Far-right origins of false pet-eating claims and Boeing workers to strike: Morning Rundown

How a fringe claim about immigrants eating pets made it to the mainstream. Boeing workers are set to strike. And scientists reveal what caused a mysterious 650-foot tsunami.

Here’s what to know today.

How a fringe claim about immigrants ‘eating the pets’ made its way to the debate stage

It started as a fringe obsession. By the end of Tuesday, millions of people who tuned into the presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris heard an unsubstantiated and racially charged rumor about immigrants “eating the pets” in Springfield, Ohio.

“In Springfield they’re eating dogs,” Trump said, referring to an Ohio city dealing with an influx of Haitian immigrants. “They’re eating the cats. They’re eating … the pets of the people that live there.” (See the extraordinary moment here.)

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While this week was probably the first time many people were introduced to the rumor, the baseless claim was already thriving on right-wing corners of the internet.

The origin of the rumor is difficult to pinpoint, but in June, people in local Facebook groups began posting about Haitian children chasing ducks and geese. Over the next few weeks, the complaints, without evidence, got darker, with some claiming that, perhaps, the birds were being eaten by their immigrant neighbors. Last month, a national neo-Nazi group called Blood Tribe started stoking racist rumors, and things snowballed. Read more about the hate group’s role in spreading the rumor.

Eventually, Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, repeated the claim.

No one involved in Trump’s debate preparations or in a position to speak for his campaign agreed to discuss the strategy on the record. “Just, suffice to say, he was aware of it,” a senior Trump adviser said.

Read the full story for a look at how the claim made its way to the debate stage.

More 2024 election coverage: 

• Far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer’s access to Trump is pitting his allies against each other and reveals a crisis in his campaign.
• Trump said he won’t participate in any more debates with Harris. Harris said, “We owe it to voters” to debate again.
• Trump’s latest economic pitch to voters: No taxes on overtime pay.
• Harris’ newly released policy agenda includes gaps and ambiguities on major issues.
• Harris is slowly opening up for more media interviews as her campaign tries to combat criticism for being too walled off.

Boeing workers set to strike after rejecting contract

More than 30,000 Boeing workers are set to strike today, halting production on most of the company’s aircraft, after staff overwhelmingly rejected a new labor contract. A tentative agreement from Boeing and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers included 25% wage increases and other improvements to health care and retirement benefits. The union, which includes workers in the Seattle area and in Oregon, had sought raises of about 40%.

The 94.6% vote against the tentative agreement and the 96% vote in favor of a strike is a blow to Boeing, which has faced mounting debt, manufacturing flaws, labor shortages and additional federal scrutiny this year.

Arson suspect in California may have sparked other fires

Authorities say the suspect arrested this week in connection with a California wildfire is believed to have set off two other fires on the same day he allegedly sparked a blaze that would balloon into the Line Fire. It’s also possible that the suspect, 34-year-old Justin Wayne Halstenberg, could be tied to other fires, San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said. Halstenberg faces nine felony charges. He could face more charges, San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson said. 

The Line Fire was 37,207 acres and 18% contained as of yesterday, according to Cal Fire. Elsewhere in Southern California, the Airport Fire has engulfed 23,410 acres and 5% contained, and the Bridge Fire was 51,167 acres and 0% contained. 

Politics in Brief

Trump on trial: The judge overseeing the election interference case against Donald Trump and several co-defendants in Georgia threw out three counts in the indictment. 

2020 election fallout: Voting machine company Smartmatic’s defamation lawsuit against Newsmax over false claims made after the 2020 election is headed to trial.

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Read All About It 

• Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffered another concussion during yesterday’s game with the Buffalo Bills, the team said. 
• New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban resigned amid a federal investigation into the department’s nightclub enforcement, sources said.
• The Idaho Supreme Court ordered the trial of the man accused of murdering four University of Idaho students to be moved out of the county where the killings took place.
• Here’s how Asian American enrollment changed at Ivy League universities (and, in one school’s case, didn’t change) for the first class admitted since the end of affirmative action.

Staff Pick: The mystery of a 650-foot tsunami

Last year, seismologists around the world picked up a strange signal they’d never seen before: a monotonous hum that would last for nine days. The signal led them to the Dickson Fjord in Greenland, where they soon found evidence of a rock and ice avalanche that struck the water and created a 650-foot tsunami. That nine-day hum was waves sloshing back and forth in the narrow body of water. The tsunami also battered an island about 45 miles away. This week, scientists revealed climate change touched off the rare cascade of events because thinning ice triggered a landslide. — Evan Bush, science reporter

NBC Select: Online Shopping, Simplified

You’ve heard of prebiotics for your gut, but did you know there’s also prebiotic skin care? Here are the ingredients to look for. Plus, NBC Select editors tested 100 face moisturizers and ranked them. Here are their top picks.