Senate shuts down Kaine’s attempt to check Trump’s war powers
A Senate Democrat’s push to put a check on President Donald Trump’s powers and reaffirm the Senate’s war authority was shut down by lawmakers in the upper chamber Thursday. Sen. Tim Kaine’s war powers resolution, which would have required Congress to debate and vote on whether the president could declare war, or strike Iran, was struck down in the Senate on a largely party-line vote, save for Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., a staunch advocate of Israel who supported Trump’s strike on the Islamic Republic, and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has been vocal in his thoughts about congressional war powers in recent days. Earlier in the week, the Virginia Democrat vowed to move ahead with the resolution despite a fragile ceasefire brokered between Israel and Iran following weekend strikes on the Islamic Republic’s key nuclear facilities that were not given the green-light by Congress. DEM SENATOR PLOWS AHEAD WITH WAR POWERS RESOLUTION DESPITE CEASEFIRE Kaine argued that the ceasefire gave his resolution more credence and breathing room to properly debate the role that Congress plays when it comes to authorizing both war and attacks abroad. He said ahead of the vote on the Senate floor that he came to Washington to ensure that the country does not again get into another “unnecessary” war, and invoked the rush to approve war powers for President George W. Bush over two decades ago to engage with Iraq. “I think the events of this week have demonstrated that war is too big to consign to the decisions of any one person,” Kaine said. ‘NOT CONSTITUTIONAL’: CONGRESS EVOKES NEW WAR POWERS RESOLUTION TO REJECT TRUMP’S STRIKES ON IRAN Indeed, his resolution became a focal point for a debate that has raged on Capitol Hill since Israel began its bombing campaign against Iran: whether the strikes like those carried out during Operation Midnight Hammer constituted an act of war that required congressional approval, or if Trump’s decision was under his constitutional authority as commander in chief. Senate Republicans have widely argued that Trump was well within his purview, while most Senate Democrats raised constitutional concerns about the president’s ability to carry out a strike without lawmakers weighing in. Experts have argued, too, that Trump was within his executive authority to strike Iran. The Constitution divides war powers between Congress and the White House, giving lawmakers the sole power to declare war, while the president acts as the commander in chief directing the military. And nearly two centuries later, at the height of the Vietnam War, the War Powers Resolution of 1973 was born, which sought to further define those roles. But the most impact lawmakers could have is through the power of the purse, and Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, who plays a large role in controlling the purse strings as the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, had a sharp message against Kaine’s resolution. McConnell used instances where Democratic presidents over the last three decades have used their authority for limited engagements in Kosovo, Libya, Syria and Yemen, and questioned why “isolationists” would consider the strike on Iran to kneecap its nuclear program a mistake. “I have not heard the frequent flyers on War Powers resolutions reckon seriously with these questions,” he said. “Until they do, efforts like this will remain divorced from both strategic and constitutional reality.”
Providence City Council approves mailers teaching residents how to resist ICE operations
The city council in Rhode Island‘s capital is backing the distribution of “Know Your Rights” mailers to residents instructing them on how to deal with law enforcement amid the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement. Households in Providence will receive a card in English and Spanish advising them of their constitutional rights if confronted by agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It instructs residents not to open the door unless officers present a valid warrant signed by a judge. The lower portion of the card can be cut, kept in a wallet, and presented to immigration enforcement, a news release announcing the campaign states. CAIR PANELIST ACCUSES TRUMP ADMIN OF USING AI AND ANTISEMITISM AGAINST FREE SPEECH “The Providence City Council is partnering with organizations that represent our diverse community to promote safety and inclusion in the face of fear and uncertainty that pervades our city’s immigrant communities due to the reckless cruelty of the Trump administration,” Council President Rachel Miller said in a statement. “For nearly 400 years, immigrants have been and continue to be vital to Providence,” she added. “The Council stands together to say immigrants are welcome here and to encourage every member of our community to educate themselves about their constitutional rights and where to find help if they need it.” BLUE CITY’S DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE PRINTS THOUSANDS OF ‘RED CARDS’ URGING IMMIGRANTS TO KNOW THEIR RIGHTS The council worked with more than a dozen local immigrant rights and advocacy groups on the mailer. The city has spent $17,000 on the mailers, a spokesperson