Prepared for the Office of Public Affairs (OPA)
U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Editorial Note: The DHS Daily Briefing is a collection of news articles related to Department’s mission. The inclusion of particular stories is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse the political viewpoints or affiliations included in news coverage.

Reuters [9/24/2024 3:01 PM, Staff, 37270K, Neutral] reports that the United States on Tuesday announced it was admitting Qatar into its visa waiver program, allowing visa-free travel by Qatari citizens for up to 90 days starting no later than Dec. 1. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State said in a statement that Qatar is the first Gulf country to be admitted to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, commending Doha for meeting the strict security requirements to join. The tiny Gulf state has played a key role in mediation talks with Hamas and Israeli officials in relation to the war in Gaza and the release of hostages captured by the Palestinian Islamist group in its Oct. 7 cross-border attack on Israel. An administration official told reporters the U.S. has a strong defense relationship with Qatar and praised Doha for taking the lead on pressing the Taliban on human rights and providing assistance in Sudan, among other issues. "Qatar’s fulfillment of the stringent security requirements to join the Visa Waiver Program will deepen our strategic partnership and enhance the flow of people and commerce between our two countries," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. The AP [9/24/2024 3:00 PM, Matthew Lee, 16227K, Positive] reports that the departments of State and Homeland Security jointly announced that Qatar had met stringent eligibility requirements to join the visa waiver program. Those requirements include a low visa refusal rate, a low rate of visa overstays and a demand of reciprocal treatment of American travelers, who are already allowed to visit Qatar without a visa for up to 30 days. “Qatar has been an exceptional partner for the United States, and our strategic relationship has only grown stronger over the past few years,” the departments said in a statement. “This is further evidence of our strategic partnership and our shared commitment to security and stability.” Qatar, which has played a key role in trying to negotiate a cease-fire deal in Gaza and was an instrumental U.S. partner before and during the American withdrawal from Afghanistan, is the 42nd country to be admitted to the program. Most countries whose citizens can visit the U.S. without a visa are longstanding allies in Europe and Asia. The only other Muslim-majority country in the program is the tiny Southeast Asian nation of Brunei. The Miami Herald [9/25/2024 4:51 AM, Darryl Coote, 6765K, Positive] reports Qatar’s designation was announced on Tuesday by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who said Doha’s participation in the program "increases information sharing regarding one of the world’s busiest travel and transfer hubs, strengthening the security of the United States." "Qatar’s fulfillment of the stringent security requirements to join the Visa Waiver Program will deepen our strategic partnership and enhance the flow of people and commerce between our two countries," Mayorkas said in a statement. "Qatar’s entry will make travel between the United States and Qatar safer, more secure, and easier for both Americans and Qataris." Meshal Al Thani, Qatar’s ambassador to the United States, said in a statement that they are "proud of this significant development" in their relationship with the United States. "Qatar’s inclusion in the U.S. Visa Waiver Program reflects the deepening of the already strong relationship between our two countries," Thani said. "At a security level, this designation comes as our countries work closely together across a range of critical areas, including counterterrorism, combating illegal financial networks and human trafficking."

Reported similarly:
CBS News [9/24/2024 4:43 PM, Camilo Montoya-Galvez, 59828K, Positive]

The Washington Post [9/24/2024 10:02 PM, Perry Stein and Mark Berman, Neutral] reports the gunman accused of bringing a rifle to Donald Trump’s golf course in Florida was indicted Tuesday and charged with attempting to assassinate the former president. Ryan Routh, 58, had initially faced two federal firearms charges, but prosecutors said during a court hearing Monday that they would ask a grand jury to charge him with attempting to assassinate Trump, who is also the 2024 Republican nominee. That charge — attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate — carries a potential sentence of life in prison. Routh also was charged with assaulting a federal officer and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. The new counts mark a significant escalation in the federal case against Routh, which Trump had criticized Monday, saying the initial counts were “a slap on the wrist.” “Violence targeting public officials endangers everything our country stands for, and the Department of Justice will use every available tool to hold Ryan Routh accountable for the attempted assassination of former President Trump charged in the indictment,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. Routh was accused by law enforcement officials of bringing the rifle to Trump’s West Palm Beach, Fla., golf course while the former president was golfing Sept. 15. A Secret Service agent working on Trump’s security detail spotted him in the brush and then opened fire after seeing a rifle. Authorities said Routh did not fire a shot during the encounter. In a court filing Monday, they said he had left a handwritten letter with a friend months earlier that stated, “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump.” The AP [9/24/2024 10:16 PM, Eric Tucker, 4566K, Negative] reports that the upgraded charges contained in a five-count indictment reflect the Justice Department’s assessment that he methodically plotted to kill the Republican nominee, aiming a rifle through the shrubbery surrounding Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course on an afternoon Trump was playing on it. Routh left behind a note in which he described his intention, prosecutors said. Court records show the case has been assigned to Aileen Cannon, a Trump-appointed federal judge who generated intense scrutiny for her handling of a criminal case charging Trump with illegally hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. She dismissed that case in July, a decision now being appealed by special counsel Jack Smith’s team. The attempted assassination indictment had been foreshadowed during a court hearing Monday in which prosecutors successfully argued for the 58-year-old Routh to remain behind bars as a flight risk and a threat to public safety. They alleged that he had written of his plans to kill Trump in a handwritten note months before his Sept. 15 arrest in which he referred to his actions as a failed “assassination attempt on Donald Trump” and offered $150,000 for anyone who could “finish the job.” That note was in a box that Routh had apparently dropped off at the home of an unidentified witness months before his arrest

Reported similarly:
Wall Street Journal [9/25/2024 7:40 PM, Sadie Gurman, Neutral]
Los Angeles Times [9/24/2024 8:43 PM, Eric Tucker, 26099K, Negative]
Reuters [9/25/2024 2:13 AM, Andrew Goudsward, Jasper Ward and Sarah N. Lynch, 37270K, Neutral]
CBS News [9/24/2024 7:25 PM, Caitlin Yilek, Neutral]
NBC News [9/24/2024 7:27 PM, Michael Kosnar, Daniel Barnes and Dareh Gregorian, Neutral]

The Washington Post [9/25/2024 5:00 AM, Maria Sacchetti and Jacqueline Alemany, 52865K, Neutral] reports a Senate committee investigating the July 13 shooting at a Donald Trump rally is urging Congress to evaluate the Secret Service’s budget and require that the agency provide security to U.S. leaders and political candidates based on the threats they face, and not whether they are in office, according to a preliminary report to be released Wednesday. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee included these and other recommendations in a 94-page report that details the operations and communication failures that allowed a 20-year-old gunman to climb atop an unsecured roof at a Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pa., and fire eight shots at the stage, killing an attendee and wounding Trump and two others. The Secret Service has said it is seeking a significant increase to the agency’s $3 billion annual budget to hire more agents, update equipment, and increase training after the Pennsylvania shooting and a potential attack against Trump in Florida on Sept. 15. The bipartisan Senate panel appeared divided over how much more money to give the agency amid concerns that some agents denied responsibility or “deflected blame” for the security failures at the rally. Senators suggested that Congress require the Secret Service to record its radio transmissions at “all protective events.” ABC News [9/24/2024 5:55 PM, Allison Pecorin, Neutral] reports that the bill, which cleared the House last Friday, a week after the second apparent assassination attempt on President Donald Trump, will now head to President Joe Biden’s desk for final approval. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., brought the bill forward for unanimous approval on Tuesday afternoon. "We all know why this legislation is needed. In a span of just 65 days … President Trump has been the target of two assassination attempts," Scott said. "I’m proud to lead this effort in the Senate. I’m on the floor today to request the immediate passage of the Enhanced Presidential Security Act so we can send this good and necessary to President Biden’s desk so it may become law. Our action today goes beyond the simple language of this bill." Sen. Chris Murphy, the Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, and a Democrat, said that he did not believe the legislation would have any meaningful impact on the security posture surrounding Trump but did not object to it moving forward. As noted, Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe has stated that Trump is already receiving the highest level of U.S. Secret Service protection. Murphy said the upcoming supplemental funding for the Secret Service set to be included in the short-term funding measure is a more meaningful approach to upping Trump’s security. "Let’s move ahead with this bill. I don’t think it actually solves the problem. Let’s pass the additional money so they have everything they need to get the job done. And then let’s sit down and have a broader conversation about why we have seen this spike in political violence, what other ways Republicans and Democrats can come together," Murphy said.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [9/24/2024 6:19 PM, Al Weaver, Neutral]
NBC News [9/24/2024 5:54 PM, Kyle Stewart, Kate Santaliz and Raquel Coronell Uribe, Neutral
CNN [9/24/2024 5:59 PM, Morgan Rimmer, Neutral]
FOX News [9/24/2024 5:43 PM, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Neutral]

AP [9/25/2024 5:03 AM, Mary Clare Jalonick and Rebecca Santana, 16227K, Neutral] reports multiple Secret Service failures ahead of the July rally for former President Donald Trump where a gunman opened fire were “foreseeable, preventable, and directly related to the events resulting in the assassination attempt that day,” according to a bipartisan Senate investigation released Wednesday. Similar to the agency’s own internal investigation and an ongoing bipartisan House probe, the interim report from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee found multiple failures on almost every level ahead of the Butler, Pennsylvania shooting, including in planning, communications, security and allocation of resources. “The consequences of those failures were dire,” said Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, the Democratic chairman of the Homeland panel. Investigators found that there was no clear chain of command among the Secret Service and other security agencies and no plan for coverage of the building where the shooter climbed up to fire the shots. Officials were operating on multiple, separate radio channels, leading to missed communications, and an inexperienced drone operator was stuck on a help line after his equipment wasn’t working correctly. Communications among security officials were a “multi-step game of telephone,” Peters said. The report found the Secret Service was notified about an individual on the roof of the building approximately two minutes before shooter Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire, firing eight rounds in Trump’s direction less than 150 yards from where the former president was speaking. Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, was struck in the ear by a bullet or a bullet fragment in the assassination attempt, one rallygoer was killed and two others were injured before the gunman was killed by a Secret Service counter-sniper.

NBC News [9/25/2024 5:01 AM, Ryan Nobles, Ryan J. Reilly and Frank Thorp V, 46778K, Neutral] reports that the Senate Homeland Security Committee and its Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations said in a joint interim report in their investigation of the Butler, Pennsylvania, shooting Wednesday that responsibilities weren’t clearly defined ahead of the July 13 rally and that personnel they interviewed who were responsible for planning have “deflected blame.” While the Secret Service has acknowledged "ultimate responsibility" for the failure to prevent Trump’s being struck by a bullet, the report says key Secret Service personnel "declined to acknowledge individual areas of responsibility for planning or security as having contributed to the failure to prevent the shooting that day." The report also highlights the types of technological issues that are common within massive federal bureaucracies like the Secret Service.

Reported similarly:
CNN [9/25/2024 5:01 AM, Staff, 24052K, Neutral]

FOX News [9/25/2024 5:00 AM, Michael Ruiz, David Spunt, 48844K, Negative] reports a preliminary report on the July 13 assassination attempt on former President Trump from the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs ripped into newly revealed missteps that went into the Secret Service’s planning and execution of security at the event during which a spectator was killed, two others were seriously wounded and the GOP candidate was struck on the ear. Among the key failures, an agent inexperienced with drone equipment called a toll-free tech support hotline for help after a request ahead of time for additional unmanned assets was denied, according to a preliminary summary of findings made public Wednesday. According to the committee, he had just an hour of informal training with the device. "Multiple foreseeable and preventable planning and operational failures by USSS contributed to [Thomas] Crooks’ ability to carry out the assassination attempt of former President Trump on July 13," the preliminary report reads. "These included unclear roles and responsibilities, insufficient coordination with state and local law enforcement, the lack of effective communications, and inoperable C-UAS systems, among many others." According to testimony from agents from Trump’s detail and the Pittsburgh field office, neither of them were aware at the time when, 27 minutes before the shooting, the Secret Service’s security room and counter-sniper team was informed that a suspicious person had been spotted near the AGR building with a range finder; the shooter eventually took position on the roof of that building.

