School choice scholarships see soaring popularity after COVID learning loss
FIRST ON FOX: School choice scholarships have seen soaring popularity in recent years following the learning loss experienced by children across the U.S. during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. According to ACE Scholarships, a nonprofit committed to helping parents access better education options for their school-aged children through private school partnerships, a record 14,090 scholarships were awarded to K-12 children across the country through its program for the 2023-2024 school year. The group is announcing the number amid School Choice Week, and says that the amount of scholarship applications it’s received has nearly tripled over the last three years, growing from 12,311 applications in the 2021-2022 school year, to 32,113 applications during the current school year. BIDEN’S BORDER CRISIS EXPOSES A TOXIC EDUCATION SYSTEM It also says that the skyrocketing demand points to a greater donation need for private scholarship programs and expanded educational choice programs across the U.S. “At ACE, we’ve seen time and again inspiring stories of children finding education opportunities that work best for them and excelling as a result. It’s what bright futures are built on,” ACE Scholarships CEO Norton Rainey told Fox News Digital. “Our scholarship program allows lower-income families to access schools that best meet the needs of their children,” he said. OBAMA JUDGE RULES CRT TRAININGS CAN VIOLATE FEDERAL LAW AFTER IT TRAUMATIZED WHITE TEACHER ACE says it has provided more than 80,000 scholarships to lower-income families across 12 states since 2000, which has totaled more than $212 million. That number was a record-breaking $4.1 million in Texas alone just throughout last year, which included nearly 1,500 students enrolled in public school alternatives. According to the group, more than 200 private schools in Texas have enrolled ACE Scholarship recipients. “Increasing choices helps parents find schools that meet the specific needs of their children,” ACE Scholarships Texas President Jon Lineberger told Fox. “Traditional public schools work well for many children, but too many kids are relegated to schools that are falling short academically, or don’t have the ability to meet a child’s special needs.” MAJOR CORNELL DONOR PULLS FUNDING OVER ‘TOXIC’ DEI CULTURE, PENS LETTER CALLING FOR PRESIDENT’S RESIGNATION “Choice empowers parents to make the best decisions for their children,” he said. Additionally, the group was selected by Utah last year to administer its educational savings account effort, which is expected to provide more than $42.5 million in assistance to 5,000 children. Since 2000, ACE has provided more than 80,000 scholarships to lower-income families in 12 states, totaling more than $212 million. In 2023, the group was selected by the state of Utah to administer its educational savings account (ESA) effort, a program that’s expected to provide more than $42.5 million in assistance to 5,000 children. “Every child deserves a quality education that allows them to flourish,” Rainey told Fox. “But not every child attends a school that is safe, academically rigorous, or addresses specific learning needs.” “Choice programs give lower-income parents the flexibility to access a full menu of educational possibilities to find the learning environment best suited for their children,” he added. A national study released last summer found students needed around four additional months of schooling to fix post-COVID achievement gaps in reading and math. The numbers indicated a continued sluggish academic recovery for American students in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic that disrupted traditional learning methods through extended school closures and transitions to online learning.
Biden vetoes bipartisan bill protecting US EV industry from China
President Biden vetoed a bipartisan resolution Wednesday that would have reversed his administration’s decision to waive “Buy America” requirements for taxpayer-funded electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. The resolution, which was authored by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and introduced in July, would have specifically overturned the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Waiver of Buy America Requirements for Electric Vehicle Chargers. Rubio, the vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and other Republican lawmakers argued DOT’s waiver benefits Chinese manufacturers who dominate the EV charger supply chain. “If enacted, this resolution would harm my Administration’s efforts to encourage investment in critical industries and bring high-quality jobs back to the United States,” Biden said in a statement Wednesday. “It would not only thwart the collective goal of the Congress and the Administration to establish a domestic EV charger manufacturing industry, but it would also delay the significant progress being made by my Administration and the States in establishing the EV charging network.” “Establishing resilient supply chains is critical to our national economic and energy security, and my Administration will not support policies that would undermine efforts to bring this critical manufacturing back to the United States,” the president continued. 120 REPUBLICANS JOIN EFFORT OPPOSING BIDEN’S ‘DE FACTO EV MANDATE’ Biden further argued that his administration’s actions in effect promote domestic manufacturing while the Senate resolution would do the opposite. But he acknowledged the DOT waiver allows newly announced manufacturing capacity for EV charger components “the necessary time to ramp up production.” 