Your First Look at Today's Top Stories

Having trouble viewing this email? View the web version.

Sponsored By

DaybreakInsider.com

Tuesday, October 31, 2023

U.N. General Assembly Demands Israel Work Toward Truce, Ceasefire and Refuses to Condemn Hamas

National Review: The U.N. General Assembly passed a resolution on Friday demanding that Israel submit to a “sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities.” Resolutions adopted by the body are non-binding but cited as a reflection of global opinion. With a vote of 120 countries for it, 14 against, and 44 abstaining, this one is already being cited as an authoritative decision that puts the U.S., Israel, and the other No votes on the wrong side of history. The document actually reflects one of the most egregious forms of the U.N.’s enduring anti-Israel bias and provides cover for Hamas terrorism (National Review). UN Watch: These EU countries just joined Iran, Syria and Russia in voting for a resolution that fails to name Hamas or specifically call for release of hostages (X). Guy Benson: In a separate vote, the General Assembly failed to pass a resolution condemning Hamas, the evil perpetrators of the October 7th massacre of Jews who use the primary hospital in Gaza as their terrorist headquarters. When the threshold for passage wasn’t met, the jackals who defeated it actually burst into applause, celebrating their degeneracy (Townhall).

Cornell University Placed on Lockdown Over the Weekend Due to Threats to the Jewish Center

HotAir: Cornell University in upstate New York has been the center of much of the wrong sort of attention recently, and that trend continued this weekend. The campus was temporarily placed on lockdown under a high alert status yesterday, centered around the school’s Center for Jewish Living. The Center was the target of multiple antisemitic comments and death threats that were described by the university’s president as “horrendous.” The information was provided to the FBI and an investigation into potential hate crimes has been requested. While the full content of the messages was not released to the public, the intent was clear. The threats were not generalized, but targeted specifically at Jewish students and staff, directly referencing the Center for Jewish Living (HotAir). New York Post: The surge of antisemitic, pro-terror activities across elite colleges seems to face no real opposition from the adults nominally in charge. Witness the invasion of Cooper Union’s library building by Hamas-loving thugs last week, as Jewish students sat helpless. Or the assault on an Israeli student at Columbia this month. Cornell University was put on alert after messages shared online threatened to stab Jewish students and “eliminate Jewish living” from the campus following the Hamas attacks on Israel. Or the unabashed Jew-hatred on display at Harvard, where a chorus of student groups blamed Israel for the Hamas atrocities. It’s gotten so bad that Erwin Chemerinsky, lefty dean of UC Berkeley’s famed law school, has woken up. In a Sunday op-ed, he announced: “Never in my life have I seen or felt the antisemitism of the last few weeks” (New York Post).

Judge Orders Biden Administration to Cease Cutting Razor Wire Along Texas’ Southern Border

Fox News: A federal judge on Monday ordered the Biden administration to stop cutting razor wire on fences along the southern border in Texas meant to stop illegal migrant crossings. Judge Alia Moses of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas on Monday ordered the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to stop “disassembling, degrading, tampering” miles of razor wire running along the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass. The temporary order is a result of a lawsuit brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, arguing that federal officials said they had the authority to destroy state property “to allow illegal aliens to enter & be processed” (Fox News). CBS: In fiscal year 2023, which ended on Sept. 30, Border Patrol recorded over 2 million apprehensions of migrants along the Mexican border, federal data show. It was only the second time the agency has surpassed that threshold (CBS).

Morgan Ortagus: "I’m wearing my Star of David, I’m not taking it off, I'm not going to hide”

Spencer Brown: Polaris National Security founder Morgan Ortagus, who previously served as the State Department’s spokesperson, choked back tears on Monday’s episode of “Outnumbered” on Fox News Channel while reacting to horrifying footage of a rabid mob hunting for Jews at an airport in the Russian Republic of Dagestan over the weekend before emphasizing why she and her family refuse to hide their identity — even as anti-Semitic hate continues to escalate at home and abroad (Townhall). Spencer Brown: “I’m wearing my Star of David, I’m not taking it off, I’m not going to hide — and that’s what I’m going to teach my daughter.” Powerful segment with Morgan Ortagus explaining how it’s “terrifying to be a Jewish parent right now” and why her family is standing up to hate (X).

Netanyahu Tells the Press There Will Be No Ceasefire with Hamas

National Review: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu definitively stated in a Monday speech that his nation will not stand down in its retributive assault against Hamas, more than three weeks after the terrorist group’s invasion of Israel. “Israel will not agree to a cessation of hostilities after the horrific attacks of October 7,” Netanyahu told the foreign press on Monday. “Calls for a ceasefire are a call for Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terror, to surrender to barbarism. That will not happen.” In the speech, the prime minister justified Israel’s right to defend itself by comparing its response to America’s decisions to enter World War II after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and to launch the War on Terror after the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 (National Review). Disclose.tv: Netanyahu says there will be no ceasefire: “The Bible says that there is a time for peace and a time for war. This is a time for war” (X).

