Rosalynn Carter funeral: Presidents, first ladies, country stars to mourn humanitarian
Former President Carter, 99, is to honor his late wife Rosalynn Carter during a memorial service in Atlanta on Tuesday attended by all living U.S. first ladies and multiple presidents. Tuesday’s tribute at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University is expected to begin at 1 p.m. It falls on the second of a three-day schedule of public events celebrating the former first lady and global humanitarian who died Nov. 19 at home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 96. Tributes began Monday in the Carters’ native Sumter County and continued in Atlanta as she lay in repose at The Jimmy Carter Presidential Center. President Biden and first lady Jill Biden, longtime friends of the Carters, lead the list of dignitaries joining the widowed former president in Atlanta. Former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, along with former first ladies Melania Trump, Michelle Obama and Laura Bush, will pay their respects, as will Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and his wife Marty Kemp. Former Presidents Trump, Obama and Bush were invited but will not attend, according to The Associated Press. County music stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, family friends of the Carters, will perform at the invitation-only tribute service, according to The Carter Center. TRIBUTES TO FORMER FIRST LADY ROSALYNN CARTER POUR IN ON NEWS OF HER DEATH Former President Carter’s participation in the events had been a day-by-day issue; he is 10 months into home hospice care. The Carter Center confirmed his plans to attend the Tuesday service. It will be his first public appearance since September, when he and Rosalynn Carter rode together in the Plains Peanut Festival parade, visible only through open windows in a Secret Service vehicle. Carter, who was with his wife during her final hours, did not appear publicly during any part of a public motorcade and wreath-laying ceremony Monday at Rosalynn Carter’s alma mater, Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus. “Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” Carter said in a statement after his wife’s passing. “She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.” JIMMY CARTER AND WIFE ARE IN ‘FINAL CHAPTER’ OF LIVES, GRANDSON SAYS The Carters married in 1946; their 77-plus years together makes them the longest-married presidential couple in U.S. history. “My grandmother, in addition to being a partner to my grandfather, was a force on her own,” Jason Carter, who will be among the speakers Tuesday, told the AP. Rosalynn Carter has been praised for a half-century of advocacy for better mental health care in America and reducing the stigma attached to mental illness. She brought attention to the tens of millions of people who work as unpaid caregivers in U.S. households, and she gained new acclaim for how integral she was to her husband’s political rise and in his terms as Georgia’s governor and the 39th president. Jason Carter, himself a former state senator and one-time Democratic nominee for governor, called her “the best politician in the family,” a distinction former President Carter never disputed. “My wife is much more political,” the former president told the AP in 2021. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Hunter Biden agrees to House Oversight Committee testimony
Hunter Biden has offered to testify publicly before the House Oversight Committee on Dec. 13, according to a letter obtained by Fox News. The president’s son agreed to comply with a subpoena issued by House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., according to the letter sent to the committee Tuesday, but he is demanding that the testimony be public. The subpoena was for a closed-door deposition rather than a public hearing, sources told Fox News. “We have seen you use closed door sessions to manipulate, even distort the facts and misinform the public. We therefore propose opening the door,” Hunter’s attorney Abbe Lowell wrote. “If, as you claim, your efforts are important and involve issues that Americans should know about, then let light shine on the proceedings.” HOUSE GOP SUBPOENAS DOJ PROSECUTOR WHO ALLEGEDLY TRIED TO SHIELD BIDEN DURING FEDERAL PROBE INTO SON HUNTER Comer subpoenaed the president’s son, the president’s brother James Biden and his business associated Rob Walker earlier this month as part of the Republican-led investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings. The committee has also sought interviews from James Biden’s wife, Sara Biden; President Biden’s daughter-in-law, Hallie Biden, the widow of President Biden’s son, Beau, who later was romantically involved with Hunter; Hallie Biden’s older