Congressional Democrats are rushing forward to whip up $39.8 billion in additional Ukraine aid, after agreeing to drop a a proposal for additional COVID-19 related funding they planned to combine.
The package, which tops President Joe Biden’s $33 billion request in April, could receive a House vote as soon as Tuesday, with Senate Democrats indicating that they are prepared to move swiftly according to Reuters.
Biden on April 28 asked Congress for $33 billion to support Ukraine, including more than $20 billion in military assistance. That proposal was a dramatic escalation of U.S. funding for the war with Russia. read more
The new proposal includes an additional $3.4 billion for military aid and $3.4 billion in humanitarian aid, the sources said. -Reuters
While emergency aid for Ukraine has had bipartisan support for weeks, disputes over domestic funds for pandemic relief, or whether stiffer immigration controls should be included, have delayed the process.
“We cannot allow our shipments of assistance to stop while we await further congressional action,” read a statement from President Biden, who called on lawmakers to expedite the funding so he could sign it within the next few days.
The urgency comes after Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and top House Republican Kevin McCarthy begging for the funds, which they said would run out in two weeks.
“We need your help” wrote Austin and Blinken, who said there was ‘only’ $100 million left from a presidential authorization of weapons (which required no congressional approval).
“We expect to exhaust that authority no later than May 19, 2022,” the letter continues.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters he was pleased the Ukraine assistance was decoupled from COVID-19 aid. He had advocated for a “clean” Ukraine bill repeatedly in speeches in the Senate. -Reuters
Some Democrats, such as #2 Senator Dick Durban, weren’t happy with the decision.
“It would have been so much better for us to protect the United States as well as worked to protect Ukraine,” said Durban, adding that separating Ukraine aid from COVID-19 aid “doesn’t help. Putting those two together would have been a positive.”
Biden owned stripping the COVID relief from the bill, saying on Monday that he was advised it would slow down action “on the urgently needed Ukrainian aid.”
B) Biden: However, I have been informed by Congressional leaders in both parties that such an addition would slow down action on the urgently needed Ukrainian aid – a view expressed strongly by several Congressional Republicans. We cannot afford delay in this vital war effort.
D) Biden: So I call on Congress to pass the Ukrainian Supplemental funding bill immediately, and get it to my desk in the next few days. And then, I urge Congress to move promptly on the COVID funding bill. This virus knows no borders
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At least half of US President Joe Biden’s 22.3 million followers are fake, an independent audit of the social media platform has found.
On Wednesday, Newsweekreported an analysis using software company SparkToro’s audit tool calculated that 49.3% of Biden’s users are “fake followers.”
According to SparkToro, “fake followers” are “accounts that are unreachable and will not see the account’s tweets (either because they’re spam, bots, propaganda, etc. or because they’re no longer active on Twitter).”
The new information further complicates the deal already in the works to sell Twitter to potential buyer Elon Musk, who has raised questions over the company’s claim that only 5% of users are spam bot accounts.
Responding to Newsweek‘s report Wednesday, Musk remarked, “Interesting,” and added, “So … [checks calculator] … that would be like 10 times more than 5%.”
So … [checks calculator] … that would be like 10 times more than 5%
On Tuesday, Musk announced the deal was put on hold, tweeting, “My offer was based on Twitter’s SEC filings being accurate. Yesterday, Twitter’s CEO publicly refused to show proof of <5%. This deal cannot move forward until he does.”
20% fake/spam accounts, while 4 times what Twitter claims, could be *much* higher.
My offer was based on Twitter’s SEC filings being accurate.
Yesterday, Twitter’s CEO publicly refused to show proof of <5%.
While Musk initially offered to purchase Twitter for $54.20 a share, the company’s stock price has dropped precipitously to $36.84 weeks after the offer.
Replying to Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal’s lengthy thread Monday claiming it’d be impossible to calculate the actual number of bots on the platform, Musk responded with a poop emoji and commented the figures are necessary to market the company to advertisers.
Former President Donald Trump urged Dr. Mehmet Oz on Wednesday to declare victory in the Republican Senate primary election, even as votes are still being tallied in the close race.
“Dr. Oz should declare victory,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform. “It makes it much harder for them to cheat with the ballots that they ‘just happened to find.’”
