Trump and Hunter Biden guilty verdicts effect on voter sentiment probed in new poll
A new national poll suggests that the guilty verdicts against former President Trump in his recent criminal trial may have little impact on his 2024 election rematch with President Biden. And the survey, from Monmouth University, also indicates that more voters agree than disagree with Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts in the first trial of a former or current president in the nation’s history. But a majority questioned in the poll say the charges against the former president were politically motivated. Nearly half say the same thing about the trial of Hunter Biden, the president’s sole surviving son, which ended Tuesday with the younger Biden’s conviction on three counts tied to his October 2018 purchase and possession of a revolver while using illegal drugs. WILL HUNTER BIDEN GUILTY VERDICTS ROCK HIS FATHER’S REMATCH WITH WITH TRUMP? Trump was found guilty late last month of all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in relation to payments during the 2016 election that he made to Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about his alleged affair with the adult film actress. Prosecutors in the case argued that this amounted to illegally seeking to influence the 2016 election. The Monmouth poll spotlights that the impact on the presidential election of the Trump verdicts is minimal, with both candidates continuing “to draw almost identical levels of support, although voter enthusiasm for this rematch has increased among both Republicans and Democrats.” WHO HAS THE SLIGHT EDGE IN A KEY NORTHEASTERN PRESIDENT ELECTION BATTLEGROUND? According to the survey, just over four in 10 registered voters say they’ll either definitely or probably vote for the Democratic incumbent and in a separate question, a nearly identical number say they’ll definitely or probably vote for his Republican predecessor in the White House. Forty-nine percent of those surveyed said they definitely won’t vote for Biden, with an identical number saying the same thing about Trump. These results have not moved much since last fall in Monmouth national polling. Trump for months has held a slight polling edge over Biden in most surveys in the crucial seven battleground states across the country that will likely decide the outcome of the presidential rematch. But Biden enjoys a fundraising advantage, and the upper hand when it comes to ground game operations in the key states. Nearly half – 47% – of those questioned in the Monmouth survey said they agree with the jury’s guilty verdicts in Trump’s trial, with 34% disagreeing. That’s mostly in-line with other national surveys conducted since the end of the trial that indicated about half of those questioned approving of the verdicts, but that opinions of the former president remained stable. Fifty-seven percent of those questioned in the Monmouth poll said that they thought the decision to bring Trump to trial was politically motivated. By comparison, only 48% thought that the charges against Hunter Biden were motivated by politics. “Many Americans are skeptical about these high-profile trials and there is a clear partisan gap depending on which defendant we are talking about. Still, the results indicate Republicans have a higher level of distrust in our judicial process than Democrats do,” Monmouth University Polling Institute director Patrick Murray said. The poll was conducted June 6-10, before Tuesday’s conviction of Hunter Biden, with 1,106 adults nationwide questioned by telephone. The survey’s overall sampling error is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Army vet predicts first red flip of North Carolina district since 1883, citing Biden-era malaise
An Army veteran backed by House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik’s women-candidate-recruiting PAC told Fox News Digital this week that she believes she can make history in North Carolina. Retired Col. Laurie Buckhout said her district is the poorest in North Carolina, and while the economy and jobs are top-of-mind to voters, the first issue they mention to her is immigration. It is the combination of poverty, an influx of drugs from south of the border and a general malaise in the Biden era that has her potential constituents clamoring for change, Buckhout said. She noted her district, which spans from suburban Rocky Mount across nearly 200 miles of small towns to the Outer Banks tourist communities of Duck and Corolla, has not elected a Republican since Chester Arthur was president. TRUMP-ENDORSED NASCAR DRIVER WINS GOP PRIMARY IN MAINE “It has been Democrat-led for 141 years, which tells you a lot about why it is the poorest one in North Carolina,” she told a large audience at a Wednesday event dubbed “E-PAC” and hosted by Stefanik. “This is our real chance to flip this right now… Democrats are scared.” “My opponent, [Rep.] Don Davis, [D-N.C.] – one of the nicest guys in Congress – is hiding every time Biden comes into the state – they put $850,000 toward him just in the month of May in positive ads.” Speaking to Fox News Digital after the event, Buckhout said it is heartbreaking to see the poverty and signs of drug abuse in many towns where she lives. “It is poverty. It is jobs. It’s the economy. They’ve been struggling for years. And then you bring Biden in, and he’s got