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The United States is deploying additional troops to the Middle East amid heightened tensions in the region, the Pentagon announced on Monday.

Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, would not provide any details to the Associated Press about how many additional forces Washington would send or what their mission would be, the wire reported.

“In light of increased tension in the Middle East and out of an abundance of caution, we are sending a small number of additional U.S. military personnel forward to augment our forces that are already in the region,” Ryder told the AP. “For operational security reasons, I’m not going to comment on or provide specifics.”

The United States currently has some 40,000 troops in the region, according to the Pentagon. On Monday, the aircraft carrier USS Truman, two destroyers and a cruiser departed from Norfolk, Va., towards the Mediterranean for a scheduled deployment.

The new troop increase is the latest indication that the United States is concerned about a military escalation in the Middle East, with a particular focus on Israel and Lebanon.

On Monday, the Israel Defense Forces struck more than 1,000 targets across Lebanon to prevent Hezbollah from firing rockets across the border.

The U.S. State Department updated its travel advice for Lebanon on Saturday to urge U.S. citizens to depart the country while commercial flights remain available. The United States has advised Americans to not travel to Lebanon since July.

In 2022, the State Department estimated that some 86,000 Americans live in Lebanon.

{Matzav.com}

A growing number of foreign airlines are suspending flights to and from Ben-Gurion Airport due to the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. On Tuesday, Wizz Air, British Airways, and Azerbaijan Airlines canceled all flights to the airport, further tightening travel restrictions in and out of the country. The Lufthansa Group, which includes Lufthansa Airlines, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings, announced on Monday that it would be extending its suspension of flights until at least October 14. This follows earlier suspensions implemented in response to Hamas’s October 7 attack and the subsequent conflict. Many airlines had only recently resumed flights after halting them earlier this year due to the volatile security situation. However, amid renewed fighting and ongoing safety concerns, several international carriers are once again suspending services. Travel advisories from various governments continue to discourage flights to the region due to heightened risks. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

On Monday, the House Rules Committee decided not to hold a vote on a temporary spending bill that could prevent a government shutdown. This move leaves House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) in a position where he may need help from Democrats to get the controversial measure passed.

Johnson had proposed a continuing resolution to keep government funding in place until December 20. It was expected to be included in a set of bills approved by the Republican-majority rules committee, but due to opposition from several GOP members, the bill was not brought forward for discussion.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a rules committee member, criticized the Speaker’s plan, saying it was designed to “set up a government funding crisis the week before [Dec. 25],” pushing lawmakers to support a bill negotiated “behind closed doors.”

Massie emphasized his preference for a longer-term solution, stating, “We should fund the whole thing for a year.”

With the lack of a rule in place, House GOP leaders plan to introduce the spending bill on the House floor using a process called suspension of the rules, which requires a two-thirds majority for passage.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) suggested the vote on the continuing resolution (CR) is scheduled for Wednesday, as reported by CBS News.

Given the slim Republican majority in the House, several Democrats will likely need to vote in favor of the three-month CR for it to succeed.

Johnson, 52, revealed his alternative spending plan on Sunday after the House had rejected his initial proposal. His first plan combined a six-month CR with a requirement that voters provide proof of citizenship at the polls.

“While this is not the solution any of us prefer, it is the most prudent path forward under the present circumstances,” Johnson wrote in a letter to fellow lawmakers. “As history has taught and current polling affirms, shutting the government down less than 40 days from a fateful election would be an act of political malpractice.”

Last Wednesday, fourteen House Republicans joined the Democrats in rejecting Johnson’s original CR, which would have faced serious opposition in the Senate if it had been approved.

