Politics
Ukraine is not developing biological weapons, U.S. intel official assures senators
Director of Nationwide Intelligence Avril Haines informed lawmakers Thursday that Ukraine just isn’t pursuing organic or nuclear weapons, a declare that U.S. officers have described as a part of a broader Russian marketing campaign of disinformation.
“We don’t assess that Ukraine is pursuing both organic weapons or nuclear weapons, which have been a number of the, mainly, propaganda that Russia is placing out,” Haines mentioned.
On Wednesday the White Home and Pentagon equally dismissed Russian allegations, which have been echoed by Chinese language officers, that the U.S. is growing chemical and organic weapons in Ukraine.
U.S. officers have warned that such claims are sometimes utilized by Russia as justification for utilizing organic weapons.
“Now that Russia has made these false claims, and China has seemingly endorsed this propaganda, we must always all be looking out for Russia to presumably use chemical or organic weapons in Ukraine, or to create a false flag operation utilizing them. It’s a transparent sample,” White Home Press Secretary Jen Psaki mentioned in a tweet Wednesday.
Ukraine does have a dozen organic analysis labs targeted on medical countermeasures similar to containing pandemics or illness outbreaks, Haines mentioned. The U.S. assists with well being and security in these labs because it does in a number of different international locations, she mentioned.
“Frankly this affect marketing campaign was fully in step with longstanding Russian efforts to accuse the USA of sponsoring bio weapons work in former Soviet Union [states],” Haines mentioned. “This can be a basic transfer by the Russians.”
The feedback from Haines and different intelligence officers got here throughout a public listening to with members of the Senate Intelligence Committee on worldwide threats.
Nationwide Safety Company Director Normal Paul M. Nakasone helped clarify one of many lingering questions on Russia’s technique in its invasion of Ukraine: Why is it not partaking in additional cyberattacks to Ukrainian infrastructure?
Ukraine has skilled three or 4 cyberattacks, in keeping with Nakasone. He mentioned it could possibly be partly a strategic transfer by Russia, but additionally that the USA helped harden Ukrainian cyber networks within the years earlier than the struggle started.
“An amazing about of labor was achieved previous to the precise invasion, work that was achieved by my company, work that was achieved by cyber command, by interagency, by a collection of personal sector companions that hardened the infrastructure of Ukraine,” Nakasone mentioned.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) additionally pressed Haines on what intelligence there’s that Russia doesn’t see the U.S. offering anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons to Ukraine as escalatory, however would see offering the nation with planes that means.
“I don’t see a whole lot of widespread sense between this distinction,” Cotton mentioned.
Democrats and Republicans have each pushed the administration to assist facilitate the switch of MiG-29’s to Ukraine from Poland and different international locations that also use the Soviet-era plane. Cotton and others questioned if the Biden administration was pushing the intelligence group to present it political cowl for not facilitating the trade and questioned why it will be OK if the planes got here instantly from Poland with out the U.S. as a intermediary.
Haines acknowledged the query of what might escalate the battle a high-quality line to tread, however added that the choice suits the latest intelligence.
“We’re in a really difficult place, proper, the place we’re clearly offering huge quantities of assist to Ukraine as we must always and have to do, however on the identical time making an attempt to not escalate the battle right into a full on NATO or U.S. struggle with Russia,” she mentioned.
Protection Intelligence Company Director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier mentioned that the best wants proper now are humanitarian help, small arms, artillery and rockets. And he believes that Russia sees a distinction between anti-aircraft or anti-tank weapons and planes that would cross into Russian air house.
There’s a method to get these planes to Ukraine with out getting the usinvolved, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) mentioned.
“It’s not unattainable to determine a method to remedy the issue if we needed to resolve the issue. Girls and kids are being bombed,” Sasse mentioned. “There’s extra we are able to do and we needs to be going sooner.”
Over the next six days, various dignitaries, supporters and ordinary citizens will celebrate Jimmy Carter at several funeral events across the country that honor his life and career in public service, from his boyhood farm in rural Georgia to Washington and back.
