Pumped-up spectators poured into Butler Farm Show grounds on Saturday, saying that it was “gutsy” for former President Donald Trump to make an appearance at the location where he was nearly assassinated.

Trump is set to appear at the site where he was nearly killed in a deadly July 13 shooting, with the Republican presidential nominee slated to speak at 5 p.m. EST.

Supporters decked out American flags and Trump slogans shared with Fox News Digital that Trump’s return to the site was “gutsy.”

“I think it’s gutsy. It really shows strength to the people that he’s here, and he’s not hiding,” 21-year-old River Jager, from Buffalo, Ohio, said.

“If anyone else got shot at, they would duck away,” he said. “Instead of running off, he got his composure and pulled himself together to show us he was all right.”

Father-daughter duo, 44-year-old Tom Bye and 19-year-old Brooke Bye, said that Trump’s return proved that “he’s doing this for us.”

“He’s not afraid. He’s doing it for us. He doesn’t have to. He speaks for the people, the way people speak,” Tom said. “It speaks volumes, he’s not going to run and hide.”

“He’s coming back to show that he’s strong,” Brooke said.

The pair shared their hope for change under a Trump administration, saying that the “country is going downhill.”

“If he doesn’t become president now, this country is not going to be able to be saved,” Tom said. “It’s time for a change.”

Brooke echoed her father’s sentiment, citing the rise in illegal immigration as her top voting issue.

“It needs to be changed,” she said. “Things with our immigrant problem — things need to change.”

Friends Jody Cavalieri and Dena Diebold said that they drove three hours from Buffalo, New York, to see Trump.

The pair commended Trump’s bravery, saying that “life was so much better under Trump.”

“Brave – for the country, for the people,” Cavalieri said.

“Ditto,” Diebold said, agreeing. “God bless Trump.”

“Life was so much better under Trump,” Cavalieri said. “I want my kids to feel good about buying a house. My 24-year-old still lives at home, and it’s not easy to get out and to get a mortgage. I want things to be better for our kids.”

“We felt safer when Trump was in office,” Diebold said. “There was peace around the world. Not so much right now.”

Journi Dostal, a 27-year-old business owner, told Fox News Digital that this was her first Trump rally.

The young voter said that Trump’s return to Butler marked an “historical moment.”

David Mills, who was decked out in a Trump wig, said that he “wouldn’t miss” the rally, saying that it’s his third one he’s attended.

“Wouldn’t miss it. This is my third rally in Butler,” 64-year-old Mills said.

“We got to eject all the illegals, cut the size of government, which is just grossly bloated,” he said.

Denise Materia, an athletic secretary for the Saint Mary school district, said that she is elated to hear Trump “finish the speech.”

“I want him to make America better,” she continued. “Things were so much better when he was president.”

Dan Beasley, a real estate broker, said that the former president was “very courageous” to return.

“I think he’s very courageous,” he said. “God has an explicit purpose for him. He’s coming back to give that message.”

Trump’s campaign said that the former president’s return to Butler would honor those lost in the assassination attempt during the rally.

Corey Comperatore, 50, was a firefighter and a father of two daughters. He “historically sacrificed his life to shield his wife and daughters” during the assassination attempt against Trump, the campaign said.

Trump will also recognize the two other Americans who were wounded by the shooter, David Dutch and James Copenhaver.

“He will express his deep gratitude to law enforcement and first responders, and thank the entire community for their outpouring of love and support in the wake of the attack,” the campaign said.

Trump’s campaign said that his return to the location of the first assassination attempt is a “tribute to the American spirit.”

“In America, we do not let monsters like that evil assassin have the last word. Every time our nation is struck by attack or hardship, we rally, we persevere, and we prevail,” the campaign said in a statement. “When terrorists knocked down our towering skyscrapers, we rebuilt taller. When our communities are ravaged by fire, storm, or natural disaster, we pull together and come back stronger.”

“And when a shooter attacked our democracy and tried to end this movement, President Trump will return to the site, joined by tens of thousands of proud citizens, and together, they will celebrate a unifying vision for America’s future in an event like the world has never seen before,” it continued.

Trump’s campaign said that he is “more determined than ever” following the two assassination attempts in the past nine weeks, one in Butler and the other at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida.

“In that Butler field on July 13th, he took a bullet for democracy — and on Nov. 5, he is going to save our democracy,” they said. “With the help of the amazing people of Pennsylvania and citizens all across our land, we will make America safer, stronger, freer and greater than ever before.”

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The IDF on Saturday commented regarding the retaliation against Iran for launching ballistic missiles toward Israel, clarifying that combat is currently ongoing on seven different fronts. Alongside the continued fighting in Gaza and the West Bank, Israeli soldiers and forces are engaged in operations in Lebanon, Iran, and its proxies in Yemen, Syria, and Iraq.

The struggle with Iran is viewed as a direct conflict, and it is expected that the Iranians will be preoccupied with their own affairs rather than just with their proxies in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza, Yemen, and Iraq.

The IDF plans to respond significantly but has not detailed the nature of that response. The IDF noted that the Iranians launched 201 missiles from Iran to Israel, some of which impacted targets.

Consequently, there is a broad recommendation within the IDF to respond to the Iranian attack while minimizing risks and maximizing opportunities.

The IDF has threatened to strike in Syria against weapons that originated from Iran and are intended for Hezbollah’s use. The military emphasized its determination to thwart arms smuggling.

Reports indicate that in Yemen, a port used by the Houthis to receive oil supplies from the sea was attacked, along with two power stations and further damage to the port itself, preparing for future engagements.

In related developments, the IDF asserts that its defense systems have proven effective during this week’s missile attacks.

Developing operations in Lebanon

The IDF is conducting targeted raids to dismantle infrastructure established by Hezbollah, including the targeting and removal of Hezbollah operatives to ensure the safe return of northern residents to their homes.

A large amount of weaponry has been located, particularly focusing on Kornet missiles. According to IDF estimates, 400 Hezbollah operatives have been killed since the beginning of the operation. Commanders of various brigades, including those in key regions such as Har Dov, Marwahin, and Markaba, have been among the casualties.

In Beirut, significant damage has been inflicted on command centers, warehouses, and areas within the Shiite-dominated southern suburb of Dahieh, which has been almost completely evacuated of civilians. This includes damage to command and control systems in Beirut and surrounding areas.

In the IDF’s operations division, decisions are being made about what will land in Lebanon and what will not. Military and civilian crossings for transferring weapons from Syria to Lebanon have been targeted, with ongoing drone surveillance over these crossings 24/7. In the last day, Iranian aircraft have been observed flying without entering Lebanese airspace.

What’s happening in Gaza, the Philadelphi corridor?

Most of the tunnels along the Philadelphi corridor have been discovered and destroyed. Fighting continues in Rafah and along the Philadelphi corridor.

Regarding Lebanon, the IDF has made it clear that it does not intend to see Hezbollah on the Lebanese border in the aftermath of the conflict.

From the IDF’s perspective, there is potential for broader change in Lebanon, but there remains an ongoing, extensive combat process aimed at achieving war objectives. Current assessments indicate that the conditions now present the potential for a change in the security landscape, not only in southern Lebanon but throughout the country.

The West Bank

There have been significant counterterrorism efforts in the West Bank, including one in Tulkarm that involved the use of IAF fighter jets. A major plot to carry out large-scale attacks has been thwarted, and the area has been reinforced with reserve battalions.

In the Southern Command, preparations are underway to expand operations. There is a buildup for offensive efforts moving forward, which are making significant progress.

International Collaborations

The IDF anticipates cooperation from its allies, including the US and others interested in defending against Iranian aggression.

The IDF notes that the Western world understands that Israel is determined to eliminate threats in Lebanon and Gaza and that Iranian attacks cannot be tolerated.

