U.S. News

EXCLUSIVE — Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., is arguing that violent crime driven by repeat offenders released under the state’s controversial bail reform law won’t turn around unless New York voters elect Republican candidate Lee Zeldin over incumbent Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul in November.  Malliotakis, who introduced a new bill at the federal level aimed at allowing crime victims or their families seriously injured or killed by violent offenders out on cashless bail to sue states like New York, praised Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams for finally releasing data showing recidivism rates in critique of a no consequences criminal justice system.  “I’m so happy we finally have a mayor that’s releasing this information because Bill de Blasio hid this is data from the public,” Malliotakis said in an interview with Fox News Digital on Thursday. “People like me have been advocating for this law to be changed because we know it’s detrimental to the community. We know that crime is skyrocketing and as a result, have had difficulty in getting the data to prove that.”  “I was very happy to see that the NYPD under Mayor Adams, released the data that proves what we’ve been saying all along, that this law is a danger to society and that they’ve been putting the interests of career criminals ahead of the safety of our law-abiding citizens,” Malliotakis said, before turning the blame on Hochul. “In fact, the governor is doing everything she can to hide those facts from the public in defense of this ridiculous law that is hurting her constituents.”  NYC MAYOR ADAMS, POLICE SLAM BAIL REFORM POLICIES AMID ARRESTS OF REPEAT OFFENDERS: ‘DEFINITION OF INSANITY’ According to data released by the New York Police Department on Wednesday, the number of individuals arrested three or more times in a calendar year for crimes including robbery, burglary, and grand larceny, among others, has increased through the first six months of 2022, compared with crime in the years prior to the onset of the pandemic.  For example, 211 individuals logged at least three arrests for burglary through June 2022, a 142.5% increase compared with the 87 individuals arrested at least three times for burglary in the first six months of 2017. Nearly 25% of those arrested for burglary go on to commit another felony within 60 days, a sharp increase compared with 2017, when 8% of accused burglars were arrested for another felony within 60 days. Though Adams’ move marked a step in the right direction, Malliotakis, who was a member of the state legislature when it passed the controversial bail reform law in 2019 along party lines under former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, criticized Hochul’s misguided focus on guns instead of repealing cashless bail.  “The governor is the one who is most liable here if she refuses to act,” Malliotakis said of Hochul. “She refused to bring, despite all our calls, the legislature back for a special session. And sure enough, if she gets reelected, she’s going to continue to defend this law instead of making the necessary changes.”  The congresswoman predicted that not much will change unless a Republican heads to Albany.  “I don’t have faith unless we get a new governor and Lee Zeldin is elected that we will see any changes to this bail law, which is why I’ve introduced this measure on the federal level to at least require New York State to have the same provisions as every other state,” Malliotakis said. “It allows for judges to consider an individual’s dangerousness.”  HATE CRIME DROPPED FOR NYC TIMES SQUARE BOXCUTTER SLASHING SUSPECT ARRESTED JUST WEEK BEFORE ATTACK  Malliotakis introduced the “Protecting All Communities Equally (PACE) Act of 2022,” which would give courts the authority to consider dangerousness of defendants during sentencing. Under the federal proposal, if a criminal is released without bail and goes on to commit another crime, the responsibility would lie on the state for any injuries or property damage that criminals committed. The suspect accused of storming onto stage and attempting to stab Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y. in the neck with a sharp object at a Rochester campaign stop last month was arrested but released hours later on his own recognizance. Federal prosecutors later stepped in and re-arrested the suspect because Zeldin is a sitting U.S. congressman, but Malliotakis argued most assault victims in New York don’t have that luxury.  “The idea that someone can attack a sitting congressperson and be released immediately after that arrest is unconscionable. Now, thankfully, because Lee is a congressperson, the federal government came in and arrested the perpetrator,” she said. “If you’re an average New Yorker, you’re not going to have that same protection and the federal government would not come in and make that arrest. The state laws need to protect citizens. It is the utmost responsibility of government to make sure to provide public safety, period.”  “People are assaulted every single day in New York City. And those perpetrators are being released back on the street,” she added.  According to the congresswoman, another issue driving the release of repeat offenders back onto the streets are “radical left-leaning judges” who were either appointed by former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio or elected in liberal boroughs.  “We have an issue with the judges in New York. We have very radical left-wing judges that are sitting on the bench, particularly in New York City, that continue to release criminals,” Malliotakis said. “Four out of five of our prosecutors in New York City are woke prosecutors who don’t want to prosecute crime, Alvin Bragg being the worst. Even when the prosecutor requests that bail is set, the judges don’t always do it.”  Malliotakis made the argument that with crime a major issue at the ballot box in November, New Yorkers wanting to see real change in regard to public safety should vote Republican.  CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP  “I think really at the end of the day, this issue can only truly be resolved at the ballot box,” she said. “You need to elect a governor and members of the state legislature who are committed to repealing or, at minimum, fixing this to stop this law. And we need to elect judges who are law and order judges. And we need to elect prosecutors that are actually going to prosecute crimes. So really, it is up to the people in New York state to change this environment of skyrocketing crime and no accountability for criminals.” 
