Man Armed with Firearms Arrested Outside Donald Trump’s Coachella Rally

            On Saturday, October 12, 2024, Donald Trump appears to have faced another threat to his life. Trump was visiting California for a rally in Coachella, CA. An event that is a gathering to demonstrate support involved a man with firearms. Fortunately, this incident did not result in the harm of the former president or the attendees of the event. 

The suspect was identified as 49 year old Las Vegas resident Vem Miller. Miller was caught at a checkpoint with fake VIP passes to the rally and fake press passes along with the illegal possession of a shotgun, a loaded handgun, and a high-capacity magazine. The idea that the pass to the rally is for VIPs indicates that Miller probably wanted to get close up with Trump. It appears that if that did not work, the fake press passes would have allowed Miller to get another close up angle on Trump. Additionally, he did not have a valid ID when he was stopped at the rally checkpoint. No valid ID heavily implies that someone is trying to stay secretive. 

Deputies at Trump’s rally detained Miller after he was found to have unregistered firearms. Riverside County Sheriff Bianco stated, “[they] probably stopped another assassination attempt” (Los Angeles Daily News).

Police records show that Miller was released after a $5,000 bail and as of Sunday, is no longer in custody. In this case, money got a suspicious person out of serving potential jail time or a form of punishment. He is set to have a court appearance on January 2nd. For some background on his personal life, he has a master’s degree from UCLA and in 2022, he ran for Nevada State Assembly. Based on this information, Miller can be identified as someone engaged with politics. Miller is a registered Republican and is believed to be a member of a right-leaning anti-government group. The FBI calls the group “anti-government extremist” (New York Post). By labeling the group as extremist, Miller is a clear example of the lengths one might go to achieve what one wants, even when those actions are to resort to violence. 

The political scene now includes violence. What is the state of our political environment that makes people feel the need to bring loaded firearms to rallies? California is a state that is filled with Democrats, a strong blue state. Surprisingly, the person who tried to assassinate Trump was a Republican and not a California resident. Though Miller is a registered Republican, he still dislikes the government. He appears to resemble the traits of an anarchist, someone who rebels against government authority. 

Trump has already faced two previous assassination attempts. One in Butler, Pennsylvania, and another in Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club. This first attempt in Butler is the most extreme as Trump’s ear was struck by a bullet. In the West Palm Beach golf club, the gunman was caught hiding in the bushes. Even though the man did not fire directly at the former president, he was charged with attempting to assassinate Trump. 

Though Miller’s true intentions may never be known. A man bringing loaded firearms and a fake entry pass implies something wrong is going to happen. This brings up the question, what could a man with a loaded firearm near a presidential rally do? 

Sources:

https://nypost.com/2024/10/13/us-news/third-trump-assassination-attempt-thwarted-when-armed-man-arrested-outside-coachella-rally-sheriff-says/ 

https://www.dailynews.com/2024/10/13/las-vegas-man-found-with-loaded-firearm-high-capacity-magazine-near-trump-rally-in-coachella-valley/ 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13955435/Donald-trump-assassination-attempt-gunman-arrested-coachella.html 

https://www.foxnews.com/us/man-possession-firearms-arrested-outside-trump-rally-coachella-valley 

Donald Trump visiting California, a Democratic state for the past decade

Even though rallies often take place in swing states where no one political party dominates the state, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is visiting California, a state with a supermajority of democrats for the past decade, this weekend. Specifically, the rally is at Coachella, a music festival venue, and will be around 100 degrees Fahrenheit during his rally. Despite all of this, why is Trump still holding a rally in California?

It turns out, Trump rallying at a non-swing state is nothing new. In the last election, Trump visited California, and although a landslide win by Joe Biden, because California is so populated, the “portion” of Trump supporters equated to more than 6 million votes (most votes received by a republican presidential candidate from California). His goal is not to win California and get the electoral votes, but get the considerably high amount of popular votes compared to other states with smaller populations. Moreover, Coachella is the only competitive congressional district that he won in the 2020 election. This district’s representative was GOP Rep. Ken Calvert who barely won. Trump hopes to be able to help out Calvert again with this weekend's rally (which will ultimately help him if he gets the presidential position).

Fundraising is another reason, with California producing one of the most fundraisers for both political parties. Seats that come with an opportunity to take photos with Trump were priced at $25,000 for two people, and $5,000 for a “VIP experience” seat. 

Gaining support from the republicans within California, Trump takes advantage of the fact that California is still predominantly democratic by blaming all the current negative status of California to the Democrats. For example, California’s high housing, gas, and other inflations; he refers this as California Dream into a Nightmare. Trump is able to blame it all on the democrats and make himself appeal by claiming that all will be solved under his term.

On the other hand, from the community’s perspective there are some oppositions. Coachella Mayor Steven Hernandez disagrees with Trump’s claim and said that “Trump’s attacks on immigrants, women, the LGBTQ community and the most vulnerable among us don’t align with the values of our community.”

