Michigan asks residents to help house, settle migrants amid crisis at border
Michigan is asking residents to help house migrants in their homes and help resettle them into society as the crisis at the southern border continues. The state Department of Labor and Economic Development said volunteers who wish to participate must commit for at least 90 days as part of the refugee support program. “Programs like the Welcome Corps advance the Office of Global Michigan’s mission to make Michigan the home for opportunity for our immigrant, refugee and ethnic communities,” said Poppy Hernandez, Global Michigan Director and Michigan’s Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer. “Expanded refugee resettlement pathways empower more Michiganders to support our state’s growing refugee population and build a more welcoming and inclusive Michigan for all.” Sponsors would be expected to support newly arrived refugees by greeting them at the airport, securing and preparing initial housing, enrolling children in school and helping adults find employment. BIDEN APPEARS TO CONFUSE NATO WITH UKRAINE IN CALLING FOR CONGRESS MEMBERS TO PASS FUNDING BILL The migrants will come from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, all points of origin where many have been hoping to apply for asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Development for more information. The request comes as multiple cities are grappling with how to house and provide services to newly arrived migrants from the southern border. ILLINOIS ALLOCATING $250M TO PAY FOR MIGRANT CRISIS IN CHICAGO Cities like New York and Chicago have also dealt with issues related to migrants committing crimes, as well as pushback from residents who have voiced anger and concern over the influx. Migrant shelters in those cities have largely been full, forcing officials to come up with ways to safely house the migrants. Last year, Massachusetts officials asked residents to open their doors as migrant shelters were full at the time. “Most importantly, if you have an extra room or suite in your home, please consider hosting a family. Housing and shelter is our most pressing need and become a sponsor family,” said Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll.
Alaska public health czar Dr. Anne Zink to resign
Dr. Anne Zink, who was a public face of Alaska’s pandemic response, is resigning as the state’s chief medical officer. Zink plans to continue working full-time in the role until early April, the Anchorage Daily News reported. An email seeking comment was sent to a state health department spokesperson by The Associated Press on Monday, a holiday. ALASKA FACES TEACHER SHORTAGE AS EDUCATION FUNDING DEBATE DOMINATES LEGISLATURE Zink called her time as chief medical officer an “amazing experience,” but said “it’s just time to to make a career change and do some other new things.” Her plans were made public last week by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who during an address to lawmakers thanked Zink for her work. Zink, an emergency room doctor, was appointed chief medical officer in 2019, just months before the COVID-19 pandemic. She was a regular fixture alongside Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy at news conferences during the early stages of the pandemic, and the two became the public faces of the state’s response. Zink earned praise for her steady approach and for providing information in an understandable way. But she also became a target for those critical of COVID-19 vaccines and other pandemic-related measures. She told the newspaper she also wanted to avoid leaving too close to an election. “Most of the previous chief medical officers have transitioned at non-governor election times. And so that has always been my goal — to transition at a time not associated with elections, just to try to keep this position as apolitical as possible,” she said. Dunleavy was re-elected to a second term in 2022. Zink said she planned to spend time with family this summer and would likely pursue work in the field of health data. She plans to continue working shifts at a Palmer hospital.
Brazil recalls ambassador to Israel in row over Lula’s Gaza comments
Israel says Brazilian president is not welcome in the country after he compared Israel’s war on Gaza to the Holocaust. Brazil has recalled its ambassador to Israel, and Israel says Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is not welcome in the country in a diplomatic rift after Lula compared Israel’s military campaign in Gaza to the Holocaust. “What’s happening in the Gaza Strip with the Palestinian people hasn’t happened at any other moment in history. Actually, it has happened: when Hitler decided to kill the Jews,” Lula said on Sunday. During World War II, the Nazis systematically killed six million Jewish people. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Lula’s comments as “disgraceful and grave”. On Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz announced that Lula is not welcome in the Middle Eastern country until he takes back his comments. “We will not forget nor forgive. It is a serious anti-Semitic attack. In my name and the name of the citizens of Israel, tell President Lula that he is persona non grata in Israel until he takes it back,” Katz told Brazil’s ambassador, according to a statement from Katz’s office. Israel says Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is not welcome in the country {file: Adriano Machado/Reuters] In response, Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would summon Israel’s ambassador to Brazil, Daniel Zonshine, for a meeting in Rio de Janeiro. “He [Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira] also recalled the Brazilian ambassador in Tel Aviv, Frederico Meyer, for consultations. He will depart for Brazil tomorrow,” the Foreign Ministry added on Monday. Meanwhile, Lula, 78, also faced backlash at home over his statements on Sunday, which came during a press conference on the sidelines of an African Union summit in Addis Ababa. The Brazil-Israel Institute called his comments “vulgar” and warned they risk “fuelling anti-Semitism”. Lula condemned the Hamas-led October 7 attacks on southern Israel as a “terrorist” act the day it happened, and he has since grown vocally critical of Israel’s retaliatory military campaign in Gaza. Adblock test (Why?)