The New York Times [9/24/2024 10:55 PM, Chris Cameron, 147417K, Negative] reports former President Donald J. Trump was briefed on Tuesday by U.S. intelligence officials about “specific threats from Iran to assassinate him,” according to his campaign. U.S. intelligence agencies had previously tracked a potential Iranian assassination plot earlier this summer, with officials stressing that they did not consider the threat related to the shooting in July that wounded Mr. Trump. Earlier this month, another man was arrested by the police after he was found lurking with a gun near Mr. Trump’s golf course in Florida. The federal government will pursue a charge of attempted assassination against that man, and there is no evidence to suggest that plot was related to Iran. Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesman, said that the threats from Iran were part of “an effort to destabilize and sow chaos” and that “intelligence officials have identified that these continued and coordinated attacks have heightened in the past few months.” A spokeswoman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence acknowledged the briefing took place but declined to answer questions or provide any specifics. It is not clear if the intelligence officials provided new details about existing threats by Iran against Mr. Trump or if spy agencies had gathered information about new plots against him. NBC News [9/24/2024 11:14 PM, Raquel Coronell Uribe and Dan De Luce, Neutral] reports "President Trump was briefed earlier today by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence regarding real and specific threats from Iran to assassinate him in an effort to destabilize and sow chaos in the United States," spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement. “Intelligence officials have identified that these continued and coordinated attacks have heightened in the past few months, and law enforcement officials across all agencies are working to ensure President Trump is protected and the election is free from interference." A spokesperson for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Tuesday evening acknowledged there was a briefing but declined to address any specifics. Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Harris campaign did not have an immediate comment. The Secret Service ramped up security around Trump this year when the Biden administration received intelligence about an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate Trump.

Reported similarly:
USA Today [9/24/2024 12:58 PM, Josh Meyer, 79123K, Negative]

Yahoo! News [9/24/2024 12:36 PM, Sean Craig, 60726K, Negative] reports that Donald Trump’s campaign was hacked by malicious online actors in the last 10 days, suggesting previously reported cyberattacks on the Republican nominee’s campaign may be ongoing, according to a report. Judd Legum, founder and chief reporter of the newsletter Progressive Information, wrote that he received messages from an account using the alias "Robert," who provided internal Trump campaign dossiers and documents dated as recently as Sept. 15, or nine days ago. The account did not provide an identity, Legum said, but suggested it was the same "Robert" who reportedly sent stolen Trump campaign records to The New York Times, Politico, and The Washington Post in August and July. Legum said "Robert" sent him dossiers, dated between February and April, on potential Trump running mates, including North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Trump’s eventual pick, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), all of which numbered in the hundreds of pages and were marked "Privileged and Confidential." Like other outlets that have been sent files by "Robert," Popular Information will not publish them. "The materials are stolen, and publishing the documents would be a violation of privacy and could encourage future criminal acts," he wrote. The most recent document sent by "Robert" was a Sept. 15 letter from a Trump lawyer to three people at The New York Times, which Legum said has not been made public by either party. Legum gave the letter to digital outlet Semafor, which confirmed its authenticity with a Times source. That, Legum noted, is confirmation that "Robert" has material stolen from the Trump campaign only nine days ago. USA Today [9/24/2024 5:44 PM, Josh Meyer, 79123K, Negative] reports Legum − whose emails to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign chairman were hacked by Russia and released by Wikileaks − wrote that he would not publish the Trump documents he’d received, but he provided details of how he was approached by the "Robert" persona. The purported intermediary eventually sent Legum a 271-page Vance dossier, along with similar dossiers on two other potential Donald Trump running mates — a 382-page document on North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and a 550-page document on Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, both from last spring. All of the dossiers, he said, were marked "Privileged & Confidential."

NBC News [9/24/2024 2:01 PM, Kevin Collier, 46778K, Neutral] reports that propagandists in China, Iran and Russia are using artificial intelligence to create content designed to deceive Americans ahead of the November presidential election, federal intelligence officials said Monday. In a conference call about foreign election interference efforts organized by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, officials said the U.S. intelligence community has concluded that AI has made it easier to create disinformation, but has not fundamentally changed the way those actors operate. “The IC considers AI a malign influence accelerant, not yet a revolutionary influence tool. In other words, information operations are the threat, and AI is an enabler,” said one ODNI official, referring to the U.S. intelligence community. The official requested not to be named as a condition for participating in the call. “Thus far, the IC has not seen it revolutionize such operations,” he said. In its assessment of the impact of disinformation, the official noted that U.S. adversaries struggle to avoid detection by Western AI companies, have not developed particularly advanced AI models of their own, and struggle to effectively disseminate AI-generated content. ODNI declined to provide specific examples of the disinformation that it was referring to but said that, in general, the number of election interference efforts was increasing ahead of November.

The Hill [9/24/2024 4:13 PM, Brooke Migdon, 19591K, Neutral] reports hate crimes motivated by anti-LGBTQ animus rose again last year, according to FBI data published Monday, a troubling increase that gay and transgender rights advocates believe is linked to ramped-up rhetoric and legislation targeting the community. While violent crime in the U.S. fell roughly 3 percent from 2022 to 2023, hate crimes were largely unchanged, according to the FBI report. Sexual orientation and gender identity ranked as the third and fourth most prevalent bias motivation in 2023, behind race and ethnicity — which accounted for more than 50 percent of all hate crimes last year — and religion. The FBI recorded 2,402 incidents related to a person’s actual or perceived sexual orientation in 2023, up from 1,947 in 2022. Incidents related to an individual’s gender identity totaled 547 last year, compared with 469 in 2022. More than 20 percent of hate crimes reported in 2023 were motivated by anti-LGBTQ bias, according to Monday’s FBI report, roughly unchanged from 2022.

Newsweek [9/24/2024 1:14 PM, Dan Gooding, 49093K, Negative] reports that the United States announced Tuesday it was seizing assets belonging to two transnational gangs known for trafficking fentanyl and people into the country - the Mexican Sinaloa Cartel and Colombian Clan Del Golfo (CDG). Known for its role in smuggling people through the notorious Dairen Gap in Panama, CDG is also one of Colombia’s largest drug traffickers, the U.S. Department of the Treasury explained. Sinaloa, meanwhile, allegedly sets up businesses in Mexico which mostly appear legitimate, but are used as part of its fentanyl operation across the border with the U.S. "President Biden and Vice President Harris are committed to using every tool at our disposal to combat the cartels that are poisoning our communities with fentanyl and other deadly drugs," Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said in a press release. "Treasury will remain relentless in disrupting the financing that fuels illicit fentanyl trafficking, including the business ventures that line the pockets of Sinaloa Cartel members." The restrictions on the two groups, effectively preventing them from accessing assets held in the U.S., reflect an ongoing effort to thwart efforts by transnational criminal gangs operating in the country. Over 350 individuals have been sanctioned over the past two years, the Treasury said.

AP [9/24/2024 12:30 PM, Alanna Durkin Richer, 31638K, Negative] reports that the son of the man suspected in the assassination attempt in Florida against former President Donald Trump has been arrested on federal charges of possessing child sexual abuse images. Oran Alexander Routh was arrested this week after authorities searched his Greensboro, North Carolina, home "in connection with an investigation unrelated to child exploitation," and found hundreds of files depicting child sexual abuse, an FBI agent said in court papers. Investigators who seized multiple electronic devices found videos sent to Oran Routh in July as well as chats from a messaging application commonly used by people who share child sexual abuse material, the FBI agent said. He faces two charges of possessing and receiving child sexual abuse material and is expected to appear later Tuesday in federal court in North Carolina. There was no attorney listed for Oran Routh in court papers. Phone messages left for relatives of Oran Routh were not immediately returned. Oran Routh’s father, Ryan Wesley Routh, has been charged with federal gun offenses in connection to the attempted assassination at Trump’s Florida golf course earlier this month. Prosecutors have indicated much more serious attempted assassination charges are coming.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [9/24/2024 3:40 PM, Lauren Irwin, 19591K, Negative]
Newsweek [9/24/2024 1:33 PM, Jenna Sundel, 6765K, Negative]
USA Today [9/24/2024 1:14 PM, Bart Jansen, 79123K, Negative]

Newsweek [9/24/2024 12:26 PM, Billal Rahman, 6765K, Negative] reports that Texas Governor Greg Abbott is offering a $5,000 bounty for information that leads to the capture of members of the notorious Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) that has "spread terror and carnage" across the United States. The crime syndicate has gained nationwide attention after a viral video showed armed members of the group storming an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado. TdA originated as a prison gang in Aragua, Venezuela, but it rapidly expanded in recent years, according to the U.S. Department of State. "Tren de Aragua has spread terror and carnage in every country they’ve been in, and Texas will not allow them to gain a foothold in our state," Governor Abbott said in a statement. "Today, I am announcing a reward for any information that leads to the identification and arrest of known or suspected members of this gang who have been or are involved in heinous crimes. Texas will not let these thugs use our state as a base of operations to terrorize our citizens. "I encourage anyone with information on Tren de Aragua to call the Texas Crime Stoppers hotline or submit an anonymous tip online. With the public’s help, combined with the hard work of federal, state, and local law enforcement, we will capture these dangerous gang members and put them behind bars for good." On September 16, Abbott signed a proclamation designating the gang as a foreign terrorist organization.

CBS Detroit [9/24/2024 5:16 PM, Meredith Bruckner, 59828K, Neutral] reports the Livingston County Board of Commissioners on Monday passed a resolution that requires the sheriff’s office to track all contact it has with undocumented immigrants. The move has been slammed by civil rights and community groups, who say it "fosters division" and "endangers residents." The Michigan Public Radio [9/24/2024 3:17 PM, Sarah Cwiek, 131K, Neutral] reports Livingston County commissioners approved an intensely controversial new policy Monday night that directs the county sheriff to "document contacts with illegal immigrants regardless of the nature of the contact." That means that the sheriff’s office is now tasked with determining who may be in the country illegally and reporting that, regardless of whether it involves a larger criminal matter. The meeting where commissioners approved the resolution was fiery, with a mix of residents both vehemently supporting and opposing the measure. USA Today [9/24/2024 1:54 PM, Tess Ware, 79123K, Neutral] reports that the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan has condemned a resolution approved in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn area on Monday, which directs police to track any and all contact with undocumented immigrants. The ACLU released a joint statement with 18 organizations that advocate for immigrants and specific racial groups —including Behavior Analysts of West Michigan, Intentional Life Counseling and Addictions Treatment, and the National Association of Social Workers Michigan Chapter. “We are deeply concerned about the passage of a resolution in Livingston County that, with the cooperation of the sheriff’s department, formalizes a plan to have law enforcement target immigrants who live and work in the county,” the statement reads. “Commissioners risk running afoul of the law and igniting costly court fights while at the same time fostering division and endangering all the county’s residents.” The resolution requires LCSO to document interactions between undocumented immigrants and deputies “no matter the nature of the contact.” The language approved Monday refers to Vice President Kamala Harris as “the Border Czar” and claims (without data) that undocumented immigrants are contributing to a spike in crime. According to data from the FBI, while there was an increase in violent crime during the COVID-19 pandemic, those numbers have been dropping nationally and in Michigan.

