Celebrate love with #CupidApprovedDesserts from Bakingo this Valentine’s Day
Bakingo has long been synonymous with exceptional taste and quality, and this year, the bakery brand is geared up to enhance Valentine’s celebrations with specially curated delicacies.
Gaetz says George Santos ‘never missed more’ following failed Mayorkas ouster
Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz said his former colleague George Santos has never been missed more following a failed impeachment vote. The GOP failed to impeach Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday after three Republicans defected from the party line and voted against the measure. “As I am watching that board, and it’s 215-215, I have never missed George Santos more,” Gaetz told Newsmax. Those who voted no were Reps. Tom McClintock, R-Calif.; Ken Buck, R-Colo.; and Mike Gallagher, R-Wis. The lawmakers said while they disapproved of the job Mayorkas is doing at the southern border, the threshold for impeachment had not been met and warned it could be used against future Republican administrations. HOUSE FAILS TO IMPEACH DHS SECRETARY ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS IN MAJOR BLOW TO GOP The final vote came to 214-216 after Democratic Texas Rep. Al Green showed up on the House floor in scrubs to vote against the measure. Santos was expelled from the U.S. House of Representatives on Dec. 1 because of charges he faces related to allegations of defrauding campaign contributors and, according to a House Ethics Committee Report, using campaign funds to purchase luxury items and spa treatments. HERE ARE THE 3 HOUSE REPUBLICANS WHO TORPEDOED MAYORKAS’ IMPEACHMENT VOTE “I also wondered, wouldn’t it have been nice to still have Kevin McCarthy in the House of Representatives? Never thought you’d hear me say that,” the Florida representative said. McCarthy announced in early December that he would step down, two months after his historic ouster as House speaker. The announcement capped a stunning end to a House career for the one-time deli counter owner, who ascended through state and national politics to become second in line to the presidency, until a cluster of hard-right conservatives engineered his removal in October. “Kevin McCarthy — after being dislodged as speaker — took his marbles and went home,” Gaetz added during his appearance. McCarthy’s departure set off a scramble to replace him that is being sorted out in court. A state judge earlier ruled that a McCarthy protégé, Republican Assemblyman Vince Fong, could appear on the ballot as a candidate for the former speaker’s seat, even though he earlier filed for reelection for his Assembly seat. That decision is being appealed by the state. McCarthy is the only speaker in history to be voted out of the job. Fox News’ Greg Wehner, Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Migrant wanted for homicide, convicted child predator arrested at Texas border
Border Patrol agents in Texas have made significant arrests this week, with an illegal immigrant wanted for homicide apprehended along with a migrant who is a convicted pedophile. U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) Chief Jason Owens posted on X Monday that a Mexican national with an active warrant for homicide in Louisiana had been captured. “Another dangerous criminal kept off our streets,” Owens wrote. The man’s identity and the details of the homicide case were not revealed, although Owens did post a mugshot of the suspect. ICE OFFICIAL RIPS NYC POLICIES SHIELDING POLICE-BEATING MIGRANTS FROM DEPORTATION On Tuesday, Owens posted images of another Mexican national who had been arrested. “USBP agents in Laredo, TX arrested another child predator trying to enter our country illegally,” Owens wrote. “This subject, a Mexican national, served 10 years in prison for [the] molestation of a minor, a felony conviction. He will be presented to the AUSA for prosecution under 8 USC 1326.” ILLEGAL MIGRANT FLIPS MIDDLE FINGERS AFTER BEING CHARGED WITH ATTACKING NYPD IN TIMES SQUARE Owens posted a mugshot of the man and two other photos revealing the suspect’s distinctive tattoos. He was not named. Late last month, Border Patrol agents covering the Del Rio and the Rio Grande Valley in Texas nabbed two child sex offenders with prior felony convictions. The latest apprehensions come as border agents revealed they have caught more than 160 illegal immigrants with gang affiliations so far this year. “These gangs (Paisas, MS-13, etc.) are involved w/murder, extortion, narcotics, weapons/human trafficking & prostitution,” Owens wrote on X. “This is a threat to our safety and why we need agents patrolling the border.” CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Owens also posted images of the men’s gang tattoos to X. Meanwhile, the Border Patrol chief told “The Story” in an exclusive interview on Wednesday that the now-doomed Senate border bill contained both improvements to existing policy and negative points, but should have been considered a fair compromise. “And, as long as there’s no action coming out of Congress, we’re languishing in the same situation. So I don’t think there’s anybody that says that the bill has to have everything that we need in order for us to accept [it] – that’s why we have compromise,” Owens said.
