Biden daughter adds to lengthy family history of tax issues
President Biden has repeatedly called for wealthy individuals and corporations to cough up more money in taxes, even as Biden family members repeatedly failed to pay their own taxes. Fox News Digital reported Monday that Ashley Biden, the president’s daughter, owes over $5,000 in income taxes, according to a tax lien. She’s the latest in a string of Bidens who have faced such situations over the years. “The scale is not anything like Hunter, but… Joe is constantly talking about how wealthy and connected people do not pay their fair share and can afford to pay more, and it just so happens that both of his living children did not pay their taxes,” Garrett Ziegler, the founder of nonprofit Marco Polo and former President Trump aide, told Fox News Digital. “This is just another example of the Bidens being careless,” he said. “You’d think that they would show a little bit more prudence when you’re the American first family to make sure you don’t have any tax liens on you, especially going into an election year.” BIDEN’S DAUGHTER OWES THOUSANDS IN INCOME TAXES, LIEN DOCUMENTS SHOW The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue in Philadelphia County notified Ashley Biden on Dec. 1st about her unpaid taxes. The lien listed the start date as Jan. 1, 2015, when Joe Biden was serving as the vice president in the Obama administration, and it ended on Jan. 1, 2021, just days before he entered office as president. Hunter Biden, meanwhile, allegedly carried out a multiyear scheme to bypass paying $1.4 million in federal taxes while living an indulgent lifestyle that included spending significant sums on escorts and illegal drugs, according to his California indictment on nine tax-related charges. Special Counsel David Weiss said he “engaged in a four-year scheme to not pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019, from in or about January 2017 through in or about October 15, 2020, and to evade the assessment of taxes for tax year 2018 when he filed false returns in or about February 2020,” which was in the middle of his dad’s presidential campaign. Weiss added that, in “furtherance of that scheme,” Hunter Biden “subverted the payroll and tax withholding process of his own company, Owasco, PC by withdrawing millions” from the company “outside of the payroll and tax withholding process that it was designed to perform.” Hunter Biden had allegedly “spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills,” and in 2018, “stopped paying his outstanding and overdue taxes for tax year 2015.” He faces up to 17 years in prison if convicted. BIDEN ADMIN AGENCY QUIETLY LEANED ON SOROS AND OTHER BILLIONAIRE-BACKED GROUPS FOR KEY POLICY ROLES However, Hunter and Ashley are not alone, as several other Biden family members have also faced tax issues. President Biden’s brother, James Biden, previously had at least five liens filed against him between 1995 and 2015, including one in the amount of $589,095, the Washington Free Beacon reported in 2020. President Biden’s other brother, Frank Biden, previously had at least three tax liens for unpaid income taxes. President Biden’s sister, Valerie Biden Owens, and her husband, John Owens, have faced at least five tax liens, including one in the amount of $229,749 in 1990, according to the Free Beacon. Despite his family’s tax issues, President Biden has repeatedly called on the rich to pay their fair share in taxes and vowed to go after “tax cheats.” “Corporations need to pay their fair share in taxes,” Biden posted on social media in November 2019. “I’ll reverse Trump’s giveaway to the super-wealthy and corporations because it’s time we reward work, not just wealth.” “As president, I’ll make sure giant corporations and the super-wealthy pay their fair share in taxes — and then invest that money in growing a stronger, more inclusive middle class,” he wrote weeks later in December 2019. Biden has persisted in the calls throughout his presidency and, at one point, proposed doubling the number of Internal Revenue Service workers to target tax cheats. “The president’s compliance proposals are designed to ameliorate existing inequities by focusing on high-end evasion,” the Treasury Department wrote in a report, according to Politico. WHITE HOUSE SCRAMBLES TO DISTANCE ITSELF FROM ISLAMIC GROUP AFTER LEADER’S PRAISE FOR HAMAS’ OCT 7TH SLAUGHTER “These unpaid taxes come at a cost to American households and compliant taxpayers as policymakers choose rising deficits, lower spending on necessary priorities, or further tax increases to compensate for the lost revenue.” Biden has also said paying higher taxes is “patriotic” and has regularly singled out the rich. “For too long we’ve had an economy that gives every break in the world to the folks who need it the least. It’s time to grow the economy from the bottom up,” Biden said months after entering office and calling on the rich to pay their “fair share” in taxes. “I’m a capitalist, but just pay your fair share,” Biden said at his State of the Union address this year. The White House, Frank Biden, Valerie Biden Owens and James Biden did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Ashley Biden did not respond to a previous request for comment.
