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Here’s how the US has helped a tiny fraction of its citizens evacuate war-torn Lebanon

Here’s how the US has helped a tiny fraction of its citizens evacuate war-torn Lebanon

As bombing intensifies around Beirut, only a tiny fraction of the 86,000 Americans and green card holders who reside in Lebanon have been evacuated with U.S. help. The State Department says it’s made some 5,000 seats available on both commercial and chartered flights for U.S. citizens, but there’s a catch: they have to get to the airport amid regular bombings on their own, and many may have to leave family behind.  That’s what’s led to only around a quarter of those seats being filled by 1,100 U.S. citizens, legal permanent residents and family members flying out across 10 U.S.-organized flights, according to advocates.   Since July, the U.S. has had a level 4 “do not travel” advisory for Lebanon encouraging citizens to get out.  On Sept. 27, the State Department said it would not be evacuating Americans, prompting airlines to charge exorbitant prices – between $5,000 and $8,000 per seat. The department then back peddled and said it would help organize flights at reasonable rates.  Some 8,500 U.S. citizens have reached out to the U.S. embassy in Beirut for information and assistance in evacuating.  “We’re going to continue the flights for the time being because we do assess that there is demand,” said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller. “We believe we have a duty to do everything we can to help American citizens get out of the country.”  1 YEAR AFTER HEZBOLLAH STRIKES, ISRAEL REINFORCES TROOPS AND QUESTIONS MOUNT OVER ‘LIMITED’ OPERATION But human rights attorney Maria Kari says those efforts are futile without a noncombatant evacuation operation (NEO) to bring in U.S. forces to get Americans out.  “The writing was on the wall several months ago that the situation in Lebanon was going to start disintegrating,” she told Fox News Digital.  Kari said many of the U.S. citizens and green card holders in Lebanon she works with have family members who do not hold U.S. passports and refuse to leave the region without a parent or a child.  “The Beirut embassy has made it very clear they’re not processing any new visa applications,” she said.  Kari said the U.S. needs to extend the same protections it did to Israeli Americans who were looking to escape the region after Oct. 7 – allow immediate family members of U.S. citizens to get visas. To the State Department, she said: “You’re not talking about how you’re contributing to the problem of why these flights are not filling up. You’re not talking about how it’s not safe to get to the airport, key sites around the airport, including the road and the residential building by the airport, were bombed in the last few days, right?” The only international airport in Beirut is less than three miles from where Hezbollah is headquartered.  When citizens contact the embassy, they get a response similar to the one shared with Fox News Digital: “We are only assisting U.S. citizens currently in Lebanon and their immediate family members who have a valid U.S. or Schengen visa at this time. A valid visa is required to enter the United States. Lebanese passport holders can travel to Türkiye without a visa.” “It’s absolutely absurd that the U.S. thinks it’s OK to take out Americans and their non-American relatives and drop them off in Turkey – a foreign government not responsible for Americans or Lebanese citizens,” she said. “Just another example of this administration’s failure to protect Americans, first in Gaza and now in Lebanon.” BIDEN AND NETANYAHU SPEAK AFTER REPORT US PRESIDENT CALLED ISRAELI COUNTERPART A ‘BAD F—ING GUY’ On Oct. 19, 2023, the U.S. government created a Visa Waiver Program for family members of Israeli Americans who looked to flee with their loved ones as war broke out.  “We did the right thing there. We have failed consistently to do the right thing for another class of American citizens and their relatives,” said Kari. The security situation in Lebanon is rapidly deteriorating amid Israel’s ground incursion to the home of Hezbollah, but the Biden administration has not yet determined it necessary to declare a noncombatant evacuation to bring in U.S. forces to get Americans out.  It calls to mind Israel’s 2006 incursion into Lebanon, when the U.S. brought in service members to secure safe passage out of Lebanon for some 15,000 U.S. citizens. That time, the IDF bombed Beirut’s international airport and its roadways. “The airport is open, but it’s not open indefinitely. Israel did strike directly at the airport last time. I’m sure that they’re under pressure not to this time, but the pressure is no longer really working for the White House right now,” said Zev Faintuch, head of research and intelligence at international security firm Global Guardian. Some 2,000 have been killed in Israeli attacks on the country, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. It’s not clear how many of those were Hezbollah militants, but the figure includes 127 children and 261 women. The fighting has sent some 1.2 million – roughly a quarter of the country’s population – fleeing.  The Israeli military said it hit about 185 Hezbollah targets on Tuesday, as Lebanon reported dozens of people killed in Israeli airstrikes. On Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it struck southern suburbs in Beirut to target a “weapons productions facility and a Hezbollah intelligence headquarters.” Israeli airstrikes killed Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and now his successor, too, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

