Your First Look at Today's Top Stories

Having trouble viewing this email? View the web version.

Sponsored By

Thursday, September 12, 2024

Donald Trump, Kamala Harris Attend 9/11 Memorial in NYC

Fox News: Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris both traveled to New York City following their first presidential debate showdown, to put politics aside and commemorate the 23rd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Wednesday marks the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Nearly 3,000 people died as the result of a group of terrorists launching coordinated attacks against the U.S. by hijacking and crashing commercial airline planes at the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, in what became America’s most deadly terrorist attack (Fox News). End Wokeness: New Yorkers beg for Trump back in front of Biden & Harris at the 9/11 ceremony (X).

Donald Trump Weighs in on Debate Performance, Biased Moderators

Townhall: Former President Donald Trump weighed in Wednesday after he faced off against Vice President Kamala Harris in the first and possibly only debate, saying he had one of his “better” performances and “maybe my best.” Speaking with “Fox & Friends” Wednesday morning, the former president blasted ABC News, calling the network the “most dishonest new organization” after its moderators continually stepped in to fact check him but offered no corrections to Harris repeating multiple debunked claims regarding IVF, Charlottesville, Project 2025, his “bloodbath” remark about the economy, and more. Trump noted the debate was “three on one,” referring to the moderators from the “corrupt news organization” (Townhall). Victor Davis Hanson: The debate will instead be remembered as a three-on-one pile-on, given the unprofessional and biased team of ABC moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis. Rather than refuting pre-debate fears that their past anti-Trump biases would warp the debate, they only confirmed them (X).

Israel Prepared to Allow Leader of Hamas Safe Passage Out of Gaza in Return for Hostages

CNN: An Israeli official has floated the possibility of offering Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar safe passage out of Gaza, once all remaining hostages held in the Palestinian territory are released. Israel’s coordinator for hostages and the missing, Gal Hirsch, told CNN’s Jessica Dean that if all remaining 101 hostages are returned, “I even believe that we will agree to build safe passage to the chief terrorist, the new Hitler, Sinwar – safe passage to him and whoever he wants to join him out of Gaza.” Hirsch said those conditions, along with Gaza being “demilitarized and deradicalized,” could help recover Gaza and end the war (CNN). Jerusalem Post: Hirsch also explained that until this point in negotiations, Hamas “has sought to dictate terms rather than negotiate” (X).

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant Releases Letter Recovered From Hamas Commander Detailing the “difficult situation” Hamas Faces

Times of Israel: Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Wednesday revealed a document he said was written by the former commander of Hamas’s Khan Younis Brigade in southern Gaza, Rafa’a Salameh, and addressed to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and his brother Muhammad, in which the commander described the “difficult situation” in which the terror group had found itself. Salameh, a mastermind of the terror group’s October 7 massacre, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza in July that also killed senior Hamas commander Muhammad Deif. In the letter, he wrote: “Please consider the following: We maintain the remaining weapons and equipment, as we have lost 90-95 percent of our rocket capabilities; and we have lost some 60% of our personal weapons; we have lost at least 65-70% of our anti-tank launchers and rockets,” according to excerpts provided and translated by the Defense Ministry. “Most importantly,” he continued, “we have lost at least 50% of our fighters between those who are martyred and wounded, and now we are left with 25%. The last 25% of our people have reached a situation where the people do not tolerate them anymore, broken on a mental or physical level” (Times of Israel). Yoav Gallant: Hamas is in real distress from the junior to the senior level – we will continue the effort and reach everyone (X).

Hezbollah Launches 100 Missiles Into Northern Israel From Lebanon; One IDF Soldier Seriously Injured

Times of Israel: An Israeli reservist soldier was wounded in a Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile attack from Lebanon on Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces said. It came as barrages of around 100 rockets from Lebanon pounded areas in the north of the country. The 39-year-old reservist, a member of Kibbutz Dan’s local security team, was taken to Rambam Hospital in Haifa after being hit by a missile in the community. The medical center said he was conscious and suffering shrapnel injuries. He was taken for surgery and was listed in serious condition. Meanwhile, more than 60 rockets were launched from Lebanon at northern Israel in the space of around an hour Wednesday afternoon. Then in the early evening, another 40 were fired (Times of Israel).