Reported similarly:
Yahoo! News [9/24/2024 11:17 AM, Staff, 60726K, Neutral]

Washington Examiner [9/24/2024 12:12 PM, Emily Hallas, 3358K, Negative] reports that Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) is backing off from expanding job opportunities and housing for undocumented immigrants ahead of Election Day. The Democratic governor recently vetoed legislation that would have allowed major universities across the Golden State, including the University of California and California State University, to hire undocumented students for campus jobs. Newsom’s move to block Assembly Bill 258 will affect roughly 55,000 undocumented students living in the state. In a message announcing the veto, Newsom expressed a desire for state courts to clarify the legality of such a measure before he signed it into law. "Given the gravity of the potential consequences of this bill, which include potential criminal and civil liability for state employees, it is critical that the courts address the legality of such a policy and the novel legal theory behind this legislation before proceeding," he said. Near the beginning of September, Newsom struck down another piece of legislation that would have expanded mortgage aid to illegal immigrants. The Democratic-controlled state legislature passedAB 1840 at the end of August. While it would have allowed undocumented immigrants to access state-funded interest-free loans for down payments on homes, Newsom said he was "unable to sign the bill" because of shortages in the state budget.

San Diego Union Tribune [9/24/2024 9:01 AM, Emily Alvarenga, 3336K, Negative] reports that, after negotiations with a local migrant services group failed, San Diego County has selected a Virginia firm to help establish and operate its new migrant transfer center. The county posted an online notice last week that it would enter into contract negotiations with Providencia Group to operate the center and assist newly arrived migrants. Since 2022, the company, which specializes in humanitarian operations and disaster response, has been operating a similar migrant services center in El Paso, Texas. San Diego County’s efforts to establish its own permanent migrant center began in May, when supervisors decided to use $19.6 million in federal funds to move forward with plans. The board had previously decided last fall, with the surge in migrant arrivals, to spend $6 million to operate a temporary migrant center. That facility closed in February when funding ran out. If negotiations for the new center are successful, the county intends to award Providencia Group an 18-month contract for approximately $18 million, with four one-year extension options. Originally, in July, the county had chosen Jewish Family Service of San Diego - which runs the region’s oldest respite shelter - to operate the new day center, but last week they said they had mutually agreed to end talks. County officials said they could not comment on the announcement of the new operator, as they have entered the five-day protest period and are opening negotiations. Providencia Group could not immediately be reached for comment. To fund the center, the county plans to use part of its federal allocation from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Shelter and Services Program, or SSP, which funds humanitarian services for newly arrived migrants. Some local migrant services groups have already expressed concerns about the choice of a non-local contractor. "There have already been doubts, questions and shortcomings in the services provided (locally) to families who have ended up on the streets or facing unnecessary risks," said Adriana Jasso, U.S.-Mexico border program coordinator for the American Friends Service Committee.

Newsweek [9/24/2024 4:41 PM, Dan Gooding, 49093K, Negative] reports an illegal immigrant pleaded guilty Monday to killing his girlfriend and dumping her body on the side of a freeway in Michigan, after former President Donald Trump highlighted the case earlier in the year. Brandon Ortiz-Vite, 25, shot Ruby Garcia dead inside a car on the side of U.S.-131 in Grand Rapids in March after she told him she didn’t want to be with him anymore. The Mexican national, whom ICE confirmed to Newsweek this year was in the U.S. illegally, then dumped the 25-year-old’s body and fled. He handed himself over to police two days later in a phone call made from a nearby church. Ortiz-Vite pleaded guilty to four offenses, including second-degree murder. He will avoid a trial and will be sentenced on October 31. Ortiz-Vite, who entered the country illegally as a child, was removed from the U.S. by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on September 29, 2020, over a drunk-driving offense. He crossed back into the U.S., but it is unknown if that was during Trump’s term or once Biden was in office.

CBS News [9/24/2024 8:02 PM, S.E. Jenkins, 59828K, Negative] reports almost a dozen people were arrested during Operation Heatwave, a multi-agency initiative led by the Fort Worth Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit. Between August 7 and 9, the operation identified and arrested 10 North Texans and one Australian who sought to engage in illegal sexual activities with minors. Undercover agents used various online platforms to communicate with suspects, resulting in multiple arrests and disruption of exploitation attempts. "We want to send a clear message: we will not tolerate any attempt to harm our children," said Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes. "The Fort Worth Police Department, alongside our dedicated partners, will continue to use every resource at our disposal to target and bring these offenders to justice. I want to thank all the officers and agents involved in this operation for their hard work and dedication." The operation included the Fort Worth Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking Unit, Directed Response Unit, Intelligence Unit, Real-Time Crime Center and Electronic Surveillance Unit. The Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division, Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office, Haltom City Police Department, North Richland Hills Police Department, Irving Police Department, Keller Police Department, Mansfield Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, United States Secret Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were partners in the operation. Authorities highlighted the operation’s success as a demonstration of law enforcement’s commitment to protecting children and combating online exploitation through collaborative efforts. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS Austin [9/24/2024 10:48 AM, Chris Papst, 703K, Negative] reports that work has begun in Annapolis to change Maryland laws after a WBFF investigation found an MS-13 gang member who was a murder suspect was allowed to enroll in Baltimore-area public high schools. This comes as Project Baltimore continues to learn more about the criminal investigation into Walter Martinez. Turns out, local police asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement for help but ICE said no. "I think the concern is not just in that part of the state. I think the concern is something that we, collectively, as Marylanders feel," stated Maryland Governor Wes Moore during an interview last week with WBFF. When Gov. Wes Moore took office nearly two years ago he made his intentions clear. "We have said that public safety is going to be our number one priority," he explained. Days before Moore was sworn in as Maryland’s Governor in January 2023, Aberdeen Police arrested Martinez for allegedly murdering 20-year-old Kayla Hamilton. At the time, Project Baltimore learned Martinez was attending Edgewood High School in Harford County - even though, according to charging documents, he was an MS-13 gang member and murder suspect who was in the country illegally. And no one at the school was alerted about Martinez’s past. When Kayla was murdered on July 27, 2022, Police quickly identified Martinez as the main suspect. Since he was in the country illegally, and a known MS-13 gang member, Aberdeen Police requested that ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, hold Martinez until the investigation was complete. But ICE denied the request.

AP [9/24/2024 12:01 PM, Staff, 44095K, Positive] reports that Paperfree.com, a leading online resource for investors seeking U.S. permanent residency, is proud to announce the expansion of its comprehensive EB-5 Investor Visa Program. Designed to assist high-net-worth individuals in obtaining a U.S. Green Card, the program offers a seamless, expert-guided pathway to residency in America. The U.S. EB-5 Visa program, created by Congress in 1990, provides foreign investors with an opportunity to gain U.S. permanent residency through a qualifying investment in a new commercial enterprise that creates or preserves 10 full-time jobs for U.S. workers. This program has become a popular avenue for global investors looking to secure their future in the United States. Paperfree.com is revolutionizing the EB-5 Visa process by providing free EB-5 Visa Evaluation services, coupled with complimentary consultations from seasoned EB-5 Visa Consultants. These experts bring years of experience in navigating the complex immigration landscape, ensuring that investors receive personalized guidance tailored to their unique circumstances.

Newsweek [9/24/2024 12:18 PM, Jack Royston, 49093K, Neutral] reports that a judge has ruled that Prince Harry’s visa records should remain private, but the think tank behind the lawsuit is considering an appeal. The Heritage Foundation sued the Biden administration to force the publication of the Duke of Sussex’s application to enter the United States. The Department of Homeland Security fought the case, arguing Harry had a right to privacy, and won on Monday. However, the Heritage Foundation has now said it is exploring an appeal and suggested that the case for former President Donald Trump deporting Harry if he regains the White House "just got a lot more compelling." Newsweek reported that the lawsuit had been terminated earlier in September. On Monday, a memorandum of the judge’s decision was made public, with several passages redacted. Mike Howell, executive director of the think tank’s Oversight Project, said in a statement to Newsweek: "The Prince Harry scandal just got a lot more suspicious. While our case is far from over as we explore appeal, I’d say that these very curious redactions point to something serious afoot. The Heritage Foundation argued that Prince Harry’s account of taking drugs, including cannabis, magic mushrooms, cocaine and ayahuasca, in his memoir, Spare, should have ruled out his entry into the U.S. if he disclosed his experiences in immigration papers.

Reported similarly:
Yahoo! News [9/24/2024 7:57 AM, David Gardner, 60726K, Negative]

CBS Austin [9/24/2024 5:27 PM, Kristine Frazao, 703K, Neutral] reports among the latest challenges for those tasked with securing the border is an alarming trend of human smugglers using children, even "recycling "them, to make it easier to enter the country. In an interview with The National Desk, Mark Morgan, former acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection said, "Migrants and the smugglers know that’s the equivalent of an automatic passport in the United States." The Border Chief in El Centro, California, USBP Chief Patrol Agent Gregory K. Bovino, posted photos of children who had been smuggled and heavily dosed with sleep aids to prevent the children from speaking to authorities.

St. Louis Public Radio [9/24/2024 6:00 AM, Kallie Cox, 321K, Negative] reports hundreds of National Guardsmen have spent the past three years rotating through a deployment in Texas. They’ve traded Midwestern green grass, highways and sprawling crop fields for dusty roads, a dry riverbed and close-ups of concertina wire thousands of miles away from their families. Baking for hours in the withering heat, the troops from Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska share a mission under the banner of Operation Lone Star: Intercept immigrants arriving illegally and drugs crossing the U.S. border from Mexico. “Political theater” is how immigration and border relations researcher Tony Payan describes the operation. He regularly travels both sides of the border interviewing activists, migrants and experts about immigration. Unlawful migration has become a political flashpoint since Donald Trump began campaigning on the issue and arguing for a border wall in 2015. It continues to be a key element of GOP campaigns. According to a July poll from Gallup, about 55% of Americans support a decrease in immigration to the U.S. Payan, director of the Center for the U.S. and Mexico at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, said the troops tasked with maintaining these border patrols have become increasingly stressed as long stretches of inactivity and heat take their toll. The Republican governors of Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska, along with Republican governors from other states, said the troops would be intercepting human smugglers and massive shipments of fentanyl. There were predictions of mass arrests, drug busts and the apprehension of suspects on the terrorist watchlist.

CBS Detroit [9/24/2024 10:00 AM, Sara Powers, 59828K, Neutral] reports that three men were detained Monday after crossing the St. Clair River from Canada using a raft, police said. Port Huron police responded to reports of three Hispanic men crossing the river and learned they abandoned the raft near the mouth of the Black River. When officers arrived at the scene, they found men carrying duffel bags and running northbound on Michigan St. near Grand River Ave. The men were detained and turned over to U.S. Border Patrol for entering the U.S. illegally. Police say all of the men were identified as Mexican citizens. "We urge residents to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious activity to the Port Huron Police Department immediately," said Port Huron police. "Your cooperation is vital in helping us maintain the safety and security of our community." Also, on Monday, a man tried to cross another border into the U.S. from Canada, by swimming across the Detroit River. The man was rescued by a mailboat and told crewmembers he was attempting to return to the U.S. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Border Report [9/24/2024 7:41 PM, Sandra Sanchez, 121K, Neutral] reports the State of Texas is building a new operating base that will eventually house as many as 2,300 National Guard troops stationed along the South Texas border. The new Forward Operating Base in Eagle Pass has over 700 troops currently stationed at the facility, which is being built near the banks of the Rio Grande in an area that has always been popular for illegal border crossings. The rows of identical housing barracks will cost over $131 million and should be completed in November, Border Report has learned. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on May 31 toured the facility and welcomed in the first batch of 300 soldiers to move in as part of the state’s Operation Lone Star border security initiative. “More will arrive here soon. Texas will not stop until we gain full operational control of the border,” Abbott said at the time. Once completed, the state’s military headquarters will relocate to this 80-acre base in Eagle Pass from its current location in McAllen, Texas Maj. Gen. Thomas Suelzer said. Migrants encounters by U.S. Border Patrol in the Rio Grande Valley, where McAllen is located, have dropped dramatically this year. In August, encounters were down 71% from December, according to recent data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Migrant encounters in the Del Rio Sector, which includes Eagle Pass, are down 74% in August from August 2023. But there were still over 2,400 more encounters in the Del Rio Sector in August than in the Rio Grande Valley, CBP reports.