Go to Source

The top super PAC backing Senate Democrats didn’t wait long to take aim at Blake Masters, the newly nominated Republican Senate challenger to Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, over the combustible issue of restricting abortion access. “Three years ago, I had an ectopic pregnancy. If I didn’t make it into the OR within a couple minutes, I was going to bleed out and die,” says Brianna, a mother of three from Phoenix who survived a life-threatening ectopic pregnancy and says she was saved by an abortion, at the top of a new spot by Senate Majority PAC. “But according to Blake Masters, that’s just too bad. He wants to ban all abortions, even in cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother,” Brianna adds, as she blasts Arizona’s GOP Senate nominee who supports a nationwide abortion ban. “Masters is so extreme and so wrong for Arizona.” Senate Majority PAC says it’s spending $1.2 million to run the spot in the swing state of Arizona. HOWARD KURTZ: BEHIND THIS WEEK’S ABORTION SHOCKER The group, which is aligned with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is also up this week with an ad in another key Senate battleground, North Carolina. The spot – backed by six figures – targets Rep. Ted Budd, the GOP Senate nominee in the race to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Richard Burr. “Budd wants abortion outlawed, with no exceptions for rape or incest,” the narrator in the spot charges, referring to an interview Budd gave earlier this year in which he suggested he wouldn’t support such exceptions in any abortion ban. The races in Arizona and North Carolina are among a handful that will likely determine if the Republicans win back the Senate majority. Democrats face historical headwinds, as the party that wins the White House and control of Congress traditionally suffers major setbacks in the House and Senate in the ensuing midterm elections. They’re also up against a very unfavorable political climate, fueled by record inflation and soaring crime, and symbolized by President Biden’s deeply negative approval ratings. ABORTIONS RIGHTS ACTIVISTS WIN BIG IN KEY KANSAS SHOWDOWN But pointing to the issues of gun violence, following a slate of high-profile mass shootings in recent months, and abortion in the wake of the move by the Supreme Court’s conservative majority to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, which sent the issue of abortion regulation back to the states. Democrats see an energized electorate that will help them defy the current expectations by political prognosticators. Democrats were further energized by Tuesday’s resounding victory in Kansas by pro-choice activists – in the first ballot box test of legalized abortion since the blockbuster high court ruling. A national poll from Monmouth University, conducted ahead of Tuesday’s vote in Kansas, indicated abortion and gun control – each at 17% – tied for the No. 2 issues on the minds of voters, behind the economy at 24%. “The result we just saw in Kansas speaks for itself: voters of every political persuasion are highly motivated to turn out and reject the GOP’s dangerous assault on a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions,” Senate Majority PAC spokesperson Veronica Yoo argued, in a statement to Fox News. And she vowed, “We’re making sure folks continue seeing and hearing about Republican Senate candidates’ extreme agenda – from banning abortion nationwide and further rolling back reproductive rights to gutting Medicare and Social Security – so that voters can hold them accountable at the ballot box come November.”  “The result we just saw in Kansas speaks for itself: voters of every political persuasion are highly motivated to turn out and reject the GOP’s dangerous assault on a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions,” she said. CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS 2022 ELECTIONS POWER RANKINGS The Senate Majority PAC isn’t the only Democratic group that’s launching a full court press this week on abortion. The Democratic Governors Association didn’t wait long to take aim at Tudor Dixon, the newly nominated Republican gubernatorial challenger to Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, over the combustible issue of abortion. A new ad launched Thursday by Put Michigan First, which is funded by the DGA, takes aim at the conservative commentator and former online news host for her stance on abortion. “If you take Tudor Dixon at her word, when it comes to outlawing abortion, she’s told us exactly who she is,” the narrator in the spot says. The ad then uses clips of Dixon media interviews, where she says she’s not in favor of exceptions that would allow for abortions in cases of rape or incest. Whitmer, who’s being heavily targeted as she runs for re-election in the key Midwestern battleground, has pledged to “fight like hell” to protect legalized abortion access.  THE STATE OF PLAY 100 DAYS UNTIL NOVEMBER’S MIDTERM ELECTIONS The group tells Fox News the commercial is the first in a month-long $4 million ad buy in Michigan. “From Michigan and Wisconsin to Georgia and Arizona, Republicans are running for governor on dangerous plans to ban abortion with no exceptions and enforce it by throwing nurses in jail,” DGA communications director David Turner said in a statement to Fox News. He emphasized that “while Kansas was the first post-Roe opportunity for voters to reject these kinds of radical and unpopular mandates that prohibit women from making their own personal health care decisions, governors’ races in November will be next. The DGA will continue holding Republicans accountable for their extreme agenda every step of the way.” While Tuesday’s vote in Kansas grabbed plenty of national headlines, some Republican strategists suggest Democrats may be overplaying their hand on abortion and insist the issue won’t dominate November’s elections. “What’s going to decide these elections are pocketbook economic issues, people’s safety, and the big thing that’s driving people’s vote in this election is their dissatisfaction with how Joe Biden’s running the country,” longtime Republican pollster Jim McLaughlin told Fox News. McLaughlin, who conducted polling for former President Donald Trump’s 2016 and 2020 campaigns and who conducts the straw poll ballots for the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), emphasized that people are “seeing failures at the border, they’re seeing failures when it comes to the economy, they’re seeing failures when it comes to inflation, and they’re looking at what’s going on with the crime problem in the major cities right now, and voters want change.” Veteran Republican strategist Brian Walsh noted that “midterm elections are fundamentally base elections where both parties are working to energize their core supporters,” and acknowledged that “to the extent the abortion issue fires up the Democratic base that will benefit them.” “But when you still have a president with an approval rating in the 30s, the economy on the brink of a recession and families grappling with record inflation and grocery store bills, it’s going to be hard for Democrats to make abortion the singular and defining issue in November,” Walsh, a National Republican Senatorial Committee veteran and a former top adviser to Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, said.  “The key for Republican candidates though will be to keep their campaigns laser-focused on the economy and to not hand Democrats additional ammunition that might divert voter attention from kitchen table economic issues,” he added.
