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Trump to headline ‘momentous’ NRA event ahead of key primary showdown
FIRST ON FOX: Former President Trump will deliver the keynote speech for the NRA’s Presidential Forum at its massive annual outdoor show in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, next month, Fox News Digital exclusively learned. “President Trump’s unwavering support for the Second Amendment, and his track record of protecting the rights of gun owners make him an exemplary speaker for this momentous event. His fellow NRA members can’t wait to hear from him for the eighth time,” NRA President Charles Cotton said in the press release provided to Fox News Digital on Monday. The NRA’s Great American Outdoor Show will run between Feb. 3-11, including Trump’s speech on Feb. 9 during the event’s Presidential Forum. The NRA noted that this is Trump’s eighth address to NRA members, with his speeches stretching back to 2015, showing he is a “steadfast advocate for the NRA, the Second Amendment, and self-defense rights.” Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, promised in 2016 that we “will never let” NRA members down, which NRA leadership lauded in their press release, explaining that Trump carried through on this commitment when he was the commander in chief. TRUMP SAYS ‘EXISTENCE OF EVIL’ IS WHY LAW-ABIDING AMERICANS NEED SECOND AMENDMENT “As President, Trump upheld this commitment by appointing a record-setting number of judges who respect the Second Amendment, designating firearm retailers as critical infrastructure during COVID-19, and unsigning from the ATT arms trade treaty on stage at the 2019 NRA Annual Meeting in Indianapolis,” the press release said, also noting Trump is a lifetime NRA member. The Great American Outdoor Show is billed as the world’s largest outdoor show that features more than 1,000 exhibitors across 650,000 square feet of exhibit space over the course of nine days of events. Events stretch from Trump’s speech, a concert, dog and lumberjack competitions, and hunting and gun ownership forums. “President Trump’s presence at the Great American Outdoor Show is a testament to his ongoing commitment to our constitutional freedoms. His leadership has been crucial in safeguarding the rights of hunters, sportsmen, and all Americans who cherish our outdoor heritage,” executive director of NRA-ILA Randy Kozuch said in the press release. TRUMP MOCKS DESANTIS, PENCE DURING STUMP SPEECH AT NRA CONVENTION The NRA’s announcement comes on the heels of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropping out of the 2024 presidential race on Sunday, ahead of the New Hampshire primary. The primary, the first in the nation, will now be a showdown between Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. Trump handily dominated the Iowa caucuses last week, winning 98 of the 99 counties. Polls in New Hampshire show Trump in the lead over Haley, with an average of polls on FiveThirtyEight showing Trump with nearly 49.8% support compared to Haley’s 36.1% support. WATCH: GOP VOTERS WEIGH IN ON 2024 CHOICE FOR PRESIDENT, SHRED ‘BOGUS’ TRUMP CHARGES Pennsylvania, where the NRA event will be held, is a swing state where Trump took 48.84% of the votes in 2020 compared to Scranton native President Biden’s 50.01%. The former president managed to take the state in 2016 when he faced off against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, earning more than 40,000 additional votes than Clinton. After DeSantis’ Sunday afternoon dropout, Trump told Fox News Digital that he was “very honored” DeSantis endorsed his run for the White House, adding that he looks forward “to working together with him to beat Joe Biden.” “Very honored to have his endorsement,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “I look forward to working together with him to beat Joe Biden, who is the worst and most corrupt president in the history of our country.” The Great American Outdoor Show is held each year in Harrisburg and saw “200,000 NRA members and patriots, celebrating hunting, fishing, and outdoor traditions” at last year’s event, according to the press release.
