House Oversight Committee to hold hearing on Biden admin ‘efforts to undermine’ immigration law
FIRST ON FOX: The House Oversight Committee will hold a hearing next week looking at what Republicans in the majority say are the regulatory and policymaking moves by the Biden administration that “undermine” U.S. immigration law. The hearing, “The Biden Administration’s Regulatory and Policymaking Efforts to Undermine U.S. Immigration Law” will take place on Wednesday and will “examine how the Biden administration has engaged in a regulatory and policymaking onslaught against the rule of U.S. immigration law.” Witnesses include Joseph Edlow, who served as acting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) director and chief counsel during the Trump administration, and former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Thomas Homan. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill will also be a witness at the hearing. REPUBLICANS, DEMS SPAR AT MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT HEARING AS STATE AGS DESCRIBE IMPACT OF MIGRANT CRISIS The hearing comes as Republicans have been focused on the Biden administration’s immigration policies amid the historic and still ongoing crisis at the southern border, where numbers exceeded 300,000 encounters for the first time in December. “The crisis at our southern border is a crisis of the Biden Administration’s own making. President Biden and his administration’s unilateral actions to unravel the rule of law have created the worst border crisis in U.S. history,” Chairman James Comer said in a statement announcing the hearing. “Cartel drug smuggling and human trafficking are surging, terrorists are exploiting the crisis, and communities are overwhelmed by illegal aliens being released by the Biden Administration,” he said. “The Biden Administration refuses to reverse course and has the gall to ask for more money to throw at the problem. No amount of money can fix bad policy. It’s past time to put deterrent-focused policies in place and this hearing is a great opportunity to hear from experts what that looks like.” Republicans have clashed with Democrats and the administration over the handling of the crisis, with Republicans blaming the surge in migration on administration policies including the release of migrants into the interior and the rolling back of Trump-era enforcement like border wall construction and the Remain-in-Mexico policy. The administration has said it is dealing with a hemisphere-wide challenge and working within a “broken” system that needs more funding and comprehensive immigration reform. It has also pointed to what it says are large numbers of removals, more than a million in FY 22 and FY 22, and more fentanyl seized in two years than the prior five years combined. MAYORKAS TELLS BORDER PATROL AGENTS THAT ‘ABOVE 85%’ OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS RELEASED INTO US: SOURCES Currently, negotiations are ongoing in the Senate about potential compromises in order to pass the White House’s budget supplemental request, including $14 billion for the border. Republicans have demanded stricter limits on asylum and the use of parole to release migrants into the interior. Meanwhile, in the House, Republicans have launched impeachment hearings against DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, arguing that he has refused to enforce the laws passed by Congress. DHS has pushed back, saying the process is “harmful to the Department and its workforce and undercuts vital work across countless national security priorities.” “Unlike like those pursuing photo ops and politics, Secretary Mayorkas is working relentlessly to fix the problem by working with Republican and Democratic Senators to find common ground and real solutions,” a memo the department released Thursday said. Mayorkas also drew support from Democrats on the Committee with Ranking Member Bennie Thompson saying that Mayorkas is “doing his job across all the department’s many critical homeland security missions, including border security and immigration enforcement.” “Despite what Republicans would have Americans believe, Secretary Mayorkas is enforcing immigration law,” he said.