sister, Elizabeth Secundy; and Hunter Biden’s wife, Melissa Cohen. The committee also requested a transcribed interview with Hunter Biden’s former business associate, Tony Bobulinski, who was also involved in Sinohawk Holdings. BIDEN’S CLAIM TO HAVE NO KNOWLEDGE OF HUNTER’S BUSINESS DEALINGS IS BECOMING HARDER TO MAINTAIN Lowell previously said Hunter is “eager to have the opportunity” to testify “in a public forum,” where he will answer GOP allegations that he leveraged his father’s positions in government to make business deals and sell influence. In the letter Tuesday, Lowell slammed the GOP probe as part of a “crusade” to impeach President Biden. “Here we are, eleven months into your so-called investigation, and every objective review of your ‘revelations’ — including by some of your colleagues — has declared your exploration as one turning up only dry holes,” Lowell wrote. The attorney accused Republicans of holding a double standard for not pursuing investigations into former President Donald Trump and his family’s businesses, which Lowell noted were maintained while Trump was in office. “Your Committee has been working for almost a year — without success — to tie our client’s business activities to his father,” he wrote to Comer. HUNTER BIDEN ASKS JUDGE TO SUBPOENA TRUMP, FORMER OFFICIALS IN GUN CASE “Unlike members of the Trump family, Hunter is a private person who has never worked in any family business nor ever served in the White House or in any public office. Notwithstanding this stark difference, you have manipulated Hunter’s legitimate business dealings and his times of terrible addiction into a politically motivated basis for hearings to accuse his father of some wrongdoing,” the letter reads. Lowell urged Comer to hold a public hearing, where Biden would be able to address the GOP allegations without “selective leaks, manipulated transcripts, doctored exhibits, or one-sided press statements.” Fox is told the committee has not decided whether to take up Lowell on his offer. As of right now, the closed door deposition is still scheduled for Dec. 13. Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman and Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this report.
Georgia Senate GOP proposes map with 2 Black-majority districts to address vote dilution concerns
Georgia Senate Republicans are proposing a new map that would create two Black-majority voting districts, but would probably retain Republicans’ 33-23 edge in the General Assembly’s upper chamber, in an effort to fix a map a judge said illegally dilutes Black votes. The proposed districts, released Monday, would increase the number of Black majority districts by eliminating two white-majority districts currently represented by Democrats. State Sens. Jason Esteves and Elena Parent, both of Atlanta, would find themselves living in Black-majority districts if the redrawn map goes through. A special session on redrawing state legislative and congressional districts is scheduled to begin Wednesday after U.S. District Judge Steve Jones in October ordered Georgia to draw Black majorities in one additional congressional district, two additional state Senate districts, and five additional state House districts. JUDGE SAYS GEORGIA’S CONGRESSIONAL AND LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS ARE DISCRIMINATORY AND MUST BE REDRAWN APPEALS COURT SAYS GEORGIA MAY ELECT UTILITY PANEL STATEWIDE, REJECTING A RULING FOR DISTRICT VOTING It’s unclear whether Jones would accept the map if it passes. He ordered two additional Black Senate districts in the southern part of metro Atlanta, finding 10 state Senate districts illegal under Section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act. Monday’s Republican proposal left two of those districts untouched — a district in Clayton and Fayette counties, represented by Democrat Valencia Seay of Riverdale, and the district stretching across Fayette, Spalding, Pike and Lamar counties, represented by Republican Marty Harbin of Tyrone. Some other districts declared illegal saw changes that did little to affect their racial or partisan balance. By contrast, Republicans propose redrawing a number of Democratic-held districts in Fulton and Cobb counties the judge didn’t single out. Overall, it appears no current senators would be drawn into the same district under the plan. That’s important because under Georgia law, state legislators must have lived in their districts for a year before they are elected. Because 2024’s election is less than a year away, it’s too late for anyone to move to another district to run. Their drastically different districts could invite Democratic primary challenges to Parent and Esteves. Parent is the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate and Esteves is the treasurer of the