Your First Look at Today's Top Stories

Having trouble viewing this email? View the web version.

Sponsored By

DaybreakInsider.com

Thursday, October 19, 2023

Iran Foreign Minister Threatens: Israel’s “Time Is Running Out”

National Review: Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian warned Israel that “time is running out” during a televised interview earlier this week and said that it is “inevitable” that Iran’s proxies in the region will soon intervene in the Jewish state’s war with Hamas, unless Israel capitulates. “Time is running out very fast,” Abdollahian said during a live televised interview with Iranian state television on Monday night. “If the war crimes against the Palestinians are not immediately stopped, other multiple fronts will open and this is inevitable.” The Iranian official provided the interview after returning to Tehran from meetings with terrorist leaders throughout the region. He met with the top political official of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, in Qatar, and the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, in Beirut. He also met with President Bashar al-Assad of Syria in Damascus (National Review).

Biden Announces $100 Million in U.S. Aid to Gaza, West Bank

Wall Street Journal: President Biden announced that the U.S. would send $100 million in humanitarian assistance for Gaza and the West Bank. “This money will support more than 1 million displaced and conflict-affected Palestinians, including emergency needs in Gaza,” Biden said during a speech Wednesday in Israel. A U.S. official said the aid would come from existing funding already approved by Congress. The president warned Hamas not to steal or divert the humanitarian aid that countries around the world are funneling into the region (Wall Street Journal). RNC Research: Biden announces “$100 million of new U.S. funding for humanitarian assistance in both Gaza and the West Bank” (X).

Pro-Palestine Protestors March on Capitol Rotunda in D.C.

Fox News: Pro-Palestinian demonstrators swarmed the Cannon Rotunda on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, with hundreds of protesters demanding a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Footage from inside the Cannon Office Building showed a large group chanting “Ceasefire Now!” and calling for Congress to demand the fighting stop in Israel. The protesters were spotted wearing black T-shirts reading, “Jews Say Ceasefire Now!” U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) said demonstrations are not allowed inside congressional buildings and worked to clear the crowd (Fox News). U.S. Capiton Police: Arrests in the Canon Rotunda and the rolling road closures are ongoing. Amongst these arrests, three people have been arrested and charged with Assault on a Police Officer during processing (X). Spencer Brown: The scene in the Cannon House Office Building rotunda on Capitol Hill as Hamas sympathizers chant under a banner calling for a “CEASEFIRE.” Of note, demonstrations are not allowed in congressional buildings, per Capitol Police (X). Mary Margaret Olohan: Vandalism around the capital buildings (X).

Hezbollah Calls for Wednesday to be "a day of unprecedented anger”

Messenger: On the heels of an explosion at a Gaza hospital that left hundreds dead Tuesday, Hezbollah called for Wednesday to be “a day of unprecedented anger,” urging Arabs and Muslims to unite to rebuke President Joe Biden’s planned visit to Israel amid the intensifying war with Hamas. “Let tomorrow, Wednesday be a day of unprecedented anger against the enemy and its crimes and against Biden’s visit to the Zionist entity to cover and protect this criminal entity,” the terrorist organization said in a statement. The call came as Iran warned Israel that Hezbollah was close to entering the war with Hamas, which American officials have sought to prevent (Messenger). Daily Wire: Israeli officials are concerned that Hezbollah — which is estimated to have approximately 20,000 soldiers — is preparing to launch a full-scale attack on Israel’s northern border. The terrorist group has approximately 150,000 rockets in its arsenal that could easily dwarf the recent rocket attacks launched by Hamas (Daily Wire).

New York Times Headline Takes the Word of the Terrorist Group Hamas

Gets it wrong. But the damage is done. Free Press: Scores of Palestinians are dead after a blast late yesterday at a hospital in Gaza, a horrific tragedy. Hamas immediately blamed Israel. And then so did the paper of record. Very soon after the incident, The New York Times published a story with the headline “Israeli Strike Kills Hundreds in Hospital, Palestinians Say” and sent it out as a breaking news notification. They did so relying on Hamas’s word on the matter. Israeli authorities soon after denied responsibility. An IDF spokesperson said that no Israeli aircraft had been operating in the area of the hospital at the time of the explosion. Israel has released footage they say shows that the hospital was struck by a wayward missile fired from within Gaza. Realizing their mistake, editors at the Times changed the headline on their homepage to: “At Least 500 Dead in Strike on Gaza Hospital, Palestinians Say.” And then changed it again to: “At Least 500 Dead in Blast at Gaza Hospital, Palestinians Say.” So in the space of several hours, it went from an Israeli strike to an ambiguous blast (Free Press). IDF: Islamic Jihad struck a Hospital in Gaza—the IDF did not. Listen to the terrorists as they realize this themselves (X). Daniel Rubenstein: What do you call people who amplify Hamas propaganda not just as news, but as the top news story in the world? The sad fact is that it appears that hundreds of Palestinians are dead at a hospital because terrorists in Gaza tried to fire rockets at Israelis and ended up hitting their own people. It’s unbearably stupid and tragic (X).

