NationalWatch

Georgia Republicans are taking a victory lap after the MLB named Atlanta as the site of the 2025 All-Star Game, which it moved from the state in 2021 following the passage of a voting law dubbed by left-wing critics as racist and akin to Jim Crow laws.

The law, which is still on the books in Georgia, aimed to ensure election integrity by placing certain restrictions on absentee and mail-in voting, expanding voter ID requirements and prohibiting non-poll workers from providing food and drink to voters waiting in line at polling centers.

MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred said at the time that the decision to move the game was “the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport,” citing concerns the Republican-backed legislation could limit voting access. However, turnout across Georgia increased in the 2022 midterm elections.

JUDGE IN TRUMP’S GEORGIA ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE ORDERS ‘SENSITIVE’ EVIDENCE WITHHELD FROM PUBLIC

“Georgia’s voting laws haven’t changed, but it’s good to see the MLB’s misguided understanding of them has. We look forward to welcoming the All-Star Game to Georgia. Go Braves!” Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp wrote in a post on X after news of the move back to Atlanta broke.

Georgia Lt Gov. Burt Jones took aim at the state’s two-time Democrat gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, one of the biggest critics of the voting law, and blamed her for the millions in economic benefits he said were lost due to the game being moved.

“Stacey Abrams cost Georgians over $100M due to her lies about Georgia’s common-sense election reform law. Four years delayed, I’m happy to see the MLB seeing through her lies and bringing the All Star Game back to Georgia. I’ll hold my breath waiting on an apology,” he wrote.

KARI LAKE GETS ANOTHER BIG BOOST WHILE GOP INCREASINGLY SEES HER AS STANDARD-BEARER FOR MAJOR SENATE SEAT FLIP

“[The MLB] realized that ‘voter suppression’ is as much a myth as Stacey Abrams winning the Governor’s race. Vindication – for Georgia voters, small businesses, and sports fans!” former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler said, referencing Abrams’ refusal to concede the 2018 gubernatorial election, the first of two elections she lost to Kemp.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger called the decision the “longest instant replay review of all time,” and celebrated the overturning of “a bad call.” 

“Georgia’s elections are safe, secure, and accessible to serve our voters,” he added.

BIDEN’S APPROVAL RATING SINKS OVER ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR; SUPPORT FOR TRUMP IN 2024 RISES: POLL

Democrat Sen. Raphael Warnock joined in with Republicans in celebrating the move, saying it was “great news” for the state’s economy, and a “wise choice.” He was one of the few Democrats to scrutinize the MLB for its decision to move the game in the first place, while calling for them to stay and fight “voter suppression head on.”

Georgia’s other Democrat senator, Jon Ossoff, told Fox News Digital, “This is great news for the State of Georgia. We are prepared and excited to host the All-Star Game.”

However, he did not respond to questions concerning why the MLB was moving the game back to Atlanta despite Georgia’s unchanged voting law remaining in place after railing against Republicans in 2021 over the law amid the MLB’s decision to pull the game.

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“The leadership of Georgia’s Republican Party is out of control and Georgia is hemorrhaging business and jobs because of their disastrous new Jim Crow voting law. The Governor and the legislature are deliberately making it harder for Black voters to vote. They know it. Everybody knows it and this egregious and immoral assault on voting rights has also put our state’s economy at grave risk,” he said at the time.

With less than two months to go until the first votes in the Republican presidential nomination race, former President Donald Trump remains the dominant front-runner.

But a new public opinion survey in New Hampshire, the state that holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP’s nominating calendar, is the latest to indicate a surge by former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who served as ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration.

Trump enjoys the backing of 42% of likely Republican presidential primary voters in a poll from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) Survey Center and CNN that was released Thursday, relatively unchanged from the previous UNH survey in September.

WHERE TRUMP  STANDS IN THE LATEST FOX NEWS NATIONAL POLL IN THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL RACE

Haley stands at 20% support, up eight points from the September poll. 

“While Trump continues to lead as the GOP field narrows, Nikki Haley seems to be consolidating her position as the alternative to Trump among New Hampshire Republicans,” UNH Survey Center Director Andrew Smith told Fox News. “Importantly, Haley does not have the negative drag on her campaign compared with other Republican candidates.”

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who’s concentrating most of his time and resources in New Hampshire as he runs a second time for the White House, captures 14% support, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 9%, and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at 8%. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum registers at 2%, with former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson at zero.

THIS KEY STATE DEFIES THE DEMOCRATS – WILL BIDEN PAY A PRICE COME NEXT NOVEMBER?

As he makes his third straight White House run, Trump saw his lead in the GOP nomination race expand over the spring and summer as he made history as the first former or current president in American history to be indicted for a crime. Trump’s four indictments — including in federal court in Washington D.C. and in Fulton County court in Georgia on charges he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss — have only fueled his support among Republican voters.

Trump enjoys a massive lead in national polling — including 62% support in a Fox News survey released on Wednesday. But his margins — while extremely formidable — are smaller in the crucial early voting states.

Haley, thanks to well regarded performances in the first three GOP presidential primary debates this summer and autumn, has seen her support among primary voters rise. Haley has tied DeSantis for second place in some of the latest polls in Iowa — whose caucuses kick off the Republican nominating calendar on Jan. 15. 

WITH 9 WEEKS TO GO UNTIL THE FIRST VOTES, TRUMP REMAINS COMMANDING FRONT-RUNNER AS GOP FIELD KEEPS SHRINKING

The UNH/CNN poll is the latest to indicate Haley in second place in New Hampshire, which will hold its presidential primary Jan. 23. She’s also moved ahead of DeSantis for second place in her home state, which votes Feb. 24 and holds the first southern contest.

The new survey indicates that Trump enjoys the backing of 55% of registered Republicans in New Hampshire. Support among independents who say they’ll cast a ballot in the GOP primary is evenly split among Trump, Haley and Christie.

Independents, known in New Hampshire as undeclared voters, make up slightly more than 40% of the state’s electorate.

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The poll also indicates that more than half of those questioned said they’ve made up their minds in the primary race, with self-described Trump voters more likely than those backing the former president’s rivals to say their choice for the GOP nomination is definite.

The survey was conducted Nov. 10-14, entirely after the third Republican debate, which was held Nov. 8 in Miami. 

“Few likely Republican primary voters paid close attention to the November Republican debate and only about half are interested in further debates taking place,” the release from the UNH Survey Center spotlighted.

And UNH also noted that when it comes to the issues, the survey indicates that “foreign policy has become far more important since September, while support for a 15-week abortion ban has declined.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

The judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s election interference case in Georgia has issued a protective order that certain “sensitive” evidence in the case be withheld from the public.

The order, issued Wednesday by Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, came after the video recordings of interviews with some of Trump’s co-defendants were leaked to the media earlier this week.

It specifies that prosecutors can deem certain evidence turned over to the defense as “sensitive material” unfit for public release, and provides that the defense can challenge such a designation within 14 days.

DESANTIS TROLLS NIKKI HALEY WITH NEW CAMPAIGN MERCH MOCKING HER COMMENTS ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA VERIFICATION

District Attorney Fani Willis had requested a broader version of the order following the leaking of the video interviews, citing potential harassment, witness intimidation, or jury pool tainting.

Defense attorney Jonathan Miller, who represents former Coffee County election supervisor Misty Hampton, admitted to leaking the video evidence, which included excerpts from prosecutor interviews with former Trump attorneys Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell, as well as pro-Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro and Atlanta bail bondsman Scott Hall.

All four have pleaded guilty to charges in the case and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as they pursue charges against the remaining 15 defendants.