Alabama lawmakers propose bill to introduce state lottery, 10 casinos
A group of Alabama lawmakers unveiled a sweeping gambling bill Wednesday that could authorize a state lottery and 10 casinos across the conservative Deep South state as some Republicans look to get the question before voters in November. Alabama is one of few states without a state lottery, after lawmakers in 1999 rejected a proposal to allow one. And unlike neighboring Mississippi, the state has been resistant to full-fledged casinos with table games and slot machines. Lawmakers estimate the proposal could provide more than $800 million in annual revenue to the state. If approved by three-fifths of lawmakers, the proposal would be put on the ballot for voters to decide. ALABAMA RADIO STATION PUZZLED AT THEFT OF 200-FOOT TOWER: REPORTS “We believe that people deserve the right to vote on this issue,” said Republican Rep. Andy Whitt, who led a group of legislators who worked on the bill. The gambling bill, now backed by Republican Gov. Kay Ivey, was among several controversial measures put forward by lawmakers to kick off the legislative session. A committee advanced legislation that would make it a crime to return another person’s absentee ballot, a restriction Republican supporters said they want to enact before the November presidential election. A draft of the gambling legislation was distributed to lawmakers Wednesday and supporters said the bill could be up for a vote in committee and on the House floor as soon as next week, depending upon support. Republican backers of the bill will need to whip votes from within their ranks and also win the votes of a substantial number of Democratic lawmakers. “We’re trending in the right direction,” Republican Rep. Chris Blackshear, who will sponsor the bill, said of efforts to get the needed 63 votes to pass the bill in the Republican-dominated House. Several lawmakers from both sides on the aisle said they needed more time to review the bill before determining how they will vote. Supporters pitched the bill as a means to crack down on small electronic gambling machines that have cropped up in convenience stores and small gambling halls. The state has been in a long-running legal battle to shut down electronic bingo machines, which have whirling displays that make them resemble slot machines. The Poarch Band of Creek Indians, who are not under state jurisdiction, have three sites with the slot machine lookalikes. The proposed constitutional amendment would allow a state lottery, seven new casino sites, sports betting and also authorize the governor to negotiate a compact with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians that would enable the tribe to offer casino games at their three existing locations. The tribe would also be able to offer such games at a new casino site in north Alabama that could attract customers from Tennessee and Georgia. Lottery proceeds would go to education programs such as scholarships for two-year community and technical colleges and dual enrollment. Casino and sports betting revenue would go to the general fund, where lawmakers would decide each year how to allocate it. The controversial bill to enact absentee ballot restrictions would make it a misdemeanor to deliver someone else’s absentee completed ballot or distribute an absentee ballot application prefilled with someone else’s name. It would be a felony to give and receive payment for helping people vote absentee. Supporters say the change is needed to combat voter fraud, but opponents say it would discourage voting by absentee ballot. Republican Sen. Garlan Gudger said the bill would stop bad actors “trying to steal our elections.” Gudger said the bill was changed from an initial version that sparked heated debate last year and would have largely prohibited any help with absentee ballots. Democrats on the committee and opponents who spoke at a public hearing, questioned the need for the bill. “This bill doesn’t just erect barriers, it obliterates the bridge connecting disenfranchised citizens to their democratic right to vote,” said Tari Williams, who works with a Birmingham-based nonprofit that works with low-income people. The same committee on Wednesday delayed a vote on legislation that would regulate which flags could be displayed outside public property in Alabama. The bill listed certain flags such as the American flag, state and city flags and others that would be allowed. A Democratic lawmaker questioned the need for the bill and language suggesting flags from previous governments would be allowed. “Are we going to put the Confederate flag all over? The Spanish flag?” asked Sen. Linda Coleman Madison, a Democrat from Birmingham. “It looks like this is opening up a can of worms,” she added.
