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UN resolution demanding Israel exit ‘occupied territories’ can hurt ‘highly volatile’ situation, expert says

The United Nations on Wednesday passed a Palestinian-drafted resolution demanding Israel withdraw from the ‘Occupied Palestinian Territory’ within 12 months, with Israel’s new ambassador calling the measure ‘shameful.’ 

‘This is a shameful decision that backs the Palestinian Authority’s diplomatic terrorism,’ Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon said after the vote. 

‘Instead of marking the anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre by condemning Hamas and calling for the release of all 101 of the remaining hostages, the General Assembly continues to dance to the music of the Palestinian Authority, which backs the Hamas murderers,’ Danon added. 

The draft proposal received support from 124 countries, with 43 abstaining from voting and 14 others voting against it. The U.S. voted against the resolution and was joined by Argentina, Czech Republic, Fiji, Hungary, Israel, Malawi, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Tonga and Tuvalu.

The resolution has no legally binding effect, but the General Assembly has also called on members to ‘take steps towards ceasing the importation of any products originating in the Israeli settlements, as well as the provision or transfer of arms, munitions and related equipment to Israel… where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that they may be used in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.’

This is the first resolution proposed by the Palestinians after gaining additional powers as a member following a vote in May, including granting them the ability to propose resolutions. 

The Palestinian territories pushed for the resolution on the back of a July advisory opinion by the United Nations’ International Court of Justice (ICJ) that determined Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories and settlements is illegal and should be withdrawn. 

Andrew Tucker, the director general of The Hague Initiative for International Cooperation, told Fox News Digital ahead of the resolution vote that the proposal would essentially seek to implement the ICJ advisory opinion with a hard timeline, whereas the ICJ merely said it should be done ‘immediately.’

‘The court came out with an opinion in July,’ Tucker explained. ‘It’s an opinion: It’s not a ruling, it’s not a criminal case. They’re not deciding a dispute. It’s a legal opinion that the court is being asked to give by the General Assembly.’

‘But it goes to the heart of the Israel-Palestinian conflict,’ Tucker said. ‘In essence, the court is being asked to give its opinion on really the key issues that have been disputes between Israel and the Palestinians for decades, and the General Assembly is now implementing that opinion.’

‘The court [is] saying: [It] doesn’t matter what Israel’s security concerns are, doesn’t matter [that] there’s a war going on in Gaza,’ Tucker continued. ‘It doesn’t matter that Hezbollah is threatening to attack from the north. All of these things are irrelevant.’

‘The Palestinians have a kind of absolute right to self-determination, and that means that Israel’s presence in the territories has become illegal,’ he added. ‘Now, legally… there’s a lot to be said about this. For example… never before has the right to self-determination been given this level of priority.’

Tucker argued that the implications of such a decision could lead to ‘greater conflict’ because Israel’s expedited exit could leave open the chance for Iran to dig into the West Bank the same way it did with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. 

‘If Israel withdraws from these territories… It’s only 10 kilometers from there at the smallest [point] between the West Bank and Tel Aviv,’ Tucker said. 

‘So whoever gets control of these territories, if it’s hostile toward Israel, which is unfortunately the case, we’re facing a highly, highly volatile security situation,’ he added. 

Reuters contributed to this report. 

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DAVID MARCUS: Why Teamsters members think Trump, not Harris, is the real friend of the working man

Just days after Vice President Kamala Harris met with the leaders of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to appeal for their endorsement, one that almost always goes blue, the union told her to kick rocks, declining to endorse either her or Donald Trump.

My great-grandfather was a Teamsters boss in Philadelphia in the mid 20th century who ran against Jimmy Hoffa for the national presidency of the union. I once asked him just how corrupt and mobbed-up the legendary Hoffa was, but Pop would never say a word against him. In his brogue, he would simply say, ‘Jimmy was a friend of da workin’ man.’

