New Hampshire Democrat proposes official pronunciation for state capital Concord
I came. I saw. I Concord. A New Hampshire lawmaker wants to amend state law to include an official pronunciation of the capital city, one of many communities called Concord across the country. While North Carolinians pronounce the second syllable so it rhymes with “bored,” New Hampshire, Massachusetts and California are among those who favor something closer to — in the words of Julius Caesar — “conquered.” NEW HAMPSHIRE DEMOCRAT CRADLES NEWBORN DAUGHTER WHILE ADVOCATING FOR ABORTION RIGHTS DURING FLOOR DEBATE Rep. Eric Gallager, a Democrat from Concord, also wants to include an official pronunciation of “New Hampshire” in state law to make it clear that “shire” rhymes with “fur” not “fire.” He proposes including the official pronunciations written out according to the international phonetic alphabet in a section of law that lists state symbols such as the official state sport (skiing), song (10 different tunes including “Old New Hampshire“), and spider ( daring jumping spider ). “These are the symbols by which you are recognized, and branding is actually something that organizations take really seriously and spend a lot of money on,” Gallager told a House committee Tuesday. Rep. Dianne Schuett, a Democrat from Pembroke, asked Gallager if he discussed his bill with “old Yankee folks” who pronounce the capital as “Con-kid, New Hamp-shah.” “I’ll tell you, I’m fearful that some of them may be offended if we mandated a specific pronunciation that doesn’t jibe with their heritage,” she said. Gallager said his bill would not be a mandate, just as the other state symbols are not universally embraced. “Even though the state fruit is the pumpkin, you can still grow other fruits besides pumpkins, which I’m sure our apple growers appreciate,” he said. And while he acknowledged the legislation may appear trivial, Gallager said he tries to “go for things that other people aren’t also legislating about.” “With a lot of the other more important issues, the trenches are already dug and people have already made up their minds,” he said. “But with something more minor like this one, I think we can have a chance to bring people together and actually pass some legislation.”
House votes to impeach DHS Secretary Mayorkas over border crisis
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has been impeached by the House of Representatives. A Cabinet secretary has not been impeached by the U.S. Congress since 1876. Tuesday evening’s vote marked House Republicans’ second attempt at impeaching Mayorkas. GOP lawmakers targeted the Biden official over the ongoing migrant crisis at the U.S. border, accusing him of deliberately flaunting existing immigration law and worsening the situation. DENVER SCHOOLS OVERWHELMED BY MIGRANT SURGE AS MAYOR SLASHES $5M FROM PUBLIC SERVICES TO ADDRESS CRISIS The 214-213 vote was always expected to be tight; Mayorkas narrowly escaped impeachment last week when every single House Democrat showed up to shield him, including Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, who temporarily left the hospital where he was recovering from surgery to cast his vote. Three Republicans also voted down the effort – Reps. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., Ken Buck, R-Colo., and Tom McClintock, R-Calif. HOUSE FAILS TO IMPEACH DHS SECRETARY ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS IN MAJOR BLOW TO GOP Each criticized Mayorkas’ handling of the border but had reservations over whether it rose to the level of impeachment. McClintock warned it could set a precedent for political impeachments that could harm GOP officials in the future. “Swapping one leftist for another is a fantasy, solves nothing, excuses Biden’s culpability, and unconstitutionally expands impeachment that someday will bite Republicans,” McClintock said last week. However, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., dismissed any concerns about precedent in comments to reporters hours before the vote on Tuesday. “Mayorkas is an exceptional case in U.S. history,” Johnson said, accusing him of having done more “damage on the country than any Cabinet secretary that’s ever been.” He also addressed the very likely scenario that the impeachment would go nowhere in the Democrat-held Senate. HERE ARE THE 3 HOUSE REPUBLICANS WHO TORPEDOED MAYORKAS’ IMPEACHMENT VOTE “The House has a constitutional responsibility, as I’ve said many times. It’s probably the heaviest next to a declaration of war. And we have to do our job regardless of what the other chamber does,” Johnson said. Two impeachment articles were approved against Mayorkas by the House Homeland Security Committee. One accused him of having “refused to comply with Federal immigration laws” and the other of having violated “public trust.” The Department of Homeland Security criticized House Republicans for holding a second Mayorkas impeachment vote on Tuesday, citing comments by GOP lawmakers who have called the effort a waste of time. “House Republicans’ baseless push to impeach Secretary Mayorkas has already failed once, with bipartisan opposition. If Members of Congress care about our national security, they should listen to their fellow Republicans and stop wasting time on this pointless, unconstitutional impeachment – time that could be spent addressing the issue by advancing bipartisan legislation to fix our broken immigration laws and provide needed resources for border security,” the department said.
