The Daily Signal - Israeli Energy Minister Cuts Off Gaza, Former Hamas Leader Calls for Day of Jihad, Menendez Accused of Working as Agent of Foreign Govt. | Oct. 12

Starting point is 00:00:00 I'm Samantha Sherris, and this is the Daily Signal Top News for Thursday, October 12th. Here are today's headlines. Members of Congress have yet to elect a new Speaker of the House. Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana did win the GOP nomination in a closed-door meeting with Republicans, but he does not have the votes to win the speakership on the floor of the House. Scalise needs 217 votes in order to become the next week. Speaker. Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio was also running for speaker, but he now says he will back Scalise in a vote on the floor. A number of GOP members still say they won't support Scalise, however.

Starting point is 00:00:55 Scalise met again with all the GOP members behind closed doors today, but NBC News reports that Representative Andy Biggs of Arizona says the big meetings with the full conference are not working. Big said, this business of just having a struggle session doesn't really work. It doesn't seem to move anybody. What you got to do is you're going to have to break it down into small groups and find out where people are and see who moves and who doesn't move. Of course, the situation in Israel is adding to the pressure to elect a new speaker. And speaking of Israel, Israel's energy minister is demanding the high. hostages taken by Hamas be released. And until they are released, energy minister Israel Katz says

Starting point is 00:01:46 Gaza will not receive any humanitarian aid and all basic resources like food, water, and fuel will be cut off. The energy minister wrote on social media earlier today that no electrical switch will be turned on, no water pump will be opened, and no fuel truck will enter until the Israeli abductees are returned home. There are believed to be about 150 men, women, and children who were taken hostage by Hamas. President Biden has confirmed that Americans are among the hostages, though we don't know for sure how many. The hostages were taken from Israel into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The Gaza Strip is about 25 miles long and 7 miles wide, but locating and rescuing the hostages remains an incredibly difficult task.

Starting point is 00:02:38 The Associated Press reports that Gaza's densely populated terrain, its network of underground tunnels, and the sheer numbers of men, women, and children taken captive present Israel with the most complex hostage crisis that the country has ever faced. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Tel Aviv Israel today and delivered remarks standing next to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Lincoln said America now and always will stand with Israel, per CBS News. The message that I bring to Israel is this. You may be strong enough on your own to defend yourself,

Starting point is 00:03:18 but as long as America exists, you will never ever have to. We will always be there by your side. The death toll is continuing to rise. Israel says Hamas's attack has. killed at least 1,300 people. Palestinian authorities say Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 1,350 in Gaza. At least 25 Americans are believed to be among those killed. Here in America, while many are voicing support for Israel, we have seen that on some college

Starting point is 00:03:53 campuses, like at Harvard, student groups have voiced strong support for Hamas. A coalition of Harvard student groups issued a joint statement following Hamas' attack on Israel that reads, We, the undersigned student organizations hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence. The letter went on to claim that millions of Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to live in an open-air prison. The names of the original signing organizations have not been made public, but a group of CEOs is calling on Harvard to publicize the names of students whose organizations signed on to the letter. One of those CEOs is Bill Ackman, head of Pershing Square. He wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that one should not be able to hide behind a corporate shield

Starting point is 00:04:46 when issuing statements supporting the actions of terrorists. Ackman says he and other CEOs want to ensure they don't inadvertently hire any students that belong to the groups at Harvard that signed a letter, blaming Israel for Hamas' attack. CNN reports that multiple other business leaders, including the CEOs of Shopping Club Fab Fit Fun, Health Tech Startup, Easy Health, and Dove Hill Capital Management agree with Ackman that the students should be named. Some of the original Harvard students that signed the letter have withdrawn their signatures, and some are cautioning against publicizing the names of the students, arguing some of the student groups may have not realized what they were signing. Forbes reports that meds.com CEO Steven Sullivan says people should be angry at the administration and teachers, but cautioned against putting college students' names on a list.