Decades later, the leadership and 1.5 million members of the Teamsters, along with 500,000 retirees, had to decide this week whether Trump or Harris is the friend of the working man in the 2024 race. 

In this stunning move, and direct snub to Harris, the union decided not to endorse or put its significant resources behind either candidate, and the reason why is very obviously pressure from its membership.

‘I voted for Biden,’ a retired longtime Teamster told me in Washington, Pa., just outside Pittsburgh. ‘But you want facts? Let’s give grocery facts, let’s give electricity facts, let’s give gas facts, let’s give every fact between when he was elected and now.’

For him, the facts added up to a vote for Donald Trump.

And he is not alone.

The results of the Teamsters own internal survey were staggering. Back in July, President Joe Biden, (remember him?) was leading Donald Trump 44-36 percent. Fast forward to today and Trump has surged to a 60-34 lead over Harris in the online survey and 58-31 over the phone lines.

This is a massive shift, more dramatic than we have seen within any other substantial demographic. Cutting off Joe Biden’s ancient roots in the labor movement has left members a clearer choice between Harris and Trump, and it’s bad news for the Veep.

It’s also bad news for many in the Teamsters leadership who bristled when union president Sean O’Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention, as did the left-aligned labor movement in general.

In San Francisco, I met Ray, a Teamster in the hospitality industry, proudly displaying his lapel pin, but he was also frustrated by the national leadership.

‘They don’t seem focused on guys like us,’ he told me. ‘Like they are playing a whole different ball game.’

In general, my conversations with union members across the country this election cycle have differed dramatically, depending on whether it was a private sector union, like the Teamsters, or a public sector union, such as teachers unions.

Private sector members talk more about balancing their needs with the ability of their industries, which they know well, to prosper. Public sector union members seem to expect that the government has endless money and can always go find a Leprechaun and take its pot of gold.

If this huge tidal wave of Teamster votes to Trump is reflected in other unions such as the United Auto Workers Union, or service sector unions, and from the working people I’ve spoken to, and I suspect it is, the electoral implications could be profound. 

As with many Americans, there may be many things that many Teamsters don’t love about Trump. That would explain why Joe Biden, who accurately or not, is seen as a more traditional Democrat than Harris, appealed to them.

But without Biden’s big labor patina and history, it seems most Teamsters have decided that it is time for them to move on from the Democratic Party and Kamala Harris, toward Trump’s promise to make America, and its wages, great again.

Just like Pop so long ago with Jimmy Hoffa, more and more Teamsters today are looking at Trump. They may think he’s imperfect, they may think he’s rough around the edges. But increasingly, they also see him as the race’s only friend of the working man. 

 

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More than 100 former GOP officials from past administrations publicly endorse Harris over Trump

More than 100 former Republican officials, mostly those who worked in national security or previously in various GOP presidential administrations, have penned a letter endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris and warning about the dangers of a potential second Trump administration.

‘We appreciate that many Republicans prefer Donald Trump to Kamala Harris, for a variety of reasons. We recognize and do not disparage their potential concerns,’ the letter released Wednesday reads. ‘But any potential concerns pale in comparison to Donald Trump’s demonstrated chaotic and unethical behavior and disregard for our Republic’s time-tested principles of constitutional governance.’

The signatories insisted in their letter that when it comes to diplomacy, the former president’s ‘unpredictable nature is not the negotiating virtue he extols.’ It added that Trump’s demeanor ‘invites equally erratic behavior from our adversaries, which irresponsibly threatens reckless and dangerous global consequences.’

The Wednesday letter comes roughly three weeks after more than 200 former GOP officials, including people who worked for former President George W. Bush, the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, also came out in favor of a Harris presidency. The letter also comes shortly after former Vice President Cheney and his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, both indicated they would be voting for Harris as well.

The letter on Wednesday was primarily signed by officials who had previously worked in either one of the Bush administrations or under former President Reagan. However, some former Republican members of Congress, including Illinois’ Adam Kinzinger and Virginia’s Barbara Comstock, also signed the Wednesday letter.

