— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) March 13, 2024
Day: March 13, 2024
Categories
GitHub
Among the things that the FBI is citing in an effort to justify its request for an $11.386 billion 2024 budget is Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attack on Israel.
“The recent, brutal Hamas attack against Israel reminded anyone who had forgotten the threat of terrorism is real and dangerous—both abroad and right here at home,” the bureau stated.
The bureau added that it is “responding to increased threats to the homeland from both international terrorist organizations and lone actors focused on targeting faith-based communities.”
“The FBI is also tracking and countering potential terrorist threats from individuals who enter the country unlawfully, including over the southern border—a monumental task given the often sparse information available on their whereabouts and associates,” it added.
During U.S. President Joe Biden’s “State of the Union” address on March 7, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) heckled the president and demanded that he say Laken Riley’s name. After mistakenly saying “Lanken Riley,” Biden referred to the “innocent young woman who was killed.” Greene insisted: “By an illegal!”
“By an illegal. That’s right,” Biden said. “But how many of thousands of people are being killed by legals?”
Asked to clarify his “illegal” comment on March 8 at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Biden said, “Well, I probably—I don’t re-—technically not supposed to be here.”
Jonathan Capehart, of MSNBC, asked the president about his use of the term “illegal.” A reporter asked Olivia Dalton, principal deputy White House press secretary, about the MSNBC interview on March 11 aboard Air Force One. The reporter said that Biden had apologized.
“Well, first of all, I want to be really clear about something. The president absolutely did not apologize. There was no apology anywhere in that conversation. He did not apologize,” Dalton said. “He used a different word.”
“And beyond that, I think it’s unconscionable that there are some people who are playing politics with this young woman’s tragic murder—and particularly at a time when, let’s not forget, House Republicans are standing in the way of a bipartisan border security agreement that is the toughest bill we have ever seen in history,” Dalton said. “And they’re doing so because Donald Trump feels that the American people’s safety is less important than his personal politics. That’s the fact.”
Most Americans (57%) say that the large number of “migrants” seeking to enter the country leads to more crime—with 85% of Republicans and 31% of Democrats believing that, per a Feb. 15 Pew Research Center poll. Some 63% of Democrats do not think the influx has an impact on crime.
The new FBI budget, which the bureau says is a partial response to terrorists entering the country illegally, would fund 37,312 positions, 260 attorneys and 13,662 agents, per the FBI.
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Ukraine launched a sweeping drone attack on Russian regions on Wednesday, causing a fire at Rosneft’s biggest oil refinery in what President Vladimir Putin said was an attempt to disrupt Russia’s presidential election.
Russia and Ukraine have both used drones to strike critical infrastructure, military installations and troop concentrations in their more than two-year war, with Kyiv hitting Russian refineries and energy facilities in recent months.
Russian authorities reported another major attack by Ukrainian drones a day after a Ukrainian attack damaging Lukoil’s NORSI refinery in Russian territory.
The Russian defense ministry said air defences downed 58 drones over six regions. One of the drones hit an oil refinery in the Ryazan region, injuring at least two people and sparking a fire. Another drone was downed as it was approaching a refinery near St. Petersburg.
Operations at the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in Russia’s southern Rostov region were stopped on Wednesday after downed drones fell on its territory, regional governor Vasily Golubev said on the Telegram messaging app.
There were no casualties, he said, and the damage was being assessed.
Russia this week has faced some of the most significant attacks on its territory since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine more than two years ago.
Pro-Kyiv militias made up of mainly Russian citizens this week said they had crossed over Russia’s border and captured a village in Kursk.
Security around oil refineries, a key source of Russia’s income, was tightened in some regions, Russian media reported.
In an interview with Russian state television on Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine was upping its attacks on Russian territory in order to interfere with the presidential elections later this week.
“It’s simple. This is all happening against the backdrop of failures on the front line. They did not achieve any of the goals that they set for themselves last year,” Putin said.
“I have no doubt that the main goal is, if not to disrupt the presidential elections in Russia then to somehow interfere with the normal process,” he said.
Ukraine reports deadly Russian strikes
Ukraine, meanwhile, reported more Russian attacks early Wednesday.
A Russian strike killed two people and wounded another five in the town of Myrnohrad in the eastern region of Donetsk, about 30 kilometers (about 20 miles) from the front line, according to Governor Vadym Filashkin. Local rescuers managed to pull a 13-year-old girl out of the rubble of an apartment building that was hit by a Russian missile.
A five-story building in the northern city of Sumy was struck by a drone launched from Russia overnight and 10 people were rescued from the rubble, including eight who sustained injuries, according to the regional administration.
In President Volodymyr Zelensky‘s hometown in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, the death toll from a Russian missile attack the previous night rose to four, said Governor Serhii Lysak. He said that 43 people were wounded, including 12 children.
“Every day our cities and villages suffer similar attacks. Every day Ukraine loses people because of Russian evil,” said Zelensky.
Russia ‘ready’ to use nuclear weapons, Putin says
Putin on Wednesday warned that Russia is ready to use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty or independence is threatened, issuing another blunt warning to the West.
The Russian leader has repeatedly talked about his readiness to use nuclear weapons since invading Ukraine in February 2022
The latest threat came just days before the March 15-17 Russian presidential election in which Putin is all but certain to win another six-year term.
“Our triad, the nuclear triad, it is more modern than any other triad. Only we and the Americans actually have such triads. And we have advanced much more here,” Putin said in a wide-ranging interview.
“We are ready to use weapons, including any weapons – including the weapons you mentioned – if it is a question of the existence of the Russian state or damage to our sovereignty and independence,” said Putin.
The Russian leader also dismissed recent comments by French President Emmanuel Macron, who last month declined to rule out putting boots on the ground, a significant shift in rhetoric as Ukraine struggles on the battlefield.
“The fact is that the militaries of Western countries have been present in Ukraine for a long time,” the Russian leader claimed, referring to what the Kremlin says are mercenaries.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
🔴ELIMINATED: Hadi Ali Mustafa, a Hamas terrorist in Lebanon responsible for advancing Hamas’ international activity and terrorist attacks against Jewish and Israeli targets.
The IDF will continue to operate against Hamas in every area in which it operates. pic.twitter.com/et4dLjlSle
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) March 13, 2024
Israeli Official: Biden Seeking to Oust Netanyahu – @JewishPress – https://t.co/YKSLvc7p1Q pic.twitter.com/Xp9Bq45Qnz
— JewishPress.com (@JewishPress) March 13, 2024