Trump nominates former Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy for Secretary of Transportation
President-elect Trump announced that he is nominating former Congressman Sean Duffy of Wisconsin to serve as the U.S. Secretary of Transportation. “Sean has been a tremendous and well-liked public servant, starting his career as a District Attorney for Ashland, Wisconsin, and later elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District,” Trump said in his announcement on Monday. “Sean will use his experience and the relationships he has built over many years in Congress to maintain and rebuild our Nation’s Infrastructure, and fulfill our Mission of ushering in The Golden Age of Travel, focusing on Safety, Efficiency, and Innovation. Importantly, he will greatly elevate the Travel Experience for all Americans!” While in Congress, Duffy helped advocate for fiscal responsibility, economic growth and rural development.
Trump campaign official says Pennsylvania Dems will face jail time over ballot recount
Trump campaign official Chris LaCivita predicted election officials in Pennsylvania will face jail time for counting mail-in ballots with either incorrect or missing dates after the state Supreme Court previously ruled such ballots should not be counted. “They will go to jail,” LaCivita, Trump’s co-campaign manager, posted to his X account on Sunday evening. “Count on it.” LaCivita was reacting to a social media post touting a Washington Free Beacon article detailing that Democratic Sen. Bob Casey endorsed Democratic Bucks County commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia last year during her campaign for the position, before she and other Democratic commissioners in the state voted to count the disqualified ballots. “I think we all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country,” Ellis-Marseglia said Thursday as she and other Democrats voted to reject a GOP-led challenge to ballots that should be disqualified. PENNSYLVANIA DEMOCRATS OPENLY ADMIT TO COUNTING ILLEGAL BALLOTS IN MCCORMICK-CASEY RACE Pennsylvania is in the midst of a ballot recount after Casey refused to concede his race against Sen.-elect Dave McCormick earlier this month. McCormick’s unofficial margin of victory stands at roughly 17,000 votes, or within the 0.5% threshold required under Pennsylvania law to trigger an automatic recount. “Pennsylvanians deserve to have their voices heard, and the worth of someone’s vote is not determined by how long it takes to be counted,” Casey wrote in an op-ed defending his decision to not concede the race. “When a Pennsylvanian takes the time to cast a legal vote, often waiting in long lines and taking time away from their work and family, they deserve to have their vote counted, whether it is the first ballot counted or the last.” The state Supreme Court ruled ahead of the election that mail-in ballots that do not include formally required signatures or dates should not be counted for the official tally of votes in the state. Democratic-led election boards, however — including in Philadelphia, Bucks County, Montgomery County, and Centre County — bucked the state high court’s ruling and voted to include such ballots in the recount. “People violate laws any time they want,” Ellis-Marseglia said last week, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “So, for me, if I violate this law it’s because I want a court to pay attention. There’s nothing more important than counting votes.” REPUBLICANS FILE 12 PENNSYLVANIA LAWSUITS IN ‘AGGRESSIVE’ PUSH TO END RECOUNT In addition to Casey endorsing the Democratic commissioner during her campaign last year, Ellis-Marseglia, as well as fellow Democratic Bucks County commissioner Bob Harvie, donated a combined $2,600 to the Casey campaign this year, the Washington Free Beacon reported. Republicans have launched a bevy of lawsuits over including the disqualified ballots in the recount. Republican Party officials are filing 12 lawsuits in Pennsylvania in order to protect the Senate seat. ‘ABSOLUTE LAWLESSNESS’: GOP BLASTS PA. DEMS’ RECOUNT EFFORT IN CASEY SENATE LOSS Both national and state Republican parties have filed lawsuits in four counties across Pennsylvania, urging the courts to not count mail-in ballots with either incorrect or missing dates, in accordance with a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling this month. RNC officials challenged the notion that the Senate recount, which continues through Nov. 26, will change the outcome of the election in any substantive way. They have decried the effort, which costs an estimated $1 million, as a waste of taxpayer money, noting that since 2000 there have been just three statewide election recounts in Pennsylvania, and each has resulted in an average change of 393 votes. PENNSYLVANIA DEMOCRATS SLAMMED FOR COUNTING ILLEGAL BALLOTS IN SENATE RACE: UNBELIEVABLY ‘BRAZEN’ “Democrat officials are on video saying that they’re going to choose to break the law, and there will be legal consequences for that,” a senior party official told Fox News earlier Monday. “The Casey campaign could end the recount at any time,” Pennsylvania Republican Party Chair Lawrence Tabas added of the lawsuits. “And there are political ramifications of eroding the voters’ confidence in elections that has been built. So we need to stop this attempt at electioneering and declare McCormick the winner.”