Go to Source

Four alleged Guatemalan human smugglers indicted in the U.S. have been arrested as part of a “significant” operation to “disrupt and dismantle a transnational human smuggling organization,” the Justice Department announced Thursday.  The individuals, who were taken into custody in the Central American country by request of the U.S., “allegedly conspired with other smugglers to facilitate the travel of large numbers of migrants from Guatemala through Mexico, and ultimately, to the United States, charging the migrants and their families approximately $10,000 to 12,000 USD for the perilous journey,” prosecutors say.  “These recent arrests are the culmination of over a year’s efforts of international coordination and investigation into this extensive human smuggling operation,” U.S. Attorney Ashley Hoff said in a statement. “This specific criminal organization has smuggled a large number of migrants from Guatemala, which included a young woman who died while being smuggled, and whose body was later callously dumped by the smugglers in Crane County, Texas.”  TEXAS OFFICER SAYS FLOW OF MIGRANTS ACROSS RIO GRANDE IS ‘NONSTOP AND VERY CONSISTENT’  The Justice Department said on Aug. 2 that the Guatemalan National Civil Police executed 26 search warrants in Huehuetenango, El Quiché, Totonicapán, Alta and Baja Verapaz, arresting 19 people, including the four fugitives wanted by the U.S.  They were identified as Felipe Diego Alonzo, aka “Siete,” 38; Nesly Norberto Martinez Gomez, aka “Canche,” 37; Lopez Mateo Mateo, aka “Bud Light,” 42; and Juan Gutierrez Castro, aka “Andres,” 45.  TEXAS KEEPS PRESSURE ON DC AS MORE MIGRANT BUSES ARRIVE NEAR US CAPITOL “As a result of the search warrants, law enforcement recovered 10 high-valued motor vehicles, firearms and cash,” the Justice Department added.  Prosecutors also said “the human smugglers targeted in this operation are alleged to be responsible for the death of a young indigenous Guatemalan woman who died in Texas in April 2021.”  “According to the indictment, the defendants and their co-conspirators guided her for several days through the desert to Odessa, Texas, where she ultimately perished,” the Justice Department said. “Upon learning of her death, the defendants and their co-conspirators quickly worked to get rid of the body and discarded it on the side of a country road in Crane County, Texas.” 
Go to Source

The wreck that killed Rep. Jackie Walorski and three others was caused when the vehicle carrying the congresswoman crossed the center line, an Indiana sheriff’s office said. Walorski, 58, communications director Emma Thomson, 28, and district director Zachary Potts, 27, were all killed in a Wednesday head-on collision in Elkhart County, Indiana. Edith Schmucker, 56, the sole occupant of the colliding vehicle, was also killed. Elkhart County Sheriff’s Office released updated information Thursday that corrected what the office initially said Wednesday.  All occupants of both vehicles were wearing seat belts, the office said, and Potts was driving the Toyota RAV4, with Walorski and Thomson as passengers. INDIANA GOP CONGRESSWOMAN JACKIE WALORSKI KILLED IN CAR CRASH “The information from the preliminary investigation at the scene, as to the direction of travel of the vehicles, was not correct. The continuing investigation has located eyewitness and video evidence,” the sheriff’s office wrote on social media. “The Toyota RAV 4 crossed the centerline for reasons that are unknown at this time and the two vehicles collided,” the office continued. “The Sheriff’s Office is continuing to interview witnesses and collect evidence from the scene and vehicles.” REPUBLICANS, DEMOCRATS REACT TO REP. WALORSKI’S TRAGIC CAR CRASH DEATH: ‘JUST THE WORST NEWS’ Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle shared their condolences after the tragic deaths of Walorski and the two staff members. Walorski represented Indiana’s 2nd Congressional District since 2013 and was known as a bridge-building moderate.
Go to Source

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced Thursday that Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder will be the Pentagon’s new press secretary, following John Kirby’s departure in May.  “He brings a wealth of experience, including joint and deployed assignments that will serve him well as he informs the media of our activities around the world,” Austin said in a statement.  “I am confident that I will benefit from his counsel, and that the American people will benefit from his ability to clearly and consistently communicate our efforts to protect the United States and its interests around the world, take care of our people, and strengthen our unrivaled alliances and partnerships,” continued the defense secretary. Ryder, who currently serves as the Department of the Air Force director of public affairs, will be the first uniformed spokesperson to fill the position since 2015. He is expected to close out his responsibilities as Air Force director over the next several weeks before assuming his new position later this month. PENTAGON WARNS CHINA MAY WANT TO CONTROL PANAMA CANAL Ryder’s assignment comes after Kirby left the position to work as the National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications. PENTAGON OFFICIAL WARNS THAT CHINA IS ACQUIRING NEW WEAPONS FIVE TIMES FASTER THAN US Ryder previously worked with Austin from 2013 to 2016 at U.S. Central Command. Ryder then went on to serve as head spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2017 to 2019. 
