Biden DOJ seeks Supreme Court intervention over Texas razor wire at southern border
The Biden administration on Tuesday requested that the Supreme Court intervene in a legal dispute with Texas after an appeals court blocked the administration from cutting razor wire set up by the state at the southern border to stop illegal immigrants. The DOJ filed an application with the Supreme Court after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the administration last month from “damaging, destroying, or otherwise interfering with Texas’s [concertina wire] fence in the vicinity of Eagle Pass, Texas” unless it is for a medical emergency. Texas had sued the administration in October over the destruction of parts of more than 29 miles of wire it had set up to stop illegal crossings. The state accused the government of illegally destroying property owned by the state, but also harming efforts to secure the border. DOJ THREATENS TO SUE TEXAS OVER ANTI-ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION LAW; ABBOTT PREPARED FOR SUPREME COURT FIGHT “By cutting Texas’s concertina wire, the federal government has not only illegally destroyed property owned by the State of Texas; it has also disrupted the State’s border security efforts, leaving gaps in Texas’s border barriers and damaging Texas’s ability to effectively deter illegal entry into its territory,” Texas said. The federal government has argued that once migrants are on U.S. soil, Border Patrol agents must apprehend them, and has claimed the wire “inhibits Border Patrol’s ability to patrol the border.” A DHS spokesperson told Fox in October that it does not comment on pending litigation, but “generally speaking, Border Patrol agents have a responsibility under federal law to take those who have crossed onto U.S. soil without authorization into custody for processing, as well as to act when there are conditions that put our workforce or migrants at risk.” A federal district court judge had denied the preliminary injunction request from the state, but the Fifth Circuit granted it. On Tuesday, the DOJ asking the Supreme Court for temporary relief so that it can remove razor fence at the federal government’s discretion. “The court of appeals’ contrary ruling inverts the Supremacy Clause by requiring federal law to yield to Texas law,” the application to the Court argues. “If accepted, the court’s rationale would leave the United States at the mercy of States that could seek to force the federal government to conform the implementation of federal immigration law to varying state-law regimes.” FEDERAL APPEALS COURT BLOCKS BIDEN ADMIN FROM REMOVING TEXAS’ RAZOR WIRE AT SOUTHERN BORDER It marks the latest legal battle between the DOJ and Texas over the border crisis. A lawsuit is ongoing between the two sides over Texas’ construction of a buoy barrier in the Rio Grande River to stop illegal crossings. An appeals court recently ruled that Texas must removed 1,000 feet of that barrier. Last week the DOJ also threatened to sue the state over a recently-signed immigration law which allows state and local law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants. TOP HOUSE COMMITTEE RENEWS DEMAND FOR DOCS FROM DHS ON TEXAS BORDER WIRE CUTTING The DOJ claimed the law is unconstitutional and “will disrupt the federal government’s operations.” The letter says that the DOJ intends to bring a lawsuit “to enforce the supremacy of federal law and to enjoin the operation of SB 4” unless Texas confirms by Jan. 3 that it is stopping enforcement of the legislation. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Abbott’s office said Texas was prepared to go to the nation’s highest court in defense of that legislation. “Texas is prepared to take this fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to protect Texans and Americans from President Biden’s open border policies,” spokesperson Renae Eze said. “President Biden’s deliberate and dangerous inaction at our southern border has left Texas to fend for itself. Governor Abbott signed Senate Bill 4 into law last week to help stop the tidal wave of illegal entry into Texas as the President refuses to enforce federal immigration laws.” Meanwhile, Fox News reported this week that migrant numbers at the southern border exceeded 300,000 in December, marking a new all-time record for encounters.
Republican WV delegate Caleb Hanna resigns to focus on state auditor campaign
A 24-year-old Republican state lawmaker in West Virginia is resigning to focus on his campaign for state auditor. CALEB HANNA COULD BE THE YOUNGEST AFRICAN AMERICAN TO ACHIEVE STATE OFFICE Del. Caleb Hanna of Nicholas County was first elected to the state Legislature in 2018 when he was 19, becoming the youngest African American ever elected to state office in West Virginia. In a letter announcing his resignation effective Wednesday, a week before the start of the legislative session Jan. 10, he cited a wish to dedicate his “full attention and efforts” to his campaign for auditor. “I believe that this role offers a unique opportunity to make a positive impact on the financial well-being and transparency of our state government,” Hanna wrote. “To effectively serve the people of West Virginia in this capacity, I need to devote my time and energy to meeting with constituents, understanding their concerns, and working towards solutions that benefit our state.” By law, GOP Gov. Jim Justice is responsible for appointing a Republican to finish the remainder of Hanna’s term, which expires in December 2024. Hanna’s local GOP executive committee will submit a list of names for the governor to choose from.
