Fetterman scolds Dem colleagues for failing to condemn Iran’s attack on Israel
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., on Thursday slammed his Democratic colleagues for their refusal to condemn Iran for its attack on Israel in retaliation for the deadly bombing of its Syrian consulate earlier this month. “I sincerely thought I’d never witness members of my party refuse to condemn Iran – one of the world’s leading terrorism sponsors – after launching hundreds of drones against our special ally, Israel,” Fetterman wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “No words.” More than a dozen House Democrats on Thursday voted against a resolution condemning Iran for firing a barrage of rockets at Israel over the weekend. U.S. officials said 99% of those were intercepted. The move, in retaliation for Israel’s attack on its consulate in Damascus, signified a major escalation of tensions amid Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas. Despite decades of hostilities, Iran has never directly attacked Israel, instead relying on proxy forces in Iraq, Lebanon, and elsewhere. NYPD ARRESTS 108 PEOPLE AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY AFTER ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS SET UP ENCAMPMENT ON CAMPUS Thursday’s resolution condemning Iran overwhelmingly passed 404 to 14. Thirteen Democrats voted against the resolution including “Squad” member Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.; Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.; Cori Bush, D-Mo.; Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y.; and Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass. Just one House Republican, Rep. Thomas Massive, R-Ky., voted against the bill. Israel’s war on Hamas began after militants from the pro-Palestinian terror group invaded southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 and killed more than 1,000 people. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians, has said over 30,000 Palestinians have died in the months since. Since Oct. 7, Fetterman has repeatedly irked his Democratic colleagues with his fervent support for Israel. Earlier this week, Fetterman said he would never “capitulate to the fringe” of his party. On Tuesday, he ripped anti-Israel agitators who blocked bridges or major roadways. “I don’t know who needs to hear this, but blocking a bridge or berating folks in Starbucks isn’t righteous, it just makes you an a—hole,” Fetterman wrote on X. “Demand Hamas to send every hostage back home and surrender.” Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
How to vote in Lok Sabha Elections 2024? Here’s a step-by-step guide
Voters include 8.4 crore men, 8.23 crore women and 11,371 third gender. There are as many as 35.67 lakh first-time voters, besides 3.51 crore young voters in the age group of 20-29 years.
Lok Sabha elections 2024 Phase-1 voting: Check what’s open and closed today
On April 19, certain cities like Aizawl, Itanagar, Jaipur, Kohima, Chennai, Agartala, Dehradun, Shillong, and Nagpur will observe bank closures.
Lok Sabha Election 2024: 16.63 cr voters, 102 seats, over 1600 candidates in fray as polling begins for phase 1 today
As many as 102 parliamentary constituencies across 21 states and Union territories will go to polls in the first phase which is also the largest of the seven phases of the elections.
Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Key battles to watch out in Phase 1 of polling
The Coimbatore Lok Sabha seat in Tamil Nadu will witness a high-stakes battle, with State BJP president K Annamalai facing DMK leader Ganapathy P Rajkumar and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (AIADMK) Singai Ramachandran.