House Republicans open probe into Biden admin for opening public lands to foreign ownership
FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans on the Natural Resources Committee are probing the Biden administration over a proposal to open public lands to private ownership, a policy critics argue present an energy and national security risk. Republican lawmakers, led by Natural Resources Committee Chairman Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., informed the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had opened an investigation into the agency’s controversial proposed rule change allowing for a new type of public company, so-called Natural Asset Companies (NACs), to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). NACs are a type of company that is chartered to “protect, restore and grow the natural assets under their management to foster healthy ecosystems,” according to the Intrinsic Exchange Group, which collaborated with the NYSE to develop the new corporate taxonomy. If finalized, the rule would allow NACs to be traded publicly. “The Committee is deeply concerned with the potential impact NACs may have on the management of federal lands, effective conservation of wildlife habitat, and responsible development of natural resources,” the House Republicans wrote in their letter, which was addressed to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler and Haoxiang Zhu, the director of the SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets. BIDEN ADMIN APPEARS TO FABRICATE PAPER TRAIL IN PURSUIT OF MAJOR CHEMICAL PLANT SHUTDOWN: COURT DOCS “Most notably, the proposed rule would allow private investment interests to control and manage national parks and other publicly owned lands — an unprecedented power-grab and usurpation of federal authority,” they continued. “This possibility is alarming, but, when coupled with the proposal’s arbitrary designations and ill-defined terms, it may prove calamitous to the statutory multiple-use mandates of federal lands and responsible development of America’s natural resources.” Under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, Congress established the so-called “multiple-use” and sustained yield mandate. The law requires the Department of the Interior to open the lands it manages for various uses, including energy development, grazing, recreation and mining. BIDEN ADMIN ISSUES 20-YEAR MINING BAN AS IT TURNS TO FOREIGN SUPPLY CHAIN AMID GREEN ENERGY PUSH However, environmentalists have lobbied for the federal government to open lands up for conservation purposes, a move the Bureau of Land Management is actively pursuing and which would align with the SEC’s NAC proposal. According to NYSE — which argues that NACs “capture the intrinsic and productive value of nature and provide a store of value based on the vital assets that underpin our entire economy and make life on earth possible” — natural assets that could be grouped into a NAC include forests, wetlands and coral reefs, as well as working lands such as farms. But the Republicans further warned in their letter Thursday that activity on federal lands controlled by NACs will be “determined by the whims of eco-activists” rather than Congress or government scientists. And they said NACs could lead to the offshoring of energy production to countries with poor human rights and environmental records while opening the door to foreign ownership of public property. “Additionally, as part of the Committee’s ongoing oversight of foreign interests that attempt to influence America’s environmental, natural resource, and energy policies, the Committee is concerned with allowing foreign investment into America’s most precious assets,” Westerman and the other lawmakers concluded. “For example, allowing foreign interests to fund companies that will control public land and explicitly prohibit domestic mineral production is a surefire way to increase our nation’s critical mineral dependance while weakening America’s economic competitiveness, our national security and that of our allies,” they wrote. “This is unacceptable.” BIDEN ADMIN MAKES STUNNING ADMISSION ON CLIMATE AGENDA IN LEAKED INTERNAL MEMO The probe comes less than a month after the SEC agreed to delay its rulemaking on the issue and allow stakeholders more time to weigh in on the proposal. The delay was requested by Republican state financial officers from 22 states who requested a “reasonable public comment process,” instead of a rushed process. Led by Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes and Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, a group of 25 attorneys general submitted comments with the SEC earlier this week, calling for the agency to rescind its NAC proposal. STATE COURT DELIVERS MAJOR SETBACK TO DELAWARE IN CLIMATE CHANGE LAWSUIT AGAINST BIG OIL “The recognition of national asset companies would be a disastrous development. It would violate multiple laws, would prohibit productive economic uses of relevant land, and would facilitate the effective takeover of public lands by private entities and foreign actors,” Kobach told Fox News Digital on Thursday. “We intend to prevent this from happening.” “NACs present national security risks because foreign adversaries could invest in a NAC and lock up our natural resources,” added Utah State Treasurer Marlo Oaks. “This would lead to greater dependence on foreign countries for essential resources, to say nothing of the potential scarcity this might create.” Oaks said that NACs would essentially “financialize” non-economic natural processes like photosynthesis and other life-giving processes. In addition, Will Hild, the executive director of watchdog group Consumers’ Research, said NACs presented a series of dangers for Americans. “It is hard to overstate the danger that so-called ‘natural asset companies’ pose to the livelihood of millions of Americans,” Hild told Fox News Digital. “Big woke corporations including BlackRock and foreign companies from hostile nations such as China would be handed free reign to buy up millions of acres of public land.” “Ranching, farming, energy production and many other critical industries would be denied shared access to public land, eliminating their productive use,” he added. “Even people who use public lands for recreation and hunting could suddenly find their access taken away.” The SEC didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
