USA – Voice of America
Republican Representative Steve Scalise dropped his bid to become speaker of the US House of Representatives late Thursday, after failing to secure enough votes to win election. VOA’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson has more on how the US Congress is unable to act on Ukraine and Israel until a new leader is chosen.
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China’s consumer prices were flat in September, while factory gate prices saw annual declines slow for a third month.
The data underscores the uneven nature of the post-Covid recovery in the world’s second-largest economy that’s been further roiled by lingering debt concerns among its real estate developers.
The consumer price index was flat on an annual basis in September, the National Bureau of Statistics reported Friday, below than the median estimate for a 0.2% increase in a Reuters poll. CPI inched up 0.1% in August for the first year-on-year increase in three months.
Core inflation — excluding energy and food prices — however, climbed 0.8% in September from a year earlier, the bureau said in a separate statement. This rate of increase was similar to the one recorded in August.
The producer price index fell 2.5% from a year earlier, weaker than expectations for a 2.4% decline, after a 3% drop in August. The drop in factory prices, though, was the smallest in seven months.
Tepid prices underscore what China’s top leaders labeled as a “tortuous” economic recovery after the country emerged from its draconian zero Covid curbs toward the end of last year. China stands as a stark outlier among the world’s major economies that are mostly still battling stubbornly high inflation after the Covid-19 pandemic peaked.
In fact, China was tethering on the verge of deflation just months before. Despite narrowing producer prices in September, the decline is still the 12th straight monthly decline on an annualized basis.
“CPI inflation at zero indicates the deflationary pressure in China is still a real risk to the economy,” said Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management.
“The recovery of domestic demand is not strong, without a significant boost from fiscal support. The damage from the property sector slowdown on consumer confidence continue[s] to weigh on household demand,” he added.
Weaker food prices were a big drag on September’s consumer prices. Food prices collectively fell 3.2% from a year earlier.
In particular, China’s National Bureau of Statistics said the price of pork — a key staple meat in Chinese diets — tumbled 22% last month from a year ago. That’s as the price of livestock and meat collectively dropped 12.8% and the price of fresh vegetables fell 6.4%.
The bureau released information that showed China’s national consumer prices increased 0.4% overall in the first nine months this year, compared to a year ago.
Month-on-month, consumer prices edged up 0.2% in September, with food prices increasing 0.3% — representing a decrease of 0.2 percentage points from August’s print compared to the previous month.
“The market supply is relatively sufficient before the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day this year, and the food price increase is slightly lower than the historical average for the same period,” said Dong Lijuan, chief statistician of the Urban Department of the National Bureau of Statistics, in a statement.
China’s Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day were in early October this year.
This is a developing story. Please check back for further updates.
Congress
Several backers of Steve Scalise are opposed to Jim Jordan’s potential speakership bid out of frustration with how the Ohioan handled losing to the Louisianan after the House GOP’s internal election this week.
Count Rep. Ann Wagner (R-Mo.) in that camp. Asked if she would back Jordain following Scalise’s withdrawal from the speaker chase, she replied: “Absolutely not.”
“Yesterday in conference, he gave the most disgraceful, ungracious — I can’t call it a concession speech — of all time,” the Scalise ally added. “There were gasps in the room.”
Then Wagner recalled another moment that lost Jordan her support. It took place during a private meeting between Scalise and Jordan, less than an hour after the majority leader won the House GOP’s internal speaker ballot. Wagner wasn’t in the room, but she remained outside in Scalise’s office and took in the immediate aftermath.
According to Wagner and other House Republicans briefed on the meeting, Jordan said to Scalise: “You get one ballot. And when you go down, you will nominate me.”
She said Scalise pushed back, arguing he had won by the conference rules, to which Jordan replied: “America wants me,” before storming out the door.
Russell Dye, Jordan’s spokesperson, denied that Wagner’s recollection was accurate and noted that she was not part of the conversation directly.