state Democratic Party. Parent declined comment Monday, saying she would speak Tuesday when Democrats introduce their own proposal. That plan is unlikely to pass the majority Republican legislature, but could become part of legal argument over whether lawmakers’ proposed remedy meets the terms of Jones’ order. Ken Lawler, chair of Fair Districts GA, which seeks to reduce partisan gerrymandering, said that he thought the districts met Jones’ goal of creating additional Black majority districts. “With respect to complying, they get a pass,” Lawler said. However, he said Republicans shouldn’t change other districts to try to retain their current majority, saying those were like other mid-decade changes Georgia Republicans have undertaken in recent decades to pad their control. GEORGIA TO APPEAL CONGRESSIONAL, LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING ORDER No House or congressional plans were released Monday, although the House Committee on Reapportionment and Redistricting said it would hold a Wednesday hearing on a new House plan. A new Black-majority congressional district, combined with similar rulings in other Southern states, could help Democrats reclaim the U.S. House in 2024. New legislative districts could narrow Republican majorities in Georgia. It’s unclear if the GOP can legally prevent Democrats from gaining a congressional seat, along the lines of what they’re seeking to do in the state Senate. Jones wrote in his order that Georgia can’t fix its problems “by eliminating minority opportunity districts elsewhere.” The state has pledged to appeal Jones’ order. If the state later wins an appeal, Georgia could have new districts in 2024 and revert to current lines in 2026. Republicans control nine of Georgia’s 14 congressional seats and 102 of the 180 state House seats.
“How long can we keep this up?” Food banks are under pressure from Texas’ high level of food insecurity
Inflation, stagnant federal funding for food programs and high housing costs mean that demand at food banks still hasn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels.
2024 Senate showdown: New endorsement in Ohio’s GOP primary battle in race to flip blue seat
FIRST ON FOX: Conservative Sen. Mike Lee is taking sides in Ohio’s competitive GOP Senate primary in a race that could determine if Republicans win back the chamber’s majority. Lee is backing Bernie Moreno, a successful Cleveland-based businessman and luxury auto dealership giant, in an endorsement shared first with Fox News on Tuesday. The three-term GOP senator from Utah becomes the third Republican in the chamber to support Moreno, along with Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and first-term Sen. JD Vance of Ohio. “Bernie Moreno is a successful businessman, a political outsider, and a strong constitutional conservative. I am proud to join my colleague J.D. Vance in endorsing Bernie for the US Senate because we both know that we desperately need to elect more principled conservatives who have the courage to stand up to the establishment in both political parties. I’m confident that Bernie will do exactly that,” Lee said in a statement. THESE FIVE SENATE SEATS HELD BY DEMOCRATS MOST LIKELY TO FLIP IN 2024 Moreno is one of the three major Republicans vying for their party’s 2024 nomination in the race to challenge longtime Democrat Sen. Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown in a one-time general election battleground state that’s turned red in recent cycles. The other two candidates are state Sen. Matt Dolan, a former top county prosecutor and Ohio assistant attorney general whose family owns Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Guardians, and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose. Dolan and Moreno are each making their second straight bid for the Senate. LEADERS IN EAST PALESTINE, OHIO, WEIGH IN ON GOP SENATE PRIMARY Moreno, an immigrant who arrived in the U.S. legally from Colombia with his family as a boy, has made border security a top issue during both of his Senate campaigns. Earlier this month, Moreno launched a $2 million statewide broadcast TV ad blitz in Ohio, with the commercials spotlighting his vow to secure America’s southern border with Mexico as well as his support for former President Donald Trump and his America First credentials. His team says Moreno has outraised Dolan and LaRose combined in the race for campaign cash. Brown, who is the only Democrat to win statewide in Ohio over the past decade, will be heavily targeted by Republicans in a state that was once a premiere battleground before shifting red. Democrats currently control the U.S. Senate with a 51-49 majority, but Republicans are looking at a very favorable Senate map in 2024, with Democrats defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs. Three of those seats are in red states that Trump carried in 2020: Ohio, Montana and West Virginia, where Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin is not running for reelection. Five others seats are in key swing states narrowly carried by Biden in 2020: Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