Fox News Politics: Trump border czar pick fires back at House Dem critic
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump transition, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… – House Ethics Committee to meet Wednesday after postponing Gaetz investigation meeting – Trump confirms support for major step in mass deportation push to ‘reverse the Biden invasion’ – Republicans file 12 Pennsylvania lawsuits in ‘aggressive’ push to end recount The Congressional Hispanic Caucus will oppose President-elect Donald Trump’s planned mass deportation campaign, Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán, D-Calif., declared during remarks on Friday. The congresswoman – who chairs the group composed entirely of Democrats – claimed that mass deportations would “have a negative impact on the U.S. economy.” During a Saturday appearance on “Fox News Live,” Tom Homan, who Trump tapped to serve as “border czar,” responded to the lawmaker’s remarks…Read more ‘TOTAL CATASTROPHE’: Biden pushes to finalize more student debt relief before end of term, including for ‘future borrowers’…Read more ‘A DEFINING CAUSE’: Biden touts six-fold climate funding increase under his administration: ‘A defining cause of my presidency’…Read more ‘LIKELY BE IMPOSSIBLE’: Trump would need congressional approval in order to dissolve Education Department, experts say…Read more ‘FACE THE CONSEQUENCES’: Democratic effort to block Biden weapons sale to Israel gains momentum: ‘Congress must step up’…Read more STATE OF EMERGENCY: Trump declaring national emergency at border would not lead to militarization of country, expert says…Read more LAME DUCK ESCALATION: Trump allies warn Biden risking ‘World War III’ by authorizing long-range missiles for Ukraine…Read more POLITICAL STORM: Biden asks Congress for $98 billion in Helene, Milton disaster relief funding…Read more ‘PERVASIVE ANTISEMITISM’: Fetterman calls out ‘UN’s rank, pervasive antisemitism,’ says he looks forward to confirming Elise Stefanik…Read more FORWARD FOCUS: Trump’s choice for FCC chairman says agency ‘will end its promotion of DEI’ next year…Read more CLEAN HOUSE: Pentagon bracing for sweeping changes after Trump nominates Pete Hegseth for secretary…Read more ‘BUSINESS-AS-USUAL’: Musk pegs potential Trump Treasury secretary pick Bessent as ‘business-as-usual choice,’ backing Lutnick…Read more ‘THAT’S THE LAW’: Fetterman defends Casey-McCormick recount as challenger’s team says ‘zero’ path for Democrat…Read more ‘SWAMPBUS’: Spending bill trouble brews as Sen Mike Lee warns of Dec. 20 govt. funding deadline…Read more BIG SPENDERS: What is reconciliation, the tool Republicans want to use to ‘push the outer limits’ on federal policy?…Read more ‘RECKONING’ COMING’: Dozens of state financial officials warn new Congress of national security implications of ignoring US debt…Read more YOUNG GUNS: Youngest House Republican-elect reveals how GOP won back America’s youth…Read more LET’S CIRCLE BACK IN JANUARY: DeSantis sets timetable for naming a replacement for Rubio in Senate…Read more CONCESSION STAND: Hovde concedes 12 days after Wisconsin Senate race call, blames Dem-recruited 3rd-party candidate…Read more MILLION-DOLLAR BOB: McCormick-Casey recount to top $1M, as GOP slams blue counties defying high court…Read more BREAKING THE BANK: Harris campaign budget for star-studded events on election eve ballooned to over $10M…Read more STILL TOO CLOSE: Size of slim Republican House majority hangs on five uncalled races…Read more ‘ABSOLUTELY WRONG’: Federal complaint targets Boston school district for Whites-only teacher training on racism…Read more ‘SUBSTANTIAL FLAWS’: GOP cries foul on Dem border spending bill they say would drag out migrant crisis…Read more Get the latest updates on the Trump presidential transition, incoming Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Transgender women to be banned from Capitol Hill female bathrooms under new House GOP proposal
FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., is introducing a resolution to ban transgender women from using women’s restrooms at the U.S. Capitol. Mace is expected to file the resolution on Monday. She told Fox News Digital of the measure, “The sanctity of protecting women and standing up against the Left’s systematic erasure of biological women starts here in the nation’s Capitol.” JOHNSON BLASTS DEM ACCUSATIONS HE VOWED TO END OBAMACARE AS ‘DISHONEST’ The South Carolina Republican plans to introduce a measure “prohibiting Members, officers, and employees of the House from using single-sex facilities other than those corresponding to their biological sex, and for other purposes,” according to text previewed by Fox News Digital. It comes just before the first openly transgender lawmaker, Rep.