Texas buys two ranches near the border, including a huge property next to Big Bend National Park
A Starr County property was purchased to build border wall, while Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham said the state has many options for a sprawling ranch in West Texas.
White House denies that Biden referred to Trump supporters as ‘garbage’
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre denied that President Biden was referring to Trump supporters when he said Tuesday, “The only garbage I see out there is his supporters.” “Just to clarify, he was not calling Trump supporters garbage,” Jean-Pierre told reporters at the daily White House press briefing on Wednesday, reiterating that Biden put out a statement to clarify his remarks. “He does not view Trump supporters or anybody who supports Trump as garbage,” she said, adding that Biden has said numerous times that he is a “president for all,” including those who did not vote for him. During a Zoom call on Tuesday, Biden was asked about a comment made Sunday during a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden in which comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” Outrage spewed from Democrats over the next two days saying Trump’s campaign should not refer to Puerto Rico like that. Then, as Vice President Harris was holding her last major campaign event — and not far from the White House — Biden was asked what he thought of Hinchcliffe’s comedy bit at the Trump rally in New York. “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters,” Biden said. “[Trump’s] demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it is un-American.” Biden tweeted later that evening, “Earlier today I referred to the hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporters at his Madison Square Garden rally as garbage—which is the only word I can think of to describe it. His demonization of Latinos is unconscionable. That’s all I meant to say. The comments at that rally don’t reflect who we are as a nation.” Harris responded to the controversy earlier Wednesday, observing that Biden had “clarified his comments.” “I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for,” Harris said. “You heard me last night and continuously throughout my career. I believe that the work that I do is about representing all the people, whether they support me or not.” Harris added that Biden had called her Tuesday night after the event, but she said they did not discuss his “garbage” comment. This is a developing story and will be updated. Fox News Digital’s Scott McDonald and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
Former Jill Biden staffer torches White House’s ‘bonehead’ attempt to transcribe Biden’s ‘garbage’ comment
First lady Jill Biden’s former press secretary is torching the White House’s attempt to cover up President Biden’s “garbage” comment, calling it a “bonehead move” that they have attempted before. The president unleashed a storm of controversy by calling supporters of former President Donald Trump “garbage” on a Tuesday call with Hispanic activist group Voto Latino. During the call, Biden criticized Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally for a comedian’s joke calling Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage,” saying that “the only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters.” After the call, the White House released an official transcript of the call in which Biden’s comment was written as “the only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s,” insinuating that the president was referring to the comedian instead of all Trump supporters. WHITE HOUSE SEEKS TO PLAY CLEAN UP AFTER BIDEN CALLS TRUMP SUPPORTERS ‘GARBAGE’ “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporter’s — his — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American. It’s totally contrary to everything we’ve done, everything we’ve been,” read the transcript. Posting a screenshot of the transcript to social media, Andrew Bates, the White House senior deputy press secretary and deputy assistant to the president, claimed that Biden “referred to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as ‘garbage.’” Michael LaRosa, Jill Biden’s former press secretary, meanwhile, wrote on X that the White House’s attempt to transcribe “supporters” as “supporter’s,” was “a bonehead move and one they’ve been caught making before.” LaRosa also reposted another post that pointed out that Biden had previously expressed shock in an NBC News interview over Trump supporters’ vitriol toward him. “I’ve never seen a circumstance where you ride through certain rural areas of the country and people have signs there stand — big Trump signs with — m — middle — signs saying “F Biden” and the little kid standing there putting up his middle finger,” Biden said in a July 15 interview, according to an NBC transcript. HARRIS RESPONDS TO BIDEN ‘GARBAGE’ REMARK FOR FIRST TIME Trump responded to Biden’s remark by calling it “terrible” and worse than Hillary Clinton calling his supporters “deplorables” in 2016. “Garbage, I think, is worse,” he said. “But he doesn’t know. You have to please forgive him.” “Please forgive him for not knowing what he said,” Trump said. “These people are terrible, terrible, terrible to say a thing like that. But he really doesn’t know. He really, honestly, he doesn’t. And I’m convinced that he likes me more than he likes Kamala. But that’s a terrible thing.” In a second response, Trump wrote, “While I am running a campaign of positive solutions to save America, Kamala Harris is running a campaign of hate.” “Now, on top of everything, Joe Biden calls our supporters “garbage.” You can’t lead America if you don’t love the American People. Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have shown they are both unfit to be President of the United States,” Trump wrote. Vice President Kamala Harris was asked about Biden’s remark on Wednesday morning. Harris said that she had spoken to Biden since the call but that his “garbage” remark did not come up in their conversation. “First of all, he clarified his comments, but let me be clear, I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for,” she said. “I believe that the work that I do is about representing all the people, whether they support me or not. And as president of the United States, I will be a president for all Americans, whether you vote for me or not.”