Stanford, UPenn Pledge to Stay Out of Politics

So, a university made the commitment to just be a university. National Review: Stanford University and the University of Pennsylvania have adopted institutional-neutrality policies in support of academic freedom and will no longer issue statements on events or controversies unless there is a direct bearing on the university’s functions… In formally adopting a policy of institutional neutrality, the universities are following the recommendations laid out by University of Chicago faculty in their 1967 “Kalven Report,” produced amid nationwide protests against the Vietnam War… The Kalven Report does provide exceptions for institutional neutrality, and states that the university has an “obligation” to “defend its interests and its values” and must further oppose measures that “threaten the very mission of the university and its values of free inquiry” (National Review).

Burger Restaurant Chain Files for Bankruptcy as Fast Food Market Heavily Impacted by Inflation

CNN: Fast casual chain BurgerFi filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Wednesday after months of reporting financial distress. BurgerFi is another casualty of the rough business conditions hitting fast casual chains this year, which included Rubio’s, Buca di Beppo and Red Lobster also declaring bankruptcy. Even if not filing for bankruptcy, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Burger King and Wendy’s have all reported less foot traffic and lower overall sales, turning to value meal propositions to attract customers. BurgerFi, filing for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, said all of its corporate locations will operate normally. Franchise-owned locations are exempt from the bankruptcy filing (CNN). CNBC: BurgerFi has assets of $50 million to $75 million and total debts of $100 million to $500 million, according to a bankruptcy filing. For the quarter ended April 1, BurgerFi reported revenue of $42.9 million and a net loss of $6.5 million. Same-store sales at its namesake burger chain tumbled 13% (CNBC).

PwC Announces 1,800 Layoffs in October

Wall Street Journal: PricewaterhouseCoopers’s U.S. unit is laying off about 1,800 workers, its first formal layoffs since 2009, and restructuring its products and technology group to simplify operations and address declining demand for certain advisory services. The Big Four accounting firm is in the process of cutting employees in the U.S. and elsewhere, primarily in its U.S. advisory and products and technology operations, according to people familiar with the matter. The cuts, about half of which are offshore, span employees ranging from associates to managing directors and include business services, audit and tax, the people said. PwC plans to notify those affected, roughly 2.5% of the workforce at the U.S. unit, in October, the people said (Wall Street Journal).

Ohio Governor Sends Law Enforcement, Millions of Dollars to Assist Springfield Amid Migrant Surge

New York Post: The governor of Ohio will send law enforcement and millions of dollars in health care resources to the city of Springfield as it faces a surge in temporary Haitian migrants that has landed it in the national spotlight. Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday he doesn’t oppose the Temporary Protected Status program under which some 15,000 Haitians have arrived in the city of about 59,000 people since 2020, but said the federal government must do more to help impacted communities. On Monday, Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost also drew attention to the crisis when he directed his office to research legal avenues — including filing a lawsuit — to stop the federal government from sending “an unlimited number of migrants to Ohio communities” (New York Post).

10.

Far-Left Democrats Believe the U.S. Constitution is a Threat to Democracy Because it Allowed Trump to Exist

New York Times: Trump became president in 2016 after losing the popular vote but winning the Electoral College (Article II). He appointed three justices to the Supreme Court (Article III), two of whom were confirmed by senators representing just 44 percent of the population (Article I). Those three justices helped overturn Roe v. Wade, a reversal with which most Americans disagreed. The eminent legal scholar Erwin Chemerinsky, worried about opinion polls showing “a dramatic loss of faith in democracy,” writes in his new book, “No Democracy Lasts Forever”: “It is important for Americans to see that these failures stem from the Constitution itself” (New York Times). Albert Mohler: I have in my hands here in the studio the book by Erwin Chemerinsky, who is the dean of the School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, one of the most well-known, very liberal constitutional scholars in the United States. His new book is entitled: No Democracy Lasts Forever, the subhead, How the Constitution Threatens the United States. Here, you have one of the most influential liberal legal scholars and America writing a book telling us that the Constitution threatens the United States. And so you have two warnings coming out right now. You have the warning coming from the Left, “Donald Trump is a threat to democracy, a threat to America’s constitutional order,” and then you have the argument coming from the Left now, “The Constitution’s a threat to the American order.” Now, which is it… You can’t have it both ways. You can’t have it that conservatives are a threat to the Constitution, oh, wait just a minute; the Constitution’s a threat to our democratic order. You can’t present yourselves simultaneously as the savior of the Constitution and the one who wants to call for the end of our constitutional order. Someone at least needs to recognize this inconsistency. If nothing else, let’s start to recognize it right here, right now (Briefing)?