The video in question first began to circulate on social media this week Good morning. It’s Sunday. Here’s what’s shaping the day: |
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Retaliation Over: Israel says that air strikes on military targets in Iran on Saturday morning have concluded its retaliation for Iran’s ballistic missile attacks. Iran said that the Israeli strikes hit military bases, caused “limited damage,” and killed two soldiers.
- Russian Hoax: The intelligence community said a video purporting to show someone ripping up ballots is a Russian disinformation product. The video in question first began to circulate on social media this week, and appeared to show someone ripping up ballots marked for former president Donald Trump marked for Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
- Missiles for Taiwan: The United States has approved a nearly $2 billion arms sale to Taiwan, including two radar upgrade packages, and for the first time ever, an advanced surface-to-air missile system that has been battle-tested in Ukraine.
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Borderland Voters: Our colleague, Darlene Sanchez, traveled to battleground counties in three border states to ask voters there what matters most. Here is what she learned.
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Snow White: Renowned Russian director Sergey Eisenstein called Walt Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” the greatest film ever made. The movie resounds with truth, beauty, and goodness. Consequently, it has some lessons and warnings for us even today. Column below.
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| Written by Ivan Pentchoukov,
U.S. National Editor |
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Chief of the General Staff of Israel Defense Forces Herzi Halevi supervises the attack in Iran, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Oct. 26, 2024. IDF via Reuters |
Israel said that its air strikes on military targets in Iran on Saturday morning have concluded its retaliation for Iran’s ballistic missile attacks on April 13 and Oct. 1. |
- Iran’s military said early Saturday that Israeli strikes on the country targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan, and Tehran provinces, causing “limited damage,” and that two soldiers were killed.
- After announcing the strikes were underway, the Israel Defense Forces later released a statement saying they had concluded their mission and warned Iran not to escalate.
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- “The regime in Iran and its proxies in the region have been relentlessly attacking Israel since October 7th—on seven fronts—including direct attacks from Iranian soil,” said IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari.
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Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli attacks on military bases and said Iran will respond. A statement by the Iranian Foreign Ministry called the attacks a clear violation of international law and the U.N. Charter.
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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged Iran not to respond. “I am clear that Israel has the right to defend itself against Iranian aggression,” he said. “I’m equally clear that we need to avoid further regional escalation and urge all sides to show restraint.”
- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia condemned the strikes on Iran without naming Israel, saying they violated its sovereignty and international laws and norms.
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Israel’s hourslong attack ended just before sunrise in Tehran, with the Israeli military saying it targeted “missile manufacturing facilities used to produce the missiles that Iran fired at the state of Israel over the last year.” It also said it hit surface-to-air missile sites and “additional Iranian aerial capabilities.” Israel offered no initial damage assessment. Nuclear facilities and oil installations had initially been seen as possible targets for Israel’s response to Iran’s Oct. 1 attack, but in mid-October the Biden administration believed it had won assurances from Israel that it would not hit such targets, which would be a more severe escalation.
Iran’s military said the strikes targeted military bases in Ilam, Khuzestan, and Tehran provinces and caused “limited damage,” without elaborating. |
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the FBI issued a joint statement on Oct. 25, declaring a video purporting to show someone ripping up ballots is a Russian disinformation product.
The video in question first began to circulate on social media this week, and appeared to show someone ripping up ballots voted for former President Donald Trump marked for Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The Bucks County Board of Elections previously reviewed the footage and deemed it to be inauthentic.
“The envelope and materials depicted in this video are clearly not authentic materials belonging to or distributed by the Bucks County Board of Elections,” the county election board said in an Oct. 24 press statement. The Bucks County election officials said they reported the video to law enforcement officials, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, the Pennsylvania Department of State, and the FBI. CISA joined the FBI in reviewing the footage. The two agencies released a statement in coordination with the ODNI, which oversees the U.S. intelligence community (IC) more broadly. |
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued guidance to protect workers against obtrusive employers hiring third-party tracking services to digitally monitor staff. Reports produced by such services that include background dossiers and surveillance-based, “black box” artificial intelligence or algorithmic scores are used by companies to assess performance and inform decisions regarding the individual. The CFPB says that “employers must obtain worker consent, provide transparency about data used in adverse decisions, and allow workers to dispute inaccurate information.” |
- “Workers shouldn’t be subject to unchecked surveillance or have their careers determined by opaque third-party reports without basic protections,” said CFPB director Rohit Chopra.