In total, it boasted 111 signatures but did include at least two repeats from the August letter endorsing Harris. Another name appeared to be a third repeat from the August letter, but Fox News Digital could not confirm if it was the same person ahead of publication time. Meanwhile, there were also two signatories on the Wednesday letter who also signed the infamous October 2020 letter from dozens of intelligence community officials asserting that the Hunter Biden laptop story broken by the New York Post was ‘disinformation pushed by Russia.’

A Trump campaign spokesperson, Steven Cheung, slammed the Wednesday letter’s signatories, arguing they are ‘the same people who got our country into endless foreign wars and profited off of them while the American people suffered.’

‘President Trump is the only president in the modern era not to get our country into any new wars,’ Cheung said.

The letter on Wednesday pointed to several reasons why its signatories are supporting Harris for president. Among them were that Harris has ‘consistently championed the rule of law, democracy, and our constitutional principles.’ The letter also said Harris has ‘pledged’ to ensure the U.S. military will continue to be the most lethal fighting force in the world, and it highlighted her support for NATO, Israel and the bipartisan border security act that failed this year. The letter noted that Harris has pledged she will appoint a Republican to her Cabinet ‘in order to encourage a diversity of views and restore a measure of bipartisanship and comity to our domestic politics.’

On national security, the letter lauded Harris for what it described as her ability to ‘engage in orderly national security decision-making.’ It added that a Harris presidency would likely be absent ‘the constant drama and Cabinet turnover of the Trump administration.’ 

However, during Harris’ tenure as vice president, she has come under scrutiny for creating a poor office culture and having a nearly 92% staff turnover rate.

Meanwhile, the letter blasted Trump for cozying up to U.S. adversaries: ‘Donald Trump’s susceptibility to flattery and manipulation by Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, unusual affinity for other authoritarian leaders, contempt for the norms of decent, ethical and lawful behavior, and chaotic national security decision-making are dangerous qualities.’

On Monday, Trump surrogate Tulsi Gabbard praised Trump for the ‘tough work’ he has done engaging with U.S. adversaries, which she insisted was a critical part of successful U.S. diplomacy.

‘President Trump did in his last administration what President Obama refused to do, what President Biden refused to do, what Kamala Harris has made clear she refuses to do, which is to go out and do that tough work that a president and commander in chief has to do in diplomacy,’ Gabbard said. ‘Not just hanging out with your friends and your allies and your partners, but actually going out and talking to your adversaries.’

The Wednesday letter concluded by saying Trump could not be entrusted ‘to support and defend the Constitution’ against foreign and domestic enemies alike. ‘We believe that Kamala Harris can, and we urge other Americans to join us in supporting her,’ the letter said. It also said Trump should never be able to hold political office of any kind in the future.

Currently, the Harris campaign is making a concerted effort to target vulnerable Republican voters, including through paid media and grassroots-driven digital efforts. Harris campaign spokesperson Ian Sams recently told Fox News Digital that Harris ‘has Republican momentum right now.’

‘We are proud of the bipartisan groundswell behind Vice President Harris,’ Sams said. ‘And we will continue working every day to earn the support of Republican voters who want a president like her who still believes in patriotism, freedom, and our Constitution.’

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Iran tried to influence election by sending stolen material from Trump campaign to Biden’s camp, FBI says

In an effort to ‘sow discord and shape the outcome of U.S. elections’, Iranian cyber actors sent messages during the summer to people involved in President Biden’s then re-election campaign containing stolen material from former President Trump’s campaign, U.S. agencies said.

‘Iranian malicious cyber actors in late June and early July sent unsolicited emails to individuals then associated with President Biden’s campaign that contained an excerpt taken from stolen, non-public material from former President Trump’s campaign as text in the emails,’ the FBI, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in a joint statement on Wednesday. 

The agencies noted that there is currently no information indicating if recipients replied to the messages.