California is not the only democratic state he plans to visit. Trump plans to visit Chicago and New York later on. Although the claims Trump makes at the rallies are questionable, his rallies identify a clear sign of support from these democratic states.

Sources:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/12/politics/trump-coachella-rally/index.html

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/11/trump-coachella-rally-00183392

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4920478-trump-to-hold-rare-california-rally-on-saturday/

Deloitte Takes a Major Hit Over an Employee’s Decision to Leak JD Vance’s Messages

    Deloitte has come under fire as JD Vance has had his messages from 2020 leaked by a Deloitte employee. Donald Trump and his Republican allies are threatening Deloitte because of the actions of the one employee. Even Donald Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., mentioned, “Maybe it’s time for the GOP to end Deloitte’s taxpayer funded gravy train?” (CNN). This statement is a powerful message of what the federal government may do. 

For some context, Deloitte is a large consultancy firm with about $3 billion in contracts with the federal government. This $3 billion in contracts includes major agencies such as the Department of Defense, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Department of Homeland Security. Most of the money, if not all, is from taxpayers, the American people. 

The Republican Party wants Deloitte to take responsibility for what the employee did and address the situation. Yet, Deloitte noted that the employee “shared private personal messages on his own volition without the knowledge of Deloitte” (The Hill). That employee is Kevin Gallagher, an executive at Deloitte. For his actions, he is being accused of conspiring and trying to interfere with the election by Donald Trump and his Republican allies. As a result of him sharing such messages, he is now going to be actively involved in politics. 

This brings up the idea of cyber security and the question of why Gallagher did what he did. Where did this information come from? Why was this information in the hands of Gallagher in the first place? The actions of Gallagher may appear as a simple demonstration of the First Amendment, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press. For Gallagher, he may have not realized what could happen from his actions but sharing messages from a political candidate, now could bring a lot of controversy. The truth is that these messages were private but the First Amendment implies that those messages can be shared. In this situation, it appears the right to privacy may overtake the values of the First Amendment. Consideration has to be taken that Deloitte, a large American company also has access to tons of government information. The messages of Vance were with a private consultant, so it is not surprising that these messages would be expected to be kept private. Scandals can come from the misuse of information, especially government information that is leaked. 

Interestingly enough, Vance, the running mate of Donald Trump had previously criticized the former president and even admitted it, another example of the demonstration of the First Amendment. In February 2020, Vance wrote, “I think Trump will probably lose” (The Guardian). Though Vance had previously shared his disapproval of the former president, he currently supports and is impressed by Trump’s performance as president. 

Well, though there may be many questions about the situation as a whole, the federal government has yet to cut contracts with Deloitte. It is hard to hold people accountable for what they said in the past. People in the federal government hold positions of power. Vance is a candidate for vice president and therefore it is not surprising that he may want more security to prevent another situation like this. Thus, this situation involves the federal government and a major American company with federal government contracts, so it now brings the question of what the federal government can do against a company. 

Sources: 

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/08/business/deloitte-trump-leaked-jd-vance-messages/index.html 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/07/trump-vance-deloitte-contracts 

https://thehill.com/business/4919910-deloitte-employee-trump-criticism/ 

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-allies-threaten-deloittes-3b-171532977.html 

Hurricanes all the way from Florida obstructing your internet service? Politics too.

As Hurricane Milton is predicted to approach Florida in a few days, with previous hurricanes like Hurricane Helene affecting internet service for users all the way across in California, some fear for their lives while others see them as opportunities.

Regarding the previous hurricane, Hurricane Helene, former president Donald Trump has made many claims that were misleading or certainly not true. For example, Trump claimed that FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency, a type of categorical grant for things like natural disasters, not giving the state much freedom to use the grant in variety of things, and instead in this case for the hurricane) ran out of money to aid for the hurricane disaster because they instead used to support undocumented immigrants. This has been fact-checked, as the FEMA themselves stated that it has funds for “immediate response and recovery efforts.” Trump continues on to mislead the population by stating that storm victims are only receiving $750. $750 is from the “Serious Needs Assistance” program which is part of the FEMA, and is just a federal aid for immediate relief, like groceries, water, and medications. I think this is an example of a broad grant because although this aid may have stronger purposes for some than others, the people who receive them have the ability to even save it, contrasting from categorical. In total, FEMA has said that the federal aid had gone over 21 million dollars. 

For Trump, it does not matter for him if it is nonsense or not. These false claims still catch attention because of the scale of the natural disaster at the moment, contributing to the political campaign especially in the battleground states that were influenced by the hurricanes. 

For vice president Kamala Harris, this may be a moment to make the aiding process effective and showcase her commanding capacity at uncertain times. Although this is true, Harris points out Trump's focus, calling his misinformation as “...extraordinarily irresponsible. It’s about him; it’s not about you.” She criticizes the fact that Trump is taking advantage of the event for his political campaign when people’s lives are on the line. 

