Biden administration designates UAE ‘major defence partner’ in rare move
US-UAE boost military cooperation as Middle East tensions over war in Gaza surge and despite friction over Sudan war. United States President Joe Biden has recognised the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a “major defence partner”, deepening military ties despite friction over the war in Sudan and as deadly tensions ratchet in the Middle East. The announcement on Monday, which came following a White House meeting between Biden and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, makes the UAE only the second country to receive the designation. The Biden administration gave India the designation in 2021. In a statement, the White House said the designation would “further enhance defense cooperation and security in the Middle East, East Africa, and the Indian Ocean regions”. It added that it would also “allow for unprecedented cooperation through joint training, exercises, and military-to-military collaboration, between the military forces of the United States, the UAE, and India, as well as other common military partners, in furtherance of regional stability”. The meeting came as Israel stepped up its attacks on Lebanon. At least 492 people, including 35 children, were killed on Monday in Israeli attacks on the territory which it said were targeting Hezbollah military infrastructure. “My team is in constant contact with their counterparts, and we’re working to de-escalate in a way that allows people to return to their home safely,” Biden told reporters during a photo opportunity in the Oval Office. A US State Department official, speaking to reporters on background on Monday, also said that US officials would be discussing “concrete ideas” for an “off-ramp” on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly this week. Washington has been regularly criticised for avoiding using its leverage – including the billions in military aid it provides to Israel – to calm tensions in the region. On Gaza, the two leaders “underscored their commitment to continue working together towards ending the conflict” and the need for UN humanitarian aid to be allowed into the enclave, the White House said. To date, at least 41,431 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza amid a nearly yearlong Israeli offensive. The UAE has been a leading voice in the UN Security Council, putting forward resolutions condemning Israel’s war on Gaza, often putting it at odds with the veto-carrying US. Still, Washington has long viewed the Gulf country as integral to any post-war recovery plans in Gaza. The White House said Biden and Al Nahyan discussed “a path to stabilisation and recovery that responds to the humanitarian crisis, establishes law and order, and lays the groundwork for responsible governance” as well as their “commitment to the two-state solution” for Israel and Palestine. Conflict in Sudan The designation on Monday comes despite friction over the UAE’s alleged role in the war in Sudan. The UAE has been accused of channelling weapons to Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have been locked in a bloody civil war with the Sudanese army since April last year. Both sides have been accused of abuses in the fighting, which has internally displaced more than 10.7 million people and forced a further 2.3 million to flee the country, according to the UN. Ahead of the White House meeting, five US lawmakers sent a letter to Biden calling on him to use Washington’s leverage to seek a change of course. The White House statement said the leaders had discussed the conflict and “stressed that there can be no military solution to the conflict in Sudan”. They also “underscored that all parties to the conflict must comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law”, it added. In a separate meeting with the UAE president, US Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris “raised her deep concerns about the conflict in Sudan”, the White House said. “She expressed alarm at the millions of individuals who have been displaced by the war and the atrocities committed by the belligerents against the civilian population,” the statement said. Adblock test (Why?)
Karnataka HC to give verdict today on CM Siddaramaiah’s plea challenging Guv’s order
The High Court on September 12 completed its hearing in the case, and reserved its orders, while extending its August 19 interim order directing the special court for people’s representatives that was slated to hear complaints against him in the case, to defer its proceedings till the disposal of th
Delhi Metro: DMRC receives first ‘Make in India’ driverless metro trainset, to operate at speed of…
DMRC Managing Director Vikas Kumar said, “Today is a historic occasion for the Delhi Metro family as we take another major step towards operationalising the Phase 4 corridors.”