17 RETIRED MILITARY OFFICIALS RAISE ALARM ON BIDEN’S ELECTRIC VEHICLE PUSH DOT unveiled the final Made in America EV charger waiver rule in February 2023 which axed more stringent requirements and pushed certain deadlines back months what was considered a victory for green energy industry groups. The waiver governs manufacturing and assembly requirements for EV charging companies to be eligible for millions of dollars in federal subsidies. The waiver rules revised a stricter proposal put forth by DOT in August 2022. The four-phase proposed waiver would have immediately scrapped all requirements; then required EV charger companies to assemble all products in the U.S. beginning Jan. 1, 2023; manufacture chargers with no less than 25% American-made components by cost beginning July 1, 2023; and manufacture chargers with no less than 55% American-made components by cost beginning Jan. 1, 2024. The finalized waiver finalized in 2023 knocked it down to a two-phase process and pushed key deadlines back. It requires EV charger companies to ensure final assembly of chargers is in the U.S. and that the cost of American-made components in chargers represents 55% of total product costs beginning on July 1, 2024. The waiver notably scrapped the 25% domestic component requirement. MORE THAN 3,000 AUTO DEALERS SIGN LETTER OPPOSING BIDEN’S ELECTRIC VEHICLE MANDATE “The bottom line is this: if we’re going to spend $5 billion of taxpayer money to build electric vehicle charging stations for the United States, it should be made by Americans in America using American products,” Rubio said in a floor speech in November. “Joe Biden and his America Last agenda would sooner invest taxpayer money into Communist Chinese EV chargers than American-made products,” House Republican Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., added this month. “The Buy America provision is meant to support American businesses and bolster U.S. manufacturers, neither of which this pro-Communist China Administration is interested in.” The Senate passed the resolution in November by a 50-48 vote with Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.; Jon Tester, D-Mont.; and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., joining Republicans. Then, on Jan. 11, the House passed the bill in a 209-198 vote with two House Democrats, Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Donald Davis of North Carolina, joining 207 Republicans who voted in favor. DOT’s waiver was finalized as part of Biden administration’s push to both expand EV manufacturing and the network of chargers nationwide needed to fuel zero-emissions vehicles. Biden has set goals of constructing an EV charging network of 500,000 chargers along U.S. highways and ensuring 50% of all new car sales are electric by 2030. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the massive infrastructure package Biden signed in 2021, earmarks $7.5 billion for EV charging programs while the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act expands tax credits for EVs and charger installations.
Former Navy SEAL has major fundraising haul in bid to unseat vulnerable Dem senator: ‘Strongest position’
FIRST ON FOX: Republican Tim Sheehy says his campaign is in the “strongest position” after continuing to raise millions in the Montana Senate race to unseat Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont. Fox News Digital learned that Sheehy’s campaign raised $2.45 million in the fourth fundraising quarter of the cycle, including $450,000 in personal contributions. The campaign also noted having nearly $1.3 million cash on hand at the end of the quarter. The former Navy SEAL, who is competing in a Senate race that could determine control of the chamber this fall, said that his campaign is only accelerating as the election heats up. “Thanks to all the America First conservatives supporting my campaign, we’re in the strongest position and the only candidate who can retire Jon Tester in November,” Sheehy told Fox News Digital. ‘TOUGHEST UPHILL CLIMB’: RACE FORECASTER REVEALS SHIFT TOWARD GOP IN TOP 2024 SENATE RACE In the third fundraising quarter, Sheehy raised $2.2 million in donor contributions and an additional $650,000 in personal contributions and loans. STATE OF THE RACE: TOP FIVE SENATE SEATS HELD BY DEMOCRATS MOST LIKELY TO FLIP IN 2024 The Senate candidate suggested that the financial support “shows people are ready to defeat another career politician and send a SEAL to Washington to reboot our economy, defeat inflation, and secure our southern border.” “But, our work is just starting—liberal coastal elites will make this the most expensive race per vote in history because they need Tester to pass their radical agenda,” Sheehy added. “Together, we will retire career politician Jon Tester, take back the Senate, and save America.” A memo sent to a select number of donors said that Sheehy’s military background has resonated with voters on the campaign trail and helped the first-time candidate gain voter ID throughout the state. The campaign also wrote, in the memo obtained by Fox News Digital, that Sheehy faces potential primary competition from Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., who is considering a run for the Senate seat. The donor letter pointed to Rosendale voting to oust former Rep. Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House in 2023. Given the Democrats’ already slim Senate majority, major spending is expected on the race from both sides of the aisle, with Sheehy telling Fox in October that he anticipated the Senate race could exceed the $250 million mark. Tester’s campaign told Fox News Digital that he raised over $5.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2023 for his re-election bid, receiving nearly 15,000 donations from Montanans. “The strength of this campaign comes from the grassroots support of Montanans across the state, and they continue to show they are ready to fight to keep Jon Tester in the United States Senate,” Montana for Tester campaign manager Shelbi Dantic said in a press release shared with Fox. “As a third generation dirt farmer from Big Sandy, Jon understands the Montana way of life better than anyone and will always protect our Montana values,” the campaign wrote. “We’re excited to kick off 2024 with momentum at our backs and incredible, statewide energy to re-elect Jon.” The stakes were recently heightened last month after the Cook Report, an “independent, non-partisan” election forecaster, shifted the race from “Lean Democrat” to “Toss-Up.”