All seven members of the Chicago School Board have agreed to resign later in October in a Friday announcement amid disagreements with the mayor over the district’s budget.

Mayor Brandon Johnson and Chicago Public School CEO Pedro Martinez have disagreed in recent months over the Mayor’s proposed plan to fill a $1 billion gap in the budget for the school district, The New York Times reported.

Martinez was initially backed by the board in the dispute over the budget, with the mayor unsuccessfully asking Martinez to resign in late September.

Johnson’s budget plan includes increasing union members’ salaries along with taking out a loan covering a $175 million pension for non-teaching district faculty, according to the NYT.

“Mayor Brandon Johnson and members of the Chicago Board of Education are enacting a transition plan which includes all current members transitioning from service on the Board later this month,” the mayor’s office said in a press release.

“With the shift to a hybrid elected and appointed Board forthcoming, current Board members and Mayor Johnson understand that laying a strong foundation for the shift is necessary to serve the best interests of students and families in Chicago Public Schools.”

Chicago’s public schools have faced many issues in recent years, like a drop in enrollment and budget problems. The Chicago Teachers Union has opposed measures to close down or consolidate some schools facing issues.

“I know that families and staff may have concerns about what this means for the future of our District,” Martinez said in a press release.

“Please know that regardless of the makeup of the Board of Education, my team and I remain focused on the work: robust teaching and learning, building on the great momentum we’ve seen in students’ academic gains, and continuing to realize our vision of a District where every student has a rigorous, high-quality, and joyful learning experience.”

The United States announced that it would be providing $157 million in humanitarian aid to address the “crisis in Lebanon” and those who have been affected by it.

In a press release on Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed that the “nearly $157 million” in humanitarian assistance would go towards addressing “new and existing needs to internally displaced persons and refugee populations” for communities in Lebanon.

“The United States will provide nearly $157 million in new U.S. humanitarian assistance to support populations affected by conflict in Lebanon and the region,” Blinken said in the press release. “This funding will address new and existing needs of internally displaced persons and refugee populations inside Lebanon and the communities that host them. The assistance will also support those fleeing to neighboring Syria.”

The U.S. is at the forefront of humanitarian response to the growing crisis in Lebanon, announcing nearly $157 million in assistance today. We are committed to supporting those in need and delivering essential aid to displaced civilians, refugees and the communities hosting them.

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) October 4, 2024

The press release from Blinken comes as Israel has been waging war against Hezbollah terrorists located in Lebanon.

Breitbart News Senior Editor-at-Large Joel Pollak reported that over the course of Thursday and Friday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had continued advancing on Hezbollah terrorists, carrying out airstrikes. Within “four days of combat,” the IDF was reported to have killed more than 200 Hezbollah terrorists.

As Breitbart News previously reported, as the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has continued, “hundreds of Lebanese Christians” have been reported to be leaving their homes as Israel has directed them to evacuate:

Although Israel has declared it is not at war with Lebanon in general and is targeting fighters and weapons from the Shia militia Hezbollah, which is designated a terrorist organization by the United States, this has not stopped it from forcibly evacuating a number of Christian villages in southern Lebanon, which is a Shia majority area interspersed with Christian communities not aligned with Hezbollah.

The news that roughly $157 million in humanitarian aid would go towards helping the people affected by the fighting in Lebanon comes as communities in western North Carolina, such as the city of Asheville and the village of Chimney Rock, were affected by heavy rains and flooding from Hurricane Helene. Other communities in eastern Tennessee, southwestern Virginia, Georgia, and Florida were also affected.

President Joe Biden previously announced that the U.S. would be sending $8 billion in military aid to Ukraine. Days after this announcement, Vice President Kamala Harris announced $750 in assistance for the victims of Hurricane Helene.

“The federal relief and assistance that we have been providing has included FEMA providing $750 for folks who need immediate needs being met, such as food, baby formula, and the like. And you can apply now.”

This represents $50 more than the Biden administration gave to those who were affected by the Maui wildfires.

The Brunswick Landing apartments in Maine sparked controversy earlier this year when it was discovered that homeless migrants in the area were getting the opportunity to live in the units rent-free for up to two years. Migrants living in the apartments shared that not only is the rent-free, the utilities are paid and we got an inside look at the furnished apartments that would run the average American about $2,300 dollars.

An inside look at the units at Brunswick Landing revealed that the apartments, which are currently set to house 60 migrant families, come fully furnished with migrants receiving a couch, table and chair, a flat-screen TV, and even photo frames on the walls for ambiance. “We don’t pay anything,” one woman from the Congo stated, “but after two years we have to pay the rent,” she finished.

FIRST LOOK: Inside the furnished Maine apartments where migrants are getting up to 2 years of free rent & utilities

This apartment is in the same county which received $6.1 mill in funding from the FEMA program that spent $1 billion on housing migrants:pic.twitter.com/W0xIr5uMSy

— Savanah Hernandez (@sav_says_) October 4, 2024

The city of Brunswick has allocated $3.5 million dollars toward paying the migrant’s rent and opened it back in February of 2024.

The project, which was initially created for Maine residents, sparked outrage as the Maine residents deal with a housing crisis that according to the MaineHousing’s “Affordability Index,” left “79.1 percent of Maine families unable to afford a home in 2023,” according to the Maine Wire.

While 60 migrant families are living across 5 buildings, it has been reported that Americans can rent out the units, which are marketed as “premiere apartments.” However, the average rent for a one-bedroom starts at $1,800 and a two-bedroom starts at $2,300.

The migrants living in the area shared that they were from places such as Angola, Haiti and the Congo expressing that living in the apartments is like “living in a palace.”

LEWISTON-I made my way up to Maine to see how the migrant crisis has affected the area and found migrants from Angola, Somalia and the Congo

While migrants enjoy the area, one resident expressed an uptick in shootings, drugs & crime related to migrants: pic.twitter.com/0s3iy4eg1l

— Savanah Hernandez (@sav_says_) October 3, 2024

The $13 million dollar project is both a combination of public and private funding with migrants being told that once they are approved for a work permit and are able to find a job, 30 percent of their income has to go to their rent. However, it seems that the two years of free rent is guaranteed whether or not they find a job.

Brunswick is located in Cumberland County, which is one of the counties that received federal funding from the same FEMA program currently under fire for spending almost $1 billion on sheltering illegal immigrants across the US. According to FEMA’s Shelter and Service program, the county has received $6.1 million, over the fiscal year of 2023-2024, to shelter migrants.

FEMA is currently under scrutiny after DHS head, Alejandro Mayorkas, announced that amid Hurricane Helene, which has left parts of North Carolina completely destroyed, FEMA “does not have the funds to make it through the season”, with many pointing to the funding instead being diverted to helping illegal immigrants throughout the country instead.

Julian Assange made his first public appearance since his release from prison, telling European lawmakers the United States had forced him to “plead guilty to journalism” to put an end to his years of captivity and that his case still set a dangerous precedent.

Assange addressed the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, an international rights body, in the French city of Strasbourg on Tuesday.

He said he had eventually chosen “freedom over unrealizable justice” in agreeing to the deal that allowed him to walk free after 14 years spent in detention.

“I am not free today because the system worked. I am free today after years of incarceration because I pled guilty to journalism,” Assange said at the hearing, which was broadcast live.

Assange was released from Britain’s Belmarsh prison in June and flown to a U.S.-district court on the Pacific island of Saipan after accepting the deal. There he pleaded guilty to conspiring to obtain and disclose classified U.S. documents and a judge sentenced him to 62 weeks in prison, the equivalent to his time spent in Belmarsh. The U.S. had been seeking to prosecute Assange on 18 counts under the Espionage Act.

