Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Subscribe: Get the Daily Update in your inbox for free

1/ The Springfield City School District has received 36 shooting and bomb threats since Trump and JD Vance falsely claimed that Haitian immigrants were eating pets, forcing local schools to move classes online and cancel on-campus events. Despite no verifiable evidence or credible reports support the claims, Vance, nevertheless, defended his baseless comments, saying that “the media has a responsibility to fact-check” stories – not him. (The Guardian / Politico / Wall Street Journal / Axios)

2/ At least 111 former Republican national security officials endorsed Kamala Harris, calling Trump “unfit to serve again as president.” In a letter to the public, the Republicans conclude that Trump cannot be trusted “to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic […] and bear true faith and allegiance to the same. They add that Trump “promoted daily chaos in government, praised our enemies and undermined our allies, politicized the military and disparaged our veterans, prioritized his personal interest above American interests and betrayed our values, democracy and this country’s founding documents.” Together, they condemned Trump’s “dangerous qualities,” including his “unusual affinity” for dictators like Putin and “contempt for the norms of decent, ethical and lawful behavior.” (New York Times)

3/ The Georgia Election Integrity Coalition – a group of officials and election deniers – is reportedly planning to call the results of November’s election into question before a single vote is cast. Emails obtained as a result of a public records request sent to David Hancock, an election denier and member of the Gwinnett county board of elections, reveal the behind-the-scenes effort to enact denier-based policies and portray the coming election as beset with fraud. Separately, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger sent a letter to the State Election Board, criticizing “the absurdity of the board’s actions” to vote on more than a dozen new election rules and procedures so late in the process. The proposed package of election rules require that a polling place’s manager and two witnesses hand-count the paper ballots in every ballot box, hand counting of absentee ballots, requiring the public posting of all registered voters, and expanding access for poll watchers. Last month, the board approved a new rule requiring a “reasonable inquiry” before certifying state elections. The measure allows local officials to refuse or delay certification of a county’s election results. (The Guardian / New York Times / NPR / Rolling Stone)

4/ The FBI is investigating suspicious packages containing “an unknown substance” sent to elections officials in more than 16 states. None of the mail has been dee...

Visit WTF Just Happened Today? for more news and headlines, brought to you by Matt Kiser. The WTFJHT Podcast is narrated and produced by Joe Amditis.