Biden official to defend pausing natural gas projects at Senate hearing
A top U.S. Department of Energy official is set on Thursday to defend President Joe Biden‘s pause on approvals of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports at a Senate hearing called by a fellow Democrat who said he will investigate the decision. Deputy U.S. Energy Secretary David Turk will testify before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee at 9:30 ET, in a hearing called by Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat from natural gas-producing West Virginia. Manchin has said if the pause “is just another political ploy to pander to … climate activists at the expense of American workers, businesses, and our allies in need, I will do everything in my power to end this pause immediately.” WHITE HOUSE HALTS ENORMOUS NATURAL GAS PROJECTS IN VICTORY FOR ENVIRONMENTALISTS Biden paused the approvals indefinitely so his administration can take a “hard look” at the environmental and economic impacts of the booming industry. The U.S. took the spot as the world’s top LNG exporter last year and the shipments are expected to double by the end of the decade on projects already approved. Environmentalists and youth groups, an important part of Biden’s base, had pressured Biden to slow approvals of fossil fuel projects on concerns about their emissions of greenhouse gases. Domestic businesses ranging from chemicals, steel, food and agriculture, also oppose unrestricted exports of U.S. gas, saying it could raise fuel prices. It is unclear how opponents of the pause can overturn it. Legislation in both the Senate and the House of Representatives would strip the Department of Energy’s power to approve exports, giving all approvals to the independent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). But it is hard to pass legislation in an election year. Even if it passed the House, the legislation would likely struggle in the Senate, led by Democrats. “Even if Congress successfully intervenes, the approach of moving review to FERC and deeming exports to be in the public interest seems too strong for Democrats, and compromise language – with a murkier impact – would be likely in our view,” said Benjamin Salisbury, analyst at Height Capital Markets.
House committee threatens Harvard subpoena, accuses Ivy League school of ‘obstructing’ antisemitism probe
House Education and the Workforce Committee Chair Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., sent a final warning on Wednesday for Harvard University to produce documents relevant to Congress’ investigation into rampant antisemitism on campus, threatening to issue a subpoena if the Ivy League school does not comply by a Valentine’s Day deadline. In the letter to Harvard Corporation Senior Fellow Penny Pritzker and Interim President Dr. Alan Garber, Foxx said the committee “has sought to obtain information regarding Harvard’s response to the numerous incidents of antisemitism on its campus and steps taken to protect Jewish students, faculty, and staff,” yet the university continually failed to produce documents. Foxx reaffirmed her intent to issue a subpoena if Harvard does not provide priority documents by February 14, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. “Harvard’s responses have been grossly insufficient, and the limited and dilatory nature of its productions is obstructing the Committee’s efforts,” Foxx wrote. “If Harvard continues to fail to comply with the Committee’s requests in a timely manner, the Committee will proceed with compulsory process.” HARVARD RESPONDS TO CONGRESS, DETAILS ‘RIGOR’ REVIEWING PLAGIARISM ALLEGATIONS AGAINST CLAUDINE GAY “Harvard also failed to produce any of the meeting minutes and/or summaries from the Harvard Board of Overseers and Harvard Management Company, claiming that ‘after a reasonable search and review to date, Harvard has not identified meeting minutes in connection with Request 10 or 11 in your letter that relate or refer to antisemitism or the war in Israel or Gaza, for either the Board of Overseers or the Management Company since October 7, 2023,’” the letter continues. “Given the publicly documented antisemitism on Harvard’s campus, especially since the October 7 attacks, it would be shocking if the Board of Overseers and Harvard Management Company thought protecting Harvard’s Jewish students was so insignificant that the topic was not worthy of discussion at a single meeting.” HARVARD PRESIDENT CLAUDINE GAY RESIGNS AMID ANTISEMITISM, PLAGIARISM CONTROVERSIES Foxx said Harvard has until next Wednesday to produce all priority documents related