Rashida Tlaib calls Israeli PM Netanyahu ‘genocidal maniac,’ takes shot at fellow Dems who back him
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., is calling out her colleagues in the U.S. Congress who have sat down with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the ongoing war between his country and the terror group Hamas. She called the conservative leader a “genocidal maniac” in a post on her Instagram Story on Wednesday. “Every member of Congress who sits down with this murderer is supporting a war criminal,” Tlaib wrote. “We will never ever forget.” That would include fellow Democrats who met with Netanyahu since the war began, as the issue continues to fracture the left. HAMAS SAYS ‘NO TALK ABOUT PRISONERS OR EXCHANGE DEALS’ UNTIL ISRAEL STOPS GAZA CAMPAIGN: REPORT Hardline leftist Tlaib, who is also the only Palestinian American in Congress, has been among the loudest critics of the Israeli government during her tenure on Capitol Hill. That criticism reached new highs in the wake of the Oct. 7 surprise attack by Hamas terrorists in southern Israel. More than 1,200 people – mostly civilians, including young children and the elderly – were killed, and Hamas still holds dozens captive in Gaza. HOUSE LEFTISTS INCLUDE ANTISEMITISM IN RESOLUTION CONDEMNING ISLAMOPHOBIA, ‘ANTI-PALESTINIAN DISCRIMINATION’ Israel has responded with both a ground invasion and a blanket of rocket fire and airstrikes on Gaza. The Hamas-run health ministry has claimed nearly 21,000 Palestinians have been killed so far. “I am so sick and tired of our country funding and supporting a genocide and war on children,” Tlaib wrote in another Instagram Story on Wednesday. “Please don’t stop talking about Palestine.” The accompanying video supposedly depicted a dead Palestinian infant. Her comments come roughly a week after Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., a more moderate member of her party, returned from Israel. There, he said he met with Netanyahu as well as other Israeli officials and the families of people who remain in Hamas captivity. THESE CELEBRITIES HAVE SPOKE OUT IN SUPPORT OF PALESTINIANS AMID HAMAS TERROR “Our objectives are clear: The U.S. must stand by Israel to get all the hostages home, including Americans, eliminate the terrorists, & provide much-needed humanitarian aid to innocent Palestinian civilians being used by Hamas as human shields,” Gottheimer said on X. Gottheimer was one of 22 House Democrats who joined Republicans in a vote to censure Tlaib over her comments about Israel in November. Similar to Tlaib’s comments, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan compared Netanyahu to Adolf Hitler but said the Israeli leader was “richer” because of U.S. support. Netanyahu shot back in a statement, “Erdogan, who commits genocide against the Kurds, who holds a world record for imprisoning journalists who oppose his rule, is the last person who can preach morality to us.”
Nikki Haley hit from all sides after omitting ‘slavery’ from Civil War response
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is catching heat from both sides of the political aisle after she declined to mention slavery as the reason for sparking the U.S. Civil War. A voter asked the former U.N. ambassador during a New Hampshire town hall on Wednesday what was “the cause” of the war, to which she joked, “Well, don’t come with an easy question or anything.” “I think the cause of the Civil War was basically how government was going to run – the freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do,” she continued. TRUMP JR SAYS HE’D GO TO ‘GREAT LENGTHS’ TO PREVENT THIS REPUBLICAN FROM JOINING DAD’S CAMPAIGN “I mean, I think it all comes down to the role of government,” she added. “We need to have capitalism. We need to have economic freedom. We need to make sure that we do all things so that individuals have the liberties so that they can have freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to do or be anything they want to be without government getting in the way.” The voter responded that he was shocked she didn’t mention the word “slavery.” “What do you want me to say about slavery?” Haley asked. “Next question.” Haley’s response sparked backlash from the White House to the campaign trail. “It was about slavery,” President Biden posted on X with a clip of Haley’s comments. Bryan Griffin, the press secretary for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2024 presidential campaign, wrote: “On today’s scoreboard, Donald Trump complained about his treatment in the movie Home Alone 2, Nikki Haley stepped in a giant mess of her own making, and @RonDeSantis dismantled the far-left Miami Dade school union. Take your pick!” “Not stunning if you were a Black resident in SC when she was Governor,” wrote DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison. “Same person who said the confederate flag was about tradition & heritage and as a minority woman she was the right person to defend keeping it on state house grounds. Some may have forgotten but I haven’t. Time to take off the rose colored Nikki Haley glasses folks.” Haley clarified her remarks in a New Hampshire radio interview Thursday morning. “Yes, we know the Civil War was about slavery. But more than that, what’s the lesson in all this? That freedom matters. And individual rights and liberties matter for all people. That’s the blessing of America. That was a stain on America when we had slavery. But what we want is never relive it. Never let anyone take those freedoms away again.” Haley’s campaign pointed to her most recent comments when reached by Fox News Digital.