Harvard president resigns amid controversy over anti-Semitisim hearing
Claudine Gay came under fire last month for her answers to a question on anti-Semitism on campus. The president of Harvard University, Claudine Gay, has resigned amid plagiarism accusations and criticism over a congressional hearing during which she was unable to say whether calls for the genocide of Jews on campus would violate the school’s conduct policy. In a statement announcing her departure on Tuesday, Gay wrote, “It is with a heavy heart but a deep love for Harvard that I write to share that I will be stepping down as president.” “It has been distressing to have doubt cast on my commitments to confronting hate and to upholding scholarly rigor … and frightening to be subjected to personal attacks and threats fueled by racial animus,” she added. In July 2023, Gay became the first Black president of Harvard in 387 years. But last month, Gay, along with the president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Pennsylvania, came under fire for their lawyerly responses to a line of questioning from New York Republican representative Elise Stefanik, who asked whether “calling for the genocide of Jews” would violate the college’s code of conduct. The three presidents had been called before the Republican-led House Committee on Education and the Workforce to answer accusations that universities were failing to protect Jewish students in light of the rise in anti-Semitism following Israel’s assault on Gaza and the rising Palestinian death toll. In response to the question, Gay said that it depended on the context and that when “speech crosses into conduct, that violates our policies”. Harvard University President Claudine Gay watches a video being played during a House Education and The Workforce Committee hearing, December 5, 2023 [File: Ken Cedeno/Reuters] But her answer met intense backlash from both Republicans and Democrats. More than 70 lawmakers, including two Democrats, called for her resignation, while several high-profile Harvard alumni and donors called for her departure. But, more than 700 Harvard faculty members signed a letter supporting Gay. Gay later apologised to the Harvard Crimson for her comments and said that she was caught up in the heated exchange and failed to condemn threats of violence towards Jewish students properly. “What I should have had the presence of mind to do in that moment was return to my guiding truth, which is that calls for violence against our Jewish community – threats to our Jewish students – have no place at Harvard, and will never go unchallenged,” said Gay. But the incident marred Gay’s early tenure at Harvard and sowed discord on campus. Last week, Rabbi David Wolpe resigned from an anti-Semitism committee created by Gay. He said on X that the “events on campus and the painfully inadequate testimony reinforced the idea that I cannot make the sort of difference I had hoped”. Following the congressional hearing, Gay’s academic career came under intense scrutiny by conservative activists who unearthed several instances of alleged plagiarism in her 1997 doctoral dissertation. Harvard’s governing board initially rallied behind Gay, saying a review of her scholarly work turned up “a few instances of inadequate citation” but no evidence of research misconduct. Days later, the Harvard Corporation revealed that it found two additional examples of “duplicative language without appropriate attribution.” The board said Gay would update her dissertation and request corrections. The Harvard Corporation said the resignation came “with great sadness” and thanked Gay for her “deep and unwavering commitment to Harvard and to the pursuit of academic excellence.” Adblock test (Why?)
