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Friday, October 6, 2023

10/6 WAKE-UP CALL: Jim Jordan Gets Speaker Support

Donald Trump endorsed Representative Jim Jordan as the next speaker of the US House of Representatives, giving the nine-term congressman from Ohio the former president’s coveted stamp of approval going into next week’s leadership elections. “Congressman Jim Jordan has been a star long before making his very successful journey to Washington, D.C., representing Ohio’s 4th Congressional District,” Trump said on his social media platform Thursday night. “He will be a great Speaker of the House, & has my Complete & Total Endorsement!”

Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has considered meeting with House Republicans as they prepare for the speaker election. His backing is likely to shore up support among conservative House members, giving the 59-year-old Ohioan the clearest shot at the post second in line to the presidency.  The announcement came hours after Texas Rep. Troy Nehls said Thursday night that Trump had decided to back Jordan’s bid and after Trump said he would be open to serving as interim leader himself if Republicans couldn’t settle on a successor following McCarthy’s stunning ouster.

➤TRUMP: MISTER SPEAKER? Former President Donald Trump revealed Thursday that he would accept a short-term role as speaker of the House “if necessary” to unite the Republican Party. Trump, 77, told Fox News Digital that if Republicans struggle to reach a consensus on a replacement for Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), he’d be willing to fill the role for a “30, 60, or 90-day period.”  

“I have been asked to speak as a unifier because I have so many friends in Congress,” the former president said. “If they don’t get the vote, they have asked me if I would consider taking the speakership until they get somebody longer-term because I am running for president.” 

“They have asked me if I would take it for a short period of time for the party, until they come to a conclusion,” he added. “I’m not doing it because I want to — I will do it if necessary, should they not be able to make their decision.”  Trump told Fox that he will travel to Washington and meet with Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday, when the GOP conference will hold a candidate forum to discuss potential options for the vacant speakership position.  

➤BIDEN'S ABOUT-FACE ON BORDER WALL:  Despite President Joe Biden’s promise as a candidate not to add to the controversial wall along the U.S.-Mexico border that's long been a signature of Donald Trump, the Biden administration announced it is ... doing just that. Citing "high illegal entry," the Biden administration is bypassing 26 federal laws, including environmental restrictions, to build a new section of the border wall in South Texas. As a presidential candidate, Biden vowed not to build "another foot" of the wall – even saying Thursday he doesn't believe it is effective. But he said he had no choice because Congress did not agree to cancel the funding for it.

➤DeSANTIS THUMPS TRUMP: Gov. Ron DeSantis took his presidential campaign to downtown Tampa on Thursday to accept the endorsement of 60 Florida sheriffs, giving him an opportunity to hammer the parts of his stump speech on preserving law and order. But he also used the event to repeatedly hammer former President Donald Trump, the front-runner for the Republican nomination for president. DeSantis hit Trump on immigration, his conservative bona fides, his campaign expenditures, his proclivity for controversy, his 2020 election loss, his inability to serve two additional terms and more. “Here’s just the reality. If you want to know who’s done more to actually implement and deliver on America First policies, the person that’s done that more than anyone else in these United States is right here,” he said, to loud applause.

➤U-S JET DOWNS TURKISH DRONE:  A U.S. jet fighter shot down a Turkish drone Thursday after it was deemed a threat to U.S. forces in northeast Syria, a person familiar with the episode said. Ankara has been mounting air attacks against Kurdish militants it blames for a bombing attack in the capital on Sunday. The roughly 900 U.S. troops based in Syria have been working with Kurdish-led fighters to battle Islamic State. The Turkish Defense Ministry said that the drone wasn’t theirs. The incident is likely to add to the tensions between Turkey and the U.S., which are NATO allies, over the former’s military strategy in Syria and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ties with Moscow.

➤AMERICANS SHIFTING ON UKRAINE SUPPORT: The share of Americans across the political spectrum who support sending arms to Ukraine has dropped, according to a Reuters/Ipsos survey released Thursday. The poll, conducted Tuesday and Wednesday, showed only 41 percent of respondents said they agreed that the United States should provide weapons to Ukraine, down from 65 percent of respondents who said the same in a June 2023 survey.That decline in support for sending weapons to Ukraine extends across parties. Democratic support dropped from 81 percent in June to 52 percent in October. Republican support dropped from 56 percent to 35 percent in the same period. Independent support dropped from 57 percent to 44 percent.