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“The kind of scoring and profiling we’ve long seen in credit markets is now creeping into employment and other aspects of our lives. Our action today makes clear that longstanding consumer protections apply to these new domains just as they do to traditional credit reports.”
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Dr. Bryce Nickels is a professor of genetics at Rutgers University and the co-founder of Biosafety Now, an organization that aims to reduce the public threat of lab-generated pandemics. —Jan Jekielek |
As the market drifts back to the reality that the so-called Chinese stimulus is more of a public relations stimulus than an economic one, analysts have begun to wonder why Beijing is not doing more to help China’s morbid economy. However, there remains a predicate question for those demanding activity for the sake of activity: Does Beijing even understand its economic challenges and how to address them? |
- Though censorship issues in China are well known, the limitations on basic information have a much more pernicious effect than straight state control. The practice extends to all types of information and data throughout China.
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The late former Premier Li Keqiang famously noted that he did not trust GDP but looked at railway cargo, electricity consumption, and bank loans.
- With the National Bureau of Statistics closing access to many datasets and many obvious flaws in the data—unless Chinese bureaucrats maintain a real second set of national data—it would seem reasonable to question whether the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) knows what is happening in the economy.
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China and Russia are seeking to establish an alternative international payment platform that is not subject to Western sanctions via the BRICS group. Experts say the tactic is unlikely to work. The BRICS group recently held its first summit since the group’s expansion, in Kazan, Russia, the rotating chair country.
BRICS was established by Russia, China, and India, and was later joined by Brazil, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has been invited to join the group but has not formally become a member.
Russia has been using China’s Yuan RMB-based cross-border payment system, CIPS, for limited international trade, since it was banned from the U.S. dollar-based SWIFT platform after it invaded Ukraine in 2022. |
A class of chemicals known to cause serious health issues is found to be present in the tap water supplies of millions of U.S. citizens, according to a new study.
Per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are chemicals used in a wide range of items like fire-fighting foams, cleaning products, water repellants, paints, stain-resistant fabrics, and non-stick cookware. Known as “forever chemicals,” these do not easily break down in the environment. There are over 12,000 types of PFAS, and they are linked to adverse health problems like cancers, causing negative effects on immune function, and reproductive issues.
The study, published in the Science journal on Oct. 24, looked into the presence of PFAS in America’s drinking water supplies. Read the full story ➞ |
Mr. Li Hongzhi is a four-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee and was nominated by the European Parliament for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. He is also the recipient of Freedom House’s International Religious Freedom Award.
The above article has been translated from Chinese and was originally published on FalunDafa.org Read Mr. Li Hongzhi’s Latest Articles: |
Detail, “Snow White,” date unknown, by Alexander Zick. |
Walt Disney’s 1937 “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” rightly remains one of the most amazing American films ever made.
Originally dubbed “Disney’s Folly” because of the hundreds of artists and technicians involved in its animation, the movie was a box-office smash on its release and has remained a family favorite ever since. Renowned Russian director Sergey Eisenstein called it the greatest film ever made. With its blend of movement and color, its extravagant collage of animated birds and other wildlife, its music, and its mix of comedy and horror, “Snow White” is indeed a work of art. But technique and style alone do not elevate it to that status. This movie also resounds with truth, beauty, and goodness. Consequently, it has some lessons and warnings for us even today.
Our colleague, Jeff Minick, explores these universal themes in his column. |
You may not know it, but at one time, cake served a vital role on election day. Appropriately named election cake, this centuries-old boozy spice cake was once baked in quantities large enough to feed a town in celebration of Election Day. More than a dessert, it honors American culinary heritage and the bond of communities through food. It recalls a time when civic engagement united people in the most delicious way possible.
Get the recipe ➞
—Jennifer McGruther, NTP, nutritional therapy practitioner, herbalist, and the author of three cookbooks. |
Here are more games that everyone loves: |
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Thanks for reading. Have a wonderful day. |
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