A 'highly malicious' attack

In the clearest sign yet that hackers, likely from Russia, were able to access core networks of the U.S. national security enterprise, the Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration revealed yesterday that their systems were breached as part of an extensive espionage operation that has affected at least half a dozen federal agencies. The NNSA maintains the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, and the attack on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, a DOE agency, may have been an effort to disrupt the nation's bulk electric grid. While it doesn't directly manage any power flows, the FERC does store sensitive data on the grid that could be used to identify the most disruptive locations for future attacks. —Politico

• — Not just the government. Thousands of private companies worldwide also were potentially affected, many in sensitive industries, after they uploaded software patches infused with malware, reportedly by Russia's foreign intelligence service. Experts say purging the intruders and restoring security to affected networks could take months, because the hackers collected and deployed authentic system credentials, making discovery and remediation far more difficult. —The Washington Post
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• — Where is Trump? President Trump has said nothing about the hack, and his silence has raised alarm among Democrats and some Republicans. "We need to disrupt and deter our adversaries from undertaking significant cyberattacks in the first place," President-elect Joe Biden said in a statement. "Our adversaries should know that, as president, I will not stand idly by in the face of cyber assaults on our nation."
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• — "Our national security is extraordinarily vulnerable." Sen. Mitt Romney assailed the administration’s handling of the attack. "What I find most astonishing is that a cyber hack of this nature is really the modern equivalent of almost Russian bombers reportedly flying undetected over the entire country," he said. "And in this setting, not to have the White House aggressively speaking out and protesting and taking punitive action is really, really quite extraordinary." —The Washington Post

Ghitis: Conspiracy theories cause real-world damage

"We don't know just how destructive the full impact of Trump's election lies will be on a number of fronts, from undermining Biden's ability to govern to corroding the fabric of American democracy. History dictates we should be on our guard, and it also reminds us that, when looking to the guilty, we should glance beyond the likes of a former Houston policeman, and hold responsible political figures who promote the lies by repeating them or failing to deny them." —Frida Ghitis on CNN

Frida Ghitis is a world affairs columnist and analyst. She is the author of "The End of Revolution: A Changing World in the Age of Live Television."

MORE: Flynn says Trump can use military to 'rerun election': 'It's not unprecedented' —The Daily Beast

'Hope is on the way'

Vice President Mike Pence became the highest-ranking elected official in the U.S. to be inoculated against COVID-19 this morning, when he received the recently authorized Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, alongside Second Lady Karen Pence and Surgeon General Jerome Adams. All three were administered the vaccine during a ceremony in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building that was carried live across multiple television networks. "We gather here today at the end of a historic week to affirm to the American people that hope is on the way," Pence said in remarks following his shot. —Politico

• — Even more hope is on the way. A panel of medical experts overwhelmingly recommended late yesterday that U.S. regulators greenlight a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Moderna, paving the way for a much-needed second vaccine in the drive to immunize tens of millions of Americans against COVID-19. Boasting a 94.1% effectiveness rate in clinical studies, the vaccine is likely to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration today for emergency use. —The Boston Globe
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• — Still no stimulus. Congress has only hours to prevent a government shutdown today, as lawmakers try to finalize a massive coronavirus rescue package. Leaders on Capitol Hill have said for days that they are close to a deal on a $900 billion relief proposal that would accompany a $1.4 trillion spending bill. However, some new disputes have prevented Washington from sending fresh aid to struggling Americans for the first time in nearly nine months. —CNBC
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• — Macron convalescing in Versailles. French President Emmanuel Macron has gone on a retreat to Versailles as he rides out his coronavirus diagnosis, which was announced yesterday. He is currently experiencing symptoms of a fever, cough, and fatigue. Though he typically wears a mask and practices social distancing, Macron has faced criticism recently for partaking in handshakes and meals among large groups of people, including at a European Union summit in Brussels last week. —The Hill

Lutz: The Facebook quandary

"Mark Zuckerberg may have created a monster—or, as Elizabeth Warren has called it, a 'disinformation for profit' machine—but taming it is no easy task. The burgeoning regulatory offensive against it could help. But so long as Facebook's business model favors the angry echo chamber, Zuckerberg will be disinclined to institute change from within." —Eric Lutz in Vanity Fair

Eric Lutz is a Chicago-based journalist and contributor to Vanity Fair.