IG report finds Pentagon failed to account for more than $1B in weapons sent to Ukraine
A new Department of Defense Inspector General report released Thursday finds more than $1 billion worth of weapons sent to Ukraine were not properly tracked by U.S. defense officials. The DOD IG has personnel stationed in Ukraine and is investigating with its Defense Criminal Investigative Service allegations of diversion of weapons. For now, the IG says, “It was beyond the scope of our evaluation to determine whether there has been diversion of such assistance.” The weapons in question are small and include shoulder-fired missiles, one-way attack drones and night-vision devices. “From a monetary perspective, the delinquent serial numbers account for more than $1.005 billion of the total $1.699 billion (59 percent of the total value) of EEUM‑designated defense articles as of June 2, 2023,” the report says. “Until those challenges are resolved, the DoD will not be able to fully account for all of the more than $1.699 billion in EEUM‑designated defense articles provided to Ukraine.” UKRAINE AID THREATENS TO FALL THROUGH CRACKS AS REPUBLICANS, DEMOCRATS PLAY BLAME GAME As Congress weighs sending more U.S. military assistance to Ukraine, a growing number of lawmakers are demanding greater oversight. The Pentagon sent the report to Congress on Wednesday and a redacted version was released Thursday. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby reacted to the report’s findings at a Thursday press briefing. Despite concern that sensitive weapons material could be bartered by arms dealers on the black market, Kirby largely justified why American defense officials didn’t fully account for nearly 40,000 weapons that the U.S. provided to Ukraine by citing the active warzone and risk of sending personnel to conduct inventory on the frontlines. “Let me broadly say, we have for many, many months now been interested in improving and improving accountability over the end use of material that is provided to Ukraine. We have had that conversation with our Ukrainian partners and they share our concerns about accountability,” Kirby said. “Now, we are grateful for the work that the DoD did, that was a significant body of work and we appreciate that. We’re going to go through this. I know DoD has already gone through this and reacted to it.” Kirby noted that report “made clear that DoD has made some improvements, including things like handheld scanners and trying to boost a little bit of the footprint there at the embassy to try to help with better tracking of material.” Kirby also noted that in the report “there’s no evidence of any sort of wide scale diversion or illicit diversion of any of the material that’s been going on to Ukraine,” and given the wartime environment, “there are real limits to our ability to count every… bullet, every artillery shell.” BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO SEND UKRAINE LAST BATCH OF AID AS US DEPLETES AVAILABLE FUNDS “We have a small footprint at the embassy of military men and women who are working on this accountability,” Kirby said. “We don’t want to, nor should we be expected to, put them in greater harm’s way, closer to the front, to inspect every little shipment and how it’s being used. I mean, it’s a combat environment.” Since Russian forces seized Crimea and portions of the Donbas region in 2014, the United States had provided more than $47 billion in military assistance to Ukraine. Before the February 2022 full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, as the IG report notes, Office of Defense Cooperation personnel with the U.S. embassy in Ukraine “were required to inspect and document serial number inventories of new EEIM-designated defense articles in Ukraine.” But especially after U.S. employees were ordered to evacuate Kyiv, the inventory process was disrupted. Since then, during the course of the Biden administration sending another approximately $44.2 billion in military assistance, according to the State Department’s estimates released in late December, the inventory process and delinquency rate has improved. Regarding the logistical challenges of inventory during an active war zone, the IG report states, “ODC-Ukraine personnel experienced logistical and personnel limitation challenges that prevented them from conducting inventories of all EEUM-designated defense articles before transfer into Ukraine. ODC-Ukraine officials stated that they relocated additional staff to the logistics hubs in a partner nation in July 2022 to conduct initial serial number inventories of EEUM-designated defense articles upon their arrival. An ODC-Ukraine official stated that the geographic distance between the logistics hubs posed a challenge that impeded conducting EEUM inventories.” The report, however, still notes the “DoD did not fully comply with EEUM program requirements for defense article accountability in a hostile environment.” The DoD Inspector General did not clarify exactly how many of the 39,139 high-risk pieces of material that were given to Ukraine in the years before and after the February 2022 full-scale invasion were considered “delinquent.” But as the New York Times noted, the latest data available from June shows the U.S. has provided Ukraine with more than 10,000 Javelin anti-tank missiles, 2,500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles, about 750 Kamikaze Switchblade drones, 430 medium-range air-to-air missiles and 23,000 night vision devices.
