The Daily Signal - Hamas Leader Killed in Iran, Interest Rates Hold, Texas Governor Wins Victory at Southern Border | July 31

Starting point is 00:00:00 It's the Nissan Black Friday event where you can... Wait, wait. Isn't it like a month long now? Nissan Black Friday Month? Does that work? It's the Nissan Black Friday Month event. On remaining 2025 Rogan Centra, get 0% financing. Plus, get $1,000 Nissan bonus on kicks models.

Starting point is 00:00:19 This Black Friday, you've got a whole month to catch all the exclusive offers waiting for you. See your local Nissan dealer or nissan.ca for details. Conditions apply. One of Hamas's top leaders is dead. I'm Virginia Allen, and this is the Daily Signal Top News for Wednesday, July 31st. Top Hamas leader Ismail Hamas leader Ismail Hamas was killed in a strike on Iran's soil. Now Iran's supreme leader says revenge is Iran's duty. Israel has not taken responsibility for the attack, but the strike is widely believed to have been carried out by Israel.

Starting point is 00:01:07 Following the assassination of the Hamas leader, Iran's revolutionary guard issued a statement saying undoubtedly this crime of the Zionist regime will face a harsh and painful response from the powerful and huge resistance front, especially Islamic Iran. Earlier today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will exact a heavy price from any aggression against us on any front. So how significant was this attack and will we see an escalation in the Middle East? I asked the Heritage Foundation's vice president of the Institute for National Security, Victoria, quotes, this question. For the Israelis to be able to carry out this kind of pinpoint strike from Iraqi airspace on the capital, and the Iranians have no way to prevent it, what that should do is really send that clear message to Iran. We're done. We're done. And, you know, I think it was very strategic in that, you know, it was one person. It was the leadership of Hamas, which Israel has every right to go after. So it wasn't a mass casualty event like we saw in northern Israel, you know, you could call it proportionate. So I think, you know, the hope would be under normal circumstances that the Iranians, as they did after Soleimani, would kind of say, okay, like we're done in this round.

Starting point is 00:02:33 Coates went on to tell me that the lack of strong leadership in the U.S. right now, given that Joe Biden is essentially a lame duck president, might emboldened bad actors in the Middle East to carry out further attacks. And keep in mind that this isn't the only strike this week. Israel carried out an air strike in Beirut that Israel said killed Hezbollah's most senior commander. This strike was in response to Hezbollah carrying out an airstrike in Israel that killed 12 children. and teens. The commander, who was killed by that Israeli airstrike, was allegedly the one behind that attack in the Golden Heights that killed the miners. Additionally, the U.S. carried out a strike in Iraq that U.S. officials describe as self-defense. As Coates went on to explain when I talked to her, there have been over 200 attacks on U.S. bases and personnel in the Middle East since October 7th, which, as Coates says, reveals that terrorists in the Middle East don't differentiate between Israel and the U.S. They don't care. We're the big Satan. Israel's the little Satan, but we're both Satan

Starting point is 00:03:41 in this scenario. And so, you know, that should be a signal to the administration that putting daylight between the United States and Israel only disadvantages us. It doesn't change their mindset one little bit. So we've had these endless attacks and eventually they get so blatant and so brazen that the administration feels justified in taking what it takes, refers to as defensive maneuvers against the Iranian proxies, the popular mobilization forces in Iraq. And that's what, that's what this was. It seems to have been de minimis. It's a little embarrassing compared to what the Israelis have pulled off in the last 48 hours

Starting point is 00:04:23 that, you know, we're hitting buildings and whatnot, you know, to try to protect ourselves not to actually advance our cause. Coates went on to say that she does not anticipate a change in foreign policy towards the Middle East under a Biden-Harris administration. My full conversation with Victoria Coates is going to be available on the Daily Siddell podcast tomorrow morning. So if you want a deeper dive into this growing tension in the Middle East, be sure to catch that on Thursday morning here on the Daily Siddell podcast. The Federal Reserve announced today that interest rates are not coming down, at least not yet,

Starting point is 00:05:00 Fed Chair Jerome Powell said during a press conference that a rate cut could be on the table for September if the same conditions hold. The Federal Reserve said in a statement today that the committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2% over the long run. The committee judges that the risk to achieving its employment and inflation goals continue to move into better balance. The economic outlook is uncertain, according to the Fed, and the committee is attentive to the risk to both sides of its dual mandate. Therefore, the committee has decided to leave the current 5.25 to 5.5% interest rates in place. Stay tuned. It has been 10 days since President Joe Biden announced that he was pulling out of the race for president and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. Harris has yet to hold a press conference during this time, but she has hosted several campaign rallies.

Starting point is 00:06:02 Conservative news outlets like Fox News and National Review are raising questions as to when and if Harris is actually going to hold a press conference and answer some tough questions for members of the press. NewsBusters executive editor Tim Graham told Fox Kamala Harris should absolutely hold a press conference. One would expect it when she names her vice presidential page. pick, but we cannot expect her to break from Biden's serial avoidance of press conferences. DePaw University Media Studio professor Jeffrey McCall told Fox that he thinks the Harris campaign is well aware that Biden dodged the media throughout his 2020 campaign and still got elected. Harris is expected to announce her running mate sometime between now and next Tuesday because

Starting point is 00:06:50 she's going to hold a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday and whoever her running mate is, is going to join her at that rally. But we'll have to wait and see if with the announcement of who her choice for vice president is, if an announcement of a press conference will come with that. Stay tuned. Texas Governor Greg Abbott was handed a victory in court this week. The Fifth Circuit has ruled that Texas can keep its floating barrier in the Rio Grande. The barrier is intended to deter illegal aliens from crossing the river. Abbott announced the deployment of that buoy barrier last June. At the time, the governor explained that what the booies will allow us to do is prevent people from even getting to the border. But the Biden administration sued Abbott over these buoy

Starting point is 00:07:37 barriers floating in the Rio Grande, and a preliminary injunction was put in place. But the New Orleans Court has reversed that decision, and now Texas can move forward with its water barrier. In response to the news, Abbott wrote on X, the Federal Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit just ruled that Texas can keep these buoys in the water securing our border. Biden tried to remove them. I fought to keep them in the water. That is exactly where they will stay. And then in all caps, Abbott writes Justice,

Starting point is 00:08:08 with about five exclamation marks. Well, with that, that is going to do it for today's episode. Thanks so much for joining us here on the Daily Signal's top news. If you've not had a chance, make sure you check out our morning show. Like I mentioned, I'm doing a deep dive into the growing tensions in the Middle East with the Heritage Foundation's,

Starting point is 00:08:25 Victoria Coates tomorrow morning. Make sure to catch that interview. Also, be sure to hit that subscribe button so you never miss out on new shows from the DailySitdle podcast. And take a minute to leave us a five-star rating and review. We really appreciate hearing your feedback. Thanks again for being with us today. I'll see you right back here tomorrow morning for my conversation with Victoria Coates as we do a deep dive into growing tensions in the Middle East. The Daily Signal podcast is made possible because of listeners like you, executive producers are Rob Lewy and Katrina Trinco. Hosts are Virginia Allen, Brian Gottstein, Tyler O'Neill, Mary Margaret O'Lohan, and Elizabeth Mitchell. Sound design by Lauren Evans, Mark Geinney,

Starting point is 00:09:09 John Pop, and Joseph von Spakovsky. To learn more or support our work, please visit DailySignal.com.

The Daily Signal - Hamas Leader Killed in Iran, Interest Rates Hold, Texas Governor Wins Victory at Southern Border | July 31

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