BIDEN’S APPROVAL RATING SINKS OVER ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR; SUPPORT FOR TRUMP IN 2024 RISES: POLL

Trump was indicted by Willis in August, and pleaded not guilty to charges related to allegedly attempting to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, including violation Georgia’s anti-racketeering law.

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The Georgia case is one of four pending against the former president, as he also faces charges in New York City, Florida and Washington, D.C.

President Biden told a group of world leaders that California Gov. Gavin Newsom “could have the job I’m looking for” if he wanted, amid a low approval rating and discontent within his own party.

“I want to talk about Governor Newsom. I want to thank him. He’s been one hell of a governor, man,” Biden said Wednesday during a welcome reception for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders in San Francisco. “Matter of fact, he could be anything he wants. He could have the job I’m looking for.”

Biden’s eyebrow-raising comment was made at “the most significant event with world leaders in San Francisco in recent history,” according to the APEC 2023 website for the event.

Newsom recently elevated rumors of running a “shadow campaign” amid trips to Israel amid its war with Hamas, before heading to China late last month to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

LIBERAL COLUMNISTS, DEMS PILE ON BIDEN, SUGGEST DEMOCRATS EMBRACE NEW CANDIDATE AMID DISMAL POLLS

“The track record is not good for him to be gallivanting around the world doing basically a shadow campaign for president, just waiting for the moment when they finally decide to throw Biden under the bus,” Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., told Fox News Digital amid Newsom’s travels.

LaMalfa added that Biden is the “starter” and Newsom is the “backup quarterback” in the 2024 race, as more Democrats vocalize their concern over the strength of a Biden nomination.

“I don’t think the president should run,” former Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan recently told CNN. “I don’t think [Donald] Trump should run; I don’t think President Biden should run.”

David Axelrod, a former President Obama adviser, also questioned whether a Biden nomination would be the wisest choice for the Democratic Party next cycle.

“Only @JoeBiden can make this decision,” Axelrod posted on social media. “If he continues to run, he will be the nominee of the Democratic Party. What he needs to decide is whether that is wise; whether it’s in HIS best interest or the country’s?” 

FETTERMAN HITS NEWSOM FOR NOT HAVING ‘GUTS’ TO ADMIT HE’S RUNNING SHADOW CAMPAIGN AGAINST BIDEN

An anonymous former state lawmaker in Michigan suggested Biden is a “transitional president.”

“It feels like he was the perfect person for 2020. But not for 2024,” a former Democratic state lawmaker, whose name was not revealed, told The Wall Street Journal. “He’s a transitional president, and you have to know when to transition, and it is now.”

While some Democrats are calling for Biden to step aside, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., accused Newsom of running a shadow campaign and not having the “guts to announce it.”

“Let me say something that might be uncomfortable,” Fetterman said at a Democratic Party dinner in Iowa. “Right now there are two additional Democrats running for Pennsylvania, excuse me, running for president right now. One, one is a congressman from Minnesota. The other one is the governor of California. They’re both running for president, but only one had the guts to announce it.”

Biden campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez told reporters on the eve of the second Republican presidential nomination debate in September that Newsom has been a “tremendous asset to the campaign, and we’re really grateful to have him as part of our national advisory board.”

Newsom has said he would not run against Biden in 2024, but should the president drop out of the race, Axios predicts potential Democratic alternatives are positioning themselves to jump in the race.

“Democratic governors and senators are quietly moving to boost their national profiles and position themselves to run for president in 2028 — or in 2024, if President Biden unexpectedly drops out,” Axios reported in a recent story.

As many Democrats and strategists express concern over a 2024 Biden campaign, Fox News and Quinnipiac University surveys, both dropped Wednesday, reveal 59% of voters currently disapprove of Biden’s job performance as president.

A recent CNN poll also found Biden trailing Trump by four percentage points, 49%-45%, among registered voters in a hypothetical 2024 matchup.

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Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., and spiritual guru Marianne Williamson are both running in the primary against Biden, who will turn 81 years old on Monday and continue making history as the oldest American president to-date.

Fox News’ Nikolas Lanum and Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: A pro-Palestinian Democrat seeking to represent Michigan in the U.S. Senate is calling for President Biden to drop out of the 2024 race for the White House, claiming his “handling of the Israel-Gaza conflict has thrown his Presidency into a tailspin.”

Nasser Beydoun, who declared in April his candidacy for the Michigan Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow, told Fox News Digital that Biden’s incessant support for Israel amid its war with Hamas terrorists has alienated a large portion of his base.

“As a Democratic Candidate for the U.S. Senate in Michigan, given the current environment, I can not support this president as my party’s nominee,” Beydoun, the former chairman and executive director of the Arab American Civil Rights League, said in a statement to Fox.

Biden’s willingness to support Israel’s efforts inside Gaza, Beydoun insisted, has resulted in the alienation and loss of “key voting blocks” that previously supported him in the 2020 presidential election.

AOC LEADS TWO DOZEN DEMOCRATS CALLING FOR ISRAEL CEASEFIRE OVER ‘VIOLATIONS AGAINST CHILDREN’ IN GAZA

“President Biden’s handling of the Israel-Gaza conflict has thrown his Presidency into a tailspin,” he said. “He has alienated not just Arab Americans but Muslims, Christians, Jews, and others in a way that far surpasses our sentiments following President Trump’s Muslim travel ban. These key voting blocks in swing states like mine overwhelmingly supported him in the last election and now find themselves politically homeless.”

“Joe Biden has blood on his hands, and we are disgusted by his support of rampant violence in Gaza,” Beydoun added.

Beydoun — who has donated thousands of dollars to Democrats in the past, including pro-Palestinian Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib — insisted that “every elected official has a job to represent the needs of their community” and that “Michiganders need a voice in Washington that listens to and understands their needs.”

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which Palestinian officials said last week had resulted in the deaths of more than 10,000 people in Gaza, has caused friction within the Democratic Party as several elected members call for a cease-fire.

Biden and other Western leaders have pushed back on calls for a cease-fire in Gaza, arguing it would only serve to benefit Hamas terrorists. Biden’s administration has instead pushed for humanitarian pauses in the fighting, which Israel has agreed to.

Earlier this week, 400 government officials from 40 departments and agencies within the Biden administration signed a letter opposing the president’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war and demanded a cease-fire.

BIDEN SAYS ISRAEL WILL STOP FIGHTING IN GAZA WHEN HAMAS ‘NO LONGER MAINTAINS THE CAPACITY TO MURDER’

Tuesday’s letter, first reported by the New York Times, includes officials from the State Department, White House, National Security Council and the Justice Department. The signatories of the letter remained anonymous to protect against professional retaliation.

“We call on President Biden to urgently demand a cease-fire; and to call for de-escalation of the current conflict by securing the immediate release of the Israeli hostages and arbitrarily detained Palestinians; the restoration of water, fuel, electricity and other basic services; and the passage of adequate humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip,” the letter reads in part.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is also leading renewed calls for Biden to support a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas over the “grave violations” being committed against children in the war.

Along with 23 other progressive lawmakers, Ocasio-Cortez wrote to Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday asking for details on the U.S. plan to de-escalate tension in the region.

“We write to you to express deep concern about the intensifying war in Gaza, particularly grave violations against children, and our fear that without an immediate cessation of hostilities and the establishment of a robust bilateral ceasefire, this war will lead to a further loss of civilian life and risk dragging the United States into dangerous and unwise conflict with armed groups across the Middle East,” the progressive lawmakers noted in their letter.

The ongoing tension among Democrats over their support for Israel led to a protest Wednesday evening outside the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee as pro-Palestinian demonstrators grew violent while calling for an immediate cease-fire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

U.S. Capitol Police said about 150 people were “illegally and violently protesting” near the DNC headquarters building in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington.

