White House Dossier's

This matters to any investor, business or household whose plans depend on interest rates over a decade or longer. It could explain why long-term Treasury yields have risen sharply in the past few months, and why stocks are struggling. Wall Street Journal

Consequences of ‘Defund the Police’: Big city police departments bleeding staff, unable to recruit . . . As crime rates climb across the nation, police departments in several major U.S. cities are facing a crisis, namely, the inability to recruit new police officers. As a result, staffing shortages have led to increased overtime, thinly spread patrols, and a rise in crime rates. Violent crimes remained higher during the first half of 2023 compared to the first half of 2019, according to the Council on Criminal Justice. The International Association of Chiefs of Police published a paper called "A Crisis for Law Enforcement" that shows 78% of law enforcement agencies have had "difficulty in recruiting qualified candidates" and that 65% reported having "too few candidates applying to be law enforcement officers. Just the News

Rep. Spartz to Merrick Garland: ‘People are afraid of their own government’ . . . FISA investigations somehow pick Americans up in their net. Investigations and trials of Donald Trump but not Hunter Biden or his dad. Rep. Victoria Spartz, who grew up in the former Soviet Union and had reason to be afraid of her government, wants to know if Attorney General Merrick Garland understands the fear that his department is generating in the country she came to for freedom. White House Dossier

Meet the Real Househusbands of the 'Squad'. While their wives rage against capitalism, they're getting rich . . . It pays to be married to the "Squad."As Democratic Reps. Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), and Cori Bush (Mo.) rage against capitalism from within the halls of Congress, their husbands bring home the bacon, raking in millions through consulting firms, vineyards, and private security operations. The husbands of the "Squad," who appear to be friends in their own right, have seen their financial fortunes rise in line with their wives' political stardom. Free Beacon

Leaked images show Biden admin's planned ICE ID card for illegal immigrants . . . New images obtained by Fox News Digital shed light on the Biden administration's planned ID for illegal immigrants, as officials look for ways to track the volume of migrants being released into the U.S. Migrants who arrive at the border illegally and are not removed but instead released into the interior are often given a number of documents depending on their situation. The images show a card with room for a photograph, a QR code and identifying information and security details, as well as the ICE logo in the top left corner. On Wednesday, thousands of predominantly Venezuelan migrants surged into Eagle Pass, Texas and gathered under a bridge in Eagle Pass in the hope of being processed and released into the U.S. Fox News

Right in time for the elections.

Trump declares 2024 'final battle' against enemies in Washington . . . Former President Donald Trump declared 2024 the "final battle" against an array of forces ailing the United States. Doubling down on a previous pronouncement, Trump raised the rhetorical stakes to the highest degree possible, going so far as to declare that a defeat in 2024 would mean the end of the country. The 2024 presidential election will be nothing less than the "final battle" for the U.S., Trump told his audience at a campaign event in Iowa. Washington Examiner

Trump skips past primaries to general election . . . The Iowa caucuses are still more than four months away, but former President Donald Trump already appears to have one eye toward a general election rematch with President Biden. Trump’s words and actions are that of a candidate less concerned with his primary rivals, who trail him by a wide margin in nearly every state and national poll, and more focused on attacking Biden and winning over voters in key swing states. The Hill

Tim Scott and Nikki Haley attack unions as UAW strike threatens to escalate ahead of GOP debate . . . Several Republican presidential candidates have gone on the attack against unions in response to the United Auto Workers’ strike, despite strong support for organized labor among the American public. The two GOP candidates who have taken the hardest line are from South Carolina, a state with a notorious anti-union reputation. The Palmetto State has become a hub for foreign automakers that have taken advantage of the South’s lower labor costs. Sen. Tim Scott on Monday said striking workers should be fired, saying he would emulate President Ronald Reagan who terminated more than 11,000 striking air traffic controllers in 1981. CNBC

Ron DeSantis pressed on EV stance as he hits Biden for trying to 'control our behavior' . . . Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) was pressed on his perceived switch in stance toward electric vehicles amid his condemnation of the Biden administration for pushing them.