The U.S. intelligence agencies also alleged that Iran has continued their election interference since June and has sent stolen Trump campaign material to U.S. media organizations.

‘Furthermore, Iranian malicious cyber actors have continued their efforts since June to send stolen, non-public material associated with former President Trump’s campaign to U.S. media organizations,’ they said.

The agencies said that the continued election interference from Iran is to ‘stoke discord and undermine confidence in our electoral process.’

‘As the lead for threat response, the FBI has been tracking this activity, has been in contact with the victims, and will continue to investigate and gather information in order to pursue and disrupt the threat actors responsible,’ they said. ‘Foreign actors are increasing their election influence activities as we approach November.’

Iran is not the only foreign adversary accused of meddling with the 2024 presidential election. On July 10, ODNI officials called Russia the ‘preeminent threat’ to the election.

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Johnson’s plan to avoid government shutdown goes down in flames as Republicans rebel

House Speaker Mike Johnson’s plan to avert a partial government shutdown failed on Wednesday. 

It was voted down 202 to 220, with two Republicans – Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky. – voting ‘present.’

At least nine Republicans voted against House GOP leadership’s bill, a six-month extension of the current year’s federal funding levels coupled with a measure to require proof of citizenship in the voter registration process.

Three Democrats voted in support of the measure – Reps. Jared Golden, D-Maine, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., and Don Davis, D-N.C.

The bill began hemorrhaging support soon after Johnson rolled it out during a conference call with House Republicans earlier this month – to the frustration of the majority of the House GOP.

A significant number of Republicans object to a stop-gap spending patch called a continuing resolution (CR) on principle – believing it to be an unnecessary extension of government bloat.

National security hawks expressed concern about the impact of a six-month funding extension on military readiness without added funds to keep up with rising costs.

The discord has caused tensions to run high within the House GOP.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a vocal supporter of the bill and author of the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, said of fellow Republicans: ‘I would dare any one of my colleagues who are against this plan, come forward with a better plan that we will actually be able to move, pass, and unite the Republican Party to go beat Democrats.’

‘Don’t predict failure and then be the reason why we fail – and that’s what some of my friends are doing, unfortunately,’ Roy said on Steve Bannon’s ‘War Room’ program. 

Johnson allies have also pointed out that this plan would be a strong opening salvo in a negotiation with the Democrat-controlled Senate on government funding – the speaker himself has repeatedly said the SAVE Act is worth fighting for.

Both Republican and Democratic leaders have conceded a CR is necessary to give congressional negotiators more time past the Oct. 1 deadline to hash out fiscal year 2025’s priorities.

Democrats, however, have called for a ‘clean’ CR free from conservative policy riders. And senior lawmakers in both parties argued that a CR through December is the best course of action to allow Congress to reevaluate after the election.

Johnson has repeatedly insisted he had no ‘plan B’ beyond Wednesday’s vote. He said as much to GOP lawmakers in a closed-door Wednesday morning meeting, two sources told Fox News Digital.

But with his initial plan defeated, Johnson is now caught between two warring Republican factions – one that wants him to leverage a partial government shutdown, and one that is reluctantly conceding that the House GOP could be left with no choice but to pass a ‘clean’ CR into December.

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump, who initially backed the six-month CR plus SAVE Act plan, more recently advocated for congressional Republicans to shut down the government if they did not get ‘absolute assurances on election security.’

A majority of Republicans, however, are publicly and privately conceding that they would bear the brunt of public anger over a government shutdown weeks before Election Day.

Vulnerable Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., insisted to reporters on Wednesday morning that ‘there’s not going to be a shutdown.’

When asked directly about Trump’s insistence, Lawler answered, ‘I’m not shutting the government down. My colleagues aren’t shutting the government down.’

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John Kirby denies US involvement in Lebanon device attacks: ‘We want to see the war end’

National Security communications adviser John Kirby shot down multiple questions Wednesday about possible U.S. involvement in the explosion of hundreds of electronic devices used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon.

