National and international media news & headlines compiled by CLG

Drone attacks on American bases injured two dozen U.S. military personnel | 24 Oct 2023 | Two dozen American military personnel were wounded last week in a series of drone attacks at American bases in Iraq and Syria, U.S. Central Command told NBC News on Tuesday. The Pentagon confirmed the attacks last week, but the number of U.S. casualties has not been previously disclosed. Twenty American personnel sustained minor injuries on Oct. 18 when at least two one-way attack drones targeted al-Tanf military base in southern Syria, CENTCOM said. One of the drones was shot down. All of the wounded personnel were returned to duty, CENTCOM said, and there was no damage to any military installations. On that same day, another four American personnel suffered minor injuries during two separate drone attacks against U.S. and coalition forces stationed at al-Asad base in western Iraq, CENTCOM said.

Army Air Defense Units from 3 Bases Are Deploying to Middle East After 13 Drone Attacks | 24 Oct 2023 | The Army air defense units deploying to the Middle East amid the Israel-Hamas war come from Fort Bliss in Texas, Fort Liberty in North Carolina, and Fort Sill in Oklahoma, the Pentagon said Tuesday. The units are bringing Patriot missile batteries and a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, battery to the region after more than a dozen drone and rocket attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria over the past week that the Pentagon has blamed on Iranian proxies. NBC News reported Tuesday evening that two dozen American military personnel were wounded in the attacks, but that could not be immediately confirmed by Military dot com. Although Pentagon officials didn’t name the Army units being deployed, Fort Bliss is home to the 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Fort Liberty hosts the 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, and Fort Sill is home to the 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade.

Australia deploys more aircraft, personnel to Middle East | 25 Oct 2023 | Australia said on Wednesday it had deployed two more military aircraft and a “significant number” of defence personnel to the Middle East to help support its citizens there if the ongoing war between Israel and militant group Hamas escalates. Australia sent a Boeing C-17 aircraft and an air refueler plane that has the capacity to carry passengers, taking the total to three, Defence Minister Richard Marles said. He did not disclose the total number of personnel deployed and where the aircraft would be based due to security reasons but said they would not be based in Israel. “It is a significant number of personnel, though, and they’re there to support the aircraft and to support what that aircraft might ultimately have to do,” Marles told Channel Nine.

Defense secretary issues plan to ‘bolster regional deterrence efforts,’ move warships, increase forces –The Secretary of Defense reiterated the United States defense of Israel | 22 Oct 2023 | Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the U.S. Department of Defense’s plan on Saturday evening to further “bolster regional deterrence efforts” in the Middle East amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, reiterating the department’s defense of Israel.The secretary said that USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group will join the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, which was recently moved to the Eastern Mediterranean… Secretary Austin said that the warships will “further increase our force posture and strengthen our capabilities and ability to respond.” Austin said that the DOD has deployed their anti-ballistic missile defense system, called the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery, as well as additional Patriot battalions “throughout the region.”

Israel bombards Gaza as world leaders call for pause in conflict to let aid in | 25 Oct 2023 | Israel’s military intensified its bombing of southern Gaza overnight after one of the deadliest days for Palestinians since the conflict began as world leaders called for a halt to fighting to allow aid into the besieged enclave. Amid concerns the Israel-Hamas conflict will spread across the Middle East, Israel’s military said its jets struck Syrian army infrastructure and mortar launchers in response to rockets launched from Iran ally Syria. It did not accuse Syria’s army of firing the two rockets, which set off air raid sirens in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Citing a military source, Syrian state news agency (SANA) said the Israeli attack killed 8 soldiers and wounded 7 more in an “aerial aggression” near the southwestern city of Deraa.

Israel will launch ground invasion of Gaza – ambassador –“The decision has been made,” Alexander Ben Zvi, the envoy to Moscow, has said | 20 Oct 2023 | Israel will go ahead with its plans for a ground operation in Gaza, West Jerusalem’s envoy to Moscow, Alexander Ben Zvi, told Russia 24 on Friday. He said, “The decision has been made.” “A ground operation is not ruled out,” Ben Zvi initially said when asked, noting that Israel has declared that it is in a state of war, which envisages “all sorts of operations, including air, maritime and ground” operations. The ambassador added that he believes the possibility of a ground invasion is “higher than 50%.” Israel seeks the “destruction of all terrorist structures” of the Gaza-based Palestinian group Hamas, and also wants to free the hostages taken by the militants he added. “One cannot do that without resorting to a ground operation.”

