Biden’s Broken Economy: Goldman Downgrades U.S. Growth Forecast, Sees ‘Harder Path’ Ahead

Goldman Sachs economists once again downgraded their forecast for economic growth in the United States, writing that the economy faced a “harder path” than previously thought.

The Wall Street firm now expects the economy to expand 5.7 percent this year, economist Ronnie Walker wrote in a report Monday.

Back in August, Goldman lowered its growth estimate from 6.4 percent to 6 percent. That followed a downgrade from 6.6 percent in July. Back in February, Goldman had growth at 6.9 percent.

In mid-August, the bank slashed its third-quarter forecast from 8.9 percent to 5.5 percent, citing supply chain issues and the resurgence of coronavirus as drags on the economy.

But Walker thinks some of the growth will be pushed back in time rather than lost altogether, so the bank raised its 2022 forecast to 4.6 percent from 4.5 percent. (Read more from “Biden’s Broken Economy: Goldman Downgrades U.S. Growth Forecast, Sees ‘Harder Path’ Ahead” HERE)

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Wuhan Lab Documents Show Fauci ‘Untruthful’ About Gain-of-Function Research: Critics

Dr. Anthony Fauci has been accused by critics of lying after newly released documents appear to contradict his claims that the National Institute of Health did not fund gain-of-function research at China’s Wuhan lab.

Senator Rand Paul led the criticism against Fauci on Tuesday after the documents, obtained by The Intercept, detailed grants given to EcoHealth Alliance — the nonprofit that funneled federal funds to the Wuhan Institute of Virology for bat coronavirus research.

Included in the trove of documents is a previously unpublished grant proposal that EcoHealth Alliance, which is run by Peter Daszak, filed with Fauci’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.

Fauci has repeatedly insisted that NIH funding of the Wuhan lab does not constitute as “gain-of-function” research, which modifies the biological agent, and in the case of a virus, could increase its transmissibility or virulence.

(Read more from “Wuhan Lab Documents Show Fauci ‘Untruthful’ About Gain-of-Function Research: Critics” HERE)

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Senator Says U.S. Will Have to Reinvade Afghanistan

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) left a BBC reporter stunned Monday when he said the United States will likely reinvade Afghanistan to continue the War on Terror.

During an interview with BBC reporter Stephen Sackur, Graham predicted that the new Taliban government in Afghanistan will provide a safe haven for radical Islamic terrorists who hate America and may devise plots to attack the U.S., just as they did before 9/11. He voiced skepticism of President Joe Biden’s assurances that an “over the horizon” counterterrorism strategy using targeted drone strikes will be effective.

“They’re going to give safe haven to al Qaeda who has ambitions to drive us out of the Mid East writ large and attack us because of our way of life,” Graham told Sackur, referring to the Taliban.

“We will be going back into Afghanistan, as we went back into Iraq and Syria,” he said. (Read more from “Senator Says U.S. Will Have to Reinvade Afghanistan” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

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LEAKED EMAIL: Biden Admin Blocking Stranded Americans From Escaping Taliban’s Killer Grip

The State Department refused to grant official approval for private evacuation flights from Afghanistan to land in third countries, even though the department conceded that official authorization would likely be needed for planes to land in those nations, an email reviewed by Fox News shows.

Furthermore, the State Department explicitly stated that charter flights, even those containing American citizens, would not be allowed to land at Defense Department (DOD) airbases. U.S. officials have pointed to possible security threats from landing charter planes at military bases, saying that they lack the resources on the ground to fully verify flight manifests.

The Biden administration’s delaying of private evacuation efforts has been a widespread source of frustration, infuriating rescue organizers and even a prominent Democratic senator.

Eric Montalvo, who organized a series of private flights evacuating those stranded in Afghanistan, shared that email and others with Fox News after his evacuation efforts were repeatedly hampered by the federal bureaucracy.