‘We were not involved in [Tuesday’s] incidents or [Wednesday’s] in any way. And I don’t have anything more to share,’ Kirby said when asked to respond to the attacks. 

Kirby’s comments came hours after several blasts were heard around Lebanon’s capital of Beirut and other parts of the country. Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV reported the explosions were the result of walkie-talkies detonating. 

At least nine people were killed and another 300 were wounded in Wednesday’s attack, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry. 

The explosions came just a day after pagers used by hundreds of Hezbollah members exploded throughout Lebanon and parts of Syria, killing at least 12 people – including two children – and wounding thousands more. 

Both attacks are widely believed to have been the work of Israel, which has been fighting with Hezbollah almost daily since Oct. 8, the day after a deadly Hamas-led assault in southern Israel triggered the war in Gaza. 

Since then, hundreds have been killed in strikes in Lebanon and dozens in Israel, while tens of thousands on each side of the border have been displaced. Hezbollah said its strikes are in support of its ally, Hamas.

Reporters repeatedly pressed Kirby on Wednesday to say whether the U.S. was involved in the back-to-back attacks targeting members of Hezbollah or had been informed beforehand.  

Kirby reiterated that he did not ‘have anything more to share today.’ 

‘We want to see the war end. And everything we’ve been doing since the beginning has been designed to prevent the conflict from escalating,’ Kirby said. ‘We still believe that there is a diplomatic path forward, particularly up near Lebanon.’ 

The attacks have heightened fears that what has been intermittent fighting between Israel and Hezbollah could escalate into an all-out war. 

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Israeli troops Wednesday: ‘We are at the start of a new phase in the war — it requires courage, determination and perseverance.’ 

Gallant made no mention of the exploding devices but praised the work of Israel’s army and security agencies, saying ‘the results are very impressive.’ 

Hezbollah announced three strikes on parts of northern Israel Wednesday, at least one of which took place after the latest round of explosions in Lebanon.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Early voting means ‘election season’ has already begun

Tuesday, Nov. 5, is Election Day – but if Americans vote like they did in the last two election cycles, most of them will have already cast a ballot before the big day.

Wisconsin kicks off early voting today; the first state to make absentee ballots widely available to voters. By the end of the month, more than half of all states will have ballots in at least some voters’ hands, including Michigan and North Carolina.

It makes the next few months less a countdown to Election Day, and more the beginning of ‘election season.’

States have long allowed at least some Americans to vote early, like members of the military or people with illnesses. 

In some states, almost every voter casts a ballot by mail.

Many states expanded eligibility in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic made it riskier to vote in-person.

That year, the Fox News Voter Analysis found that 71% of voters cast their ballots before Election Day, with 30% voting early in-person and 41% voting by mail.

Early voting remained popular in the midterms, with 57% of voters casting a ballot before Election Day.

Elections officials stress that voting early is safe and secure. Recounts, investigations and lawsuits filed after the 2020 election did not reveal evidence of widespread fraud or corruption. 

The difference between ‘early in-person’ and ‘mail’ or ‘absentee’ voting.

There are a few ways to vote before Election Day.

The first is , where a voter casts a regular ballot in-person at a voting center before Election Day.

The second is , where the process and eligibility vary by state.

Eight states vote mostly by mail, including California, Colorado, Nevada and Utah. Registered voters receive mail ballots and send them back.

Most states allow any registered voter to receive a mail or absentee ballot and send it back. Depending on the state, voters can return their absentee ballot by mail, at a drop box, and/or at an office or facility that accepts mail ballots.

In 14 states, voters must have an excuse to vote by mail, ranging from illness, age, work hours or if a voter is out of their home county on Election Day.

States process and tabulate ballots at different times. Some states don’t begin counting ballots until election night, which delays the release of results.

Voting begins in multiple battleground states in September

This list of early voting deadlines is for guidance only. In some areas, early voting may begin before the dates listed. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes, and deadlines, go to Vote.gov and your state’s elections website.

