UAW Workers Blame Biden, Harris And EV Mandates For Job Losses
While we know how professional extortionist union negotiator Shawn Fain at the top ranks of the UAW wants his workers to vote, the way they’re going to vote might be a different story altogether.
After Stellantis, maker of Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge, announced plans to lay off 2,450 workers, workers told the Post they thought the Biden administration was to blame.
“I’m sure all the people I work with are glad to have jobs. But the problem is in these electric-vehicle departments, you’re laying people off,” one worker, Isaiah Gordon, who works on hybrid batteries said.
He added:
“It’s the way that the government now wants to go. And they completely made the wrong decisions on it because if you look, Ford has lost a lot of money.”
A technician mechanic for Chrysler agreed that EVs were driving the layoffs, stating: “Putting an electric motor together is like building a pinwheel or a paper airplane, there’s some level of work that’s involved with it, but the skill level really isn’t there.”
Republican congresswoman Lisa McClain agreed, adding: “Less parts mean less employees. That’s why they’re doing the layoffs. Because they can’t sell the vehicles that the government, particularly Kamala Harris, is mandating them to buy.”
She continued: “Listen, you wanna buy an EV car? Great. But the autoworkers, the automakers know that we can’t survive because the infrastructure isn’t there on EVs. Nobody wants to buy them.”
The New York Post writes that Ford cut over 1,000 jobs at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn after reducing F-150 Lightning production. The company reported a $132,000 loss per vehicle in the first quarter, selling 20% fewer EVs than last year.
Workers say layoffs aren’t just due to reduced labor but also the tough emissions standards from the Biden-Harris administration. These strict EPA regulations push the industry to produce more EVs, despite lower consumer demand, according to the Post.
“You look at a product like a Ford hybrid Escape, a hybrid electric vehicle, and it’s one of the smaller SUVs. It’s barely a car. And the carbon footprint of that, the grams per mile is 225. So you’ve got a vehicle there that is 55 grams per mile in excess of the standard that will be here in two model years,” the mechanic complained.
“I can tell you they’ve been promising investment where I work at the tech center for years now, and I’ll just put it this way: it doesn’t appear to be happening. They can promise one thing and change that plan tomorrow.”
“It’s getting to the point that they’re leasing additional properties and parking them elsewhere. And it’s all three domestics,” he concluded.
And the change in opinion seems to be driving political divide between the UAW and its leadership. Gordon concluded: “Unfortunately, and I say this with love, the UAW is not going to reach across the aisle. They support the Democrats and the Democratic Party.”
The city of Aurora, Colorado, wants to assign police officers to apartment complexes where alleged gang members from Venezuela have resided, but the property owner has yet to accept the offer.
Jason Batchelor, Aurora city manager, has offered to assign off-duty police officers to work at two CBZ Management properties from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
A city spokesman said this would give CBZ Management more peace of mind as they are encouraged to manage their properties again.
“They have so far not taken us up on that offer,” the spokesman told The Epoch Times on Sept. 17.
“They also continue to be uncooperative with [the Aurora Police Department] on the various criminal cases that occurred at or are tied to their properties going back several months.
“The long-term future of the properties is still to be determined.”
The Epoch Times reached out to CBZ Management for comment but didn’t receive a response by publication time. The New York City-based company owns 11 properties in New York and 11 in Colorado, with a average monthly rent of $1,450 to $2,000.
City officials say claims in social media that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA) is taking over apartment complexes are overstated.
Mayor Mike Coffman and council member Danielle Jurinsky recently issued a statement that sought to “clear the record” about violent gang activity and the city’s response.
“We reiterate that the safety, security, and well-being of community members and visitors is of paramount concern to us and the city,” the officials wrote.
“As for the perception and reality of public safety in Aurora, please understand that issues experienced at a select few properties do not apply to the city as a whole or significant portions of it.”
Tren de Aragua (TdA) “has not ’taken over the city,’” the officials wrote.
“The overstated claims fueled by social media and through select news organizations are simply not true. TdA’s presence in Aurora is limited to specific properties, all of which the city has been addressing in various ways for months.”
In a previous interview with The Epoch Times, Coffman said that TdA was present in Aurora, but that it was “isolated.”
Jurinsky had told The Epoch Times: “They are terrorizing other Venezuelan migrants. They are terrorizing the American people.”