to Harvard Corporation, Board of Overseers, and Harvard Management Company meeting minutes and/or summaries; all documents and communications since January 1, 2021, referring and/or relating to antisemitism, involving the Harvard Corporation and Harvard Board of Overseers; documents sufficient to show the findings and results of any disciplinary processes, changes in academic status, or personnel actions by Harvard towards Harvard students, employees, and other Harvard affiliates related to conduct involving the targeting of Jews, Israelis, Israel, Zionists, or Zionism since Jan. 1, 2021; and documents and communications referring and/or relating to the establishment of the newly formed President’s Task Force on Antisemitism and to the previous Antisemitism Advisory Group formed by then-President Gay. On December 20, the House committee first informed Harvard of its intent to move forward with an investigation of antisemitism at the school and provided an extensive list of documents that lawmakers intended to request. Foxx sent a letter to Pritzker and Garber on January 9, requesting documents and information regarding Harvard University’s response to antisemitism on its campus and its failure to protect Jewish students, faculty, and staff. In a January 19 letter to the committee, Harvard provided insight to Congress about the university’s own investigation into plagiarism allegations against Gay – but not about antisemitism. The Harvard Corporation initially rallied behind former University President Claudine Gay after she was widely criticized for failing to clarify outright whether calls for intifada or the genocide of Jews violated the university’s code of conduct or policies against bullying and harassment while testifying before the House Education and the Workforce Committee hearing last year. Gay eventually resigned in January, but as a result of the plagiarism allegations. The school’s board initially said a review of Gay’s scholarly work turned up “a few instances of inadequate citation” but no evidence of research misconduct. The allegations of plagiarism continued to surface through December, however, and Gay ultimately stepped down from that position while remaining in a faculty role. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
GOP rep sends message to Trump prosecutor Fani Willis with cheekily named new bill
Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., is introducing a new bill that would stop taxpayer dollars from funding state or local offices where unlawful or unethical activities are taking place. The new legislation is called the Against Federal Funds for Allowing Inappropriate Relationships Act, or AFFAIR Act, a swipe at Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is facing allegations of an inappapropriate relationship with a prosecutor she hired. Mills’ bill, which was first shared with the Washington Examiner, aims to prohibit federal funding to the office of “any state or local chief prosecutor if any individual in such office has been convicted for engaging in corruption or any other unlawful activity.” Mills called out Willis in a statement to the news outlet over her alleged inappropriate romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she hired to assist her investigation into former President Trump over charges related to pressuring Georgia officials to overturn his 2020 election loss. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE HITS TRUMP DA FANI WILLIS WITH ETHICS COMPLAINT “Not only was Fani Willis’ relationship with Nathan Wade extremely inappropriate and creates concerns around a conflict of interest, but it also potentially shows violations of bias against political opposition, and lawfare for election interference,” Mills said in the statement. “Under no circumstance should federal funds be sent to a state or local office if there is unlawful and unethical activity taking place.” “I’m proud to introduce the AFFAIR Act to ensure American taxpayer dollars will not be misappropriated or weaponized due to unlawful and unethical activities,” the statement continued. EMBATTLED DA FANI WILLIS FACES 4TH ACCUSATION TO DISQUALIFY HER FROM THE TRUMP CASE Republicans have suggested that Willis was hiding her relationship with Wade and going on lavish vacations paid for with the money Wade earned working the case. On Friday, Willis admitted to having a “personal relationship” with Wade in court documents, but she denied any impropriety or reason to step aside from the Trump case. Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind and Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report.