Whether aiding the community, or utilizing it to attack political figures, politics around storms are nothing new. With incidents like President George W. Bush’s poor response to Hurricane Katrina destroying his second term in 2005; and President Barack Obama gaining a sense of trust with his effective management of Superstorm Sandy in 2012. As Harris criticizes Trump’s association of the storm with an effective political campaign, Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis argues against her. He claims that Harris is the one trying to “politicize the storm…just because of her campaign.” While, President Joe Biden had described DeSantis as “cooperative” and “doing a great job…”

Sources:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hurricane-helene-fact-check-misinformation-conspiracy-theories/

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/09/politics/trump-harris-hurricane-politics-analysis/index.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hurricane-milton-florida-landfall-path-storm/

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/kamala-harris-calls-trump-irresponsible-disinformation-helene-aid-rcna174402

The VP Debate: Fresh Voices on Old Topics

     On October 1st, 2024, Ohio Senator J.D Vance and Minnesota Senator Tim Walz took the stage as the Vice Presidential running mate for Donald Trump and Kamala Harris respectively. As Election Day is just a couple weeks away with no more debates scheduled, this debate proved to be a component of their campaign success.

What we saw from the Vance/Walz debate was rather different from what we saw between the Trump/Harris debate just a month prior. During Trump/Harris, Trump was harsh on his words, calling Harris’ father a Marxist, along with the two candidates sparring back and forth on heated debates over topics such as abortion, immigration, and the war in the Middle East. However, Vance and Walz took a more respectful approach, with the two debating but also finding themselves agreeing with each other. For example, Vance found himself united with Walz when talking about the Springfield, Ohio border, stating that “I agree with [Walz about the border issue]. I think you want to solve this problem, but I don't think that Kamala Harris does.” Additionally, Vance took the time to offer condolences to Walz who stated that his 17 year old son witnessed a shooting. Likewise for Walz, he agreed with Vance on the current state of abortions in the U.S, stating that “I agree with a lot of what Senator Vance said about what's happening. His running mate, though, does not. And that's the problem.”

The questions that were asked also were more centered around their role as the Vice President. These questions included if they agree with their respective running mates about certain policies. Walz did not have as many questions aimed towards Harris, but rather Vance had many questions centering around Trump’s previous decisions. During Vance’s response about his stance on January 6th and Trump’s belief that he was cheated out of winning the 2020 election, he dodged the question stating that he was worried about the future.

The question is now, how would this debate change public opinion about either of their campaigns? The answer is that it essentially didn’t except for the stance on the Vice Presidents. Vice Presidential debates rarely change much of the voters, as many will use the debate as a form of confirmation on their candidates’ stance. This doesn’t mean that the view on the candidates didn’t change. CBS News ran many polls on the new opinions on the two Vice Presidential candidates after the debate. Previously, these two have not had much airtime on TV, but being centerstage now bolstered their popularity, with both now having an over 50% vote that they would fit to be president if needed when before the percentages were 45% or less. The debate watchers’ opinions on Vance and Walz increased in the “favorable” category by roughly 8-9% as well.

With a mainly respectful debate between the two, this is the final time that these voices will be heard on a primetime event like a debate. The election, being just weeks away, made this unassuming debate all the more important. With early polling results being so close between the two presidential candidates, an additional voice could bring a couple extra voters to one side that will make all the difference in the 2024 election.

Sources:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/full-vp-debate-transcript-walz-vance-2024/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-vp-debate-poll-2024/

https://apnews.com/article/debate-takeaways-vance-walz-harris-trump-5b6f219b555416ff579764048ac238a1

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/01/politics/vp-debate-takeaways-vance-walz/index.html

Michael Jordan Fighting New Battles, and it’s Not the Utah Jazz

    Retired NBA Basketball Player Michael Jordan is known as one of the greatest players of all time, from his countless accolades to his hour long highlight tapes, Jordan did it all in his illustrious NBA career. Ever since retiring however, Jordan has found himself investing in the sports business. Jordan has taken ownership of the NBA team Charlotte Hornets, as well as having a stake in sports betting app DraftKings. Another one of Jordan’s investments is his NASCAR team, 23XI, as he became a part owner of the team in 2021. In 2024, Jordan was unhappy with the way that NASCAR had been treating its teams, thus he sued NASCAR and CEO of NASCAR, Jim France, filing an antitrust lawsuit against the company through evidence of monopolistic practices.

    NASCAR, even before the lawsuit, had been on thin ice with its teams ever since the founding of the sport in 1948. Before 2016, NASCAR teams were never guaranteed entry into races or prize money. Teams had to individually look for sponsors which was unsustainable for owners unless they owned some portion of another business that would sponsor it. This led to NASCAR creating a charter system, where all teams will share revenue and business sponsors while all being guaranteed a spot in the Cup Series, the top racing series in NASCAR.

