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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Thursday rejected the idea of combining California wildfire aid with a debt ceiling hike, saying Democrats would oppose such a package if Republicans bring it to the floor. “It’s a nonstarter,” Jeffries said during a press briefing in the Capitol. The pushback could complicate the plans of Republican leaders in both chambers, who are reportedly weighing a strategy to craft a massive legislative package combining an extension of government spending — which is scheduled to expire March 14 — with an increase in the debt limit, aid for wildfire victims and border security...

Despite over 2,400 aid trucks having entered the Gaza Strip since the Israel-Hamas ceasefire on Sunday, Gaza residents say the aid is not reaching them and are accusing Hamas of diverting it and selling it, Hebrew media reported on Thursday. “We don’t see any aid or goods at reasonable prices. Why?” lamented one resident, according to Channel 12 News. Another said, “Hamas steals the aid and sells it to merchants, who then set exorbitant prices at the expense of our entire people.” The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that 897 aid trucks entered Gaza on...

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) claimed Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that House Republicans were attempting to condition disaster relief to Californians for “massive tax breaks for billionaires.” Host Kristen Welker said, “Let me get your take on disaster aid, Leader Jeffries. You just heard Speaker Johnson say very clearly that yes, there may be strings attached, that yes, it’s possible that they will move to try to link it to an increase in the debt limit. Would you vote yes if that were to come before you? If that were the only way you believe to get...

Tuesday on ABC’s “The View,” Whoopi Goldberg told her co-hosts that Republicans like Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) saying there could be strings attached to aid for the California wildfires was “beyond shameful.” Goldberg said, “As wildfires continue to devastate Los Angeles, burning homes and costing billions in damages, some are calling for award shows like The Oscars to be postponed or canceled while others want them turned into telethons to raise funds for the victims. Right now, The Oscars aren’t until March. What I’m concerned about is this: Republicans like Mike Johnson threatening to put conditions on the aid to...

California is moving quickly to protect undocumented immigrant students as top officials Monday outlined steps to guide school leaders, inform parents and provide mental health support to anxious students and families at elementary schools through university campuses. This deployment of reassurance and resources at public schools, where every child has a right to an education regardless of immigration status, is designed to counter President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office Jan. 20. Trump has repeatedly threatened to order mass deportations to address what he characterizes as the harms of illegal immigration.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he will again call on allies to boost its air defenses at this week’s meeting in Germany, as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes over later this month with a vow to end the almost three-year war quickly. Zelenskyy said that dozens of partner countries will participate in the meeting of the Ramstein group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Thursday, “including those who can help boost our capabilities not only to defend against missiles but also against guided bombs and Russian aviation.”

For weeks, we've been hearing news reports and public statements about starving babies in Gaza. 60 Minutes did a long, breathy, segment this past weekend, interviewing clean and showered Gazans supposedly on the edge of death, speaking in perfect English, with no questions asked about whether they danced on Oct. 7. The pope made a lot of furious appeals for Gaza, too, always speaking of the children and throwing a few darts at Israel, which is trying to defend itself from monstrous terrorists, and not the terrorists who have embedded themselves behind the civilians in these misery zones. The UNRWA,...

Thousands of pallets of humanitarian aid stacked at the Gaza border — from sacks of flour to blankets and canned food — are awaiting delivery by relief organizations that are unwilling to send supply trucks likely to be looted by Hamas terrorists and other street criminals. The aid, coming in on trucks from Jordan, Egypt and the West Bank, has already been inspected by the Israel Defense Forces before entering Gaza, where the international community and humanitarian organizations are in charge of delivering the assistance to Palestinians. But the path from the Israel-Gaza border to where the aid is needed...

One day after Democrats fumed about his absence on the world stage and from his own administration, retiring President Biden has announced he will roll out even “more student debt cancellation,” work to “achieve a ceasefire in Gaza with the hostages released” and send further military assistance to Ukraine, according to an internal White House memo. The memo from Biden’s chief of staff Jeff Zients, which was addressed to all White House staff, outlined the 46th president’s foreign and domestic priorities for his remaining 42-day “sprint” before President-elect Donald Trump assumes office, a copy of the memo obtained by The...

