Monday, October 2, 2023

10/2 WAKE-UP CALL: Gaetz Gets In McCarthy's Face

Gaetz and McCarthy
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy faced a direct threat to his leadership a day after crafting a deal to avoid a government shutdown, as his most prominent Republican critic said he would seek to oust him from the post. The challenge Sunday from Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.) sets up an unpredictable and fast-paced political fight in the Capitol this week between McCarthy and a band of GOP rebels who have threatened for months to topple him if he brought up legislation that required Democratic support to pass. McCarthy, having gotten Democrats to support his short-term funding bill, may need their help again to remain in his post.

In stunning weekend developments, McCarthy pushed aside Gaetz and other GOP hard-liners, opting instead to pass bipartisan legislation funding the government through mid-November, with the support of more than half of Republicans and all but one Democrat. 

➤BIDEN 'SICK AND TIRED': U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday pressed congressional Republicans to back a bill to provide more aid to Ukraine, saying he was "sick and tired" of the political brinkmanship that nearly led to a government shutdown. Biden spoke after Congress passed a stopgap bill on Saturday that extended government funding for more than a month and avoided a shutdown that would have left most of the federal government's more than 4 million employees without a paycheck and cut a wide range of services. 

The bill, which passed with broad Democratic and Republican support, sparked hardline Republican Matt Gaetz to pledge to oust the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy. The bill, which lasts through Nov. 17, did not include aid for Kyiv. The United States has been a major supporter of Ukraine after Russia invaded it last year, and Biden has sought to rally the world, as well as his own country, to maintain that support.

➤MOMENT OF PANIC: AOC told CNN 's Jake Tapper on Sunday that Bowman's actions occurred in a 'moment of panic,' exacerbated by the pressure and chaos of attempting to avert a government shutdown - which Congress successfully did late on Saturday. 'I think there's something to be said that the government's about to shut down, there's a vote clock that's going down, the exits that are normally open in that building were suddenly closed,' said Ocasio-Cortez. Tapper responded, 'So he pulled the fire alarm?'

➤NEWSOM FILLS SENATE SEAT: California Gov. Gavin Newsom has chosen Laphonza Butler, the president of EMILY’s List, to fill the seat of the late Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the governor’s office confirmed to NBC News. Feinstein, the longest-serving woman in the Senate, died Thursday at the age of 90. In California, the governor has the power to appoint a senator to serve until the next regularly scheduled statewide general election. That means that Butler will serve until the next senator, whom voters will choose in the November 2024 election, is sworn in. Butler has led EMILY’s List, which works to elect Democratic women, since 2021, when she became the first Black woman to lead the organization. On Friday, she posted a tribute to Feinstein on social media, calling her “a titan in the Senate” and “a legendary figure for women in politics and around the country.”


➤BORDER IS A SIEVE: More than 200,000 migrants have been processed crossing illegally into the U.S. for September quantifying the gravity of the border crisis the Biden administration is struggling to contain. Preliminary data obtained by CBS News found Border Patrol agents last month recorded an estimated 210,000 apprehensions - the third highest number on record. The colossal numbers signified migrants entering the U.S. without authorization in between official ports of entry along the Mexican border and was a sizeable increase from the 181,000 recorded in August, the outlet reported.

➤PUTIN'S TOP ALLY DMITRY MEDVEDEV WARNS OF WORLD WAR 3: Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has issued a threat, stating that any British soldiers training Ukrainian forces inside Ukraine would be legitimate targets for Russian forces and would be "ruthlessly destroyed." According to The U.S. Sun, this threat comes in response to British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps considering deploying UK troops to train soldiers in Ukraine. Medvedev's comments have raised concerns about escalating tensions between Russia and Western nations, including the risk of military conflicts and the potential for a nuclear war. More than 20,000 recruits from Ukraine have received training in the UK since the start of 2022. However, Nato members have avoided training programs in Ukraine due to the risk of personnel being targeted by Russia.

➤TURKEY STRIKES SUSPECTED KURDISH MILITANT TARGETS IN NORTHERN IRAQ AFTER SUICIDE ATTACK IN ANKARA: Turkish warplanes carried out airstrikes on suspected Kurdish militant targets in northern Iraq on Sunday following a suicide attack on a government building in the Turkish capital, Turkey's defense ministry announced. Some 20 targets of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, were “destroyed” in the latest aerial operation, including caves, shelters and depots, the ministry said, adding that a large number of PKK operatives were “neutralized” in the strikes. Earlier on Sunday, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device near an entrance of the Interior Ministry, wounding two police officers. A second assailant was killed in a shootout with police.