Lauren Boebert switches districts, announcing run for Colorado seat being vacated by Ken Buck
Colorado GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert announced she is running for re-election in a different district. Boebert, who currently represents Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, announced in a Wednesday social media video that she will be running for the seat being vacated by Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., in the state’s 4th District. Buck announced in November that he would not be seeking re-election in 2024. Boebert said she would be “moving to the fourth” in 2024. COLORADO REPUBLICAN JOINS CROWDED FIELD VYING FOR REP. KEN BUCK’S SEAT AFTER SURPRISING RETIREMENT “Today, I am announcing my candidacy for the 2024 Republican nomination to represent Colorado’s 4th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives,” Boebert said in the video. “It’s the right move for me personally, and it’s the right decision for those who support our conservative movement,” Boebert continued. “This is the right move for Colorado, for us.” Boebert said that since “the first day” she ran for office, she “promised to do whatever it takes to stop the socialists and communists from taking over our country.” “That means staying in the fight,” Boebert said. “But it also means not allowing Hollywood elites and progressive money groups from buying the 3rd District, a seat that they have no business owning.” “I will not allow dark money that is directed at destroying me personally to steal this seat. It’s not fair to the 3rd District and the conservatives there who have fought so hard for our victories, of which I am incredibly grateful.” Boebert called her announcement a “fresh start following a pretty difficult year” for her and her family, noting her divorce and “personal mistakes” – referencing the “Beetlejuice” stage play she attended that saw her and her date removed from a theater for inappropriate behavior and vaping – that she said she “owned up” to and “apologized for them.” “It’s been humbling and challenging, but it’s also given me perspective and helped me grow,” Boebert said. “And the Aspen donors, George Soros, and Hollywood actors that are trying to buy this seat, well they can go pound sand,” she also said. “We aren’t going to give them the opportunity to steal the third.” Boebert eked by in 2022, securing re-election with just 546 votes against Democrat Adam Frisch, who is running again for Colorado’s 3rd District and has significantly outraised the congresswoman. The Republican primary for Buck’s seat is already heating up. Jerry Sonnenberg, a rancher and former Colorado state senator, will announce his bid for the GOP nomination for the 4th District seat. Sonnenberg has deep ties in the solidly Republican rural Colorado district. He served on the Colorado Farm Bureau board of directors before being elected to the state House in 2006 – where he was the only farmer and rancher in the chamber – and he was elected as a state senator in 2014. Four other Republicans and three Democrats have also declared their candidacy for Buck’s seat. Fox News Digital’s Thomas Phippen contributed reporting.
NYC Mayor Adams says he hasn’t met with Biden in 2023 over migrant crisis: ‘It baffles me’
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said this week he hasn’t met with President Biden in 2023 over the city’s ongoing migrant crisis, as he renewed his calls for more action from the federal government to help the “sanctuary” city with the numbers it is seeing. Adams was asked at a press conference about his being unable to meet with Biden about the crisis. “I met with the president several times on this issue in ‘21 I think early 2022, the dates get confused,” he said. TEXAS MIGRANT FLIGHT HEADING TO NEW YORK CITY DIVERTED TO PHILADELPHIA “It baffles me. New York City is the economic engine of the state and of the country. And I don’t have the answer.” Adams noted that a coalition of mayors from other cities hit by the crisis have joined together to put pressure on the federal government. Together they have called for $5 billion in assistance from the Biden administration, in addition to other actions, including expedited work permits and help with resettlement. “I have to keep hammering away at this issue and I am really pleased we are now getting a chorus of other cities that are now joining us,” Adams said. NYC has had over 150,000 migrants enter its shelter system over the last year and while that is a small number compared to the millions encountered at the border, Adams has warned that the flow will “destroy” the city. The city recently slashed budgets, including for policing, education and sanitation, over the billions of dollars the crisis will cost. The numbers have been exacerbated by buses sent by the state of Texas, which has been sending tens of thousands of migrants to “sanctuary” cities across the country, including Washington, D.C., and NYC. On Tuesday, Texas sent its first flight to NYC, but it was diverted to Philadelphia. ‘CHAOS’ AND ‘FURY’ IN NYC AS OFFICIALS LOSE FAITH IN MAYOR ERIC ADAMS OVER MIGRANT CRISIS: REPORT Adams has criticized Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, but has also been searing in his criticism of the federal government, leading to tensions between the administration and Adams’ administration. Adams has met with White House officials, including multiple meetings with top adviser Tom Perez on the issue. But there have so far been not sit-downs this year with the president himself. The Biden administration has previously pointed to funding it has provided to cities like New York City, as well as teams to help with processing work permits and making recommendations for improvements. Meanwhile, it has called on Congress to provide additional funding as part of its budget supplemental. That supplemental is currently being held up in Washington, D.C., as lawmakers debate additional restrictions on asylum. A resolution is not expected until early 2024. As they debate, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said last week that November saw over 242,000 migrant encounters at the southern border – the highest November on record.
