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Funeral of Kremlin critic Navalny to be held in Moscow on Friday

Widow of the Russian opposition leader unsure whether his funeral will pass off peacefully after Russia blocked memorial service plans. The funeral of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who died earlier this month in a remote Arctic penal colony, will be held in Moscow on Friday, his family and spokesperson have said. Navalny’s widow Yulia Navalnaya announced the funeral date on Wednesday, but she said she was unsure if it would pass off peacefully and that plans for a civil memorial service had been blocked. “The funeral will take place the day after tomorrow and I’m not sure yet whether it will be peaceful or whether police will arrest those who have come to say goodbye to my husband,” Navalnaya said in a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday. The funeral will be held at the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God in Moscow’s southeast Maryino district on Friday afternoon, Navalny spokesperson Kira Yarmysh said on the social media platform X, after several locations declined to host the service. He will then be buried at the Borisovskoye cemetery, about 2.5km (1.5 miles) away on the other side of the Moskva River. Navalny’s allies have accused the Kremlin of thwarting their attempts to organise a separate civil memorial service in a hall which could have accommodated more people. The Kremlin has said it has nothing to do with such arrangements. “Two people – Vladimir Putin and [Moscow Mayor] Sergei Sobyanin – are to blame for the fact that we have no place for a civil memorial service and farewell to Alexei,” Navalnaya wrote on X. “People in the Kremlin killed him, then mocked Alexei’s body, then mocked his mother, now they are mocking his memory.” The Kremlin has denied any involvement in Navalny’s February 16 death at age 47 and his death certificate – according to his supporters – says he died of natural causes. Alexey Navalny and his wife Yulia during an opposition rally in Moscow, on October 27, 2013 [File: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters] ‘Putin killed my husband’ Yarmysh spoke of the difficulties his team encountered in trying to find a site for a “farewell event” for Navalny. Writing on X, she said most venues said they were fully booked, with some “refusing when we mention the surname ‘Navalny’”, and one disclosing that “funeral agencies were forbidden to work with us”. Ivan Zhdanov, the director of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, said the funeral was initially planned for Thursday – the day of Putin’s annual address to Russia’s Federal Assembly – but no venue would agree to hold it then. “The real reason is clear. The Kremlin understands that nobody will need Putin and his message on the day we say farewell to Alexey,” Zhdanov wrote on Telegram. In Navalnaya’s Wednesday speech before European lawmakers, she said, “Putin killed my husband … On his orders, Alexey was tortured for three years. He was starved in a tiny stone cell, cut off from the outside world and denied visits, phone calls and then even letters.” In the 12 days since her husband’s death, Navalnaya has staked a claim to take on the leadership of Russia’s fragmented opposition, saying she will continue his work. Speaking in English, her voice sometimes faltering, she described Putin as a “bloody monster” and told lawmakers it was not possible to negotiate with him. “You cannot hurt Putin with another resolution or another set of sanctions that is no different from the previous ones,” she said, calling for more effective action against the money flows of Russia’s ruling elite. Navalny’s allies have accused Putin of having him murdered because the Russian leader could allegedly not tolerate the thought of Navalny being freed in a potential prisoner swap, but they have not published proof to back up that accusation. The Kremlin has denied state involvement in his death and has said it was unaware of any agreement to free Navalny. Adblock test (Why?)