{Matzav.com}

School districts in California will have to create rules restricting student smartphone use under a new law Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Monday. The legislation makes California the latest state to try to curb student phone access in an effort to minimize distractions in the classroom and address the mental health impacts of social media on children. Florida, Louisiana, Indiana and several other states have passed laws aimed at restricting student phone use at school. “This new law will help students focus on academics, social development, and the world in front of them, not their screens, when they’re in school,” Newsom said in a statement. But some critics of phone restriction policies say the burden should not fall on teachers to enforce them. Others worry the rules will make it harder for students to seek help if there is an emergency or argue that decisions on phone bans should be left up to individual districts or schools. “We support those districts that have already acted independently to implement restrictions because, after a review of the needs of their stakeholders, they determined that made the most sense for their communities with regards to safety, school culture and academic achievement,” said Troy Flint, a spokesperson for the California School Boards Association. “We simply oppose the mandate.” The law requires districts to pass rules by July 1, 2026, to limit or ban students from using smartphones on campus or while students are under the supervision of school staff. Districts will have to update their policies every five years after that. The move comes after Newsom signed a law in 2019 authorizing school districts to restrict student phone access. In June, he announced plans to take on the issue again after the U.S. surgeon general called on Congress to require warning labels on social media platforms and their effects on young people. The governor then sent letters to districts last month, urging them to limit student device use on campus. That came on a day that the board for the second-largest school district in the country, Los Angeles Unified, voted to ban student phone use during the school day beginning in January. Assemblymember Josh Hoover, a Republican representing Folsom, introduced the bill with a bipartisan group of lawmakers who are also parents. Phones are restricted where Hoover’s children — ages 15, 12 and 10 — attend school. Many of the students don’t always like the policy, which is in part a reflection of how addictive phones can be, he said. “Anytime you’re talking about interrupting that addiction, it’s certainly going to be hard for students sometimes,” Hoover said. “But I think overall they understand why it’s important, why it helps them focus better on their classes and why it actually helps them have better social interaction with their peers face to face when they’re at school.” Some parents have raised concerns that school cellphone bans could cut them off from their children if there is an emergency. Those fears were highlighted after a shooting at a Georgia high school left four dead and nine injured this month. The 2019 law authorizing districts to restrict student phone access makes exceptions for emergencies, and the new law doesn’t change that. Some proponents of school phone restrictions say it’s better to have phones off in an active […]

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Obesity is high and holding steady in the U.S., but the proportion of those with severe obesity — especially women — has climbed since a decade ago, according to new government research. The U.S. obesity rate is about 40%, according to a 2021-2023 survey of about 6,000 people. Nearly 1 in 10 of those surveyed reported severe obesity, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found. Women were nearly twice as likely as men to report severe obesity. The overall obesity rate appeared to tick down vs. the 2017-2020 survey, but the change wasn’t considered statistically significant; the numbers are small enough that there’s mathematical chance they didn’t truly decline. That means it’s too soon to know whether new treatments for obesity, including blockbuster weight-loss drugs such as Wegovy and Zepbound, can help ease the epidemic of the chronic disease linked to a host of health problems, according to Dr. Samuel Emmerich, the CDC public health officer who led the latest study. “We simply can’t see down to that detailed level to prescription medication use and compare that to changes in obesity prevalence,” Emmerich said. “Hopefully that is something we can see in the future.” Most telling though, the results that show that the overall obesity rate in the U.S. has not changed significantly in a decade, even as the rate of severe obesity climbed from nearly 8% in the 2013-2014 survey to nearly 10% in the most recent one. Before that, obesity had increased rapidly in the U.S. since the 1990s, federal surveys showed. Measures of obesity and severe obesity are determined according to body mass index, a calculation based on height and weight. People with a BMI of 30 are considered to have obesity; those with a BMI of 40 or higher have severe obesity. BMI is regarded as a flawed tool but remains widely used by doctors to screen for obesity. “Seeing increases in severe obesity is even more alarming because that’s the level of obesity that’s most highly associated with some of the highest levels of cardiovascular disease and diabetes and lower quality of life,” said Solveig Cunningham, an Emory University global health professor who specializes in obesity. Cunningham, who was not involved in the new study, said it’s not clear why rates of severe obesity are going up, or why they were higher among women. Factors could include the effects of hormones, the impact of childbearing or other causes that require further study, she said. The new study also found that obesity rates varied by education. Almost 32% of people with a bachelor’s degree or higher reported having obesity, compared with about 45% of those with some college or a high school diploma or less. The new report follows the release earlier this month of data from U.S. states and territories that showed that in 2023, the rate of obesity ranged widely by place, from a high of more than 41% of adults in West Virginia to a low of less than 24% of adults in Washington, D.C. Rates were highest in the Midwest and the South. All U.S. states and territories posted obesity rates higher than 20%. In 23 states, more than 1 in 3 adults had obesity, the data showed. Before 2013, no state had a rate that high, said Dr. Alyson […]

