Vulnerable Senate Democrat’s ad quickly turns heads: ‘He knows Kamala is going to lose’

Vulnerable incumbent Democratic Senator Bob Casey turned heads Friday with a new campaign ad in Pennsylvania that highlights how he “bucked Biden” and “sided” with former President Trump.

In a TV spot released Friday morning, a married couple with different political views each praise Casey as an “independent,” highlighting his support for Trump’s trade policies and efforts to “protect fracking” from the Biden administration. The ad, called “Bliss,” features a Republican woman named Marygrace and her Democrat husband, Joe. 

“Our marriage – pure bliss! But on politics, we just don’t agree. Except for Bob Casey. He’s independent,” Marygrace says, with her husband chiming in, “That’s right!”

FIREWORKS EXPECTED IN FINAL PENNSYLVANIA SENATE DEBATE IN RACE THAT MAY DECIDE CHAMBER’S MAJORITY

“Casey’s leading the effort to stop corporate greedflation and price-gouging,” Marygrace continues. “Casey bucked Biden to protect fracking and he sided with Trump to end NAFTA and put tariffs on China to stop them from cheating. So in this house, we agree, it’s Bob Casey who’s doing right by Pennsylvania.”

Casey himself appears at the end of the 30-second video and says, “I’m Bob Casey and definitely approve this message.”

KEY PENNSYLVANIA REGION SEES ‘WAITLIST’ FOR TRUMP SIGNS; LAWMAKER SAYS VOTERS READY TO REVERSE DEM POLICIES

Fox News’ Power Rankings rate the Pennsylvania Senate election as “Leans Dem.” Casey, the son of a popular former governor, is running for a fourth six-year term. His Republican challenger is Dave McCormick, a combat veteran and businessman. 

Public opinion polls have shown Casey with a consistent, but narrow, lead over McCormick. However, Republicans were quick to suggest that Casey, by highlighting his work with Trump, is telegraphing unease as Election Day draws closer. 

Elizabeth Gregory, a McCormick spokesperson, said the ad was “another sign of desperation from flailing career politician Bob Casey.” 

Republican critics also called attention to how the ad curiously neglects to mention Casey’s support for Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. The senator did not appear with Harris at her most recent rallies in Erie and Washington Crossing. 

GOP state Rep. Russ Diamond said Casey is now “running ads cozying up to Trump.” 

“He knows Kamala is going to lose,” Diamond posted on Facebook.

HAITIAN MIGRATION ROILS TOWN IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE WITH SIGNS OF PRO-TRUMP SUPPORT ON THE RISE

The Trump campaign’s rapid response account on X accused Casey of “desperately trying to embrace President Trump” after voting to impeach the former president twice. 

Wisconsin Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin, who is locked in a tough race with Republican challenger Eric Hovde, is also running an ad that cites Trump in a favorable light. In the spot, the former president is shown signing into law legislation Baldwin sponsored while Trump was in office. Baldwin previously ran the same ad in March of this year.

“These are liberal Democrats who have opposed Donald Trump every step of the way going back years, voting with Chuck Schumer all the time, but faced with their own defeats, they have suddenly publicly embraced Trump in their own TV ads,” Trump campaign senior adviser Tim Murtaugh told Fox News Digital.  “Not only does this mean that Trump is winning the battle of ideas, it also means they know he is winning in their states.” 

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“This is undeniable, irrefutable proof that Trump is winning in these key battlegrounds, and those bumps you hear are Kamala Harris being thrown under the bus by incumbent Democrats, who used to be her colleagues in the Senate. The Harris camp must be beside themselves with fury over being rejected and abandoned like this, but that’s what happens when you get stuck with the worst candidate in modern political history.”

Kate Smart, a Casey campaign spokesperson, said the senator “does what’s right for Pennsylvania, regardless of party.” 

“Whether it’s standing up to China or fighting corporate greed, he stands with Pennsylvanians and doesn’t care what any politician has to say about it.”

Top Ivy League university sees fundraising slump after antisemitism controversy

Donations to Harvard University and its endowment declined by a little more than $150 million in the Ivy League institution’s 2024 fiscal year amid backlash toward the administration’s handling of antisemitism on campus.

Total donations were down by $151 million, or 14%, in fiscal 2024 from the prior year. Within that total, donations to Harvard’s endowment fell by nearly $193 million from a year ago, while donations for current use gifts increased by $42 million in that time frame. 

The decline followed calls for the resignation of campus leaders who were criticized for allowing antisemitic protests to persist on campus after Hamas’ attack on Israel.

