Israel launches attacks across Gaza amid spike in regional tensions
The Israeli military said its forces launched air, land and sea attacks on more than 100 targets across the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, as regional tensions surge. The health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory said that 125 people were killed and 318 injured in a 24-hour period. An Israeli strike flattened a home in an area of southern Gaza that the military had declared a safe zone, killing at least 12 people, most of them children, Palestinian hospital officials said. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has said that the military operations in southern Gaza, which in the past have included bombing refugee camps and “safe zones”, will continue. The Israeli military operation has driven more than 85 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people from their homes, levelled much of northern Gaza, and pushed already displaced Palestinians into smaller slivers of the territory where there is no security, food, water or medicines. At least 22,438 people have been killed and 57,614 wounded in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, when the current conflict broke out. Adblock test (Why?)
Montana Republicans fume over university defying calls to shutter CCP-linked program: ‘Malign influence’
The University of Montana (UMT) is taking heat from Republican lawmakers in the state after defending a program that allows groups tied to the Chinese Communist Party to host and pay for student trips to China. UMT is offering a controversial study abroad program in China, referred to as the “CUSEF cultural exchange,” that has raised national security concerns from state lawmakers who say the groups that fund the trips are “an organ of the CCP’s approach to influence operations.” The program is teaming up with two CCP-tied groups for an upcoming summer trip – the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF), which is an influencing operation described by lawmakers as a “forum designed to advance CCP objectives,” and the Max S. Baucus Institute. The Baucus Institute, formed by former Democrat senator of Montana and former Ambassador to China Max Baucus, is highly funded by the Wanxiang Group, whose co-founder, Lu Guanqiu, was awarded the title of “National Outstanding Communist Party Member.” Despite Montana GOP calls to “terminate” all ties with CUSEF, the university is defending the partnership and prompting more concern from state lawmakers who believe the threat should be taken more seriously. DEM LAWMAKERS ATTEND NYC NEW YEAR’S EVENT HOSTED BY CCP-LINKED CONSULATE: ‘DEEPLY CONCERNING’ “Like many Montanans, I have grave concerns about the Chinese Communist Party shoveling money into American colleges and universities, including those in Montana, to target, spy on, and influence our institutions. The CCP is not our friend,” Gov. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Congressman [Ryan] Zinke remains concerned and disappointed that the university is not taking the Chinese threat seriously,” said Heather Swift, spokesperson for Zinke, in a statement. “The Chinese communist propaganda machine relies on influencing young people and normalizing their misinformation campaigns. Programs like that offered at UM are vehicles for the propaganda.” Republican Montana Reps. Ryan Zinke and Matt Rosendale co-signed a letter with the House Select Committee on the CCP to UMT President Seth Bodnar in early December, expressing their concerns over the Chinese group’s involvement with Montana students and demanding the university drop the program from its curriculum. The college, however, continues to promote its upcoming summer China trip. In the House letter to Bodnar, co-signed by Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., the lawmakers said the CUSEF is a “key united front forum designed to advance CCP objectives in and beyond the PRC. The founder and longtime chair of CUSEF, Tung Chee-hwa, was the vice chair of the CPPCC and clearly aligns with CCP interests. Since the 1980s, Tung served as a proxy for the CCP in Hong Kong, where as the first chief executive he pushed for the kind of draconian national security legislation we see today.” Fox News Digital previously reported on Chee-hwa’s close ties to President Biden’s clean energy czar, John Podesta, who repeatedly referred to him as his “friend” and said he had the “highest regard” for him in past emails. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., told Fox News Digital that “given the Chinese Communist Party’s malign influence, what the Select Committee on the CCP uncovered is troubling and deserves to be looked into further.” Democrat Montana Sen. Jon Tester’s office did not respond to multiple inquiries when asked to comment on the matter. When asked why UMT decided to remain in partnership with the CCP-tied groups while colleges such as the University of Texas rejected accepting any such funding from the group, the university sent an article that mirrored statements sent to other outlets. GOV HALEY’S SOUTH CAROLINA PARTNERED WITH CCP-LINKED GROUP TO SEND 20 STUDENTS TO BEIJING SUMMER CAMP The UMT president said the China trips are in compliance with state and federal law and “rather than shrink opportunity, it is our responsibility to expand learning experiences for our students so that America can compete and win around the globe.” “As a former special forces officer, I understand firsthand the threats to freedom posed by foreign adversaries,” Bodnar told the outlet. “This program is in complete compliance with state and federal law.” The dates for the next China trip are to be determined, but an advertisement for the program states that lodging, meals and travel insurance will all be covered by the CUSEF group.