for the council told Fox News Digital. The Rhode Island Republican Party is demanding an investigation, noting that the council recently voted for an 8% increase in taxes. “They’re not just ignoring their oath, they’re mocking it,” the party said in a statement. “Every member of the Council swore to uphold the Constitution and the laws of the United States and Rhode Island. But instead of protecting legal residents and respecting their duty, they spent your money to help those who entered the country illegally figure out how to avoid accountability. Party Chair Jow Powers called the move “political theater” and “government malpractice.” “The Providence City Council used public funds to push propaganda that undermines federal law, all while gouging taxpayers,” he said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. “If you’re an elected official aiding lawbreakers, you don’t belong in office, you belong under investigation. Period.” In the city’s news release, Council President Pro Tempore Juan M. Pichardo called Providence a city of immigrants, “Nothing is more fundamental to the American experience than the right to live here peacefully and prosperously, regardless of country of origin or documentation status,” he said. “This mailer will help remind our residents of those rights and of the resources available to our immigrant communities.” The mailers are in response to the Trump administration’s illegal immigrant operations targeting those living in the United States illegally. Democrats have denounced the operations, arguing they separate families and put communities at risk. Los Angeles saw multiple days of riots earlier this month after ICE agents arrested multiple illegal immigrants, many with criminal records, during several operations in and around the city. Fox News’ Brooke Taylor contributed to this report.
Anxious Republicans turn to Trump amid divisions over ‘big, beautiful bill’
Republicans in the House and Senate are anxiously watching whether President Donald Trump will take a more aggressive approach in corralling GOP lawmakers in favor of his “big, beautiful bill.” “President Trump is the leader of the Republican Party, isn’t he? I think it’s incumbent upon him to make sure everybody in the Senate understands that this is a signature piece of legislation that essentially 77 million Americans voted for,” Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital. The Senate is working through a massive piece of legislation advancing Trump’s agenda on tax, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt — which the president has said he wants on his desk by the Fourth of July. Trump has been pushing Republicans on the bill in public, addressing it at back-to-back events on Thursday and Friday while also posting on his Truth Social platform. 148 DEMOCRATS BACK NONCITIZEN VOTING IN DC AS GOP RAISES ALARM ABOUT FOREIGN AGENTS Congressional leaders have said they’ve been in near-constant contact with Trump or his White House staff about the legislation. Indeed, numerous White House officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Vice President JD Vance, to push Senate Republicans to stay on course. But some House Republicans want him to be as forceful as he was when their chamber passed the bill by just one vote in May. Trump summoned multiple groups of Republicans to the White House on several occasions in the lead-up to that vote, and even made a rare trip to Capitol Hill to gin up support within the House GOP. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., told Fox News Digital that when the House was going through the motions of advancing the mammoth legislation, it “looked all but impossible” to get it across the finish line. But it was because of Trump, he said, that the bill succeeded. “He’s our closer in the bullpen right now,” he said. “His arm is getting warmed up, and we’ll bring him in here in the ninth inning, and he’s going to throw heat. And so far, he’s pitched a no-hitter.” It’s worth noting that several senators who have expressed concerns about the bill have spoken individually with Trump. But Republicans who spoke with Fox News Digital showed varying degrees of enthusiasm when asked whether the president should repeat the intense involvement he had in the House. When asked by Fox News Digital whether it’s time for the president to get involved, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas., said, “That’s up to the White House. It’s up to the president.” But Roy added, “I think the Senate needs to deliver, and I think the Senate ought to make good on the agreement that the majority leader had with us and with the speaker to work with us to achieve that level of spending cuts.” Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Penn., said Trump is “always involved, so he’ll stay involved because we do want to get it done by July 4th.” Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., said he was not being kept aware of how involved Trump was, but said the president’s deal-making skills would likely be needed. “I mean, I think it’s gonna take that type of horsepower to kind of bring everybody together,” Fitzgerald said. But some Republicans in the upper chamber are resistant. NONCITIZEN LA RIOTERS COULD BE DEPORTED UNDER NEW HOUSE BILL “It doesn’t matter what he says, of course not,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital. “I mean, I’m not voting for something unless I know what I’m voting on.” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., wouldn’t say whether he believed that Trump should put a finger on the scales more. But he told Fox News Digital that he was appreciative of the effort that Thune and Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, had put into getting feedback from Senate Republicans, but said that at a certain point, lawmakers just needed to vote on the bill. “We have cussed and discussed this bill for a long, long time, and at some point you move from careful, rational deliberation into the foothills of jackassery,” Kennedy said. “And that’s where we are now. It’s time to vote. If people are unhappy, they can offer amendments.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
JD Vance poised to clinch victory for Trump’s landmark bill as GOP finalizes strategy
Vice President JD Vance could deliver the tiebreaking vote in the U.S. Senate for President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful, bill” should it fail to receive enough support from Republican lawmakers. Republicans are scrambling to reform and pass the measure ahead of Trump’s July 4 deadline after Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough’s determination Thursday that several Medicaid reforms in the sweeping tax and domestic policy package did not follow Senate rules and must be removed. As president of the Senate, the vice president casts a tiebreaking vote when a measure fails to receive majority support. DEMS ‘DELIBERATELY OBFUSCATING’ TRUTH ABOUT ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ WITH THIS CLAIM: WATCHDOG There are 53 Republicans in the Senate, meaning three Republican senators could opt out of voting for the bill, and it could still pass with Vance’s support. Vance has previously cast tiebreaking votes in the Senate, including in January to confirm Trump’s pick for Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, and on a measure in April to curb Trump’s ability to impose global tariffs. Vance’s office declined to provide comment to Fox News Digital. Republican lawmakers who’ve historically voiced concerns about certain Medicaid provisions included in the “big, beautiful, bill” include senators Susan Collins of Maine, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. These lawmakers have cautioned that the reforms would prove detrimental to rural hospitals in their states. Spokespeople for Collins, Hawley and Murkowski did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. The domestic policy package also included provisions to beef up border security and would also make permanent the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act from Trump’s first term. The White House’s Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought told lawmakers earlier this month failure to pass the measure would result in a 60% tax hike for Americans and would trigger a recession. As a result, Matt Wolking, who previously served as the deputy communications director for Trump’s 2020 campaign, said Senate Republicans will ultimately band together to approve the legislation to prevent the tax cuts from expiring. HOW JOHNSON PULLED OFF ANOTHER IMPOSSIBLE WIN WITH JUST 1-VOTE MARGIN ON $9.4B SPENDING CUT BILL “Senate Republicans don’t want to be responsible for the massive tax increase on the middle class that will occur if they fail to extend President Trump’s tax cuts. So, ultimately, they will get this done,” Wolking, currently with GOP consulting firm Axiom Strategies, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “President Trump has a big asset in these negotiations with JD Vance, and whether he is needed to break a tie or not, the administration will have another major win under its belt heading into the midterm elections where the strength of the economy will be a big factor,” Wolking said. Earlier this month, Vance met with Republican senators to discuss the measure during a closed-door lunch and said afterward he was hopeful about the odds of passing the legislation on time. “I mean, look, I can’t make any promises. … I can’t predict the future, but I do think that we’re in a good place to get this done by the July 4 recess,” Vance told reporters June 17. Vance also told reporters that despite concerns from lawmakers, including Collins, regarding certain Medicaid provisions included in the measure, he would work to address any issues raised. Still, he said there was broad agreement within the party on reforming Medicaid to block access for illegal immigrants. “They’re all very confident we’re eventually going to get there,” Vance said. The House narrowly passed its version of the measure in May by a 215-214 margin, with two Republicans voting against the legislation. Trump urged lawmakers to get the legislation to the finish line Thursday, labeling the measure the “single-most important piece of border legislation ever to cross the floor of Congress.” “This is the ultimate codification of our agenda to — very simply, a phrase that’s been used pretty well by me over the past 10 years, but maybe even before that — make America great again,” Trump said at a “One, Big, Beautiful Event” at the White House Thursday.