    Although this deal sounded profitable for both sides, in reality it wasn’t. Teams were not generating a profit at all, including 2021 Daytona 500 winning team owner Bob Jenkins of Front Row Motorsports, stating in an Associated Press article that he has never profited from NASCAR, and in fact lost money during the championship year. NASCAR is also clearly seen to be gaining money compared to the teams, as they signed a new 7.7 billion dollar TV deal with companies like Amazon and NBC just last November. These angers have boiled over into Jordan’s case, in which he stated in his suit that “I love the sport of racing and the passion of our fans, but the way NASCAR is run today is unfair to teams, drivers, sponsors, and fans.”

    Jordan is mainly suing over the fact that NASCAR is employing monopolistic practices for their own gain over the teams, stated by Jordan in the lawsuit that NASCAR “used anti-competitive practices to prevent fair competition in the sport.” Teams are forced to buy car parts from specific vendors that are considered “NASCAR approved.” NASCAR tracks are also owned by NASCAR, alongside a detail in the charter stating that NASCAR cars cannot be driven on other competitive racing tracks. This was coupled with the fact that many teams felt pressured to sign the new agreement charter like Richard Childress, the owner of Richard Childress Racing, who stated in an interview with The Athletic that “We didn’t have a choice to sign [the charters],” Childress said. “It was just, ‘You sign it or you lose your charters.’ I couldn’t take that gamble, period. And I know a lot of owners I talked to felt the same way.” The deadline in fact was “a take it or leave it, one-hour deadline offer on Sept. 6.” This was the basis for Jordan’s lawsuit, a continuous stream of negative profit, and being the puppet for the hand that is NASCAR.

    So where does this case go from here? Jordan has hired Jeffrey Kessler, one of the top sports lawyers to file a preliminary injunction that would allow Jordan’s 23XI team to continue racing during the calendar year, yet still allow the antitrust lawsuit to continue. 23XI as a team has also not signed the new charter with an agreement that no team is allowed to file an antitrust lawsuit against France or NASCAR, meaning that Jordan will be able to have 23XI race until the end of his charter on December 31st, 2024.

Sources:

https://apnews.com/article/nascar-antitrust-lawsuit-jordan-bded312b0330122249824cbc059dabf5

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/02/michael-jordan-23xi-racing-team-sues-nascar-jim-france.html

https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/nba-legend-michael-jordan-just-sued-nascar-the-sport-and-the-business-of-the-sport-will-never-be-the-same/90984670

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5820663/2024/10/05/nascar-michael-jordan-lawsuit-denny-hamlin-garage-reaction/

Kamala Harris meets with Zelensky about Ukrainian Funding: How the Conflict is Shaping the 2024 Presidential Election

    The war between Russia and Ukraine, which has been ongoing since February 2022, has continued to escalate over political tensions and territorial disputes.  As of late September 2024, Ukrainian forces are still actively defending against the multitude of Russian offensives, especially near Bakhmut and Lyman. Russia has started to intensify their artillery and air strikes affecting populated civilian regions. With the war killing or wounding more than a 1 million people on both sides, it has become a more urgent matter before more innocent civilians are killed. 

Harris shaking hands with Zelensky after giving speech pledging 
support for Ukraine

    As the war continues, internal military aid remains a crucial part of Ukraine’s defense. President Volodymyr Zelensky recently met with Vice President Kamala Harris at Washington D.C during his U.S. visit in late September 2024. As Zelensky fears that time is running out for Ukraine’s war effort, Harris reaffirms the U.S.'s unwavering support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia; this emphasizes the strategic importance of continued aid. The Biden administration has allocated the remaining funding already approved by Congress into the war effort. With the assistance of Ukraine being a controversial topic at this time, her strong stance has raised some criticism with the people. However, she continues to stand her ground on how she is “proud to work for President Biden and 50 other countries,” which is specifically opposed by Trump. During his campaign in North Carolina, he states that he believes Zelensky does not actually attempt to end the war and rather comes to the US to make money.  However, Trump also insists that he will meet with Zelensky sometime during his trip to the U.S. The Democrats have portrayed Trump as “too embracing of authoritarians,” in which Republicans oppose the increased funding and supplies given to Ukraine. 

    This dichotomy reflects a broader debate in American society about the role of the U.S. in international conflicts and the extent of its responsibility to assist allies. With various political figures leveraging the Ukraine situation to bolster their campaigns, public opinion is becoming increasingly polarized. Some view military aid as a moral imperative, while others question its practicality in light of America's own economic challenges. This political landscape creates a backdrop of uncertainty as the election approaches, raising the stakes for both candidates and voters.