Hundreds flee further south as Israeli forces advance in Khan Younis
Hundreds of Palestinians have fled Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis after Israeli forces advanced deeper into the area. The Israeli military said its ground forces “encircled” the city earlier this week after 24 of its soldiers were killed in the enclave in the largest single-day toll since October 7. Khan Younis was designated by the Israeli army as a so-called “safe zone” for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were forced to leave their homes in northern Gaza and Gaza City. However, repeated Israeli bombardment and attacks in the south have resulted in widespread destruction and more displacement. Israeli forces targeted hospitals, ambulances and schools where thousands of civilians had been sheltering. Gaza’s Ministry of Health has warned that Nasser Hospital and Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis are now in “grave danger”. In Nasser Hospital, shrapnel that reached inside the buildings has threatened the lives of patients, medical staff and people sheltering there, it said. On Tuesday, families once again picked up what was left of their belongings and fled towards the southern Rafah governorate, an already overcrowded area where disease is flourishing amid a lack of clean water, food, medicine and other basic supplies. The cold winter months and rainy season have worsened the misery of the 1.9 million displaced Palestinians. Many have had to move repeatedly in search of relative safety, the United Nations has said. Adblock test (Why?)
ICJ to decide on emergency measures in Israel-Gaza genocide case this week
The World Court will decide whether to order emergency measures relating to Israel’s military action in Gaza. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has said it will announce on Friday whether it will order emergency measures against Israel after South Africa filed a case accusing Israel of genocide in its assault on Gaza. The United Nations’ top court said in a statement on Wednesday that the 17-judge panel will announce its response to South Africa’s requests in court on January 26 at 12:00 GMT. South Africa’s Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor will travel to The Hague to be present at the court as it delivers its announcement, a government spokesperson said, according to Reuters. The ICJ will not deal with the main question of whether Israel is committing genocide on Friday, but will look at possible emergency measures requested by South Africa to restrain Israel’s actions. Earlier this month, in two days of hearings, South Africa asked the ICJ, also known as the World Court, to order an emergency suspension of Israel’s devastating military campaign in the Palestinian enclave. It argued that provisional measures are necessary “to protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people under the Genocide Convention, which continue to be violated with impunity”. If the ICJ does decide on issuing emergency measures, it is not bound to order exactly the actions South Africa requested. Such measures are intended to prevent a dispute from getting worse while the court looks at the full case, which could take several years. The ICJ’s deliberations are a painstaking process, involving detailed written submissions followed by oral arguments and counter-arguments by the team of top legal counsels representing each state. Experts say a ruling in the case could take three to four years. Rulings by the court are legally binding and without appeal, but the court has no way to enforce them. If the court grants some or all of South Africa’s eight requests for so-called provisional measures, it is unclear whether Israel will comply. Israel dismissed the genocide allegations as “grossly distorted” and said it had a right to defend itself from Hamas, the Palestinian group that led a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing at least 1,139 people and seizing around 240 others has hostages, according to Israeli officials. Israel says it is targeting Hamas in Gaza, not Palestinian civilians. Since October, more than 25,700 people have been killed in the Israeli assault, mostly women and children, according to Palestinian authorities in Gaza. While Israel often boycotts international tribunals and UN investigations, saying they are unfair and biased, the country sent a high-level legal team to two days of hearings earlier this month. Any court order to halt operations would be a major blow to the country’s international standing. The European Union has been silent on the matter, but Israel has seen support from its number-one backer and weapons supplier, the United States. Adblock test (Why?)