ICJ: Palestine presents case against Israeli occupation
NewsFeed In a historic hearing, Palestine presented its case against Israel’s occupation of territories to the International Court of Justice. Palestinian lawyers and representatives outlined how Israel ‘systematically denies’ Palestinians a right to life and called for an immediate end to the occupation. Published On 19 Feb 202419 Feb 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Palestinian man’s emotional response to new wheelchair
NewsFeed Video shows a Palestinian man requesting a wheelchair, and his emotional response to receiving it. Published On 19 Feb 202419 Feb 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Federal court jams brakes on Biden admin’s effort to shut down major petrochemical plant
A U.S. district court granted the federal government’s request to indefinitely pause a trial concerning a major petrochemical plant in Louisiana, despite the Biden administration’s insistence that the facility poses an imminent health threat. In a ruling late Friday, Judge Carl Barbier of the U.S. District of Eastern Louisiana abruptly canceled oral arguments in the case scheduled for this week and the subsequent trial which had been set for mid-March. The Department of Justice, which is litigating the case on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), asked Barbier to delay the case on Feb. 9 after arguing for months about the dangers of the plant. Following the court’s decision, synthetics manufacturer Denka Performance Elastomer (DPE), the defendant in the case, blasted the EPA for misusing resources in pursuit of the case against it. The ruling comes one year after the EPA first sued DPE, seeking to compel the company’s LaPlace, Louisiana, facility – the sole domestic plant that produces neoprene, a synthetic rubber common in military equipment – to vastly reduce emissions of chloroprene. “EPA’s request to delay the trial indefinitely belies the ‘emergency’ that the government claims in this unprecedented action,” DPE counsel Jason Hutt said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. “EPA’s lawsuit has come at great expense to both this country’s only Neoprene facility and its dedicated employees.” TOP HOUSE COMMITTEE PROBES JOHN KERRY’S COORDINATION WITH ECO GROUPS PUSHING COAL POWER SHUTDOWN Hutt added that EPA’s case has been pursued “solely for political gain.” And he said the federal government is poised to withdraw the lawsuit altogether in light of a regulatory proposal that would require manufacturing facilities to conduct additional testing of certain chemical emissions, including chloroprene, and which the White House is set to finalize in the coming weeks. “DPE is prepared to litigate this case and address the unfounded fears fomented by EPA, including a clear showing that the science underlying EPA’s allegation is outdated, contorted and based upon an overly conservative risk assessment,” Hutt continued. “Since purchasing the facility in 2015, DPE has invested more than $35 million in chloroprene emissions reductions.” REPUBLICAN STATE SUES BIDEN ADMIN OVER ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE ACTIONS: ‘DYSTOPIAN NIGHTMARE’ “As a result, chloroprene emissions are at historical lows today, as confirmed by DPE’s continuous dual monitoring systems,” he said. “DPE will continue production at this facility, which employs hundreds of Louisiana residents and provides tremendous economic benefit to the local and state economy.” After the EPA filed its complaint against DPE on Feb. 28, 2023, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said he was committed to taking strong action to protect Louisiana residents from the LaPlace neoprene plant’s emissions and added that DPE hasn’t “moved far enough or fast enough” to reduce said emissions. The action was taken as part of the administration’s “environmental justice” agenda. According to the complaint, the plant’s emissions pose a cancer risk to residents in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, and therefore present an “imminent and substantial endangerment to public health and welfare.” Then, one month later, the Justice Department filed a motion for preliminary injunction in the case, asking the court to enforce a shutdown of DPE’s facility if the company failed to immediately implement substantial emissions reductions. Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim said the motion “shows our determination to address environmental justice concerns.” BILLIONAIRE-FUELED ROCKEFELLER FUND COORDINATED CLIMATE LAWSUITS WITH DEM STATE AG: INTERNAL DOCUMENTS DPE argued in a response motion that the federal government’s actions are “tantamount to a shutdown order that would have catastrophic consequences for DPE,” adding that it would lead to “complete loss of revenue streams, substantial loss of work force, supply chain disruptions and contractual impacts, and regulatory challenges.” The company also characterized the Biden administration’s efforts against it as politically driven, unsupported by real-world science, and outside its legal authority under the Clean Air Act. DPE pointed to how its LaPlace facility has sharply curbed its chloroprene emissions and complied with environmental permits, as Hutt noted. DPE further pointed to Louisiana Tumor Registry data showing that St. John the Baptist Parish, the region where its neoprene facility is located, has recorded one of the lowest cancer rates of any region in the state. Additionally, DPE revealed late last year that it uncovered evidence during discovery in the case that EPA officials appeared to manufacture a paper trail to make it easier to litigate the case, revelations that sparked a House Science, Space and Technology Committee probe. EPA didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss recently poured over $60M into propping up left-wing groups and causes