Government Executive [9/24/2024 4:29 PM, Eric Katz, 420K, Negative] reports federal Air Marshals are overworked and leaving the agency at an alarming rate, a representative for the workforce told Congress on Tuesday, and they are seeking a new agency to house them. The marshals are always on call and often have to work in 20-hour shifts, John Casaretti, president of the Air Marshal Association told a panel of the House Homeland Security Committee, leading to low morale throughout the workforce. Exacerbating the issue, he said, are the lack of details employees are given on why they are sent on flights and the general feeling the law enforcement personnel serve no purpose on them. The marshals are pushing the Transportation Security Administration, their parent agency, to use more data and intelligence for determining when to place them on flights. Casaretti cautioned, however, TSA’s mission does not align with that of the Federal Air Marshals Service. Asked to where FAMS should be relocated, he said Congress would have the best judgment to make that determination but floated the Transportation Department or elsewhere within the Homeland Security Department as possibilities.

CBS 7 [9/24/2024 5:09 PM, Derek Kravitsky, KHNL and Jordan Gartner, 294K, Neutral] reports authorities in Hawaii say a man has been arrested after they found him carrying a powerful synthetic opioid in his bag at the airport. According to Hawaii County Police, Transportation Security Administration agents stopped Olaf Seyler, 60, at Hilo International Airport on Sept. 21 because they spotted what looked like a gun in his carry-on. Authorities said an X-ray screening appeared to show a pistol in Seyler’s bag, but upon a further search, they uncovered a glass smoking pipe with white powdery substances. TSA agents said they also found 27 resealable packets containing a powdery rock-like substance, a digital scale and an imitation airsoft pistol. Officers executed a search warrant on the bag and ended up finding 24.57 grams of fentanyl in the packets. Based on this information, the fentanyl seized had the potential to result in more than 12,000 lethal doses. Additionally, detectives recovered methamphetamine and an additional .93 grams of fentanyl from the carry-on.

CNN [9/25/2024 2:58 AM, Taylor Ward and Dalia Faheid, 24052K, Negative] reports thousands of Florida residents have been forced to evacuate as the state prepares for rapidly strengthening Tropical Storm Helene, which could bring powerful winds, flooding and life-threatening storm surge to areas already hard-hit by recent hurricanes. Helene is on track to make landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast – possibly in the Big Bend region – late Thursday and threatens to become the strongest storm to hit the United States in over a year. Expected to become a hurricane on Wednesday, Helene would be the fourth hurricane to make landfall in the US this year and the fifth to slam Florida since 2022. The storm, which formed in the northwestern Caribbean Sea Tuesday morning, is strengthening at a breakneck pace. It could take Helene just 48 hours to go from a 45 mph tropical storm to a Category 3 major hurricane as it rapidly intensifies over the extremely warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. As of 11 p.m. ET, Helene’s maximum sustained winds had increased to 60 mph with higher gusts, the center said. A flood watch has been issued for more than 20 million people from Florida through the southern Appalachians. The Big Bend area faces the most serious storm surge: up to 15 feet of it is possible. Helene comes as Florida’s Big Bend region is still recovering from several recent hurricanes. Hurricane Debby slammed into the region in early August as a Category 1 and recovery efforts are still ongoing as the region braces for another blow. Idalia – the last hurricane to make landfall in the US as a Category 3 – also came ashore in the Big Bend region and generated a record-breaking storm surge from Tampa to the Big Bend in August last year.

AP [9/25/2024 12:41 AM, Heather Hollingsworth and Luis Alberto Cruz, 34590K, Negative] reports Tropical Storm Helene was rapidly strengthening in the Caribbean Sea and expected to become a hurricane Wednesday while moving north along Mexico’s coast toward the U.S., prompting residents to evacuate, schools to close and officials to declare emergencies in Florida and Georgia. The storm is forecast to be “near hurricane strength” when it passes near Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula early Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said, and to “intensify and grow in size” as it moves north across the Gulf of Mexico. Heavy rainfall was forecast for the southeastern U.S. starting Wednesday, with a “life-threatening storm surge” along the entire west coast of Florida, according to the center. Helene is expected to become a major hurricane — a Category 3 or higher — on Thursday, the day it’s set to reach Florida’s Gulf Coast, according to the hurricane center. The center has issued hurricane warnings for part of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and Florida’s northwestern coastline, where large storm surges of up to 15 feet (4.5 meters) were expected. Mexico is still reeling from former Hurricane John battering its other coast. John hit the country’s southern Pacific coast late Monday, killing two people, blowing tin roofs off houses, triggering mudslides and toppling scores of trees, officials said Tuesday. John grew into a Category 3 hurricane in a matter of hours Monday and made landfall about 80 miles (128 kilometers) east of the resort of Acapulco, near the town of Punta Maldonado, with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (193 kph) before weakening to a tropical storm after moving inland. Helene, which formed Tuesday in the Caribbean, is expected to move over deep, warm waters, fueling its intensification. People in regions under hurricane warnings and watches should be prepared to lose power and should have enough food and water for at least three days, forecasters warned.

Reported similarly:
Reuters [9/24/2024 1:22 PM, Dave Sherwood, 37270K, Negative]
Newsweek [9/24/2024 4:40 PM, Tom Howarth, 6765K, Neutral]

CBS Miami [9/24/2024 11:06 AM, Staff, 59828K, Neutral] reports that Gov. Ron DeSantis has expanded a declared state of emergency to 61 of the state’s 67 counties with only some counties in Southeast Florida excluded as Tropical Storm Helene heads toward Florida and is expected to rapidly grow into a powerful hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico. "I think the fact that this would be forecasted as a major (hurricane) at this point without formation, shows that this has a potential to be a really, really significant storm," DeSantis said during a news conference Tuesday morning at the state Emergency Operations Center. He expanded the list from 41 counties. Helene is forecast to reach northern Florida this week with life-threatening storm surge and winds that will cause widespread power outages. "It’s going to be a hurricane, at least a Cat 1 (Category 1), possibly a Cat 2. Will it be stronger than that? That remains to be seen," said Felecia Bowser, meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service Tallahassee. "Those types of clarifications are going to be coming in the next day or two, where we can see if we are going to be faced with a major hurricane." A period of rapid intensification is forecast from Wednesday morning to Thursday afternoon. The latest forecast calls for the storm to be a major hurricane making landfall late Thursday along the Nature Coast. The forecast cone has continued to focus on this area but, as of Thursday morning, has the storm center anywhere between Panama City and Tampa.

CNN [9/24/2024 6:30 PM, Staff, 24052K, Neutral] reports Deanne Criswell joins The Lead. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS Los Angeles [9/24/2024 2:35 PM, Staff, 59828K, Neutral] reports that California’s incident support team is being deployed to Florida ahead of Tropic Storm Helene’s expected arrival. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the deployment on Tuesday. A total of seven firefighters from California’s Urban Search and Rescue Task Force Incident Support Team are being sent to Florida. The governor noted that the deployment won’t impact California’s emergency response capabilities. "California stands ready to help assist where needed, even as we face ongoing wildfires in our state. This storm is dangerous and has the potential to produce heavy rainfall, storm surge and strong winds. We are glad to lend a helping hand to those in Helene’s path," Newsom said in a statement. Tropical Storm Helene is forecasted to be on a path for Florida’s Gulf Coast. Forecasters also believe the storm will rapidly intensify to a Category 3. The storm is predicted to make landfall by Thursday evening with peak sustained winds of 115 mph. California often deploys emergency response specialists ahead of and in response to major incidents around the country. The California team members headed to Florida will come from search and rescue task forces in Oakland, Orange County, Riverside, Sacramento and San Diego.

Yahoo! News [9/24/2024 10:22 AM, Staff, 60726K, Neutral] reports that with another hurricane expected to make landfall in Florida later this week, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) continues to accept applications for disaster assistance from those impacted by Hurricane Debby. Residents may be eligible for financial assistance for displacement, serious needs, temporary lodging, basic home repairs, personal property losses and other uninsured disaster-related expenses. The deadline to apply is Oct. 9. To date, FEMA has approved $32.5 million in assistance to households. Those who wish to apply can do so online at DisasterAssistance.gov, on their phones or tablets through the FEMA app, by calling 800-621-3362, or by visiting one of FEMA’s mobile Disaster Recovery Centers. Hurricane Debby roared ashore near Steinhatchee the morning of Aug. 5 as a category 1 storm. According to a preliminary report from the UF/IFAS Economic Impact Analysis Program, rainfall from the storm exceeded 15 inches in some parts of northern Florida. The report also says that storm surge caused by Hurricane Debby "might have exceeded 12 feet on the barrier islands and coastline of Florida." The report estimates that the storm impacted more than 2 million acres of agriculture lands - much of it for grazing - and total agriculture production loss is estimated between $93 million and $263 million.

ABC News [9/25/2024 12:37 AM, Jason Volack, Victoria Arancio, and Jolie Lash, 31638K, Positive] reports a chemical leak from a railcar prompted officials to issue an evacuation order for residents in the Cleves and Whitewater Township areas in Hamilton County, Ohio, authorities said Tuesday. Hamilton County’s Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency told anyone within half a mile of the rail yard to leave the area immediately. Authorities confirmed the leak was styrene, a flammable liquid used to make plastics and rubber, according to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. "The risk of an explosion is our primary concern," an official said at a Tuesday night news conference. "We are asking residents within a three-quarter-mile radius to shelter in place as a precaution. Experts have assured us that this is well within the safety norms." Officials said 210 homes were located in the designated evacuation zone, though how many people have been impacted was not immediately known. Those needing shelter were advised to go to the Whitewater Township Center, officials said. Although authorities said at an 11 p.m. ET news conference that the leak had been contained, people were still urged to avoid the area.

Chicago Tribune [9/24/2024 3:08 PM, Tess Kenny, 5800K, Neutral] reports that will County residents impacted by the July storms that incited severe weather, flooding and a flurry of tornadoes, including one that passed through south Naperville, are now eligible for federal assistance. President Joe Biden approved a disaster declaration for Illinois authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to offer individual assistance to areas most affected by the storms that swept the state and other parts of the Midwest from July 13 to 16, according to a FEMA news release. With the declaration, federal funding has been made available to affected individuals in Will as well as Cook, Fulton, Henry, St. Clair, Washington and Winnebago counties. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-interest loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the storms, per FEMA’s release. According to the National Weather Service, mid-July’s severe weather caused a bout of thunderstorms and ultimately what’s known as a derecho - a well-organized and long-lived complex of thunderstorms - to roll across Iowa, Illinois and parts of Indiana. With the storms came damaging winds of 60 to 100 miles per hour as well as numerous tornadoes - including several in Will County. On July 15 alone, the weather service confirmed the severe weather event produced 48 tornadoes across Illinois.

Reuters [9/24/2024 7:01 AM, Natalia Siniawski, Anushree Mukherjee, 37270K, Negative] reports Hurricane John has been downgraded to a tropical storm and is moving northwestward after it made landfall on Mexico’s southern Pacific coast late on Monday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory. The storm was about 115 miles (185km) north west of Punta Maldonado, Mexico, packing maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110kph), the Miami-based forecaster said on Tuesday. John, which made landfall as a powerful Category 3 storm, is bringing life-threatening winds, storm surges, and heavy rain to the area. It hit near Marquelia, Guerrero, with sustained winds of 120 mph (193 kph). "Life-threatening flash flooding to continue along Southern Mexican coast for the next few days," the NHC said, despite the downgrade to tropical storm. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday urged residents to seek higher ground, emphasizing that the priority was to save lives. Authorities declared a red alert for parts of Guerrero and Oaxaca, where rainfall could exceed 250 mm (10 inches), leading to severe flooding and mudslides. The Mexican port town of Puerto Escondido, in Oaxaca, saw residents rushing to secure boats and beach gear, while schools in affected areas were closed.

