat and it’s going to continue to be that way,» he said.
The Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
kash patel, fbi, cybercrime, us, xi jinping
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Massachusetts lawmakers pass bill to scrap ‘offensive language’ from state’s General Laws
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The Massachusetts legislature passed a bill that would remove «outdated and offensive language» used to describe people with disabilities in the state’s General Laws.
The measure would eliminate various terms, including «handicapped,» «disabled,» and the «r-word» in favor of language such as «persons with a disability» and «person with an intellectual or developmental disability.»
The bill, which was introduced by Democratic state Sen. Pat Jehlen and listed with 17 petitioners, now heads to Democrat Gov. Maura Healey’s desk.
The 61-page bill updates 346 sections of Massachusetts law.
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The 61-page bill updates 346 sections of Massachusetts law. (Getty Images)
«Language is constantly changing. And it’s changing because of the activism of people who were ignored and demeaned for too long,» Democrat state Sen. Pat Jehlen, the Senate’s primary sponsor of the legislation, said in a statement. «When people tell us they feel insulted and offended by the use of outdated words, we worked to change the legal language. It took a long time, because we kept finding more examples of offensive language. Language and activism will continue to evolve, and there’ll always be more work to do, but this is a gigantic step forward in respect.»
Some of the updated language featured in the bill includes replacing «disabled person» with «person with a disability,» «handicapped» with «disability» and «retarded» with phrases such as «person with an intellectual or developmental disability.»
The legislation also scraps terms such as «crippled» and «deformed» when referring to people with disabilities.
The measure would eliminate various terms, including «handicapped,» «disabled,» and the «r-word.» (Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group)
The term «hearing-impaired» was revised to «deaf or hard of hearing» and the «chronically ill» was changed to «persons who are chronically ill.»
Additionally, the bill amends specific legal definitions, including changing the current definition of «caretaker» — which describes an individual or entity responsible for a «disabled person» — to instead use the phrase «a person with a disability.»
«When dusty and dangerous relics of a bygone era darken our laws, it creates the potential for real harm to residents today,» Senate President Karen Spilka, a Democrat, said in a statement. «Thanks to the voices of advocates like former Senate staff member Melissa Reilly and the leadership of Senator Jehlen and Senator Kennedy, the Legislature has acted to make our laws better represent who we are in 21st-century Massachusetts.»
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The bill now heads to Democrat Gov. Maura Healey’s desk. (Adam Glanzman/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
«With a White House that glorifies, and seemingly longs for, the days when many Americans were discriminated against because of who they are, now is the time to make sure our state laws respect and support the rights and dignity of our residents,» she added.
The passage of this measure comes after a 2024 law that renamed the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission to MassAbility, which state officials argued was a display of a broader effort to modernize disability services and promote inclusion. That law also reflected a broader move away from terms state officials described as outdated or offensive.
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«As lawmakers, we know that words matter,» said state Speaker of the House Ronald J. Mariano, a Democrat. «This legislation is our latest effort to ensure that our state laws do not use antiquated words that carry negative connotations, words that also serve as a reminder of past injustices.»
The bill passed with broad legislative support, including unanimous recorded votes in both chambers.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Massachusetts GOP for comment.
massachusetts, us, politics, culture trends, woke
INTERNACIONAL
Guatemala: La CONRED recomienda activar la alerta anaranjada por la tormenta tropical Cristina
La CONRED informó este lunes que, por la influencia de la Tormenta Tropical Cristina, realizó una reunión virtual con integrantes del Sistema CONRED para compartir información técnica sobre las condiciones previstas y reforzar la preparación y la respuesta en el país.
De acuerdo con la Coordinadora Nacional para la Reducción de Desastres, la mayor parte del territorio podría registrar lluvias de moderadas a fuertes, con los mayores acumulados en el Sur, Bocacosta y SurOccidente.
Según la Secretaría Ejecutiva de la CONRED, se recomendó a las autoridades territoriales adoptar el nivel de Alerta Anaranjada en sus jurisdicciones, conforme al Plan Nacional de Respuesta.
El organismo advirtió que ese escenario puede favorecer inundaciones y crecidas repentinas de ríos, además de derrumbes, deslizamientos de tierra y descenso de lahares en los volcanes Fuego y Santiaguito.
Por eso, mantiene un monitoreo permanente de las zonas con mayor susceptibilidad.
La medida habilita procedimientos operativos como convocar enlaces institucionales, activar Centros de Operaciones de Emergencia (COE), preparar recursos para la atención de emergencias y promover acciones de prevención y respuesta.