PM Modi meets Ukraine President Zelenskyy for second time in a month, reiterates support for resolution of conflict
PM Modi had visited Ukraine at the invitation of President Zelenskyy in first ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine since diplomatic relations were established between the two countries in the year 1992
Nebraska GOP senator opposes Electoral College change that may have helped Trump win re-election
The Republican Party’s efforts to lock down all of Nebraska’s electoral votes for former President Trump could be jeopardized after a state lawmaker refused to throw his support behind an initiative to change how the state allocates its electoral votes. Nebraska state Sen. Mike McDonnell, a former Democrat from Omaha who switched his party to Republican this year, issued a statement Monday about his opposition to awarding that state’s five electoral votes as a winner-take-all, like 48 other states currently do. Maine and Nebraska are the only two states that give two electoral votes to the candidate who wins statewide and one to the winner in each congressional district. “Elections should be an opportunity for all voters to be heard, no matter who they are, where they live, or what party they support,” McDonnell’s statement read. “For decades, Nebraska has tried to live up to that ideal by allocating our electoral college votes in a way that gives all Nebraskans an equal voice in choosing our President. For Omaha, the city I love and have called home for 58 years, it brings tremendous national attention, is impactful on our local economy and forces Presidential candidates to make their case to all Nebraskans, instead of just flying over and disregarding us.” HOW A LONE NEBRASKA DISTRICT COULD DECIDE THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION The senator continued, saying over the past weeks, there had been conversations about whether to change how the electoral college could be allocated. While McDonnell said he respects the desire some of his colleagues have on the issue, he has taken time to listen to his constituents and national leaders on both sides of the issue. “After deep consideration, it is clear to me that right now, 43 days from Election Day, is not the moment to make this change,” he wrote. “I have notified Governor Pillen that I will not change my long-held position and will oppose any attempted changes to our electoral college system before the 2024 election.” TEXAS GOV. GREG ABBOTT’S DEBATE ADVICE FOR TRUMP: ‘LET HARRIS SPEAK’ McDonnell also said he encouraged the governor, and will encourage his colleagues, to pass an amendment next year that gives the people of Nebraska the chance to decide on how the electoral college votes are allocated on the ballot. “This November, Nebraskans will have the chance to elect candidates at every level who reflect their views, including on this issue,” McDonnell wrote. “That’s how it should be. Nebraska voters, not politicians of either party, should have the final say on how we pick a president.” The senator’s decision means Republicans do not have the two-thirds majority they would need in Nebraska to pull off a change before the Nov. 5 election. TRUMP AND HARRIS ON COLLISION COURSE AS 2024 CAMPAIGN ENTERS FINAL STRETCH Nebraska is one of nine states that Republican candidates have carried in every presidential election since 1964. It also has not had a winner-take-all rule in place since 1991, and most times since then, Republican candidates have captured all of the state’s votes. But in 2020, President Biden captured the vote for the Second Congressional District in Omaha. Former President Obama did the same thing in 2008. In order to lock down the presidency, a candidate needs to win 270 of the 538 electoral votes. In one scenario, Democratic Presidential Candidate Vice President Kamala Harris would win the battlegrounds of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, while Trump wins the other four battleground states of North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada. In that case, Harris would collect 269 electoral votes to Trump’s 268 — which includes four from Nebraska. The Associated Press reported that in that scenario, a Trump victory in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District would create a tie of 269-269, throwing the final decision to the U.S. House of Representatives. At that point, each state would have one vote, a situation that would likely favor Trump. But, if Harris carried the district, she would be president. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Fox News Politics: Swing State Stats
Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. What’s happening… -Congress has less than a week to avert government shutdown -Trump’s ground game shrinks in several key states -Newsom rejects bill allowing illegal immigrants to work on campuses Former President Donald Trump leads Vice President Kamala Harris in three crucial swing states, according to a Monday poll from the New York Times. Trump is leading Harris in Arizona by five points in a 50%-45% spread, and he holds a similar 49%-45% lead in Georgia. Harris is closer to the former president in North Carolina, however, where the race sits at 49%-47%, according to the poll. The Times conducted its poll from Sept. 17-21, surveying 2,077 likely voters across all three states. Arizona and Georgia would be major victories for Trump in the general election, as both are states that President Biden won in 2020. Arizona in particular represents a major swing toward Trump, where a Times poll in August found Harris leading by five points. The Times survey comes days after a Fox News national poll found Harris leading Trump by two points in a 50%-48% matchup. The new Fox News national survey found a 3 percentage-point shift among registered voters in the 2024 presidential contest since mid-August. Trump had a 1-point advantage in August….Read more ‘COVER-UP’: Dozens of lawmakers rip into Biden-Harris admin’s child migrant policies …Read more SHUTDOWN COUNTDOWN: Congress has less than a week to avert government shutdown …Read more ‘OUTRAGED’: Mike Johnson says Kamala Harris is Iran’s ‘preferred candidate’ in scathing letter to FBI …Read more ‘CONSTRAINING’ THE PRESIDENT: Top Dem previews Left’s efforts to restrain Trump if he wins in November …Read more NO CASH FOR TERRORISTS: GOP bill would ban aid to Afghanistan …Read more EARLY VOTING BREAKDOWN: Maryland and Mississippi are the latest states to begin early voting as of Monday …Read more SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH: Musk super PAC website aims to increase canvassers in battleground states …Read more CAMPAIGN EXODUS: 4 Mark Robinson staffers resign in wake of report on porn website posts …Read more LAW AND ORDER: Harris-Trump showdown: Leading law enforcement group takes sides in presidential election …Read more UNIQUE ENDORSEMENT: Who is Amer Ghalib, the Trump-backing mayor of the US’s only Muslim-majority town? …Read more TRAILING NUMBERS: New poll finds Iowa Republican in hot water …Read more TAKING ADVANTAGE?: Crucial Senate showdown: Hogan says its ‘deeply disturbing’ Alsobrooks improperly benefited from tax breaks on two properties …Read more CLOSING IN: Trump campaign’s ground game shrinks voter registration gap in key battleground states …Read more FUNDING CHINA’S ARMY: US research dollars may have aided Chinese military technology, GOP-led report say …Read more STAY IN JAIL: Trump would-be assassin ordered held behind bars …Read more ‘DEVASTATED’: Missing North Carolina college student found dead in South Africa …Read more BLUE STATE VETO: Newsom rejects bill that would let illegal immigrant students work on campus …Read more CREEPY: Trump assassination suspect wrote chilling letter months before golf course plot: ‘I failed you’ …Read more LIKE IN A MOVIE: Tennessee woman attempted to hire hitman to kill wife of man she met on dating website: ‘Needs to seem random’ …Read more Subscribe now to get the Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Jury clears all but one defendant in Texas “Trump Train” trial
Six Trump supporters were accused of intimidating a Biden campaign bus in 2020. Both plaintiffs and defendants saw Monday’s verdict as a victory.
Trump reveals which US rival will be his first phone call if re-elected
Former President Donald Trump said Monday afternoon that his “first call” if re-elected to the Oval Office will be made to Chinese President Xi Jinping to enforce a trade deal from the end of his tenure as 45th president. “My first call, I’m going to call up President Xi. I’m going to say, ‘You have to honor the deal you made. We made a deal. You’d buy $50 billion worth of American farm product.’ And I guarantee you he will buy it. 100% he will buy it,” Trump said Monday during a campaign event in Smithton, Pennsylvania. Trump struck a trade deal with China in 2020 that included Beijing’s commitment to halt intellectual property theft, refrain from currency manipulation, cooperate in financial services and purchase an additional $200 billion of U.S. products over two years, including up to $50 billion of U.S. agriculture. In return, the U.S. vowed to reduce tariffs on some products made in China, but keep duties the White House has imposed on $375 billion worth of merchandise. US, CHINA SIGN HISTORIC PHASE ONE TRADE DEAL The deal was dubbed the “phase one” trade agreement and came amid the U.S. and China’s 18-month trade war. “Biden and Harris, they’re never going to enforce anything… That group is a disaster. It’s a disaster for our country in so many ways, but certainly the farmers are one of those ways,” Trump said of the current administration and the deal. The 45th president joined a panel of farmers on Monday afternoon as part of a Protecting America Initiative event, which is a group led by Trump’s acting director of national intelligence Richard Grenell and former New York Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin that works to prevent China from infiltrating U.S. “farmland, food supply, education system, energy production, manufacturing chains, and our national security.” WHY ‘PHASE ONE’ CHINA TRADE DEAL DOESN’T NEED CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL, UNLIKE USMCA Trump added that in addition to calling on China to honor its 2020 trade deal, he would tell Xi to enforce a death penalty on fentanyl dealers sending the fatal drug to the U.S. via the Mexico border. STOCKS CELEBRATE PHASE ONE TRADE DEAL WITH RECORD HIGHS “Second thing I’m going to do is, I’m going to say you have to give the death penalty to your fentanyl dealers who are sending fentanyl. You know, in China, they give the death penalty. They don’t have a drug problem because they give the death penalty,” Trump said. “But I’m going to say, second