“It’s been ignored. The city had downplayed this as code violations at properties. The people have been lied to. I have been lied to. I finally decided I’d had enough and that I was going to expose this on my own.”
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) spokesman Mike Alvarez told The Epoch Times that the agency is aware of TdA activities across the United States.
“HSI is aware of recent violent crime and arrests involving individuals allegedly associated with Tren de Aragua gang and continues to monitor emerging trends and assist partner law enforcement agencies in more than 34 regions throughout the United States and around the globe,” Alvarez said in an email.
In February, the Aurora City Council voted 7–3 in favor of a resolution that said Aurora was not a sanctuary city and lacked the resources to support migrants.
On Aug. 29, a surveillance video that went viral showed TdA members carrying guns and entering at least one apartment complex in Aurora, a suburb of Denver with 393,537 residents.
Coffman recently posted on Facebook that he went to several apartment complexes where the gang is said to be active.
The mayor said he walked through buildings at 12th Avenue and Dallas Street.
He also went through every floor of another “troubled” apartment complex owned by CBZ Management located at 13th Avenue and Helena Street without incident.
“Like the Dallas and 12th Street properties, there is no onsite property manager there to collect the rent and to coordinate maintenance on the property, and, like the Dallas property, the tenants were predominantly newly arrived Venezuelans,” Coffman wrote.
Coffman said the goal is to secure both apartment complexes so that management can take better care of the properties.
“Shutting down the properties, under our Criminal Nuisance ordinance, is the last resort that I hope we don’t have to use,” he said.
In the meantime, Coffman said the city manager made an offer to the property owner to assign two police officers to each of the properties for two weeks if the owner assumes responsibility for onsite management.
“If the owner does not assume responsibility for these properties and start providing routine services, like trash removal, the city will be forced to close both apartment complexes as a last resort,” Coffman wrote.
The city recently went before a judge, asking for a court order to shut down apartment complexes deemed nuisances by city ordinance.
Aurora Police Department recently created a special task force to work with federal law enforcement to assess and interrupt alleged Venezuelan gang activity.
Police Make Arrests
On Sept. 11, the department released a summary containing a photo lineup of documented TdA members arrested on felony charges, including violence, burglary, and attempted murder.
“We release information when it is accurate, confirmed, and does not jeopardize ongoing investigations,” Aurora Police Department agent Matthew Longshore told The Epoch Times in an email.
According to the statement, the department has been “actively investigating reports that members of the Venezuelan prison gang, Tren de Aragua, have been living in Aurora and committing acts of violence against members of the migrant community.”
The Aurora Police Department said the summary reflects the department’s “actions and authority alone.”
The statement lists each suspect by name and includes a booking photo and a summary of alleged offenses.
Larry Medina, 29, was arrested on July 10 on charges of felony menacing and attempted second-degree burglary in the incident at Whispering Pines Condominiums.
Jhonardy Pacheco-Chirinos, 22, was arrested on a first-degree assault warrant.
Pacheco-Chirinos is also a suspect in the July 28 nonfatal shooting at an apartment complex.
Other confirmed Tren de Aragua members include Dejesus Pacheco-Chirinos, 24, who is charged with attempted first-degree murder, first-degree aggravated assault, illegal discharge of a firearm, and reckless endangerment at the Nome Street building on July 29.
Luis Miguel Calzadilla-Rojas, 24, is charged with attempted first-degree murder, accessory to homicide, and trying to influence a public servant following a daytime shooting that occurred in front of the Arapahoe County Probation Office.
Yoendry Vilchez Medina-Jose, 33, was charged with felony menacing and third-degree assault in connection with the November 2023 incident at Whispering Pines.
Juan Carlos Mejia-Espana, 27, was charged with second-degree kidnapping, felony menacing, false imprisonment, third-degree assault, child abuse, and domestic violence stemming from a domestic dispute at Whispering Pines in March.
Carlos Aranguren-Mayora, 23, was charged with robbery, theft between $5,000 and $20,000, second-degree burglary, felony menacing, criminal mischief, first-degree burglary, first-degree kidnapping, second-degree kidnapping, robbery, aggravated robbery, motor vehicle theft, obstruction in connection with several alleged offenses committed in the Denver metropolitan area.
