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Thursday, October 12, 2023

10/12 WAKE-UP CALL: TWH Walks-Back Biden Claim

NY Post 10/12/23

President Biden said Wednesday that he has seen “confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children” in southern Israel following reports that up to 40 babies were butchered over the weekend near the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip  – but the White House later walked back the commander in chief’s claim. “I never really thought that I would see and have confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children. I never thought I’d ever — anyway,” Biden, 80, told leaders of Jewish groups at the White House Wednesday.

But neither the president nor US officials have seen images or independently confirmed reports of beheaded children, a White House spokesperson later clarified, according to the Washington Post.  The White House says that Biden based his remark on claims made by a spokesman for Israel’s prime minister and media reports coming out of the Jewish state.

The sickening reports emerged Tuesday as the Israeli military offered journalists tours of areas ravaged by Hamas’ Saturday morning surprise attack, which left more than 1,200 civilians and Israeli troops dead and about 150 believed abducted — with at least 22 Americans dead and 17 others still unaccounted for. A senior White House national security aide told reporters immediately following the event that he had not seen the images to which Biden was referring.

➤P-M VOWS TERRORISTS WILL BE DESTROYED:  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed his country late Wednesday night, as Israel continues fighting against Hamas terrorist attacks that began on Saturday. At least 1,200 Israelis have died since the surprise attack began on Simchat Torah, a Jewish holiday. Most of the deaths were civilians. "We are dealing with it an enemy that is cruel and worse than ISIS," the prime minister explained. "We saw children, boys and girls who were shot in their heads. Men and women who were burned alive. Young women who were raped and slaughtered, children whose heads were cut were decapitated." "We are fighting with all our strength on all fronts," he said later in his speech. "We have moved over to the offense. Every Hamas member will be destroyed...They are ISIS, they will be destroyed."

➤ISRAEL POUNDS GAZA WITH AIRSTRIKES:  Desperation swept across Gaza as Israeli rockets smashed into neighborhoods for a fifth day Wednesday, destroying homes and infrastructure in response to the brutal attack by Hamas. The American death toll rose to 22 and Israeli fatalities surpassed 1,200 Wednesday as Israeli soldiers retaking communities near the Gaza border encountered streets littered with the bodies of civilians, including women and children. Palestinian officials say more than 1,100 people in Gaza have been killed and more than 5,000 wounded. An estimated 250,000 people have fled their Gaza homes, with most taking shelter in packed U.N. schools.

➤THIS ISN'T 'FREEDOM FIGHTING': An Israeli woman talked to Fox News Digital about the traumatic experience she had being trapped in a bomb shelter for 36 hours during a Hamas terrorist attack. Sderot resident Sabina Elayev, 31, woke in the middle of the night on Saturday and heard Hamas terrorists shooting her neighbors outside. "Whole families were disappeared, and during this whole time, you just sit in the shelter waiting for someone to tell you it’s over, and it’s not over," she explained. "Every gunshot … it’s a person killed, murdered, butchered."

Elayev found her niece and the two women raced to their bomb shelter. They expected to stay for a few minutes, but they ended up waiting in the bunker for 36 hours. "Not even in the worst dream we would imagine terrorists will come to the city," she said. "Dancing on bodies, parading them, kidnapping kids, how can you look a person in the eye and just shoot them dead?"

"Why would they hate us so much?" Elayev added. "This isn't freedom fighting."

➤REALITY LESSON FOR IVY LEAGUE STUDENTS: A flurry of Harvard University students and groups are desperately trying to backtrack on their support of a letter blaming Israel for the mass slaughter of its own people by Hamas terrorists — as some business titans seek to blacklist them from future jobs. Four of the initial 34 student organizations attached to the inflammatory statement have already withdrawn their support — while board members of other groups have quit to distance themselves. Late Tuesday, 17 other Harvard groups joined around 500 faculty and staff and 3,000 others in signing a counter-statement attacking the other groups’ letter as “completely wrong and deeply offensive,” according to the campus paper, the Harvard Crimson. A third letter from nearly 160 faculty members also ripped Harvard’s response to the scandal, writing that it “can be seen as nothing less than condoning the mass murder of civilians based only on their nationality.” Others in groups supporting the initial letter — which held “the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence” — quit while distancing themselves from any involvement.



