US sending submarine to Middle East amid new developments

[KARAH RUCKER]

THERE HAVE BEEN NEW DEVELOPMENTS OVER THE WEEKEND IN THE ISRAEL HAMAS WAR. 

THE U.S. IS SENDING A NUCLEAR SUBMARINE INTO THE REGION. 

 ISRAEL IS EXPANDING ITS EVACUATION ORDERS. 

AND HAMAS’ NEW LEADER GIVES HIS TERMS FOR A CEASEFIRE DEAL. 

WE’LL START WITH THE U.S. ORDERING THE DEPLOYMENT OF A “NUCLEAR POWERED SUBMARINE WITH CRUISE MISSILES” — THE USS GEORGIA — INTO THE MIDDLE EAST. 

THE MOVEMENT OF U.S. MISSILE SUBMARINES IS RARELY REVEALED PUBLICLY — TYPICALLY OPERATING IN NEAR-COMPLETE SECRECY — BUT THE MOVE COMES AS ISRAEL IS ANTICIPATING A POTENTIALLY “LARGE SCALE ATTACK” BY IRAN IN THE “NEXT FEW DAYS. 

THE ISRAELI MILITARY HAS ORDERED MORE EVACUATION ORDERS FROM PART OF A “HUMANITARIAN SAFE ZONE” IT HAD SET UP IN SOUTHWESTERN GAZA — 

SAYING THEY NOW PLAN TO EXPAND ITS FIGHTING HERE BECAUSE OF INDICATIONS HAMAS TERRORISTS HAVE A SIGNIFICANT PRESENCE THERE NOW LIVING AMONG CIVILIANS. 

THESE ORDERS COME A DAY AFTER ISRAEL STRUCK A SCHOOL-TURNED-SHELTER THAT THE HAMAS-RUN HEALTH MINISTRY SAYS “KILLED AT LEAST 80 PEOPLE.” 

ISRAEL SAYING AGAIN THAT HAMAS FIGHTERS WERE HIDING AMONG CIVILIANS AT THE SCHOOL COMPOUND. 

MEANWHILE HAMAS’ NEW LEADER SAID SUNDAY THERE WOULD BE NO NEW NEGOTIATIONS FOR A CEASE-FIRE IN GAZA THIS WEEK — 

UNLESS MEDIATORS FROM THE U.S., QATAR, AND EGYPT REVERT BACK TO A PLAN THAT WOULD SEE A TRUCE IN THE WAR.   

IN A CBS INTERVIEW ON SUNDAY — PRESIDENT BIDEN SAID HE BELIEVES A CEASEFIRE DEAL IS STILL POSSIBLE BEFORE HE LEAVES OFFICE.

OTHER NEWS TO COME OUT OF PRESIDENT BIDEN’S FIRST INTERVIEW SINCE PULLING OUT OF THE 2024 RACE — 

BIDEN EXPLAINED A BIG REASON WHY HE MADE THAT DECISION WAS SO THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY COULD FOCUS ON WHAT HE SAYS IS THE REAL ISSUE: DEFEATING FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP. 

IN AN INTERVIEW WITH C-B-S SUNDAY MORNING, THE PRESIDENT LAID OUT HIS THOUGHT PROCESS. 

PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN 

“Polls we had showed that it was neck and neck race, would’ve been down to the wire. But what happened was a number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought that I was going to hurt them in the races, and I was concerned if I stayed in the race that would the the topic. You’d be interviewing me about ‘why did Nancy Pelosi say, why did so-and-so say?’ and I thought it would be a distraction 

although it’s a great honor being president, I think I have an obligation to the country to do what I, the most important thing you can do and that is we must, we must defeat Trump.” 

DURING THAT INTERVIEW, PRESIDENT BIDEN SAID HE’LL CAMPAIGN FOR DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE VIE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS IN PENNSYLVANIA — A KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE IN THE ELECTION. 

HE DID NOT, HOWEVER, SPECIFY *WHEN* THAT WOULD BE.

REPUBLICAN VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE J-D VANCE had multiple ONE-ON-ONE INTERVIEWS AIR ON SUNDAY. 

IN SEPARATE INTERVIEWS — HE SPOKE WITH C-N-N’S DANA BASH, C-B-S’ MARGARET BRENNAN, AND A-B-C’S JONATHAN KARL ABOUT FORMER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S PLAN, SHOULD HE BE ELECTED AGAIN IN 20-24. 

ON C-B-S’ FACE THE NATION — VANCE DEFENDed RECENT COMMENTS BY THE FORMER PRESIDENT INDICATING HE MAY BE WILLING TO ROLL BACK ACCESS TO THE ABORTION PILL. 

VANCE SAYING TRUMP “WANTS ABORTION RELATED DECISIONS TO BE LEFT TO THE STATES.” 

ON C-N-N — VANCE COMMENTED ON VICE PRESIDENT HARRI’S RUNNING MATE, MINNESOTA GOVERNOR TIM WALZ — SAYING *HE’S* THE ONE BEING “WEIRD” AFTER THAT TERM HAS BEEN USED BY THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY TO DESCRIBE THE REPUBLICAN TICKET. 

AND VANCE TOOK THE MEDIA SPOTLIGHT AS A MOMENT TO DISCUSS TRUMP’S PLANS FOR MASS DEPORTATIONS. 

SEN. JD VANCE | (R-OH) VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE 

“I think that you take a sequential approach to it. You are going to have to deport some people. If you’re not willing to deport a lot of people, you’re not willing to have a border when there are 20 million illegal aliens in our country.” 