Go to Source

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom called on the Hollywood film industry to bring back production moved to Oklahoma and Georgia amid pandemic lockdowns and rising crime, criticizing the Republican-controlled states over policies against abortion in a new ad published in Variety.  The full-page spread, paid for by the Newsom campaign, is titled: “Hollywood: Your values, Your choice.”  “California is the best place in America to create. For 100 years, we’ve been the home for storytelling and storytellers. Together we built a creative community that includes unrivaled cast, crews, craftspeople, infrastructure, and technology. Robust tax credits and other incentives. The best culture,” the ad says. “Most importantly, we share your values. So now, it’s time to choose. “Over the past several years, the legislatures of states like Georgia and Oklahoma have waged a cruel assault on essential rights,” Newsom, who is reportedly quietly mulling a 2024 presidential run, wrote. “Now, in the wake of the Supreme Court’s abhorrent decision overturning Roe v. Wade, those same states are quickly moving to strip reproductive freedoms.”  NEW SAN FRANCISCO DA GOES AFTER SCHOOL-SIDE FENTANYL DEALERS, TO REVOKE CHESA BOUDIN-ERA DRUG PLEA DEAL OFFERS  This comes as Newsom also announced on Wednesday his support for a bill to invest $1.65 billion in California’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program to extend it for an additional five years, through 2030. This program allocates $330 million per year in tax credits for the industry. “As other states roll back people’s rights, California will continue to protect fundamental freedoms for all and welcome businesses that stand up for their employees,” Newsom said in a statement. “Extending this program will help ensure California’s world-renowned entertainment industry continues to drive economic growth with good jobs and a diverse, inclusive workforce.” Meanwhile, Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp had already announced on Monday that film and television production generated $4.4 billion in the state this fiscal year.  Four of the top six spots for highest domestic-grossing movies were filmed in Georgia: “Avengers: Endgame,” “Spider-Man: No Way Home, “Black Panther” and “Avengers: Infinity War.”  Kemp noted that streaming and limited series continue to choose Georgia for hit programming, including season four of Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” which reached an all-time Nielsen streaming record in July for its more than 7 billion minutes of viewing time during the first half of the season. That and Georgia-lensed Netflix hit “Ozark” each earned 13 Primetime Emmy nominations in July. Emmy mentions also came in for HBO Max’s “The Staircase,” Disney+’s “Loki” and FX’s “Atlanta,” among others, totaling 46 nominations for productions in the state. “When the pandemic struck, we worked hard in Georgia to communicate with our partners in the Georgia film, TV, and streaming industries,” Kemp said in a statement. “Together, we forged a safe and appropriate path to allow the film industry to return to operations and deliver Georgia Made productions to eager consumers all around the world — even when some states continued to stay shut down and stifle the industry’s return to normalcy.”  Republican Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt reacted to Newsom’s ad in a tongue-in-cheek statement, saying he was “happy to name Gavin Newsom Oklahoma’s Economic Developer of the Year Award in 2021, and I’m glad to see he’s making a run for two years in a row,” according to a statement reported by the New York Times.  “Instead of attacking strong conservative leadership in red states like Oklahoma, perhaps Gavin Newsom should focus on addressing his state’s income tax, which is the highest in the nation, out-of-control energy costs, endless violent crime, people shooting up drugs in the streets, chronic homelessness, high cost of living, gridlock traffic, and rolling blackouts,” Stitt’s spokeswoman added in a statement to Fox News Digital. “If he needs pointers on how to actually run a state, he should give Governor Stitt a call.” In the Variety ad, Newsom argues that conservative states such as Georgia and Oklahoma are launching attacks that “are not occurring in secret,” but rather are carried out “brazenly and with the intent to cause pain in the communities they target — many of whom are essential to the success of your industry.”  “Today more than ever, you have a responsibility to take stock of your values — and those of your employees — when doing business in those states,” the ad says. “California is the freedom state.”  Newsom touts California as ensuring the freedoms to “tell your stories,” to access healthcare including abortions, to “love who you love and to ensure your LGBTQ friends, family and colleagues can proudly be who they are.”  CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP  The ad says California offers freedom “from repressive state governments that want to tell you what to believe and threaten you with felonies if you don’t toe their line.”  “So to those in power to make decisions about where to film, where to hire, where to open new offices, we in California say: Walk the walk,” it says. “Choose freedom. Choose creativity. Choose California.” 