Starting point is 00:05:46 but there are concerns over the safety of Jewish students and Jewish people across America and the world today. Students for Justice in Palestine has planned a day of resistance today. The group wrote on social media on the National Day of Resistance, we join our comrades on college campuses across North America and beyond in condemning the Zionist project and their latest genocidal attack on the Palestinian people. They continue saying, we stand in solidarity with the millions of Palestinians on the ground and uplift the decades-old demands for justice, return, and liberation. In response to the call for a day of resistance, Coalition for Jewish Values Vice President Rabbi Dove Fisher

Starting point is 00:06:33 said he and his organization have been warning for years that students for justice in Palestine was an anti-Semitic hate group, but added that university administrators dismissed Arkansas. In even more troubling news, the former leader of Hamas has called for Friday to be a day of jihad, saying we must head to the squares and streets of the Arab and Islamic world on Friday. The NYPD is on high alert given New York City's high Jewish population. Fox News reports that the NYPD will be out in full uniform on Friday. one of the groups based here in America that pegs itself as an anti-hate group has remained noticeably quiet about the attacks on Israel and the pro-Hamas responses we have seen from student groups at Harvard and other universities. The Southern Poverty Law Center bills itself as the authority on hate groups and extremism, but it has yet to comment on the left-leaning organizations across America that have celebrated Hamas's terrorist attacks against. Jews in Israel. The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated October as hate crime awareness

Starting point is 00:07:47 month, but has yet to condemn Hamas' attack on Israel that has killed more than 1,000 people. Shifting to some economic news, we have new information about the state of the economy and inflation numbers. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that the Consumer Price Index, which is a key measure of inflation, rose 0.4% in September. Unfortunately, inflation is still increasing at approximately twice the Federal Reserve's target rate, according to the president and CEO of the Job Creators Network, Alfredo Ortiz. Following the release of the September report, Ortiz said, while inflation has moderated compared to the beginning of this year,

Starting point is 00:08:33 it's important to remember that since President Biden took office, prices, prices have increased by around 20%. According to Ortiz, the reason for this cost of living crisis is reckless spending by the Biden administration and congressional Democrats that have led to too many dollars chasing too few goods, bidding up prices and diluting the currency already in existence. So let's take a look at some of the specifics from the September inflation report. Last month, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost of the cost of the cost of the cost, cost of food rose 0.2%. The energy index rose 1.5%. Fuel and oil costs rose 8.5%. And the electricity

Starting point is 00:09:16 index rose 1.3%. But there were some decreases last month as well. The utility piped gas service index decreased 1.9%. The used cars and trucks index decreased 2.5%. The medical care commodities index decreased 0.3% and the apparel index decreased 0.8%. Biden celebrated the news in the report saying earlier today that this morning's report shows core inflation fell to its lowest level in two years. The president said overall inflation is down by 60% from its peak at a time when unemployment has remained below 4% for 20 months in a row and the share of working age Americans in the workforce is the highest in 20 years. Finally, today, the Associated Press is reporting a new serious charge against New Jersey Democrat

Starting point is 00:10:12 Senator Bob Menendez. The senator is facing charges of conspiring to act as an agent of the Egyptian government. The indictment against Menendez has been filed in the Manhattan Federal Court. Menendez served as head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and has been accused of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The act requires individuals working as agents of foreign governments to register with the U.S. government. But as an elected senator, Menendez is barred from acting as a foreign agent. The indictment alleges that from January 2018 to June 2022, the senator promised to take

Starting point is 00:10:51 and took a series of acts on behalf of Egypt, including on behalf of Egyptian military and intelligence officials. Menendez is accused of acting with his wife and Dean, and a business associate named Wael Hanna. Nadine Menendez and Hanna allegedly received requests and directives from Egyptian officials that they then communicated to Menendez. Hannah's lawyer, Lawrence Lusberg, said in an email that the new allegation that Wail Hanna was part of a plot concocted over dinner to enlist Senator Menendez as an agent of the Egyptian government is as absurd as it is false.

Starting point is 00:11:29 The new charge comes just weeks after the senator and his president, wife were accused of accepting bribes in the form of gold bars, cash, and even a luxury car from three New Jersey businessmen who wanted the senator's help and influence in matters of foreign affairs. Menendez and his wife have pled guilty to these charges. But some Democrats are calling for Menendez to step down from his Senate seat amid the accusations. And today, Pennsylvania Democrat Senator John Federman said it's time for the Senate to expel Menendez. Federman says Menendez should no longer be in the Senate. We're going to leave it there for today.

Starting point is 00:12:11 Thanks so much for listening to the Daily Signal's top news. If you haven't had the chance, be sure to check out our morning show right here in this podcast feed where we interview lawmakers, experts, and leading conservative voices. Join us tomorrow morning for the Daily Signal interview edition. I'll be sitting down with Clement Troutman. He's the founder of Troutman Alliance LLC and owner of a tropical smoothie cafe. In the meantime, make sure you subscribe to the Daily Signal, wherever you get your podcast, and help us reach even more listeners.

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The Daily Signal - Israeli Energy Minister Cuts Off Gaza, Former Hamas Leader Calls for Day of Jihad, Menendez Accused of Working as Agent of Foreign Govt. | Oct. 12

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