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Wednesday, October 2, 2024

JD Vance Runs Circles Around Tim Walz in Debate

Hugh Hewitt: Excellent first quest from Margaret Brennan. Tim Walz stumbles about and never gets to the question of whether the U.S. should stop Iran getting a nuclear weapon. Rehearsed answer is nervous, rambling and non-responsive. Fail (X). Townhall: VANCE: “Iran, which launched this attack, has received over $100 billion in unfrozen assets thanks to the Kamala Harris administration…” (X). Collin Rugg: JD Vance absolutely obliterates Kamala Harris for failing to protect the southern border. “The only thing that Kamala did when she became the vice president, when she became the appointed border czar, was to undo 94 Donald Trump executive actions that opened the border” (X). End Wokeness: JD: “You blame Trump. Who was VP for the past 3+ years? Your running mate” (X). Townhall: JD VANCE: “If Kamala Harris has such great plans…then she ought to do them NOW! Not when asking for a promotion…” (X)!

Tim Walz Collapses When Pushed on His Lies About Being in China During the Tiananmen Square Massacre

Katie Pavlich: When asked why he said he was in China during the Tiananmen Square massacre when he was not actually there, Walz offers up a word salad worse than Kamala Harris (X). Clay Travis: Tim Walz is asked why he lied about his trip to China, gives the most cringe-inducing answer of debate season. Seriously watch this unmitigated disaster (X). Hugh Hewitt: “Let me answer your direct question about lying about my travels to China by not answering your question.” Oh my goodness that was an awful answer. “I was a knucklehead at times.” Is that Minnesotan for “I’m a liar” (X)? Guy Benson: Q: Why’d you lie about being in Hong Kong during Tiananmen Square? Walz: Here’s my life story (X).

CBS Breaks Own Rules, Fact-Checks JD Vance During Debate, Shut Off His Mic

Fox News: Sen. JD Vance pushed back on the CBS News moderators who attempted to fact-check him in a contentious moment during the vice presidential debate on Tuesday. Despite CBS announcing that it would not allow live fact-checking during the debate, moderator Margaret Brennan, interjected to correct Vance after he suggested that illegal immigrants are overwhelming resources in Springfield, Ohio (Fox News). Libs of TikTok: JD Vance refuses to accept the fake fact check and calls out the moderators on it so they shut his mic. Incredible (X). Guy Benson: Despite CBS’ best efforts thus far, Vance is doing strikingly well. Prepared and composed. Missing very few opportunities (X).

Iran Fires Nearly 200 Missiles Into Israel

No Israeli casualties reported. Wall Street Journal: Iran fired roughly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel, an escalation that risks a wider war in the Middle East days after Israel killed the leader of Iran-backed Hezbollah and sent troops into Lebanon. Israel’s military signaled it would retaliate, though it didn’t provide details of how or when it would respond. The Pentagon said that Israel intercepted the majority of the missiles and that there was minimal damage on the ground. Iran, which promised a “crushing response” if Israel retaliated, canceled flights across the country until midmorning Wednesday (Wall Street Journal). Just the News: National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan described Iran’s missile attack on Israel on Tuesday as a “significant escalation.” President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris viewed the situation unfold from the White House Situation Room as U.S. warships fired interceptors to shoot down missiles that Iran launched (Just the News). Trump War Room: Reporter: “What’s your message to Iran?” Kamala: “Don’t.” You’ll be shocked to learn this diplomatic strategy did not work out (X). Greg Price: Jean-Pierre: “This administration has not lifted a single sanction on Iran.” That is literally not true. They waived economic sanctions, which allowed Iran to gain north of $100B in oil wealth and allowed them to access $10B of frozen funds from Iraq (X)

UN Secretary General Calls for Ceasefire After Iran Launches Missiles Into Israel

Townhall: On Tuesday, as reports were coming in of Iran’s ballistic missiles hitting Israel, António Guterres, the Secretary-General of the anti-Israel United Nations, posted his demands for a ceasefire. “I condemn the broadening of the Middle East conflict with escalation after escalation,” Guterres posted. “We absolutely need a ceasefire,” he also insisted (Townhall). Israel: We condemn your inability to string together a tweet which holds Iran responsible for firing 181 ballistic missiles at 10 million Israeli civilians (X). Natfali Bennett: You’ve gotta be kidding. You condemn ”the broadening”?! You just aren’t able to blurt the simple words “I condemn the Islamic Republic of Iran who just shot roughly 180 deadly ballistic missiles towards the citizens of Israel.” Quit (X). Raylan Givens: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “Iran made a major mistake tonight and will pay for it” (X).

Dockworkers From East, Gulf Coasts Strike Amid Stalled Contract Negotiations

Katie Pavlich: After failing to get ahead of a strike at the Nation’s East and Gulf Coast ports, President Joe Biden released a statement Tuesday calling for the strike to end after the demands of labor unions are met. “Collective bargaining is the best way for workers to get the pay and benefits they deserve. I have urged USMX, which represents a group of foreign-owned carriers, to come to the table and present a fair offer to the workers of the International Longshoremen’s Association that ensures they are paid appropriately in line with their invaluable contributions,” Biden said…Biden is refusing to enforce the Taft-Hartley Act, which would require port workers to keep things running while negotiations continue. The union has been accused to breaking labor laws with the strike and their negotiation tactics (Townhall). End Wokeness: It’s official: 45,000 port workers are now on strike, from Maine to Texas. “We will cripple you” – Head of ILA (X). Wall Street Journal: Daggett rejected an offer late Monday of a 50% wage increase over six years, a boost from an earlier proposed 40% increase in wages, along with other improvements in benefits. The ILA wants to raise the base hourly rate for its roughly 45,000 members to $69 from $39, a 77% pay increase, over six years as a condition to sit down to talks with maritime employers, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. Dockworkers typically earn a six-figure annual salary because of work rules and overtime requirements. In the financial year that ended in 2020, more than half of 3,726 dockworkers at the Port of New York and New Jersey earned more than $150,000, according to a report by the port’s regulator. About one in five dockworkers at the port earned over $250,000 that year (Wall Street Journal).

North Carolina Hit Hard by Hurricane Helene

Wall Street Journal: As the death toll from Helene continued to rise, the city of Asheville in western North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains was picking up the pieces from the devastating storm. Water systems were down Tuesday and would likely take weeks to repair, many roads in the city had washed away and there was no word from some rural communities cut off by the floods…In Buncombe County, where Asheville is located, 40 people have died. Rescue crews were still trying to find trapped people by plane as well as by car, boat and foot. It was unclear how many people were still unaccounted for. Five people were confirmed dead in neighboring Henderson County (Wall Street Journal). Fox News: There are at least 128 people confirmed dead across six states since the hurricane made landfall on Thursday – Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee. While power outages have fallen below 2 million for the first time since the storm, approximately 1.6 million homes and businesses remain without electricity in the hardest-hit states as of Tuesday (Fox News).

Gavin Newsom Signs Legislation Banning Local Governments From Requiring ID to Vote

Fox News: Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed legislation banning local governments from requiring voters to present an ID at the ballot box in order to cast a vote – a move which sparked backlash from Elon Musk, who branded Newsom as “The Joker.” “Wow, it is now illegal to require voter ID in California! They just made PREVENTING voter fraud against the law,” Musk wrote on X late Monday. “The Joker is in charge.” The bill was passed by the California Assembly in August after being introduced earlier in the year by state Sen. David Min, a Democrat. Newsom signed the bill into law on Thursday (Fox News). Elon Musk: Wow, it is now illegal to require voter ID in California! They just made PREVENTING voter fraud against the law. The Joker is in charge (X).

Vehicle Sales Remain Low as High Prices, Inflation Cause Devastation on the Auto Industry

Wall Street Journal: High new-vehicle prices and borrowing costs are keeping some shoppers on the sidelines, pointing to what is expected to be another lackluster sales year for automakers. Industry forecasters expect third-quarter U.S. vehicle sales to come in roughly flat compared with a year earlier. Most major automakers are scheduled to report results for the July-to-September period throughout the day Tuesday…Sluggish third-quarter results would put automakers on pace to finish the year with U.S. vehicle sales of around 15.7 million—a slight increase from last year, when supply-chain snags were still crimping vehicle output, but still well off historic highs. Carmakers posted five consecutive years of at least 17 million vehicle sales through 2019. Many analysts and dealers point to affordability as the primary reason why sales haven’t marched back to those levels (Wall Street Journal). CNN: Auto loan rates have risen steadily over the past several years, reducing car buyers’ purchasing power and stretching budgets. Rates remained high in the second quarter of 2024, hitting 6.84% for new car loans and 12.01% for used cars, according to Experian (CNN). Barrons: GM said average vehicle pricing of $49,349 was in line with its second quarter (Barrons).

10.

Netflix Cancellations Increase as Co-Founder Endorses, Donates to Kamala Harris’ Campaign

Townhall: Streaming giant Netflix suffered a surge in cancellations in the days after its co-founder and chairman, Reed Hastings, endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president. The rate of cancellations nearly tripled in the United States after Hastings announced his endorsement in the 2024 presidential race (Townhall). Bloomberg: Customers in the US canceled Netflix at a higher rate in July — 2.8% — than any month since February. Hastings, a longtime Democratic donor, endorsed Harris in a post on the social media platform X on July 22. A day later, Hastings told The Information that he donated $7 million to a pro-Harris super PAC. Three days later after the donation became public, July 26, was the single worst day for Netflix cancellations this year (Bloomberg).