Virginia House subcommittee unanimously kills near-total abortion ban proposal
Lawmakers in the Virginia House of Delegates — controlled by Democrats who flipped the chamber in November after campaigning on abortion rights — decisively voted down a bill that would have instituted a near-total abortion ban. On a bipartisan 8-0 vote Wednesday night, a House subcommittee rejected the measure that would have prohibited abortions except in cases necessary to save the mother’s life, the Richmond-Times Dispatch reported. Bill sponsor Tim Griffin, a freshman Republican from Bedford, faced questions about the implications his bill would have for miscarriage care and rape victims. He responded that the bill was about “protecting unborn children and women,” according to the newspaper. REPUBLICAN VIRGINIA GOV. YOUNGKIN TO REVIEW DEMOCRAT-LED GUN CONTROL MEASURES On a party-line vote, Democrats on the same panel voted down a different bill that would have prohibited abortions sought on the basis of the sex or race of the fetus. Abortion was a central theme in last year’s legislative elections, when every General Assembly seat was on the ballot. Democrats campaigned on a promise to protect access to abortion in Virginia, which has some of the South’s most permissive laws and is the only state in the region that has not imposed new abortion restrictions since Roe v. Wade fell. The issue was seen as helping power Democrats’ ability to hold the state Senate and flip control of the House. Republicans in competitive districts largely coalesced around GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposal to ban abortions after 15 weeks, with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. Morgan Hopkins, a spokeswoman for the House Democratic caucus, said Wednesday night’s votes marked a fulfillment of the party’s campaign trail pledge. “For months, House Democrats told Virginians that a Democratic majority would protect their rights and freedoms and this subcommittee did just that tonight. We believe the choice to seek reproductive healthcare — and it is healthcare — should always be a decision between a woman and her doctor, not politicians,” she said in a written statement shared with The Associated Press. A spokesman for the House GOP caucus, Garren Shipley, declined to comment. Advancing this session are Democratic-sponsored bills that would prevent the issuance of search warrants for electronic or digital menstrual health data. Proponents say the measures would afford women privacy protection and prevent such information from being weaponized in potential abortion-related court cases. Similar legislation passed the Senate on a bipartisan vote last year but was opposed by the Youngkin administration and died in the House of Delegates, which was then controlled by Republicans. Democrats have also vowed to start the yearslong process of seeking to add abortion protections to the state Constitution, though they opted to postpone debate over the exact language until next year. Doing so does not impact the timeline by which voters would be able to consider a proposed amendment.
Trump says he’s a ‘believer’ in the Supreme Court after oral arguments in Colorado ballot case
Former President Trump said he is a “believer” in the United States and a “believer” in the Supreme Court after it heard arguments in Colorado’s effort to remove him from the 2024 ballot in the state. Trump told reporters Thursday that it would be “tough” to rule against him based on his poll numbers, but maintained that he is “leaving it up to” the high court. The U.S. Supreme Court appeared skeptical of Colorado’s argument that Trump should be removed from the state ballot for “insurrection” related to the 2020 election and the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots. SCOTUS HEARS TRUMP BALLOT ORAL ARGUMENTS, JUSTICES APPEAR SKEPTICAL OF REMOVAL The court is considering for the first time the meaning and reach of Section 3 of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which bars former officeholders who “engaged in insurrection” from holding public office again. Trump has never been charged with inciting insurrection. “I just finished watching the Supreme Court… It’s unfortunate that we have to go through a thing like that,” Trump said during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago after oral arguments concluded. “I consider it to be more election interference by the Democrats – that’s what they’re doing.” Trump added that “the good news is, we’re leading virtually in every poll.” The former president and 2024 Republican frontrunner said he felt the Supreme Court’s proceeding Thursday was “a very beautiful process.” “I hope that democracy in this country will continue, because right now we have a very, very tough situation,” Trump said. “And with all of the radical left ideas with the weaponization of politics, they weaponized it like it’s never been weaponized before.” Trump said that “every single” case against him is “a phony hoax.” “It’s a disgrace that this country, that they work together with the Justice Department and the White House and not supposed to do that,” Trump said. “Every one of these cases you see comes out of the White House. It comes out of Biden. It’s election interference, and it’s really very sad.” Trump said he feels his defense at the Supreme Court was “a very good one.” “I think it was well received. I hope it was well received,” he said. “You have millions of people that are out there wanting to