Robert Daniel Mora-Marquez, 23, is charged with aggravated first-degree assault, second-degree kidnapping, third-degree assault, felony menacing, illegal discharge of a firearm, harassment, and reckless endangerment following an April 4 dispute and assault over unpaid rent money at an apartment building block in Lima Street.
Mora-Marquez is also a suspect in the nonfatal shooting on June 28 in an apartment block on Nile Street.
Jose Miguel Reyes-Perez, 30, is charged with aggravated assault, felony menacing, and motor vehicle theft stemming after police executed an arrest warrant on May 22.
Yorman Camilo Sangronis-Garcia was included in the police notice but without a photo as he hasn’t been charged. He is known to law enforcement as “a TdA member.”
In late 2023, the city shut down an apartment building on Nome Street for “code violations” following reports of alleged gang activity.
Gang Targeted
In July, the Biden–Harris administration said it would take new steps to stop Tren de Aragua, a group of international criminals that originated in Venezuelan prison gang culture.
These actions included the U.S. Department of the Treasury blocking “all property and interests in property” in the United States and the Department of Justice offering a $12 million reward for the arrest of Tren de Aragua leaders.
The Epoch Times contacted the Biden administration and the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
Chevron CEO Blasts Biden On ‘Green’ Policies, Says Admin Should “Stop Attacks On NatGas”
Chevron CEO Mike Wirth delivered a dire warning at Tuesday’s Gastech conference in Houston, criticizing the Biden-Harris administration’s radical energy policies—specifically the moratorium on new liquefied natural gas export permits. He warned these policies have driven up prices and “undermined energy security” for America’s key allies.
Wirth said “attacks on natural gas” and a moratorium on new LNG export permits at terminals along the Gulf Coast had put “politics over progress” and would derail climate efforts, such as the transition from coal to NatGas.
“It raises energy costs by taking potential supply off the market,” the CEO of US’s second-biggest oil producer said, adding, “It threatens reliable supplies of LNG, undermining energy security for our allies. And it slows the transition from coal to natural gas, meaning more emissions not less.”
He continued, “When it comes to advancing economic prosperity, energy security and environmental protection, an LNG permitting pause fails on all three.”
In January, the White House halted new licenses to export LNG. At the time, we pointed out to readers that this move by far-left radicals in the Biden-Harris administration, which appeared to punish Texas over the border dispute, was possibly part of a campaign by wealthy donors, including the Rockefeller family – to pressure the government into shifting away from LNG.
Wirth has called out the Biden-Harris admin before for their ridiculous attacks on fossil fuel energy while they claim a climate crisis will doom the planet unless more solar panels and windmills are installed on the grid.
In 2022, the executive told Bloomberg TV in an interview that the last refinery built in the US was in the 1970s. He said, “My personal view is there will never be another new refinery built in the United States.”
The good news in July is that a federal court overturned the LNG permit export moratorium. However, since the ruling, no licenses have been issued amid uproar industry-wide over disastrous green policies pushed by the White House.
Wirth said: “Instead of imposing a moratorium on LNG exports, the administration should stop the attacks on natural gas.”
Domestically, the unprecedented strain on the US power grid is beginning to materialize due to electrification trends, including power-hungry AI data and EVs. Regional grids nationwide are winding down fossil fuel power generation with unreliable solar and wind, yet any new nuclear power development (the ultimate clean energy power source) could take years and or decades to come online.
He indicated that switching from coal to gas could be “the single greatest carbon reduction initiative in history.”
Yet, there is no compromise with climate activists in the federal government. It’s unreliable green energy or nothing.
Wirth called for a “more balanced conversation about the future of energy,” adding, “These choices should be informed by realistic science and impartial data, untainted by advocacy agendas.”
Instead of listening to children and radicalized climate activists who wear crisis blinders and can’t possibly make rational decisions, it’s time to bring back folks into positions of power in the government who are based in reality. The era of letting woke politicians run the show has been abysmal and is nation-killing on a long enough timeline.
Nine US Senators Launch Inquiry Into Kamala Harris’ Failure As ‘Broadband Czar’
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr criticized the Biden-Harris administration, pointing out that their $42.45 billion program to bring high-speed internet to rural America has yet to connect a single person. He said it had been 1,038 days, and “not a single person has been connected” since the program debuted.
1️⃣,0️⃣3️⃣7️⃣ days.