Speaking on an oil rig in Texas, DeSantis denounced the administration's subsidizing of electric vehicles, arguing that it was part of a wider effort to "control our behavior." In a sit-down interview with ABC News, Journalist Linsey Davis pointed out how he had subsidized electric vehicles himself during his position as governor of Florida. DeSantis denied that there was any contradiction in his actions. Washington Examiner

Here Are The Biggest Takeaways From Merrick Garland’s Testimony About The Hunter Biden Case . . . Attorney General Merrick Garland testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday and responded to numerous questions surrounding the ongoing Hunter Biden case. House lawmakers pressed Garland on specific points of contention from IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler’s testimony including special counsel David Weiss’ charging authority and the apparent refusal by Biden-appointed U.S. Attorneys Matthew Graves of D.C. and E. Martin Estrada from the Central District of California to cooperate on potentially charging Biden. Below are the biggest takeaways from Garland’s testimony. Daily Caller

Another IRS agent backs up whistleblower Gary Shapley . . . The regime slow-walked the Hunter Biden investigation and so far has just managed gun charges that can’t draw in President Biden. Honest career people at the IRS were frustrated with the Justice Department’s protection of the president’s son. A director within the IRS’ criminal investigations division told House lawmakers that he was frustrated that the Justice Department did not charge Hunter Biden for failing to pay federal income tax for 2014 and 2015, while defending IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley as a “bulldog” and a “fantastic” agent. White House Dossier

‘You May Have Just Perjured Yourself’: Massie Goes After Garland Over Jan. 6 Statements . . . Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie suggested Wednesday that Attorney General Merrick Garland may have perjured himself over his statements about Jan. 6.

Massie played a compilation of previous testimony from DOJ, FBI and other agency officials refusing to comment on ongoing investigations into Jan. 6-related incidents. In one instance shown in the clip, Massie asked Garland how many agents were assets of the U.S. government on Jan. 5 and 6 who were “agitating” the crowd to go into the Capitol and how many agents went into the Capitol. Garland refused to answer. Daily Caller

GOP Lawmakers Warn White House on Ukraine Aid as Zelensky Visits Washington . . . As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky returns to the U.S. capital in a bid to shore up American support for his embattled country, a group of Republican lawmakers is vowing to oppose another aid package. In a letter viewed by The Wall Street Journal, the group says it is rejecting President Biden’s request for an additional $24 billion in security, economic and humanitarian aid. The lawmakers said they have concerns about the more than $100 billion in funding Congress already has approved, complained that the administration supports an “open-ended commitment” to Ukraine and criticized what they say is an unclear strategy. It is signed by 23 House members and six senators, led by Sen. J.D. Vance (R., Ohio) and Rep. Chip Roy (R., Texas), and addressed to Shalanda Young, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. Wall Street Journal

‘What’s our objective?': Biden under pressure over Ukraine aid sales job . . . Ukraine’s biggest backers in Congress want the Biden administration to more aggressively sell America’s interest in the war, fearful that bipartisan support for aid is faltering. In recent weeks, senior House Republicans and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have separately told national security adviser Jake Sullivan and other administration officials to step up their efforts in selling lawmakers on additional Ukraine aid or risk losing critical support, according to three people familiar with the messages and granted anonymity to discuss private conversations. Politico

Signatories of Hunter Biden laptop letter get plum jobs after pumping disinformation into election . . . While the American public was misinformed about Hunter Biden's laptop in a 2020 letter signed by former intelligence officials – who used their job titles to add credibility to their claims – some of them have since landed plum jobs, including working with the federal government. Just weeks before the 2020 presidential election, 51 ex-high ranking intelligence officials signed a letter insinuating the Hunter Biden laptop was "Russian disinformation" after The New York Post reported on the laptop days earlier. 

On Tuesday, Department of Homeland Security announced the creation of the Homeland Intelligence Experts Group, which includes "private sector experts who will provide input on most complex problems and challenges, including terrorism, fentanyl, transborder issues, and emerging technology.” Three of the group members are former CIA Director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and former CIA Senior Operations Officer Paul Kolbe. All three were signatories on the Hunter Biden laptop letter. Brennan is a distinguished fellow at Fordham University School of Law and University of Texas at Austin, Clapper is currently a CNN national security analyst, and Kolbe is a senior fellow and former Director of the Intelligence Project for the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International. Just the News

Russia strikes Ukrainian energy facilities in biggest attack in weeks . . . Russia carried out its biggest missile attack in weeks across Ukraine on Thursday, pounding energy facilities in what officials said appeared to be the first salvo in a new air campaign against the Ukrainian power grid. Power cuts were reported in five Ukrainian regions in the west, centre and east, reviving memories of multiple air strikes on critical infrastructure last winter that caused sweeping outages for millions of Ukrainians during the bitter cold. Reuters

One of Ukraine’s strongest allies says it will no longer supply Kyiv with weapons . . . Poland has said it will no longer supply its neighbor Ukraine with weapons, as a rift over agricultural exports deepens. “We no longer transfer weapons to [Ukraine], because we are now arming Poland,” Mateusz Morawiecki, Poland’s prime minister, said Wednesday on the X social media platform, previously known as Twitter, according to a Google translation. CNBC