    The ongoing war in Ukraine has now become a pivotal issue leading up to the 2024 presidential election. With Zelensky emphasizing the urgency of military aid, it continues the moral dilemma of what the US should spend their funds on. With rising concerns of national debt and fiscal responsibility, many argue that continued funding would be unsustainable. With remarks that Ukraine aid “puts America last” many argue that the US has more urgent issues to address within its own borders. The debt of the United States has been rising rapidly within the recent years and the decision to spend more and more on a potential stalemate has become a critical topic of discussion. As the conflict continues and the election approaches, the interplay between foreign policy and domestic concerns will undoubtedly shape the future of the US governance and its role in foreign affairs.

Source:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-67649497 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/09/26/biden-harris-zelensky-weapons-russia/

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/watch-harris-meets-with-ukraines-zelenskyy-as-russia-makes-nuclear-warning 

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4901204-zelensky-asks-biden-for-weapons-strike-russia/ 

Eric Adams Indictment: Corruption Allegations Shake Public Trust and Political Leadership

      Eric Adams, a former police captain and centrist Democrat, has focused his mayoral administration on addressing public safety and economic issues in New York City. Eric Adams has served as the mayor of New York City since January 2022. His challenging experience in childhood led him to pursue a career in law enforcement, where he worked as a police officer and later a captain for the New York City Police Department. He later entered politics where he served as a New York state senator and Brooklyn Borough President before running for mayor. Throughout his career, Adams has advocated for police reform, criminal justice and increasing public safety. He currently positioned himself as a centrist Democrat, focusing on crime reduction, economic recovery and housing affordability. 

However, Eric Adams has recently come under fire for multiple federal charges including bribery, wire fraud, and accepting illegal donations from foreign businessmen. According to the sealed indictment that had been recently released, he “allegedly accepted over $123,000 worth of luxury travel benefits between 2016 and 2021.” Not only that, he also “sought illegal campaign contributions to his 2021 mayoral campaign, as well as other things of value, from foreign nationals.” In return he pushed forward a Turkish consular without a fire inspection. US Attorney Damian Williams, the current overseer of the federal corruption investigation, believed that Adams would use his high status “to take bribes and solicit illegal campaign contributions by allegedly taking improper and illegal benefits from foreign nationals.” 

This issue connects directly to lessons on the separation of powers and public opinion, as it showcases the role of federal oversight (FBI and DOJ) in maintaining political integrity. The scandal also invites debate about public trust in elected officials, which is a recurring theme in discussions on governance and ethics. Governor Hochul, who has the power to remove Adams from office, states that she is “weighing the decision before her,” but on the other hand, she worries about the legal and political risks.

Previously Hochul has been criticized for her leadership leading to dropping approval poll.  Given the situation, she could potentially shatter any signs of weakness and distance herself from a mayor who is under federal indictment. The removal process is untested, and could alienate Mr. Adams’s political base, particularly Black voters, without whom Ms. Hochul’s re-election chances would be diminished, especially if a high-profile Democrat challenges her in a primary. With potential drawbacks to Hochul's own campaign we may potentially see her pardoning Adams as not to thwart her own career.

These results set the precedent for people getting caught, knowing that other leaders are getting exposed may cause others to be more careful when dealing with similar activities. As a citizen in another large state in the US, it raises broader concern about political corruption and trust in public officials. Corruption in one city can fuel public distrust about government nationwide, impacting how people view their own local and state leaders. Adams's indictment illustrates a significant controversy regarding the balance of power; while he wielded considerable influence as mayor, his alleged actions now jeopardize not only his career but also the public's perception of ethical leadership It sets a bad image for the United States as a whole and can cause turmoil between the community and its leaders.

Sources:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/26/us/whats-in-nyc-mayor-eric-adams-indictment/index.html

https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/nyc-mayor-eric-adams-indicted-bribery-charges/

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/new-york-city-mayor-eric-adams-charged-bribery-and-campaign-finance-offenses

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/26/nyregion/adams-hochul-removal.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/26/nyregion/adams-hochul-removal.html

Leader of Hezbollah Killed By Israeli Airstrike: What it Means for The Middle East

On Friday, an Israeli airstrike hit Hezbollah's headquarters, killing Hezbollah's leader Hasan Nasrallah. Since the its inception during the Lebanese Civil War (1975-90) in 1982 as a Shiite militia, Hezbollah has been in conflict with Israel, first clashing against Israeli forces when they entered Lebanon during the civil war. In 1983, Hezbollah would be behind the bombings of US embassy and US and French barracks leading to their eventual designation as a terrorist organization. 

Since then Hezbollah has grown to be a powerful force in Lebanon, becoming a major political party. Yet they've continued to orchestrate terrorist attacks on Israel and the West as well as becoming a major Iranian ally. As the Israel and Palestinian conflict heated up during 2023, Hezbollah has once again come into conflict with Israel, firing explosives across the Israel border in support of its ally and fellow-Iranian proxy Hamas. 

