Day 56: "Exacerbating divisions." - a podcast by Matt Kiser

1/ Putin authorized operations to interfere in the 2020 election by conducting an influence campaign aimed at “denigrating” Biden and the Democratic Party, while “supporting Trump, undermining public confidence in the electoral process, and exacerbating sociopolitical divisions in the U.S.,” according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. No foreign government, however, attempted to change votes or alter ballots. Putin used proxies linked to Russian intelligence services to promote “influence narratives – including misleading or unsubstantiated allegations against President Biden – to U.S. media organizations, U.S. officials, and prominent U.S. individuals, including some close to former President Trump and his administration.” The U.S. intelligence community also found that Iran conducted influence operations and that China “considered but did not deploy influence efforts” intended to change the outcome of the election. (CNN / New York Times / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Axios / NBC News)

2/ The Army initially rejected Washington, D.C.’s request for the National Guard ahead of the Jan. 6 rally that led to the Capitol riot, saying the military shouldn’t be needed to help police with traffic and crowd management, unless more than 100,000 demonstrators were expected. The Army ultimately approved the mission and provided 340 members of the National Guard to help with street closures and crowd control as requested. (Washington Post / CNN)

3/ The U.S. is on pace to see the largest number of migrants apprehended at the U.S.-Mexico border in two decades. The surge has created a backlog in Border Patrol stations, with more than 4,200 children in custody and 2,943 of those children being held over the 72-hour legal limit. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, however, insisted that the “difficult” situation was under control. Mayorkas defended the administration’s policy of allowing unaccompanied teens and children to remain in the country – rejecting the Trump-era policy of immediately sending children back to Mexico or other countries – but said “We are expelling most single adults and families.” As the Biden administration struggles to find space for the surge in migrant children and teenagers, many are being forced to sleep on gym mats with foil sheets and go for days without showering. (NBC News / Wall Street Journal / New York Times /

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