National and international media news & headlines compiled by CLG

Blinken told G7 counterparts Iran and Hezbollah could attack Israel in next 24 hours | 4 Aug 2024 | U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken told his counterparts from the G7 countries on Sunday that an attack by Iran and Hezbollah against Israel could start as early as Monday, three sources briefed on the call tell Axios. Blinken convened the conference call to coordinate with close U.S. allies and try to generate last-minute diplomatic pressure on Iran and Hezbollah to minimize their retaliation as much as possible. He stressed that limiting the impact of their strikes is the best chance to prevent all-out war. Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah have vowed to respond to the assassinations by Israel of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut. The sources said Blinken stressed that the U.S. believes Iran and Hezbollah will both retaliate.

Biden to meet with national security team ahead of anticipated Iranian attack against Israel | 4 Aug 2024 | Joe Biden will meet with his national security team in the Situation Room Monday ahead of an anticipated Iranian attack against Israel. The meeting came a day after Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with his counterpart in Israel Sunday to reiterate U.S. support for the Jewish state as tensions escalate with Iran and its proxies, threatening a wider regional war after 10 months of fighting Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip. Austin and Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant discussed U.S. force posture moves that the Defense Department is taking to bolster protection for U.S. forces in the region, support the defense of Israel, and deter and de-escalate broader tensions in the region, according to readout from the Pentagon.

Israeli strikes hit Gaza schools, hospital compound after talks fail | 4 Aug 2024 | An Israeli airstrike hit two schools in Gaza City on Sunday, killing at least 30 people, Palestinian officials said, while the Israeli military said it struck a Hamas military compound embedded in the schools. An Israeli airstrike hit a tent camp inside a hospital in central Gaza earlier in the day. Gaza health officials said a total of at least 44 Palestinians were killed on Sunday, the day after a round of talks in Cairo ended without result. Footage circulated on Palestinian media showed bodies scattered inside the yard of one of two blast-wrecked schools as residents rushed to carry casualties, including children, and loaded them into ambulance vehicles that took them to at least two nearby hospitals.

Israel’s national emergency medical service prepares for Hezbollah response after IDF strike: ‘High alert’ | 1 Aug 2024 | Israel’s national emergency medical service is preparing for a response from Hezbollah after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) targeted and killed Fuad Shukr, a senior leader of Hezbollah, in Beirut. The IDF strike Tuesday was in retaliation for a rocket attack over the weekend that killed 12 Israeli children and teens on a soccer field in Majdal Shams… Despite confirmations from the IDF and the U.S., Hezbollah only confirmed his death on Wednesday, the same day as Hamas’s terror leader Ismail Haniyeh met a similar fate. Aryeh Myers, a paramedic with Magen David Adom (MDA), told Fox News Digital in an interview that the emergency medical service is on high alert and has ambulances and volunteers ready to go should further attacks break out.

Ukraine issues new Crimean Bridge threat –Kiev says work is underway to destroy the strategic Russian link by the end of the year | 3 Aug 2024 | Kiev is working on plans to destroy Russia’s Crimean Bridge within the next few months or by the end of the year, the head of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), Kirill Budanov, said during a national telethon on Friday. The comment was made in reply to a journalist’s question about whether the crucial link between the Crimean Peninsula and mainland Russia can be destroyed in the near future. Kiev is currently “working hard” on plans — including long-range strikes — to make it happen, he said, adding that “a comprehensive approach” is required… The bridge was completed in 2020. Crimea voted [overwhelmingly] in a referendum to join Russia in 2014 following the U.S.-backed coup in Kiev earlier the same year.

Ukraine may be timing Crimean bridge threats with U.S. election – Moscow –Kiev wants to showcase “achievements” to attract more Western support, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said | 3 Aug 2024 | New Ukrainian threats to blow up Russia’s Crimean Bridge could be timed to coincide with the U.S. presidential election campaign, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has suggested. In an interview with Izvestia on Saturday, Zakharova weighed in on comments by the head of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), Kirill Budanov, who said that Kiev was “working hard” on plans to destroy the crucial link between the Crimean Peninsula and mainland Russia within the next few months. Ukraine has made numerous attacks on the bridge.