GOP AGs blast Biden admin for foster care plan they say would effectively ban Christians
FIRST ON FOX – A group of Republican attorneys general are pushing the Biden administration to back down on a new rule they say will effectively exclude Christian families from fostering kids and jeopardize the foster care system nationwide. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, along with 18 of his GOP colleagues, sent a letter Monday to the Department of Health and Human Services alerting them that a new proposed rule that alters requirements for foster care families violates the Constitution and discriminates against people who practice the Christian faith. In addition to discriminating against religion, the attorneys general argue that the proposed rule “will harm children by limiting the number of available foster homes, harm families by risking kinship placements, and harm states by increasing costs and decreasing care options.” “These injuries will be suffered while HHS fails to solve a problem that the proposed rule does not even prove exists in foster care,” the AGs write. US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE CHALLENGES ALABAMA’S ATTEMPT TO PROSECUTE ABORTION ASSISTANCE The rule, Safe and Appropriate Foster Care Placement Requirements, would mandate that foster parents and families utilize a foster child’s “identified pronouns, chosen name, and allow the child to dress in an age-appropriate manner that the child believes reflects their self-identified gender identity and expression.” According to the letter, the rule “seeks to accomplish indirectly what the Supreme Court found unconstitutional just two years ago: remove faith-based providers from the foster care system if they will not conform their religious beliefs on sexual orientation and gender identity.” The Supreme Court in 2021, in a case called Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, ruled that Philadelphia’s refusal to contract with a Catholic social services group unless it agreed to certify same-sex couples as foster parents violated the First Amendment. The letter notes that HHS anticipates that the number of children in the foster care system would increase to roughly 416,500 by 2027. As of 2022, there were reportedly 391,000 children in foster care. REPUBLICAN AGS RALLY TO PROBE, PROSECUTE GROUPS WITH HAMAS TIES The attorneys general argue that “caring for children in need is a duty of the Christian faith,” and moreover, that the foster care system would be crippled without Christian families opening their home to foster care kids. “The foster care system depends on individuals and organizations of faith,” the letter argues. For example, the AGs cite that in Arkansas, one faith-based group was credited with recruiting almost half of the foster homes in the state, and in New Mexico, every private placement agency is Christian. According to a 2002 study cited in the letter, foster parents who are recruited through a church or other religious organization foster children for 2.6 years longer than the average foster parent. And practicing Christians are three times more likely to seriously consider fostering than the general population, according to a study by the Barna Group. “States need faith-based organizations in their foster care system. The proposed rule will drive individuals and organizations of faith away, which will increase the strain on the system by reducing the number of available foster homes,’ the attorneys general wrote. “The federal government should be searching for ways to increase the number of foster homes, not decrease them,” they said. REPUBLICAN STATE AG LAUNCHES EFFORT TO SEND SURPLUS POLICE BODY ARMOR, TACTICAL GEAR TO ISRAEL Attorney General Marshall accused President Biden of “harass[ing]” his state of Alabama. “Joe Biden continues to harass our State and others like it by implicitly threatening to withhold federal funding for children in need if we do not conform to his ideology, but our values are not for sale,” Marshall told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Since the first century, Christians across the globe have answered the call to provide a home and a family to children who had neither. Alabama boasts a particularly strong faith-based foster care and adoption community, and I will fight this Administration for them every step of the way,” he added. HHS did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request by time of publication.
