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Year: 2023

‘Many more could die’: Urgent plea for Rohingya refugees trapped at sea

‘Many more could die’: Urgent plea for Rohingya refugees trapped at sea

At least one passenger on a boat carrying 185 refugees has died, with dozens more in ‘critical condition’, warns UNHCR. Fears are growing for scores of Rohingya refugees believed to be stranded at sea in the Indian Ocean, after a boat they set off in from Bangladesh saw its engine fail. The group of some 185 Rohingya, mostly women and children, are in desperate need of rescue after falling into distress near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Saturday. The Rohingya were fleeing overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh, where they had taken shelter after escaping their homeland in Myanmar. More than 750,000 Rohingya were forced to flee Myanmar in 2017 after the military launched a crackdown on the Muslim minority, torching their homes and properties. The United States accused the military of committing genocide against the Rohingya people, while a genocide case against Myanmar is under way at the UN’s top court. The UN agency said at least one of the boat’s passengers had already died, with a dozen more in “critical condition”. “Many more could die under the watch of numerous coastal states without timely rescue and disembarkation to the nearest place of safety,” the UNHCR warned. “It is really a desperate situation.” Thousands of the mostly Muslim Rohingya, heavily persecuted in Myanmar, undertake risky sea journeys from their country and refugee camps in Bangladesh every year trying to reach Malaysia or Indonesia. More than 2,000 Rohingya are believed to have attempted the risky journey to Southeast Asian countries in 2022, according to UNHCR. Since last year, more than 570 people, including Rohingya refugees, have been reported dead or missing at sea in the region, it said. When it comes to the people currently adrift, the agency emphasised that “a bigger tragedy is preventable with timely efforts to save lives”. “This situation once again underlines the importance of all states in the region deploying their full search and rescue capacities to avoid human disasters happening at this scale.” Adblock test (Why?)

Israel-Hamas war: List of key events, day 79

Israel-Hamas war: List of key events, day 79

Here’s how things stand on Sunday, December 24, 2023: The latest developments The United States said Iran launched a drone from its soil that struck a Liberia-flagged, Japanese-owned chemical tanker in the Indian Ocean. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) also said it downed several drones launched at vessels from Yemen by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement. The Houthis also fired two antiship ballistic missiles in the southern Red Sea, but no ships were hit. Pro-Palestinian marches continued in cities across the world, with some of the latest protests in Australia, Germany and Turkey. Heavy raids by the Israeli army continued in the occupied West Bank. A convoy led by bulldozers entered Tulkarem in the early hours of Sunday, and raids have also been reported in Bethlehem, the town of Beita just south of Nablus, and the towns of Sa’ir and Karma near Hebron. The representative for Hamas in Beirut, Osama Hamdan, said Israel has failed in its stated goal of “destroying” the group, and that it will have to stop the war if it wants the captives released. Human impact and fighting Thousands of Palestinians were again forced to flee their homes, this time after the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders in the central Gaza Strip. Since a United Nations Security Council resolution was passed on Friday without a clear call for a ceasefire, there has been a surge in aerial bombardments in central Gaza. Israeli air raids killed more than 400 people in Gaza in the past 48 hours. Gaza’s Government Media Office said more than 20,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7. The death toll from Hamas’s attack on Israel stands at nearly 1,140, revised from 1,400. At least 101 journalists have been killed since October 7, according to the Government Media Office, which also said more than 50 media offices have been completely or partially destroyed by Israeli attacks. Al Jazeera Arabic’s cameraman Samer Abudaqa was among those killed in Israeli strikes. The Palestine Red Crescent Society said it continues to operate at its medical point in Jabalia, northern Gaza, despite incessant shelling of the area. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also said on X: “As the conflict intensifies and the horror grows, we will continue to do our part. We will not give up.” Diplomacy Yoav Gallant and Benny Gantz, Israel’s current and former defence ministers, respectively, who, along with Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu make up the Israeli war cabinet, visited northern Gaza and promised that more attacks would be forthcoming despite international pressure for an immediate ceasefire. US President Joe Biden had a “private” phone conversation with Netanyahu. He told reporters after that he “did not ask for a ceasefire”. Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International, said the UNSC resolution for humanitarian relief would only result in a “drop in the ocean of suffering” in Gaza. She said the White House “holds the key” for putting an end to the carnage. During a meeting in Doha, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi discussed the war in Gaza and called for an end to Israeli attacks. The head of Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, is set to give his third speech since the start of the war in the coming days to mark the January 3 assassination of Iran’s top general, Qassem Soleimani, by the US. [embedded content] Adblock test (Why?)

