News of the World

[kyonides]

US & CANADA NEWS

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Lindsey Graham: ‘Iran if You Escalate this War, We Are Coming for You’

[Meet the Press's Anchor Kristen] Welker continued, “Have you had discussions with the Biden administration about this?”

Graham said, “A bit. I want to applaud President Biden for his strong statement in support of Israel. I just got off the phone with the Israelis. Their goal is to destroy Hamas in the south and try to save as many innocent Palestinians as possible to prevent escalation north from Hezbollah. Here’s my message: if Hezbollah, which is a proxy of Iran, launches a massive attack on Israel, I would consider that a threat to the state of Israel existential in nature. I’ll introduce a resolution in the United States Senate to allow military action by the United States in conjunction with Israel to knock Iran out of the oil business. Iran, if you escalate this war, we are coming for you.”

Welker asked, “Are you effectively poised to declare war on Iran? That’s very strong language.”

Graham said, “I am poised to use military force to destroy the source of funding for Hamas and Hezbollah. The idea that Iran read about this operation in the paper or on television is laughable. 93% of Hezbollah and Hamas’ money comes from Iran. They’re the source of the problem. They’re the great evil. So if Hezbollah escalates against Israel, it would be because Iran told them to.”

Attorneys General Demand Biden End ‘Catch and Release’ of Millions of Illegal Aliens Amid Terrorism Concerns

This week, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, along with 26 fellow Republican attorneys general, filed a Petition for Rulemaking to DHS, asking the agency to end its catch and release network that includes a parole pipeline where border crossers and illegal aliens arrive at the southern border in the hopes of being released into American communities.

“DHS’s mass release policies have been ‘akin to posting a flashing ‘Come In, We’re Open’ sign on the southern border,'” the filing reads:

In August 2023, Border Patrol released 100,585 aliens under § 1226(a). Florida anticipates that the numbers in September will be even higher, especially given DHS’s decision to set release quotas for Border Patrol to meet. Even if the numbers merely remain the same, DHS is releasing aliens at a rate of over one million per year, and that does not include the aliens being released on parole under § 1182(d)(5).
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The purpose of this Petition to Initiate Rulemaking … is to demand that you fix the problem you created. Specifically, you should promulgate changes to your regulations to close the catch-and-release loophole that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is currently exploiting to implement its mass release policy at the Southwest Border.

“Given the massive flood of unvetted migrants into the interior of our country, there is no way to know who is in the U.S. or if they plan to enact terror on Americans,” Moody said in a statement.

“Given the risks illustrated by what happened this weekend in Israel, I am leading a coalition of 27 attorneys general taking action to force the Biden administration to enact responsible rulemaking to ensure our nation’s security at our southern border,” she continued.

Washington Post Cuts 240 More Jobs

The Washington Post plans to offer buyouts to employees to reduce its workforce by 240 people, interim CEO Patty Stonesifer told employees in a memo Tuesday. Calling it “difficult news,” Stonesifer said that in consultation with senior leadership, the brass have decided that “prior projections for traffic, subscriptions, and advertising growth for the past two years — and into 2024 — have been overly optimistic and we are working to find ways to return our business to a healthier place in the coming year.”

Two hundred and forty employees represents about 10 percent of the company’s staff, the Washington Post Guild wrote in a statement Tuesday. “We are infuriated about this decision and concerned for our dedicated, brilliant colleagues,” the union wrote. “Today’s announcement comes after at least 38 people were laid off over the last year.” (The Post killed its magazine in November 2022 and announced 20 layoffs this past January.) The union says it found out about the planned buyouts at the same time as the rest of the staff.
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Never forget that this is the Washington Post:

• Russia Collusion Hoax
  
• Hands Up, Don’t Shoot Hoax
  
• Jussie Smollett Hoax
  
• Covington KKKids Hoax
  
• Very Fine People Hoax
  
• Seven-Hour Gap Hoax
  
• Russian Bounties Hoax
  
• Trump Trashes Troops Hoax
  
• Policemen Killed at Mostly Peaceful January 6 Protest Hoax
  
• Rittenhouse Hoax
  

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Ottawa Confirms 5 Canadians Dead Following Hamas Attack on Israel

Five Canadians have been killed in Israel following attacks by Hamas terrorists, according to Global Affairs Canada. Three other Canadians are still missing who were in Israel during the Oct. 7 incursion by Gaza's terrorist Hamas group into the southern region of the Jewish nation.