his crazy spending and these energy policies that are just crushing [eastern North Carolina] and my highly agrarian district.” However, despite the economic burden, voters tell Buckhout that the border is their top issue. “I’ve been talking to some of the poorest folks in the district, and they’ll say they’re worried about their children’s futures.” FLASHBACK: TED BUDD SLAMS OPPONENT, SAYS CRIMINAL JUSTICE POLICIES ARE ON THE BALLOT In the eastern part of the district, touristy beachfront towns and inland villages are being hit hard by the Biden economy as tourism dollars from the thousands of northerners who vacation there have dropped, she said. “People can’t afford to hop in the car and just go for these long trips anymore. So you see businesses closing, you see little hotels closing. It’s a significant impact,” said Buckhout, whose hometown of Edenton is one of those soundfront communities. In response to her criticism, Davis said his primary focus is the families of eastern North Carolina and laid out why he is a “recognized bipartisan leader in Congress.” “I have also been vocal in challenging the White House on issues like WOTUS, the menthol ban, Seymour Johnson AFB job cuts, and the border crisis. I have personally made over 200 visits to counties in the East, traveled to Israel and Ukraine and made multiple trips to the southern border,” Davis said. Pollsters and election analysts in North Carolina also offered their take to Fox News Digital on Buckhout’s confidence in a historic Republican shift in her district: CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP One pollster, Professor Peter Francia of East Carolina University in Greenville, said the district has shifted to the right a bit after the 2020 census redistricting, from its comfortable Democratic position. “The election in the 1st Congressional District in North Carolina will not only be the most competitive congressional election in the state, it could turn out to be one of the most competitive elections in the nation,” Francia said.
Lok Sabha Speaker’s election to be held on Jun 26; candidates can be proposed till Jun 25 noon
The 18th Lok Sabha will meet for the first time on June 24 and the session will conclude on July 3.
Ohio special election result could signal Democrat edge with key voter group: election expert
Tuesday’s special election in Ohio to fill a vacant U.S. House seat showed off a Democratic advantage in high-engagement voters, with the district swinging roughly 20 points in Democrats’ favor, compared to previous elections. While Republican state Sen. Michael Rulli defeated his Democratic opponent Michael Kripchak by just under 10 points in the special election for Ohio’s 6th Congressional District, it was a disappointing margin in a district that had been won by outgoing Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio., by more than 30 points just two years ago. “It looks like state Sen. Michael Rulli (R) is on track for a significant underperformance in tonight’s #OH06 special election,” Cook Political Report senior editor Dave Wasserman said on X as the results rolled in, noting that former President Trump had carried the same district by 29 points in 2020. TRUMP RILES UP FIERY SWING STATE CROWD IN FIRST RALLY SINCE NEW YORK CONVICTION The result could be seen as a confusing one for many political observers, with Ohio as a state trending more towards Republicans in recent elections, and the 6th Congressional District having been a safe haven for the GOP for over a decade. But the result highlights a growing problem for Republicans nationally ahead of this year’s general election, Wasserman notes, pointing out that Democrats have a growing enthusiasm edge as November approaches. “Turnout in #OH06 looks abysmal, and as we’ve seen in tons of specials/polls, Dems have a growing advantage w/ the highest-engagement voters,” Wasserman said on X. Wasserman’s comments come on the heels of Cook Political Report’s “swing state polling project” conducted last month, which looked into the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and divided voters into three groups. WATCH: TRUMP RALLYGOERS REVEAL WHO THEY WANT AS VICE PRESIDENT The first group, whom the report called “high-engagement” voters, features those who “voted in all four of the past four federal elections or voted in the 2022 midterms if they registered after 2020.” The middle tier features voters whom the report called “low/mid-engagement” voters, or those who “skipped at least one of the past four federal elections.” The last group contained new registrants since 2020, which can include those that moved between states. The report found a growing “participation gap” in presidential preferences, with President Biden holding a four point edge among “high engagement” voters, or those most likely to vote on election day. Trump, meanwhile, held a 10 point lead among “low-mid engagement” voters and newly registered voters. Such a gap could play a role in tightly contested swing states, with “high-engagement voters” representing the majority of the electorate. Ohio, which has traditionally been a swing state but was won comfortably by Trump in the last two elections, looks once again to be trending toward Trump in November. According to the latest Real Clear Politics Polling Average, the former president holds a 10-point lead on Biden in the state.