2023’s biggest losers in politics

2023’s biggest losers in politics

Competitiveness is a cornerstone of American politics, so much so that it’s been called a blood sport at times. And, as in any competition, winners and losers always emerge. Fox News Digital takes a look at some of the biggest political losers of 2023. Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s re-election campaign, which culminated in her loss to current Mayor Brandon Johnson, was marked by several self-inflicted wounds. The former Democratic mayor took the brunt of criticism directed at city officials over the city’s rising rate of violent crime. Lightfoot also faced bipartisan blowback for her handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, including clashes with progressives and the teachers union. OUTGOING HOUSE LAWMAKERS LAMENT CHAOS IN CONGRESS: ‘A BIT OF A CARNIVAL’ Youngkin’s upset victory in 2021 over former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe set him on a path to political stardom. The parental rights-focused Republican governor was almost immediately touted as a future presidential candidate, even possibly as early as 2024.  But he staked his national reputation on Republicans winning the full Virginia legislature in November, even suggesting a 15-week abortion limit would be on the table if the commonwealth went red.  Democrats, however, ended up flipping the Virginia House of Delegates while retaining control of the state Senate. VIRGINIA SENATE NAMES CAUCUS LEADERS FOR UPCOMING LEGISLATIVE SESSION One Virginia Democrat who did not fare well in the latest election cycle, however, is Gibson, the nurse practitioner whose promising campaign for a swing seat in the House of Delegates was derailed by revelations laid bare just weeks before Election Day. The Washington Post first reported that Gibson and her husband broadcast sex acts on social media, accepting tips in exchange for lewd requests.  She wound up losing the Richmond-area seat by less than 1,000 votes. Rep. Tlaib, D-Mich., the only Palestinian-American in Congress, has long been a critical voice against the Israeli government, part of a small but growing faction of progressives bucking Democrats’ traditional pro-Israel stance.  However, she’s isolated herself this year after Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent military response, going further than most with her reaction to the war in Gaza.  Her response to the crisis resulted in a formal House censure along bipartisan lines in November.  ISRAEL RESUMES BOMBARDMENT OF GAZA AFTER CEASE-FIRE WITH HAMAS ENDS Embattled former House Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., dominated headlines with an array of colorful scandals, from federal charges that included wire fraud to allegations he was responsible for the cancer death of a military veteran’s dog.  Santos’ backstory quickly unraveled when he got to Congress, and it was found he lied about his college degree, work and ancestry.  But criminal charges related to misuse of campaign funds were the final nail in the coffin for Santos’ House career, and he was expelled by a two-thirds majority vote Dec. 1. This year has seen the country’s octogenarian commander in chief dealing with an impeachment inquiry as he continues to struggle with low poll numbers. Despite traveling the country touting key victories, mainly his bipartisan infrastructure bill, Biden is still working to convince voters he is fit for another four years in the White House. In addition to questions about his age and whether he profited from his role as vice president, Biden is also dealing with progressive outrage over his support for Israel in its war on Hamas.  KEVIN MCCARTHY, MATT GAETZ TRADE JABS AS FIERCE RIVALRY CONTINUES: HE ‘BELONGS IN JAIL’ It’s culminated in early voter polls that show gloomy forecasts for his re-election prospects over the last several weeks. McCarthy began his 2023 with a marathon 15 rounds of voting across three days, the world watching him wrangle a divided House GOP Conference to eventually win the speaker’s gavel. On Dec. 14, McCarthy was giving his final speech to a House floor filled with less than a dozen lawmakers, mostly his allies. He told reporters later that day it was a “bittersweet” ending to his career in Congress, which saw him make history in October as the first ousted speaker of the House. He announced in December he would leave Congress altogether. McCarthy chalked it up to personal vendettas during a final exit interview with reporters later that day, but he remained optimistic.  “I loved every minute, good or bad,” he said. But while he made Fox News Digital’s list of 2023’s political losers, McCarthy could ascend again. He intends to remain a significant figure in the GOP fundraising sphere and is almost certain to be a hot commodity in Washington, D.C., for some time. He didn’t rule out a return to government either.

