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North Carolina Sens. Tills, Budd call for military leader to oversee Hurricane Helene response

North Carolina Sens. Tills, Budd call for military leader to oversee Hurricane Helene response

Two Republican senators are calling for the Biden administration to appoint a military leader to lead the recovery effort in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, as some lawmakers continue to criticize the federal government’s response to the storm.  In a joint statement, Republican Sens. Thom Tillis and Ted Budd, both of North Carolina, issued a joint statement Friday evening concerning the response operations.   BIDEN GETS DEFENSIVE WHEN PUSHED ON WHO’S ‘COMMANDING’ HURRICANE HELENE RESPONSE “Our National Guard and local, state, and federal first responders on the ground have been working tirelessly to respond to this disaster with the resources they have,” the statement reads. “Given the unprecedented extent of the devastation and complexity of search and rescue operations, it would be helpful to assign an active-duty military leader who has extensive experience with operations of this magnitude to lead moving forward.” The Biden administration has come under for a purportedly inadequate response to the devastation left by Helene. As of Friday, the death toll in southeastern states hit hardest by the storm has risen past 224, with more than 100 dead in western North Carolina alone.  BUTTIGIEG’S MESSAGE ON RESTRICTING CIVILIAN DRONES NEAR HURRICANE HELENE DAMAGE PROMPTS OUTCRY, CLARIFICATION The White House has said that Biden has coordinated the federal response, including approving emergency declarations and deploying 1,000 active-duty soldiers to support search-and-rescue efforts. More than 4,800 personnel from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other agencies have been deployed to North Carolina and neighboring states impacted by Helene.  FEMA Director Deanne Criswell was on the ground in North Carolina on Friday, saying the military was delivering food and water to residents from distribution centers.  Additionally, FEMA has shipped over 8.5 million meals, more than 7 million liters of water, 150 generators and over 220,000 tarps to aid response efforts, according to the White House. As of Friday, the federal government has provided more than $45 million in Individual Assistance to survivors impacted by the storm, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, including in the form of one-time $750 payments from FEMA to qualified applicants in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.  Fox News Digital has reached out to FEMA and the White House.  Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report. 

Biden unsure if Netanyahu holding up Gaza deal to influence US election

Biden unsure if Netanyahu holding up Gaza deal to influence US election

United States President Joe Biden has said he does not know if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been dragging his feet on a ceasefire deal in Gaza in order to influence the US election in November. Biden was asked the question directly during a news conference at the White House on Friday, just days ahead of the one-year anniversary of the war, in which at least 41,802 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed. “No administration has helped Israel more than I have. None. None. None. And I think Bibi should remember that,” Biden said, referring to the Israeli leader by his nickname. “And whether he’s trying to influence the election, I don’t know, but I’m not counting on that.” The Biden administration has for months downplayed the prospect that Israel could be intentionally holding up such a deal, instead regularly laying the blame for breakdowns in talks on Hamas. It has done so despite repeated reports indicating that Netanyahu’s position had shifted throughout the talks, precluding any breakthroughs. Still, some top Democrats have increasingly questioned whether Netanyahu could have an eye on the US election – and the possible victory of former President Donald Trump – in his military calculation. Trump has long been Netanyahu’s preferred occupant of the White House. On the campaign trail, the Republican has attacked the Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, over the Biden administration’s inability to reach a deal. “I don’t think you have to be a hopeless cynic to read some of Israel’s actions, some of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s actions, as connected to the American election,” Senator Chris Murphy, a close ally of Biden, told CNN earlier this week. US officials also told The Wall Street Journal in September they did not believe a deal would be reached during Biden’s presidency, which ends in January of 2025. Continued military aid Biden had initially said that Israel supported a ceasefire plan he introduced in May, despite Netanyahu appearing to swiftly contradict the claim. In September, the Israeli prime minister pushed back on a claim from a Biden administration official that 90 percent of the deal had been completed. Later that month, Israel surged its attacks on Lebanon shortly after meeting with US officials pushing for de-escalation. Since then, Netanyahu’s government has ignored appeals from US officials for a pause in fighting as it has upped its operations – including limited ground incursions – in Lebanon. Biden has also opposed Israel striking Iran’s nuclear facilities following an Iranian attack earlier this week. On Friday, he indicated he also opposed any strikes on Iran’s oil facilities, saying: “If I were in their shoes, I would be thinking about other alternatives than striking Iranian oil fields.” Despite Israel continuing to flaunt Washington’s public appeals, the Biden administration has for months avoided leveraging the military aid it provides to its “ironclad” ally. Transfer of power may not be ‘peaceful’ Speaking during the news conference on Friday, Biden also warned that Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, could refuse to accept the outcome of the election on November 5. Trump had spread false claims the 2020 vote was marred by election malfeasance. The statements culminated in his supporters storming the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an attempt to overturn Biden’s victory. Trump has continued to cast unfounded doubt that the upcoming election would be fair. Biden said it was notable that Trump’s running mate, Vance, would not confirm during this week’s vice presidential debate that he would accept the outcome of the vote next month. “I’m confident it will be free and fair. I don’t know whether it will be peaceful. The things that Trump has said, and the things that he said last time out when he didn’t like the outcome of the election, were very dangerous,” Biden said. Adblock test (Why?)

