It's Been Reported

Israel Says It Killed Islamic Jihad Commander In Gunbattle At West Bank Mosque JERUSALEM/JENIN, West Bank (Reuters) — Israeli troops killed a local commander of the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad movement in the West Bank and four other militants on Thursday in a gunbattle during one of the largest assaults in the Israeli-occupied territory for months. The military said it killed Muhhamad Jabber, known as Abu Shujaa, the head of a network of fighters in the adjacent Nur Shams refugee camp, during a "significant exchange of fire" around a mosque in the city of Tulkarm in which four other Palestinian fighters were also killed. The Tulkarm division of Islamic Jihad's armed wing confirmed his death, which brought the total number of Palestinians killed during the past two days to 17, and said fighters had attacked Israeli forces near the Abu Ubaida mosque. The operation began in the early hours of Wednesday with hundreds of Israeli troops backed by helicopters, drones and armoured personnel carriers raiding the flashpoint cities of Tulkarm, Jenin and areas in the Jordan Valley. See full story	Feds Violate OSHA Standards At Thousands Of Government Properties (Wash Times) — The Environmental Protection Agency, which polices chemical contaminants, has been subjecting employees at its Chicago offices to water contaminated with metal and Legionella, the bacteria that causes the deadly Legionnaires’ disease. The Chicago Sun-Times reported this week that at least five water fountains or kitchen faucets were found to have Legionella. Two kitchen faucets also busted the acceptable limits for lead and copper. In Michigan, meanwhile, another federal building was found in 2017 to have a high risk of fire, and experts said it needed a sprinkler system. Seven years later, the problem remained unaddressed, an inspector general found. And in Bethesda, Maryland, surveyors found stone crumbling off the sides of the headquarters of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 2019. They called it an “immediate and potentially imminent danger.” Four-and-a-half years later it still hadn’t been fixed, according to the inspector general. See full story SKIP THE PAYWALL! click on Reader View icon
Louisiana Election Integrity Focuses On Absentee Ballot Issues (The Center Square) — The November 2023 general election for the office of Sheriff of Caddo Parish, Louisiana was remarkable, and not just because there were 43,241 votes cast and the election was determined by a single vote. In the aftermath of the legal battle that ensued over the one-vote victory, a court case gave a rare insight into the problems with election integrity including absentee mail-in ballots. The lawsuit revealed that at least two voters voted twice. An election official also stated his office was never notified during his tenure of people who were not eligible to vote so they could be removed from the voter rolls. There were at least 11 "unlawful" votes as determined by the judge who demanded a new election be held. Henry Whitehorn, who won by one vote in the nullified election, won the second election by defeating John Nickelson. Also discovered during the trial was that numerous mail-in absentee ballots did not meet the legal standard to be counted but were still accepted. See full story	Superintendent Orders Oklahoma Schools To Promote Patriotism After Student Told To Remove U.S. Flag From Truck (Fox News) — Oklahoma State School Superintendent Ryan Walters told the Fox News Channel that his school district would be enacting new policies to allow students to show their patriotism after an Oklahoma high school student was forced to remove an American flag from his truck by school staff earlier this month. Walters spoke on "Fox & Friends Weekend" on Saturday to declare that under new state school guidelines, no student will be punished for displaying the flag or showing their patriotism. Rather, they will be encouraged to love their country and better understand its founding. "We’re not going to tolerate this anti-Americanism," Walters told "Fox & Friends Weekend" co-host Pete Hegseth. The public school superintendent’s appearance on the channel came several days after Edmond North High School senior Caleb Horst was reportedly instructed by school officials to remove the American flag from the pick-up truck he uses to drive to school. See full story