Mitch McConnell to step down as head of Republicans in US Senate

The 82-year-old Kentucky lawmaker is the longest-serving Senate leader in history. United States Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has said he will step down from his leadership role, leaving a power vacuum atop the party he has piloted for nearly 17 years, more than any other party leader in the chamber’s history. “I turned 82 last week. The end of my contributions are closer than I prefer,” McConnell said on the Senate floor on Wednesday, his voice breaking with emotion. “Father Time remains undefeated. I’m no longer the young man sitting in the back hoping colleagues remember my name. It’s time for the next generation of leadership.” The 82-year-old Kentucky lawmaker played an outsized role in helping former President Donald Trump cement a 6-3 conservative majority in the Supreme Court, paving the way for landmark rulings cheered by conservatives ending the recognition of a constitutional right to abortion and expanding gun rights. That belied McConnell’s personal opposition to Trump at times – particularly Trump’s conduct in advance of the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol – as well as McConnell’s continued vocal support for trying to pass aid to Ukraine in its fight against a Russian invasion over the opposition of hardline Republican opponents. Democrats hold a slim majority in the Senate, with McConnell now serving as minority leader after previously holding the post of majority leader. McConnell said he will not run for Senate Republican leader in November’s party elections, meaning he will end his time as leader when a new Congress convenes in January. McConnell’s departure from the leadership will remove a central character in negotiations with Democrats and the White House on spending deals to keep the federal government funded and avert a shutdown. Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rittansi, reporting from Washington, DC, said that McConnell was known as “someone who could count the votes and make sure he had the votes, an effective party leader in keeping his caucus together”. “Of course, a big part of being a leader in Congress isn’t so much about policy, but raking in the cash. He was good at fundraising, making sure that the Republican Party and congressional Republicans had the money to keep things moving,” Rattansi added. His steady command of his caucus stood in contrast to relatively newly minted Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, who has struggled to lead his thin majority. McConnell twice froze up last year while making remarks in public, raising questions about his ability to continue to carry out the duties of his high-powered job. Those concerns were not assuaged by an August 31 note from the congressional physician that cleared McConnell to go on working. He indicated that he plans to serve out the rest of his term in the Senate, which extends through to January 2027. But his exit from the leadership will mark the step back of an orderly counterpart to the tumultuous approach of Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic President Joe Biden, and the hardline House Freedom Caucus before the November 5 US election for president, the full House and a third of the Senate. Now, with Republicans having to elect a new party leader, conservative pressure to hang tough against a moderate spending deal with Democrats could weigh more heavily on the budget negotiations and the leadership election. McConnell announced his plans on the Senate floor the morning after Trump won the Michigan Republican primary, continuing his sweep towards the party’s nomination. “I think the Trump chapter reopening is his cue to exit stage left,” a former high-ranking Senate Republican aide said when asked about the timing of McConnell’s move. John Thune of South Dakota, the second most senior Senate Republican, is expected to vie for the top party job, as well as John Cornyn, a senator from Texas, and John Barrasso, from Wyoming. Adblock test (Why?)

Is the West’s military support enough for Kyiv?

Russia is making gains in the war with Ukraine, and the West is considering its response. The war in Ukraine has raged for more than two years. Western allies are in talks over boosting their support to Kyiv in the hope of turning the tide against Russia. But direct intervention has been off the table – until now. French President Emmanuel Macron has floated the idea of more direct involvement, perhaps even putting troops on the ground. Could Western powers ever unite behind a move like this? How would Russia react? Presenter: Nastasya Tay Guests: Peter Zalmayev – executive director of the Eurasia Democracy Initiative Oana Lungescu – distinguished fellow at the Royal United Services Institute Alexander Clackson – founder of Global Political Insight Adblock test (Why?)

Texas DPS Director Steve McCraw testifies before grand jury investigating Uvalde school shooting

McCraw, the state police chief, traveled to Uvalde to appear before a grand jury considering criminal charges against officers for their botched response to the 2022 school shooting.

“I’ve made no secret of my intentions,” Cornyn poised to launch bid to succeed McConnell as Senate GOP leader

Sen. Ted Cruz held back when asked if he would back Cornyn. “Oh, there’ll be plenty of time to assess those questions,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