President Biden to Israel on Hospital Bombing: “based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team”

Biden simply refuses to call out evil terrorist organizations. Why? To not offend the bad guys? New York Post: President Biden opened his visit to Israel Wednesday by blaming “the other team” for the explosion that purportedly killed hundreds at a Gaza hospital — as Israel released video and audio it claims proves Palestinian terrorists fired the deadly rocket. “I am deeply saddened and outraged by the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday,” Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their meeting. “And based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you,” he added (New York Post). Ed Morrissey: This is the dumbest some people say in US diplomatic history. Why even say that unless it’s to forcefully debunk it? Biden clearly ad-libbed this, which makes one wonder just how sincere his “other team” position really is (HotAir).

U.S. Immigration Agency Hires Former Palestinian Liberation Organization Spokeswoman

Daily Wire: The U.S. immigration enforcement agency hired a former spokeswoman for the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and put her in a position to determine who gets to come into the country as an immigrant or “asylum seeker.” Now the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officer is repeatedly posting pictures of Hamas terrorists parachuting in with guns and writing, “F*** Israel and any Jew who supports Israel.” Nejwa Ali worked in 2016 and 2017 as a public affairs officer for the Palestinian Delegation to the U.S., which according to its own website, served as the “PLO office in D.C.” That office was expelled from the country by the Trump administration. This January, she moved over to being an Adjudication Officer for the U.S. Customs and Immigration Service (CIS). People with that job, according to the agency, “analyze new or amended legislation and policy, prepare written reports of findings, and review and make determinations on cases for immigration benefits.” Though Ali’s job at DHS included vetting people to make sure they were not a threat to the country before letting them in, it’s not clear that anyone from the agency vetted her. That her primary allegiance was to the Palestinians, not the United States, was evident from her social media profiles, where she posts as “Falastine Mi Amor” (Daily Wire).

Major Law Firm Rescinds Offers to Law Students for Supporting Palestine

Reuters: U.S. law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell on Tuesday rescinded job offers to law students who signed on to public statements supporting Palestine in the wake of Hamas’ deadly attacks in Israel, following a similar move by fellow law firm Winston & Strawn last week. Davis Polk’s managing partner, Neil Barr, told members of the New York-based firm on Tuesday that it had revoked job offers to three law students in leadership positions at Harvard and Columbia university groups that issued statements regarding to the latest wave of violence in the Middle East (Reuters). Spencer Brown: Another internal email viewed by Bloomberg Law showed the firm’s chair and managing partner Neil Barr calling the anti-Israel statements “simply contrary to our firm’s values” and explaining “we thus concluded that rescinding these offers was appropriate in upholding our responsibility to provide a safe and inclusive work environment for all Davis Polk employees” (Townhall). Rabbi Shmuel Reichman: Davis Polk, one of the country’s most prestigious law firms, announced in an internal email that it has rescinded letters of employment for three law students at Harvard and Columbia who signed the organizational statements supporting Hamas against Israel. This is just a reminder that everything we do in life matters; everything. And everything we do in life has consequences; everything (X).

Average 30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate Hit Highest Level Since 2000 at Eight Percent

CNBC: The average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage rate hit 8% Wednesday morning. That is the highest level since mid-2000. The milestone came as bond yields soar to levels not seen since 2007. Mortgage rates follow loosely the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury (CNBC). RNC Research: The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has eclipsed 8% for the first time since 2000. That means a $400,000 home with 20% down costs $1,000/month MORE today than it did two years ago. That’s Bidenomics (X)!

10.

Biden’s Approval Rating Falls to 37 Percent

Hill: President Biden’s overall approval rating dropped to 37 percent in a poll released Wednesday — a near record-low for the president as he heads into an election year. The latest CNBC All-America Economic Survey, conducted Oct. 11-15, showed Biden’s overall approval rating at its second-lowest point in his presidency, 1 point higher than the record-low 36 percent approval in July 2022. Biden’s disapproval rating rose to a record-high of 58 percent, 1 point above the disapproval rating in July 2022 (Hill). Just the News: Foreign policy stands as one of the current commander-in-chief’s biggest weak spots, with 31% approving of him on the issue overall. 60% oppose his handling of the issue (Just the News).