“This was an entirely cordial conversation and Mr. Scalise said he wanted to go to the floor right away, so Mr. Jordan offered to nominate him on the floor, and requested that if we had to go to the floor and Mr. Scalise didn’t have the votes — he nominate Mr. Jordan, the only other announced candidate for speaker,” Dye said in a statement.
“Mr. Scalise agreed to think about it and said he would call Mr. Jordan in forty-five minutes,” he added. “Mr. Scalise is a great friend to Mr. Jordan and an incredible leader in our conference.”
US Top News and Analysis
Rachael Rodgers is a photographer who documents her road trips on Instagram.
But her travel companions aren’t family members or friends — they’re dogs without permanent homes.
Rodgers, who lives in the small hamlet of Exshaw in Alberta, Canada, said she has traveled with hundreds of dogs across Canada, plus three U.S. states — Washington, Utah and Oregon.
And it all started with an Instagram post, she said.
“There was no plan for such a project in the beginning,” she told CNBC. “I just found I had more followers on Instagram than I felt the need to post my personal photos to, so I decided to volunteer at a local shelter to take adoptable dogs out for photos and post them instead.”
Her first post about a rescue dog went viral, and she’s been photographing canine companions ever since, she said.
Rodgers works with more than 20 shelters now, she said, picking up dogs to take them hiking and kayaking at national and provincial parks. Even on her personal travels, Rodgers said she makes an effort to volunteer at shelters along the way.
She said nearly every dog that she has photographed has been adopted, with the exception of three: Paddy, Aurora and Wilma, shown above.
Rodgers’ work can be found on her Instagram account @trailsandbears, which showcases hundreds of dogs in the Canadian wilderness engaging in activities ranging from kayaking in Moraine Lake, Alberta, to mountain hiking in the Yukon, a territory in Canada.
“I usually go 60 to 90 minutes in any direction from where I live to start the adventure,” she said. “I make a flexible plan based on what information I get ahead of time about the dog.”
She tries to capture each dog’s personality in her photographs, she said. To do so, she said she chooses activities that each dog likes to showcase its strengths to potential adopters.
“The dogs usually ride in the back of my car … sometimes they prefer shotgun,” she said, adding that she usually posts videos of the dogs en route, so people can see how they respond to car rides.
“It used to be tricky a few years ago to show up at a [shelter],” she said. “I got some strange looks and lots of rejections. But the reaction I get these days — a lot of the time I don’t have to explain what I would like to do.”
Someone usually recognizes her from her Instagram page, she said.
Rodgers told CNBC Travel that traveling with rescue dogs can be challenging, but the need to represent them motivates her to keep volunteering.
“I do it because I have accidentally developed this tool, audience and ability to change a dog’s life, not because I like to or want to,” she said.
Rodgers said it’s vital to show rescue dogs in real-world environments too.
“You can’t judge a dog based on his or her character in a shelter environment — it’s not a natural space,” she said. “It’s imperative to get them out into a natural environment and do things their adoptive family may do with them,” she said.
For owners who want to travel with dogs, she recommends keeping an eye on a dog’s mood.
“And give them mental health stops to get out and sniff around to lighten things up,” she said.
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., is now facing additional charges of acting as a foreign agent and accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes to benefit the Egyptian government through his “power and influence as a Senator,” according to the superseding indictment filed by a grand jury in Manhattan on Thursday.
A superseding indictment is a formal document issued by a grand jury that replaces and expands upon a previous indictment in a criminal case. It is used when new evidence or charges arise after an initial indictment has been issued. In a statement to Fox News Digital after publication, Menendez denied the new charges and insisted he has always been “loyal to only one country — the United States of America.”
Menendez, along with his wife Nadine and three other New Jersey businessmen — Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes — were first charged in the federal bribery scheme on Sept. 23.
“Among other actions, MENENDEZ provided sensitive U.S. Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt,” the indictment states.