Fox News Politics: Holiday Rush
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. -Many senators have left town for the holidays -Trump edges Biden again in new 2024 survey -Georgia Gov. Kemp announces $1K year-end bonus for teachers The besieged U.S. southern border saw a record number of migrant encounters in a single day on Monday, as thousands flooded into Eagle Pass, Texas, amid a broader surge in recent weeks that has left authorities overwhelmed. There were over 12,600 migrant encounters on Monday, Customs and Border Protection sources told Fox. That does not include the thousands still waiting for processing in the Del Rio Sector on Monday evening after a surge of migrants into Eagle Pass. The number includes over 11,000 illegal immigrant apprehensions and over 1,600 encountered at ports of entry. As of Tuesday morning, sources told Fox that agents are still processing and transporting more than 4,500 migrants at the busy crossing point, with more than 5,300 already in custody and facilities at 260% over capacity. ‘INCREASED COSTS’: Biden’s war on appliances faces major legal challenge …Read more ‘CLEAR MESSAGE’: Biden eco actions locking up land facing Supreme Court review …Read more WHY SO ‘SERIOUS’?: Vulnerable Dem senator promotes TikTok account after saying he had ‘serious concerns’ about CCP ties …Read more OUT OF OFFICE: Most senators have left town as votes and border negotiations remain in the fray …Read more BORDER CRISIS: Biden campaign co-chair ‘afraid’ president will lose big because of illegal immigration surge …Read more ‘FREE-FOR-ALL’: Voters describe ‘chaotic’ crisis at southern border …Read more NEW POLL: Trump edges Biden again in new 2024 survey, builds support with younger voters …Read more AD WARS: Super PACs supporting Trump and Haley launch dueling ads in New Hampshire …Read more FIRST ON FOX: Over 500 elected officials back DeSantis as he’s joined by top conservatives in final Iowa push …Read more JOE ‘GRINCH’: GOP blames Biden for rising cost of holiday goods in new attack ad …Read more ‘MISLEADING’ VOTERS: Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa charges that an ad from former President Donald Trump is “misleading” voters in her state …Read more MERRY CHRISTMAS: Georgia Gov. Kemp announces $1K year-end bonus for teachers …Read more ‘ENDING A NIGHTMARE’: NY Gov. Kathy Hochul signs bill creating reparations commission despite concerns of ‘racial divisions’ …Read more Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
ICE launches 60-day evaluation of California detention facility amid GOP demands to fully reopen
FIRST ON FOX: Immigration and Customs Enforcement is launching a 60-day task order to evaluate a California detention center that can house up to 2,000 illegal immigrants but has been nearly empty since a COVID-era order and was expected to close as soon as this month — amid Republican calls to fully re-open. The facility in Adelanto, California, can house nearly 2,000 inmates but was blocked by a September 2020 court order in response to a lawsuit from immigrant activists calling for fewer inmates due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The emergency declaration for COVID-19 was ended by the Biden administration in May, but while other facilities and prisons have opened back up, Adelanto remains limited, and only a handful of inmates live there. ICE TO CLOSE CALIF. FACILITY ABLE TO HOLD 2,000 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AMID ONGOING CRISIS: SOURCES Republicans have accused the administration of not doing enough to challenge the order and of “enforcement malpractice” at a time when thousands of illegal immigrants are being released onto the streets each day. Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., has accused the administration of making “negligible” efforts to rectify the legal limbo and said that it should purse “all available avenues” to lift the ban. Fox News Digital reported last month that the facility was expected to close as early as mid-December, a move that the National Federation of Federal Employees warned would have a “devastating” impact on the more than 300 workers staffing the facility, particularly before Christmas. But in a statement on Tuesday, ICE said it had issued the 60-day task order with the GEO Group, which runs the facility, and stressed that no final decision has been made regarding the facility. “While no final decision has been made regarding the disposition of the facility, ICE must consider the effect of ongoing litigation that prevents full use of the facility, likelihood of relief from that litigation, the cost associated with maintaining the facility, and the operational requirements for effective national detention operations,” spokesperson Jenny Burke said in a statement. “We are also very keenly aware of the impact to both government and contract employees at the facility.” Burke said the order “provides both the government and the vendor the opportunity to evaluate all factors to ensure that appropriate accommodations can be made for both personnel, operations, and individuals in custody.” “As part of routine strategic operational planning, Enforcement and Removal Operations continually assesses various factors when contemplating changes to the national facility system,” she said. “Discussions with detention providers are critical to ICE’s custody management mission and occur on a regular basis.” ICE DETENTION CENTER HOUSES HANDFUL OF INMATES DESPITE HAVING THOUSANDS OF BEDS: LAWMAKER ICE noted that the agency also has detention capacity in Desert View Annex facility, which is also situated in Adelanto. The move comes amid ongoing negotiations in Washington over the Biden administration’s request for additional border funding, including increased ICE detention. The White House has reportedly been open to additional tougher measures on border-crossers, including a Title 42-type authority to expel migrants, national expedited removal and increased detention. The administration has ended family detention and has closed multiple ICE facilities, but liberal civil rights groups have called for more closures, including dozens of groups calling for such moves along with ICE funding cuts in November last year. Republicans and conservatives have previously said the closing of Adelanto would clash with the administration’s claims that it wants to detain more illegal immigrants, with House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green saying “its actions tell the real story.” RJ Hauman, president of the National Immigration Center for Enforcement (NICE) said he believes that the administration was trying to avoid “the bad press of people losing jobs around Christmas” with the 60-day review, and urged Republicans to closely monitor the situation. “This decision means nothing unless they plan to work with the Justice Department over the next 60 days to truly reopen Adelanto and then keep it at full capacity,” he said.” Republicans on Capitol Hill must watch closely and stop continuing to flirt with the idea of more money and discretionary authority for the Biden Administration as a means to address the crisis. Hint: it isn’t.”
VP Kamala Harris announces nationwide tour in support of abortion rights
Vice President Kamala Harris is emphasizing abortion as a key issue in the run-up to the 2024 election, preparing numerous rallies around the administration’s pro-choice message. Harris rolled out the Fight for Our Reproductive Freedoms Tour this week as President Biden’s team ramps up efforts for the upcoming election year. “I will continue to fight for our fundamental freedoms while bringing together those throughout America who agree that every woman should have the right to make decisions about her own body — not the government,” Harris said in a statement. This statement was followed with an announcement on social media accompanied by a video message. VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS ATTENDS CELEBRATION BOWL IN SUPPORT OF ALMA MATER: ‘IT WAS A GOOD GAME’ “Across our nation, there is a full-on attack on a woman’s fundamental freedom to make decisions about her own body,” the vice president said. “In the new year, I will be traveling the country to organize, build community and fight back. Because when we fight, we win.” The tour will kick off in Wisconsin Jan. 22, the 51st anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision. KAMALA HARRIS AT ODDS WITH BIDEN OVER ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR, WANTS MORE SUPPORT OF PALESTINIANS: REPORT The nationwide effort is a follow-up to Harris’s Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour. That previous tour aimed to “mobilize young people in the ongoing fight for fundamental freedoms and rights,” according to the White House, particularly causes like “critical fights for reproductive freedom, commonsense gun safety laws, climate action, voting rights, LGBTQ+ equality and teaching America’s full story.” Last month, Harris reacted to a number of polls showing former President Donald Trump was ahead of Biden in hypothetical election matchups — including specific key battleground states — during an interview with CNN and said they were going to have to earn their re-election. “We’re going to have to earn our re-elect, there’s no doubt about it,” she told CNN in a phone interview Sunday, replying to a question about the recent surveys. “It is absolutely right in a democracy with free and fair elections that the candidates, the people who want to continue in leadership, have to make their case and have to make it effectively,” Harris told CNN. “And that means communicating in such a way that the message is received about the accomplishments and what we care about.” Fox News Digital’s Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.