The Harvard Crimson noted that it represents “one of the most significant year-over-year drops in donations in the past decade.” The outlet interviewed Harvard President Alan Garber, who had warned alumni earlier this year about lackluster fundraising figures.

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“Some of the new commitments have been disappointing compared to past years,” Garber told the newspaper. “There are also some indications that we will see improvements in the future.”

Garber told the outlet Harvard’s alumni and donor base is “reassured by the direction that the university is taking” and they are “relieved, at least that, so far, this academic year has been somewhat quieter.”

Harvard’s annual financial report warned that its current fundraising levels may not be sustainable over the long term.

AMID ANTISEMTISM RISE, OTHER COLLEGES COULD UPEND COLUMBIA, HARVARD

“About 8% of fiscal year 2024 operating revenue came from gifts for current use, primarily payments on prior pledges,” Harvard Vice President for Finance Ritu Kalra and Treasurer Timothy Barakett wrote in the university’s financial report. 

“At over $525 million, current use giving reached the second highest level in Harvard’s history. While still surpassing $1 billion of fundraising, such levels may not be sustainable looking forward. We are grateful to those who have continued to direct their philanthropy to the University as a reflection of their commitment to Harvard’s academic mission.”

Last year’s fundraising haul pushed the size of Harvard’s endowment to $53.2 billion, and distributions from the endowment amounted to $2.4 billion, or 37% of Harvard’s total revenue for the year.

Former Harvard President Claudine Gay resigned in January after her controversial testimony before Congress in which she said it would depend on the “context” of calls for the genocide of Jews to determine whether it violates university policy. Gay was also embroiled in a plagiarism controversy.

Bill Ackman, a billionaire Harvard alum, said in December that Gay’s “failures have led to billions of dollars of canceled, paused and withdrawn donations to the university.”

EX-HARVARD PRESIDENT SAYS SCHOOL GOING THROUGH ‘WORST STRETCH’ IN HISTORY, STILL NOT CONFRONTING ANTISEMITISM

“I am personally aware of more than a billion dollars of terminated donations from a small group of Harvard’s most generous Jewish and non-Jewish alumni,” Ackman said.

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Harvard’s early application program also saw a 17% decline in applications received through mid-December 2023 compared to the prior year.

FBI quietly revises violent crime statistics weeks after fact-check during ABC debate

A fact-check in the ABC News presidential debate has aged poorly after the FBI quietly made a stunning correction about violent crime rates in the U.S. 

In last month’s political showdown between former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump cited the rise of violent crime to hammer the Biden-Harris administration’s record. 

“Crime here is up and through the roof despite their fraudulent statements that they made,” Trump said. “Crime in this country is through the roof.”

Moments later, ABC debate moderator David Muir attempted to fact-check the Republican nominee. 

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“President Trump, as you know, the FBI says overall violent crime is actually coming down in this country,” Muir responded.  

Trump immediately pushed back.

“Excuse me,” Trump told Muir. “They were defrauding statements. They didn’t include the worst cities. They didn’t include the cities with the worst crime. It was a fraud. Just like their number of 818,000 jobs that they said they created turned out to be a fraud.”

FBI’S ‘FLAWED’ CRIME DATA HIGHLIGHTED BY CHICAGO’S 118 ‘MISSING MURDERS’: EXPERT

A recent FBI revision appears to back Trump. After reporting there was a 2.1% drop in violent crimes in 2022, the FBI now admits there was actually a 4.5% increase. 

According to crime and data expert John Lott, the new numbers reflect a net increase of 80,029 violent crimes in 2022 over 2021. He found that under the umbrella of violent crime, there were an additional 1,699 murders, 7,780 rapes, 33,459 robberies and 37,091 aggravated assaults that year. 

Muir has yet to acknowledge the FBI’s stat change on “World News Tonight,” according to Grabien transcripts. 

ABC News did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital‘s request for comment. 

ABC News sparked intense fury as its debate moderators repeatedly fact-checked Trump while letting all of Harris’ claims go unchallenged. 

Even the liberal writers of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” took a swipe at its broadcast rival for its “biased” debate.

“I had hoped the takeaway of the debate I moderated would be my striking good looks, but unfortunately, it was whether or not I was biased towards the Democrats, which… duh,” cast member Andrew Dismukes’ Muir told viewers, sparking laughs from the audience.

