Rep. Tlaib on Obama Meeting: ‘He Looked Straight at Me and Said, I’m Proud of You’

After former President Barack Obama met this week with freshmen Democratic members of Congress, Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) tweeted on Thursday night, “The best part was when he looked straight at me and said, ‘I'm proud of you.’” Read

After Trump’s Call to ‘Get Out’ of Venezuela, Russia Asks, When Are You Leaving Syria?

The foreign ministry in Moscow pushed back Thursday at President Trump’s demand that Russia “get out” of Venezuela, questioning why the U.S. is so worried about the arrival of Russian troops in the Latin American country when “we are waiting for Trump’s pledge to withdraw his personnel from Syria to be realized.” Read

Syrian Ambassador to UN Says Trump is 'an Extremist'--Suggests U.S. Give North and South Carolina to Israel

A U.N. Security Council meeting focusing on the Golan Heights witnessed heated words on Wednesday night, with the Assad regime’s representative describing President Trump as “an extremist and an enemy,” suggesting he donate North and South Carolina to Israel, and taking a dig at Germany’s ambassador over his country’s Nazi past. Read

Israeli Embassy Dismisses as ‘Absurd’ Claim That Mossad Was Behind Mosque Attacks

The head of the largest mosque in New Zealand is under fire for stating, at a public demonstration, that “the Mossad” – Israel’s national intelligence agency – was behind the mass shooting at two mosques earlier this month. Read

Pompeo: China Poses Risks ‘to American Wealth Creation and Our Continued Democracy’

From the Taiwan Strait to China’s ambitious global infrastructure plans, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told lawmakers Wednesday of ways in which the United States is pushing back against Beijing in what he called an age of “renewed great power competition.” Read

Pompeo Faces Grilling on Changes to Reagan-Era ‘Mexico City' Abortion Policy

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo could face a grilling as early as Wednesday morning over the administration’s stricter enforcement of the Mexico City Policy, when he appears before a House Appropriions subcommittee to discuss the administration’s FY 2020 State and foreign operations budget request. Read

Venezuela Tensions: US Warns Moscow Over Troops; Russia Accuses US of Attempted Coup

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has warned Russia over the deployment of military personnel in crisis-hit Venezuela, telling his Russian counterpart in a phone conversation that the U.S. and other countries in the region “will not stand idly by as Russia exacerbates tensions” there. Read

Snow Lizards, Seahorses, and Reagan on a Dinosaur: Sen. Lee Mocks Green New Deal

Armed with images of a gun-toting, dinosaur-mounted Ronald Reagan, a snow lizard and giant seahorse, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) had some fun at the expense of Democratic colleagues on Tuesday, but made clear that it was their “Green New Deal,” not climate change, that was the butt of his jokes. Read

Trump Signs Proclamation: ‘Golan Heights Are Part of the State of Israel’

President Trump on Monday signed a proclamation recognizing “that the Golan Heights are part of the State of Israel,” challenging decades of largely unquestioned convention that the strategic ridge is occupied Syrian territory, to be returned as part of a future peace deal between the warring neighbor. Read

Russia Responds to ‘No Collusion’ by Insisting There Was No Interference Either

Reacting to the outcome of the Mueller investigation, Russia’s foreign ministry said Monday the conclusion that the Trump campaign did not conspire with Russia “was to be expected,” but also argued that the entire claim that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election at all was “a trumped up story.” Read

Pence Swipes Ilhan Omar, Democratic 2020 Presidential Hopefuls Over Support for Israel

Any member of Congress who “slanders those who support” a strong U.S.-Israel alliance has no place on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Vice President Mike Pence said on Monday. Read

Hoyer to Cheering AIPAC: ‘There are 62 Freshmen Democrats … Not Three’

As the American Israel Public Affairs Committee annual policy conference got underway Sunday the first Democratic lawmaker to speak, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (Md.) reaffirmed strong bipartisan support for Israel, and called for “debates on policy instead of impugning the loyalty of Israel’s supporters.” Read

Rep. Ilhan Omar Links Trump’s Rhetoric to Mosque Attacks; ‘Fuels Hate Against Muslims’

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) on Saturday linked acts of violence and threats against Muslims to President Trump’s comments, telling a Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) banquet in northern Los Angeles that the president “knows that there are people that he can influence, to threaten our lives.” Read

Pompeo Urges Lebanese to ‘Stand Up to Hezbollah’s Criminality, Terror, and Threats’