Ketanji Brown Jackson slapped with ethics complaint over husband’s income
FIRST ON FOX — A conservative policy group has filed an ethics complaint against Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson for “willfully” omitting required income disclosures for years while serving on the federal bench. The Center for Renewing America, a think tank led by former senior Trump White House official Russ Vought, sent a letter to the Judicial Conference with allegations that Jackson “willfully failed to disclose” required information about her husband’s malpractice consulting income for more than a decade. The letter suggests that the Judicial Conference should refer Jackson’s possible ethics violations to Attorney General Merrick Garland for investigation and possible civil enforcement. The letter notes that federal judges are legally required to disclose the “source of items of earned income earned by a spouse from any person which exceed $1,000…except…if the spouse is self-employed in business or a profession, only the nature of such business or profession needs be reported.” JUSTICE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON’S DISSENTS ARE BETTER ‘CLICKBAIT’ THAN LEGAL SCHOLARSHIP, EXPERTS SAY As part of her nomination to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Jackson disclosed the names of two legal medical malpractice consulting clients who paid her husband, Dr. Patrick Jackson, more than $1,000 for the year 2011, the letter notes. In subsequent filings, however, Jackson “repeatedly failed to disclose that her husband received income from medical malpractice consulting fees,” the letter reads. “We know this by Justice Jackson’s own admission in her amended disclosure form for 2020, filed when she was nominated to the Supreme Court, that ‘some of my previously filed reports inadvertently omitted’ her husband’s income from ‘consulting on medical malpractice cases,’” the letter says. Vought says in the letter that “Jackson has not even attempted to list the years for which her previously filed disclosures omitted her husband’s consulting income. Instead, in her admission of omissions on her 2020 amended disclosure form (filed in 2022), Justice Jackson provided only the vague statement that ‘some’ of those past disclosures contained material omissions.” Vought, who headed up the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under President Trump, argues that Dr. Jackson’s income does not qualify for the “self-employment” exception. The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (EIGA) requires Justice Jackson to identify the “source of items of earned income earned by a spouse from any person which exceeds $1,000.” THOMAS BLASTS JACKSON’S ‘RACE-INFUSED WORLD VIEW’ IN SUPREME COURT RULING OUTLAWING AFFIRMATIVE ACTION The former OMB chief argues that since Jackson was aware of the requirements in 2012 enough to list the specific sources of income for her first disclosure filing but not in subsequent filings, apart from admitting that she left off some of her husband’s income, her actions amount to “willful” violation of the law. The letter also says there is reason to believe Justice Jackson may have failed to report the private funding sources of her “massive investiture celebration at the Library of Congress” in her most recent financial disclosure. Following her appointment to the Supreme Court in 2022, the Library of Congress hosted a massive event in her honor that featured performances by several musicians and groups, including the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Quartet and civil rights movement Freedom Singer Rutha Mae Harris. JUSTICE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON IS LONE DISSENTER AS SUPREME COURT VACATES ABORTION RULING It’s unclear who paid for the event. EIGA requires that any gift “received over $415” be disclosed. EIGA defines “gift” as “a payment, advance, forbearance, rendering, or deposit of money, or [anything] of value.” Jackson’s disclosure for that year includes flowers from Oprah Winfrey with a $1,200 price tag and a designer jacket from her Vogue photo shoot that cost $6,580. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Justice Jackson thus cannot claim ignorance of EIGA’s gift disclosure requirements, and there is no serious argument that this ‘massive event featuring performances by several musicians and groups’ celebrating her investiture is not a ‘thing of value,’” Vought said. Vought also says that Jackson’s “disturbing trend of not reporting material sources of income and gifts” has “shielded potential conflicts of interest from public scrutiny and undermined the ability of the public, outside watchdog groups, and parties to scrutinize her recusal decisions.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Supreme Court’s public information office but did not receive an immediate response.