Secretary Blinken silent on past efforts to discredit Hunter Biden laptop after feds enter it into evidence
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is silent on whether he regrets his alleged efforts in helping discredit Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop that would later be used as evidence in Biden’s federal trial resulting in a conviction. The ties between Blinken and Biden were brought into the forefront last year after former CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell testified to the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees, a Fox News Digital review found. Morell testified that Blinken, as President Biden’s then-campaign senior adviser, “played a role in the inception” of the public statement signed by intelligence officials claiming Hunter Biden’s abandoned laptop was part of a Russian disinformation campaign just weeks before the 2020 presidential election. “In his transcribed interview, Morell testified that on or around October 17, 2020, you reached out to him to discuss the Hunter Biden laptop story,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio, said in a letter to Blinken last year as the committee was looking into the origin of the letter from 51 former intel officials published in Politico that warned the laptop, first reported on by the New York Post, had “all the classic earmarks” of Russian disinformation. BIDEN CAMPAIGN, BLINKEN ORCHESTRATED INTEL LETTER TO DISCREDIT HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP STORY, EX-CIA OFFICIAL SAYS “According to Morell, although your outreach was couched as simply gathering Morell’s reaction to the Post story, it set in motion the events that led to the issuance of the public statement.” “Morell further explained that one of his two goals in releasing the statement was to help then-Vice President Biden in the debate and to assist him in winning the election,” they wrote. “Based on Morell’s testimony, it is apparent that the Biden campaign played an active role in the origins of the public statement, which had the effect of helping to suppress the Hunter Biden story and preventing American citizens from making a fully informed decision during the 2020 presidential election.” Three days after the letter from the former intelligence officials was made public, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden used the letter as a talking point in the final 2020 presidential debate to rebut criticisms made by then-President Trump. In the following years, numerous media outlets confirmed the New York Post’s reporting that the laptop was authentic, and the laptop was used by the federal government as evidence in the recent gun crime trial against Biden, where he was convicted on all charges. Fox News Digital recently reached out to each one of the former intel officials who signed on to the letter and most of the signatories declined to comment, while several doubled down on their involvement. Additionally, emails from the infamous abandoned laptop that Blinken sought to discredit showed that Biden has friendly personal ties to Blinken and his wife, Evan Ryan, dating back over a decade, having scheduled meetings with him while he was on the board of Burisma and Blinken was the deputy secretary of state. HAMAS SAYS IT ACCEPTS UN CEASE-FIRE RESOLUTION, BUT BLINKEN AN OBSTACLE TO NEGOTIATIONS In an email on May 22, 2015, Biden tried to schedule a meeting with Blinken, so he could get the deputy secretary of state’s “advice” on some things. However, the meeting appeared to be rescheduled to July 2015 due to the death of Biden’s brother, Beau, at the end of May 2015. Biden’s assistant, Joan Mayer, would email Biden, months later, his weekly schedule on July 21, which showed a scheduled meeting with Blinken the following day. “12:00-1:30pm- Lunch with Tony Blinken (State Department),” Hunter’s schedule read. “Enter at main entrance (‘Diplomatic Entrance’), 22nd & C St, NW. Proceed to receptionist area where Kenny Matthews will be waiting to escort you to Tony’s office.” In another email after the meeting, Blinken told Biden it was “great to see” him and “catch up.” He also joked to Biden about how a woman in his office thought Biden was “pleasant on the eyes.” “Tell your wife,” Blinken joked. Fox News Digital could not confirm what the meeting was about. The State Department did not respond to a request for comment. Blinken previously denied having a role in the creation of the letter from former intel officials, and has stressed that he does not “do politics” despite his decades of political donations and campaign positions. Between Blinken and his wife, they have donated approximately $70,000 to Democrats over the last few decades. Blinken has also said the letter “wasn’t” his idea, and said he “didn’t ask for it” or “solicit it.” Multiple profile pieces over the years said Blinken has advised Biden on more than just foreign policy in his decadeslong friendship with the president and serving as a confidant. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., President Biden’s re-election campaign co-chair, told CNN in 2021 that Blinken “has been a part of Joe’s evolution, learning, and changes as he has confronted challenge after challenge over decades” and that he is “an irreplaceable part of Joe Biden’s inner core team.” “President Biden is personally close to both Tony Blinken and Evan Ryan and Tony has been an incredibly loyal, capable and effective adviser, staffer and personal friend of the sort that is rare in Washington,” Coons added. Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report
Who will win? When is the football final? The UEFA Euro 2024 guide
How many teams are playing in Euro 2024 and what’s the format? Al Jazeera answers your questions. Euro 2024, the 17th edition of the European Championship, will kick off in Germany on June 14. Euro 2024 marks the return of the competition to its usual four-year cycle after the 2020 event was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Italy are the defending champions, having won the last tournament by beating England in the Euro 2020 final on penalties. Here’s what you need to know about Euro 2024. Euro 2024 mascot Albart poses with the European Championship trophy [Liesa Johannssen/Reuters] ⚽ Which teams have qualified for Euro 2024? Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo will play in his sixth European Football Championships at Euro 2024 in Germany [Darko Bandic/AP] ⚽ When does Euro 2024 start and end? Group stage: June 14 to 26 Round of 16: June 29 to July 2 Quarterfinals: July 5 and 6 Semifinals: July 9 and 10 Final: July 14 ⚽ What’s the format, groups and match schedule for Euro 2024? Teams will be divided into six groups, consisting of four teams each. The top two sides from each group along with the best four third-placed teams will advance to the round of 16. Winners of the last-16 will proceed to the quarterfinals followed by the semifinals and the final. In the knockout stage, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, extra time (two periods of 15 minutes each) will be played. If still tied after extra time, the match will be decided by a penalty shootout. Al Jazeera has a dedicated fixtures page listing the entire Euro 2024 match schedule, featuring all the kickoff times, venues and real-time goal updates. Keep up to date with your team’s progress in the tournament via the real-time Euro 2024 Group Standings page. ⚽ Which teams are favourites to win Euro 2024? Al Jazeera has identified the six main contenders who could be lifting the Euro 2024 trophy come July 14. We will send out these team features 24 hours before each team plays their first match. England France Spain Germany Portugal Italy ⚽ Where will the matches be played? Ten venues have been chosen for the tournament. Of those, nine were used at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The host cities are Berlin, Cologne, Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich and Stuttgart. Munich will be staging matches for the second Euro in succession; Munich Football Arena was one of 11 co-host venues that held matches during Euro 2020. Check out the 10 stadiums to be used during Euro 2024. Munich Football Arena, also known as Allianz Arena, will be one of the 10 venues used during Euro 2024 [Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters] ⚽ Al Jazeera Sport has a quick walkthrough of the history of the European Football Championship. After learning the history, test yourself on the Al Jazeera Euro 2024 quiz. ⚽ Euro 2024 tickets Public ticket sales for Euro 2024 started on German Unity Day, October 3, 2023. More than 1.2 million tickets were available during the first round of ticket applications. Tickets were allocated via a UEFA portal lottery process and applicants could apply for a maximum of four tickets per match. Individuals were not awarded tickets for different matches scheduled for the same day. The cheapest tickets available are for 30 euros (approximately $33) for the lowest category pricing of group stage fixtures. The ticket price for the final ranges from 95 to 2,000 euros. ⚽ How much is the prize money for Euro 2024? UEFA has said it will pay 331 million euros ($360m) in total prize money to the 24 participants. The maximum amount that the champion team may achieve, if they have won all three of their group matches, is 28.25 million euros ($30.31m). ⚽ Where can I follow Euro 2024? UEFA has allotted rights to various broadcasting and online streaming outlets across the world. You can follow the action on Al Jazeera’s dedicated Euro 2024 tournament page with all the match build-up and live text commentary of the biggest matches, and keep up to date with group standings and real-time match results and schedules. Adblock test (Why?)