Lawmakers advance bill requiring Universities of Wisconsin to admit all top-performing high schoolers
The University of Wisconsin-Madison would be required to admit all high school students who finish in the top 5% of their class, and other campuses would have to admit those in the top 10%, under a bill passed Tuesday by the state Senate that’s part of a deal reached between the Legislature and university. The deal struck in December also limits diversity positions at the system’s two dozen campuses in exchange for money to cover staff raises and construction projects. A legislative committee gave final approval for the pay raises in December, and now a series of bills are working their way through the Legislature enacting other parts of the deal. The university said in a statement that it supported the guaranteed admission proposal “because it will help encourage the top students in Wisconsin to remain in-state for their postsecondary education, and will encourage more of these students to remain here after graduation.” The Senate passed the bill 23-9. It now heads to the Assembly.
California Senate candidates spar over Dem’s proposal for $50 minimum wage: ‘Do the math’
A Monday night debate in California between several candidates vying for an open Senate seat included a question about raising the minimum wage to $50, an idea that one Democrat candidate has floated. “In the Bay Area, I believe it was the United Way that came out with a report that very recently $127,000 for a family of four is just barely enough to get by,” Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee said when asked to defend her previous support of a $50 minimum wage and explain how it would be “sustainable.” “Another survey very recently: $104,000. For a family of one, barely enough to get by, low income because of the affordability crisis.” Lee has previously called for a $50 minimum wage, which would amount to around $104,000 per year of income. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour and ranges from $16-$20 in California. FAST-FOOD PRICES SET TO RISE AT MCDONALD’S, CHIPOTLE AND OTHERS AS CALIFORNIA MINIMUM WAGE HIKE LOOMS “Just do the math. Of course we have national minimum wages that we need to raise to a living wage,” Lee continued. “We’re talking about $20, $25 — fine. But I have got to be focused on what California needs and what the affordability factor is when we calculate this wage.” Former baseball star Steve Garvey, the only Republican on the stage, told the moderators that the minimum wage “is where it is and should be.” “If you look at what California has done to fast food franchises right now, increasing the minimum wage to $20, and what’s going to happen,” Garvey said. “That’s going to increase costs for hardworking Californians to go to a franchise to get a Big Mac for $9, it’s going to be $15.” LOS ANGELES DESSERT SHOP ANNOUNCES SUDDEN CLOSURE OF LOCATIONS, CITES COST OF BUSINESS IN CALIFORNIA Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff took issue with Garvey’s statement and said that so many people are living on the street because they are being paid “poverty wages.” “Try to find a house anywhere in California when you’re earning minimum wage,” Schiff told Garvey. “We have to raise people’s incomes.” SOME GOP LAWMAKERS WANT TO RAISE THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE — BUT ONLY FOR VERIFIABLE AMERICAN CITIZENS Schiff and fellow Democrat candidate Katie Porter have floated support for minimum wages ranging from $20 to $25 per hour. California passed legislation last fall that will require a $20 per hour minimum wage at all restaurants with at least 60 locations nationwide — though the law includes an exception for restaurants that make and sell their own bread. Several major fast-food franchises, including McDonald’s and Chipotle, have already signaled that prices will have to rise in response to the increased labor costs. MOST ECONOMISTS OPPOSE THE $15-AN-HOUR MINIMUM WAGE – HERE’S THE STUNNING REASON WHY As businesses consider passing costs on to consumers, Fat Brands chairman Andy Wiederhorn recently explained that “someone’s got to pay” for the jump in wages. “The consumers who are voters must have known what they were getting into by promoting this legislation to raise the minimum wage from $15 to $20 and on its way to $25,” Wiederhorn told Fox Business earlier this month. “Everyone wants their employees to make more money, but it just costs. And someone’s got to pay for it. And the restaurant operators don’t have the margin for that. So prices are going to go up.” A 2021 Harvard Business Review study found that raising the minimum wage actually leads to lower compensation for employees. In addition to companies being forced to raise prices, many economists have also warned that companies will be forced to cut jobs, which often ends up disproportionately hurting low-wage income earners, the very group supporters of raising the minimum wage are aiming to help. “Apologists for the minimum wage routinely claim that increasing it will help low-income workers and have no negative effects,” E.J. Antoni, a research fellow in regional economics with the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Data Analysis, told FOX Business about raising the minimum wage last year. “They often cite corporate greed as the only reason for relatively low wages in places like the fast-food industry. In reality, raising the minimum wage reduces employment, and causes the higher cost of labor to be passed on to customers. Because low-income workers disproportionately buy fast food (like McDonald’s), they disproportionately bear the cost of not only the more expensive labor, but also the lower employment levels.” Antoni continued, “That fact exposes the reality that the true minimum wage is, and always has been, zero. For the worker that loses his or her job because of a higher minimum wage, they now have no income and higher food prices.” Fox News Digital’s Madeline Coggins contributed to this report
Is Israel in breach of the ICJ’s order?