Vice President Harris has been leading the Administration’s signature, $42 billion plan to extend Internet to millions of Americans for 1️⃣,0️⃣3️⃣7️⃣ days now.
The result?
0️⃣ people have been connected to the Internet. Not one home. Not one business. None. pic.twitter.com/n1HLYkUZwD
Carr on X pushed out a post in the early afternoon of Wednesday featuring a new letter from nine US senators, including Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), stressing concern about VP Harris’ time as ‘broadband czar’ entirely mismanaged the $42.45 billion program to connect rural America. Considering that not a single home in rural America has been connected, the senators warned that the failures are piling up for VP Harris, citing her failure as ‘border czar.’
Dear Vice President Harris:
We are writing to express serious concerns regarding your role as the Biden-Harris administration’s “broadband czar” and the mismanagement of federal broadband initiatives under your leadership. It appears that your performance as “broadband czar” has mirrored your performance as “border czar,” marked by poor management and a lack of effectiveness despite significant federal broadband investments and your promises to deliver broadband to rural areas.
As you are aware, Congress, through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, provided the National Telecommunications and Information Administration with $42.45 billion for the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. These funds are intended to provide broadband access to unserved communities, particularly those in rural areas.
In 2021, you were specifically tasked by President Biden to lead the administration’s efforts to expand broadband services to unserved Americans. And at the time, you stated, “we can bring broadband to rural America today.” Despite your assurances over three years ago, rural and unserved communities continue to wait for the connectivity they were promised. Under your leadership, not a single person has been connected to the internet using the $42.45 billion allocated for the BEAD program. Indeed, Politico recently reported on “the messy, delayed rollout of” this program.
Instead of focusing on delivering broadband services to unserved areas, your administration has used the BEAD program to add partisan, extralegal requirements that were never envisioned by Congress and have obstructed broadband deployment. By imposing burdensome climate change mandates on infrastructure projects, prioritizing government-owned networks over private investment, mandating the use of unionized labor in states, and seeking to regulate broadband rates, your administration has caused unnecessary delays leaving millions of Americans unconnected.
The administration’s lack of focus on truly connecting the unconnected has failed the American people and represents a gross misuse of limited taxpayer dollars. The American public deserves better.
NEW
Senators write Vice President Kamala Harris over her mismanagement of a $42 billion program to expand Internet.
After 1️⃣,0️⃣3️⃣8️⃣ days “not a single person has been connected to the internet using the $42.45 billion.” pic.twitter.com/F6RUBgoNwq
‘All-In’ podcast host Jason Calacanis recently said, “Our government is corrupt and stealing our money. United airlines just put Starlink on 1,000+ planes, but the FCC claims we need to spend 5-10k per rural home for wired connections?!? These homes are putting starlink in on their nickel while they wait for a cable modem in 10 years — wtf??? Pure corruption or insane stupidity — you decide!”
Our government is corrupt and stealing our money.
United airlines just put Starlink on 1,000+ planes, but the FCC claims we need to spend 5-10k per rural home for wired connections?!?
These homes are putting starlink in on their nickel while they wait for a cable modem in 10… https://t.co/vy4lpUGHH5
Carr recently chimed in and said Elon Musk’s Starlink offered the FCC a secured commitment of $1,300 per household for 640,000 rural locations. He said in 2023, the federal government rejected Starlink and decided to spend $100,000 per location.
In 2020, the FCC secured a commitment from Starlink to offer high-speed Internet to 640,000 rural locations for $1,300 per location in federal support.
After revoking that award in 2023, the government is now spending in the ballpark & upwards of $100,000 per location in cases. pic.twitter.com/D1q4AGcUag
Legendary financial and geopolitical cycle analyst Martin Armstrong predicted less than a month ago that there would be another assassination attempt on Donald Trump’s life, and the Deep State was going to do everything possible to start a war with Russia.
He was right on both counts. All the chaos, debate fraud and push for World War III comes down to the Deep State knows it cannot cheat enough to put Kamala Harris into the White House in November.
Forget the phony polls where they all say Kamala is running neck and neck with Trump.
Armstrong says his “Socrates” computer program shows Kamala’s real approval rating is around 10%, and all his computer models say Kamala is going to lose big in November no matter how much they cheat. Armstrong says, “Just about everybody in politics looks at Socrates now because its track record on politics has been phenomenal for 30 years. They know what is going on.”