On his weekend visit to Lebanon, which he portrayed beforehand as “cleaning up for what the previous administration failed to do,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo repeatedly and unequivocally spoke out against Hezbollah and the Shi’ite terrorist group’s sponsor, Iran. Read

‘No God But Allah’ Echoes Across New Zealand a Week After Mosque Shooting

As New Zealanders marked the one-week anniversary of the worst mass shooting in the country’s history, the state-owned radio and television network broadcast live the Islamic call to prayer, and people were encouraged to wear a headscarf as a “show of solidarity” with the Muslim community. Read

Pompeo: Trump Recognizes ‘Hard-Fought Real Estate’ on Golan Heights Should be Israel’s

Confirming President Trump’s tweet about recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday night recalled a key tank battle on the strategic plateau in 1973, and said the president had “made the decision to recognize that that hard-fought real estate” should fall under Israeli sovereignty. Read

Israel Thanks US for Targeting Int’l Criminal Court Probe: ‘This Court Has Lost its Way’

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu thanked the Trump administration Wednesday for its decision to bar admission to anyone involved in an International Criminal Court probe into alleged U.S. abuses in Afghanistan. Read

Trump Marks Persian New Year With Call for 'Rebirth of Liberty in Iran'

Amid talk of possible terror blacklisting of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, President Trump greeted Iranians around the world on the Persian new year (Nowruz), on Thursday, while condemning the “dictatorial” regime in Tehran, and saying he joined those praying for “the rebirth of liberty in Iran.” Read

In Geneva, Trump Administration Targets ‘Malign Actors’ and ‘Odious’ Regimes

The U.S. has kicked off its rotating presidency of the Conference on Disarmament (CD) with a no-holds-barred speech targeting the “malign” actions of the likes of Russia, Iran, and the “odious” Assad and Maduro regimes. Read

Turkey’s Erdogan Uses New Zealand Mosque Massacre As Campaign Prop

Turkey’s Islamist president is using last week’s mass shooting at two mosques in New Zealand as an election campaign prop, airing excerpts of the graphic video filmed by the shooter and making dark references to Australian and New Zealanders’ role in a military campaign in Turkey a century ago. Read

Speaker Censored at UN Human Rights Council As He Lists Rights-Abusers in the Room

A diplomat chairing a U.N. Human Rights Council session in Geneva on Monday shut down a non-governmental organization speaker just moments into his statement, as he was listing the names of countries which took part in a debate condemning Israel, despite their own widely-criticized human rights records. Read

Russia Deploying Strategic Bombers, Nuclear-Capable Missiles in Crimea?

Russia has made a decision to deploy strategic bombers and nuclear-capable short-range missiles on the Crimean peninsula, a senior lawmaker said Monday, as Moscow marked the fifth anniversary of its controversial annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula. Read

Rep. Rashida Tlaib Links ‘White Supremacy’ Agenda Behind Mosque Killings to Support for Trump’s ‘Muslim Ban’

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), speaking in the context of the killing of 50 Muslim worshippers in New Zealand, suggested Sunday that people in America who “stay silent” and those who “support the Muslim ban” are facilitating a “white supremacy” agenda. Read

US Ambassador to NZ Voices Support For ‘Our Muslim Brothers and Sisters,’ And is Asked About Trump Not Having Done the Same

U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand Scott Brown on Sunday expressed support for “our Muslim brothers and sisters” in the wake of Friday’s Christchurch mosque killings, and when asked about President Trump not having done the same, pointed out that he “is the president’s representative here.” Read

After Mosque Attack, Leading New Zealand Rugby Team Considers Dropping ‘Crusaders’ Name

Friday’s deadly attack on two mosques in New Zealand has given impetus to a campaign to persuade one of the rugby-mad country’s most beloved sporting franchises – the Crusaders rugby union team – to change its name. Read

New Zealand Eyes Stricter Gun Laws After Mosque Killings

New Zealand’s gun ownership laws have been more relaxed than those in many Western countries but that looks set to change after Friday’s deadly shooting in two mosques in Christchurch, which cost the lives of 50 people. Read

Sarsour ‘Triggered’ When People Who Criticized Ilhan Omar Now Offer Condolences for Mosque Killings

Women’s March co-leader Linda Sarsour came in for some flak on social media at the weekend after posting a tweet saying she was “triggered” by expressions of sympathy for the New Zealand mosque massacre from anyone who criticized Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) recently for anti-Semitic remarks. Read

50 Dead in Friday Mosque Shootings in New Zealand

Fifty people have been killed in shootings at two separate mosques in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, during Friday prayers, police have confirmed. Read

