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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

President Biden Speaks with Israeli PM Netanyahu About Rafah Invasion

CNN: President Joe Biden spoke by phone Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, their first known interaction in more than a month as a rift deepens between the two men over the war in Gaza. During the call, the White House said the leaders discussed two key areas where tension has emerged in the relationship, including the necessity of getting more humanitarian aid into Gaza and the pending Israeli operation in Rafah, where more than a million Palestinian civilians are sheltering. In a statement afterward, Netanyahu said he told Biden that Israel was committed to achieving its goals in Gaza while also providing the necessary humanitarian aid to the enclave (CNN). NBC: During the call, Biden asked that Netanyahu send to Washington “a senior interagency team composed of military, intelligence and humanitarian officials” in the coming days to hear U.S. concerns about an invasion of Rafah, Sullivan said. He confirmed that Netanyahu agreed to the invitation. Notably, Sullivan said that U.S. officials now expect that Israel wouldn’t proceed with a Rafah invasion until that conversation takes place. The meeting will be an opportunity for the U.S. “to lay out an alternative approach that would target key Hamas elements in Rafah and secure the Egypt-Gaza border without a major ground invasion,” Sullivan added (NBC).

IDF Kills Top Hamas Leader Responsible for October 7 Attack

National Review: The Biden administration confirmed on Monday that Israel killed a top Hamas official during its ongoing war against the terrorist organization. The Biden administration’s national-security adviser, Jake Sullivan, spoke to reporters Monday and said in his opening remarks that Israel killed senior Hamas commanders, including its number three in charge, Marwan Issa. Issa was the deputy commander of the military wing of Hamas, and the man thought responsible for the October 7 terror attacks in southern Israel (National Review). Washington Post: The news of Issa’s death was overshadowed by the operation at al-Shifa — the latest Israeli attack on hospitals, which the IDF has said are used by Hamas as a cover for military activities. The assaults have damaged or shuttered a number of major medical facilities and, according to humanitarian groups, put Gaza’s health system on the verge of collapse. Israel’s claims about the military significance of the operation at al-Shifa were swiftly contested by Palestinian officials, who identified the target of the raid as a police official. Civilians in the hospital said they were trapped by the fighting (Washington Post).

Supreme Court Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson Upset Government Cannot Censor Speech

Federalist: Free speech is on trial at the Supreme Court, but Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson is no fan of the First Amendment. The Constitution, you see, limits the government. But leftists want unlimited government — which is why they hate the Constitution. During Monday’s oral arguments for Murthy v. Missouri, formerly known as Biden v. Missouri, Jackson claimed to oppose any ruling in favor of Americans’ constitutional right to free speech if it limited the government’s ability to censor that speech via Big Tech (Federalist). News Show System Update: KBJ doubles down: “My biggest concern is that your view has the First Amendment hamstringing the government in significant ways.” That is, quite literally, the entire point of the First Amendment—of the entire Bill of Rights. (X).

Laken Riley’s Father Discusses How His Daughter’s Tragedy Led to an Immigration Conversation

Fox News: The Venezuelan migrant accused of murdering 22-year-old Georgia nursing student Laken Riley last month “might not have been here” had the border been secured, her father said Monday. Speaking publicly for the first time since his daughter’s death, Jason Riley was asked during an interview with NBC’s “Today” whether he thinks a stronger immigration policy would have made a difference after his daughter’s slaying ignited a debate about the current border crisis plaguing the Biden administration. “We have no idea if that would have changed anything, but he’s here illegally,” Jason Riley said. “That he might not have been here had we had secure borders” (Fox News). RNC Research: Laken Riley’s father is speaking out after the brutal murder of his daughter by an illegal alien. “He’s here illegally … he might not have been here had we had secure borders” (X). Townhall: NBC reported that Jason Riley revealed that he does support President Donald Trump and that his daughter’s passing has instigated necessary discussions about border security. After Laken Riley’s death, Georgia state lawmakers passed a bill that would allow police to arrest those suspected of entering the United States illegally. And, the U.S. House passed the Laken Riley Act, which would require Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to issue detainers and take custody of illegal aliens who commit theft-related crimes (Townhall).

As Expected: Russia’s Vladimir Putin Wins Reelection, Will Remain for Six More Years

NBC: President Vladimir Putin’s rule over Russia will be extended for at least another six years, after he claimed a landslide win Monday in a stage-managed presidential election with no real opposition. The vote was orchestrated to legitimize the leadership of Putin, 71, after a crackdown on dissent that has left his rivals dead, jailed or in exile as his war in neighboring Ukraine enters its third year. Having led Russia for 24 years already, he will soon match Soviet leader Josef Stalin as the country’s longest-serving modern ruler. Putin received 87.3% of the vote, Russia’s election commission said Monday after more than 99% of ballots had been counted, his highest-ever tally and far more than the 76.69% in 2018. The commission reported that turnout was 77.44%, the highest in Russia’s modern history (NBC). Associated Press: Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Putin, as did North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the presidents of nations that have historic and current ties to Russia, such as Azerbaijan and Belarus. Navalny’s associates urged those unhappy with Putin or the war to go to the polls at noon on Sunday — and lines outside a number of polling stations both inside Russia and at its embassies around the world appeared to swell at that time. Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, who spent more than five hours in the line at the Russian Embassy in Berlin, told reporters that she wrote her late husband’s name on her ballot (Associated Press).