MORE: Facebook is a doomsday machine —The Atlantic

The Economist: Democracy struggles in the Middle East

"The seeds of modern democracy have yet to be properly sown in the Arab world. The thirst among Arab citizens to choose their own rulers is as strong as it is elsewhere. What they need most is for independent institutions—universities, the media, civic groups, above all the courts and the mosques—to evolve without being in thrall to government. Only then can space be found for an engaged and informed citizenry. Only then are people likely to accept that political disputes can be resolved peacefully." —The Economist

MORE: Oz Katerji: Betrayed by their leaders, failed by the West, Arabs still want democracy —Foreign Policy

This week in foreign affairs

The U.S. announced sanctions on Monday against two Iranian intelligence officers for direct involvement in the "abduction, detention, and probable death" of Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who went missing in Iran in 2007. Senior Iranian officials authorized the abduction and sought to cover up what happened. The announcement came two days after Iran executed Ruhollah Zam, a dissident Iranian journalist who lived in France before he was abducted and returned to Tehran. Zam was hanged after being convicted on charges of spying and treason. His actual offense was providing coverage of protests that erupted in Iran in 2017. —The Wall Street Journal

• — Afghanistan. As U.S. negotiators urge the Taliban and the U.S.-recognized Afghan government to move toward a genuine, nationwide ceasefire, Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley met with both sides this week. Among the conditions laid out in the initial U.S.-Taliban deal, which paved the way for the American drawdown of troops in the country, was a steep reduction in regional violence—a condition that has not been met. "The most important part of the discussions I had with both the Taliban and the government of Afghanistan was the need for a reduction in violence," Milley said this week. "Everything else hinges on that." —Defense One
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• — United Kingdom. Dozens of officials from the UK and the European Union are gathered in Brussels to finalize a Brexit agreement over the next 48 hours. The sticking point? Fish. After the UK issued a statement yesterday describing the talks as "blocked," the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, warned British Prime Minister Boris Johnson that he will have to accept that the UK's access to the EU's single market will be conditional on keeping British fishing waters open to boats from the bloc—or face no deal. —Bloomberg
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• — Venezuela. As an increasingly paranoid Nicolas Maduro has taken to cracking down on humanitarian groups that he accuses of conspiring against his administration, President-elect Joe Biden hopes to take a different tack in Venezuela. He is reportedly preparing to negotiate with Maduro’s regime in an effort to end the Western Hemisphere’s worst economic and humanitarian crisis. The Biden team would push for free and fair elections in return for sanctions relief, in a departure from the Trump Administration, which would only negotiate the terms of Maduro’s surrender. —Bloomberg

Waldman: What incentive is there for the GOP to change?

"As if his corruption and lying and vulgarity and authoritarian tendencies weren’t enough, Trump is responsible for what may be the most catastrophic failure any American president has committed in our country's history. More than 300,000 Americans and counting are dead from COVID-19, and more than 20 million are out of work. And yet his party paid almost no price. He may have been held accountable at the voting booth, but they weren’t. Given all that, should we be surprised that Republicans don’t see any reason to change?" —Paul Waldman in The Washington Post

Paul Waldman is a Washington Post columnist covering politics.

MORE: Does Joe Biden understand the modern GOP? —The Atlantic

'This has been a huge, huge thing for our family'

An instinctive act of kindness has led to a special friendship in southeastern Indiana. As FedEx driver Aubrey Robinson made her regular delivery stops in a rural neighborhood, she would frequently see a young boy playing basketball with an old rusty, bent hoop. After thinking about it for months, Robinson decided to get the boy, 11-year-old Elijah Maines, a new basketball and hoop—the best her money could buy—and had the hoop installed as a surprise, leaving a note behind for the family.

• — The gift had an even bigger impact than she could have imagined. Unbeknownst to Robinson, Elijah's family had gone through a difficult year, with the deaths of four family members, his mom's boyfriend suffering a serious injury, and his mother wrecking her car.
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• — "It's just been a hard year. We're so humbled and grateful she would do this for us," said Coledo Wheeler, Elijah's mom. When Elijah discovered the gift, he became emotional. "He just sat there for 10 minutes staring at the ball until it really touched him that she went out of her way to do something just for him," Wheeler said.
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• — "I was bullied for years in school, so basketball was really an oasis," said Robinson. "When I heard he had a rough year, but he was playing basketball so happily, I wasn't so shocked because I've been there." Elijah and Robinson have since bonded over their love for basketball, and they plan to shoot some hoops whenever she's delivering in the area. —CNN

Everyone who served in Vietnam knew the term shortitis (pronounced short-EYE-tis). Shortitis was a term for soldiers who were nearing the end of their one-year tour of duty, and became complacent, careless, even reckless, figuring they had survived this long, they were somehow immune...literally, bulletproof...what could happen to them in the last weeks or days?

And tragically, some of them died.

In a way, many Americans are suffering from Covid-related shortitis now.

We have stopped meeting with friends and loved ones. We have worn those lousy masks that fog up our eyeglasses and muffle our speech. We no longer overhear the beautiful music that is the conversation of strangers in restaurants and sports arenas. But now, with vaccines on the horizon, we can finally see light at the end of this damned tunnel.

And, because we have survived this long, we may be susceptible to our own form of shortitis. So, please, please, please. Don't let down your guard. Keep up your mask. Keep your distance. Stay safe. Stay strong.

And think how wonderful next Thanksgiving and Christmas will be. —Jim V., New York

The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.