‘The epicenter’: How ‘key’ to White House could lie in suburban Georgia county

‘The epicenter’: How ‘key’ to White House could lie in suburban Georgia county

MARIETTA, Ga. — While 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. may sit within the boundaries of Washington, D.C., the key to unlocking its front door could lie in the suburbs outside Atlanta, local officials say. “It’s not just the state, it’s federal,” Cobb County Democratic Party Chair Essence Johnson told Fox News Digital in an interview. “Cobb County is the epicenter. It’s the bellwether of Georgia, but also on the federal level. … That’s why Cobb County is so vital.” Salleigh Grubbs, chair of the Cobb County GOP, told Fox News Digital her area would be “very key in this election.” “I think Cobb County is key,” she said. “I battle with people all the time about whether Cobb is blue or red and that kind of thing. And the reality is is that we do have some of the largest number of Republican voters in the state for our population.” GEORGIA GOP CHAIR SHARES 2-PRONGED ELECTION STRATEGY AS TRUMP WORKS TO WIN BACK PEACH STATE Georgia’s traditionally Republican status flipped when then-Democrat candidate Joe Biden won the state in 2020. Its status as a battleground state was solidified in the 2022 midterms with the victory of Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga. Statewide, Biden beat then-President Trump by less than 1%. In Cobb County, which encompasses parts of the Atlanta suburbs and is anchored by the city of Marietta, Biden’s margin of victory was nearly 15%. Asked how the Democrats’ ground game in Cobb County has changed now that they’re seeking to hold onto Georgia rather than flip it, Johnson said the key was being “intentional” in outreach and meeting “people where they are.” She also signaled that abortion is a top issue for Democrats in this election cycle but noted that it may still be an uphill battle to get certain groups – like Black men and White women – out to the ballot box for Harris. GEORGIA DEMS CHAIR REVEALS MESSAGE TO UNDECIDED GOP VOTERS AS HARRIS WORKS TO BUILD BROAD BASE “We have seen some areas of weakness as far as voters and also reaching those communities to really understand the reason why they feel that they are not being heard,” Johnson said. “They don’t feel that certain policies have reached them. And even though I say there is no specific policy for anybody, reproductive rights impact my son, right? He has a responsibility to reproductive rights because that could be his girlfriend, his partner, his best friend.” She also said suburban White women were “sometimes the weakest link when it comes to voters” but noted that reproductive rights impacted them as well. Meanwhile, the Trump campaign has been seeking to court minority men disenchanted with the Democratic Party, with Trump allies believing the strategy pivotal to winning battlegrounds like Georgia. Grubbs would not say which demographics she believes are key to winning back Cobb County, but she noted the GOP’s road to victory includes focusing on local issues and election integrity. “I don’t tend to look at things like that,” Grubbs said.  “The way I view it more is, particularly on the local level, is what’s going on in your community and what are your values and what is your quality of life, and just translating the quality-of-life issue from the county level all the way to the national level.” She cited the recent port workers strike, supply chain issues and “school quality” as issues with both local and national implications for people. TRUMP VS HARRIS ROUND 2? VOTERS IN KEY GA COUNTY REVEAL IF THEY WANT SECOND DEBATE Grubbs said she also had a focus on Americans feeling confident in the elections: “In this election, everybody needs to get out and vote. Everybody needs to have their voice heard. Everybody needs to be concerned about election integrity.” “They need to know that when they cast a ballot, their vote counts,” Grubbs said. Georgia’s early in-person voting period begins on Oct. 15 and runs through Nov. 1.

Alaska, Colorado, Massachusetts begin absentee voting

Alaska, Colorado, Massachusetts begin absentee voting

Alaska, Colorado and Massachusetts began absentee voting Friday, joining the vast majority of U.S. states where the 2024 election is underway. With the trio of states included, 44 states and Washington, D.C., now offer some form of early voting. Here is everything you need to know to cast your ballot. There are three competitive House districts across the states that begin voting today: This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Alaska. Alaska began absentee voting on Friday. Residents do not need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. State officials must receive a ballot request by Oct. 26, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5. TRUMP ADVISER UNPACKS WHY FORMER PRESIDENT IS HOLDING RALLY IN DEEP-BLUE STATE WEEKS FROM ELECTION Alaska offers early in-person voting beginning Oct. 21 and running through Nov. 4. Alaska residents can register to vote in person on Election Day. The deadline for online or mail registration was Oct. 6. This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Colorado. Absentee voting is now open in Colorado. Residents do not need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. The state proactively mails ballots to eligible voters between Oct. 11 and Oct. 18. Those ballots must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5. TRUMP ADVISER UNPACKS WHY FORMER PRESIDENT IS HOLDING RALLY IN DEEP-BLUE STATE WEEKS FROM ELECTION Colorado offers early in-person voting beginning Oct. 21 and running through Nov. 4. Colorado residents can register to vote in person, by mail or online at any point, including on Election Day. Oct. 28 is the last day to register to vote and receive a mail ballot. This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Massachusetts. FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: HARRIS TICKS UP AND SENATE REPUBLICANS TAKE CHARGE Massachusetts began absentee voting Friday. Residents do not need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. State officials must receive a ballot request by Oct. 29, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5. Massachusetts offers early in-person voting beginning Oct. 19 and running through Nov. 1. Massachusetts residents must register to vote online by mail or in person by Oct. 26.