Thursday, August 29, 2024

August 29, 2024

Good morning,

Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

Suspects in foiled plot to attack Taylor Swift shows aimed to kill 'tens of thousands' . . . The suspects in the foiled plot to attack Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna earlier this month sought to kill "tens of thousands" of fans before the CIA discovered intelligence that disrupted the planning and led to arrests, the agency's deputy director said. The CIA notified Austrian authorities of the scheme, which allegedly included links to the Islamic State group. The intelligence and subsequent arrests ultimately led to the cancellation of three sold-out Eras Tour shows, devastating fans who had traveled across the globe to see Swift in concert. Investigators discovered chemical substances and technical devices during a raid of the suspect's home. Associated Press

Politics

Harris, Trump locked in tight race in 7 swing states . . . Vice President Harris and former President Trump are locked in a tight race across seven battleground states as the race for the White House enters the home stretch, according to new polling released on Thursday. The new survey from Emerson College Polling and The Hill found Harris edging out Trump in Georgia (49 percent to 48 percent), Michigan (50 percent to 47 percent) and Nevada (49 percent to 48 percent). Meanwhile, the polling shows Trump slightly ahead in Arizona (50 percent to 47 percent), North Carolina (49 percent to 48 percent) and Wisconsin (49 percent to 48 percent). In Pennsylvania, the two are tied at 48 percent each. The Hill

Supreme Court blocks Biden's new student loan repayment plan — for now . . . The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to immediately clear the way for the Biden administration's new student loan relief and repayment plan, adding to uncertainty about the future of a program that would affect millions of borrowers and has become part of the sharp political debate over who is responsible for hefty tuition debt. Biden introduced the program, Saving on a Valuable Education, last fall as millions of Americans resumed student loan payments after a hiatus of more than three years because of the pandemic. Washington Post

Biden spotted lounging on the beach for a second straight week of vacation

Harris pushed for removing school police to combat racial inequities . . . Vice President Kamala Harris called for the removal of police officers from schools in 2019 to address racial disparities in student discipline, according to remarks she made during her first presidential campaign. In a 2019 interview during her initial run for the presidency, then-Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) argued for eliminating on-campus police presence to address racial inequities. In a recently resurfaced clip of the event, Harris voices her concerns about the disproportionate rates of suspensions and expulsions among black and brown students, calling for a reevaluation of how discipline is enforced in schools. Breitbart

31 questions Dana Bash should ask Kamala Harris

Trump gets aggressive, sets relentless pace ahead of post-Labor Day sprint . . . Former President Donald Trump is employing one of his tried-and-true strategies to dim Vice President Kamala Harris' postconvention glow: going full workhorse. Out to prove age is just a number, the 78-year-old candidate has revved up his visits to the battleground states, sat down for interviews with popular podcasters and fueled his presence on X. His tweets are once again driving the television talk show conversations as he unleashes withering personal attacks against Ms. Harris. Washington Times

J.D. Vance: Kamala Harris can 'go to hell' . . . Vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance on Wednesday said Vice President Kamala Harris can "go to hell" for failing to hold people responsible for the fatal Abbey Gate bombing during the chaotic military withdrawal from Afghanistan. Mr. Vance defended former President Donald Trump's photo-ops at Arlington National Cemetery with family members of fallen soldiers from the bombing, saying the ex-president was invited. "Kamala Harris is so asleep at the wheel that she won't even do an investigation into what happened, and she wants to yell at Donald Trump because he showed up? She can — she can go to hell," Mr. Vance said. Washington Times

RFK Jr.: Wife's reaction to Trump endorsement 'opposite of encouraging' . . . Former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said his wife's reaction to his recent endorsement of former President Trump in the White House race was the "opposite of encouraging." Kennedy stated during his Tuesday appearance on TMZ Live that his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, is not a Trump supporter, she was the "opposite of encouraging" of the move and that his support of the former president brought her some "discomfort." The Hill

If she stays with him despite the scorn of her Hollywood friends it will be admirable.

McCormick confuses Philadelphia, Mississippi with Pennsylvania in X post . . . Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dave McCormick (R) was mocked Wednesday after his X account confused Philadelphia, Miss., with Pennsylvania's biggest city. McCormick's account on social platform X shared a clip from a local Mississippi news station reporting on a shooting that police said was carried out by an alleged gang member from El Salvador. The post took aim at Vice President Harris and Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) over their policies on immigration. "MS-13 gang members are terrorizing Philadelphians because of Harris & Casey's radical open border policies," McCormick captioned the post. The Hill

NJ residents hit with doubled bills as lawmakers fume at Murphy's 'energy disaster plan,' . . . After a surge in home energy bills that left many New Jersey residents with costs that have doubled, or more, there have been widespread calls for hearings to hold the state utility commission, the governor and supporters of green energy accountable. State Sen. Mike Testa, R-Salem, echoed those calls and said on Wednesday that much of the blame goes to Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy's "Energy Master Plan," launched in 2020. "I get it that it was a hot July, but it wasn't that hot that your energy bills should have doubled," Testa said. Fox News