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Biden and his administration have remained steadfast in support of Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas. U.S. officials have strongly condemned the Oct. 7 terror attacks on Israel, in which Hamas terrorists infiltrated the Jewish state and massacred as many as 1,200 people, taking some 240 back to Gaza as hostages.

Israel has responded by bombarding Gaza with rocket fire and a ground invasion.

Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

The House Intelligence Committee is unveiling a series of proposals to reform a key surveillance tool that’s been both credited with preventing terror attacks on U.S. soil as well as accused of being a vehicle for spying on U.S. citizens. 

Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) lets the U.S. government keep tabs on specific foreign nationals outside the country without first obtaining a warrant to do so.

The 73-page report by Republicans on the committee’s bipartisan FISA Working Group was led by Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Ill. It defends section 702, added to FISA in 2008, as a critical part of U.S. defense in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001. 

“[I]t is hard to find an adjective that adequately describes a tool that has done as much to safeguard American lives and liberty as it has,” the report said. “We are unable to calculate just how many lives it has saved. It is worth noting that there has not been another 9/11 since Section 702’s inception, despite the persistent threat of terrorism.”

PUBLIC TRUST IN FBI HAS REACHED ‘THE RED ZONE,’ US INCHING CLOSER TO ‘MAYHEM, CHAOS, ANARCHY:’ WSJ COLUMNIST

However, the report also acknowledges, “Section 702 has a number of problems requiring significant reform — from the need for increased penalties, compliance, and oversight, to the querying abuses by the FBI.”

Section 702 is set to expire at the end of this year, and is already facing an uphill battle for renewal. 

Critics of the program have accused it of being overbroad and susceptible to abuse. Members of Congress on both the extreme right and left have claimed it encroaches on Americans’ civil liberties, specifically if the FBI conducts warrantless surveillance on communications between Americans and foreign nationals.

Allies of former President Donald Trump, like Reps. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., have claimed the program was used to improperly spy on the Trump 2016 campaign, including ex-aide Carter Page.

FBI PAINTS GRIM PICTURE OF AI AS A TOOL FOR CRIMINALS: ‘FORCE MULTIPLIER’ FOR BAD ACTORS

But the Friday report sought to beat back those accusations. Lawmakers disputed the notion that Section 702 allows the intelligence community to access all of a U.S. citizen’s correspondence if they communicate with a foreign national.

“If a U.S. person communicates with a target of Section 702 collection, only the specific correspondence in which the foreign target is a party is collected —  this is referred to as ‘incidental collection.’ The government can never target U.S. persons whose communications are incidentally collected under Section 702,” it said. 

The report also calls Section 702 “individualized and extremely limited” to foreigners “who possess or communicate specific types of foreign intelligence information.”

And while lawmakers acknowledge that FBI abuses were found to have occurred in the FBI’s surveillance of Page and the 2016 Trump campaign, they maintained that those were separate from Section 702. 

GARLAND SAYS INCENDIARY MEMO DIRECTING FBI TO USE COUNTERTERRORISM TOOLS ON PARENTS NEVER RESCINDED

Among the specific reforms to the FISA tool that the House Republican report offered were proposals to drastically limit the number of FBI personnel who can authorize specific instances of Section 702’s use, and strengthening warrant requirements on some instances of surveillance.

Lawmakers also proposed barring the FBI from getting Section 702 information that is not specifically related to a specific existing national security case.

Details on suggested heightened penalties for abuse of FISA and Section 702 were also included. 

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They sought to give Congress greater oversight over the FISA courts as well, including allowing members of Congress to attend sessions as well as requiring court hearings to be transcribed and made available to lawmakers.

The report also included ways to expand Section 702 for what lawmakers argue is more effective use – such as “to expand the ability for the NSA to target international drug trafficking operations, including those distributing fentanyl and precursor chemicals, by including counternarcotics in the definition of Foreign Intelligence.”

CONCORD, N.H. – Republican Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire has a warning for President Biden and Democrats.

“Skip New Hampshire at your own peril,” Sununu told Fox News Digital.

The governor spoke minutes after the date of New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation presidential primary was set for January 23.

The announcement by New Hampshire Secretary of State Dave Scanlan on Wednesday puts the Granite State at odds with the Democratic National Committee (DNC), as their primary is now in non-compliance with the DNC’s 2024 nominating calendar. The state now faces sanctions, which could result in the loss of half of New Hampshire’s delegates to next summer’s Democratic presidential nominating convention. 

THIS CRUCIAL PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY STATE AND KEY GENERAL ELECTION BATTLEGROUND BUCKS BIDEN AND THE DEMOCRATS

Holding an unsanctioned primary has led President Biden to keep his name off the New Hampshire ballot. That triggered leading Granite State Democrats to launch a write-in campaign in an attempt to prevent an electoral embarrassment for the president as he runs for a second term in the White House.

But Sununu, a vocal critic of the move by Biden and the DNC to upend the Granite State’s cherished century-old role in holding the first presidential primary, warns that a price will be paid by the president and his party next November in New Hampshire – the only general election battleground state in New England.

“There’s no doubt that citizens all across New Hampshire, especially independents and Democrats, are taking notice that they’re being pushed aside by a national party. No one takes very kindly to that — especially in politics, being told that their voice doesn’t matter like it used to,” the governor emphasized. “I have no doubt it will have a lot of effect come November of ’24.”

And Sununu argued that “the precedent that President Biden has potentially set is no Democrat will ever dare try to skip New Hampshire again. Because I think it’s really going to hurt President Biden. It’s going to hurt his chances. It hurts the Democratic Party as a whole.”

National Democrats for years knocked both Iowa — whose caucuses for half a century led off the party’s nominating calendar — and New Hampshire as unrepresentative of the party as a whole because the states have largely White populations with few major urban areas. Nevada and South Carolina, which in recent cycles have voted third and fourth on the calendar, are much more diverse than either Iowa or New Hampshire. 

While Republicans aren’t making major changes to their schedule, the DNC earlier this year overwhelmingly approved a calendar proposed late last year by Biden to move South Carolina to the lead position on Feb. 3. New Hampshire and Nevada were scheduled to hold primaries three days later, with Iowa entirely losing its early state position. The president and supporters of the new calendar argued that it would empower minority voters, upon whom Democrats have long relied but have at times taken for granted.

To comply with the DNC, New Hampshire would have needed to scrap its 50-year-old state law protecting its first-in-the-nation primary status and expand access to early voting. However, with Republicans in control of the governor’s office and both houses of the state legislature, Democrats repeatedly argued that was a non-starter.

Scanlan noted that the date he set “complies with our state statute requiring our presidential primary be at least seven days before any similar event.”

New Hampshire’s Secretary of State made his announcement in front of a crowd of national and local reporters, state officials and lawmakers, the Democratic and Republican state party chairs, other political leaders and dignitaries, who were crowded into the Hall of Flags at the Statehouse in Concord.

There are plenty of Democrats in Iowa and New Hampshire who see the upending of their lead-off positions as sour grapes from Biden, who finished a disappointing fourth in the 2020 Iowa caucuses and fifth in the New Hampshire primary — before a second-place finish in Nevada and a landslide victory in South Carolina propelled him toward the nomination and eventually the White House.

PHILLIPS TARGETS BIDEN, FELLOW DEMOCRATS OVER BORDER POLICIES AS HE LAUNCHES PRIMARY CHALLENGE AGAINST PRESIDENT

Fast-forward to the 2024 cycle and the president faces long-shot primary challenges from two Democrats who will be on the ballot in New Hampshire.