However Israel has not taken these attacks lying down, seizing the opportunity to finally try and destroy one of its most hated rivals. Notably earlier this month, Israel launched a pager attack on Hezbollah, creating a front company to sell pagers to Hezbollah that were remotely detonated, injuring and killing many Hezbollah members but also indiscriminately injuring and killing many civilians. Continuing its initiative, following the attack Israel has launched many more strikes into Lebanon. Countries such as the United States have called for a cease fire to end the fighting, however on Friday, the prime-minister of Israel, Netanyahu would deliver an address to the UN, further doubling down on his goals of attacking Hezbollah and rejecting the ceasefire proposals. Shortly after his address the news of Israel successful strike on Hezbollah's leader would come out.

So what does Nasrallah's death mean. First off its the end of any potential cease fire. Both parties in the conflict are too far gone and have spilled too much blood to reach any agreement. Second of all it has weakened Hezbollah. As a founding member and leader of the organization for over 30 years, Nasrallah has been an important component of Hezbollah. With his death and the chaos of the previous Israeli pager attack, Hezbollah has been thrown into chaos which may seem like a good thing for Israel, but as America's invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan showed, it could mean the rise of even more extremist organization. Third the people of Lebanon are once again thrown into devastating conflict. While Israeli airstrikes have been successful in killing member of Hezbollah, it has come at the immense cost of many innocent Lebanese. Finally stateside it once again complicates the upcoming presidential election. Already an extremely controversial subject within the United States, the continued escalation of the Israeli-Hamas conflict into Lebanon has further complicated the United States' support of Israel. With no end in sight for the conflict in the Israeli Hezbollah war, this is just another entry in the long book of Middle Eastern conflicts that have come to claim the lives of many innocent people.

Sources:

https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-hezbollah

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-planted-explosives-hezbollahs-taiwan-made-pagers-say-sources-2024-09-18/

https://apnews.com/article/lebanon-israel-hezbollah-airstrikes-28-september-2024-c4751957433ff944c4eb06027885a973

https://apnews.com/article/lebanon-israel-hezbollah-airstrikes-suburb-617575d9c5d7c711bc02e7b81d2ba4ad

What's happening in Springfield, Ohio (besides "Haitians eating cats")?

 “This is costing the city. We’re definitely in the hundreds of thousands of dollars in expense. We haven’t calculated the overtime, the contracts that need to be secured to be able to secure and communicate… take care of our city,” - Springfield mayor, Ron Rue. 

With the rising immigration rates and cuts made to the police and fire departments due to budget shortfalls in recent years, the sudden spotlight placed on Springfield, Ohio, has put the city in chaos. The comments made by Trump during the presidential debate regarding debunked rumors about Haitian immigrants eating pet cats and dogs of their neighbors have triggered a week long barrage of bomb threats among many others.

This crisis has forced the city to send the limited law enforcement they have out onto the streets, including public schools now filled with state troopers stationed inside. In response the mayor has issued a proclamation to grant the city emergency powers, giving them the ability to more quickly recruit and contract additional security personnel and law enforcement to supplement their deficient police force. These powers have been determined to stay in effect until it is deemed that the threats to public safety have subsided. 

With all the recent commotion aside, Springfield has been struggling to accommodate for the growing immigrant population from before the recent developments. The increased population has put a strain on public institutions such as hospitals, schools, and police, and it has created a necessity for more housing, an expanded the police force, and improved translation services. In order to afford these needs the city is in desperate need of funding, and after months of requests from state and federal support they have finally received $2.5 million in state funds.

After all of the events in Springfield, escalated by Trump’s remarks, Rue only has one request from the presidential candidates: to avoid visiting the city due to the economic stain it could leave on their resources. Following Trump's announcements that he would visit in the following weeks, Rue has responded by saying: “If he chose to change his mind to maybe reroute from coming to Springfield that would be a huge message of peace to Springfield as I see it”. 

In light of these developments, it's important to realize the significant and real impact that the spread of misinformation can have, and to do what we can as citizens to prevent the perpetuation and spread of these lies.
 

Sources:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/21/us/springfield-ohio-financial-fallout/index.html

Republican Clay Higgins under fire after "X" post about Hatian immigrants

     By now, we've all heard former president Donald Trump's comments about immigrants "eating the dogs" and other pets during the presidential debate earlier this month. On Wednesday afternoon, Congressman Clay Higgins, who represents Louisiana's 3rd District in the US House of Representatives, posted to X from his official congressional account, "Lol. These Haitians are wild. Eating pets, vudu, nastiest country in the western hemisphere, cults, slapstick, gangsters". The chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and Democratic Representative of Nevada Steven Horsford, called on the House Committee on Ethics to investigate Higgins' post. Horsford also pushed for the House to censure Higgins over his comments, but the matter cannot be acted on immediately, as the House has finished voting for the month of September. Higgins told CNN he did not regret his comments.

