Your First Look at Today's Top Stories

Having trouble viewing this email? View the web version.

Sponsored By

DaybreakInsider.com

Monday, April 22, 2024

House Passes, Sends $95 Billion Foreign Aid Bill to Senate

Daily Wire: The House voted on Saturday to pass a series of spending packages designating $95 billion in foreign aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. A separate vote was taken on each aid proposal with $60 billion allocated for Ukraine, about $17 billion for Israel, $9 billion for humanitarian aid, and $8 billion to support Taiwan. Another bill that could ban TikTok if the company is not taken out of Chinese control was also passed. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) faced pushback from some Republicans in the House who wanted him to hold votes on foreign aid spending until more funding for border security measures was secured. After the votes, Johnson said that global threats from Russia, Iran, and China necessitated American leadership and support for the spending. The Taiwan proposal passed 385-34. The Ukraine proposal passed 311-112. Israel aid passed 366-58 (Daily Wire). Craig Caplan: Package of 4 bills now heads to Senate (X).

Democrats Wave Ukrainian Flags, Chant “Ukraine” on House Floor After Funding Bill Passes

Townhall: After the House of Representatives passed its massive $60 billion aid package for Ukraine on Saturday, Democrats waved Ukrainian flags on the House floor— signifying their anti-America first agenda. 210 Democrats voted in favor of the bill— with none voting against it— as America’s own borders are being overrun and overwhelmed by illegal immigrants (Townhall). Congressman Cory Mills (R-FL): No flag except the American Flag 🇺🇸 should ever be flown or brought into the U.S. Congress chamber. I wish those who waved flags of Ukraine on the chamber floor loved America and our open borders as much as they do foreign nations. It’s a sad day in the US Congress when many of those who cheer for Ukraine funding vehemently opposed support to US border security (X). Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA): All Democrats waiving Ukrainian flags on your House floor when the bill passed sending another 60B of your treasure to fund the war machine. 100% deficit money. Borrowed on the backs of your children. Wake up America (X).

Turkey Hosts Hamas Leaders in Show of Solidarity

Jerusalem Post: Turkey’s president hosted Hamas leaders over the weekend in highly symbolic and important meetings that reflect the terror group’s increased influence and power in the region after the October 7 attack on Israel. Instead of being isolated after its historic crimes against humanity, Hamas has been embraced. Hamas leaders traveled to Ankara amid a new phase of support for the group in the region. A symbol of this embrace was seen in Istanbul on April 20. Hamas leaders were seated in chairs opposite Turkey’s top officials in a red carpet-style reception with the Turkish leader. Turkey’s message is to blame Israel for a conflict that Hamas started. Ankara has also said that it wants to “bring the massacre in Gaza to an end,” according to Turkey’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Oncu Keceli. The messaging from Ankara during the Hamas visit was intended to increase public support for Hamas more than six months after the war (Jerusalem Post). HotAir: Qatar is close to throwing in the towel in its current role as a mediator between Hamas and Israel. Erdogan has made no secret of the fact that he would like to step in and assume that role. But why would Israel, the United States, or any of our allies want to see the Turkish president take up that role if he’s cheerleading for the terrorists (HotAir)?

Israel’s Retaliation Against Iran Targets Air Defense for Nuclear Site

ABC: Israel launched a retaliatory strike against Iran early Friday morning, a senior U.S. official told ABC News. The strike followed Iran’s attack on Saturday, when Tehran sent a volley of more than 300 drones and missiles toward targets in Israel. All but a few were intercepted by Israel and its allies, including the United States, officials said. Iran’s weekend attack came more than six months after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel on Oct. 7, after which the Israeli military began its bombardment of Gaza (ABC). Jerusalem Post: The Israelis were targeting an air defense radar site near Isfahan that’s part of the protection of the Natanz nuclear facility. The strike was meant to send a signal to Iran about Israeli capabilities, but not to escalate the situation (Jerusalem Post).

Protesters Outside Columbia University Cheer on Hamas’ Terrorism

National Review: Pro-Palestinian protesters outside Columbia University late Saturday night openly advocated for Hamas terrorism against Israel, yelling “Burn Tel Aviv to the ground!” as well as other pro-violence slogans. Heated protests have roiled Columbia’s campus in the last week. New York City police arrested 108 anti-Israel activists on Thursday after the university’s president asked law enforcement to step in and break up the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment.” Dozens of protester tents occupied campus for over 24 hours, which the university deemed a safety concern and a violation of university policies (National Review). Jake Tapper: In response to “horrific” scenes of antisemitic harassment at and around campus, the Orthodox Rabbi at Columbia/Barnard sent a WhatsApp message to more than 290 Jewish students recommending that they go home until it’s safe again for them on campus (X). Israel War Room: Jihadists are openly chanting for terrorism on the streets of New York (X).