Culture

Europe's free speech crackdown could be coming for America next . . . The arrest of Telegram's founder endangers the future of free expression and privacy rights, multiple civil liberties advocates told the Caller. Durov's arrest was spearheaded by France's OFMIN, the agency tasked with protecting children from violence. Various governments — the U.S., U.K. and the European Union (E.U.) — have advanced legislation aimed at protecting children online. However, critics say these policies could be weaponized to chill freedom of speech and greenlight government censorship. Kids' 'safety is a very useful pretext for censors," the Foundation for Freedom Online told the Caller in a statement, comparing the issue to a "trojan horse." Daily Caller

Helping children is a common tactic used by the left to usher in new social welfare programs. Because, who can oppose helping children?

GOP leader calls out "crazy" bill to give illegals first-time homebuyers money . . . California Democrats are "crazy" for passing a progressive legislature that would give illegal immigrants up to $150,000 in first-time homeownership, officials said. The bill, AB 1840, would require the California Housing Finance Authority's home purchase assistance program, or California Dream for All Program, to include illegal immigrants' applications. California Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher of Yuba City argued that the legislation would exacerbate the border crisis, the housing crisis and the high cost of living in the Golden State. Fox News

What's next, hiring illegals immigrants to police the border?

National Security

Obama suppressed Iran nuclear intel to get deal, U.S. counterspy says . . . The CIA suppressed secrets from inside Iran during the Obama administration showing efforts by Tehran to build a nuclear weapon were more advanced than suspected, according to a former National Security Agency counterintelligence official. The intelligence, however, was blocked to avoid upsetting efforts by the administration and a group of world powers to reach the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, aka the nuclear deal with Iran, said John Schindler, the former NSA counterspy. Washington Times

International

West Bank, once quiet, now flooded with Iran-backed terror groups . . . Iran has spent the last decade quietly smuggling advanced weapons into the West Bank to arm more than two dozen militant factions responsible for a spate of recent terror attacks, experts say, culminating on Wednesday in a massive Israeli military operation to root out Tehran's proxies. Tehran is funding, arming, and directing a constellation of more than 20 militant groups that see the West Bank as a pathway to terror in central Israel, according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank. Washington Free Beacon

Money

How the migrant crisis drained $150B from taxpayers . . . Last year, US taxpayers shelled out some $150 billion in government services and support to help the 20 million illegal migrants in the country, according to a study from the Federation for American Immigration Reform. And most of the cost is being borne by state and local governments. In Massachusetts, Republican leaders say there's a $1 billion hole in state coffers — and they're accusing the Democrat-controlled government of quietly siphoning off tax dollars to deal with the migrant crisis. New York Post

You should also know

Death toll rises to 9 in Boar's Head-linked listeria outbreak, CDC says . . . Nine people have died and 57 have been hospitalized in a nationwide listeria outbreak linked to recalled Boar's Head deli meat, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday, describing it as the largest such outbreak in the United States since 2011. Six new deaths were reported in Florida, Tennessee, New Mexico, New York and South Carolina, the CDC said. Earlier this month, the agency confirmed three deaths from the outbreak in Illinois, New Jersey and Virginia. Washington Post

This sleep routine can cut your heart disease risk by 20%: new study . . . Now you have a new excuse to hit the snooze button on weekends. New research finds that people who catch up on zzz's on the weekends can cut their risk of heart disease by up to 20%."Sufficient compensatory sleep is linked to a lower risk of heart disease," said study co-author Yanjun Song, a researcher with Fuwai Hospital in Beijing. "The association becomes even more pronounced among individuals who regularly experience inadequate sleep on weekdays." New York Post

Newborn rattlesnakes at a Colorado 'mega den' are making their live debut . . . A "mega den" of hundreds of rattlesnakes in Colorado is getting even bigger now that late summer is here and babies are being born. Thanks to livestream video, scientists studying the den on a craggy hillside in Colorado are learning more about these enigmatic — and often misunderstood — reptiles. They're observing as the youngsters, called pups, slither over and between adult females on lichen-encrusted rocks. The public can watch too on the Project RattleCam website and help with important work including how to tell the snakes apart. Associated Press

Aww, so cute.

Guilty Pleasures

Taliban bans MMA, saying it's too violent . . . Afghanistan's Taliban government has banned mixed martial arts (MMA), saying it is incompatibile with Islamic law. An official from the Taliban's sports authority, speaking to local broadcaster TOLOnews on Tuesday, said that MMA was too violent and posed a risk of death. The order was passed down by Afghanistan's morality police in the Taliban's Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. It comes after an investigation into the sport's compliance with Islamic law, or Sharia. BBC

However, random killing and throwing gay people off roofs remains permissible.

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