La SE-CONRED reiteró el llamado a autoridades y población a mantenerse informadas por canales oficiales. También indicó que las Coordinadoras para la Reducción de Desastres facilitan la coordinación interinstitucional, la toma de decisiones y la atención de emergencias en el territorio.
CONRED emitió este lunes un aviso informativo alertando a la población sobre las condiciones climatológicas que afectarán al país durante los próximos días. De acuerdo con el reporte oficial, derivado de la inestabilidad en el océano Pacífico y el paso de ondas del este, se prevé un notable cambio en el clima a nivel nacional a partir de hoy, lunes 8, y hasta el próximo viernes 12 de junio.
Las autoridades meteorológicas e institucionales detallaron que las principales condiciones esperadas para esta semana incluyen un incremento significativo en el ingreso de humedad, formación de neblina, lluvias generalizadas y actividad eléctrica. Según el pronóstico, estos fenómenos climáticos no se limitarán a un horario específico, sino que podrían presentarse de forma intermitente durante el día, la tarde y la noche.
El impacto de este sistema de baja presión y las ondas del este afectará de manera directa a la gran mayoría de las regiones del país. CONRED ha puesto bajo vigilancia las siguientes zonas: Altiplano Central y Occidente; Bocacosta y la región del Pacífico; Franja Transversal del Norte y región Norte; Valles de Oriente y la región del Caribe.
Bajo la premisa de que “la prevención es tarea de todos”, la institución ha emitido una serie de recomendaciones críticas para resguardar la vida de los ciudadanos ante posibles incidentes provocados por las lluvias. Las autoridades instan a la población a mantener lista la “mochila de las 72 horas”, identificar con anticipación las rutas de evacuación locales y, de manera crucial, evitar el cruce de ríos crecidos.
Asimismo, se hizo un llamado a la calma y a la acción comunitaria: de identificarse cualquier situación de riesgo, emergencia o desastre, se solicita activar de inmediato el Sistema CONRED reportando el incidente a los cuerpos de socorro, a las autoridades de su localidad o comunicándose directamente al teléfono de emergencia nacional 119.
El impacto humano de las precipitaciones sigue en aumento. El consolidado histórico de la presente temporada detalla las siguientes cifras:
- Personas afectadas: Un total de 2,908 personas han sufrido algún tipo de impacto directo indirecto por las lluvias (7 de ellas reportadas en las últimas 24 horas).
- Víctimas mortales: Lamentablemente, el informe oficial confirma el fallecimiento de 5 personas en lo que va de la temporada.
- Damnificados directos: Se contabilizan 657 personas damnificadas (asociadas a 657 familias), quienes sufrieron daños severos en sus bienes o viviendas.
- Albergados: Hasta el momento, 11 personas han requerido el traslado a albergues temporales oficiales.
El reporte de CONRED evidencia un impacto considerable en el patrimonio familiar, destacando un alto número de inmuebles bajo evaluación:
- Viviendas con daño moderado: Es el rubro más alto, sumando 608 casas con afectaciones parciales.
- Viviendas en riesgo: Las autoridades mantienen bajo la lupa 107 viviendas en situación de vulnerabilidad o riesgo inminente, sumando 24 alertas habitacionales nuevas en las últimas 24 horas.
- Daño leve y severo: Se registran 20 viviendas con daños leves y 29 con daños severos.
Por el momento, el informe del Ministerio de Agricultura, Ganadería y Alimentación (MAGA) y el desglose de infraestructura pública (escuelas, carreteras, edificios públicos) se mantienen en cero daños severos o pérdidas registradas, concentrándose la emergencia principalmente en el sector habitacional y vial local.
El mapa de incidentes refleja que las lluvias no han afectado al país de manera uniforme. Las regiones del norte, centro y sur-occidente concentran la mayor cantidad de emergencias:
- Alta Verapaz: Es el departamento con mayor actividad, registrando 67 incidentes.
- Guatemala: La región central reporta 39 emergencias.
- Chiquimula: Suma 32 incidentes en el oriente del país.
- Sacatepéquez: Registra 26 incidentes.
Por el contrario, departamentos como Sololá se mantienen con cero reportes de emergencia hasta la fecha.
INTERNACIONAL
Platner floats jailing billionaires in fiery pre-primary speech pushing far-left agenda
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Scandal-plagued Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner used a fiery pre-primary address to pitch universal health care, wealth taxes, a Green New Deal and other far-left agenda items, like floating an idea that billionaires should be jailed for looking at political ads «the wrong way» in remarks about campaign finance reform.