Trump touts administration’s progress on peace deals, says world leaders ‘respect our country again’
Speaking with reporters in the Oval Office after a meeting marking a U.S.-brokered peace deal in Africa, President Donald Trump touted his administration’s progress on achieving peace deals across the globe, something he said has been possible because world leaders “respect our country again.” “We were not a country that was respected. Just a year ago we had a president that was incompetent. We had bad people circulating around this desk, this beautiful Resolute desk,” said Trump. “They had, I guess, evil intentions. They were, you couldn’t be that stupid, I mean, they had evil intentions, but the world respects our country again.” Commenting on a freshly brokered African peace, which will end a decades-long conflict between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, Trump said it “is a tremendous breakthrough.” “In a few short months, we’ve now achieved peace between India and Pakistan, Israel and Iran and the DRC and Rwanda and, a couple of others also, Serbia [and Kosovo],” he said. TRUMP EXERTED ‘MAXIMUM PRESSURE’ ON IRAN AND ISRAEL TO ‘DELIVER PEACE’: LEAVITT He also called his NATO trip “very successful,” saying U.S. allies committed to spend over $1 trillion on defense. “We’ve had some tremendous success,” said the president. Trump also mentioned the successful strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites and the subsequent ceasefire brokered between Israel and Iran. “We had the war, as you know, we call it the ‘12 Day War,’ it was exactly a 12-day war. And we ended up with no nuclear weapons. That’s what we wanted. And they were, they were just absolutely blown to pieces those three sites and there’s no nuclear weapons. And hopefully there can be a lot of healing. And healing is starting,” he said. EX-SECRETARY OF STATE CONDOLEEZZA RICE CALLS US STRIKES ON IRAN A ‘SHOT IN THE ARM’ FOR AMERICAN CREDIBILITY On the topic of healing in the Middle East, Trump also predicted there will be a ceasefire in Gaza sometime “within the next week.” He called the situation in Gaza “terrible” but expressed optimism there could soon be a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. “I think it’s close. I just spoke with some of the people involved,” said the president, adding, “We think within the next week we’re going to get a ceasefire.” Trump also addressed the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying, “We’re supplying, as you know, a lot of money and a lot of food to that area because we have to, I mean, you have to. In theory, we’re not involved in it, but we’re involved because people are dying.” ‘THE MISSION WAS ACCOMPLISHED’: SENATE REPUBLICANS PUSH BACK AGAINST LEAKED REPORT ON IRAN STRIKES He called on other countries to also send humanitarian aid to Gaza. “We’re working on Gaza, trying to get it taken care of and again, you know, a lot of food has been sent there. And other countries throughout the world should be helping also,” he said. In addition to being respected by America’s allies, Trump said his administration has improved relations with countries such as Russia, North Korea, China and Iran. “Vladimir Putin made some very nice statements today,” he said. “Look, he respects our country again. He didn’t respect it a year ago. I can tell you right now, but Putin respects our country and, President Xi of China respects our country. And Kim Jong Un respects. They respect our country again.” In response to a question on whether he may authorize U.S. Patriot missiles for Ukraine’s air defenses, Trump simply responded, “I may.”
Trump admin reaffirms Abrego Garcia won’t go free in the US: ‘Horrific crimes’
Top Trump administration officials maintain that Kilmar Abrego Garcia will continue to go through the legal system in the United States before he is deported again, as the administration maintains he will not walk free in the U.S. Abrego Garcia’s lawyers successfully asked the judge on Friday to keep him behind bars to avoid any possibility of an immediate deportation, according to NewsNation. However, the plan is to try Abrego Garcia in the U.S. on the Tennessee-based human smuggling charges before deporting him, according to the Department of Justice. And if he is convicted, the White House says he will spend time behind bars in the U.S. before being deported. JUDGE SETS STRICT CONDITIONS FOR ABREGO GARCIA’S RELEASE AS TRUMP OFFICIALS PURSUE CASE AGAINST HIM “This defendant has been charged with horrific crimes including trafficking children and will not walk free in our country again,” DOJ spokesperson Chad Gilmartin told Fox News Digital in an email. The White House further clarified the Executive Branch’s stance following an Associated Press report on the comments from federal prosecutors about possibly deporting him to a third country sooner. “This is fake news. Abrego Garcia was returned to the United States to face trial for the egregious charges against him. He will face the full force of the American justice system – including serving time in American prison for the crimes he’s committed,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson said in an X post. RETURNED SALVADORAN MIGRANT KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA ARRAIGNED ON FEDERAL HUMAN TRAFFICKING CHARGES IN TENNESSEE DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the 29-year-old will not be freed in the U.S. at any point. “Kilmar Abrego Garcia is a dangerous criminal illegal alien. We have said it for months and it remains true to this day: he will never go free on American soil,” she wrote. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE Abrego Garcia, who was living in Maryland, was deported to El Salvador amid accusations of being an MS-13 gang member, as it is a designated foreign terrorist organization. He then spent time detained at the country’s terrorism confinement center. While detained in the country, it sparked a political firestorm in which Democrats raised concerns about due process, with Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-M.D., even meeting with him in the Central American nation. During his El Salvador detainment, past records alleging domestic abuse surfaced, as well as reports that he allegedly had taken part in human smuggling, which ultimately led to the federal charges brought forth earlier this month that resulted in his return to American custody. DEMOCRATS CELEBRATE RETURN OF SUSPECTED HUMAN TRAFFICKER KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA “Abrego Garcia has landed in the United States to face justice,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said at the time. “A grand jury in the Middle District of Tennessee returned a sealed indictment charging him with alien smuggling and conspiracy.” However, critics blasted the charges as a political move. “After weeks of the Trump administration saying they either couldn’t or wouldn’t return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the US, the timing of these charges are clearly designed to cover up their negligence and the fact that the Supreme Court unanimously called them out on the egregious ways they are ignoring due process,” the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition said in a statement at the time. “Still, Mr. Abrego Garcia will now be able to have his day in court, which The Constitution guarantees for everyone in our country regardless of citizenship.”
