National and international media news & headlines compiled by CLG

Apple blocks presidential candidate’s newsletter, Libs of TikTok banned from email marketing By Greg Piper | 10 Oct 2023 | Boring old email is still one of the most effective marketing methods — and a major choke point for entities deemed outside the political mainstream. Apple is blocking delivery of a newsletter founded by Libertarian presidential candidate Michael Rectenwald to his own email subscribers, while email marketing provider AWeber booted Libs of TikTok, the influential chronicler of progressive pieties, a day after accepting its business. Neither provider has allegedly explained the basis for their actions or responded to Just the News queries going back to late September, but the deprived proprietors assume it’s ideological. Rectenwald’s Citizens for Legitimate Government is a serial target of de-platforming that lost its web host of 14 years this summer for allegedly undermining the host’s “mission to support social movements fighting for social justice.” CLG News aggregates news from sources that have themselves faced censorship and throttling, including Just the News. Error messages from “thousands of bounce-backs” said the server rejected the email due to unspecified “local policy,” according to CLG.

Israel knew of Hamas attack in advance – U.S. lawmaker –Representative Michael McCaul backed up earlier claims that Egypt tipped officials off to an impending assault | 11 Oct 2023 | Three days before Hamas’ large-scale assault on Israel, the Egyptian authorities warned their counterparts in Tel Aviv that such an operation was imminent, U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) told reporters on Wednesday. “We know that Egypt has warned the Israelis three days prior that an event like this could happen,” McCaul said following a closed-door intelligence briefing on Capitol Hill. “I don’t want to get too much into classified, but a warning was given,” McCaul continued. “I think the question was at what level.” The Associated Press reported on Monday that Israeli officials ignored repeated warnings from Cairo that Hamas was planning “something big.”

Biden did not actually see ‘confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children’ as he claimed, WH clarifies | 11 Oct 2023 | Joe 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 U.S. 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.

Marines on the move in Middle East ‘as a result of emerging events’ | 11 Oct 2023 | A special operations Marine Corps unit participating in exercises expected to last through Oct. 22, departed early this week “as a result of emerging events,” according to reports. On Tuesday, the Marines issued a press release saying marines and sailors of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit would be participating in Marine Air-Ground task force training exercises in Kuwait, Oct. 8-22. The training started with the USS Bataan, an amphibious ready group and USS Carter Hall, which would arrive near Kuwait and offload elements and equipment for the exercises.

Israeli lawmaker calls for using ‘doomsday weapons’ –Gaza should be “flattened” with nuclear-capable missiles, a member of Knesset from the ruling party has stated | 10 Oct 2023 | Israel should use Jericho missiles to “level” Gaza “without mercy” after the weekend’s attacks by Hamas, lawmaker Revital Gotliv has said. Gotliv is a member of Knesset from the ranks of Likud, the party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Jericho Missile! Jericho Missile! Strategic alert. before considering the introduction of forces. Doomsday weapon! This is my opinion. May God preserve all our strength,” Gotliv posted on X on Monday, according to a machine translation from Hebrew. Jericho is the name of an Israeli intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), whose most recent iteration is capable of striking almost anywhere in the world. Israel is widely understood to have anywhere from 100-200 nuclear warheads, something the government in West Jerusalem has neither confirmed nor denied. On Tuesday, Gotliv followed up her post about nuclear missiles with another, calling for “crushing and flattening Gaza.”

22 Americans confirmed dead in Israel – White House –An unknown number of US citizens are being held as hostages by Hamas militants | 11 Oct 2023 | At least 22 US citizens have been killed in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, while another 17 are unaccounted for, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Wednesday. The latest figures represent an increase from Tuesday, when U.S. President [sic] Joe Biden announced that 14 Americans had lost their lives in the previous days’ fighting. It is unclear whether all of those killed died in Israel or in Palestinian territory. In his remarks on Tuesday, Biden also revealed that an unknown number of Americans had been captured by Hamas fighters as hostages.

First Shipment of U.S. Armaments Arrives in Israel Amidst Escalating Conflict with Hamas | 10 Oct 2023 | The first supply of U.S. armaments arrived in Israel on Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said, following a deadly attack by Hamas that prompted Israel to declare war for the first time since 1973. The first plane carrying U.S. weapons landed at the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel Tuesday evening, the IDF said, while thanking the United States for its support to Israel during this challenging time. The IDF did not disclose the types of U.S. weaponry it received, only stating that they were “designed to facilitate significant military operations and increase preparedness for other scenarios.”

NYPD orders all cops to report in uniform after ex-Hamas chief calls for global protests | 12 Oct 2023 | The NYPD has ordered all cops to report in uniform starting Friday in anticipation of potential unrest stemming from the former leader of Hamas’s call on Muslims to stage global demonstrations in support of Palestinians, The Post has learned. “All uniformed members of the service in every rank, will perform duty in the uniform of the day and be prepared for deployment,” read a Wednesday night memo sent to all NYPD members. Cops will not be granted excusals or shift changes and the order will remain in effect “until further notice,” according to the memo. The directive was issued after Khaled Meshaal, who served as chief of Hamas from 2004 to 2017, called on the Islamic world to stage the protests on Friday. The NYPD is also beefing up security at each of its 77 police precincts, assigning additional cops to monitor entryways and parking areas at the station houses, according to the internal memo.