Reporter’s Notebook: The hard stuff is yet to come
I’ve lost track of how many times people have asked if I will be glad when the election is over. Truth be told, just after the election is when the hard stuff begins. Election Day is Tuesday, but in reality, that’s just the beginning of the process. It may take days to sort out who voters have chosen as president. Control of the House is razor tight. It may boil down to a handful of races decided by a grand total of several thousand votes. So don’t for a moment think we automatically know which party will be in the majority as election officials sort all of that out. There’s a scenario where a thin margin of contested seats in the House could spring several weeks of challenges. Moreover, Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution dictates that the House and Senate “shall be the Judge of the elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members.” And it’s the new House in the new Congress next year that will decide whether to seat people if there’s a dispute. WHO’S IN CHARGE: THE MUDDY HISTORY OF THE 50-50 SENATE Of course, that’s provided the House can elect a speaker when the new Congress is constitutionally mandated to begin on Jan. 3. Don’t forget that House Republicans incinerated a total of 27 days on two separate occasions to elect former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and current Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. We’ll come back to that in a moment. In the meantime, let’s run through some of the hazards that could unfold after the final ballot is cast. Let’s start with when we might learn which party controls either the House or Senate. Election Day fell on Nov. 8 for the 2022 midterms, but it wasn’t clear that Democrats held their Senate majority until late on the evening of Nov. 12, when Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., retained her seat. Determining House control took even longer in 2022. Remember that McCarthy touted the possibility that Republicans might marshal as many as 50 seats. Republicans won the House by a thread, but the GOP majority was not clear until Nov. 16. ‘ILL-FATED EFFORT’: MCCONNELL WAS ‘FURIOUS’ AT RICK SCOTT’S 2022 LEADER BID, BOOK SAYS In 2020, most news organizations projected on election night that Democrats would hold the House, but it wasn’t until December that a picture emerged showing how close Democrats came to losing their majority. It took weeks to sort out multiple House contests, decided by very few votes. Control of the Senate from the 2020 midterms wasn’t even established until 2021. It took until January and a pair of runoffs in Georgia for it to be clear that Democrats tied the Senate and thus seized the majority thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris in her capacity as president of the Senate. These protracted election determinations are not a byproduct of recent polarization and controversy. Democrats captured the Senate in the 2006 midterms, but it wasn’t clear until two days after the election, once Democratic challenger Jim Webb defeated incumbent Republican Sen. George Allen in Virginia. It’s likely we’ll have clarity on the Senate sooner rather than later this year. If Republicans enjoy a big night, who won the Senate could be known on election night. That’s especially if the GOP is en route to a 53- or 54-seat majority. But if competitive Senate contests in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Montana, Michigan, Nevada, Texas and elsewhere are all tight, it may take a few days to determine which party has the majority. Regardless, the biggest order of business facing the Senate is who emerges as the new Republican leader. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is stepping down from his leadership post in early January but remaining in the Senate. Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., former Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., are vying to succeed McConnell as the body’s top Republican. But there’s chatter that Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., or other candidates could emerge. The selection of Senate Republican leader could hinge on whether Harris or former President Trump wins – or, if the GOP claims the Senate or fails to capture the majority. A secret vote for GOP leader is slated for Nov. 13, and if it’s clear that Trump is headed to the White House, his influence could sway who Republican senators select as their next leader. Then there’s the House. Republicans hold a narrow, single-digit advantage in the House right now. There are more than 30 seats in battleground districts that could swing the control in one direction or the other. But when will we know? The House Republican Conference convenes its leadership election on Nov. 13, and the House Democratic Caucus also meets around that time. Regardless of if they are in the majority or minority, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., will lead his party in the new Congress. Jeffries is poised to ascend to the speakership next year if Democrats flip the House. But for the GOP, things could get messy. Which party controls the House might not