Page 15 – Texas Weekly Online

Joe Manchin calls Democratic Party ‘toxic,’ blames progressives

Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.V., delivered a parting shot to the Democratic Party, calling his former party “toxic” as he prepares to retire from office at the end of the congressional term. Manchin, who was a lifelong Democrat before registering as an Independent earlier this year, blasted the Democratic Party in an interview with CNN’s “Inside Politics with Manu Raju” that aired on Sunday. “The D-brand has been so maligned from the standpoint of, it’s just, it’s toxic,” Manchin said, adding that he left the party because he no longer considered himself a Democrat “in the form of what Democratic Party has turned itself into.” Manchin blamed progressive lawmakers for shifting the party’s brand away from issues such as ensuring good jobs and good pay for Americans to instead focus more on sensitive social issues like transgender rights and telling Americans what they can or cannot do. MANCHIN DELIVERS EMOTIONAL FINAL FLOOR SPEECH AS WEST VIRGINIA SENATOR: ‘HONOR OF MY LIFE’ “They have basically expanded upon thinking, ‘Well, we want to protect you there, but we’re going to tell you how you should live your life from that far on,’” Manchin said of the Democratic Party. He claimed the progressives in Washington, D.C., are out of touch with Americans, stating, “This country is not going left.” But Manchin did not only criticize Democrats, pointing the finger at Republican lawmakers who he claimed are “too extreme” and lack common sense on the issue of guns. OUTGOING SEN. JOE MANCHIN PUSHES CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT FOR SUPREME COURT TERM LIMITS “I’m not going to ban you from buying it,” Manchin said of guns, “but you’re going to have to show some responsibility.” “So the Democrats go too far, want to ban,” Manchin said. “The Republican says, ‘Oh, let the good times roll. Let anybody have anything they want.’ Just some commonsense things there.” Manchin, who has often been a crucial swing vote, was known for his moderate approach and bipartisan work on national issues in the Senate. Manchin served 14 years in the Senate. His political career began as a state delegate in the early 1980s, before being elected as a state senator until the late 90s. Manchin served as Secretary of State for four years, and then was elected as governor of West Virginia in 2005. Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.

Celebrating with Christian friends in Syrian church, Sarah in Syria

NewsFeed For Sarah Kassim and many other Syrians, al-Assad’s regime marked a period of sectarianism. Now Sarah is free to visit the church with her Christian friends as they prepare for Christmas Eve and the new year. Published On 22 Dec 202422 Dec 2024 Adblock test (Why?)

‘Historic achievement’: Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City’s first metro line opens

Thousands of selfie-taking Ho Chi Minh City residents crammed into train carriages on Sunday as the traffic-clogged business hub celebrated the opening of its first-ever metro line after years of delays. Huge queues spilled out of every station along the $1.7bn line that runs almost 20km (12 miles) from the city centre – with women in traditional “ao dai” dress, soldiers in uniform and couples clutching young children waiting excitedly to board. “I know it (the project) is late, but I still feel so very honoured and proud to be among the first on this metro,” said office worker Nguyen Nhu Huyen after snatching a selfie in her jam-packed train car. “Our city is now on par with the other big cities of the world,” she added. It took 17 years for Vietnam’s commercial capital to reach this point. The project, funded largely by Japanese government loans, was first approved in 2007 and slated to cost just $668m. When construction began in 2012, authorities promised the line would be up and running in five years. Advertisement But as delays mounted, cars and motorbikes multiplied in the city of nine million people, making the metropolis hugely congested, increasingly polluted and time-consuming to navigate. The metro “meets the growing travel needs of residents and contributes to reducing traffic congestion and environmental pollution”, the city’s deputy mayor Bui Xuan Cuong said. Cuong admitted authorities had to overcome “countless hurdles” to get the project over the line. Back on the train, 84-year-old war veteran Vu Thanh told the AFP news agency he was happy to experience below-ground in a more positive way after spending three years fighting American troops in the city’s famous Cu Chi tunnels, an enormous underground network. “It feels so different from the underground experience I had years ago during the war. It’s so bright and nice here,” he said. Professor Vu Minh Hoang at Fulbright University Vietnam warned that with just 14 station stops, the line’s “impact in alleviating traffic will be limited in the short run”. However, it is still a “historic achievement for the city’s urban development”, he told AFP. Adblock test (Why?)

