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Investigators believe Iranian hackers are likely behind cyberattack on Minnesota water systems: report

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U.S. investigators believe a cyberattack that targeted dozens of water systems in Minnesota this week likely was orchestrated by Iranian hackers, a report said.

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Minnesota IT Services (MNIT) said the «coordinated cyberattack targeted operational technology at more than 30 Minnesota community water systems» on Sunday and Monday, but the Minnesota Department of Health is «not aware of any active requests from Minnesota cities to have their residents modify their drinking water usage.»

U.S. and state officials and others familiar with the incident told The New York Times that Iranian hackers were likely behind the cyberattack.

The newspaper reported that three state officials briefed on an investigation into the cyberattack said the tradecraft used and the absence of a ransom demand led analysts to initially determine Iran was involved. Officials also cautioned that the assessment could change as more data is collected by investigators, according to the newspaper.

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«The FBI is aware of recent public reporting around Water and Wastewater sectors. The FBI and our interagency partners are fully engaged to protect critical infrastructure and we remain well-equipped to protect against cyber threats of all varieties,» the FBI said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Friday.

IRAN-LINKED HACKERS TARGET US MEDICAL TECH COMPANY

A water tower is seen Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Plymouth, Minn. A cyberattack targeted operating technology at more than 30 water systems in Minnesota, including Plymouth’s, earlier this week, state officials said. (Ellen Schmidt/AP)

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The newspaper reported that the hackers targeted infrastructure used to manage and monitor water towers operated by municipal governments.

The mayor of the city of Braham, Nate George, said on Monday, a «plant operator found that the water tower was calling for water, but the well was not operating.»

«After learning that similar problems were occurring in at least four other Minnesota communities, Braham staff determined that the plant’s computerized control system had been compromised,» he continued.

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«Public works isolated the affected system, restored a backup, and restarted the plant within approximately 90 minutes. While the plant was offline, residents continued receiving water from the city’s water tower. City administration temporarily requested that residents conserve water to prevent the tower’s limited supply from being exhausted,» George added.

In a statement shared with Fox News Digital, MNIT noted that «the investigation remains active, and Minnesota has not attributed the activity to a specific actor.»

MNIT said it «continues to collaborate with federal, state, local, Tribal, and private-sector partners to investigate the attack, support affected communities, and strengthen the security of Minnesota’s critical infrastructure.»

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«Cyberattacks against critical infrastructure require a coordinated, whole-of-government response,» John Israel, MNIT Assistant Commissioner and Minnesota Chief Information Security Officer, said in a statement. «MNIT is working side by side with our partners to share intelligence, support affected communities, and help utilities restore operations safely while strengthening defenses against future attacks.»

LIVE UPDATES ON IRAN WAR: TRUMP ANNOUNCES HAMAS DISARMAMENT DEAL WHILE SAUDI ARABIA LAUNCHES RED SEA DEFENSE COALITION

Iranian flag in Iran

A woman is seen holding an Iranian flag during a religious ceremony during Eid al-Adha on May 26, 2026, in Qom, Iran. Iran is believed to be behind recent cyberattacks in Minnesota, a report said. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)

Israel told the Times that the breach was first detected Sunday and that hackers targeted 36 municipal water systems.

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«Minnesota was one of the early detectors of this, but we’re seeing that this same threat activity has likely been occurring in other states throughout the nation,» he was quoted as saying.

Nick Andersen, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) acting director, told the newspaper that the agency was aware of «multiple potential incidents affecting local water utilities.»

In the days leading up to the incident, CISA issued an advisory warning U.S. organizations of «ongoing Iranian-affiliated cyber activity targeting internet-connected operational technology (OT) devices.»

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«Iranian cyber actors continue to target U.S. critical infrastructure, and the FBI is committed to identifying, disrupting, and imposing costs on those responsible,» Assistant Director Brett Leatherman of the FBI’s Cyber Division said in the advisory.

Water tower stands in Plymouth, Minnesota.

A water tower in Plymouth, Minn. (Ellen Schmidt/AP)

It stated that a «group of Iranian-affiliated actors» has «targeted devices spanning multiple U.S. critical infrastructure sectors, including Water and Wastewater Systems, Energy and Government Services and Facilities, to include local municipalities.»

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minnesota, cybercrime, hackers, iran, midwest, us

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El Niño amenaza con encarecer alimentos, energía y logística en Centroamérica y República Dominicana durante 2027

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El fenómeno de El Niño podría trasladar sus efectos a la economía de Centroamérica y República Dominicana, a través de un aumento en los precios de los alimentos y la electricidad, restricciones para el transporte marítimo y presiones sobre la actividad productiva.