Some GOP senators signal support for House threats to shut down govt over border security battle
Some GOP senators are edging toward the House’s proposal to block the passage of government funding unless the southern border is secured. The negotiations over border security, which began with Biden administration officials before the holiday recess, are already conditioned on an agreement to pass $60 billion in assistance to Ukraine in Biden’s national security supplemental request. But as time passes with no clear timeline for an agreement in sight, some lawmakers are starting to look at another avenue in the annual budget to get the border security bill they want. The staggered deadlines to fund some government agencies are set for Jan. 19 and Feb. 2. Lawmakers are floating the idea of leveraging the pressure of those deadlines to pass border security measures. The Senate has only passed three of 12 appropriations bills for 2024 and will have just 10 days when they return on Monday to approve the first round of funding for several government agencies. “All options are on the table,” Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, told Fox News Digital in an interview Thursday. “But isn’t it ironic we are having to beg the president of the United States to secure the border and that we’re going to have to give up something, whether that’s Ukraine funding or something to do with the government spending package.” GOP REBELS TARGET GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN FEARS IN LATEST PUSH FOR STRICTER BORDER POLICIES Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted on X this week to urge Republicans in both chambers “to condition government funding on border security, we could turn this thing around.” “Biden has legal authority to stop this barbaric flood of illegal immigration and human trafficking. He just refuses to wield it,” he wrote. On Wednesday, 60 House Republicans held a press conference at the southern border in Eagle Pass, Texas. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., who was on the border trip, told Fox News Digital, “Congress must use its power of the purse as leverage to force the Biden regime to enforce our laws and restore order at the border.” “If the Biden administration does not shut the border down, we’ll shut the government down. We control the money,” he said. Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital that voters in his district would support Congress shutting down the government if it forced Democrats to act on the border. SENATE HAS ONLY PASSED 3 OUT OF 12 SPENDING BILLS AS DEADLINE LOOMS Senate Republicans are scheduled to congregate for a conference next week to discuss the current status of the negotiations. Before the holiday recess, 15 Senate Republicans sent a letter to Senate Republican Conference Chair John Barrasso of Wyoming to request a conference meeting to discuss the ongoing negotiations, which they have said are clouded by secrecy. According to Marshall, who has had a few conversations with Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla. — one of the lead negotiators — the major hangups Democrats have in current negotiations are tightening asylum standards and increasing parole. “If James Lankford can’t crack this nut, I don’t know who’s going to,” Marshall said. KEY LAWMAKERS RETURN TO THE HILL EARLY TO CONTINUE BORDER SECURITY TALKS AS HOUSE REPUBLICANS VISIT BORDER But on Wednesday, Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters that officials were “making progress” toward an agreement, despite the House not budging from its hard-line border proposal that would significantly change eligibility for asylum seekers, also known as H.R. 2. “We’re closer than we have been,” Schumer said. “But this is a very difficult issue. And there’s still different things, different issues to overcome.” Fox News’ Liz Elkind contributed to this report.