vote, and they happen to want to vote for me. The Republican Party, whatever you want or however you want to phrase it, but I’m the one running, and we are leading in every poll. We’re leading in the local polls, in the state polls, and we’re leading in the swing state polls, and we’re leading very big in the national polls.” Trump called his poll numbers “a very great honor.” “We love the country,” Trump said. “I’m a believer in our country and I’m a believer in the Supreme Court. I listened today and I thought our arguments were very, very strong.” Trump said his argument is “very important.” “The fact that you’re leading in every race, you’re leading in every state, you’re leading in the country against both Republican and Democrat and Biden. You’re leading in the country by a lot,” Trump said. “And can you take the person that’s leading everywhere and say, ‘Hey, we’re not going to let you run’? You know, I think that’s pretty tough to do.” TRUMP BACKED BY 27 STATES IN SUPREME COURT FIGHT, WHO WARN OF 2024 ‘CHAOS’ IF HE’S REMOVED FROM BALLOT He added: “But I’m leaving it up to the Supreme Court.” During arguments, Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was appointed by President Biden, said she understood Colorado’s argument, but pointed out that in Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, there is a list of people that can be barred – but the president is not one of them. “Why didn’t they put the word president in the very enumerated list in Section 3?” Brown asked Colorado voters’ lawyer Jason Murray. “The thing that really is troubling to me is I totally understand your argument, but they were listing people that were barred and president is not there. And so I guess that just makes me worry that maybe they weren’t focusing on the president.” The 14th Amendment, Section 3 of the Constitution states, “No person shall… hold any office… under the United States… who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States… to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.” Justice Brett Kavanaugh spoke for colleagues when saying they were confronting “difficult questions.” Many of the queries focused on whether state courts or elected state officials can unilaterally enforce constitutional provisions and declare candidates ineligible for public office – so-called “self-executing” authority – or whether that is exclusively the jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress. Chief Justice John Roberts warned of a “pretty severe consequence” if disqualification proceedings came from “the other side,” targeting Democratic candidates. “I would expect that a goodly number of states will say, whoever the Democrat is, you’re off the ballot,” Roberts said. “It would then come down to a small number of states deciding the election.” Justice Elena Kagan questioned “why a single state gets to decide who gets to be president of the United States?” calling that “quite extraordinary.” But Kagan also questioned whether it was “contrary” to say the rule applies to other public office seekers, but does not apply to Trump. Fox News’ Bill Mears, Shannon Bream, Chris Pandolfo, Gabriele Regalbuto, Anders Hagstrom, and Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.
Biden appoints new deputy chief of staff, a longtime aide and close adviser
President Joe Biden has chosen Annie Tomasini, a longtime aide and close adviser who runs his Oval Office, to be a deputy White House chief of staff. Tomasini has served the Democratic president as an adviser and director of Oval Office operations since he took office in January 2021. Her “unparalleled knowledge” of Biden made her the obvious choice to succeed Jen O’Malley Dillon, who soon will join the president’s reelection campaign, said chief of staff Jeff Zients. TOP BIDEN AIDE WITH CLOSE TIES TO HUNTER WAS FIRST WH STAFFER TO HANDLE CLASSIFIED DOCS, NEW TIMELINE REVEALS “She knows how to get stuff done and works harder than anyone I know,” Zients said in an interview. As one of three deputy chiefs of staff, Tomasini will add a new portfolio of responsibilities, including oversight of the president’s schedule, White House personnel and operations on the 18-acre campus, senior White House aides said. Steve Ricchetti, counselor to the president, said Tomasini has insight into what Biden needs and how it can be delivered inside the White House. “She’s a huge talent,” he said in an interview. “Amongst us all, I really do think she’s indispensable here to how we function inside the White House.” Others cited skills Tomasini learned in a different arena. The 2002 graduate of Boston University was co-captain of the women’s basketball team. “She’s got the mentality of a female athlete: confidence, poise, command and competitiveness, but a team player,” said Susan Rice, who served more than two years as Biden’s top domestic policy adviser. NCAA President Charlie Baker, a former Massachusetts governor, recalled Tomasini working with his gubernatorial staff on a transportation and economic development project. “There is no better human development program in America than college sports,” said Baker, a Republican. Tomasini worked for Biden when he was a senator and later vice president. She left the vice president’s office in 2011 to join Harvard’s public affairs team but returned in 2019. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, she was among a tight-knit group of aides who helped run the campaign from Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware.