A Sept. 1 email that a State Department official sent to Montalvo underscores the extent to which private evacuation efforts have run into bureaucratic roadblocks. (Read more from “LEAKED EMAIL: Biden Admin Blocking Stranded Americans From Escaping Taliban’s Killer Grip” HERE)

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Report: U.S. Investigating Massive Defense Contractor Over Possible Bribes Paid to Foreign Company

The U.S. government is investigating the weapons manufacturer Raytheon for granting payments to a consultant for the Qatar Armed Forces (QAF) that may in fact have been bribes for a high-level member of the Qatari government, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

The potential bribe first came to light in a 2020 California lawsuit, which alleged — among other things — that Raytheon had funneled roughly $1.9 million through Digital Soula Systems, a Qatari defense consulting firm partially owned by the brother of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, according to WSJ. The SEC and Department of Justice (DOJ) have investigated Raytheon for fraud accusations in the past as well, with the company agreeing to pay a $1 million settlement for procurement fraud allegations in 2019.

The U.S. is investigating whether the payments were a de facto bribe to the Emir’s brother in an effort to increase Qatar’s budget for defense systems. Raytheon has made $7 billion in military contracts with Qatar since 2014, according to WSJ.

Raytheon most recently came into the public eye for reportedly pushing Critical Race Theory (CRT) on its employees. Leaked internal documents showed that the company encouraged its white employees to confront their “privilege,” reject the principle of “equality” and to advocate for “defund the police.”

(Read more from “Report: U.S. Investigating Massive Defense Contractor Over Possible Bribes Paid to Foreign Company” HERE)

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Sept. 11 Mastermind Smiles, Waves as He Returns to Gitmo Court

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of 9/11, appeared inside Guantanamo Bay’s war court for the first time in more than 500 days on Tuesday following another massive delay in the case due to COVID-19.

Mohammed, dubbed “KSM” and described as “the principal architect of the 9/11 attacks” in the 9/11 Commission Report, and some of his co-defendants were smiling and bantering with each other and their lawyers, with KSM briefly waving to the gallery.

KSM was a close ally of Osama bin Laden and was repeatedly waterboarded during numerous sessions while in U.S. custody. He is being tried alongside four co-defendants: his nephew, Ammar Baluchi, who sent money transfers to 9/11 hijackers inside the United States; alleged hijacking trainer Walid bin Attash; 9/11 facilitator Ramzi bin Shibh; and al Qaeda money man Mustafa Hawsawi.

Mohammed looked much different in court on Tuesday than he did in his infamous post-capture scowling picture in 2003 when he was overweight, mustached, and disheveled in a stretched T-shirt. He is trimmer now, and his gray beard has been dyed a reddish-orange. He was wearing a white robe, a Pashtun-style hat with a black wrap and a white cap, and white socks with sandals. He wore a dark mask when he was led into the courtroom by military guards but took it off when he sat down. He smiled and talked animatedly with his legal team and with his fellow al Qaeda members. He wasn’t wearing the camouflage vest that he often does in court. (Read more from “Sept. 11 Mastermind Smiles, Waves as He Returns to Gitmo Court” HERE)

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Military Officer: Biden Is More of a Danger to the West Than the Taliban; Biden’s Afghanistan ‘Success’ Benefited Taliban, Not U.S.

By Washington Examiner. A highly decorated British Army officer said he is “absolutely shocked” at President Joe Biden’s Afghanistan withdrawal, rendering the 20 year war “a total waste.”

“6,500 people died – including 3,000 deaths at Twin Towers – and we didn’t achieve a single thing,” said retired Special Operations Staff Sgt. Trevor Coult, who has been feted by both the queen and President George W. Bush.

“He destroyed 20 years’ work in less than 24 hours.”

Coult served for 21 years in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan where he was involved in 178 enemy engagements and survived three bomb blasts. The queen awarded him one of the United Kingdom’s highest honors, the military cross, for saving allied lives during an ambush. He was also awarded a presidential citation by Bush during a White House dinner.

“Biden is the most incompetent president in the history of the United States,” Coult told the Washington Examiner. “He has befriended terrorists. The White House is not a friend to the west, it’s a danger while he is president.” (Read more from “British Military Officer: Biden Is More of a Danger to the West Than the Taliban” HERE)

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Afghans Lying About Their Identities to Get Resettled in U.S.