Three-term Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, one of the wealthiest members of Congress, formally announced his presidential bid as he filed at the State House on Oct. 27 to place his name on the state’s ballot. Also on the Granite State ballot is the other challenger, bestselling author and spiritual adviser Marianne Williamson, who is making her second straight White House run.

While the president, who turns 81 next week, is the commanding front-runner for the nomination, polls indicate Biden faces mounting concerns from Democrats over his age. Those surveys also suggest that many Americans, including plenty of Democrats, don’t want the president to seek a second term in the White House.

There are concerns among Granite Staters that the move by the president and the DNC to revamp the nominating calendar, and his absence from the primary ballot, could lead to a ballot box setback for Biden in New Hampshire.

“Personally, I believe that the president is making a mistake by not putting his name on the ballot here,” Scanlan told reporters.

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Looking ahead to next year’s general election, New Hampshire GOP chair Chris Ager promised that “we’re going to remind people that Joe Biden doesn’t care about New Hampshire. The Republican candidate, whoever it is, will have been here multiple times appealing to people. So reminding people of that fact will help us.”

“But whether he’s here or not campaigning, it’s his polices that are going to be his demise, because they’re just not good for the people of New Hampshire,” Ager argued.

Democrats disagree with the GOP argument that the battle over the primary date will impact them next November.

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“We fully expect that once the primary is over, Joe Biden will invest and campaign here, and be even more successful than the polls have already shown. Every indication that we’re getting is that New Hampshire Democrats are going to have a very good year in 2024,” longtime state Democratic Party chair Ray Buckley told Fox News in a statement.

Biden topped Trump by nearly eight points in New Hampshire three years ago, the largest margin of victory in the swing state in a presidential contest in a dozen years.

Buckley touted that “as every poll out of New Hampshire has shown —including the latest, post-municipal election polls — Joe Biden is beating Donald Trump in the Granite State by a considerable margin. The numbers don’t lie.”

And longtime New Hampshire based Democrat consultant Jim Demers — a top Biden supporter in the Granite State who’s helping to lead the primary ballot write-in effort on behalf of the president — predicted that “once the nomination is locked up, the convention takes place, Joe Biden will be back in New Hampshire campaigning.”

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

EXCLUSIVE: Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis rubbed salt on the wound Wednesday by trolling his opponent, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, over her heavily scrutinized vow to require all social media users be verified.

DeSantis’ campaign announced new merchandise mocking Haley’s comments, including a t-shirt with the phrase, “Always Watching,” and a quote from Haley saying that “every person on social media should be verified by their name.”

Another item is a dystopian-themed “Official Internet Identification Card” fashioned after something that might be required by a science-fiction authoritarian regime.

CRITICS RIP NIKKI HALEY OVER VOW TO REQUIRE ALL SOCIA MEDIA USERS BE VERIFIED: ‘BLATANTLY UNCONSTITUTIONAL’

Haley’s comments came during a Tuesday appearance on Fox News when she said the first things she would do if elected president would be to force social media companies to show their algorithms, in addition to the verification requirement.

“First of all, it’s a national security threat. When you do that, all of a sudden people have to stand by what they say. And it gets rid of the Russian bots, the Iranian bots and the Chinese bots. And then you’re going to get some civility when people know their name is next to what they say, and they know their pastor and their family members are going to see it,” she said.

DeSantis was quick to rip Haley for the proposal, joining a wave of critics blasting it as “unconstitutional.”

KARI LAKE GETS ANOTHER BIG BOOST WHILE GOP INCREASINGLY SEES HER AS STANDARD-BEARER FOR MAJOR SENATE FLIP

“You know who were anonymous writers back in the day? Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison when they wrote the Federalist Papers. They were not ‘national security threats,’ nor are the many conservative Americans across the country who exercise their Constitutional right to voice their opinions without fear of being harassed or canceled by the school they go to or the company they work for,” DeSantis wrote.

He went on to call her proposal “dangerous,” and said it would be “dead on arrival” in a DeSantis administration.

Haley walked back those comments on Wednesday, telling CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that while she didn’t mind “anonymous American” free speech, she didn’t support anonymous free speech for actors in Russia, Iran and China.

BIDEN’S APPROVAL RATING SINKS OVER ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR; SUPPORT FOR TRUMP IN 2024 RISES: POLL

“What I know, what anyone in intelligence [knows]… Russia, Iran and China, North Korea too, know that the cheapest form of warfare is to spread misinformation. Look at what happened with Israel. You want to know where all this pro-Hamas information is coming from? It is coming from foreign actors that are sowing chaos and division,” she said. 

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“I want freedom of speech for Americans. I don’t want freedom of speech for Russia and Hamas, and that’s what’s happening right now. So the way you fix that is we need our social media companies to verify everybody,” she said.

Fox News’ Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas may endorse former President Donald Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination when the two team up Sunday near the U.S.-Mexico border.

The former president will join the governor on Sunday in Edinburg, Texas, for Abbott’s annual pre-Thanksgiving tradition of serving tamales to Texas Department of Public Safety troopers and Texas National Guardsmen deployed along the southern border under the governor’s Operation Lone Star program, multiple sources confirmed to Fox News.

Those sources also say an Abbott endorsement of Trump this weekend for the GOP presidential nomination is possible.

WITH NINE WEEKS TO GO UNTIL THE FIRST VOTES IN THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION RACE, THIS CANDIDATE REMAINS IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT

Trump endorsed Abbott in 2021, as the conservative governor was gearing up for re-election and faced multiple primary challenges from the right. Abbott overwhelmingly won renomination in March of last year before comfortably defeating Democratic challenger former Rep. Beto O’Rourke last November to secure a third term steering Texas.

Abbott was grateful for Trump’s early endorsement last cycle, according to those in the governor’s political orbit, and it’s possible he’ll return the favor.

DESANTIS, HALEY, OR TRUMP – WHICH CANDIDATE BENEFITS FROM TIM SCOTT’S DEPARTURE FROM THE 2024 RACE?

Trump, who’s making his third straight White House run, is the commanding front-runner for the Republican 2024 nomination, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley currently vying for a distant second place in the polls.

Trump’s lead expanded over the spring and summer as he made history as the first former or current president in American history to be indicted for a crime. Trump’s four indictments – including in federal court in Washington D.C. and in Fulton County court in Georgia on charges he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss – have only fueled his support among Republican voters.

The former president’s trip to Texas to meet with Abbott near the border will spotlight the combustible issue of illegal immigration and border security. The issue’s long been top of mind for Republican voters, and GOP leaders and politicians for two and a half years have heavily criticized President Biden’s administration over the surge in border crossings by migrants.

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Trump has pledged if he wins back the White House to launch the largest mass deportation effort in American history, would reinstate travel bans as well as his 2019 “Remain in Mexico” program, which forced non-Mexican asylum-seekers aiming to enter the U.S. at the southern border to wait in Mexico for the resolution of their cases. Trump’s also said he’d seek to end automatic citizenship for children born in the U.S. to immigrants who entered the country illegally, an idea he proposed during his administration.

Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign has slammed Trump’s “scary” proposals, arguing that it would violate the U.S. Constitution, the nation’s values, and the rights of immigrants.

Border security has also long been a top issue for Abbott, who’s sparred repeatedly with the Biden administration.

The Texas legislature, during a special session called by the governor, this week passed a controversial measure allowing state law enforcement officials to arrest suspected undocumented migrants. Democrats have pilloried the strict immigration bill.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

A San Francisco jury will decide the fate of the man accused of brutally attacking the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a hammer in their home last year following closing arguments from both sides this week. 

The jury began deliberations in the case of David DePape, 43, on Wednesday, following closing arguments. 

