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Tuesday, September 24, 2024

U.S. to Send Reinforcements to Middle East Region Amid Increasing Tensions

Associated Press: The U.S. is sending additional troops to the Middle East in response to a sharp spike in violence between Israel and Hezbollah forces in Lebanon that has raised the risk of a greater regional war, the Pentagon said Monday. Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder would provide no details on how many additional forces or what they would be tasked to do. The U.S. currently has about 40,000 troops in the region. The new deployments come after significant strikes by Israeli forces against targets inside Lebanon that have killed hundreds and as Israel is preparing to conduct further operations (Associated Press). Daily Mail: Navy warships are scattered across the region and anchored in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Oman. Lebanon’s prime minister has accused Israel of waging ‘a war of extermination’, and urged the United Nations to intervene ‘to deter the (Israeli) aggression’ (Daily Mail). Collin Rugg: The United States military is sending “additional” U.S. troops to the Middle East according to CNN. The development comes just weeks after Kamala Harris claimed there is “not one” active duty member in a combat zone (X).

Federal Agents Release Letter From Would-Be Trump Shooter: “This was an assassination attempt”

Daily Wire: The U.S. Justice Department released a letter on Monday written by the man accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump at his golf club in Florida, in which the suspect allegedly admitted to trying to kill Trump. Prosecutors are using the letter during a court hearing on Monday to try to keep suspect Ryan Routh locked up during pretrial detention. “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you,” Routh allegedly wrote. “I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job” (Daily Wire). Reporter Scott MacFarlane: Justice Dept says this letter was written by Ryan Routh, who was arrested near Trump golf course last Sunday. Note it opens: “Dear World, this was an assassination attempt” (X).

Donald Trump Expands Lead in Three Southern Swing States

New York Times: Voters across the Sun Belt say that Donald J. Trump improved their lives when he was president — and worry that a Kamala Harris White House would not — setting the stage for an extraordinarily competitive contest in three key states, according to the latest polls from The New York Times and Siena College. The polls found that Mr. Trump has gained a lead in Arizona and remains ahead in Georgia, two states that he lost to President Biden in 2020. But in North Carolina, which has not voted for a Democrat since 2008, Ms. Harris trails Mr. Trump by just a narrow margin (New York Times). Just the News: In Georgia, he now leads Harris 49-45%. In Arizona, Trump leads Harris 50-45%. Trump won North Carolina in 2020 and has now slighted increased his lead over Harris in the state. He leads Harris 49-47% (Just the News).

Resurfaced Video Show Kamala Harris Cheering on Ending Deportation

This is our border czar. Katie Pavlich: Newly resurfaced video shows Vice President Kamala Harris chanting, “Down down with deportations!” when she was a U.S. Senator in 2018. She made the chants during a parade for hate crime hoaxer Jussie Smollet, who lied about being beaten up by men in MAGA hats during a Chicago blizzard. Since replacing President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket in August, Harris has desperately walked back her far left policy positions through anonymous staffers and ran an ad claiming she is tough on illegal immigration (Townhall). Charlie Kirk: A newly resurfaced 2018 video obtained by DailyMail shows Kamala Harris chanting alongside protesters and Jussie Smollet: “Down down with deportation.” “Up up with agitation.” I’m sure she’ll say she’s since changed her position (X).

California Bans All Plastic Bags at Grocery Stores

Axios: California is banning all plastic shopping bags at grocery store checkouts under legislation that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed on Sunday. The law that takes effect on Jan. 1, 2026, honors the intent of a ban on single-use bags “enacted 10 years ago that allowed stores to sell customers thicker plastic carryout bags that were considered reusable and met certain recyclability standards,” per a statement from state Sen. Catherine Blakespear. Blakespear, one of the legislators behind the bill, said “the truth is almost none of those bags are reused or recycled, and they end up in landfills or polluting the environment” (Axios). National Review: If New Jersey’s experience is any indication, Californians can look forward to a costly new inconvenience that doesn’t provide the environmental benefits it promises. The first of many unanticipated consequences associated with the Garden State’s prohibition on the distribution of shopping bags was the sudden disappearance of shopping carts and baskets from grocery stores (National Review).