Julie Sunday, assistant deputy minister at Global Affairs responsible for consular, security, and emergency management, provided the update in a news conference in Ottawa on Oct. 15.
“Sadly, one Canadian who was missing has now been confirmed as deceased. And we have had confirmation of another death. As a result, Global Affairs Canada is aware of the deaths of five Canadians. We also continue to follow up on the cases of three other missing Canadians,” said Ms. Sunday, adding that she was unable to provide more specifics due to “privacy reasons.”

“It has always been a possibility that missing persons would be confirmed deceased,” said Ms. Sunday. “It is an extremely tragic outcome. Our thoughts are with the families in all of these cases.”

The deputy minister said there are more than 6,800 Canadians registered as being in Israel and more than 450 Canadians registered in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Canadian officials are assisting over 3,300 Canadians, permanent residents, and their families, said Ms. Sunday.

“We are very focused on addressing the cases of the three missing persons, who we continue to try to locate and bring back to safety in Canada,” she added.

A Sad Week For Entertainment Industry

Suzanne Somers, Star of ‘Three’s Company,’ Dies at 76

Suzanne Somers, the effervescent blonde actor known for playing Chrissy Snow on the television show “Three’s Company” as well as her business endeavors, has died. She was 76.

Somers had breast cancer for over 23 years and died Sunday morning, her family said in a statement provided by her longtime publicist, R. Couri Hay. Her husband Alan Hamel, her son Bruce and other immediate family were with her in Palm Springs, California.

“Her family was gathered to celebrate her 77th birthday on October 16th,” the statement read. “Instead, they will celebrate her extraordinary life, and want to thank her millions of fans and followers who loved her dearly.”

In July, Somers shared on Instagram that her breast cancer had returned.

“Like any cancer patient, when you get that dreaded, ‘It’s back’ you get a pit in your stomach. Then I put on my battle gear and go to war,” she told Entertainment Tonight at the time. “This is familiar battleground for me and I’m very tough.”

She was first diagnosed in 2000, and also had skin cancer. She faced some backlash for her reliance on what she’s described as a chemical-free and organic lifestyle to combat the cancers. She argued against the use of chemotherapy, in books and on platforms like “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” which drew criticism from the American Cancer Society.

Actress Piper Laurie, Who Appeared in ‘The Hustler’ and ‘Carrie,’ Dies at 91

Actress Piper Laurie, a three-time Oscar nominee and Emmy winner who starred in a wide range of movie and television roles over a career spanning seven decades, has died, her agent announced Saturday. She was 91.

Her representative, Marion Rosenberg, confirmed to Variety and the Hollywood Reporter Laurie had died following a period of illness.

Born Rosetta Jacobs in Detroit, Laurie is probably best known for her film appearances in the movies The Hustler (1961), Carrie (1976) and Children of a Lesser God (1986), each of which earned her Oscar nominations. But that was hardly her only claim to fame — she was also one of the most active and influential actresses during the era of live television drama in the late 1950s.
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Her first Emmy nomination came in 1958 after a performance on CBS Television’s Studio One anthology series in an episode directed by Sidney Lumet in which she played a woman who suffers traumatic hearing loss.

Later that year she won the Emmy for her portrayal of an alcoholic woman in director John Frankenheimer’s live TV production of Days of Wine and Roses for Playhouse 90 on CBS.

Laurie’s television roles then landed her what would become her first Oscar-winning role in the Hollywood classic The Hustler, in which she co-starred with Paul Newman.

