The United States announced it will send about 100 troops to Israel to operate an advanced missile defense system. According to New York Times, it’s the first deployment of U.S. troops to Israel since the Hamas attacks on October 7th, 2023. US Deploys around 100 Troops to Israel Boots on the groundhttps://t.co/ip25ij6clx pic.twitter.com/Ciiy3T0U1p — Tim Pool (@Timcast) October 13, 2024 From The New York Times: President Biden directed Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, and its crew, Maj. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement on Sunday. The move will put American troops operating the ground-based interceptor, which is designed to defend against ballistic missiles, closer to the widening war in the Middle East. It comes after Iran launched about 200 missiles at Israel on Oct. 1 and as Israel plans its retaliatory attack. The THAAD battery, a mobile defense system, will give the Israel Defense Forces another layer of protection to defend cities, troops and installations from short- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles like those deployed by Iran in its last attack. When asked about it on Sunday, Mr. Biden said only that he had ordered the Pentagon to deploy the system “to defend Israel.” General Ryder said in his statement that the battery would “augment Israel’s integrated air defense system.” “This action underscores the United States’ ironclad commitment to the defense of Israel, and to defend Americans in Israel, from any further ballistic missile attacks by Iran. It is part of the broader adjustments the U.S. military has made in recent months, to support the defense of Israel and protect Americans from attacks by Iran and Iranian-aligned militias,” the statement from Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder read. “This is not the first time the United States has deployed a THAAD battery to the region. The President directed the military to deploy a THAAD battery to the Middle East last year following the October 7th attacks to defend American troops and interests in the region,” it added. A senior U.S. military official said on Sunday it would take at least a week to get the system and the troops to Israel. At the direction of the President, Secretary Austin authorized the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and associated crew of U.S. military personnel to Israel to help bolster Israel's air defenses following Iran's unprecedented attacks against… pic.twitter.com/P2FJVaOqIt — U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) October 13, 2024 Per Reuters: A THAAD battery usually requires about 100 troops to operate. It counts six truck mounted launchers, with eight interceptors on each launcher, and a powerful radar. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi warned earlier on Sunday that the United States was putting the lives of its troops “at risk by deploying them to operate U.S. missile systems in Israel.” “While we have made tremendous efforts in recent days to contain an all-out war in our region, I say it clearly that we have no red lines in defending our people and interests,” Araqchi posted on X. Still, experts say Iran has sought to avoid a direct war with the United States, making deployment of U.S. forces to Israel another factor in its calculus going forward. Iran launched missiles and drones at Israel in April. Then on Oct. 1, Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel amid another escalation in fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon. Many were intercepted in flight but some penetrated missile defenses. US is sending a THAAD air defense system to Israel and troops to operate it, Pentagon announces: pic.twitter.com/89CGp6bL5Z — Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) October 13, 2024 Reuters noted that Lockheed Martin, the biggest U.S. arms dealer, manufactures the THAAD system, and Raytheon, under RTX, builds its advanced radar.

Bill Clinton stopped by a Georgia McDonald’s while stumping for Kamala Harris. However, the employee at the front counter initially confused Clinton for Joe Biden. “Are you Joe?” she asked. “The boss was stumping for @KamalaHarris in Georgia and had to stop by the old stomping grounds, @McDonalds,” Angel Ureña, Deputy Chief of Staff for Bill Clinton, commented. WATCH: The boss was stumping for @KamalaHarris in Georgia and had to stop by the old stomping grounds, @McDonalds. pic.twitter.com/CannimWqJB — Angel Ureña (@angelurena) October 13, 2024 X users reacted to Clinton’s McDonald’s visit: Crypt keeper. https://t.co/eHWjHJ06BR — Cernovich (@Cernovich) October 14, 2024 You could probably argue that Bill Clinton spent more time in a McDonald’s today than Kamala Harris has ever spent in one https://t.co/QkS7S8g3qZ — Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) October 14, 2024 She didn't know who he was. Kamala's campaign is a complete disaster. — Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) October 14, 2024 The woman thought he was Joe Biden — Tired of being politically correct (@USBornNRaised) October 14, 2024 Imagine a campaign running so badly you need to use presidents from 10 years and 25 years prior to stump for you. — Mike Peterson (@MikePeterson17) October 14, 2024 11Alive reports: Former President Clinton famously made the occasional McDonald’s stop while campaigning, to the point where it was parodied on Saturday Night Live. There’s even a McDonald’s in Little Rock, Arkansas he’d frequent with a plaque dedicated to him. In Sunday’s encounter, wearing a blue “USA” jacket, he approached the counter and spoke with a worker — who appeared to think he may be Joe Biden at first, asking, “You Joe?” — and then took pictures with her. It’s not the first time a fast food trip has become a campaign stop in Georgia this year. Back in April, former President Donald Trump went to a Chick-fil-A in Atlanta’s Vine City neighborhood while in town for a fundraiser. Love archival pool footage of Bill Clinton visting McDonalds in 1992. Wearing a Clinton-Gore hat with wings on the front. pic.twitter.com/avV5lYmV2A — Andy Kaczynski (@KFILE) November 24, 2021 Bill Clinton mistaken for President Biden by McDonald’s worker in viral clip: ‘Are you Joe?’ https://t.co/k3Q7NanLkr pic.twitter.com/mKutlp4KHQ — New York Post (@nypost) October 14, 2024 From the New York Post: Clinton popped into the restaurant while after the Harris campaign trotted him out just three weeks before election day as — polling shows she’s lagging far behind previous Democratic candidates in support from the black community. Trump is polling at 15% with black voters this year — compared with just 7% in 2016. Georgia, with its 16 electoral votes, is positioned as a key swing state both parties are aggressively vying to win. The photo-op represented something of a homecoming for the now-svelte ex-commander-in-chief. Although he’s been a vegan for more than a decade, Bubba’s penchant for cheeseburgers, in particular those from McDonald’s, was well known during his presidency. A famous photo from the ’90s shows Clinton — drenched with sweat from a jog — stopping into Mickey D’s for a bite flanked by Secret Service.

The latest battleground state polling and trends are in and this is how Sean Spicer sees the final tally in the electoral college!

Produced by Martin Scorsese and directed by David Tedeschi, Beatles '64 explores the band's American debut - and will include never-before-seen footage

North Korea is preparing to blow up roads that cross the militarized border with South Korea, Seoul announced on Monday. 

A train operator was killed and at least 20 passengers on board were injured when a train crashed after a tree fell onto the tracks in New Jersey Monday morning, according to local officials. 

Rep. Thomas Massie spoke with Tucker Carlson, and the clip is now on X. I want to point out one part of the interview: Massie’s assessment of Speaker Mike Johnson, who he sees as worse than Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Rep. Massie said Johnson humiliated Republicans when he gave away every bit of leverage to pass […] The post “Scary” The Speaker Is Close to the Presidency: He Betrayed Us appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.