DePape has pleaded not guilty to attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official with intent to retaliate against the official for performance of their duties.

He delivered a tearful apology on the witness stand Tuesday to Paul Pelosi for the Oct. 28, 2022 attack. 

PAUL PELOSI’S ACCUSED ATTACKER DAVID DEPAPE APPEARS IN CALIFORNIA COURT AS TRIAL JURY SELECTION KICKS OFF

Prosecutors allege DePape broke into the Pelosi home during the evening hours of Oct. 28, 2022, in an attempt to find Nancy Pelosi. On Monday, Paul Pelosi testified that DePape repeatedly asked where his wife was. 

“The door opened and a very large man came in with a hammer in one hand and some ties in the other and he said, ‘Where’s Nancy?’ and I think that woke me up,” Pelosi said. “I’m asleep, and he bursts in the door and that woke me up.”

“It was a tremendous shock to recognize that somebody had broken into the house and looking at him and looking at the hammer and the ties, I recognized that I was in serious danger, so I tried to stay as calm as possible,” he said. 

DePape said he went to the Pelosis’ home to talk to Nancy Pelosi about Russian involvement in the 2016 election, and that he planned to wear an inflatable unicorn costume and upload his interrogation of her online.

PAUL PELOSI TESTIFIES IN TRIAL OF MAN ACCUSED OF BRUTALLY ATTACKING HIM WITH HAMMER INSIDE HOME 

Paul Pelosi said he didn’t set his security alarm before he went to bed but called the police during the home intrusion but DePape struck him with a hammer when officers arrived. 

“He was never my target and I’m sorry that he got hurt,” DePape said. “I reacted because my plan was basically ruined,” he said when asked why he hit Pelosi.

He said he believed various online conspiracy theories about former President Donald Trump and had other targets, including a women’s and queer studies professor at the University of Michigan, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and actor Tom Hanks.

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If convicted, DePape faces life in prison. 

In addition to the federal charges, DePape has pleaded not guilty to state charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, elder abuse, residential burglary and other felonies. A trial has not been set in state court. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. 

Subscribe now to get Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox.

What’s happening:

-President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet in San Francisco 

-Randi Weingarten questions presence of only men at all male Jewish service

-Republicans struggle to hold President Biden accountable on border crisis

Rashida’s Receipts 

Rep. Rashida Tlaib was caught being part of a secret social media group in which its members have glamorized Hamas in its war against Israel. 

The Michigan Democrat is a member of the Palestinian American Congress group on Facebook. The group is hidden from non-members and does not appear on the platform’s search engine, though Fox News Digital was able to gain access to it.

The group’s founder, Maher Abdel-qader — who has extensive ties to Tlaib and has also been linked to other liberal politicians — has come under fire in the past for his antisemitic social media posts, including questioning if the Holocaust ever occurred.

White House

TARGETING TRUMP: Hunter Biden asks judge to subpoena former president in gun case …Read more

‘OUTRAGEOUS’ EXCEPTION: Biden admin blasted for extending waiver on $10 billion Iranian funds …Read more

‘INTENSE DIPLOMACY’: Biden, Xi to meet on sidelines of APEC Conference in Bay Area …Read more

‘FATAL MAULINGS’: Biden admin blasted for trying to release grizzly bears near local communities …Read more

BOMBS AWAY: DoD releases videos of 2 airstrikes Iranian proxies in Syria …Read more

‘AN IMPORTANT WIN’: Biden admin’s effort to block oil leasing struck down by federal appeals court …Read more

Capitol Hill

BIG LABOR ‘GIVEAWAY’?: Republicans call on DOL to reject farm worker rule …Read more

‘DYNAMIC’ THREATS: House Homeland Chair Green to warn US is at ‘one of the most dangerous times’ in history during threat hearing …Read more

COMING UP EMPTY: Republicans struggle to hold Biden admin accountable for ongoing border debacle …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

ON THE BALLOT: Michigan judge tosses challenge to Trump eligibility …Read more

FIRST LADY SEEKS NEW ROLE: New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy announces Senate bid …Read more

TAKING SIDES: Senate showdown: East Palestine leaders take sides in Ohio’s Republican primary showdown …Read more

SNUBBED: New Hampshire to formally reject Biden, DNC primary schedule …Read more

‘COMPLETELY UNHINGED’: Critics rip Nikki Haley over vow to require all social media users be verified …Read more

300 VOTE DIFFERENCE: Controversial Soros-backed prosecutor ousted from office in Virginia …Read more

SECRET MILLIONS: Left-wing group funneled $150M in secret cash to progressive crusades in 2022, tax forms reveal …Read more

‘LEFT-WING MINDSET’: DeSantis digs up George Floyd tweet to blast Haley’s leadership resume …Read more

What else?

OH, RANDI: Randi Weingarten bashed online for comments on lack of women at an Orthodox Jewish prayer service …Read more

‘HONOR THEM’: Climate activist vandalizes DC exhibit honoring Black Civil War soldiers …Read more

PRO-LIFE ISSUE: March for Life president reacts to infant Indi Gregory’s mandated removal from life support in UK …Read more

‘FOR EVERY CHILD’: ‘March for Life’ reveals theme for 2024 event in post-Roe United States …Read more

POLICY CHANGE: Massachusetts town approves permit to fly Palestinian flag on public flagpole …Read more

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

A nominee for a district judgeship in Oklahoma struggled during her nomination hearing on Wednesday to define basic terms for orders issued regularly by judges.

Sara E. Hill, who is nominated by President Biden to be the district judge for the Northern District of Oklahoma, was grilled by Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., on the Senate Judiciary Committee about basic legal and Constitutional terms and definitions – a practice that’s become usual for him in recent months after several nominees have struggled to pass his tests.

When Kennedy asked Hill the difference between a “stay” order and an “injunction” order – two orders frequently issued by federal courts – Hill stumbled through her answers. 

“A stay order would prohibit, um, sorry. An injunction would restrain the parties from taking action. A stay order … I’m not sure I can, actually can, can give you that,” she said.

‘DANGEROUS’ DEMOCRAT JUDICIAL ETHICS BILL WOULD ALLOW ANY ‘JACKALOON’ TO DEMAND RECUSAL, SEN KENNEDY SAYS

An injunction is an order from the court that prohibits a party in a case from performing or ordering a specified act as the case continues, either temporarily or permanently, sometimes referred to as a temporary restraining order.

A stay order is issued to stop the legal proceedings of a case in court.

BIDEN JUDICIAL NOMINEE NO LONGER BELIEVES CHRISTIAN COALITION MEMBERS ARE ‘BIGOTS’ WHEN PRESSED BY GOP

Carrie Severino, constitutional lawyer and president of the Judicial Crisis Network, commented on X (formerly Twitter) about the exchange by saying, “How can an individual who wants to be a federal judge possibly not know this?”

TOP DEMOCRAT TRIES TO SCHOOL JUSTICE ALITO IN GROWING TIFF OVER SUPREME COURT OVERSIGHT

“Stays and injunctions come before district judges all of the time. This is not a trick question,” she added.

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Severino noted that at the end of Kennedy’s probe, committee Chair Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., “even congratulated Hill afterward for ‘passing the Kennedy bar exam’ – talk about grading on a curve!”

EXCLUSIVE: Republican Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake got another big boost Wednesday with a major endorsement from GOP leadership, a sign the party is increasingly viewing her as the standard-bearer in its bid to flip what is expected to be one of 2024’s most contested seats.

“Kari Lake is a proven conservative fighter who will secure the border, reduce the cost of living, protect our values, and save America,” House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik told Fox News Digital.