So, is the Biden Administration panicking with this second clumsy attempt to assassinate Trump while playing golf? Is our own government trying to kill Trump because they know they cannot win?
Armstrong says, “I believe so. . . . Look, these people have been warmongers. . . . This is their power.”
” They have gotten so close to destroying Russia, which is their end goal here. Handing long-range missiles to Ukraine, this is like hiring somebody to kill your spouse and then saying, well, he shot, I didn’t. . . .
Trump and RFK Jr. are against war…My concern here is they need to create war before January, if not even before the election. I think this is what all this stuff is about with the long-range missiles to shoot into Russia. If Trump does get in, they have to trap him into war.
The whole nonsense about Russia Gate and all the rest was because Trump is against war…
The neocons called Trump Putin’s puppet because Trump will not engage in war against Russia. This is what this is all about.”
Will the demonic Deep State try yet another assassination of Trump?
Armstrong says, “I would not put it past them. Maybe next time they use Monkey Pox or Bird Flu.”
” Look, Trump represents a real threat to their power. If Trump gets in, the neocons are out. Who wrote that recent article for the Washington Post that said Trump would be a “dictator”?
It was Victoria Nuland’s husband. Why? Because Victoria Nuland was thrown out of Trump’s Administration.
She has been in every administration except Trump’s. . . . This is the neocons against the American people. The computer has been showing that this may be the very last election we have. Just look at the chaos that has been going on at this stage.”
Armstrong is afraid that Putin may be overthrown in Russia because his response has been too timid against NATO.
Armstrong says, “Putin knows the neocons want war, and he won’t take the bait.” Armstrong is also afraid that if Putin does get booted out of office, then the people who replace him will be far worse, and brutal war would follow.
Armstrong says the evil people in Washington will hide in bunkers when the atomic weapons drop on the rest of America. He thinks a big problem coming will be shortages in everything –including food. If there is bigger war, the economy will plunge, and interest rates will skyrocket. Greatest Depression here we come.
In closing, Armstrong says, “The Deep State is scared to death of Trump winning in November because he now knows how to play the game. . . . and Secretary of State Tony Blinken is running the country” because we know Joe Biden is not.
There is much more in the 50-minute interview.
Join Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog.com as he goes One-on-One with Martin Armstrong as he gives his analysis on trying to kill Trump and starting a world war before the 2024 Election for 9.17.24.
Fed/Powell Unleash Chaos Across Markets With ‘Not A Crisis At All’ 50bps Rate-Cut
50bps cut… uber-dovish Dots… Powell pushed back… stocks end red, dollar and yields end higher.
“The US economy is in a good place and our decision today is designed to keep it there,” said Fed Chair Pay Powell during the press conference.
So a crisis-level 50bps rate-cut at record highs for stocks and home prices, just two months ahead of the election is warranted because the “economy is in a good place.”
The next time the Fed meets, voters will have already cast their vote for the next president.
Powell on incorporating political factors into Fed decisions:
“We just don’t do that.”
But Kamala liked it:
“The Fed’s rate decision is welcome news for Americans.”
And none other than Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California applauded the Fed’s rate cut in a statement:
“I am pleased that the Fed has not only remained independent, but shown the importance of remaining independent as it followed the data and not politics.”
Republican Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota criticized the Fed’s move in a post on social media:
“The Federal Reserve claims political independence. They could have waited to move rates until after the election to confirm it. 25 basis points would’ve received minor grumblings, but the claim rings hollow with 50 basis points.”
It’s a good job The Fed is “strongly independent”!!!
Was it Trump or Biden who promised in April that “before the year is out there’ll be a rate cut?” https://t.co/F8XjS8JmYt
The kneejerk reaction across all markets reversed considerably during Powell’s presser as he poured a little cold water on expectations.
“The committee is not in a rush,” said Powell, and with that stocks started to puke lower as he added that “we will move as fast or as slow as we think is appropriate.”
Powell stole the jam out of the equity market’s donut when he tilted hawkish by noting that “no one should look at the 50bps cut and say this is a new pace.”
But realistically, the DOTs said it all, with members desperately lurching lower in rate-cut expectations.
In June, 4 FOMC members expected no rate-cuts in 2024, 7 members expected 1 rate-cut in 2024, 8 members expected 2 rate-cuts.
