Good morning. Here’s your Daily Situational Awareness briefing for Monday, 23 August 2021. You can receive this daily intel brief via email by signing up at https://forwardobserver.com/daily-sa
TODAY’S BRIEFING:
- Eviction moratorium in jeopardy
- DoD activates civil reserve fleet
- State Department suffers “substantial” cyber attack
- House expected to vote on “human infrastructure” bill
- FDA vaccine approval foreshadows vaccine mandates
You can watch today’s Daily SA briefing on YouTube (click the box above).
Subscribers can also watch the full briefing starting at 10am Central here: https://forwardobserver.com/early-warning-show/
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
EVICTIONS: Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts gave the Biden administration until noon today to answer a lawsuit filed by real estate groups over the eviction moratorium. A lower court did not offer a legal justification for rejecting an injunction, prompting another Supreme Court showdown. The courts previously held the Centers for Disease Control couldn’t extend moratoriums without Congressional action. (Analyst Comment: The administration admitted the action was in defiance of the court ruling. Press Secretary Jen Psaki also said it “is a proper use of its lawful authority to protect the public health.” A change to the eviction moratorium will likely spur renewed protests from Far Left groups demanding “equity” in housing.- D.M.)
FLIGHTS: The Defense Department activated the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) to evacuate Americans and “at-risk individuals” from Afghanistan. The activation calls for 18 aircraft, three each from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines and Omni Air; two from Hawaiian Airlines; and four from United Airlines. The requisition is not projected to impact commercial flights and civilian aircraft will be used for follow-on flights after Air Force evacuations. (AC: This is only the third time the CRAF has been activated, pointing to the deteriorating security situation of the U.S. withdrawal. Former Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliffe said the blunders are a “huge propaganda win” for China and Russia. – D.M.)
STATE DEPT: Over the weekend, the U.S. Department of State suffered a cyber attack. The extent of the attack is currently unknown but reporting requirements to Congress indicate the amount of information compromised is “substantial”. An Inspector General report of the State Department’s cyber policies found more than 1100 critical or high-risk vulnerabilities in computer systems. A further 60% of users accessing classified networks did not have any access agreements along with thousands of still-active classified logins from former employees. (AC: The State Department was part of the SolarWinds breach in December, indicating persistent data security issues are having long-term ramifications for Washington. President Biden said in a recent interview the U.S. would likely get in a “real shooting war” as a result of cyber attacks. -D.M.)
HOUSE: The House will convene this evening to consider the $3.5 trillion “human infrastructure” bill and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Currently, nine Democrats are expected to vote “present” unless Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) considers the Senate’s original $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan. (AC: Democrats will be one vote short of passing their legislative priorities if the moderates hold out. This doesn’t prevent passage of the new bills but will delay it, likely until the debt ceiling negotiations occur at the end of September. Beyond the blowout spending, the changes to regulation and Federal control of elections will be a significant restructuring of American life. – D.M.)
FDA: The Food and Drug Administration approved the Pfizer vaccine Monday morning. The approval is a necessary regulatory step before boosters can be formally recommended. FDA approval paves the way for expanded medical mandates in private companies and government offices. (AC: The FDA approval is a prerequisite for proposed legislation requiring all airline travelers to comply with medical mandates. The timing of the approval is likely designed to coincide with the House return and legislative sprint to avert a government shutdown. – D.M.)
HAZARDS WARNING
HURRICANE SEASON: Tropical Depression Henri is expected to continue to produce heavy rainfall and flooding across New England and Northern Mid-Atlantic throughout today. According to the National Hurricane Center heavy rainfall will result in limited to considerable flash, urban, and small stream flooding impacts, along with minor to isolated moderate river flooding. Areas of low pressure in the Atlantic have a low likelihood of organizing further over the next 48 hours.
In today’s Early Warning briefing, Dustin looks at China’s latest offensive information campaign and Max details Far Left activity from over the weekend. Upgrade your Situational Awareness to Early Warning here: https://forwardobserver.com/subscribe