“Control of the Senate and the fate of our Republic will be determined in Arizona. I am proud to fully endorse Kari Lake for Senate in Arizona, making her the first E-PAC Senate endorsement of the 2024 cycle,” she added.

KARI LAKE OFFERS SOLUTION TO REPUBLICAN ELECTION LOSSES, PREDICTS GOP VOTERS WILL ‘SHOW UP’ FOR ONE MAJOR NAME

Lake told Fox she was “humbled by the endorsement,” and praised Stefanik as “a proven conservative warrior and leader for the American people.”

“Elise has stood in the breach against the Radical Left, including exposing the sham impeachments against President Trump, and ending Andrew Cuomo’s corrupt career. I look forward to working with her in Congress to get our country back on track,” she said.

Stefanik’s endorsement follows a number of other high-profile Republicans to back Lake, including former President Donald Trump, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and a number of state and local elected officials in Arizona.

KARI LAKE BUILDS MOMENTUM WITH MORE BIG-NAME BACKING IN RACE TO FLIP ARIZONA SENATE SEAT

Through Elevate PAC, or “E-PAC,” Stefanik is leading a national effort to elect more conservative women to Congress, an effort that has lead to millions of dollars being raised and donated to women candidates since the group’s founding in 2018.

During the 2020 election cycle, the first cycle E-PAC was in operation, 228 Republican women ran for the House of Representatives, of which a record 94 won their primaries. That year, 11 of the 15 districts flipped by the GOP were won by E-PAC endorsed women.

With those wins, the number of Republican women in Congress doubled to the highest ever in U.S. history, a feat it later added to during the 2022 midterms when it recruited a record number of Republican Hispanic women to run.

KARI LAKE PICKS UP FIRST MAJOR ENDORSEMENT IN RACE TO FLIP ARIZONA SENATE SEAT RED

Lake’s only major challenger in the race for the Republican nomination so far is Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb.

Recent polls have shown Trump leading President Biden in a hypothetical 2024 matchup in Arizona, which, should it hold, would likely boost the Republican Senate nominee in a matchup with Phoenix-area Rep. Ruben Gallego, the likely Democrat nominee.

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Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, who currently holds the seat, has not yet said whether she will run for re-election.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

A new Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday showed President Biden’s approval rating sinking and support for former President Donald Trump rising as the 2024 election looms.

According to the poll, American voters’ worsening views of Biden were driven by his handling of the war between Israel and Hamas, which has also given Trump his first lead in the poll since February.

Just 37% of voters said they approved of Biden’s job performance, with 59% disapproving. The same number (37%) also said they viewed Biden favorably versus unfavorably (59%).

CRITICS RIP NIKKI HALEY OVER VOW TO REQUIRE ALL SOCIAL MEDIA USERS BE VERIFIED: ‘BLATANTLY UNCONSTITUTIONAL’

Concerning the war, just 37% said they approved of Biden’s response while 54% said they disapproved. Those numbers have gotten dramatically worse for the president over the past two weeks, down from the 42% who said they approved and 46% who disapproved at the beginning of the month.

Trump fared better than Biden in terms of favorability, with 42% holding a favorable view of the former president and 55% an unfavorable one.

In a hypothetical 2024 matchup, Trump led Biden 48% to 46% – his first lead in Quinnipiac’s poll since February – although recent polls have still shown him within the margin of error behind Biden.

KARI LAKE OFFERS SOLUTION TO REPUBLICAN ELECTION LOSSES, PREDICTS GOP VOTERS WILL ‘SHOW UP’ FOR ONE MAJOR NAME

With independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. thrown into the mix, Trump still led with 38% support, followed by Biden at 37% and Kennedy at 21%.

Trump maintained that lead in a five-way race as well, garnering 38% to Biden’s 35%, Kennedy’s 17%, independent candidate Cornel West’s 3%, and the Green Party’s Jill Stein at 3%.

Trump also maintained his massive lead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination with 64% support, compared to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 16%, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s 9%, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy’s 4%, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s 2% and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum’s 1%.

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For the Democrat presidential nomination, Biden received 74%, followed by author Marianne Williamson at 12%, Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips at 4% and progressive political commentator Cenk Uygur at 1%.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Hunter Biden’s legal team called on the judge overseeing his Delaware firearm charges case to subpoena former President Donald Trump and several former Trump administration officials on Wednesday.

Biden attorney Abbe Lowell argues that the investigation into the president’s son arose only due to “incessant, improper, and partisan pressure.” In addition to Trump, Biden is seeking subpoenas against former Attorney General Bill Barr, former acting Deputy AG Richard Donoghue and former acting AG Jeffrey Rosen.

“The initial investigation was born out of a wider probe into Mr. Biden’s taxes and 
foreign business dealings, ” The request reads. “Public reporting reveals certain instances that appear to suggest incessant, improper, and partisan pressure applied by then President Trump to Messrs. Rosen, Donoghue, and Barr in relation to an investigation of Mr. Biden.”

“Mr. Biden seeks specific information from three former DOJ officials and the former President that goes to the heart of his defense that this is, possibly, a vindictive or selective prosecution arising from an unrelenting pressure campaign beginning in the last administration, in violation of Mr. Biden’s Fifth Amendment rights under the Constitution,” it continued.

DOJ TAX OFFICIAL SAYS WEISS NEEDED APPROVAL FROM HIS DIVISION BEFORE BRINGING HUNTER BIDEN CHARGES: TRANSCRIPT

Trump’s legal team has yet to respond to Biden’s move. The others named in the request have also yet to respond.

HUNTER BIDEN INVESTIGATORS LIMITED QUESTIONS ABOUT ‘DAD,’ ‘BIG GUY’ DESPITE FBI, IRS OBJECTIONS: WHISTLEBLOWER

Biden’s gun crimes trial is not set to begin until after January 2024. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted on all charges. Faces one count of making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm; another of making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a federal firearms licensed dealer; and one other count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance.

This summer, Biden agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax charges and would have also avoided prosecution on the gun charges had he stayed out of trouble for two years. It was the culmination of a years-long investigation by federal prosecutors into the business dealings of the president’s son, and the agreement would have dispensed with criminal proceedings and spared the Bidens weeks of headlines as the election loomed.

HUNTER BIDEN PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO FEDERAL GUN CHARGES OUT OF SPECIAL COUNSEL DAVID WEISS’ PROBE

But the deal fell apart after a judge raised several questions about the arrangement.

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Meanwhile in Congress, House Republicans are searching for a link between Hunter Biden’s business dealings and his father as part of an impeachment inquiry into his father, President Biden, who is running for re-election in 2024 amid the political tumult.

READ BIDEN’S REQUEST FOR A SUBPOENA AGAINST TRUMP – APP USERS, CLICK HERE:

Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

The United States extended a sanctions waiver that critics slammed as tantamount to continuing to fund Iran’s disruptive activities as its proxies attack U.S. forces across the Middle East.

“It is absolutely outrageous the Biden Administration continues to find ways to send Iran money – especially from Iraq, where the same Iranian-backed militias who are targeting American forces increasingly run the show and are helping keep Iraq addicted to Iranian energy,” Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital.   

Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed an extension to the initial 120-day waiver that allows Iraq to pay for Iranian electricity through an escrow account, where it has so far deposited an estimated minimum $10 billion – all without fear of reprisal for potentially breaking any U.S. sanctions. 

The waiver allows the payments so long as they go through Oman, where a portion is converted to euros or other widely-traded currencies for Iran to buy non-sanctioned products such as humanitarian aid. The State Department has insisted, as it did with the $6 billion held in Qatar, that the money can only be spent with U.S. approval. The department ended up quietly re-freezing the Qatar-held funds. 