GOP committee vows to reclaim majorities in key battleground states: ‘Strategically refined our operations’
A top Republican committee is moving to defend its state majorities while looking to reclaim others from Democrats and detailed their operations in a memo provided to Fox News Digital. Within the memo, the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC) outlined its 2024 objectives and plans to push back against the “onslaught of liberal spending from the far left.” The group believes President Biden’s low popularity provides an opening for them to accomplish their goals. “Building upon the success of our Absentee Ballot and Early Voting (AB/EV) program during the Virginia state elections, we have strategically refined our operations recognizing the urgency to effectively mobilize low-propensity voters and counter potential Democratic gains,” the RSLC wrote in its memo. “The aftermath of the Virginia elections not only provided a snapshot into the influx of outside spending that will define 2024, so much that it surpassed our entire cycle budget within a month, but it revealed the Democrats’ advantage in newly redrawn maps that provided their candidates with a D +4.2% edge,” the memo states. “In response, we recognized the potential impact of a turnout operation targeting low-propensity voters to mobilize and win in these slim-margin districts that will make or break majorities this year.” DEMOCRAT LAWMAKERS SOUND THE ALARM OVER BIDEN’S CAMPAIGN: ‘NOT REAL COMFORTABLE’ The RLSC’s 2024 plan includes zeroing in on 33 seats that will determine “control of the nation.” There are 85 of 99 state legislative chambers up in 2024, and 33 of which are expected to determine which party is in the driver’s seat for the next couple of years. WITH EYE TOWARD 2024 ELECTION, REPUBLICANS MAKE BIG PUSH FOR EARLY VOTING IN 2023 The memo’s strategy pinpoints that “Republicans must flip 7 seats across 3 states to get back to control of 60 state legislative chambers, while Democrats must flip 33 seats across 5 states to have a simple majority of state legislative chambers.” The committee identified three states with the greatest opportunity for Republican flips: Michigan, Minnesota and Pennsylvania. The 2024 presidential election will also play a key role in determining which states and races will be of highest play. With this in mind, the committee highlighted that Democrat spending is going to increase in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin – states that are key in the upcoming Senate, congressional and presidential elections. State races in Arkansas, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky and Nebraska will also be on the RLSC’s radar, but “these states will not alter the balance of top of the ticket races.” Democrat-led California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Nevada, New York, Oregon and Washington are expected to remain heavily blue, but the committee plans to chase every opportunity for GOP expansion within the states.
The Speaker’s Lobby: Make Way for Ducklings
An emergency bill to avert a government shutdown wasn’t all it’s quacked up to be. The title of the measure bore one of the more lumpish, incongruous names for a piece of legislation designed to fund the government. Congress named the bill “To Amend the Permanent Electronic Duck Stamp Act of 2013 To Allow the Secretary of the Interior To Issue Electronic Stamps Under Such Act, And for Other Purposes.” Legislation about ducks to fund the government? That’s just daffy. The duck bill which Congress converted into a spending measure wasn’t just a decoy. However, it is yet another stopgap bill, re-upping all old funding from the fiscal year which ended in September and extending things until early March. HOUSE VOTES TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN AFTER SPEAKER JOHNSON BUCKS GOP REBELS Many House Republicans gave this bill the bird. They don’t like that this is the third temporary plan to avert a shutdown. That’s why only 107 House Republicans voted yes on the plan; 106 voted nay. There were 126 and 127 GOP yeas on the two previous spending plans. But those numbers plummeted last week. This bill was certainly an ugly duckling. House Democrats covered for Republicans, providing the majority of votes to approve the latest bill. That’s what Democrats did in earlier spending packages. “The American people are frustrated that this does nothing Republican Congress can’t get out of its own way,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. Conservatives crowed about the latest extension hatched by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. SENATE PASSES SHORT-TERM SPENDING BILL TO FUND GOVT UNTIL MARCH, SAYS THERE WILL BE NO SHUTDOWN “We just need a little more time on the calendar to do it,” said Johnson. Johnson allies concede there’s a reason the speaker needs an assist from the Democrats. Republicans are operating the House on a wing and a prayer. “It is the smallest Republican majority ever,” said Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla. “I don’t care who you put in the speaker’s office. You’re actually going to have a very difficult time trying to govern.” Democrats are in the minority. But it’s Republicans who often find themselves on a wild goose chase trying to round up votes for major bills. So to fund the government, a coalition of Democrats and Republicans teamed up. But conservatives? Those birds of a feather flocked together in opposition. “We know that they are a dysfunctional majority. We know that they do not have actual votes to govern,” said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif. Johnson hopes the House’s individual spending bills to fund the government can soon take flight. The goal is to flush all 12 appropriations measures by early March. Still, conservatives shot down Johnson’s decision to do another emergency spending bill. The 1980s comedy “Howard the Duck” scored better reviews from movie critics. If Johnson doesn’t fix this fast, it may be time for him to duck and cover. But why would lawmakers use the waterfowl legislation bill to temporarily fund the government? There’s no reason to summon Darkwing Duck to investigate. Let me explain. You can blame Article I, Section 7, of the Constitution for this turkey. The Constitution requires that “All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives.” In other words, any legislation with tax implications must start in the House. Or, perhaps in this case, taxonomy implications. So in the rush to avert a government shutdown, the Senate took the molting Duck Stamp Act from the House, plucked it of its parliamentary plumage and stuffed it with brand new legislative text to fund the government. After the Senate passed the bill, the measure migrated across the Capitol Rotunda for the House to sync up. But conservatives felt this was anything but just ducky. “We are about to fund the entire government of the United States as an amendment to a bill about duck hunting,” groused Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. “And that doesn’t strike me as a good way to fund the government or even pass a bill about duck hunting, for that matter.” But that’s what Congress does sometimes to make duck soup. “Duck stamps” have been a part of public policy in Washington for nine decades. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the first duck stamp piece of legislation into law. The Migratory Bird Conservation Fund benefits from duck stamps. Nearly every cent spent on duck stamps goes to the fund to buy and lease wetlands for birds. Those preserves help birds rest and feed when they fly south in the winter and north in the summer. Congress just re-upped duck stamps with another piece of legislation late last year. The new stamps for hunting are electronic and available to hunters online. Hunters no longer need to buy a $25 physical stamp. However, hunters can still get regular stamps from the post office. They can also obtain an actual copy of the stamp after duck season concludes. The process the Senate used isn’t new or nefarious. The House or Senate just needs an appropriate legislative vehicle to advance tax or spending legislation. Sometimes it’s easier for a bill to start in the House and then go to the Senate. Sometimes it’s better if the Senate initiates the process and sends something back to the House. Kind of like killing two birds with one stone. Or, a bird in hand is worth two in the bush. Bills used for revenue and appropriations purposes must feature a certain parliamentary pedigree. Any old bill won’t necessarily do. Only certain measures qualify. So it helps for the House to have passed some bills – which frankly aren’t going anywhere. The Senate can repurpose those pieces of legislation. So the government is funded through March. If Congress can avert a shutdown then with individual bills, it will be free as a bird. If Mike Johnson commits to another stopgap bill, conservatives will cry “fowl.” But this is the nest Congress made. The government is funded. There’s no shutdown. There’s
Virat Kohli to miss India’s first two Tests vs England for personal reasons
Kohli will miss the Tests in Hyderabad and Rajkot, after missing the first T20 against Afghanistan for the same reason. India batter Virat Kohli will miss the his side’s first two Test matches against England due to personal reasons, the country’s cricket board has confirmed. The former national-team captain missed the opening game of the recent T20 series with Afghanistan citing the same reason but returned for the second and third matches. Kohli, 35, has been a regular fixture for India’s Test side and the last time he missed a game was in January 2022, when he was ruled out of the second match of the series against South Africa in Johannesburg through injury. The five-match series against England begins in Hyderabad on Thursday, while the third Test starts on February 15 in Rajkot. “Virat has spoken to captain Rohit Sharma, the team management and the selectors and has emphasised that while representing the country has always been his top priority, certain personal situations demand his presence and undivided attention,” the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement on Monday. “The BCCI respects his decision and the board and team management has extended its support to the star batter. “The BCCI requests the media and fans to respect Kohli’s privacy during this time and refrain from speculating on the nature of his personal reasons.” The board said a replacement for Kohli will be added to the squad for the first two matches. Prior to the T20 series against Afghanistan, Kohli had only been playing Test cricket for India since the Cricket World Cup final defeat by Australia in December to manage his workload. 🚨 NEWS 🚨 Virat Kohli withdraws from first two Tests against England citing personal reasons. Details 🔽 #TeamIndia | #INDvENGhttps://t.co/q1YfOczwWJ — BCCI (@BCCI) January 22, 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Relatives of Israeli captives storm Knesset
NewsFeed A group of relatives of Israelis believed to be held captive by Hamas in Gaza stormed a Knesset meeting demanding lawmakers do more to try and free their loved ones. Published On 22 Jan 202422 Jan 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
Dutch court convicts Syrian fighter on war crimes charges
Mustafa A, 35, is sentenced to 12 years in prison for war crimes in Syria by a district court in The Hague. A district court in The Hague has convicted a member of a Syrian pro-government armed group of crimes against humanity for complicity in torture and illegal arrest in Syria and sentenced him to 12 years in prison. Judges ruled on Monday that the 35-year-old man, identified in court only as Mustafa A, was involved in the arrest of a man in 2012 in Syria. He later handed the man over to Syrian Air Force intelligence officials who ran a prison where he was tortured. The court said the defendant was a leading member of the Liwa al-Quds, or the Jerusalem Brigade. Liwa al-Quds is an armed group, comprised mostly of Palestinian refugees living in Syria and founded during the early years of Syria’s more than 12-year war. Mustafa A was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity for complicity in torture, inhumane treatment and illegal arrest and also for membership in a criminal organisation. Arrested in 2022, he had been living in the Netherlands since 2020 and had applied for asylum there. During the trial’s first session in early November, judges quoted witnesses who said he was involved in their violent arrests and gave details of beatings and torture they endured in prison. Back then, despite being asked numerous times for a reaction to the declarations and excerpts from his own police interviews and intercepted phone calls, Mustafa A invoked his right to remain silent at every turn. Monday’s judgement marks the first time a Dutch court has convicted someone for crimes committed while fighting on the side of President Bashar al-Assad’s government during the war in Syria. There have been a handful of similar convictions in Germany. In recent years, Dutch courts have issued war crimes convictions to several Syrian nationals who were members of opposition militias and other armed groups in Syria. Adblock test (Why?)