UN Security Council agrees to early withdrawal of DR Congo peacekeepers
Congolese authorities have long accused UN forces of failing to protect civilians from armed groups in the eastern DRC. The United Nations Security Council has voted unanimously in favour of gradually phasing out its peacekeeping operations known as MONUSCO in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The 15-member body voted on Tuesday to draw down peacekeeping forces in the Central African nation about a year earlier than originally scheduled despite continued concerns over violence. The decision was made as the DRC prepares for presidential and parliamentary elections on Wednesday, in which poverty and widespread insecurity are expected to be key issues for voters. Numerous armed groups, including the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) and M23, are active in provinces such as North Kivu, South Kivu and Ituri in the eastern DRC, where civilians face violence and displacement. Despite concerns over security, Congolese authorities have persistently called for the UN to scale down its presence in the country, saying it has failed to protect civilians from armed groups. DRC President Felix Tshisekedi, who is running for re-election, said in remarks at the UN General Assembly in September that he had called on his government to accelerate the withdrawal of MONUSCO’s 14,000 soldiers so it would commence by the end of the year. UN forces operating in other African nations have faced similar criticism. In June, the UN voted to end a decade-old peacekeeping mission in Mali after calls to do so from the country’s military government. Wednesday’s elections are seen as a crucial test for democracy in the DRC, where only one peaceful transition of power has occurred in 63 years. Tshisekedi won the December 2018 presidential election, which was tainted by allegations of voting irregularities, and voters have expressed concerns that Wednesday’s vote could face similar issues or even an outbreak of violence. Adblock test (Why?)
Immigrant rights groups sue Texas to halt new law allowing arrests of migrants
The lawsuit asks a judge to prevent the state from enforcing Senate Bill 4, which will authorize Texas police to arrest immigrants suspected of crossing the border illegally.
As commanding front-runner Trump returns to Iowa, DeSantis and Haley turn up the volume on each other
EXCLUSIVE – WATERLOO, IOWA – Former President Donald Trump returns to Iowa on Tuesday with just under four weeks to go until the Hawkeye State’s Jan. 15 caucuses lead off the Republican presidential calendar. And with the first votes in the 2024 White House race fast approaching, Trump remains the commanding front-runner for the GOP nomination as he makes his third straight bid for president. As Trump returns to Iowa, his top two rivals for the nomination are taking aim at the former president. But Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who later served as ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, are also spending plenty of time on the campaign trail in Iowa blasting each other. “If you punch me, I punch back,” Haley’s repeatedly emphasized this week on the campaign trail, as she pushes back against attack ads from a DeSantis-aligned super PAC that are running on Iowa television. FIRST ON FOX: HALEY SPOTLIGHTS NEED FOR ‘NEW CONSERVATIVE PRESIDENT’ Haley charges that “Ron DeSantis has lied in every one of his commercials” and stresses that “if you’ve got to go out, tell lies about someone to win, you don’t deserve to win.” Asked about the ads, DeSantis in exclusive interviews with Fox News in Ankeny and Bettendorf, Iowa, on Monday fired back. ONLY ON FOX: IOWA GOV. REYNOLDS, WITH DESANTIS, CALLS TRUMP-ALIGNED AD ‘MISLEADING’ “Her problem is that she doesn’t have a conservative record. She’s an establishment candidate,” he said. Since he launched his White House campaign in the spring, DeSantis for months was the clear No. 2 rival to Trump in the Republican nomination race. Haley has enjoyed plenty of momentum in the polls in recent months, thanks in part to well-received performances in the first three GOP presidential primary debates. She leapfrogged over DeSantis for second place in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary and votes second after Iowa. And she’s in second place in her home state, another crucial early voting state that holds the first southern contest. Haley’s also working to make a fight of it in Iowa, as she’s pulled closer to DeSantis, who remains a very distant second to Trump in the latest polls. TRUMP HOLDS A MASSIVE LEAD IN THE POLLS WITH FIVE WEEKS TO GO UNTIL THE IOWA CAUCUSES Last week, Haley won the backing of popular Republican Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire. And she was endorsed a couple of weeks ago by Americans for Prosperity (AFP) Action, the political wing of the influential and deep-pocketed fiscally conservative network founded by the billionaire Koch Brothers. AFP Action has pledged to spend tens of millions of dollars and mobilize its formidable grassroots operation to boost Haley and help push the Republican Party past Trump. But Haley’s momentum this autumn has led to a much larger target on her back. DeSantis charged in his Fox News interview that Haley was being funded by “liberal donors in California, Wall Street, liberal Wall Street executives.” DESANTIS STOPS IN ALL 99 OF IOWA’S COUNTIES — BUT WILL IT