Top Biden adviser visits Beirut as Israel, Hezbollah near all-out war
Senior Biden adviser Amos Hochstein will visit Beirut, Lebanon, on Thursday to meet with officials in an effort to prevent Israeli-Hezbollah tensions from spilling into an all-out war. Hochstein has been in the region meeting with Israeli officials for more than a week as tensions have grown red-hot. He will now meet with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and other officials to discuss how the country can secure its border and prevent Hezbollah attacks on Israel. Hezbollah is an Iran-backed terrorist organization that operates in Lebanon. The group has launched hundreds of missiles and rockets into Israel since the IDF began its campaign against Hamas following the October 7 terror attack that killed more than 1,200 Israelis. Israel has been forced to evacuate towns along its northern border with Lebanon, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that an invasion may be imminent if Hezbollah does not cease hostilities. HEZBOLLAH LEADER SAYS LEBANON WILL BE ‘EXPOSED’ TO ISRAELI ATTACKS IF NO RESPONSE TO HAMAS LEADER’S DEATH A senior Hezbollah commander said the terrorist organization does not want an expanded war with Israel Tuesday, but attacks on Israeli targets have continued. Hezbollah claimed that a Tuesday attack was in retribution for an Israeli strike that killed Wissam al-Tawil, who commanded Hezbollah’s Radwan forces. EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF FEARS ‘OPEN WAR’ AND ESCALATION FOLLOWING DEATH OF HAMAS LEADER: ‘CANNOT BE RULED OUT’ Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem released a televised speech stating that his group does not seek an all-out war with Israel, “but if Israel expands it, the response is inevitable to the maximum extent required to deter Israel.” Netanyahu vowed on Monday that his government would do “anything” to bring back security for Israel. “Hezbollah made a serious mistake about us in 2006, and is doing so again now. It thinks that we are weak as a spiderweb, and now sees what kind of spider we are,” Netanyahu said while visiting soldiers at the northern border. “It sees here enormous power, national unity, and determination to do whatever is necessary to bring security back to the north, and I tell you that this is my policy.” TOP HAMAS OFFICIAL KILLED IN BEIRUT EXPLOSION, HEZBOLLAH MEDIA SAYS “We naturally prefer that there be no large scale conflict, but that will not stop us,” he added. “We have given Hezbollah an example of what happened to its friends in the south, and that is what will happen here in the north. We will do anything to bring back security.” When top Hamas commander Saleh al-Arouri was killed in Beirut, Lebanon, last week, Hezbollah’s chief claimed the organization was ready for war. Netanyahu adviser Ambassador Mark Regev told MSNBC that “Israel has not taken responsibility for this attack,” but noted the “surgical” nature of the strike.
DNA TV Show: Here’s what we found about fake medicine dealer of Himachal Pradesh
Una, a city in Himachal Pradesh is known as the manufacturing hub of fake medicines. Posing as a drug dealer, we met fake medicine dealer Balram Singh Chauhan in a hotel in Una.
Newt Gingrich: Democrats won’t rest until Trump is ‘in chains,’ but ‘explosion of outrage’ is more likely
Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich told an audience at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library that Democratic Party leaders will not rest until former President Donald Trump is in jail. Gingrich speculated that Trump’s political opponents’ main goal is to prevent the former president from standing in the upcoming presidential election due to President Biden’s poor approval ratings. “Their goal is to put him in jail. Literally. I mean, if they can get to the right place, they will have him in chains,” Gingrich told the audience in Simi Valley, California, on Wednesday. NEWT GINGRICH: THIS IS NOT A WAR AGAINST TRUMP, IT IS A WAR AGAINST AMERICANS He continued, “And their hope is that if the American people see this guy in chains, they won’t vote for him.” However, Gingrich suggested that the overzealous effort to remove Trump as a candidate could prove the ultimate undoing of the officials seeking to imprison him. “Now, what’s happening, of course, is because they’ve gone to overkill — I mean, you get to do one of these. But, you do three or four or five of them — people get the joke.” NEWT GINGRICH ROASTS JOHN KERRY’S CLIMATE CONFERENCE TRIP: ‘DEEPLY COMMITTED TO TAKING YOUR MONEY’ The former house speaker said that the repeated failures have only served to bolster Trump as the election draws closer, and that Democrats can expect an “explosion of outrage” if the latest bids to put Trump in prison succeed. “What they’re likely to have, I think, is an explosion of outrage across the whole country on a scale we have not seen in our lifetime, because people are going to just say, ‘This whole thing is rigged,’” Gingrich said. He added, “It’s absurd, but the danger is that they have the power of the government.”