United Nations set to call on Americans to reduce meat consumption
A lead United Nations agency overseeing food and agriculture policy is expected to issue a road map in the coming weeks which will call on the West, including America, to dramatically reduce its meat consumption. The UN’s Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) will publish its so-called global food systems’ road map during the upcoming COP28 climate summit in Dubai which will kick off on Thursday and extend nearly two weeks until mid-December. FAO’s first-of-its-kind document will recommend nations that “over-consume meat” to limit their consumption as part of a broader effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Bloomberg reported. “The failure of leading meat and dairy companies to reduce emissions underlines the urgent need for more policy focus on the food and agriculture sector,” Jeremy Coller, the chair and founder of the FAIRR Initiative, an investor network that works with financial institutions to promote climate-friendly agriculture worldwide, said in a recent statement. “Food system emissions deserve a place at the top of the table, alongside energy and transport, as they represent an estimated third of greenhouse gas emissions and 40% of methane,” he continued. “Investors hope the first-ever publication of a food and agriculture road map at COP28 this month will catalyze the transition to 1.5 degrees and a more sustainable food system.” DARK MONEY FUND POURED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS INTO ECO ACTIVIST GROUPS BLOCKING HIGHWAYS, DESTROYING FAMOUS ART In addition to issuing guidelines for reducing meat consumption in the West, the FAO is expected to highlight how farmers should adapt to “erratic weather” and tackle their emissions produced from food waste and use of fertilizer, according to Bloomberg. The recommendations, which the U.S. COP28 delegation may sign onto, will not be binding. Overall, the road map will seek to guide policy on lowering the climate impact of the global agriculture industry, which has rarely received such attention at past UN climate conferences. Past COP summits have been far more keen to address emissions generated from the global power, transportation and manufacturing sectors. “We already have solutions to tackle climate change, and many of these solutions, whether it is agroforestry, restoration of soils, sustainable livestock, or fisheries management, have multiple benefits as they can also support the sustainable use of biodiversity, as well as help with food security — multiple benefits from the same solutions that only agriculture and food systems offer,” Kaveh Zahedi, the director of the FAO Office of Climate Change, said last week. BIDEN ADMIN QUIETLY DEVELOPING SETTLEMENT WITH GROUPS SEEKING TO TEAR DOWN KEY POWER SOURCE The global food system — which includes land-use change, actual agricultural production, packaging and waste management — generates about 18 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year, the equivalent of 34% of total worldwide emissions, according to a March 2021 study published in the Nature Food journal. FAO data indicates livestock alone is responsible for around 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The UN has, for years, called for individuals to ditch animal-based diets, which it says “have a high impact on our planet.” Instead, individuals should choose plant-based foods, according to the UN, which can reduce a person’s annual carbon footprint by up to 2.1 tons. In the U.S., though, agriculture alone generates about 10% of total greenhouse gas emissions, federal data shows. The American agriculture sector accounts for just 1.4% of global emissions and has implemented a wide range of solutions, making it the nation’s lowest-emitting economic sector. WHITE HOUSE PROHIBITING OFFICIAL TRAVEL TO FOSSIL FUEL CONFERENCES, INTERNAL MEMO SHOWS “America’s farmers and ranchers are climate heroes, reducing emissions while providing abundant and affordable food, fiber, and fuel,” House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Regulating producers out of business in the U.S. will not effectively address global climate change, but export production to foreign countries with hostile regimes and worse emissions profiles while harming food security and affordability. Simply put, the world needs American farmers and ranchers more than the UN,” he added. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, U.S. farmers are getting more than three times the production compared to what they put in. And emissions have significantly declined in pork and beef production. In May, meanwhile, Thompson joined a group of fellow House Republicans in rebuking President Biden’s special climate envoy John Kerry over his comments singling out food emissions. They called on President Biden and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to disavow the comments which were delivered at the Department of Agriculture’s AIM for Climate Summit earlier that month. “A lot of people have no clue that agriculture contributes about 33% of all the emissions of the world,” Kerry remarked at the time. “We can’t get to net-zero, we don’t get this job done unless agriculture is front and center as part of the solution. So all of us understand here the depths of this mission.” “Food systems themselves contribute a significant amount of emissions just in the way in which we do the things we’ve been doing,” he continued. “With a growing population on the planet – we just crossed the threshold of 8 billion fellow citizens around the world – emissions from the food system alone are projected to cause another half a degree of warming by mid-century.” Neither FAO nor Kerry’s office responded to a request for comment by time of publication.