Biden under pressure to act amid new fears of ‘ethnic cleansing’ in Gaza
Rights advocates in the United States are urging President Joe Biden to end his administration’s “complicity” in Israeli rights abuses after key members of Israel’s government backed the idea of pushing Palestinians out of Gaza. Far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich said this week that Israel should “encourage emigration” from the coastal enclave, home to an estimated 2.3 million Palestinians. Israel has been carrying out a military offensive in Gaza since October 7, resulting in an estimated 1.9 million Palestinians being internally displaced, according to the United Nations. “If there are 100,000 or 200,000 Arabs in Gaza and not two million Arabs, the entire discussion on the day after [the war ends] will be totally different,” Smotrich said on Sunday, calling for the “voluntary migration” of Palestinians. A day later, Ben-Gvir, who oversees national security, made a similar appeal, saying it was “a correct, just, moral and humane solution”, Israeli media outlets reported. Their remarks are the latest by Israeli officials alluding to the prospect of resettling Palestinians outside of Gaza. Human rights and legal experts have warned that forced displacement constitutes a war crime under international law and could lead to ethnic cleansing. “It’s not really ‘voluntary’ when you’re bombing homes and starving the entire population,” said Rasha Mubarak, a Palestinian American organiser. Mubarak told Al Jazeera that the Biden administration has not only failed to condemn Israeli officials’ push to get Palestinians out of Gaza, but it has also contributed to the war by providing Israel with continued military aid and diplomatic support. “They have played an immense part in this genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people,” she said. Biden ‘an aider and abetter’ Over the past several weeks, as Israel pressed on with its bombing campaign, senior US officials have said they do not support efforts to force Palestinians out of the enclave. “The United States remains firmly opposed to any forced or enduring displacement of Palestinians from Gaza,” a State Department spokesperson told Al Jazeera in an email on Monday evening, without commenting specifically on the Israeli ministers’ most recent remarks. But rights advocates say the US’s unwavering support for Israel’s war, which has killed more than 22,000 Palestinians in Gaza to date, is leaving the door open to further atrocities and violations of international law. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, civilians cannot be deported or forcibly transferred from a territory unless such a move is required for “the security of civilians involved or imperative military reasons”. The International Criminal Court (ICC) also states that the forcible displacement of civilians is a war crime unless justified by “military necessity” or civilian safety. Kenneth Roth, a former head of Human Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera in a television interview on Monday that the “idea of massive ethnic cleansing — the war crime of forced displacement — is still very much an idea” within Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Critics fear, however, that there is growing pressure to make that idea a reality in Gaza. Ben-Gvir’s and Smotrich’s comments are only the latest in a string of comments that have prompted concern since the war began. In late October, for instance, the news outlet +972 Magazine reported that the Israeli Ministry of Intelligence had recommended the forcible transfer of Gaza’s population to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel, a member of Netanyahu’s Likud Party, also wrote in The Jerusalem Post in November that the international community should be “helping the people of Gaza build new lives” elsewhere. Danny Danon, Israel’s former ambassador to the UN and another Likud lawmaker, also has promoted the “voluntary migration” idea. In a Wall Street Journal opinion column in November, Danon and Yesh Atid party legislator Ram Ben-Barak urged “a handful of the world’s nations to share the responsibility of hosting Gazan residents”. Yet while the US has pressed Israeli leaders to avoid civilian casualties and allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, Roth said that “Biden so far refuses to use the leverage he has” to pressure Israel. The country receives $3.8bn in US military aid annually. In addition, late last week, the Biden administration bypassed Congress to authorise the transfer of about $147m in artillery ammunition, saying that “an emergency exists that requires the immediate sale” of the weapons to Israel. “It would have been very simple to say, ‘You want these weapons? Let in the aid. You want these weapons? Stop killing so many civilians.’ [Biden] didn’t do that,” Roth said. “He left it completely unconditional, giving up the leverage he had and, in a sense, making him complicit in what’s going on — actually, an aider and abetter of those war crimes.” Zaha Hassan, a human rights lawyer and fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, also told Al Jazeera that the Biden administration could be doing more to discourage any attempts at forced displacement. Israel’s military offensive, she explained, has “made Gaza not just unlivable but has put at risk the lives of the 2.3 million Palestinians that are there”. Israel — as an occupying power — has an obligation to ensure the basic needs of Gaza’s Palestinians are met, Hassan said. But instead, the ongoing Israeli bombardment has destroyed critical infrastructure in Gaza, and its siege is severely limiting access to food, water and other much-needed supplies. “So to come now and say that Palestinians in Gaza, if they so chose to leave, would be welcome to do so by Israel is a really cynical understanding of their obligations. They haven’t really created choice at this point for Palestinians. They’re trying to, it appears, force them to flee and force them to seek safety and survival elsewhere,” she said. Hassan also called Netanyahu’s comments about taking control of the Egypt-Gaza border zone — an area known as the Philadelphi corridor — deeply concerning. “This would enable them to execute on any plans they have to push Palestinians out of Gaza under this guise of it being voluntary.” Voluntary migration? No matter how