Will a US court order Biden to stop ‘complicity’ in Gaza genocide?
Shawan Jabarin wants to know when it will be enough: When will the death toll in Gaza be high enough for United States President Joe Biden to end his unequivocal military and diplomatic support for Israel? “How many Palestinian civilians have to be killed until he says, ‘This number is enough?’ How many? Two million Palestinians? One million? 700,000? It [would be] good if he can tell us which number wakes up his human conscience.” Jabarin, the general director of the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq, said Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip would not be possible without US support. The Israeli military campaign has killed more than 25,000 Palestinians, and United Nations officials and other experts have repeatedly warned of a risk of genocide. Yet, since the war began in early October, the Biden administration has bypassed Congress to greenlight arms sales to Israel and blocked efforts to secure a ceasefire. That’s why Al-Haq, alongside two other advocacy groups and individual Palestinians affected by the war, filed a lawsuit in the US late last year accusing Biden and other senior US leaders of being complicit in genocide. The first hearing in the case is set for January 26 in a federal court in California. “Without American support — militarily, politically — nothing like [this could have] happened,” Jabarin told Al Jazeera in a phone interview from Ramallah. “The US are not complicit indirectly. No, directly. They are helping to commission a genocide in Gaza.” The case Filed in mid-November, the lawsuit (PDF) accuses the Biden administration of failing to meet its responsibilities under international and domestic law to prevent genocide. The 1948 Genocide Convention, which the US ratified, states that “genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law which [state parties] undertake to prevent and to punish”. It also outlines that “complicity in genocide” is a punishable act. Additionally, the obligations to prevent and punish genocide have been recognised as being part of “customary international law” — a term that refers to “a general practice accepted as law”. Drawing from those statutes, the lawsuit alleges “the United States has been obligated, from the time it learned of the specter of a genocide of the Palestinian people, to exercise its clear and considerable influence on Israel to prevent this grave crime from unfolding”. The complaint names three defendants: Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. It claims they “have not only been failing to uphold the country’s obligation to prevent a genocide, but have enabled the conditions for its development”. The lawsuit also emphasises that US leaders were fully aware of Israel’s “genocidal” objectives. “Dehumanising” remarks by senior Israeli officials, including Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, demonstrated a clear intent to pursue the “erasure and destruction of Palestinians”, it explained. Gallant, for instance, called Palestinians “human animals” when he ordered the total siege of Gaza in early October. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said, “The enemy will pay an unprecedented price,” before ordering Palestinians to “get out” of Gaza. “Those statements were not mere rhetoric. Israeli officials said what they meant and [they] do what they say,” said Katherine Gallagher, a senior staff lawyer at the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), one of the organisations involved in the case. “States that have the ability to influence a country that is at serious risk of — if not already — committing genocide have to take all measures within [their] power to prevent [it],” she told Al Jazeera. “And the United States did not do that. Instead, it offered unconditional military support, financial support, and diplomatic cover and support for Israel’s ongoing genocidal campaign.” Gallagher explained that the plaintiffs are asking a district court to declare that the US has breached its obligations to prevent genocide. They are also requesting a preliminary injunction ordering officials to “take all measures within their power” to fulfil its legal responsibilities. “That would mean cutting off and ceasing the military support for the genocide,” she said. Government’s defence But the Biden administration has asked that the lawsuit be thrown out. In a December filing (PDF), it argued the court is being asked to “intrude into areas committed to the political branches of the government and violate constitutional separation of powers”. Since foreign policy is decided by the executive branch, not the courts, the lawsuit “should be dismissed as nonjusticiable”, the filing said. Oona Hathaway, a law professor at Yale University Law School, explained that this argument — known as the political question doctrine — is commonly used in foreign affairs cases, including challenges to the use of US military force abroad. “I think there is a good chance that a court will decide that this [US complicity in genocide case] is barred by the political question doctrine,” Hathaway told Al Jazeera. “I will say, I am myself really not a fan of the political question doctrine because I think that it means that legal violations often go unaddressed,” she said. “The truth of the matter is that, if the courts won’t address the possible legal violations, the chance that Congress is likely