“It was a part and an object of the conspiracy that ROBERT MENENDEZ, the defendant, and others known and unknown, being a public official, directly and indirectly, would and did corruptly demand, seek, receive, accept, and agree to receive and accept something of value personally and for another person and entity, in return for being influenced in the performance of an official act and for being induced to do an act and omit to do an act in violation of his official duty,” the indictment reads.
MSNBC’S ALICIA MENENDEZ ADDRESSES FATHER’S INDICTMENT: COLLEAGUES HAVE ‘AGGRESSIVELY’ COVERED
Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife Nadine Menendez arrive at the federal courthouse in New York on Sept. 27, 2023.
The new indictment shows a photo of Menendez, Nadine and Hana with unidentified Egyptian officials in Menendez’s Senate office in 2018. Prosecutors allege the meeting included talks of “foreign military financing to Egypt.”
“Later that same day, Menendez sought from the State Department non-public information regarding the number and nationality of persons serving at the US Embassy in Cairo, Egypt,” the indictment states. “Although, this information was not classified, it was deemed highly sensitive because it could pose significant operational security concerns if disclosed to a foreign government or made public.”
Last month, Menendez stepped down “temporarily” from his post as chairman on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee “until the matter has been resolved,” Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., previously told Fox News.
DEMOCRAT SEN. MENENDEZ’S WIFE HIT, KILLED PEDESTRIAN WHILE DRIVING IN 2018: REPORTS
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., holds a press conference as he rejects accusations of corruption and calls from fellow Democrats to step down from Congress after he was indicted for a second time on Sept. 25, 2023. (Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
FBI and IRS criminal investigators allege that Menendez and his wife accepted several gold bars and other gifts from Daibes, a New Jersey developer and former bank chairman accused of banking crimes. Menendez allegedly worked to help appoint a prosecutor who would be sympathetic to Daibes, according to the indictment.
The unsealed indictment alleges that from at least 2018 through 2022, Menendez and his wife, Nadine, “engaged in a corrupt relationship” with Daibes, Hana and Uribe.
The couple is accused of accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes in exchange for using Menendez’s power and influence as a senator to seek to protect and enrich Hana, Uribe, and Daibes and to benefit the Arab Republic of Egypt.”
DEMOCRAT SEN BOB MENENDEZ FACING INDICTMENT ON BRIBERY CHARGES
Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife Nadine Menendez arrive at the federal courthouse in New York on Sept. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon)
The alleged bribes included cash, gold bars, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle and “other things of value.” After the investigation was underway, Menendez reportedly disclosed that his family had accepted gold bars in 2020.
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According to prosecutors, Menendez allegedly shared confidential U.S. government information with Hana, an Egyptian-American businessman, to clandestinely support the Egyptian government. The indictment contends that Menendez exerted inappropriate pressure on a Department of Agriculture official to safeguard Hana’s business monopoly granted by Egypt. In return, Hana purportedly funneled profits from his monopoly back to Menendez.
In response to the new charges, Menendez said in a statement to Fox News Digital: “The government’s latest charge flies in the face of my long record of standing up for human rights and democracy in Egypt and in challenging leaders of that country, including President El-Sisi on these issues. I have been, throughout my life, loyal to only one country — the United States of America, the land my family chose to live in democracy and freedom.
“Piling new charge upon new charge does not make the allegations true. The facts haven’t changed, only a new charge. It is an attempt to wear someone down and I will not succumb to this tactic. I again ask people who know me and my record to give me the chance to present my defense and show my innocence,” Menendez said.
This story has been updated.
Gaza and Jerusalem
CNN
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Gaza’s humanitarian crisis deepened Thursday, with warnings that the population is at risk of starvation and fuel could run out within hours, as Israel continues airstrikes and withholds essential supplies from the enclave in response to Hamas’ brutal terror attacks.