Religious leaders call on Congress to ‘take action now’ to combat antisemitism, defend Israel
Leaders of American religious communities and organizations pledged their support to Israel and the Jewish people this week, while urging Congress to “take action now” to help fund Israel’s defense and fight antisemitism. Faith & Freedom Coalition leaders were joined by more than a dozen religious leaders from across the country in writing a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell this week. “We the undersigned leaders of American religious communities and organizations, join herein to defend the Jewish people, the State of Israel, and the values that unite us as people of faith,” they wrote, noting that the group represents “many faith traditions and have come together, in one voice, to defend our shared humanity against barbarism and terror.” The leaders called Hamas’ “barbaric” terror attack on Israel on October 7 the “most significant massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust.” AMERICAN JEWS EMBRACE THEIR FAITH AND TRADITIONS IN WAKE OF TERROR ATTACK, SURVEY OF RABBIS REVEALS “In the wake of this horrific terror, antisemitic protests erupted in the United States and around the world. We will not remain silent in response,” they wrote. The leaders noted that despite the antisemitic protests breaking out in cities across the nation, the “majority of Americans continue to stand by their Jewish brothers and sisters in the United States and in the Jewish homeland of Israel.” “As Jews remain the target of more than half of religion-motivated hate crimes in the United States and Israel faces a fight for its survival, Americans of all faiths and backgrounds must take action now,” they wrote. The faith leaders issued a “united condemnation of antisemitism” and proclaimed their “support for Israel’s right to self-defense.” “The United States government, and the people’s representatives in Congress, cannot waver both in combatting antisemitism and in supporting the State of Israel,” they wrote. SOARING ANTISEMITISM IN US STARTED WITH UN BASHING ISRAEL, ENVOY SAYS Faith & Freedom Coalition Chairman Ralph Reed, in an interview with Fox News Digital, said the letter lays out “tangible legislative action.” “It is nice to have the rhetorical condemnations, but what we really need right now is rigorous congressional oversight, a robust response by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security, and legislative action,” Reed said. Reed and the faith leaders called on Congress to make it a “top priority” to advance legislation that would help to fund Israel’s defense “as soon as possible.” They also Congress to pass the “Countering Hate Against Israel by Federal Contractors Act,” which is bipartisan legislation that would ensure U.S. taxpayer dollars are not “subsidizing the antisemitic movement to boycott Israel out of existence.” The faith leaders also called for the passage of the “Antisemitism Awareness Act,” which is bipartisan legislation that would revoke tax-exempt statuses of universities that refuse to fight antisemitism on campus. That measure would also direct the Biden administration to use the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism while investigating hate crimes. The faith leaders also demanded the passage of the “Maximum Pressure Act,” which would require any new deal with Iran to be ratified by the U.S. Senate. It would also restrict the president’s ability to lift sanctions on Iran. The leaders also called for the passage of the “No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act,” which would permanently freeze the $6 billion of Iranian funds that were released as part of the Biden administration’s 2023 hostage deal. IRAN CELEBRATES NEW HYPERSONIC MISSILE AMID NEW THREATS BY ITS PROXIES AGAINST US, ALLIES Reed told Fox News Digital that faith leaders are “concerned that the response of the international community and United States policy has been focused singularly and almost solely on Hamas.” “As much as we agree that Hamas needs to be destroyed and it can no longer govern or lead Gaza, it is in fact, a symptom of a much deeper problem and that is Iran’s funding, directing, training and command and control of multiple terrorist proxies throughout the region and the world.” He added: “We want that dealt with.” Reed told Fox News Digital that he is “confident” that the letter will have a “tremendous impact.” “These faith leaders represent somewhere between 40 and 60 million Evangelical Christians and they are a huge and important constituency that will not and cannot be ignored,” Reed said. “The steps we lay out are bipartisan. They are very mainstream, and there is no reason why they can’t be embraced by both parties, and by Congress, as well as the administration.” Meanwhile, the faith leaders also called for “vigorous congressional oversight” to ensure that the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security and other agencies “take all necessary measures to prevent, prosecute, and punish antisemitic hate crimes in the United States.” The faith leaders also asked for support to Israel’s efforts to “degrade and destroy” Hamas and “Palestinian Islamic Jihad” in Gaza; help Israel with its Iron Dome protection; press for economic and diplomatic “normalization” between Israel and regional Arab nations; maintain sanctions on the Iranian regime; and measures to force Qatar to “choose between remaining a major non-NATO ally of the United States or continuing its support for Hamas leadership and terrorism.” “As faith leaders representing many traditions, we affirm our support for the Jewish people and the State of Israel,” they wrote. “We call on Americans of all religious backgrounds to join us in pledging our unwavering commitment to stand by our Jewish brothers and sisters.”