A car driving on Highway 70 during one of the Hezbollah rocket barrages at northern Israel on Tuesday morning caught dramatic footage of rocket explosions. As the siren blared and cars moved to the shoulder of the road, one car was still moving to the side as two rockets exploded only meters ahead. The footage was taken on a highway near Nazareth, between Tamra and Kabul – Arab cities in northern Israel. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

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Hezbollah fired a barrage of about 50 rockets at Kiryat Shmona and nearby areas on Tuesday morning at about 10 a.m., with several falling in the largely evacuated city, kindling fires. Police received multiple reports of interceptor and rocket fragments falling in the city. One rocket scored a direct hit on a warehouse. Baruch Hashem no one was injured but five firefighting teams were required to extinguish the many fires caused by the barrage. Hear the rockets explode one after the other in Kiryat Shmona: Shortly later, Hezbollah fired another barrage at the Galil. Two rockets fired at Nahariya fell into the sea. A woman who was driving as a rocket fell in the Yarka area was lightly injured by shrapnel. A man who was also driving at the time was treated for shock. The Galil Medical Center in Nahariya said on Tuesday morning that medical staff treated nine people who were lightly injured during the barrages at the western Galil, including four women injured in two car accidents during the sirens, one near Yarka and one near Nahariya. A husband and wife were injured when a rocket fell near their car and three others were injured while running to shelters. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

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https://matzav.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Stories4Life-Shiur-351-Feelings.mp3

Israel’s conflict with Hezbollah, now known as Operations Northern Arrows, continued overnight Monday and Tuesday morning, with Hezbollah firing barrages of rockets and missiles at IDF bases and yishuvim in northern Israel. Hezbollah fired a barrage of about 50 rockets at Kiryat Shmona on Tuesday morning at about 10 a.m., with several falling in the largely evacuated city, causing fires. Baruch Hashem no one was injured. Two rockets fired at Nahariya fell into the sea. A woman who was driving as a rocket fell in the Yarka area was lightly injured by shrapnel. A man who was also driving at the time was treated for shock Earlier on Tuesday morning, Hezbollah fired rockets at the Haifa Bay area and the Galil. The IDF’s Homefront Command ordered schools closed in the Jezreel Valley and Carmel areas after previously shutting schools in Haifa and northward. Overnight, Hezbollah fired at the Jezreel Valley and the Lower Galil. Sirens were heard in Afula, Migdal HeEmek, Nof HaGalil, the suburbs of Haifa, and Nahariya. Some of the projectiles were intercepted and others fell in open areas. Two rockets fired at Nahriya fell in the sea. Shrapnel from interceptor missiles fell in Nazareth and the Jezreel Valley, damaging property. B’Chasdei Hashem, no one was directly injured in the attacks but MDA paramedics treated several people who were injured while running to shelters as well as several people who suffered from shock. MDA also reported that one of their ambulances in the Jezreel Valley was hit by shrapnel and damaged. Hezbollah later claimed responsiblity for the overnight attacks, claiming that it fired Fadi 1 and 2 rockets at the Megiddo airport, the Ramat David airbase, and a military supplies factory. Meanwhile, the Israeli Air Force continued their attacks on Lebanon overnight Monday. The IDF announced on Tuesday morning that it struck the launchers used to attack Afula in the Jezreel Valley, destroying them, as well as dozens of Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, including many weapon depots. The IDF reported that in the past day, it targeted about 1,600 Hezbollah terror targets in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley as well as carried out an attempted assassination of senior Hezbollah commander Ali Karaki. On Monday, Israel announced a nationwide state of emergency. (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

This is the Border Czar…

A video of Kamala Harris chanting “Down, Down With Deportation” was resurfaced and shared by The Daily Mail on Monday; the footage is from a 2018 Los Angeles parade.