The decades old conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has entered uncharted territory this week as Israeli declared a “complete seige” on Gaza. Bombardment by Israeli war planes have reduced entire streets to rubble and killed over 1,500 people in the isolated and densely-inhabited area, including 500 children, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Israel’s stepped-up offensive in Gaza follows a bloody surprise attack by Hamas on October 7, which saw armed militants pour over the heavily-fortified border into Israel. The group’s gunmen killed more than 1,200 people, wounding thousands more in a coordinated rampage through farms and communities, and taking civilian and military captives. Some 150 hostages are thought to be currently held by Hamas in Gaza.
The atrocities committed by Hamas have sparked international revulsion and vows by Israel’s government to destroy the group, which controls Gaza and has continued to fire rockets at Israeli towns over the last five days.
In a press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Tel Aviv on Thursday, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hamas should be “crushed” and “spat out from the community of nations.”
Blinken vowed US support for Israel and likened Hamas’ crimes to ISIS. At least 25 Americans have been killed in Israel, he said.
He said he discussed with Israeli officials ways to address humanitarian needs in Gaza “while Israel conducts its legitimate security operations.”
More than 2 million Palestinians – including over a million children – live in the Gaza Strip, an area that has been under a land, sea and air blockade enforced by Israel since 2007.
Children make up “between 30 and 40% of the wounded” in recent Israeli air strikes on Gaza, British-Palestinian surgeon Ghassan Abu-Sittah told CNN on Thursday.
Speaking to CNN’s Christiane Amanpour from Al Awda Hospital in Gaza, Abu-Sittah said that “the overwhelming majority of the wounded are coming from the rubble of their own home.”
“There are body parts scattered everywhere. There are still people missing,” one man in the northern neighborhood of Al-Karama said. “We’re still looking for our brothers, our children. It’s like we’re stuck living in a nightmare.”
Among the dead are at least 12 United Nations employees, the UN said on Thursday. All of the aid workers who died were Palestinian, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric added.
Israel says its strikes are intended to target Hamas-associated locations.
Israel has also ordered a “complete siege” on the enclave, including halting supplies of electricity, food, water and fuel. Israel’s Energy Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that supplies would remain cut off until hostages being held by Hamas are freed.
“No electrical switch will be turned on, no water hydrant will be opened, and no fuel truck will enter until the Israeli abductees are returned home. Humanitarian for humanitarian. And no one will preach us morals,” Katz said on social media.
The European Union and the United Nations have strongly criticized the tactic, with the UN warning that withholding essential supplies will “precipitate a severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where its population is now at inescapable risk of starvation.”
Food and water are “quickly running out,” the deputy head of emergencies of the UN World Food Programme, Brian Lander, said Thursday.
More 338,000 people are have been displaced in Gaza, according to a statement by the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Thursday. The figure represents a increase of 30% since Wednesday.
Gaza’s only power station stopped working on Wednesday after running out of fuel, the head of the Gaza power authority Galal Ismail told CNN.
Hospitals are expected to run out of fuel on Thursday, leading to “catastrophic” conditions, the Palestinian Health Ministry warned.
A surge in injured people seeking treatment has pushed Gaza’s health infrastructure close to breaking point, according to Ashraf Al-Qudra, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health in Gaza. “Even after expansion, all beds are occupied, leaving no room for new patients in critical condition,” he said on Thursday.
The International Committee of the Red Cross warned on Thursday that hospitals in the enclave “risk turning into morgues” following Israel’s siege.
Palestinian Minister of Health Mai al-Kaila has called for urgent international assistance to help set up field hospitals in the Gaza Strip and to provide medicines and medical supplies.
“We are extremely worried that what is happening now is totally unprecedented,” Najla Shawa, an Oxfam worker in Gaza, told CNN. “We are talking about entire areas, not just one area. Entire areas are being wiped and destroyed.”
On Thursday, the IDF said it was continuing “large scale strikes on terror targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza strip,” as speculation of a possible ground incursion into Gaza grows.
Some 300,000 reservists have also been moved near the Gaza border, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), a huge mobilization given the country’s 9 million population.
