White House Dossier's

IDF says military leaders are approving plans for ground operation in Gaza to eradicate Hamas . . . Fox News

State Department urges 'worldwide caution' for Americans overseas as Israel-Hamas war rages . . . The U.S. State Department has issued a new "worldwide caution" to Americans traveling around the globe as the war rages on Thursday between Israel and Hamas. "Due to increased tensions in various locations around the world, the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations or violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests, the Department of State advises U.S. citizens overseas to exercise increased caution," the advisory read. Fox News 

Military experts react to Biden’s speech on the war in Israel . . . Former U.S. Defense Intelligence Officer Rebekah Koffler and former senior adviser to David Friedman Rabbi Aryeh Lightstone explain why conflating Ukraine and Israel wars is a mistake.

Linking Ukraine and Israel's wars is Biden's cynical and crafty attempt to extort more $$ out of the American people for Kiev's corrupt regime in order to push his political agenda.

The American people have realized that Ukraine is a bottomless pit, so Biden wants to confuse them. We've provided billions and billions to Ukraine with no tangible results on the battlefield. Ukraine’s counter-offensive has effectively stalled, turning the conflict into a stalemate. Ukraine did not recover 50 percent of the territory, as Biden claimed. Russia still controls almost the same amount as it did pre-invasion. No amount US weapons will translate into Ukraine's victory because of the balance of military power overwhelmingly favoring Russia. By Pentagon's own admission, Russia is a "near peer competitor" to US military. Unless of course, Biden wants to give Zelenskiy ICBMs.
 

Jim Jordan on track to lose third House speaker vote as GOP holdouts remain defiant . . . Fox News

Biden’s Influence Turns Israel's Ground War Plans Into ‘Something Different’ . . . Last Saturday, with Israel still in shock from the deadly attack by Hamas a week earlier, the military said it was preparing “coordinated strikes from the air, sea and land” to eradicate the group in Gaza. But by midweek, military spokesmen were suggesting that a ground offensive “might be something different from what you think.” It could start later and last longer, unfolding in unexpected ways, they said. In between was a series of unprecedented visits by top US officials, including the secretaries of state and defense and President Joe Biden. Wrapped in their embrace of Israel’s pain after the deadliest attack in decades and promises to send warships and weapons was a message of caution about how to respond. Bloomberg

Plan to elevate McHenry to temporary House speaker for 90 days sharply divides Republicans . . . House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. are among the Republicans opposed to the idea. Former speaker Kevin McCarthy said "The whole country, I think, would scream at Matt Gaetz right now. Remember, it was the crazy eights led by Matt Gaetz and every single Democrat that put us in this situation." Just the News

Putin spotted in China with nuclear briefcase nearby in rare footage . . . Video of Russian President Vladimir Putin released Wednesday shows him arriving in China with what appears to be the so-called nuclear "football," which he can use to order a nuclear strike. "This is not a coincidence," Rebekah Koffler, president of Doctrine & Strategy Consulting and a former Defense Intelligence Agency officer, told Fox News Digital. "The Kremlin almost certainly deliberately orchestrated the filming of Putin’s version of the ‘nuclear football’ – which is almost never done — and had the Russian media, which the Kremlin controls, highlight the fact that ‘certain suitcases’ always accompany the Russian president on trips," she said. Fox News

Russia is closely monitoring US nuclear test in Nevada, Putin’s spokesperson says . . . Russian state run media is reporting Friday that the Kremlin is closely monitoring a high-explosive experiment that the U.S. carried out this week at a nuclear test site in Nevada.

Wednesday's test used chemicals and radioisotopes to "validate new predictive explosion models" that can help detect atomic blasts in other countries, Bloomberg reported, citing the Department of Energy.  

The Interfax News Agency said Friday that Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters at a briefing that Russia is now closely monitoring the situation. Fox News

DHS Hired a Pro-Hamas Former PLO Spokeswoman to Handle Asylum Claims. Heritage Demands Answers . . . The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project is requesting any documents sent or received by Nejwa Ali, a former spokeswoman for the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s now-defunct U.S. delegation, in her official capacity at the Department of Homeland Security.DHS put Ali on leave Thursday, after The Daily Wire reported on her history with the PLO, which the U.S. has designated a terrorist group, and her social media post reading “F— Israel.” Ali serves as an adjudication officer at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services department. Daily Signal

Israel war: Newt Gingrich calls for censure of 'Squad' Democrats in the House . . . Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich believes some of the "Squad" Democrats should be censured for their comments on the war between Hamas and Israel. Gingrich said in an interview Thursday on Fox Business's Kudlow that the Democratic leadership is "frightened" of Democrats like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Ilhan Omar (D-MN), all of whom have released statements calling for a ceasefire and the end to the "occupation" of Israel. Washington Examiner

Israel Evacuates City Near Lebanon Border as It Hits Scores of Targets in Gaza . . . Israel ordered the evacuation of a city close to the Lebanese border, reflecting the Israeli military’s growing concern that a second front could open up to the north as it continues its bombing campaign in Gaza, including a strike on a church compound overnight. Israel on Friday also released more details about the hostages captured by Hamas—saying most of them are alive—as it laid out plans, including a ground invasion, to eliminate Hamas as a political and military force in the Gaza Strip. “There will be three stages,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said. “We are now in the first stage—a military campaign that currently includes strikes, and will later include maneuvering, with the objective of neutralizing terrorists and destroying Hamas infrastructure.” Wall Street Journal