Border state candidates issue stark warning to fellow Republicans about ceding to Dems on Ukraine: ‘Buckle up’
EXCLUSIVE: Republican candidates running in border states are warning congressional GOP members negotiating a funding deal not to cede ground to Democrat demands for more Ukraine support so long as the migrant crisis continues. Fox News Digital spoke with multiple Republican candidates, as well as one Democrat, about the ongoing negotiations and whether concern for Ukraine amid its war with Russia might trump the worsening border crisis that they say is a threat to America’s national security. “If our elected officials can’t focus solely on securing our border and stopping people from invading our country, then they should be voted out of office,” Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake told Fox. POLL REVEALS ALARMING LEVEL OF FEAR OF WHETHER 2024 ELECTIONS WILL BE ‘FAIR,’ BALLOT COUNTING ACCURATE “Any member of Congress who is trying to wrap Ukraine funding into securing our own border is betraying the trust of the American people. The money I would vote to approve will be used to secure our border and stop the invasion, not to process more people coming in,” she added. Former Republican Texas Congresswoman Mayra Flores, the first Mexican-born woman elected to Congress who is now running to retake her border district seat she lost in the 2022 midterms, echoed Lake. Money should not continue to be sent to Ukraine as long as America continues to battle the crisis at the border, Flores said. “As the wife of a border patrol agent living in the Rio Grande Valley, I can tell you unequivocally there is no more serious threat to our country’s security than the thousands of unknown, illegal immigrants coming into our country every single day,” she said. New Mexico Senate candidate Ben Luna also took a tough approach, arguing congressional Republicans needed to step up and stop the decline he said America has been facing because of issues at the border. BIDEN CONTINUES BLEEDING SUPPORT FROM KEY VOTER GROUPS AS DEMS SOUND ALARM OVER 2024: POLL “We really need to fix America before we even try to help others. It’s almost like an injured person trying to go do surgery on somebody else. It doesn’t make any sense,” he told Fox. “[Republicans] need to buckle up and play hardball… We haven’t really had a lot of leadership and a lot of people know that hard times create strong men while weak men create hard times. And we’re kind of going through that right now,” he said. Luna added that Americans were now dealing with the consequences of 70 to 100 years of bad policy decisions, and that even Democrats in his home state were waking up to the realities of politicians sending money elsewhere when it was desperately needed to help those here. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who is up for re-election this year, has been one of the biggest proponents in the Senate for achieving Republicans’ objectives in handling the border crisis. He introduced the Senate version of H.R. 2, officially known as the Secure the Border Act, which has served as the baseline for the GOP’s border position in the funding negotiations. MAINE DEMOCRAT WHO BARRED TRUMP FROM BALLOT SAID VOTER ID LAWS ‘ROOTED IN WHITE SUPREMACY’ “I think it’s the best and most comprehensive approach to actually securing the border. And the White House’s objection comes down to the sad fact they don’t want it secure for anybody else,” he said in a recent interview. One of Cruz’s Democrat challengers, Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, offered an alternative view on the funding fight, arguing the war in Ukraine affected everyone across the globe, and that solutions to the border crisis involved reforming gun laws to combat cartel violence. “The war in Ukraine is about protecting democracy, and when democracy is challenged anywhere in the world, that affects us all,” he told Fox. “Real border security solutions involve stopping the gun industry from arming cartels. Only comprehensive gun safety reform is going to fix that.” Gutierrez said that policies like red flag laws, purchasing age limits and “assault” weapons bans would accomplish that. BATTLEGROUND STATE POSES BIDEN’S TOUGHEST 2024 CHALLENGE IN POTENTIAL TRUMP REMATCH “Fixing the chaos caused by Republican extremists at the southern border must be solved, but make no mistake, it should not come at the cost of protecting democracy. It’s time to put an end to the made-for-TV stunts and finally focus on the voices of the leaders from our border communities,” he added. Fox reached out to a number of other Democrat candidates running in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, and asked what they wanted to see as part of the funding deal, but none offered any response. Key Senate lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill early this week from the Christmas recess to try and strike a deal on a border security bill after they were unable to reach an agreement last month. Lead Senate negotiators James Lankford, R-Okla., Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., began negotiations with U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other Biden administration officials a week before the upper chamber was scheduled to go on its holiday recess. Meanwhile, 60 House Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., ended their holiday break early to visit Eagle Pass, Texas, on the southern border Wednesday. They have vowed that even if a deal is struck in the Senate, it won’t receive support from the GOP-controlled House unless it includes elements of H.R. 2. Republicans tied the condition of increased aid to Ukraine to the implementation of stricter border security measures prior to the recess. However, the demand for this linkage, which encompasses aid to Israel and Taiwan alongside Ukraine, arose soon after President Biden urged its passage in October. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub. Fox News’ Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.