Dem Sen Duckworth looks to put Republicans on record with forced IVF vote

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., will attempt to force a vote Wednesday on her bill to protect in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures in the wake of Alabama’s controversial Supreme Court ruling, which triggered an abrupt end to some fertility procedures in the state.  She plans to request unanimous consent from her fellow senators to bring a vote on her bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., to the floor.  Duckworth’s expected move is a bid to force Republicans to make their stance clear as to whether they believe in protections for IVF, as several GOP senators scrambled to clarify their support for the procedure following nationwide backlash to the Alabama decision. The court’s ruling faced significant scrutiny after it determined that embryos created during the IVF process should be considered children under state law.  Several Republicans, including Sens. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., have since addressed the issue, saying they back the fertility method. JILL BIDEN TO LEAD NATIONAL ‘WOMEN FOR BIDEN-HARRIS’ PROGRAM, CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCES “I didn’t think it was needed until now,” Romney told Politico of Duckworth’s bill.  “We may need to take a look at what’s made available. I understand that states are looking at their laws as well. I would have several fewer grandkids if we didn’t have IVF,” he said Monday.  Hawley went even further, stating, “I think IVF ought to be protected in law as it is in my state,” USA Today reported. The Missouri Republican also noted a difference between the issues of abortion and IVF. While some Republicans professed support for the method but not explicitly the bill in question, the office of Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., indicated he backs his Democratic colleague’s measure.  Despite some support from Republicans for IVF, and potentially for Duckworth’s bill, aides to several GOP senators indicated it is likely someone will object.  Blackburn, who believes IVF should be protected, said in a statement, “Democrats are using fear tactics and the media to scare voters.”  Following the Alabama ruling, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Executive Director Jason Thielman released a memo urging candidates to back IVF, signaling concerns that the decision could be a problem for vulnerable Republicans.  Duckworth and several other Democratic senators are set to make floor speeches at 4:45 p.m. Wednesday ahead of the unanimous consent request. 

Seattle City Council meeting disrupted by protesters banging on windows, 6 arrested

Six people were arrested Tuesday after police say they disrupted a city council meeting. Officers were called to Seattle City Council chambers around 2:55 p.m. “as people filled the room and continued to interfere with the session,” police said in a news release.  The three men and three women were told to leave the chambers, but police say they refused and were told they would be arrested if they continued to interrupt. All six were charged with criminal trespass, and one of the men was also charged with obstruction.  Video of the meeting was posted on the city’s Seattle Channel website, lasting just under two and a half hours. Two recesses were taken during that time, including one taken at the time police were called. It was supposed to last 15 minutes but went on for more than an hour. SEATTLE LIGHT RAIL TRAIN SHOOTER REMAINS AT LARGE AFTER KILLING MAN Police say the city council meeting was able to resume after the arrests and many others left the chambers without any issues, but chanting and banging on windows could be heard when council members attempted to continue. “Our physical safety is being threatened by the actions of the demonstrators outside banging on the windows, which could easily get broken, and we will have a mob scene,” District 5 council member Cathy Moore said while asking for police assistance. “I physically feel threatened.” ARMED JUVENILES FLIP STOLEN CAR ONTO SEATTLE POLICE CRUISER: VIDEO The protesters were referred to as “progressive activists” by local radio reporter Jason Rantz on the social media platform X. He said they were demanding that the city fund housing for refugees, even though “they are not even being housed in Seattle currently.” Many of them used the public comment portion of the meeting to talk about the issue. “The issues of refugee housing and police surveillance are related,” a woman named Lauren said. “More money for police surveillance and ineffective and racist technologies like [‘Spothotter’] means less money for asylum seekers and other low-income people who desperately need housing.”   Seattle police would not identify the six arrested following an inquiry from Fox News Digital, instead referring to the public records request process. All six were said to be booked into the King County Jail. No injuries or use of force by Seattle police officers were reported.

Maryland county open to ICE cooperation after past stonewalling, release of illegal immigrants