German Christmas market attack suspect to face murder charges

A man accused of driving a car into crowds at a German Christmas market, killing five people and injuring more than 200, has been detained on multiple charges of murder and attempted murder. The Magdeburg police department said in a statement on Sunday the man had been issued a warrant for pre-trial detention on charges of murder on five counts as well as multiple counts of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm. Those killed were a nine-year-old boy and four women aged 52, 45, 75 and 67, the police statement said. Among the wounded, about 40 had serious or critical injuries. Authorities reported that the suspected attacker used emergency exit routes to access the Christmas market grounds, where he accelerated and drove into the crowds, striking more than 200 people in a three-minute rampage. He was arrested at the scene. Simmering tensions The attack on Friday evening in the central city of Magdeburg shocked Germany and reignited simmering tensions around the issue of migration. The suspect, who was named as Taleb A, is a 50-year-old psychiatrist from Saudi Arabia with a history of anti-Islam rhetoric, who has resided in Germany for nearly two decades. Advertisement The motive for the attack remains unclear, but the Magdeburg prosecutor, Horst Nopens, said on Saturday that one possible factor could be what he called the suspect’s frustration with Germany’s handling of Saudi refugees. The suspected attacker had made online death threats against German citizens and had a history of quarrelling with state authorities, leading German media to question whether the government could have done more to prevent the attack. News magazine Der Spiegel, quoting security sources, said the Saudi secret service had warned Germany’s spy agency BND a year ago about a tweet in which Taleb threatened Germany would pay a “price” for its treatment of Saudi refugees. And in August he wrote on social media: “Is there a path to justice in Germany without blowing up a German embassy or randomly slaughtering German citizens?… If anyone knows it, please let me know.” The Die Welt daily reported, also quoting security sources, that German state and federal police had carried out a “risk assessment” on Taleb last year but concluded that he posed “no specific danger”. Emboldening the far right Police reported scuffles and “minor disturbances” during a far-right demonstration in Magdeburg on Saturday night, attended by approximately 2,100 people. Protesters, some wearing black balaclavas, held a large banner reading “remigration”, a term used by far-right supporters advocating for the mass deportation of immigrants and individuals considered not ethnically German. The incident comes before a pivotal election in Germany on February 23, prompting sharp criticism from far-right and far-left parties opposed to the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Advertisement The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD)’s parliamentary head Bernd Baumann demanded Scholz call a special session of the Bundestag on the “desolate” security situation, arguing that “this is the least that we owe the victims.” Meanwhile, the head of the far-left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) party, Sahra Wagenknecht, demanded that Interior Minister Nancy Faeser explain “why so many tips and warnings were ignored beforehand”. Scholz has condemned the “terrible, insane” attack, calling for national unity. In the past, the suspect had voiced support on social media platform X for the AfD as well as for United States billionaire Elon Musk, who has backed the AfD. The party has a strong support base in former East Germany, where Magdeburg is located. Its members, including the candidate for chancellor Alice Weidel, planned a rally in Magdeburg on Monday evening. Adblock test (Why?)

Delhi Pollution: Air quality in national capital turns ‘severe’ again, AQI recorded at…

The maximum temperature was recorded three notches above normal at 24.1 degrees Celsius on Sunday.

This company gifts Tata cars, Royal Enfield bikes to employees; know reason here

The gifts include Tata cars, Activa scooters, and Royal Enfield bikes, which were presented to 20 employees to motivate them and inspire them to “achieve higher goals”.

Trump set to deliver first rally-styled speech since decisive election win: ‘Biggest conservative movement’

President-elect Trump is set to take the stage in Phoenix, Arizona, on Sunday to deliver his first rally-styled speech since his decisive win over Vice President Kamala Harris last month. “We are incredibly honored that President Trump will deliver his first rally-style speech since the election at AmFest 2024 in Phoenix,” Turning Point USA and Turning Point Action chief Charlie Kirk said in a press release. “This was already the largest multi-day event in the movement, and this year will be the biggest we’ve ever hosted, by far.” “When I spoke to the president, he said he’d only do it if we called it a ‘Tribute to Arizona,’ so that’s exactly what we’re doing. President Trump knows the people of Arizona have always been with him, they’re loyal to him and they just delivered the largest win for him of all of the swing states, giving him a 5.5% margin of victory.” Trump is expected to take the stage of the Phoenix Convention Center at 10:30 a.m. local time Sunday, as part of Turning Point’s annual AmericaFest – a four-day event billed as part of the “biggest conservative movement in the country.” LAWMAKERS REACT TO STOPGAP FUNDING AND AVERTING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN Trump’s address at the event comes just a day after Congress avoided a prolonged government shutdown. The Senate passed a stopgap spending bill early Saturday morning – after the midnight deadline had passed and the government briefly shut down – and sent the legislation to President Biden for his signature. PRESIDENT BIDEN SIGNS STOPGAP FUNDING BILL INTO LAW, NARROWLY AVERTING SHUTDOWN Last week, lawmakers had reached an agreement on a short-term spending bill that included more than 1,500 pages of text. Conservatives and Trump allies, spearheaded by billionaire Elon Musk, slammed the original and lengthy legislation, as negotiations came down to the wire last week, taking issue with provisions such as increasing lawmakers’ cost of living. Trump called on Republicans to suspend the debt limit as part of their talks to avert a government shutdown, which has exceeded $36 trillion. The House crafted a new, 116-page bill that included suspending the debt limit for two years until January 2027, roughly $110 billion in disaster relief aid for Americans affected by storms Milton and Helene, as well as a measure to fund rebuilding Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. WHITE HOUSE PRESSED ON BIDEN REFUSING TO SPEAK PUBLICLY AHEAD OF SHUTDOWN That bill failed 174 to 235, before House lawmakers negotiated and passed another version. TRUMP-BACKED SPENDING BILL GOES DOWN IN FLAMES AS SHUTDOWN LOOMS The final bill sent to Biden included economic relief for farmers and disaster aid for those affected by recent storms, but it did not include a suspension of the debt ceiling, which Trump had requested. Trump has not spoken publicly since the bill’s passage, although sources told Fox News that the incoming president is not that happy with the bill. Ahead of Trump’s speech on Sunday, conservative lawmakers and allies, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, upcoming Trump administration “border czar” Tom Homan, comedian Rob Schenider, and Kirk will also take the stage. AmericaFest kicked off on Dec. 19 in Phoenix and will conclude on Sunday following Trump’s speech. The annual event is billed as one that reenergizes conservative students and voters “all while celebrating the greatest country in the world.” Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind, Julia Johnson and Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.

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