Study in Finland Reveals People Who Identify as “Woke” are More Unhappy, Depressed

Blaze Media: A new study revealed that people with so-called “woke” ideologies tended to be more unhappy, anxious, and depressed compared to others. The study – published in the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology last week – found that individuals with attitudes geared toward critical social justice were less satisfied with their lives. The research found female participants to be far more “woke” than their male counterparts. The study found that women “expressed more than twice as much support” of the progressive ideologies (Blaze Media). New York Post: This was especially true of women in fields such as social sciences, education, and humanities. By contrast, participants who worked in STEM were more likely to critique social justice efforts associated with being woke (New York Post).

Pakistan, Afghanistan Trade Air Strikes Along Border

Bloomberg: Afghanistan’s forces targeted Pakistani military posts along the border, retaliating against air strikes that killed eight people in what has become the first known counterattack from the Taliban since they took power more than two years ago. The National Islamic Army of Afghanistan is responding to Pakistan by targeting the military posts along the border with “heavy weapons,” the Taliban-controlled Ministry of Defense said in a post on X. The move followed Pakistan’s military air strikes in east Afghanistan on early Monday, which left five women and three children dead. The Taliban called the attack a violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty, warning there will be severe consequences. Tensions between the two countries have been rising since the Taliban took power in 2021 (Bloomberg). BBC: Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari had already vowed to “respond strongly” to the troops’ deaths, “regardless of who it is or from which country” the group came from (BBC).

President Biden Anxious About Reelection

NBC: In a private meeting at the White House in January, allies of the president had just told him that his poll numbers in Michigan and Georgia had dropped over his handling of the war between Israel and Hamas. Both are battleground states he narrowly won four years ago, and he can’t afford any backsliding if he is to once again defeat Donald Trump. He began to shout and swear, a lawmaker familiar with the meeting said. He believed he had been doing what was right, despite the political fallout, he told the group. For months, Democrats have watched the 2024 campaign unfold with rising alarm as the sitting president struggles to gain ground against his defeated predecessor. Frustrations rippling through the party have reached the top, with Biden at times second-guessing travel decisions and communications strategies that have left much of the electorate clueless about his record, interviews with nearly 20 lawmakers, present and past administration officials and Biden allies show (NBC). Washington Examiner: Despite the poor polling figures, Biden’s campaign has amassed strong fundraising numbers, bringing in $53 million in February, while Trump is set to spend a significant amount of his campaign funds on legal fees (Washington Examiner).

Research Indicates Citizens Beginning to Sour on Democracy

While your favored candidates, party will not always win in a democracy, it is vastly better than the alternative. Washington Post: A new study this month from the V-Dem Institute, a leading center for the analysis of comparative politics at Sweden’s University of Gothenburg, laid out some of the worrying macro-indicators. The institute’s annual Democracy Report measures a democracy using a multidimensional data set based on a number of factors, including the civil liberties and freedoms afforded to all citizens, and their ability to participate in fair elections. This year’s report found 35 countries witnessing a decline in free and fair elections. In 2019, the number was only 16. In polls put to respondents in a spread of 24 countries, researchers found that enthusiasm for “representative democracy” has slipped since 2017, when the organization conducted a similar survey (Washington Post). Pew Research: A median of 59% are dissatisfied with how their democracy is functioning. 74% think elected officials don’t care what people like them think. 42% say no political party in their country represents their views (Pew Research).

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Joann Fabrics and Crafts Declares Bankruptcy, Over $1 Billion in Debt

NBC: Joann Fabrics and Crafts has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as it seeks to reorganize its finances. In a release accompanying its filing, Joann said stores and the company’s website would remain open and continue operating as usual. In its most recent quarter, Joann posted results showing it was more than $1 billion in debt, with shrinking revenues and a widening net loss, citing an “uncertain consumer environment.” Wall Street reacted negatively to the news, with Joann shares trading down as much as 20%. The company went public in 2021 as the pandemic lingered and during an apparent boom in at-home, do-it-yourself consumer activity. But after debuting at about $12 and rising to nearly $17, its shares are now worth less than $0.25 (NBC). CNN: Joann’s stock was delisted from the Nasdaq and will become privately owned following the bankruptcy process, which it expects to happen as fast as next month (CNN).