thing — and this affects you also, it affects everybody,” Trump told the panel of farmers. “… We’re losing hundreds of 1,000s of people a year. Comes through the southern border. Now, the weakest border in history. It was the best border we ever had when I was there. We built hundreds of miles of wall and everything else, and it was the best border. Now it’s a weakest. I had a handshake deal with him, it was going to happen very quickly, and then this side didn’t, didn’t do anything about it, he said. And he suggested to me, ‘Anybody sends fentanyl to the United States, it’s the death penalty. They get the maximum penalty.’” “He would have done it. Then we had an election that didn’t exactly work out too good,” Trump added. Trump was joined by Grenell, Zeldin, Republican Senate candidate to represent Pennsylvania Dave McCormick and other political supporters for the Pennsylvania event. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
In Congress – like baseball – there’s always next year
It is sometimes said that “politics and sports don’t mix.” But frankly, politics is dotted with sports. And sports is utterly loaded with politics. Which brings me to the intersection of politics and sports. The end of the regular baseball season is near. The Cincinnati Reds (my team, by the way), just fired their manager, David Bell, after a disappointing season. There are still a handful of games left in the season. Other teams will likely show their skippers the door soon. Look for possible vacancies in Colorado, Miami, Toronto and perhaps the Los Angeles Dodgers – depending on how they fare in the postseason. But the Reds are a special case. There were high expectations with star players Hunter Greene and Elly De La Cruz. Lots of speed. Fresh talent. With one of the best starting rotations in the game, some believed the Reds could win the division and maybe even compete for the National League pennant after years as also-rans. SHOW VOTE: REPUBLICANS MAKE POLITICAL STATEMENT IN GOING AGAINST SPEAKER JOHNSON But next to the Toronto Blue Jays, the Reds are the most disappointing team in Major League Baseball. The Reds have been churning in a continual “rebuilding” cycle since 2013. They haven’t won a postseason playoff series since 1995. The Reds haven’t appeared in the World Series since 1990. Wait till next year, they say. Which brings us to Congress and its appropriations bills. The end of the government’s fiscal year aligns nearly perfectly with the baseball season. The final day of the government’s fiscal year is September 30. The last day of the regular season in baseball falls on September 29. A few teams will march into the playoffs. But most, like the Reds, will saunter home for the winter. Such is the case with Congress. Since the 1990s, Congress has struggled to approve its 12 spending bills to run the government on time. That’s led to various political standoffs between the parties, a few protracted and ugly government shutdowns and little success. There’s been almost zero reform by Congress toward passing the bills in a timely fashion for decades – despite constant promises from bipartisan lawmakers to do better next time. Sound familiar, Reds fans? A DECISION TO MAKE: HOUSE SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON’S GOVERNMENT FUNDING BILL DIVIDES REPUBLICANS The House of Representatives edged right up to the deadline of a possible government shutdown around this time last fall. After the House stumbled, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., finally put forth a straightforward bill to just fund the government at current spending levels with no ad-ons until early November. The government remained open. And even though McCarthy excoriated Democrats for failing to pass individual spending bills by the book when they were in the majority, Republicans didn’t do much better. In Fiscal Year 2023 (when Democrats controlled Congress), the House approved six individual spending measures. The Senate: zero. In Fiscal Year 2024 (after Republicans claimed control of the House), the GOP-led House passed seven bills. The Senate: three. For Fiscal Year 2025 (what Congress has been working on now), the House approved five bills. The Senate: nada. When House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., assumed the Speakership last October, he wanted the House to continue to work on individual spending bills to do things “by the book.” All the while, Congress – with Johnson’s blessing – kept adopting stopgap bills to fund the government. That ran all the way until this past April. Johnson told members he’d continue to push for passage of individual spending measures for Fiscal Year 2025 (which begins October 1). Again, the House had moderate success – but nothing special. It approved five appropriations bills: Defense, Energy & Water, Interior, Military Construction-Veterans Affairs and State/Foreign Operations. In an embarrassing vote on July 11, the House failed to approve the “Legislative Branch” appropriations bill. In other words, the House failed to even fund itself. Jokes abounded around the Capitol that Congress was teaching itself a lesson. Perhaps Congress didn’t deserve to receive its annual allocation. So Congress finds itself in a similar position this year. In the fall of 2023, conservatives heckled McCarthy for not keeping Congress in session during the August recess to tackle appropriations