Go to Source

A State Department official said Thursday that while Iran’s current relationship with China may not pose an immediate threat, that does not make it a positive development. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for a hearing on China’s role in the Middle East. Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., had several questions pertaining to Iran in particular. Young asked about the cooperation agreement that two countries signed in 2021, and whether it poses a threat to American troops or allies. “There’s no direct threat as such at the moment to U.S. forces,” Lead said, “but it is definitely not good for the region.” Immediately prior to that exchange, Young and Lead discussed China’s role in the negotiations for a new Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Young asked Leaf if China’s role in the talks has posed an obstacle to the American goal of achieving a stronger, longer deal compared to the one entered into by the Obama administration that the Trump administration then left. IRAN LOOKING TO INCREASE MILITARY COOPERATION WITH ‘LIKE-MINDED’ CHINA Leaf said that China “has been constructive within the bonds of the P5+1 efforts,” referring to negotiations being conducted by the group of nations that includes the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – China, the U.S., United Kingdom, France, and Russia – plus Germany. Despite this, however, Leaf expressed concern that China does not take advantage of its position to get Iran to cease bad behavior in the Middle East. “My concern goes to how China does not pressure Iran at the appropriate points when we see kinetic activity and where we see clear evidence that Iran is providing lethal aid, resources, etc. to proxies in the region that are extraordinarily destructive,” she said. IRAN GAINS FOOTHOLD IN SOUTH AMERICA AS BIDEN ADMIN PURSUES NUCLEAR DEAL Iran and China signed a 25-year strategic cooperation agreement in 2021 that includes economic and agricultural activities as well as transportation. In April of this year, Chinese Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe visited Iran and met with President Ebrahim Raisi. Wei said the purpose of the trip was “improving the strategic defense cooperation” between Iran and China.
Go to Source

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., on Thursday slammed the Department of Defense’s focus on injecting “woke nonsense” into the U.S. military amid China’s escalation against Taiwan. Rubio, who is running for reelection against presumptive Democratic nominee Rep. Val Demings, tweeted a campaign video comparing past military recruitment videos with those under the Biden administration. The first part of the video shows clips featuring patriotic imagery and the military’s impressive firepower, while the second part shows clips about gender pronouns and other LGBTQ topics. “We are not preparing for the threats we face,” the ad concludes. Rubio said Thursday in a statement provided to Fox News Digital that the Biden administration’s handling of the military is “dangerous” for America. “No one should be surprised,” Rubio said. “The Democrat Party, legacy media, and major U.S. corporations spent years calling America evil. Why would anyone sign up to put their life on the line for an evil nation? Rather than making the case for American greatness and appealing to our patriotism, the military is just parroting woke nonsense. It’s dumb, it doesn’t work, and it’s dangerous.” During an appearance earlier Thursday on “Fox & Friends,” Rubio tied the issue to China, which has been conducting military exercises around Taiwan. THERE ARE CONSEQUENCES TO HAVING ‘WOKE NONSENSE’ IN OUR MILITARY: RETIRED ARMY COLONEL “When we see these things happen remember that our civilian leaders in the Pentagon have spent the last two years focused very seriously on the proper use of pronouns and ensuring that we host the right number of drag queen shows at different military bases around the world … and kicking out the unvaccinated,” the senators said.  “And now their recruitment numbers are down because a lot of the working-class families who are the backbone of our recruitment efforts, these are the people that have for decades sent their sons and daughters to defend our country,” he added. “They’re not interested in joining some woke social experiment organization. So it’s very sad. I hope it’s a wake-up call that we begin to reallocate resources and attention to the right things and to our military capabilities in the Pacific.” China claimed Thursday that its military had successfully executed “precision missile strikes” in the Taiwan Strait, a day after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi left the island. China repeatedly condemned Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, and threatened to take action. On her final day in Taiwan, China’s navy and air force began conducting military exercises in six zones around Taiwan, with some overlapping Taiwan’s territorial waters. China could invade Taiwan within the next 18 months, current and former officials familiar with U.S. and allied intelligence told Fox News Digital, suggesting a particularly “dangerous” window between the meeting of the National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party this November and the next U.S. presidential election in 2024. Fox News’ Brooke Singman and Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.