Pro-life leader anticipates major victories despite recent ballot initiatives expanding abortion access

Pro-life leader anticipates major victories despite recent ballot initiatives expanding abortion access

For a prominent pro-life group, recent setbacks at the ballot box have not tampered spirits for the future of the movement to create a culture that protects unborn life in the womb. The March for Life — the organization and the annual event that attracts tens of thousands of people (at least) from across the country each January — has grown significantly in the 50 years since the first march in 1974. Activists assembled on the first anniversary of the Supreme Court’s 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which effectively made abortion legal in every state across the country. Since then, the march always had Roe as its chief point of protest, but in the year and a half since the Supreme Court overturned Roe’s precedent in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, the energy surrounding the march has not waned. “The march for life was born in a moment after Roe was overturned, and there was a lot of confusion about choosing life, and the unborn child,” March for Life President Jeanne Mancini told Fox News Digital in an interview. “We think this particular moment calls for these marches, and that the pro-life grassroots needs strengthening and even a little direction right now. That’s where we see the state march program as being so critically important.” FORMER TRUMP ADVISER KELLYANNE CONWAY LEADS CHARGE TO OVERHAUL GOP ABORTION STRATEGY, END DEMS’ 2024 ADVANTAGE In the past five years, the March for Life has expanded to the state level, hosting annual rallies in cities across the country organized by state chapters of the national organization. The state-level expansion is moving fast. In 2018, March for Life Virginia held an inaugural march. In 2023, eight states held marches, and next year March for Life will be in 17 states, and Mancini has plans to be in every state in the union in the next six years or so. Following the Dobbs decision in June 2022, pro-life leaders and conservative politicians have sought to redirect activism to state-level political battles and focus on creating a “culture of life.” March for Life’s goal, Mancini said, is to create a world where “abortion is unthinkable.” That effort is as much about helping women with unexpected pregnancies as it is about changing laws around abortion. “There’s so much confusion about what it means to be a woman, and frankly, what it means to be pro-life. The heart of pro-life is supporting women and wanting what’s best for them,” Mancini said. The political fight over abortion does not appear to be going away, and pro-life leaders are far from giving up on pushing for state or national pro-life legislation. However, pro-life causes have had a series of setbacks in statewide ballot initiatives in the past two elections. Most recently, Ohio voted to enshrine a right to access abortion into its state constitution in November. “With the ballot initiatives, we’re learning a lot,” Mancini said. “As we’re moving and changing culture, we’re going to have lessons along the way.”  PRO-LIFE GROUP ADDRESSES WHAT WENT WRONG IN OHIO ABORTION VOTE, HOW TO RESPOND IN 2024 As many pro-life leaders have pointed out, Mancini noted that public opinion surveys show most Americans are not in favor of completely unrestricted abortion. “For at least 12 years strong, 7 out of 10 Americans would limit abortion at most to the first three months of pregnancy. And that’s not our national law,” Mancini said. “Some states do enact protective laws of life prior to that moment, which is wonderful, but our national law is not in line with most of Europe.”  The theme of the 2024 March for Life is “with every woman, for every child.” It aims to address the confusion and show that being pro-life is not only about political fights without regard to the difficulties of an unplanned pregnancy. “We see two patients when someone is facing an unexpected pregnancy, and we want both of those patients to fully flourish.” The Charlotte Lozier Institute released a report earlier in December about the impact nearly 3,000 pro-life pregnancy centers across the nation have had serving women. The report showed that in 2022 alone, the network of mostly locally-run pregnancy centers provided nearly 800,000 new client consultations, 700,000 pregnancy tests, half a million ultrasounds, and hundreds of thousands of STI tests, parenting classes and sexual risk avoidance education. Pregnancy centers also provided “after-abortion support” to 20,000 clients. The centers also delivered $358 million worth of material support for new mothers, including cribs, strollers, diapers, baby formula and car seats, the report said. Mancini said there was a distinction between advocacy for abortion access, and the pro-life movement. Abortion access tends to prey on women’s fears, implying that those carrying an unplanned pregnancy are not capable of bearing or raising children, Mancini said. “The pro-life movement is the opposite,” Mancini said. “We want to encourage and support women, come alongside them and strengthen them; and tell them ‘you can do this. You have what it takes to do this. This is going to be hard, but it will be beautiful, and we will be here with you.’”