Mamdani’s primary win exposes Democrat divide as top leaders withhold endorsements
Zohran Mamdani’s primary night success shocked the political establishment this week, exposing a generational divide among New York Democrats. New York Democrat Rep. Tom Suozzi endorsed former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the race for City Hall on Tuesday night. The moderate Democrat confirmed Wednesday that he “had serious concerns about Assemblyman Mamdani before [Tuesday], and that is one of the reasons I endorsed his opponent. Those concerns remain.” While fellow self-described democratic socialist, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., threw her political weight behind Mamdani ahead of his primary win, national congressional Democratic leaders, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, did not outright endorse Mamdani after he declared victory. “He ran an impressive campaign that connected with New Yorkers about affordability, fairness, & opportunity,” Schumer said Wednesday. When pressed by reporters about his non-endorsement, Schumer refused to elaborate on what Mamdani’s win meant for the Democratic Party’s future. CITY-RUN GROCERY STORES, DEFUNDING POLICE, SAFE INJECTION SITES: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT NYC’S NEXT POTENTIAL MAYOR Jeffries congratulated Mamdani on his “decisive primary victory,” and confirmed his plan to speak with the presumptive nominee the day after he declared victory. Yet, the House Democratic leader refused to formally endorse Mamdani. NEW YORK DEMOCRAT SAYS MAYORAL CANDIDATE ZOHRAN MAMDANI ‘TOO EXTREME TO LEAD’ Mamdani, whose campaign galvanized supporters on the ground and on social media, has proposed what conservatives deem radical ideas, like government-run grocery stores, free bus service, tuition-free city universities, rent freezes and free childcare, among others. Schumer and Jeffries did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s inquiry about their non-endorsements and whether the New York Democrats plan to rally behind Mamdani in November. Moderate New York Democrats, including Sen. Kristen Gillibrand and Reps. Ritchie Torres, Adriano Espaillat and Pat Ryan, are also yet to endorse Mamdani. Those congressional Democrats, as well as Suozzi, did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital inquiry about whether they planned to endorse Mamdani. Torres had also endorsed Cuomo in the primary. And Espaillat congratulated Mamdani on Wednesday but did not outright endorse him. Rep. Dan Goldman, who endorsed state Sen. Zellnor Myrie in the Democratic primary, has not yet endorsed Mamdani since his primary win, and did not immediately respond to an inquiry about whether he would. Meanwhile, longtime New York Democratic congressman, Jerry Nadler, clearly endorsed Mamdani on Wednesday, comparing his victory Tuesday to President Barack Obama’s political rise. “Zohran is someone who will be a partner with me in Washington to take on Donald Trump. I’ve spoken to him today about his commitment to fighting antisemitism, and we’ll work with all New Yorkers to fight against all bigotry and hate,” Nadler said, in an apparent reference to accusations that Mamdani is antisemitic, particularly over his refusal to condemn the controversial rallying cry, “Globalize the intifada.” Like Suozzi, New York Democrat Rep. Lauren Gillen refused to endorse Mamdani, writing on social media Wednesday, “Socialist Zohran Mamdani is too extreme to lead New York City.” “His entire campaign has been built on unachievable promises and higher taxes, which is the last thing New York needs. Beyond that, Mr. Mamdani has called to defund the police and has demonstrated a deeply disturbing pattern of unacceptable antisemitic comments which stoke hate at a time when antisemitism is skyrocketing. He is the absolute wrong choice for New York.” Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani for comment. Sources confirmed to Fox News Digital Thursday that Cuomo is not dropping out of the race. The former governor will keep the spot he secured earlier this year on the “Fight & Deliver” ballot line. But the sources said that Cuomo had not committed yet to running an active general election campaign through the summer and into the autumn. And Mayor Eric Adams announced his re-election campaign Thursday on the steps of New York City Hall. He decided to run as an independent amid low approval ratings and his since-dropped federal corruption charges. Former federal prosecutor Jim Walden is also running as an Independent, and Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa will once again be the Republican nominee in November’s mayoral election.
