Important Takeaways:
- A U.S. Coast Guard cutter on routine patrol in the Bering Sea came across several Chinese military ships in international waters but within the U.S. exclusive economic zone, officials said Wednesday.
- The crew detected three vessels approximately 124 miles (200 kilometers) north of the Amchitka Pass in the Aleutian Islands, the Coast Guard said in a statement. A short time later, a helicopter aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak spotted a fourth ship approximately 84 miles (135 kilometers) north of the Amukta Pass.
- All four of the People’s Republic of China vessels were “transiting in international waters but still inside the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone,” which extends 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from the U.S. shoreline, the statement said.
- This wasn’t the first time Chinese naval ships have sailed near Alaska waters. In September 2022, the Kimball spotted guided missile cruiser from China in the Bering Sea. And in Sept. 2021, Coast Guard cutters in the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean encountered Chinese ships, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) off the Aleutian Islands.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- China Sends Most Warplanes Ever Across Key Line With Taiwan
- Some 56 aircraft crossed the so-called median line as of early Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense in Taipei said on the X social media site. Taiwanese aircraft, naval vessels and missile systems were used “in response” to the flights by the People’s Liberation Army, the military added, without providing details on what that entailed.
- The latest warplane flights add to the pressure campaign China has rolled out since the election victory in January of Lai, who Beijing accuses of pursuing independence. That drive has included holding major military drills just after he took office in May, peeling off one of Taiwan’s few remaining diplomatic allies and expanding a law targeting what it sees as “separatists.”
- The PLA has stepped up incursions across the demarcation in recent years, effectively shrinking the buffer zone between the two sides and slashing the amount of time that Taiwan’s smaller military has to react to any attack from China.
- China has vowed to bring the archipelago of 23 million people under its control someday, by force if necessary.
- President Joe Biden has repeatedly said the US would come to Taiwan’s aid in the event of a Chinese invasion. The US has also stepped up military aid to the archipelago that produces the bulk of the world’s advanced semiconductors in recent years in the hopes of deterring any attack.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- The grid is stable right now, California ISO said, but it said events that linger for days can overtax generators and cause outages. The grid operator expects higher electricity demand on Wednesday and Thursday, with Thursday set to be the hottest day this week.
- “If weather or grid conditions worsen, the ISO may issue a series of emergency notifications to access additional resources, and prepare market participants and the public for potential energy shortages,” the ISO said.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets are on their way to Ukraine and could aid in Kyiv’s defense against Russia as soon as this summer, the White House said Wednesday.
- Why it matters: The jets will bolster Ukraine’s air defense capabilities, allowing its air force to thwart Russian air attacks, as well as seek and destroy drones and missiles targeting Ukrainian cities.
- The jets may also allow Ukraine’s air force to establish localized air superiority to support its ground forces during offensive operations, the Center for Strategic and International Studies notes.
- The big picture: The long-sought transfers come over a year after Ukraine asked it allies for advanced fighter jets, particularly F-16s.
- A coalition of governments led by the Netherlands and Denmark began training Ukrainian pilots, technicians and support personnel on F-16s in late 2023.
- The first group of Ukrainian pilots completed training at a military base in Arizona in May 2024.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- White House reporters on Tuesday continued to pepper Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre with questions about Biden’s cognitive decline.
- Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked KJP who the Pentagon contacts if they detect an incoming nuke late at night past Joe Biden’s “8 pm window.”
- According to The New York Times, Biden recently told Democrat governors that his ‘health is fine,’ “it’s just my brain.”
- Biden is also reported to have told the governors that he needs to get more sleep, work fewer hours and not do events after 8 p.m.
- Peter Doocy asked Karine Jean-Pierre about Biden’s early bedtime and the ‘3 am phone call.’
- “Well, [Biden] also said he’s the sharpest before 8 pm, so say that the Pentagon at some point picks up an incoming nuke – it’s 11 pm – who do you call? The First Lady?” Doocy asked KJP.
- Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed that Joe Biden is not the first person contacted in the event of a nuclear war emergency.
- “He has a team that lets him know of any news that is pertinent and important to the American people. He has someone – that is decided obviously with his national security team on who gets to tell him that news,” Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- It apparently never occurred to either the heads of the UN or the EU to consider that if you are a terrorist organization that commits war crimes, you do not get to choose how a war that you started is waged against you.
- If you do not want a “bloodbath,” do not take hostages, hide them among civilians, try to prevent a rescue, then if they are rescued, profess shock at the fallout that you yourself have teed up.
- In contravention of the Geneva conventions, Hamas has refused to allow the Red Cross to check on the welfare of the hostages. One can imagine why.
- To this day, there seems little-to-no interest in the fate or condition of the hostages still in Gaza. Instead, there is denial that the October 7 atrocities even took place, compared to an almost obsessive regard for the safety of, and humanitarian aid for Gazans. When the UN is unable to deliver the aid, Israel, not the UN, is blamed.
- The Hamas murders, rapes, burning alive of babies and abductions – all the reasons why Israel was forced to go to war with Hamas to begin with — have retreated into the background.
- What seems to matter instead to those who set the political and media agendas is to use the Hamas war once again to demonize the Jews as the world’s most inhuman people for wanting to live peacefully on their historical land without daily massacres from Iran and its proxies — Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and the Houthis — which apparently plan to encircle them in a “Ring of Fire” — “six fronts of aggression
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- New technologies an ‘accelerant’ for hostile efforts to manipulate voters
- U.S. intelligence officials are sounding the alarm about foreign adversaries’ use of artificial intelligence to manipulate Americans and say new AI technologies are proving an “accelerant” as foreign powers plot to trick voters.
- China, Iran and Russia are all looking to leverage social media to dupe Americans ahead of November’s elections, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
- “AI is a malign influence accelerant, it is being used to more quickly and convincingly tailor synthetic content, including audio and video,” a DNI official said. “In the run-up to November’s general election, we are monitoring foreign actors seeking to create deepfakes of politicians, flood the information space with false or misleading information to sow doubt about what is real, and to amplify narratives.”
- The U.S. intelligence community says China is likely responsible for pushing dozens of videos that spread online showing AI-generated newscasters reading sections of a book outlining purported scandals about Taiwan’s former president. The book itself may also have been created by AI, according to U.S. officials.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- The Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment (PDPHE), in conjunction with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), is currently investigating a human case of plague based on preliminary test results.
- The plague bacterium, known as Yersinia pestis, can be transmitted by fleas and wild rodents, such as prairie dogs, squirrels, rats, and rabbits.
- According to the CDC, “Humans usually become infected through the bite of an infected rodent flea or by handling an infected animal. Plague can be cured with antibiotics, but these must be given promptly to prevent serious illness or death.”
- Symptoms of plague include sudden fever and chills, severe headache, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting and a general feeling of illness. Swollen lymph nodes with pain are also a common symptom.
- Plague can manifest in three forms: Bubonic plague infects your lymph nodes, septicemic plague is in your blood and pneumonic plague affects your lungs. Health officials did not specify which form the case in Pueblo County was.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- A new so-called “moderate” Iranian president has been chosen, “voted freely” by the people… or not.
- There are two things to know about any presidential election in Iran. Number one, you can have the charade, but any winner in the Iranian presidential elections is handpicked by the Supreme Leader of Iran. If Ayatollah Ali Khamenei doesn’t want you, you are not getting in that slot as Iran’s president. Remember, the supreme leader of Iran is exactly what his name suggests: he is the “supreme leader” who rules over the nation with an iron fist.
- The Iranian president is essentially a figurehead in charge of the day-to-day “political game,” and, in some respects, he is the regime’s face to the world. Iran’s new face is Masoud Pezeshkian.