At least 33 Americans killed in Israel-Hamas war, secretary of state tells UN | 25 Oct 2023 | Israeli forces have escalated their bombardment of the Gaza Strip as the war with Hamas enters its 18th day. The war is now the deadliest war in Gaza for both sides. The Hamas-run Health Ministry claims at least 5,087 Palestinians have been killed and 15,270 wounded. More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed since the Oct. 7 surprise attack by Hamas, in which 222 people, including foreigners, were taken captive into Gaza. Four people have been released so far.

Hamas releases American hostages –The militant group has said that it freed a mother and her daughter for “humanitarian reasons” | 20 Oct 2023 | Hamas has released two American captives, a spokesman for the Palestinian militant group said on Friday. The group said that it freed the hostages to prove US Joe Biden’s “fascist” administration wrong. “In response to Qatari efforts, Al-Qassam Brigades released two American citizens for humanitarian reasons,” Abu Obaida said in a statement, referring to Hamas’s military wing. He added that the move was intended “to prove to the American people and the world that the claims made by Biden and his fascist administration are false and baseless.”

CIA-backed Ukrainian spies behind Russian journalist’s murder – report | 23 Oct 2023 |The assassination of Russian journalist Darya Dugina was one of multiple killings carried out by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) despite denials from Kiev, the Washington Post reported on Monday. The newspaper further claimed that the Ukrainian agency and its military counterpart, the GUR, have been empowered by the CIA. The post interviewed dozens of Ukrainian and Western officials for an article which offered fresh claims about the murder of Dugina, who was killed by a car bomb just outside Moscow in August 2022. Newly reported allegations include the use of a secret compartment in a cat cage to smuggle parts of the bomb into Russia. Darya Dugina’s father, Aleksandr Dugin, was allegedly the intended target of the Ukrainian plot. Both he and his daughter had been expected to travel in the car which was blown up, the Washington Post noted.

U.S. will build ‘new world order’ – Biden | 21 Oct 2023 | The current U.S.-led world order has “sort of run out of steam,” but Washington will shape the system that replaces it, [WEF-installed puppet] Joe Biden told supporters on Saturday. Leaders in Moscow and Beijing, however, have argued otherwise. Speaking at a campaign reception in Washington, Biden bragged about how he convinced Japan and South Korea to send financial aid to Ukraine, and how he signed a rail and ports deal with the EU, India, and Saudi Arabia at the G20 summit in New Delhi last month. “So, I think we have an opportunity to do things, if we’re bold enough and have enough confidence in ourselves, to unite the world in ways that it never has been,” Biden declared. “We were in a post-war period for 50 years where it worked pretty d-mn well, but that’s sort of run out of steam. Sort of run out of steam. We need a new, new world order in a sense,” he continued.

Arrest Made in Central California Bio-Lab Investigation (U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of California Press Release) | 19 Oct 2023 | (Fresno, CA) Jia Bei Zhu, aka Jesse Zhu, aka Qiang He, aka David He, 62, a citizen of China who formerly resided in Clovis, was arrested today on a criminal complaint for manufacturing and distributing misbranded medical devices in violation of the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) and for making false statements to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. “As part of his scheme, the defendant changed his name, the names of his companies, and their locations,” U.S. Attorney Talbert said…. According to court documents, between December 2020 and March 2023, Zhu and others manufactured, imported, sold, and distributed hundreds of thousands of COVID-19 test kits, in addition to test kits for HIV, pregnancy, clinical urinalysis, and other conditions in the United States and China.

Just 2% of Americans received updated 2023 version of COVID-19 vaccine – report | 15 Oct 2023 | Just 2% of Americans have received the updated 2023 version of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to Reuters. Polls show that support for the COVID-19 vaccine and booster shots is declining significantly. Despite the official [alleged] fact-checks and medical experts who routinely insist that the COVID booster vaccine is “safe and effective,” polls indicate that many Americans remain skeptical… In March 2023, a staggering 40% of adults said they were very or somewhat concerned about the safety of the vaccine. Not all health experts recommend receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Dr. Joseph Ladapo, Florida’s surgeon general, said, “It’s just a really terrible idea.”