WGME [9/24/2024 10:08 AM, Ariana St Pierre, Neutral] reports that police in Jay are warning businesses to be on the lookout for fake money. According to police, fake currency is starting to show up at businesses in town. “Please pay attention to the bills you are receiving,” the Jay Police Department said. Police say the bills look legitimate at a glance, but they are replica money made for movies.

AM New York [9/24/2024 12:30 PM, Ben Brachfeld, 535K, Neutral] reports the NYC Ferry system suspended service on Tuesday at four stops along the East River, part of the general transport chaos seen in New York each year during the United Nations General Assembly. The city’s Economic Development Corporation, which runs the ferry service, said just before 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 24 that service was suspended at the stops at Astoria, Roosevelt Island, Long Island City, and Hunters Point South, citing “increased security restrictions for the UN General Assembly.” Service at these stops was still not restored by noon. The snarl comes as the UN General Assembly descends on Manhattan, bringing diplomats and dignitaries from most of the world’s 197 countries into the Big Apple and leaving New Yorkers with some of the slowest traffic of the year. Each day this week has been designated as a “Gridlock Alert Day,” and commuters are being encouraged to use mass transit. A spokesperson for EDC said that the ferry system will face continued disruptions throughout the General Assembly, which ends on Sept. 28. Those decisions are at the discretion of the Coast Guard and the Secret Service, the spokesperson said. These could include “delays and/or cancellations” along the Astoria, Soundview, and East River routes, according to the ferry’s website.

ATM Marketplace [9/24/2024 9:00 AM, Staff, Neutral] reports police in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, are on the lookout for Mark Puskas, 39, who has been charged with installing skimmers on ATMs in the area, according to a report by Local 21 News. He has been charged with eight counts of skimming. The search is ongoing and police ask anyone with information to contact Det. Dan Smeck at 717-554-1341.

CBS Pittsburgh [9/24/2024 11:27 PM, Jennifer Borrasso, 59828K, Neutral] reports leaders in Butler County said local law enforcement is ready for former President Donald Trump to return for a rally next month. CBS News reported that Trump will return to the site of the first assassination attempt against him in the first week of October, according to two sources familiar with the Trump campaign’s planning. The rally is scheduled for Oct. 5 at the Butler Farm Show fairgrounds, CBS News reported. During Trump’s rally in Butler Township on July 13, gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks climbed on top of the roof of the AGR building and fired eight shots, hitting Trump, killing Corey Comperatore and critically injuring two others. Butler leaders said a contract has not been signed for the farm show, but Butler Township Manager Tom Knights said officers are ready and waiting. "Thus far, we have not been contacted by any agency or campaign about a return rally," Knights said on Tuesday. The United States Secret Service said there will be significant changes for Trump’s second visit. Since the attempted assassination in Butler Township, the former president has spoken at his outdoor rallies from behind bulletproof glass. Debbie Desmond and her daughter were at the rally on July 13. She said she is determined to see Trump again. "I do not have any concerns," Desmond said. "I do want to go see him."

CBS17.com [9/24/2024 8:57 PM, Rodney Overton, 1095K, Positive] reports a woman nabbed in a counterfeit money operation “aggressively” dragged a young child to her Audi SUV while trying to flee officers in Aberdeen, police said Tuesday. The arrest happened Sept. 19 at a business along U.S. 1 at Magnolia Drive after a report of fake money being used, according to a news release from the Aberdeen Police Department. When officers arrived, they spotted a woman “aggressively dragging a young child toward her vehicle, an Audi Q3 SUV, while attempting to flee,” the news release said. After a “brief encounter,” police managed to detain the woman under a charge of child abuse. When police were investigating, the woman was found with additional counterfeit bills and that she had used fake cash at other Aberdeen businesses, officers said. The child was not injured. Christian Ki’elle Redfearn, 23, of Charlotte faces several charges including: five counts of felony possessing a counterfeit instrument, felony obtain property by false pretenses, posses stolen property, resist a public officer, assault on a government official, child abuse. Redfearn was taken before a Moore County Magistrate, where she was given a $83,500 secured bond.

WSAV [9/24/2024 8:30 PM, Kaley Fedko, 272K, Neutral] reports former President Donald Trump visited Savannah on Tuesday, just over a week after a second assassination attempt on him. Security was top of mind for his Hostess City trip as evidenced by the law enforcement presence downtown. The Savannah Police Department, Georgia State Patrol and Georgia Southern Police Department were on hand in addition to U.S. Army snipers and the Secret Service. One woman who was on stage with Trump during his remarks at the Johnny Mercer Theatre said she felt nothing but safe. “From the time we got here this morning, we noticed law enforcement everywhere and then every step we took it seemed like there was metal detectors and law enforcement, Secret security, deputies, military, so it was heavily guarded I feel like.” In Washington, lawmakers are rushing to figure out exactly what might help to ensure that the Secret Service has enough money and resources to keep the nation’s presidential candidates safe. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

Atlanta Journal And Constitution [9/24/2024 8:07 AM, Chip Towers, 3188K, Neutral] reports Donald Trump plans to attend another Alabama-Georgia football game this weekend. Spectators also heading to Saturday’s matchup in Tuscaloosa can only hope the former president’s visit is slightly less chaotic this time around. Trump, the Republican nominee for November’s presidential election, was the sitting president when he attended the College Football Playoff Championship game between Georgia and Alabama at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Jan. 8, 2018. The logistical problems that created that night are the stuff of legend. “It’s the ultimate good-news, bad-news scenario,” said Bill Hancock, then-executive director of the College Football Playoff. “You’re delighted to have the leader of the free world attend your game. But from an event operations standpoint, it’s extremely difficult.” Similar to what University of Alabama officials are dealing with this week, game organizers had barely a week’s notice of Trump’s visit to Atlanta’s national championship game in what was then a new facility. The Secret Service’s security detail to ensure the president’s safety closed the Mercedes-Benz Stadium’s gates just as the majority of spectators were trying to enter the stadium. That caused delays of up to two hours for many people coming to see the game. What made it worse, the delays came during a steady downpour on a cold January night. “It’s kind of like the weather; it’s one of those things you can’t control,” said Dan Corso, president of the Atlanta Sports Council. “You can’t say no to rain, and you can’t say no to the president.” Alabama officials are watching the weather this year as well. As luck would have it, a tropical disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico is expected to develop into Hurricane Helene and was bearing down on the Alabama coast Tuesday. However, the latest forecast models have it clearing out of the Tuscaloosa area before Saturday’s game.

FOX News [9/24/2024 6:08 PM, Bradford Betz, Neutral] Video: HERE reports U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland confirmed Tuesday the Justice Department will cooperate with Florida in its independent probe of an alleged assassination attempt on former President Trump. Speaking at a press conference, Garland called the alleged attempted assassination a "heinous act" and said he was "grateful" the former president is safe. "As I said immediately after the event, the Justice Department would spare no resource to ensure accountability in this matter. Since then, our prosecutors and agents … have been working around the clock to discover the necessary evidence to ensure accountability," Garland said. Trump survived an alleged attempt on his life Sept. 15 after the Secret Service opened fire on a suspect hiding in shrubbery surrounding Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course, where the Republican presidential candidate was playing a round. The suspect, identified as 58-year-old Ryan Routh, fled the area but was quickly arrested during a traffic stop near Palm City, Florida. He remains in federal custody. It was just over two months since a 20-year-old gunman climbed to the roof of a building on the perimeter of a Trump rally and opened fire, narrowly missing the former president just minutes into his speech. The second alleged assassination attempt on Sept. 15 reignited criticism over the Secret Service’s handling of Trump’s security.

WPBF [9/24/2024 6:55 PM, Terri Parker, 480K, Neutral] reports that, following a second attempted assassination Sept. 15, Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe last week said former president Donald Trump has been receiving presidential level security since the assassination attempt against him in July. But the day before, Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said it was because Trump was not the sitting president that Bradshaw’s deputies didn’t sweep the outside of the golf course where suspect Ryan Routh was hiding in the hedges with a semi-automatic rifle. “I said right now, he’s not the sitting president, so it’s not an automatic presidential thing. So, it’s kind of taken out of context. Doesn’t mean he can’t have it, doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve it," Bradshaw told WPBF 25 News Investigative Reporter Terri Parker in an exclusive interview. Bradshaw says he has a detail constantly assigned to Trump whenever he is in town but it’s up to the secret service to tell him if they need even more protection -- which he says he could produce in ten minutes. “Yeah, I could -- I can make anything happen that they want to have happen.” Bradshaw says when Trump made an off-the-schedule trip to the golf club on the 15th, Bradshaw wasn’t asked to cover the perimeter with K9s and to post sentries, but he did fly a drone. “Yes, we had it up there. But you’ve got to remember, they’re on batteries, right? So at some point in time, I brought mine down to change the batteries and then put it back up.

25 News Now [9/24/2024 4:07 PM, Jason Howell, 303K, Neutral] reports police in Lewistown and Farmington are warning Casey’s customers to pay close attention to their bank statements after credit card skimmers were found. Police said both stations in Lewistown and the one in Farmington were affected. Maintenance workers Sunday found what appeared to be credit card skimmers on pumps 3 and 4 at the Casey’s on North Main and Pumps 1 and 2 at the Casey’s on South Main in Lewistown and one attached to Pump 2 at the Casey’s on South Main in Farmington. Anyone who has used these pumps from Sept. 18-23 is urged to pay close attention to their bank statements and to report any unusual activity to their financial institution and local police department.

United States Department of Justice [9/24/2024 11:00 AM, Staff, Positive] reports Anjelica Clark, 35, of Indianapolis, has been sentenced to 200 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to advertising and possession of child sexual abuse material. According to court documents, between May 21, 2022, and February 4, 2023, Clark used an adults-only chatroom website to advertise and sell child sexual abuse material. Clark uploaded more than 800 advertisements selling other users access to images and videos of child sexual abuse material in exchange payments through Venmo or CashApp. Approximately 400 of these advertisements contained images of the sexual abuse of children. Clark told some buyers that the material she had for sale included images of the sexual abuse of babies as young as seven-months-old. Law enforcement officers also located a large collection of videos and photos on Clark’s cellphone, including files depicting adult men having sex prepubescent children. “A civilized society is judged in large part by how we care for our children. This defendant demonstrated her utter disregard for children’s dignity or safety, instead working to profit from spreading depictions of their vile abuse,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Criminals who pollute the internet with these horrific videos and images of abuse will be found and held accountable. Our office will continue to use every tool and partnership we can to identify, investigate, and prosecute these dangerous predators.” The U.S. Secret Service investigated this case.

KSTP [9/24/2024 10:26 AM, Krystal Frasier, 1175K, Positive] reports an 18-year-old convicted of second-degree murder has been sentenced to spend years in prison. Maurice Antonio Gaynor Jr., who was certified in March to stand trial as an adult when he was 17, was sentenced on Friday to spend 191 months (nearly 16 years) in the St. Cloud prison. In addition, he was ordered to pay more than $12,000 in restitution. He was allowed 21 days of credit for time served. During Gaynor’s sentencing, one count of first-degree aggravated robbery was dismissed. Gaynor was charged in connection to a shooting on Feb. 10 in St. Paul. 16-year-old Kalven Sin Suy died a week after the shooting in the city’s North End neighborhood. According to court documents, Sin Suy’s girlfriend told officers that they were at her home when Sin Suy asked her to drive him to the intersection of Western Avenue North and Burgess Street. After she dropped him off, she got a call from Sin Suy saying, “Come get me, he shot me!” A few days later, Sin Suy’s girlfriend told officers that the suspect “50” and Sin Suy had been in a juvenile detention center together. When asked why Sin Suy and “50” had met so late, his girlfriend told police that he sometimes sold marijuana, court documents state. She said that Sin Suy had brought a bag to the meeting and didn’t have it when she found him after he had been shot.