7 Years Ago US Handed Him Over to Iraqis; Now Hezbollah Terrorist With US Blood on His Hands Heads Terror Cell in Syria

Seven years after the Obama administration controversially handed over to Iraqi custody a veteran Hezbollah terrorist accused of executing Americans – only to see him released a year later – Israel says the wanted man now heads a Syria-based terror cell near its northern border. Read

‘Beto’ O’Rourke on Climate Change Leadership: ‘Those Who Were on the Beaches in Normandy … Showed Us the Way’

On his first day on the campaign trail Thursday, Democratic presidential hopeful Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke called for urgent action on climate change, and linked the leadership required to confront the issue with the storming of “the beaches in Normandy” in 1944. Read

State Dept. Removed ‘Reproductive Rights’ From Human Rights Report

Pushing back against accusations that women’s rights have been excised from annual reports on human rights, a senior State Department official said Wednesday the term “reproductive rights” has been dropped because some advocates interpret the term as incorporating a “right to abortion” – even though U.S. administrations of both parties have not done so. Read

Iran Wins Leadership Post at UN ‘Gender Equality’ Body, After Sentencing Women’s Rights Advocate to Prison, Lashing

The United Nations’ body dedicated to “gender equality and the advancement of women” this week handed Iran a key role in evaluating “injustice and discriminatory practices against women” – on the same day as an Iranian court reportedly sentenced a women’s rights advocate to 38 years’ imprisonment and 148 lashes. Read

Ayatollah Hopes Qods Force Chief Soleimani Will Die a Martyr – But Not Just Yet

Awarding Iran’s highest military honor to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Qods Force chief Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani this week, Iran’s supreme leader expressed the hope that he would die a martyr – although not just yet. Read

Is US Hinting at Military Action in Venezuela? US Envoy Says Personnel Withdrawal Doesn't Change Things

The decision to withdraw remaining U.S. diplomatic staff from Venezuela and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s reference to their presence there being a “constraint on U.S. policy” does not mark a change in policy, special envoy for Venezuela Elliott Abrams said Tuesday, amid speculation that the U.S. may be signaling plans for military intervention. Read

Trump’s Proposed Foreign Ops Budget Again Targets UN Funding

For the third consecutive year, the Trump administration has proposed a budget that cuts spending on foreign affairs, including funding for the United Nations – but congressional Democrats are unimpressed. Read

Pompeo: U.S. Pulling All Embassy Workers Out of Venezuela; Slams Cuba for Crisis

As the death toll linked to Venezuela’s national power outage edged higher, the Trump administration on Monday stepped up its criticism of Cuba’s support for the Maduro regime, while Havana insinuated that the United States was behind what it called “terrorist sabotage” of its ally’s power grid. Read

Green New Deal: Sen. Barrasso Knocks ‘Chicken Little Sky-is-Falling Approach of the Socialist Democrats’

Some Democrats in Congress are alarmed at the leftward lurch their party is taking, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said Sunday, commenting in particular on the “Green New Deal” and what he called the “Chicken Little, sky-is-falling approach of the socialist Democrats like [Alexandria] Ocasio-Cortez and the presidential candidates on the Democrats’ side of the aisle.” Read

CAIR: Fire Jeanine Pirro for Remarks About Rep. Omar’s Hijab and Shari’a

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is calling on Fox News to fire host Jeanine Pirro – and wants her show’s advertisers boycotted until it does – after Pirro linked Rep. Ilhan Omar’s wearing of a hijab to shari’a (Islamic law), and said that shari’a was “antithetical to the U.S. Constitution.” Read

Eight Americans, 18 Canadians Among Dead As New Boeing Crashes in East Africa

At least eight Americans are among those killed when an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa. Read

House Condemns Anti-Semitism, Anti-Muslim Discrimination, 'Bigotry Against Minorities'

The House of Representatives on Thursday passed a resolution initially intended to be a response to Rep. Ilhan Omar’s controversial statements about Jews – but which was, Republican critics say, “watered down” by Democratic leadership to broadly condemn other forms of bigotry as well. Read

Senior Official: US Confident North Korea Can Be Denuclearized Before End of Trump’s First Term

Despite concerns that North Korea may be taking steps to reverse the partial dismantling of a key missile testing site, a senior State Department official expressed confidence Thursday that the U.S. can achieve an end to the regime’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs before the end of President Trump’s first term. Read