Pakistan voting ends; results expected soon amid charges of manipulation
Lahore, Pakistan – After raucous protests charging pre-poll manipulation, a mobile service suspension and bomb blasts that killed at least nine people, Pakistan’s 12th general election was declared closed. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said ballot counting started soon after the closure of the polls on Thursday evening. The results are expected to start trickling in during the night. Three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is considered the frontrunner. Sharif spoke to the media after casting his vote, declaring he never had any problems with the Pakistani military, the primary powerbroker in the country, with whom he has had major differences in the past. His path to another potential premiership was cleared after his chief political rival, ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan, was barred from participating in the election due to a conviction in a corruption case. Khan is currently in jail serving multiple sentences for a range of convictions but had urged his voters to ensure that they came out on election day. Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) also had its party symbol taken away by the ECP, but it still managed to put up independent candidates in a coordinated campaign. Earlier in the day, former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) cast his vote in the province of Sindh, where the PPP is particularly strong. The PPP will hope it can spring a surprise and upset predictions by emerging victorious. Before the voting started at 8am (03:00 GMT), the government announced the suspension of mobile services across the country, citing security concerns. Yet there were multiple bomb blasts during the day, which killed at least nine people in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the southwestern province of Balochistan. This followed two bomb blasts in Balochistan on Wednesday at election offices of two candidates, which resulted in the deaths of at least 27 people. After the closure of the polls, interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar said in a statement that the elections were a “momentous occasion”. Kakar also praised the enthusiasm of the people of Pakistan and expressed appreciation for their participation in the polling process. “The high voter turnout is a clear indication of public commitment to shaping the future of our country,” he said. However, reports emerged from across the country that voter turnout had been subdued during the day. Pakistan historically has seen low voter turnout in elections. Since 1985, it has exceeded 50 percent only twice: in 2013 (54 percent) and 2018 (51 percent). Of the 128 million people registered to vote this year, more than 45 percent of them are between the ages of 18 and 35. According to election statistics, from 1997 onwards, the voter turnout of those aged 18 to 30 never surpassed 40 percent, reaching a high of 37 percent in 2018. When polling started in Pakistan on Thursday morning, all eyes were on PTI supporters. With a state crackdown on the party since May and now the imprisonment of Khan, the party’s supporters had vowed to respond through their votes. However, at more than a dozen polling stations that Al Jazeera visited until 3pm, mostly in Lahore’s middle-income and working-class localities, voter enthusiasm appeared lacklustre. In one polling station in the Mochi Gate area where nearly 1,400 voters were registered, fewer than 250 had shown up. “I have done election duties in the past, and it was never so dismal,” ECP official Mohammed Ashfaq told Al Jazeera. Several complaints emerged from Karachi, the largest city in the country, where voters alleged that polling staff at various polling stations were absent and in many places voting did not begin on time, starting as late as 3pm (10:00 GMT). “This is my third attempt to vote today. I came in the morning. There was no one here. All the rooms were empty. I came earlier in the afternoon, and the rooms were empty and polling booths weren’t set up. People were running back and forth trying to figure out which room to go to. It’s been a nightmare,” Elhaam Shaikh, 35, told Al Jazeera. While the ECP has barred exit polls in the country, the voters Al Jazeera spoke to appeared to be split between the PTI and PML-N. Ayesha Siddiqua, a teacher in