to do so is extremely slim.” Hathaway questioned whether the federal court would allow the claim to move to the merits stage, where parties present why their arguments should win. But even if that does not happen, Hathaway said the plaintiffs are likely hoping “to start a conversation” and bring attention to the situation in Gaza. “I think it’s part of raising the visibility of these concerns and ensuring that lawmakers and the American public are aware that there [are] potential legal obligations on the United States, not just on Israel, that are relevant to this conflict.” Effort ‘to stop this genocide’ For their part, the plaintiffs have rejected the government’s use of the political question doctrine. “This is not a case about run-of-the-mill policy decisions by the executive branch,” said Gallagher. “This is a case about compliance with
Senate border bill to allow 5,000 migrants a day before Title 42-type limit starts; sparking conservative fury
A border proposal still being hammered out by Senate negotiators would include a Title 42-type authority that would only be mandated if numbers at the southern border exceeded 5,000 migrant encounters a day — part of a package already drawing fierce criticism from some conservatives in the chamber, with one GOP lawmaker branding it a “stinking pile of crap.” Talks have been ongoing for months as lawmakers have tried to find a deal over a fix to the southern border as part of talks for supplemental spending that includes aid to Ukraine and Israel. The Biden administration is seeking over $100 billion in funding, including $14 billion for the border. But Republicans have demanded limits on migrant releases into the interior, including the use of parole, and negotiators have been attempting to find a compromise. Multiple sources familiar with the proposal tell Fox News Digital that the proposal would tighten the language of the initial credible fear standard for asylum screenings. One source said that those briefing lawmakers had predicted it could lead to the majority of migrants going through the screenings being removed. Linked to that would be a Title 42-style expulsion authority to quickly remove migrants at the border similar to the COVID-19-era authority. Multiple sources said that the use of that authority would be mandated only if there was a 7-day rolling average of above 5,000 encounters a day. BORDER DEAL PRICE TAG LIKELY TO COST MORE THAN $14 BILLION, BUT GOP LAWMAKERS GROW RESTLESS TO SEE BILL TEXT Daily encounters between 4,000 and 5,000 would allow for discretionary expulsions, and any single day where there were over 8,000 encounters, expulsions would be mandated even if the 7-day average was lower. Those expulsions would also be exempted from judicial review. The use of humanitarian parole at the border by the administration would also be restricted, but migrants could still be paroled in if they cite humanitarian reasons. Those restrictions are not expected to include parole programs in which migrants are flown in, such as those for Afghans and Ukrainians, as well as the Cuban Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan (CHNV) parole program — which allows 30,000 migrants to fly in to be paroled each month, as part of the administration’s “expanded lawful pathways.” One source familiar with the proposal said that the time asylum seekers would need to wait for a work permit would be cut from 180 days to 90 in some cases. Also expected to be in the bill is a proposal to grant work permits to children of legal temporary visa holders, including H-1B workers, who turn 21 while in the country. Those foreign nationals have been dubbed “Documented Dreamers” by activists, and it could affect up to a quarter of a million people. Other additions include an increase in ICE detention beds to 55,000, as well as funding for facilities and additional border officers — something the Biden administration has requested — as well as legal assistance to unaccompanied children in the country. While the provisions of the bill are still fluid, negotiators have said they are hoping to have a bill text soon — indicating that the provisions, while fluid, are close to being solid. Similar provisions were reported earlier this month, and Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla.,one of the negotiators, urged caution about believing those reports. SEN. MARSHALL URGES GOP TO SAY ‘HELL NO’ TO SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING REQUEST WITHOUT TIGHTER BORDER SECURITY “I encourage people to read the border security bill before they judge the border security bill. I also advise people not to believe everything you read on the internet….,” he said. The proposal, even if it were to pass the Senate, would likely hit a buzzsaw of opposition in the House — where the Republican majority has said it wants the inclusion of the entirety of the House border security bill passed last year as part of any supplemental spending bill. It also would face considerable opposition in the Senate. A source close to negotiations told Fox News Digital they believed it would make the crisis worse. “This expensive, back room deal is packed full of quotas making the crisis a norm, quasi-amnesty provisions, and billions of dollars for corrupt NGOs and sanctuary cities—all of which will fuel the invasion at our border, not stop the flow,” they said. “Senate offices are quickly realizing the parole and asylum provisions aren’t just window