Israel Destroys Virtually Entire Top Leadership of Hezbollah

Israel Hayom: Air raid sirens blared across northern Israel on Monday as multiple rocket barrages were launched from Lebanon, with Safed and the Sea of Galilee area in the Lower Galilee bearing the brunt of the rocket volleys, a day after massive salvos were fired on northern Israel. After massive barrages on the Upper Galilee and Sea of Galilee area, a massive volley was fired on the Jezreel Valley and Haifa regions, resulting in what appears to be several impact points in the Kiryat Tivon area just off Mount Carmel. No injuries were reported in those volleys, which continued into the late evening. The government later approved through a cabinet vote a measure that creates a special emergency-like situation in the home front, while the IDF announced that it had carried out a ‘targeted strike’ in the Lebanese capital Beirut, apparently against the terrorist group’s no. 3 Ali Karaki. This was the most intense day of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah since the 2006 Second Lebanon War. According to a Lebanese military official, Karaki was eliminated in the strike (Israel Hayom). Reporter Nadav Eyal: Israeli Defense Minister Galant says the IDF has destroyed stockpiles of dozens of thousands of Hezbollah’s rockets. If these numbers hold, Israel has significantly reduced Hezbollah’s capabilities in the region. Security sources tell me they can still target the Tel Aviv area, but conditions have changed dramatically (X). Israel War Room: 40 years ago to the day, Ibrahim Aqil helped direct a Hezbollah suicide bombing that targeted the American embassy in Beirut. Today, Israel eliminated him with a surgical airstrike in Beirut. Justice is served (X).

Biden-Harris Fly Volodymyr Zelensky to Pennsylvania to Tour Munitions Facility, Campaign for Harris

Post Millennial: The Biden-Harris administration on Sunday flew Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Pennsylvania on a US Air Force plane for a visit to a munitions factory in the state events. The move was widely panned by figures on X, saying that it appeared to be a move by the Harris campaign. Defense Priorities Public Policy Advisor Dan Caldwell noted that Zelensky was flown to the state on a US Air Force C-17, a large military cargo jet (Post Millennial). Dan Caldwell: The Biden-Harris admin is using military assets to fly a foreign leader into a battleground state in order to undermine their political opponents (X). Mollie Hemingway: This is an impeachable offense on the part of Biden-Harris. And dangerously reckless move on Zelensky’s part to campaign for Harris in a battleground state on U.S. taxpayer funds (X).

Officials Discover Explosives, RPGs on Mexico Side of the Tucson Border

Charlie Kirk: Authorities have discovered 4 RPGs and 8 improvised explosive devices just on the opposite side of the Arizona border. Border Patrol agents are being warned of a “drastic escalation” in the caliber of weaponry used by cartels along the Mexican border. The revenue of the drug cartels is now measured in the tens of billions. The Biden-Harris administration has turned the border into a lawless war zone. That means more gangs, more drugs, more illegal guns, more murder, and more mayhem (X). Reporter Ali Bradley: The fighting within the Sinaloa cartel, spilling over the border with multiple instances of armed men showing up to the southern border in the same area fleeing into the U.S. for safety (X).

Japan Fires Flares as Russian Reconnaissance Plane Violates Airspace

Wall Street Journal: Japanese jet fighters fired warning flares at a Russian military reconnaissance plane that violated Japan’s airspace on Monday, the first time Tokyo has taken such an aggressive stance against incursions of its airspace mostly carried out by Moscow… Tokyo has lodged an “extremely stern protest” with Moscow for the violation, Hayashi added. The Russian military has increasingly operated around Japan in recent years, engaging in exercises with the Chinese military as Moscow and Beijing forge deeper ties against the West and its allies. The Russian and Chinese navies set out at the weekend to conduct naval exercises with warships in the Sea of Japan, to repel an attack by a simulated enemy from the air, water and underwater (Wall Street Journal). Associated Press: Japanese defense officials are highly concerned about growing military cooperation between the China and Russia, and China’s increasingly assertive activity around Japanese waters and airspace. It led Tokyo to significantly reinforce defenses of southwestern Japan, including remote islands that are considered key to Japan’s defense strategy in the region (Wall Street Journal).

10.

Madness in Philadelphia as Hundreds of Illegal Car Gatherings Injure Police Officer and Numerous Police Vehicles Damaged

CBS: Philadelphia police responded to 11 illegal car meetups in the city over the weekend, where large crowds and hundreds of vehicles took over intersections to do donuts and set off fireworks in the street… The chaos started around 9:30 p.m. when police said about 50 cars were involved in a meetup, where officers issued nine nuisance car citations and 15 citations to people watching them in the street. According to police, one driver tried to flee from the scene by driving directly at officers, “colliding with a civilian vehicle in the process.” Police said they’ve identified the driver and an arrest warrant is pending. Shortly before midnight, about 100 cars were “drifting and engaging in reckless driving” at 20th and Pattison Avenue near FDR Park. Police said two people, one of which was a juvenile, were arrested after they tried to flee from police but crashed into a pole (CBS). Collin Rugg: One police officer was injured and 5 police cars were damaged during the illegal gatherings…Police say they issued citations and made a few arrests (X).