“Fifteen million people. This is like, i mean –“ 

“John, I think it’s the wrong attitude to take.” 

“Would you go knock on doors and ask people for their papers?” 

“I think that’s the wrong attitude. There’s 20 million people here illegally, right? You start with what’s achievable, you do that, and then you go on to what’s achievable from there. I think if you deport a lot of violent criminals, and frankly, if you make it harder to hire illegal labor — which undercuts the wages of American workers — I think you go a lot of the way to solving the illegal immigration problem. But look, President Trump is absolutely right. You cannot have a border unless you’re willing to deport some people. I think it’s interesting that people focus on, ‘Well, how do you deport 18 million people:’ Let’s start with one million, that’s where Kamala Harris has failed, and then we can go from there.” 

VANCE WILL BE CAMPAIGNING FOR THE REPUBLICAN TICKET ON WEDNESDAY — MAKING A STOP IN MICHIGAN, A KEY SWING STATE, WHILE TRUMP IS SET ADDRESS THE ECONOMY IN NORTH CAROLINA.

THERE ARE NEW CONCERNS THIS MORNING OVER FOREIGN INTERFERENCE IN THE U.S. ELECTION — 

AFTER THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN SAID OVER THE WEEKEND THAT IT WAS HACKED BY WHO THEY BELIEVE TO BE IRANIAN HACKERS. 

BOTH POLITICO AND THE WASHINGTON POST REPORTED RECEIVING INTERNAL TRUMP DOCUMENTS INCLUDING RESEARCH ON TRUMP’S RUNNING MATE SENATOR JD VANCE “FROM AN ANONYMOUS EMAIL ACCOUNT.” 

NEWS OF A CAMPAIGN HACK COMES JUST AS MICROSOFT SAID FRIDAY IT DISCOVERED “EVIDENCE THAT IRANIAN HACKERS TARGETED AN EMAIL ACCOUNT OF A CAMPAIGN OFFICIAL” BACK IN JUNE — WHILE MICROSOFT DIDN’T SPECIFY WHAT CAMPAIGN WAS IMPACTED IN THEIR ANNOUNCEMENT — A PERSON FAMILIAR TO THE TALKS TOLD THE WASHINGTON POST IT WAS TRUMP’S CAMPAIGN TARGETED. 

THE EXTENT OF ANY SORT OF HACK IS NOT CURRENTLY KNOWN — BUT THE POST SAID THEY RECEIVED HUNDREDS OF PAGES LABELED AS “CONFIDENTIAL.” 

THIS COMES JUST AS FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP WILL BE SITTING DOWN FOR AN INTERVIEW WITH ELON MUSK TONIGHT.

AND NOW TO SOME CONTROVERSY TO CLOSE OUT THE SUMMER OLYMPICS IN PARIS. 

USA GYMNASTICS CHALLENGING THE RULING OF OLYMPIC OFFICIALS THAT CALLED FOR TEAM USA’S JORDAN CHILES TO RETURN HER BRONZE MEDAL SHE WON DURING THE INDIVIDUAL FLOOR EXERCISE FINAL LAST WEEK.   

CHILES WAS AWARDED THE MEDAL AFTER HER COACH SUBMITTED A REVIEW OF THE JUDGES’ SCORES. 

HOWEVER THE DECISION THIS WEEKEND BY THE COURT OF ARBITRATION FOR SPORT SAID CHILES’ COACH HAD ASKED FOR THE REVIEW FOUR SECONDS AFTER A ONE-MINUTE DEADLINE TO SUBMIT SUCH A REQUEST HAD EXPIRED — PER COMPETITION RULES – MEANING ROMANIA WON THE BRONZE. 

BUT ON SUNDAY – USA GYMNASTICS FIRED BACK AT THAT RULING — SAYING IT HAS SUBMITTED TIME-STAMPED VIDEO EVIDENCE SHOWING THE REQUEST WAS MADE WITHIN THE ONE MINUTE. 

OLYMPIC OFFICIALS HAVE YET TO RESPOND TO THE LATEST TWIST IN THIS GYMNASTICS SAGA.

FINALLY THIS MORNING – AS WE MENTIONED – THIS WEEKEND SAW THE PARIS SUMMER GAMES COME TO A CLOSE. 

TEAM USA LEADING THE WAY WITH THE MOST TOTAL MEDALS – 126 — AND TYING CHINA FOR MOST GOLD MEDALS — WITH 40 EACH. 

AND AS PARIS MARKED THE CONCLUSION OF ITS OLYMPICS — IT WAS UP TO THE NEXT HOST CITY – LOS ANGELES – TO CLOSE OUT THE SHOW IN STYLE AND, LA BROUGHT – WHAT ELSE — BUT A HOLLYWOOD ENDING. 

ACTOR TOM CRUISE CHANNELING HIS “TOP GUN” AND “MISSION IMPOSSIBLE” ROLES – BY JUMPING OFF THE STADIUM’S ROOF IN PARIS. 

HE WAS THEN HANDED THE OLYMPIC FLAG BY LOS ANGELES MAYOR KAREN BOSS AND OLYMPIC GREAT SIMONE BILES TO TAKE BACK TO LA.  

THE CLOSING CEREMONY ALSO SAW THE MUSICIAN “HER” SINGING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM – AS WELL AS PERFORMANCES BY THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, SNOOP DOG, DOCTOR DRE (DRAY), AND BILLIE EILISH. 

COINCIDENTALLY, TEAM USA TAKING HOME 126 MEDALS IS THE MOST SINCE THE US WON 174 IN 1984 – THE LAST TIME THE OLYMPICS WERE PLAYED IN LOS ANGELES.