🎒STUDENT TEST SCORES HIT NEW LOW: The high school class of 2023 has turned in its worst performance on standard academic testing in more than 30 years, according to data released yesterday. The ACT, or American College Testing, exam is used to judge a student’s readiness for college-level material in English, math, reading, and science. American high school seniors averaged a score of 19.5 out of 36, the lowest since at least 1991. Last year’s average was 19.8, the previous low point. Many educators blame the slide on the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced schools to move to remote learning.

➤TRUMP'S GUY LOSES: House Republicans nominated Rep. Steve Scalise as speaker. They voted 113-99 to select the current majority leader over Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, a Donald Trump-backed conservative who chairs the Judiciary Committee. Scalise now has to secure enough votes to win on the House floor; the GOP has a thin majority in the House: 221-212. The Louisianan’s narrow victory could lead to a replay of the 15-vote marathon needed to land California’s Kevin McCarthy the job, along with promises to the party’s hard-right wing. Democrats are all expected to vote for their leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

💸WE HAVE A WINNER: The Powerball jackpot-winning ticket worth $1.76 billion, the game’s second-largest prize, was sold in California Wednesday night. The winning numbers were 22, 24, 40, 52, 64, and the red Powerball 10.

It is the fifth time that the lottery’s jackpot was won this year. The life-changing ticket was sold at Midway Market & Liquors in Frazier Park, Calif., located 75 miles north of Los Angeles. Seven people — California (2), Florida (2), New York, Oklahoma and Virginia — won $1 million when they correctly guessed each of the white balls. The last winning Powerball ticket was sold on July 19 for a grand prize of $1.08 billion to an unidentified individual in California. The newest jackpot winner could either receive the estimated $1.76 billion jackpot in 30 incremental payments over 29 years or outright claim a $774.1 million cash prize.

⚾MLB D-BACKS  4 DODGERS 2:  Arizona became the first team ever to hit four home runs in one inning of a postseason game, and they finished off the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 in Game 3 for a sweep of the best-of-five National League Division Series. The D-backs continued their improbable yet impressive run through the playoffs. They began with a two-game sweep in the best-of-three wild-card series against the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers before knocking out the NL West champion Dodgers in the best-of-five divisional round.

⚾MLB ASTROS 3 TWINS 2: Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker had one thing on his mind when he arrived at Target Field on Wednesday. Finish the job today, Baker thought. Don't leave it up to a winner-take-all Game 5 against the feisty Minnesota Twins. Baker got his wish, as the Astros held on for a 3-2 win over the Twins to clinch the American League Division Series in four games. "They played us tough," Baker said. "We had to do everything we could to try to win that game today, and we really wanted it, especially because you don't want to go back home to play that fifth game if you don't have to."

⚾MLB PHILLIES 10 BRAVES 2:  historic power display has the Philadelphia Phillies on the brink of a return to the National League Championship Series. Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos each clubbed two home runs and the Phillies defeated the Atlanta Braves 10-2 on Wednesday, bringing Philadelphia one win away from eliminating its division rivals in the NL Division Series for the second straight season. Trea Turner and Brandon Marsh also homered and Aaron Nola (2-0) struck out nine over 5 2/3 innings as the Phillies captured Game 3 for a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. Game 4 is set for Thursday night in Philadelphia.      

🏈TRAVIS KELCE IS A MAYBE FOR TONIGHT’S GAME: Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce may or may not play in tonight’s game against the Denver Broncos. He’s on the injured list after an ankle-twisting slip on the turf during the team’s winning game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.



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