The UN’s top court ordered Israel to prevent destruction in Gaza. Israel’s war has laid waste to the Gaza Strip. Eighty-five percent of the population has been displaced. Much of the vital infrastructure is so badly damaged that experts say it will take decades to rebuild. An order by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) states Israel must take action to prevent acts of genocide and must ensure the delivery of aid to civilians in Gaza. But the military has largely ignored the ruling and, if anything, has intensified its bombing campaign. What can be done to force Israel to comply? Presenter: Hashem Ahelbarra Guests: Ahmed Abofoul – legal researcher and advocacy officer at Al-Haq, an independent Palestinian rights organisation based in Ramallah Kate Mackintosh – executive director of the University of California, Los Angeles Law Promise Institute Europe Mohammed Abu-Nimer – professor at the School of International Service in International Peace and Conflict Resolution at American University in Washington, DC Adblock test (Why?)
Miners feared trapped after massive landslide in Turkiye
NewsFeed At least 9 miners are feared to be buried under debris after a massive landslide hit a gold mine in the mountains in eastern Turkiye on Tuesday. Published On 13 Feb 202413 Feb 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
No breakthrough in Gaza war truce talks as Rafah braces for Israeli assault
Talks between the United States, Egypt, Israel and Qatar on a possible Gaza truce have ended without a breakthrough as calls grow for Israel to hold back its planned assault on the southern end of the enclave, where more than a million Palestinians are now displaced. In Cairo, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi held talks with CIA Director William Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani aimed at agreeing a truce, protecting civilians and delivering more aid into the enclave, Egypt’s state information service said on Tuesday. In a statement on its website, it cited a “keenness to continue consultation and coordination” on the key issues, indicating that no breakthrough was made. Israeli representatives were also present at the talks. Meanwhile in Gaza, Israeli forces are planning a ground assault on the 64sq km (25sq miles) southernmost city of Rafah. Rafah, whose pre-war population was about 300,000, now teems with about 1.4 million people, many living in tent camps and makeshift shelters after Israel declared the city a “safe zone” while it bombarded areas in north and central Gaza for four months. No plan to evacuate civilians safely has been forthcoming and aid agencies say the displaced have nowhere else to go in the shattered besieged territory. “Where are you going to evacuate people to, as no place is safe across the Gaza Strip, the north is shattered, riddled with unexploded weapons, it’s pretty much unlivable,” Juliette Touma, a spokesperson for the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency, UNRWA, said. Rafah under threat Israeli tanks shelled parts of Rafah for the second night in a row, causing waves of panic, residents said. Dozens were killed in overnight attacks on Monday. On Tuesday, two journalists, including an Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent, were targeted. A photojournalist working with him was also wounded in an Israeli air raid in northern Rafah. Amid threats of an Israeli ground assault, hundreds of displaced families have started to leave Rafah. “I fled al-Maghazi, came to Rafah, and here I am, returning to al-Maghazi,” said Nahla Jarwan, referring to the coastal refugee camp from which she fled earlier in the conflict. Rafah neighbours Egypt, but Cairo has made clear it will not allow a refugee exodus over the border. Gaza health officials announced 133 new Palestinian deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 28,473 killed and 68,146 wounded since October 7, when about 1,200 people were killed in a Hamas attack across the border into Israel, triggering the offensive. Inconclusive talks While the truce talks took place in Egypt on Tuesday, a Hamas official told Al Jazeera that no delegation from the group was present. “We are still awaiting the results of the ongoing meetings in Cairo, and communications are continuing with the mediators,” Hamas said. A Palestinian official told the Reuters news agency the sides are looking for “a formula that will be acceptable to Hamas, who says it is only possible to sign a deal once it is based on an Israeli commitment to ending its war and pulling out its forces from the Gaza Strip”. The official said Hamas had told the participants it does not trust Israel not to renew the war after the Israeli captives in Gaza are released. The captives were seized in Hamas’s raid into southern Israel on October 7. Securing their return is a priority, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, as well as wiping out Hamas, which governs the