A Maryland county is promising to work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after a “productive” meeting about it honoring ICE detainers lodged against criminal illegal immigrants – as the top ICE official in the state told Fox News Digital that hundreds of criminals have been released back onto the streets by the county in the last two years. Montgomery County officials met with ICE’s Baltimore Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) to discuss cooperation on Tuesday. In a statement, county officials said there was a “productive discussion” between County Executive Marc Elrich and Baltimore Field Office Director Darius Reeves “about improved communications and operational challenges with custody transfers.” An ICE official told Fox News Digital that a dialogue had been opened on honoring detainers and they were looking forward to a mutually beneficial arrangement. ICE lodges detainers against illegal immigrants who are brought into local police custody when ICE believes them to be deportable. Those detainers request that the police notify ICE when they are about to be released and sometimes hold them for a limited additional time so that ICE can take them safely into federal custody and act to remove them. SALVADORAN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ARRESTED IN CONNECTION TO MARYLAND MURDER OF 2-YEAR-OLD BOY However, “sanctuary” jurisdictions refuse to honor such detainers. Montgomery County claims it is not a sanctuary county, and that it works with ICE in their work on “immigration and customs violations and drug and human trafficking.” Elrich said on a press call on Wednesday that the county does honor some detainers when an illegal immigrant is convicted of violent crimes. Despite that claim, ICE says no detainers have been honored in the county in either the last fiscal year or this one. Director Reeves told Fox News Digital this week that in FY 2023, ICE issued 198 detainers, none of which were honored. So far in FY 2024, the agency has issued 119 detainers and none have been honored by the county. HOUSE HOMELAND GOP DEMANDS INFO FROM BIDEN ADMIN ON GEORGIA MURDER SUSPECT He said those included illegal immigrants with convictions for assault, robbery, illegal firearm possession, sex abuse of a minor, rape and other sex offenses. He also said there was at least one MS-13 gang member among those whom ICE had requested, but they had been rebuffed by the county. In the state of Maryland as a whole, the agency arrested 152 sex offenders in FY23. He said the counties that do not honor detainers – which he said includes Montgomery County – account for 46% of at-large sex offender arrests. On Tuesday, ICE told Fox 5 that a Salvadoran national charged this week with the murder of a 2-year-old in Maryland had been arrested twice in Montgomery County and released both times despite ICE lodging a detainer. Elrich said his initial arrests were for theft and were not on the list of violent crimes that would have resulted in him being turned over to ICE.  Reeves says ICE will go into the community and locate many of those illegal aliens, and brought them into custody, but stressed that releasing them onto the streets poses a threat to both ICE agents and the public. “Any at-large operation like that, it’s just an inherent risk and risk to the officer and risk to the subject of our arrest and it’s a risk to normal day-to-day citizens that happen upon the scene,” he said. “The most violent of folks potentially have weapons on them. You can have incidents where… they take off in their vehicles and crash into other folks. It’s just a whole host of issues that would not occur if the detainers were being honored. We could come to the jails and we can take them out of the jails in a safe environment and move them toward their immigration hearings.” He also stressed that it is not a major burden on state and local jurisdictions. VENEZUELAN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHARGED WITH SEXUAL ASSAULT AGAINST 14-YEAR-OLD IN VIRGINIA “We’re not asking any of these jurisdictions that are unwilling to cooperate to hold anyone for us beyond the 48 hours after their state release. What we are asking is to have advance notice of 48 hours so we can have the resources made available to pick up these individuals and in a very safe manner,” he said. In 2021, the Biden administration implemented significantly narrowed ICE enforcement priorities, limiting ICE to recent border crossers, national security threats and public safety threats. So Reeves stressed that the illegal immigrants they are typically targeting are normally serious criminals. “We are focused on egregious offenders, major public safety threats and, national security threats. We are not focused on the single mother, migrant mother who happens to steal diapers or formula from the local bodega to feed her children. We are interested in guns. We’re interested in sex trafficking, human trafficking, violence, rape, murderers, gangs. Those are the people that we’re concentrating on.” In its statement, the county said the meeting is one of a number of such meetings, and the two sides will be meeting again in the coming weeks. “The County cleared up some misconceptions about our policy on immigration enforcement (ie Montgomery County is not a sanctuary county) and ICE underscored their need for more notice prior to releases,” the statement said.  “Director Reeves offered resources and training for our Department of Corrections staff and the County shared our policy on notification to allow ICE to provide feedback,” the statement said.  The meeting comes as “sanctuary” policies have come into focus after a number of high-profile crimes have been committed by illegal aliens after they have been previously arrested and then turned back onto the streets despite an ICE detainer lodged against them. In New York City, one of the most high-profile sanctuary cities, Mayor Eric Adams said this week that sanctuary laws need to be modified to turn migrants who have committed felonies over to ICE.

