Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, we’ve got some really significant stories to share with you right now, and here’s what’s going on.
-, and there were no sides at yesterday’s 9/11 remembrance ceremony.
Also, the governor of Texas will not comply with the feds over a key island in the Rio Grande, and a rapid influx of migrants appears to be overwhelming a small Ohio town.
Projection for 2025 Social Security Increase
The Senior Citizens League (TSCL) predicts that the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2025 will be 2.5 percent—the lowest level since 2021. For example, it would raise the average Social Security monthly benefit of $1,920 by approximately $48 per month.The latest cost of living adjustment estimate from TSCL reflects the most recent consumer price data, which was released yesterday. It showed inflation slowing in August to an annual pace of 2.5 percent, which is a decline from 2.9 percent the prior month.
However, even though the COLA has been higher in recent years due to record inflation—notably 8.7 percent in 2023 and 5.9 percent in 2022—TSCL’s forecast suggests a return to more typical levels of benefit adjustments.
You should also know that core inflation, which removes the energy and food categories, held steady at 3.2 percent in annual terms, but the core consumer price index jumped at a higher-than-expected pace of 0.3 percent, suggesting elevated underlying inflationary pressures.
One more thing. Even though food inflation changed little last month, many items in that category showed month-over-month gains, including eggs, chicken, beef, fresh fruits, and milk.
For now, we’ll just have to wait until mid-October when the Social Security Administration announces the final COLA for 2025.
Opinions Divided Over Trump–Harris Debate
Supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are divided over who won the debate, which candidate appealed most to the undecided voters, and whether or not the ABC News moderators conducted the debate fairly.Those were just some of the themes circulating in “The Spin Room,” immediately following the 90-minute debate, which was filled with surrogates of both candidates along with roughly 1,000 reporters.
In case you didn’t stick around after the debate, Trump made a surprise visit to the spin room, and addressed the crush of reporters, telling them that this was his best debate.
He also spoke with Fox News host Sean Hannity, who asked him what he thought about the Harris campaign’s idea of a second debate, and Trump said he’d think about it.
You should know that Harris did give a post-debate talk to supporters in a video on social media, saying that she thought they had a good day and that she was going to win Pennsylvania.
It’s among a handful of battleground states that will likely determine the outcome of the presidential election. By the way, Harris and Trump are tied in the RealClearPolitics average of opinion polls that surveyed Pennsylvania voters.
One final note, many Trump supporters criticized the moderators, who they say failed to fact check Harris on multiple inaccurate assertions she made, including when she accused Trump of wanting to sign a national abortion ban. To be clear, he has repeatedly stated he would not do that.
One congressman said the moderators allowed Harris to sidestep every major policy issue in the debate, while holding Trump to a much different standard.
Biden, Harris, Trump Attend 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony
President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former President Donald Trump attended a remembrance ceremony yesterday in Manhattan, which marked the 23rd anniversary of that horrible event.Biden and Trump shook hands, and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg appeared to facilitate a handshake between Harris and Trump.
9/11, for those who may not have been born yet, is when terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners and ultimately killed nearly 3,000 people in 2001.
Despite politics and campaign calendars, organizers of anniversary ceremonies have tried to keep the focus on the victims of the attacks.
Yesterday, Harris put out a statement, saying, “We stand in solidarity with their families and loved ones” and “honor the extraordinary heroism on display that fateful day by ordinary Americans helping their fellow Americans.”
She also traveled to Shanksville, Pennsylvania, with Biden to participate in a wreath-laying ceremony honoring those who died on United Airlines Flight 93. The pair then traveled to the Pentagon to participate in another wreath-laying honoring those killed at the headquarters of the Department of Defense.
You should know that the Trump campaign’s communication director told The Epoch Times that Trump also visited the Flight 93 memorial in Shanksville and attended other 9/11 remembrance events throughout the day yesterday.
Gov. Abbott Turns Down Federal Request
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says he will not agree to a request from a federal agency to restore Fronton Island to “pre-construction conditions,” after Texas secured the island from cartels.This past April, the International Boundary and Water Commission asked for some wire fencing to be removed in order to reestablish the water flow into a channel north of the island.
The commission says that Texas is in violation of a 1970 treaty, which resolved pending boundary differences between Mexico and the United States and maintained the Rio Grande and the Colorado River as the international boundary between the two nations.
The island, located in the Rio Grande between the United States and Mexico, is known as a hotspot for human and drug traffickers.
So you know, Abbott sent a letter to the Biden administration this week, explaining that for years, cartels have been running rampant in the island’s thick vegetation and structures. He ordered the Texas Military Department to secure the island against the cartels, saying they use it to stage illegal entries, surveil state and federal law enforcement, stash weapons, plant explosives, and engage in open warfare against rival cartels and law enforcement.
Since the cartel forces continued to operate in the dense overgrowth, Abbott had ordered the state’s military to clear the vegetation and structures built by the cartels, and install razor-wire fencing as a deterrent to keep them out.
He says their efforts have paid off and made it virtually impossible for cartel members to use the space to evade law enforcement as they had for decades.
One final note, Abbott said that Texas has the constitutional sovereign authority to “defend its property and its people in the federal government’s deliberate absence. “
Ohio Sending Troopers, Funding to Springfield Over Haitian Influx
Ohio’s governor says he is sending law enforcement officials and millions of dollars in health care resources to Springfield, which is dealing with a huge influx of Haitians.Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, says he doesn’t oppose the Temporary Protected Status program, which allowed around 15,000 Haitians into the city of about 59,000 people since 2020.
However, he says the federal government must do more to help impacted communities. DeWine went on to say that “dramatic surges” in illegal immigrants have also affected the cities of Lima and Findlay.
You should know that controversy in Springfield erupted earlier this month after residents posted on social media that Haitian immigrants were eating people’s pets as well as ducks from a park.
Many people also spoke up at town hall events, saying that the immigrants frequently crash their vehicles, camp on private property, can’t speak English, and won’t try to blend into the broader American culture.
Those allegations were enhanced by Ohio senator and Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance. He also said that immigrants are allegedly “causing chaos all over Springfield.”
So you know, the city’s Strategic Engagement Manager told The Epoch Times that there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed or abused by Haitian migrants.
Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security announced Temporary Protected Status for Haitians who arrived in the United States before June 3, which also includes those who entered illegally, from being deported back to Haiti.
Interesting to note that DeWine’s family operates a charity in Haiti, which has built a network of schools. Earlier this year, he said a school founded by the charity was forced to close as armed gangs took over certain areas of the country.
And now, it looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re going to call it a wrap for the Thursday edition of The Epoch Times News Brief.
*(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 Oprah Winfrey, who said: “Though I am grateful for the blessings of wealth, it hasn’t changed who I am. My feet are still on the ground. I’m just wearing better shoes.”
Before we go, today is National Chocolate Milkshake Day. Forget the calories for just this one day and enjoy a sweet, tall, thick, and delicious chocolate milkshake!
For all of us here at The Epoch Times News Brief, I’m Bill Thomas.
The Epoch Times News Brief program is written by the extraordinary Sharon Reardon.
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 Thursday and we’ll see you right back here next time for another edition of The Epoch Times News Brief. For now, let’s all continue to watch out for one another, and have an absolutely superb day today! Bye for now.