enclave that has been under a crippling blockade for 17 years. “It’s still a little too early to tell exactly how close we are to a deal, but we do know that the Israeli delegation does include the head of Israel’s Mossad, the external security agency, and the Shin Bet, the internal security and intelligence agency,” Al Jazeera correspondent Hamdah Salhut reported from occupied East Jerusalem. Also on Tuesday, South Africa said it had asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to consider whether Israel’s plan to extend its offensive into Rafah required additional emergency measures to safeguard the rights of Palestinians. In a case brought by South Africa, the ICJ last month ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent its troops from committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Pretoria’s government voiced concern that an offensive in Rafah would result in further large-scale killing, harm and destruction. US President Joe Biden said on Monday that Washington was working on a hostage deal to bring “immediate and sustained” calm to Gaza for at least six weeks. Biden has urged Israel to refrain from a Rafah offensive without a viable plan to protect civilians. Adblock test (Why?)
Congress faces ‘existential moment’ over $95 billion foreign aid bill: Dem representative
The Senate’s $95 billion foreign aid package faces an uphill slog against House Republicans, but their Democratic counterparts say it’s crucial for maintaining global democracy. “We are at an existential moment right now for global democracy and either the United States stands up for freedom and democracy around the world or we don’t, and we recede back into the netherworld and allow autocrats, dictators, terrorists to take over the world,” Rep. Dan Goldman, a Democrat from New York, told Fox News on Tuesday. RANCHER SOUNDS ALARM ON ‘ROUTE’ FOR TERROR AS MAYORKAS DENIES RESPONSIBILITY FOR MASS BORDER CROSSINGS A bipartisan group of senators passed the national security supplemental package after a lengthy overnight session that ended early Tuesday. The final vote was 70-29. The hefty foreign aid package comes as the national debt exceeds $34.2 trillion. It includes billions for Ukraine, Israel and other foreign partners, but omits any border security provisions, something Republicans have fought for since the White House originally requested the supplemental funding package in October. WATCH MORE FOX NEWS DIGITAL ORIGINALS HERE Republicans also helped kill an earlier version of the bill, which paired foreign aid with increased border staffing, speedier deportations when migration levels exceed 5,000 a day over a seven-day rolling average and other measures. “Border security was part of the package that essentially was vetoed by the fourth branch of government, Donald Trump, who ordered Speaker Johnson and the MAGA elements both in the House and Senate to kill it,” Rep. Jamie Raskin told Fox News. Had Republicans “really wanted that to be part of it and weren’t just rhetorical, they would have adopted what the Senate was doing last week,” the Maryland Democrat added. ‘HE’S DELUSIONAL’: BIDEN’S BORDER COMMENTS SPARK STIFF REBUKE ON CAPITOL HILL FROM SOME LAWMAKERS But Republicans like Rep. Gary Palmer from Alabama said they oppose the 5,000 a day border crossing threshold. “What they’re trying to do is give us a border package that will allow people to continue to come into the country at a rate that, frankly, during the Obama administration, the secretary of Homeland Security said was unsustainable,” Palmer said. “Makes no sense.” Customs and Border Protection sources told Fox News there were more than 12,000 migrant encounters on a single day in December, a new record. The surge of migrants has long overwhelmed border towns and is now putting a strain on cities across the nation. House Speaker Mike Johnson criticized the funding package as “silent on the most pressing issue facing our country.” “Now, in the absence of having received any single border policy change from the Senate, the House will have to continue to work its own will on these important matters,” Johnson said in a statement late Monday. “America deserves better than the Senate’s status quo.” Raskin suggested Democrats could use a discharge petition to bypass Johnson and bring the package to a House vote if necessary. Goldman said the package is meant to address three adversaries the U.S. has who are “increasingly aligning themselves” — Iran, Russia and China. The aid package allocates $60 billion in additional funding for Ukraine, which would bring the United States’ total contribution to the country’s fight against Russian aggression to more than $170 billion since February 2022. It also includes $14 billion for Israel’s fight against Hamas, nearly $5 billion for allies in the Indo-Pacific region and $9 billion in humanitarian aid for civilians in Ukraine, Gaza and the West Bank. To hear more from lawmakers, click here.
