Black voters drift from Democrats, imperiling Harris’ bid, poll shows
(NYTimes) — Vice President Kamala Harris has improved her party’s standing among Black voters since President Joe Biden left the presidential race, but she still significantly trails Biden’s 2020 share of that vital Democratic constituency, according to a New York Times/Siena College poll of Black likely voters. If the drop-off holds, it is large enough to imperil her chances of winning key battleground states. Much of the erosion in support for Harris is driven by a growing belief that Democrats, who have long celebrated Black voters as the “backbone” of their party, have failed to deliver on their promises, the poll showed.
California tries
‘Trump-proofing’
its climate policies
(NYTimes) — California officials have been working for months on a plan to “Trump-proof” the state’s environmental and climate policies, in the event former President Donald Trump returns to White House and follows through on his promise to gut them. Whether California succeeds could affect more than a dozen other states that follow its emissions rules and could have global impact because the state’s market muscle compels automakers and other companies to conform to its standards. The strategy being crafted in California includes lawsuits designed to reach wide-ranging settlements with industries that generate greenhouse gases, and new rules and laws that rely on state authority beyond the reach of the administration.
Musk is going all-in
to elect Trump
(NYTimes) — In the final weeks of the presidential campaign, the richest man in the world has involved himself in the U.S. election in a manner unparalleled in modern history. He has relentlessly promoted former President Donald Trump’s candidacy to his 201 million followers on X, the social platform he bought and has used to spread conspiracy theories about the Democratic Party; he is personally steering the actions of a super political action committee he has funded to turn out the vote for Trump; and more. Taken together, a clear picture has emerged of Musk’s battle plan as he directs his efforts to elect Trump.
These Americans are going back to Mexico
as its citizens
(NYTimes) — An improving Mexican economy has helped spur the voluntary return of a significant number of expatriates so that the population of Mexican immigrants in the United States has shrunk to about 10.7 million from its 12.2 million peak in 2007, according to the Pew Research Center. The appeal of dual citizenship appears to be in line with shifting migration currents in the last 15 years, said Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, a senior policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute. In recent years, the advent of remote work, dwindling confidence in the U.S. economy and a charged political climate have made the idea of a life in Mexico more attractive.
Former US Soldier is sentenced to 14 years
for planning to help ISIS
(NYTimes) — A former soldier in the U.S. Army was sentenced Friday to 14 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempting to provide the Islamic State group with information to help plan an ambush he thought would result in the deaths of U.S. soldiers in the Middle East, according to the Justice Department. The soldier, Pvt. Cole Bridges, 24, of Stow, Ohio, also discussed potential locations for terrorist attacks in New York City with an undercover FBI agent whom he believed to be a supporter of the Islamic State.
Israel’s bombing in northern Gaza kills at least 20, aid workers say
(NYTimes) — The humanitarian crisis in the northern Gaza Strip deepened Saturday as an Israeli bombardment killed at least 20 people, trapped thousands more and prompted one of the area’s last functioning hospitals to issue desperate pleas for assistance. Israeli airstrikes overnight and into Saturday hit the Jabalia area of northern Gaza, even as the Israeli military is pressing ahead with its campaign in Lebanon, where it warned residents of 23 more towns to evacuate Saturday. The Israeli military also reported that about 320 projectiles were fired into Israel on Saturday by the militant group Hezbollah, the focus of its offensive in Lebanon.
Secret documents
show Hamas tried to persuade Iran to join
its Oct. 7 attack
(NYTimes) — For more than two years, Yahya Sinwar huddled with his top Hamas commanders and plotted what they hoped would be the most devastating and destabilizing attack on Israel in the militant group’s history. Minutes of Hamas’ secret meetings, seized by the Israeli military and obtained by The New York Times, provide a detailed record of the planning for the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack. Hamas initially planned to carry out the attack in the fall of 2022. But the group delayed executing the plan as it tried to persuade Iran and Hezbollah to participate.
Fire-breathing ‘dragon drones’ are flying into battle in Ukraine
(NYTimes) — Thermite — a mixture of aluminum and iron oxide, which when ignited is almost impossible to extinguish — was used to devastating effect in both world wars. In Ukraine, it has been used primarily in artillery shells and hand grenades. Now it is being attached to drones that sweep over Russian defensive positions, raining burning metal over the enemy before crashing. The flames ignite the vegetation that Russian troops use for cover and burn it out, exposing them to direct attack. The so-called dragon drones are yet one more step in the revolution of drone warfare that has transformed the battlefield in Ukraine.
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