be settled by the time House Republicans hold their leadership election. Republican Conference rules allow certain GOP candidates whose races have not been called to come to Washington in November and December for the freshmen orientation and vote in those leadership elections. In other words, people who might not ultimately become House members could decide who the GOP picks for leadership posts and formally nominates as the Republican candidate for speaker on the floor Jan. 3. SCHUMER, DEMS PRE-ELECTION REPORT URGES VOTERS TO BE WARY OF ‘MISINFORMATION’ ABOUT RESULTS One senior House Republican source told Fox there could be a push to delay those leadership elections if control of the House isn’t settled. This could be an issue if there’s a contingent of GOP candidates in uncalled races who could wield too much influence in the private balloting. So here’s the issue facing Johnson: If Republicans hold the House, and especially
Harris campaign dishes out six-figure donations to groups who support defunding police, reparations
FIRST ON FOX: The Harris campaign cut multiple six-figure checks last month for left-leaning groups that have been vocal about defunding the police, reparations, and are tied to radical activists who have supported notorious antisemite Louis Farrakhan. The Harris campaign gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to a handful of Black advocacy groups who are mobilizing Black voters ahead of November’s election next week, according to FEC filings released last week. Black Voters Matters Fund, which received $150,000 from the Harris campaign on Sept. 19, has repeatedly called for defunding the police and has been vocal about pushing for reparations. KAMALA HARRIS SUPPORTED ‘DEFUND THE POLICE’ IN 2020 RADIO INTERVIEW, BEFORE BIDEN CAMPAIGN SAID OTHERWISE “The answer to police violence against communities of color is not more money for police,” the group wrote in February 2023. “It’s time to defund the police and redirect those resources into building strong, healthy communities.” In 2020, the group also tweeted, “We are proud to be partner in the #DemocracyFrontlinesFund, created to leverage millions of new dollars to fund Black-led organizers fighting for free and fair elections, and working to defund prisons and police.” “There are more than 3,000 sheriffs in the US, nearly all are elected, the group said in another post. “We are working to defund sheriffs and build voter power. Reimagining the system also comes with taking action!” The group’s co-founder Latosha Brown, who has been a frequent visitor to the Biden-Harris White House, has repeatedly posted about the group’s reparations push and said in a 2021 X post that she has been working on the issue for 27 years. “We deserve to be compensated for the literal blood, sweat and tears our ancestors were forced to put into this country,” Black Voters Matters Fund posted in May. In another post last year, the group called reparations “crucial for acknowledging past injustices and moving towards a more just and equitable future.” Black Church PAC, which also received $150,000 from the Harris campaign last month, has multiple controversial religious leaders on its board and recent social media posts show it is partnering with a defund the police group to help with “Get out the vote” efforts in Georgia, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. “We’re mobilizing 100K Strong: Knock for Change, Vote for Justice volunteers across GA, PA, and NC to knock on doors and have REAL conversations with REAL voters about the REAL issues that matter most,” the Black Church PAC posted last week on social media. The post also mentioned that they were partnering with Until Freedom, which was co-founded by disgraced Women’s March leaders Tamika Mallory and Linda Sarsour. Until Freedom has repeatedly advocated for defunding and abolishing the police and sells a “defund the police” shirt on its website. HARRIS PRAISES PRO-FARRAKHAN PASTOR WHO SAID GAY PEOPLE SHOULD FEEL ‘UNCOMFORTABLE’ IN THEIR ‘SIN‘ Mallory previously came under fire for her close ties to Farrakhan and calling him the “GOAT,” which means “greatest of all time.” Her social media profiles are also littered with social media posts showing her attending Nation of Islam events and praising Farrakhan. “One of the reasons why I support Kamala Harris is because I know about the things she was doing while she was in the Senate,” Mallory said during a “Breakfast Club” interview a couple of months ago. Mallory also pushed back against people who claim Harris doesn’t support reparations, saying she’s heard Harris say “over and over again” that she supports reparations. While Harris has been coy about what her reparations plan would look like while campaigning for president, she previously told The Root during her failed 2019 campaign that she believes “there has to be some form of reparations” for Black Americans. The Black Church PAC board includes several pastors who have either called for defunding police, reparations or have praised Farrakhan, including Pastors Jamal Bryant, Frederick D. Haynes III and Michael McBride. McBride, the lead pastor of The Way Christian Center