Hunter Biden’s phone contained multiple photos of cocaine, crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia: DOJ
President Biden’s son Hunter’s iPhone had pictures and videos of “apparent” cocaine, crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia. According to the Department of Justice, the president’s son took “multiple photographs” of his alleged drug use in Nov. and Dec. 2018. The news comes as Hunter was charged with lying about his drug use on a federal form. The DOJ allegedly showed the images in court to prove that Hunter was addicted to drug while he answered “No” to drug-use.
Biden chides Republicans, fails to mention border in remarks on spending bill
President Biden failed to mention the U.S. southern border crisis as he chided House Republicans on Tuesday, calling on party leaders to put forward the bipartisan national security bill that was passed earlier in the day by the Senate with a 70-29 vote. On Tuesday morning, the Senate passed a $95 billion national security supplemental package to assist Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific. What the package omitted, though, was any border security provisions. When Biden approached reporters on Tuesday afternoon to give statements on the supplemental package, he bluntly told reporters he would not be taking questions in an effort to stay on track and not let anything get in the way of his statement – the president also said he would take questions tomorrow or the next day. In his remarks, Biden urged House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to immediately bring the bill to the floor, saying, “there’s no question that if the Senate bill was put on the floor in the House of Representatives, it would pass.” SENATE PASSES CONTROVERSIAL FOREIGN AID BILL SENDING BILLIONS TO UKRAINE, ISRAEL AND TAIWAN “I call on the speaker to let the full House speak its mind, and not allow a minority of the most extreme voices in the House to block this bill, even from being voted on,” Biden said, stressing how critical the bill was. As the national debt soars above $34 trillion, calls to offset the spending with cuts in other places went unheeded. The package includes $60 billion for Ukraine, $14 billion for Israel, $9 billion in humanitarian assistance for Gaza and nearly $5 billion for the Indo-Pacific. It was put forward by Democrats after Republicans blocked the $118 billion package that included numerous border and immigration provisions, which were negotiated by a group of bipartisan senators and Biden officials. U.S. NATIONAL DEBT TRACKER: SEE WHAT AMERICAN TAXPAYERS (YOU) OWE IN REAL TIME Biden said the bill sends military equipment to Ukraine, but is being spent in the U.S., where the weapons are being built. “The way it works is we supply Ukraine with military equipment from our stockpiles, and now we spend our money replenishing those stockpiles,” he said. “So, our military has access to the stockpiles that are made right here in America by American workers.” He went on to say the bill meets national security priorities in the Middle East, too, and provides support to troops serving in the region who defend against militia attacks backed by Iran. SENATE REPUBLICANS PREPARE FOR LONG HAUL IN FIGHT OVER UKRAINE, ISRAEL AID Also benefiting will be the Palestinian people, as the humanitarian aid included in the package will provide food, water and shelter, Biden noted. As for funding national security priorities in Asia, Biden said, the U.S. must not take its eye off national security challenges in the region while it focuses on conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine. PENTAGON FINALLY RUNS OUT OF MONEY FOR UKRAINE, URGES 50 ALLIES TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING KYIV Biden said the U.S. is at a point in history where decisions made now will determine the course of action for decades to come and called on House Republicans to decide. “Supporting this bill is standing up to Putin. Opposing it is playing into Putin’s hands. As I’ve said before, the stakes in this fight extend far beyond Ukraine,” Biden said. “For Republicans in Congress who think they can oppose funding for Ukraine and not be held accountable. History is watching. History is watching. History is watching. The failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will never be forgotten.” In recent weeks, as negotiators were nearing a deal, Republicans became skeptical of the bipartisan talks, arguing that Biden already has the resources to address the situation at the border and does not need new legislation. Some Republicans have also suggested that they do not want to support the border bill and give Biden a political win in an election year. Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.