China is set to dominate the deep sea and its wealth of rare metals . . . When the 5,100-ton Dayang Hao, one of China’s most advanced deep-water expedition vessels, left port south of Shanghai two months ago, a red-and-white banner — the kind used to blast Communist Party exhortations — reminded the crew of their mission: “Strive, explore, contribute.” The Dayang Hao was bound for a 28,500-square-mile stretch of the Pacific Ocean between Japan and Hawaii where China has exclusive rights to prospect for lumpy, golf-ball-size rocks that are millions of years old and worth trillions of dollars. It is China’s latest contract, won in 2019, to explore for “polymetallic nodules,” which are rich in manganese, cobalt, nickel and copper — metals needed for everything from electric cars to advanced weapons systems. They lie temptingly on the ocean floor, just waiting to be hoovered up. Washington Post

Money

$6B Prisoner Swap Was ‘Just a Drop in the Bucket’ for Iran. Here’s How Much Tehran Has Raked in Under Biden . . . According to The Daily Signal’s calculations, Iran has received approximately $70 billion more under Biden than it would have under Trump. Biden repeatedly has said that there is no “specific evidence” showing that Tehran had any involvement in the Hamas terrorist attack, but Iran has funded Hamas for years. Hamas spokesman Ghazi Hamad told the BBC that Iran gave the green light for the attack. The Wall Street Journal reported that “senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah” confirmed that “Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had worked with Hamas since August to devise the air, land, and sea incursions.” Daily Signal

Powell says inflation is still too high and lower economic growth is likely needed to bring it down . . . Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged recent signs of cooling inflation, but said Thursday that the central bank would be “resolute” in its commitment to its 2% mandate. In a widely anticipated speech delivered to the Economic Club of New York, Powell evaded committing to a specific policy path but gave no indication that he was leaning toward a push higher for interest rates. CNBC

Culture

Ex-Missouri teacher who ditched classroom for OnlyFans has no regrets: 'Far exceeded my teacher salary' . . . The former Missouri teacher who resigned after school administrators found out about her OnlyFans account told Fox News Digital she's made close to $1 million selling porn. Brianna Coppage, 28, was an English teacher at St. Clair High School, about an hour outside of St. Louis, and was placed on leave before ultimately resigning once administrators discovered her racy side hustle. Coppage, who made $42,000 working as a teacher, said she used OnlyFans to make extra money that would help her pay off student loans from her advanced degrees. Fox News

Taibbi on College Rallies: Students Are Learning Very Definite Things Instead Of Being Taught How To Learn . . . Matt Taibbi and Karoline Leavitt join "Rob Schmitt Tonight" to weigh in on colleges and universities not properly teaching students about the geopolitical climate in Israel: "I think this is a symptom of a problem. You know, Karoline just sent it out, that the universities really shouldn't be in the business of politics. Real Clear Politics

When schools focus on diversity, minority students learn less . . .It has long been clear that the education establishment’s obsession with identity politics pushes noxious notions into impressionable young minds. It is now also clear, from a new study, that the obsession also thwarts real learning. The identity politics regime in education must end. The Heritage Foundation reported this month that 48% of school districts with at least 15,000 students have a chief diversity officer and that there was a consistent correlation between this and measurable “learning loss during the pandemic by black and Hispanic students” that significantly outpaced learning loss by the same demographics in districts without such diversity officers. Washington Examiner

White House berated for posting photo of US troops in Israel: 'They doxxed our own special forces' . . . The White House took serious heat on social media Thursday for posting an image of President Biden meeting with U.S. troops in Israel without obscuring their identities. Though the White House account deleted the photo soon after sharing it on Instagram, X users ripped Biden’s team for the dangerous mistake, accusing the administration of "compromising" the troops’ identities while they were in Israel defending U.S. interests in wake of Hamas’ terrorist attack on the U.S. allied country.  Fox News

How the West—and Israel Itself—Inadvertently Funded Hamas . . . After Hamas launched its murderous assault on Israel this month, the U.S. and its allies condemned Iran for funding what they deem a terrorist organization. Left unspoken were the many ways the international community—and even Israel itself—inadvertently helped Hamas fill its coffers. The Islamist group has raised tens of millions of dollars by skimming off humanitarian assistance and taxing economic activity stirred by a trade opening into its Gaza Strip stronghold, according to independent researchers and current and former Western security officials.   The flow of money illustrates the conundrum Israel and the West have faced since 2007, when Hamas wrested control of the strip from its rival, the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority. Wall Street Journal

Barbecue-crashing bear eats 10 burgers, drinks Diet Coke

. . .  A barbecue in Tennessee came to a premature end when a bear crashed the party and feasted on 10 burgers and a Diet Coke.

TikTok user melmelll7197 posted a video to the site showing what happened when a bear showed up to a backyard barbecue in Gatlinburg. UPI