U.S. Forces Destroy Iranian-Backed Houthi Vessel, Drones (Fox News) — U.S. forces have destroyed two Houthi drones and an unmanned surface vessel in the Red Sea, the U.S. military announced. The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) posted on X Saturday that in the past 24 hours, forces destroyed one Iranian-backed Houthi uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) and one uncrewed surface vessel (USV) in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. The U.S. military noted that they determined that the UAV and USV presented a "clear and imminent threat" to U.S. and coalition forces as well as merchant vessels in the Middle Eastern region. "This action was taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels," CENTCOM said. See full story	Dollar General Stock Tanks 32% After Outlook Cut Spurred By 'Cash-Strapped' Customer (Yahoo!finance) — Dollar General stock tumbled 32% on Thursday after the discount retailer cut its outlook, pointing to a financially pressured customer. Thursday's drop in Dollar General was its biggest on record. Dollar General said it expects fiscal 2024 same-store sales growth in the range of approximately 1.0%-1.6%, compared to its previous expectation in the range of 2.0%-2.7%. "It appears to us very strongly that ... this lower-end consumer continues to be very much financially strapped, especially as it relates to her ability to feed her families and support her families," CEO Todd Vasos told analysts during the company's earnings call on Thursday morning. Vasos said the last week of each of the calendar months in the quarter was "the weakest by far," with customers leaning into a mix of the 2,000 items still priced at $1 or below. See full story
Foot Locker Ditching NYC For St. Petersburg, Florida To Cut High Costs: 'Efficiencies' (NY Post) — Foot Locker announced Wednesday the sneaker retailer will move its headquarters from New York City to Florida to escape the Empire State’s high costs. “To better support our strategic progress, to increase team member collaboration, as well as ongoing expense discipline, we made the decision to relocate our headquarters to St. Petersburg, Fla.,” CEO Mary Dillon said in a statement. The company said it would maintain only a limited presence in the city moving forward. Its sister brand, Champs, was previously headquartered in St. Petersburg. The move is expected to be completed by late 2025. The city has been “a center of gravity for Foot Locker for a long time,” Dillon told Bloomberg. “There are cost efficiencies over time by doing this, but we’re going to continue to have a presence in New York to keep connections to basketball and sneaker culture.” See full story	U.S. Pending Home Sales Plunge (Bloomberg) — A gauge of pending U.S. sales of existing homes sunk in July to the lowest level on record, as high prices and borrowing costs continue to scare buyers away. A National Association of Realtors index of contract signings fell 5.5% to 70.2 last month, the lowest in data back to 2001, the group said Thursday. The drop was larger than all estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists and reflected declining sales in all four major regions. “The positive impact of job growth and higher inventory could not overcome affordability challenges and some degree of wait-and-see related to the upcoming U.S. presidential election,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun in a statement. The previously owned home market has been hamstrung by high borrowing costs and lean inventory for nearly two years. While mortgage rates have declined this month to the lowest in over a year, high prices and limited inventory are deterring prospective buyers who might still be holding out for cheaper rates. See full story
Canada To Impose 100% Tariff On Chinese EVs, Including Teslas OTTAWA (Reuters) — Canada, following the lead of the United States and European Union, said on Monday it would impose a 100% tariff on imports of Chinese electric vehicles and announced a 25% tariff on imported steel and aluminum from China. The duties apply to all EVs shipped from China, which would include those made by Tesla, a Canadian government official said. Shares of the most valuable global automaker closed down 3.2%. Canadian imports of automobiles from China to its largest port, Vancouver, jumped 460% year over year to 44,356 in 2023, when Tesla started shipping Shanghai-made EVs to Canada. See full story	Rapper Fatman Scoop Dead At 53 After Collapsing Onstage During Concert (Fox News) — Rapper Fatman Scoop, born with the name Isaac Freeman III, has died. He was 53. His family and tour manager, Birch Michael, shared statements on social media following the artist's death. His official cause of death has not been revealed. "It is with profound sadness and very heavy hearts that we share news of the passing of the legendary and iconic FatMan Scoop," a post on his Instagram page read on behalf of his family. "Last night, the world lost a radiant soul, a beacon of light on the stage and in life." "FatMan Scoop was not just a world class performer, he was a father, brother, uncle and friend. He was the laughter in our lives, a constant source of support, unwavering strength, and courage," the tribute continued. See full story