In September, only 2 FOMC members had priced in 2 rate-cuts by year-end, 7 more saw 3 rate-cuts, 8 more saw 4 cuts by the end of 2024 and one lone uber-dove (Goolsbee?) expected 5 rate-cuts in 2024…
Source: Bloomberg
So much can change in 3 months when the government is fooling most of the people with fake data all the time
US Jobs Revised Down By 818,000 In Election Year Shocker, Second Worst Revision In US History https://t.co/IZ6b2StAMB
And Fed rate expectations for 2024 tumbled (and 2025 dropped too – though was already pricing in a super dovish Fed)…
Source: Bloomberg
Additionally, Powell pissed in the punchbowl by stating that we’re probably not going back to the era when trillions of dollars worth of sovereign bonds were trading negatively and says the neutral rate is probably much higher than it used to be – but doesn’t know where that level is.
So let’s survey the damage…
Stocks kneejerked higher with Small Caps exploding almost 2.5% at their highs on the FOMC statement and SEP. The S&P 500 also briefly hit a new record high. However, once Powell started speaking, all the majors reverted lower (back into the red)…
The footprint of Small Caps pump and dump was very evident in the ‘most shorted’ basket today…
Source: Bloomberg
The Dollar Index puked bigly on the FOMC statement but rallied all the way back as Powell spoke…
Source: Bloomberg
USDJPY may help clarify the flip-flop as FX markets start pricing in the next US inflation surge as the yen spiked on the FOMC statement then puked hard on Powell’s prevarications…
Source: Bloomberg
Gold exploded up to a record high $2600 before sliding back as Powell spoke…
Bonds and stocks remain in world’s of their own still since the last FOMC meeting in July – stocks slightly higher (no recession, soft landing), bond yields down dramatically (recession, hard landing)…
Source: Bloomberg
Treasury yields all tumbled on the FOMC statement and pushed back higher as Powell spoke.The 2Y remained lower (unchanged on the day) while the long-end rose 7bps on the day!
Source: Bloomberg
The yield curve (2s10s) crashed into ‘inversion’ briefly before bear-steepening back up to recent highs…
Source: Bloomberg
Bitcoin kneejerked up above $61,000 before sliding back to unchanged on the day…
Source: Bloomberg
Crude prices declined on the day, whipsawed around by the DOE dats showing a big draw at Cushing and then by Powell and his pals going full dove-tard!
Source: Bloomberg
Finally, will Powell’s legacy be that of Arthur Burns?
Source: Bloomberg
Of course, let there be no doubt that if inflation re-accelerates from here, you can bet on the fact that Trump will get the blame completely.
Israel’s War Cabinet Greenlights Offensive War Against Hezbollah, Sends Elite Brigade North
Update(1544): As many suspected and feared, this deadly two-day Israeli covert operation to blow up Hezbollah pagers, walkie-talkies, and small electronic devices was but preparation for a likely Israeli military ground operation in southern Lebanon. It appears war is here. According to breaking news wires:
Israeli cabinet has given PM Netanyahu and Defence Minister Gallant the authorization to undertake military action against Hezbollah — even if it leads to an all-out war.
So far the second day of explosions across Beirut and Lebanon have led to 14 killed and 450 wounded, but the casualty toll could be much higher.
Defense Minister Gallant has also declared a “new phase” of operations against Hezbollah along northern Israel:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, IDF chief Herzi Halevi and other officials all issued statements Wednesday evening which appeared to suggest a full-on war with Hezbollah was brewing, hours after a wave of explosions of walkie-talkies and other communications devices used by Hezbollah members across Lebanon caused widespread casualties, echoing a similar attack a day earlier that targeted Hezbollah-issued pagers.
The IDF also announced Wednesday that it was redeploying its 98th Division to northern Israel, after months of operations in the Gaza Strip under the Southern Command.
Israel has further just ordered an elite brigade to the north:
The Israeli army announced it’s transferring the 98th Division from the Gaza Strip to the northern border with Lebanon as tensions continue to escalate.
With about 10,000-20,000 soldiers, the paratroopers and commandos will now join the 36th Division under the Northern Command.