Biden meets with Paul Whelan’s sister at White House after Russia again refuses release of former Marine
President Biden met with the sister of Paul Whelan on Wednesday after Russia rejected the latest deal to release the former U.S. Marine and bring him home. The White House said in a statement that Biden held a private meeting with Elizabeth Whelan to discuss the administration’s efforts to bring her brother home. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan was also present. “Immediately following the meeting, the President called the parents of Paul Whelan,” the White House said. “Since the beginning of the administration, the President has been personally engaged in the effort to secure the release of Americans held hostages and wrongfully detained around the world, including Paul Whelan and fellow American Evan Gershkovich.,” the statement added. US MARINE VETERAN PAUL WHELAN JAILED IN RUSSIA ATTACKED IN PRISON, FAMILY SAYS In early December, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters that the United States had made “a new and significant proposal to secure Paul and Evan’s release,” but “that proposal was rejected by Russia,” according to CBS News. The State Department noted that Dec. 28, 2023 marked five years since Russian authorities wrongfully detained Whelan. IMPRISONED US MARINE VET PAUL WHELAN ASSAULTED OVER ‘POLITICAL DIFFERENCES,’ RUSSIAN NEWS AGENCY REPORTS Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed calls for the release of Whelan and Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, at his annual press conference in Moscow last month. “As for the possible extradition of these citizens [Gershkovich and Paul Whelan] to their homeland.… You say, why don’t they return to their homeland? Then shouldn’t they not commit crimes on the territory of the Russian Federation?” he said, according to Reuters. “But this is all rhetoric. It’s not that we would refuse to return them. We didn’t refuse. We want to reach an agreement, and these agreements must be mutually acceptable and suit both parties. We have contacts with our American partners on this matter, and dialogue is ongoing on this matter. It is not simple, I will not go into details now … I hope we find a solution. But, I repeat, the American side must hear us and make an appropriate decision, one that suits the Russian side.” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also reportedly blamed the White House for apparent leaks to U.S. media, saying publicity was hampering negotiations. Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan and former U.S. Marine, has been jailed in Russia since his December 2018 arrest on espionage-related charges that both he and the U.S. government dispute. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison. In November, Whelan’s family said he was attacked by a fellow prisoner on a production line in a labor camp. Gershkovich, 32, was detained in March 2023 while on a reporting trip to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, about 1,200 miles east of Moscow. He was accused of espionage and has been detained ever since. A Moscow court last month again rejected his appeal for pre-trial release, extending his detention to at least Jan. 30, 2024. At least two U.S. citizens arrested in Russia in recent years, including WNBA star Brittney Griner, have been exchanged for Russians jailed in the U.S. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Texas officers take “full control” of Eagle Pass park against city’s wishes
The city’s mayor was told the state operation to halt illegal border crossings would last indefinitely.
Trump gives closing statement in NYAG trial, says he ‘did nothing wrong,’ case is ‘election interference’
Former President Trump delivered his own closing argument in the non-jury civil trial stemming from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit Thursday, saying he “did nothing wrong,” that his financial statements were “perfect” and blasting the case as “election interference.” Closing arguments in the trial began Thursday morning. The former president and 2024 GOP frontrunner was expected to deliver his own closing statement, but New York Judge Arthur Engoron rescinded the court’s offer for him to do so on Wednesday. During Trump attorney Chris Kise’s closing statement, he requested permission for Trump to speak – a request Engoron denied, but, regardless of the judge’s decision, Trump began to deliver his own remarks. Trump said his financial statements were “perfect,” and stressed that the bank loans were repaid and are “as happy as can be.” Trump acknowledged that there was an “error” made regarding one “triplex,” but said that mistake was “immediately corrected” and was an “honest mistake.” “When you say don’t go outside of these things, I’m an innocent man, persecuted,” Trump said to Engoron, while blasting the case as “election interference,” and saying if he is “not allowed to talk about it, it’s a disservice.” Engoron told Trump to wrap up his remarks within one minute, but Trump fired back, saying: “You can’t listen for more than one minute?” “Mr. Kise, please control your client,” Engoron said to Trump’s attorney. Engoron then asked Trump: “Haven’t you been sued before?” Trump replied: “Yes.” But the former president went on, saying: “I did nothing wrong, they should pay me for what I’ve been put through.” Trump defended his business empire and said he was sued to get publicity. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Fetterman blasts South Africa ‘genocide’ case against Israel amid slayings of White farmers