UK police arrest four after pro-Palestinian protest at military base
The arrests come after the UK government said it would proscribe Palestine Action under anti-terror laws. UK police have arrested four people in connection with a pro-Palestinian protest last week, in which military planes were vandalised at an airbase in England in an action claimed by the Palestine Action group. Two activists from Palestine Action broke into the Royal Air Force base in Brize Norton, Oxfordshire, on June 20, damaging and spraying red paint over two planes used for refuelling and transport. A woman, 29, and two men aged 36 and 24, were arrested on Friday on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of “terrorism”, while another woman, 41, was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender, according to a statement by Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE). The four arrests were made in London and Berkshire, in southeastern England, it said. Palestine Action condemned the arrests, accusing the government of being “in the pocket of the weapons companies arming Israel’s war crimes”. It accused authorities of “cracking down on non-violent protests which disrupt the flow of arms to Israel during its genocide in Palestine”. The group posted footage online last Friday showing people inside the base, with one person appearing to ride an electric scooter up to an Airbus Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker, before spraying paint into its jet engine. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer condemned the act as “disgraceful”. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper made the decision to proscribe Palestine Action following the incident, with the arrests coming just one week before the ban is set to come into force. If parliament approves the proscription, support for the group would become a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison. Advertisement Cooper has said its methods have become “more aggressive”, with its members showing a “willingness to use violence” and that “such incidents do not represent legitimate or peaceful protest”. “Proscribing Palestine Action is a political gesture to satisfy pro-Israel groups and arms companies who have been lobbying for us to be banned because we’re hitting their profits and having a real impact on Israel’s war machine,” said one of its spokespeople on X. The group also said the move was an attack on free speech and an “unhinged reaction”. The government also said last week that it was reviewing security across all British defence sites following the incident. Palestine Action has staged other demonstrations, including spraying the London offices of Allianz Insurance with red paint and vandalising US President Donald Trump’s Turnberry golf course in South Ayrshire, southern Scotland. Adblock test (Why?)
In an age of abundance and ceasefires, Gaza starves, and the war won’t stop
Gaza City – Israel and Iran fought for 12 days, firing bombs, drones and missiles at each other, with the United States even joining in the bombing. Then, earlier this week, it stopped. Last month, India and Pakistan attacked each other, and the world feared the outbreak of an all-out war between the two nuclear powers. But then, after four days, it stopped. In Gaza, we haven’t been so lucky. The word “ceasefire” doesn’t apply to us – even after 20 months of slaughter, death, and starvation. Instead, as wars erupt and end elsewhere, Gaza is neglected, slipping down the news agenda, and disconnected from the internet for days. World leaders that can end wars decisively can’t deliver medicine to Gaza, can’t bring in food aid without daily bloodshed. That inadequacy has left us Palestinians in Gaza isolated, abandoned, and feeling worthless. We feel humiliated and degraded, as if our dignity has been erased. We prayed that the end of the war between Israel and Iran would perhaps help end the one that is being waged on us. But we were wrong. Even as Iran’s missiles rained down on Tel Aviv, Israel never stopped bombing us. Its tanks rolled on, its evacuation orders never ceased. And the daily charade of “humanitarian aid” has continued to kill starving Palestinians as they wait in line at distribution sites. As Israel’s bombs continued to fall on us, as they have done since October 2023, we watched as Israelis wept over their own bombed hospitals, damaged cities, and disrupted lives. Advertisement “What did we do? Why are we being bombed?” they asked, at the same time as Israel continued to attack Gaza’s hospitals, kill Gaza’s children, and murder those trying to get food. Hating food In Gaza, we don’t have wishes any more. I don’t dare to dream about surviving – my heart can no longer bear the sorrow of being in this world, the absence of any future. We’re exhausted from being stories people read, videos they watch. Every minute: bombing, death, and hunger. Especially hunger. During three months of siege and starvation, Israel initially steadfastly refused to allow food in and then allowed distribution