A nonprofit bankrolled by Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss recently funneled over $60 million to left-wing groups and causes, tax forms show. The Berger Action Fund, a Wyss-funded group that has steered vast amounts of money to progressive initiatives, continued propping up liberal organizations ranging from a massive nonprofit within America’s most prominent dark money network to groups overseeing extensive climate endeavors. “Berger Action Fund supports organizations that work to preserve biodiversity, advance clean energy solutions, and promote economic opportunity,” a spokesperson for the group told Fox News Digital. PELOSI-ALIGNED DARK MONEY NONPROFIT RECEIVED $3 MILLION FROM GROUP FUELED BY SWISS BILLIONAIRE The Berger Action Fund’s tax forms, which Politico obtained, show that the Wyss-backed outfit disbursed $63 million to 13 left-leaning groups between April 2022 and April 2023. Its most significant donation – $35 million – went to the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a dark money nonprofit managed by the Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm Arabella Advisors. While the Sixteen Thirty Fund does not identify its donors, a contribution of a similar amount – $34.7 million – was the largest the nonprofit reported receiving on its own tax forms in 2022. The remaining $300,000 from the Berger Action Fund was likely wired sometime between January and April 2023 unless the group rounded up the amount it donated. The Sixteen Thirty Fund’s next largest contribution was $19 million. During this time, the Sixteen Thirty Fund hauled in around $190 million and passed nearly $150 million in grants to Democrat-aligned groups and endeavors, including large sums to organizations that work on voter engagement and environmental initiatives. It also pushed cash into groups located in pivotal swing states. PETE BUTTIGIEG REGULARLY CONSULTS DARK MONEY-FUNDED GREEN GROUPS, CALENDAR ENTRIES SHOW The Berger Action Fund’s tax records also show it donated $19.75 million to Fund For A Better Future and $5 million to the League of Conservation Voters. For some time, Fund for a Better Future housed Climate Power, which teamed up with the League of Conservation Voters in 2022 to undertake a “sophisticated targeting project unlike anything they’d ever undertaken” to propel Democrats. Climate Power and the League of Conservation Voters are two prominent far-left environmental groups that push aggressive green transition policies. While Fund for a Better Future previously oversaw Climate Power, the group broke into its own nonprofit in the summer of 2023, a spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital. Additionally, the Berger Action Fund provided $1.5 million to WorkMoney Inc. and hundreds of thousands more to other groups like Indivisible Project, Western Conservation Action, Citizen Action of New York, Americans for Financial Reform, and Common Cause. For over two decades, Wyss has been financially involved in various left-wing causes. Wyss started the Wyss Foundation in the late 1990s and the Berger Action Fund in 2007. His citizenship, meanwhile, has come under a microscope as his political giving has garnered increased attention. Watchdog group Americans for Public Trust (APT) discovered several documents that called his citizenship into question, including a 2021 Securities and Exchange Commission filing in which he says he is a “citizen of Switzerland.” “Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss has been meddling in our political landscape for years by funneling hundreds of millions of dollars through the Arabella Advisors network to benefit liberal and left-wing causes,” Caitlin Sutherland, APT’s executive director, previously told Fox News Digital. “While openly bragging to international press about his extensive influence in our country, Wyss’ U.S.-based nonprofits have refused to admit what has now been confirmed: Wyss has never been and is still not a U.S. citizen,” Sutherland said. Wyss’ activity has also caught the attention of Republican lawmakers, who have eyed legislation to prevent foreign nationals from “influencing the American political system,” Axios reported last year. “Berger complies with laws and rules governing its activities and prohibits its grants from being used to support or oppose political candidates or parties, or otherwise engage in electoral activities,” the group’s spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Berger has also supported efforts to bring increased transparency to our campaign finance system through the DISCLOSE Act.”
