Análisis por Stephen Collinson, CNN

El presidente Donald Trump ha desaprovechado múltiples oportunidades para explicar a los estadounidenses cómo su última escalada ganará la guerra en Irán o cómo aliviará los precios perpetuamente altos de los alimentos, la vivienda y el combustible.

Ahora planea centrar su discurso nacional del jueves por la noche en una obsesión personal con el pasado: su falsa afirmación de que ganó las elecciones de 2020.

Los críticos temen que todo esto forme parte de un esfuerzo acelerado por minar la confianza en los sistemas electorales y crear un pretexto para usar el poder federal e influir en las elecciones de mitad de mandato de noviembre.

No sería la primera vez que este presidente —de quien se espera que fortalezca la democracia estadounidense— la socava.

“No hay nada más importante, porque sin elecciones libres y justas, no hay país”, declaró el presidente el miércoles al presentar un adelanto de su discurso. “También hablaremos de otros temas, pero será un anuncio muy importante”.

La creciente retórica de advertencias de Trump está aumentando la inquietud de que no se limite a reciclar afirmaciones sobre las elecciones de 2020 que fueron desmentidas por varios tribunales, republicanos estatales e incluso por su propia administración durante su primer mandato.

Trump, como ya lo ha hecho en el pasado, parece estar construyendo una narrativa alternativa en caso de que el Partido Republicano obtenga malos resultados en noviembre y para presentar cualquier elección que no gane como, por definición, injusta.

Fuera de la Casa Blanca, nadie sabe qué dirá el presidente el jueves.

Pero aún no hay indicios creíbles de que posea nuevas pruebas contundentes de fraude electoral que contradigan la abrumadora evidencia de que las elecciones de 2020 fueron justas, ni los innumerables estudios académicos que demuestran que las irregularidades importantes son muy raras en las elecciones estadounidenses.

Pero el discurso de Trump podría confirmar un patrón ya conocido.

En 2016, 2020 y 2024, a medida que se acercaban las elecciones, el presidente intensificó sus esfuerzos por sembrar dudas sobre la imparcialidad de los comicios.

En 2020, esto se transformó en una injerencia electoral activa tras negarse a reconocer la victoria de Joe Biden e intentar anular el resultado sin pruebas.

Su campaña culminó en un disturbio protagonizado por sus seguidores con el objetivo de impedir la certificación de la victoria del presidente electo, durante el cual agentes de policía fueron agredidos y el Capitolio de Estados Unidos fue profanado.

En uno de los primeros actos de su segundo mandato, Trump indultó o conmutó las penas de cientos de personas condenadas en relación con los sucesos del 6 de enero de 2021, enviando el mensaje de que la violencia electoral o los intentos de subvertir la democracia en su nombre eran aceptables y estaban por encima de la ley.

Las alarmas vuelven a sonar, en parte debido al papel del director interino de inteligencia nacional de Trump, Bill Pulte, a quien el presidente insinuó que había enviado a la principal agencia de espionaje para encontrar pruebas de “elecciones fraudulentas”.

Mientras tanto, el FBI ha estado investigando las elecciones de 2020 en Georgia, estado que Trump perdió, tras incautar cajas de material electoral.

Dichas elecciones fueron declaradas libres y justas en repetidas

By Zachary Cohen, CNN

(CNN) — The investigation into a US strike that hit a school in Iran has sat for months with a military command while leaders have held off on ordering a critical, standard intelligence review to help determine what happened, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

Within a week of the strike, the first two stages of a “battle damage assessment” focused on answering basic questions including whether the strike hit and damaged the intended target had been completed, indicating that the US was responsible for striking the Shajareh Tayyiba school in Minab, the sources said.

But a third standard review stage, a step where analysts – typically from the Defense Intelligence Agency – review the entire body of relevant satellite imagery and other intelligence sources to provide a more holistic determination about what took place and how a strike impacted the broader mission, was not ordered, the sources said. That review would almost always be conducted in the immediate aftermath of a noteworthy strike, they said, but it had not begun as of early July.

An independent investigation – announced in March – was separately launched, and interviews were conducted with service members involved with the strike. Sources said that the information gained from interviews, material that could be useful to commanders still launching strikes against Iran to avoid mistakes, has been “locked down” by US Central Command with only a handful of officers permitted access to the details.

“There was no detailed analysis conducted and CENTCOM locked down the investigation/blocked anyone from looking into it,” one of the sources said.

A Defense Department official told CNN that “the investigation is ongoing.”

“We have nothing further to announce at this moment,” the official added.

The sources said the investigation would help determine fault for the mistaken strike.

The decision to launch the investigation should not have precluded DIA from conducting the more thorough third phase of the review, the first source told CNN, adding “both could have happened at the same time if they chose to.”

An additional DIA review would not, in and of itself, have determined who was at fault but could have been used as evidence, the source added.

A US official told CNN that the internal Pentagon investigation was intended to supersede a traditional third phase assessment, and both could not happen at the same time because it was clear after the initial review that the incident required a thorough probe – by an independent body outside of CENTCOM and unattached to other agencies that would have had a role in the strike itself.

Once the independent investigation findings were submitted to CENTCOM back in April, the subsequent delay was due to a need to examine what happened even further, the official said, pointing to the fact that the failures contributing to the accidental strike went back years and involved multiple layers of potential missteps.

A week after the strike and after the initial two phases of review, evidence was already beginning to emerge that the US military had accidentally hit the elementary school due, at least in part, to outdated intelligence about the targeted site – which was believed to be an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval base, sources said.

Iranian state media said that 168 children and 14 adults died in the attack.

As of early July, the Pentagon had not asked the Defense Intelligence Agency to conduct the third and final phase of the battle damage assessment, a role the agency almost always ful

Oswaldo Rivas

Vacunacion de Regreso a Clases este Jueves 16 de Julio en Comite de Bien Estar

The post Vacunación de Regreso a Clases este Jueves 16 de Julio en Comité de Bien Estar appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

Oswaldo Rivas

Vacunacion de Regreso a Clases este Jueves 16 de Julio en Comite de Bien Estar

The post Vacunación de Regreso a Clases este Jueves 16 de Julio en Comité de Bien Estar appeared first on News Channel 3-12.

* WHAT…Dangerous rip currents and breaking waves with elevated
surf expected. Minor coastal flooding possible.

* WHERE…San Luis Obispo County Beaches, Santa Barbara County
Central Coast Beaches, Santa Barbara County Southwestern
Coast, Santa Barbara County Southeastern Coast, Ventura County
Beaches, Malibu Coast and Los Angeles County Beaches.

* WHEN…Until 3 AM PDT Thursday.

* IMPACTS…There is an increased risk of ocean drowning. Rip
currents can pull swimmers and surfers out to sea. Waves can
wash people off beaches and rocks, and capsize small boats
nearshore.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…Southerly swell combined with abnormally
high tides of 7.0 to 7.6 feet will bring the potential for
minor coastal flooding in low-lying areas each evening.
Remain out of the water due to hazardous swimming conditions, or
stay near occupied lifeguard towers. Rock jetties can be deadly
in such conditions, stay off the rocks.

The post Beach Hazards Statement issued July 15 at 8:30PM PDT until July 16 at 3:00AM PDT by NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard CA appeared first on News Channel 3-12.