Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Friday, Aug. 2, 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, and before we launch into the weekend, we have a number of critical stories to share with you, and here’s what’s going on.
A federal judge makes a decision on the new Title IX rules in four Southern states, snipers were stationed in a place where they could not see Trump shooter Thomas Crooks, and a New York appeals court rejects former President Donald Trump’s gag order challenge. Also, we have a troubling story about hackers targeting our health care system, and Israel has confirmed the death of a top Hamas leader.
Federal Judge: 4 States Must Enforce New Title IX Rules on Gender
U.S. District Judge Annemarie Axon has rejected a request to block the Biden administration’s new Title IX rule in four Southern states. Her ruling allows the Department of Education to enforce the rule in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, effective as of yesterday.The revision expands Title IX rules, which prohibit sex discrimination in schools, to also include sexual orientation and gender identity. It doesn’t address sex-separate sports teams, but it would apply to bathrooms, locker rooms, and shower areas. This means that schools and colleges could lose federal funding if they require students to use the facilities corresponding to their biological sex.
It also expands the definition of “sex-based harassment” to include addressing someone with a pronoun that aligns with his or her sex but conflicts with his or her preferred gender. Educators who don’t comply could be subject to Title IX investigation and potential discipline, even if complying would go against their religious or moral convictions.
Over the past few weeks, federal courts have put the new rules on hold in 26 states while the litigation continues. Axon is the first judge to rule in favor of the federal government with regard to the Title IX revisions.
The judge says that the four states do not meet the legal burden needed to block the entire rule. She also disagrees with the states’ interpretation of other court opinions and legal precedents.
The states have already appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.
Alabama’s Attorney General Steve Marshall said on X: “Precedent is on our side.” He argues that Title IX does not require schools to open up women’s bathrooms, locker rooms, and showers to men.
The education chiefs in Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina have instructed school districts not to implement any Title IX changes. Georgia’s superintendent criticized the policy as an overreach, but did not tell schools to disregard the guidance.
The U.S. Department of Justice has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold some elements of the new regulation, but it’s not clear when the high court might decide.
Now, 22 states have paused the rule’s enforcement as of July 31, and they’re waiting for further legal developments.
Snipers Positioned Where They Couldn’t See Trump Shooter: Officials
Detective Patrick Young, who heads the Beaver County Emergency Services Unit in Pennsylvania, told CNN that snipers positioned near the Trump rally on July 13 were unable to see Thomas Crooks, who later shot Trump. Young said that their location in a building prevented them from seeing Crooks without giving away their position.Ronald Rowe Jr., who is the U.S. Secret Service’s acting director, said that the snipers could have seen Crooks if they looked in a specific direction. He said this during testimony before U.S. Senate committees a few days before Young’s interview.
The snipers were positioned in a room overlooking rooftops, including the one Crooks fired from. At least one of the snipers later left the post to look for Crooks after he was identified as a suspicious person.
Young said that the snipers were instructed to remain hidden, so they could not stick their heads out of the window of the room where they were stationed to look onto the roof.
Nate Bible, the district attorney for Beaver County, said on Tuesday that the snipers were told to watch people before and after they went through a security checkpoint, but not the rooftop or other areas outside the perimeter.
The Beaver County officials also said that the Secret Service did not contact them before Rowe testified to Congress. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said he learned about this during his trip to the scene of the shooting and found the disclosure alarming.
Trump was struck with a bullet in the ear during the July 13 rally. He has made a string of public appearances since the shooting, including a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday night.
The Secret Service disclosed that a counter-sniper shot and killed Crooks after he fired multiple rounds. Rowe admitted to security failures and promised changes in response to the assassination attempt.
This incident resulted in injuries to two additional individuals as well as the death of firefighter Corey Comperatore.
New York Appeals Court Rejects Trump’s Gag Order Challenge
A New York state appeals court has upheld the gag order on Trump in his business records falsification case. This means Trump cannot discuss certain aspects of the case until his sentencing in September.Just to refresh your memory, a jury found Trump guilty in May of this year on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
The court wrote in an opinion just yesterday that the sentencing phase is a critical part of the criminal process and the gag order is needed to protect the individuals involved from potential threats, intimidation, or harassment. The judges also wrote that maintaining the gag order was within their authority, as there were ongoing threats after the jury returned a guilty verdict.
New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan initially imposed the gag order on Trump in March. He terminated parts of the gag order on June 25, allowing Trump to comment on witnesses and jurors after the trial portion of the case ended. But Merchan is still restricting statements about trial prosecutors, court staff, and their families until sentencing is complete.