Sen Marshall urges GOP to say ‘Hell no’ to supplemental funding request without tighter border security
Tackling the Biden administration’s national supplemental funding request is at the top of the agenda as the Senate returns from Thanksgiving recess this week, but it may prove to be a difficult feat for GOP lawmakers in the upper chamber who are trying to strike a deal on including tighter border security provisions. Disagreement over tying Israel and Ukraine funding together also persists, as GOP lawmakers who have grown skeptical of aid to Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion last year are more in favor of pausing aid to the Eastern European country. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, one of the lead lawmakers striving to split up Israel and Ukraine aid, told Fox News Digital that funding for Israel and stronger border security measures, like stricter asylum standards and more border patrol agents, should go hand in hand. “What we need is Republican leadership to stand up and say, ‘Hell no, we will not vote cloture on anything that doesn’t include meaningful border security,’” Marshall told Fox News Digital in an interview Monday. BORDER PATROL SAYS IT’S PAUSING SOCIAL MEDIA TO DEAL WITH MIGRANT SURGE Marshall said the GOP-controlled House leadership “are on a different planet” than the Democrat-controlled upper chamber and are no closer to a deal than they were at the start of October on border security negotiations. However, the “cry for border security becomes louder,” he added. Republican senators released a series of measures that are largely drawn from the House GOP signature border and immigration legislation, H.R. 2, passed in the Republican-controlled House earlier this year. The measures would be a condition for Republicans to agree to a $106 billion request for aid for Ukraine and Israel, which also includes $14 billion for border operations. GOP Sens. Marshall, Ted Cruz, JD Vance and Mike Lee introduced a stand-alone bill to funnel aid to Israel without tying it to Ukraine aid in October. The bill, called the Israel Supplemental Appropriations Act, is an alternative to President Biden’s $106 billion emergency supplemental bill. “We can’t even get a small amount of GOP lawmakers to agree on Ukraine funding, on border security, let alone Republicans and Democrats in the Senate and the House,” Marshall told Fox News Digital. “That’s why we gotta pull out Israel funding.” WHITE HOUSE, SENATE DEMS REJECT GOP BORDER SECURITY PROPOSALS: ‘TOTAL NON-STARTER’ The Israel Supplemental Appropriations Act, if passed, would provide $14.3 billion to Israel, including $10.6 billion for assistance through the Department of Defense (DOD), $3.5 billion for foreign military financing and $200 million to help protect U.S. embassies and personnel. But Senate Democrats blocked the proposal when it was brought to the floor this month. Senate Democrats have said a package without Ukraine funding would be dead-on-arrival. Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have both signaled the GOP will pass more Ukraine funding if a deal is struck for tighter immigration laws. The White House’s supplemental request, which was sent to Congress in October, includes $61.4 billion for Ukraine, $14.3 billion for Israel (with $10.6 billion allocated for military aid), $13.6 billion for some border security provisions, and significant investments in Indo-Pacific security assistance, totaling around $7.4 billion. Additionally, there’s $9 billion earmarked for humanitarian aid in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza. Republicans in the upper chamber say the border provisions, as outlined by the White House, do not address much-needed policy changes like stricter asylum standards at the southern border. WHITE HOUSE FUNDING REQUEST INCLUDES $14 BILLION FOR BORDER AS CRISIS HITS NEW RECORDS In a “Dear Colleague” letter sent Sunday night, Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. announced a classified all-senators briefing on the Ukraine-Russia war in the coming days. “The biggest holdup to the national security assistance package right now is the insistence by our Republican colleagues on partisan border policy as a condition for vital Ukraine aid. This has injected a decades old, hyper-partisan issue into overwhelmingly bipartisan priorities,” Schumer said in the letter. But Marshall said he’s not budging. The U.S. government already sent more than $100 billion to Ukraine, and “they’re making no progress,” he said. “Every three days they try to shove Ukraine down our throat, and I don’t get it,” he said. “Everything that could be said has been said about it. We’re not dumb. This is not a rocket science deal going on in Ukraine. I’m almost insulted they keep trying to just say the same thing over and over, louder and louder like it’s going to change my mind.”