➤NEW YORK SHOOTER GETS 10 LIFE TERMS: A man who opened fire in a crowded New York City subway train last year was sentenced yesterday to 10 concurrent life terms plus a 10-year consecutive term. Frank James set off a smoke bomb and then fired a handgun repeatedly into the crowded train car. A total of 29 people were injured but all survived. James, who later turned himself in, seems to have had a muddled idea about drawing attention to gun violence.


➤STABBING SUSPECT IN COURT: Brian Dowling, 18, was in court hours after he was charged with the shocking stabbing death of Brooklyn social justice activist Ryan Carson, who died after being stabbed in the heart at around 4am Monday. The teen was hauled before a judge shortly after he was perp walked out of an NYPD precinct following his arrest in Bedford Stuyvesant on Thursday morning. Dowling's first-degree murder charge could see him punished by up to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, if found guilty. When police issued a search warrant on his home, a sweatshirt was also seized along with the suspected murder weapon that matched the kind worn by the suspect in the video of Carson's killing. Dowling's home is a five-minute walk from where Carson, 32, was stabbed to death. Dowling is charged with second-degree murder and criminal weapons possession, police confirmed. Dowling did not make any statements to cops after his arrest, and has already enlisted a lawyer, sources said.

➤GM APPARENTLY HAS AIRBAG ISSUES: GM has at least 20 million vehicles with potentially dangerous air-bag parts. That makes the Detroit-based automaker among the most exposed in U.S. auto-safety regulators’ push to recall 52 million ARC Automotive air-bag inflators, according to people familiar with the matter. They can explode with so much force during a vehicle crash that metal shrapnel hits occupants in the face and neck. At least two people have been killed, and several others injured. ARC has said extensive field tests show no defect and the air-bag ruptures that occurred are few and isolated.

➤WEIGHT-LOSS SHOTS COULD CAUSE OTHER PROBLEMS: Using the weight-loss shots Ozempic and Wegovy can increase the risk of severe gastrointestinal problems, adding to the ever-growing list of undesired side effects.  People using weekly injections of Ozempic and Wegovy, which has the active ingredient semaglutide, for weight loss have a higher chance of pancreatitis, bowel obstructions and stomach paralysis. Experts warned that while rare, thousands of people could be at risk due to the drugs' rising popularity.

🏈NFL BEARS 40 COMMANDERS 20: After 346 days, the Chicago Bears losing streak finally has ended. Bears quarterback Justin Fields and wide receiver DJ Moore connected again and again in front of a national TV audience Thursday night at FedEx Field to lift the Bears to a 40-20 victory over the Washington Commanders. Fields threw for 282 yards and four touchdowns, and Moore had eight catches for a career-high 230 yards and three touchdowns as the Bears halted their franchise-record losing streak at 14 games. It was their first win since Oct. 24, 2022 against the Patriots in New England.

✞NFL HALL OF FAMER DICK BUTKUS DIES: The menacing Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus, who struck fear in opposing offenses and quarterbacks for nine National Football League (NFL) seasons, has died, the Chicago Bears said on Thursday. He was 80. Known as a ferocious and punishing tackler, Butkus came to define the modern middle linebacker while spending his entire career in Chicago, where he earned eight Pro Bowl selections.

"The Butkus family confirms that football and entertainment legend Dick Butkus died peacefully in his sleep overnight at home in Malibu, California," the Butkus family said in a statement provided by the Bears. The late Deacon Jones, a defensive end and fellow Hall of Famer, once described the two-time Defensive Player of the Year as "A well-conditioned animal, and every time he hit you, he tried to put you in the cemetery, not the hospital." His accomplishments were acknowledged in 1985 with the institution of the Dick Butkus Award, an annual honor recognizing the best linebacker at the high school, collegiate and professional levels.

⚾METS GENERAL MANAGER RESIGNS: New York Mets general manager Billy Eppler resigned yesterday, days after the organization fired manager Buck Showalter. According to the New York Post, Eppler is under investigation by MLB for alleged improper uses of the injured list.



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