Cuomo Faces Subpoena as Republicans Probe Pandemic Nursing Home Policies | 11 Oct 2023 | House Republicans have threatened to subpoena former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, asserting that he is “stonewalling congressional oversight” into his state’s “deadly COVID-19 ‘must admit’ nursing home policies.” The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic announced their threat in an Oct. 11 post on X, formerly Twitter, linking to a letter sent to Mr. Cuomo, pointing out that around 15,000 elderly Americans died during the time this policy was in place. Chairman Brad Wenstrup (R- Ohio) and Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) issued this ultimatum in a letter to Mr. Cuomo after the former governor failed to produce any documents or communications related to these policies after the committee initially made their request on May 19.

U.S. Attorney declines to name those involved in decision not to prosecute Hunter Biden | 10 Oct 2023 | Matthew Graves, the U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C., who was a key figure in Jan. 6 prosecutions and refused to bring tax charges against Hunter Biden, backed out of naming those involved in declining to prosecute the first son, according to his transcribed interview with lawmakers. “I’m already dealing with enough threats and harassment of my assistant United States attorneys,” Graves said in the official transcript obtained by Just the News as he explained why their names were not revealed. He told lawmakers during the interview how his agency decided to not partner with David Weiss, the U.S. Attorney for Delaware who was later named special counsel, and prosecuting a Hunter Biden in tax charges. Graves told lawmakers he met with five or six people from his office in March 2022 to determine whether they should get involved in the Hunter Biden case.

GOP Senator Refers Ex-CIA Director to US Capitol Police Over ‘Assassination’ Post | 11 Oct 2023 | Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) responded to a social media post from a former CIA director that suggested he be removed “from the human race” by referring the comment to the U.S. Capitol Police. This week, former CIA Director Michael Hayden responded to an X post that read: “Should Tommy Tuberville be removed from his committee? Yes or No?” Mr. Hayden responded by asking: “How about the human race?” Some commentators on X interpreted it as a call for the Alabama senator’s assassination. Mr. Tuberville also said that he believed it was a call for violence, releasing a statement saying he referred the former CIA boss to the U.S. Capitol Police. “This morning my office was made aware of a statement made by General Michael Hayden calling for a politically motivated assassination,” the senator said. “This statement is disgusting and it is repugnant to everything we believe in as Americans. Given General Hayden’s long career in Washington, he must have known that, by making such a statement, he was committing a serious crime.”

Former CIA Director Michael Hayden says Tommy Tuberville should be removed from ‘the human race’ | 10 Oct 2023 | Former CIA Director [and Grade “A” sociopath] Gen.Michael Hayden doubled down Tuesday on comments stating that Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) should be removed from “the human race.” Hayden’s initial post on X, formerly Twitter, came in response to a post stating: “Should Tommy Tuberville be removed from his committee? Yes or No?” Hayden, who led the CIA from 2006-2009, responded Monday: “How about the human race?” He doubled down on his comments Tuesday, writing: “I was surprised to wake up this morning and discover that many MAGAnuts had lost their minds over my suggestion that ‘Coach’ Tuberville not be considered a member of the human race. I stand by that view. I’m wishing you all a nice day even the intransigent Tommy Tuberville.”

McCarthy redux? Scalise faces uphill battle to reach 217 votes for speaker as more defectors emerge | 11 Oct 2023 | House Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s nomination for House speaker is on its way to the House floor but needs to pick up 104 votes from Republicans to win the speakership with a simple majority of 217 votes. Scalise won the speaker nomination during a closed-door, secret ballot election on Wednesday with 113 votes compared to 99 for House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, (R-Oh). There were 10 other GOP votes that went to other candidates in the secret ballot election. It appears that Scalise may have a tough time gaining the support of all 99 lawmakers who backed Jordan. Even if he is able to do so, he still needs 5 more GOP lawmakers to side with him after they voted for a different candidate in the secret ballot election.

Kari Lake launches bid for U.S. Senate: ‘I am not going to retreat’ | 10 Oct 2023 | Former GOP Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake announced her bid for U.S. Senate on Tuesday. “The world is on fire and it seems like every day Joe Biden wakes up and pours a little more gasoline on it,” she said at a campaign event in Scottsdale. “Our border is wide open in Arizona… there is an absolute invasion in our country,” she lamented, before discussing the recent Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, for which she blamed the Biden administration’s policies… “I am not going to retreat. I’m gonna stand on top of this hill with every single one of you. And I know you’re by my side as I formally announce my candidacy for the United States Senate,” she declared.

RFK Jr. switches from Democrat to independent amid White House bid | 9 Oct 2023 | Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Monday that he was switching from a Democrat to an independent as he looks to give new momentum to his long-shot White House bid. “I’m here to declare myself an independent candidate,” Kennedy told a crowd of supporters in Philadelphia. “I must declare my own independence. Independence from the Democratic Party,” he said to loud cheers. “And from all other political parties.” A lawyer and proud vaccine skeptic, Kennedy has formally rivaled Joe Biden from within the party since the spring, but he has not made a dent against the White House incumbent.