Tuesday, September 24, 2024

September 24, 2024

Good morning,

Welcome to the news for independent thinkers

Leading the News . . .

Trump urged use of troops to protect Capitol on Jan. 6 but was rebuffed . . . Then-President Donald Trump gave clear instructions to Pentagon brass days before the Jan. 6 riots to "do whatever it takes" to keep the U.S. Capitol safe, including deploying National Guard or active-duty troops, but top officials did not comply because of political concerns, according to transcripts of bombshell interviews conducted by the Defense Department's chief watchdog that shine new light on government disfunction ahead of the historic tragedy. Gen. Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff, confirmed to the Pentagon inspector general three years ago that during a Jan. 3, 2021, Oval Office meeting Trump pre-approved the use of National Guard or active duty troops to keep peace in the nation's capital on the day Congress was to certify the results of the 2020 election. Just the News

So he both sought a takeover of the Capitol and sought to defend it? Can't be both.

Politics

Harris to visit the border . . . Vice President Kamala Harris is planning to visit the U.S.-Mexico border on Friday during a trip to Arizona, according to two people briefed on the preparations, as she seeks to counter former President Donald J. Trump's advantage with voters on the issue of immigration. The trip is set to be her first visit to the southern border since President Biden dropped out of the race. Ms. Harris may give remarks about border issues during the visit. New York Times

Trump threatens 200% tariffs on John Deere if production moved to Mexico . . . At a campaign event in Pennsylvania Monday the Republican presidential nominee said, if he were elected, Deere would face tariffs of 200% if it sold made-in-Mexico equipment previously made in the U.S. Trump said that Deere is moving a majority of its production to the country, a point which the company disputed. The Illinois-based company in June said it would move production of some models of small and medium-size construction loaders to its plant in Mexico from Dubuque, Iowa. Wall Street Journal

Pressure grows on Trump to accept a second debate with Harris . . . The pressure is on former President Trump to debate Vice President Harris again now that she has accepted a CNN invite for an October match-up, with Republicans encouraging him to go up against her a second time. Republicans argue that Trump can have a better, more disciplined performance a second time. Strategists say the former president has nothing to lose by partaking in another debate, particularly after Harris's performance did little to move the needle in a race largely seen as a dead heat. The Hill

Jewish voters stick with Democrat Harris despite left's growing hostility toward Israel . . . Jewish Americans have long represented a faithful Democratic voting bloc, and the progressive wing's unabashed antagonism toward Israel hasn't changed that.A Pew Research poll on the preferences of U.S. religious voters released this week found that 65% of Jewish respondents plan to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris, while 34% back former President Donald Trump in the Nov. 5 presidential election. Washington Times

Arizona Democratic Senate candidate announced engagement after getting married . . . Rep. Ruben Gallego (D., Ariz.) declared himself "the happiest man in the world" in February 2020 after his then-girlfriend, real estate lobbyist Sydney Barron, accepted his marriage proposal. "She said yes!! Thank you Sydney for being my forever!" Gallego wrote on social media on Feb. 15, 2020. In reality, though, records show that the two were already married. A Washington, D.C., marriage license indicates that Gallego and Barron tied the knot in December 2019 at the swanky National Gallery of Art. Washington Free Beacon

Marland Democratic Senate candidate took improper tax breaks . . . Since 2005, Angela Alsobrooks has avoided paying her fair share in taxes on two properties she owns by claiming various exemptions for which she wasn't eligible, CNN reported on Sunday. Alsobrooks has been registered to vote in Prince George's County, Md., since 1995, but that didn't stop her from shaving $14,000 from the property taxes on her home in northeast Washington, D.C., between 2005 and 2017 by improperly claiming an exemption meant only for primary residents of the district. Washington Free Beacon

Biden to deliver final UN address in shadow of foreign policy setbacks . . .Biden first addressed the U.N. as president in 2021, months after his chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. In 2022, he spoke to the body after Russia invaded Ukraine. His remarks in 2023 came after China flew a surveillance balloon across the country, challenging America's supremacy over its own skies. Now, in 2024, his appearance coincides with an escalation in violence in the Middle East. Washington Examiner