Names linked to Jeffrey Epstein set to be made public: All you need to know
A list of names connected to late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is set to be released to the public, bringing renewed attention to a sex-trafficking operation that has captured international headlines for years. A United States judge authorised the unsealing of court documents last month, as part of a 2015 defamation lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre, who accused Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell of trafficking her as a minor. The documents are set to reveal more than 150 names of people linked to Epstein, who died by suicide in a US prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking and other charges. They include individuals accused of wrongdoing, as well as those who worked for or had only tangential ties to Epstein. Among the names are also alleged sex-trafficking victims and witnesses to crimes, US media outlets have reported. Here’s all you need to know about the list of names — and what its implications are. Where do the names come from? The names appear in court documents from the 2015 defamation lawsuit Giuffre filed against Maxwell, a British socialite who was later sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges related to sex trafficking. Giuffre had accused Maxwell of facilitating her sexual abuse at the hands of Epstein and other powerful men. When Maxwell called those accusations “obvious lies”, Giuffre responded with the defamation suit. The case was ultimately settled in 2017. As part of the court’s findings, a judge wrote that Giuffre “was a victim of sustained underage sexual abuse between 1999 and 2002”. But the documents used in the case continued to provoke interest, well after the suit ended. In 2018, the Miami Herald started legal proceedings to get access to the documents. “Thousands of pages have been released” on a “rolling basis” since then, according to the Herald, as part of a process to determine which files could be made public. Many of the names in the documents had been redacted, though. But on December 18, the US District Court judge overseeing the case, Loretta Preska, decided some of the names could be unsealed as well. She gave anyone affected until midnight on January 1 to file an objection, which means the files could be released as early as Tuesday. How did the judge decide which names could be made public? Preska argued in her decision that many of the names had already been revealed through court testimony or depositions, as well as in media reports. Up to the present, certain individuals had been referred to as John or Jane Doe in court documents. Some names will remain sealed, however, because the individuals were minors when the alleged sexual abuse occurred and they have not spoken publicly. “The public interest does not outweigh the privacy interests of the alleged minor victim,” Preska wrote. But concerns remain over how the public may react to any newly released names. The documents themselves “may not make clear why a certain individual became associated with Giuffre’s lawsuit”, ABC News reported. That said, the new revelations will likely help illustrate the scale of Epstein’s alleged sex-trafficking ring and his influence among powerful members of society. Epstein died by suicide before he could face sex-trafficking charges in court. Will prominent names be included? The United Kingdom’s Prince Andrew is expected to be named in the documents. Giuffre accused the British royal of forcing her to have sex with him two decades ago when she was 17, an allegation Prince Andrew has vehemently denied. The case was settled in 2022. According to ABC News, the unsealed court documents are expected to contain details from a witness — identified as Jane Doe 162 — “who testified she was with Prince Andrew, Maxwell and Giuffre, then 17, at Epstein’s New York mansion”. “Giuffre has alleged that gathering, in 2001, was one of the occasions she was directed to have sex with Andrew,” the news outlet reported. Former US President Bill Clinton is also expected to be named in the released documents, though he was not accused of any wrongdoing by Giuffre. She had said she met Clinton on Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean, US media outlets have reported. When US prosecutors filed sex trafficking and conspiracy charges against Epstein in 2019, the ex-president’s spokesman, Angel Urena, said Clinton “knows nothing about the terrible crimes” the disgraced financier had been accused of. “In 2002 and 2003, President Clinton took a total of four trips on Jeffrey Epstein’s airplane: one to Europe, one to Asia, and two to Africa, which included stops in connection with the work of the Clinton Foundation,” Urena said. “He’s not spoken to Epstein in well over a decade and has never been to Little St. James Island, Epstein’s ranch in New Mexico, or his residence in Florida.” ABC News reported that Clinton’s name appears more than 50 times in the court filings, but mentions of the former president are often related to efforts to subpoena him “for deposition testimony about his relationship with Epstein”. Statement on Jeffrey Epstein. pic.twitter.com/98ha9YYd1l — Angel Ureña (@angelurena) July 8, 2019 How important is the release? Rikki Klieman, a legal analyst with CBS News, said this week that “it’s highly significant for documents to be unsealed so that the complete story of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell can be made public”. “We need to know as members of the public who have an interest in keeping women and young girls, children, safe from predators,” Klieman said. Giuffre also commented on the release last month over social media, describing Judge Preska as “honourable” for her decision to make the names public and ensure transparency. She added there were “going to be a lot of nervous [people] over Christmas and New Years”. Adblock test (Why?)