 

From The Daily Mail:

Harris was named the grand marshal of the 33rd annual parade, typically reserved to celebrate the legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

But leftist political forces used the occasion to celebrate their own political causes, including the ‘Times up!’ movement, featuring women who protested … harassment and discrimination in the workplace.

The topic of immigration enforcement also came up during the parade, prompting Harris to join chants celebrating illegal immigration without consequences.

“Up up with education, down, down with deportation!” Harris chants in the clip.

Disgraced fraudster Jussie Smollett was also at the parade with Harris.

Watch the clip above and below:

 

Iran’s new president accused Israel on Monday of seeking a wider war in the Middle East and laying “traps” to lead his country into a broader conflict. Masoud Pezeshkian told about two dozen media representatives that Iran doesn’t want to see the current war in Gaza and airstrikes across the Israeli-Lebanon border expanded. “We don’t want to fight,” he said. “It’s Israel that wants to drag everyone into war and destabilize the region. … They are dragging us to a point where we do not wish to go.” Pezeshkian won Iran’s July presidential runoff, after the death of the former president in a helicopter crash. He is making his debut on the international stage at this week’s annual gathering of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly, just as Israel steps up attacks on Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. The Iranian leader, who will turn 70 on Sunday, said that while Israel insists it doesn’t want a wider war, its actions show otherwise. Pezeshkian pointed to the deadly explosions of pagers, walkie-talkies and other electronic devices in Lebanon last week, which he blamed on Israel, and the assassination of Hamas’ political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, hours after Pezeshkian’s inauguration. Pezeshkian said the Iranian drone and missile attacks on Israel in April, in response to attack on an Iranian consular building in Syria’s capital that Tehran blamed on Israel, proved its defensive capabilities. He said Iran is not seeking to destabilize the Middle East. “We are willing to put all our weapons aside so long as Israel is willing to do the same,” he said. On Russia and Ukraine Two weeks ago, the United States and Britain formally accused Iran of supplying short-range ballistic missiles to Russia to use against Ukraine and announced new sanctions on Moscow and Tehran before a joint visit to Kyiv by their top diplomats. Pezeshkian insisted that Iran has not and will not supply Russia with ballistic missiles to attack Ukraine. “We have never approved of Russia’s aggression against Ukrainian territory,” he said, adding that the two countries should establish a dialogue. On Iran’s nuclear program The president was asked about Iran’s nuclear program following the Trump administration’s withdrawal from its 2015 nuclear deal with the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. It has seen Tehran expand its uranium enrichment from 3.67% purity under the deal to 60% purity, making many countries in the West nervous that it is seeking to make a nuclear weapon. Would Iran go back to low-enriched uranium and give up its stockpile of high enriched uranium if the nuclear deal is restored? Pezeshkian said weapons of mass destruction have no place in Iran and its military structures. “We are still ready to live up to the same framework” that was agreed on in 2015, he said, but the Europeans tried to get Iran to sign a different accord. He said Iran is willing to sit down with Europeans and Americans to negotiate. On Israel and Gaza Pezeshkian was asked if Iran had advance knowledge of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel that killed about 1,200 people, most of them civilians. “The Americans know, and Israel is very well aware that Iran was not aware,” he replied. Pezeshkian also accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza by attacking […]

Donald Trump is demonstrating strong support among voters in the Sun Belt, many of whom credit the former president and Republican candidate with making positive changes to their lives during his administration.

These voters express concerns that Kamala Harris, the current vice president, may not deliver the same outcomes if she wins the presidential race in November.

