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Nearly 30 Democratic lawmakers have sent a letter to President Biden backing a “temporary pause” in fighting in Gaza to ease the release of remaining hostages and to provide aid for civilians displaced by the war. The letter said the representatives are “encouraged by the news of progress” in hostage and cease-fire negotiations and applaud the Biden administration’s “work with Israel, Egypt, Qatar and others to advance progress.” The Democrats are calling for a temporary pause to “not only help release the hostages and give desperately needed relief to the millions of civilians displaced by this war, it can also...

On Friday’s edition of Bloomberg’s “Balance of Power,” White House Council of Economic Advisers member Heather Boushey discussed the pause in liquid natural gas (LNG) export approvals and stated that “we need to make sure that we, like other countries, are doing what we can do to address the climate change challenges. You started this segment by noting that it’s over 70 degrees here in D.C. in the middle of January.” Boushey stated, [relevant remarks begin around 5:30] “Let me start by noting that the president, from day one, has had a whole-of-government approach to addressing climate change. And core...

President Joe Biden announced a temporary pause on exports of liquefied natural gas to countries without free trade agreements Friday, a move that experts warn will drive up the price of energy and empower Russian President Vladimir Putin. “President Biden has been clear that climate change is the existential threat of our time—and we must act with the urgency it demands to protect the future for generations to come,” the White House said in a news release on the move. The administration is temporarily pausing pending decisions on LNG exports until the Department of Energy can “update the underlying analyses...

Former National Security Adviser John Bolton said Thursday on CNN’s “News Central” that “Hamas couldn’t care less about a humanitarian pause” but was using it to get to a ceasefire. Bolton said, “The game that’s being played here is Hamas couldn’t care less about a humanitarian pause. What they’re interested in is getting a pause started, and then extending it to become a truce, and then extending it further to become a ceasefire. Now, that may not happen all at once, but Hamas benefits more than the Israeli Defense Forces do by having this pause.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called for a “significant, extended humanitarian pause” in Gaza that can build upon Israel’s recent deal with Hamas to pause fighting for a few days and afford some hostages their freedom. “There must also be a significant, extended humanitarian pause so that badly needed aid — food, water, medicine and fuel — can get into Gaza and save lives,” Sanders wrote in an op-ed on Wednesday for the New York Times. “If Wednesday morning’s deal is honored, it is a promising first step that we can build upon, and hopefully work to extend the pause.”

JERUSALEM, Israel — The Israeli government approved a deal Tuesday night that will see the Palestinian Hamas terror group release at least 50 female, child, and elderly hostages over four days, in return for a pause in the fighting in the Gaza Strip. In return, Israel will release a greater number of convicted Palestinians — though none who have been convicted of murder. Israel will resume the fight as soon as the hostages are delivered and the four-day period is over, as it works to destroy Hamas.

On Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “José Díaz-Balart Reports,” Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) said that “the idea of innocent civilians being killed was such, at times, abandoned, and not following the tenants of armed conflict doesn’t help Israel in the long term,” and that we need a humanitarian pause so “we can show Israel’s ability to defend itself within the rules of war.” Warner said that a humanitarian pause is in Israel’s interest “to make sure that we can show Israel’s ability to defend itself within the rules of war.”

Watching the horrors unfold in Israel would be hard for anyone, but it has to be especially difficult for leaders like Mike Pompeo, who, as a member of the Trump administration, worked to ensure nightmares like this never happened. Three years removed from the White House, the world is a different place than it was when the 45th president was in power — and Americans aren’t the only ones who feel it.

The Biden administration is ratcheting up pressure on the Israeli government to declare a “pause” in fighting against Hamas — even as Israel continues to push the terror organization into a corner. On Friday, as Breitbart News reported, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu firmly and publicly rejected calls for a “pause,” saying there would be no stop to the fighting until Hamas released the 240 hostages it still holds in Gaza.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his nation on Friday evening that he had refused the Biden administration’s request for a “pause” in fighting, ostensibly for humanitarian purposes. Netanyahu recounted that he had met earlier in the day with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and showed him footage of the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. (Breitbart News was among the first to review that footage last week in Israel. He continued: “I conveyed to him that we are continuing with all our might. Israel refuses a temporary ceasefire that does not include the liberation of our hostages. Israel will...