only through a shady and militarised organisation, with Israeli forces shooting in. The situation has made me come to hate food. My relationship with it has forever changed, twisted into resentment and bitterness. I crave everything. I ask myself, “What will we eat? What do we have available?” I imagine myself at a table full of delicacies, throwing everything onto the ground in protest, screaming through tears not out of hunger, but for my wounded dignity. It is this hunger and the basic human instinct to survive that drives tens of thousands of starving men, women and children to the daily slaughter that is the food distribution sites. The hunger dulls every other sense. An empty stomach means an empty mind, a failing body. It makes you do things your brain tells you not to do, to risk everything for a bag of flour, or a bag of lentils. And all of this – the starvation of 2 million people – takes place in the age of global food abundance. The age of pistachio desserts, Dubai chocolates, cheesecakes with layers of cream, gourmet burgers, pizzas, sauces, and creams. For the rest of the world, food is a phone tap away. For us, it taunts us, reminding us of our calamity. The shelves in Gaza’s shops sit almost totally empty [Maram Humaid/Al Jazeera] Taunted by the tablet Every time I open my phone to see photos, recipes, and trending desserts, I feel a pang in my heart reminding me that we are not living in the same world. My nine-year-old daugher Banias watches Instagram reels with me and says, “Mom, every chef says the ingredients are easy and found in every home … but not ours.” Her words pierce me. She says them with sorrow, not complaint. Banias never complains. She accepts the pasta or lentils I offer. But the pain is there. My children watch kids’ shows on a device I bought at great cost, with a backup battery to offset the two-year power blackout. I did it so they could have some joy, some escape. But I didn’t consider what that screen would show them. Advertisement They play songs and videos all day long about apples, bananas, strawberries, watermelon, grapes, milk, eggs, pizza, chicken, ice cream. All the things I can’t give them. The device started playing a song: “Are you hungry?” My heart can’t take it. What is this cursed screen doing? I rushed out of the kitchen, where I had just finished cooking the same pasta with canned sauce – maybe for the 50th time. I looked into my children’s eyes. Iyas, turning two this month, has never tasted any of these fruits or foods. Banias watches and casually says while eating her pasta, “See, Mama? Even the dolls get to eat fruit and grapes and yummy stuff.” Every moment here reminds me that the world lives in one reality, and we live in another. Even children’s songs aren’t made for us any more. We’ve become an exception to life. An exception to joy. Maram Humaid’s children, Banias and Iyas [Maram Humaid/Al Jazeera] The fear of what comes next And yet, we are still among the “lucky” ones, because others have run out of food entirely. I felt that growing dread last week when I opened my last kilo of rice. Fear and despair overwhelmed me. Then, it was the last spoon of milk, then lentils, chickpeas, cornstarch, halva, tomato sauce, the last cans of beans, peas, bulghur. Our stocks are vanishing. There are no replacements. Every empty shelf feels like a blow to the soul. If this famine continues, what comes next? It’s like walking step by step towards death. Every day without a solution brings us closer to a deeper mass starvation. Every trip to the market that ends empty-handed feels like
Political violence is quintessentially American
Violence begets violence, so many religions say. Americans should know. After all, the United States – a nation founded on Indigenous genocide, African enslavement and open rebellion against an imperial power to protect its wealthiest citizens – cannot help but be violent. What’s more, violence in the US is political, and the violence the country has carried out overseas over the generations has always been connected to its imperialist ambitions and racism. From the US bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites on June 21 to the everyday violence in rhetoric and reality within the US, the likes of President Donald Trump continue to stoke the violent impulses of a violence‑prone nation. The US news cycle serves as continual confirmation. In June alone, there have been several high‑profile shootings and murders. On June 14, Vance Boelter, a white male vigilante, shot and killed former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, after critically wounding State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette. That same day, at a No Kings mass protest in Salt Lake City, Utah, peacekeepers with the 50501 Movement accidentally shot and killed Samoan fashion designer Arthur Folasa Ah Loo while attempting to take down Arturo Gamboa, who was allegedly armed with an AR‑15. On June 1, the start of Pride Month, Sigfredo Ceja Alvarez allegedly shot and murdered gay Indigenous