Friday, October 20, 2023

10/20 WAKE-UP CALL: Biden Reports To The Nation

  • 21 Palestinians killed in air strikes in Khan Younis - Hamas
  • Biden stresses need for U.S. to support Israel
  • Death toll rises in West Bank, Lebanon amid fears of wider war
  • U.S. says its ship shoots down missiles fired from Yemen toward Israel

U.S. President Joe Biden asked Americans to spend billions more dollars to help Israel fight Hamas while Israel's defence chief told his troops to be ready to go into the Gaza Strip to destroy the Palestinian militant group. In a televised White House speech late on Thursday that also addressed Ukraine's effort to repel Russia's invasion, Biden said Hamas sought to "annihilate" Israel's democracy. The president also stressed the urgency of getting relief to Palestinian civilians in Gaza who lack food, water and medicine. "We can't ignore the humanity of innocent Palestinians who only want to live in peace and have opportunity," said Biden, who visited Israel on Wednesday. Israel appeared to be getting closer to a full-scale invasion of Gaza, a densely populated enclave ruled by Hamas. The Israeli military has massed troops and equipment near the Gaza border. "You see Gaza now from a distance, you will soon see it from inside. The command will come," Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told troops gathered at the Gaza border on Thursday.

➤HOSPITAL DEATH TOLL LOWERED: An explosion at a Greek Orthodox church in Gaza City late Thursday resulted in casualties and injuries along with displacing Palestinians who were taking refuge there.  Mohammed Abu Selmia, director general of Shifa Hospital, told The Associated Press that dozens were wounded at the Church of Saint Porphyrios but could not give a precise death toll because bodies were still under the rubble. The Holy Orthodox Order of the Holy Great Martyr George confirmed the bombing, adding that more than 500 people were being housed at the church and monastery. "The bombs hit the two church halls where the refugees, including children and babies, were sleeping. Presently, survivors are searching the rubble for other casualties," the order said in a statement Thursday.  The blast comes after an explosion Tuesday that rocked the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, in whose compound many Palestinians had been seeking refuge from the persistent Israeli bombardment. According to a preliminary U.S. intelligence analysis, the death toll was on the "low end" of 100 to 300.

➤AID ON THE WAY: The U.N. and world leaders were pushing to get immediate aid into the Gaza Strip as the humanitarian crisis worsens. Two million Palestinians are trying to flee Israeli airstrikes and struggling to find food, water and fuel. More than 3,785 people have been killed in the enclave in the past two weeks, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, after the Israeli military directed residents in the north to move to the south. Israel’s near-total siege was a response to an Oct. 7 attack during which Hamas militants killed at least 1,400 Israelis and took hundreds of hostages. President Biden said that a U.S.-secured deal with Egypt and Israel will send 20 trucks of supplies into Gaza as soon as tomorrow. The effort comes as Israel’s defense minister said a ground assault on the enclave could be imminent. Thousands of airstrikes—targeting Hamas’s leaders, special forces and strategic assets, including intelligence posts and an underground tunnel network—are part of a plan to weaken the U.S.-designated terror group before sending in Israeli troops.

➤POWELL ACCEPTS PLEA DEAL: Sidney Powell accepted a plea deal in a Georgia case stemming from efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Donald Trump’s former legal adviser pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in exchange for no jail time and an agreement to testify for the prosecution. The former president and more than a dozen others are defendants. Powell admitted in open court that she had orchestrated a scheme to access voting equipment in rural Coffee County in hopes of substantiating conspiracy theories that voting machines were flipping votes. The development represented a significant win for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is trying to pit defendants against each other.

➤JORDAN: THIRD TIME THE CHARM?:  Rep. Jim Jordan is planning a third floor vote for House speaker. The Ohio Republican said that he first wanted to talk to the GOP lawmakers who voted against him. Rank-and-file Republican members are losing patience with Jordan after losses on two consecutive ballots. Conservatives opposed a proposal to grant extra powers to Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry. That plan would have given Jordan months to build support for his bid while allowing the House to go ahead with votes expected on Israel and Ukraine aid and crucial government funding. The speaker post opened up two weeks ago, when Kevin McCarthy of California was ousted.


➤RUSSIA DETAINS ANOTHER U-S REPORTER: The U.S. State Department said on Thursday it was aware of reports Russia had detained an editor at U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and said it appeared to be Russian harassment. "This appears to be another case of the Russian government harassing U.S. citizens," State Department spokesman Matt Miller told reporters of the arrest of Alsu Kurmasheva, who works for RFE/RL's Tatar-Bashkir Service and holds U.S. and Russian passports. "We have not been officially notified by the government of Russia about this arrest.