KXLY [9/24/2024 3:52 PM, Rob King, 357K, Positive] reports that the U.S. Secret Service arrested a Bonner County man in August for threatening to kill former President Donald Trump. According to court documents, Warren Crazybull Jones is accused of calling Mar-a-Lago resort on July 31 and threatening to go there and kill the former president. Agents say they found a Facebook page associated to Jones that had posts with threats to kill the former president. The Secret Service says they were able to locate Jones using the phone number that called the resort. When interviewed by law enforcement, Jones told agents he was chief of a native American tribe and blames Trump and John F. Kennedy for breaking treaties that resulted in his loss of land. Jones also told agents he would not attempt to kill Trump and had previously been admitted for psychiatric care. He was arrested August 1.

NBC News [9/24/2024 8:53 PM, Alex Tabet and Gabe Gutierrez, 46778K, Neutral] reports that police are investigating what appears to be gunfire damage overnight at a Democratic Party-coordinated campaign office for Vice President Kamala Harris. The incident occurred just a few days before Harris is scheduled to visit Arizona as she campaigns for president. “We can confirm that on 9/23/24, what appears to be damage from gunfire at … a DNC Campaign Office, was discovered,” Tempe police said in a statement to NBC News on Tuesday. Tempe police said that officers responded Monday after calls from workers, and that they observed what appeared to be gunshots through the front windows of the office which is shared by staff members for the Arizona Democratic Party, the Harris campaign and Senate and House campaigns to boost turnout for the party in November. “No one was inside the office during the overnight hours, but this raises concerns about the safety of those who work in that building, as well as those nearby,” Public Information Officer, Sgt. Ryan Cook said in a statement Tuesday. The apparent gunfire marks the second incident of criminal damage at that office in recent weeks, according to Tempe police, who said that just after midnight on Sept. 16 the office’s front windows were hit with what appeared to be a BB gun or pellet gun.

NBC Bay Area [9/24/2024 3:51 PM, Tony Hicks, 1327K, Positive] reports that a youth golf coach from Pinole has been arrested and charged with two felonies for allegedly possessing child pornography. Jeffrey Tadashi Oda, 33, has served for several years as a golf coach at Pinole Valley High School and as a youth golf coach at the Richmond Golf Course, according to the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office. Investigators from the county’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force served a warrant on Aug. 27 at Oda’s Pinole home and collected numerous electronic items. Forensics examiners allegedly located images and videos of child pornography on his phone. The District Attorney’s Office charged Oda on Sept. 5 with possession of child or youth pornography and a related charge of possession of over 600 images of child or youth pornography. Oda pleaded not guilty last Thursday in Contra Costa County Superior Court and posted $100,000 in bail. Oda’s attorney Emily Dahm said neither she, nor her client, had any comment. Oda’s next court appearance is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Oct. 23 in Martinez. Anyone with information pertaining to the case can contact ICAC Senior Inspector Darryl Holcombe at DHolcombe@contracostada.org. The ICAC includes investigators from the police departments of Walnut Creek, Concord, Pleasant Hill, Brentwood, Pittsburg, San Ramon, Danville, Oakley, and Moraga, as well as the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Secret Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and inspectors from the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office.

ABC News [9/24/2024 1:41 PM, Meredith Deliso, 31638K, Negative] reports that a submersible expert said he heard cracking sounds during a deep-sea dive on a prototype of the Titan sub, a month before a crack was found in the vessel. Karl Stanley, the owner of the Honduras-based deep-sea diving expedition company Roatan Institute of Deepsea Exploration, testified on Tuesday during the U.S. Coast Guard’s hearing on the 2023 catastrophic implosion of OceanGate’s Titan submersible that killed five people. Stanley went on one of the first crewed dives of the first prototype of the submersible in April 2019 in the Bahamas. He, OceanGate co-founder and CEO Stockton Rush and two others went to 3,760 meters -- about the depth of the Titanic wreckage. Rush had previously taken two solo dives in the prototype hull to around 4,000 meters, according to log records shown during the hearing. Stanley said as they went down, the prototype carbon-fiber hull was "making noises," and the cracking sounds "amplified" the deeper they went. He said Rush had warned them about the noises but they were still unnerving. "I think nobody wanted to be the one to say they wanted to go up first," he said.

CNN [9/24/2024 3:17 PM, Dakin Andone and Graham Hurley, 24052K, Negative] reports that the company that built and operated the Titan submersible asked employees to forego their pay as it faced economic challenges, according to former employees testifying before the US Coast Guard panel probing the vessel’s deadly implosion last year. OceanGate employees were asked to "defer our paychecks" at the start of 2023, Amber Bay, the company’s former director of administration, said Tuesday as part of a two-week hearing before the Marine Board of Investigation - the highest level of Coast Guard inquiry. The board is reviewing the cause of the June 2023 implosion during the submersible’s dive to the Titanic, which claimed the life of OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and four others: businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman Dawood; businessman Hamish Harding; and French diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet. "We were looking to make ends meet," Bay said, describing "an offer that Stockton had derived, I believe with an attorney or whomever, that we could delay our paychecks and be paid a small amount of interest and recapture it at a specific time." "I believe the finances were just getting very tight at that time," Bay said. She said she and Rush delayed their paychecks. She said the request was made only once. Bay’s testimony echoed that of Phil Brooks, OceanGate’s former director of engineering, who indicated he believed the request illustrated economic challenges for the Everett, Washington-based company - challenges that resulted in sacrifices to safety.

USA Today [9/24/2024 6:41 PM, Nathan Diller, 79123K, Neutral] reports that Cruise lines are changing Caribbean itineraries in an effort to avoid Tropical Storm Helene. The storm is expected to intensify in the coming days, approaching the northeastern Gulf Coast as a “major hurricane” on Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center. Hurricane and storm surge watches have been issued for much of Florida’s west coast and along the coast of the Panhandle. Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Paradise ship, which left from Tampa, Florida, on Saturday, replaced a planned visit to Cozumel, Mexico, on Tuesday with Costa Maya. Carnival Valor, meanwhile, scrapped its scheduled stop in Cozumel on Tuesday. The sailing also departed Saturday from New Orleans, Louisiana. “As the safety of our guests and crew is our priority, we will continue to watch the storm and factor in guidance from the National Hurricane Center, U.S. Coast Guard and the local port authorities to provide timely updates as more information becomes available,” the cruise line said in a statement. Carnival advised passengers with cruises in the projected path of the storm to keep an eye on their emails and sign up for text message alerts.

Washington Post [9/24/2024 6:15 PM, Joseph Menn, 52865K, Neutral] reports members of Congress grilled a senior executive of security company CrowdStrike on Tuesday, demanding to know why it triggered a cascading, multibillion-dollar tech failure in July that shut down 911 call centers, handicapped hospitals and stranded airplane passengers around the world. House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) faulted chief executive George Kurtz for ducking his request to testify and sending a threat intelligence expert instead to face questioning on one of the most catastrophic failures in tech history. Meyers’s account before the House committee, like a deeper analysis that CrowdStrike has published, accepted responsibility for the outage but couched it as a consequence of the market-leading company’s quest for efficiency in responding quickly to new threats. More than a dozen former employees, however, recently told web publication Semafor that the company prioritized speed over quality, recounting multiple instances when they had sought to review and improve code before shipping it, only to be rebuffed. Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said in an interview that she has been speaking to members of the Homeland Security Committee and others about a plan that would permit such lawsuits, supplemented by significant “safe harbor” provisions that would exempt companies following good practices.

Reported similarly:
New York Times [9/24/2024 5:36 PM, David McCabe and Steve Lohr, 147417K, Neutral]
Bloomberg [9/24/2024 2:57 PM, Jamie Tarabay, 27782K, Neutral]
The Hill [9/24/2024 5:23 PM, Miranda Nazzaro, 19591K, Neutral]
CBS News [9/24/2024 10:18 AM, Kate Gibson, 59828K, Negative]

Newsweek [9/24/2024 4:11 PM, Billal Rahman, 49093K, Neutral] reports as concerns over election security grow ahead of the 2024 presidential election, an army of so-called ethical hackers is working to protect the integrity of voting systems and safeguard democracy from Russian cyber threats amid ongoing fears of foreign interference in November’s vote. The integrity of U.S. election systems has been a focal point of concern since foreign interference was uncovered in the 2016 presidential election. Synack, a cyber security company founded by former members of the National Security Agency, has hired 1,600 ethical hackers to test the security of government institutions and corporations. The company is also bolstering security at remote voting systems for the U.S. elections to prevent interference by bad actors from hostile states. By deploying a global team of vetted hackers, Synack is identifying vulnerabilities in election infrastructure, ensuring that systems remain secure from foreign interference, hacking attempts, and other cyber threats.

Newsweek [9/24/2024 9:10 AM, Theo Burman, 49093K, Neutral] reports personal information of more than 3,000 congressional staffers has been leaked across the dark web in a wide-ranging cyberattack on the Capitol, according to reports. Internet security firm Proton found over 1,800 passwords used by staffers in Congress available on the dark web, through an investigation of exposed accounts among U.S. political staffers, according to The Washington Times. Proton, which is based in Switzerland and worked with U.S.-based firm Constella Intelligence on the investigation, estimated that almost 1 in 5 congressional staffers had personal information available on the dark web. Proton said the leaks came from several sources, including social media, dating apps, and "adult websites." In one instance, the report found that a single staffer had 31 passwords exposed online. The full report said that around 3,191 staffers were affected by the leaks overall. "Many of these leaks likely occurred because staffers used their official email addresses to sign up for various services, including high-risk sites such as dating and adult websites, which were later compromised in data breaches," Proton told The Washington Times. "This situation highlights a critical security lapse, where sensitive work-related emails became entangled with less secure, third-party platforms." Eamonn Maguire, Proton’s head of account security, said: "The volume of exposed accounts among U.S. political staffers is alarming, and the potential consequences of compromised accounts could be severe. "Vigilance and strict security measures are essential to safeguard personal and national security." Proton also said that it would publish more findings over the coming weeks in order to ensure the safety and validity of political systems during the election. The company also contacted all the affected congressional staffers and informed them of the leaks.

