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Thursday, September 26, 2024

NYC Mayor Eric Adams Indicted by Grand Jury

New York Times: Eric L. Adams, a retired police captain who was elected as New York City’s 110th mayor nearly three years ago on a promise to rein in crime, has been indicted following a federal corruption investigation, people with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. The indictment remained sealed on Wednesday night, and it was unclear what charge or charges Mr. Adams will face. But when they are made public, he will become the first New York City mayor to be criminally charged while in office. The indictment promised to reverberate across the nation’s largest city and beyond, plunging Mr. Adams’s embattled administration further into chaos just months before he is set to face challengers in a hotly contested mayoral primary (New York Times). New York Post: It’s also uncertain how the indictment is related to a sweeping set of Sept. 4 raids that targeted several high-profile Adams administration officials, which sent City Hall into a weeks-long tailspin as news reports emerged of investigations focused on alleged corruption by the mayor’s inner circle (New York Post).

Iran Releases Video Depicting Trump Assassination

And we have nothing but silence from the Biden/Harris administration. Katie Pavlich: During a campaign stop Wednesday afternoon, former President Donald Trump did not hold back against the Iranian regime actively plotting to kill him. Tuesday night the Trump campaign revealed the former president was given a briefing on Iran’s threats by Biden administration officials. Shortly after the statement, Iran’s Supreme Leader posted an assassination video on his website (Townhall). Donald Trump Jr.: This was posted on the Ayatollah’s website. I guess we should expect nothing less from a terrorist regime. My father had Iran almost bankrupt… then the Biden/Harris administration game them billions making the world a far more dangerous place. Enough (X)! Marco Rubio: The Iranian threat against Donald Trump is now THE most serious plot by a foreign power against an American leader EVER (X).

Antisemitic College Group Plane “Week of Rage” on Anniversary of October 7 Attack on Israel

So, they’re celebrating October 7^th? Daily Wire: On October 7, 2023, Hamas slaughtered 1,200 Israelis in cold blood: burning families alive, raping women until their bodies became unrecognizable, and taking eight Americans hostage. Before American Jews knew whether their loved ones were dead or alive, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapters across the country had already begun glorifying Hamas, harassing American Jews and demanding that Israel acquiesce to the terrorists’ demands. In the months since, SJP chapters have seized every opportunity to embrace anti-Semitic tropes and rewrite history along ideological lines in their call for the elimination of the State of Israel. It is no surprise, then, that on the first anniversary of Hamas’ rape, murder, and abduction of Israeli civilians, SJP’s national headquarters has called for a “Week of Rage.” Not rage against Hamas. Not rage against Yahya Sinwar or any other actor who could be reasonably blamed for the massive suffering following October 7. No: SJP is raging against any Israeli claim to legitimate self-defense. Let’s be clear, October 7 marks the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Israel’s stated aims in the ongoing conflict are to return its hostages and to eliminate Hamas’ military capacities. SJP views Israel’s sole aim as the genocide of the population of Gaza (Daily Wire). SJP admits to harassing students, faculty since the October 7 attack. NationalSJP: During these 11 months, we, the students, have confronted the Zionist and imperialist forces in our OWN universities—fighting to end the financial, academic, and ideological ties that our institutions have to this ongoing genocide and colonial project (Instagram).

Kamala Harris Sits for Her First Solo Interview on MSNBC

Fox News: Vice President Kamala Harris is set to sit down with MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle on Wednesday, just days after the MSNBC host brushed off the vice president avoiding specifics when she’s faced with policy questions. The interview is the first solo sit-down for Harris with a major news network since she became the Democratic nominee. Ruhle joined comedian Bill Maher on his show on Friday and rushed to defend the vice president after Maher and anti-Trump New York Times columnist Bret Stephens suggested that Harris needed to be more specific in her interviews (Fox News). End Wokeness: Kamala Harris is taking an interview from Stephanie Ruhle. It will not be aired live. Last week, Ruhle said that the media & journalists DON’T need to ask her any legitimate questions before we vote (X). Collin Rugg: Kamala Harris gets stumped during her first solo sit-down interview since becoming the Democratic nominee. Stephanie Ruhle: “If you can’t raise corporate taxes or if GOP takes control of the Senate, where do you get the money to do that?” Harris: “Well, but we’re gonna have to raise corporate taxes and we’re gonna have to raise, we’re gonna have to make sure that the biggest corporations and billionaires pay their fair share. That’s just it. It’s about paying their fair share” (X).