Ballots will be made available to eligible absentee voters in Wisconsin starting today. The Midwestern state is one of the most competitive on the Fox News Power Rankings map. Virginia, Minnesota, and twelve more states kick off their early voting for at least some voters by the end of the week.

Early voting timeline

Subject to change. In-person early voting in bold.

September 11

  • Alabama Absentee voting begins. Excuse required.

September 16

  • Kentucky Absentee voting begins. Excuse required.

September 19

  • Wisconsin Absentee voting begins.

September 20

  • Virginia Early in-person and absentee voting begins.
  • Idaho, Minnesota, South Dakota Absentee voting begins (including in-person).
  • West Virginia, Wyoming Absentee voting begins.
  • Arkansas, West Virginia Absentee voting begins. Excuse required.

September 21 

  • New Jersey, Vermont Absentee voting begins (including in-person).
  • Oklahoma, Rhode Island Absentee voting begins.
  • Delaware, Indiana, Tennessee Absentee voting begins. Excuse required.

September 23

  • Maryland Absentee voting begins (including in-person).
  • Mississippi Absentee voting begins. Excuse required.

 September 24

  • North Carolina Absentee voting begins.
  • Missouri Absentee voting begins. Excuse required.

September 26

  • Illinois Early in-person voting begins.
  • North Dakota Absentee voting begins (including in-person).
  • Florida, Michigan Absentee voting begins.

September 30

  • DC Mail voting begins.
  • Nebraska Absentee voting begins.

October 1

  • Pennsylvania Absentee voting begins (including in-person).

October 4

  • Connecticut Absentee voting begins. Excuse required.

October 6

  • Maine Absentee voting begins (including in-person).

October 7

  • California Mail voting begins (including in-person absentee).
  • Montana Absentee voting begins (including in-person).
  • Georgia Absentee voting begins.
  • Nebraska Absentee in-person voting begins.
  • New Hampshire, South Carolina, Texas Absentee voting begins. Excuse required.

 October 8

  • Indiana Early in-person voting begins.
  • New Mexico, Ohio Absentee voting begins (including in-person).
  • Wyoming Absentee in-person voting begins.

October 9

  • Arizona Early in-person and absentee voting begins.

October 11

  • Alaska, Massachusetts Absentee voting begins.

October 14

  • Colorado Mail voting begins.

October 15

  • Georgia Early in-person voting begins.
  • Utah Mail voting begins.

October 16

  • Kansas Early in-person and absentee voting begins.
  • Rhode Island, Tennessee Early in-person voting begins.
  • Iowa Absentee voting begins (including in-person).
  • Nevada Mail voting begins.
  • Oregon Mail voting begins.

October 17

  • North Carolina Early in-person voting begins.

October 18

  • Louisiana Early in-person voting begins.
  • Hawaii Mail voting begins.
  • Washington Mail voting begins (including in-person absentee).

October 19

  • Massachusetts, Nevada, New Mexico Early in-person voting begins.

October 21

  • Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas Early in-person voting begins.
  • Alaska Absentee voting begins (including in-person).

October 22 

  • Hawaii, Utah Early in-person voting begins.
  • Missouri, Wisconsin Absentee in-person voting begins.

October 23

  • West Virginia Early in-person voting begins.

October 24

  • Maryland Early in-person voting begins.

October 25 

  • Delaware Early in-person voting begins.

October 26

  • New Jersey, Florida, Michigan, New York Early in-person voting begins.

October 28 

  • Colorado, DC Early in-person voting begins.

October 30

  • Oklahoma Absentee in-person voting begins.

October 31

  • Kentucky Absentee in-person voting begins. Excuse required.

TBC

  • Louisiana, New York Absentee voting begins.
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‘I’ve never seen this’: Top Republican details level of Secret Service ‘lack of cooperation’

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., described the level to which the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service have prevented the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC) from obtaining crucial materials to investigate the failures that led to the assassination attempts against former President Trump.