Haitian PM calls for calm as violent protests demand his resignation
Rallies have paralysed the country amid calls for ouster of Ariel Henry in line with political agreement forged in 2022. Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry has called for calm in a public address as violent protests have erupted across the country demanding he step down. Henry’s brief speech did little to appease the thousands of Haitians angry and frustrated over growing gang violence and deepening poverty with no general election in sight. “I think the time has arrived for all to put our heads together to save Haiti, to do things another way in our country,” Henry said on Thursday without elaborating. He encouraged Haitians not to view the government or national police as their enemies. Those who choose violence, destruction and killing people to take power are “not working in the interests of the Haitian people”, he added. The legislature is empty after the terms of its last 10 senators expired in January 2023. The country failed to hold planned elections in 2019 and 2023, and Henry assumed power with the support of the international community after the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise. According to an agreement in December 2022, Henry was supposed to hold elections and pass power to newly elected officials on February 7 this year. A day after that deadline, Henry pledged to hold general elections as soon as the country’s security issues are resolved and congratulated police for their efforts on fighting gangs, promising he would keep pushing for the United Nations-backed deployment of a Kenyan police force. “I want to reassure everyone the government will do whatever it can for the mission to come as fast as possible,” he said. Thousands of people have held daily protests this week calling for Henry to leave and warned they would continue to take to the streets until he steps down. February 7 is an important day in Haitian history. On that date in 1986, former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier fled to France, and in 1991, Jean-Betrand Aristide, Haiti’s first democratically elected president, was sworn in. Henry has held onto power, and an aide said the prime minister intends to form a national unity government. On Wednesday, five agents from an environment agency, an armed government bureau now in open rebellion, were killed in a shootout with national police in the capital, Port-au-Prince. Lionel Lazarre, the head of the Synapoha police union, told The Associated Press news agency that the environmental agents had opened fire after police asked them to drop their weapons, prompting officers to shoot. Last week, Henry called on the agency to register with the Ministry of the Environment in an apparent crackdown against the body. In recent weeks, former coup leader Guy Philippe, who was repatriated to Haiti late last year after serving about six years in a United States prison, has also been rallying supporters for a “revolution” against Henry’s government. Adblock test (Why?)
Suspect in Boston femicide case escapes from police custody in Kenya
Suspect was jailed and awaiting a ruling on a US extradition request after being accused of killing his girlfriend in Massachusetts. A Kenyan national awaiting extradition to the United States after being accused of killing his girlfriend and leaving her body in a car at a Boston airport has escaped from police custody in Kenya, police say. Kevin Kangethe, 40, slipped out of the police station and jumped into a privately owned minivan, Nairobi police chief Adamson Bungei said on Thursday. A search for him began immediately. Four police officers who were on duty at the station are in custody and have recorded statements, according to a police report seen by The Associated Press. The officers said that about 4pm (13:00 GMT) on Wednesday, a man named John Maina Ndegwa introduced himself to the officers as Kangethe’s lawyer and said he wanted to speak with his client. “The officers agreed to his request and removed the prisoner from the cells and took him to [an] office … leaving them there. After a short while the prisoner escaped by running away and left the [lawyer] behind,” the report said. Officers pursued Kangethe but did not catch him, the police report said, adding that Ndegwa was arrested. Bungei said he rushed to the station when he learned of the escape. “We have arrested the officers who were on duty when he escaped to explain how it happened. It is just embarrassing to us,” he said. Kangethe had been detained pending a ruling on whether he should be extradited to face a first-degree murder charge in connection with the death of Margaret Mbitu on October 31. Mbitu, a health care aide in Halifax, a town in the US state of Massachusetts, was last seen leaving work on October 30 and was reported missing by her family. The preliminary investigation showed Mbitu had left her workplace and travelled with Kangethe to Lowell, Massachusetts, where he lived, the prosecution said. Massachusetts State Police said in early November that Kangethe had left her body in a car at Logan International Airport and boarded a flight to Kenya. Massachusetts officials said they were working with Kenyan authorities to locate him, and he was arrested in a Nairobi nightclub on January 30 after being on the run for three months. A Kenyan court approved a police application for him to be detained for 30 days while an extradition request was heard. Police have been ranked as Kenya’s most corrupt institution for decades, and his escape raised suspicions that bribes were paid for his freedom. Other suspected killers have escaped police custody in the past. On October 14, 2021, Masten Wanjala, who had confessed to killing 10 children in his hometown of Bungoma in western Kenya, reportedly escaped from police cells in Nairobi under unclear circumstances. A mob in his hometown traced him to a house and beat him to death a couple of days later. Adblock test (Why?)