Trump and his legal team have repeatedly tried to overturn the gag order, and they say that it violates his free speech rights.
You may recall that during the trial, Merchan fined Trump $10,000 for what he said were violations of the gag order. He also warned Trump that he might have to jail him if he continued to violate the order.
Hackers Attack US Blood Bank, More Than 250 Hospitals Asked to Activate Blood Shortage Protocols
Nonprofit blood bank OneBlood is operating at reduced capacity after a ransomware attack that has disrupted its software systems. Manual processes are in place to collect, test, and distribute blood, but it’s impacting available inventory.OneBlood serves 355 hospitals across Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. The organization has asked a number of hospitals they serve to activate critical blood shortage protocols.
OneBlood is analyzing the scope of the event and any impact on data. It said it currently doesn’t have adequate information as to whether customers’ personal information such as test results, medical history, and blood type have been compromised and no further details about the attack were revealed.
Blood centers nationwide are sending blood and platelets to OneBlood to help bolster its supply. The organization says there’s an urgent need for O negative, O positive, and platelet donations.
The ransomware attack on OneBlood is part of a series of hacking attempts targeting U.S. health care facilities. You should know, hackers targeted health insurance company UnitedHealth Group’s Change Healthcare unit in February of this year, and there was a data breach at health care service provider Kaiser Permanente in April, which impacted millions of individuals.
Data security company SecurityScorecard found in its June report that 35 percent of third-party data breaches in the United States last year affected health care organizations. The company also pointed out in its report that app security flaws were one of the biggest vulnerabilities among health care organizations.
The Biden administration has taken measures to strengthen the protection of the country’s health care ecosystem, including investing in tools that can be used by IT teams to better defend hospital networks.
Israel Says It Killed Hamas Commander Mohammed Deif in Airstrike
The Israeli military confirmed yesterday that it killed Mohammed Deif, a commander of the Hamas terrorist group, in an airstrike on July 13 in Khan Yunis, Gaza. Hamas previously denied Deif’s death and has not responded to the latest Israeli claims.Deif joined Hamas, which is a U.S.- and Israeli-designated terrorist group, in around 1987. He was arrested by Israeli authorities in 1989 and spent more than a year in Israeli custody before being released in a prisoner exchange.
According to the Israeli military, Deif continued to rise through the Hamas ranks, eventually becoming a group leader. Israeli authorities say that Deif played a key leadership role in the Hamas attacks across southern Israel on Oct. 7 last year, in which around 1,200 people were killed, thousands more injured, and approximately 250 people abducted.
Israeli aircraft conducted another strike in Beirut, Lebanon, earlier this week, targeting Fuad Shukr, a senior commander within Hezbollah, which is another U.S.- and Israeli-designated terrorist group. Hezbollah has since confirmed Shukr’s death.
Hamas announced a couple of days ago that its political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was killed in a strike while visiting Iran. No one has publicly claimed responsibility for Haniyeh’s death, but Hamas has pointed the blame at Israel. Iran threatened retaliation for Haniyeh’s death.
On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would “exact a heavy price for any act of aggression against [Israel] on any front.”
There’s an awful lot to take in, and that’s a story we’ll be keeping a very close watch on.
And now, looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re going to call it a wrap for the Friday edition of The Epoch Times News Brief.
When you’re out and about today, it would sure mean a great deal to us if you could tell some folks you know about our program, and thank you in advance for helping us grow the News Brief family.
We heard from Jules Lemelle, Lana, as well as Nita from Tennessee—and Allen Gantt wrote in to say, “Thanks for the brief - it’s short and to the point.”
*(Don’t forget the News Brief Motto): We’re portable, affordable, and always on-demand.
And finally, as we do each and every day on this program, we wrap everything up with a very notable quote, and this one comes to us from the legendary actor John Wayne, who said: “Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.”
John Wayne was nicknamed “the Duke,” he appeared in about 150 movies, and for his performance in “True Grit,” he won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1970.
Before we go, you should know that August is National Sandwich Month. It’s gotta be a meatball sandwich, a grilled cheese, or a roast beef sandwich. Although, for our friends in Australia, they seem to enjoy a Vegemite sandwich.
For all of us here at The Epoch Times News Brief, I’m Bill Thomas.
Thank you for making us your one-stop source for a concise, accurate, and unbiased daily synopsis of many of the news stories you need to know about.
Enjoy the remainder of your Friday, and we’ll see you right back here tomorrow for the Saturday edition (the weekend edition) of The Epoch Times News Brief. Let’s all continue to watch out for one another, have a superb day today, and bye for now.