-elect Sarah McBride, D-Del., is set to join Congress in January. House Republicans have previously changed rules on their side of Congress, such as when ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., scuttled metal detectors outside the House chamber after winning the gavel from previous Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. MIKE JOHNSON WINS REPUBLICAN SUPPORT TO BE HOUSE SPEAKER AGAIN AFTER TRUMP ENDORSEMENT Mace’s legislation would charge the House sergeant at arms with enforcing the rule. It’s a preview of what kind of changes Republicans could look to pass when they control both houses of Congress next year. MATT GAETZ FACES GOP SENATE OPPOSITION AFTER TRUMP SELECTION FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL Republicans hammered Democrats on transgender issues in the most recent election, particularly the topic of trans youth athletes in school sports. The House GOP moved to restrict federal dollars for transgender health care and to block trans student athletes from participating in school sports teams of their chosen gender. Mace previously introduced a bill that would have forced illegal immigrants with a history of sex crimes or violence against women to be deported. That bill passed with the support of 51 Democrats and all House Republicans.
Dems’ Gaetz outrage follows long history of questionable DOJ acts under Biden
Criticisms have mounted surrounding President-elect Trump naming former Rep. Matt Gaetz as his pick for U.S. attorney general, following nearly four years of actions taken by the Biden administration’s Department of Justice that came under fierce fire from conservatives. Trump named Gaetz as his pick for attorney general last Wednesday, coming as a surprise to both conservatives and liberals alike. Democrats have notably slammed the choice, citing the House Ethics Committee’s investigation into Gaetz’s alleged sexual misconduct with a minor. Gaetz has long denied any wrongdoing, and the Trump transition team said they are confident the Senate will confirm Gaetz. “I know Matt personally. He is a great person. He’s a man of integrity. He also is a brilliant litigator. He served on the House Judiciary Committee for eight years. Anyone who has watched him in those hearings knows that he’s incredibly impressive,” Karoline Leavitt, the transition team’s spokesperson and Trump’s recently announced pick for press secretary, said on Fox News last week. “Like President Trump, Matt Gaetz has been a victim of the weaponized Department of Justice, and one of the promises President Trump made to the American people was to root out the corruption at the DOJ. We have seen this agency turn against the American people because of their political beliefs. Matt Gaetz and President Trump are going to put an end to that, and that’s what the American people want. That’s why they elected him,” Leavitt added. SPEAKER JOHNSON OPPOSES RELEASING MATT GAETZ’S HOUSE ETHICS REPORT: ‘OPEN A PANDORA’S BOX’ The Biden administration’s Department of Justice, led by Attorney General Merrick Garland, has repeatedly come under fire for a series of actions viewed as targeting conservatives. The DOJ was heavily criticized by parents nationwide in 2021, when Garland issued a memo directing the FBI to use counterterrorism tools related to parents speaking out at school board meetings against transgender-related issues and critical race theory curricula. The memorandum followed the National School Boards Association (NSBA) sending a letter to President Biden, asking that the federal government investigate parents protesting at school board meetings, claiming school officials were facing threats at meetings. The NSBA requested that parents’ actions should be examined under the Patriot Act as “domestic terrorists,” sparking Garland’s eventual memo, which did not use the phrase “domestic terrorist.” “After surveying local law enforcement, U.S. Attorney’s offices around the country reported back to Main Justice that there was no legitimate law-enforcement basis for the Attorney General’s directive to use federal law-enforcement and counterterrorism resources to investigate school board-related threats,” the House Judiciary Committee stated in an interim report on the memo last year. Garland testified before the Senate last year that the memo “was aimed at violence and threats of violence against a whole host of school personnel,” not parents “making complaints to their school board,” but the memo set off a firestorm of criticism from parents, nonetheless. “The premier law enforcement agency of the United States of America, the FBI, was used as a weapon by the DOJ against parents who dared to voice their concerns at the most local level – their school board,” Moms For Liberty founder Tiffany Justice told Fox News Digital last year. Other parents sounded off on social media, facetiously asking if they looked like a “domestic terrorist,” and others stating “arrest me” online in response to protesting liberal school policies. GAETZ-GATE: NAVIGATING THE PRESIDENT-ELECT’S MOST BAFFLING CABINET PICK The Biden DOJ again came under fire for claims it was fraudulently targeting religious Catholics when the FBI arrested a Pennsylvania dad in 2022 who frequently prayed