The gestures of remembrance have all been carefully selected to reflect the 39th president’s rural roots in the small town of Plains, Ga., his political career in Georgia and Washington, and his legacy of global advocacy in Atlanta.
Here is the full schedule of events.
Saturday, Jan. 4
At 10:15 a.m., the Carter family will arrive at Phoebe Sumter Medical Center in Americus, Ga. There, former and current members of the Secret Service detail that protected Carter will escort his body to a hearse, which will then leave for Plains, the former president’s hometown.
The motorcade is expected to pass through Plains, pausing for a moment at his childhood farm. During that stop, the National Park Service will toll the farm bell 39 times, marking Carter’s service as the 39th president.
Once the motorcade leaves Plains, it will head for Atlanta, where it is scheduled to arrive at 3 p.m. Once there, the motorcade will pause for a moment of silence at the Georgia State Capitol, where Carter once served as governor.
A private service will then be held at the Carter Center in Atlanta, where the former president established his presidential library and headquarters for an organization dedicated to championing democracy, fighting diseases and other global causes.
Beginning at 7 p.m., the public will be able to pay their respects at the Carter Center through early Tuesday.
Tuesday, Jan. 7
Public visitation will end at 6 a.m.
At 9:30 a.m., there will be a ceremony marking Carter’s final departure from the Carter Center. His family will then travel with his body to Washington.
They will first fly to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, arriving at 12:45 p.m. A motorcade will then take them to the U.S. Navy Memorial, in recognition of Carter’s military service.
At 2 p.m., Carter’s body will be transferred to a horse-drawn military wagon, as part of a procession to the U.S. Capitol in Washington. At the Capitol, Carter will lie in state, with a 3 p.m. service scheduled for lawmakers to pay their respects.
The public will be able to visit until midnight, and then again on Wednesday through early Thursday.
Thursday, Jan. 9
Carter will leave the Capitol at 9 a.m., with a ceremony. The procession will head to Washington National Cathedral, where a national funeral service will take place at 10 a.m.
The funeral is expected to end by 11:15 a.m., at which point the family will accompany the coffin back to Joint Base Andrews to fly to Georgia. Once back in Georgia, a motorcade will drive to Plains.
Once the motorcade arrives at Maranatha Baptist Church, where Carter taught Sunday school for many years, a private funeral service will take place at 3:45 p.m.
An hour later, the motorcade is expected to travel to the Carter home, where his wife, Rosalynn, is buried. There, the Navy will conduct a ceremonial flyover, another tribute to Carter’s service both as a lieutenant and commander in chief.
Carter will finally be buried alongside his wife. A private interment ceremony, scheduled for 5:20 p.m., will conclude the services.
Politics
Musk renews harsh rebuke of Dems who rejected deporting sex offenders: Vote out ‘every one’
Tech billionaire and Trump ally Elon Musk renewed criticism of the more than 150 House Democrats who voted against deporting illegal immigrants convicted of sex offenses, demanding each of the lawmakers be voted out of office.
“There is no excuse. Please post the list of people who opposed this law and want to keep illegals who are convicted sex offenders in America,” Musk posted to his X account on Saturday referencing a September House vote.
“They all need to be voted out of office. Every one of them.”
The Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act passed the House in September, after all 215 present Republicans voted in favor of the bill, and were joined by 51 Democratic colleagues. A total of 158 Democrats, however, voted against the bill.
158 DEMS VOTE AGAINST BILL TO DEPORT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WHO COMMIT SEX CRIMES
President-elect Trump and Elon Musk watch the launch of a test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket on Nov. 19, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
The Democrats who voted against the bill came under scrutiny in September, and are facing renewed criticism on social media this month as commenters resurrect the vote ahead of President-elect Trump taking office this month.
“The bill targeted rapists, pedophiles, domestic abusers, and stalkers, ensuring they couldn’t stay in the U.S. Opponents claimed it ‘demonized immigrants,’ but how does protecting convicted predators help anyone – especially their victims?” X show host Mario Nawfal posted to his account Saturday, sparking Musk to weigh in.