INTERNAL STATE DEPARTMENT MEMO ACCUSED BIDEN OF ‘MISINFORMATION’ ON ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

A senior State Department official told reporters that the waiver “isn’t a free pass for all this money to move,” arguing it is a “layered” and “cumbersome” process with “significant reputational risk.” The 120-day waiver, extended in July and again yesterday, continues a program of waivers going back to 2018 to provide Iraq access to the roughly 40% of energy it imports from Iran. 

“Involving these entities that are well known to us, that we do a lot of outreach and coordination with, make us feel even more comfortable that kind of above the letter of the law,” the official explained. “There is more oversight from a lot of different entities that don’t want these funds to be misused for a variety of different reasons.”

Richard Goldberg, a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and coordinator for the Trump administration’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran, told Fox News Digital that the State Department issued the waiver as a balance for Iran agreeing to keep uranium enrichment below a 90% threshold – the point at which it reaches “weapons-grade” levels.

WOMAN IDENTIFIED AS STATE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEE ACCUSES BIDEN ADMIN OF BEING ‘COMPLICIT’ IN ISRAEL ‘GENOCIDE’

“An initial report from Reuters [said] the U.S. has authorized Iran to make a $2.76 billion payment to pay off various debts out of its cash sitting in Iraq, or bulk of that was debt to Turkmenistan for gas, and then also some various international organizations dues, other things that were not itemized at the time,” Goldberg noted about the last Iraqi waiver in July. 

“Maybe there’s going to be a gas-for-oil swap if the U.S. allows,” he continued. “The Iraqis are claiming that they’ve achieved that … Then there’s reports where the Iranian side is saying, actually, the U.S. has authorized the Iranians to use any of the more than $10 billion that’s sitting in escrow in Baghdad.” 

“Everybody is focused on the $6 billion and, ‘Is it frozen? What’s happening there?’ … But nobody was noticing the $10 billion over here,” he added. “They are today.”

Critics argue that the Biden administration should look to cut off or freeze access to all such accounts for Iran, whose proxies have carried out dozens of attacks against U.S. military personnel and assets across the Middle East.

BIDEN ADMIN’S VENEZUELA APPEASEMENT BACKFIRES AS MADURO SUSPENDS PRIMARIES FOR ALLEGED ‘CORRUPTION’

“This move by the administration is abhorrent and reprehensible,” Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., told Fox News Digital. “Money is fungible and the administration should know better.”

“We should not be giving Iran one cent because it will be used to fund Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. All enemies of Israel and the United States,” Daines added. 

The Pentagon said on Tuesday it had counted 56 attacks on troops in Iraq and Syria since Oct. 17, with 59 U.S. personnel injured, 27 of them suffering from traumatic brain injury while the rest suffered non-serious injuries. 

DETROIT-AREA JEWS TRAVELING TO MARCH FOR ISRAEL STRANDED BY ALLEGED BUS DRIVER ‘SICK-OUT’

Last week, the Iranian-backed Houthis claimed to have shot down a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone near the Yemini Coast. The drone was reportedly surveilling Yemen when a Houthi militia fired at the equipment, estimated to cost about $30 million.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller pushed back against critics during a press briefing on Tuesday, stressing that “there is no country in the world where we deny access to food and medicine.” 

“That’s true with respect to Russia. It’s true with respect to Iran,” Miller said. “It’s true with respect to every country in the world. And it always has been. That is the policy of the United States.”

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“When it comes to holding Iran accountable for its destabilizing activities, I would remind you that we have imposed more than 400 sanctions on Iran since the outset of this administration,” he added. 

The State Department referred Fox News Digital to its press conferences yesterday when asked for comment. 

Fox News’ Greg Wehner and Liz Friden and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX – Political leaders in a small Ohio town that was thrust into the national spotlight earlier this year after a train derailment triggered the release of hazardous materials are making an endorsement in the state’s competitive GOP Senate primary in a race that could determine if Republicans win back the chamber’s majority.

East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway and fire chief Keith Drabick, as well as Columbiana County Commissioner Tim Weigle, are endorsing state Sen. Matt Dolan. The announcement was shared first with Fox News on Wednesday.

Dolan, a former top county prosecutor and Ohio assistant attorney general whose family owns Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Guardians, is one of the three major Republicans vying for their party’s 2024 nomination in the race to challenge longtime Democratic Sen. Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown in a one-time general election battleground state that’s turned red in recent cycles.

The small town, located along the border with Pennsylvania about 20 miles south of Youngstown, Ohio, was the site of a February train derailment that spilled hazardous chemicals into the air, soil and water and triggered significant evacuations. 

OPINION: TERRIFYING THINGS IN EAST PALESTINE THAT WE STILL DON’T KNOW 

The accident spurred Congressional hearings and a bipartisan railroad safety bill. And nine months after the derailment, lives are still shattered in East Palestine as Norfolk Southern continues its cleanup.

East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway, in backing Dolan, said in a statement that “in the aftermath of unspeakable tragedy, Ohioans came together from many walks of life to lift one another up and begin a recovery process that continues today. Through it all, one leader among many has stood out for his efforts grounded in responsiveness and results.”

BLUE TO RED: FOUR SENATE SEATS THAT MAY FLIP IN THE 2024 ELECTIONS

“Matt Dolan didn’t come here for headlines, cameras, or social media clicks. He quietly showed up, rolled up his sleeves and asked how he could help. Each day, Matt has stood with East Palestine and as we continue to rebuild, he’s focused on our community’s needs and worked with us to develop a recovery plan that gets results. That’s why I’m proud to stand with Matt Dolan,” Conaway emphasized.

Keith Drabick, the town’s fire chief, highlighted that Dolan “cares about results, not who gets the credit. He’s taken the time to come here, visit with our people, understand our challenges, and get to work in a manner that serves others. We need more leaders like Matt Dolan.”

And Columbiana County Commissioner Tim Weigle said that Dolan “has taken a personal interest in the rebuilding and success of our community, and that makes him exactly the kind of proven public servant we need in Washington.”

WITH NINE WEEKS TO GO UNTIL THE FIRST VOTES, THIS CANDIDATE REMAINS THE COMMANDING FRONT-RUNNER IN THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL RACE

Pointing to the derailment, Dolan said in a statement that “this year our entire nation has seen that Columbiana County personifies resilience, hard work, and grit. When the derailment occurred, local leaders and first responders stepped up. They didn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. They worked together to hold intergovernmental leaders, agencies, and private companies alike accountable, and they demanded results.”

And Dolan vowed that “in the U.S. Senate I will never stop working to build upon their progress and deliver results for East Palestine, Columbiana County, and our entire state.”

Dolan’s in a three-way battle for the GOP Senate nomination, along with Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Bernie Moreno, a successful Cleveland-based businessman and luxury auto dealership giant. 

Dolan and Moreno are making their second straight runs for the Senate. Moreno suspended his campaign a couple of months before the May 2022 primary. Dolan surged near the end of the primary race, coming in third, just behind former state Treasurer Josh Mandel. 

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The 2022 nomination was won by former hedge fund executive and best-selling author JD Vance, who landed former President Donald Trump’s endorsement just before the primary. Vance went on to defeat longtime Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan in last year’s general election to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Rob Portman.

Vance earlier this year endorsed Moreno, but Trump to date has remained neutral in the three-way primary battle.

Trump visited East Palestine after the derailment, and praised the mayor’s efforts. The town is located in Ohio’s Mahoning Valley, which is considered part of the Rust Belt, where working-class voters predominate. Trump made major gains for Republicans in an area, which previously was a Democratic stronghold.