Go to Source

Americans in the nation’s capital said tax increases from the Inflation Reduction Act won’t curb ongoing price surges. “I don’t think it will reduce inflation by raising taxes,” Jay, from South Carolina, said. “I just don’t feel like it will do that.”  “I think [inflation] will just continue to stay high,” he added. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin last week announced the Inflation Reduction Act, which will spend $433 billion primarily on climate initiatives while imposing a 15% minimum tax on large corporations. The legislation would increase taxes for the vast majority of Americans, with those earning below $10,000 seeing the largest rise, according to the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation. INFLATION REDUCTION ACT IS ‘DECEPTIVE MARKETING’, WILL HURT STRUGGLING AMERICANS, ECONOMIST SAYS “I think it’s going to be a wash,” George, from Michigan, told Fox News, noting that the common taxpayer won’t see any benefits.  “You still gotta buy bread at whatever the cost bread is,” George continued. Shannon, a Washington, D.C. resident, told Fox News: “I don’t think raising taxes will find immediate relief, but it might be able to do so in the long run.”  WSJ EDITORIAL BOARD BLAMS SCHUMER-MANCHIN BILL FOR UNLEASHING ‘BEAST MODE’ IRS TO ’TARGET’ THE MIDDLE CLASS She added that Americans in cities that already have high taxes would have even more difficulty. Democrats have defended the legislation, arguing that it wouldn’t increase taxes for everyday Americans. For example, President Biden said there would be “no tax increases at all for families making under $400,000 a year.” One man said raising taxes won’t curb inflation as Americans struggle to pay their current expenses. “A lot of people can’t pay their taxes now,” he said.  MANCHIN-SCHUMER SPENDING BILL ESTIMATED TO HURT COAL WORKERS THE MOST Over 48 million American adults had a “somewhat difficult” time meeting their household expenses, and over 43 million had a “very difficult” time, a Census Bureau survey conducted between June 29 and July 11 found. One man wearing a baseball cap said raising taxes has unfortunately “kind of become the American way now” for solving crises. “Taxes never helped anything,” Arronda, from Virginia, said. “That’s not the way you’re gonna fight inflation.” “You gotta create jobs, you have to create opportunity,” she continued. “That’s the way you’re gonna be able to help with inflation.”