outside of abortion clinics. Mark Houck, a Catholic dad of seven who would often pray outside a Philadelphia abortion clinic, was arrested at his rural Pennsylvania home in Kintnersville by the FBI. The arrest stemmed from an altercation he had with a Planned Parenthood escort in Philadelphia in October 2021. Houck was accused of pushing the abortion clinic escort, who allegedly verbally harassed Houck’s 12-year-old son outside the clinic. The Biden administration alleged Houck violated the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, which makes it a federal crime to use force with the intent to injure, intimidate and interfere with anyone because that person provides reproductive health care. Houck was acquitted by a jury last year, after arguing that he was protecting his son. He and his wife Ryan-Marie argued the FBI used excessive force during the arrest, filing a lawsuit against the DOJ earlier this year alleging the arrest followed a “faulty and malicious investigation.” FBI ARREST OF PENNSYLVANIA PRO-LIFE ACTIVIST ‘STINKS TO HIGH HEAVEN,’ FORMER PROSECUTOR SAYS: ‘LOSER CASE’ In Georgia, the DOJ came under fire for suing the state after it passed the Election Integrity Act of 2021, which overhauled its election laws, including limiting ballot drop box locations and requiring absentee voters to provide a form of identification – such as a driver’s license or the last four digits of their Social Security number – when requesting an absentee ballot. Biden, along with Democrats nationwide and Hollywood actors who frequently film in the Peach State, sounded off on the election laws, including the 46th president calling them “Jim Crow 2.0.” “This is Jim Crow in the 21st century. It must end. We have a moral and constitutional obligation to act,” Biden said in March 2021. ‘JIM CROW 2.0?’ CONSERVATIVES BLAST DEMOCRATIC FEARMONGERING AFTER GEORGIA SMASHES EARLY VOTING RECORDS “This law, like so many others being pursued by Republicans in statehouses across the country is a blatant attack on the Constitution and good conscience. Among the outrageous parts of this new state law, it ends voting hours early so working people can’t cast their vote after their shift is over. It adds rigid restrictions on casting absentee ballots that will effectively deny the right to vote to countless voters,” Biden added. The DOJ filed a lawsuit against the state, claiming that portions of the law had a “purpose of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race,” the DOJ
Pennsylvania Supreme Court upholds exclusion of certain mail-in ballots, in victory for GOP
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Monday that mail-in ballots with incorrect or missing dates cannot be counted in the 2024 election, delivering a victory to Republican Party officials as they moved to aggressively defend their narrow Senate victory in amid a recount challenge in the Keystone State. In a 4-3 decision, the state Supreme Court reaffirmed its prior decision that counties in the state cannot count incorrectly dated or undated ballots, explicitly singling out Boards of Elections in Bucks County, Montgomery County, and Philadelphia County, whom they said “SHALL COMPLY with the prior rulings of this Court in which we have clarified” for mail-in and absentee ballots in their Nov. 1 ruling. The decision is a victory for Republican Party officials, who had filed 12 different lawsuits in the state amid an aggressive Senate recount effort following the narrow victory of Republican candidate David McCormick over three-term Democrat Sen. Bob Casey. REPUBLICANS FILE 12 PENNSYLVANIA LAWSUITS IN ‘AGGRESSIVE’ PUSH TO END RECOUNT McCormick had defeated Casey by some 17,000 ballots in the state, or within the 0.5% margin of error that allows Casey to qualify for an automatic recount under Pennsylvania law. But ahead of the Pennsylvania Senate recount, which officially kicked off on Monday, Republicans had sounded the alarm by election county commissioners in Philadelphia, Bucks County, and Montgomery Count for moving to allow for the counting of incorrectly dated and undated mail-in and absentee ballots—an effort party officials said broke with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision. Speaking to reporters on a call Monday, Republican Party Chair Michael Whatley vowed to maintain “an aggressive, comprehensive and strategic legal posture for as long as it takes to ensure that this election is going to be certified” in Pennsylvania, and to bring an end to what party officials described as “corrupt and despicable conduct” by Democrats in the state. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP While the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Nov. 1 that requiring mail-in ballots to have handwritten dates is constitutional, in a victory for the GOP, the new framing is more direct— establishing that counties trying to count such ballots are indeed trying to violate the law. This is a breaking news story. Stay tuned for more updates.
