THE SHOW NOTES: Israel Responds, Columbia Calls The Cops, & Biden Kills More Drilling Land

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HEADLINE: China Building New Outpost on U.S. Doorstep, Leaked Documents Reveal - Newsweek

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NEW: Democrats joined Republicans in advancing a foreign aid bill.

IMPORTANT: FBI says Chinese hackers preparing to attack US infrastructure - Reuters

🚨 BREAKING: Matt Gaetz attended 2017 party where minor and drugs were present, woman's sworn statement obtained by Congress claims - ABC

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Israel Responds

The Israeli military responded to last week’s unprecedented air raid by Iran with a limited drone strike on Isfahan in Central Iran. The target was a military site that allegedly received minimal damage.

No one is talking about this: The Israeli military has refused to make a statement claiming credit while Secretary of State Antony Blinken only said the US was not involved. Iranian state media only claimed there was an “explosion at a factory” while refusing to list Israel by name.

Why this matters: The response appears to be an attempt by Israel to check the box for responding to an attack while de-escalating the situation and preventing further regional fallout. However, Israeli sources are frustrated with Pentagon officials who preemptively told American media outlets that Israel was involved.

Noteworthy: Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the only thing standing between the Palestinian people and a ceasefire is Hamas.

Related: Democratic US Senator John Fetterman has doubled down on his defense of Israel by reiterating that the posters of Israeli hostages will remain on the walls of his office until they come home. Watch:

Battleground Polling

The Fox News Battleground Poll shows that a growing number of swing state voters are frustrated by Joe Biden’s job performance and don’t feel they are getting ahead financially. The same voters give Trump the edge in Georgia and Michigan while delivering a statistical tie in Wisconsin and Pennslyvania. Here’s the data:

• GEORGIA: Trump 51 - Biden 45

• MICHIGAN: Trump 49 - Biden 46

• PENNSYLVANIA: Biden 48 - Trump 48

• WISCONSIN: Biden 48 - Trump 48

The worry for Biden doesn’t end there according to Fox:

• Trump is meeting or exceeding his 2020 vote percentages in the two-way race, while Biden trails his number.

• More voters disapprove than approve of Biden’s job performance by at least 10 points.

• Biden overperforms his approval rating by at least 3 points in the matchup, as 10% of those who disapprove of his job performance still prefer him over Trump.

• Trump holds a substantial trust advantage on immigration and the economy; Biden holds a smaller edge on election integrity and health care. On abortion, more trust Biden in MI, PA, and WI, while more trust Trump in GA.

Biden limits oil drilling across 13 million acres of Alaskan Arctic

Future oil and gas drilling will be limited across more than 13 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, the nation’s largest expanse of public land, under a sweeping Biden administration plan aimed at protecting sensitive ecosystems and wildlife.

The Interior Department’s final rule represents one of President Biden’s most significant steps to curb fossil fuel development on federal lands. It could help the president’s reelection campaign court young voters, a key Democratic constituency, after many youth climate activists criticized the administration’s approval of a massive drilling project on Alaska’s North Slope last year.

In a separate move, Interior announced Friday that it will block a controversial road crucial to operating a planned copper and zinc mine in northern Alaska, saying it would threaten Indigenous communities and fragment wildlife habitat. Together, the two decisions are aimed at safeguarding some of Alaska’s last wild places from development.

Full story at The Washington Post (paywall).

Trending news:

• Arizona Republican drops reelection effort after accusation he forged signatures - AP

• Would you marry your spouse today? Reddit survey reveals uplifting, alarming insights - Study Finds

• Katherine Maher’s LARP’ing - Twitter

• New York’s Rich Get Creative to Flee State Taxes. Auditors Are On to Them - Bloomberg

• House conservatives have a special group dedicated to preserving their power. Of course, it's called the FART team. - BI

• The jurors: who is on the Trump trial jury? - The Guardian

• Statement from Columbia University President Minouche Shafik - Columbia

• Tesla Recalls Almost 3,900 Cybertrucks to Repair Faulty Pedals - Bloomberg (paywall)

• More and more Americans are becoming 'ALICEs.' They can't afford rent and groceries but are falling through the cracks in the country's safety net. - BI

• West Virginia Girls 'Step-Out' Of Track & Field Meet To Protest Transgender Competitor - Outkick

Market snapshot: