Biden, US lawmakers praise death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar by Israel: ‘The world is a safer place’
President Biden and congressional lawmakers praised Israel upon hearing the news that the mastermind behind the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on the Jewish state had been killed. Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar was eliminated by Israeli forces and was found in rubble in the Gaza Strip, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised message. “I stand before you today to inform you that Yahya Sinwar has been eliminated,” he said. “He told you he was a lion, but in reality, he was hiding in a dark den – and he was killed when he fled in a panic from our soldiers.” Biden congratulated Israel for the killing, saying it was “a good day for Israel, for the United States, and for the world.” WHO IS YAHYA SINWAR? “Israel had every right to eliminate the leadership and military structure of Hamas. Hamas is no longer capable of carrying out another October 7,” he said in a statement. Vice President Kamala Harris said: “justice has been served.” “And the United States, Israel and the entire world are better off as a result, Sinwar was responsible for the killing of thousands of innocent people, including the victims of Oct. 7, and hostages killed in Gaza,” she added. “He had American blood on his hands.” Many lawmakers reacted positively to news of Sinwar’s demise. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Sinwar had the blood of numerous Israelis and Gazans on his hands. “Let his death be a message to all who seek to terrorize Israel and the Jewish people,” said Schumer. “Sinwar in his beliefs and actions have caused so much pain to the Israeli and Palestinian people; and I pray that his elimination from the scene will clear a path to urgently and immediately bring home all the hostages – including the seven Americans.” HAMAS NAMES YAHYA SINWAR, MASTERMIND OF OCT. 7 ATTACKS, AS ITS NEW LEADER House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies, D-N.Y., said, “Israel, the Middle East and the free world is a safer place with the death of Yahya Sinwar. Terror will never win.” Sen. Roger Wicker, of Mississippi, the highest-ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Sinwar’s death should be a warning to Iran and its proxies in the region. “Israel has decapitated the senior leadership of Hezbollah and Hamas. The world is a safer place because Israel has proven what strong action against global terrorism should look like,” he said. “Every time the Biden-Harris administration attempts to place conditions on Israel’s self-defense, they are weakening Israeli and American responses to terrorism.” “The only way that this war will end is with Israel’s victory and the defeat of Iran’s terrorist proxies. Israel’s removal of the architect of this war represents another key step toward eliminating these threats,” he added. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Israel delivered a “mighty blow” to Hamas and Iran. “The ultimate revenge against Iran and their terrorist proxies is to replace terrorism and hate with sustainable security, peace and prosperity for the region,” he said. ISRAEL’S HUNT FOR HAMAS TERROR LEADER YAHYA SINWAR: ‘DEAD MAN WALKING’ Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho., said: “Terrorists have no place in this world, and deserve to be eliminated.” “The region cannot move forward without the elimination of Hamas as a military entity,” he added. “This is not easy to do, but the Israelis are doing it; that cannot be denied. The U.S. and our allies should do more to help the Israelis continue to cut off the head of the snake, and certainly stop trying to get in their way. Israel’s success will be a victory for the free world.” Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., the chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said justice had been served, but “let us not forget that the terrorist network he headed still holds dozens of people hostage in Gaza, and we must continue to press for their safe return.” Israel vowed to kill Sinwar following its military campaign in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The Israel Defense Forces confirmed Sinwar’s death after conducting DNA tests on a body that was among three terrorists killed during a battle. In July, Sinwar was elevated as Hamas’ top leader after Ismail Haniyeh, his predecessor, was killed in an apparent Israeli strike in the Iranian capital Tehran. Israel has killed top leaders in Hamas and Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed terror group based in neighboring Lebanon that has shelled the northern part of the Jewish state for more than a year in solidarity with Hamas.
Dem incumbent spars with GOP challenger in final debate for race that could decide House balance of power
CINCINNATI – The third and final debate in one of the most closely watched House races in the country took place in southwest Ohio on Tuesday night where Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman and his GOP challenger Orlando Sonza squared off on a variety of issues from immigration to the economy to a newly surfaced ethics complaint. “As I walk around this district now, whether it’s the economy or followed very closely by the issue with the southern border immigration, those are at the forefront of voters minds,” Sonza told the crowd of mostly students at Xavier University in Cincinnati as he debated Landsman in the race for Ohio’s 1st Congressional District. “My dad had to wait five years to be a naturalized citizen,” Sonza continued. “So what we’re seeing in this country right now flies in the face of not just my dad, but the millions of Americans that have come in here illegally. So how do we actually stop the over 15 million illegal immigrants that have come into our country, that are overburdening our economy, overburdening our housing market, and also bringing in fentanyl like endemic here in southwest Ohio, rising crime.” “Well, you’ve got to immediately close that border and I know that, look, if I was in Congress in these last 20 months, I would have voted for the Secure Border Act unlike my opponent, that would have immediately secured the southern border, brought resources to our border Patrol, and also tightened up our asylum policies and actually sent resources to our immigration courts. So in both of those ways, you can bring in people here legally and welcome them in here, just like my family did to pursue the American dream. But we have to do it in a way that actually stops the bleeding at the southern border and actually tightens the policies and procedures that we have.” OHIO LT. GOV. ENCOURAGES SUPPORT FOR TRUMP’S ‘SWAMP THE VOTE’ STRATEGY AS KEY STATE’S EARLY VOTING OPENS Landsman responded to the immigration question by suggesting that he sees “eye to eye” with Sonza on many aspects of the problem. “The fact is that you have to have a secure border, and for far too long, both parties have messed this up,” Landsman said, echoing the argument from many Democrats that the failed bipartisan border bill over the summer would have made a difference at the border. “That was a good bill that will get 300 votes in the House, probably 80, 90 in the Senate,” Landsman said. “It was a bill put together by one of the most conservative Republicans in the United States Senate, and it would have come to us but for Trump. Trump did not want it to get in the way of his reelection campaign.” On the economy, the issue that polling shows most Americans list as their top concern, Landsman took issue with billionaires receiving tax breaks while others struggle to make ends meet. “I think more and more Americans, even though the economy has gotten better, more and more Americans are finding it harder and harder to pay all their bills, or if they pay all their bills, there’s almost nothing left for savings or vacation, and so the question becomes, who’s the economy built for?” Landsman said, taking aim at former President Trump’s tax policy. OHIO GOP SENATE CHALLENGER REACTS TO POLLS SHOWING DEAD HEAT IN CRITICAL SENATE RACE: ‘RADICAL LIBERAL’ “You can look at the results that those at the top, the 1%, the super wealthy, they’re doing great,” Landsman said. “This is the best it’s ever been for billionaires and big corporations. And that’s in part because the tax code is built for them. Eighty-three percent of the tax giveaways in the 2017 Trump tax plan went to the top 1%. But what if you flipped it? What if you said that 83 to 90 percent of all of that will go to the working folks and middle-class families you all like? You have a much better economy because you’d have more money in your pockets to buy goods and services here in our local communities. And that creates jobs as opposed to what happens when the one percent get more money.” Landsman said that “fixing the tax code is number one” and “number two is that you’re going to have to deal with price gouging.” Sonza discussed the economy by pointing out that his family of four is dealing with the high costs of goods. “So what’s the first problem?” Sonza said. “It is this hyperinflationary environment that we have. How do you fix prices that continue to increase due to this inflation? What you have to do is you have to stop this idea of spend, spend, spend in our federal government.” Sonza, a West Point graduate and former infantry officer, continued, “You can start with cutting the fraud, waste and abuse and the duplication and the redundancy in government. So stopping this over-bloated government spending fixes the inflation problem. But what do you then do with prices still high? Well, what you can’t do is make sure that we have a competitive environment that allows for prices to go down.” “So we actually increase competition, whether it’s in health care or whether it’s in manufacturing or energy. If we increase competition here in America, we’re actually going to bring those prices down. I think that’s how you fix both of those problems.” FLASHBACK: VULNERABLE DEM SENATOR ACCUSED VOTERS SUPPORTING TRUMP OF ‘RACISM’: ‘IT WORKS FOR THEM’ On abortion, Sonza told the audience he does not “hide” the fact that he is pro-life but pledged that he would not support a federal abortion ban and believes in exceptions for life of the mother, rape and incest. Sonza said abortion is no longer a federal issue and acknowledged that Ohio voters recently chose to enshrine abortion access into the state Constitution. Sonza argued that Landman’s opposition to the Born Alive Act, which instructs doctors to
What is shaken baby syndrome, the controversial diagnosis for which Robert Roberson is set to die?
The American Academy of Pediatrics embraces the diagnosis, but courts have thrown out some cases, calling it “junk science.”
Zelenskyy victory plan: Replace US troops at outposts in Europe with battle-hardened Ukrainians
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s victory plan includes bringing Ukraine into NATO and replacing U.S. troops with battle-hardened Ukrainian troops at outposts throughout Europe. Zelenskyy pitched the plan to the Ukrainian parliament Wednesday, seeking peace through greater help from Ukraine’s western allies. His request includes an invitation to NATO, the international group formed as a way to counter Russia that President Vladimir Putin views as a threat to his nation’s existence. Many believe Putin invaded Ukraine in 2022 due to the threat of an expanding NATO. Putin has long said he will not entertain peace talks until Ukraine ceases its bid to become a part of the NATO alliance. UKRAINE DEFENSE MINISTER CONFIDENT CAN REPLENISH TROOPS BUT IN NEED OF WEAPONS, EQUIPMENT FROM ALLIES If Ukraine is not allowed into NATO, it may begin to pursue nuclear weapons, according to Zelenskyy. “In a conversation with Donald Trump, I told him it comes to this,” Zelensky said in Ukrainian while speaking to the European Council in Brussels. “The outcome is either Ukraine will be a nuclear power — and that will be our protection — or we should have some kind of alliance. Other than NATO, today we don’t know of any effective alliances.” He offered to have Ukraine take charge of European security and kicking out U.S. forces, thanks to its war-hardened military. “If the partners agree, we envisage replacing certain military contingents of the U.S. armed forces stationed in Europe with Ukrainian units. After the war,” Zelenskyy said. “Ukrainians have proven that they can be a force that Russian evil cannot overcome.” The U.S. has around 100,000 troops stationed across Europe. In Ukraine, where manpower is in short supply, the average age of frontline soldiers is 43. The dire need for fresh recruits has led military recruitment officers to raid concert halls, bars and restaurants in search of 25- to 60-year-olds out of compliance with conscription into their forces. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte would not say whether he’d push member nations to extend Kyiv an invitation into NATO, though he reiterated that Russia does not have a say over who joins NATO. “The victory plan is not only about an invitation to become a member of NATO. The victory plan has more elements,” Rutte told reporters Wednesday. “The next steps [are] not just on this issue, but on the general content of the victory plan.” PUTIN WARNS US, NATO RISK WAR WITH RUSSIA IF LONG-RANGE STRIKE BANS LIFTED FOR UKRAINE He also once again called for an end to all restrictions on long-range weapons given to Ukraine so that the army could strike deep inside Russia, provide more training and air defense capability and prevent allies from shooting down drones and missiles over Ukrainian territory. Zelenskyy’s new plan comes as he continues to implore the European Union to release tens of billions in aid that has been held up for more than a year. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whose nation has been blocking the transfer of $7.1 billion to Kyiv, called Zelenskyy’s plan “more than frightening.” “We are losing this war, so the strategy is not working,” Orbán wrote on Facebook. “But this does not mean that we need more war, more dangerous and long-range weapons — it means that we need to change from a war strategy to a peace strategy. We need a cease-fire and peace talks!” Zelenskyy was in Washington last month making the pitch for unrestricted use of U.S. ATACMS and other long-range missiles to lawmakers, but the Biden administration has said it has no plan to lift the ban for fear of crossing the Kremlin’s red lines. Zelenskyy argues Ukraine’s attacks on the Russian territory of Kursk prove that Putin is bluffing. ”Thanks to the Kursk operation, we saw that Putin doesn’t have enough strength to hold his own when we push really hard,” Zelenskyy said. “If we start moving according to this victory plan now, it may be possible to end the war no later than next year,” Zelenskyy told the Verkhovna Rada, the parliament. He is presenting the five-point plan to the European Council on Thursday. Zelenskyy also said he’d asked leaders from the U.S., Germany, France and the U.K. for help with a non-nuclear strategic deterrence package that he said would force Moscow into a diplomatic process to end the war. And he proposed partners from the European Union and U.S. sign a special agreement to purchase Ukraine’s critical resources, like lithium, gas, titanium and others, to shore up economic development. Some Ukrainian politicians read the plan as an unrealistic wish list. “A set of slogans and nothing more,” European Solidarity opposition party MP Oleksiy Honcharenko said in a Facebook post. “The plan looks like others need to do everything for us.” Roman Losynskyi, a Ukrainian soldier and a member of the liberal Holos party, called the plan a “fantasy.” “On one hand, the plan sounds like a fantasy. On the other hand, Patriot, Storm Shadow, and F-16s used to be just as fantastic, as was the sinking of a large part of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation and the control of a piece of Kursk. Everything depends on the decisions of partners and the success of our diplomacy,” Lozynskyi said. However, he added that Zelenskyy “did not explain how he plans to achieve the implementation of these points.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the plan “ephemeral” and said, “Kyiv needs to sober up and admit its policies have no perspectives.”
DNA TV Show: Bahraich murder accused shot in police encounter near Nepal border; 5 held
ADGP (Law and Order), STF Uttar Pradesh said that two people were injured in the encounter and were admitted to a hospital for treatment.
Vance speculates why Pennsylvania is trending red, warns battleground not to trust Harris on manufacturing
Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speculated Thursday that the reason Pennsylvania is trending red could be related to former President Donald Trump’s proposal on tariffs, warning that voters in the battleground shouldn’t trust Vice President Harris’ promise to revive American manufacturing. “This is where President Trump gets the most criticism, but it’s also where President Trump is the most right,” Vance said at a campaign stop in Pittsburgh, referencing Trump’s plan to implement tariffs as a way to discourage imports and drive domestic production. Harris has criticized the plan as risking price hikes. “If you are a business, and you rely on foreign slave labor at $3 a day, the only way to rebuild American manufacturing is to say, if you want to bring that product made by slave labor back into the United States of America, you’re going to pay a big fat tariff before you get it back into our country,” Vance said. “My message to Pennsylvanians: don’t trust anybody, especially Kamala Harris, when she tells you she’s going to rebuild American manufacturing without forcing the Chinese to pay a tariff,” he continued, speaking to voters in the critical swing state. “There is no way to do it unless you’re fighting hard against the people who are stealing our jobs and stealing our manufacturing industries, you got to do it. And if you’re not doing it, you’re not serious about rebuilding the American middle class.” TRUMP RIPS HARRIS ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION DURING LATINO VOTER TOWN HALL: HISPANIC VOTERS ‘MOST AGAINST IT’ Vance was responding to a reporter’s question about what county in Pennsylvania the Trump campaign would turn to first to determine whether they won the election. “I’m not much of a political prognosticator. The only prognostication I’ll make is that Pennsylvania is going to make Donald Trump the next President of the United States,” Vance said. “I really do believe that.” “If you look at the early voting numbers, if you look at how much redder Pennsylvania has gotten in just the last couple of years, we are going to win this race so long as we work for it over the next 19 days,” Trump’s running mate added. “I really do believe that.” CARDINAL DOLAN ‘UPSET’ THAT HARRIS SKIPPING AL SMITH DINNER Vance credited Pennsylvania’s tradition of world-renowned steel manufacturing and craftsmanship, saying the country has unfortunately “gotten way too far away from self-reliance.” The senator turned vice presidential pick said he believes Trump’s message is resonating in Pennsylvania more than Republicans from 20 years ago had because of the 45th president’s belief in “making things in America and stamping more products with the incredible label Made in the USA.” Citing a statistic he said “scares the hell out of me,” Vance said China has 32% of world manufacturing GDP, meaning 32% of the goods made worldwide are made in China, compared to just 18% made in the U.S. “That means China makes more stuff – I’m talking about the pharmaceuticals that we put into the bodies of our children, some of the important weapons systems of the future, the computer chips,” he said. “We’ve got to make more of our own stuff in the United States of America. And the way to do that is to lower regulations, lower energy costs for American businesses, and to rebuild the great American middle class.”