Hillary Clinton States Trump Wants to Be a Dictator Who Kills, Imprisons Political Opponents

Daily Mail: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton claims that Trump wants to ‘kill’ and ‘imprison his opposition’ in an interview rant where she begged voters to ignore an ‘old’ Joe Biden. Clinton was appearing on the Defending Democracy podcast with Marc Elias, where she gave her take on the 2024 race. She believes that when it comes to the rematch between the 81-year-old Biden and Trump, she still backs the ‘effective and compassionate’ current president despite his age who ‘wants to maintain our Democracy’ (Daily Mail). Post Millennial: Hillary Clinton claims Donald Trump wants to kill and imprison his opponents. This as Trump faces 91 criminal indictments at the hands of Biden’s weaponized DOJ (X). Collin Rugg: Remarkable. The twice-failed presidential candidate, who failed to mention how her party is weaponizing the ‘Justice’ System against their top political opponent, says Trump wants to be a dictator. Pretty sure she just described herself (X).

Biden to Block Oil, Gas Drilling Across 13 Million Acres in Alaska

Townhall: The Biden Administration is facing heat after announcing on Friday that it plans to block oil and gas drilling across millions of acres in an Alaskan reserve. The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) outlined new restrictions on oil and gas reserves along 13 million acres on a petroleum reserve in Alaska, claiming the move will conserve land that is important to the “Alaska Native people” and the “fish and wildlife” (Townhall). Fox News: The regulations as proposed would create an outright prohibition on any new leasing across 10.6 million acres of the area, equivalent to about 40% of the entire NPR-A. They would additionally require DOI subagency the Bureau of Land Management to review whether to expand protected areas or create new protected areas in the NPR-A at least every five years (Fox News). Senator Dan Sullivan: Our adversaries are celebrating the Biden administration’s sanctions against America’s energy & critical mineral production—locking up Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve and blocking access to the prolific Ambler Mining District. No wonder authoritarians are on the march (X).

China Gains Large Foothold in Antigua

Under Biden’s watch, the CCP is on our doorstep. Daily Wire: Communist China is beginning to rapidly increase its footprint in the Caribbean as it seeks to dethrone the United States as the world’s leading superpower. Just a couple hundred miles away from the U.S. Virgin Islands, China has started to take over the paradise island of Antigua. China is constructing a Chinese-run special economic zone on the island that “will have its own customs and immigration formalities, a shipping port and a dedicated airline and will be able to issue passports,” the report said. “It will establish businesses offering everything from logistics to cryptocurrencies, facial surgery to ‘virology.’” China’s encroachment on what is known as “America’s third border” has U.S. officials alarmed because China uses these developments and upgrades to a country’s infrastructure as a way to bring their own military into a new region (Daily Wire). Newsweek: Hundreds of millions of dollars of loans and grants from China and extensive construction by Chinese state-owned companies of critical infrastructure including ports, airports and water systems are turning Antigua—once considered part of America’s “backyard”—into China’s front yard, critics say. Antiguan Prime Minister Gaston Browne was effusive in his praise for China and its leader Xi. Western countries were not giving the help Antigua needed, Browne said. “I see China, though, as a country that stands on truth, and a country that, you know, at least has some level of empathy for small states, and generally for poor and dispossessed persons globally,” said Browne (Newsweek).

Biden Drastically Changes Title IX Rules

Federalist: The Biden administration’s Department of Education unveiled a sweeping set of rules on Friday that effectively erase protections for sex-based spaces by expanding the Title IX prohibition against sex discrimination to include “gender identity” — a term that’s never mentioned in the original law. A majority of Americans agree that males who claim to identify otherwise should not be allowed to infiltrate girls’ and women’s sports teams. As of now, some 25 states have laws or regulations aimed at keeping boys and men out of female-only spaces, on and off the field. Yet, come Aug. 1, the Democrat regime’s radial redefinition of “sex-based discrimination” poses a threat to sex-based protections and welcomes males into female spaces including athletic competitions, locker rooms, and sex-specific clubs such as sororities, despite state laws (Federalist). Riley Gaines: The Biden Admin has just officially abolished Title IX as we knew it. Now, sex equals gender identity. In a nutshell, the new rewrite means: men can take academic AND athletic scholarships from women, men will have FULL access to bathrooms, locker rooms, etc, men could be housed in dorm rooms with women, and students and faculty MUST compel their speech by requiring the use of preferred pronouns. If the guidelines above are ignored or even questioned, then YOU can be charged with harassment (X).

10.

President Biden to Unleash Unprecedented Tax Hikes if Re-Elected

Townhall: If President Joe Biden is re-elected for another four years, Americans better be prepared to see massive tax hikes as the country faces record-high inflation. Biden vowed to keep former President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts “expired” for another four years, meaning middle-class and low-income Americans would see higher taxes beginning in 2025. “There is no exaggeration here: It’s going to expire and if I’m re-elected, it is going to stay expired,” Biden continued. The Trump campaign criticized Biden’s “bloated” recent budget proposals, saying it will be the “largest tax hike ever.” As part of Biden’s Fiscal Year 2025 $7.3 trillion budget plan, Americans will see a $4.9 trillion tax hike. Republican lawmakers say the plan calls for an “unprecedented $86.6 trillion in spending” over the next ten years. They also said the country’s debt would reach $54 trillion by 2034, leading to the “largest debt in American history” (Townhall).