“Deporting violent offenders isn’t ‘fearmongering’ – it’s basic public safety. Why would anyone vote to keep criminals who prey on women and children?” Nawfal added.
EX-BORDER CHIEF WARNS OF ‘SIGNIFICANT THREAT’ AS MIGRANT NUMBERS SKYROCKET: ‘ENTIRE SECTORS’ MISSING AGENTS
The legislation would deport illegal immigrants convicted of sex crimes, and would also deem illegal immigrants who admit to domestic violence or sex-related charges – or are convicted of them – to be inadmissible in the U.S., Fox Digital previously reported. The legislation is currently with the Senate, and was referred to the Judiciary Committee.
Representatives of the 119th Congress are sworn in during the first day of session in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 3, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Notable Democrats who voted against the legislation included Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., former California Rep. Adam Schiff, who now serves in the Senate, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
Musk’s call for the Democrats to be voted out of Congress over the vote comes after he vowed in December to fund moderate Democratic politicians in deep blue districts, “so that the country can get rid of those who don’t represent them.”
CLYBURN BRUSHES OFF MUSK’S PLAN TO FUND MODERATES IN DEMOCRATIC DISTRICTS
President-elect Trump greets Elon Musk as he arrives to attend a SpaceX Starship launch on Nov. 19, 2024, in Brownsville, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Musk is also slated to serve alongside Vivek Ramaswamy to lead an upcoming presidential advisory committee, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which will work to cut excessive government spending and slash the size of the government under Trump’s second administration.
According to the office of the House clerk, the 158 Democrats who voted against the legislation are:
- Alma Adams, North Carolina
- Pete Aguilar, California
- Gabe Amo, Rhode Island
- Jake Auchincloss, Massachusetts
- Becca Balint, Vermont
- Nanette Barragán, California
- Joyce Beatty, Ohio
- Ami Bera, California
- Donald Beyer, Virginia
- Sanford D. Bishop Jr., Georgia
- Earl Blumenauer, Oregon
- Suzanne Bonamici, Oregon
- Lisa Blunt Rochester, Delaware
- Jamaal Bowman, New York
- Shontel Brown, Ohio
- Julia Brownley, California
- Cori Bush, Missouri
- Salud Carbajal, California
- Tony Cárdenas, California
- André Carson, Indiana
- Troy Carter, Louisiana
- Greg Casar, Texas
- Ed Case, Hawaii
- Sean Casten, Illinois
- Kathy Castor, Florida
- Joaquin Castro, Texas
- Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Florida
- Judy Chu, California
- Katherine Clark, Massachusetts
- Yvette Clarke, New York
- Emanuel Cleaver, Missouri
- James Clyburn, South Carolina
- Steve Cohen, Tennessee
- Gerald Connolly, Virginia
- Luis Correa, California
- Jim Costa, California
- Jasmine Crockett, Texas
- Jason Crow, Colorado
- Danny Davis, Illinois
- Madeleine Dean, Pennsylvania
- Diana DeGette, Colorado
- Rosa DeLauro, Connecticut
- Suzan DelBene, Washington
- Mark DeSaulnier, California
- Debbie Dingell, Michigan
- Lloyd Doggett, Texas
- Veronica Escobar, Texas
- Anna Eshoo, California
- Adriano Espaillat, New York
- Lizzie Fletcher, Texas
- Bill Foster, Illinois
- Valerie Foushee, North Carolina
- Lois Frankel, Florida
- Maxwell Frost, Florida
- John Garamendi, California
- Jesús “Chuy” Garcia, Illinois
- Robert Garcia, California
- Sylvia Garcia, Texas
- Dan Goldman, New York
- Jimmy Gomez, California
- Al Green, Texas
- James Himes, Connecticut
- Steny Hoyer, Maryland
- Valerie Hoyle, Oregon
- Jared Huffman, California
- Glenn Ivey, Maryland
- Jonathan Jackson, Illinois
- Sara Jacobs, California
- Pramila Jayapal, Washington
- Hakeem Jeffries, New York