‘After School Satan Club’ draws concern from Tennessee parents: ‘Find somewhere else’

‘After School Satan Club’ draws concern from Tennessee parents: ‘Find somewhere else’

A Tennessee elementary school’s plan to allow the Satanic Temple to host an after-school program in its library is facing backlash from the students’ parents and family members, one of whom insists the program is equipped to “negatively impact” children. The Satanic Temple plans to host its first After School Satan Club (ASSC) in Cordova, Tennessee, on Jan. 10, 2024, at Chimneyrock Elementary School. A flyer for the event describes the Satanic Temple as a non-theistic religion recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a church. The church views Satan as a literary figure who represents a “metaphorical construct of rejecting tyranny and championing the human mind and spirit.” They added that the “Satan Club” will not attempt to convert students to any religious ideology. Instead, the Satanic Temple encourages “children to think for themselves.” SATANIC TEMPLE LEADER TOUTS AFTER-SCHOOL CLUB AS ALTERNATIVE TO RELIGIOUS CLUBS ‘PROSELYTIZING’ TO STUDENTS One parent who asked that their identity remain anonymous due to the circumstances told Fox News Digital that she is “concerned and anxious” over the school’s decision to play host to the group next year. “This program has great potential to negatively impact children at school there,” the parent said. “At a time when our kids should be growing and learning to be better people, this comes along. The name itself is just out of touch with what most of us want our kids exposed to.” “My kid won’t be attending, and I hope other mothers and fathers out there will be mindful before allowing their children to participate,” the parent added. “We’re better than this – as a group, as a community, and hopefully as a school.” The parent, who said her child expressed no interest in attending the program ever since they were made aware of it, said she hopes to see the school reverse its decision on allowing the program to take place in the school library. “My child’s school library isn’t for this kind of program,” the parent said. “My suggestion to the Satanic Temple would be to find somewhere else, maybe more accepting, to take this.” Ashley, who only provided her first name for interview purposes, is the aunt of a student who attends the school and said she hopes to see the program get canceled before it “perverts the minds of innocent children.” “My niece isn’t much into religion, but that’s OK because she’s still young,” Ashley told Fox News Digital. “What isn’t needed is a group claiming to help kids think for themselves that pushes a view that Satan isn’t a bad thing, I’m just not OK with that.” ASSC will provide teachers help to prepare “fun activities” centered on their seven fundamental tenets: benevolence, empathy, critical thinking, problem-solving, creative expression, personal sovereignty and compassion. SATANIC TEMPLE LEADER CHALLENGES ‘PATHETIC LITTLE COWARD’ DESANTIS TO DEBATE OVER GROUP’S TAX-EXEMPT STATUS “All After School Satan Clubs are based on activities centered around the Seven Fundamental Tenets and emphasize a scientific, rationalist, non-superstitious worldview,” the event’s flyer stated. The ASSC, which was requested by a parent at the school, was running at eight schools last year. Four schools are currently running ASSC this school year.  After being made aware that a parent had requested the after-school program, Ashley questioned, “What parent does that?” “This, to me, is only creating a wedge between those of different faiths and backgrounds. That’s the part I’m not OK with,” Ashley added. “Students shouldn’t be subject to this information, no matter what it’s being disguised as.” “ASSC only goes where it has been invited to give an alternative club to the other religious clubs already operating on school campus,” June Everett, a spokesperson for ASSC, told Fox News Digital. “Districts from last year have updated their policies to keep both the GNC and ASSC out, and some of the GNC’s have not returned for this school year – hence the reason we aren’t active in those schools,” Everett, the ASSC campaign director said. She added, “Our active clubs are in California, Connecticut, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and soon to be Tennessee.” Everett explained further that school officials would not send out a permission slip for the club “due to an enforced flyer policy,” even though the school had previously sent out permission slips for the Child Evangelism Fellowship’s Good News Club that operates on campus, before school hours. School district officials said they’re committed to upholding the First Amendment for all nonprofit organizations seeking to use their facilities outside of school hours. SATANIC DISPLAY INSIDE IOWA STATE CAPITOL DESTROYED, MAN CHARGED: OFFICIALS “The Satanic Temple, recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) public charity, falls under this policy and has the same legal rights to use our facilities after-hours as any other nonprofit organization.” The co-founder and spokesman for the Satanic Temple told Fox News Digital last week that the group started the ASSC as an alternative to other religious groups that were “proselytizing” to children. “We started the after-school program in 2016, and since then we’ve had a number of them in operation in various places, some of them still in operation, some of them not for whatever reason,” said Lucien Greaves. “People don’t understand a lot of the pro-social values we rally around,” he added. “We want people to know we’re active in the communities, and we’re doing productive things.” Greaves described the kind of activities that the ASSC would facilitate in this after-school program as a self-directed learning process that entails playing games, solving puzzles, activities, and other things that are educational for the kids – where they can choose which ones they want to work with. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Satanic Temple originally constructed a complex curriculum and consulted people in the field of education, but then changed it after realizing that it had become too elaborate. “We really wanted to build something that would be a fruitful endeavor for the kids,” Greaves said.