CEO wins autographed golden Donald Trump sneakers after $9K bid
A luxury watch dealer CEO came out the big winner at Philadephia’s Sneaker Con Saturday, taking home a pair of golden sneakers signed by former President Trump. Roman Sharf, Founder and CEO of Luxury Bazaar, a luxury watch dealer, won the pair of “Never Surrender high tops” after placing a bid of $9,000 at the convention, also known as “The Greatest Sneaker Show On Earth,” according to the organizer’s website. Reports have indicated that Sharf is Russian, but the CEO told Fox News Digital he is Ukrainian. A video shared on social media shows Sharf holding the pair after his big win. “Of course I’ve got something to say — Trump 2024,” Sharf said in the video. TRUMP SPARKS EMOTIONAL REACTIONS FROM CROWD IN SURPRISE VISIT TO SNEAKER CONVENTION Sharf later posted on X, formerly Twitter, that he would be passing the sneakers down to his kids but would be displaying them in his office for the time being. Trump took to the stage in Philadelphia over the weekend, receiving mixed and emotional reactions from those in attendance. The former president spoke for approximately 10 minutes, standing alongside a pair of limited-supply gold, custom Trump-branded sneakers sold for $399 a pair. TRUCKERS FOR TRUMP TO BOYCOTT DRIVING TO NEW YORK CITY AFTER $355M FRAUD RULING “A lot of emotion. There’s a lot of emotion in this room,” Trump said after taking the podium. “They have lines going all around the block. They’ve never seen anything like this one.” “I just want to tell you, you know, I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. I have some incredible people that work with me on things, and they came up with this,” he said. “This is something I’ve been talking about for 12 years, 13 years, and I think it’s going to be a big success.” TRUMP BLASTS ‘CLUBHOUSE POLITICIAN’ JUDGE AFTER BEING FINED $350M, DEFENDS THE ‘GREAT COMPANY’ HE BUILT Sneaker Con previously faced backlash from Trump critics for allowing the former president a venue to offer remarks. The organizers eventually took to social media to share a statement in response. “Sneaker Con’s mission is to support and promote sneaker culture through our worldwide live events and digital platforms. We are thankful and appreciative of the sneaker community, and recognize individuals who generate awareness and authentic sneaker related engagement towards our community,” the statement read. The Biden campaign reacted to Trump’s appearance at the event, with Biden-Harris 2024 communications director Michael Tyler saying in a statement, “Donald Trump showing up to hawk bootleg Off-Whites is the closest he’ll get to any Air Force Ones ever again for the rest of his life.” Fox News’ Kyle Morris contributed to this report.