A series of fresh polls conducted by The New York Times and Siena College across three critical states shows Trump leading in Arizona and retaining an edge in Georgia—two states that President Joe Biden secured in the 2020 election.

In contrast, Harris is running closely behind Trump in North Carolina, with the results falling within the poll’s margin of error. The state hasn’t supported a Democratic candidate for president since 2008.

In Arizona, Trump holds a 50% to 45% lead over Harris, with a notable 10% of Latino voters remaining undecided.

The survey found that in Georgia, 49% of voters are backing Trump, while 45% favor Harris. North Carolina presents the tightest race, with Trump receiving 49% of the vote and Harris 47%.

Voters in the Sun Belt are not only concerned about their personal situations but also about the direction of the country, with many fearing that the U.S. is on the brink of significant challenges. A notable gap exists between Republicans and Democrats on this issue, with 72% of Republicans believing the nation is at risk of collapse, compared to only 16% of Democrats.

In a reflection of the unpredictability of the presidential race, approximately 15% of voters in Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina remain undecided. The polls show that while these voters leaned toward Harris last month, they now show a slight shift in favor of Trump.

A significant portion of Sun Belt voters, 31%, cited economic issues or inflation as their primary concern, with 55% of this group expressing more confidence in Trump’s ability to address these challenges. Meanwhile, 42% believed Harris would be better suited for the task.

Harris has criticized Trump for his role in appointing the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade—the ruling that had guaranteed the constitutional right to abortion. Despite this, fewer voters identified the issue as their main concern.

Among key issues, abortion and immigration ranked highest, with 16% of likely voters each citing these topics as top priorities. Trump is trusted more on immigration, with 54% backing his stance, compared to 43% who prefer Harris’s approach. However, on the issue of abortion, Harris holds the advantage, with 53% favoring her position over Trump’s 41%.

The margin of error for likely voters across the three states is reported as 2.5 percentage points.

The Arizona poll included responses from 713 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

In Georgia, the poll surveyed 682 registered voters and has a margin of error of 4.6 percentage points.

The North Carolina poll gathered data from 682 registered voters and has a margin of error of 4.2 percentage points.

These polls were conducted between September 17 and September 21.

{Matzav.com}

A frum teenage girl is being hailed as a hero after saving the lives of three college students following a car accident near Ateres Elka in Baltimore on Motzei Shabbos. The incident occurred when the girl, who was driving in the area, noticed a car that had crashed into a cement barrier. Although she initially considered continuing on her way, a strong instinct told her that the situation might be serious. Upon stopping to check on the occupants, three college students in the vehicle assured her that they were fine. However, the quick-thinking teen noticed smoke coming from the car and insisted they exit and seek safety in her vehicle. Just moments after the students left their car, the crashed vehicle burst into flames. The young woman called 911, provided comfort to the shaken students, and eventually drove them back to their dormitory. Her actions not only saved their lives but also serve as an inspiring example of compassion and bravery, creating a tremendous Kiddush Hashem in the process. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Hurricane watches were issued for parts of Cuba and Mexico on Monday as a cluster of storms located south of the Cayman Islands was expected to strengthen into a major hurricane in upcoming days while moving north toward the U.S., forecasters said. The disturbance is forecast to become Hurricane Helene on Wednesday as it approaches the Gulf Coast, according to the National Hurricane Center. “It could certainly become a major hurricane, which is Category 3,” Brad Reinhart, a senior hurricane specialist at the center, said in a phone interview. “People in the Florida Panhandle and the west coast of Florida certainly need to pay close attention.” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 41 counties on Monday as a result of the expected storm. Reinhart said that it’s too early to forecast where it might make landfall. He warned “there’s always some potential” for it to strengthen into a Category 4 storm, but added that it might not be the most likely outcome. He said the disturbance could become a tropical storm by Tuesday, and that tropical storm conditions could affect parts of Florida on Wednesday as it approaches. It could turn into a major hurricane by the time it reaches the northeast Gulf Coast on Thursday. “It’s a pretty aggressive forecast for intensification over the next few days,” he said. “People need to remain on high alert.” Very warm sea temperatures are forecast to fuel formation of a tropical storm, which is forecast to quickly strengthen into a hurricane thanks to favorable conditions that include a moist atmosphere, which supports thunderstorm developments, and light upper-level winds at more than 10,000 feet (around 3,000 meters), Reinhart said. The cluster of storms was located about 105 miles (170 kilometers) southwest of Grand Cayman on Monday. It had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph (55 kph) and was moving north-northwest at 7 mph (11 kph). A hurricane watch was in effect for the Cuban province of Pinar del Rio and eastern Mexico from Cabo Catoche to Tulum. A tropical storm warning was in effect for eastern Mexico from Rio Lagartos to Tulum and for the Cuban provinces of Artemisa, Pinar del Rio and the Isle of Youth. A tropical storm watch was in effect for Florida’s Dry Tortugas and the Lower Keys south of Seven Mile Bridge. “While it is too soon to pinpoint the exact location and magnitude of impacts, the potential for life-threatening storm surge and damaging hurricane-force winds along the coast of the Florida Panhandle and the Florida west coast is increasing,” the center said in a statement. Up to eight inches of rain is forecast for western Cuba and the Cayman Islands with isolated total of some 12 inches (30 centimeters). Up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) of rain is expected for the eastern Yucatán Peninsula, with isolated total of more than 6 inches (15 centimeters) inches. Heavy rainfall also is forecast for the Southeast U.S. starting on Wednesday, threatening flash and river flooding, according to the National Hurricane Center. Up to six inches (15 centimeters) of rain was forecast for the region, with isolated totals of 10 inches (25 centimeters). Meanwhile, up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) of storm surge is forecast for parts of Cuba and Mexico. On Monday, authorities in the Cayman […]