How can Europe become more competitive?
Dubbed a ‘competitiveness crisis’, the EU’s investment, income and productivity are lagging behind the US and China. Struggling with slow growth, weak productivity and changing demographics, Europe’s share of the global economy is shrinking and lagging behind the United States and China. Its leaders are worried the continent might not be able to catch up and want to make the European Union more competitive. To achieve that, former President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi says the bloc needs “radical change”. But getting more than two dozen nations in the bloc to act jointly and carve out a way forward is challenging. Can India’s prime minister push through economic reforms? Plus, What are the economic benefits of Hajj? Adblock test (Why?)
Hezbollah launches rockets, drones at northern Israel military sites
Hezbollah has said it launched a major drone and rocket attack targeting several Israeli military bases amid growing fears of an all-out war between the Lebanese armed group and Israel. It was the largest attack by the Iran-aligned group since the outbreak of violence between the two sides on October 8, a Hezbollah source told Al Jazeera Arabic on Thursday. The group said the attack in northern Israel was in retaliation for the assassination of senior commander Taleb Abdullah – known as Abu Taleb – in an Israeli air raid in the southern Lebanese village of Jouaiya earlier this week. The source said the “compound attack” also aimed to establish deterrence after the killing of Abdullah. The Lebanese group used 150 rockets and 30 explosive drones to target 15 Israeli positions, including some in the occupied Golan Heights, the source said. Israeli media outlets reported that Hezbollah rockets wounded at least two people and started 15 fires. The Israeli military said in a post on X that “numerous” launches were intercepted and that some ignited fires. In an official statement, Hezbollah said the operation was “in support of the steadfast Palestinian people and their courageous and honourable resistance in Gaza and in the context of the response to the assassination that the Zionist enemy carries out in Jouaiyya”. One of the Israeli units targeted in the attack is responsible for planning assassinations, Hezbollah said. On Wednesday, Hezbollah had also fired a barrage of 200 rockets at Israel. There have been near-constant reports of rocket sirens being activated in northern Israel since Abdullah was killed along with three other fighters late on Tuesday. Hezbollah does not reveal details about its military structure or ranks, but Abdullah was only the second slain fighter from the group to be eulogised as a “commander” in the past months – after Wissam al-Tawil, who was killed in an Israeli attack in January. Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad paid tribute to Abdullah on Wednesday, lauding his efforts to confront Israel. Hezbollah started attacking military bases in northern Israel after the outbreak of the war on Gaza in what it says is a “support front” to back Palestinian armed groups. Israel has responded by bombing villages across south Lebanon and targeting Hezbollah’s positions. Despite the near-daily exchange of fire, the confrontations have largely been limited to the border area. Tens of thousands of people in south Lebanon and northern Israel have fled their homes to escape the violence. Late last month, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah portrayed the Lebanese front with Israel as historically decisive. “This battle concerns Palestine, but also concerns the future of Lebanon and its water and oil resources,” Nasrallah said. “This front is a support front that is part of the battle that will determine the fate of Palestine, Lebanon and the region strategically.” Aided by Iran, the Lebanese organisation has grown in strength in recent years. Hezbollah fought a years-long war against Israel, culminating in the withdrawal of Israeli troops