El reporte “Perspectivas económicas de Centroamérica, Panamá y República Dominicana”, elaborado por Deloitte, advierte que el impacto más marcado puede concentrarse en 2027.

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El fenómeno de El Niño comenzó oficialmente el 11 de junio de 2026. En julio, el Centro de Predicción Climática de la Administración Nacional Oceánica y Atmosférica de Estados Unidos estimó en 81% la probabilidad de que alcance una intensidad “muy fuerte” entre octubre y diciembre. Si se confirma, estaría entre los eventos más intensos registrados desde 1950.

El fenómeno de El Niño podría trasladar sus efectos a la economía de Centroamérica y República Dominicana con alzas en alimentos, electricidad y presión sobre la actividad productiva. (Imagen Ilustrativa Infobae)

La principal consecuencia climática prevista para la región es la sequía. La fase cálida del fenómeno ENOS, sigla de El Niño-Oscilación del Sur, suele asociarse con menores lluvias, temperaturas más altas y estrés hídrico, sobre todo en la vertiente del Pacífico y el Corredor Seco.

La menor disponibilidad de agua puede afectar tanto a la agricultura como a la generación de energía y la operación logística de Panamá.

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Menor oferta de granos básicos

El reporte identifica a la producción agropecuaria como una de las primeras vías de consecuencias del fenómeno hacia los hogares.

La sequía puede reducir la oferta de granos básicos en el Corredor Seco, mientras que el encarecimiento de fertilizantes y diésel puede elevar los costos de producción y trasladarse a los precios finales de los alimentos.

El impacto sobre la canasta alimentaria podría extenderse hasta 2027, de acuerdo con las proyecciones incluidas en el estudio. El café también aparece entre las actividades expuestas a los efectos del menor régimen de lluvias y las temperaturas más elevadas.

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La menor oferta de granos básicos en el Corredor Seco puede impulsar el precio de los alimentos y afectar la canasta alimentaria hasta 2027. (Marvin RECINOS / AFP)

El informe incluye entre los temas a seguir la persistencia de aumentos en alimentos y energéticos, junto con la evolución del conflicto en Medio Oriente y su incidencia sobre los precios internacionales del petróleo.

La sequía amenaza la energía hidroeléctrica y la operación del Canal de Panamá

La sequía también amenaza la generación hidroeléctrica. Si caen los niveles de agua disponibles para las plantas, los países deberán compensar parte de esa producción con fuentes térmicas, que implican mayores costos por el uso de combustibles.

El documento señala que una menor generación hidroeléctrica puede presionar las tarifas eléctricas al alza. El aumento de ese costo tendría efectos sobre los presupuestos familiares y sobre empresas que dependen de electricidad para sus procesos productivos.

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A la vez, los gobiernos podrían enfrentar una mayor carga fiscal si aplican subsidios energéticos o programas de apoyo para contener el impacto de las tarifas. El reporte considera esos desembolsos como uno de los factores que podrían modificar el escenario económico de la región durante 2026 y 2027.

La menor generación hidroeléctrica por la sequía puede elevar las tarifas eléctricas y aumentar los costos de hogares, empresas y gobiernos. (Imagen Ilustrativa Infobae)

En Panamá, las condiciones de sequía pueden afectar los niveles de agua necesarios para la operación del Canal. El análisis contempla posibles restricciones de calado y dificultades logísticas como una de las cuatro vías principales por las cuales El Niño puede repercutir en la economía regional.

Las limitaciones sobre el calado de los buques podrían incidir en la actividad del Canal de Panamá y en las cadenas de suministro. El reporte sitúa a la logística y al transporte entre los sectores que deben monitorearse ante una eventual profundización del fenómeno.

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La advertencia adquiere relevancia para una economía en la que el comercio y el transporte figuran entre las actividades que lideran el crecimiento.

En Panamá, la sequía puede afectar la operación del Canal de Panamá con restricciones de calado y presión sobre la logística y el transporte marítimo. (REUTERS/Enea Lebrun)

El reporte diferencia dos etapas. Durante 2026 prevé la consolidación del fenómeno, alertas para el sector agrícola, ajustes tarifarios y las primeras posibles restricciones al tránsito marítimo. Para 2027, en cambio, anticipa que los efectos más fuertes pueden manifestarse sobre los embalses, las cosechas y el Canal de Panamá.

En todos los casos, el documento plantea que los efectos del clima se combinarán con otros factores económicos, como la evolución de las remesas, los precios de los combustibles, el desempeño de Estados Unidos y la trayectoria de la inflación.