Iran flexes military advancements, increasing calls on Biden to act: ‘Weakness only invites more aggression’
The Iranian government is flexing its military power via a series of recent announcements as questions continue to grow as to whether the United States is doing enough to push back against the regime’s increased attacks on American interests in the aftermath of the Hamas terror attack in Israel on Oct. 7. On Monday, Iran unveiled a new sophisticated warship for its Caspian Sea fleet that it says will be “a “sea of peace and friendship” and said Iran’s naval power there will serve “peace, security of commercial fleets, confronting terrorists and probable incidents in the future.” The announcement comes shortly after the country claimed to have developed a new hypersonic ballistic missile, allegedly expanding one of the most dangerous military capabilities at their disposal. “Iran is continuing to try to signal that its military industries are impervious to and cannot be set back by sanctions, hence the pomp and circumstance here,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital about the new Iranian warship. “Of note, the new vessel is to be deployed in the Caspian Sea, a sign of the regime’s increased securitization of the world’s largest lake and a major conduit for the drone trade with Russia.” As Iran announces military advancements, Iranian-backed proxies have carried out dozens of attacks on American bases and interests in the Middle East since the Iran-backed Hamas terror organization attacked Israel, including in international waters where Yemen’s Houthi rebels have fired upon and hijacked ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. IRAN ON ‘EXECUTION SPREE’ SINCE START OF ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR, KILLING 107 ANTI-REGIME ACTIVISTS, ETHNIC MINORITY “Iran’s evolving anti-access, area-denial capabilities are likely to continue to trickle to proxies like the Houthis in Yemen, which already boast anti-ship cruise and anti-ship ballistic missiles,” Taleblu said. The increased attacks, along with what many have said is a lack of proportionate response by the United States, have caused increased criticism from top Republicans in Congress. CRITICS SLAM BIDEN ADMIN FOR WAIVER THAT GIVES IRAN ACCESS TO $10B FUND: ‘ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS’ “Since Joe Biden took office, Iran has attacked American positions in the Middle East over 150 times, with over 70 of those attacks in the last month,” Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas told Fox News Digital on Monday. “Iran and its proxies know they can get away with this because the Biden administration rarely hits back. And when it does respond, the strikes only target empty warehouses or inconsequential proxy forces in Iraq or Syria.” “President Biden seems to be going out of his way to avoid targeting Iranians or the resources Iran holds dear. This weakness only invites more aggression from Iran and will continue unless the administration sends a clear message these attacks are unacceptable.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and National Security Council for comment but did not receive a response. “You’ve seen some saying there should perhaps be a more robust response to these ongoing attacks, whether it’s from Iranian-backed militias in Syria or Iraq, whether it’s the Houthis,” a reporter asked National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby at a Monday press briefing. “Is there any thought of changing up how that’s done?” “I don’t think we’re going to get into [the] business to telegraphing our punches,” Kirby replied. “We’ve responded forcefully against the threats to our forces in Iraq and Syria and now our forces in the Gulf region, the Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden. We’ll continue to do that as appropriate.” Taleblu told Fox News Digital that “while some may be tempted to write off any Iranian military changes as bluster,” the “administration cannot afford to ignore the overall trajectory of Iran’s military programs.” “Greater capability will generate greater risk tolerance and testing of red lines by Tehran. That is something no U.S. president [can] afford to ignore.” Fox News Digital’s Peter Aitken contributed to this report.