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., criticized South Africa for bringing a genocide case against Israel in the United Nations’ International Court of Justice despite its own reported rampant slayings of White farmers. “Who are they really fighting? It’s a group of cowards. They hide in tunnels, they hide behind civilians, they attack, kill and mutilate children, women. And they do that. Stop talking about proportion on that. They shot their best shot on October 7th, and they would have taken more lives if they could do that,” Fetterman said of Hamas terrorists while speaking at the Orthodox Union luncheon in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. “Now we’re also talking about genocide,” Fetterman continued. “And now South Africa . . . bringing that kind of trial. Maybe South Africa ought to sit this one out when they’re talking about criticizing the behavior of another nation. Sit out!” Fetterman’s remarks came as the International Court of Justice in The Netherlands was set to hear oral arguments on Thursday in the case South Africa submitted in late December accusing Israel of genocide. The senator also referenced what’s happening in South Africa regarding calls for violence against White farmers. CASSIDY UNVEILS BILL COSPONSORED BY FETTERMAN TO PROTECT COLLEGE STUDENTS FROM ANTISEMITISM, DISCRIMINATION The Associated Press reported in 2020 that White farmers and organizations representing them in South Africa have called for farm killings to be made a priority crime, but the South African government insists that White farmers are not being targeted because of their race, saying the violence is a result of South Africa’s relatively high crime rate. South Africa has one of the highest crime statistics in the world. A great deal of South Africa’s best farmland is owned by White farmers, as a result of the eviction of Black farmers when the country was ruled by a White minority. Although South Africa now has majority rule, land ownership remains a contentious issue, with parties like the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters mobilizing supporters and urging the government to seize White-owned land without compensation and return it to Black families. The issue was featured in the 2018 documentary Farmlands by conservative activist Lauren Southern. At a massive rally in July, Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters party, sang the genocidal anti-apartheid struggle song “Kill the Boer, the farmer,” referring to the White descendants of Dutch settlers, or “Boers,” in South Africa. In the third quarter of 2023, South African farm attacks soared by 21% compared to the previous quarter, according to AfriForum, a non-profit civil rights organization. AfriForum’s Community Safety Division documented 88 farm attacks, including 13 farm murders, from July to September 2023. In the second quarter from April to June, 73 farm attacks, including 23 murders, were recorded, the group said. Fetterman, a Democrat who drew heavy criticism from conservatives as during his campaign and following his victory over Dr. Mehmet Oz in 2022, has recently been championed by conservatives while drawing left-wing backlash over his stance on Israel. Fox News Digital reached out to Fetterman’s office on Thursday regarding his comments at the luncheon but did not immediately hear back. “The Fetterman 180 is the most amazing development in political history,” conservative lawyer Marina Medvin wrote on X, sharing the clip. “John Fetterman is the only politician with the stones to stand up against the radicals in his own base, and it is beyond respectable,” Harrison Krank wrote to his 244,000 followers, reshaping the clip originally posted on X by Dovi Safier. FETTERMAN: HARVARD WAS ALWAYS A ‘LITTLE PINKO’ BUT I ‘DON’T RECOGNIZE IT’ ANYMORE Writing to his 939,600 followers, author and comedian Tim Young added, “John Fetterman calls out South Africa for the genocide of white farmers. I’m starting to feel bad for mocking him. He can wear hoodies & gym shorts all he wants if he keeps dropping more conservative talking points than people who claim to be ‘conservative’ members of Congress.” During opening statements on Thursday, South African lawyers said the latest Gaza war is part of a decades-long oppression of the Palestinians by Israel. South Africa is seeking binding preliminary orders to compel Israel to stop its military campaign in Gaza. The Palestinian health ministry, which is run by Hamas, claims more than 23,000 people have died and does not distinguish between civilian and militant casualties. “Genocides are never declared in advance, but this court has the benefit of the past 13 weeks of evidence that shows incontrovertibly a pattern of conduct and related intention that justifies as a plausible claim of genocidal acts,” South African lawyer Adila Hassim told the judges and audience in the packed, ornate room of the Peace Palace in The Hague, according to the Associated Press. “Nothing will stop the suffering except an order from this court.” Israel, however, says it is battling a fierce enemy in the Gaza Strip that carried out the deadliest attack on its territory in Israel’s history, killing more than 1,200 people on October 7. Israel says it is following international law and does its utmost to avoid harm to civilians. It blames Hamas for the high toll, saying the terror organization that had been controlling Gaza embeds in residential areas. Ahead of the proceedings at The Hague, hundreds of pro-Israeli protesters marched close to the courthouse with banners saying, “Bring them home,” referring to the hostages held by Hamas since October 7. But South Africa reportedly turned a deaf ear to Israel’s arguments, insisting the Jewish state committed genocide by design. “The scale of destruction in Gaza, the targeting of family homes and civilians, the war being a war on children, all make clear that genocidal intent is both understood and has been put into practice. The articulated intent is the destruction of Palestinian life,” lawyer Tembeka Ngcukaitobi said, according to the AP. “What state would admit to a genocidal intent? Yet the distinctive feature of this case has not been the silence as such, but the reiteration and repetition of genocidal speech throughout