The agreement ended the more than decade-long effort by the U.S. to prosecute Assange for his role in publishing thousands of classified materials, including diplomatic cables and some materials showing possible war crimes by American troops.

“I pled guilty to seeking information from a source. I pled guilty to obtaining information from a source and I pled guilty to informing the public what that information was. I did not plead guilty to anything else,” Assange said.

Assange was imprisoned in Belmarsh for five years while fighting extradition to the U.S. Prior to that, he spent seven years confined to the Ecuadorian embassy in London, facing arrest if he went outside.

“The experience of isolation for years in a small cell is difficult to convey,” Assange said on Tuesday. “It strips away one’s sense of self, leaving only the raw essence of existence. I am yet not fully equipped to speak about what I have endured.”

Since his release, Assange has been living with his wife Stella and their two young sons in his native Australia.

“I think everyone can tell that he is exhausted, that he is still very much in the process of recovering,” Stella Assange told reporters at the hearing. “And at the moment, the only concrete plan in the foreseeable future is that he will continue his recovery.”

Assange and his supporters have warned that the plea deal still sets a dangerous precedent for media freedom, making him the first journalist to be convicted under the Espionage Act. At the hearing, Assange said he was precluded from seeking justice over his detention, saying the U.S. had required the plea agreement to include a prohibition on his filing cases at the European Court of Human Rights.

He and his team are campaigning for a U.S. presidential pardon.

Kristinn Hrafnsson, WikiLeaks’ editor-in-chief, who also attended Tuesday’s hearing, addressed the precedent of Assange’s pardon with ABC News.

“You need to take away that dagger. It has now been bloodied once. And if there is no reaction and no push and no political desire to take that weapon out of any politician’s hand, it will be used again,” said Hrafnsson.

Asked if Assange had plans for work with WikiLeaks now that he was free, Hrafnsson said he had nothing to disclose for now.

“I’m certain there will be a role,” Hrafnsson said. “And of course there is a role for Julian. And of course there’s a role for the recognition of the work and the past and the legacy of Julian Assange’s and how he contributed in this massive manner to the history of journalism in this century.”

Former New York governor David Paterson’s stepson bravely took blows to the head after stepping in front of him when they were ambushed by a gang.

Anthony Chester Sliwa, 20, and Paterson, 70, managed to fight off the thugs who jumped them on New York City’s Upper East Side about 8.35pm on Friday.

Curtis Silwa, leader of vigilante group Guardian Angels and Anthony’s biological father, explained how he and Paterson, who is legally blind, ‘stood their ground’ against three teenagers and two much older adult attackers.

‘David is blind so he couldn’t at first see what was going on, so Anthony had to guide him and then step in front of him and take a lot of the blows,’ Silwa told DailyMail.com.

‘He said the adults were the ones that were hitting the hardest.’

Silwa said his son, who was trained in martial arts by the Guardian Angels, told him ‘I did what I had to do, Dad’ when they spoke on Saturday morning.

‘I told him I was very proud of him, he was a true New Yorker, both of them. They stood their ground, they didn’t retreat, they didn’t run away,’ he said.

Anthony suffered a split lip and was awaiting a CAT scan to see if he had a concussion.

Paterson’s representatives earlier said the former governor suffered minor injuries to his face and body.

Silwa said they were both released from New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in the early hours of the morning and were not admitted.

However, Silwa said he expected they would be ‘traumatized’ by the attack and ‘never be the same’.

Silwa explained the pair were walking the family dog Bella around their usual route when Anthony spotted three teenagers climbing a fire escape at an apartment building next to a local mosque.

He said there was a brief verbal argument before Paterson and Anthony continued on their way.

But when they circled around the block, they were spotted by the three teens, who were with an adult man and woman inside a McDonalds on Second Avenue near East 96th Street.

All five then immediately attacked them in front of dozens of witnesses, of whom Silwa claimed none intervened.

The attack was filmed on multiple security cameras and police were hunting the attackers, Silwa said.

‘The police are on the case, but the problem for them is obviously it’s the former governor. This is embarrassing for them, but this is the sign of the times,’ he said.

Silwa said though Anthony and Paterson were not badly hurt, and he was relieved it wasn’t much worse, they would suffer psychologically.

‘They are traumatized like every other New York City victim, they will not feel comfortable in the streets,’ he said.

‘I know when this happens, victims, they don’t go out as much… David Patterson would travel the subways by himself, he would travel the subways with my son.

‘Now my son, he’ll be watching his back. He won’t be as open, he won’t be as friendly. He’ll be very jaded.’

Silwa lamented how NYC had changed since he grew up, when people ‘got involved, they protected each other’.

‘There was a full McDonald’s and nobody did anything, they left Patterson and Anthony to themselves,’ he said.

‘To me [Paterson and Anthony] were like the way New Yorkers used to be. Now it’s like they mind their own business.

‘They run or they film it on their phone, they don’t get involved.’

Silwa said NYC needed to put 5,000 more cops on the streets so criminals didn’t think they could get away with lawlessness.

Paterson’s spokesman earlier said the governor and his stepson ‘suffered some injuries but were able to fight off their attackers’ and ‘have already filed a police report’.

‘The governor’s only request is that people refrain from attempting to use an unfortunate act of violence for their own personal or political gain,’ he said.

‘He and his wife, Mary, are thankful for the quick response time from the police and the outpouring of support they have received from people across all spectrums.

‘Governor Paterson’s main concern today is Kodai Senga and the New York Mets, but we will provide any additional updates as necessary.’

The ruffians quickly fled the scene after they were fought off. Police released CCTV footage of the attackers to help track them down.

Paterson, a Democrat, was the 55th governor of the New York, serving from 2008 to 2010.

He was the first legally blind person to assume the gubernatorial office in any state, and the first black governor of New York.

Silwa unsuccessfully ran for NYC mayor as a Republican in 2021 and is staunchly critical of Mayor Eric Adams and his predecessor Bill de Blasio.

He married Anthony’s mother Mary in 2000 and they divorced in 2012 after she discovered he father two other children via IVF with his mistress, then-Queens Borough President Melinda Katz.

Mary married Paterson in 2019, taking both his last and middle names to become Mary Alexander Paterson.

Paterson quipped after their wedding: ‘She will now be my angel’

Even as Hurricane Helene was pressing toward the Florida coast, AccuWeather’s team of expert meteorologists had been monitoring part of the Gulf of Mexico for yet another round of tropical trouble. On Saturday afternoon, Tropical Storm Milton formed, just hours after becoming a tropical depression, and it was expected to intensify and strike the Florida Peninsula next week as a hurricane, with torrential rain, wind and the likelihood of flooding.

Thunderstorms have been persistently erupting in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico for the past few days. AccuWeather began to refer to the system as a tropical rainstorm late in the week to raise public awareness of the risk to lives and property and to assist in planning and preparation.

As the tropical storms continues to churn over the warm Gulf waters later this weekend and early in the new week, it is expected to strengthen into a Category 1 or 2 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale) before making landfall just south of Tampa Bay, Florida, on Wednesday morning.

At this time, the greatest threat to lives and property appears to be due to torrential rainfall that can lead to dangerous, damaging and disruptive urban flooding in central and South Florida, beginning as early as Sunday and lasting through the middle of next week.

Besides torrential rainfall and flooding concerns, Milton can bring rough surf, dangerous seas and strong winds that cause power outages and even tornadoes.

A general 4-8 inches of rain is forecast to fall on portions of central and South Florida, with heavier rain and higher totals of 8-12 inches expected for places like Tampa and Orlando. The AccuWeather Local StormMax™ for Milton is 30 inches.

Rainfall rates of several inches per hour can occur in the major metro areas, easily overwhelming the storm drainage system in cities such as Cape Coral, Naples, Port Charlotte, Fort Myers, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Melbourne.