Culture

Pro-police coffee shop owner wins $4M in free speech suit against university officials . . . The suit claims Big City Coffee closed its Boise State University location after student backlash, retaliation by school administrators The jury awarded Big City Coffee owner Sarah Fendley $3 million for lost business, reputational damage, mental and emotional distress and personal humiliation, in a decision reached Sept. 13. Jurors awarded her an additional $1 million in punitive damages from the school's former vice president of student affairs. Fox News

National Security

Kids as young as 8 trafficked into US by smugglers posing as their parents . . . Border Patrol agents are warning that kids as young as 8 are being drugged and smuggled into the US by people traffickers posing as their parents or family members. Authorities have rescued children caught up in two different instances of such smuggling in recent weeks — including one instance where the alleged traffickers had birth certificates for multiple kids who they weren't related to, according to the Border Patrol. New York Post

International

Zelensky calls Vance 'too radical,' suggests he study World War II . . . Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a new interview with The New Yorker that Ohio Sen. JD Vance (R), the Republican nominee for vice president, "is too radical." In the interview, Zelensky said Vance's "message seems to be that Ukraine must make a sacrifice." "The idea that the world should end this war at Ukraine's expense is unacceptable," the Ukrainian president continued. Vance has previously raised doubt that the U.S. can continue providing military support to Ukraine. Vance has also pushed for engagement with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the past for "America's interests." The Hill

Jumping into the US election is a bad move.

Vast Hezbollah arsenal awaits Israel if it invades . . . Israel launched devastating attacks on Hezbollah in recent days with airstrikes and remote-control explosions that put the Lebanese militant group on the defensive and demonstrated Israel's vast superiority in intelligence gathering and technology. A ground war between the two, if it occurs, would likely be a different story. Hezbollah has kept in reserve a massive arsenal of rockets, drones and antitank missiles that it can deploy to counter Israeli advances. Wall Street Journal

It appears Israel is softening Hezbollah up as a prelude to an invasion.

Argentian scraps rental controls, and market thrives . . . For years, Argentina imposed one of the world's strictest rent-control laws. It was meant to keep homes such as the stately belle epoque apartments of Buenos Aires affordable, but instead, officials here say, rents soared. Now, the country's new president, Javier Milei, has scrapped the rental law, along with most government price controls, in a fiscal experiment that he is conducting to revive South America's second-biggest economy. The result: The Argentine capital is undergoing a rental-market boom. Wall Street Jounral

Money

Dockworker strike could upend economy and election . . . The International Longshoremen's Association, which represents about 85,000 dock workers nationwide, is threatening to strike on October 1 if the union cannot reach an agreement with port ownership. A strike would shut down five of North America's 10 busiest ports, 36 ports total along the East and Gulf Coasts, and cause massive supply chain issues — which, depending on how long the strike lasts, could impact consumers past Election Day and well into the holiday season. Daily Wire

You should also know

Would-be Trump assassin leaves manifesto, offers $150K for someone to 'complete the job' . . . The man accused of attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump on his golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida, left a handwritten manifesto confessing to the plot and offering money for someone else to finish the job if he failed. "This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump but I failed you," the manifesto said, according to a court filing by prosecutors. "I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job." Washington Times

Migrant crime crisis comes to Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, playgrounds for rich and famous . . . Over the last month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has made at least six arrests on the islands as part of a larger operation to detain illegal immigrant suspects accused of particularly egregious crimes in the beach towns favored by the Biden and Obama families. Fox News

Guilty Pleasures

Man who lived as a goat explains why and says it was a 'special kind of time' . . . A man has been describing how he was so stressed with his daily life that he decided to live as a goat. Known as "goat man", Thomas Thwaites, has written about his unusual lifestyle choice in a book, GoatMan: How I Took A Holiday From Being a Human . Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, the 34-year-old said he made the decision after dog-sitting his niece's "happy, joyous" dog, when he thought "wouldn't it be nice to just have a break from all of this stress." Independent

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