HELP HIM CLOSE THE GAP WITH TRUMP? “They’re not funding her because she’s going to be a change agent. They’re funding her because they know she represents managed decline. She will not do what needs to be done to reverse the decline of this country. She also cannot beat Donald Trump in a one-on-one. She doesn’t have support from conservatives,” he argued. Haley says the attacks she’s facing are a sign of her momentum in the Republican race and pledges, “I’m going to keep telling you the truth because that’s what we need to do.” “I think they just see it as the rest of political observers do in that the fight is for second place,” longtime Iowa-based Republican strategist Jimmy Centers told Fox News. Centers, a veteran of multiple presidential campaigns, gubernatorial and congressional campaigns, and who served as communications director for then-Gov. Terry Brandstad and for current Gov. Kim Reynolds, emphasized that “to march on to New Hampshire and make a strong case, Gov. DeSantis needs to finish in second place.” “Ambassador Haley, seeing how she’s polling in New Hampshire, understands that if she can secure that second place finish, it’s going to be really hard for Gov. DeSantis to march on to New Hampshire and beyond,” Centers argued. DeSantis reiterated to Fox News that “we’re going to win here in Iowa.” And he predicted that the caucuses “will be very clarifying in terms of who is a real deal and who’s not. So we look forward to that.” Asked if he’ll move on to New Hampshire regardless of his finish in Iowa, DeSantis quickly said, “Of course. Yeah, absolutely. Of course.” But Centers, pointing to the increased verbal attacks between DeSantis and Haley, said that if they “keep poking at each other, it only benefits Trump.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Pentagon announces new Red Sea international mission to counter escalating Houthi attacks on ships
The Pentagon announced on Tuesday the creation of a new international mission working to counter attacks by Houthi rebels in Yemen on commercial vessels in the Red Sea. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced the establishment of Operation Prosperity Guardian, “an important new multinational security initiative under the umbrella of the Combined Maritime Forces and the leadership of its Task Force 153, which focuses on security in the Red Sea.” The seriousness of the attacks, several of which have damaged vessels, has led multiple shipping companies to order their ships to hold in place and not enter the Bab el-Mandeb Strait until the security situation can be addressed. The U.S. Central Command reported two more attacks on commercial vessels on Monday. A strike by an attack drone and a ballistic missile hit a tanker off Yemen at roughly the same time a cargo ship reported an explosive detonating in the water near them, the U.S. military said. “This is an international challenge that demands collective action,” Austin said, issuing a statement early Tuesday while in Bahrain. “Operation Prosperity Guardian is bringing together multiple countries to include the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain, to jointly address security challenges in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, with the goal of ensuring freedom of navigation for all countries and bolstering regional security and prosperity.” Austin added that the recent Houthi aggression “threatens the free flow of commerce, endangers innocent mariners, and violates international law.” The U.S. is still actively seeking member countries to join the mission and increase the number of navies present and participating. HERZOG SIGNALS ISRAEL READY FOR ANOTHER CEASE-FIRE IN GAZA TO FREE REMAINING HOSTAGES “The Red Sea is a critical waterway that has been essential to freedom of navigation and a major commercial corridor that facilitates international trade,” Austin’s statement said. “Countries that seek to uphold the foundational principle of freedom of navigation must come together to tackle the challenge posed by this non-state actor launching ballistic missiles and uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) at merchant vessels from many nations lawfully transiting international waters.” While in the Middle East, Austin held a virtual conference on Red Sea maritime security, underscoring how attacks “already impacted the global economy and would continue to threaten commercial shipping if the international community did not come together to address the issue collectively.” U.S. military officials briefed participants that the Houthis had conducted over 100 one-way, uncrewed aerial systems and ballistic missile attacks, targeting 10 merchant vessels involving more than 35 different nations. They highlighted that the Houthis had taken merchant vessel Galaxy Leader and its 25-member international crew hostage on Nov. 19. The Pentagon said the crew remain “unjustly detained in Yemen.” During the conference, participants discussed how the attacks are a flagrant violation of international law, and the Houthis must cease their aggressive actions, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryde said in a readout. Currently, 10-15% of global trade passes through the Red Sea, and international shipping companies are having to reroute through the Cape of Good Hope, adding weeks to the delivery of key goods and materials, including oil and gas. There are about 400 commercial vessels transiting the southern Red Sea, an area roughly the size of Washington, D.C., to Boston at any given time, a senior military official told reporters who are traveling with Austin in the region. Under the new mission, the military ships will not necessarily escort a specific vessel but will be positioned to provide umbrella protection to as many as possible at a given time, the official told the AP on the condition of anonymity. NETANYAHU TELLS BIDEN ISRAEL WILL ACT MILITARILY AGAINST YEMEN’S HOUTHIS IF US WON’T: REPORT Mohammed Abdel-Salam, the Houthis’ chief negotiator and spokesman, challenged the U.S.