Even though much of Florida’s soil is very sandy and can absorb heavy rain quickly, there will still be enough runoff that works into creeks, lakes and rivers to trigger flooding. Water levels may rise quickly on the smaller streams and lakes but may take a week or two to cycle through rivers such as the Peace, Imperial, Hillsborough, Myakka and St. Johns.

Strong winds in excess of 100 mph at landfall, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 155 mph, can lead to long-lasting power outages and structural damage. Tropical-storm-force wind gusts can be experienced as far away as Jacksonville and the Florida Keys.

“The feature will take an east-northeast track across the southern Gulf of Mexico where waters are sufficiently warm, in the 80s F, and wind shear, disruptive breezes, are low,” AccuWeather Chief On-Air Meteorologist Bernie Rayno said.

The stronger Milton becomes before landfall, the greater the impacts from strong winds and storm surge. The dangers from flooding are likely, and there may still be locally severe thunderstorms capable of producing tornadoes and waterspouts.

Kirk becomes a monster hurricane; Leslie strengthening

Elsewhere in the Atlantic, there are two potent tropical cyclones in the middle of the ocean.

Kirk has strengthened rapidly this week and became the third major hurricane of the season. It has joined Helene and Beryl, which have reached at least Category 4 intensity. Leslie strengthened into hurricane status late Friday and is expected to remain at Category 1 intensity through much of the upcoming week.

Both Kirk and Leslie may be spinning across the central Atlantic for many days and well into next week. Next week, Kirk will turn northeastward and is likely to bring significant impacts to parts of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the western European mainland as a formidable tropical wind and rainstorm.

Leslie is hundreds of miles southeast of Kirk and is forecast to track farther to the west but will still remain to the northeast of the Leeward Islands next week.

Both Kirk and Leslie will raise concerns for transatlantic vessels. Kirk has already generated monstrous seas. Wave heights near Kirk on Friday were estimated to be 35-45 feet.

As swells move outward from both storms, they will show up in the form of rough surf and frequent and strong rip currents along the northeast-facing beaches of the Caribbean, the United States Atlantic Coast, Atlantic Canada and the shores of western Europe from this weekend to next week.

There have been a total of eight hurricanes, not yet counting the tropical rainstorm in the Gulf of Mexico, so far in 2024 with 13 tropical depressions that went on to become named systems. There have been four named systems that made landfall in the U.S., along with an unnamed tropical rainstorm that blasted North Carolina in mid-September with torrential downpours and storm surge flooding.

The FBI is warning Americans that the coming anniversary of the surprise October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel could inspire “violent attacks” within the U.S.

A public service announcement released by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Friday warns of “potential threats in the United States from a variety of actors in response to the one-year anniversary of the HAMAS attacks on Israel.”

The announcement warns that Monday’s anniversary could “be a motivating factor for violent extremists and hate crime perpetrators to engage in violence or threaten public safety,” pointing out that “violent extremist activity” has been observed since the ongoing Israel-Hamas war began.

“Large public gatherings, such as memorials, vigils, or other lawful demonstrations, present attractive targets for violent attacks or for hoax threats by a variety of threat actors, including violent extremists and hate crime perpetrators,” the announcement states.

“Such actors may view the anniversary as an opportunity to conduct an attack or other high-profile, illegal activity,” it continues.

The announcement goes on to suggest that terrorists “likely will continue to exploit narratives related to the conflict to call for lone attackers to conduct violence in the United States” and “could motivate threat actors across ideologies, including those who espouse violent anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, to engage in violence.”

No specific threats related to October 7 were noted in the FBI/DHS announcement.

While antisemitic incidents have been repeatedly reported amid pro-Palestinian protests at U.S. college campuses and elsewhere since the Israel-Hamas war began, there have been no U.S. terrorist attacks tied to Hamas.

The initial October 7 Hamas attack on Israel killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Gaza’s Ministry of Health says that over 41,000 people have been killed since then in ongoing retaliatory strikes by Israel.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict quickly expanded beyond Gaza, with Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah launching cross-border strikes on Israel shortly after war erupted.

A series of recent attacks, including Israeli strikes on Beirut that killed Hezbollah commander Hassan Nasrallah and several of the group’s other leaders, have further escalated the conflict and sparked fears of a wider regional war.

Iran, which supports and funds both Hezbollah and Hamas, launched a barrage of missiles at Israel earlier this week, prompting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to vow that Iran would “pay” for the attack.

The FBI’s announcement on Friday warned that “any further significant escalations” in the Middle East could also inspire violent acts in the U.S. that come “with little to no warning.”

“It is essential to be watchful for threats against Jewish, Muslim, and Arab communities and institutions and to immediately contact law enforcement to report any suspicious activity,” the FBI said in a statement earlier this week.

Whistleblowers have come forward with allegations that the Federal Emergency Management Agency mismanaged funds and left first responders waiting in hotels for deployment orders to assist Americans in North Carolina devastated by Hurricane Helene.

The whistleblowers made the allegations to Representative Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.), who wrote a letter to Department of Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Friday asking for more details about FEMA’s allocation of funds.

“My office has been in contact with whistleblowers in numerous emergency-management functions at the federal, state, and local levels, and they all point to the same critical mismanagement issues,” Gaetz’s letter reads.

“FEMA has wasted taxpayer funds, misappropriated funds, and left other federal, state, and local responders without deployment orders on the ground. As reported and further confirmed by my office, hundreds, if not thousands of service members were deployed by the Department of Defense to North Carolina and have sat idle, waiting for FEMA. We have confirmed FEMA employees deployed, on the clock, awaiting orders in hotels. FEMA pre-disaster aid was withheld, exacerbating the emergency,” the letter adds.

Gaetz asked Mayorkas a series of questions about whether FEMA is spending disaster relief money on illegal migrants and the portion of its overall budget going towards non-citizens. He is requesting that Mayorkas respond by October 11.

FEMA has faced scrutiny for its response to the devastation Hurricane Helene wrought across the southeastern U.S., especially in western North Carolina, where hundreds of people went missing and flooding leveled entire towns.

Dozens are believed to be dead in North Carolina because of the hurricane damage and state and federal authorities have been mobilized to help people get back on their feet.

Conservatives have spotlighted FEMA’s funding for programs that provide humanitarian services for illegal immigrants, initiatives separate from its disaster relief funding. President Joe Biden’s slow response to the hurricane has also prompted fresh scrutiny on his age, 81, and declining mental faculties.

The agency created a page on its website seeking to dispel purported falsehoods spreading about its actions in North Carolina and elsewhere. FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund is specifically designated for disaster recovery efforts and the agency says it did not reallocate money from it to support immigration-related programs.

Mayorkas recently told reporters that “FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season” after Hurricane Helene left destruction in its wake. With congress out-of-session, it is unclear if lawmakers will return to Washington to give FEMA more emergency relief funding. For now, FEMA says it has enough funding for immediate relief and is urging Americans to apply for recovery assistance.

Billionaire X owner Elon Musk joined in on the FEMA criticism and accused the agency of preventing SpaceX engineers from delivering Starlink terminals to North Carolina residents in need of internet connection. He also posted text messages he received that describe how FEMA and the Federal Aviation Administration were allegedly shutting down airspace and preventing private helicopters from delivering aid.

“No one is shutting down the airspace and FAA doesn’t block legitimate rescue and recovery flights. If you’re encountering a problem give me a call,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said, replying to Musks’s X post with the text. The Department of Transportation is working with FEMA on disaster relief in southeastern states.

Buttigieg and Musk appear to have spoken over the phone after Musk continued badgering Buttigieg about the apparent airspace issue.