Clay Higgins, alongside the tweet he made earlier this week

    According to CNN, Horsford confronted Higgins and two men had a heated exchange. Horsford said that he had asked Higgins to delete the post, Higgins replying that he would pray about it. Horsford claimed that he told Higgins, "If you refuse... We will move for a resolution to censure you".  Higgins ultimately took down the post, but still said, "It's all true... I can put up another controversial post tomorrow if you want me to. I mean, we do have freedom of speech. I'll say what I want". As if his original comments were not enough, Higgins continued, telling CNN, "It’s not a big deal to me. It's like something stuck to the bottom of my boot. Just scrape it off and move on with my life". 

Clark County, Ohio, where many Hatians have been settling in recent months

    With the increase of attention to this small county after Trump and Higgins' comments, many wonder why Haitian immigrants are in Springfield, Ohio. In short, there are no government programs sending the immigrants to Clark County. Officials and Springfield residents claim that employment opportunities and word of mouth drew an increase of immigrants to the city, but no one knows why so many went to Clark County specifically. According to another CNN article, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said businesses in the area are grateful to have a growing labor force as Springfield has made a resurgence recently, with many new companies coming in.

Sources:

https://www.axios.com/2024/09/25/clay-higgins-haitians-censure-tweet-house-democrats

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/25/politics/clay-higgins-deletes-post-haitian-migrants/index.html

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/19/us/springfield-ohio-haitians-immigration-cec/index.html

What does the Secret Service need - more money?

In light of the recent second failed assassination attempt on 2024 presidential candidate, President Donald Trump –happening within just 2 months of the previous attempt, this time by a gunman found hiding among trees and bushes by the Trump International Golf Club in Florida– US lawmakers have been scrambling to address the severe deficiencies in the security of major candidates. Rep. Mike Lawler stated: “That these incidents were allowed to occur is a stain on our country”, with agreement from many others about this feeling of embarrassment around the country’s shortcomings.

 Former President Donald Trump is helped off the stage after an attempted assassination during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. - Gene J. Puskar/AP 

 

With a 405-0 vote in the House of Representatives, they have successfully raised the standards at which agents would be assigned to protect major political candidates. Among other reforms such as an increase in training, many positive changes have been made, but the House of Rep. insists on doing more.

However, with only months before the inauguration and the uncertainty on what the extra money could be spent on, people are hesitant. The Secret Service themselves claimed that the lapses in security that led to the assassination attempts on Trump were not due to funding shortfalls, and have reported that the Secret Service revealed they are “still evaluating” what the money would even be spent on. Furthermore, it has been argued that the shortcomings of the Secret Service were an issue of manpower rather than funding. As of now, Biden has the highest possible level of private security with a vast infrastructure and support from the military, while candidates have their security supplemented by local law enforcement. Biden has stated his wishes to increase the security level of Vice President Kamala Harris and President Donald Trump to be on par with his. This calls for an increase in manpower; more employees and more hours. While an increase in funding could fulfill these needs as stated by sitting representative of the Secret Service himself, in response others have pointed out that since 2017 the Secret Service has asked for an increase in funding every year and has received it every year. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise emphasizes the importance of how they’re allocating their money rather than how much money they have.

A Florida Lawmaker claims “I think it’s irresponsible to just throw money at it when they’re not even sure what exactly they need and how quickly they can get it”, hinting at possible Republican resistance against this proposed funding boost. On the other hand, some Democratic representatives believe that the extra funding could be helpful, with Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey noting, “I know that there's some folks who see a $3 billion budget and think that should be enough. But when you look at where all of the bodies have to go, that’s a problem”. This development hints at some possible tensions between the two parties on how to proceed with this previously bipartisan situation. With the House of Rep.’s votes already in, the legislation only waits on the continued debates within congress to be enacted into the law.

With people's lives at stake and an increased sense of urgency with the election coming up, it's hard to hesitate, let alone refuse help, to the agency that could prevent the loss of these lives. However, with the uncertainty around the needs of the Secret Service and arguments on both sides, it's a hard decision to make whether an increase in funding for the Secret Service is the right step to take.

Sources
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/house-passes-bill-to-boost-trump-security-as-congress-scrambles-to-ensure-candidate-safety
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4890505-house-bill-trump-security-assassination-attempt/
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4885147-secret-service-funding-boost-republicans-question/
https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-harris-election-09-15-24/index.html

Russians Once Again are Meddling in US elections, This Time Using AI

     Since the 2016 election, Russia as well as other foreign powers have used social media and the internet in order to influence our general elections. With the advent of AI, it has given Russia and other foreign powers a new tool in order to attack our democracy.  