Trump to headline sold-out Al Smith charity dinner as Harris sends pre-recorded video message
Former President Trump is set to attend and address the 79th Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner on Thursday evening for the bipartisan political event that typically adds a bit of levity to the campaign trail each presidential election cycle, while simultaneously raising donations for women and children in need. This year’s Al Smith dinner, however, is set to be a bit different from previous years, as Vice President Kamala Harris is skipping the in-person event and sending a pre-recorded video to be broadcast to the audience instead. “VP Harris will appear via a pre-recorded message,” the communications director for the Archdiocese of New York, Joseph Zwilling, told Fox News Digital on Thursday. Harris’ snub of the historic Catholic charity event irked New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, the host of the dinner, on his podcast this week. HARRIS TO VIRTUALLY ATTEND CATHOLIC CHARITY DINNER THAT RIVAL TRUMP IS HEADLINING “This year will be imbalanced because sadly, Kamala Harris isn’t coming,” Dolan said on his podcast Wednesday. “It’s a shame because the nature of the evening is to bring people together. The nature of the evening is civility, patriotism, humor. It’s not a campaign speech. It’s not a campaign stop.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment on sending a pre-recorded video message for the event, but did not receive a reply. The campaign previously told Fox News that Harris was skipping the event to focus on campaigning in the battleground state of Wisconsin on Thursday. KAMALA HARRIS PLANS TO SKIP HISTORIC AL SMITH DINNER DESPITE LONG-STANDING TRADITION “The Vice President is going to be campaigning in a battleground state that day, and the campaign wants to maximize her time in the battlegrounds this close to the election. Her team also told the organizers that she would very much like to attend their event as President. This would make her one of the first sitting Presidents to attend,” the campaign said. The event this year, will instead focus on Trump’s in-person remarks, as well as Harris’ video – not the typical speaker schedule that spotlights the presidential candidates from both political parties while they lob lighthearted jabs at each other. TRUMP APPLAUDS CATHOLIC GROUP’S MULTI-MILLION ANTI-HARRIS CAMPAIGN APPEALING TO CHURCH FAITHFUL The Al Smith dinner was launched in 1946, and has raised millions of dollars for charities supporting women and children. It has since grown to become a political and cultural hallmark of election seasons. The dinner is named after the first Catholic presidential candidate, Al Smith, who served as the 42nd governor of New York. He ran for president as a Democrat in 1928. Trump has attended the event each election year since 2016, when he and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traded barbs that drew roaring laughter and some jeers from the crowd. “It’s great to be here with a thousand wonderful people, or, as I call it, a small intimate dinner with some friends. Or as Hillary calls it, her largest crowd of the season,” Trump quipped during his 2016 remarks. CARDINAL DOLAN ‘UPSET’ THAT HARRIS SKIPPING AL SMITH DINNER “People look at the Statue of Liberty and they see a proud symbol of our history as a nation of immigrants. A beacon of hope for people around the world. Donald sees the Statue of Liberty and sees a 4. Maybe a 5 if she loses the torch and tablet and changes her hair,” Clinton joked amid her remarks. Comedian Jim Gaffigan will emcee this year’s dinner. Gaffigan has notably joined “Saturday Night Live” in recent weeks to play the role of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, during sketches mocking the election cycle. Trump has celebrated his third return to the dinner as the GOP’s presidential nominee, while also taking a shot at Harris for skipping attending the event. MORNING GLORY: WHY IS KAMALA HARRIS SKIPPING THE AL SMITH DINNER IN NEW YORK CITY? “It will be an honor to attend the SOLD OUT 79th ANNUAL AL SMITH DINNER on October 17th in New York. It will be great to see so many wonderful people there, including Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan. We know the Spirit of Al Smith, the first Catholic Nominee of a Major Party, and John F. Kennedy, the FIRST Catholic President, will be in the room with us that night,” Trump posted on Truth Social last month. “It was a virtual event in 2020, and I was delighted to speak to our Catholic friends that day and, of course, it was a HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL evening in 2016 when we were there in person with Crooked Hillary Clinton. The reviews of my remarks were TREMENDOUS. It’s sad, but not surprising, that Kamala has decided not to attend. I don’t know what she has against our Catholic friends, but it must be a lot, because she certainly hasn’t been very nice to them, in fact, Catholics are literally being persecuted by this Administration. Any Catholic that votes for Comrade Kamala Harris should have their head examined,” he added. The 2020 Al Smith dinner was held virtually as the pandemic and its government-mandated lockdowns upended society. Both Trump and President Biden virtually attended that year’s dinner. Dolan said he anticipates the dinner to raise roughly $9 million, which will be given to various charities to assist women and children in need, as part of the Church’s pro-life mission, according to a press release from the foundation. This year’s event will be held at New York Hilton Midtown, and kicks off at 7 pm. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Majority of Pennsylvania county sheriffs ‘wholeheartedly endorse’ Trump for president
EXCLUSIVE: The majority of county sheriffs in battleground state Pennsylvania endorsed former President Trump on Thursday, saying they are “confident in his leadership and ability to safeguard our country.” Fox News Digital obtained a letter signed by 49 of the 67 county sheriffs in the state, who said Trump is the best candidate to support law enforcement and secure the border. “As elected law enforcement officers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, we consistently hear two messages from our constituents and neighbors: that they want safe communities for their families and children, and that they oppose radical defund-the-police agendas by career politicians,” they wrote. “That is why we are proudly standing with President Donald J. Trump and wholeheartedly endorse his candidacy for President of the United States.” FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: HARRIS LOSES HER LEAD AND A NEW ELECTORATE EMERGES The county sheriffs said that “even before” Trump was a candidate for office, he “stood shoulder-to-shoulder with police and law enforcement.” “He is the only candidate who has supported and continues to support law and order, law enforcement, and our duty to serve our communities and keep them safe,” they wrote. “This is most evident with our Southern Border.” FETTERMAN ADMITS ELON MUSK ‘ATTRACTIVE TO A DEMOGRAPHIC’ DEMOCRATS ‘NEED’ TO WIN PENNSYLVANIA The county sheriffs pointed to the unprecedented flow of illegal immigrants through the U.S. southern border under the Biden-Harris administration and stressed that “immigration is not only a border-state issue.” The county sheriffs pointed to the Trump administration, where they said the U.S. had “a secure border and proper enforcement of our immigration laws.” “World leaders respected President Trump, and border crossings fell,” they wrote. “Without his strong leadership, our border has been swung open – open to thousands of border crossers each day and unimaginable quantities of lethal drugs such as fentanyl and methamphetamine that are pouring right into Pennsylvania communities, bringing crime and devastation to countless families.” The county sheriffs said Trump “understands that we cannot have a functioning country without borders.” POPULAR PA DEMOCRATIC MAYOR WARNS TRUMP IS ‘OUT-MESSAGING’ HARRIS: ‘I GET MORE FROM COLBERT’ “He understands the destruction that an open border has brought to our country, our commonwealth, and our communities,” they continued. “He understands the critical role that law enforcement plays in maintaining safety, stability, law and order. And that’s why we are confident in his leadership and his ability to safeguard our country.” They added: “We know that President Trump backs the blue, and we are proud to back him as the 47th President of the United States of America.” INEFFECTIVE