A shocking firsthand account from a SpaceX engineer in storm-battered North Carolina reveals that Biden-Harris’ Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) blocked shipments of critical goods for relief efforts into the region. There have been numerous reports this week of FEMA actively hindering relief efforts in the western part of the state, including threatening private helicopter pilots with arrests for conducting rescue missions. We also learned that the Biden-Harris administration drained FEMA funds to support illegal aliens, prioritizing non-citizens (future voters) over American citizens.

Around lunchtime, Elon Musk shared a dire message from one of his SpaceX engineers on the ground in the storm-ravaged state. Musk said, “FEMA is not merely failing to adequately help people in trouble, but is actively blocking citizens who try to help!”

Musk shared a dire warning from one of his engineers on the ground:

“Hey Elon, update here on site of Asheville, NC. We have powered up two large operating bases for choppers to deliver goods into hands. We’ve deployed 300+ starlinks and outpour is it has saved many lives.

“The big issue is FEMA is actively blocking shipments and seizing goods and services locally and locking them away to state they are their own. It’s very real and scary how much they have taken control to stop people helping. We are blocked now on the shipments of new starlinks coming in until we get an escort from the fire dept. but that may not be enough.”

SpaceX engineers are trying to deliver Starlink terminals & supplies to devastated areas in North Carolina right now and @FEMA is both failing to help AND won’t let others help. This is unconscionable!!

They just took this video a few hours ago, where you can see the level of… pic.twitter.com/abpOsfNenF

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 4, 2024

Yeah, it’s not just SpaceX. They won’t let anyone help!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 4, 2024

There are hundreds of reports of FEMA/FAA blocking flights. This literally just happened.

I will follow you. Please DM me the number to call.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 4, 2024

Radio transmissions from first responders in Mecklenburg County provided firsthand accounts of the government blocking relief efforts by private citizens. This is disturbing.

Why is Fema blocking civilians?? pic.twitter.com/xB00fBcWaE

— theREALhotdoggity (@hotdoggitylife) October 3, 2024

“FEMA’s involvement has seriously complicated the rescue efforts,” one X user wrote, citing individuals on the ground.

Just got off the phone a Pastor in the midst of the flooding in TN/NC. He is in one of the most devastated locations. He verified a few things about the situation:
– Almost all help is being done by private citizens, mainly churches.
– Private helicopters are flying in the vast… pic.twitter.com/jCAfZT4Klx

— Spencer Smith 🇺🇸🇰🇪🇩🇴 (@BroSpencer) October 4, 2024

Americans quickly understood by the end of the week the big theme in Biden-Harris’ botched hurricane response efforts, very similar to the dismal response in East Palestine, Ohio, as explained by The Bishop of Mises Institute: “This horrific natural disaster is a reminder of the extent to which the regime [Biden-Harris] hates the people who live there.”

Folks were even more shocked when the US Homeland Security secretary warned that FEMA funds were running dry for hurricane disaster funding. This is because the Biden-Harris team diverted $1.4 billion to address the migrant crisis they helped create through open southern border policies.

It makes sense. pic.twitter.com/TaMJkj2Mz3

— Planet Of Memes (@PlanetOfMemes) October 4, 2024

Prepper All Naturals on the ground

A group of citizen responders from Prepper All Naturals – a veteran-owned emergency food company which delivered $60,000 of meat and arranged for sanitary stations – reports that the scene is chaotic and unmanaged by FEMA.

“Things here are far worse than expected, or that is being reported. I won’t go into detail on the deaths. Too gruesome. There will also be more out there, especially in the remote places that will starve or die from disease,” said team lead Scotty Clay. “Search and Rescue Team here this morning. The team in our vicinity found 135 dead yesterday. The death toll will be bad. Many were way up high in the trees.”

“The damage is unprecedented. Many places look like a nuclear war zone, with more than I could count (e.g., fire station) just totally washed away. Nothing but dirt left.”

Clay continued;

I remember going down to Winne and Beaumont after Rita hit. This is far far worse than that. How can that (hurricane force winds) happen 800 miles inland?

It will be at least six months, and maybe as much as year or more in some places to get power, water, roads, bridges and communications restored.

He also suggested that “it will be at least two years to restore power in many areas.”

“In Chimney Rock, NC, there was a meeting this morning with FEMA. They plan to bull doze the entire town, bodies, and all. Some stuck in the trees there as well.”

Even before the storm was churning in the Gulf of Mexico, the Biden-Harris administration of far-left radicals weaponized the FCC against Musk and blocked Starlink from a rural federal contract that would’ve supplied the state with 20,000 terminals. If these terminals had been active ahead of the storm and during its early days, they could’ve saved lives.

… to get the proper response from White House officials who despise those living in the Southeast because they’re Trump supporters.

Here’s what X users are saying:

Unacceptable! Kamala Harris and this administration have to be held accountable! Americans are dying.

— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) October 4, 2024

So at first, they didn’t help, and now they are *hindering* people from helping.

This is criminal.

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 4, 2024

Everyone should read this thread to help understand at least partially why this is happening: $$$ ⬇️ https://t.co/z7nrZMyP1v

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) October 4, 2024

Garth Brooks is denying sexual assault allegations against him as claimed in a bombshell lawsuit.

A “Jane Roe” filed the complaint against the country superstar on Thursday, claiming she started as a hairstylist and makeup artist for his wife, Trisha Yearwood in 1999 and was then hired by Brooks for the same role in 2017.

The lawsuit accuses Brooks, 62, of instances of sexual battery, as well as violently raping her in a Los Angeles hotel room in May 2019.

In a statement to Newsweek late Thursday, Brooks wrote, “For the last two months, I have been hassled to no end with threats, lies, and tragic tales of what my future would be if I did not write a check for many millions of dollars. It has been like having a loaded gun waved in my face.”

“Hush money, no matter how much or how little, is still hush money. In my mind, that means I am admitting to behavior I am incapable of—ugly acts no human should ever do to another,” Brooks said.

He continued, “We filed suit against this person nearly a month ago to speak out against extortion and defamation of character. We filed it anonymously for the sake of families on both sides.

“I want to play music tonight. I want to continue our good deeds going forward. It breaks my heart these wonderful things are in question now. I trust the system, I do not fear the truth, and I am not the man they have painted me to be.”

Brooks is currently in the middle of his Garth Brooks/Plus ONE residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

After news of the lawsuit broke, Brooks shared a photo of his Thursday night concert, writing “If there was ever a night that I really needed this, TONIGHT was that night! Thank you for my life!!!!! love, g” he captioned the post in the early hours of Friday morning.

Brooks has several upcoming shows in 2024 and 2025 for his residency. There have been no reports that he plans to pause the residency amid news of the lawsuit.

Yearwood has yet to address the allegations.

Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood’s Relationship

Brooks and Yearwood are considered one of country music’s most beloved couples. They married in 2005.

The couple does not have any kids together but Brooks shares three daughters, Taylor, August, and Allie, with his ex-wife Sandy Mahl.

In a November 2023 interview on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Brooks said that he found Yearwood in a past life and will find her again in the next. Yearwood has said that her relationship with Brooks is like “always a first date.”

The Life and Career of Garth Brooks

Brook’s self-titled debut album was released in 1989, but it was his subsequent albums, like No Fences (1990) and Ropin’ the Wind (1991), that catapulted him to superstardom.

Brooks is known for blending rock and pop elements with country music. He’s won numerous awards, including multiple Grammys and Country Music Association Awards, and holds the record for the best-selling solo artist in US history.

In the late 1990s, Brooks briefly stepped away from music to focus on family but made a major comeback in the mid-2000s. He continues to tour and record, maintaining a significant influence on the country music scene. His signature hits include Friends in Low Places, The Dance, and If Tomorrow Never Comes.

Elon Musk says he will “be there to support” Donald Trump on Saturday when the former president returns to Butler, Pennsylvania, to hold a rally at the site where the first assassination attempt against him unfolded earlier this year.