- Henry “Hank” Johnson, Georgia
- Sydney Kamlager-Dove, California
- Bill Keating, Massachusetts
- Robin Kelly, Illinois
- Ro Khanna, California
- Dan Kildee, Michigan
- Derek Kilmer, Washington
- Andy Kim, New Jersey
- Raja Krishnamoorthi, Illinois
- Ann Kuster, New Hampshire
- Greg Landsman, Ohio
- Rick Larsen, Washington
- John Larson, Connecticut
- Barbara Lee, California
- Summer Lee, Pennsylvania
- Teresa Leger Fernandez, New Mexico
- Ted Lieu, California
- Zoe Lofgren, California
- Doris Matsui, California
- Lucy McBath, Georgia
- Jennifer McClellan, Virginia
- Betty McCollum, Minnesota
- Morgan McGarvey, Kentucky
- James McGovern, Massachusetts
- Gregory Meeks, New York
- Rob Menendez, New Jersey
- Grace Meng, New York
- Kweisi Mfume, Maryland
- Gwen Moore, Wisconsin
- Joseph Morelle, New York
- Seth Moulton, Massachusetts
- Kevin Mullin, California
- Jerrold Nadler, New York
- Grace Napolitano, California
- Richard Neal, Massachusetts
- Joe Neguse, Colorado
- Donald Norcross, New Jersey
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, New York
- Ilhan Omar, Minnesota
- Frank Pallone, New Jersey
- Nancy Pelosi, California
- Scott Peters, California
- Brittany Pettersen, Colorado
- Dean Phillips, Minnesota
- Chellie Pingree, Maine
- Mark Pocan, Wisconsin
- Katie Porter, California
- Ayanna Pressley, Massachusetts
- Mike Quigley, Illinois
- Delia Ramirez, Illinois
- Jamie Raskin, Maryland
- Deborah Ross, North Carolina
- Raul Ruiz, California
- C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, Maryland
- Linda Sánchez, California
- John Sarbanes, Maryland
- Mary Scanlon, Pennsylvania
- Janice Schakowsky, Illinois
- Adam Schiff, California
- Bradley Schneider, Illinois
- Robert “Bobby” Scott, Virginia
- David Scott, Georgia
- Terri Sewell, Alabama
- Brad Sherman, California
- Darren Soto, Florida
- Melanie Stansbury, New Mexico
- Haley Stevens, Michigan
- Marilyn Strickland, Washington
- Mark Takano, California
- Shri Thanedar, Michigan
- Mike Thompson, California
- Bennie Thompson, Mississippi
- Rashida Tlaib, Michigan
- Jill Tokuda, Hawaii
- Paul Tonko, New York
- Norma Torres, California
- Ritchie Torres, New York
- Lori Trahan, Massachusetts
- David Trone, Maryland
- Lauren Underwood, Illinois
- Juan Vargas, California
- Marc Veasey, Texas
- Nydia Velázquez, New York
- Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Florida
- Maxine Waters, California
- Bonnie Watson Coleman, New Jersey
- Nikema Williams, Georgia
- Frederica Wilson, Florida
The Democrats who voted against the legislation came under fierce scrutiny in September from conservatives.
“If you vote against it, you’re sexist against women,” South Carolina Republican Nancy Mace, who introduced the legislation, said in September to Fox Digital.
Migrants attempt to cross into the U.S. from Mexico at the border Dec. 17, 2023 in Jacumba Hot Springs, California. (Nick Ut/Getty Images)
ELON MUSK AGREES WITH RON PAUL’S CALL TO ‘ELIMINATE FOREIGN AID’
“I mean, truly, because we’re talking about illegals who are here who are committing domestic violence, rape and murder on women and children – they’ve gotta go. They shouldn’t be allowed into our country.”
“158 Democrats just voted AGAINST deporting migrants for s*x offenses. This is a slap in the face to every victim and their family members. Democrats hate you and your children,” popular conservative X account Libs of TikTok posted at the time.
Democrats who voted against the bill characterized it as xenophobic and an example of “fearmongering” against immigrants.
“Here we are again, debating another partisan bill that fear mongers about immigrants, instead of working together to fix the immigration system,” Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said during debate on the bill.