➤TWH RELEASES PHOTO PUTTING U-S FORCES IN JEPORADY: The Biden administration admitted Thursday that it had accidentally outed the identities of several US special operators working to help Israel find and rescue hostages taken by Hamas terrorists. In one of the more egregious examples of the old adage, “loose lips sink ships,” the White House posted a photo to its official Instagram account of President Biden shaking the hand of a member of the Army’s elite counter terrorism unit. Along with the service member Biden was greeting, the faces of three other Delta Force fighters could be seen in the photo. The soldier shaking hands with Biden also revealed a distinctive set of tattoos on his right arm. The revealing photograph was up for approximately an hour before officials were made aware of the problem, a White House spokesperson told The Post

➤U-S SOLDIER CHARGED WITH DESERTION: The U.S. Army has charged Private Travis King with crimes ranging from desertion for running into North Korea in July to assault against fellow soldiers and solicitation of child pornography, according to documents obtained by Reuters. The Army's case against King, which has not been previously reported, includes eight distinct charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, setting up a substantial legal battle for the 23-year-old soldier after his release from North Korean custody in September.

✞JUDGE GUNNED DOWN: A Maryland judge was shot dead at his home Thursday night and police have not announced any arrests in the shocking crime. Washington County Circuit Court Judge Andrew Wilkinson was found in the driveway of his Hagerstown home around 8 p.m., according to local reports and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. Wilkinson, who suffered gunshot wounds, was taken to Meritus Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, authorities said. The sheriff’s office has not yet reported any arrests or released any suspect description. A motive for the slaying is unclear.

💸VOTERS TRUST TRUMP ON ECONOMY: Voters in swing states say they trust former President Donald Trump more than current President Joe Biden on matters of the economy, according to a new poll. The Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll reports that 49 percent of likely voters in swing states trust Trump over Biden on the economy. Biden got 35 percent. Biden edged out Trump on other issues, including climate change, education, abortion, Social Security, democracy, and healthcare. The pollsters sought the views of voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

🏈NFL JAGS 31 SAINTS 24: Trevor Lawrence threw a tiebreaking 44-yard touchdown pass to Christian Kirk late in the fourth quarter and the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars made a goal-line stand to win their fourth consecutive game by defeating the New Orleans Saints 31-24 Thursday night. Lawrence, whose status was uncertain until pregame warmups because of a knee injury, completed 20 of 29 passes for 204 yards and the one score. He found Kirk on a crossing route that enabled the Jaguars (5-2) to overcome a fourth-quarter comeback by the Saints (3-4).

⚾MLB ASTROS 10 RANGERS 3:   The Houston Astros have tormented the Rangers in Texas' home ballpark this season by averaging nine runs in the nine meetings. The latest scoring spree allowed the Astros to tie the American League Championship Series at two games apiece with a 10-3 victory over on Thursday night in Arlington, Texas. Jose Abreu slugged a three-run homer and Yordan Alvarez also drove in three runs for Houston, which is 8-1 when visiting Texas in 2023. The Astros have scored 69 runs in their past six games in Arlington.


⚾MLB D-BACKS 2 PHILLIES 1: The Arizona Diamondbacks got their must-win victory in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series on Thursday in part because of a stellar bullpen performance. Now they will aim to even the best-of-seven series against the Philadelphia Phillies at two games apiece on Friday while leaning on their relief corps from the start. Arizona will use 2022 All-Star Joe Mantiply as the opener in a bullpen game on Friday. Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo hopes his 'pen picks up where it left off on Thursday, when four relievers yielded just one hit (an infield single) in 3 1/3 innings.

🏈RAIDERS’ GAROPPOLO OUT FOR SUNDAY: Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo won’t be playing in this Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears, ESPN reports. He injured his back during last Sunday’s matchup with the New England Patriots.

⛄WINTER FORECAST RELEASED: Ready or not, winter is coming − but how bad is it going to be? Federal forecasters from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center gave us their answer Thursday in an annual winter outlook. NOAA said the U.S. winter of 2023-24 will probably be dominated by the effects of what could be a powerful El Niño. That means a mild, dry winter is likely on tap for much of the northern tier of the U.S., while the southeastern U.S. should see a wetter-than-average winter. The center's forecast covers December, January and February, which is known as meteorological winter.

Warmer-than-average temperatures are favored across the northern tier of the U.S. and much of the far West, NOAA said. The greatest odds for warmer-than-average conditions are in Alaska, the Pacific Northwest and northern New England. No parts of the nation are forecast to to be colder than average, according to the forecast.As for precipitation, wetter-than-average conditions are most likely in northern Alaska, portions of the West from California to the south-central Rockies, the southern Plains, the Gulf Coast, the Southeast and the lower mid-Atlantic, NOAA predicts.




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