Donald Trump – Truth Social – 5/18/2022
Trump’s message indicated he was concerned that Oz’s opponent David McCormick had a chance of pulling ahead as more ballots are counted.
The former president endorsed Oz in the race and even held a rally for him in Pennsylvania.
Oz is currently leading the tally with 413,227 votes while McCormick is a close second with 411,048 votes.
It is unclear when all of the votes will be counted in the state, as some counties are still counting mail-in ballots, overseas ballots, and military absentee ballots.
The McCormick team believes they are receiving a greater percentage of absentee ballots than Oz, allowing them to pull ahead and win the race.
“Based on how many uncounted absentee ballots there are and the margin by which Dave has won them so far, that’s why we are confident of victory,” McCormick’s consultant wrote on social media. “Dave will win this race.”
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) warned of increased political violence from pro-abortion extremists before and after the Supreme Court releases an official ruling that could potentially overturn Roe v. Wade, according to an unclassified memo obtained by Axios.
“Law enforcement agencies are investigating social-media threats to burn down or storm the Supreme Court building and murder justices and their clerks, as well as attacks targeting places of worship and abortion clinics,” the outlet reported.
The memo was allegedly circulated by DHS’s intelligence arm on May 13, and says the threats that arose after Politico published a leak of the Dobbs draft opinion “are likely to persist and may increase leading up to and following the issuing of the Court’s official ruling.”
Law enforcement investigates social-media threats to burn down or storm Supreme Court … kill justices and clerks … attack places of worship, abortion clinicshttps://t.co/vOnBxJBE55
The left-leaning news outlet claimed that abortion-related violence has “historically been driven by anti-abortion extremists,” though it did not mention the more than 63 million estimated deaths of unborn children since the Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling declaring abortion to be protected by the U.S. Constitution.
“Some racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists’ embrace of pro-life narratives may be linked to the perception of wanting to ‘save white children’ and ‘fight white genocide,’” the memo reportedly claims.
“But the memo warns that this time, extremist acts could come from abortion-rights proponents as well,” Axios added.
Indeed, pro-abortion activists tracked down the addresses of conservative Supreme Court justices and have been protesting outside their homes in an attempt to intimidate them and subvert the Democratic process. Pro-abortion militants have also vandalized pregnancy centers, including the headquarters of the pro-life group Wisconsin Family Action, which was likely set on fire with a Molotov cocktail.
“If abortions aren’t safe then you aren’t either,” graffiti painted on the side of the building read.
Early Sunday morning, a leftist group attacked WFA’s office in Madison, throwing two Molotov cocktails into the office, after breaking windows, and then proceeded to light a fire. The arsonists posted graffiti that read, “If abortions aren’t safe, then you aren’t either.” pic.twitter.com/H1csPzv5Kz
— ✰✰Wisconsin Family Action✰✰ (@WIFamilyAction) May 9, 2022
Additionally, pro-abortion activists have been targeting churches — Sacred Heart of Mary Church in Boulder, Colorado had its windows broken and front doors spray-painted over. A group of radical pro-abortion activists also blocked the entrance to Manhattan’s Basilica of Saint Patrick’s Old Cathedral days after the leak.
Pro-choice activists protest outside NYC Church, the Basilica of Old St. Patrick in New York, in opposition to a pro-life faith group that routinely tries to deter patients seeking abortions at the nearby Planned Parenthood.
The DHS did say that “…advocacy…does not constitute domestic violent extremism…” according to Axios.
“The mere advocacy of political or social positions, political activism, use of strong rhetoric, or generalized philosophic embrace of violent tactics does not constitute domestic violent extremism or illegal activity and is constitutionally protected,” the memo allegedly reads.
A DHS spokesperson told the outlet the department “is committed to protecting Americans’ freedom of speech and other civil rights and civil liberties, including the right to peacefully protest.”
President Joe Biden’s White House has condemned much of the vandalism but indicated sympathy for the pro-abortion cause.
“We know the passion, we understand the passion, we understand the concern,” former White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during a May 9 press conference, referring to the perpetrators and their apparent support for legal abortion.
The Biden administration has also encouraged “peaceful” protests outside the homes of Supreme Court justices, despite the fact that such protests aim to intimidate the judiciary and appear to be illegal.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Twitter.