‘One crore home to have…’: PM Modi announces first big decision after Pran Pratishtha of Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir
“I have taken my first decision after returning from Ayodhya that our government will launch ‘Pradhan Mantri Suryoday Yojna’ with the aim to install rooftop solar systems in one crore houses,” PM Modi said on X.
Trump to be joined by Scott, Ramaswamy, Burgum in New Hampshire rally as a ‘show of force’ the GOP is ‘united’
EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump will be joined on stage in New Hampshire Monday night by former opponents, now endorsers Sen. Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy and Doug Burgum in a “show of force” that the Republican Party is “united and ready to take on Joe Biden,” Fox News Digital has learned. Trump is set to hold a rally at 9:00 p.m. in Laconia, New Hampshire, Monday night — just hours before the state’s first-in-the-nation primary. Trump is leading former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley by double digits in recent polling. FLORIDA GOV. RON DESANTIS DROPS OUT OF 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE, ENDORSES TRUMP A Trump campaign official told Fox News Digital that Trump on Monday night will be joined on stage by Scott, R-S.C., Ramaswamy and Burgum. The three former GOP presidential candidates will speak on stage and take part in media interviews. “This is designed as a show of force that the party is united and ready to take on Joe Biden,” the official told Fox News Digital. The official said that “all three VIP guests — former opponents, now endorsers — will be drawing a sharp contrast to Joe Biden in a preview of the general election that is now here.” TRUMP ‘VERY HONORED’ BY DESANTIS ENDORSEMENT AFTER FLORIDA GOVERNOR SUSPENDS PRESIDENTIAL RUN The GOP primary field shrunk down to just Trump and Haley on Sunday after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended his presidential campaign. Trump, who has been leading by massive margins since he announced his candidacy, won the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 15, solidifying his standing as the front-runner. In announcing the end of his presidential run, DeSantis put his full support behind Trump, endorsing him as the right candidate for the party. Trump said Sunday that he was “honored” by DeSantis’ endorsement, telling Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview: “I look forward to working together with him to beat Joe Biden, who is the worst and most corrupt president in the history of our country.” A Trump campaign official told Fox News Digital that while there are no immediate plans, the door is open for DeSantis to join Trump on the campaign trail. DeSantis, in endorsing Trump, said it is “clear” Republican voters “want to give Donald Trump another chance.” “They watched his presidency get stymied by relentless resistance, and they see Democrats using lawfare to this day to attack him,” DeSantis said Sunday. “While I have had disagreements with Donald Trump, such as on the coronavirus pandemic and his elevation of [Dr.] Anthony Fauci, Trump is superior to the current incumbent, Joe Biden. That is clear.” DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP TODAY! DeSantis said Trump has his endorsement “because we can’t go back to the old Republican guard of yesteryear — a repackaged form of warmed-over corporatism — that Nikki Haley represents.” Trump, who has dubbed DeSantis “Ron DeSanctimonious” on the campaign trail, says he won’t be using that nickname in the future. “No, that name has been officially retired,” Trump told Fox News Digital.