Rashida Tlaib says colleges punishing anti-Israel students protesting ‘genocide’: ‘It’s appalling’
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Michigan, criticized American universities on Thursday for responding to anti-Israel protests on campuses across the country where protesters have engaged in antisemitic behavior. “From UM to Vanderbilt to USC to Columbia, students across our country are being retaliated against for using their constitutional rights to protest genocide. It’s appalling,” Tlaib wrote on X in response to a post by Isra Hirsi, the daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. Hirsi said she was suspended from New York City’s Barnard College hours before being arrested for protesting against Israel at Columbia University. Tlaib, who has Palestinian roots, has frequently criticized Israel and its leaders over its war with Hamas following the terror group’s deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israeli communities. ACTIVIST WHO SPURRED ‘DEATH TO AMERICA’ CHANTS CALLED FOR ISRAEL’S ‘ABSOLUTE ANNIHILATION’ IN UNEARTHED VIDEO “Our country isn’t just complicit in this genocide — we’re actively participating in it,” she wrote Thursday on X, while calling on the Biden administration to stop supplying the Jewish state with arms. Despite Tlaib’s concerns over campus responses to student protests, she has refused to call out the antisemitism seen at some gatherings in which Jewish students have been targeted. Protests at multiple universities have seen anti-Israel supporters call for an “intifada,” or uprising, and for the destruction of the Jewish state. Tlaib’s remarks about Palestinians amid the Israel-Hamas war have sometimes resulted in criticism from fellow Democrats. In November, she referenced the popular “from the river to the sea” phrase, referring to the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, which encompasses Israel. Jewish groups say the phrase is antisemitic and a code for the eradication of Israel. RASHIDA TLAIB ACCUSES ISRAEL OF INTENTIONALLY KILLING 7 HUMANITARIAN AID WORKERS “From the river to the sea is an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate,” she wrote. “My work and advocacy is always centered in justice and dignity for all people no matter faith or ethnicity.” Critics have said Tlaib’s stance on Israel, her calls for a ceasefire and her silence of the targeting of Jewish students on college campuses are antisemitic. She drew scorn from her congressional colleagues days after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel for her statement on that matter. Tlaib said she grieved the loss of both Palestinian and Israeli lives, but then appeared to blame the Israeli government for the unprovoked attack. Tlaib has long accused Israel of committing genocide and refused to apologize for saying Israel targeted a hospital in Gaza with an airstrike despite U.S. defense officials saying the rocket was fired by terrorists. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “The failure to recognize the violent reality of living under siege, occupation, and apartheid makes no one safer,” she said. “No person, no child anywhere should have to suffer or live in fear of violence. We cannot ignore the humanity in each other. As long as our country provides billions in unconditional funding to support the apartheid government, this heartbreaking cycle of violence will continue.” Tlaib’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
US military ‘out of time’ in push against adversaries’ modernization, Air Force secretary says
Senior Air Force officials told U.S. lawmakers that they are “out of time” in modernizing their forces to meet the threats of China and other adversaries. Department of the Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and top-ranking military leaders from the Air Force and Space Force shared their chilling warning to a House committee on Wednesday. “Time is my greatest concern — we are in a race for military technological superiority with a capable pacing challenge,” Kendall told the House Armed Services Committee. “Our cushion is gone — we are out of time,” he said. TALK OF LOW HOUTHI WEAPON SUPPLY IS ‘PREMATURE,’ EXPERT WARNS On April 9, Kendall, alongside other top military brass, warned that “time cannot be recovered” after the current year’s budget was finalized in March 2024, instead of Oct. 1, 2023, when the fiscal year began. “As you are aware, the six-month delay has had a real impact. That time cannot be recovered, but at least we can now move forward with our urgent modernization priorities,” Kendall said. Veering from his prepared remarks, Kendall used Iran’s recent attack on Israel as a timely example of the U.S. need for preparation against possible future attacks. “What Iran encountered was a highly contested environment. And what we face with China is a highly contested environment,” Kendall told the committee of the April 13 attack, in which nearly every one of the weapons launched against Israel was intercepted by a coalition that included the U.S. “What I’m dedicated to — and what we’re all dedicated to here — is ensuring that the U.S. never has a result like Iran had in its attempt to attack Israel,” Kendall said. “That’s what’s driving a lot of what we’re doing and why it’s so important to move on from legacy systems that weren’t designed for that type of environment to ones that are designed for it and are capable of coping with that.” Kendall, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David W. Allvin, and Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman collectively shared the need for immediate modernization in the face of China’s growing military action. AMERICA MUST OPTIMIZE FORCES TO AVOID LOSING A WAR WITH CHINA, AIR FORCE SECRETARY SAYS In describing the plans and needs for space, Saltzman highlighted the importance of a robust Space Force. “Against a near-peer adversary, space superiority is the linchpin. Without it, we cannot deter conflict. Without it, we cannot provide vital effects. Without it, we cannot protect the joint force. Until we have built the infrastructure to achieve space superiority, the Space Force is a work in progress,” he said. The Department of the Air Force has requested a $217.5 billion budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, which is set to begin on Oct. 1. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “The simultaneous demands of strategic competition with an aggressive and increasingly capable (China) and persistent, acute threats from around the globe require the Air Force to maximize the readiness of today’s forces, while adapting our structures and processes to offer the best opportunity to prevail in an environment of enduring great power competition,” Allvin said, adding, “Time is not on our side.”
