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Canada-India Diplomatic Row Escalates

Canada-India Diplomatic Row Escalates

Your unbiased daily news brief

James Kratch
October 15, 2024

Good Tuesday morning. The pandas are on their way to the National Zoo. Have a great day!

In Today’s Brief

New Jersey: Train tragedy
Putin: Brazil bound?
Fox News: Harris interview
True Value: Stalking horse bid
College hoops: Preseason poll

... and more

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Top Tips

1) Boiling over

A diplomatic feud between Canada and India exploded yesterday with the expulsion of the nations' top envoys.

Back story: Ties between the countries have been strained ever since Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there was credible evidence connecting India's government to the 2023 murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar near Vancouver. India retaliated by suspending visa services and asking Canada to withdraw dozens of diplomatic staff.
The news: Canada has expelled High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma and five other Indian diplomats after the Royal Canadian Mounted Canadian Police declared them persons of interest and said Indian agents participated in "homicides, extortions and other criminal acts of violence." India then booted Canadian High Commissioner Stewart Ross Wheeler and five other diplomats in response, blasting the allegations as "preposterous."
Also note: An Indian national was indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice in June; the man faces charges he plotted with an Indian government official to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader in a murder-for-hire scheme.
Big picture: Efforts to create an independent Sikh state in northern India have existed for decades. Western nations believe Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist, considers the movement an existential threat and is targeting dissidents living abroad as India's democratic systems backslide under his rule. The U.S. has reportedly confronted Modi with evidence of his government’s complicity.

2) Big mess

The latest security incident at one of former President Donald Trump's campaign events has turned into a war of words.

Catch up: A Las Vegas man with firearms in his vehicle was arrested Saturday at a checkpoint near Trump's rally in Coachella, California. Vem Miller, 49, was eventually booked on two misdemeanor gun charges and released a few hours later.
At issue: Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, a Trump supporter who spoke at the rally, suggested to reporters his officers thwarted a third assassination attempt against the former president, alleging Miller had a fake license plate, several fake drivers licenses and apparent ties to an extremist group. But Miller has pushed back on Bianco's "false and defamatory statements." He said he is a Trump supporter, told cops he had guns and plans to file a lawsuit.
Big picture: Miller said he was invited to the rally by Nevada's Republican Party and sent to the inner checkpoint where he was apprehended. He also reportedly claims to be an independent journalist. The FBI and Secret Service are investigating but reportedly indicated the incident is not considered an assassination attempt. Trump was not at the rally at the time and was never in danger.

3) Arrest made

A North Carolina man allegedly threatened federal aid crews following Hurricane Helene.

The news: William Jacob Parsons, 44, was taken into custody on a "Going Armed to the Terror of the Public" charge by the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office. Police allege he was armed with a handgun and a rifle and threatened to hurt Federal Emergency Management Agency employees assisting disaster relief in a remote part of the state about an hour outside Asheville. Parsons was released on a $10K bond.
Back story: FEMA had to relocate crews and pause work in the state due to threats. The National Guard initially said an armed militia threatened FEMA workers in Rutherford County, but all indications are Parsons acted alone. Operations have since resumed; Parsons does have digital ties to the Three Percenters militia.
Big picture: False claims and misinformation about the federal response to the hurricane in North Carolina and elsewhere have gone viral, with some being amplified by former President Trump. Threats against FEMA may have been reported in other parts of the state.

Quick Tips

U.S. News

An operator was killed when an NJ Transit light rail train struck a tree that fell on the tracks in Burlington County, outside of Philadelphia. About two dozen passengers suffered non-life-threatening injuries (More)
The U.S. has seen an over 400% increase in whooping cough cases this year. There have been over 16K diagnoses in 2024, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; experts say a decline in vaccination rates is likely to blame (More)
Women's rights activist Lilly Ledbetter died at 86 due to respiratory failure. She fought an equal pay lawsuit before the Supreme Court before then-President Barack Obama signed the federal Fair Pay Act in her name in 2009 (More)

World News

Ukraine said Russian President Vladimir Putin may attend next month's G20 Summit. Host nation Brazil is an International Criminal Court member with a non-binding duty to arrest Putin on war crimes charges; President Joe Biden, who likely will attend, has had no publicly-known contact with Putin since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine (More)
A Chinese woman attempted to smuggle over two dozen turtles into Canada via kayak from Vermont's Lake Wallace. Border Patrol recovered 29 eastern box turtles, a protected species; the woman allegedly planned to sell the animals in Hong Kong, where they sell for $1K on the black market (More)
The United Kingdom has no plans to discuss slavery reparations at the upcoming Commonwealth summit in Samoa. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office reiterated the British government will not pay reparations despite calls for them (More)

Campaign News

Vice President Kamala Harris has agreed to a Fox News interview, her first-ever with the network. She will sit down with reporter Bret Baier tomorrow in Pennsylvania; the interview will air in the 6 p.m. ET hour during Special Report (More)
Former President Trump said he would hire 10K more Border Patrol agents if re-elected. He also pledged a $10K retention and signing bonus and said he would ask Congress to sign off on 10% salary raises; the National Border Control Council union has endorsed Trump (More)
A leaked Republican memo said Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's re-election bid is in danger. Internal polling has Cruz leading Rep. Colin Allred, a Democrat and former NFL player, 48% to 47%; Cruz's lead has dwindled in recent weeks as Allred has outspent him in the state (More)

Business & Markets

Major indexes closed higher yesterday. The Dow Jones finished the day above 43K points for the first time; Nvidia's market cap topped $3.4T at close (Dow +0.47%, Nasdaq +0.87%, S&P 500 +0.77%).
True Value declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy and plans to sell itself to a rival company. Do It Best has entered a deal to acquire the hardware wholesaler for $153M as part of the filing; the 4.5K independently-owned stores that carry the True Value name are not impacted (More)
Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su met with Boeing and its striking factory workers in Seattle as the Biden Administration looks to jumpstart talks. The aerospace giant announced plans to lay off 10% of its workforce as a result of the financial turmoil caused by the prolonged work stoppage, which has halted jet production (More)

Entertainment & Sports

Kansas is No. 1 in The Associated Press men's basketball preseason Top 25. The Jayhawks received 30 first-place votes, No. 2 Alabama got 14 and No. 3 UConn, the two-time reigning national champion, pulled in 11; No. 4 Houston and No. 6 Gonzaga were also ranked atop a handful of ballots (More)
Nigeria will boycott its 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match at Libya. The Nigerian soccer federation alleged "inhumane treatment" after arriving in Libya and planned to return home before today's scheduled match; any forfeit is unlikely to impact either team's qualifying fate (More)
NBC-owned Telemundo will carry a broadcast of Super Bowl LIX after reaching a deal with Fox, which holds the game's U.S. rights this season, and Fox Deportes. Both networks will produce separate broadcasts; the agreement will allow the game to reach its largest Spanish-language audience ever (More)

Quick Hitters

Feel Good: A Florida animal shelter called for help before Hurricane Milton hit. Over 200 cats and dogs were quickly adopted or given to foster families, and the shelter was empty last week.
Helping Hand: A British woman discovered her father was a hoarder when he died. And that she had similar tendencies. So she committed to decluttering and now helps others do the same.
Go Deep: A spell of dizziness is easily dismissed. But experts say the condition is often a sign of a serious medical issueand more research is necessary.
New Idea: Scientists have found a way to thicken Arctic ice. The novel approach takes seawater and pulls it to the surface to foster freezing.
Life Hack: Most people would love to rest while flying, especially if they are changing time zones or on a red eye. Here are some tips on how to sleep through any flight.

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