Supreme Court Says Biden Admin Can Contact Big Tech Amid Censorship Allegations –Two lower courts slapped an injunction on the administration, finding there was a ‘coordinated campaign’ to censor disfavored viewpoints online. | 22 Oct 2023 | The Supreme Court on Friday lifted restrictions on the Biden administration’s communication with social media companies while a lawsuit alleging that a slew of high-level federal officials strong-armed social media companies to censor free speech is ongoing. The ruling pauses a preliminary injunction issued in response to what two lower courts found to be a “coordinated campaign” by senior Biden administration officials to censor disfavored views expressed on social networking platforms. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana originally issued the preliminary injunction on July 4, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit later upheld its ruling unanimously on Oct. 3. The Supreme Court made its decision to lift the restrictions in a 4-3 vote. It will also take up the case.

‘Why I’m No Longer a Marxist’ With Libertarian Party Presidential Candidate Dr. Michael Rectenwald –Interview of CLG Founder, Michael Rectenwald, Ph.D., with Keith Knight. Don’t Tread on Anyone podcast. | 23 Oct 2023 | By Keith Knight. “Dr. Michael Rectenwald is a former professor at New York University, he is the author of twelve books including, Google Archipelago: The Digital Gulag and the Simulation of Freedom, and The Great Reset and the Struggle for Liberty: Unraveling the Global Agenda– he is also running for president in the Libertarian Party.”

Republicans select Mike Johnson as the party’s fourth nominee for House speaker –The House is expected to reconvene at noon on Wednesday for a full floor vote with Johnson as the GOP nominee | 24 Oct 2023 | House Republicans have chosen Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., as the party’s new nominee for speaker after multiple rounds of voting. Johnson received 128 votes in the final round with Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., getting 29, sources confirmed to Fox News Digital. The sources also said former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., got 43 votes… House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., won multiple rounds of voting earlier in the day to become the party’s nominee before being forced to drop his bid in the face of staunch opposition from within the conference, as well as former President Donald Trump.

Byron Donalds responds to AOC’s ‘experience’ jab: ‘She doesn’t know what she’s talking about’ | 23 Oct 2023 | Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., clapped back at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s, D-N.Y., comments she made Sunday on MSNBC. “Before I got to Congress, I spent 20 years in the financial industry, something that leadership here on Capitol Hill definitely needs,” Donalds said on Fox’s The Story on Monday. “Number two, I spent four years in the legislature in Florida. I chair two committees there, and number three, since being here on Capitol Hill, I’ve worked intimately with members of our leadership team and members all through the conference, both appropriators and authorizers to get some of our biggest pieces of legislation accomplished this Congress,” he said. He added, “So, with all due respect to miss Ocasio-Cortez, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. And if the Democrats are this concerned, I would tell my colleagues see what happens if I become your speaker.”

You Just Can’t Make This Up: GOP House Members Are Likely to Elect Former Soros Group Spokesman – Who Wanted to End Electoral College – as Speaker of the House | 21 Oct 2023 | As reported earlier, House Republicans voted down their most popular and respected member, Jim Jordan, for House Speaker today. The Republican lawmakers held a secret ballot away from their voters and overwhelmingly decided to oust Jordan from the Speaker’s race. The Republicans voted 112-86 in a secret ballot to oust the Ohio Republican from the race… Tom Emmer (MN) told members of the House Republican Conference that he will seek nomination for speaker. Emmer will likely gain several Democratic votes. The Minnesota RINO was formerly a paid spokesman for the George Soros funded organization The National Popular Vote initiative.

Trump Warned of ‘Imprisonment,’ Fined $5,000 for Violating Gag Order –President Trump had deleted a Truth Social post about the judge’s clerk, but it was inadvertently still up on an “In Case You Missed It” campaign website page | 20 Oct 2023 | New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron had issued a gag order on both parties in a case New York Attorney General Letitia James brought against former President Donald Trump, prohibiting any statements that attack his court staff. On Oct. 20, he admonished the Trump legal team for what he called a “blatant violation” of the gag order. The same day, the judge issued an order fining President Trump 5,000. “Donald Trump has received ample warning from this Court as to the possible repercussions of violating the gag order. He specifically acknowledged that he understood and would abide by it. Accordingly, issuing yet another warning is no longer appropriate; this Court is way beyond the ‘warning’ stage,” he wrote.