‘Listen to Michigan’ protesters exceed expectations, send message to Biden in key battleground state

A group of Democrats who started a movement in opposition to President Biden’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza sent a clear message in the Michigan primary, exceeding the amount of votes the group was aiming for and complicating the key battleground state ahead of this year’s general election. “Yesterday was a resounding victory,” Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, who joined the “Listen to Michigan” movement, said during a news conference Wednesday claiming victory for the movement. The comments come following the movement’s push to have Democratic voters select “uncommitted” in Tuesday’s Democratic primary surpassed the group’s expectations, with just over 101,000 people selecting the option, according to Associated Press numbers as of Wednesday afternoon. That mark was more than 10 times the group’s stated goal, which was to get 10,000 people, or roughly the same as the margin of victory in the 2016 election in the state, to select the option. POLL SHOWS BIDEN’S LEAD OVER TRUMP SHRINKING IN 2024 MATCHUP AS CONCERNS OVER PHYSICAL FITNESS GROW Despite the apparent resounding success, Biden easily captured the state and gained 115 delegates while hauling in over 81% of the vote, further solidifying his grasp on the nomination and setting up a likely rematch with former President Donald Trump in November. “I want to thank every Michigander who made their voice heard today. Exercising the right to vote and participating in our democracy is what makes America great,” Biden said in a statement after the Michigan victory while warning that there is “much left to do” to defeat Trump in November. “You’ve heard me say many times it’s never a good bet to bet against the United States of America. It’s never a good bet to bet against Michiganders either. This fight for our freedoms, for working families, and for Democracy is going to take all of us coming together. I know that we will.” Meanwhile, Listen to Michigan supporters have warned they are willing to continue growing the movement ahead of the general election, a potential headache for the Biden campaign in a battleground state that has seen close margins in the last two presidential elections. JAMES CARVILLE FRETS OVER ‘UNCOMMITTED’ PROTEST VOTE AGAINST BIDEN IN MICHIGAN: ‘HUGE PROBLEM’ Reached for comment by Fox News Digital, a Biden campaign spokesperson noted that the share of uncommitted votes, 11%, was actually in line with the previous time an incumbent was on the ballot in the state in a Democratic primary, which was during the 2012 re-election campaign of Former President Barack Obama. Nevertheless, the spokesperson stressed that the campaign is still working hard to earn the votes of holdouts and will continue working towards peace in Gaza. But the movement started by Listen to Michigan may not be in Biden’s rearview mirror after Michigan, with the group saying activists in future primary states have reached out about joining the cause. “Two of the states where organizers have reached out specifically are Minnesota and Washington State,” a Listen to Michigan spokesperson said during Wednesday’s news conference. “We have our eye on those states… and are ready to have conversations with anybody organizing for an anti-war future.” The organization has also brushed off suggestions that it may at least indirectly help Trump regain the presidency, arguing that it is up to Biden to earn their votes. “We are not electing Donald Trump. President Biden is the one seeking the highest office, and he is the candidate who’s facing off against Donald Trump,” Hammoud said. “He has to earn the votes of the constituency that he’s trying to serve.”

Biden after annual physical says ‘everything’s great’

President Biden told reporters on Wednesday that his annual physical exam at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center went “great,” tamping down concerns over his health as the presidential election draws near. Biden had just finished delivering remarks on how his administration’s policies on fighting crime in communities across the country are working when one reporter can be heard shouting if there’s anything Americans should know following his annual doctor’s visit. “Well, they think I look too young,” Biden replied. Biden assured reporters that “everything’s great” regarding the check-up and that “there is nothing different than last year.” JACK SMITH RESPONDS TO BLISTERING HUR REPORT FOR FIRST TIME, SAYS BIDEN, TRUMP CASES NOT SIMILAR Biden had revealed earlier Wednesday that he was making an unannounced trip to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for a physical exam. The exam comes after the report from Special Counsel Robert Hur that claimed the president had significant memory issues. Earlier this month, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, does not believe a cognitive test is necessary. She said O’Connor believes Biden proves his cognitive ability “every day [in] how he operates and how he thinks.”  EX-OBAMA AIDES SAY AGE IS ‘VERY REAL ISSUE’ FOR BIDEN, WHO SOUNDS ‘FRAIL,’ ‘MUMBLY’ Biden received his last physical on Feb. 16 of last year, when his physician gave him a clean bill of health in a letter that said Biden was “fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency.” Biden has undergone yearly physical examinations since the beginning of his term, in line with every other commander in chief since President Richard Nixon. Walter Reed, the hospital used by all presidents for routine medical care and examinations, is located in Bethesda, Maryland. Fox News’ Timothy H.J. Nerozzi contributed to this report.