Good morning, and welcome to The Epoch Times News Brief for Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, we’ve got some very important stories to share with you right now, and here’s what’s going on.
The much-anticipated vice presidential debate airs tonight on CBS, the man accused in the second assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump enters his plea, and a nationwide task force takes thousands of dangerous criminals off the streets.
Also, the housing market is facing some unexpected challenges, and more parents are homeschooling their kids.
What You Need to Know About the Vance–Walz Debate
With just one month left before the big election, Ohio Republican Sen. JD Vance will face off with Democrat Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on CBS beginning at 9 p.m. Eastern Time.CBS’s “Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell and “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan will run the 90-minute debate from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City.
In addition to the CBS broadcast network, viewers can watch it on all platforms and streaming services where CBS News 24/7 and Paramount+ are located. Also, C-SPAN is hosting a livestream of the debate.
So you know, here are the rules that both sides agreed to: There will be no opening statements, and the moderators will begin by introducing Walz. Vance’s podium will be on the left side of the television screen, while Walz’s will be on the right, and both candidates will remain behind their podiums for the duration of the debate. You should know there will be no studio audience, just like the earlier presidential debates.
Each candidate will have two minutes to answer questions, and the opposing candidate will have two minutes to respond. There will also be an additional minute for rebuttals.
Also, the moderators are allowed to give both candidates an additional minute to continue on a topic, and are the only ones in the studio allowed to ask questions.
By the way, Vance won the coin toss to determine the order of the two-minute closing statements and opted to go last.
Interesting to note, CBS may opt to mute the microphones at any given point, but otherwise, both mics will remain turned on for the debate. Vance and Walz will each be given a pen, a pad of paper, and a bottle of water.
Walz, who’s 60, has prepared for tonight’s debate with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Vance, who’s 40, has spent much of this past month preparing for the debate with prep sessions at his home in Cincinnati and with Trump campaign specialist Jason Miller.
Alleged Trump Gunman Pleads Not Guilty
Ryan Routh, the man accused of trying to kill Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course, earlier this month entered a plea of not guilty on several counts.The 58-year-old pleaded not guilty to charges including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate and felony weapons charges. He’s behind bars since the judge in the case ordered him held without bond due to his lengthy criminal history.
You should know that a letter was presented in court that Routh allegedly left with another individual. In that letter, he stated that it was an assassination attempt on Trump, but he failed.
To refresh your memory, a Secret Service agent allegedly discovered Routh hiding near a fence at Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course while the former president was playing golf on Sept. 15. That agent saw a rifle sticking through the fence before firing multiple shots at the suspect, who managed to flee the scene and was captured nearby in another county.
Authorities say they discovered two backpacks, an SKS-style rifle with a scope, a camera, and a bag of food. Prosecutors also said they found evidence on Routh’s cell phone showing that he was near the former president’s properties in West Palm Beach several times in the month of August.
Prosecutors said just last week that Routh had a list of dates and events that the former president was set to attend or had already attended in August, September, and October.
Interesting to note, authorities have not publicly named Routh’s motive, but social media posts and a book that was apparently written by Routh showed that he held a political grudge against Trump. He was also an ardent supporter of Ukraine.
One final note. The golf course incident was the second time someone tried to kill Trump. The former president nearly lost his life at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July, when his ear was grazed by a bullet. That shooter was shot and killed by law enforcement.
US Marshals Arrest 3,421 Violent Fugitives in Nationwide Operation
The U.S. Marshals Service have successfully arrested more than 3,400 violent fugitives as part of the latest phase of Operation North Star. That’s a national initiative that targets the most dangerous criminals in high-crime metropolitan areas. It concentrated on those involved in homicides, sexual offenses, robberies, aggravated assaults, and firearms violations.Among the fugitives arrested, 216 were wanted for murder, 803 for assault, and 482 for weapons offenses, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). It highlighted the key role played by the Marshals in partnering with local and state law enforcement during the 74-day operation, which ran between May 10 and Sept. 13.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said this latest phase of the operation also led to the seizure of 534 firearms, more than $508,000 in cash, and more than 1,000 pounds of illegal narcotics, which included a significant amount of fentanyl.
So you know, over the past year, the Marshals Service conducted Operation North Star in 10 cities across the country experiencing high levels of gun violence. Those areas included Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas; Charleston and North Charleston, South Carolina; Little Rock, Arkansas; Birmingham, Alabama; and San Antonio, Texas.
Nearly 50 Percent of US Homes Remain Unsold for at Least 60 Days: Report
Real estate brokerage Redfin says almost half of all homes on the market have not been sold after at least 60 days. That’s 5 percent more unsold homes on the market when compared with the same time last year. A senior economist with Redfin says this is unusual, since they normally expect to see home sales pick up when mortgage rates drop. He says it remains to be seen whether sales will speed up at all, as we move into the slower fall season.Redfin also stated that nearly seven out of 10 homes sat unsold for at least a month—typically taking 37 days to find a buyer—but those numbers vary depending on the location. By the way, sales of new single-family houses in August were also lower, by nearly 5 percent, when compared with the prior month.
So you know, the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates by half a percentage point last month, which was the first rate decrease in four years.
You should know that lower mortgage rates and more inventory generally motivate potential home buyers. However, right now they’re hesitant, in part, due to the unstable political climate. The housing market and mortgage rates have turned into a key issue in the 2024 presidential election.
A final point. There is good news on the housing front. The Mortgage Bankers Association says the national median mortgage application payment decreased to $2,057 last month from $2,140 in July.
Homeschooling Numbers Continue to Climb After COVID-19 Pandemic
New data from the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy’s homeschool research lab shows that 90 percent of states saw an increase in homeschooling in the 2023–2024 school year.Nineteen of the 21 states with data experienced growth, while only two, Vermont and New Hampshire, showed a decline in homeschooled students from the previous year.
Interesting to note, the report identified two primary trends: sustained growth and rebounding growth. The three states with sustained growth, meaning they experienced no post-pandemic decline, were Louisiana, South Carolina, and South Dakota.
The other 16 states showed a rebounding trend, meaning they saw a post pandemic decline, followed by an increase in 2023–2024.
During that same year, the number of homeschoolers in North Dakota reached an all-time high, which was a 24 percent increase from the previous year. Rhode Island also saw a 67 percent increase in the number of homeschoolers from the previous year, and Wyoming hit an all-time high with an 8 percent increase over the previous year.
The report’s author went on to say that tracking accurate data on homeschoolers is challenging due to various laws among different states and reporting requirements. Some have different policies regarding homeschoolers, classifying them as private school students, while others do not.
One final note: the Johns Hopkins report says while there is a clear growth trend in homeschooling, they’re not sure why. What is clear, they say, is that it’s not being driven by a global pandemic or sudden disruptions to traditional schooling. Something else is driving this growth.
And now, it looks like our time is just about up for today, so we’re going to call it a wrap for the Tuesday 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 singer, songwriter, and actor Kris Kristofferson, who said: “Tell the truth. Sing with passion. Work with laughter. Love with heart. ‘Cause that’s all that matters in the end.”
Kristofferson died this past weekend at his home in Maui, Hawaii, and he was 88 years old.
For all of us here at the Epoch Times News Brief, I’m Bill Thomas.
The Epoch Times News Brief program was written today by the incomparable 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 day, 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.