bills. There is similar hectoring from Republicans this time. REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: WHAT THE END OF THE YEAR LOOKS LIKE IN CONGRESS “I think this is a complete failure of the Speaker’s strategy,” complained Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. “We weren’t here in the entire month of August. We could have finished our 12 separate appropriations bills.” So now Johnson is forced into the same corner that McCarthy found himself this time last year. The House will vote on an interim spending bill just to keep the lights on. It’s notable that Johnson even wanted a bill to run through next spring. But the best he could manage was a measure which runs through December 20. Among other reasons, Johnson pushed for the longer spending bill because he didn’t want a “Christmastime omnibus” spending bill. That may still happen if lawmakers can’t advance some of the bills between now and mid-December. But this is similar to what we saw last year. And when it comes to appropriations, the same movie repeats itself. Like McCarthy, there could be calls from some conservative quarters to remove Johnson. Especially if Republicans maintain control of the House. The mid-December funding date really puts Johnson in a bind – if he’s to stand for re-election as Speaker on January 3. This is where we find a nexus of politics and sports. Cincinnati Reds fans have endured promise in season after season. The potential of catcher Devon Mesoraco was dashed after he made the All-Star game in 2014 – and then suffered a debilitating hip injury. CONTINGENT ELECTIONS: WHAT THEY ARE, AND WHAT TO EXPECT IF 2024 TRIGGERS ONE The Reds dealt ace starting pitcher Johnny Cueto to Kansas City during one rebuild. Two of the pitchers the Reds received as “compensation” went
Video resurfaces of Harris chanting ‘down with deportation’ at 2018 parade with disgraced actor
Newly emerged footage shows then-Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., chanting “down, down with deportation” at a parade in Los Angeles in 2018 when she was pursuing more aggressively left-wing positions on immigration. The video, obtained by Fox News Digital, took place at the 2018 Annual Kingdom Day Parade, where she was named Grand Marshal. In the clip, she can be seen joining in with a chant of “up, up with education, down, down with deportation” as she chants along while also applauding and smiling. HARRIS SHIFTS KEY POSITIONS ON BORDER, ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION AS CAMPAIGN PROMISES ‘PRAGMATIC’ APPROACH The video was first reported by the Daily Mail Online, which also noted that in the video is actor Jussie Smollett, who would eventually be convicted of falsely claiming to have been attacked by Trump supporters in Chicago. Harris came to Smollett’s defense shortly after he falsely claimed he was attacked by Trump supporters, saying, “This was an attempted modern day lynching. No one should have to fear for their life because of their sexuality or color of their skin.” Harris adopted left-wing proposals in her 2019 presidential primary campaign. She promised to expand the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) by executive order — which gives protection to illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as minors. She said she would eliminate age requirements on applications, and use parole authority to create a “parole in place” program to put those illegal immigrants on a path to citizenship. Since becoming the 2024 presidential nominee, she has faced scrutiny over her role overseeing the root causes of the migrant crisis at the southern border — which led to her being dubbed the “border czar.” She has also shifted some of her campaign positions, moving more to the center. Her campaign confirmed to Fox earlier this month that she changed her positions on a number of immigration and border-security policies, including decriminalizing illegal crossings and closing immigration detention centers. ‘TOTAL BULLS—’: TRUMP CAMPAIGN RIPS ‘PREPOSTEROUS’ HARRIS PRO-BORDER WALL NARRATIVE AFTER MEDIA REPORT A Harris campaign adviser told Fox that her positions have been “shaped by three years of effective governance as part of the Biden-Harris administration.” The campaign says now that she is “continuing to ensure sufficient resources to enforce our laws and prioritize detention and removal for individuals who pose threats to public safety and national security, as well as ensure compliance with immigration proceedings and decisions, including removal.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS She has repeatedly backed the bipartisan Senate package that emerged from negotiations in the chamber earlier this year, which increases funding for the border, including ICE bed space, and a mechanism to limit asylum entries into the U.S. “While Donald Trump is wedded to the extreme ideas in his Project 2025 agenda, Vice President Harris believes real leadership means bringing all sides together to build consensus,” spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg said in a statement last month. “It is that approach that made it possible for the Biden-Harris administration to achieve bipartisan breakthroughs on everything from infrastructure to gun violence prevention. As President, she will take that same pragmatic approach, focusing on common-sense solutions for the sake of progress.”