Missouri AG slams Kansas City mayor for welcoming Mayorkas’ illegal immigrant parole program
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is calling out Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas after he announced that illegal immigrants would be welcome to come to the city and work under Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ illegal immigrant parole program. Bailey highlighted how the open border policies have real-world consequences in a letter to Mayor Lucas that was shared exclusively with Fox News Digital. “An illegal alien from Venezula, who had repeatedly flouted U.S. immigration laws, was actually granted a work permit under a misguided and illegal policy enacted by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas,” Bailey stated. “In February, he brutally murdered a young college student named Laken Hope Riley.” Bailey shared that Lucas failed to acknowledge this and openly welcomed all seeking refuge in Kansas City. LAWMAKERS BERATE MAYORKAS ON LAKEN RILEY MURDER: ‘YOUR POLICIES IN ACTION’ “Yet, against the backdrop of literally millions of illegal aliens flooding our borders, overwhelming the social safety net of large American cities, and in some cases even committing violent crimes against our citizens, you are actively encouraging them to come to the Show Me State,” Bailey said. Bailey referenced the post Lucas wrote on social media proclaiming: “All are welcome in Kansas City. Proud to work with my fellow mayors from Denver and NYC as we work to ensure decompression of new arriving communities.” Bailey added that Lucas did later amend his statement and only extended the offer to “persons who are lawfully present, with lawful work permits,” but said that Lucas ignored the underlying issue. “Secretary Mayorkas’ open border programs are themselves illegal. Your statements are wildly irresponsible,” Bailey said. “Not only do you ignore the fact that Laken Riley’s killer has a so-called “work permit,” but you are actively encouraging Missouri businesses to become entangled in a fundamentally unlawful program, and exposing them to legal liability in the process.” DEM SENATOR’S CLAIM DOWNPLAYING BORDER CRISIS RESURFACES AFTER STAFFER KILLED BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT Bailey said that allowing and welcoming illegal immigrants violates a Missouri law that prohibits state businesses from hiring or employing illegal immigrants. It also makes it a felony to knowingly transport illegal immigrants in the state of Missouri. “Make no mistake, my office will do everything in its power to take legal action against any person or entity found to be in violation of these statutes,” Bailey proclaimed. Bailey continued stating that Missouri will now join 19 other state attorney generals who are suing Secretary Mayorkas over his “disastrous” and illegal parole program that unlawfully creates a pathway to citizenship for hundreds or thousands of illegal immigrants. In his letter, Bailey stated that Mayorkas’ illegal immigrant parole program would allow up to 360,000 illegal immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to be “paroled” into the United States every year. “Your open invitation for illegal aliens to come to Missouri is not only dangerous but comes at great expense to Missouri taxpayers, residents, and business owners,” Bailey said. DENVER MAYOR BOASTS ‘SHARED SACRIFICE’ IS REQUIRED TO MAKE CITY ‘WELCOMING’ FOR MIGRANTS Bailey’s letter to Lucas comes a day after Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., gave fiery testimony to the Senate for striking down Mayorkas’ impeachment trial. Sen. Hawley joined other Republican lawmakers who tore into Secretary Mayorkas on Thursday over the release of the Venezuelan illegal immigrant now charged with the murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley – accusing the agency of having released him into the U.S. unlawfully. Lawmakers grilled the embattled secretary on Jose Ibarra, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, who is accused of killing Riley on Feb. 22, while she was jogging at the University of Georgia in Athens. In his testimony, Sen. Hawley revealed that Ibarra had been given a work permit, despite having been accused of a crime against a child in New York and having the charges later expunged by local authorities. “Nothing is done to this guy. He had a criminal record to start with, he’s in the country on illegal grounds. You have falsely and illegally allowed him in. He committed a crime against a child. He’s not prosecuted, it’s expunged. In November, get this, in November, Ibarra files an application for employment authorization. And unbelievably, on December 9, 2023, it’s approved,” Hawley said. The Biden administration initially announced the parole program for Venezuelans in October, which allowed a limited number to fly directly into the U.S. as long as they had not entered illegally and already had a sponsor in the United States. However, in January, President Biden announced that the program would be expanded to include Haitians, Nicaraguans and Cubans and that the program would allow up to 30,000 a month into the U.S. The program also allows for migrants to receive work permits and a two-year authorization to live in the U.S. Fox News Digital reached out to Mayor Quinton Lucas for comment. Fox News’ and Caroline Elliott contributed to this report.
