National and international media news & headlines compiled by CLG

Mystery as Trump supporters suffer from burning eyes, temporary blindness after sitting behind former president at Arizona rally | 19 Sept 2024 | Supporters of Donald Trump say they’ve suffered from mysterious eye injuries after sitting behind him at his rally in Tucson on Thursday. At least half a dozen people said they were seated on stage behind Trump as the candidate addressed the spiraling cost of living crisis and unveiled a populist new policy, promising to end tax on overtime. But after the event, they became afflicted with a mysterious malady. Some complained of dealing with irritation in their eyes and needed medical attention. Mayra Rodriguez said that her “eyes were burning” once she left the rally and headed for the emergency room shortly after getting home from the speech. “The emergency room staff, from the triage nurse to the PA, asked, Are you sure you didn’t get sprayed with something? Your symptoms look like you got sprayed with something,” Rodriguez said. She said that whatever happened, for a couple of days afterward, she had nearly gone blind.

DoD plans Eastern Europe nuclear strike simulation to prepare for potential collapse of world’s agriculture system | 17 Sept 2024 | A program simulating the potential effects of a nuclear strike on worldwide agriculture is in the works at the Department of Defense, according to a procurement notice, and the focus will be on areas “beyond Eastern Europe and Western Russia.” The notice about the project appeared on the official U.S. government website for contract opportunities, SAM.gov. Its description states: “The minimum needs of this contract are that the contractor provide all personnel, equipment, facilities, supervision, and other items necessary to conduct studies that demonstrate modeling of nuclear warfare on a global scale that would lead to destruction of the agriculture systems such as farms.” The project will fall under the umbrella of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Engineer Research and Development Center, who are looking to model how food production systems could be affected by a nuclear disaster.

Trump and Kennedy warn of nuclear war risk | 17 Sept 2024 | Washington should open direct talks with Moscow right away and stop mistaking Russia’s restraint for weakness, the Republican presidential nominee’s son Donald Trump Jr. and former Democrat Robert F. Kennedy have said. RFK Jr, the nephew of President John F. Kennedy, endorsed Trump senior last month and cited the Russia-Ukraine conflict and its potential to escalate into a nuclear war as one of the main reasons. The U.S. and its allies allowing Ukraine to use their weapons for long-range strikes into Russia “would put the world at greater risk of nuclear conflagration than at any time since the Cuban missile crisis,” Trump and Kennedy wrote in an opinion piece published by The Hill on Tuesday. Titled “Negotiate with Moscow to end the Ukraine war and prevent nuclear devastation,” the article argues that the US must focus on finding a “diplomatic off-ramp to a war that should never have been allowed to take place,” accusing the White House of pursuing a policy that Russia has explicitly said would amount to open war.

Partial evacuation ordered in Russian city due to Ukrainian drone attack | 18 Sept 2024 | Partial evacuation has been ordered in Toropetz, a city of 11,000 to the northwest of Moscow, where “fragments” of a downed Ukrainian drone started a fire, Tver Region Governor Igor Rudenya said in the early hours of Wednesday. The city’s air defenses were activated to intercept an enemy UAV, Rudenya said. He added that emergency services are responding to the blaze caused by “the falling drone fragments.” The governor has ordered “partial evacuation of residents from the territory where the air defenses are active and [responders] are working to contain the fire,” according to a statement from his office. There are no reports of any casualties.

Russian forces liberate Donbass town – media | 17 Sept 2024 | The Russian military has liberated the Donbass town of Ukrainsk, RIA Novosti reported on Tuesday, citing a source within the security forces. The news agency also said it had obtained photos of Russian soldiers raising a flag over a mine located on the western outskirts of the town. The nation’s defense ministry has not commented on the development so far. It did not even mention Ukrainsk in its latest daily report on the situation on the frontlines. The town was mentioned in the ministry’s previous update, published on Monday, where it said that Moscow’s troops continued their offensive in the area, pushing Kiev’s troops away from their defensive positions and moving forward.

What’s going to explode next? The fridge? My phone? The scenes here in Lebanon are from a horror film –Fleshless faces, eyes hanging out. With dozens dead and thousands hurt, none of us feel safe, writes Hassan Harfoush | 18 Sept 2024 | Thousands of walkie-talkies, solar panels and fingerprint recognition devices used by Hezbollah fighters have detonated across Lebanon in the past two days, killing 14 and wounding hundreds of people including mourners at a funeral. The second wave of carnage comes a day after thousands of exploding pagers used by the group left almost 3,000 people injured and a dozen dead, including civilians and children. Security sources confirmed that hand-held radios were purchased by Hezbollah five months ago, at around the same time as compromised pagers. Lebanese media has also reported that home solar energy systems have blown up in several areas of Beirut.

