Thursday morning news: September 19, 2024

Hezbollah handheld radios explode » The White House says it remains focused on trying to tamp down tensions in the Middle East after a second wave of explosions in Lebanon aimed at crippling Hezbollah’s communications.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby:

KIRBY:  Looking at the last couple of days, it's just a little too soon to know, uh, what kind of impact, um, those incidents are going to have in the region writ large.

One day after thousands of pagers exploded on members of Hezbollah in Lebanon another coordinated blast rocked the terror group. This time, hundreds of walkie-talkies detonated at the same time.

Lebanese officials say at least nine people died and 300 were wounded in Wednesday’s explosions.

Israel is not commenting directly on the incidents.

GALLANT: [Speaking Hebrew]

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant would say only that the focus of the war is shifting north toward its border with Lebanon.

Hezbollah has ramped up attacks against Israel since last October.  

Fed cuts rates » The Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by an unusually large half-point.

The move marks a dramatic shift after years of high rates aimed at fighting inflation and bringing consumer prices down.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell:

POWELL:  Our patient approach over the past year has paid dividends. Inflation is now much closer to our objective, and we have gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2%.

The rate cut is the Fed’s first in more than four years, and it reflects the central bank’s new focus on bolstering the job market.

House vote » On Capitol Hill …

AUDIO: On this vote, the yeas are 202. They nays are 220. Two voting present. The bill is not passed.

And with that, a funding bill pushed by Republican leaders fell short last night.

The legislation would have tied government funding for the new budget year with an election security measure. It would have mandated that states require proof of citizenship when people register to vote.

Johnson pulled the bill from consideration last week and said he would work over the weekend to build consensus for it within the Republican ranks. But he wasn’t able to win over enough Republicans with Democrats united against it.

Trump security » Hours earlier, House Republican leaders publicly demanded action in the wake of a second assassination attempt against Donald Trump.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer:

EMMER:  Secret service can and should do more to protect President Trump. We cannot normalize what has happened to an American president and our current Republican nominee.

And Speaker Mike Johnson said he has reached out to the Biden administration personally to call for more security around the former president.

JOHNSON:  I called and demanded that President Trump receive the same level of protection that the sitting president does because he is under such great threat. I mean, clearly he's the most threatened figure in American public life.

The Trump campaign on Monday asked the Secret Service to step up security around the former president. Still no word on the agency’s response.

President Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer want to boost the Secret Service's budget. But some GOP members say money isn’t the issue and that the Secret Service has systemic problems that more funding won’t fix.

Wray on China hacking » The FBI has disrupted a group of Chinese cyberhackers who were working to hack into infrastructure, government agencies and private organizations in the U.S. and other countries.

FBI Director Christopher Wray says the Chinese government is engaged in an ongoing effort.

WRAY: To infiltrate U.S. infrastructure, co-op devices in your organizations, and frankly a whole lot of homes, and use them to target us and our allies.

Wray heard there speaking at the Aspen Cyber Summit in Washington.

The Justice Department did not identify any of the Chinese cyberhacking targets by name.

Kentucky conversion therapy » Conservative lawmakers in Kentucky are lining up to challenge a controversial executive order from the state’s governor banning so-called conversion therapy.

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear signed the order this morning claiming that children who undergo counseling to support biblical sexuality are at higher risk of anxiety and depression.

BESHEAR: The practice of so-called Conversion therapy hurts our children It has no basis in medicine. It has no basis in science.

Under the order, if a child struggles with same-sex attraction, Kentucky therapists, including Christian counselors, would be forced to remain neutral on the issue.

However, legal and legislative challenges to the order are in the works as many say the governor has overstepped his authority.

I’m Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: More analysis of electronic explosions in Lebanon. Plus, a conversation with Victor Davis Hanson.

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