Missouri lawmakers vote to expand tax credit-backed private school scholarships
Missouri lawmakers on Thursday passed a bill to expand private school scholarships statewide, an effort made possible by extensive compromises including a commitment to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more on public schools. The GOP-led House voted with a bare-minimum margin of 82-69 to send the measure to Republican Gov. Mike Parson. If signed, it would offer up to $6,375 per child for expenses including tuition, textbooks, tutoring, transportation, extracurriculars and summer school. The bill’s passage is a victory for advocates who have struggled for years to expand access to charter schools, virtual schools and private schools in Missouri. Worries about taking away resources from traditional kindergarten-12th grade public schools have been bipartisan. DRAFT REPORT SAYS MISSOURI’S HOUSE SPEAKER STYMIED ETHICS INVESTIGATION INTO HIS SPENDING The heart of the legislation is the expansion of Missouri Empowerment Scholarships Accounts, which low-income families can draw from. The money will come from private donors, who in return get tax credits. “This is a victory for parents who want more control over their children’s education and for students who will now have more avenues to achieve their full potential,” Republican Rep. Phil Christofanelli said in a statement. The current scholarship program limits recipients to residents of the state’s largest cities and to families who make less than 200% of the federal poverty level, which works out to $62,400 a year for a family of four. The bill passed Thursday would raise the cap to 300%, or $93,600 for a family of four. Public school students who need extra help through individualized education plans would get some additional scholarship money under the new law. The legislation increases the cap on tax credits for the private donations from $50 million to $75 million per year, to help pay for a possible influx of students. To gain support from lawmakers focused on helping traditional public schools, senators included money to raise minimum teacher salaries to $40,000 a year and adjusted the state’s formula for funding public schools, a change expected to bring in hundreds of millions of dollars more to public education over time. Several House Democrats cautioned that the state might not have enough revenue in future years to provide the massive influx in funding to public schools that the bill commits to. “While the voucher expansion is essentially guaranteed, the promises to public schools depend on additional funding the state isn’t expected to have and future lawmakers aren’t required to provide,” House Democratic Minority Leader Crystal Quade said in a statement. Another provision would allow charter schools in Boone County, where Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden lives. The bill also would require public votes to approve a school district’s switch to four-day school weeks and incentivize schools that maintain five-day weeks. This issue supporters call “school choice” has divided lawmakers beyond typical Republican-Democrat lines in Missouri. GOP legislators from rural districts have opposed allowing charter schools in their areas for years, fearing they could draw students away from traditional public schools seen as the backbone of their communities. Some Democrats, meanwhile, want students in underperforming urban schools to have more options. And some conservatives lobbied against more regulations for homeschoolers and private schools. One activist handed out “dog poop” brownies before the vote, suggesting that unwanted provisions could ruin what might otherwise be a nice treat.
