Wednesday morning news: November 1, 2023

Homeland hearing » FBI Director Christopher Wray is warning that the risk of terrorist attacks against the United States is the highest it’s been in many years.

WRAY: One terrorist organization after another calling for attacks.
LAWMAKER: We should wake up.
WRAY: It is a time to be concerned. We are in a dangerous period.

Testifying to the Senate Homeland Security Committee, Wray said the threat level was already elevated this year.

WRAY: But the ongoing war in the Middle East has raised the threat of an attack against Americans in the United States to a whole ‘nother level.

Wray said Hamas' rampage inside Israel could serve to inspire new attacks against the West.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas also testified, telling lawmakers that some groups are at particular risk.

MAYORKAS: We have responded to an increase of threats against Jewish, Muslim, and Arab American communities and institutions across our country.

National security hearing » Meantime, just down the hall at the Capitol, other top U.S. officials were urging lawmakers to approve funds to support Israel and Ukraine, among other things.

The White House is asking for just over $100 billion dollars in a supplemental package.

Secretary of State Tony Blinken told the Senate Appropriations panel:

BLINKEN: We now stand at a moment where many again are making the bet that we are too divided, we’re too distracted at home to stay the course. That’s what’s at stake with President Biden’s national security supplemental spending request.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin testified alongside Blinken, telling lawmakers that America can’t afford to hesitate in defending freedom.

AUSTIN: And if we fail to lead, the cost and threats to the United States will only grow. We must not give our friends, our rivals or our foes any reason to doubt America’s resolve.

House Israel aid proposal » But House Speaker Mike Johnson wants to debate support for Israel and Ukraine separately. And he said House Republicans are crafting a bill that would send nearly $15 billion dollars to Israel.

JOHNSON: My desire in the first draft of this bill is to take some of the money that has been set aside for building and bulking up the IRS right now. We’ll try to take the $14.5 necessary for this immediate and urgent need.

But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said taking those funds from the IRS is a non-starter.

SCHUMER: The new speaker knows perfectly well that if you want to help Israel, you can’t propose legislation that is full of poison pills.

Speaker Johnson said the aid needs to be paid for, rather than racking up more debt.

Fed and inflation » American workers got slightly bigger paychecks and better benefits in the quarter ending in September. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher reports.

JOSH SCHUMACHER: The Labor Department says wages and compensation grew 1.1 percent from July through September. That was up just a touch from 1 percent even in the previous quarter.

Higher wages can fuel inflation. But Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell isn’t worried.

He says the current annual wage growth of around three-and-a-half percent … is in line with the Fed’s goal of cutting inflation to 2 percent.

With that in mind, Powell is expected to announce today that the central bank will leave interest rates right where they are for now.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Hawaii Bodycam footage » The Maui Police Department has started releasing officer body-cam footage of the department’s response to the deadly wildfire in August.

The footage showed officers frantically pounding on doors urging residents to evacuate.

AUDIO: [Officer pounding on door “come on, come on, theres a fire, is there anyone else in here?” Resident: “No, its just me” Officer: “Come on, come on.”]

SOUND: [Officer yelling at people to go and crashing through gate]

The wildfire killed roughly 100 people and incinerated nearly the entire town of Lahaina.

Maine shooter » Authorities in Maine say the family of the gunman who killed more than 18 people in a mass shooting last week alerted the local sheriff five months ago that they were worried about his mental health.

The 40-year-old U.S. Army reservist was treated at a psychiatric hospital in July.

Local police attempted to make contact with the gunman in September but were unable to locate him.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: Washington Wednesday. Plus, getting a used car ministry into high gear.

This is The World and Everything in It.

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