ABC DEBATE MODERATORS SPARK FURY FOR AGGRESSIVE FACT-CHECKING OF TRUMP, EASY TREATMENT OF HARRIS

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Trump himself has repeatedly slammed Muir and ABC News, accusing the network of breaking the “deal” it had made with the Trump campaign prior to the debate.

“Now you don’t know this, but we had a deal with ABC that there will be no corrections of any kind, and they violated the deal. Why? Because they’re bad people, and they’re fake news,” Trump said on Sept. 26 . “So he did it many times to me during the debate. He violated the deal. That’s the deal, because you can take anything and try and make up stories with it. We had a deal where that wouldn’t happen. You could do whatever you wanted as soon as the debate was over, but he did it in total violation of what our agreement was. And a lot of people standing right over there [as he looked toward his staff] will tell you exactly what it was, will show you what it was. David Muir has lost all credibility.”

Study issues stark warning to hospitals, taxpayers as Biden-Harris admin widens Medicaid

Millions of illegal aliens have been given an on-ramp to Medicaid due to actions by the Biden-Harris administration, a new study by the Foundation for Government Accountability says. 

It warns the moves will swamp U.S. hospitals and cost taxpayers potentially tens of billions of dollars more annually, on top of the estimated $150 billion yearly in higher taxes. The border crisis, intensified by the Biden administration, is straining both Medicaid and U.S. hospitals to the breaking point, experts warn. 

And it’s happening because of loopholes, in addition to U.S. states already expanding Medicaid coverage, plus the Biden-Harris White House weakening Medicaid and Social Security verification systems.

EXPERT SAYS MEDICAID, MEDICARE REFORM IS CRITICAL AND CAN SAVE $2.1 TRILLION

A study of just nine states (including Arizona, Kentucky, Missouri, Texas, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan) that responded to the Foundation revealed that, between 2019 and 2023, the number of illegal aliens on state Medicaid in those states soared 500%. 

The study says that in the five states that provided financial information, it cost taxpayers nearly 550% more to cover illegal aliens.

The U.S. hospital system has struggled to handle the massive red tape of verifying whether patients are legal citizens due to a new loophole under Biden and Harris.

As such, burdened hospitals often can’t follow up, creating a new iteration of “catch and release” in the U.S. hospital system.

First, U.S. states usually check a patient’s citizenship status through federal sources such as Social Security. The loophole is that, if the government data doesn’t match, states give patients a 90-day grace period to get documentation to verify eligibility and obtain Medicaid coverage for healthcare. 

Health and Human Services blocks states from restricting any extension of those grace periods, so long as an illegal alien makes a good faith to prove citizenship. Now states are regularly extending the grace periods beyond 90 days. 

And in another move worsening the problem, the Biden Administration in 2021 forced Social Security to stop issuing “no match” letters to U.S. businesses, which were red-flag notices that their workers were not legal citizens because they don’t come up in the Social Security system via matches with IRS W-2 wage reporting forms.

NEARLY 1M MEDICARE BENEFICIARIES POTENTIALLY AFFECTED AFTER DATA BREACH

The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that, as of 2022, there are roughly 21.2 million noncitizen immigrants in the U.S.,  about 7% of the total population. Roughly six in ten noncitizen immigrants are lawfully present, while the remaining four are undocumented.

Illegal aliens and non-qualified immigrants are eligible for emergency Medicaid, so long as they meet eligibility requirements for their state’s Medicaid program. However, illegal aliens are not eligible to enroll in federally funded health coverage, including full Medicaid, CHIP, or Medicare, or to purchase coverage through the Obamacare system.

Some states, like California and New York, are already expanding Medicaid coverage to illegal aliens. Illegal aliens aged 65 and older who meet income and other eligibility requirements can now enroll in Medicaid in New York. California and Oregon already fund full Medicaid benefits for illegal migrants. California’s state Medicaid coverage of illegal aliens costs California taxpayers about $4 billion annually, the Foundation says. 

Florida’s Medicaid spending on emergency health care to illegal migrants dropped dramatically by 54% year over year as of June, after Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis directed hospitals that accept Medicaid to ask patients about their immigration status. 

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“Nationwide, taxpayers could soon be paying tens of billions of dollars on health care for people who have no right to our safety net—including those who have no right to be in the country,”   says Hayden Dublois, analytics director at the Foundation for Government Accountability.

“All of health care will suffer, too,” Dublois says. “Medicaid pays much less than private insurance, so burdening hospitals with illegal aliens will lead to mounting red ink. Some hospitals have already closed, especially in states that expanded Medicaid under Obamacare, and covering illegal aliens will likely cause more to follow suit.” 