Newsom Makes Conciliatory Trip to Communist China

Washington Examiner: Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) embarked on a trip to China last week and faced criticism for its stated purpose of discussing climate change and for coming during a time of global turmoil as wars rage on in both Israel and Ukraine — but now, the details of the governor’s visit are facing their own flak. As he visited with leaders in the country, including Chinese President Xi Jinping, Newsom was pressed on what he did, and didn’t, discuss with them. He was criticized for the trip’s itinerary and locations, in addition to various viral moments. Newsom has been accused of having ambitions to ascend to a higher office and has been floated as a successor to President Joe Biden as he continues to build his national and international profile. The California governor received backlash for failing to address human rights concerns with Xi during their meeting despite the oppression of Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang region (Washington Examiner). Charlie Kirk: What was Gavin Newsom really doing in China? He was learning CCP best practices for how to terrorize and control a population (X). Robby Starbuck: Gavin Newsom is in China meeting with Xi today. He was in Israel last week. Any of you still think he isn’t running for POTUS (X)? Federalist: His trip not only wastes taxpayers’ money but also provides the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) with an opportunity to blast out its propaganda (Federalist).

During Joe’s Presidential Campaign, Hunter Biden Receives $250,000 Loan from Chinese Businessman

Just the News: Hunter Biden received a $250,000 loan from a Chinese businessman just three months after his father launched his 2020 presidential campaign, and he later transferred the debt to a Hollywood lawyer he befriended. The House Oversight Committee first disclosed a few weeks ago that Hunter Biden had gotten a $250,000 wire in July 2019 and used his father’s address in Delaware for the transfer. It was one of the later known foreign payments that Hunter Biden received before he fell on hard times. Documents gathered by federal law enforcement show Hunter Biden considered the wire to be a July 25, 2019 “loan” from Xiangsheng “Jonathan” Li, a Chinese businessman whom he had been doing business with for over a decade when they created an investment fund under the name Bohai Harvest RST. After Joe Biden became president, the records show, Hunter Biden transferred the debt to Kevin Morris, a Hollywood lawyer whom he befriended after they met at a November 2019 Joe Biden campaign fundraiser in Los Angeles (Just the News).

GM, UAW Reach Deal to End Strikes in Detroit

Wall Street Journal: The end of the United Auto Workers strikes against Detroit’s three automakers offered the car companies some relief after a bruising six-week labor showdown, but they remain in a gloomy mood. General Motors on Monday became the last of the Detroit automakers to reach a tentative labor deal with the UAW, according to people familiar with the talks. Meanwhile, the details of the UAW’s tentative labor pacts with Ford Motor and Chrysler-parent Stellantis, reached days before, show the automakers’ labor-cost disadvantage to rivals such as Toyota and Tesla is about to get worse, just as many aspects of their growth plans get cloudier. Today, the Detroit carmakers’ all-in hourly labor costs—a measure of how much they spend per worker on wages and benefits—is in the mid-$60s, compared with an estimated $45-$55 for Tesla and foreign automakers. By the end of the four-year contract, the Detroit companies’ costs would balloon to $87 to $90 per hour, according to a Wells Fargo estimate based on Ford’s pact. Ford said the UAW contract would add $850 to $900 in expenses per vehicle (Wall Street Journal). CNBC: The 4½-year tentative agreements must still be ratified by members at each of the automakers (CNBC).

Actress Mayim Bialik Discusses the Antisemitism Around the World “no excuse”

Daily Wire: Mayim Bialik said that “nothing has prepared” her for the anti-Semitism she’s seeing across America — and made it clear that there was “no excuse” for any of it — following the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,400 Israelis. The 47-year-old actress posted an emotional 10-minute video on TikTok — which was shared on X — in which she speaks out as a Jewish American against the anti-Semitism she’s witnessing, blasting it as “unacceptable.” Bialik said her son is looking to go away to college and that many of the schools on his list are “universities that can not find a way to unanimously, undeniably, irrevocably denounce any organization that celebrates the massacre of Jewish people” (Daily Wire). Jerusalem Post: Listen to Mayim Bialik as she speaks out against antisemitism and in support of Israel in the current climate (X).

10.

California Wind and Solar Farms Closing Because There Are Not Enough Power Lines

They began the transition to green energy without ensuring we first had the infrastructure to carry the power. Just the News: California’s buildout of wind and solar farms is exceeding the ability of its grid to handle all the electricity during periods of high production and low demand. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Monday that curtailments, which is when wind and solar farms are deliberately shut down, increased to peak levels in 2023. The California Independent System Operator, which operates the electricity grid for much of the state, has steadily curtailed the amount of electricity from wind and solar farms that flows through its system. The decreases appear to be situational, not a steady process, and are the result of the state not having enough power lines to carry all the electricity produced by wind and solar farms, the EIA report stated (Just the News).