Lahore, said she had been a lifelong Imran Khan fan and would vote for him regardless of what other parties have to offer. “I have been following him since his cricket days and then the cancer hospital he built,” she told Al Jazeera after casting her vote in Lahore. “For me, he can do no wrong.” Khan built a cancer hospital in Lahore in 1994 named after his mother, who had died of the disease in 1985. Another voter, Khalid Taimur, a tour guide in Lahore, said his vote was reserved for the PML-N supremo. “Nawaz Sharif gave us roads, buses, trains. He gave us infrastructure projects that helped the life of common people. His legacy is his work, which speaks for itself,” the 52-year-old told Al Jazeera after voting. In Balochistan, voter turnout for women remained low compared with the rest of the country. Tribal traditions in the province often serve as a deterrent to women moving about in public. Pakistan’s election body said that if the total female turnout in any constituency was less than 10 percent of the total votes, it might order fresh voting there. “If the total female voters’ count in a constituency remains below 10% of the total votes cast, the Election Commission of Pakistan, as per law, can void the voting in that constituency and order for re-polling,” the electoral watchdog said in a message on X, formerly known as Twitter, a day before the elections. #ECP pic.twitter.com/k9MyQMGdua — Election Commission of Pakistan (OFFICIAL)🇵🇰 (@ECP_Pakistan) February 7, 2024 Muteeba Naz, 21, came to cast her first-ever ballot in Quetta, Balochistan’s capital. “The next government’s priority should be inflation and terrorism because yesterday, over two dozen people were killed
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy names new army chief after dismissing Zaluzhnyi
President Zelenskyy thanked General Valerii Zaluzhnyi for his service, says he should remain ‘on his team’. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed Oleksandr Syrsky, who has led Ukraine’s ground forces since 2019, as the new head of Ukraine’s armed forces, after he dismissed General Valerii Zaluzhnyi. In a post on X, Zelenskyy on Thursday thanked Zaluzhnyi for his two years of service, and said that the time had come for changes in the military leadership. Zelenskyy said Zaluzhnyi should remain “on his team”. I met with General Valerii Zaluzhnyi.I thanked him for the two years of defending Ukraine.We discussed the renewal that the Armed Forces of Ukraine require.We also discussed who could be part of the renewed leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.The time for such a renewal… pic.twitter.com/tMnUEZ3BCX — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 8, 2024 Zaluzhnyi conceded that the country’s military strategy “must change” almost two years into Russia’s invasion. “The tasks of 2022 are different from those of 2024. Therefore, everyone must change and adapt to the new realities as well in order to win together,” he said after his long-rumoured dismissal was announced. The move amounts to the most serious shakeup of the top military brass since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in Febraury 2022. “The war does not remain the same. War changes and demands change. New approaches and new strategies are needed. Today, a decision was made on the need to change the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said. Zelenskyy said the new armed forces leadership team will be taking over on Thursday. He called on the country’s new military leadership to devise a strategy for this year to beat back Russian forces. “A realistic, detailed action plan for the Armed Forces of Ukraine for 2024 should be on the table, taking into account the real situation on the battlefield now and the prospects,” Zelenskyy said. Last year, he said, Ukraine managed to “regain control” of the sky, but said failed to reach objectives “on the ground”. Zelenskyy said the country needs “working rotation systems”, and a new approach to mobilisation and recruitment. Adblock test (Why?)
Varanasi court to hear plea against worship in Gyanvapi mosque cellar on Feb 15
The Varanasi court ruled on Wednesday that a Hindu priest can perform prayers before the idols in the southern cellar of the Gyanvapi mosque.
Uddhav Sena leader Abhishek Goshalkar shot dead during Facebook live
Uddhav Sena’s leader, Abhishek Goshalkar was shot dead on Thursday in Mumbai.