Former governor and presidential candidate becomes first to launch bid to chair Democratic Party
Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley on Monday became the first person to announce a bid for chair of the Democratic National Committee. “I’m excited to offer my candidacy for Chair of the DNC,” the former two-term Baltimore mayor and two-term Maryland governor who ran for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination said. ‘We must connect our Party with the most important place in America — the kitchen table of every family’s home. Jobs, Opportunity, and Economic Security for all. Getting things done. Hope. A 50 state strategy. Now,” O’Malley emphasized in a social media post. WHO ELSE IS MULLING A BID TO STEER THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY O’Malley, who for the last year has served as commissioner of the Social Security Administration in President Biden’s administration, is hoping to succeed current DNC chair Jaime Harrison, whose term is up early next year. Harrison is unlikely to seek a second four-year term steering the party in the wake of this month’s very disappointing election results for the Democrats, up and down the ballot. WOULD CALIFORNIANS LIKE VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS TO RUN FOR GOLDEN STATE GOVERNOR IN TWO YEARS? O’Malley, who led the Democratic Governors Association following his gubernatorial re-election in 2010, showcased himself in a New York Times interview published on Monday as a “proven operational leader and a turnaround manager.” “We face enormous challenges and a lot of soul-searching,” the 61-year-old O’Malley said in the interview. “We need to focus on fixing the problem and not the blame.” The next DNC chair will be chosen by the roughly 450 voting members of the national party committee, and O’Malley told the New York Times that he was launching his bid with three endorsements from DNC members and was speaking with others over the past few days. But another longtime DNC member, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, when asked about O’Malley, said, “Who? Where’s he been for the past nine years?” While O’Malley’s first to launch a bid, others are expected to follow, as the Democrats try to rebound after losing the White House and Senate in the 2024 elections and failing to recapture the House. Among those mulling a bid is Rahm Emanuel, a former congressman, Chicago mayor, White House chief of staff and current U.S. ambassador to Japan. Two sources in the DNC orbit confirmed to Fox News last week that Emanuel had been quietly reaching out to committee members as he contemplates a bid.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada ‘could have acted quicker’ on reining in immigration
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government in Canada “could have acted quicker” to reign in the massive influx of migrants entering the country following the coronavirus pandemic. Trudeau’s remarks came during a nearly seven-minute video he posted online over the weekend, during which the prime minister laid out the reasons why Canada was putting limits on its temporary foreign worker program, while also reducing the number of permanent residents allowed entry into Canada by as much as 27% by 2027. Trudeau largely blamed “bad actors,” such as corporations and universities, for enticing immigrants to come to Canada, where there was a massive labor shortage following the pandemic. He pointed out that many of these predatory entities lured hordes of immigrant workers with false promises of college degrees, permanent residency, jobs and more. CANADA’S TRUDEAU FACING REVOLT FROM WITHIN AS POPULAR CONSERVATIVE LEADER LOOKS TO CAPITALIZE However, Trudeau also suggested that the federal government was at least partly to blame for not “turn[ing] off the taps faster” after the country’s labor shortage waned. “Looking back, when the post-pandemic boom cooled and businesses no longer needed the additional labor help, as a federal team, we could have acted quicker, and turned off the taps faster,” Trudeau said in his video message. “Immigration is primarily a federal job. We have the levers to rein it in. So we are.” Canada’s new plan, introduced formally last month, seeks to reduce the threshold of immigrants allowed into the country who are seeking permanent residency over the next three years. In the first year, 2025, the allowable threshold will be reduced from 500,000 to 395,000, followed by a 2026 threshold of 380,000 immigrants seeking permanent residency and finally, in 2027, the limit will be set at 365,000. In addition to the changes impacting immigrants seeking permanent residency, Canada will also begin limiting the number of temporary foreign workers allowed into the country for the first time. The limit aims to reduce the share of temporary foreign workers in Canada to 5% of the overall population. CANADA LAUNCHES SUDDEN IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN AMID PUBLIC PRESSURE: REPORT Meanwhile, Trudeau’s liberal government has seen waning support among voters this year. Amid that decreasing support, Canada began cracking down on