Another Harris flip-flop…

According to an Axios report, Kamala Harris no longer supports using executive actions to grant more than 2 million “Dreamers” a pathway to citizenship and protect 6 million undocumented immigrants from deportation; Harris made the promise in 2019.

 

“Every day in the life of a Dreamer who fears deportation is a long day,” Harris said then. “Dreamers cannot afford to sit around and wait for Congress to get its act together. Their lives are on the line.”

From Axios:

Asked this week whether she’d take those same executive actions, her campaign declined to answer.

Spokesperson Ian Sams said: “The vice president has fought for Dreamers throughout her career and is proud of the actions taken under her and President Biden to expand protections for them, including the executive action President Biden took this year, which she supported.”

State of play: Harris proposed putting Dreamers on a path to a green card by, among other things, granting work authorizations, using certain parole powers and waiving rules barring people from returning to the U.S. if they leave to apply for a green card in a U.S. consulate abroad.

In June, Biden used the same “parole in place” power to try to give people married to U.S. citizens a path to citizenship if they had been in the country for 10 years. It’s being challenged in court.

In 2019, Harris also vowed to expand “deferred action” programs that protect select groups of undocumented immigrants from deportation and prioritize deporting other groups such as those who’ve committed crimes.

Her campaign estimated the plan would protect more than 6 million people from deportation, such as the parents of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents.

Asked if she had time for a brief interview to discuss her Dreamers policy, Harris’ campaign declined to make her available.

More over at Axios:

{Matzav.com}

Television anchor Chris Cuomo ripped into Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for her remarks condemning Israel’s use of explosive devices hidden in pagers to target Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon and “clearly and unequivocally violat[ing] international humanitarian law.” On his primetime show on the NewsNation cable channel, Cuomo fired back at the progressive Democrat, questioning why she focused on Israel’s actions without acknowledging Hezbollah’s role as a terrorist organization. “Why don’t you mention the pagers were on members of a terrorist organization that is committed to destroying Israel?” Cuomo asked. “Would you have been defending al Qaeda when America was lighting them up in Iraq?” Ocasio-Cortez responded by pointing out that civilian casualties had resulted from the attack, including a 9-year-old Lebanese girl who was killed. “What did the 9-year-old girl who was killed do to deserve that, Chris?” she wrote. She went on to criticize Cuomo for implying that questioning military tactics, particularly when they lead to civilian deaths, equates to siding with terrorists. “Insinuating that anyone who questions how operations unfold, including civilian casualties, is siding with terrorists is a deeply ugly rearing of our past,” Ocasio-Cortez stated. Cuomo addressed her criticism on his show, maintaining that Ocasio-Cortez was wrong to suggest Israel’s actions violated international laws, particularly U.S. regulations regarding the use of explosives. “One, Israel is not one of the United States, so they don’t follow our laws or rules,” Cuomo argued. “Second, if the representative was suggesting by that comparison that the United States should therefore not support Israel, good luck with that.” Cuomo added that while the Pentagon’s Law of War Manual prohibits the “indiscriminate” use of booby traps, Israel’s tactics were justified because they were defending themselves from a group of “bloodthirsty terrorists.” He then questioned Ocasio-Cortez’s understanding of the situation. “Did she not read that part because she’s not a lawyer or not thorough, or did she intentionally not want to be fair?” Cuomo further criticized Ocasio-Cortez’s response to the recent vandalism of her office, where protesters left blood-splattered signs accusing her of supporting terrorism. Ocasio-Cortez commented on X that she doesn’t “take well to bullies,” but Cuomo noted that she remained silent on other threats, including bomb threats made against Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump. “Clearly, she does not value her opponents as humans the way she does herself,” Cuomo concluded. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)

Magistrate Judge Ryon McCabe granted the government’s request to detain would-be Trump assassin Ryan Wesley Routh on Monday pending the resolution of charges related to the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

Routh has been charged federally with possessing a gun with a scratched-out number and with possessing a gun illegally as a felon, though more serious charges are likely pending, Fox reports.

 

Donald Trump released an official statement on Monday, accusing the DOJ and FBI of “mishandling” and “downplaying” the assassination attempt.

Read Trump’s statement below:

The Kamala Harris/Joe Biden Department of Justice and FBI are mishandling and downplaying the second assassination attempt on my life since July. The charges brought against the maniac assassin are a slap on the wrist. It’s no wonder, since the DOJ and FBI have been coming after me nonstop with Weaponized Lawfare since I announced my first Historic Campaign for the Presidency.

From Russia, Russia, Russia, Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, Iran, Iran, Iran, Impeachment Hoax Number One, Impeachment Hoax Number Two, to the Lawless Documents Hoax brought after an Illegal and unConstitutional Raid of my home, on which I am suing the DOJ for their wrongful acts, to the January 6th Hoax in Washington, D.C., where the J6 Unselect Committee illegally deleted and destroyed all Documents, the Manhattan D.A.’s Zombie Case, the New York A.G. Scam, illegally Spying on my Campaign, to censoring the Hunter Biden Laptop from Hell, which was criminally led by the fake 51 Intelligence Officials who lied and claimed it was “Russian Interference and Disinformation,” while the Laptop was, in fact, Hunter Biden – Not Russia, and exposed Crooked Joe and his family for their decades of grift – and many lawless, Radical attacks against their Political Opponent, ME. 

The DOJ and FBI have a Conflict of Interest since they have been obsessed with “Getting Trump” for so long. It’s very difficult to trust the Biden/Harris DOJ/FBI to investigate the assassination attempts, due to Election Interference and the FAKE CASES brought against me, including their control over local D.A.s and A.G.s. Shockingly, after the bullet went through my ear on that fateful day in Butler, Pennsylvania, the FBI Director went before Congress and falsely said that it may not have been a bullet, “It was just glass or shrapnel” – a lie condemned by even my worst enemies. What he said was disgraceful, especially since it was witnessed LIVE by millions of people, and he was forced to immediately retract.