from parts of south Lebanon they occupied for nearly two decades. In 2006, Israel launched a major offensive to disarm Hezbollah after the group carried out a deadly cross-border attack against Israeli forces. The conflict ended without major changes to the status quo. But Hezbollah has grown both its rocket arsenal and regional influence since then. Earlier this month, Hezbollah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem told Al Jazeera that the group is “ready” for war if Israel intensifies its attacks. “Any Israeli expansion of the war on Lebanon will be met with devastation, destruction and displacement in Israel,” he said. “If Israel wants to fight an all-out war, we are ready for it.” Israeli officials have pledged to push Hezbollah fighters further away from the country’s borders, including by force if necessary. “Israel will respond with force to all aggressions by Hezbollah,” Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said on Thursday. “Whether through diplomatic efforts or otherwise, Israel will restore security on our northern border.” A war with Hezbollah, which has demonstrated sophisticated military capabilities, including the use of guided rockets and precision drones, could prove more costly to Israel than the continuing conflict in Gaza. Reporting from Beirut, Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr said Hezbollah has been stepping up its attacks not only to respond to the killing of its commander but also to strengthen Hamas’s negotiating position amid ceasefire talks and warn Israel against launching a major offensive in Lebanon. “So this is also about deterrence on the part of Hezbollah,” Khodr said. “No doubt, this is a dangerous escalation of this ongoing conflict,” referring to the Israeli promise to respond to the latest attacks. Adblock test (Why?)
Tool to stop illegal immigrant employment comes to Senate as border crisis rages
FIRST ON FOX: Senate Republicans are attempting to get E-Verify technology required for businesses nationwide in a bid to crack down on employing illegal immigrants amid the crisis at the southern border. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, was joined by fellow Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Bill Cassidy, R-La., James Lankford, R-Okla., and JD Vance, R-Ohio, to introduce a bill that would require employers to confirm the eligibility of prospective employees to work in the U.S. prior to hiring them. According to the lawmakers, requiring the E-Verify technology for companies across the country will remove a key incentive for illegal immigration. FBI DIRECTOR WRAY PRESSED ON 8 ISIS-LINKED BORDER CROSSERS RELEASED INTO US “President Biden’s last-ditch effort to limit asylum is too little, too late,” Romney said in a statement to Fox News Digital, referring to the president’s recently announced executive actions designed to address the border crisis. “Millions of illegal immigrants have already flooded into our country under his watch, and his executive order falls short in stopping widespread illegal employment. By requiring all employers to use E-Verify, our legislation would ensure that businesses only hire legal workers – eliminating a key driver of illegal immigration and protecting jobs for hardworking Americans,” Romney said. ‘DESTRUCTION OF DUE PROCESS’: RAND PAUL LEADS DOZENS OF SENATORS CONDEMNING TRUMP ‘SHOW TRIAL’ IN NY Biden’s executive order will temporarily suspend non-citizen entries across the southern border once the average number of border encounters passes 2,500 people per day over a period of seven days, according to his administration. DHS CHIEF MAYORKAS QUESTIONED ON REPORTS OF ‘MASS AMNESTY’ FOR ASYLUM SEEKERS The suspension would be in effect until there has been an average of less than 1,500 encounters at the border for two weeks. Per Cotton, “American workers today compete against millions of illegal immigrants for too few jobs – that’s unfair. Ending the black market for illegal labor will open up jobs for Americans. Our legislation will take the necessary steps to make sure every potential employer is hiring only legal workers.” DURBIN ATTEMPT TO FORCE SUPREME COURT ETHICS VOTE BLOCKED AMID ALITO CONTROVERSY Cassidy added, “E-Verify protects employees and employers. It is an essential tool in controlling immigration and protecting Americans’ jobs.” The Republican bill would raise penalties for those who violate employment paperwork or hire unauthorized alien workers. However, the implementation would be phased in over a period of 18 months in order to allow smaller businesses to comply with the law.