Russian FM: Once INF Treaty Is Gone, We Can Deploy Missiles Wherever the US Does

Russia reserves the right to deploy missiles in any part of the world in response to new U.S. missile deployments once the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty is terminated, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday. Read

Ilhan Omar Supporters Slam Democratic Leadership: ‘It is No Longer Political Suicide to Criticize Israel’

Rallying in support of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), under fire for comments about Israel and Jews, Muslim, left-wing Jewish and other figures said Wednesday the U.S. was undergoing a time of transition, with criticism of Israel no longer “taboo” or “political suicide” for members of Congress. Read

Are the Taliban ‘Terrorists’? State Department Won’t Parse Pompeo’s Words

A State Department spokesman would not say Tuesday whether a reference by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to “Taliban terrorists” reflected a change of policy, at a time when U.S. and Taliban representatives are holding peace talks in Doha. Read

US Envoy on Maduro’s Survival: ‘These Regimes All Look Very Stable Until The Day That They Fall’

U.S. special envoy for Venezuela Elliott Abrams on Tuesday dismissed the notion that Washington’s response to the crisis there is not reaping the results it hoped for, pointing to the dramatic shifts that have occurred, and expressing confidence that the Maduro regime will collapse in time. Read

CAIR, Left-Wing Groups Rally Around Ilhan Omar, Say Democrats Must Condemn Not Just Anti-Semitism But ‘All Forms of Bigotry’

A collection of Muslim and left-wing groups are rallying around Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), demanding that House Democratic leaders condemn not just anti-Semitism, but “all forms of bigotry” as well as threats to members of Congress. Read

Denounce Venezuela's Maduro Regime? Ocasio-Cortez: 'I Think That This Is Absolutely a Complex Issue'

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), a member of Democratic Socialists of America, sidestepped an opportunity Monday to condemn Nicolás Maduro’s socialist regime in Venezuela. Read

Anti-Semitism Row: Rep. Zeldin Urges Democratic Leadership to Bring His Resolution to a Vote

Amid reports that House Democratic leaders are planning to put forward a resolution responding to comments by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) on Jews and Israel, Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-N.Y.) suggested that they instead back a resolution on anti-Semitism he has drafted, which among others references both Omar and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) by name. Read

‘Justice Is Coming’ Says Rubio, As U.S. Clears Way for Lawsuits Involving Cuban Regime’s Seizure of Property

“Justice is coming,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) tweeted Monday, in a message directed at Cuba’s communist rulers as the Trump administration for the first time paved the way for suits in U.S. federal courts against entities controlled by military intelligence or security forces, for “trafficking” in private property confiscated by the Castro regime decades ago. Read

FY 2019 Refugee Admissions: Below-Average 9,305 in Total; 82.5% Christians, 14% Muslims

Five months into the fiscal year, the Trump administration has admitted a total of 9,305 refugees into the United States, an admission rate well below the average needed to meet the 30,000 ceiling for FY 2019 which it set last fall. Read

Trump Mocks Ocasio-Cortez’ Green New Deal: ‘This is the Craziest Plan’

Mocking the Democratic initiative known as the Green New Deal, President Trump on Saturday called it “the craziest plan,” and voiced disbelief that long-serving senators supported it. Read

Rep. Ilhan Omar in Twitter Spat With Senior Jewish Democrat Over ‘Dual Loyalty’ Insinuation

In yet another spat over Muslim lawmakers and anti-Semitism, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) wrangled on Twitter at the weekend with a senior Democratic colleague over remarks insinuating that pro-Israel lawmakers, especially Jewish ones, have dual loyalties to Israel and the United States. Read

‘Green New Deal’ Doesn’t Go Far Enough, Says UN ‘Right to Food’ Expert

The Democrats’ “Green New Deal” proposal is praiseworthy but does not go far enough, the U.N.’s “right to food” expert said in an article posted Friday – one day after she was accused of ignoring the severe food crisis in Venezuela. Read

Trump Voices Support for Netanyahu, Who Alleges a ‘Witch Hunt’ of His Own

President Trump expressed support on Thursday for Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who is accusing the left-wing in his country of trying to topple his government by pressuring judicial authorities to announce corruption charges against him less than six week before a general election. Read

North Korea Contradicts Trump on Why Summit Collapsed; Says ‘Our Proposal Will Never be Changed’

North Korea is partly disputing President Trump’s version of the cause of Thursday’s collapse of the summit in Hanoi, saying Kim Jong Un had asked for a “partial” easing of sanctions – not a complete lifting, as Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo maintain. Read