The least Merry Christmas? Kevin McCarthy’s rough 2023

The least Merry Christmas? Kevin McCarthy’s rough 2023

Christmastime is a season of joy and merriment for Americans across the country. However, everyone has their own Grinch waiting to put a damper on their holiday. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has a unique one following him this holiday season after his historic ouster from the speakership in October. KEVIN MCCARTHY TAKES PARTING SWIPE AT MATT GAETZ IN FINAL INTERVIEW AS CONGRESSMAN: ‘HISTORY WILL JUDGE HIM’ McCarthy had a rough go as House speaker. After the lackluster 2022 midterm elections didn’t yield the impactful majority Republicans were trying to manifest, McCarthy had to fight tooth and nail with 15 ballots to take the gavel from an apprehensive GOP conference. McCarthy’s tenure behind the gavel was further complicated by a four-seat majority that only got smaller as the year marched on. The slim majority required the now-former speaker to wheel and deal to get GOP priorities across the finish line – but deal-brokering in Washington comes with its pitfalls. Different wings of the GOP wanted different things on a variety of issues, including government funding. McCarthy’s speakership was blown up by Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, who dropped a privileged resolution to remove the now-former speaker after the House passed a continuing resolution to fund the government. Seven other Republicans joined Gaetz on the move, leveraging the slim GOP majority in the House with Democrats in the chamber joining them to oust McCarthy from his job. The move sparked a near-month-long fight to replace McCarthy that saw three top Republicans rejected from the job and culminated with the historic mid-Congress election of Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. The former speaker announced after his ousting that he would be resigning from Congress. McCarthy tended his resignation from Congress on Dec. 20, with his official last day in office being set for Dec. 31. His resignation further slims the GOP’s House majority, especially in the wake of disgraced New York GOP former Rep. George Santos’ removal from Congress. However, the former speaker is not going quietly into the night. McCarthy has taken parting shots at Gaetz as he’s headed for the exit door, telling Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade this month that history will not look back fondly on the Florida man’s move. “History will judge him,” McCarthy said. “And history will judge all of us.” Kilmeade asked McCarthy about the “very real math problem” that comes with his departure. “Gaetz is never a serious person,” McCarthy responded. “I mean, when you think about what has transpired, and you talk about someone being selfish, this is all about an ethics complaint that he had with Congress before, that he looked at just himself, that he doesn’t want it to come forward for America to know.” “But it’s going to come forward,” Kilmeade said. “Yeah, it’s more serious than Santos…” McCarthy replied. “I think they’ll see I’m Irish and Italian. I like a good fight,” he said, referencing the time it took to land the speakership. “But then they took down Steve Scalise. They took down Jim Jordan. They took down Tom Emmer. I mean, these are the best players on the field.” “But this is your party,” Kilmeade said. “Yeah, but the challenge is, it was eight people and every single Democrat. Eight Republicans joined the Democrats to create this mess. That’s part of things that people have to look at to be able to change.” Fox News Digital’s Taylor Penley contributed reporting.

