DML Morning Briefing ~ Thurs. Sept. 8

Today is September 8. Below are some of the stories grabbing headlines this morning. I hope you share this briefing as doing so will make you the smartest person in the room.

1 – BREAKING: Queen Elizabeth is being ‘kept under medical supervision at Balmoral amid doctors’ concern for her health’: Royal family is called and news is broken to the UK’s new Prime Minister Liz Truss
The Daily Mail reports: The Queen is under medical supervision after doctors became concerned for her health this morning, Buckingham Palace revealed today, as the Prince of Wales, Camilla and the Duke of Cambridge to be with the 96-year-old monarch.

Her Majesty’s immediate family members have been informed about the downturn, her spokesman said, leading to her two heirs – Charles and William – going to her bedside amid escalating fears for the monarch’s wellbeing.

Prince Andrew, Princess Anne and Prince Edward and his wife Sophie are all on their way with one of the Royal Family’s helicopters landing in the grounds of Her Majesty’s Scottish home this morning.

A royal spokesman said: ‘Following further evaluation this morning, The Queen’s doctors are concerned for Her Majesty’s health and have recommended she remain under medical supervision. The Queen remains comfortable and at Balmoral.’

A statement about the Queen’s health is exceptionally rare and suggests the situation is very serious. One insider said: ‘This is deeply worrying. The Palace don’t normally do this’.

MY TAKE: God be with her!

2 – Biden official unveils $2B in US military aid for Ukraine, Europe in unannounced trip to Kyiv
Fox News reports: Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an unscheduled visit to Kyiv Thursday to announce a $2 billion military aid package for Ukraine and other European nations threatened by Russia.

Blinken told top Ukrainian officials that the latest package will provide long-term financing for military aid to Ukraine along with 18 NATO members and regional security partners “most potentially at risk for future Russian aggression.”

It is unclear if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was present for the meetings and Fox News Digital could not immediately reach the State Department for comment.

The announcement comes just hours after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. approved another $675 million in heavy armament for Ukraine’s forces.

The package, separate from the military financing package announced by Blinken, will provide Kyiv with howitzers, artillery munitions, Humvees, armored ambulances, anti-tank systems and more.

MY TAKE: What about making a surprise visit to the U.S. border and empowering our Border Patrol with equipment to protect our border, while you’re at it, Mr. Blinken?

3 – Pentagon suspends F-35 deliveries after discovering materials from China
Politico reports: The Pentagon has temporarily halted delivery of F-35 fighter jets to the military branches and international customers after Lockheed Martin discovered a metal component used in the jet’s engine had come from China, according to the Pentagon.

The Defense Contract Management Agency notified the F-35 Joint Program Office at the Pentagon on Aug. 19 that an alloy used in magnets contained in the F-35’s turbomachine pumps came from China. Lockheed Martin builds the overall aircraft, but the turbomachine is produced by Honeywell.

The discovery does not affect flight operations of F-35s already in service, the Joint Program Office said.

“We have confirmed that the magnet does not transmit information or harm the integrity of the aircraft and there are no performance, quality, safety or security risks associated with this issue and flight operations for the F-35 in-service fleet will continue as normal,” F-35 Joint Program Office spokesperson Russell Goemaere said in a statement to POLITICO.

“Defense contractors voluntarily shared information with DCMA and the JPO once the issue was discovered and they have found an alternative source for the alloy that will be used in future turbomachines,” Goemaere said.

MY TAKE: It is appalling that our U.S. military would depend on ANYTHING made in China.

4 – New York City School’s Assistant Principal Admits He Wouldn’t Hire Conservatives In Video Footage
The Daily Caller reports: A New York City assistant principal admitted that he would not hire conservatives, according to video footage published by Project Veritas.

Todd Soper, the assistant principal at Neighborhood Charters Schools, was caught on undercover video footage stating that he would not hire an individual with conservative values or anyone who he believes to be “colorblind” on diversity issues. Soper deleted his social media after the Project Veritas video was released.

Soper explicitly said “no” when asked if he would hire a conservative and said that the district uses “diversity, equity, and inclusion” questions to gauge an individual’s political ideology.

“If they [candidates] say that diversity is about — if they say something that lends itself to be colorblind, which could happen, like, ‘Oh, it’s like, you know, like everyone is equal’… So, like that person wouldn’t get hired,” Soper said according to the video.

MY TAKE: He needs to be fired by the end of TODAY!!

5 – Pastors battle skyrocketing burnout amid bitter politics
Fox News reports: Bitter divisions over politics and the pandemic have seeped into churches and led to increasing rates of job burnout among pastors, multiple clergy members and those who counsel them told Fox News Digital.

“Our faith does not exempt us from anxiety, depression, temptation or COVID, so that’s to be expected,” said David Ferguson, executive director of the Great Commandment Network, which provides counseling initiatives to help pastors. “But in addition to that, we obviously are in a real divided, polarized, politicized world, where sadly at times pastors feel the pressure to take positions on every imaginable topic.”

A study of Protestant pastors conducted in March by the faith-based research organization Barna Group suggested that unprecedented numbers are thinking about quitting the ministry. The poll showed that rates of burnout among pastors have risen dramatically during the past year, with a staggering 42% of ministers wondering if they should abandon their vocation altogether.

That number marked an increase of 13 percentage points since Barna’s similar poll in January 2021, when just 29% felt that way. Such pastors named stress (56%), loneliness (43%) and political divisions (38%) as the top reasons they have wearied of the job, as well as the toll it has taken on their families (29%).

MY TAKE: Another devastating result of liberal ‘wokeness.’