Hezbollah vows retaliation after exploding pagers kill at least nine and hurt almost 3,000 | 17 Sept 2024 | Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate against Israel after pagers used by its members exploded across Lebanon simultaneously, killing at least nine people and wounding almost 3,000 in a dramatic and unprecedented attack at a time of heightened tensions in the Middle East. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the blasts, which came just hours after Israel announced it was broadening its aims in the war sparked by the Hamas attacks on 7 October to include its fight against Hezbollah along the border with Lebanon. Lebanon’s health minister, Firass Abiad, said the blasts on Tuesday killed a 10-year-old girl, among others. He told a press conference: “About 2,750 people were injured…more than 200 of them critically,” with injuries mostly reported to the face, hands and stomach.

Secret Service admits golf course wasn’t searched before Trump assassination attempt | 17 Sept 2024 | Secret Service agents didn’t sweep the outskirts of Donald Trump’s Florida golf course where his alleged would-be assassin was hiding because the former president’s visit was an “off-the-record” plan, the embattled agency’s acting director admitted. Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, allegedly set up a sniper’s nest on the edge of Trump International West Palm Beach and hid there undetected for nearly 12 hours before Trump, 78, teed off on Sunday afternoon, federal prosecutors said. Acting Secret Service head Ronald Rowe Jr. said Monday that agents didn’t mount an intense search of the perimeter because the 45th president’s round wasn’t on his official calendar. [Right, but neocon Lindsey Graham likely leaked the plan to Routh’s handlers.]

Accused Trump gunman hid in sniper’s nest for nearly 12 hours before he was spotted by Secret Service | 16 Sept 2024 | Ryan Wesley Routh, the alleged would-be Trump assassin, set up a sniper’s nest near the former president’s golf course and hid there for nearly 12 hours before the apparent ambush attempt, federal prosecutors said Monday. Routh’s cellphone pinged to the spot on the edge of Trump International West Palm Beach starting from 1:59 a.m. Sunday, the federal criminal complaint said. His gun barrel was spotted by a Secret Service agent about 1:30 p.m. – while Trump was on the links 300 to 500 yards away. In the sniper’s nest, agents found a digital camera, two bags and a loaded SKS-style rifle with its serial number scratched off and unreadable, according to the complaint. SKS-style rifles are not manufactured in Florida and the weapon was either brought in from another state or country, the complaint reads.

Second Trump assassination bid suspect was subject of 2019 FBI tip | 16 Sept 2024 | The FBI said Monday that the suspect in the second assassination attempt of former President Trump was the subject of a 2019 tip to the FBI. The new information was revealed during a Monday afternoon presser by Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B Veltri. “Following up on the tip, the alleged complainant was interviewed and…did not verify providing the initial information. The FBI passed that information to local law enforcement in Honolulu,” Veltri said. Veltri said the Martin County Sheriff’s Office took custody of the suspect, 58-year-old Ryan Routh, and he was transported back to Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Veltri said… He said that the suspect had been charged and convicted in 2002 in North Carolina for possession of a weapon of mass destruction. 

Alleged Trump gunman Ryan Wesley Routh was rejected as ‘wack job’ when he tried to volunteer for Ukraine, fighters say | 16 Sept 2024 | Alleged would-be Trump assassin Ryan Wesley Routh rolled up in Ukraine last year looking to fight the Russians and make an impact — but was quickly rejected and pushed aside after being dubbed a “wack job” and “off” by the more serious foreign fighters in the country, several sources involved in the volunteer effort said. While some had interacted with him personally, others told The Post they knew his “type” and were “not at all surprised by it.” “A crazy idiot, but no one’s really surprised. There are people like that that show up and are desperate to help and be important,” one American fighting for Ukraine told The Post. “And he was just one of those – just on the crazier end of things.”