Brown, who’s the only Democrat to win statewide in Ohio over the past decade, will be heavily targeted by Republicans in a state that was once a premiere battleground before shifting red.

Democrats currently control the U.S. Senate with a 51-49 majority, but Republicans are looking at a very favorable Senate map in 2024, with Democrats defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs. Three of those seats are in red states that Trump carried in 2020: Ohio, Montana and West Virginia, where Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin is not running for re-election.

Five others seats are in key swing states narrowly carried by Biden in 2020: Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

A wide range of livestock and agriculture industry groups, in addition to state and local governments, are opposing a Biden administration plan to release grizzly bears in a Washington forest area located near rural communities.

The groups, which include the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), Public Lands Council (PLC) and American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), argued in comments filed with the federal government this week that releasing grizzly bears near communities would be detrimental to their members in the region. They also said such a move would threaten public safety and jeopardize future conservation efforts.

“Introducing an apex predator like the grizzly bear to a new area of Washington state is a mistake and poses a huge threat to our rural communities and hardworking farmers and ranchers,” said Mark Eisele, a Wyoming rancher and incoming NCBA president. 

“This plan is being pushed by bureaucrats thousands of miles away from the West who do not fully understand the harm this species will cause to producers. The Biden administration should listen to rural residents and rethink this plan.”

LOCAL RESIDENTS EXPLODE AT BIDEN OFFICIALS OVER PLAN TO RELEASE GRIZZLY BEARS NEAR THEIR COMMUNITIES

“Grizzly bears are 20 times more dangerous than black bears and are well known for their aggressive, fatal mauling,” added PLC President Mark Roeber, a Colorado rancher. “Their broad diet means they can harm anyone — corn producers, orchards, cattle ranchers, sheep ranchers. The list goes on and on.”

Roeber argued the decision to airdrop bears into a new environment shouldn’t be taken lightly and said he has faced livestock depredation as a result of gray wolf populations near his ranch. Grizzly bears, he added, are an even larger predator that “will only cause more harm to our fellow livestock producers in Washington state.”

WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMS BIDEN WILL SIGN BIPARTISAN BILL REVERSING HIS OWN ADMIN’S CRACKDOWN ON HUNTING

In late September, the National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service proposed a rule and draft environmental impact statement opening the door to releasing grizzly bears in the North Cascades National Park located in northern Washington along the U.S.-Canada border. The proposal was cheered by left-wing eco groups but heavily criticized by local lawmakers and residents.

Under the proposal, the federal government would release up to seven grizzly bears annually into the North Cascades ecosystem (NCE) over the course of the next five to 10 years. The federal government’s overarching goal would be to establish a grizzly bear population of roughly 200 bears in the coming decades.

“In addition to the threat to human safety, the reintroduction of grizzly bears to the NCE will pose a real risk to the economic viability of the ranch and farm families that undergird the rural economy across Washington state,” the NCBA, PLC, AFBF, American Sheep Industry Association and several local affiliates wrote in comments filed Monday.

“There will be numerous significant economic harms to both private and public lands producers, as well as a severe rise in risks to human safety. These consequences are bad enough on their own, but they are even harder for producers to stomach when this reintroduction is not even required for the continued nationwide growth of the grizzly bear population.”

The federal plan released in September includes three options, two that would involve actively restoring populations of the threatened grizzly bear species and one “no action” alternative that would maintain current management practices. The public comment period for the proposal expired Monday.

“We reiterate our opposition to grizzly bear reintroduction given the likely adverse impacts to our local communities and lack of local government engagement by the federal agencies,” the Chelan County Board of Commissioners, the local governing body near the NCE, wrote in its own comment letter. 

“At minimum, we hope that you will consider our comments and develop a draft EIS and proposed 10(j) rule that more accurately reflects the current science, management needs and local community impacts of grizzly bear reintroduction.”

Both the Montana and Idaho state governments also weighed in on the proposal, arguing the federal government’s proposal would be harmful.

“Grizzly bears will occupy a diversity of habitats, regardless of landownership or zonal designation. It is naive to think that there will only be bears on public lands, unless the intent is to manage bears to exclude any that wander onto private land,” Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Director Dustin Temple wrote. “If that is the intent, then many more bears will be required to achieve a desired population.”

BIDEN’S WAR ON HUNTING FACES BLOWBACK FROM REPUBLICANS, SPORTSMEN GROUPS

According to the NPS, grizzly bears occupied the North Cascades and served as an “essential part of the ecosystem” for thousands of years. However, in the 20th century, as a result of aggressive hunting practices, the species was driven into near extinction and the last confirmed sighting of a grizzly bear in the NCE was in 1996.

Hugh Morrison, the regional FWS director, said in September that grizzly bears are part of the region’s heritage and restoring them could be done in a way that ensures communities, residents and animals “can all coexist peacefully.”

The plan would release grizzly bears near communities, and, according to the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, unintentionally or intentionally killing a grizzly bear in the state can result in massive fines and penalties since the species is listed as federally threatened and state-listed as endangered.

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Plans to reintroduce grizzly bears to the North Cascades dates to the Obama administration. Then, after significant state opposition led by Congressman Dan Newhouse, the Trump administration concluded grizzly bears would not be restored in the ecosystem. 

Former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt noted in July 2020 that grizzly bears are not in danger of extinction and that his agency could manage populations across their existing range.

However, late last year, following extensive litigation from environmental groups, the Biden administration announced it would again review whether to move forward with restoration, a process that led to the proposal in September.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis went after former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley on a local South Carolina radio show on Tuesday and questioned her “leadership” based on a tweet following the death of George Floyd in 2020.

“I remember when the George Floyd riots were happening, I called out the National Guard,” DeSantis told WORD 106.9’s Tara Show in South Carolina on Tuesday. 

“I said I’m standing with police, she was tweeting that it needed to be personal and painful for every single person. I’m thinking to myself, ‘Why does that need to be personal and painful for you or me? We had nothing to do with it.’”

“It just shows an example of her adopting this left-wing mindset and accepting the narrative. We need leaders who are going to fight the narrative. We need leaders who are going to fight back against the left and beat the left, and I’m the only one running that has a firm track record of defeating the Democrats and defeating the left on all these issues.”

WITH 9 WEEKS TO GO UNTIL THE FIRST VOTES, TRUMP REMAINS COMMANDING FRONT-RUNNER AS GOP FIELD KEEPS SHRINKING

DeSantis was referring to a tweet from Haley in May 2020 where she wrote, “It’s important to understand that the death of George Floyd was personal and painful for many. In order to heal, it needs to be personal and painful for everyone.”

DeSantis and radio host Tara Servatius also criticized Haley on transgender bathroom bills, with the Florida governor saying that Haley “killed legislation to protect girls and bragged about it.”

DESANTIS ACCUSES RNC OF DOING TRUMP’S ‘BIDDING’ WITH THREATS TO PUNISH 2024 CANDIDATES

“There he goes again,” a spokesperson for the Haley campaign told Fox News Digital. “Ron DeSantis is so desperate to revive his flailing campaign, he can’t be bothered with the facts. Nikki Haley has always supported separate bathrooms for biological boys and girls. Ron DeSantis had the exact same position as Haley in a 2018 interview, but now, Ron DeSantis is lying because he’s losing.” 

The Haley campaign was referring to a 2018 clip where DeSantis was asked as a gubernatorial candidate if he would “pass a bill” that allows transgender people to “pick the bathrooms they choose” and DeSantis said, “I would leave it as it is and stay out of that.”

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Since taking office, DeSantis has signed several pieces of transgender-related legislation in Florida, including bills that ban gender reassignment surgery for minors, bans pronoun use in schools and prohibiting “willfully entering restroom or changing facility designated for opposite sex.”