PLANNING, LACK OF CONNECTIONS HAS DEMS ON EDGE IN ‘KEY’ BATTLEGROUND OF PENNSYLVANIA: REPORT The counties represented by the sheriffs endorsing Trump include Adams, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Berks, Blair, Bradford, Bucks, Butler, Cambria, Cameron, Carbon, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Cumberland, Dauphin, Elk, Fayette, Forest, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Huntingdon, Indiana, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lycoming, McKean, Mercer, Mifflin, Montour, Northumerland, Perry, Potter, Snyder, Somerset, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Venango, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Westmoreland and York. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP According to the Fox News Power Rankings as of Thursday, the race in Pennsylvania between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris is a toss-up. In September, the Harris-Walz campaign touted the endorsements of 101 law enforcement officials of varying ranks in states across the country.
Harris to virtually attend Catholic charity dinner that rival Trump is headlining
Vice President Kamala Harris will virtually attend the historic Al Smith dinner on Thursday evening, the Archdiocese of New York confirmed to Fox News Digital. “VP Harris will appear via a pre-recorded message,” the communications director for the Archdiocese of New York, Joseph Zwilling, told Fox News Digital on Thursday. Harris will be the first presidential candidate in 40 years to not physically attend the Catholic charity event – since 1984 when failed presidential Democratic candidate Walter Mondale skipped. Former President Trump will attend and address the sold-out audience during the event Thursday. Harris’ snub of the historic Catholic charity event irked New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan on his podcast this week. KAMALA HARRIS PLANS TO SKIP HISTORIC AL SMITH DINNER DESPITE LONG-STANDING TRADITION “This year will be imbalanced because, sadly, Kamala Harris isn’t coming,” Dolan said on his podcast Wednesday. “It’s a shame because the nature of the evening is to bring people together. The nature of the evening is civility, patriotism, humor. It’s not a campaign speech. It’s not a campaign stop.” He did add during the podcast that Harris was slated to appear via “Zoom.” “She’s sending a Zoom,” Dolan said during the podcast. Adding: “We have it already… I haven’t looked at it. There’s an embargo on it.” MORNING GLORY: WHY IS KAMALA HARRIS SKIPPING THE AL SMITH DINNER IN NEW YORK CITY? The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner was launched in 1946, and has raised millions of dollars for charities supporting women and children, and has since grown to become a political and cultural hallmark of election seasons. The dinner is named after the first Catholic presidential candidate, Al Smith, who served as the 42nd governor of New York and ran for president as a Democrat in 1928. This year’s dinner will be emceed by comedian Jim Gaffigan, who has portrayed Harris’ running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in sketches on “Saturday Night Live” this fall. Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment and confirmation that Harris will virtually attend the event, but did not receive a reply. The campaign previously told Fox News that the vice president would not physically attend the event, focusing her time on campaigning in the battleground state of Wisconsin instead. TRUMP CAMPAIGN PREVIEWS AL SMITH DINNER REMARKS AMID HARRIS’ ABSENCE: ‘WON’T BE DISAPPOINTED’ “The Vice President is going to be campaigning in a battleground state that day, and the campaign wants to maximize her time in the battlegrounds this close to the election. Her team also told the organizers that she would very much like to attend their event as President. This would make her one of the first sitting Presidents to attend,” the campaign said. Trump attended the dinner in-person in 2016, as did then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and attended 2020’s virtual dinner due to the pandemic. CLINTON AND TRUMP TRADE JABS AT AL SMITH DINNER “It will be an honor to attend the SOLD OUT 79th ANNUAL AL SMITH DINNER on October 17th in New York. It will be great to see so many wonderful people there, including Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan. We know the Spirit of Al Smith, the first Catholic Nominee of a Major Party, and John F. Kennedy, the FIRST Catholic President, will be in the room with us that night,” Trump posted on Truth Social last month. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “It was a virtual event in 2020, and I was delighted to speak to our Catholic friends that day and, of course, it was a HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL evening in 2016 when we were there in person with Crooked Hillary Clinton. The reviews of my remarks were TREMENDOUS. It’s sad, but not surprising, that Kamala has decided not to attend. I don’t know what she has against our Catholic friends, but it must be a lot, because she certainly hasn’t been very nice to them, in fact, Catholics are literally being persecuted by this Administration. Any Catholic that votes for Comrade Kamala Harris should have their head examined,” he added. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Mike Johnson kicks off swing-state tour as GOP clings to House control
House Speaker Mike Johnson is embarking on a swing-state tour in the closing weeks of the election as Republicans fight to keep hold of their razor-thin majority in the House. Johnson’s “American Revival Tour” is making stops in Michigan this weekend, and additional events are being planned in Ohio and Pennsylvania, among other states. Its purpose is “highlighting House Republicans’ agenda for the next Congress,” Johnson’s political team told Fox News Digital. The Louisiana Republican has been crisscrossing the country in 24 states in a bid to keep and possibly expand the GOP’s control over the House. CLUB FOR GROWTH POURS $5M INTO TIGHT HOUSE RACES AS GOP BRACES FOR TOUGH ELECTION All three states are also being viewed as critical keys to victory for former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign. It is no surprise they line up considering Johnson’s efforts to unite the GOP behind the former president. A video rolling out the tour, previewed by Fox News Digital, features Johnson pledging, “We are going to win the White House, the Senate, and take back the House.” “We’re going to secure the border, unleash our energy sector, protect our rights, support working families, pursue peace through strength,” Johnson says in the video. “Everything is on the line. We will be able to restore those foundations, and we really truly can bring about an ‘American Revival.’” Johnson has been appearing with Republican incumbents and candidates across the country while also diving into the fundraising circuit – a baptism by fire for a previously little-known policy wonk who was rocketed to the national stage after the ouster of ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., roughly a year ago. SPEAKER JOHNSON RIPS ‘LACK OF LEADERSHIP’ IN BIDEN ADMIN’S HELENE RESPONSE: ‘ALARMED AND DISAPPOINTED’ The work he has put in appears to be paying off. Earlier this week, it was announced that Johnson raised $27.5 million from July through September, “the highest amount raised by a Republican Speaker of the House in the third quarter of a presidential election year,” according to his team. Of that, just over $8 million went to individual GOP candidates. That cash will likely be much needed as groups aligned with the House GOP continue to trail their Democratic counterparts. House Democrats’ campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), outraised the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) in August, according to numbers released late last month. FORMER REPUBLICAN US SENATOR ENDORSES KAMALA HARRIS, SAYS ELECTION OFFERS ‘STARK CHOICE’ The DCCC raised $22.3 million in August, compared to $9.7 million by the NRCC. House Democrats ended that time period with more cash than the GOP as well – $87 million compared to $70.7 million. Meanwhile, Republicans in tight races like Reps. Marianette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, and Ken Calvert, R-Calif., have been trailing their Democratic challengers in terms of funding as of the latest fundraising quarter. Johnson is pivoting his “American Revival” tour to swing states after kicking off a pro-Trump event in Texas earlier this month.