India formally asks Pakistan to extradite 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed
The request has been an extradition request from New Delhi to Islamabad.
Covid-19 JN.1: 157 cases of new variant recorded in India; highest from Kerala, Gujarat
Several states have been reporting an uptick in Covid cases over the last few weeks. Nine states and Union territories have so far detected the presence of the JN.1 sub-variant of the virus.
Delhi Traffic Advisory for New Year’s Eve: Restrictions, parking facility, routes to avoid on Dec 31; check details
Traffic moving towards Connaught Place will be regulated after 8 pm on Sunday.
‘Govt didn’t follow ‘proper procedure’ while suspending WFI, will challenge in court’: Sanjay Singh
Sanjay said that his “autonomous” and “democratically elected” body could not be suspended by the government without hearing the WFI’s side of the story.
Who is Mrinank Singh, cricketer-turned-conman, posed as IPS officer to dupe five-star hotels, Rishabh Pant?
He also allegedly duped a famous Indian cricketer. He posed as a player for an IPL team and used his ‘stardom’ to dupe women.
China accuses Taiwan of ‘hyping up’ military threat ahead of elections
Taiwan’s presidential and parliamentary polls on January 13 are expected to shape the island’s relations with Beijing. China has accused Taiwan of deliberately “hyping up” a military threat from Beijing for electoral gains ahead of the island’s January polls. “The Democratic Progressive Party [DPP] authorities are deliberately hyping up the so-called ‘military threat from the mainland’ and exaggerating tensions,” China’s Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Wu Qian said on Thursday. “This is entirely to seek electoral gain,” he added, accusing Taiwan of using a “familiar electoral playbook to stoke confrontation and manipulate the election”. On Thursday, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 12 Chinese military aircraft flying over the Taiwan Strait, the sensitive median line separating Taiwan from China. China has been sending warplanes and vessels around Taiwan on a near-daily basis, with Taipei reporting an uptick in Beijing’s military activity in the Taiwan Strait before the January 13 elections. China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory. The presidential and parliamentary elections are expected to shape the island’s relations with Beijing. One of the main themes in the run-up to the closely watched vote is how the presidential candidates will handle relations with China. The Chinese government dislikes the DPP candidate, current Vice President Lai Ching-te, believing he is a separatist and has rejected his calls for talks. Taiwanese officials have repeatedly raised concerns about election interference and misinformation as Beijing, in the past four years, has intensified military pressure to assert its sovereignty claim. During a televised policy presentation on Tuesday, Lai reiterated warnings of election interference by Beijing. “It is easier to buy or cheat than to rob,” Lai said, accusing the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) of “borrowing China’s power to gain ruling power”. KMT candidate Hou Yu-ih, who has promised to create closer ties to Beijing, has called the election a choice “between war and peace”. Hou Yu-ih, a candidate for Taiwan’s presidency, from the main opposition party KMT, in New Taipei City [Ann Wang/Reuters] Wu, the spokesperson, also said China’s People’s Liberation Army knew Taiwan’s military movements well. “We will, as always, take all necessary measures to resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he added. Wu declined to comment on the Chinese balloons that Taiwan reported drifting across the strait’s median line, which previously served as an unofficial barrier between the two sides. Adblock test (Why?)