Taliban gets $239 million in aid after failure of State Dept. vetting | 4 Aug 2024 | The Islamic extremist Taliban has received at least 239 million in U.S. aid aimed at counterterrorism after State Department vetting procedures fell apart, according to a government watchdog. The government watchdog, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), issued a July 2024 report identifying at least 29 grants where the Taliban may have erroneously received counterterrorism funds. SIGAR “investigators found that the State Department failed to comply with its own counterterrorism partner vetting requirements in Afghanistan,” Judicial Watch reported. The funds came from State Department divisions called “Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor” and “International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.”

Gov. Polis extends bird flu emergency declaration | 2 Aug 2024 | Colorado Governor Jared Polis (D) extended on Friday the state’s bird flu disaster declaration. It was first issued in early July in response to an ongoing outbreak of avian flu in Weld County. Friday’s move activated a state emergency plan and authorized an additional 3.5 million to be transferred from a state emergency fund to pay for costs associated with “monitoring and mitigation of disease spread, response…and recovery efforts.” Friday’s executive order also lays out the timeline of the disaster emergency.

First country warns tourists ‘do not travel to UK’ after riots sweep Britain –The violence that has engulfed the country over the past few days erupted in the wake of Monday’s stabbing attack in Southport.  | 4 Aug 2024 | Malaysia has become the first country to warn its citizens against visiting the UK as riots across the country continue. The notice was released via Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which said it is “closely monitoring the series of protests currently taking place in several areas of the United Kingdom, following the stabbing incident in Sourthport on July 29.” Malaysians were urged to register their presence with the country’s High Commission in London…Three young girls were stabbed and killed while attending a dance event in Southport, with eight more children seriously injured. Two adults were also left in a critical condition. A 17-year-old male has been arrested.

Over 90 Protesters Arrested in UK Amid Government Crackdown | 4 Aug 2024 | Over 90 people have been arrested amid the wave of protests against the influx of illegal migrants which took place across the United Kingdom on Saturday and grew into mass unrest, the SkyNews broadcaster reported on Sunday. Protests against the influx of illegal migrants started in several cities across the UK following a stabbing attack in Southport, England, in which 3 children had been killed. Media reported that at least 35 protests were expected over the weekend. The arrests started following a number of clashes with the police as well as between anti-immigration demonstrators and counter-protesters, the broadcaster reported.

UK on Brink of Civil War: Muslims Armed With Knives and Hammers Clash With Anti-Immigration Protesters –Shocking videos show confrontations escalating after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer sided with the migrants and condemned protesters as “right-wing thugs.” | 4 Aug 2024 | Disturbing footage out of the UK shows hundreds of Muslim migrants armed with knives and hammers attacking and clashing with anti-immigration protesters on the streets in England and Ireland. The chaos began to unfold this week when massive anti-immigration protests emerged in London following the brutal stabbing of three young girls by suspected migrants in Southport. Rather than condemn the horrific violence against the murdered British girls, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday instead condemned the protesters demonstrating against the stabbings as “right-wing thugs” who were “bent on violence.” Muslims have since taken to the streets armed with knives, clubs, and hammers in Stoke, Belfast, Blackburn, Liverpool, and other cities in search of anti-immigration protesters.

Texas Woman Accused of Threatening Trump Arrested Near White House With Unlicensed Firearm – Police | 4 Aug 2024 | A woman from San Antonio, Texas, was arrested Friday in Washington, D.C., for allegedly threatening former President Donald Trump, the news coming after a gunman tried to assassinate him during his rally on July 13. According to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), the agency received information about the suspect, identified as Christina Montoya, who had apparently traveled to the nation’s capital, where police found an unlicensed firearm and a magazine on her, KENS 5 reported on Friday. However, Trump was reportedly in the Hamptons to meet with donors the day of the woman’s arrest. The type of threats she allegedly made against Trump were unclear, the outlet said, adding, “It’s also unknown the timeline of when she allegedly made them in the context of her Friday arrest, but the police report lists an ‘offense start date’ of July 20, 2024.”