Would-be Trump assassin ‘obsessed’ with Ukraine – media –The suspect was allegedly willing to “fight and die” for Kiev and tried to recruit volunteers to join him | 16 Sept 2024 | The man behind a botched assassination attempt against Donald Trump at his Florida golf club has been identified as Ryan Wesley Routh by multiple media reports citing anonymous law enforcement sources… A man by that name appeared to be a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its conflict with Moscow, according to U.S. media and internet users who analyzed his social media accounts before they were deleted. Routh’s social media profiles were filled with posts highlighting his “self-proclaimed involvement” in the Ukraine conflict and attempts to recruit soldiers to fight against Russia, according to CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller. Routh repeatedly voiced fierce support for Kiev in dozens of often nonsensical posts in 2022, saying he was willing to fight and die for Ukraine and “we need to burn the Kremlin to the ground,” according to CNN.

Would-be Trump assassin echoed Harris’s, Biden’s anti-Trump rhetoric as he backed Dem candidates and worked to recruit fighters for Ukraine | 15 Sept 2024 | His social media account was also filled with nonsensical tweets and replies while also voicing strong support for Ukraine in its war against Russia and Taiwan in its issues with China. One reply to X’s owner Elon Musk seemed to entertain purchasing a rocket from him. “I would like to buy a rocket from you. I wish to load it with a warhead for Putin’s Black Sea mansion bunker to end him. Can you give me a price please. It can be old and used as not returning,” Routh wrote. He claimed on X that he tried to “sell” the idea of having former Afghanistan troopers fight for Ukraine in Russia, but was denied multiple times before giving up after six months. He also said that he visited Kiev and claimed that he would be willing to fight on the frontlines, if he were permitted to. In a 2022 interview with Newsweek Romania, Routh, wearing an American flag-style shirt, spoke about recruiting others to fight in Kiev.

‘This Error Is Regrettable’: Hundreds of Non-Citizens Registered to Vote by Oregon’s Department of Motor Vehicles | 14 Sept 2024 | Officials in Oregon admitted Friday that a data entry mistake registered over 300 non-citizens to vote in the state since 2021, The Associated Press (AP) reported. Kevin Glenn, a spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Transportation, said an analysis conducted by the department showed that 306 non-citizens were registered to vote when they applied for driver’s licenses, according to the AP. Of those mistakenly registered, two have voted since 2021 in spite of state and federal laws restricting non-citizens from voting, Glenn added, according to the AP. Glenn explained that DMV employees sometimes incorrectly indicate that a person applying for a driver’s license or state ID has a U.S. birth certificate or passport even if they don’t, the AP reported.

Fatal accidents in Springfield, Ohio, jumped four-fold last year – as residents say migrants unfamiliar with U.S. rules | 15 Sept 2024 | Fatal car accidents in Springfield, Ohio, increased four-fold last year, The Post has learned — as residents say a surge of Haitian migrants unfamiliar with US driving has turned their streets into the Kentucky Derby. Eight people were killed in seven car accidents in Clark County in 2023, up from just two fatalities in two accidents in 2022, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol overseeing the county comprising the small city. Traffic accidents involving injuries in Springfield have also risen, climbing to 414 so far this year compared to 362 in 2023 – a 14% increase… Longtime residents of Springfield have repeatedly said many of the newly arrived Haitian migrants – about 20,000 have moved to the city of 60,000 since 2020 — have been involved in a spate of frightening accidents on their roads.

Federal Reserve cuts interest rates 48 days from Election Day –First rate reduction in four years | 18 Sept 2024 | The Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced a long-awaited interest rate cut, lowering the benchmark rate by 50 basis points from what was the highest level in 23 years as the central bank eased borrowing costs following progress in the fight against inflation. The Fed’s first interest rate cut since March 2020 lowers the benchmark federal funds rate to a range of 4.75% to 5%. Interest rates had been at a range of 5.25% to 5.50% since July 2023, the highest level since 2001, as the central bank monitored economic data for signs that stubborn inflation was trending toward its 2% target. Recent months delivered signs of progress that inflation is heading toward the Fed’s target, although the latest data showed it isn’t quite there yet.

Sean Combs is denied bail despite offer of $50million and denial of charges | 17 Sept 2024 | Sean “Diddy” Combs was denied bail today on sex trafficking and racketeering charges in a bombshell development in his downfall. The 54-year-old star was sensationally arrested last night after traveling to New York City to work with prosecutors. He denies the claims — which include allegations of drug-fueled “freak offs” where he is said to have forced victims into having sex with each other — and stashing weapons. Diddy is also accused of beating more women than Cassie Ventura, the ex who he was filmed savagely beating in a hotel hallway. In a desperate attempt to remain free, he begged for bail, proposing his own home and his mother’s as part of a 50million surety. Now, he is headed for a jail cell.