“The U.S. military on Friday struck over a dozen Houthi targets in Yemen using both aircraft and warships, U.S. officials told CBS News. The strikes, according to a statement from the U.S. Central Command, hit 15 targets containing Houthi offensive military capabilities, and the strikes were ‘to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels.’ … Since last November, the Houthis have targeted over 100 ships, sunk two and hijacked another.” (10/04/24)
“A Fulton County judge determined that Georgia voting machines are secure ahead of this year’s general election in a Friday ruling after some state Republicans argued they were defective, labeling the security risks ‘purely hypothetical.’ DeKalb County Republicans argued that Dominion voting machines were faulty and requested to review photographic records of ballots within 24 hours after the election. However, Judge Scott McAfee denied their request noting that it wouldn’t provide any proof of machine breaches. … Georgia first purchased Dominion Voting Systems in 2019 and implemented its use in 2020. Since then, claims arose about its illegitimacy, which Dominion’s attorneys have adamantly denied in court.” (10/04/24)
“Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike on September 27, has been temporarily buried at a secret location, news agency AFP quoted a source close to the Lebanese terrorist group on Friday as saying. Nasrallah would remain buried at a secret location, ‘until the circumstances allow for a public funeral,’ the source further said. … The report said the choice of a secret location with low attendance was taken by the Iran-backed group as it feared that a large gathering might attract a fresh attack by Israel, which has been pounding various regions of Lebanon including central Beirut, which came under attack for the first time since 2006, and the country’s border with Syria, cutting off its road connectivity to the rest of the world. Shiite Muslim rites provide for such a temporary burial when circumstances prevent a proper funeral or the deceased cannot be buried where they wished.” (10/04/24)
“Starbucks’[s] Howard Schultz, who was interim CEO at the time, broke federal labor law in 2022 by telling a California barista who raised concerns about unionization that ‘if you’re not happy at Starbucks, you can go work for another company.’ A decision by the National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday said Schultz’s statement was an unlawful, coercive threat. … The NLRB on Wednesday ordered Starbucks cease and desist from threatening to fire employees for unionizing activities and said it must post a notice of employee rights at all of its Long Beach stores.” (10/04/24)
“At least 78 people have drowned and many more are missing after a boat belived to be carrying 278 passengers capsized on Thursday morning just a few hundred metres from the shore of Lake Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The accident happened just as the vessel, MV Merdy, was about to dock at the port of Kituku, just outside the city of Goma, after crossing the lake from the town of Minova. Many watching the disaster unfold from the landing pier were waiting to meet friends and family onboard or were traders from the nearby market. Reports say 278 people were onboard the boat, which was built to carry only 80 people, according to survivors who spoke to the Guardian.” (10/04/24)
We’ve put together a short “weekend special edition” — five news stories, 10 opinion pieces, five audio/video links — for you this morning. Why? Oh, you know why.
THANK YOU to supporters and subscribing donors T, RW, and DZ! Their contributions yesterday, totaling $147, bring our annual fundraiser total (as of 6am on Saturday, October 5) to $267!
That’s only $5.50 shy of 10% toward our goal — $5,351! And no, my math isn’t off. Because supporter GL has generously offered to “match funds” for half of the total, we only need to raise $2,675.50 to wrap this thing up.
Our “mini-goal” is to hit the halfway point — $1,337.75 — by Monday. We’re $1,070.75 short. Please help us get there at:
Best wishes to our readers who are still getting back on your feet after Hurricane Helene’s recent visit to the southeast US. My household, and my local area (Gainesville, Florida), got off a bit easier than many places, but I’m sure I’ll see significant remnants of the damage today on a motorcycle ride to visit with friends a little closer to the Gulf coast. Hopefully those of you whose areas dodged this one are enjoying a healthy and prosperous weekend! We’ll be back Monday with the full-size edition of the freedom movement’s daily newspaper.
Yours in liberty,
Tom Knapp
Publisher
Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily
“Israeli bombing caused large explosions in Beirut, including one close to the international airport during a further night of air strikes targeting Hezbollah. The airport borders Dahieh, Hezbollah’s stronghold in the capital. Plumes of smoke could be seen over the city on Friday morning. US outlets citing Israeli officials reported the target was Hashem Safieddine, a cousin of Hezbollah’s former leader Hassan Nasrallah. Safieddine has been widely regarded as the most likely candidate to replace Nasrallah after his death in an Israeli strike last week. Lebanon’s public health ministry said 37 people had been killed in ground and air attacks in the last 24 hours while 151 others had been wounded. Elsewhere, the Lebanese army said two of its soldiers had been killed in the country’s south as Israeli forces pressed on with their invasion against Hezbollah and ordered another 20 towns and villages to evacuate.” (10/04/24)
“The US ports strike that shut down shipping on the east and Gulf coasts for three days came to an end on Thursday after dock workers struck a tentative deal with port operators. The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) announced that the union had reached an agreement with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) on wages, suspending their walkout until January. Work would resume immediately, the union said. The strike – which involved 45,000 workers across 36 ports, from Texas to Maine – was the first to hit the east and Gulf coast ports of the US since 1977.” (10/03/24)
“Ukraine is believed to have launched a massive wave of drone attacks on Russia in the early hours of Friday morning, striking also a key oil depot in the Voronezh region. … Ukrainian UAVS reportedly hit the oil depot of Annanefteprodukt LLC in the village of Anna, causing a major explosion and fire to break out. … Voronezh’s regional governor Aleksandr Gusev later confirmed the strike in a statement on his Telegram channel. … Yesterday, drones also targeted the Borisoglebsk military air base in the Voronezh region. The drones reportedly hit warehouses containing glide bombs, parking lots of SU-35 and SU-34 aircraft, as well as storages for aviation fuel. … A huge fire broke out at another oil depot in the Perm region, some 1,700km from Russia’s border with Ukraine. A 10,000 square metre warehouse storing petroleum products in the village of Osentsy went up in flames.” (10/04/24)
“A day ahead of the release of the more closely watched monthly jobs report, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing an uptick by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended September 28th. The report said initial jobless claims rose to 225,000 last week, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 219,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 220,000 from the 218,000 originally reported for the previous week. The bigger than expected rebound came a week after jobless claims fell to their lowest level since hitting 216,000 in the week ended May 18th.” (10/03/24)