dressing reforms, but will make things worse now and in the future.” On Tuesday, a sign of the anger over the potential deal was on display in public when a group of Senate conservatives tore into the proposals in no uncertain terms, while expressing anger that they didn’t have the full text of the bill yet. “[This bill] is a kamikaze plane in a box canyon with no exits headed for a train wreck,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas said at a press conference, later calling it a “stinking pile of crap bill.” “This bill is not designed to fix the problem. This bill normalizes 5,000 people a day coming in,” he said. “5,000 people a day is over 1.8 million a year. That’s called an invasion by the way. Under Joe Biden we’ve had 9.6 million. So the great Republican compromise is we’re for two thirds of Joe Biden’s open borders. We’ll let in 6 million instead of 9 million.” He predicted it would have a 0% chance of passing the House. “This bill represents Senate Republican leadership waging war on House Republican leadership. It’s not designed to secure the border and it won’t secure the border,” he said. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., expressed concern about tying the hands of a future Republican president, and the risk of allowing up to 5,000 people a day into the country. “The thing is, we’re hopefully going to have a new president. When we get a new Republican president, we should make sure we don’t pass a bill that’s going to impact their ability to secure the border. [Former President] Trump was
Biden challenger Dean Phillips nabs nearly 20% in New Hampshire primary
Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, the Democrat presidential underdog, fell just short of his stated goal in the New Hampshire primary. With 95% of votes accounted for, Phillips — who previously said “getting in the 20s would be an extraordinary accomplishment” — received 19.5% of the state. President Biden secured victory with approximately 55% of the vote. DEAN PHILLIPS FIRES BACK AT REPORTERS: ‘YOU’RE NOT ASKING QUESTIONS AMERICANS GIVE A S–T ABOUT’ Phillips got a lucky break going into the second primary election: Biden voters were forced to write in the president’s name after his campaign failed to register him on the ballot. More than a year ago, the president proposed a nominating calendar for the 2024 election cycle that booted New Hampshire from its traditional leadoff primary position and replaced it with South Carolina, a much more diverse state where Black voters play an outsized role in Democrat politics. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) a year ago overwhelmingly approved the calendar change proposed by the president. But New Hampshire leapfrogged South Carolina to honor a longtime state law that mandates that the Granite State holds the first primary. BIDEN CHALLENGER DEAN PHILLIPS BLASTS PRESIDENT AS ‘UNELECTABLE AND WEAK’ AS BIDEN SET TO SKIP NEW HAMPSHIRE With the state holding an unsanctioned Democrat contest, the president’s reelection campaign last autumn announced that Biden wouldn’t file to place his name on the New Hampshire ballot. Phillips says he’s invested $5 million of his own money in his White House bid. “A lot more than I intended,” he noted in an interview with Fox News Digital. But he said his investment may be starting to pay off as “grassroots donors are really starting to pop up.” While the president is the commanding front-runner for his party’s 2024 nomination, polls indicate that many Americans – including plenty of Democrats – don’t want the president to seek a second term in the White House. Those same surveys show that voters are not thrilled with the likely prospect of a rematch between Biden and the candidate he defeated in 2020: former President Trump. Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Biden interrupted by protesters for second time in two days as he receives UAW endorsement
President Biden was heckled Wednesday during a speech at a United Auto Workers union conference in Washington, D.C. by pro-Palestinian protesters, the second such interruption in as many days for the president. Biden, who received an endorsement Wednesday from UAW President Shawn Fain, was speaking when protesters began chanting “Free Gaza.” Others waved the Palestinian flag. Video footage shows protesters being escorted out of a room and several union workers drowning them out with chants of “UAW.” On Tuesday, Biden was also interrupted several times by pro-Palestinian protesters during his remarks at an abortion rights rally in Manassas, Virginia. GOV BURGUM PRAISES ‘SOPHISTICATED’ NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTERS WHO ARE ‘GOING TO SEND A MESSAGE TO THE WORLD’ Throughout his speech, multiple protesters interrupted by shouting critiques of his handling of Israel’s ongoing ground offensive in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. A male protester with a Palestinian flag shouted, “How many kids have you killed?” He was drowned out by the crowd chanting “four more years” as security escorted him out. Pro-Palestinian protesters have called for the Biden administration to halt any military assistance to Israel, citing its military campaign against Hamas and the humanitarian crisis unfolding inside Gaza. Israel declared war on the terror group after its unprecedented deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israeli communities. The UAW endorsed Biden as he battles former President Donald Trump for the support of key labor groups. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Joe Biden bet on the American worker, while Donald Trump blamed the American worker,” Fain said as the group caps its three-day gathering in Washington, D.C., to map out its political priorities. “We need to know who’s going to sit in the most powerful seat in the world and us win as a united working class. So if our endorsements must be earned, Joe Biden has earned it.” FOX Business’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