The Republican presidential nominee is slated to speak on Oct. 5 at the Butler Farm Show fairgrounds in the suburb north of Pittsburgh.

“I will be there to support!” Musk wrote on X late Thursday in response to an image Trump shared promoting the upcoming event.

“Butler on Saturday – historic!” Trump wrote on X, alongside an image of him raising his fist that was taken on July 13, moments after he had been shot.

Musk had said following that rally that “I fully endorse President Trump and hope for his rapid recovery.”

Trump’s campaign said last week that “President Donald J. Trump will return to Butler, Pennsylvania, to hold a rally on the very same ground where he came within a quarter of an inch of losing his life less than three months ago.”

During a rally last week in North Carolina, Trump said that he wanted to return to the venue in Butler to “finish our speech.”

“As you know, there have been two assassination attempts on my life that we know of… and the first case in Butler, Pennsylvania, great place, and we’re going back to Butler,” he said. “We’re going to go back and finish our speech.”

Trump’s campaign said that the former president would honor those lost in the assassination attempt during the rally.

Corey Comperatore, 50, was a firefighter and a father of two daughters. He “historically sacrificed his life to shield his wife and daughters” during the assassination attempt against Trump, the campaign said.

Trump will also recognize the two other Americans who were wounded by the shooter, David Dutch and James Copenhaver.

“He will express his deep gratitude to law enforcement and first responders and thank the entire community for their outpouring of love and support in the wake of the attack,” the campaign said.

“And when a shooter attacked our democracy and tried to end this movement, President Trump will return to the site, joined by tens of thousands of proud citizens, and together, they will celebrate a unifying vision for America’s future in an event like the world has never seen before,” his campaign added.

Israel targeted Hezbollah’s likely successor to slain leader Hassan Nasrallah with heavy airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs Friday, as it continues to try to dismantle the Lebanese militant group’s leadership structure.

The attempt on Hashim Safieddine was the latest in a series of aggressive Israeli attacks on the group, including an intelligence operation that caused thousands of electronic devices carried by Hezbollah to explode at roughly the same time, an airstrike that killed most of the leadership of the group’s elite Radwan force, and an air campaign that has hit more than 3,000 targets across Lebanon.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether Safieddine had been killed.

Israel on Friday hit Beirut’s southern suburbs with a number of intense airstrikes causing large explosions that leveled several buildings in the Lebanese capital. Swaths of the capital were shaken by the blasts, and large plumes of smoke billowed toward the night sky from raging fires on the ground.

The Israeli military had warned residents overnight to evacuate specific buildings, days after much of the population fled following the massive strike that killed Nasrallah. It wasn’t clear which of the attacks were aimed at Hezbollah leadership.

Safieddine is Nasrallah’s cousin and has long been considered his likely successor. He was born in 1964 and spent years in the top ranks of the Lebanese militant group and was often viewed as Hezbollah’s number two, even if not technically reflected on organization charts.

Safieddine has led Hezbollah’s executive council, which manages many of the group’s social and political activities, and developed strong ties with Iran, completing religious studies there and maintaining relations with senior Iranian officials. His son is married to the daughter of Qassem Soleimani, the Iranian military leader who was assassinated in a U.S. drone strike in 2020, say analysts who track the group, including Lina Khatib, an associate fellow at Chatham House, an international affairs institute in London.

The U.S. under the Trump administration in 2017 added Safieddine to its specially designated terrorist list.

Hanin Ghaddar, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a think tank, said the strike against Safieddine signals that Israel is determined to continue operations to eliminate Hezbollah’s leadership.

“This drastically adds to Hezbollah’s humiliation within its community, and further erodes the trust between its ranks,” Ghaddar said. “It also means that Israel won’t stop or even shift gears after Nasrallah’s assassination.”

More than 1,000 people have been killed since Israel intensified its campaign against Hezbollah in September, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.

The Israeli military on Thursday urged civilians in more than 20 towns and villages across southern Lebanon to leave their homes, expanding on its evacuation warnings in the country as it intensifies its campaign to push militant group Hezbollah back from its border. For the first time, some of the areas it identified for evacuation were north of the Litani River, the northern limit of a border zone established by the United Nations after the 2006 war.

The military called on residents to move north of the Awali River, roughly halfway between the Israeli border and Beirut, for their own safety. It comes after Israel sent troops into Lebanon in a ground operation targeting Hezbollah that began earlier this week.

The evacuation announcement in southern Lebanon, along with a strike in central Beirut near the country’s Parliament on Thursday, raised concerns that Israel could widen its campaign, a move that would likely further destabilize Lebanon. Lebanon is scrambling to cope with hundreds of thousands of displaced people after Israel launched 3,000 airstrikes in recent weeks.

An expansion of the ground war could also pose risks for Israel, which has struggled militarily against Hezbollah in two previous invasions of Lebanon. The military on Thursday said another Israeli soldier had died in combat in Lebanon, bringing the death toll of Israeli soldiers in the ground offensive to nine.

Hezbollah launched about 230 projectiles toward Israel on Thursday, according to the Israeli military, with some intercepted and others crashing. The military said it shot down an aerial drone near Tel Aviv after a pair of drones were detected over the Mediterranean near Israel’s largest city. A second drone crashed, the military said.

A strike in Beirut’s Bachoura neighborhood early Thursday killed at least six people, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Witnesses said there were strikes on two different apartments on the same floor of a building shortly after midnight on Thursday. The Israeli military said that the air force targeted 15 Hezbollah targets in Beirut, including what it said were intelligence operatives and weapons sites.

The Bachoura strike was the second time that Israel had struck within the city limits of the Lebanese capital since it escalated its campaign against Hezbollah and other militant groups in Lebanon. Most of its other airstrikes have targeted the southern suburbsof Beirut, targeting what Israel says are Hezbollah facilities.

Hezbollah’s main backer, Iran, launched a ballistic-missile attack on Israel on Tuesday that it said was retaliation in part for the killing of Nasrallah.
Israel says its air and ground offensive on Lebanon is intended to roll back Hezbollah’s presence along the country’s shared border to return tens of thousands of residents of northern Israel to their homes after a year in which they have been uprooted by the militant group’s attacks.

“Returning the residents means destroying the terrorist infrastructure that Hezbollah has built near the border,” Israeli military chief Herzi Halevi said Thursday. “The damage to Hezbollah in all sectors—Beirut, the Beqaa Valley and southern Lebanon—will continue.”

Both Israel and Hezbollah have said they have engaged in close fighting in southern Lebanon since Israeli forces breached the border earlier this week. Israel’s announcement of a ninth death in its ground offensive points to the dangers of engaging Hezbollah on terrain where the militia group has twice fought the Israeli military to a standstill in recent decades.

The war has displaced more than 340,000 people in Lebanon since last year, according to data from the United Nations’ migration organization. Thirty-seven people were killed in attacks across Lebanon on Thursday, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. More than 1,000 people were killed in less than two weeks after Israel intensified its campaign against Hezbollah in September, it said.

Israeli officials have said in the past that they want Hezbollah to pull its forces north of the Litani River, a waterway that is roughly 18 miles north of the Israeli border and within 8 miles of the boundary at its closest point. The latest evacuation notices urge Lebanese civilians to move even farther north past the Awali River, within 20 miles of Beirut. The notices on Thursday followed a series of other statements calling on residents of other towns in the south to leave for their safety.

“There’s really nothing but questions about what the Israelis’ aims are in Lebanon,” said Sam Heller, a Beirut-based security analyst with Century International, a policy institute based in New York. “There’s very little clarity about how far they intend to go.”

An Israeli military spokesman said this week that Israel doesn’t plan to send forces to Beirut or to cities in southern Lebanon. Among the towns included in the notices on Tuesday was Nabatieh, a large community within 8 miles of the Israeli border.