actor Jonathan Joss in San Antonio, Texas. On June 12, Secret Service agents forcibly detained and handcuffed US Senator Alex Padilla during Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s news conference in Los Angeles. Advertisement Mass shootings, white vigilante violence, police brutality, and domestic terrorism are all normal occurrences in the United States – and all are political. Yet US leaders still react with hollow platitudes that reveal an elitist and narcissistic detachment from the nation’s violent history. “Such horrific violence will not be tolerated in the United States of America. God bless the great people of Minnesota…” said Governor Tim Walz after Boelter’s June 14 shootings. On X, Republican Representative Derrick Van Orden wrote: “Political violence has no place in America. I fully condemn this attack…” Despite these weak condemnations, the US often tolerates – and sometimes celebrates – political violence. Van Orden also tweeted, “With one horrible governor that appoints political assassins to boards. Good job, stupid,” in response to Walz’s message. Senator Mike Lee referred to the incident as “Nightmare on Waltz Street” before deleting the post. Political violence in the US is commonplace. President Trump has long fostered it – such as during a presidential debate in Philadelphia, when he falsely claimed Haitian immigrants “eat their neighbours’ pets”. This led to weeks of threats against the roughly 15,000 Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. On June 9, Trump posted on Truth Social: “IF THEY SPIT, WE WILL HIT… harder than they have ever been hit before.” That led to a federally-sanctioned wave of violence against protesters in Los Angeles attempting to end Trump’s immigration crackdowns, including Trump’s takeover and deployment of California’s National Guard in the nation’s second-largest city. But it’s not just that Trump may have a lust for political violence and is stoking such violence. The US has always been a powder keg for violence, a nation-state that cannot help itself. Political violence against elected officials in the US is too extensive to list fully. Assassins murdered Presidents Abraham Lincoln, James A Garfield, William McKinley, and John F Kennedy. In 1804, Vice‑President Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Populist candidate Huey Long was assassinated in 1935; Robert F Kennedy in 1968; Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was wounded in 2011. Many assassins and vigilantes have targeted those fighting for social justice: Dr Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, Elijah Parish Lovejoy, Marsha P. Johnson, and civil‑rights activists like Medgar Evers, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, Viola Liuzzo, and Fred Hampton. Jonathan Joss and Arthur Folasa Ah Loo are more recent examples of marginalised people struck down in a white‑supremacist society. Advertisement The most chilling truth of all is that, because of the violent nature of the US, there is no end in sight – domestically or overseas. The recent US bomb mission over Iran is merely the latest unprovoked preemptive attack the superpower has conducted on another nation. Trump’s unilateral use of military force was done, presumably, in support of Israel’s attacks on Iran, allegedly because of the threat Iran poses if it ever arms itself with nuclear weapons. But these are mere excuses that could also be violations of international law. It wouldn’t be the first time the US has sought to start a war based on questionable intelligence or reasons, however. The most recent example, of course, is the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, a part of George W Bush’s “preemptive war” doctrine, attacking Iraq because they supposedly had a stockpile of WMDs that they could use against the US in the future. There was never any evidence of any stockpile of chemical or biological weapons. As many as 2.4 million Iraqis have died from the resulting violence, statelessness, and civil war that the initial 2003 US invasion created. It has not gone unnoticed that the US mostly bombs and invades nation-states with majority people of colour and non-Christian populations. Malcolm X said it best, a week after Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated John F Kennedy in 1963: “Being an old farm boy myself, chickens coming home to roost never did make me sad; they’ve always made me glad.” Given that Americans consume nine billion chickens a year, that is a huge amount of retribution to consider for the nation’s history of violence. Short of repealing the Second Amendment’s right-to-bear-guns clause in the US Constitution and a real commitment towards eliminating the threat of white male supremacist terrorism, this violence will continue unabated, with repercussions that will include terrorism and revenge, domestically and internationally. A country with a history of violence, elitism, and narcissism like the US – and an individual like Trump – cannot divorce themselves from their own violent DNA, a