visa requirements and started turning away more immigrants showing up at its front door, Reuters reported in September. On average, Canada turned away roughly 20% more immigrants per month during the first seven months of this year, the outlet indicated. During a podcast conversation about Canada’s ongoing immigration challenges, released Friday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said the chaos in Canada’s immigration system has largely occurred under Trudeau’s leadership, who Poilievre said ushered in a 300% increase in Canada’s population over several years. The Conservative Party leader also blamed Trudeau for much of the waste, fraud and abuse the prime minister spoke of in his video that resulted in such a massive influx in immigration post-coronavirus pandemic. “Now, [Trudeau] is basically denouncing his entire immigration policy and expecting us to believe that he can fix the problems that he caused,” Poilievre concluded. “The bottom line is we have to fix our immigration, get back to the best system in the world, the one that brought my wife here as a refugee legally and lawfully, the one that brought so many people here to pursue the Canadian promise.”
At least five people killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon’s capital
Israeli strikes on densely populated central Beirut have killed at least five people in the third attack in two days in the middle of Lebanon’s capital, the Ministry of Public Health says. “The Israeli enemy strike on Zuqaq al-Blat in Beirut killed five people and injured 24,” a ministry statement said about Monday’s attack. The official National News Agency (NNA) said an apartment near a Shia Muslim place of worship was targeted. The building is located near the parliament, several embassies and a United Nations building. “A hostile drone targeted a residential apartment behind the Husseiniya of Zuqaq al-Blat in the capital Beirut, causing great damage,” the NNA said. The working-class district of Zuqaq al-Blat has welcomed many displaced people who fled Israeli strikes on southern and eastern Lebanon as well as Beirut’s southern suburbs. Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem, reporting from Beirut, said the area that was hit is “very densely populated” and is packed with cafes. “At the moment, there is no indication who the target is,” Hashem said. The area was cordoned off by security forces as residents rushed to help with the rescue efforts. Monday’s attack took place several hundred metres away from the site of a strike on Sunday in the Mar Elias neighbourhood, which the Health Ministry said killed three people, including a woman. Israel has not commented on the strikes in central Beirut, but Hezbollah has confirmed that one air raid in the area killed its spokesman Mohammad Afif. That strike, also on Sunday, hit the Lebanese office of Syria’s ruling Baath Party, killing Afif and four members of his media team, Hezbollah said. The Health Ministry said seven people were killed in the attack. One killed in northern Israel Meanwhile, a woman was killed and 10 people were wounded on Monday when a rocket struck a building in a northern Israeli town, Israel’s ambulance service said. The rocket hit a multistorey building in the town of Shfaram. The Israeli military said Hezbollah had launched more than 100 projectiles towards Israel on Monday. “Interception attempts were made, and fallen projectiles were identified,” the military said. One such claimed interception left at least four people injured after falling shrapnel hit Ramat Gan, a suburb of Tel Aviv. Earlier on Monday, an Israeli air strike targeted the main water facility in the southern port city of Tyre, killing two local officials and injuring two others. The attack severely damaged the facility, prompting the Tyre municipality to urge residents to ration their water use until repairs could be made, NNA said. Those killed in the attack included Samer Shaghri, a local elected official called a mukhtar, who handles residents’ administrative affairs, and Qassem Wehbi, the deputy mayor of Burj al-Shamali, a town east of Tyre. The strikes were carried out as a United States-backed proposal for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah is set to be discussed. A government minister close to Hezbollah said Lebanon will convey its “positive position” on the proposal this week. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, a Hezbollah ally who is mediating for the group, is expected to meet with US envoy Amos Hochstein in Beirut on Tuesday. Labour Minister Mostafa Bayram, who met with Berri on Monday, said Hezbollah’s function “is to make sure the [Israeli] aggression fails to achieve its goals while negotiation is for the state and the government”. Since September 23, Israel has ramped up its air campaign in Lebanon and has sent in ground troops after almost a year of cross-border exchanges following Israel’s assault on Gaza. Lebanese authorities said more than 3,510 people have been killed since Hezbollah and Israel began exchanging fire in October last year. Most of the casualties have been recorded since September. Adblock test (Why?)
