THE SHOW NOTES: Tom Cotton on ABC, Israel vs Hezbollah, & More Debate Drama

Welcome! Two NASA astronauts are stuck in space for the next six months.

TRENDING: Inside Megyn Kelly’s YouTube success - SEMAFOR

NEW: Russia launched a massive overnight attack on Ukraine.

HEADLINE: Democratic pollsters have a warning about Kamala Harris’ lead - Politico

DETAILS: Who is Telegram founder Pavel Durov — and why was he arrested? - CNBC

REMEMBER: Today is the third anniversary of the deadly Abbey Gate terrorist attack in Kabul. - X

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MUST WATCH: Tom Cotton on ABC

ABC’s Jonathan Karl attempted to moderate and defend the policy positions of Kamala Harris in a contentious interview with Senator Tom Cotton. It did not go well.

My take: The thing about this Tom Cotton and Jonathan Karl exchange is how insistent Jon Karl is that Kamala Harris no longer has the same position on health care insurance when Harris has not publically recanted. The press has picked a side, and they're on her team.

Price Controls

Here’s the most unbelievable quote from Politico:

Under pressure to defend Kamala Harris’ grocery price gouging plan, some Democratic lawmakers are delivering a quiet message to anxious allies: Don’t worry about the details. It’s never going to pass Congress.

Israel vs Hezbollah

The Israeli military used 100 fighter jets to target 40 Lebanese missile platforms in a preemptive strike to stop Hezbollah from launching rockets into northern Israel. Hezbollah responded by launching other rockets at military targets in Israel but both sides stopped short of a full-scale assault.

The tempered weekend attacks which only resulted in three deaths are a signal that all sides are watching the high-level ceasefire negotiations happening in Cairo between Hamas and Israel. Additional intelligence provided to The Guardian suggests that both sides are equally motivated to avoid all-out war. However, that doesn’t mean it won’t happen

Details: Israel knows the elimination of Hezbollah would require substantial military investment along with a formal ground invasion. Dueling ground wars in Gaza and Lebanon along with potential attacks from Iran and Yemen would strain the Israeli military to a degree the government would prefer to avoid. Hezbollah leadership has political and economic assets to protect in Lebanon that would quickly be destroyed in a ground war. And there’s this noteworthy quote from The Guardian:

Hezbollah and Iran do not share the apocalyptic self-destructive impulses of Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas commander in Gaza, who launched his surprise 7 October attack on Israel based on the mistaken assumption his allies in Beirut and Tehran would join the battle.

Debate Drama

The campaigns of Donald Trump and Kamala Harris have hit an impasse over the rules for the September 10th debate on ABC.

The Trump campaign is demanding that microphones be muted while the other person is talking as was done in the previous debate with Biden. In fact, the Biden team was the original proponent of the stipulation in the June 27th debate which the Trump team reluctantly accepted.

The Harris team: “We have told ABC and other networks seeking to host a possible October debate that we believe both candidates’ mics should be live throughout the full broadcast… Our understanding is that Trump’s handlers prefer the muted microphone because they don’t think their candidate can act presidential for 90 minutes on his own.”

The Trump team: “Enough with the games. We accepted the ABC debate under the exact same terms as the CNN debate. The Harris camp, after having already agreed to the CNN rules, asked for a seated debate, with notes, and opening statements… If Kamala Harris isn’t smart enough to repeat the messaging points her handlers want her to memorize, that’s their problem.”

Presented Without Comment

Trending news:

• California close to approving $150K loans for illegal immigrants to help purchase homes - DNYUZ

• Islamists Are Reenacting the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, and the Green Crowd Couldn’t Care Less - NR

• Ted Lasso Is Coming Back For A 4th Season, With The Whole Cast Expected To Return - Barstool

• Japan says it scrambled fighter jets after Chinese spy plane violated its airspace - CBS

• Canada imposes a 100% tariff on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles - CNBC

• ‘Georgia’s ours to lose’: Trump and Harris camps zero in on swing states - The Guardian

• K-12 Schools Struggle to Engage Gen Z Students - Gallup

• Georgia’s Green Party scrambles for ballot access as challengers attempt to bar the way - AJC

• U.S. Treasuries not the safe bet they once were, research says - Reuters

• Harris leading Trump by 7 points: Poll - The Hill

• Police officers are starting to use AI chatbots to write crime reports. Will they hold up in court? - AP

• Possible cyberattack leads to outages at Port of Seattle - King5

• Millions of Shiite Muslim pilgrims rally in Iraq - Yahoo

• Study claims that 1 in 4 Americans find life to be “boring.” - Study Finds

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