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Thune blasts Jeffries, Schumer as ‘afraid of their shadows’ as DHS funding fight heats up

Thune blasts Jeffries, Schumer as ‘afraid of their shadows’ as DHS funding fight heats up

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., doesn’t have confidence that top congressional Democrats want to fix Homeland Security funding as Congress gears up for tense negotiations in the coming days.  With the partial four-day government shutdown now over, Democrats and Republicans are readying to relitigate the controversial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) bill, which threatened to completely derail a previous bipartisan funding deal.  And with nine days on the clock to figure out a way forward, Thune doesn’t believe that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., or Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., are prepared to actually reach a bipartisan deal on the bill.  SHUTDOWN AVERTED FOR NOW, BUT SENATE WARNS DHS FIGHT COULD TRIGGER ANOTHER IN DAYS When asked if he viewed Jeffries, who rebelled against Schumer’s funding deal with President Donald Trump, as a good-faith partner in the coming back-and-forth, Thune said, “He’s just not.” “He and, for that matter, Leader Schumer, both are afraid of their shadows, and they’re getting a lot of rollback and pressure from their left,” Thune said. “So, I don’t think they want to — particularly in [Jeffries’] case, I don’t think he wants to make a deal at all.” TRUMP UNDERCUTS GOP PUSH TO ATTACH SAVE ACT TO SHUTDOWN BILL AS CONSERVATIVES THREATEN MUTINY Schumer on Tuesday said that Democrats would have a proposal ready for Republicans to review that same day, but Thune noted that no such list had been handed over to his side of the aisle.  There may still be lingering discourse between the top Democratic leaders, too, after Jeffries turned his back on the Trump-Schumer funding deal. However, both met on Tuesday night, and Schumer affirmed that they were on the same page. HOUSE DEMOCRATS MUTINY SCHUMER’S DEAL WITH WHITE HOUSE, THREATENING LONGER SHUTDOWN Meanwhile, DHS is currently operating under a two-week continuing resolution (CR) that maintains previous funding levels until Congress can pass legislation to fully fund it. But Thune and other Republicans believe that the truncated time period just isn’t long enough to actually hash out a deal.  And it’s an open question whether Congress will again need to temporarily extend the funding patch, or allow the agency to shut down. Compounding frustrations among Republicans is that the original DHS bill was the product of bipartisan negotiations and included several guardrails and reporting requirements targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that would limit or block funding if they weren’t met.  “I think they want to litigate, have the issue as a political issue,” Thune said. “Whether or not there’s a solution remains to be seen, but at least what they’re saying publicly suggests that that’s not their objective.” 

Jill Biden’s 2019 memoir described being ‘devastated’ by divorce from Bill Stevenson, now charged with murder

Jill Biden’s 2019 memoir described being ‘devastated’ by divorce from Bill Stevenson, now charged with murder

In her 2019 book, “Where the Light Enters,” former first lady Jill Biden described her feeling of devastation that her first marriage ended in divorce. William “Bill” Stevenson, who currently faces a murder charge in connection with the death of his wife Linda Stevenson, is Jill Biden’s ex-husband, reports indicate. “My parents loved each other until they left this earth,” Jill noted in her book, according to People. “Even in their old age, they were playful and affectionate. They loved faithfully and unconditionally. Marriage, for them, meant forever. And I knew, deeply, unquestioningly, that was what I would have as well. So, when my marriage fell apart, I was lost. I watched, devastated, as it slipped from my fingers before I could even figure out how to hold on.” JILL BIDEN’S EX-HUSBAND CHARGED WITH MURDER IN DEATH OF WIFE “I’m not sure if I knew anyone who was divorced back then,” she noted, according to the report. “The very idea horrified me. It meant failure, and in my still-young life, I had never failed at anything serious.” “I felt ugly and inadequate; I was embarrassed and ashamed,” she explained, according to the outlet. “In a single devastating year, I went from thinking I had it all to feeling shattered and alone. I questioned if I would ever find love, if I would ever have a family of my own. How could I give my heart to someone again? How could I again risk this humiliation, this hurt? And how could I figure out who, exactly, I was?” BIDEN NEARLY INVISIBLE IN OWN CHRISTMAS FAMILY PHOTO AS HUNTER TAKES CENTER STAGE But her second marriage worked out — Jill and Joe Biden married in 1977 and remain together nearly five decades later. The New Castle County Police Department announced Tuesday that detectives from the Division’s Criminal Investigations Unit, in coordination with the Delaware Department of Justice, presented the case to a grand jury on Monday following “an extensive weeks-long investigation into the death of 64-year-old Linda Stevenson.”  DEMS ‘LOSE CREDIBILITY’ WHEN THEY ‘STAY SILENT’ ON THIS, ARGUES FORMER JILL BIDEN CHIEF SPOKESPERSON “As a result, an indictment was returned by the New Castle County Superior Court charging 77-year-old William Stevenson with Murder in the First Degree,” the department noted.

Trump speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on range of issues including Russia-Ukraine war

Trump speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on range of issues including Russia-Ukraine war

President Donald Trump said he spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping Wednesday to discuss a range of issues, including the war between Ukraine and Russia, while stressing that their relationship “is an extremely good one” that will bring “many positive results” in the coming years. The president and Xi also discussed Trump’s upcoming trip to Beijing in April, which he said he “very much” looks forward to. “I have just completed an excellent telephone conversation with President Xi, of China. It was a long and thorough call, where many important subjects were discussed, including Trade, Military, the April trip that I will be making to China (which I very much look forward to!), Taiwan, the War between Russia/Ukraine, the current situation with Iran, the purchase of Oil and Gas by China from the United States, the consideration by China of the purchase of additional Agricultural products including lifting the Soybean count to 20 Million Tons for the current season (They have committed to 25 Million Tons for next season!), Airplane engine deliveries, and numerous other subjects, all very positive!” Trump posted to his Truth Social. TRUMP WARNS UK IT’S ‘VERY DANGEROUS’ TO DO BUSINESS WITH CHINA AFTER STARMER’S BEIJING MEETING “The relationship with China, and my personal relationship with President Xi, is an extremely good one, and we both realize how important it is to keep it that way,” he continued. “I believe that there will be many positive results achieved over the next three years of my Presidency having to do with President Xi, and the People’s Republic of China.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The president’s call with Xi comes on the same day the Chinese president announced that he had a separate conversation Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin.  This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.