    With the ongoing war in Ukraine becoming a critical issue in the upcoming 2024 election, and in general the international influence of America, it has once more led Russia to take a keen interest in our upcoming elections. In order to get the desired result, Russia has taken to employing the use of AI in order to influence our elections. In an interview with PBS NewsHour, Investigative Journalist and expert on Russian intelligence operations Christo Grozev would raise awareness towards the issue, stating, "they [Russia] specifically talk about using A.I. to customize the message based on the biases and preferences of each individual user...with A.I., you can do that to tens of million of people." Unlike the misinformation in the 2016 election, this current new wave specifically targets individuals and their preferences, making it even more difficult to discern misinformation for the average US voter.

    Just as in 2016, Russia's use of AI is for the purpose "to boost the former president's candidacy and denigrate the Vice President and the Democratic Party, including through conspiratorial Americans,"  as one Office of the Director of National Intelligence official would state. Russia has gone about this purpose by exploiting divisive issues in order to sow disagreement and distrust within the United States. By altering pieces of real media, such as a Kamala Harris' speeches, it leads to the spread of misinformation, creating the distrust they desire. One example of this occurring has been the Kremlin's alteration of a video, making it seem as if Harris executed a hit and run on an 13 year old, obviously lowering people's opinions of Harris. 

    As an American citizen, I can't help but be concerned, especially since there is evidence of other countries such as Iran and China also using AI to meddle within our election. As we continue to get our information from the unmoderated internet, it creates an ever increasing risk of consuming misinformation. As a democracy, we depend on accurate information for our citizens to make an informed decision. With foreign countries influencing the facts, it threatens our entire democratic system.

    The question now is how we should go about countering this issue. According to Julia Feerrar, digital literacy educator from Virginia Tech "One of the most powerful things you can do to identify misinformation, whether AI-generated or not, is to look at where it's coming from. Is it from a reputable, professional news organization or from a website or account you don’t recognize?"  By examining the credibility of a source, it can help a reader quickly discern what is true or not. If a piece of news, for example a "Harris" speech that portrays her in a negative way is being posted by a random account that was made a couple of days or weeks ago, it is pretty likely that the post was made by a Russian operative that had used AI to alter the video. Through practicing responsible digital literacy, we can help safe guard our democracy from foreign threats such as Russia.

Sources:

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/russia-iran-ai-influence-us-election-dni/story?id=113941680

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-russia-is-using-artificial-intelligence-to-interfere-in-elections

https://news.vt.edu/articles/2024/02/AI-generated-fake-news-experts.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/09/23/russia-harris-attack-ads/75353125007/

Conflict Breaking Out in the Middle East

Tuesday September 16th,  pagers - small walkie talkie like communication device - mysteriously exploded on the bodies of those associated with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah - founded in 1982 to end the Israel occupation of Southern Lebanon which they achieved in 2000 - killing 9 and injuring thousands.

The following day, more electronic devices exploded in Lebanon, killing at least another 25 people and injuring more than 600. The specifics of the time, process and culprit of these devastating military operations is still rolling out. 

However currently, fingers are pointed at Israel being the military force behind the operation, as Hezbollah and Israel's relationship has been strained over the years in event such as the 2006 war and current day, where shots across the border are exchanged daily since October 7th. In response, the Israel military has declined to comment on this issue. 

In relation, Hezbollah sent over a hundred missiles into Northern Israel, Israel responding with hundreds of airstrikes on Lebanon - killing a elite commander of Hezbollah and dozens more. 

U.S. officials in the Biden administration are scrambling as escalation is prescribed to continue, both sides asserting their commitment to a war, Israel officials saying their in a "new phase of the war" and "the sequence of military operations will continue". 

A Hezbollah and Israel war has dangerous implications for the middle east, as a full out middle east war could very well be on the horizon, and the U.S' place in it's affairs is a crucial decision that may need to be made soon. 

While some are focused on the possibility of a full break out war, others are more concerned on the effect this will have on the Gaza-ceasefire. Although military assaults on Gaza have slowed, they still occur, and with Israels resources and attention diverted towards Hezbollah, the ceasefire will be unlikely to pass, creating more Palestinian suffering as a byproduct. 

The direction of this continuing escalating conflict is currently unknown however, regardless of where it goes, the unnecessary suffering and displacement of innocent people is a sure outcome. 

Sources: 

https://apnews.com/article/hezbollah-israel-hamas-lebanon-gaza-62d6eb8831fbd871f862146add7970d9 

https://apnews.com/article/lebanon-hezbollah-israel-exploding-pagers-8893a09816410959b6fe94aec124461b

https://apnews.com/article/lebanon-israel-hezbollah-pager-explosion-e9493409a0648b846fdcadffdb02d71e

https://apnews.com/article/israel-lebanon-hezbollah-war-pagers-920ced5349562163eeb96d6a5a768e89

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/20/israel-hezbollah-escalation-00180299

https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/israel-lebanon-attacks-09-22-24/index.html

https://www.npr.org/2024/09/22/g-s1-24085/dozens-of-rockets-fired-into-israel-from-lebanon-idf-says