Friday, October 4, 2024

October 4, 2024

Good morning,

Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

Hundreds of national security officials, ex-Cabinet members, Gold Star families endorse Trump . . . More than 400 national security and foreign policy officials, ex-Cabinet members, retired military officers and Gold Star families endorsed former President Trump on Thursday. In an open letter organized by former National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien and former NSC Chief of Staff Alex Gray, the signatories condemn the "repeated failures" of the Biden-Harris administration's foreign policy and urged Americans to re-elect Trump. Fox News

Politics

Obama to hit campaign trails for Harris . . . Kamala Harris was among Barack Obama's earliest supporters in 2008, knocking on doors and raising money to help propel him to a two-term presidency. Now, he's returning the favor. The former president will appear Thursday at an event in the Pittsburgh area, the start of what will be part of a swing-state "blitz" through Election Day, said a senior campaign official, granted anonymity to discuss the schedule ahead of the announcement. Politico

Harris deploys Liz Cheney to woo Never-Trump vote . . . In Ripon, Wisconsin, the sentimental birthplace of the GOP, Kamala Harris hit the campaign trail with Liz Cheney on Thursday in what marked the vice president's highest-profile attempt yet to woo non-MAGA Republicans. The California liberal and Wyoming conservative agree on little besides their view that former President Donald Trump is a threat to democracy who shouldn't return to the White House after the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. Politico

Biden-Harris team says FEMA lacks cash but spent $1 billion on migrants . . . Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas warned that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is out of money as it scrambles to help flood-ravaged areas of Georgia and North Carolina. Stranded residents are begging for help and reporting that the federal government has yet to show up or provide any aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. Mr. Mayorkas said FEMA needs additional federal funding, but Republicans in Congress are angry over the agency's massive spending on illegal immigrants while desperate flood victims await help more than a week after the storm. Washington Times

Another union fails to endorse Harris . . . The International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) has snubbed the Harris-Walz ticket with a non-endorsement — news which comes after Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) spoke at their event in August. IAFF President Edward Kelly made the announcement on Thursday following an executive board meeting, where the determination was made. Breitbart

Former militant leader chairs Biden-Harris enviro group

Bruce Springsteen endorses Kamala Harris: Trump 'Most dangerous candidate in my lifetime' . . . Rockstar Bruce Springsteen endorsed Kamala Harris for president this week, referring to former President Donald Trump as the "most dangerous candidate" in his life. Springsteen, whose net worth is an estimated $1.2 billion, recorded his Harris endorsement wearing a flannel short and sitting in a diner. "Perhaps not since the Civil War has this great country felt as politically, spiritually and emotionally divided as it does than at this moment," Springsteen said. Breitbart

MSNBC host stunned as star impeachment witness reveals why he is now backing Trump

Kamala Harris's estranged father lives just two miles away from her . . . Donald J. Harris, 86, a distinguished economist, lives with his second wife only two miles from the vice president's official residence in Washington, yet he has been estranged for years from his daughter and the two seldom speak. Ms. Harris's convention speech was a rare instance when she named her father publicly — a striking contrast to the praise she showers regularly on her mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, a biomedical scientist who died in 2009. To the extent that Dr. Harris has been mentioned during his daughter's presidential campaign, it is Ms. Harris's detractors who have brought him up. New York Times

Culture

As Americans' marijuana use grows, so do the risks . . . As marijuana legalization has accelerated across the country, doctors are contending with the effects of an explosion in the use of the drug and its intensity. A $33 billion industry has taken root, turning out an ever-expanding range of cannabis products so intoxicating they bear little resemblance to the marijuana available a generation ago. Tens of millions of Americans use the drug, for medical or recreational purposes — most of them without problems. But a growing number, mostly chronic users, are enduring serious health consequences. New York Times

How many car accidents and deaths have resulted from the legalization of pot? Do we have any idea?

National Security

Should Israel attack Iran's nuclear facilities? Biden, GOP disagree . . . President Biden on Wednesday came out against an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites, as his administration seeks to avoid a wider war in the Middle East. "They have a right to respond, but they should respond proportionally," he told reporters. But there is an understanding in Washington that Israel will go further than its response to Tehran's missile attack in April, and hawks in the Republican party say nuclear facilities are fair game. The Hill

Biden wants to wait until we have to guess whether any of the missiles Iran sends up hold a nuclear warhead.