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White House unloads on violent ‘criminal alien’ nabbed after investigators uncover election offense

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A Bahamian national who arrived in the U.S. during President Gerald Ford’s administration and was living with a green card while racking up a violent rap sheet before investigators found he voted illegally in the 2020 election, sparking the deportation process, officials say.

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The case of Anthony Tyrone Higgs is only the latest in a slew of arrests connected to illegal votes cast in recent elections, as the Trump administration engages in a broader crackdown on election integrity-related crimes.

«This alien was a guest in our country who forfeited his right to be in the U.S. when he committed these violent crimes and voted in the 2020 election,» White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis exclusively told Fox News Digital on Friday.

ICE ARRESTS PERUVIAN NATIONAL ACCUSED OF ILLEGALLY VOTING IN 2024 ELECTION AS DHS CITES SIMILAR CASES

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ICE agents assemble in Minnesota, left; Anthony Tyrone Higgs, inset right. (Charly Triballeau/Getty Images; DHS)

«Any non-citizens who vote illegally in our elections will be arrested and removed. American elections are only for Americans.»

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a division of DHS, confirmed in a statement that Higgs had illegally voted in the 2020 election.

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FORMER KANSAS MAYOR WHO PLEADED GUILTY TO ILLEGAL VOTING TURNS HIMSELF IN TO ICE

HSI’s Atlanta office arrested Higgs in Decatur, Georgia on September 3, and he is currently in the custody of ERO, the ICE subdivision that handles migrant removal operations.

Higgs was admitted into the U.S. in October 1976 as a Lawful Permanent Resident – commonly dubbed a Green Card holder. The Trump DHS has since placed him in proceedings to revoke his immigration status due to his lengthy rap sheet.

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TRUMP DOJ UNLEASHES LARGEST DENATURALIZATION EFFORT IN DEPARTMENT HISTORY — AND SAYS IT’S ‘ONLY THE BEGINNING’

Sen. Markwayne Mullin speaking to reporters at the Capitol.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, March 5, 2026. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

«This criminal alien from the Bahamas has a rap sheet for multiple violent crimes, including armed robbery, domestic violence, and assault on a police officer,» DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said.

«On top of all of that, he illegally voted in the 2020 election,» he added.

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MORE THAN A QUARTER-MILLION NONCITIZENS MAY BE REGISTERED TO VOTE IN 4 KEY STATES, DHS ALLEGES

Homeland Security Investigations logo displayed during security preparations for Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans

A Homeland Security Investigations logo is displayed ahead of Super Bowl LIX security operations in New Orleans on Feb. 5, 2025. An HSI special agent has since been indicted on multiple felony charges in Alabama. (Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images)

Higgs’ record also includes resisting arrest, two counts of grand larceny and two counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime.

Of the voting-related charge, Mullin said that just one noncitizen casting a ballot is enough to cancel out an American citizen’s vote.

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«Thanks to the hard work of the men and women of ICE, this criminal will be removed from our country and can never interfere in our elections again,» he continued.

DHS also provided several other recent cases of illegal immigrants or ineligible voters committing or being charged with election-related crimes.

In August, Colombian illegal immigrant Carlos Jaramillo-Grajales was sentenced to three years in prison following an ICE investigation that led to a guilty plea in a case where he was found to have committed identity theft to illegally vote in elections for more than 20 years, according to the agency.

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«Federal immigration laws serve to safeguard our nation’s borders and protect the integrity of our government,» said Gregory Kehoe, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida.

«Those who seek to circumvent, exploit, or break these laws will be prosecuted fully,» he said in an August statement.

In New Jersey, a Slovakian national was found to have illegally voted in the 2022 midterms, according to HSI – which also cited the case of an Australian national accused of illegally casting ballots in both 2022 and 2024 in Louisiana.

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Mauritanian national Mahady Sacko was busted by an ICE and FBI partnership in Democrat-run Philadelphia, and charged with voter fraud.

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Sacko allegedly voted illegally multiple times going back to 2008. He was already under an order of removal, DHS said in a statement, stating that he «exhausted all appeals» and an immigration board upheld his removal order as of 2002 but he remained in the country.

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Returning to the case of Higgs, Mullin added in a statement: «Thanks to the hard work of the men and women of ICE, this criminal will be removed from our country and can never interfere in our elections again.»

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Mamdani draws fury from 9/11 mourners over Ground Zero appearance: ‘Disrespectful’

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Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s presence at Friday’s 9/11 remembrance at Ground Zero drew criticism from some in the city, including one former police officer who said the mayor «probably should have skipped it» and another mourner who called his appearance «disrespectful» and «very offensive.»