“They are now close to the Gaza Strip, getting ready to execute the mission that they have been given,” Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said Wednesday said.
Video shows people trying to save themselves inside of bomb shelter in Israel during the Hamas attack
Israel’s government also said it was preparing its hospitals and healthcare system for “possible escalations in the security situation,” its health ministry said.
Hamas’ attack has also sparked some political unity in Israel after months of domestic friction with Netanyahu and National Unity Party leader Benny Gantz jointly announcing an emergency government and war management cabinet on Wednesday.
Gantz, a former defense minister, will join Netanyahu and current defense minister Yoav Gallant in a wartime cabinet.
“There is time for war and time for peace. This, now, is the time for war,” Gantz said during a televised address.
A diplomatic push is being made to try and bring about some sort of mediation.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will travel to Israel on Friday to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, according to a senior defense official.
Blinken will also visit Egypt as part of his trip, and will meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and King Abdullah II of Jordan on Friday.
Talks are currently “underway” to allow US citizens and Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip to exit the territory into Egypt ahead of any land invasion of the territory by Israeli forces, a senior Israeli official told CNN on Wednesday.
The official with knowledge of the negotiations said that under the proposal being discussed, all US citizens would be permitted to pass through the Rafah border crossing if they present their US passports, while the movement of other Palestinian civilians would be limited to 2,000 people a day.
A US official said on Wednesday that Cairo wants to use a humanitarian corridor to send food and medical supplies into Gaza, but does not to open the border in the other direction for civilians who are fleeing.
With the current Israeli blockade on Gaza, the only route through which people or aid can pass in and out of the strip is the Rafah Crossing, which links Gaza and Egypt, and has been damaged in Israeli airstrikes.
Horrifying details on the scale and nature of Hamas’ attacks have emerged each day, as well as tales of survival and bravery amidst the carnage. On Thursday, Netanyahu’s office released photos of “babies murdered and burned” by Hamas.
Tom Hand, a resident of the Be’eri, a kibbutz where Hamas gunmen left at least 120 dead, learned his daughter Emily, 8, was among those killed in Saturday’s onslaught.
“I knew she wasn’t alone, she wasn’t in Gaza, she wasn’t in a dark room filled with Christ knows how many people, pushed around… terrified every minute of every day, possibly for years to come. So death was a blessing,” he told CNN, his voice broken, tears streaming down his tired, ashen face.
‘Death was a blessing’: Father on learning fate of 8-year-old daughter
The fact that Hamas has taken an unprecedented number of hostages now complicates Israel’s response.
On Wednesday, International IDF spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, told CNN that Israeli authorities believe the hostages are being held underground.
“Reason dictates that they are underground,” he said. “Reason dictates that they planned in advance locations to hide these hostages and keep them safe from Israeli intelligence, and efforts to get them out.”
He said even though Israel has had “some experience” with hostage situations they have never dealt with anything like this.
Izzat al-Risheq, a senior Hamas official, told CNN on Wednesday that it’s too early to exchange Israeli hostages.
“There were many calls made by Arab and non-Arab states to Hamas leadership abroad asking about the possibility of exchanging Israeli captives with Hamas prisoners,” al-Risheq said from Doha, Qatar.
“But we told everybody that it’s now too early to discuss it while Israel continues to pound Gaza and kill Palestinian civilians indiscriminately.”
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A former consultant with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) pleaded guilty on Thursday for leaking tax information about former President Trump and others to news outlets between 2018 and 2020.
According to the Justice Department, Charles Littlejohn, 38, disclosed the tax returns of “thousands of the nation’s wealthiest individuals” to news organizations and tax information associated with a “high-ranking government official” to a second news outlet. Trump is not named in the complaint.
He pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of unauthorized disclosure of tax return and return information.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said that Littlejohn “betrayed the public’s trust” by stealing confidential information.
