Senate negotiators release sweeping border and military aid bill
The $118 billion national security package is a top priority for President Biden, but Trump and his allies oppose it.
PM Modi to address Parliament today, all BJP MPs told to attend
The BJP has instructed all its MPs to be present, as many were reportedly absent during the earlier discussions.
Bill to prevent paper leaks set to be introduced in Parliament today, know all about it
The introduction of this bill underscores the government’s dedication to maintaining the integrity of public examinations and creating a fair environment for all candidates.
Mamata Banerjee to visit Delhi today to attend meeting on simultaneous polls
Expressing her disagreement with the concept of simultaneous polls, Banerjee had last month written to the high-level committee that it would be against the basic structure of India’s constitutional arrangements.
Gov. Greg Abbott defends migrant tactics in Eagle Pass amid escalating legal battle with Biden administration
DPS tells visiting governors that efforts to deter migrants are effective and razor wire and buoy barriers “save lives.”
Senate releases long-awaited border legislation, major asylum changes
Senate negotiators on Sunday released the text of the much-anticipated border deal that lawmakers have been hashing out with White House officials since December, incorporating significant reforms, including a crackdown on asylum and parole. Talks have been ongoing for months as a bipartisan group of lawmakers — Sens. James Lankford, Krysten Sinema, and Chris Murphy — have tried to strike a deal with White House officials to fix the crisis at the southern border. The deal would be included in supplemental spending that includes billions in foreign assistance to Ukraine and Israel. BORDER DEAL PRICE TAG LIKELY TO COST MORE THAN $14 BILLION, BUT GOP LAWMAKERS GROW RESTLESS TO SEE BILL TEXT The agreement holds the potential to allocate $60 billion to Ukraine and $14 billion to Israel, yet its passage through the House appears doubtful. House Republicans have deemed the bill a non-starter unless it incorporates essential components from H.R.2, the House GOP border bill. With Senate Democrats dismissing H.R.2, tensions persist. Meanwhile, Johnson vowed to put $17.6 billion in emergency funding on the House floor next week to give Israel assistance. In the Biden administration’s original supplemental request, officials sought over $100 billion in funding, including $14 billion for the border. But Republicans demanded limits on migrant releases into the interior, including the use of parole, and negotiators have been attempting to find a compromise. “While the Senate appears poised to finally release the text of their supplemental package after months of behind-closed-doors negotiations, their leadership is aware that by failing to include the House in their negotiations, they have eliminated the ability for swift consideration of any legislation,” Johnson said. SEN. MARSHALL URGES GOP TO SAY ‘HELL NO’ TO SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING REQUEST WITHOUT TIGHTER BORDER SECURITY Sunday’s proposed legislation will total just over $118 billion, with 50,000 new visas. The border proposal, which took months to negotiate, is aimed at gaining control of an asylum system that has been overwhelmed by historic numbers of migrants coming to the border. The bill proposes an overhaul to the system with tougher and quicker enforcement measures. If the number of illegal border crossings reaches above 5,000 daily for a five-day average, an expulsion authority would automatically kick in so that migrants are sent back to Mexico without an opportunity to make an asylum claim. If the number reaches 4,000, presidential administrations would have the option of using the expulsion authority. Biden, referencing the authority, has said he would use it to “shut down the border” as soon as the bill is signed into law. The bill would allot $20 billion to immigration enforcement, including the hiring of thousands of new officers to evaluate asylum claims, as well as hundreds of Border Patrol agents. Some of that money would go to shelters and services in cities across the U.S. that have struggled to keep up with the influx of migrants in recent months. Migrants who seek asylum, which provides protection for people facing persecution in their home countries, would face a tougher and faster process to having their claim evaluated. The standard in initial interviews, known as credible fear screenings, would be raised, and many would receive those interviews within days of arriving at the border. Final decisions on their asylum claims would happen within months, rather than the often years-long wait that happens now. ‘BIDENOMICS’ FALLS FLAT WITH VOTERS AS TRUMP TAKES HUGE LEAD IN NEW POLL On the agreement, President Biden said there “is more work to be done to get it over the finish line.” “I want to be clear about something: If you believe, as I do, that we must secure the border now, doing nothing is not an option. Working with my administration, the United States Senate has done the hard work it takes to reach a bipartisan agreement,” Biden said. “Now, House Republicans have to decide. Do they want to solve the problem? Or do they want to keep playing politics with the border? I’ve made my decision. I’m ready to solve the problem. I’m ready to secure the border. And so are the American people.” Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona said the bipartisan border security package “fixes” the border crisis. “Now, senators must make a decision: pass our package and solve the crisis or accept the status quo, do nothing, and keep playing politics while our system breaks and our communities continue to suffer,” Sinema said. “I choose to secure the border, protect Arizona border communities, fix our broken system, and finally solve the border crisis.” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said Americans were “tired of the chaos and abuse at our border.” “I am happy to announce, we have finally finished strong bill text to add to the supplemental funding bill. Though most members of the Senate have already been briefed on the contents of the bill, the final text will be distributed to members of the Senate soon and posted online within a day.” TRUMP TEASES POSSIBLE RALLY AT NEW YORK CITY VENUES, PREDICTS MIGRANT CRISIS COULD SWAY DEMOCRAT VOTERS Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell blamed the border crisis on the Biden administration. “It is time to force the President to start cleaning up his mess and equip future leaders with a system that works and new emergency tools to restore order,” he said. Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said a vote on the package could come as early as Wednesday.