India suspends visa services for Canadians as diplomatic row deepens . . . India has stopped providing visas to Canadians until further notice, according to a leading visa service provider, in an apparent deepening of a dispute between the countries over the killing of a Canadian Sikh that has plunged relations to their lowest point in years. “Due to operational reasons, with effect from 21 September 2023, Indian visa services have been suspended until further notice,” BLS, a company that provides outsourced visa services for Indian diplomatic missions, said on its website on Thursday. Financial Times

Money

How U.S. Households Got Turned Upside Down by Higher Interest Rates . . . A new reality has finally started to set in across American households: Higher interest rates are here to stay. The economy has held up relatively well ever since the Federal Reserve started aggressively raising rates early last year. Many households have breathing room because they locked in low rates on their mortgage or car loan before the rate increases started. And in at least one significant way, the high rates can help consumers: Savers can get more bang for their otherwise idle cash. But these higher-for-longer rates are starting to exact a toll on households that need to borrow now, especially for major purchases such as homes and cars. Those who have to rely on credit-card debt, where rates rise along with the market interest rates, are also feeling the bite. Wall Street Journal

Hedge funds add fuel to oil price rally with bets on rise above $100 . . . Hedge funds are piling into the oil market betting that prices will soon pass $100 a barrel, adding impetus to a rally sparked by production and export cuts from Saudi Arabia and Russia. Riyadh’s extension until December of a 1mn barrel a day oil cut, in addition to further cuts under its Opec+ target, has compounded Moscow’s move to limit exports and pushed prices for Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, to $95 a barrel this week, a fresh high for the year. Exchange and regulatory data suggested hedge fund positioning had exacerbated the near 30 per cent move higher in prices since June, with a surge in buying accelerating in the past two weeks for both Brent and US crude futures. Financial Times

Culture

WARNING: ‘Don’t Let Your Child Fall Prey to a Manufactured Identity Crisis’ . . . Virginia mom Merianne Jensen became a voice for parental rights and common sense when she asked a simple question during a local school board meeting in 2022. On Sunday, Jensen wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that she recently took her 14-year-old to the doctor and noted that “halfway through the doctor asks me to leave.” Jensen wrote that she refused, and the doctor “proceeded to ask if there were any questions about gender identity.”

“Nope. I stopped it right there,” she wrote. Jensen joins the “Problematic Women” podcast to share her unexpected rise to fame after she spoke out at a school board meeting and to talk about what parents can do to guard their kids from the Left’s harmful agenda. Daily Signal

Aspartame could cause memory and learning deficits in future generations, a new study suggests . . . The non-sugar, low-calorie sweetener aspartame — which is found in many sugar-free or "diet" foods and drinks — has been linked to potential problems with memory and learning, according to a study from the Florida State University (FSU) College of Medicine. In the study, which was published in the journal Scientific Reports, male mice that consumed aspartame — even at levels deemed safe by the FDA — had offspring that "demonstrated spatial learning and memory deficits," a press release from FSU stated. Over a 16-week period, the researchers studied three groups of mice. Fox News

U.S. will again offer free at-home Covid tests starting Monday . . . The Biden administration on Wednesday said it will resume offering free at-home Covid tests to American households Monday as the virus gains a stronger foothold nationwide. Americans will soon be able to use COVIDtests.gov to request four free tests, the administration said in a release. CNBC

UN leaders rail against emissions as swarms of gas-guzzling SUVs descend on city . . . World leaders descended on New York City in gas-guzzling SUVs this week for the latest round of United Nations climate meetings where they warned of the risks fossil fuels pose to humanity. The UN hosted the Sustainable Development Goals Summit on Monday and Tuesday as a mid-point review of its 2030 sustainable agenda, and hosted its Climate Ambition Summit one day later on Wednesday to establish "credible, serious and new climate action." The two summits are the latest in a long line of international meetings the UN has hosted that are designed to solve global warming. Fox News

Painting bought for $4 from New Hampshire thrift store sells for $191,000 . . . A painting purchased from a New Hampshire thrift store for $4 was auctioned for $191,000 when it turned out to be a long-lost work by N.C. Wyeth. The painting, titled Ramona, was one of four created by the Pennsylvania-based artist for a 1939 edition of Helen Hunt Jackson's 1884 book Ramona. The work depicts an orphaned young woman in conflict with her foster mother. UPI