CBS Austin [9/24/2024 6:19 AM, Austin Pratt, 703K, Negative] reports Saturday night’s mass shooting in Five Points South and Sunday night’s shooting in the Eastlake community have both been dubbed "targeted shootings" by the Birmingham Police Department (BPD). It’s a term used for many of the city’s shootings. Many were left wondering if there is gang activity on the streets of Birmingham. Public Information Officer Truman Fitzgerald said it’s more complicated than that. In the case of Saturday night’s shooting, Chief Scott Thurmond said "It wasn’t location it was the person. So wherever the person was is where it was gonna take place. Wherever they can catch that individual, we believe that there was a hit on that person if you will. Someone was willing to pay money to have that person killed." At least four people are dead and 17 others were shot in the mass shooting outside of Hush, a cigar and hookah lounge in the city. This is what a targeted shooting is: The shooter often knows the victim or in the case of Saturday night’s shooting may have someone attack a certain person. Many of the gun deaths in Birmingham come from disagreements. "These mass shootings have more to do with culture than they do with criminality. Mayor Randall Woodbin said it best this week. We’re seeing way too many arguments being settled by bullets," Fitzgerald. said. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

CBS Austin [9/24/2024 7:08 AM, Robert Moore, 703K, Negative] reports the gunman who has admitted to killing 23 people and wounding 22 others at an El Paso Walmart in 2019 could face trial on state capital murder charges no sooner than the middle of 2026 under a scheduling order issued Monday by the judge in the case. The scheduling order issued by 409th District Judge Sam Medrano has arguments on pretrial motions beginning in January 2025 and jury selection beginning in January 2026. Jury selection in high-profile death penalty cases often takes three months or more, and the Walmart case is the most high-profile crime in El Paso’s history. The scheduling order Monday doesn’t have a trial date, but the beginning of questioning of individual potential jurors – known as voir dire – is set for Jan. 12, 2026. The questioning likely will take months. At an often-contentious scheduling conference on Sept. 12, Medrano had promised to issue a scheduling order by the end of the month in the case against Patrick Crusius, 26, of Allen, Texas. He faces 23 counts of capital murder – which carry the possibility of the death penalty – and 22 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

The Hill [9/24/2024 11:09 AM, Lexi Lonas Cochran, 19591K, Negative] reports that police in Kerrville, Texas, charged a 10-year-old with making a terrorist threat, accusing the child of posting a hoax on social media that threatened a school shooting. The 10-year-old, who was not named, made several posts threatening a school shooting Tuesday at Hal Peterson Middle School, according to police. “No valid threat to Hal Peterson Middle School existed. The juvenile was charged with Texas Penal Code 22.07 Terrorist Threat, a felony of the third degree,” police said in a social media post. Police initiated an investigation after receiving multiple reports about the threats from concerned individuals. The agency warned against such threats and encouraged parents to have conversations about the dangers of hoaxes. “The legal consequences for people who make threats, including juveniles, can be severe and permanent,” the police said. “We strongly urge parents to speak with their children about the seriousness of making threats, or posting information to social media that reference violence to our schools. Remind your children that school threats are a felony and will have serious consequences,” they added. The school shared the police department’s statement and later posted about how the school, a week before the threat, had started a “See Something Say Something” campaign. “HPMS counselors were in classes last week and will continue this week as well. They introduced the ‘See Something Say Something’ campaign that is a national initiative to raise awareness about the importance of recognizing & reporting suspicious behavior,” the school said.

Reported similarly:
NBC News [9/24/2024 9:39 AM, Minyvonne Burke, 46778K, Negative]

AP [9/24/2024 2:58 PM, Aamer Madhani, Matthew Lee, and Zeke Miller, 5746K, Negative] reports that President Joe Biden declared in his final address to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday that the U.S. must not retreat from the world, as Israel and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon edged toward all-out war and Israel’s bloody operation against Hamas in Gaza neared the one-year mark. Biden used his wide-ranging address to speak to a need to end the Middle East conflict and the 17-month-old civil war in Sudan and to highlight U.S. and Western allies’ support for Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. He also raised concern over artificial intelligence and its potential to be used for repression. His appearance before the international body offered Biden one of his last high-profile opportunities as president to make the case to keep up robust support for Ukraine, which could be in doubt if former President Donald Trump defeats Vice President Kamala Harris in November. Biden insisted that despite global conflicts, he remains hopeful for the future. “I’ve seen a remarkable sweep of history,” Biden said. “I know many look at the world today and see difficulties and react with despair but I do not.” “We are stronger than we think” when the world acts together, he added.

CBS News [9/24/2024 10:01 AM, Staff, 59828K, Positive] reports four Russian military planes were detected and tracked off the coast of Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defense Command said Monday, just days after the U.S. Army deployed more than 100 soldiers to the region. The Russian aircraft were operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone, which is beyond U.S. sovereign air space, but an area in which aircraft are expected to identify themselves, NORAD said in a news release. Officials did not release any details about the planes but said they stayed in international airspace. The activity was "not seen as a threat," NORAD said. The aircraft were spotted just days after about 130 U.S. soldiers were temporarily deployed to a remote Alaska island with mobile rocket launchers amid a spike in Russian military activity off the western reaches of the U.S. The deployment to Shemya Island involved soldiers from Alaska, Washington and Hawaii with the 11th Airborne Division and the 1st and 3rd Multi Domain Task Forces, Sgt. 1st Class Michael Sword, a spokesperson for the 11th Airborne, said in an email to The Associated Press. The deployment coincided with eight Russian military planes and four navy vessels, including two submarines, traveling close to Alaska as Russia and China conducted joint military drills. None of the planes breached U.S. airspace.

AP [9/24/2024 8:54 PM, Joshua Goodman, 34590K, Negative] reports that former federal agent Wes Tabor says his phone has been lighting up with calls from police departments around the U.S. for advice on how to combat the growing threat from the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. Tabor was in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s office in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas in 2012 when the gang was still new and when Tabor had barely heard of it. Venezuela had long been a major transit zone for cocaine smuggled by Colombian guerrillas, with a leftist government that had close ties to some of America’s top adversaries, from Iran to Russia. So the homegrown street gang, although a concern to U.S. Embassy personnel in their daily movements around Venezuela’s dangerous capital, was not considered a major security risk to the United States. Now, more than a decade later, the gang has become a menace even on American soil and has exploded into the U.S. presidential campaign amid a spree of kidnappings, extortion and other crimes throughout the western hemisphere tied to a mass exodus of Venezuelan migrants. In July, the Biden administration sanctioned the gang, placing it alongside MS-13 from El Salvador and the Mafia-styled Camorra from Italy on a list of transnational criminal organizations and offering $12 million in rewards for the arrest of three leaders. Then, this month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared Tren de Aragua a Tier 1 threat, directing state police to target the gang and paving the way for stiffer penalties for members. Other states may soon follow suit.

New York Times [9/25/2024 3:18 AM, Edward Wong and Farnaz Fassihi, 740K, Negative] reports President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine told the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday that “Russia can only be forced into peace” and urged that the Russia-Ukraine war not be overlooked as the world turned its attention to wars in Gaza, Sudan and Myanmar. “Russia is committing an international crime,” Mr. Zelensky said in a short but impassioned speech. “This war can’t simply fade away, this war can’t be calmed by talks. Actions are needed. Russia can only be forced into peace.” Mr. Zelensky also told the council’s 15 members that Ukraine had obtained information that Russia was planning to attack its three nuclear plants. “We have proof of this, if Russia is ready to go that far, it means nothing you value matters to Moscow,” he said. Mr. Zelensky said he had put together a new victory plan in the almost three-year-old war based on the principles and values of the U.N. charter, but did not elaborate on its details other than to say that he was organizing a peace conference. He added that he would invite all countries to the conference, including China, Russia’s most powerful partner, and India, which has said it is a neutral player in the war but is helping to sustain Russia’s economy with large oil purchases.

ABC News [9/24/2024 6:02 AM, Patrick Reevell, 31638K, Neutral] reports Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is accusing Russia of using Chinese satellites to photograph nuclear power stations in Ukraine as part of preparations to potentially strike them. Zelenskyy made the accusation in an interview with ABC’s "Good Morning America" anchor Robin Roberts on Monday during a visit for the United Nations General Assembly this week in New York. "The recent information is that, Russia has been using Chinese satellites and taking photos of the details of the objects on nuclear facilities," Zelenskyy told Roberts. "And in our experience, if Russia takes photos of certain objects, then there is a threat of strikes against the nuclear objects." Zelesnkyy did not say whether the Chinese satellites that Russia has used were commercial satellites or controlled by the Chinese government. He said he would share the information Ukraine has with leaders who can influence Russia, calling it "nuclear terror." Asked to comment on Monday, China’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond. If confirmed, the use of Chinese satellites to photograph Ukrainian nuclear plants would be another example of Russia turning to China for assistance in the war. It would also raise questions about the strength of Russia’s own satellite capabilities. [Editorial note: consult video at source link]

FOX Business [9/24/2024 10:18 AM, Greg Norman, 17505K, Negative] reports that the U.S. Embassy in Lebanon is warning Americans there to "book any ticket available" on the dwindling number of flights departing the country as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is rapidly escalating. In an alert issued Tuesday, the Embassy said "most airlines have suspended or cancelled flights, and many flights have sold out; however, limited commercial transportation options to leave Lebanon still remain available. "We urge those who wish to depart Lebanon to book any ticket available to them, even if that flight does not depart immediately or does not follow their first-choice route," the Embassy warned. "We recommend that U.S. citizens who choose not to depart Lebanon prepare contingency plans for emergency situations and be prepared to shelter in place for an extended period of time," it added. The warning comes as the Israeli military and the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah are increasingly trading rocket fire across the Israel-Lebanon border. The U.S. Embassy in Lebanon, which is located in the country’s capital of Beirut, said Tuesday that "U.S. citizens who lack funds to return to the United States may contact the embassy for financial assistance to purchase tickets via repatriation loans.

The Hill [9/24/2024 3:12 PM, Ellen Mitchell, 19591K, Negative] reports that World leaders at the United Nation’s General Assembly on Tuesday urged Israel and Hezbollah to step back from the brink of all-out war after the death toll from Israeli airstrikes over two days rose to at least 569 people, including 50 children and 94 women, the deadliest such barrage in Lebanon in nearly two decades. The airstrikes, which Israel says are targeting Hezbollah militants in eastern and southern Lebanon, on Monday alone also injured 1,835 people, Lebanese health authorities said Tuesday. Israel’s military does not appear to be letting up in the airstrikes, declaring it will do “whatever is necessary” to push Hezbollah away from its border with Lebanon, so that Israelis can return to their homes in the region. Though Israel and Hezbollah have been trading strikes since the Israel-Hamas war began in Gaza last year, this week’s barrage threatens to push the region into a larger conflict, with world leaders pleading for a solution. Speaking to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, President Biden warned against a “full-scale war” in Lebanon, urging a diplomatic solution. “Full-scale war is not in anyone’s interest. Even though the situation has escalated, a diplomatic solution is still possible,” Biden said in his address to the assembly.

Yahoo! News [9/24/2024 6:12 AM, Thibault Spirlet, 60726K, Neutral] reports the US is planning to send more troops to the Middle East in the coming days in case American citizens need to evacuate the region, NBC News reported, citing three defense officials. A few dozen additional soldiers will be added to the roughly 40,000 US troops already present in the region, according to the publication. It comes after Lebanon had its deadliest day for decades on Monday after Israel ramped up strikes on the country. Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder commented on the development during a press briefing on Monday. "In light of increased tension in the Middle East and out of an abundance of caution, we are sending a small number of additional US military personnel forward to augment our forces that are already in the region," he said. He declined to comment or give more specifics, citing operational security reasons. Tensions have been simmering in the region, where clashes between Israel and Lebanon-based Hezbollah militia intensified over the weekend. Israeli Defense Forces said they were intensifying targeted strikes on Hezbollah positions and warned civilians in Lebanon to stay away from potential Hezbollah targets for their "own safety." According to an update by Lebanon’s health ministry, at least 492 people were killed, and another 1,645 were injured in the south of the country on Monday.

New York Times [9/24/2024 2:36 PM, Aaron Boxerman, 147417K, Negative] reports that after six Israeli hostages were found dead recently in Gaza, shocking the country, the families of the remaining captives hoped that the tragedy might pressure Israel to accept a cease-fire agreement to secure their release. But now, as Israeli fighter jets swoop over Lebanon and Hezbollah fires rockets into northern Israel, the conversation in Israel has shifted toward a potential war in the north. Few believe that an agreement to free their loved ones in Gaza is imminent. After nearly a year, roughly 100 of the more than 250 hostages held by Hamas since their Oct. 7 attacks remain in the clutches of Palestinian militants in Gaza. They include women and older people kidnapped from their homes, as well as soldiers abducted from military bases. Israel and Hamas are deadlocked in negotiations over conditions for a truce that would free them. The Israeli authorities have declared that more than 30 hostages are already presumed dead, and their families fear that number will only rise as their loved ones languish in captivity. With all eyes on Israel’s escalating battle with Hezbollah in Lebanon, many families now fear any hopes to save the hostages are rapidly vanishing, said Itzik Horn, whose sons Eitan, 38, and Iair, 46, are still held.

