Monday, Oct. 4

á           Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo stating that the Justice Department will begin directing the FBI and state attorneysÕ offices to meet with local officials and coordinate a response to a Òdisturbing spikeÓ in harassment against school personnel in recent months.

á           A senior official in the administration of President Joe Biden revealed a delegation of United States officials led by national security advisor Jake Sullivan met with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other top Saudi officials on Sept. 28 to discuss the conflict in Yemen and ways to arrange a ceasefire, as well as the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

á           Biden warned Senate Republicans against blocking the debt limit increase. ÒRaising the debt limit comes down to paying what we already owe,Ó he told reporters. ÒÉ Raising the debt limit is usually a bipartisan undertaking, and it should be.Ó

á           The Biden administration reversed a policy set by former President Donald Trump barring organizations that provide abortion referrals from receiving federal family planning money.

Tuesday, Oct. 5

á           The New York Times reported on a secret CIA cable to all stations and bases around the world explaining that a significant amount of its recruits from other countries, including Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan acting as spies for the U.S., are being lost, compromised, captured or killed. One reason for the cable was reportedly to motivate CIA case officers to do a better job of recruiting and managing informants.

á           Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss paths toward restoring the relationship between the U.S. and France after the U.S. entered a security pact with the United Kingdom and Australia that led to Australia dropping a submarine development contract with France. MacronÕs government has called the security pact a Òstab in the back.Ó

á           Biden travelled to Michigan to promote his $3.5 trillion spending and tax proposal and $1 trillion infrastructure bill directly to the American people while facing a deadlock among congressional Democrats who cannot agree on the size and scope of the proposals.

á           Biden told a reporter that he had spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping about Taiwan after China sent a record-setting 56 military aircrafts to TaiwanÕs air defense zone. ÒWeÕll abide by the Taiwan agreement,Ó Biden said, Òand we made it clear I donÕt think he should be doing anything other than abiding by the agreement.Ó

á           Early findings from federal investigators revealed that Amplify Energy waited more than three hours to shut down its pipeline off the coast of Los Angeles after an alarm went off signaling a rupture that spilled tens of thousands of gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean.

Wednesday, Oct. 6

á           Biden met with the heads of major associations like the AARP and the Nasdaq stock exchange and U.S. banks like Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America to built support to raise the countryÕs debt limit.

á           The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case of a Guantanamo Bay detainee named Abu Zubaydah who is seeking to compel CIA contractors James Elmer Mitchell and John Jessen, known as the architects of the CIAÕs Òenhanced interrogation techniques,Ó to testify about the alleged torture he was victim to at a CIA Òblack siteÓ in Poland.

Thursday, Oct. 7

á           The Senate narrowly passed, on a 50-48 vote, a measure to temporarily raise the federal governmentÕs $28.4 trillion debt limit by $48 billion to avert a financial crisis. But a more long-term solution has been put off until at least December.

á           The CIA announced it formed a new group called the China Mission Center Òto address the global challenge posed by the PeopleÕs Republic of China that cuts across all of the agencyÕs mission areas.Ó

á           The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed officials, that U.S. special operational forces and marines have been training Taiwanese ground and maritime troops in secret since 2020.

á           Daniel Foote, former U.S. special envoy to Haiti, warned at a congressional briefing that deporting Haitian asylum seekers is Ònot the answerÓ and that mass deportations have made conditions in Haiti even worse. ÒHaiti is too dangerous,Ó Foote said. ÒOur own diplomats cannot leave our compound in Port-au-Prince without armed guards.Ó

á           Federal prosecutors charged Haji Najibullah, an alleged former Taliban commander, with attacks on American troops in Afghanistan that led to American deaths. Najibullah was already in U.S. custody after being charged for the 2008 kidnapping of an American journalist and two Afghan citizens.

á           State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters that the Biden administration has called for an ÒimminentÓ return to talks toward reviving the Iran nuclear deal, but added that resuming the negotiations is Òhinging on the Iranians.Ó

Friday, Oct. 8

á           Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas traveled to Mexico to overhaul the Merida Initiative — a 13-year-old agreement whereby the U.S. provides military, security and technical assistance to Mexico to address crime — and negotiate a new security agreement to address drug cartel violence and other security issues.

á           Biden announced that Indigenous PeoplesÕ Day would be marked on Oct. 11, the same date as Columbus Day. ÒToday, we recognize Indigenous peoplesÕ resilience and strength as well as the immeasurable positive impact that they have made on every aspect of American society,Ó Biden said.

á           Biden declined a request from Trump to assert executive privilege over White House records on the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol to prevent turning them over to congressional investigators.

á           A federal appeals court ruled that Texas could reinstate the controversial ban on most abortions in the state, two days after a lower court suspended it.

á           The Navy released a brief statement saying that one of its nuclear-powered submarines hit an ÒobjectÓ on Saturday while submerged in the Indo-Pacific region and the collision injured some of the crew.

á           Biden signed into law the Havana Act, a new government program to compensate CIA officers, State Department diplomats and other federal officials who suffered as-yet unexplained neurological injuries now dubbed ÒHavana syndrome.Ó

Saturday, Oct. 9

á           Delegates from the Taliban and the U.S. held talks in Doha, Qatar to focus on security, gender rights and terrorism concerns. The State Department said the discussions were Òcandid and professional.Ó

Sunday, Oct. 10

á           No news to report.