If the DOJ and FBI cannot do their job honestly and without bias, and hold the aspiring assassin responsible to the full extent of the Law, Governor Ron DeSantis and the State of Florida have already agreed to take the lead on the investigation and prosecution. Florida charges would be much more serious than the ones the FBI has announced. The TRUTH would be followed, wherever it leads. OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM IS CORRUPT AND DISCREDITED, especially as it pertains to the 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. LET FLORIDA HANDLE THE CASE!

Governor Ron DeSantis confirmed last week that Florida would be conducting its own investigation into the Routh’s assassination attempt and that the death penalty may be warranted.

“In my judgment, it’s not in the best interest of our state or our nation to have the same federal agencies that are seeking to prosecute Donald Trump leading this investigation, especially when the most serious straightforward offense constitutes a violation of state law but not federal law,” DeSantis said. “In addition to holding the suspect accountable, the public deserves to know the truth about how this assassination came to be, and I have directed all state agencies to work expeditiously to be able to uncover the truth in addition to holding this suspect accountable.”

“So, they cannot pursue charges to the extent that we can, and yes, I do think that there’s a lot of concern about how these agencies have operated, and the state of Florida, for us, all we’re interested in is the truth,” DeSantis said. “We’re not involved in any of those other things that the Justice Department or the FBI have been involved in. So, it’s better for the public, and it’s better for justice.”

{Matzav.com}

Violent crime in the U.S. dropped in 2023, according to FBI statistics that show a continued trend downward after a coronavirus pandemic-era crime spike. Overall violent crime declined an estimated 3% in 2023 from the year before, according to the FBI report Monday. Murders and non-negligent manslaughter dropped nearly 12%. Violent crime has become a focal point in the 2024 presidential race, with former President Donald Trump recently claiming that crime is “through the roof” under President Joe Biden’s administration. Even with the 2020 pandemic surge, violent crime is down dramatically from the 1990s. Here’s what to know about the FBI’s report and the state of crime in the U.S.: The numbers Crime surged during the coronavirus pandemic, with homicides increasing nearly 30% in 2020 over the previous year — the largest one-year jump since the FBI began keeping records. The rise defied easy explanation, though experts said possible contributors included the massive disruption of the pandemic, gun violence, worries about the economy and intense stress. Violent crime across the U.S. dipped to near pre-pandemic levels in 2022, according to the FBI’s data. It continued to tick down last year, with the rate falling from about 377 violent crimes per 100,000 people to in 2022 to about 364 per 100,000 people in 2023. That’s just slightly higher than the 2019 rate, according to Deputy Assistant Director Brian Griffith of the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division. “Are we looking at crime rates at a return to pre-pandemic levels? I think a reasonable person would look at that and say, ‘Yes, that’s what has happened,’” Griffith said in an interview with The Associated Press. Law enforcement agencies in the biggest municipalities in the U.S. — communities with at least 1,000,000 people — showed the biggest drop in violent crime last year — nearly 7%. Agencies in communities between 250,000 and 499,999 people reported a slight increase — 0.3%— between 2022 and 2023. Aggravated assault decreased nearly 3%. Overall property crime decreased more than 2%, but motor vehicle theft shot up nearly 13%. The motor vehicle theft rate — nearly 319 per 100,000 people — was the highest last year since 2007. The limitations of the FBI’s data The FBI collects data through its Uniform Crime Reporting Program, and not all law enforcement agencies in the U.S. participate. The 2023 report is based on data from more than 16,000 agencies, or more than 85 percent of those agencies in the FBI’s program. The agencies included in the report protect nearly 316 million people across the U.S. And every agency with at least 1 million people in its jurisdiction provided a full year of data to the FBI, according to the report. “What you’re not seeing in that number are a lot of very small agencies,” Griffith said. Other crime reports The FBI’s report is in line with the findings of the nonpartisan Council on Criminal Justice, which earlier this year analyzed crimes rates across 39 U.S cities, and found that most violent crimes are at or below 2019 levels. That group found there were 13 percent fewer homicides across 29 cities that provided data during the first half of 2024 compared the same period the year before. On the campaign trail, Trump has cited another recent Justice Department survey to suggest the crime is out of control under the […]