“By using his role as a government contractor to gain access to private tax information, steal that information, and disclose it publicly, Charles Littlejohn broke federal law and betrayed the public’s trust,” said Attorney Garland. “In every case, the Department of Justice is committed to following the facts wherever they lead and holding accountable those who violate our laws.”
The Justice Department said that Littlejohn accessed tax returns on an IRS database and saved the tax returns on personal storage device, including an iPod.
The Justice Department did not specify the two news organizations that Littlejohn leaked the documents to, but Fox News was told that the two organizations were the New York Times and Pro Publica, a New York City-based nonprofit investigative journalism group.
He will be sentenced on Jan. 29, 2024, and could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Fox News’ Louis Casiano Jr. and David Spunt contributed to this report.
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A Washington, D.C. teenager was arrested Wednesday, after allegedly getting into a scuffle with a rideshare driver over a pet dog and carjacking the driver’s vehicle, according to police.
The Metropolitan Police Department said at about 7 a.m. on Sunday, an Uber driver picked up 19-year-old Dax Franco Willis in the 300 block of Eastern Avenue, Northeast.
Willis attempted to bring a dog into the vehicle, but the driver told him the dog was not allowed in the car, police said.
When told he could not bring the dog along for the ride, Willis allegedly threatened to use pepper spray on the driver, and things escalated from there.
Police said Willis allegedly assaulted the driver, dragged her from her vehicle, stole her phone and fled in her car.
On Tuesday, police released dash camera images of Willis — who had not yet been identified — with hopes the public could help identify him.
REP. HENRY CUELLER SHARES FIRST PUBLIC COMMENTS SINCE ARMED DC CARJACKING: ‘SUPPORT LAW ENFORCEMENT’
The next day, Willis was arrested and charged with unarmed carjacking and robbery.
Uber did not immediately respond to inquiries about the carjacking.
The rideshare company requires all drivers to accept rides from passengers who travel with their service animals.
REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL STAFFER ATTACKED AT GUNPOINT, LAWMAKER SAYS
But when it comes to non-service animals, drivers are not required to allow the animal in the vehicle.
On the company’s website, Uber says, “If you’re planning to ride with a pet that’s not a service animal, it’s good practice to contact the driver who accepted your ride request to let them know.”
Uber also has a pet-friendly ride option called Uber Pet, in which passengers pay a little more to take one pet with them on their trip.
USA – Voice of America
U.S. Homeland Security officials have yet to see indications that calls for a day of anger on Friday by a former leader of the Hamas militant group will spark violence across the United States, though they remain worried that a torrent of images and propaganda could quickly change the threat landscape.
Federal and state law enforcement agencies have been increasing security around houses of worship and other sites in response to the plea by former Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal for Muslims to “to join in the fight” and deliver a “message of anger” in support of the group’s fight against Israel.
But the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said late Thursday there is nothing pointing to imminent violence.
“We, DHS and our intelligence partners do not at present have any specific and credible intelligence that would indicate any potential threat to the U.S. stemming from Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel at this time,” an official said, briefing reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the department.
“If any information is developed that would require that we adjust our security posture to protect the homeland, we are, of course, prepared to do that,” the official said. “But again, want to underscore at this stage, no specific credible intelligence indicating any potential threat to the homeland at this time.”
Despite the lack of intelligence, many law enforcement agencies, including those that protect the U.S. Capitol, are not taking any chances.
“There will be an increased security presence and activity on Capitol grounds over the next few days,” according to a memo Thursday by House sergeant-at-arms William McFarland that was obtained by Axios.
“During this time of enhanced vigilance, there will be seen and unseen security enhancements to include restrictions to the Capitol Plaza,” the memo said, citing the calls on social media and other platforms for “Day of Rage.”
Police departments in New York and Los Angeles have also ordered all personnel to be in uniform and on patrol in case of possible incidents.
Even the White House is taking notice.
U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday met with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to focus on support for Jewish, Arab and Muslim communities that could be at risk, due to the Hamas terror attacks that have killed at least 1,300 people in Israel and the Israeli military response, which has killed at least 1,500 people in Gaza.