Fox News Politics: Gay resignation
Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. Subscribe now to get Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox. What’s Happening? – Republican House majority whittles down to three – CIA veteran warns of 2024 interference – Bill Clinton expected to be identified in released Epstein documents Harvard President Claudine Gay announced her resignation Tuesday afternoon — though she said she would still remain on the university’s faculty. Following weeks of scandal over allegations of antisemitism and plagiarism, Gay’s resignation brings to an end the shortest Harvard presidency in the university’s history. But Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Harvard alumna who sparred with the Ivy League president over campus antisemitism in December, celebrated the “long overdue” news of Gay’s resignation. Stefanik also said it is “just the beginning of what will be the greatest scandal of any college or university in history.” ‘MISS THE MARK’: Biden climate agenda faces opposition from key allies …Read more HERE FOREVER?: Amnesty for illegals remains Dem, admin priority despite crisis …Read more ROYAL WELCOME: Radical climate group scores White House invite after chasing Buttigieg off stage …Read more ‘LEARNED MY LESSON’: Charlamagne Tha God regrets supporting Biden-Harris ticket in 2020 …Read more TRUMP TOWN HALL: Fox News to host Trump town hall before critical Iowa caucuses …Read more ‘SIGNIFICANT PROBLEM’: CIA veteran sounds alarm about agency interfering against GOP in 2024 election …Read more BAYOU BLESSING: The House majority leader just endorsed this presidential candidate …Read more ‘NO ROLE’: Maine secretary of state denies politics influenced decision to kick Trump off ballot …Read more COMMANDING FRONTRUNNER: Trump begins 2024 leagues ahead of where he was a year ago …Read more PANIC MODE: Biden continues bleeding support from key voter groups as Dems sound alarm over 2024: poll …Read more SLIM MARGIN: House GOP’s majority officially drops to three seats with McCarthy’s resignation …Read more ‘JOHN DOE’: Bill Clinton to be identified in previously redacted Jeffrey Epstein documents …Read more JURY SELECTION BEGINS: Former NRA leader LaPierre, others, face trial after New York AG probe …Read more VOTING RIGHTS: Maryland county claims school board can create seat only illegal immigrants can vote on …Read more ROBERTS’ RULES: Supreme Court chief justice report urges caution on use of AI ahead of contentious election year …Read more OVERWHELMING NUMBERS: Migrant encounters at southern border hit record 302K in December, sources say …Read more Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Ruby-red Kentucky begins new legislative session with budget talks, policy clashes on horizon
Kentucky lawmakers returned to work Tuesday for a 60-day session that’ll be dominated by negotiations over the next state budget, with Republican supermajorities in both chambers once again shaping Bluegrass State policies even as voters have extended an era of divided government by reelecting Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear. Both the House and Senate gaveled in at midday to begin the grind of legislating through mid-April. Efforts to craft the next two-year budget — the state’s overarching policy document — likely won’t wrap up until late in the session. Beshear offered his budget blueprint in a televised speech last month, calling for massive funding increases for public education topped by a proposed 11% pay raise for teachers and all other public school employees. The governor also is resuming his push for state-funded preschool for every 4-year-old in Kentucky. Republican lawmakers have charted their own course on education policies. KENTUCKY GOV. BESHEAR PUSHES FOR HIGHER TEACHER PAY, UNIVERSAL PRE-K AS LEGISLATIVE SESSION NEARS Lawmakers will review hundreds of other bills in the coming months. Familiar issues that could grab headlines include abortion and school choice. New issues for Kentucky could include efforts to rein in diversity, equity and inclusion offices in higher education. A push to relax Kentucky’s near-total abortion ban could resurface. Last year, a bill to add exceptions to the ban for pregnancies caused by rape or incest made no headway in the legislature. Beshear, an abortion-rights supporter, made his support for those exceptions a prominent part of his successful reelection campaign. Kentucky’s current abortion law bans the procedure except when carried out to save a pregnant woman’s life or to prevent a disabling injury. Another potential high-profile issue could be efforts to put a school-choice constitutional amendment on the fall ballot in Kentucky. The goal would be to remove constitutional hurdles for school choice initiatives. It comes after school choice advocates suffered setbacks in courts. A state judge last month struck down a law aimed at setting up a funding method for charter schools. In 2022, Kentucky’s Supreme Court struck down another law meant to award tax credits for donations supporting private school tuition. One dynamic that will be watched closely is the relationship between the governor and GOP lawmakers. Beshear’s first term featured annual policy clashes with Republican lawmakers, who overrode numerous gubernatorial vetoes. Beshear has noted that he also signed more than 600 bipartisan bills into law, including signature measures to legalize sports betting and medical marijuana and to expand early voting.