White House intervened to grant ‘quasi-regulatory authority’ to foreign green groups
FIRST ON FOX: The White House intervened in the process for selecting which groups would oversee a federal climate reporting initiative, drawing conflict of interest accusations, according to the preliminary findings of a House Republican investigation. In an internal GOP memo circulated Monday morning and shared with Fox News Digital, the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee’s oversight subcommittee highlighted how the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) “inappropriately” influenced federal acquisition regulations to unfairly benefit environmental activist groups with significant ties to Democrat donors and CEQ staff. According to evidence obtained by the committee, CEQ succesfully lobbied the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council to outsource the Biden administration’s climate reporting and disclosure initiative to two U.K. environmental groups: the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) and Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). “This preliminary investigation report has turned up disturbing evidence that calls into question the entire rulemaking process for these disclosure requirements,” House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Frank Lucas, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital. “The White House Council on Environmental Quality clearly exerted inappropriate influence during the development of this rule.” TOP HOUSE COMMITTEE PROBES JOHN KERRY’S COORDINATION WITH ECO GROUPS PUSHING COAL POWER SHUTDOWN “And we’ve turned up evidence of conflicts of interest where CEQ staff were advocating for regulations that would clearly benefit their friends and former employers,” Lucas continued. “I have significant concerns about making U.S. contractors disclose their emissions to a private foreign entity that has no accountability to Congress or the American people. The findings in this report make those concerns all the more urgent.” He added that the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee would continue to pursue its investigation until it received “satisfactory answers” from the White House. The issue dates back to May 2021 when, just months into his term, President Biden ordered the FAR Council — which is led by the White House Office of Management and Budget and includes members from other agencies — to craft regulations for requiring federal contractors to both publicly disclose greenhouse gas emissions and to set “science-based reduction targets” for reducing their carbon footprint. EXPERTS RAISE ALARM AFTER BIDEN STRIKES AGREEMENT WITH CHINA TO SHUT DOWN FOSSIL FUELS Then, in November 2022, the FAR Council published a proposal requiring all federal contractors to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and contractors with contracts valued at over $50 million to set “science-based reduction targets.” However, the regulations specifically require all emissions disclosures to be made through CDP and all targets to be validated by SBTi, effectively outsourcing policy to foreign nonprofits. “The federal government should not be in the business of picking winners and losers,” House Science, Space, and Technology Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., said during a hearing on the topic in September. “However, that is exactly the case in this instance.” According to the memo Monday, in December 2021, just months after Biden ordered the FAR Council to develop the regulations, CEQ, OMB and the Office of Climate Policy within the White House crafted a message sent to department heads, imploring the council to “leverage existing third-party standards and systems,” specifically naming both CDP and SBTi. TOP REPUBLICANS LAUNCH PROBE INTO LEONARDO DICAPRIO-FUNDED BLUE STATE LAWSUITS AGAINST BIG OIL But, referencing additional documents and communications obtained by the committee, the GOP memo states CEQ went even further despite under-oath testimony from CEQ Chief Sustainability Officer Andrew Mayock stating that his office’s role in the selection of CDP and SBTi stopped at its December 2021 message to department heads. “Documents obtained by the Committee contradict this narrative by showing that CEQ worked closely with CDP to tailor its message to the FAR Council in order to guarantee its inclusion in the proposed rule,” the memo states. “Emails obtained by the Committee show that a senior CEQ staffer had previously held a senior role at CDP and may have gone to work at CEQ with the intent of funneling money, influence, and regulatory authority to CDP/SBTi,” it continues. “The close relationship between CEQ and CDP/SBTi and the Biden Administration was evident from the beginning.” Betty Cremmins, the director for Sustainable Supply Chains at CEQ, ultimately spearheaded the office’s work on the FAR Council proposal throughout 2022 and stayed in regular contact with officials at both CDP and SBTi. However, in an apparent conflict of interest, Cremmins previously worked at CDP as the director of its West Coast office. WHITE HOUSE REFUSES TO REVEAL HOW COSTLY POTENTIAL BILLION-DOLLAR CLIMATE PROGRAM COULD BE FOR TAXPAYERS Cremmins appears to have even coordinated CDP’s messaging while at CEQ to ensure it aligned with FAR Council priorities. In one email, CDP’s general counsel even went as far as telling Cremmins, “[w]hen I first met you, you said your goal was to make CDP the law – and you did!” Further evidence shows that, despite its role in crafting the climate disclosure regulations, the FAR Council had little involvement in the process. Instead, according to the memo Monday, CEQ conducted the vast majority of vetting for the rulemaking. “The Committee’s primary concern is maintaining the integrity of the scientific and rulemaking process,” the memo concludes. “The decision to select CDP and SBTi appears to not have been based on either a meritorious process or generally accepted science, but on arbitrary rulemaking.” “After a nine-month investigation, the evidence presented shows that the decision to include CDP and SBTi in the proposed rule was based on a desire to steer power, influence, and regulatory authority to favored special interest environmental activist groups,” it states. “The evidence shows that the FAR Council was minimally involved in the vetting of CDP and SBTi.” “The proposed regulation lacks a coherent goal, or a method of achieving it. The evidence suggests that it was never about greenhouse gas disclosures, it was always about making ‘CDP the law.’” The CEQ, CDP and SBTi didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.