Senate Report Details Critical Security Failures of the Secret Service During Butler Rally

Detailing the failures at the Pennsylvania rally that resulted in Trump getting shot. Associated Press: Multiple Secret Service failures ahead of the July rally for former President Donald Trump where a gunman opened fire were “foreseeable, preventable, and directly related to the events resulting in the assassination attempt that day,” according to a bipartisan Senate investigation released Wednesday… “The consequences of those failures were dire,” said Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, the Democratic chairman of the Homeland panel. Investigators found that there was no clear chain of command among the Secret Service and other security agencies and no plan for coverage of the building where the shooter climbed up to fire the shots. Officials were operating on multiple, separate radio channels, leading to missed communications, and an inexperienced drone operator was stuck on a help line after his equipment wasn’t working correctly. Approximately 22 seconds before Crooks fired, the report found, a local officer sent a radio alert that there was an armed individual on the building. But that information was not relayed to key Secret Service personnel who were interviewed by Senate investigators (Associated Press). Townhall: “Approximately two minutes before shots were fired, the USSS Security Room, located on the rally grounds, was told that there was an individual on the roof of the AGR building,” the report continues. “Shortly before shots were fired, a USSS counter sniper saw local law enforcement running toward the AGR building with their guns drawn, but he did not alert former President Trump’s protective detail to remove him from the stage” (Townhall). Read the full report here (Homeland Security).

Israel Prepares for a Ground Invasion of Lebanon

Wall Street Journal: Israel’s military chief told troops that airstrikes against Hezbollah were in preparation for a potential ground invasion of Lebanon, after Israeli air defenses intercepted the militant group’s first attempted missile strike on Tel Aviv. The comments came as U.S. officials pushed a plan for an initial pause in the fighting for up to four weeks, with help from partners such as Egypt and Qatar, according to Arab negotiators. But it remained unclear what leverage Washington has to quell the biggest conflict between Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah in two decades. The militant group’s attempted strike on Tel Aviv was its most provocative response yet to a week of punishing Israeli operations and airstrikes that have underscored the growing risk of all-out war (Wall Street Journal). Reuters: World leaders expressed concern that the conflict – running in parallel to Israel’s war in Gaza against Hamas, a Palestinian militant movement backed by Iran – was escalating rapidly as the death toll in Lebanon rose and thousands fled their homes. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington and its allies were working tirelessly to avoid a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah, which has said it will not back down until the Gaza war ends (Reuters).

Ryan Routh Charged With Five Counts of Attempted Assassination

Blaze: Ryan Wesley Routh was indicted by a federal grand jury in Miami late Sept. 24 on five counts related to the attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump at his Florida golf club on Sept. 15. The indictment includes charges of attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, assaulting a federal officer, possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number… The criminal case based on the indictment was randomly assigned to U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon, who recently dismissed the classified documents case brought against Trump by the Department of Justice (Blaze). Christian Post: Routh was already facing charges of unlawful possession of a firearm as a felon, for which he faces as much as 15 years in prison and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Regarding the indictment, U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement Tuesday that “the Department of Justice will use every available tool to hold Ryan Routh accountable for the attempted assassination of former President Trump” (Christian Post).

House Approves of Stopgap Bill to Avoid Government Shutdown

Hill: The House approved a three-month government funding bill Wednesday to avoid an end-of-the-month shutdown, sending the package to the Senate for consideration. The chamber cleared the legislation — which would fund the government at current levels until Dec. 20 — in a 341-82 vote, including support from 209 Democrats and 132 Republicans. All 82 “no” votes came from Republicans…The legislation also includes $231 million in funding for the U.S. Secret Service after the pair of assassination attempts of former President Trump (Hill). NBC: Once signed into law, the stopgap bill will set up another shutdown battle in the postelection lame duck session, but with the benefit of both parties knowing the balance of power next year (NBC).

Biden’s DoD Commits $500 Million Annually to Study Women’s Health

The United States is $35 trillion in debt. Is this necessary spending right now? Hill: First lady Jill Biden announced Monday that the Pentagon intends to commit $500 million to women’s health research as part of a broader White House push to increase funding for the study of women’s health. Jill Biden attended a Clinton Global Initiative event alongside Chelsea Clinton to announce the new investment. The Defense Department money will fund research on conditions such as ovarian cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and musculoskeletal injuries and how they impact women differently…President Biden signed an executive order in March directing agencies to strengthen research and data standards on women’s health with the purpose of better leveraging federal funding. It also directed agencies to prioritize funding for women’s health research and encourage innovation (Hill). Townhall: The president then touted the DoD initiative as “Jill’s idea.” “I mean, this was Jill’s movement,” Joe Biden continued, saying it’s “going to go down as one of the most significant programs in our administration” (Townhall).

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State AGs Rally, Question Why the American Academy of Pediatrics Still Supports Trans Surgeries for Minors

Townhall: In recent years, many states have passed laws protecting children from dangerous transgender care. This type of “care” has been promoted by several medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Other organizations, like the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, have backed away from this kind of care, noting that “there is considerable uncertainty as to the long-term efficacy for the use of chest and genital surgical interventions for the treatment of adolescents with gender dysphoria, and the existing evidence base is viewed as low quality/low certainty.” This week, 21 state attorneys general sent a letter to the AAP over its unwavering support for transgender care for minors. This includes puberty blockers, hormone therapy treatment, and irreversible sex reassignment surgery. Led by Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, the letter points out that the organization has abandoned “its commitment to sound medical judgment” by supporting these treatments for children (Townhall). Reporter Katelynn Richardson: Why is the American Academy of Pediatrics continuing to endorse puberty blockers for kids, despite mounting evidence that these drugs have irreversible consequences? That’s what 20 state AGs are asking. They say AAP’s deceptive claims could violate consumer protection laws (X).