These top 5 moments from the presidential campaign trail in 2023 defined the Republican primary race

These top 5 moments from the presidential campaign trail in 2023 defined the Republican primary race

What a difference a year makes. At the dawn of 2023, former President Donald Trump was the only declared candidate in the race for the Republican nomination. But he was far from a sure thing.  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, fresh off an overwhelming gubernatorial re-election less than two months earlier, was neck and neck with Trump in some of the early 2024 polls.  WHERE THE REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION RACE STANDS AS 2023 COMES TO A CLOSE The former president was still facing criticism for contributing to the GOP’s lackluster performance in the 2022 midterms. And Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign launch at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, a couple of weeks after the midterms was panned by many pundits. RAISING THE STAKES: ARE TRUMP’S EXPECTATIONS IN IOWA TOO HIGH? But as 2023 comes to a close, Trump is the commanding frontrunner for the Republican nomination as he makes his third straight White House bid. Here are five moments that shaped the showdown for the Republican nomination, the Democratic primary battle and the overall White House race. Trump was indicted by a grand jury in the New York City borough of Manhattan on charges related to an alleged illegal 2016 hush money payment. Trump made history as the first former or current president to be indicted for a crime. Trump was also indicted later in the year in three other cases, including charges he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss. But those cases have not deterred his support among Republican voters. WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING IN THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE SHOWS Trump’s legal controversies have had a rallying effect among Republicans, and his legal entanglements have sucked the oxygen out of the room for his nomination rivals. “Every time he’s targeted by legal actions, it just improves his standing with the conservative base,” longtime Republican strategist and communicator Ryan Williams said. After months of testing the waters with trips to the crucial early voting states, DeSantis aimed to make waves with his campaign launch on Twitter Spaces with Elon Musk. But it didn’t go as planned. X, then still called Twitter, couldn’t handle the surge in traffic, the app repeatedly crashed and the event eventually started 20 minutes late. It was the first of many bad omens for DeSantis. The Florida governor made headlines again for all the wrong reasons over the summer, with a series of campaign staff purges and resets and reports of the campaign burning through cash.  There were more staff shakeups in autumn, this time at the DeSantis-aligned super PAC Never Back Down, which had taken over many of the traditional duties of a presidential campaign, including grassroots outreach. DeSantis for months was the clear No. 2 rival to Trump in the Republican nomination race. But in many metrics, Nikki Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina governor, had surpassed DeSantis for second place by the end of 2023. As he ran an incumbent-style campaign, Trump decided against sharing the debate stage with his GOP rivals. “The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had,” Trump wrote on his social media site ahead of the first debate in August. “I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES!” The former president ended up skipping all four candidate showdowns held this year while hosting competing events on the debate nights. Trump’s absence didn’t seem to hurt him. He emerged relatively unscathed by his rivals, and his lead over the rest of the field has only grown since the first debate was held. While the debates didn’t affect Trump, they did help winnow the field of contenders, as nearly all the candidates who failed to qualify for the showdowns dropped out of race. A field of more than a dozen candidates in August was down to just five major contenders by December. As summer turned into autumn, speculation and buzz about Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin potentially making a late entry into the 2024 GOP nomination race was the talk of the party’s donor class. As a first-time candidate from the party’s business wing, Youngkin edged out former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe in 2021 to become the first GOP candidate in a dozen years to win a gubernatorial election in the one-time swing state that had trended toward the Democrats the previous decade. Youngkin became an instant Republican Party star, and pundits immediately viewed him as a potential GOP 2024 contender.  But Youngkin dismissed the speculation, and he repeatedly said his only political mission was to win outright control of his state legislature in Virgnia’s 2023 off-year elections. After investing plenty of political capital on behalf of Republican legislative candidates as he criss-crossed the state holding rallies, Youngkin became the face of his party’s push to win total control of the state government in Richmond.  But he failed in his mission, and the buzz about Youngkin parachuting into the White House race instantly dissipated. Haley enjoyed plenty of momentum in the polls this autumn, thanks in part to well-received performances in the first three Republican presidential primary debates.  She leapfrogged DeSantis for second place in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary and votes second after Iowa. And she’s in second place in her home state, another crucial early voting state that holds the first southern contest. But things accelerated for Haley soon after Thanksgiving. That’s when she was endorsed by Americans for Prosperity (AFP) Action, the political wing of the influential and deep-pocketed fiscally conservative network founded by the billionaire Koch Brothers. AFP Action has pledged to spend tens of millions of dollars and mobilize its formidable grassroots operation to boost Haley and help push the Republican Party past Trump. A couple of weeks later, Haley landed the much coveted endorsement of popular Republican Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire, who spent three straight days teaming up with her on the campaign trail in the Granite State. The governor’s endorsement of Haley appeared to give her