Jeff Burr, Director of ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre III,’ Dies Unexpectedly at 60

Jeff Burr, the director of numerous entries in cult classic horror franchises such as Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Puppet Master, and Pumpkinhead, died on Tuesday at 60.

Burr reportedly died in his sleep from complications of a stroke, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The news was reported by actor Eric Spudic, the director’s longtime friend.

Born in 1963, Burr became fascinated with movie monsters in high school and began experimenting with Super 8 film to make his own stories.

He started working toward a film degree at USC but ended up abandoning the effort to work on the 1982 Civil War short film Divided We Fall.

From there, he launched full-time into a film career, next working on From a Whisper to a Scream featuring famed horror actor Vincent Price. Burr also directed TV episodes such as Sid and Marty Krofft’s Land of the Lost ABC show in 1992 and films including Night of the Scarecrow (1995), Spoiler (1998), The Boy With the X-Ray Eyes (1999), Frankenstein & the Werewolf Reborn! (2005) and Tales of the Fantastic (2023).

It was the horror genre where he made his mark.

In 1990 he was brought on as the third choice for Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III, a film so gruesome it reportedly took eleven tries to get an “R” rating from the MPAA. The film went on to gross $5.8 million on a $2 million budget.

EUROPEAN NEWS

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France Calls on Hezbollah to Stay Out of Israel-Hamas Conflict

France on Saturday urged the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia to stay out of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, expressing concern at the situation on the Lebanon-Israel border.

Paris also called for reporters covering the Israel-Hamas war to be protected after one journalist was killed and six others wounded in firing along the Lebanese border on Friday.

Hezbollah and Lebanon must “exercise restraint to avoid opening a second front in the region”, of which “the first victim will be Lebanon”, the French presidency said in a statement Saturday.

“No pretext should be given for Lebanon to slide once again into war”, it was insisted, “especially since Lebanon is extremely weakened by the absence of functional authorities” at its head for many months.

Hezbollah and other Palestinian factions in Lebanon have exchanged cross-border fire with Israel since Hamas’s surprise October 7 attack on Israel ignited a war that has killed more than 1,300 people in Israel.

Palestinian gunmen also seized an estimated 150 hostages while Israel’s retaliatory air and artillery bombardment has killed more than 2,200 people in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip.
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A Hezbollah fighter was also killed Saturday by Israeli fire, the group said.

Earlier, Hezbollah said it had targeted Israeli positions in the disputed border area.

Imam Calls on French Government to Deport ‘All’ Foreign Islamist Extremists ‘Without Pity’

In the wake of another suspected Islamist assassination of a teacher in France on Friday, Hassen Chalghoumi, the Imam of the Parisien suburb of Drancy has called Emmanuel Macron’s government to “go further” in its efforts to combat terrorism. Chalghoumi argued that any foreigner who is on the government’s extremist watch list, known as having an “S file”, for radical Islamism should be removed from the country.

The killing of Dominique Bernard on Friday was allegedly carried out by Mohamed Mogouchkov, who reportedly not only was on the extremist watch list but had also been set for deportation in 2014 alongside his entire family before pro-migrant groups successfully blocked their removal.

Speaking to the Le Figaro newspaper on Saturday, Imam Chalghoumi said: “I support President Emmanuel Macron and his government in the fight against terrorism. But we must go further.

“I solemnly call on [Minister of the Interior] Gérald Darmanin to expel all S files who are not French. All, without pity. They don’t have any for us, let’s not have any for them. Are we going to wait until they kill half our teachers? Our future is unclear. We must show that the Republic is firm.”

Ukraine & Russia

Six Killed as Russian Forces Continue Heavy Bombardment of Ukraine

Six people have been killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine in the past 24 hours, local officials reported Sunday.

Two people were killed and three more injured in the Kherson area after more than 100 shells bombarded the region over the weekend, local governor Oleksandr Prokudin wrote on social media.

Two guided bombs later hit key infrastructure in Kherson city, sparking a partial blackout and disruption to the area’s water supply, reported the head of the city’s military administration, Roman Mrochko.