GOP strategists say Haley needs ‘realistic path’ to win primaries after New Hampshire loss to Trump
Republican strategists told Fox News Digital that GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley needs a “realistic path” to win primary elections in her quest for the White House. Fox News Digital reached out to several Republican strategists for their takes after Haley’s New Hampshire loss to former President Trump on Tuesday. Targeted Victory Vice President Matt Gorman told Fox News Digital that while the race isn’t over, Haley needs a “realistic path” in her campaign to win future primary elections. NEW HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY RESULTS: DONALD TRUMP, JOE BIDEN WIN GRANITE STATE “It’s not over yet, but Haley needs to set a realistic path for supporters, donors and the press as to how she’ll start actually winning some of these,” Gorman said. Haley did not win the Iowa caucuses or the New Hampshire primary but is continuing her campaign as the GOP primary race heads to her home state of South Carolina. A win for Haley in South Carolina would be a critical step in her presidential aspirations. Jimmy Keady, JLK Political Strategies founder and president, told Fox News Digital that “President Trump is dominating these primaries, and he has the benefit of being a sort of pseudo-incumbent.” “Voters across the country remember the positives of his Presidency; a stronger economy, more secure border, and respect abroad — his Presidency is fresh on the minds of voters,” Keady said. “The trick is that candidates and their consultants must capitalize on the momentum and not fizzle out as we have seen in the past,” he continued. “What we are going to see in the coming weeks will likely be a coalescing of support from Republican leaders across the country.” “It is up to either campaign to build off the momentum from New Hampshire,” he added. Matt Wolking, Axiom Strategies vice president of communications who previously worked for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ super PAC, Never Back Down, told Fox News Digital that the “numbers in New Hampshire show that Trump is as strong among Republican voters as he is weak among the broader electorate that will determine the outcome of the general election in November.” “Haley cannot win the Republican primary by relying on non-Republican voters, and it’s unlikely she will still be a candidate in March,” Wolking said. “The only question is whether she calls it quits before or after South Carolina.” Trump won the New Hampshire primary by a sizable margin, securing 54% of the vote to Haley’s 43%. Still, Haley vowed to continue her campaign through the South Carolina primary on Feb. 24. Haley spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas told Fox News Digital that we “don’t do coronations in this country.” “We do elections,” Perez-Cubas said. “The political elites can back Donald Trump, but Nikki Haley will continue to fight for the nearly 50% of Republican primary voters and the 70% of all Americans who don’t want a Biden-Trump rematch.” But some GOP strategists still don’t see a path forward for the former governor. Aaron Evans, national GOP strategist and president of Winning Republican Strategies, said, “Iowa and New Hampshire reinforced what we have known for months — there’s only one viable candidate in the Republican nomination process and that’s President Trump.” “Despite all efforts otherwise from his competitors, the vast majority of Republican voters remain all-in for Trump. Haley’s loss in New Hampshire was a major blow in a state we were told she could win, and when she loses her home state of South Carolina in a few weeks, the blow will be even bigger. Optimism and hope from a failing campaign is not a strategy.” “It didn’t work for Ron DeSantis, and it won’t work for Nikki Haley. President Trump will decisively be the Republican nominee,” Evans added. GOP strategist with Calvary LLC John Ashbrook told Fox News Digital, “President Trump’s team has put on a clinic in every state where they’ve operated this cycle.” “Nikki’s campaign is incredibly talented and President Trump’s victories are a testament to the professional machine he’s built,” Ashbrook said. Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump campaign for comment. The strategists’ comments come after Haley’s loss to Trump in New Hampshire on Tuesday. Trump is the first Republican candidate to win competitive elections in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary since 1976. DeSantis ended his campaign two days before the primary, effectively making it a head-to-head race between Trump and Haley. The results of the Fox News Voter Analysis, a survey of nearly 2,000 New Hampshire Republican primary voters, show the contours of a race that was notably closer than the Iowa caucuses, which Trump won by 30 points. The Fox News Polling Unit contributed reporting.