Fetterman slams Harvard for hosting Palestinian professor who blamed Israel for Oct. 7 Hamas attacks
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is slamming Harvard for hosting a Palestinian professor who has blamed Israel for the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. The Democratic lawmaker said he was “truly appalled” that Harvard’s Kennedy School would platform Dr. Dalal Saeb Iriqat, a columnist and associate professor at Arab American University Palestine. Dr. Iriqat is scheduled to speak at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs on March 7 for a seminar series called “Middle East Dialogues.” “I am truly appalled that the Kennedy School would platform an individual who celebrates and justifies Hamas’ October 7th killing of Israeli citizens—babies, children, the elderly, and the systemic rape, mutilation, and torture of young girls and women,” Fetterman said. Fetterman added that “this hate has absolutely no place in any sanctioned dialogue. Decency would demand it relegated to the sewer of social media fringe.” “As an alumni and a member of the United States Senate, 25 years later, it’s hard to recognize my former university,” he said. PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS SHRUG OFF RAPIDLY RISING US ANTISEMITISM WHILE MANY WATCH IN DISBELIEF Iriqat drew controversy for her statements downplaying the Hamas attack on Israel and blaming the Israeli government for the bloodshed on October 7, when 1,200 people were killed after Hamas terrorists infiltrated the country. “Today is just a normal struggle 4 #Freedom,” Iriqat posted on X on Oct. 7, as Israelis near the border with Gaza cowered in their homes while terrorists went door-to-door butchering people. Fox News Digital has reached out to Dr. Iriqat and Harvard for a response. In an online statement, Harvard said the event’s organizer, Professor Tarek Masoud, chose and invited the speakers for the series himself. UPENN FACULTY BLOCK BUILDING ENTRANCE, STAGE ‘DIE-IN’ PROTEST IN SUPPORT OF PALESTINIANS “The purpose of the series is to provide a venue for debate and discussion, recognizing that different views will be offered and challenged—including views that many at the Kennedy School and beyond may disagree with vehemently and even find repugnant,” Harvard said. The school noted that Dean Douglas Elmendorf finds Iriqat’s quotes personally “abhorrent.” The speakers in the “Middle East DIalogues” series will include Jared Kushner, a former senior adviser to President Donald Trump; Matt Duss, former foreign policy adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; Salam Fayyad, former Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority; and Einat Wilf, a former member of the Israeli Knesset. Harvard said all speakers must answer unfiltered questions from the audience as well as by the faculty member who invited them. An invitation to speak at the Kennedy School never implies an endorsement of a speaker’s views by the Kennedy School or members of the Kennedy School community.
‘Bidenomics’ falls flat with voters as Trump takes huge lead in new poll
President Biden is having a difficult time competing with former President Trump on issues such as the economy and the border, despite recent job growth numbers and slowing inflation. Biden trails Trump, the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, by 23 points when voters were asked who would be a better candidate to handle the economy, according to the results of a national NBC News poll released Sunday. Those numbers come despite Biden’s recent argument that his administration’s economic policies are starting to work, telling voters in Michigan on Thursday that “inflation is coming down” and that they had “created 800,000 manufacturing jobs.” BIDEN TOPS TRUMP IN NEW POLL, BUT LEAD SHRINKS AGAINST THIRD-PARTY CANDIDATES Despite that, 55% of registered voters said they believe Trump would be the better candidate to steer the economy, compared to 33% who chose Biden. Trump also boasts large leads over Biden when it comes to securing the border (+35 points), having the necessary mental and physical health to be president (+23), on dealing with crime and violence (+21). The former president also has double-digit leads over Biden when it comes to being competitive and effective (+16) and on improving America’s standing in the world (+11). The number on being competitive and effective may be the most concerning one for Biden, according to NBC News, as it represents a massive shift from 2020, when Biden led Trump in the same question by nine points. HALEY EXPECTS TO HAUL IN $1.5 MILLION AT WALL STREET FUNDRAISERS TO FUEL GOP PRESIDENTIAL BID AGAINST TRUMP “What is most concerning is the erosion of Biden’s standing against Trump compared to four years ago,” Democrat pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates, who conducted the poll with Republican pollster Bill McInturff, said of the results. “On every measure compared to 2020, Biden has declined. Most damning, the belief that Biden is more likely to be up to the job — the chief tenet of the Biden candidacy — has evaporated.” That reality could be contributing to Biden’s continued decline in approval, which hit a new low for his presidency in the poll, coming in at just 37%. Overall, the poll shows Trump leading Biden by five percentage points, 47% to 42%, among registered voters in a hypothetical 2024 general election rematch. The poll was conducted January 26-30, surveying 1,000 registered voters and having a margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points.