Utah State University has become the fourth college to protect their women’s volleyball team from playing against San Jose State University with a trans-identifying male on the women’s team.

On Wednesday, a statement from the school’s athletic department read, “Utah State University will not participate in its scheduled October 23, 2024, volleyball match at San Jose State University. The University will abide by Mountain West Conference policy regarding how this match is recorded.”

Former collegiate swimmer and advocate for women’s sports Riley Gaines praised the move by the school and wrote that it was the “fourth school to forfeit their match against SJSU due to a man playing on the women’s volleyball team. Major kudos to @USUAthletics THIS. IS. THE. WAY.”

“A movement is in motion,” she added in a second post. “It’s becoming increasingly clear that the NCAA has a decision to make. So far, the NCAA has prioritized inclusion over safety & fairness. Will the @NCAA keep letting girls take matters into their own hands or will they step up & protect their athletes?”

Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox wrote on X that he stood with “the students, coaches and leadership at @SUUtbirds and @USUAggies in their decision to forgo their women’s volleyball matches against San Jose State.”

“It is essential that we preserve a space for women to compete fairly and safely,” he added. “Our female athletes are left grappling with this difficult issue because the NCAA has failed in its responsibility to protect female athletes and women’s sports. It’s time for the NCAA to take this seriously and protect our female student athletes.”

On Monday, the women’s volleyball team at the University of Wyoming became the third school to refuse to play against SJSU because of the California school’s trans-identifying male on the women’s team, as previously reported.

In a statement posted on X from Wyoming Cowgirl Volleyball, the team stated, “After a lengthy discussion, the University of Wyoming will not play its scheduled conference match against San José State University in the UniWyo Sports Complex on Saturday, Oct. 5.”

“Per Mountain West Conference policy, the Conference will record the match as a forfeit and a loss for Wyoming,” the statement added.

“The Cowgirls will host Fresno State on Thursday, Oct. 3 at 6:30 p.m. in the UniWyo Sports Complex.”

SJSU’s star volleyball player is a trans-identifying male who goes by the name of Blaire Fleming, OutKick’s David Hookstead previously reported.

On Friday, the Boise women’s volleyball team announced that it would forfeit its match over the weekend against SJSU, OutKick noted.

Toyota Motor Corp. is planning to move away from DEI and pro-LGBTQ events after recently facing online controversy, according to a new report.

Bloomberg reported the company sent out a memo to its US employees Thursday saying it will “narrow community activities to align with STEM education and workforce readiness” and no longer participate in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.

One week earlier, anti-woke activist and filmmaker Robby Starbuck detailed several woke initiatives within the company, including funding groups that oppose laws to ban gender transition treatments on minors, forming Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) divided by race and gender orientation and sponsoring a drag queen program at a summer camp for kids.

Starbuck complimented Toyota on the decision Thursday and shared more of the memo.

In the message to employees, Toyota reportedly said while it will continue to “encourage an inclusive environment where diversity of thought can flourish,” the company will be primarily focusing on activities that promote the quality of the business.

“We will work to ensure that the activities and events are focused on professional development, networking, mentoring and volunteering—team member engagement that drives our business. Furthermore, we will work to ensure all company activities are aligned with our values and create an inclusive environment for our team members,” the memo reportedly read.

“I have to give the executives credit for taking this unifying action. It’s not easy to do but they’re preparing their business for future success by adopting corporate neutrality. The companies who adopt neutrality will win the future because they don’t violate the core beliefs of the consumers they rely on,” Starbuck wrote on X.

A Toyota spokesman told Bloomberg, “Starbuck’s public attack drew a few hundred queries from employees, questions from a ‘small population’ of dealers and about 30 customer calls to its call center.

He described the impact as ‘negligible.’”

Fox Business reached out to Toyota.

Toyota follows several major businesses that have recently announced moving away from DEI initiatives following an extensive online campaign against them by Starbuck.

In August, Ford Motor Company also confirmed that it would distance itself from woke policies in a letter from Ford CEO Jim Farley to employees.

In the letter, Farley laid out a series of bullet points, telling the Ford workforce that the company does not utilize quotas in hiring, and saying that it prioritizes its resources for business purposes “versus publicly commenting on the many polarizing issues of the day.”

Farley said that the company has “evolved” its ERGs, noting that all its ERGs are open to all employees.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas set off outrage Wednesday when he told reporters that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) “does not have the funds” to see Americans through the rest of this Atlantic hurricane season — after the agency spent more than $1.4 billion since the fall of 2022 to address the migrant crisis.

“We are meeting the immediate needs with the money that we have,” Mayorkas said during a press gaggle on Air Force One en route to tour damage from Hurricane Helene in South and North Carolina.

“We are expecting another hurricane hitting,” he added. “We do not have the funds. FEMA does not have the funds to make it through the season and what — what is imminent.”

Critics pointed out that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allocated $640.9 million this year in FEMA-administered funds to aid state and local governments coping with the influx of asylum seekers — though Mayorkas’ office fired back late Thursday, insisting that those funds couldn’t be used for hurricane relief because Congress authorized them specifically for the migrant crisis.

“This is easy. Mayorkas and FEMA — immediately stop spending money on illegal immigration resettlement and redirect those funds to areas hit by the hurricane. Put Americans first,” Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott tweeted Wednesday in response to the DHS chief.

“Yeah!” agreed Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.

Abbott is a top critic of Mayorkas’ mass parole of asylum seekers into the US after President Biden repudiated former President Donald Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy — with the governor busing migrants to Democrat-led jurisdictions such as New York City, forcing local budget cuts to house them.

Over two years, more than $1.4 billion has been committed from FEMA-administered programs to support non-federal entities that are taking care of migrants.

DHS allocated $780 million for the migrant crisis last year initially through the FEMA Emergency Food and Shelter Program, which funds relief not associated with natural disasters, and then through the new FEMA Shelter and Services Program, which was authorized in late 2022 by Congress to respond to the migrant crisis.

The $640.9 million spent this year comes solely from the Shelter and Services Program.

“These claims are completely false,” DHS said in a statement Thursday to Fox News following the Republican outcry.

“As Secretary Mayorkas said, FEMA has the necessary resources to meet the immediate needs associated with Hurricane Helene and other disasters. The Shelter and Services Program (SSP) is a completely separate, appropriated grant program that was authorized and funded by Congress and is not associated in any way with FEMA’s disaster-related authorities or funding streams.”

It’s unclear if federal officials have the power to redirect migrant-focused funds to natural disaster victims.

The original program from which migrant funds flowed aimed to alleviate homelessness — with 1983 legislation setting up the Emergency Food and Shelter Program and calling for “projects and activities in civil jurisdictions with high unemployment, or in labor surplus areas, or in political units or in pockets of poverty.”

The December 2022 funding bill authorizing the split-off program for spending on migrants vaguely described the purpose as for “providing shelter and other services to families and individuals encountered by the Department of Homeland Security.”

A relatively paltry $4 million has been paid directly to families and individuals in the week since Hurricane Helene ravaged the Southeast, killing at least 202 people and causing severe flooding damage from Florida to North Carolina, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday.

Those funds are from a $10 million FEMA allocation that allows storm victims grants of $750 for groceries.

Biden said Wednesday during an operational briefing on Hurricane Helene in North Carolina that “It’s going to cost billions of dollars to deal with this storm and all the communities affected. And Congress has an obligation to ensure the states have the resources they need.”

The lack of available FEMA funds stoked outrage among congressional Republicans, who are not due back in session until after Election Day.

“The Biden-Harris administration took more than a billion tax dollars that had been allocated to FEMA for disaster relief and used it to house illegal aliens,” fumed Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). “Now, they’ve abandoned American hurricane victims in North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee.”