‘Things like the autopsy report, you know, the House has it under subpoena. We don’t have it,’ he told reporters. 

‘[The] toxicology report; we don’t have any of the trajectory reports. So, where’d the bullets go? We don’t even know how they handled the crime scene,’ said Johnson, ranking member of the HSGAC Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI).

The senator pointed to the amount of time that has passed since the July 13 assassination attempt against Trump, noting, ‘There’s just basic information we should have right now, and we don’t have it.’ 

‘We haven’t been able to interview the sniper who took out [Thomas] Crooks,’ Johnson said. Crooks is the would-be assassin that, during the July 13 rally in Pennsylvania, opened fire, grazing the former president’s ear, killing a rally attendee and critically injuring two others. 

According to the Republican, the sniper who shot Crooks was the first person he wanted to interview. 

Further, he said they hadn’t been provided any FD-302 forms by the FBI, which are used to investigate through results of interviews. Johnson pointed out that FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate told him during a hearing in July that the bureau would provide the forms as soon as they could.

‘I haven’t gotten one,’ he said. 

‘They’ve done 1,000 interviews. We’ve done 12,’ the senator said.

The Wisconsin Republican said the lack of information is consistent with slow-walking. 

He also said that a recent briefing to the chairs and ranking members of both HSGAC and PSI from Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe did not provide the senators with any new information. 

Johnson described that the few documents which had been provided to the lawmakers were ‘heavily redacted.’ 

‘And in this case, unusually. I’ve never seen this,’ he remarked of the redactions. 

Noting that it wasn’t his ‘first rodeo,’ Johnson recalled that redactions are normally black, blocking out certain parts of text. ‘These are just whiteouts.’

‘So, I don’t know. Was it just a single word?’ he asked. 

He said in some cases it wasn’t evident whether something had been obscured in the documents or not due to the white redactions. 

‘That’s the level of opacity that we’re getting in terms of their lack of cooperation with our investigation,’ Johnson added. 

The Secret Service has reiterated that it is cooperating with Congress’ investigations despite bipartisan outcry and accusations of ‘stonewalling.’

In a comment to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for the Secret Service said, ‘The U.S. Secret Service is cooperating with a wide range of reviews and investigations related to the attempted assassination on Former President Donald Trump. This includes multiple Congressional investigations, including inquiries by the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in the Senate, and a special bipartisan task force in the House of Representatives.’

‘Since July 13, we have provided more than 2,800 pages of responsive documentation to these entities and have made our employees available for interviews as requested. On Sept. 12, Acting Director Ron Rowe briefed members of U.S. House and Senate committees regarding the agency’s mission assurance investigation. Given the volume of requests, the jurisdiction of requesters, and the finite capacity of resources and staff to respond, the U.S. Secret Service is prioritizing our responses to those listed above.’

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Israel expands war objectives, eyeing northern front as tensions with Hezbollah continue unabated

Israel has added another objective to its ongoing conflict with Hamas and Hezbollah: ensuring the safe return of residents from communities along its border with Lebanon to their homes.

The country’s security cabinet voted on the measure during a late night meeting that lasted into the early hours of Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said, adding that “Israel will continue to act to implement this objective.”

Though the return of residents of northern Israel has long been understood to be a political necessity, this is the first time it has been made an official war goal.

Officials and residents from Israel’s northern region have become increasingly vocal about the need to return to their homes, piling pressure on the government to act against the threat of Hezbollah’s rockets from southern Lebanon.

The addition of the new war aim may push Israel to shift its military focus to its northern front as it warns that its patience for reaching a diplomatic solution with Hezbollah is running thin.

Earlier on Monday, Netanyahu told US envoy Amos Hochstein in Tel Aviv that it won’t be possible to return the northern residents without a “fundamental change in the security situation in the north,” according to his office. He added that Israel will “do what is necessary” to safeguard the region’s security and return the residents to their homes.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was however more specific, saying in a post on X after meeting Hochstein that the only way to allow the residents of the north to return is “though military action.”

