President Biden will be making a trip to Israel as the country’s war with Hamas continues. And Straight Arrow News talks with Rep. Jim Jordan ahead of an official vote for speaker – these stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023.
Biden to visit Israel on Wednesday
President Joe Biden will be visiting Israel on Wednesday, Oct. 18, as the United States continues to show its support for the country in its fight against the terrorist group Hamas while also looking for ways to provide humanitarian aid for civilians living in Gaza amid Israel’s ongoing response to the Oct. 7 attack.
Speaking from Tel Aviv Monday night, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken laid out the goals of Biden’s trip following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The president will reaffirm the United States’ solidarity with Israel and our ironclad commitment to its security. President Biden will again make clear, as he’s done unequivocally since Hamas’ slaughter of more than 1,400 people, including at least 30 Americans, that Israel has the right and indeed the duty to defend its people from Hamas and other terrorists and to prevent future attacks,” Blinken said.
The United States has sent two carrier strike groups to the Mediterranean. Around 2,000 U.S. troops have been told to prepare for deployment to the Middle East in case they are needed in the area to support Israel.
Blinken said Biden will work with Israeli partners during his trip on freeing the nearly 200 hostages, including Americans, taken by Hamas militants.
The secretary of state said Biden will also look to hear how Israel is conducting its retaliation against Hamas while minimizing civilian casualties.
Blinken said the United States and Israel have agreed to develop a plan to get humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to civilians in Gaza without benefiting Hamas.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, more than 2,800 people have died in the territory since Israel launched its airstrikes in response to Hamas’ terrorist attack.
While in the Middle East, President Biden will also travel to Jordan to meet with its country’s king as well as the Egyptian and Palestinian presidents.
Police shoot suspect in killing of 2 soccer fans in Belgium
An overnight manhunt for a gunman wanted in the killing of two Swedish soccer fans in Brussels ended Tuesday morning, Oct. 17, with police fatally shooting the suspect. The attack happened Monday night, Oct. 16, three miles from the stadium where Belgium was playing Sweden. The soccer game was suspended.
Belgium’s prime minister called the shooting a brutal terrorist attack. Police describe the 45-year-old suspect as a Tunisian extremist.
A spokesperson for Belgium’s federal prosecutor’s office said a social media video allegedly showing the suspect speaking following the shooting mentioned the Swedish nationality of the victim was a probable motive in the attack. The spokesperson said there were no indications of a potential link with the Israel-Hamas war.
A third victim was being treated for serious injuries.
The attack led Brussels to raise its terror threat level to 4, the highest on Belgium’s scale.
Supreme Courts rules in favor of ghost gun regulations
The Supreme Court has once again ruled in favor of the Biden administration’s enforcement of regulations aimed at ghost guns – firearm-making kits that can be purchased online and assembled at home.
The order issued on Oct. 16, which had no dissenting justice, called for two internet sellers of gun parts to comply with the regulation.
That regulation, issued by the ATF last year, changed the definition of firearms under federal law to include ghost guns. The rule requires manufacturers and sellers of the kits to obtain licenses, conduct background checks, and add serial numbers.
In August, by a vote of 5-4, a Supreme Court ruling kept the regulation in effect after a lower court invalidated it.
Jim Jordan speaks ahead of speaker vote
In Washington, an official vote for the house speaker is expected Tuesday, Oct. 17.
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, nominated by House Republicans last week after their initial choice, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., dropped out, needs 217 votes to be elected to the position.
Straight Arrow News political correspondent Ray Bogan reported Monday, Oct. 16, that Jordan has picked up support from key Republicans following a secret ballot on Friday, Oct. 13, that indicated 50 members were opposed to his nomination.
At least six House Republicans are reportedly still planning to not vote for Jordan, who can only afford to lose four GOP votes.
Ahead of the voting on the House floor, Ray Bogan caught up with Jordan outside his office on Monday, Oct.16.
Jordan: I feel real good. I think we’re close.
Bogan: What’s your message to the members who are still holdouts?
Jordan: Well, it’s just time to come together. You can’t do the work of the American people if you don’t have a speaker. So we need to unite and get a speaker, and I think it’s important that the members make this decision, not any kind of pressure from folks around the country. It’s up to members, and I feel good about where members are at. We’re having great discussions, so I feel good about tomorrow.
Bogan: Some members say they’re gonna have a challenger on the floor. Are you concerned about that?
Jordan: No.
Stay with Straight Arrow News, as we’ll bring you the latest from the Capitol throughout the day.
LinkedIn laying off nearly 700 employees
LinkedIn, an online resource many go to when looking for a new job, is laying off hundreds of employees. The social network owned by Microsoft says it will be cutting 688 positions.
The cuts affect more than 3% of its staff and will impact the company’s engineering, product, talent, and finance teams. These layoffs follow LinkedIn letting go of more than 700 workers in May, as well as Microsoft announcing thousands of cuts earlier this year.
Last week, Microsoft closed its $69 billion acquisition of video game company Activision Blizzard, which employs around 13,000 workers.
Biden campaign joins Truth Social
A surprising twist ahead of the 2024 presidential election happened on Monday, Oct.16, on social media.
Members of President Biden’s re-election campaign joined Truth Social, the social media platform started by former president and GOP frontrunner Donald Trump.
The former president launched the site in 2022 after being blocked from other social media outlets.
The Biden campaign explained their reasoning for joining Truth Social in a post on another social media platform, X (the ex-Twitter), saying, “We joined Truth Social, mostly because we thought it would be funny.”
Truth Social officials told Fox News it is a “free and open platform” and “welcomes anyone to join.”
The Biden campaign’s first post on Truth Social read: “Well. Let’s see how this goes. Converts welcome.” As of Tuesday morning, Oct.17, the account has over 14,000 followers.