July 13 Butler Rally First Time Secret Service Sent Counter-Sniper to Trump Event | 3 Aug 2024 | Former President Donald Trump’s July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania — where he survived an assassination attempt — was the first time the Secret Service sent a counter-sniper to a Trump event to protect the 45th president, the agency admitted. “It was the first time Secret Service counter-snipers were deployed to support the former president’s detail,” Secret Service acting director Ronald Rowe revealed during a Friday press briefing. Notably, one of the counter-snipers fatally shot would-be presidential assassin after he opened fire on Trump, shooting the 45th president in the ear and killing former Pennsylvania fire chief Corey Comperatore, as well as wounding other rally-goers. Rowe, however, couldn’t explain why none of the counter-snipers were posted on the nearby building from which the 20-year-old tried to assassinate President Trump.

Federal Air Marshal Whistleblowers Report Tulsi Gabbard Actively Under Surveillance via Quiet Skies Program | 4 Aug 2024 | Several Federal Air Marshal Service whistleblowers have come forward with information showing that former U.S. Representative and presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard is currently enrolled in the Quiet Skies program. Quiet Skies is a TSA surveillance program with its own compartmentalized suspected terrorist watchlist. It is the same program being weaponized against J6 defendants and their families. Quiet Skies is allegedly used to protect traveling Americans from suspected domestic terrorists. The whistleblowers first shared the information with Sonya LaBosco, the Executive Director of the Air Marshal National Council (AMNC), a national advocacy group for the Federal Air Marshals (FAMs). According to LaBosco, at least one of the whistleblowers is ready to go on the record with pertinent documentation. LaBosco shared that Gabbard is unaware she has two Explosive Detection Canine Teams, one Transportation Security Specialist (explosives), one plainclothes TSA Supervisor, and three Federal Air Marshalls on every flight she boards.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index plunges 7% as worries over U.S. economy shake world markets | 4 Aug 2024 | Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 stock index plunged as much as 7.1% early Monday before recovering some lost ground, extending sell-offs that began last week. At one point, the Nikkei shed more than 2,500 points. By the time of the Tokyo market’s midday break, the index was down about 5.5%, or about 1,900 points, at 33,945.43. The market’s broader TOPIX index fell as much as 7.8% before recovering to trade down 6.6%. Stocks tumbled Friday on worries the U.S. economy could be cracking under the weight of high interest rates meant to tame inflation. Early Monday, the future for the S&P 500 was 1.4% lower and that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.5%.

Joe Biden’s plan to ban a popular kitchen item sparks fury while the ‘world is on fire’ | 4 Aug 2024 | Republicans are outraged that the Biden administration is focusing their efforts on banning single-use plastic utensils as wars rage and the “world is on fire.” Earlier this month, the White House announced a plan to phase out single-use plastics for government facilities. The scheme will also add tougher regulations to plastic manufacturers in the U.S., the administration said. The “laughable” move will “raise costs” and hurt the U.S. plastic suppliers, Republicans charge, saying this effort is absurd and will surely backfire. “The world’s on fire and he’s worried about plastic forks,” Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told DailyMail.com, adding that policy is “par for the course” for the administration.

Kamala Harris’s husband Doug Emhoff admits to cheating on first wife after bombshell report he impregnated nanny | 3 Aug 2024 | Kamala Harris’s husband Doug Emhoff on Saturday admitted cheating on his first wife, following a bombshell report claiming he once got the family nanny pregnant. The second gentleman reportedly strayed from then-wife Kerstin over a decade-and-a-half ago with a blonde nanny, Najen Naylor, who taught at a private school attended by their two kids. Naylor did not keep the baby, a close friend with direct knowledge of the affair and pregnancy told The Daily Mail. It’s unclear what, exactly, the friend meant. Hours after the outlet’s report, Emhoff admitted having an affair in a statement to CNN that didn’t name Naylor or address her alleged pregnancy.