Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) broke ranks Thursday morning and voted against a budget resolution that could set the stage for ending the two-month shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security. Murkowski, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, opposed the budget resolution because it would lay the groundwork for passing… Source link
Former diplomat Richard Haass on Saturday said that tensions between the U.S. and the Vatican have reached a 23 out of a 1-to-10 scale. “Morning Joe Weekend” co-host Willie Geist asked Haass how unusual a reported threat from the Pentagon to the Vatican’s former diplomat was during a meeting in January. “On a scale of… Source link
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a Pentagon meeting last year, passed a note to Army Secretary Dan Driscoll about one of Driscoll’s top aides, asking, in effect: Why hasn’t this guy been fired yet? The aide, Colonel Dave Butler, a former infantry officer, is a longtime leader in Army public affairs (not a specialty Hegseth embraces) who worked closely with the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley (whom Hegseth despises). On Thursday, Hegseth finally got his way: Butler was pushed out. The issue was not that Butler was incompetent in his job; quite the opposite. Both Driscoll and the Army’s chief of staff, General Randy George, are said to have valued his advice, experience, and the reforms that he initiated—and it was their endorsement, when combined with Butler’s previous assignment with Milley, that ruined his chance of making the rank of general. Defense secretaries don’t usually get involved in decisions about the careers of colonels and other mid-level commanders, given that the lead civilian in the Pentagon is supposed to …
Via American Greatness, Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) has broken ranks with Democratic leadership and has come out in favor of requiring photo ID for voting in elections across the nation. Fetterman appeared on the Fox News program “Sunday Morning Futures” yesterday and told host Maria Bartiromo that voter ID wasn’t an “unreasonable” requirement, saying, “It’s not a radical idea for regular Americans to show your ID to vote.” Fetterman’s right Who agrees? https://t.co/vFUfyQgFPQ — Mike Lee (@BasedMikeLee) February 9, 2026 Fetterman pointed to states like Wisconsin that have similar protections requiring proof of citizenship for federal voter registration and photo ID at the polls. He noted that 60% of voters in Wisconsin support such safeguards, despite having elected liberal justice Susan Crawford in 2025 to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. House Republicans plan to vote this week on the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act with national polls showing 83% of Americans support the measure, including 71% of Democrats. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries continued to decry the SAVE America Act as “voter suppression” and …
Eight Republican lawmakers joined all Democratic senators to vote down a federal government funding package on Thursday. The package, meant to avert another government shutdown, would need to be approved before midnight on Friday to keep the lights on. Democrats have objected to the spending package over its funding of the Department of Homeland Security. In the wake of unrest in Minneapolis and the killings of several U.S. citizens by ICE agents, the minority party has pressed for a rewritten budget bill without appropriations for the agency. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said earlier this week that his caucus “will not pass the DHS budget until it is rewritten.” “I will vote no on any legislation that funds ICE until it is reined in and overhauled,” he shared on X. None of the Republican legislators who voted “no” mentioned ICE funding in their explanations. Most of the defectors cited concerns about government spending more generally as the inspiration for their vote. Florida Sen. Rick Scott criticized Democrats for their stance on ICE while joining them …
Fried chicken lovers have more choice then ever after a host of big international players arrived on UK high streets over the last few years. Dave’s, Slim Chickens, Wingstop, Jollibee and Popeyes are all now fighting for some of KFC’s market share. Then there’s the British chains quietly expanding in neighbourhoods around the country – names such as Dixy, Morley’s Miss Millie’s, Sam’s Chicken, Favorite and Chicken Cottage. But can any of them rival KFC as the nation’s favourite fried chicken chain? Over the past four months, our testers paid multiple visits to the country’s 11 biggest fried chicken chains by branch numbers, plus Dave’s due to the social media hype. Two US chains, Wingstop and Dave’s, won out, pipping KFC into a respectable third. Read our full verdict… 1/ Wingstop – Our score 8.5 Branches: 86 We loved: Service, fries, drink selection But: Expensive, no option to buy one or two bits of chicken Not strictly a KFC rival, given it predominantly serves wings, but Wingstop is competing for space in the same market …
BAGHDAD — Over the past year, Iraqi spy chief Hamid al-Shatri says, he has been warily tracking the growing numbers of Islamic State militants over the border in Syria. From an estimated 2,000 fighters, the ranks of the Islamic State in Syria have swelled in little more than a year to 10,000, according to Shatri, the head of Iraqi intelligence, speaking in a rare interview in Baghdad this month. His figure could not be confirmed elsewhere, for instance with the U.S. military, and the latest U.N. Security Council report pointed to a far less precipitous rise, with an estimated 3,000 Islamic State members in Syria and Iraq combined as of August. Source link
Emmanuel had already tried to improve his life once before by following the well-trodden migrant route from Africa to Europe, only to get sent back from Italy. Returning to his native Cameroon in West Africa, he again found himself jobless, only this time his family was now in debt for his failed European trip. Dreams of escaping abroad are commonplace in a country where half the population is under 20 and unemployment in major cities is 35 per cent. Polling has found 51 per cent of Cameroonians have considered emigrating and this desperation has created a lucrative industry of travel agencies, visa wranglers, middlemen and fixers touting their business on social media. Scammers and con artists abound, and exploitation is rife. The picture is similar in many countries in Africa and beyond wherever migration is big business. When Emmanuel, who declined to give his real name, saw a chance to get back to Europe, this time with a job in Russia, he leapt at it. The job ads said he would be working with the …
Several House Democrats split from the party line to vote in favor of a bill that would fund the Department of Homeland Security, along with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The bill guarantees $3.84 billion for ICE custody operations nationwide, along with increasing Enforcement and Removal Operations funding to $5.45 billion. Axios reported that House Minority Speaker Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y,, told colleagues in a closed-door meeting on Wednesday that he would oppose the bill, after Republicans refused to take his recommendations on reigning in ICE officers,. However, Jeffries’ disapproval did not deter seven Democratic representatives from supporting the bill. Jared Golden didn’t want to tar all ICE agents with the same brush, in the wake of the agency’s actions in Minnesota. “I am generally supportive of giving law enforcement the resources they need,” Golden said. “ICE has a legitimate purpose.” The bill passed the House by a vote of 220-207. All seven Democrats who joined with Republicans, including Henry Cuellar of Texas and Don Davis of North Carolina, hail from districts that Donald Trump carried …
At the close of a difficult year for Los Angeles, a measure of optimism arrives from abroad. A new global ranking for 2026 places the city at No. 12 among the world’s best cities. The list comes from Resonance Consultancy, an urban research firm that studies how cities perform and how they are perceived. The ranking evaluates 100 cities using three broad measures: livability, lovability and prosperity. Los Angeles ranked 13th in each category, a steady showing that reflects balance rather than dominance. London, New York and Paris claimed the top three spots overall. Still, Los Angeles landing just outside the top 10 signals resilience during a period marked by economic strain and environmental stress. You see a familiar theme in the findings. Los Angeles continues to reshape itself while drawing global attention. Its cultural reach, creative industries and role as a destination for ambition remain central to its appeal. In a country with 19 cities on the list, more than any other nation, Los Angeles stands out for its influence far beyond city limits. …