Local officials said two more people had died in the Donetsk area and that a 57-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman had been killed by an airstrike that destroyed their home in the Kharkiv region.
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Meanwhile, the Russian defense ministry announced Sunday that Ukraine had launched 27 drones in an overnight attack on western Russia.

Officials said that 18 drones were shot down over the Kursk region, leading to speculation in the Russian press that the attack could have been targeting the nearby Khalino military airfield.

Russia Says it Will Build a New Nuclear Power Plant in Africa

Burkina Faso’s junta-led government signed a deal with Russia on Friday for the construction of a nuclear power plant to increase the energy supply to the Sahel country where less than a quarter of the population has access to electricity.

It is the latest move by Burkina’s military rulers to strengthen ties with Moscow, as the country looks to diversify its international allies following a coup last year.

Russia has in recent months discussed greater military cooperation with Burkina Faso, as well as pledging deliveries of free grain to one of the world’s poorest countries.

“The government of Burkina Faso has signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of a nuclear power plant,” it said in a statement.

“The construction of this nuclear power plant in Burkina Faso is intended to cover the energy needs of the population,” it added.

The agreement was signed at the Russian Energy Week in Moscow, which was attended by Burkina Faso’s energy minister Simon-Pierre Boussim and Nikolay Spassky, the deputy director general of Russia’s state atomic energy agency, Rosatom.

The document “fulfils the wish of the president of (Burkina) Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traore, expressed last July at the Russia-Africa summit during a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin,” the statement said.

MIDDLE EASTERN NEWS

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Iran Makes Unspecified Warning Against Israel if It Invades Gaza

Iran has warned Israel that it would respond to an anticipated Israeli ground invasion of the Gaza Strip to remove the Hamas terrorist group.

“If the Zionist regime’s crimes against the Palestinian people and citizens continue, no one can guarantee that the situation in the region will remain the same,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in a statement on Oct. 14, according to Iranian state media. The warning came as Mr. Amir-Abdollahian met with Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Doha, Qatar, over the weekend.

Mr. Amir-Abdollahian also told The Associated Press that Israel’s operations could cause fighting to expand across the Middle East, triggering a "huge earthquake." He didn't elaborate.

“I know about the scenarios that Hezbollah has put in place,” he stated, referring to the Shia Lebanese political party and State Department-designated terrorist group backed by Iran. “Any step the resistance [Hezbollah] will take will cause a huge earthquake in the Zionist entity.”

Amir-Abdollahian continued, “I want to warn the war criminals and those who support this entity before it’s too late to stop the crimes against civilians in Gaza because it might be too late in a few hours.”

Reports citing a United Nations official also indicated that Iran's foreign minister said that Iran wouldn't intervene in the conflict—for now. An Axios report, citing unnamed sources, said that Tehran warned the Israeli government via the U.N. that it would respond if the ground offensive commenced.

Israel Expresses 'Deep Disappointment' Over China's Response to Hamas Attack

Israel said on Friday that it has expressed "deep disappointment" to a Chinese foreign ministry official over the regime's response to the Hamas attack last weekend.

The statement was issued before a male employee at the Israeli Embassy in Beijing was stabbed, prompting the United States to urge its citizens in China to “maintain vigilance with regard to personal security.”

Israeli foreign ministry official Rafi Harpaz had a phone call with Zhai Jun, China's special envoy to the Middle East, on Thursday.

"The ambassador expressed Israel's deep disappointment with Chinese announcements and statements about the recent events in the south, where there was no clear and unequivocal condemnation of the terrible massacre committed by the terrorist organization Hamas against innocent civilians and the abduction of dozens of them to Gaza," Israel's foreign ministry said in the statement, according to translation.

According to the summary of the phone call issued by Beijing's foreign ministry, Mr. Zhai repeated the regime's stance in the Isreal–Hamas war, saying that Beijing is "deeply concerned" about the “escalation of tensions and violence between Palestine and Israel.” While Mr. Zhai said he was “saddened by civilian casualties caused by the conflict,” he still didn't name Hamas.