in Berkeley, California, ranted in support of defunding police in 2020, saying on a livestream that defunding the police “ain’t a slogan” and that it is a “declaration of a future that we deserve.” “We do not deserve police departments to have 40, 50, 60% of the general funds of every single black majority, brown majority city in this country while we don’t have food, while we don’t have housing, while we don’t have equitable education, but we got an expanding police budget,” McBride said. “Yes, we want these [police] departments to be shrunk,” McBride added. “Must read article by @mearest @arthurrizer if you want an inside look at policing culture,” McBride said in another post. “My takeaway: How do you redeem this? You don’t…abolish and defund the police and reconstruct a new one…” McBride has also repeatedly supported reparations, including praising a $15 trillion plan that was proposed by Jennifer Epps-Addison, a self-proclaimed “Radical Truth Teller.” Bryant, who hosted Harris at his church earlier this month, has faced backlash for repeatedly praising Farrakhan and saying he was “humbled” to be in his presence and “honored” to host him. He has also attacked gay people and previously said it was their “responsibility” to make gay people and other sinners “uncomfortable in [their] sin.” Bryant has also been a longtime advocate for reparations. In an Instagram post last month, he called it a “monumental moment” that he and another pastor walked from Baltimore to the White House to “bring attention to the administration that black people deserve #reparations for 400 years of oppression.” “We are the only marginalized group in America that hasn’t been compensated,” he added. “We went 42 miles because we never got 40 acres! Even if it’s not on the ballot it needs to be on the agenda!” Another pastor on the board is Haynes, the senior pastor at Friendship-West Baptist Church. He tweeted a photo of himself and Farrakhan in 2017, calling him a “wonderful and great man.” In 2015, Haynes also lavished praise on Farrakhan, saying
President Biden denies referring to Trump supporters as ‘garbage’
[unable to retrieve full-text content] US President Joe Biden has denied referring to Trump supporters as ‘garbage’ during an interview.
UK’s Labour government raises taxes by 40bn pounds in first budget
Finance minister Rachel Reeves has said the tax hike will be used to fund public services and bolster public finances. British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves has told lawmakers that taxes will rise by 40 billion British pounds ($52bn) in order to plug a hole in the public finances and provide new funding for the United Kingdom’s cash-starved public services, in a wide-ranging budget statement that could set the tone for years to come. In the Labour Party’s first budget since returning to power earlier this year after 14 years in opposition, Reeves said she was also changing the UK’s rules so the government can “invest, invest, invest” and spur economic growth. Her biggest cash commitment was an additional 25 billion pounds ($32.5bn) for the country’s National Health Service, which has seen waiting lists rise to record levels in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. “The choices that I have made today are the right choices for our country,” Reeves said at the end of her statement on Monday. “To restore stability to our public finances. To protect working people. To fix our NHS. And to rebuild Britain.” Reeves said the tax hike, which in large part comes from an increase in the tax businesses pay for employing people, is needed because of the economic “black hole” left by the previous Conservative government. Her centre-left party was elected on July 4 after promising to banish years of turmoil and scandal under Conservative governments, get Britain’s economy growing and restore frayed public services. Reeves has said she will not let public debt balloon, mindful of how former Conservative Prime Minister Liz Truss sent the bond market into a tailspin two years ago with unfunded tax cut plans. She also announced that she would raise the rate of social security contributions paid by employers by 1.2 percentage points to 15 percent from April next year, and lower the threshold at which firms start to pay it – moves which would raise an extra 25 billion pounds ($32.5bn) a year over five years’ time. Company bosses have warned that higher taxes on them, combined with planned new protections for workers and an increased minimum wage, could undermine Labour’s promises to turn Britain into the fastest-growing Group of Seven economy. Reeves announced a string of other revenue-raising moves including changes to the tax rules on capital gains and inheritances and tax paid by private equity executives and non-domiciled residents. Prime Minister Keir Starmer had warned “those with the broadest shoulders” would have to pay more tax. But Reeves ruled out making more individuals pay basic and higher income tax rates after a freeze on the threshold for payments expires in the 2028-29 tax year. She also extended a freeze on fuel duty and cut a tax on draught beer served in pubs. Adblock test (Why?)