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday rejected a White House request to pass $24 billion in additional aid for Ukraine by the end of the year, saying any further assistance for Kyiv would be decided by President-elect Trump when he assumes office in January. “I’m not planning to do that,” Johnson said in response to a question if he would add aid for Ukraine to a continuing resolution to fund the government. Johnson, speaking during a House Republican Leaders news conference, said Trump’s election victory is changing the dynamic of Russia’s war on Ukraine and that any additional U.S. assistance...

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Ukraine for the first time in more than two years Monday and vowed to keep supporting Kyiv in the war, just weeks after he was rebuked by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for having a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The conflict is approaching a pivotal new phase, with the new U.S. administration of Donald Trump taking office next month and potentially determining the trajectory of the war after the president-elect´s pledge to end the fighting. Ukraine is sensitive to whether cracks might be appearing in the unity of its...

Nearly a hundred aid trucks were looted in southern Gaza on Saturday in what UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, has described as “one of the worst” incidents of its kind. Of the 109 trucks carrying food supplies for UNRWA and the World Food Programme from the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza, 97 trucks were “lost” in the looting, UNRWA told CNN in a statement Monday. Drivers were forced to unload trucks at gun point, aid workers were injured, and vehicles were damaged extensively, it said. UNRWA did not identify the perpetrators of the looting, but blamed the “collapse...

The Federal Emergency Management Agency failed to answer nearly half of the calls for aid and assistance it recently received during Hurricanes Helene and Milton, a report released this week shows. During a recent week, FEMA’s call centers were so overwhelmed, almost half of all callers never connected with a federal working, according to data released this week. And it took federal agents on average more than an hour to actually pick up those calls that were answered. The damning report comes as the Harris-Biden administration has been slammed by conservatives for its response to disaster relief after Hurricanes Helene...

(AFP) — French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday his country would support Lebanon with 100 million euros, as Paris hosted an aid conference with big financial aims but slim diplomatic prospects. “The war must end as soon as possible, there must be a ceasefire in Lebanon,” Macron said sitting alongside the country’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati. The Lebanese government chief in turn called on “the international community to hold together and support efforts… to implement an immediate ceasefire”.

The Biden-Harris administration is giving Israel 30 days to improve humanitarian aid efforts in Gaza or else the US could halt military assistance, according to a letter sent to the Israeli military. The letter, penned by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, threatens to pause the delivery of US weapons and aid to Israel unless the Jewish state provides assurance that humanitarian aid is flowing into Gaza unhindered, according to Ynet News reports.

Volunteers at Squantanoa helping get aid to mountain people in wake of Helene, after it became apparent that FEMA sucks.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is examining a plan to seal off humanitarian aid to northern Gaza in an attempt to starve out Hamas militants, a plan that, if implemented, could trap without food or water hundreds of thousands of Palestinians unwilling or unable to leave their homes.

NEW: The NC National Guard allegedly loaded an entire C17 with supplies just so Kamala Harris could stage a photo-op for Hurricane Helene without the intention of the supplies being used. The accusation came from Aerial Recovery members Jonathan Howard and Charlie Keebaugh on @ShawnRyan762 's show. "I had a squadron commander from North Carolina reach out to me... They had to a C17, full of supplies just to take a photo op for Kamala… and they never sent the bird." "They did a photo op and with the intention of never sending [aid]... it was just a photo op."...

JACKSON COUNTY, N.C. (WLOS) — When Helene hit the mountains of WNC, it was evident many would need relief supplies quickly. However, as many roads were destroyed, a fleet of volunteer pilots took to the skies, flying them into the Jackson County Airport. The airport sits atop the mountains at over 2,800 feet; of late, there's been heightened activity. "In 11 days, we've had 33% of what we would have in a whole year," said airport manager Jim Rowell. Shortly after Helene hit, he and organizer Crystal Cochran coordinated the arrival of hundreds of private volunteer pilots, who flew in...

Please Drop off Supplies & Food yourself! Give it directly to a non profit or church! Don’t give anything to FEMA Terrence is giving an update and a man on the video tells a good place to donate what supplies are most in demand.