Biden’s ’pre-9/11 posture’ to blame for ISIS migrants slipping through cracks: expert
The Biden administration has put the country on a dangerous “pre-9/11” footing on terrorism, says one expert in the wake of the arrests of eight migrants with alleged ties to ISIS. “The Biden Administration has done grave damage to information sharing among agencies, with state and local law enforcement, and enforcing travel and immigration consequences against foreign governments that refuse to share information with the U.S.,” Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, told Fox News Digital. The comments come after eight Tajikistan nationals were arrested in a joint operation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force earlier this week. While the arrests occurred in New York City, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, a federal source familiar with the sting told Fox News they had gained entry to the U.S. by crossing the southern border illegally. AUTHORITIES NAB 8 SUSPECTED TERRORISTS WITH TIES TO ISIS IN MULTI-CITY STING OPERATION The source told Fox News the suspected terrorists were “fully vetted” and that nothing was flagged when the eight suspects originally crossed the border, but derogatory information with national security concerns was later flagged, including the individual’s suspected ties to ISIS. According to a report from the New York Post, at least one of the individuals arrested in the sting had been caught on wiretap discussing how to make a bomb. “Remember the Boston marathon [bombing]? I’m afraid something like that might happen again or worse,” a source familiar with the arrests told the New York Post. The illegal entry of the individuals and subsequent release into the country highlighted growing fears about the threat of terrorism emanating from the southern border. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., has been sounding the alarm about such a threat for months, even going so far as to point to Central Asia, where Tajikistan is located, as a potential origin for terrorist attempting to slip into the U.S. during a February press conference. ARRESTS OF EIGHT ISIS-TIED MIGRANTS SHOULD BE WAKE-UP CALL FOR BIDEN ON BORDER CRISIS, SENATOR SAYS During those February remarks, Daines noted that a “high-level individual” warned him that over 50,000 Central Asians had crossed into the U.S. illegally in 2023, with the senator expressing concerns that some of those people could be “part of sleeper cells for a possible terror attack on our soil.” Daines doubled down on those concerns after the latest arrests, telling Fox News Digital he hopes the news serves as a “wake-up call” to President Biden. “I’ve been sounding the alarm for months that Joe Biden’s wide-open southern border is leaving our homeland wide open to potential terrorists,” Daines said. “This news is not surprising – but if it’s not a wake-up call to Biden and the Democrats, I don’t know what will be.” Those concerns have also been echoed by FBI Director Christopher Wray, who warned the Senate Appropriations subcommittee last week about the threat of a coordinated attack in the U.S. similar to the Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISIS-K) attack at a Russian concert hall earlier this year. Ries believes some of that wake-up call should be to encourage better information sharing among agencies when it comes to vetting individuals crossing the border, arguing that some individuals like those arrested this week are able to slip through the cracks. “A person can cross the border with a clean background or be from a country that doesn’t share criminal and terrorism information with our government,” Ries said. “That person can then subsequently come under U.S. investigation and trigger terrorism concerns.” That type of information sharing has yet to happen, Ries said, noting that such issues were also flagged as a reason the 9/11 attacks went on undetected. “The 9/11 Commission called out some of these very same issues as reasons that led to the 9/11 terror attacks,” Ries said. “Biden has returned the U.S. to a pre-9/11 posture.” The White House did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.