Critics cheer resignation of ‘antisemitic plagiarist’ Harvard president Claudine Gay: ‘Bye Felicia’
Critics of embattled Harvard president Claudine Gay celebrated Tuesday after she announced her decision to resign from her post after facing intense backlash in recent weeks following controversial comments about antisemitism on the university’s campus and accusations of plagiarism. In a letter to members of the Harvard community, Gay said she was stepping down as president but will return to the Harvard faculty despite widespread plagiarism allegations against her. “I will always deliver results. The resignation of Harvard’s antisemitic plagiarist president is long overdue,” House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital following Gay’s announcement. EMBATTLED HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT CLAUDINE GAY HIT WITH MORE PLAGIARISM CHARGES “Claudine Gay’s morally bankrupt answers to my questions made history as the most viewed Congressional testimony in the history of the U.S. Congress. Her answers were absolutely pathetic and devoid of the moral leadership and academic integrity required of the President of Harvard,” she said. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., told Fox that Gay’s resignation “should have happened weeks ago following her inexcusable failure to immediately and unequivocally state that calls for the genocide of Jews aren’t welcome on her campus.” “I am disgusted by the antisemitism that is being tolerated by so many across our country. We must strongly stand with our Jewish students and the Jewish community, because ‘never again’ is now,” she added. BIDEN CONTINUES BLEEDING SUPPORT FROM KEY VOTER GROUPS AS DEMS SOUND ALARM OVER 2024: POLL Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy reacted to Gay’s resignation by telling Fox it was time to end affirmative action hiring on college campuses, just as the Supreme Court did in college admissions. “Finally! Harvard University should have fired Gay immediately after she condoned genocide,” Republican Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake told Fox. “It’s a time for universities and colleges across this great country to do some soul-searching. Our students deserve better than indoctrination, hate, and antisemitism being taught on college campuses. In the Senate, I will give heavy scrutiny to the amount of federal funding these woke indoctrination centers are receiving,” she added. HARVARD STUDENTS PEN EDITORIAL CALLING ON PRESIDENT GAY TO RESIGN, STATING SHE HAS ‘FAILED’ Michael Markey, a Republican candidate for Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District and a Harvard alumnus, told Fox that Gay’s resignation “couldn’t come soon enough,” and said her tenure would be “marred by the silencing of conservative voices on campus while promoting calls for genocide against Jews.” “After a month of plagiarism scandals and an embarrassing congressional hearing, Claudine Gay’s tenure at Harvard will be remembered as a stain on the institution for years to come,” he added. Others took to social media to cheer the resignation, including Rep. John James, R-Mich., who wrote, “The news of Claudine Gay’s resignation as Harvard’s President comes after I questioned her just last month about what actions she’d take to combat anti-semitism. Her failure to address this matter is the reason I welcome the news that she has resigned.” “This is the right move. Antisemitism on college campuses has to stop,” wrote Rep. Rudy Yakym, R-Ind., while former California Republican Party Chairwoman Harmeet Dhillon simply wrote, “Bye Felicia.” Gay, as well as the presidents of MIT and UPenn, faced a line of questioning at a House Education and the Workforce hearing last month over whether calls for intifada, or the genocide of Jews, on campus violated their institutions’ codes of conduct or policies against bullying and harassment. All three faced harsh backlash for failing to clarify and insisted more context was needed. According to the Ivy League school’s newspaper, the Harvard Crimson, Gay’s resignation will bring an end to the shortest Harvard presidency in the university’s history. Fox News’ Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
Senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri killed in Beirut suburb