Al Jazeera 360 pushes back against Swedish claims film is ‘dangerous’
The team behind an Al Jazeera 360 documentary has rejected claims by the Swedish prime minister that a film about child protection laws in Europe is “dangerous”. The three-part investigative documentary Behind Closed Doors, produced by Al Jazeera 360 – a video-on-demand platform that is part of the Al Jazeera Media Network – follows families from various backgrounds and nationalities who have faced the traumatic experience of having their children forcibly removed by social authorities in Norway, Sweden, Germany and Luxembourg. On November 10, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson likened the documentary to the so-called LVU campaign, a misinformation campaign that gained traction on social media in 2022 that suggested Swedish authorities were kidnapping children from Muslim families. But Awad Joumaa, head of originals at Al Jazeera 360, said the attacks on the film were “misleading”. “Al Jazeera 360 emphasises that the series was developed to explore a complex social issue affecting families across northern Europe,” a statement from Al Jazeera 360 said. “Behind Closed Doors presents diverse families from various backgrounds and nationalities who have faced the traumatic experience of having their children forcibly removed by social authorities. In some cases, children were not only separated from their parents but were also split up and placed in different cities, leaving parents unaware of their children’s whereabouts and with no access to them.” SVT, Sweden’s national broadcaster, also criticised the documentary, saying that it omitted some details on the cases included in court documents. However, Joumaa said that was misleading, adding that both court documents and the reasons for the child removals were prominently displayed on the screen and that rulings or decisions that contradicted the families’ claims were shown, ensuring that the official perspective was presented alongside the families’ narratives. “This approach provided viewers with both perspectives, allowing them to form their own opinions,” he said. ‘Security consequences’ Swedish authorities declined to participate in the documentary, unlike those in Germany, which provided an official for comment. However, the Swedish reaction to the film has been vocal, with PM Kristersson writing on social media that Behind Closed Doors could be “dangerous for Sweden”. He also told the Swedish newspaper Expressen that it could lead to a heightened threat level against the country. Sofia Bard, who heads the Swedish Institute, which analyses Sweden’s image in the rest of the world, told SVT that the documentary could contribute to a negative image of Sweden and affect the country’s influence internationally. She also stated that it could have “security consequences”, referencing the LVU campaign and the Quran burnings that have occurred in the Nordic nation and led to anti-Sweden protests in several Muslim-majority countries last year. At the time, the Swedish Security Service (SAPO) raised its assessment of the level of threat against Sweden to four on a scale of one to five amid mounting international tension over the burning of copies of the Quran at demonstrations. Joumaa, however, says the Swedish reaction overlooks the film’s depth and the broader issues it seeks to examine. “The assertion that Behind Closed Doors poses a security threat to Sweden seems to be based solely on the opinion of one security analyst, who appears to have made a rapid assessment of the series, which actually spans three parts,” Joumaa said. “This claim overlooks the film’s depth and the broader issues it seeks to explore, focusing instead on a narrow perspective without fully engaging with the content.” He added that the production team made several attempts to involve Swedish authorities, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, offering them a chance to present their viewpoint. While the ministry redirected the request to the responsible agency, the Ministry of Social Affairs rejected an interview request and chose not to cooperate. Joumaa added that the documentary did not attempt to influence its audience, and instead presented the evidence and expert opinions, leaving the judgement up to the viewer. “We are simply putting the arguments and the perspective and the issue on the table, and that whole point of free debate has been missed,” he said. To view part one of Behind Closed Doors (in Arabic), click here. Adblock test (Why?)