Reuters [9/24/2024 7:53 AM, Staff, 37270K, Negative] reports U.S. President Joe Biden is determined to bring about a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas while also seeking to de-escalate tensions on Israel’s border with Lebanon, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday. "He absolutely hasn’t given up," Sullivan said in an interview with MSNBC hours before Biden addresses the UN General Assembly for the last time as president. Biden will huddle with world leaders gathered in New York to work on a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza and avert an all-out war in the Middle East, Sullivan said. He acknowledged challenges in getting both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar across the line and said Hamas and Sinwar in particular "don’t want to do a deal." "But we’re determined to keep at it," Sullivan said. The United States has worked to contain tensions in the region since Hamas’ attack inside Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7 led to a nearly yearlong Israeli retaliation on the coastal strip. The simmering conflict with Hezbollah at Israel’s northern border has spiked on and off since Oct. 7 and it is spiking now, he said. "But we have averted it in those previous spikes, and I believe that we can still find a path forward to get de-escalation between Israel and across that northern border between Israel and Lebanon and bring about a diplomatic solution that allows people to return to their home," Sullivan said.

CNN [9/25/2024 4:00 AM, MJ Lee, Kevin Liptak and Kylie Atwood, 24052K, Neutral] reports that, with the Biden administration essentially pausing work on ceasefire negotiations to end the war in Gaza, Israel’s fresh assaults on Hezbollah in Lebanon this week are adding another layer of complication, making prospects for a near-term deal all the more difficult – if not impossible – at least while the bombs are falling. In recent days, senior US officials had largely stopped making a vigorous push on the ceasefire negotiations, sources told CNN, having determined there is currently no political will on either side – Hamas or Israel’s – to end the conflict. Even as President Joe Biden and top aides refuse to abandon the effort entirely, a senior Democrat close to the White House summed up the sentiment among some officials involved in those deliberations this way: “We can’t want this more than they want it.” This person also cited a famous line from former Secretary of State James Baker, who in 1990 famously said in a message directed at the Israeli government about a Middle East peace deal: “When you’re serious about this, call us.” Another quote circulating among American officials as they assess the stalled talks is George Mitchell’s description of the process that eventually brought about the Good Friday agreement in Northern Ireland: “We had 700 days of failure and one day of success.” Ending the Gaza conflict is Biden’s top foreign policy goal as he nears the end of his one-term presidency, but the stalled ceasefire talks are threatening to sink the president’s other priorities in the Middle East.

VOA News [9/25/2024 3:03 AM, Staff, 4566K, Negative] reports Hezbollah said Wednesday it fired a ballistic missile targeting the headquarters of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency near Tel Aviv, while Israeli forces carried out airstrikes against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Israel’s military said it intercepted a missile fired from Lebanon. The attack prompted air raid sirens in Tel Aviv. The escalated conflict along the Israel-Lebanon border is set to be the focus on a U.N. Security Council meeting later Wednesday in New York. Diplomatic efforts to contain the fighting and prevent a wider regional conflict included a meeting Tuesday between French President Emmanuel Macron and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, during which Macron’s office said he “highlighted the responsibility of Iran to support a general de-escalation and use its influence with destabilizing actors.” Iran is a backer of both Hezbollah and the Hamas militant group that Israel is fighting in the Gaza Strip. The conflict has also prompted some governments to urge their nationals to leave Lebanon. The United States announced it was sending more military personnel to the region to augment its existing forces, while Britain said it expected 700 of its forces to arrive Wednesday in Cyprus in preparation for potential evacuations of its nationals from Lebanon. Lebanese health officials said Israeli attacks since Monday have killed at least 564 people and injured more than 1,800 others. Israel said one of its strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs killed Ibrahim Muhammad Kobeisi, identified by Israel as a senior Hezbollah military commander who oversaw Hezbollah’s missile systems. The United Nations refugee agency said it was “outraged and deeply saddened” by other Israeli attacks that killed two of its staff members.

CBS News [9/25/2024 4:22 AM, Staff, 59828K, Negative] reports the only U.S. Navy oil replenishment ship serving the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, deployed in the Middle East in support of Israel amid its ongoing war with Hamas and soaring tension between other Iran-backed groups, ran aground Monday off the coast of Oman. U.S. officials told CBS News national security correspondent Charlie D’Agata the damage to the USNS Big Horn was significant enough to cause the partial flooding of the vessel, and it was being escorted by tugboats into port for a full assessment. The Big Horn is a type of vessel referred to as an "oiler," which ferries fuel and other vital supplies to ships and aircraft deployed in a strike group. There were no reported injuries, no other vessels were directly affected and there were no signs of fuel leaks from the Big Horn, but it was the only Navy oiler immediately available in the region to support the Lincoln and its fleet of battleships, escort vessels and aircraft. Navy officials would not confirm the authenticity of video posted online this week allegedly showing the ship taking on water. The incident was under investigation. The Big Horn ran aground after a recent resupply mission, with photos released by the U.S. military showing sailors aboard the Lincoln receiving supplies from the oiler on Sept. 5, while another from Sept. 11 showed the Big Horn alongside the Lincoln.

CBS News [9/24/2024 10:02 AM, Caitlin Yilek, 59828K, Negative] reports that the Republican-led House Foreign Affairs Committee is expected to recommend that Secretary of State Antony Blinken be held in contempt of Congress amid a standoff over the top diplomat’s testimony about the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. The committee’s chairman, Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, subpoenaed Blinken earlier this month for his testimony, threatening to hold him in contempt if he did not appear before the panel on Sept. 19. In the letter subpoenaing Blinken, McCaul said Blinken’s appearance was important as the committee considers "potential legislation aimed at helping prevent the catastrophic mistakes of the withdrawal." On Tuesday, McCaul gaveled a hearing in, stating that its purpose was to "hear directly from Secretary Blinken" and get his assessment of the withdrawal from Afghanistan. After a long pause, McCaul said, "unfortunately our witness, the Secretary of State Antony Blinken is not present today," before adjourning the hearing and noting his intention to proceed with a markup to "begin the formal process of holding the secretary in contempt of Congress." McCaul said he wished "we were not here today" after the committee reconvened to consider the issue. "However, Secretary of State Antony Blinken brought this upon himself," McCaul said, noting that he "takes no joy" in the move to hold the secretary in contempt of Congress.

Reported similarly:
The Hill [9/24/2024 1:18 PM, Laura Kelly, 19591K, Neutral]
CNN [9/24/2024 7:08 PM, Kylie Atwood, Jennifer Hansler, and Michael Conte, 24052K, Neutral]

Newsweek [9/25/2024 4:12 AM, Ryan Chan, 49093K, Neutral] reports a United States Navy warship, armed with a powerful laser weapon capable of destroying both aerial and waterborne threats, departed for Japan on Sunday to keep China at bay. USS Preble, a 9,700-ton Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, was seen leaving Naval Base San Diego in California. A press release published on August 1 said the Preble would transfer to Yokosuka naval base in Japan, replacing USS Benfold, one of its sister ships, as part of a scheduled rotation of forces in the Pacific region. Japanese financial magazine Nikkei Asia on Wednesday reported, quoting a U.S. Navy spokesperson, that the Preble is the only destroyer of the same class equipped with a high-energy laser weapon system, which could be used to shoot down hostile drones and missiles. The U.S. military continues to station the most-capable units in the Indo-Pacific, where China has been expanding its naval fleet and operations at far seas, challenging the U.S. naval dominance in the region. The Preble’s forward presence supported Washington’s commitment to the defense of Japan, one of its security treaty allies in the Indo-Pacific, the U.S. Navy said. It would also enhance the U.S. national security and improve its ability to protect strategic interests. The warship would join Destroyer Squadron 15, the largest U.S. Navy destroyer squadron consisting of 10 ships stationed at Yokosuka. This unit is the principal surface force of the Seventh Fleet, operating in the Western Pacific Ocean and parts of the Indian Ocean.

New York Times [9/25/2024 12:04 AM, Chris Buckley and Amy Chang Chien, 147417K, Neutral] reports spurred by worries about China’s strength in mass-producing drones, American and Taiwanese companies and government officials are working to join forces in making the air and sea vehicles that could be crucial to defending Taiwan. Several days of discussions in Taiwan, set to finish on Wednesday and held largely away from public view, brought more than two dozen American companies that make drones and anti-drone technologies together with Taiwanese firms looking for American knowledge and customers. The trade mission, organized by the U.S. International Trade Administration, was the latest indication of how Washington and Taipei have been jolted by China’s position as the world’s biggest maker of commercial drones. Military drones hold the potential to erode Taiwan’s defenses against possible incursions or an attack by China, which claims the island as its territory. Taiwan plans to expand its military drone numbers to blunt that risk. Taiwanese officials hope that their island can become a bigger player in the supply chain for drones for the United States and allied countries, echoing Taiwan’s success in producing advanced semiconductors. U.S. officials hope to reduce American reliance on Chinese-made drones and components by tapping Taiwan’s manufacturing strengths. Both sides are drawing on lessons from the battlefields of Ukraine and other war zones, where drones have become important for mounting attacks and monitoring enemy forces.

AP [9/25/2024 1:44 AM, Jim Gomez, 44095K, Negative] reports American and Filipino security officials have agreed to keep a U.S. mid-range missile system in the northern Philippines indefinitely to boost deterrence despite China’s expressions of alarm, two Philippine officials said Wednesday. The U.S. Army transported the Typhon missile system, a land-based weapon that can fire the Standard Missile-6 and the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile, to the northern Philippines as part of combat exercises in April with Philippine troops and to test its deployability aboard an Air Force aircraft. Tomahawk missiles can travel over 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers), which places China within their target range. Officials are considering keeping the missile system in the northern Philippines up to April next year, when U.S. and Philippine forces are scheduled to hold their annual Balikatan — Tagalog for “shoulder-to-shoulder” — large-scale combat exercises, he said. The two officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the sensitive U.S. missile deployment publicly. There was no immediate immediate comment from U.S. officials. Chinese diplomats have repeatedly conveyed their alarm to the Philippine government, warning that the deployment of the missile system could destabilize the region. A Philippine army spokesperson said earlier that the system was scheduled to be removed from the country by the end of this month. Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. refused to confirm or deny the extension.

Reuters [9/25/2024 2:25 AM, Karen Lema, 37270K, Negative] reports the Philippines said on Wednesday its fisheries bureau aircraft was shadowed and approached by a Chinese navy helicopter while on patrol near the disputed Scarborough Shoal, in another face-off between two countries locked in a bitter row over territory. The Philippine National Security Council (NSC) said the incident took place on Monday and its aircraft was still able to complete its mission. China’s embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It was the latest in the series of air and sea encounters between the two countries that have sparred over contested areas of the South China Sea, including the Scarborough Shoal, one of Asia’s most contested features, which has been occupied by China’s coast guard for more than a decade. China’s actions violated air safety regulations, the NSC said in a statement. Based on its interpretation of old maps, China claims almost the entire South China Sea, including the Scarborough Shoal, coveted for its bountiful fish stocks and a stunning turquoise lagoon. The shoal, named after a British vessel that got stuck there centuries ago, is located 200 km (124 miles) off the Philippines, inside its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). A 2016 ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration found China’s sweeping claims were not supported by international law, a decision Beijing refuses to recognise. The tribunal did not determine sovereignty over the Scarborough Shoal, which it said was a traditional fishing ground for several countries.

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