Biden lawsuit over Texas immigration law latest attempt to stifle states’ moves to stop illegal immigration
A new lawsuit by the Biden administration filed this week targeting Texas’ new anti-illegal immigration law marks the latest legal move in a long line of challenges by the administration against state-led efforts to stop illegal immigration. The Department of Justice on Wednesday filed a lawsuit over a law recently signed by Gov. Greg Abbott, which allows state and local law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants. The DOJ said it challenged the federal government’s authority. “The United States brings this action to preserve its exclusive authority under federal law to regulate the entry and removal of noncitizens,” the lawsuit states. “Texas cannot run its own immigration system. Its efforts, through SB 4, intrude on the federal government’s exclusive authority to regulate the entry and removal of noncitizens, frustrate the United States’ immigration operations and proceedings, and interfere with U.S. foreign relations.” BIDEN DOJ SEEKS SUPREME COURT INTERVENTION OVER TEXAS RAZOR WIRE AT SOUTHERN BORDER Abbott responded by taking aim at the Biden administration, which he said would “rather sue Texas for our efforts to secure the border than enforce federal laws that would eliminate this crisis.” “Texas will not back down,” he said. The latest legal move comes just days after the DOJ requested the Supreme Court to intervene in a legal dispute with Texas over the construction of razor wire at the border. Texas had initiated the lawsuit after federal officials had cut and destroyed the wire it had set up to stop illegal crossings. The state accused the government of illegally destroying property owned by the state and harming border efforts, but the government has said that the wire inhibits Border Patrol’s ability to patrol the border and that agents must apprehend illegal immigrants and take them into custody. JUSTICE DEPT SUES TEXAS OVER LAW TO LET POLICE ARREST ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS After an appeals court blocked the administration from destroying the wire, the DOJ filed the application with the Supreme Court to take up the case. Separately, another legal dispute was being fought last month over Texas’ construction of a floating barrier on the Rio Grande to stop illegal immigrants from crossing the river. The DOJ said the barrier poses a safety risk, violates federal law and interferes with the government’s ability to “carry out its official duties.” Specifically, it said the barrier violates the Rivers and Harbors Act, which protects navigable waters from obstructions and outlines authorities for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Fifth Court of Appeals ruled this time in favor of the administration and ordered Texas to take down 1,000 feet of the barrier. It remains to be seen if the case will progress any further. The anti-barrier battle fought between Texas and the administration on multiple fronts also echoes a similar fight with Arizona a year earlier, when the administration sued Arizona over its construction of a makeshift border barrier by then-Gov. Doug Ducey using shipping containers and razor wire to prevent illegal immigrants coming into the U.S. That lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, says that the installation of multi-ton shipping containers, welded shut and topped with razor wire, “damage[s] federal lands, threaten[s] public safety, and impede[s] the ability of federal agencies and officials, including law enforcement personnel, to perform their official duties.” Ultimately, Arizona backed down and removed the containers. The lawsuits against Texas are likely to remain a hot issue in 2024. There were more than 302,000 migrant encounters in December alone, which has increased political pressure on the administration. It has said it is pursuing a policy of expanding lawful pathways for migration and increasing consequences for illegal entry but that it also needs funding and immigration reform from Congress. Negotiations have been ongoing for billions in border funding, with Republicans demanding greater limits on releases of migrants into the interior.
Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein associate funneled large donations to Vivek Ramaswamy, several Dems
A billionaire associate of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein funneled large donations to Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and several Democrat lawmakers, according to a Fox News Digital review of federal filings. New York City-based hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin was the first name included in previously redacted court documents in a lawsuit against Epstein’s former lover and accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska had recently ordered the documents be made public and were released on Wednesday. Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre said Dubin was the “first” individual Maxwell had sent her to for sex after she completed her massage training, according to a 2016 deposition. “When they say massage, that means erotic, okay? That’s their term for it,” Giuffre said. “And I’m telling you that Ghislaine told me to go to Glenn Dubin and give him a massage, which means sex.” JEFFREY EPSTEIN LIST: COURT UNSEALS NAMES IN GHISLAINE MAXWELL LAWSUIT “I know Glenn Dubin was first,” Giuffre added. Dubin, the co-founder of Highbridge Capital Management, is heavily involved with philanthropic endeavors and has given federal candidates hundreds of thousands of dollars in political donations in recent years. According to Federal Election Commission filings, Dubin funneled $100,000 to Ramaswamy’s American Exceptionalism PAC in 2023. He also added $6,600 in donations to his campaign last year. Ramaswamy appears to be his only donation to a Republican candidate in some time. His money has primarily gone to Democrat committees. Dubin drove a $50,000 donation to Hillary Clinton’s victory fund and a $33,400 contribution to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) during the 2016 election cycle. He also showered the Sen. Chuck Schumer-aligned Senate Majority PAC with $75,000 in cash in 2016 and 2018. In addition, he’s given thousands of dollars to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s former Win the Era PAC in 2019 and to the campaigns of several Democrat lawmakers, including Reps. Daniel Goldman and Ritchie Torres of New York, over the past several years. Meanwhile, Dubin’s wife and Epstein’s ex-girlfriend, Eva Andersson-Dubin, was also included in the court records. Andersson-Dubin previously testified on Maxwell’s behalf. A spokesperson for the Dubins told the New York Post on Thursday that the “Dubins strongly deny these allegations, as we first said [in Vanity Fair] in 2019, when these unsubstantiated statements first surfaced as part of this same civil court proceeding.” Glenn Dubin did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. JEFFREY EPSTEIN DOCUMENTS: SEE ALL 40 UNSEALED FILES IN GHISLAINE MAXWELL LAWSUIT Epstein had many high-profile connections, including former U.S. presidents, foreign prime ministers, Britain’s Prince Andrew, Hollywood stars, leading academics, individuals in the modeling and fashion industries, and other public figures. Some of the names were previously known through other means despite having been withheld from the public’s eye in the lawsuit. The names were unveiled in a series of 40 documents that have been posted to the docket without the previous redactions that hid prominent names, including former Presidents Clinton and Trump; Clinton’s estranged longtime aide Doug Band; the late former governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson; and French modeling agent Jean-Luc Brunel, who, like Epstein, died while awaiting trial. Many of the names belong to people who have not been accused of wrongdoing, including Clinton, who also declined to ask the court to have his name remain sealed. Dubin and his wife have also not been charged. Dubin’s former private chef, Rinaldo Rizzo, was also among the names unsealed Wednesday. Previously released documents revealed that Rizzo said Epstein and Maxwell once visited Dubin’s house with a disoriented, 15-year-old Swedish girl who told him the couple asked her for sex and that her passport had been taken. Others cited include Tony Figueroa, Limited Brands founder and former Victoria’s Secret CEO Les Wexner, and Epstein accusers such as Johanna Sjoberg and Annie Farmer. Epstein was convicted of having sex with an underage girl and faced sex trafficking and conspiracy charges when he killed himself in 2019. Ramaswamy’s, Goldman’s and Ritchie’s campaigns did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. The Senate Majority PAC and DNC also did not respond to an inquiry. The remaining committees have been terminated since the time of his contributions.
ISRO successfully tests futuristic fuel cell-based power system for a proposed space station
On January 1, PSLV-C58 launched the PSLV Orbital Experimental Module, or POEM, to conduct space testing of the “100W class Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell based Power System (FCPS).”
DCGI bans all charges, except supply, processing costs on blood units
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCI) on Thursday banned all charges except supply and processing costs on blood units.
Krishna Janmabhoomi case: Supreme Court dismisses plea for removal of Shahi Idgah mosque
The Allahabad High Court dismissed a PIL seeking the removal of Mathura’s Shahi Idgah Mosque, allegedly built on Krishna Janmabhoomi
‘People will not…’: AIUDF chief makes big statement on Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Nyay Yatra
Rahul Gandhi will start the ‘Bharat Nyay Yatra’ from Manipur on January 14.