- The second thing to know about Iran’s elections is that if the mainstream media is hailing the victor as a “moderate” or “reformist,” then you can bet your bottom dollar that he is anything but. Masoud Pezeshkian keeps to the same old radical standard of every one of his predecessors, including the Butcher of Tehran, Ebrahim Raisi, who was killed in a helicopter crash in May alongside Iran’s Foreign Minister.
- When the supreme leader wants to present a certain face to the world, that will be reflected in the Iranian president. This time around is telling because Iran is sprinting to the finish line in its nuclear program. If they have a fire-breathing radical at the helm, it may result in more scrutiny of the regime.
- The one place where these Iranian presidents will drop their guard is talking about Israel. There’s no semblance of moderation, charade, or facade when it comes to their rhetoric against the Jewish State.
- However, Iran’s radical anti-Israel stance doesn’t seem to bother the mainstream media. You have got to love the way this article in the UK Telegraph starts, “Iran’s new moderate president told Hezbollah’s leader that he will continue to support the terror group and other regional ‘resistance movements’ against Israel.”
- How did he possibly gain this “moderate” and “reformist” moniker?
- …the illusion of “moderate” makes them feel better. It’s much more pleasant to convince themselves that the threat of Iran has diminished with its new president.
Read the original article by clicking here.
Important Takeaways:
- Neglecting Our Stewardship: Why Many Church Leaders Are Failing To Call Christians To Vote
- [Alex McFarland] I spoke at a large church conference some time ago where the pastor told his congregation after my message that he didn’t vote and thought it was a waste of time for anyone else to vote. But is that true? Should Christians vote in America’s 2024 election?
- The pastor’s attitude represents a growing concern about evangelicals who refuse to exercise their responsibility to vote. When I face this issue, I look to Scripture and America’s history where I find overwhelming evidence to support the view that Christian participation in voting is vital to the future of our nation.
- Scripture offers several passages supporting the importance of government, including our role on Election Day.
- First, the government and its leaders are established by God. Romans 13:4 states, “For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good.” Shouldn’t we desire to help select the best leaders possible to serve in the roles that lead our communities, state and nation?
- Second, a Christian worldview challenges us to support godly values wherever we live. When the prophet Jeremiah wrote to Jews exiled to Babylon, he instructed them to “seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper” (Jeremiah 29:7). The same principle remains true today to vote and support leaders who most closely align with our biblical convictions.
- Third, voting can be viewed as a form of stewardship (Matthew 25). We are responsible for voting for candidates who will best honor God and moral values. Otherwise, we waste the opportunity given to us as believers and as Americans, leaving the decision to others who may not share our convictions.
- Why are many Christians, including church leaders, failing to speak up to challenge American evangelicals to vote? Some believe the “system” is corrupt and that there is no hope for improvement. This is simply inaccurate.
- The real reason many Christian leaders are silent on the issue of voting is fear. Pastor Jack Hibbs of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in California earlier this year spoke out on behalf of California U.S. Republican Senate candidate Steve Garvey, telling his congregation God wants them to support a pro-life candidate.
- The Freedom From Religion Foundation soon released a statement noting they “will be asking the IRS to ensure that Pastor Hibbs’ church no longer receives the benefits of 501(c)(3) status and that donations made to his church are no longer treated as tax deductible.” Why? Because Pastor Hibbs made the comments from his pulpit.
- The views of our Founding Fathers that once united our country now increasingly result in threats of legal action. We no longer live in a culture that will easily accept a biblical worldview on many political issues. If we choose to speak out or vote for our values, we will face persecution.
- This response should not be shunned but embraced. After all, our Savior warned us that in this world we would have trouble (John 16:33). Let us not shy away from voting for our values, but stand firm in our beliefs, calling others to join us in supporting the freedoms and values that have made our nation strong for 248 years.
- Christians agree that our ultimate trust is in the Lord Jesus Christ. But until we get to Heaven, we must use our voice as an influence for good, including with our vote during the 2024 elections.
Read the original article by clicking here.