BREAKING:
Netanyahu got the green light for war with Hezbollah
The Israeli war cabinet has given Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu full authorization to take offensive and defensive action against Hezbollah, even if it leads to an all-out war – Kann pic.twitter.com/whDcYyTbVc
The attacks in Lebanon have impacted a wide array of small electronic devices far beyond just pagers…
My cousin in Beirut messaged me saying she disconnected her baby monitor and other household appliances and devices. Our people are unaware of which devices are safe and which are not. If this was happening in “Israel” the entire world would be condemning it. It is terrorism.
Axios and regional media are reporting a new wave of blasts in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, including explosions in the south of the country.
Israel has reportedly detonated hand-held personal radios used by Hezbollah members, the emerging reports say. The prominent regional news source War Monitor writes “Communications devices that exploded across Lebanon moments ago are hand-held radios, different to pagers that exploded on Tuesday, Security sources informed me.”
Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV is also confirming wireless devices exploded in the hands of those carrying them in several Lebanese areas. There are reports of at least nine new fatalities and over 300 injured in this second day of explosions.
Several ambulances have been witnessed rushing to the scenes of multiple new blasts. It appears the Israeli covert operation to sow chaos within Hezbollah’s ranks is not over.
This comes after the group said it would be checking and inspecting all externally shipped-in electronic devices, considering it’s clear at this point the pagers were manipulated by Israeli intelligence.
Ironically, Hezbollah relied on encrypted pagers in the first place because older tech was considered immune from Israeli intercepts. Governments and intelligence services can more easily sweep up cell communications. However, it has become clear that Israel has deeply penetrated Hezbollah telecoms in a very direct way:
Jody Westby of Global Cyber Risk says Hezbollah relied on “old technology” because it thought it would make its members’ lines of communication more secure.
Speaking to Al Jazeera from Washington, DC, Westby said Hezbollah used the pagers because they are more difficult to intercept and it is harder to trace the communications passed through them.
“This is digital warfare. What they did was take out a line of communication for Hezbollah. Clearly, it was planted, planned and it was effective. I wouldn’t call it a weapon of mass destruction. I would just call it an autonomous weapon, an executed military action,” she said.
Axios’ Barak Ravid is reporting Wednesday, “Israel blew up thousands of personal radios (Walkie-Talkies) which were used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon in a second wave of its intelligence operation which started on Tuesday with the explosions of Hezbollah pager devices, per two sources with knowledge.”
Below are more eyewitness reports from Al Jazeera correspondents on the ground in south Beirut:
We can confirm that there was at least one explosion in Dahiya neighborhood in the southern suburbs of Beirut. We’re at Hamra, which is sometimes referred to as the hospital area – there are three hospitals very close to each other.
Now we are hearing a lot of ambulance activity in the area suggesting there may be well casualties coming here or other hospitals nearby, possibly as a result of explosions within Beirut itself.
A car bomb has also reportedly gone off in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre.
Yaroslav Trofimov writes pretty much what everyone is thinking: “Blow up pagers, force the surviving Hezbollah cadres to rely on walkie talkies, and then blow up the much bigger explosive devices inside the walkie talkies. A TV spy series producers would rule out this twist plot as impossible to believe in.”
Simultaneous explosions are being reported in various devices, not just personal radios.
Multiple explosions can be heard in different apartments of this single residential building in Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/QvMVt5ZSX7
War correspondent Elijah Magnier says this appears a prelude to a major Israeli military operation in Lebanon: “Normally in every war, the first attack is on a command-control base, and here the Israelis are attacking the control, which is the communication. Crippling communication is vital in any war because it is the main spine of the [enemy] army.”
Meanwhile, UN and other international/western entities are reportedly coming under attack on suspicion of spying on behalf of Israel…
California Governor Gavin Newsom passed a tough new law to crack down on politically-themed artificial intelligence deepfakes during elections.
It comes only weeks after Elon Musk re-posted a parody of a Kamala Harris campaign ad on X that garnered millions of views and used AI-powered voice manipulation to make it seem Harris called herself an incompetent presidential candidate.
In late July, Newsom specifically pointed to Musk’s post and vowed to sign a bill “in a matter of weeks” banning the practice.
The governor of California just made this parody video illegal in violation of the Constitution of the United States.
The new law, known as AB 2839, takes effect immediately and effectively bans people and groups from knowingly sharing election deepfakes and other “materially deceptive content.”