Go to Source

Sen. Joe Manchin has often frustrated Senate Democrats on key issues this Congress, and has a longstanding reputation as a moderate – but his overall voting record is closer to the party line than many other Senate centrists.  Manchin, D-W.Va., voted with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., 88% of the time this Congress, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, 91% of the time, according to a ProPublica database. Significantly, he also agreed with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on 91% of votes, according to ProPublica.  That number is lower than most other Democrats, including fellow moderate Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., who voted with Schumer on 96% of roll calls since 2021. The bulk of other Senate Democrats vote with Schumer 98% of the time, according to ProPublica.  Manchin, however, toes the party line on votes much more often than some GOP moderates.  MANCHIN HAS ‘NICE TALK’ WITH SINEMA BUT WON’T DISCUSS DETAILS ON FATE OF SOCIAL SPENDING AND TAX BILL Sen. Susan Collins. R-Maine, cast just 62% of her votes with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., this Congress, per ProPublica. Collins actually voted more with Schumer at 73% of the time, according to the database. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, votes with McConnell 68% of the time. Even Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who in recent years has embraced former President Donald Trump and somewhat distanced himself from his moderate past, cast the same vote as McConnell only 73% of the time.  “The bottom line is he portrays himself as a moderate but at the end of the day he always ends up where Chuck Schumer needs him to be,” a Senate GOP leadership aide said of Manchin.  In addition, Manchin backed and voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election.  A different Senate GOP aide noted one specific Manchin vote from this Congress that particularly irked them: The American Rescue Plan, which the aide said is the “$1.9 trillion bill that got us into this in the first place.” That bill passed along party lines and would not have been law if Manchin voted against it. The GOP aide also noted that Manchin voted against Republicans’ 2017 tax cut. SCHUMER-MANCHIN SOCIAL SPENDING AND TAX BILL FACES MAJOR HURDLES AS DEMS SEEK QUICK PASSAGE Renewed and forceful attacks on Manchin from Republicans come as he is leading the push for a new social spending and taxation bill that Democrats hope to pass along party lines, using a process called budget reconciliation. Schumer and Manchin announced the agreement, titled the “Inflation Reduction Act,” last week after more than a year of intra-party talks. The bill includes climate, prescription drug, Affordable Care Act, energy and tax provisions. It would spend $433 billion and would raise $739 billion in tax revenue, according to Democrats. Republicans, meanwhile, are attacking the bill for allegedly indirectly passing on tax burden to the middle class, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation, and what they say are frivolous climate provisions.  Manchin’s office did not respond to a request for comment for this story. But the senator himself argues that Republicans are the ones who are off base, and that in less polarized times they would actually support his bill. MANCHIN DISPUTES DATA SHOWING SOCIAL SPENDING BILL WOULD RAISE TAXES ON MIDDLE CLASS DURING RECESSION “My Republican colleagues are my friends and I’ve worked with them tremendously. And I will continue to work with them any way, shape or form,” Manchin said earlier this week, in response to a question from Fox News Digital. “But these are things that we’ve all talked about in bipartisan groups. How can we start paying down our debt and… take our finances seriously, our financial house in order? These are things every time we get together as a group, bipartisan support, this is what we talk about. How can we get more production?” Republicans also say that Manchin effectively flip-flopped, after saying as recently as last month that he didn’t think it would be smart to pass a bill with major taxing and spending provisions in the current economy.  “Joe Manchin went back on everything he had been saying publicly about what he would not do,” McConnell said on Fox News Radio’s “Guy Benson Show” Wednesday.  REPUBLICANS WHO VOTED FOR CHINA BILL CHARGE MANCHIN FLIP-FLOPPED AND LIED ON SPENDING AND TAX HIKE MEASURE “It was a complete flip-flop. Everything he said he was against, now he’s for,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said last week. “I regret it when people want to look you in the eye and lie to you. But that’s a lesson learned, and it won’t happen again.” The senior senator from West Virginia, of course, is not always in lockstep with his party. When Democrats were pushing an earlier version of their reconciliation bill, called “Build Back Better,” Manchin shut down talks over his concerns about the proposed spending, which was as high as $3 trillion at some points.  He also has a history of reaming out Biden officials during hearings, particularly Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Richard Glick, who he lit into over allegedly slow-walking pipeline permits earlier this year. Manchin also voted to confirm Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh under former President Donald Trump. Perhaps most significantly, Manchin and Sinema stood in lockstep against Democrat efforts to eliminate the Senate filibuster altogether this Congress. Democrats tried to use the “nuclear option” to do that for an elections bill, and have said they want to get rid of the filibuster to pack the Supreme Court, make Puerto Rico a state, codify abortion rights and more. All of those efforts stalled, largely because of Manchin. But after pushing for this social spending bill, Republicans say they no longer count Manchin as a moderate, and that they’re done playing nice with him.  “We’re going to be focused on that seat in 2024,” Senate GOP Conference Chair John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said in a statement, referring to Manchin being up for re-election in 2024. 
Go to Source