Additionally, DHS hosted a call with almost 4,000 law enforcement officials while pushing out additional resources to some 2,000 agencies across the U.S.
“One of the things we made clear with our state and local partners … was just how volatile and unpredictable the threat environment might be,” the DHS official said. “The ways in which the conflict overseas or the conflict in Israel could escalate or expand beyond its current phase and the ways in which that might create additional homeland security challenges for us here.”
A second official, who also spoke to reporters on the condition of anonymity, said DHS is well aware of “the fears that we see in communities nationwide.”
“We have been actively engaged at the direction of the secretary to work directly with Jewish, Muslim, and Arab communities, law enforcement officials, state and local leaders to ensure that communities are vigilant against any potential threat of violence or disruption during this conflict,” the second official added.
Much of the potential threat is also hard to predict.
In repeated threat assessments, Homeland Security officials have warned the biggest danger is “marked by lone offenders or small group attacks that occur with little warning.”
The most recent threat assessment, issued in September, further warned of “enduring racial, ethnic, religious and anti-government ideologies” that could serve as motivation.
Adding to the concern are graphic videos of the Hamas attacks, pro-Hamas propaganda, images of the aftermath of Israeli military response in Gaza, and disinformation that have flooded social media platforms.
U.S. officials caution it is the type of material that could push those prone to violence over the edge.
“The volume and velocity of content flowing, tied to what’s going on can serve as an accelerant,” the first DHS official said in response to a question from VOA.
“It’s something we worry about,” the official added. “What it does is put even more pressure on our colleagues in local law enforcement who are often the ones to first observe or be in a position to first observe or become aware of someone’s move in that direction.”
U.S. law enforcement agencies are not the only ones worried about potential violence spilling over from Israel and Gaza into the U.S.
The U.S. military and its allies have also been keeping a close watch on Hezbollah and other Iranian-linked groups known to operate in Central and South America, whose members might be sympathetic to Hamas’ cause.
The U.S. is “watching very, very closely,” the commander of U.S. Southern Command said Wednesday during a forum in Washington.
“Working with our partner nations, obviously they’re concerned, too,” General Laura Richardson said in response to a question from VOA.
DHS officials, however, said Thursday that the department was not aware of any information suggesting that individuals with some sort of connection to the terror attacks in Israel or who are motivated by the attacks are currently seeking to use migration patterns to cross into the U.S. along its southern border.
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FOX News host Jesse Watters analyzes the war in Israel and the country’s defense capabilities on “Jesse Watters Primetime.”
JESSE WATTERS: Hamas would rather murder an Israeli with a missile than provide clean drinking water to their people. Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system is a trusted layer of protection. Hamas must rely on guerrilla warfare to survive, boosted by an arsenal of heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, long-range sniper rifles, and their own version of a Stinger. Hamas will also be leaning in with their al-Zawahiri, kamikaze drone named after the dead al-Qaeda leader. These could present a challenge.
Now, Israel’s arsenal is state-of-the-art. Their kit for fighter jets are equivalent to American F-35s, which they’re also flexing a fleet of, as well as multimillion-dollar baroque tanks, which feature AI technology built to survive Hamas Stingers. They’ll prove deadly in combat, and the Pentagon is already accelerating additional shipments of advanced weaponry to pad the Israeli army stockpiles. The Israeli Defense Forces, the IDF, will have all the resources necessary to win. For them, it’s personal.
…
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While Hamas is hunkering down inside an elaborate tunnel system, they’re pleading with their Arab neighbors to join the fight. The Hamas chief is calling on the Islamic world to engage in a global day of jihad tomorrow. We’ve seen Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syrian military already launching rockets within Israel from the north. A two-front war would certainly stretch the Israeli Defense Forces, which is why the United States soon will have two carrier groups deployed in the region, a strong message to wannabe allies of Hamas, who could get itchy trigger fingers.
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