Existing laws only prohibit the distribution of materially deceptive audio or visual media of a candidate within 60 days of an election. The new law expands the ban to 120 days before an election in California and, in some cases, 60 days after an election is held.
Newsom also signed two other laws aimed at taking down political AI deepfakes on the same day, though they won’t be in effect until January.
One of the laws, AB 2355, will require labels to be put on political advertisements generated or substantially altered with AI.
The other, AB 2655, requires social media platforms with more than one million California users, such as Facebook and X, to block deceptive content relating to elections during specified periods.
It will also make platforms liable for failing to remove content within 72 hours of receiving a report from a user.
All three laws only apply to California, and it is understood that the governor signed the bills during a fireside chat with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff at the Dreamforce conference in San Francisco.
“It’s very different from other bills that have been put forth,” Ilana Beller, an organizing manager of the democracy team at consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen told The New York Times.
Meanwhile, Newsom signed an additional two bills, AB 1836 and AB 2602, on Sept. 17, which aim to give greater protection to performers over the use of their digital likenesses.
Gavin Newsom (bottom left) signs AI bills to protect performers against AI misuse. Source: Instagram
The fake Harris campaign parody ad, posted on July 26, has reached 25.4 million views on X alone and is still available on the platform today.
Musk later defended his retweeting of the original post at the time, mocking Newsom:
“I checked with renowned world authority, Professor Suggon Deeznutz, and he said parody is legal in America”
After Overwhelming Pro-Trump Polling, Teamsters Will Not Endorse Any Candidate For First Time Since 1996
The Teamsters announced on Wednesday that they will not endorse any candidate for president after a shocking internal poll found that more than half of Teamsters members back former President Donald Trump in the upcoming election.
One of the largest unions in the country which endorsed Joe Biden in the 2020 election, the Teamsters found that58% of members polled back Trump vs. 31% for Harris.
This marks the first time since 1996 that the union hasn’t endorsed a candidate.
“For the past year, the Teamsters Union has pledged to conduct the most inclusive, democratic, and transparent Presidential endorsement process in the history of our 121-year-old organization — and today we are delivering on that promise to our members,” said Teamsters President Sean O’Brien in a statement.
TEAMSTERS RELEASE PRESIDENTIAL ENDORSEMENT POLLING DATA
“For the past year, the Teamsters Union has pledged to conduct the most inclusive, democratic, and transparent Presidential endorsement process in the history of our 121-year-old organization—and today we are delivering on… pic.twitter.com/CnFNN9uosx
Roughly an hour after releasing the poll, the Teamsters announced they would not support any candidate in this election.
“This year, no candidate for President has earned the endorsement of the Teamsters’ International Union.’
Teamsters say they will not endorse a candidate for U.S. President. “The General Executive Board of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters on Wednesday elected not to endorse any candidate for U.S. President.” pic.twitter.com/d3AgUn6vLA
ABC’s “World News Tonight” has been experiencing a massive decline in ratings following widespread condemnation of host David Muir’s performance as a moderator during the presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris (D-Calif.).
According to the New York Post, “World News Tonight” averaged about 7.6 million viewers per night throughout most of 2024, prior to the debate on September 10th.
In the first three episodes after the debate, the show averaged about 6.7 million viewers, amounting to a roughly 12% drop.
Following the debate, President Trump has criticized Muir at campaign rallies, as he and co-moderator Linsey Davis refused to fact-check anything that Harris said but repeatedly pushed back on statements from President Trump.
“Every one of them should have been questioned by David Muir, who I’ve lost a lot of respect for. Everyone’s lost respect for him,” said the former president last week.
“It was so one-sided. It was one against three.”
Davis attempted to justify her performance, where she incorrectly told President Trump that no states in the country allow for post-birth abortions.
She cited the lack of fact-checking in the CNN debate on June 27th between President Trump and Joe Biden, which went so horribly for Biden that he was ultimately forced to withdraw from the race on July 21st.
“People were concerned that statements were allowed to just hang and not [be] disputed by the candidate Biden, at the time, or the moderators,” Davis claimed in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
Only after the debate did ABC fact-check anything said by Harris, when Martha Raddatz confirmed that the vice president had lied when she declared that there is “not one member of the United States military who is in active duty in a combat zone in any war zone around the world.”
“Our fact-checkers found that to be false,” Raddatz confirmed.