‘We’re waiting to be martyred’: Palestinians await Israeli attack on Rafah
Rafah, Gaza Strip – Seham al-Najjar and her family have nowhere else to run if Israel intensifies its assault on Rafah, a town in southernmost Gaza. Like 1.8 million people, Seham fled to Rafah in search of relative safety from Israel’s relentless bombardment and ground invasion in other parts of the Gaza Strip. She arrived weeks ago with 20 members of her family from Khan Younis, a city that Israel designated as “safe” at the start of the war and then reduced to rubble in December. Seham fears that Rafah could suffer an even worse fate. Israeli Prime Minister “Benjamin Netanyahu wants to take this area from [Palestinians] and give it to the Zionists,” Seham, 30, told Al Jazeera. “Nowhere in Gaza is safe.” Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Rafah are bracing for an Israeli onslaught that could add to the long list of atrocities committed in Gaza, according to rights groups and United Nations agencies. They said Israel has deliberately and disproportionately targeted civilians in Gaza in retaliation for Hamas’s surprise attack on Israeli communities and military outposts on October 7, in which 1,139 people were killed and 240 taken as captives into Gaza by fighters from the Qassam Brigades and other armed Palestinian groups. More than one million people are sheltering in the Rafah area, facing extreme overcrowding and very difficult living conditions [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera] Israel has responded by killing 27,000 Palestinians and injuring more than 66,000 in attacks that have reduced most of Gaza to rubble, including homes, hospitals, museums and universities. The carnage has killed more than 1 percent of Gaza’s population in just four months, prompting the International Court of Justice to warn last month that genocide is “plausible” in Gaza. The UN says “everything must be done” to halt a planned offensive on Rafah, but Israel has disregarded the concerns and killed scores of people in the city already. “Gaza is one of the most densely populated places on Earth, and Rafah is now the most densely populated place in Gaza. Any sort of military campaign or air strike would amplify risks of disproportionate attacks,” said Omar Shaki, the Israel-Palestine director at Human Rights Watch. Looming catastrophe Feryal al-Najjar, 42, said she fears her son and six daughters could die at any moment. The family has been displaced multiple times since October 7, first fleeing their home in Jabalia refugee camp to Khan Younis, where they took shelter in a factory for a couple of months. With Khan Younis increasingly pounded by Israeli forces, they realised there was no safety to be had there, and they left for Rafah, where most of the displaced civilians are staying in schools and residential buildings or sleeping in tents pitched on cold streets. Potable water is in short supply, and people have to survive on very little [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera] “This is the last place in Gaza… If they attack us here, then where else can we go?” Feryal asked. “We’ll have to stay here and die.” Even if Israel delays its offensive on Rafah, thousands of civilians could die of starvation in Gaza. Most have little access to food or clean water due to Israel’s policy of blocking the delivery of aid. Israel has also razed farm areas as part of what Human Rights Watch said is a broader policy of using starvation as a weapon of war – a war crime. “Every day for the last four months”, Feryal said, “we heard news that there may be a possible ceasefire, but one never arrived. “Now we need a ceasefire. Enough of this nonsense.” Qatar, Egypt and the United States are working to broker a truce between Israel and Hamas, which would see an exchange of Israeli and Palestinian captives as well as the scaling-up of aid to the besieged enclave. Talks are ongoing, but a deal does not appear imminent. Waiting to die? Netanyahu says Israel wants to control the Philadelphi Corridor, the strip of land on the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, to ensure that Hamas cannot smuggle weapons into Gaza. The people who have fled to Rafah are terrified of Israel’s attacks [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera] But any operation to control that border may drive hundreds of thousands of Palestinians over the border into Egypt, according to Palestinians in Gaza and Egyptian officials. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has consistently been against “the dilution of the Palestinian cause” by driving Palestinians off their lands and leaving them to fight for their right of return as past generations of Palestinian refugees are doing. Egypt said Israel should allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza before any sort of military operation begins in Rafah. Cairo also warned that any attempt by Israel to control the Philadelphi Corridor risks upending the 1979 Camp David Accords, a peace deal between Egypt and Israel that demilitarised the border. “It’s hard to anticipate what the next step is going to be [for Egypt] should such an Israeli attack [on Rafah] materialise,” said an expert on Egypt, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject. “Egypt’s agency is limited in this situation.” Meanwhile, Seham is living with her fears that the world is going to allow Israel to commit massacres in Rafah. “We are waiting to be martyred,” she said. “We know that wherever we go and whatever we do, we’ll be killed.” [embedded content] Adblock test (Why?)
Gaetz says McCarthy would be ‘terrific’ RNC chair after ousting him as Speaker: ‘Matt sure knows how to troll’
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. – in a twist some colleagues wondered was a joke – said Wednesday that he endorses former Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as Republican National Committee Chair. Gaetz, who spearheaded McCarthy’s ouster from the House Speaker position last October, backed McCarthy as a potential replacement for RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel amid reports she will step down. “I fully endorse Kevin McCarthy for RNC Chair. Kevin is well organized and a very high-revenue fundraiser. He will also be well-liked by the RNC Committee. The RNC Chair doesn’t make any policy decisions, set any agenda, or negotiate against Democrats, ever. Kevin would be terrific,” Gaetz wrote on Tuesday. He replied to The Calvin Coolidge Project, which cited sources in claiming McCarthy was being considered as a “dark horse candidate” to replace McDaniel due to his fundraising abilities. REPUBLICAN VYING FOR MCCARTHY’S SEAT VOWS PLAN ON BORDER ‘CHAOS’ DRIVING EXODUS: ‘CALIFORNIA FOR CALIFORNIANS’ Asked by Politico about the post, Gaetz repeatedly told the outlet on Wednesday, “The tweet speaks for itself.” Earlier this week, former President Trump met with McDaniel at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. After the meeting, Trump posted on his Truth Social that McDaniel was a “friend” but that he would be urging changes at the RNC after the South Carolina GOP presidential primary. “My initial thought was Matt sure knows how to troll,” Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., told Politico regarding Gaetz’ endorsement of McCarthy. “I thought it was tongue in cheek.” “I noted a twinge of sarcasm in that comment,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., also remarked. Regardless of Gaetz’ intentions, other House Republicans from Florida agreed McCarthy’s record on fundraising would make him a great RNC Chair. “That’s a tip of the hat to Gaetz to get somebody with new energy, new perspective and a proven track record of being just a massive fundraiser,” Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., told Politico, acknowledging McCarthy’s fundraising support helped get him elected. “If you’re looking for somebody to build a majority, I think Kevin McCarthy would be the guy.” TRUMP RECOMMENDS NORTH CAROLINA GOP CHAIR WHATLEY TO REPLACE MCDANIEL AT RNC: SOURCE Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., said McCarthy “did a heck of a job as Speaker.” “That’s fascinating,” Diaz-Balart added of Gaetz’ endorsement of McCarthy. “That is fascinating.” If McDaniel does resign, her replacement would need approval from the 168 RNC committee members. Two sources, though, told Fox News Digital that no decisions will formally be made at the RNC until after the Feb. 24 South Carolina primary. But those sources said McDaniel is also focused on ensuring the upcoming