Mike Johnson: The wartime Speaker battling on multiple fronts
“I regard myself as a wartime Speaker,” declared House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. Only, we’re not sure if Johnson was referring to the internecine war among Republicans over whether he should keep his job. Many members wear pocket squares with their suits. But not Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. He walks around with a self-made, diode “debt clock” tucked into the breast pocket of his jacket, tracking the skyrocketing debt. Massie’s ascending fiscal chronometer may have read more $34 trillion dollars this week. But the only number which mattered on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning was “two.” As in two House members who were ready to oust Johnson from his job: Massie and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. “The motion (to remove Johnson) will get called. And then he’s going to lose more votes than (former House Speaker) Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., And I told him this in private, like two weeks ago,” said Massie. GOP REBELS DERAIL SPEAKER JOHNSON’S BORDER BILL AMID FURY OVER FOREIGN AID A reporter asked Massie about what that meant, not having a leader – again – for the second time in less than a year. “Some would say we’d be rudderless. But we have a rudder. We’re steering everything toward (Senate Majority Leader) Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.,” replied Massie. “There has not been a change. I mean, if the country likes Chuck Schumer, then they should like what Speaker Johnson’s accomplished in the House.” There’s strength in numbers – even if the numbers are low. After all, it’s about the math. It matters even more in a House which is currently split at 218 Republicans to 213 Democrats. That meager Republican majority shrivels to 217-213 after Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc., quits. Gallagher was supposed to leave Friday. But Fox is told that the Wisconsin Republican will at least hang around until Saturday as the House tries to approve the international aid supplemental package for Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan. Greene beamed at the support from Massie for her effort to remove Johnson. “It was significant,” said Greene of Massie’s backing. “It also lets people know this is a lot more serious than people realized.” Greene echoed Massie, suggesting “there’ll be more” Republicans who might vote to remove Johnson “than were against Kevin McCarthy.” Here’s the problem for Greene. She doesn’t have someone who could win a Speaker’s vote on the floor. That’s why the House burned 22 days on the calendar last October and thrashed through three nominees for Speaker before finally settling on Johnson. If the House approved a “motion to vacate the chair” (a “MTV,” which removes the Speaker), there’s no telling how long it would take the get a successor this time. “I don’t think that the threat is really real at this point, just because you don’t have an alternative,” said Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., who was a top lieutenant to McCarthy. “We saw what happened last fall when this all went down. There’s not an alternative.” HOUSE TEES UP 17 BILLS RELATED TO IRAN/ISRAEL FOR THIS WEEK Graves said a number of conservatives who were mad at Johnson “don’t think past step one. Which is why we have so many problems here right now.” Graves asserted that the “painful scars” of the McCarthy debacle would be “a major disincentive for folks who actually pull the trigger on a motion to vacate.” There was significant blowback from conservatives after Johnson announced a four-pronged approach to grapple with the Middle East. Especially after the House plotted a course for the week of 17 bills dealing either with Israel or Iran. Johnson tailored his pitch on the foreign aid measure. He planned one bill for Israel. One for Ukraine. One for Taiwan. The final bill would include a plan to repossess Russian assets and grant some of the assistance to Ukraine as a “lease.” That’s an option endorsed by former President Trump. But the sweetener to the fourth bill would be a measure to curb the use of TikTok in the U.S. The House would then package the four bills together and send them to the Senate. “It’s got a chance of passing,” said Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, Tuesday morning. But if you “MIRV” them together and pretend that they were really separate votes, but at the end of the day, it has the effect of being one vote. I mean, that’s all smoke and mirrors.” Davidson characterized the TikTok provisions as “camouflage for defending America.” “‘MIRV’ them together?” “MIRV” is a Capitol vocabulary term you’re going to hear about as the House tries to advance the four separate foreign aid bills – and then blend them into one for efficiency purposes before sending the package to the Senate. SENATE VOTE ON MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT REACHES ‘UNPRECEDENTED TERRITORY’: CHAD PERGRAM It’s pronounced “merve.” A “MIRV” is a vestige of the Cold War and missile counts between the United States and Soviet Union. It stands for “Multiple Independently-Targetable Re-Entry Vehicle.” Each MIRV had multiple nuclear warheads or “MIRVs” attached. This was an issue of contention between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. Was a MIRV counted as one missile or four or five? The idea is that the House would vote on each individual bill – then blend them together as one for the Senate. A parliamentary MIRV! Hence why conservatives are upset about the plan by Johnson. It’s four bills. Or is it one? Johnson defended the MIRV maneuver. “I’m concerned that Israel might not pass through the Senate right now if it’s not included in the package,” said Johnson. “If you separate them, then none of our priorities will be reflected, I’m afraid.” Conservatives have also implored Johnson to attach border security to the plan. But that might not be feasible. “We don’t have the votes. If you put Ukraine in any package, you can’t also do the border because I lose Republican votes on that rule. My friends don’t get it,” replied Johnson. “Are they still your friends?” asked yours truly. “They’re all my friends,” said