Social media site X attempts to pay fine in bid to resume service in Brazil

Social media site X attempts to pay fine in bid to resume service in Brazil

Brazil, home to more than 21 million users, suspended X after it failed to comply with court orders and pay fines. The social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, has attempted to pay fines owed to the Brazilian government in a bid to resume services in the country. But the Reuters news agency reported on Friday that Brazil’s Supreme Court has yet to lift the site’s suspension, saying the fees were deposited into the wrong bank account. “The deposit of the amount of 28,600,000 reais [$5.24m] was not made correctly in the account linked to these proceedings,” Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said. The announcement was the latest hiccup in an ongoing spat between X owner Elon Musk and the Brazilian government. Earlier in the day, X had filed a request to resume operations in Brazil, on the basis that it had paid its fines. “X Brasil requests that the platform be unblocked for free access by its users in national territory,” the filed document states. The site was suspended in August after it failed to comply with court orders regarding content moderation and in-country legal representation. The case has sparked debate over free speech and what steps can be taken to address the spread of false claims online. The payment, however, is the latest sign that X may be relaxing its opposition to the requirements for operating in Brazil, one of the site’s largest sources of users. The data firm Statista says that X had more than 21 million users in Brazil as of April. X faced fines of more than $5m for its failure to comply with the court orders earlier this year. The Supreme Court had requested the social media company take action to restrict accounts linked to misinformation and far-right figures accused of undermining Brazil’s elections. It also said X failed to appoint a legal representative in the country, a requirement for companies based abroad. At first, Musk and X appeared poised to resist the suspension, denouncing it as censorship and accusing de Moraes of issuing “illegal orders”. Musk, who has embraced far-right politics, also called de Moraes an “evil dictator cosplaying as a judge” after X was ordered to increase its moderation of false claims on its site. The billionaire entrepreneur has previously weighed in on Brazilian politics, expressing support for former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro — another figure who has clashed with de Moraes over false election claims. While Musk has portrayed himself as a champion of free speech, X has generally become more accommodating to government requests to take down content since the billionaire bought the social media site. Reports indicate X complied with nearly 99 percent of requests from countries like Turkey and India during the first six months of Musk’s ownership, spurring fears that governments could be silencing their critics on the platform. In recent weeks, X has made overtures to the Brazilian government in a bid to lift its suspension. In September, the site restricted access to a series of accounts linked to misinformation and took steps to appoint legal representatives in the country, asking for user access to be reinstated in return. Adblock test (Why?)