Hochstein cautioned Netanyahu against initiating a wider war in Lebanon, Axios reported, citing sources it didn’t identify.

Hezbollah has said that it will end its attacks on Israel when Israel ends its war in Gaza.

Gallant’s fate

The addition to Israel’s war aims comes amid reports in Israel that Netanyahu plans to replace Gallant with a former rival politician, Gideon Sa’ar. Unlike Gallant, who served for decades in the Israel Defense Forces, Sa’ar is a near lifelong politician. Reports of his potential appointment as defense minister have already caused a stir in Israel’s political and military establishment.

Netanyahu’s attempt to fire Gallant in March last year due to Gallant’s opposition to the government’s plan to overhaul the judiciary prompted large public protests. The prime minister eventually backed down. On Monday evening, crowds gathered outside Sa’ar’s house in Tel Aviv to protest his potential appointment and express concerns about its possible impact on the fate of the hostages in Gaza.

Opposition leader Benny Gantz on Tuesday slammed reports of Gallant’s potential dismissal.

“Replacing a minister of defense on the brink of a possible more intense campaign in the north, which could turn into a regional war is, in my opinion, is irresponsible security-wise,” he said in a statement. He said the addition of the new war aim was “better late than never.”

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Georgian parliament approves law curbing LGBTQ rights

Georgian lawmakers on Tuesday approved the third and final reading of a law on “family values and the protection of minors” that would impose sweeping curbs on LGBTQ rights.

The bill would provide a legal basis for authorities to outlaw Pride events and public displays of the LGBTQ rainbow flag, and to impose censorship of films and books.

Leaders of the governing Georgian Dream party say it is needed to safeguard traditional moral standards in Georgia, whose deeply conservative Orthodox Church is highly influential.

Activists say the measure is aimed at boosting conservative support for the government ahead of a parliamentary election on October 26 in Georgia, a country that has ambitions to join the European Union but which Western governments fear is now tilting back towards Russia.

Tamara Jakeli, director of campaign group Tbilisi Pride, said the bill, which also restates an existing ban on same-sex marriage and bans gender reassignment surgery, would likely force her organisation to close its doors.

“This law is the most terrible thing to happen to the LGBTQ community in Georgia,” Jakeli, 28, told Reuters. “We will most likely have to shut down. There is no way for us to continue functioning.”

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, a critic of Georgian Dream whose powers are mostly ceremonial, has indicated that she will block the bill. But Georgian Dream and its allies have enough seats in parliament to override her veto.

LGBTQ rights are a fraught topic in Georgia, where polls show broad disapproval of same-sex relationships, and the constitution bans same-sex marriage. Participants in Tbilisi’s annual Pride marches have come under physical attack by anti-LGBTQ protesters in recent years.

Foreign agents

The issue has become more prominent ahead of October’s election, where Georgian Dream is seeking a fourth term in office and is campaigning heavily against LGBTQ rights.

The ruling party, whose top candidate for the election is billionaire ex-prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, has deepened ties with neighbouring Russia as relations with Western countries have soured.

Earlier this year, it passed a law on “foreign agents” that the European and U.S. critics said is authoritarian and Russian-inspired. Its passage sparked some of the largest protests Georgia has seen since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Opinion polls show the party, which in 2014 passed a law banning anti-LGBTQ discrimination before later pivoting to more conservative positions, remains Georgia’s most popular, though it has lost ground since 2020, when it won a narrow majority in parliament.

In one ruling party advert aired on Georgian television, Pride director Jakeli’s face is shown alongside the words: “No to moral degradation”.

Jakeli said that the bill could only be stopped if Georgian Dream were to lose power in October, though she noted that the country’s opposition parties are not overtly supportive of LGBTQ rights.

“The only way we can survive in this country and have any progress on LGBTQ rights is for us to go in great numbers to the elections and vote for change,” she said.

This post appeared first on cnn.com

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