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New poll finds about half of rural young people feel job market pressures in their hometowns

New poll finds about half of rural young people feel job market pressures in their hometowns

A new Gallup-Walton Family Foundation survey released Wednesday shows that nearly half of rural Generation Z Americans feel they can’t find fulfilling work in their communities and are considering moving. Rural Gen-Zers are also nearly 20 percentage points more likely to feel that way than their urban brethren. Urban young people also have a higher confidence in their ability to land crucial internships out of school, and parents of rural youths are similarly concerned about quality-of-life issues for their grown children and in their ability to accomplish their goals. Forty-nine percent of Gen Zers believe they can find a worthy job at home. Thirty-eight percent say they’re confident in their internship searches. LGBT AMERICANS REACH RECORD NUMBER, MORE LIKELY TO BE DEMOCRAT: POLL The pressures of the contemporary occupational landscape are also leading 77% of Gen Z adults to seek to move away from their hometowns, if they are able. But that feeling is met with countervailing sentiment against leaving home. More than half of urban Gen Zers say they are comfortable relocating out of state or even outside the U.S., while about half in rural areas prefer to entertain moving to another place within their state, at most. About two-fifths would consider moving out of state and only a few percent would think to leave the U.S. for a job. “The desire to stay closer to home contrasts with those in urban areas who are more likely to say they would like to leave their state (54%), or even the country (15%),” the poll found. “Career and education opportunities strongly influence young people’s decisions to relocate, but rural Gen Zers often face limited access compared to their urban peers,” said Stephanie Marken, senior partner for U.S. research at Gallup.  “Expanding access to job training, career opportunities and higher education in rural areas could help more young people stay connected to their communities while pursuing their goals.” TRUMP’S SURPRISING NEW POLL NUMBERS Only one-fifth of adult Gen Z Americans who have moved away from their home areas mentioned the ability to live financially comfortably. Many, however, still love their hometowns despite a changing job landscape in recent years and decades. The panel was conducted in November, the week of the presidential election. Pollsters sampled 3,963 people ranging in age from 12 to 27 in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. They were randomly selected using an address-based methodology, but the polling firm also said it uses random-digit telephone dialing to cover both landlines and cellphones. The margin of error was +/- 2.3 percentage points overall. A total of 382 respondents were in rural areas with a 7.3 percentage point margin, and 2,969 were from urban areas with a 2.7 percentage point margin of error. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Despite facing fewer job and education opportunities, rural Gen Zers remain deeply connected to their communities, with their desire to move only slightly numerically higher than their urban peers (82% vs. 78%). The co-leader of the poll, the Walton Family Foundation, was launched by late Walmart founder Samuel Walton and his wife, Helen. The foundation seeks to improve the U.S. education system, communities and waterways, particularly in northwest Arkansas, where the family and mega-store chain are both based.

Israel bombs ‘military targets’ in southern Syria, outside Damascus

Israel bombs ‘military targets’ in southern Syria, outside Damascus

The Israeli military conducts air raids on what it described as military bases and command centres. The Israeli military has conducted air raids targeting what it described as military bases and command centres in southern Syria and outside the capital, Damascus. Israeli warplanes hit the town of Kisweh, approximately 20km (12 miles) south of Damascus, as well as the southern province of Deraa late on Tuesday, residents, security sources and local broadcaster Syria TV said. The Israeli army said it struck “military targets in southern Syria, including command centres and multiple sites containing weapons”, without specifying exact locations. Residents of Damascus reported hearing the sound of planes flying several low passes over the capital and a series of blasts. “The Air Force is attacking strongly in southern Syria as part of the new policy we have defined of pacifying southern Syria – and the message is clear: we will not allow southern Syria to become southern Lebanon,” Defence Minister Israel Katz’s spokesperson said in a statement. “Any attempt by the Syrian regime forces and the country’s terrorist organisations to establish themselves in the security zone in southern Syria will be met with fire,” the statement added. Advertisement The bombardment came hours after Syria condemned Israel’s incursion into the country’s south and demanded it withdraw, according to the closing statement of a national dialogue summit. The summit, organised by Syria’s new government, aimed to outline the country’s political roadmap after the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad in December. Israel moved forces into a United Nations-monitored demilitarised zone within Syria after al-Assad’s removal, a move that violated the 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria. On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the “demilitarisation” of southern Syria, saying Israel “will not allow the new Syrian army to move into territory south of Damascus”. Palestinian group Hamas condemned the air strikes in the “strongest terms”, calling them “a blatant attack on Syrian sovereignty” and a continuation of Israel’s aggression against Arab nations. The attacks complicate efforts by Syria’s new administration to reunify the country, said Qutaiba Idlbi, a resident senior fellow for Syria at the Atlantic Council. He said the air raids coincided with the national dialogue summit on Syria’s political transition, which has already faced challenges, particularly in negotiations with the Druze community in the south and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in the northeast. “The strikes on Damascus are only going to serve to delay such agreement, as the powers in northeast and southern Syria will feel more empowered to seek deals and perhaps military support from external actors to increase their leverage in negotiations with Damascus,” Idlbi told Al Jazeera. Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)