The comment about jailing billionaires earned the candidate backlash from his Republican critics, who pointed out some of Platner’s biggest endorsers are funded by billionaires, highlighted the «Marxist dystopian» nature of the remarks, and joked that Platner must have some sort of affinity for locking people up against their will, referring to recent allegations from an ex-girlfriend.
«We need to get money out of politics. We need to get rid of Citizens United. And, if I had my way, elections would last two months, they will be publicly funded and if a billionaire looked at a TV ad the wrong way, we’d put ‘em in jail,» Platner told a crowd of constituents Sunday night in Maine, earning applause. The comments came as Platner was laying out his far-left agenda and railing against conservatives, including calling President Donald Trump «dumb.»
«That’s one way to thank some of his own supporters for their generosity!» quipped veteran Republican strategist Colin Reed, who pointed to Platner’s prominent endorsers, like Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who received several contributions last month from billionaires like George Soros, Pat Stryker, Jon Stryker and Jennifer Pritzker, according to campaign finance watchdog OpenSecrets.
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Graham Platner, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks to an overflow crowd outside a campaign event Sunday, June 7, 2026, in Portland, Maine. (Robert F. Bukaty/AP Photo)
«Why worry about slowly slipping into a Marxist dystopia? With Graham Platner, you can sprint toward it!» Jason Savage, Executive Director of the Maine GOP, said in response to Platner’s stump speech remarks about jailing billionaires.
«Dude is big on locking people in rooms against their will, apparently,» joked CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings, an apparent reference to recent reporting on Platner’s past romantic relationships, including one ex-girlfriend’s allegation that he once twisted her arm behind her back, pushed her into a bedroom and held the door shut from the other side. Platner has denied the allegations.
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Platner’s campaign has been dogged by controversies since he emerged as a progressive challenger in Maine’s closely watched Senate race against incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins, including recent complaints from multiple ex-girlfriends about his behavior during their relationships. The reports included accusations from one of Platner’s ex-girlfriends, Lyndsey Fifield, who told The New York Times about being trapped in a room by Platner during their relationship more than a decade ago.
«The Platner campaign has already spent more than $14 million and we aren’t even past the primary,» Shawn Roderick, a spokesperson for the Collins campaign told Fox News Digital. «Does Graham Platner really think that American taxpayers should be paying his high-priced political consultants and the tech billionaires who own the platforms where he does his advertising? He is floating this idea to distract from the many disturbing problems his campaign has faced over the past two weeks.»
Platner has also been facing backlash for exchanging sexually explicit messages with multiple women early in his marriage on the platform Kik. Following those reports, Platner was found to still have an active profile on Kik, an anonymous messaging app that has faced criticism from child-safety groups and law enforcement officials. The profile reportedly featured a shirtless mirror selfie of Platner with a towel around his waist, which Republican staffers later appeared to mock outside the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee by showing up in towels.
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Republican staffers, including National Republican Senatorial Committee staffers, protest outside the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., wearing towels to mock Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner’s reported Kik profile photo. (Nicholas Ballasy/Fox News Digital)
Platner’s wife, Amy Gertner, reportedly disclosed the messages to campaign officials during an internal vetting process, and the campaign has acknowledged the messages existed while arguing the matter was addressed privately between Platner and his wife.
Meanwhile, Platner has argued that the allegations from former girlfriends are politically motivated, while his campaign has accused critics and national media outlets of focusing on private matters and personal attacks rather than the issues affecting Maine voters.
By the time those controversies hit the news, Platner had already faced scrutiny over a tattoo that critics identified as a Nazi-linked symbol, which he later covered up and said he was not aware of its meaning when he got it. One of Platner’s former staffers, Genevieve McDonald, alleged that even though Platner has said he was unaware of the symbol’s association with Nazis when he got the tattoo years ago, he has been aware of its meaning for some time.
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Platner also apologized after his old Reddit posts resurfaced in which he made a series of inflammatory comments about rape, race, political violence, police, rural Americans and military veterans. Platner has said his views have changed and that some of his past comments reflected a darker period in his life after military service.
Graham Platner, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine, points to a covered tattoo that had previously been an image recognized as a Nazi symbol, during an interview on Wednesday in Portland, Me. (WGME via AP)
Fox News Digital reached out to the Platner campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.
health care executive, bernie sanders, graham platner, george soros, senate elections
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