merger between the RNC and the campaign operation of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee goes smoothly. McCarthy, who represented the same California district from 2007 until his resignation in 2023, was the first House speaker to be voted out of the position in U.S. history. He left Congress in late December, just two months after being booted from his House speakership position after Gaetz orchestrated the rare vote on the obscure “motion to vacate.” Though McCarthy maintained support from most Republicans in the House, eight GOP detractors ultimately ushered in his ouster in October, mainly taking issue with McCarthy for choosing to work with Democrats to temporarily delay a federal government shutdown. At the start of last year, Republicans held only a fragile margin in the chamber after a predicted “red wave” failed to materialize in the 2022 elections. McCarthy endured a days-long floor fight in January 2023 that eventually resulted in his ascension to the House’s top job at a time when deep divisions within the GOP raised serious questions about the party’s ability to govern following Trump leaving office. Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
Blinken leaves Middle East without hostage deal, says Hamas proposal has ‘absolute non-starters’
Secretary of State Antony Blinken departed the Middle East after the U.S. and Israel spiked the latest hostage deal proposed by Hamas on Thursday. Blinken spent the better part of the past week negotiating with Israel, Egypt, Qatar and Hamas over a potential hostage release deal. The proposal sent over by Hamas late on Tuesday contained items that Israel and the U.S. deemed unrealistic, and Blinken is now departing with little progress being made. “Clearly there are things that Hamas sent back that are absolute non-starters,” Blinken acknowledged on Wednesday. “But, at the same time, we see space to continue to pursue an agreement. And these things are always negotiations. It’s not flipping a light switch. It’s not ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ There’s invariably back and forth.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was less charitable with his words, calling the Hamas proposal “delusional” and once again vowing that the war in Gaza would continue until the terrorist organization was fully rooted out. RECORD LABEL PLANS TO DROP PINK FLOYD C-FOUNDER ROGER WATERS FOLLOWING ACCUSATIONS OF ANTISEMITISM: REPORT Hamas’ proposed 135-day plan would have seen Israeli hostages released in stages – women and children first – in exchange for 1,500 Palestinian prisoners being held in Israel, including 500 Hamas would choose from a list of those serving life sentences. FRANCE’S NEW FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS ISRAEL, CALLS FOR CEASE-FIRE AND HOSTAGE RELEASE Under that proposal, male hostages over the age of 19 would be released after the first 45-day phase, at which point Israeli forces would fully withdraw from Gaza. Despite agreement on rejecting the Hamas deal, Blinken still admonished Israel for the continued loss of civilian life in Gaza, while noting that the IDF has “taken important steps” to protect civilians. “On all of my previous visits here and pretty much every day in between, we have pressed Israel in concrete ways to strengthen civilian protection, to get more assistance to those who need it. And over the past four months, Israel has taken important steps to do just that,” Blinken said in a statement. “And yet … the daily toll that its military operations continue to take on innocent civilians remains too high.” LONDON THEATER CANCELS DOUGLAS MURRAY’S PRO-ISRAEL EVENT AT THE LAST MINUTE AFTER EMPLOYEES REFUSED TO WORK Blinken concluded by referencing Saudi Arabia’s openness to formalizing ties with Israel so long as Palestinians are granted a clear path to an independent state, something Netanyahu has rebuffed. “We remain determined as well to pursue a diplomatic path to a just and lasting peace, and security for all in the region, and notably for Israel,” Blinken said. The Associated Press contributed to this report
Chennai schools get bomb threat emails, students sent back home
According to the Police, the bomb threat e-mails were received in schools around the Greater Chennai Police (GCP) limits.