“I probably shouldn’t be too surprised. Scapegoating immigrants and attempting to weaponize the crime of domestic violence is appearing to be a time-honored tradition for Republicans.”
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
Will President-elect Donald Trump’s vow to “launch the largest deportation program in American history” truly keep millions of immigrants out of the country? My research on deportees over the last five years suggests it won’t.
Here’s why: They’ll come back.
One of the migrants I interviewed was deported to a perilous town in northern Mexico, where he found himself in immediate danger on arriving at a bus terminal. Members of a criminal group demanded that he provide a contraseña — a password he didn’t have — or face kidnapping. He ultimately borrowed $1,500 from a friend to pay them off, remain free and make his way back to the United States.
His experience is an example of the risks deportees face in their countries of origin. Those dangers — and the relative safety of the only homes they have — often motivate them to undertake harrowing journeys back to the United States.
Although data on deportees is somewhat limited, the evidence we have shows that people re-immigrate after deportation more frequently than many might expect. In fiscal 2020, for example, the federal government classified 40% of deportations as “reinstatements of removal,” meaning the deportees had reentered the United States after being removed or ordered to leave. A 2019 report by the American Immigration Council, a pro-immigration advocacy group, similarly noted that such reinstatements of removal generally make up 40% of deportations annually. From 2011 to 2020, approximately 1.3 million deportations affected people who had been deported before.
That’s because deportation policies are at best blunt instruments that take little account of the human lives they ensnare. Those who view mass deportation as a solution to unauthorized immigration ignore the deep roots, sense of belonging, family ties and resolve that drive people back to the country they call home.
Undeterred by deportation, people I’ve interviewed have found ways to return to the United States with or without permission. Their stories reveal the rarely discussed truth that deportation is not necessarily the end of migration; it is often a temporary, futile interruption.
I spoke to another man who was born in Mexico but raised in the United States, served in the military and struggled with post-traumatic stress. Because of a minor cannabis possession charge, he was deported to a country he barely remembered. In 2021, more than a decade after his exile, he returned to the only land he considers his own, the United States.
“You can travel the world,” he told me, “but eventually, your heart and spirit will call you home.”
Another Mexican-born, U.S.-raised military veteran I interviewed was also deported over a marijuana charge. Feeling “erased from existence,” he risked his life to return less than a month later.
“I don’t need a paper to tell me I’m an American,” he told me.
These stories expose a fundamental flaw of mass deportation. In contrast to the cyclical migration patterns of earlier decades — when migrants, mostly men, moved back and forth between the United States and Mexico with relative ease in response to the labor market — today’s cycle is driven by government coercion and unbreakable bonds. Forced departures lead to inevitable returns as deportees are pulled back by connections that no amount of enforcement can sever.
The coyotes who smuggle them have become part of what the anthropologist Jason De León calls a “border-security-industrial complex.” If their illicit businesses were publicly traded, their stocks would be soaring on renewed demand. Meanwhile, border enforcement policies push migrants into treacherous terrain where they face dehydration, hypothermia and death in the desert.
For deportees, returning is an act not just of determination, but of survival. Some are lucky enough to make it back, but as the Spanish saying goes, “Tanto va el cántaro al agua hasta que se quiebra”: The pitcher goes to the well until it finally breaks. Deportation policies push people to take increasingly greater risks to return to the only homes they’ve ever known. The next attempt could always be their last.
Deportation may well become the defining issue of our era if we continue down this punitive path. When mass deportations fail, what will follow? Will we see modern-day versions of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s executive order authorizing forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans, complete with “relocation centers”?
Under a very different executive order signed by President Biden in 2021, the Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs departments prioritized the return of deported U.S. military members and their families. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, similarly sought to recognize longtime residents’ ties to the country and restore their place in the American communities they call home.
Such policies live up to American ideals of justice and inclusion by embracing those who, in every meaningful way, already belong. Mass deportation would betray those values, put even more lives at risk and very often fail on its own terms.
Saúl Ramírez is a fellow at Harvard Law School and a doctoral candidate in sociology at Harvard.
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