Author: Press Room

House Democratic leaders opposed a resolution offered by a member of their own caucus that would have limited the Trump administration’s military options in Lebanon — showcasing long-simmering friction between top Democrats and progressives over conflict in the Middle East. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) forced a vote Thursday afternoon on a war powers resolution to rein in the Trump administration in Lebanon, where Israel has attacked Hezbollah. The resolution — which would have forced U.S. troops out of Lebanon in seven days — failed 91 to 324. Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (D-Texas) was among those backing Tlaib’s effort.…

Netanyahu’s new offensive has undermined talks, strained European patience and raised the risk of another long occupation The situation in Lebanon has pushed Iran out of the negotiating process with the US and has once again shown that Middle Eastern diplomacy today depends less on formal negotiations than on what is happening on the ground.Tehran has suspended its indirect exchange of messages with Washington through intermediaries against the backdrop of Israel’s expanding operation against Lebanon and Hezbollah. This decision was a reaction to a broader crisis in which the Lebanese front has become intertwined with US-Iranian negotiations, Israel’s security calculations,…

PARIS (AP) — Acclaimed Iranian-French cartoonist and filmmaker Marjane Satrapi, a prominent advocate for women’s rights, has died at 56, the French presidency said Thursday. “Her passing marks the loss of a leading figure of French culture and an artist devoted to freedom, whose work carried a universal message and earned her immense international acclaim,” the French presidency said in a statement. President Emmanuel Macron and his wife “pay tribute to a remarkable artist who transformed an Iranian childhood into a universal fable,” the statement said. News broadcaster BFM TV and other French media reported Satrapi has “died of sadness”…

WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump is expected to make announcements on three major coal-related actions on Thursday. A White House official confirmed to Breitbart News the Oval Office announcements expected, as first reported by Bloomberg. One announcement Trump is set to make is the allocation of $425 million in Defense Production Act (DPA) funds to aid 13 coal plants in Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, per the official. Funding will also support coal mines in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The official noted that funding…

Wednesday on CNN’s “News Central,” former Vice President Mike Pence argued the “populist right” is a threat to the Republican Party, which should return to a traditional “conservative agenda.” Pence said, “There’s concern in the heartland, particularly on the farm, for the impact of broad based tariffs, the rising input costs for farmers and, I expect Republicans will take all of that to heart. And, I hope what they do, as I argue in my book, is return our party to the consistent advocacy of the conservative agenda. This define the Republican movement for the last 50 years.” He continued, “I wanted people…

Senate Republicans beat back early attempts to quash the Justice Department’s controversial “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and potentially endanger the GOP’s immigration enforcement bill. Senators voted 50-49 Thursday to reject an attempt by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer that would have sent the measure back to the Judiciary Committee to insert language that would nix President Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion payout vehicle. The move was aimed at codifying the promise acting Attorney General Todd Blanche made to House appropriators Tuesday that the administration would scrap plans for the fund. “Democrats will force Republicans to vote on Trump’s MAGA slush fund, his lifetime tax…

Imad Ishtayeh risked everything to find employment amid economic hardship in the West Bank, and died aged 26 The family of a young Palestinian man who was shot dead by Israeli forces near the concrete barrier separating the occupied West Bank from Jerusalem, has told RT that his determination to find work drove him to his death.Imad Ishtayeh’s death was confirmed by the Palestinian Health Ministry on Sunday.His father told RT that he had been trying to cross into Israel in search of work amid deepening economic hardship in the Palestinian territory.Israeli police have said that Imad was attempting to…

World Health Organization (W.H.O.) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus demanded on Wednesday that countries imposing travel restrictions on visitors to stop the spread of the Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) lift them, claiming they were harming containment efforts. In the same press conference, Tedros admitted that the outbreak, which the W.H.O. confirmed as a public health emergency in May, could have begun as early as in January with no identification and response. “The outbreak had a big head start, and we’re still behind,” he lamented. Tedros visited the epicenter of the outbreak – Ituri province, DRC – last weekend,…

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin questioned if Rep. Al Green (D-TX) suggested that he was “racist” during a Homeland Security Committee hearing. While speaking during the hearing, Green mentioned, “Racists take offense at peaceful protests,” Mediaite reported. While Green had been “referring to blown-up images” that showed President Donald Trump “and others,” Mullin questioned if Green was accusing him of being a racist. In response, Green told Mullin to “shut up” several times. “Racists take offense at peaceful protests,” Green said. “A racist, Mr. Secretary, would do what happened to Ruby…” Mullin interjected: “Are you calling me…

Rep. Julie Fedorchak will introduce legislation Thursday that aims to give Republicans a chance of incorporating some aspects of the GOP’s controversial elections overhaul into their next party-line bill that is set to be released in the coming weeks. The North Dakota Republican’s bill, known as the “SAVE America Through REAL ID Act,” will try to meet strict Senate rules for the budget reconciliation process by establishing a grant program encouraging states to require federally mandated REAL IDs to vote. That would be an alternative to the proof-of-citizenship and voter-ID mandates in the original SAVE America Act that would likely…