Trump seeks to run out the clock as delays push trials closer to Election Day: legal expert
Timing could benefit former President Donald Trump as he faces down four criminal trials that are mired in controversy and legal obstacles while Election Day 2024 creeps closer, legal experts say. “Does it eventually get so late in the election-campaign calendar that it would be too unseemly to start trial? I would hope so,” former assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Andrew McCarthy, a Fox News contributor, wrote in an op-ed for National Review on Saturday. “The administration of justice in criminal cases is an important national priority, but it’s not the only one – or, necessarily, the highest one. How much intrusion on politics by the justice system should Americans tolerate – particularly under circumstances in which the intrusion is being orchestrated by the administration of the incumbent president against his campaign opponent?” McCarthy’s op-ed was in response to a federal judge suspending Trump’s trial involving Special Counsel Jack Smith’s 2020 election interference investigation indefinitely last week, after it was set to begin on March 4. The move comes after Trump’s legal team filed an appeal arguing he is granted immunity from prosecution for actions in office. TRUMP TRIAL DELAYED IN CASE STEMMING FROM SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH’S JAN. 6 INVESTIGATION “A president of the United States must have full immunity, without which it would be impossible for him/her to properly function,” Trump said last week on Truth Social in all caps. “Any mistake, even if well intended, would be met with almost certain indictment by the opposing party at term end. Even events that ‘cross the line’ must fall under total immunity, or it will be years of trauma trying to determine good from bad.” An appeals court is reviewing Trump’s argument, tying the presiding judge’s hands from proceeding with the case. Trump filed an appeal in December, with a three-judge panel hearing arguments last month. No opinion has yet been issued, and the case could be sent to the full circuit court or Supreme Court for review, which would add additional time to proceedings. TRUMP VISITS MANHATTAN COURT TO BLAST NYAG CASE, PRAISES APPELLATE RULING IN HIS FAVOR McCarthy has been arguing that Trump’s trial strategy is “delay, delay, delay,” adding that after the postponed trial, a midsummer trial date for the D.C. case is “ambitious”and will likely be closer to Election day. “The election-interference prosecution of Donald Trump, the former president and likely Republican presidential nominee, by the Justice Department of Joe Biden, the incumbent president and Trump’s likely Democratic opponent, is the most politically charged in American history,” McCarthy wrote in a January column for National Review. He argued Saturday in a column that the delay of the trial did not come as a shock, and only solidified what had long been anticipated due to Trump’s appeal. In addition to the appeal potentially being heard by the full 11-member Circuit Court or Supreme Court, pre-trial work could hold up the trial even longer, making a midsummer trial date “optimistic.” “Why? Because there is a lot of pre-trial work, including administrative detail, that must be attended to for a case to get to trial. As I elaborated in my [January column] about Trump’s delay strategy, the pre-trial process includes discovery, motions to dismiss the case or suppress evidence, hearings on motions, and so on. Whenever jurisdiction is finally returned to Judge Chutkan, all of that will have to crank up again – it takes a long time to get through, and it’s not like this is the only case on Her Honor’s docket,” he wrote. McCarthy speculated whether the courts would allow the anticipated GOP nominee to languish in courtrooms for weeks as Election Day comes down to the wire. “Defendants have to be present in court for the entirety of criminal trials. Could we really have the Republican nominee stuck in a courtroom from, say, August through October? I’m sure that would be fine with the Biden Justice Department’s special counsel. The question may be whether the court will go along,” McCarthy concluded. The former assistant U.S. attorney told Fox Digital that Jack Smith “will push to go to trial in the Washington case no matter how late in the election campaign calendar it gets,” but noted Smith’s not in the driver’s seat when it comes to determining schedules. “But when the trial gets scheduled is up to the judge, not the prosecutor. The question will be whether the courts are content to be perceived by half the public as part of a partisan scheme to get Trump tried and convicted prior to Election Day,” he said. HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBPOENAS FULTON COUNTY DA FANI WILLIS In his op-ed, McCarthy also cited former prosecutor Bill Shipley – who has represented a handful of separate Jan. 