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), whose district neighbors the disaster zone, tweeted: “FEMA spending over a billion dollars on illegals while they leave Americans stranded and without help is treasonous. U.S. citizens are dying. Pray for our country folks.”

Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) added: “‘The Biden-Harris FEMA spent over $1 BILLION on funding illegal aliens. America LAST.”

“Connect the dots, if you can,” wrote Tim Murtaugh, an adviser to former President Donald Trump’s campaign. “DHS says FEMA might not have enough cash to help people through hurricane season. But in 2 years of a new Biden-Harris program, they’ve spent $1 BILLION on housing and other services for migrants.”

Tens of thousands of dock and port workers are heading back to work after their union and the U.S. Maritime Alliance (USMX) reached a tentative agreement to end the labor dispute on Oct. 3.

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA), North America’s largest union of maritime workers, established a provisional wage deal with the USMX.

The breakthrough came after port employers reportedly offered a 62 percent wage increase over six years. The agreement also extends their master contract to add more time to iron out details over a new contract.

“The International Longshoremen’s Association and the United States Maritime Alliance, Ltd. have reached a tentative agreement on wages and have agreed to extend the Master Contract until January 15, 2025 to return to the bargaining table to negotiate all other outstanding issues,” ILA and USMX officials said in a joint statement.

All current job action will stop immediately, and as many as 50,000 maritime workers will return to work on Oct. 4.

For the first time in nearly 50 years, the United States witnessed the largest shutdown of Atlantic and Gulf coast ports.

At midnight on Oct. 1, tens of thousands of dock and port workers from Maine to Texas went on strike. The ILA had rejected the offer from USMX of a nearly 50 percent wage increase, improved retirement benefits, and enhanced automation and semi-automation protections.

Work stoppages were estimated to affect billions in daily trade volumes. ILA President Harold Daggett earlier said the union was “prepared to fight as long as necessary”

Economists projected that a week- or month-long disruption could have harmed the economy and potentially rekindled inflationary pressures.

According to The Conference Board, a one-week port strike could have cost the economy $3.78 billion, or $540 million per day.
Grace Zwemmer, associate U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, estimated that the strike would trim gross domestic product growth by as much as 0.13 percent, or $7.5 billion, for each week.

As for inflation, U.S. businesses and consumers were worried about higher prices. The ports handle between 35 percent and 49 percent of all U.S. imports and exports, with the ports of New York–New Jersey and Houston–Galveston handling a substantial share of these shipments.

These ports receive a wide range of goods, including agricultural products, electronics, European automobiles and parts, and household goods.

The American Farm Bureau Federation estimated that ILA-handled ports manage $1.4 billion of weekly agricultural trade. Ninety percent of cherries, 85 percent of canned food, 82 percent of hot peppers, 80 percent of chocolate, and 75 percent of the nation’s bananas arrive at these terminals.
Industry leaders have been urging President Joe Biden to intervene by invoking the 1947 Taft–Hartley Act. This would have allowed the White House to file a court order and institute an 80-day cooling-off period, allowing both sides to return to the negotiating table.

“Americans experienced the pain of delays and shortages of goods during the pandemic-era supply chain backlogs in 2021,” Suzanne Clark, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said in a letter to the president. “It would be unconscionable to allow a contract dispute to inflict such a shock to our economy.”

President Joe Biden welcomed the announcement.

“Today’s tentative agreement on a record wage and an extension of the collective bargaining process represents critical progress towards a strong contract,” he said in a statement. “I congratulate the dockworkers from the ILA, who deserve a strong contract after sacrificing so much to keep our ports open during the pandemic. And I applaud the port operators and carriers who are members of the US Maritime Alliance for working hard and putting a strong offer on the table.”

The White House had repeatedly indicated that it would not intervene, urging the ILA and USMX to engage in contract talks and negotiate in good faith.

A federal judge in Missouri put a temporary hold on President Joe Biden’s latest student loan cancellation plan on Thursday, slamming the door on hope it would move forward after another judge allowed a pause to expire.

Just as it briefly appeared the Biden administration would have a window to push its plan forward, U.S. District Judge Matthew Schelp in Missouri granted an injunction blocking any widespread cancellation.

Six Republican-led states requested the injunction hours earlier, after a federal judge in Georgia decided not to extend a separate order blocking the plan.

The states, led by Missouri’s attorney general, asked Schelp to act fast, saying the Education Department could “unlawfully mass cancel up to hundreds of billions of dollars in student loans as soon as Monday.” Schelp called it an easy decision.

The Education Department vowed to defend its proposal in court.

“This lawsuit was brought by Republican elected officials who made clear they will stop at nothing to prevent millions of their own constituents from getting breathing room on their student loans,” the department said in a statement.

Biden’s plan has been on hold since September, when the states filed a lawsuit in Georgia arguing Biden had overstepped his legal authority. But on Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall decided not to extend the pause after finding that Georgia doesn’t have the legal right to sue in this case.

Hall dismissed Georgia from the case and transferred it to Missouri, which Hall said has “clear standing” to challenge Biden’s plan.

Proponents of student loan cancellation briefly had a glimmer of hope the plan would move forward — Hall’s order was set to expire after Thursday, allowing the Education Department to finalize the rule. But Schelp’s order put the question to rest.

“This is yet another win for the American people,” Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said in a statement. “The Court rightfully recognized Joe Biden and Kamala Harris cannot saddle working Americans with Ivy League debt.”

Biden’s plan would cancel at least some student loan debt for an estimated 30 million borrowers.

It would erase up to $20,000 in interest for those who have seen their original balances increase because of runaway interest. It would also provide relief to those who have been repaying their loans for 20 or 25 years, and those who went to college programs that leave graduates with high debt compared to their incomes.

Biden told the Education Department to pursue cancellation through a federal rulemaking process after the Supreme Court rejected an earlier plan using a different legal justification. That plan would have eliminated up to $20,000 for 43 million Americans.

The Supreme Court rejected Biden’s first proposal in a case brought by Republican states including Missouri.

In his order Wednesday, Hall said Georgia failed to prove it was significantly harmed by Biden’s new plan. He rejected an argument that the policy would hurt the state’s income tax revenue, but he found that Missouri has a strong case.

Missouri is suing on behalf of MOHELA, a student loan servicer that was created by the state and is hired by the federal government to help collect student loans. In the suit, Missouri argues that cancellation would hurt MOHELA’s revenue because it’s paid based on the number of borrowers it serves.

In their lawsuit, the Republican states argue that the Education Department had quietly been telling loan servicers to prepare for loan cancellation as early as Sept. 9, bypassing a typical 60-day waiting period for new federal rules to take effect.

Also joining the suit are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, North Dakota and Ohio.

Employers in the United States added 254,000 workers to their payrolls in September, the Department of Labor said Friday, and the unemployment rate dipped to 4.1 percent.

Economists had been expecting 150,000 jobs and an unemployment rate of 4.2 percent.

The number far exceeded even the most optimistic estimates. Some analysts had estimated as few as 70,000 workers would be added to payrolls.

Adding to the strength of the report, the estimate for July was revised up by 55,000 to 144,000 and the estimate for August was revised up by 17,000 to 159,000. These revisions together added 72,000 jobs.

The numbers indicate that the labor market was much stronger than it appeared to be when the Fed decided to cut interest rates by 50 basis points last month.

The much stronger than expected numbers are likely to cause the market to anticipate a slower pace for cuts in the months ahead.

The three-month average, which economists see as a better guide to underlying employment trends, moved up to 186,000.

Private payrolls were expected to rise by 125,000. The government said Friday that they rose by 223,000.

The only clear spot of weakness was manufacturing employment, which contracted by 7,000 after a loss of 27,000 in the prior month.