EXCLUSIVE: Inside Republicans’ long game to confirm Trump FBI Director Kash Patel

EXCLUSIVE: Inside Republicans’ long game to confirm Trump FBI Director Kash Patel

FIRST ON FOX: Now-FBI Director Kash Patel worked hard to get the Senate support necessary for confirmation, studying the lawmakers, sitting for countless meetings and even enlisting the assistance of Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to prep for his hearing, Fox News Digital has learned. Patel met with 61 senators in his bid to take on the role that President Donald Trump nominated him for, a transition official told Fox News Digital.  They noted this is significant for a position that is not even within the president’s Cabinet.  GOP SENATOR SUFFERS SEIZURE, BRAIN BLEED AFTER FALLING ON ICE “He studied what was important to the FBI and everyone in these meetings,” they said, explaining how close to home the question of who directs the bureau hits for each senator.  “You can touch and feel an FBI office in nearly every state.” Prominent Republicans Lee and Cruz were part of “murder board” sessions to critique and question Patel before his hearing. There were roughly 10 such meetings to prepare him.  “I was happy to assist Director Patel through the confirmation process, because President Trump picked a man of great integrity and dedication to lead the FBI. America will be more free, fair, and safe with him at the Bureau,” Lee told Fox News Digital in a statement.  A source familiar said the sessions consisted of a series of round-robin questions on hot-button issues. He was asked about some of the FBI controversies of recent memory, particularly former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who infamously exchanged anti-Trump text messages while investigating him for potential collusion with Russia. DEMS DEMAND TRUMP RESUME CASH FLOW AS THEY FINALLY GET LEVERAGE IN RACE TO PREVENT SHUTDOWN They also took turns grilling Patel over a group of individuals listed in his 2023 book who he considers deep-state actors. Democrats dubbed it an “enemies list,” which the then-nominee denied. According to the transition official, the enthusiasm was palpable upon Patel’s nomination. “There’s a cadre of senators that knew Kash before he was nominated,” they said, adding that they were excited. He was confirmed last week by a narrow margin of 51-49. This caught his team by surprise as they actually expected both Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, to come down in favor of his nomination. During his meeting with Collins, a source familiar told Fox News Digital that Patel referenced the fact that she is the only elected Republican from Maine in Congress and is up for re-election in 2026. The then-nominee also told her that he understood if she was in a position in which she couldn’t vote for him. Collins’ office did not provide comment to Fox News Digital in time for publication.  Patel’s meetings with both Collins and Murkowski had been good, per the transition official. “Kash and Lisa had many conversations and talked a lot,” they explained. While she didn’t vote for him, the Alaska Republican did call Patel in the hours leading up to the vote, giving him a heads-up that she wasn’t going to be able to support him, a source familiar shared. Another significant vote was that of former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who opted to support Patel after opposing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP WARNS MAJOR DEM AGAINST MOVE THAT COULD COST VOTERS TRILLIONS Trump’s team leading Patel through the process had strategically worked on getting McConnell’s backing behind closed doors. Before Christmas, the then-nominee had already done 40 meetings with senators. This was on purpose; they wanted to get senators talking with each other, the source said.  This early meeting blitz was specifically designed to lay the groundwork for Patel’s eventual discussions with McConnell, Murkowski and Collins, along with others who were potentially skeptical.  When McConnell’s meeting came around, it appeared the strategy worked, with the seemingly open-minded Republican asking questions about Patel’s background experience in law and national security. McConnell also seemed particularly interested in Patel’s plans to increase transparency.  Another key win for the now-FBI director was having Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., in his corner. The senator had previously hesitated on Hegseth’s confirmation, waiting until the last minute to announce his support.  ETHICS WATCHDOG FLAGS SENATOR HELPING MAKE MILLIONS FOR WIFE’S GREEN NONPROFIT What truly sold Tillis on supporting Patel, with whom he was relatively unfamiliar, was the opinion of former South Carolina Republican congressman and current Fox News weekend host Trey Gowdy. Patel and Gowdy worked with one another when the former was a staffer for former Republican congressman Devin Nunes. The two were part of investigating the FBI’s probe into potential Russian interference in the 2016 election. Gowdy spoke with Fox News Digital, sharing that he received calls about his experience with Patel from “maybe a dozen” senators. He said he was happy to share his opinion but urged each of them to meet with the nominee themselves rather than just take his word for it. Tillis quickly became one of Patel’s biggest supporters, giving him advice as he met with other lawmakers.  The North Carolina Republican even introduced Patel for his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, also creating a “K$H Bingo” game that included subjects Tillis expected to be brought up by Democrats during the hearing. The sheet included subjects such as “Deep State,” “Enemies List” and Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, among others.