Senior Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri has been killed in an Israeli drone strike on Beirut’s southern suburb of Dahiyeh, the Palestinian group and Lebanese media outlets say. Al-Arouri was killed on Tuesday in a “treacherous Zionist strike”, Hamas said on its official channel. Hamas politburo member Izzat al-Sharq called it a “cowardly assassination”. Al-Arouri was a senior official in Hamas’s politburo but was known to be deeply involved in its military affairs. He had previously headed the group’s presence in the occupied West Bank. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the blast killed at least six people and was carried out by an Israeli drone. People gather on January 2, 2024, in the Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh after an explosion [Mohamed Azakir/Reuters] Hamas vowed that al-Arouri’s killing will not “undermine the continued brave resistance” in Gaza, where the Palestinian group’s fighters are battling Israeli ground forces. “It proves once more the utter failure of the enemy to achieve any of its aggressive goals in the Gaza Strip,” senior Hamas official Izzat al-Rishq said in a statement. Mark Regev, an adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told MSNBC that Israel had not taken responsibility for this attack, but “whoever did it, it must be clear: That this was not attack an attack on the Lebanese state.” “Whoever did this did a surgical strike against the Hamas leadership,” Regev told MSNBC in an interview. Lebanon’s prime minister condemned the killing, saying the attack “aims to draw Lebanon” further into the Israel-Hamas war. “Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the explosion in the southern suburbs of Beirut that killed and injured many,” his office said in a statement. The attack “aims to draw Lebanon into a new phase of confrontations” with Israel at a time when Hamas ally Hezbollah has been exchanging daily cross-border fire with Israeli forces in northern Israel, the statement said. ‘Dangerous escalation’ Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr, reporting from Beirut, said there was “panic” in the Lebanese capital following the attack. “The targeted killing made many people here in the capital feel that this conflict could widen, and could escalate, and all eyes are now on Hezbollah’s reaction,” Khodr said. Commenting on the development, Iran said al-Arouri’s killing will further ignite the resistance against Israel, state media reported. “The martyr’s blood will undoubtedly ignite another surge in the veins of resistance and the motivation to fight against the Zionist occupiers, not only in Palestine but also in the region and among all freedom-seekers worldwide,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Nasser Kanaani, said. Kanaani also condemned the violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity by “the aggressive Zionist regime”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had long threatened to kill al-Arouri, before Israel’s latest assault on the besieged Gaza Strip. Israeli political analyst Akiva Eldar told Al Jazeera the killing was a much needed success for Netanyahu. Imad Harb, director of research at the Arab Center Washington DC, agreed, saying Israel carried out the attack in search what has become an elusive win. “So far, the Israelis have not been able to call a victory in Gaza, so assassinating Hamas leaders is partly something that they wanted to do anyway,” he told Al Jazeera. “This is an achievement for the Israeli army and for the Israeli politicians.” Since Israeli forces and Hezbollah began exchanging fire around the Lebanese-Israeli border on October 8, the fighting has largely been concentrated a few kilometres from the border. But on several occasions, Israel’s air force has hit what it said were Hezbollah positions deeper inside Lebanon. Harb noted that the killing of al-Arouri is a “dangerous escalation” because it took place in Hezbollah’s area of operation, far from the border. Harb said Hezbollah would likely step up attacks on Israel in response to the killing, but will stop short of escalating the conflict into an all-out war. Meanwhile, at mosques in Arura, hometown of the slain Hamas leader in the West Bank, Palestinians gathered to mourn al-Arouri’s death. Protests and gatherings are also taking place in Ramallah and several nearby towns, such as Deir Qaddis. A general strike in Ramallah has also been called for Wednesday. Adblock test (Why?)
What does a ‘new phase’ in Israel’s war on Gaza entail?
Israel says it will withdraw some troops from the besieged Gaza Strip. Israel has announced it will pull out some of its forces from Gaza, more than two months after it launched a ground invasion of the besieged Palestinian territory, a step that could potentially lead to a new phase in its war against Hamas. The announcement appears to align with plans Israeli officials have previously stated for a low-intensity military campaign that could last for several months, focusing on remaining Hamas strongholds. But with more than 20,000 Palestinians killed and hundreds of thousands displaced, there are growing questions about whether Israel will be able to fulfil its stated goal of toppling Hamas. So what could the announcement mean for Israel, the Palestinians and Hamas fighters? Presenter: Elizabeth Puranam Guests Andreas Krieg – Assistant professor at the Defence Studies Department at King’s College, London. Diana Buttu – Former legal adviser to the Palestine Liberation Organisation. Yossi Mekelberg – Associate fellow of the MENA Programme, Chatham House. Adblock test (Why?)