Day 1330: "A dangerous escalation."
Today in one sentence: House Speaker Mike Johnson doesn’t have the votes to pass a spending bill to avert a government shutdown; the U.S. accused Iran of sending short-range ballistic missiles to Russia to use against Ukraine; U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for “fundamental changes” to the way Israeli forces operate in the occupied West Bank; the Biden administration condemned Tucker Carlson after he hosted a Holocaust denier on his podcast; 67% of Republicans trust Trump more on the election results than the official government-certified results; and Harris and Trump will face off for their first presidential debate tonight at 9pm ET on ABC.
1/ House Speaker Mike Johnson doesn’t have the votes to pass a spending bill to avert a government shutdown. Although the House voted 209-206 to approve a rule to debate the funding plan, which includes the SAVE Act, which would bar noncitizens from registering to vote in federal elections, which is already illegal, at least 10 Republicans have indicated they’ll vote “no.” Meaning, Johnson will need Democratic support to pass his plan to push the shutdown deadline into March through the House. Republicans control the House 221-210. The bill, however, is considered dead-on-arrival in the Democratic-controlled Senate with Chuck Schumer saying they’d only take up legislation that is “free of poison pills.” The Biden administration also threatened to veto the measure. Government funding runs out on Sept. 30, but Congress is only in session through Sept. 27. (Politico / NBC News / CNN / New York Times / Washington Post / Axios)
2/ The U.S. accused Iran of sending short-range ballistic missiles to Russia to use against Ukraine. “We’ve warned Tehran publicly, we’ve warned Tehran privately, that taking this step would be a dangerous escalation,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. “Russia has now received shipments of these missiles.” Russia is expected to use the shipments within weeks. In response, the U.S., Britain, France, and Germany announced new sanctions to inflict “significant economic consequences for Tehran’s actions,” including additional sanctions on Iran Air, the state airline. (NBC News / Washington Post / Associated Press)
- U.S. accuses China of giving ‘very substantial’ help to Russia’s war machine. “In exchange, China is getting top secret Russian military technology.” (Politico)
3/ U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for “fundamental changes” to the way Israeli forces operate in the occupied West Bank after the Israeli military said it was “highly likely” that it killed an American woman during a protest last week. Blinken called the shooting “unprovoked and unjustified,” saying the killing of Aysenur Eygi was “not acceptable” and that “no one should be shot and killed for attending a protest.” The IDF previously said it had responded with fire toward a “main instigator” who was alleged to have been throwing rocks, but later said that Eygi was “hit indirectly and unintentionally by IDF fire, which was not aimed at her, but aimed at the key instigator” of the protest. Blinken, however, did not address the Israeli strike on a designated humanitarian zone in Gaza, which killed at least 19 Palestinians, or offer a plan to alter U.S. weapons support for Israel. (Washington Post / New York Times / CNN / NBC News / The Hill / Axios)
4/ The Biden administration condemned Tucker Carlson after he hosted a Holocaust denier on his podcast, calling the interview “a disgusting and sadistic insult to all Americans.” Further, every Jewish Democrat in the House signed onto a joint statement denouncing Carlson for interviewing Darryl Cooper, a “Nazi apologist and Holocaust denier.” Cooper claims that the U.S. was on the “wrong side” of World War II and contends that the Holocaust was not a deliberate genocide, but rather an unintended consequence of the Nazis’ lack of resources to care for the millions they imprisoned in concentration camps, who “ended up dead.” Elon Musk, who promoted the interview on his social media platform, X, called the interview “very interesting. Worth watching.” He later deleted the post. (CNN / Axios / New York Times / Vox)
- Elon Musk’s misleading election claims reach millions and alarm election officials. (Washington Post)
poll/ 67% of Republicans trust Trump more on the election results than the official government-certified results. 87% of Democrats, meanwhile, trust the government-certified results. (Associated Press)
➡️ Notably Next: Harris and Trump will face off for their first presidential debate tonight at 9pm ET on ABC. The debate will air on ABC, CNN, CBS, Fox News, NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, PBS, NewsNation, and BBC.
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📅 The WTFJHT Calendar: Now until then.
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📺 TONIGHT: ABC presidential debate.
🗳️ Sept. 16: First state starts early voting.
📺 Sept. 25: [Proposed] NBC presidential debate.
💰 Sept. 30: Government funding deadline.
📺 Oct. 1: [Confirmed] CBS vice presidential debate.
📆 Oct. 6: Last day to register to vote in some states.
⛔️ Oct. 14: Indigenous Peoples’ Day – No WTFJHT.
🗳️ Nov. 5: Election Day.
⚖️ Nov. 26: Trump is sentenced. - ✅ Get election ready: Register to vote, update your address, or request an absentee ballot at Vote.org, TurboVote.org, RocktheVote.org, or VoteFromAbroad.org.
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📈 Election Polling Tracker
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Harris +2.0 points (New York Times)
Harris +2.7 points (538)
Harris +2.2 points (Nate Silver)
Harris +2.7 points (The Economist)
Harris +1.1 points (RealClearPolitics)
Trump +3.2 points (Election Betting Odds) -
🔮 Election Forecast Tracker
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Harris wins 54 times out of 100. Trump wins 46 times out of 100. (538)
Trump wins 64 times out of 100. Harris wins 35 times out of 100. (Nate Silver)
Harris wins 50 times out of 100. Trump wins 50 times out of 100. (The Economist)
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