➤AT LEAST 13 DEAD IN SPAIN NIGHTCLUB FIRE: At least 13 people were killed and several others were injured when a fire early Sunday ripped through adjoining nightclubs in Spain, authorities said. Search-and-rescue crews are still looking for people unaccounted for in the blaze in the town of Murcia in southern Spain, officials said. Diego Seral, a spokesperson for the Spanish National Police, told reporters that the bodies of those who died were recovered from the Fonda nightclub, one of three adjoining clubs, which sustained the majority of fire damage.

➤MEXICO CHURCH ROOF COLLAPSES DURING MASS, INJURING AND TRAPPING PARISHIONERS: A Ciudad Madero, Mexico church’s roof collapsed on Sunday, reportedly injuring 100 people and trapping 30, including children, according to reports. The church is located in northern Mexico, and the roof collapsed during a Mass. Bishop José Armando Alvarez of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tampico said the roof caved in while communion was taking place at the Santa Cruz church in Ciudad Madero, next to the port city of Tampico.

🏈NFL SNF CHIEFS 23 JETS 20:  Isiah Pacheco accounted for a career-best 158 total yards and scored on a long run to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to a 23-20 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday night at East Rutherford, N.J. Patrick Mahomes passed for 203 yards and threw a touchdown pass to Noah Gray as the Chiefs (3-1) prevailed despite blowing a 17-point first-quarter lead. Pacheco rushed for 115 yards on 20 carries and caught three passes for 43 yards. Harrison Butker kicked three field goals for Kansas City, including a 26-yarder that gave the Chiefs a 23-20 lead with 10:51 left in the game. Zach Wilson was 28-of-39 passing for 245 yards and two touchdowns for the Jets while once again starting in place of injured Aaron Rodgers. Allen Lazard and C.J. Uzomah caught scoring passes for New York (1-3).

🏈NFL SCORES:

  • Buccaneers 26 Saints 9
  • Eagles 34 Commanders 31
  • Lions 34 Packers 20
  • Jaguars 23 Falcons 7
  • Bills 48 Dolphins 20
  • Broncos 31 Bears 28
  • Ravens 28 Browns 3
  • Titans 27 Bengals 3
  • Rams 29 Colts 23
  • Vikings 21 Panthers 13
  • Texans 30 Steelers 6
  • Chargers 24 Raiders 17
  • Cowboys  38  Patriots 3
  • 49ers 35  Cardinals 16

MNF: Seahawks At Giants ABC

🏈MANY FANS NOT HAPPY WITH SWIFT: Pop megastar Taylor Swift was just a spectator on Sunday at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium, where she performed three sold-out concerts in May for more than 217,000 fans, but she was still the star of the show as she watched her rumored beau, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, face the New York Jets. With several celebrity friends joining her - including actors Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively and Hugh Jackman - the singer saw the defending champion Chiefs eke out a 23-20 victory.

Swift's attendance at the Chiefs' last two games - last week, she joined Kelce's mom, Donna, in Missouri to watch the Chiefs beat the Bears - has sent the National Football League's ticket sales and television viewership soaring . NBC's cameras did not show Swift quite as often as last week's broadcast did, but viewers got plenty of glimpses of her high above the field in a luxury suite. As the Chiefs scored the first touchdown of the game - running back Isaiah Pacheco, not Kelce, crossed the goal line - the network panned to Swift hugging companions in celebration.

⚾MLB ASTROS 8 D-BACKS 1: Behind home runs by Alex Bregman and Jose Abreu, the Houston Astros claimed the American League West title with their 8-1 victory Sunday over the Arizona Diamondbacks in a completion of a three-game sweep in Phoenix to conclude the regular season. The win by Houston (90-72) matched with the Texas Rangers' 1-0 loss at the Seattle Mariners gave the Astros the AL West championship. The Rangers are also 90-72 but the Astros won the season series 9-4 between the teams.

⚾MLB SCORES:

  • Rays 12 Blue Jays 8
  • Royals 5 Yankees 2
  • Phillies 9 Mets 1
  • Red sox 6 Orioles 1
  • Pirates 3 Marlins 0
  • Dodgers 5 Giants 2
  • Angels 7 Athletics 3
  • Padrds 2 White Sox 1
  • Tigers 5 Guardians 2
  • Brewers 4 Cubs 0
  • Mariner 1 Rangers 0
  • Nationals 10 Braves 9
  • Rockies 4 Twins 2
  • Cardinals 4 Reds 3

✞BASEBALL'S TIM WAKEFIELD DIES: Tim Wakefield, a longtime knuckleball pitcher and two-time World Series champion, died Sunday at the age of 57 from brain cancer, the Boston Red Sox announced. "Our hearts are broken with the loss of Tim Wakefield," the Red Sox said on social media. "Wake embodied true goodness; a devoted husband, father, and teammate, beloved broadcaster, and the ultimate community leader. He gave so much to the game and all of Red Sox Nation."


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