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Mamdani has faced criticism over his associations with controversial political and online figures, as well as his decision to appoint Ramzi Kassem as his administration’s chief counsel. Kassem previously represented a Guantánamo detainee linked to an al Qaeda terrorist plot. 

Former New York Republican Gov. George Pataki, 9/11-era FDNY Commissioner Thomas von Essen and others called on Mamdani to skip the ceremony.

«He showed up anyway. It does bother us,» Walter Matuza, whose father Walter was killed that day, told Fox News Digital.

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MAMDANI HEADS TO 9/11 MEMORIAL DESPITE 110,000-SIGNATURE PUSH FROM VICTIMS’ FAMILIES TO STAY AWAY

New York first gentleman William Hochul Jr., New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Gov. Mikie Sherrill  (Hiroko Masuike/Getty Images)

Matuza said he was part of the group of victims’ families that initiated the petition to keep Mamdani away.

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He cited Mamdani’s association with streamer Hasan Piker, who once said America «deserved 9/11,» as well as Mamdani’s appointment of Kassem.

MAMDANI UNDER FIRE AFTER SYMBOLIC 9/11 PEN GOES TO FORMER AL QAEDA DEFENSE LAWYER

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch announce a new memorial honoring victims of 9/11 inside 1 Police Plaza, New York, NY on Wednesday, September 9, 2026.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch announce a new memorial honoring victims of 9/11 inside 1 Police Plaza in New York, N.Y., Sept. 9, 2026. (Cristina Matuozzi/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect)

Matuza, of Staten Island, said his father was one of dozens at Carr Futures brokerage who died after American Airlines Flight 11 struck the north tower just above their 92nd floor offices.

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Mike, a former New Jersey police officer, told Fox News Digital he recalled watching the terror unfold on television from across the Hudson – and later came to Manhattan to help relieve exhausted NYPD officers stuck at their posts.

«Based on the rhetoric that he’s used in the past. Yeah, he probably should have skipped it,» Mike said of Mamdani.

He added that Mamdani’s appointment of Kassem also troubled him, saying the mayor could’ve handled the situation in a «whole different way.»

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FAMILIES OF 9/11 VICTIMS’ MESSAGE TO MAMDANI: ‘PLEASE DO NOT COME’ TO MEMORIAL CEREMONY

«But, he did it and unfortunately people aren’t going to forget it.»

Another mourner called Mamdani a «communist» when asked about his appearance on Friday, adding that the memorial was «not supposed to be a political event.»

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Steven, who traveled all the way to New York from Hobe Sound, Florida, to attend the remembrance, lambasted Mamdani’s presence as «disrespectful» and «offensive.»

ZOHRAN MAMDANI URGED TO SKIP NEW YORK CITY’S 9/11 MEMORIAL: ‘VILE ANTISEMITE’

«I’ve been following that over the past couple weeks and I saw that I think they had upwards of 700,000 New Yorkers requesting him not to be here. I mean, as the mayor, I would assume he has the right to be here…. But who he represents and the people he’s affiliated with… I feel that he should stay away. I don’t feel that his presence here is wanted, and I think he should honor that as a human being.»

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The petition had garnered more than 110,000 signatures at the time, according to the petition’s tally.

Steven called Kassem’s appointment «hideous» and added that the youngest generation who does not remember or did not live through 9/11 are suffering from «incorrect information» and do not understand the reality of the terror attack.

He said he will educate his children on 9/11 so that they do not go down the same ideological road.

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Attendee John told Fox News Digital that Mamdani does have a right to attend.

John said he lost friends including at now-Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s Cantor-Fitzgerald firm – which lost more than 650 people; the most of any company in the Twin Towers that day – and that as long as Mamdani is respectful to the fallen Americans being remembered, he is «fine» with the Democrat attending.

Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani for comment.

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In a prior statement, the mayor said he is proud of New York and «love[s] this city [and] country.»

«[W]hat I want this week to be a focus on is on the families whose loved ones were stolen from them 25 years ago in the horrific act of terror of September 11, and a focus also on the first responders who gave everything they could to this city and to the people who came together to try and help their fellow New Yorkers.»

During the ceremony, footage captured Mamdani approaching and greeting his 9/11-era predecessor, Republican Rudolph Giuliani.

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The two could be seen appearing to exchange brief pleasantries before Giuliani turned and sat down and an aide began speaking to the incumbent mayor.

All living former presidents reportedly attended the ceremony, as President Donald Trump instead visited the Pentagon’s remembrance before departing for County Clare, Ireland from nearby Andrews Air Force Base.

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zohran mamdani, september 11, new york city, politics, new york, republicans elections, democrats senate

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