By Breitbart. Some Afghans have lied about their identities or destroyed their passports in hopes to win resettlement across the United States, the Associated Press (AP) reports.

Officials with President Joe Biden’s administration who spoke anonymously to the AP said there have been instances where Afghans at screening sites in safe third countries outside of Afghanistan have sought to come to the U.S. by destroying documents to conceal their real identities.

The AP reports:

In one instance, a red flag popped up on an evacuee’s case as he was mid-flight between two of the overseas transit sites, another U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the processing. In a comparatively small number of cases, the U.S. transit sites overseas also are dealing with other evacuees who require further investigation, or who lie or destroy their identification in hopes of qualifying for immigration, that U.S. official said. [Emphasis added]

Some who managed to get through crushing crowds and U.S. and Taliban controls at the airport got put on planes and made it to transit sites, without any apparent eligibility for U.S. relocation as an at-risk Afghan, the official said. [Emphasis added]

(Read more from “Afghans Lying About Their Identities to Get Resettled in U.S.” HERE)

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Biden’s Afghanistan ‘Success’ Benefited Taliban, Not U.S.

By Boston Herald. The next thing you know, President Biden will be asking the Taliban to join NATO.

Granted Biden took credit for his “extraordinary success,” in bugging out of Kabul and leaving hundreds of Americans behind, as well as abandoning thousands of loyal Afghans.

What he meant to say was that while the evacuation was an extraordinary success, it was a success for the Taliban, not the U.S.

For Biden and the U.S. it was an extraordinary humiliation.

But that has not stopped Biden from making nice with the Taliban, which now rules Afghanistan and holds all those abandoned Americans hostage. (Read more from “Biden’s Afghanistan ‘Success’ Benefited Taliban, Not U.S.” HERE)

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Son of 9/11 Victim Tells Biden Not To Come to Ground Zero for 20-Year Memorial Ceremonies

The son of a victim of the Sept. 11 attacks condemned President Joe Biden as the “killer in chief” Monday and told him not to attend 20-year memorial ceremonies at Ground Zero.

Biden displayed a lack of sympathy for the families of the 13 American service members killed in the attacks at Kabul’s airport, said Nic Haros Jr., whose mother died on Sept. 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center.

“I am demanding that President Biden does not show his face at Ground Zero on 9/11 ,” Haros said. “It is now holy ground, and I really don’t think he has a place there.” (Read more from “Son of 9/11 Victim Tells Biden Not To Come to Ground Zero for 20-Year Memorial Ceremonies” HERE)

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Pandemic Unemployment Benefits Set to End

As Labor Day weekend comes to a close, so too will expanded unemployment benefits for millions of people across the country.

The pandemic-tethered benefits were extended by the Biden administration in March as part of President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan and Republicans soon began crying foul as more people got vaccinated yet shortages in the labor market increased. The GOP and some economists say that the shortages have worsened because workers have opted to live off the benefits rather than find employment.

The programs that are ending include one that extended the length of regular unemployment benefits, the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which covered some 4.2 million self-employed and gig workers who don’t qualify for regular benefits, and supplemental federal benefits that added $300 on to whatever unemployment states were offering.

The $300 payments stacked on top of state benefits made it so that, in some instances, people could receive much more money by being unemployed than they would working at a minimum-wage job. (Read more from “Pandemic Unemployment Benefits Set to End” HERE)

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400-Strong Migrant Caravan From Mexico Headed for US Border

A 400-strong caravan of immigrants is making its way through Mexico toward the US, even as Mexican National Guard troops continue trying to thwart border-bound migrants.

The massive group, which left from the southern city of Tapachula on Saturday, began its northward trek after Mexican forces broke up at least two other caravans in the past week.

The new caravan is made up largely of Central Americans and Haitians who told authorities they are fleeing poverty and violence in their home countries — and seeking refuge in the US.

“I’ve handed in paperwork but nothing ever gets fixed,” one 31-year-old Honduran migrant, Sharon, told Reuters. “Just appointments and more appointments.”

She added, “I am scared, but if I don’t get out of here I’m not going to get work.” (Read more from “400-Strong Migrant Caravan From Mexico Headed for US Border” HERE)

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