'The system is blinking red': New House GOP report warns of terror threat to U.S. homeland . . . The "Terror Threat Snapshot," compiled by the House Homeland Security Committee, lays out in disturbing detail the number of jihadi cases in the U.S. over the past three years and shines a spotlight on how "soft targets" could be vulnerable to terrorist attacks. The report, shared exclusively with The Washington Times before its public release, also pointedly faults the administration for what it says has been a "weak" and inadequate response to the danger in recent years. Washington Times

Charges that Chinese students worked as spies highlight US vulnerabilities to CCP espionage . . . One late summer night last year the National Guard discovered five Chinese students near a lake after midnight. The students claimed they were part of the "media" and promptly left the area. What the guardsmen who discovered them didn't know then is that the Chinese nationals had planned the trip 200 miles from where they studied at the University of Michigan to take photos of military vehicles at Camp Grayling. The Justice Department charged the five students Wednesday over their alleged attempts to cover up their real reason for traveling so close to the military base. Just the News

International

Israeli airstrikes target likely Nasrallah successor . . . Israel targeted Hezbollah's likely successor to slain leader Hassan Nasrallah with heavy airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs Friday, as it continues to try to dismantle the Lebanese militant group's leadership structure. The attempt on Hashim Safieddine was the latest in a series of aggressive Israeli attacks on the group. It wasn't immediately clear whether the strike had killed Safieddine, who was meeting other senior Hezbollah officials. Wall Street Journal

Money

Dockworkers' union to suspend strike until Jan. 15 to allow time to negotiate new contract . . . The International Longshoremen's Association reached a deal Thursday to suspend a three-day strike until Jan. 15 to provide time to negotiate a new contract. The temporary end to the strike came after the union and the U.S. Maritime Alliance, which represents ports and shipping companies, reached a tentative agreement on wages. A person briefed on the agreement said the ports sweetened their wage offer from about 50% over six years to 62%. Associated Press

A union and the ports decide to punt on a strike that could have heavily damaged Harris until after the election. Is there collusion?

You should also know

House report details violent consequences of soft-on-crime prosecutors . . . The House Judiciary Committee released a report Wednesday detailing how "soft-on-crime policies" from prosecutors in Democrat-run cities make citizens pay a steep price. The report features the policies of District Attorneys Alvin Bragg of New York County and Larry Krasner of Philadelphia, State Attorney Kim Foxx Of Cook County, Illinois, and U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves of Washington, D.C., which include bail "reform" and not prosecuting low-level crimes. Daily Caller

Garth Brooks accused of rape . . . Garth Brooks has denied the rape accusations against him, calling it a 'hush money' shakedown. The country star, 62, was accused of sexual assault and battery in a complaint filed in a state court in California on Thursday by a makeup artist who worked for his wife Trisha Yearwood, 60. 'Hush money, no matter how much or how little, is still hush money. In my mind, that means I am admitting to behavior I am incapable of — ugly acts no human should ever do to another,' he said. Daily Mail

Man paralyzed in diving mishap has medical miracle a year after AI-powered brain implant . . . A New York man who was left paralyzed after a diving accident is starting to regain movement a year after receiving an artificial intelligence-powered implant in his brain. A year ago, Keith Thomas, 46, was only able to move his arms an inch. Today, after the groundbreaking procedure, he is able to extend his arm, grasp a cup and take a drink using only his thoughts and stimulation. He has also regained more sensation in his wrist and arm, allowing him to feel the fur of his family's dog. Fox News

A crash saved a teenager whose car suddenly sped up to 120 mph in the rural Midwest . . . Sam Dutcher had just finished running errands when the 18-year-old's Honda Pilot suddenly began to accelerate, even though his foot wasn't on the gas pedal. The brake wouldn't work, he couldn't shift into neutral, and before long, the runaway SUV was speeding into the western Minnesota countryside with no way to stop. "I had the brake to the floor," Dutcher said Thursday, but the SUV kept going faster and faster, eventually reaching 120 mph. A last-ditch plan averted disaster that September evening — a trooper sped in front of the Honda and Dutcher was told to crash into the rear of his squad car, allowing it to ease safely to a stop moments before reaching a dangerous intersection. Associated Press

Guilty Pleasures

World record collectors of Dr. Who stuff look like world record collectors of Dr. Who stuff . . . A Chicago-area father and son earned a Guinness World Record for their collection of 7,507 pieces of Doctor Who memorabilia. Lee Thompson said he has been a Doctor Who fan since watching the British sci-fi series on PBS when he was a child, and he introduced his son, William Thompson, to the franchise when it returned to the airwaves in 2005. UPI