On Friday’s “PBS NewsHour,” White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby stated that if getting the hostages held by Hamas released “requires some sort of humanitarian pause or pauses, then we’re obviously in support of that as well.” Co-host Geoff Bennett asked, “You have said the U.S. welcomes a pause in the war to allow more time to get humanitarian aid in and hostages out. There are, of course, American hostages being held by Hamas right now. What’s the potential impact of this latest offensive on the effort to get those hostages released?”

On Tuesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “All In,” Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) stated that while a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is a bad idea, “what Secretary Blinken said today at the United Nations, calling for a humanitarian pause in the military action so that we can try to find a more peaceful path, and especially right away, to get more hostages freed,” is the right way to go.

While the Biden Adminstration continues to insist that the world is suffering a "climate crisis," data from the NSSTC tells a different story. Newly released weather data shows average climates worldwide have remained unchanged for about nine years.The data published by the National Space Science and Technology Center shows that there has been zero global warming since July of 2015, eight years and nine months ago.The finding undermines arguments by the Biden administration and others that rising temperatures, in large part the result of emission from fossil-burning fuels, have become an existential threat and that needs to be stopped. Steve...

Musk, Wozniak, other tech innovators sign open letter urging temporary pause in the development of AI systems more powerful than OpenAI's GPT-4, citing risks to society and civilization Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak, and a host of other tech leaders and artificial intelligence experts are urging AI labs to pause development of powerful new AI systems in an open letter citing potential risks to society. The letter asks AI developers to "immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4." It was issued by the Future of Life Institute and signed by more than...

Outgoing National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday on FNC’s “Your World” that he was not responsible for the COVID shutdowns. Host Neil Cavuto said, “You had said a number of times, doctor, on this show as well, that your response to COVID might not have been perfect, but it was in the times and the fast moments in which you lived and were making those decisions. So, looking back at some of those decisions, including masks – you were first opposed to them and then embraced them – the severity of the epidemic...

********* Joe Biden will extend the pause on federal student loan payments once again, this time likely through the end of August 2022, several news outlets have reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. The U.S. Department of Education did not immediately respond to Fortune's request for confirmation of the change. But if the moratorium on loan payments and interest accrual is extended, it will be the fifth time since it was first enacted in March 2020 under President Donald Trump to help those who might be struggling to make payments during the coronavirus pandemic. The pause does not apply...

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration plans to freeze federal student loan payments through Aug. 31, extending a moratorium that has allowed millions of Americans to postpone payments during the coronavirus pandemic, according to an administration official familiar with the White House’s decision-making. Student loan payments were scheduled to resume May 1 after being halted since early in the pandemic. But following calls from Democrats in Congress, the White House plans to give borrowers additional time to prepare for payments. The action applies to more than 43 million Americans who owe a combined $1.6 trillion in student debt held by the...

Six Democratic governors — five of whom are up for re-election in November — have urged Congress to adopt legislation suspending the federal gas tax until next year as prices at the pump hit record highs after President Biden ordered a ban on importing Russian oil. The six governors — Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Jared Polis of Colorado, Tim Waltz of Minnesota, Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, and Tony Evers of Wisconsin — noted in a letter to House and Senate leadership Tuesday that the average price of a gallon of gas had hit $4.173...

The Biden administration has already filed an appeal of the injunction.federal court in Texas has issued an injunction against President Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for the federal workforce, pausing implementation of a requirement for more than 2 million civilian servants. The Biden administration has already had sweeping success with the mandate, as most agencies have seen virtually their entire workforces come into compliance. Still, federal offices across the country were just beginning to move forward with suspensions—which could eventually result in firings—for those who did not meet the requirements. Biden issued the mandate by executive order in September. Judge Jeffrey...

Pelosi dismisses Manchin call for 'pause' on $3.5T spending plan © Greg Nash House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismissed Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) call for a “pause” in deliberations on the $3.5 trillion spending package, saying she does not agree with the moderate senator’s recommendation. Pelosi, when on Monday for her reaction to Manchin’s call for a pause, said “Well obviously I don’t agree.” “I'm pretty excited about where we are. Everybody's working very hard, the committee's are doing their work. We’re on a good timetable, and I feel very exhilarated by it,” she added.