DNC omits Jimmy Carter in now deleted Presidents Day post celebrating living Dem presidents
The Democratic National Committee raised eyebrows on social media Monday, Presidents Day, after posting a picture of all the living Democrat presidents but omitting 99-year-old Jimmy Carter. “In celebrating living Democrat presidents, the Democrat Party forgot Jimmy Carter,” radio host Jason Rantz posted on X. The post, which has now been deleted, showed a picture of former President Clinton, former President Obama, and President Biden with the caption “Happy Presidents Day.” Former President Carter, who recently surpassed the one-year mark in hospice care, was not included. AS JIMMY CARTER MARKS 1 YEAR IN HOSPICE CARE, ADVOCATES HOPE TO DISPEL HOSPICE MISCONCEPTIONS The DNC did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. The 39th president, who turned 99 in October, entered hospice care on Feb. 18, 2023. The Carter Center said America’s longest living president would spend his “remaining time” at his Georgia home in hospice care instead of continuing cancer treatments. JIMMY CARTER, LONGEST LIVING US PRESIDENT, TURNS 99 “After a series of short hospital stays, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter today decided to spend his remaining time at home with his family and receive hospice care instead of additional medical intervention,” the center said at the time. “He has the full support of his family and his medical team. The Carter family asks for privacy during this time and is grateful for the concern shown by his many admirers.” On Saturday, his family told USA Today in a statement about the 99-year-old: “The Carter family is grateful for the many expressions of love they have received and the continued respect for their privacy during this time. The family is pleased that his decision last year to enter hospice care has sparked so many family discussions across the country on an important subject.” Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson contributed to this report
South Carolina lawmaker blasts Nikki Haley over stance on Obama refugee resettlement program as governor
A South Carolina lawmaker blasted GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley for her alleged support for “Obama’s refugee resettlement program” during her time as governor. “I was serving on county council almost 10 years ago, when we had to tell Nikki Haley, by resolution, to stop supporting Obama’s refugee resettlement program,” South Carolina state Rep. Stewart Jones, a Republican, said in a clip originally shared by the MAGA War Room account on X earlier this month and reposted Monday by Team Trump. Fox News Digital reached out to Jones and Haley’s campaign for comment on Monday, but did not immediately hear back. In November 2015, Haley, then the governor of South Carolina, specifically asked the State Department not to resettle Syrian refugees in the Palmetto State amid growing concern from local lawmakers in the wake of a series of coordinated Islamist terrorist attacks carried out in Paris, France, and the city’s northern suburb, Saint-Denis, that killed 130 people. HALEY: CONGRESS IS ‘LYING TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE’ BY TYING FOREIGN AID TO BORDER SECURITY Then-President Obama’s administration had vowed to accept about 10,000 Syrian refugees over a 12-month period at the time, according to WYFF, but South Carolina lawmakers expressed concern to Haley about the vetting process of refugees from conflict zones, citing how French authorities said a Syrian passport was found near one of the attackers, and the Paris prosecutor’s office said fingerprints from one of the attackers matched those of someone who passed through Greece just a month earlier. Haley said she still supported groups like Lutheran Services of the Carolinas and the World Relief Organization bringing refugees into South Carolina from elsewhere in the world, including areas like the Congo, Burma, Ukraine and Iraq, acknowledging in a letter to then-Secretary of State John Kerry that such migrants often are fleeing religious persecution. “As Governor, it is my first and primary duty to ensure the safety of the citizens of South Carolina. We are a state that has proudly welcomed refugees from around the world as part of the United States Refugee Resettlement Program…. While I agree that the United States should try to assist individuals in such dire situations, it is precisely because of the situation in Syria that makes their admission into the United States a potential threat to our national security,” she wrote to Kerry at the time. “For that reason, I ask that you honor my request and not resettle any Syrian refugees in South Carolina.” OBAMA PLAN FOR SYRIAN REFUGEES SCRAMBLED BY STATE OPPOSITION Haley also mentioned how two interpreters who worked with her husband in Afghanistan were brought over through the U.S. resettlement program under Obama. “These are people who have protected our troops. These are people being persecuted for being Christian. These are people being hurt because of their political beliefs. These are people who we took in because they weren’t safe where they were,” Haley said at the time, according to WIS-TV. Haley is competing against former President Trump in the South Carolina GOP primary on Feb. 24. The Obama administration pledged in 2016 to bring in more than 110,000 refugees from around the world in that fiscal year – an issue that sparked heated debate during the presidential election cycle, with Trump and others raising concern that terrorists could be among them. Last month, Jones announced that he’s running for the U.S. House in South Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump has the backing of most Republican state and federal elected officials in South Carolina in the 2024 race despite Haley serving as governor from 2011 to 2017. Trump tapped Haley to serve in his administration as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.