Muscle Inc.: The New Frontier of Bodybuilding Drugs
Fitness influencers are marketing dangerous new classes of performance-enhancing drugs to their teenage followers. Performance-enhancing drugs were once a closely guarded secret in the bodybuilding world, but a new generation of fitness influencers is openly sharing their use on social media and marketing dangerous new substances known as research chemicals to their teenage followers. These new drugs have been linked to organ damage, heart failure and, in some cases, death. Their sale for human use is illegal but social media companies and the Federal Drug Administration are seemingly unable or unwilling to stop their spread. In this episode of Fault Lines, we take you inside the deadly market for research chemicals and introduce you to their suppliers, marketers, and victims. Adblock test (Why?)
Delhi Pollution: Air quality dips to ‘very poor’ on Diwali eve, AQI reaches…
The city’s 24-hour average Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 307 at 4 pm, up from 268 on Tuesday.
‘That’s a lie’: Georgia’s top elections official blasts Harris for attacking state voter law
Georgia’s top elections official is accusing Vice President Kamala Harris of lying about the state’s voter security laws. “We have worked tirelessly to prepare for this election by adding early voting days and investing in infrastructure, creating more security and more voter convenience…only to be rewarded with the lies about ‘Jim Crow 2.0,’” Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said during a press conference on Wednesday. Without naming Harris, the Republican state official took aim at her comments during a campaign speech in Michigan earlier this week. “Frustratingly, recently, a candidate repeated that lie that we will lock up people that give water to voters waiting in line to vote,” Raffensperger said. “That’s a lie, because we don’t have any lines in Georgia. It’s just cheap politics.” GEORGIA GOP CHAIR SHARES 2-PRONGED ELECTION STRATEGY AS TRUMP WORKS TO WIN BACK PEACH STATE Harris said in Ann Arbor on Monday night, “I was just in Georgia. You know they passed a law that makes it illegal to give people food and water for standing in line to vote?” “The hypocrisy abounds. Whatever happened to ‘love thy neighbor,’ right?” she added as the supportive crowd jeered. FORMER REPUBLICAN US SENATOR ENDORSES KAMALA HARRIS, SAYS ELECTION OFFERS ‘STARK CHOICE’ Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for a response to Raffensperger. The remark also got pushback from Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who mocked Harris’ short-lived 2020 presidential bid. “Sounds like Kamala Harris just can’t handle the truth,” Kemp wrote on X on Tuesday. “We made it easier to vote and harder to cheat in Georgia. As a result, more than 3 million Georgians have already voted — that’s 3 million more votes than the Vice President got in the 2024 primaries.” Georgia officials moved to implement several new voting laws after the 2020 race put the Peach State under a microscope. Among them was limiting the number of ballot drop boxes – which were not used in Georgia before 2020 – and restricting political groups from giving food and water to voters waiting in line on Election Day within a certain distance from their polling place. Georgia also installed new ID requirements for absentee ballots. Democratic organizations and civil rights groups accused Republican officials of restricting voter access with the measures. ‘ILLEGAL, UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND VOID’: GEORGIA JUDGE STRIKES DOWN NEW ELECTION RULES AFTER LEGAL FIGHTS But Raffensperger and other Republicans have pushed back on those attacks, particularly in the wake of record-setting voter turnout in Georgia since early voting got underway on Oct. 15. As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 45% of active Georgia voters have cast pre-Election Day ballots. Meanwhile, Raffensperger cautioned both candidates to accept a loss “gracefully,” comparing it to his grandson losing his recent baseball playoff game. “As soon as they came up short, and they lost, I know that they were disappointed. But what they did, because both teams were good sportsmen, they lined up, and they did that passing of shaking each other’s hand and said, ‘Congratulations, good game,’” he said. “As a grandparent, I’m proud to see that. But just as an American, I think that’s wonderful, because I think that’s what America is – is gracefully accepting your wins, but also gracefully accepting your losses.” He vowed, “I will hold both parties accountable to you, the voters of Georgia.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.