-created coalition on Tuesday, saying the Iranian-backed rebels would continue targeting Israel-linked vessels. “The American-formed coalition is to protect Israel and militarize the sea without any justification, and will not stop Yemen from continuing its legitimate operations in support of Gaza,” he wrote on X, adding that the Houthis’ attacks “are not a show of force nor a challenge to anyone.” “Whoever seeks to expand the conflict must bear the consequences of his actions,” Abdel-Salam said. Two U.S. Navy destroyers — USS Carney and USS Mason — are currently moving through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to help deter and respond to attacks from the Houthis. The move to set up the expanded operation came after three commercial vessels were struck by missiles fired by Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen on Dec. 3. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield is separately imploring the United Nations Security Council to take action against the Houthi attacks. To date, the U.S. has not struck back at the Houthis operating in Yemen or targeted any of the militants’ weapons or other sites. On Monday, Austin did not answer a question as to why the Pentagon had not conducted a counterstrike. One notably absent participant in Operation Prosperity Guardian is China, which has warships in the region, but those ships have not responded to previous calls for assistance by commercial vessels, even though some of the ships attacked have had ties to Hong Kong, the military official told the AP. Several other countries have also agreed to be involved in the operation but prefer not to be publicly named, a defense official said on the condition of anonymity told the AP. The new maritime security mission will be coordinated by the already existing Combined Task Force 153, which was set up in April 2022 to improve maritime security in the Red Sea, Bab el-Mandeb and the Gulf of Aden. While the task force has primarily provided a headquarters structure to date, the goal of the new mission is to provide ships and other assets to carry out the protection. There have been 39 member nations in CTF 153, but officials were working to determine which of them would participate. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
AJ+ wins prestigious Emmy Award in Los Angeles
Eat This with Yara has been named Outstanding Lifestyle Program at the 50th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards. Los Angeles – The AJ+ show, Eat This with Yara, has won “Outstanding Lifestyle Program” at the 50th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. Launched in 2018 by senior producer and host Yara Elmjouie, Eat This with Yara is a short documentary programme exploring the intersection of food and society. The winning episode from the series is called, The Awful Truth About ‘No Trespassing’ Signs. With the help of TikTok star and expert forager Alexis Nikole Nelson – also known as “The Black Forager” – it tells the story of trespass laws which spread rapidly through the US following the abolition of slavery, in order to target newly freed Black Americans. It is the first AJ+ programme to win a national Emmy Award and was up against competition from Netflix, NBC and Magnolia Network at the ceremony on Saturday, December 16. Elmjouie accepted the award alongside his former co-producer Adrienne Blaine, who has since left AJ+, and executive producer Shadi Rahimi. In his acceptance speech, Elmjouie called for the world’s attention to focus on the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza, on which Israel launched a war on October 7, and condemned the killing of his colleague, Al Jazeera Arabic cameraman Samer Abudaqa, who died during an Israeli drone attack on December 14, two days before the awards ceremony. Elmjouie also mentioned Al Jazeera Arabic’s Gaza bureau chief, Wael Dahdouh, who was injured in the same Israeli attack, as well as the late Al Jazeera Arabic correspondent, Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed by Israeli snipers in 2022. Yara Elmjouie holds his award after the Los Angeles Emmy Awards ceremony on December 16 [Al Jazeera] While on stage, executive producer Shadi Rahimi displayed a henna tattoo on her palms that read “Save Gaza”. She also briefly held up a sign near the end of Elmjouie’s speech which read: “Killing Journalists Is A War Crime.” Following the ceremony, clips of Elmjouie’s speech have been shared widely on TikTok and Instagram. The winning episode of Eat This with Yara can be viewed on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, but short viral clips of it have also been published on X, TikTok and Instagram Reels. In past years, Eat This with Yara has won a James Beard Award, two Webby Awards, and an award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Adblock test (Why?)