6 cases – pointing to his X posts explaining it would be wildly difficult to seat a jury in the D.C. case. The courts will need to vet hundreds of potential jurors, including sending out questionnaires weeks ahead of the trial. That process cannot begin without a trial date, as the top question asked of jurors is whether they are able to serve for a two- to three-month period beginning on a certain date. Shipley checked “scores” on Trump’s legal battles last week, and argued that cases against Trump in Georgia, Florida, D.C., and the New York Stormy Daniels case have been hit with legal obstacles and issues that benefit Trump. Shipley told Fox News Digital on Sunday that it “has been only 26 days since the Trump immunity appeal was argued,” and that the “average time between argument and opinion was 116 days,” meaning the appeals court will likely issue an opinion on his immunity appeal on May 12. “There is no legal basis for the proposition that Trump’s case should be decided ahead of other Circuit Court cases that were argued before Jan. 9. Delays in appeals courts routinely force trial dates to be pushed back. The fact that it has happened to
US presidential hopeful Nikki Haley uses SNL cameo to mock Trump
Republican presidential candidate Haley made jibes about Trump’s age and mental competency on the TV show Saturday Night Live. United States Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley made a surprise appearance on NBC’s Saturday Night Live and took a swipe at former President Donald Trump over his age, his mental fitness and his refusal to debate her. Haley appeared in a segment set in a fake CNN town hall meeting in Columbia, South Carolina, where a fake Trump – played by cast member James Austin Johnson – was being asked questions by an audience. The former South Carolina governor has been campaigning ahead of her home state’s Republican primary on February 24 as she attempts to close the polling gap with Trump. Last month, Trump secured a decisive victory in the New Hampshire primary, beating rival Haley by a substantial margin. In the sketch, Haley was introduced as “someone who describes herself as a concerned South Carolina voter” when called on to question the candidate. “My question is why won’t you debate Nikki Haley?” she asked. Trump, the frontrunner for the nomination, has avoided all debates so far in the campaign. “Oh my God, it’s her, the woman who was in charge of security on January 6. It’s Nancy Pelosi,” the actor playing Trump responded, referring to the day in 2021 when Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol. During a campaign speech in New Hampshire in January, Trump repeatedly seemed to confuse Haley, who was his ambassador to the United Nations, with Democratic former House speaker Nancy Pelosi. Trump has accused Pelosi of turning down security he says his administration offered, but a special House committee that investigated the siege found no evidence to support that claim. After the town hall moderators corrected the stand-in Trump, Haley asked, “Are you doing OK Donald? You might need a mental competency test.” The Trump actor responded to Haley: “You know what I did. I took the test and I aced it, OK? Perfect score. They said I’m 100 percent mental.” The former president has boasted in the past that he has “aced” cognitive tests. A later joke about the movie The Sixth Sense prompted the actor playing Trump to say: “I see dead people.” Haley replied: “That’s what voters will say if they see you and Joe [Biden] on the ballot.” She later posted on X: “Had a blast tonight on SNL! Know it was past Donald’s bedtime so looking forward to the stream of unhinged tweets in the a.m.” “I see dead people.” That’s exactly what voters will think if this race is between Trump and Biden in the fall. Had a blast tonight on SNL! Know it was past Donald’s bedtime so looking forward to the stream of unhinged tweets in the a.m. pic.twitter.com/W43LlPOoi2 — Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) February 4, 2024 Haley has positioned herself as a younger, more capable alternative to Trump and the Democratic frontrunner, President Joe Biden, as well as the only anti-Trump Republican left in the race. But if Trump wins in South Carolina, where Haley served two terms as governor, she will likely face mounting pressure to quit the race. The final question in the skit came from SNL host Ayo Edebiri, who questioned Haley, now referred to as ambassador, about the root cause of the US Civil War. The candidate, during a town hall in December in New Hampshire, was asked about the reason for the war, and she did not mention slavery in her response. She walked back her comments hours later. “I was just curious, what would you say was the main cause of the Civil War?” Edebiri asked. “Do you think it starts with an ‘S’ and ends with a ‘lavery’?” Haley replied: “Yep, I probably should have said that the first time.” Adblock test (Why?)