Israel releases video giving an inside look at operation that killed Hamas chief Sinwar

Video footage released by the Israel Defense Forces shows tank fire targeting a building where Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar had been barricaded, authorities said on Friday. 

Sinwar, the architect of the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, was inside a building in Gaza when a tank opened fire, the IDF said. He was killed Thursday by Israeli forces.

Israel vowed to kill the terror leader after the attack that he masterminded killed 1,200 people in Israeli communities, and several hundred others were taken hostage by Hamas terrorist fighters. 

WHO IS YAHYA SINWAR?

“Yahya Sinwar planned and executed the October 7th Massacre, promoted his murderous ideology both before and during the war, and was responsible for the murder and abduction of many Israelis,” the IDF and Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence agency said in a joint statement on Thursday. “Yahya Sinwar was eliminated after hiding for the past year behind the civilian population of Gaza, both above and below ground in Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip.”

Sinwar, referred to by Israel as the Butcher of Khan Younis for his violent and cruel torture methods against his enemies, both Israeli and Palestinian, was widely seen as being behind the massacre of Israeli civilians carried out by thousands of Hamas militants on Oct. 7. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday, following the confirmation of Sinwar’s death, that Hamas has suffered a “heavy blow,” but he promised that the war in Gaza is not yet over.

HAMAS NAMES YAHYA SINWAR, MASTERMIND OF OCT. 7 ATTACKS, AS ITS NEW LEADER  

He added that “Hamas will no longer rule Gaza,” and “this is the beginning of the day after Hamas, and this is an opportunity for you, the residents of Gaza, to finally break free from its tyranny.”

In addition to Sinwar, other top leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah have been targeted for death by Israel over repeated attacks on the Jewish state. 

On Friday, the IDF said that 1,500 Hezbollah terrorist fighters have been eliminated since Israel began targeting the Iran-backed group in southern Lebanon after enduring a year of airstrikes. 

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“We estimate that we are in the region of 1,500 Hezbollah operatives killed, and we put our estimates in the conservative areas,” said IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Col. Herzi Halevi. “I guess there are more and we don’t know, in a lot of attacks.”

Trump on whether former opponent will join campaign: ‘I’ll do what I have to do’

Former President Donald Trump highlighted during a “Fox and Friends” interview that he soundly defeated 2024 Republican presidential primary rival Nikki Haley, but that the former South Carolina governor and U.N. ambassador in Trump’s administration is “helping” him on the campaign trail.

Trump, during an extended interview Friday morning on the popular Fox News Channel morning program, was asked by co-host Brian Kilmeade whether he has asked Haley to help him win over Republicans reluctant to support the former president.

“I’ll do what I have to do,” Trump responded. 

Donald Trump stressed that he “beat Nikki [Haley] badly” during the Republican presidential primaries during a “Fox & Friends” interview Friday morning, while also adding that his former rival is “helping” his presidential campaign.

WATCH DONALD TRUMP’S INTERVIEW ON ‘FOX AND FRIENDS’

“I’ll do what I have to do,” Trump said when asked if he would call on Haley to join the campaign trail, going on to emphasize, “Nikki Haley and I fought, and I beat her by 50, 60, 90 points. I beat her in her own state by numbers that nobody’s ever been beaten by. I beat Nikki badly.”

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Haley launched her presidential campaign in February of last year, becoming the first major candidate to challenge Trump, who had announced his candidacy three months earlier. And she ended up being his final rival, battling the former president in a contentious two-candidate showdown from the New Hampshire primary in late January through Super Tuesday in early March.

Haley announced that she was suspending her White House campaign on March 6, the day after Trump swept 14 of 15 GOP nominating contests on Super Tuesday.

As she departed the race, Haley made it clear that she intended to keep speaking out. And she continued to grab up to 20% of the vote in Republican presidential primaries in the months after she dropped out.

HARRIS TEAMS UP WITH A TOP ANTI-TRUMP REPUBLICAN

In late May, in her first public comments since announcing the end of her 2024 campaign, Haley said she would vote for Trump.

Haley won a total of 97 delegates during the Republican presidential primaries. And she released all of her delegates and urged them to support Trump. 

In August, in a high-profile address, Haley spoke in support of Trump at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

On Friday, Trump appeared to express some frustration regarding whether he will ask Haley to campaign on his behalf in the final stretch leading up to Election Day.

“Everybody keeps saying that. They don’t say ‘get [Florida Gov.] Ron [DeSantis] and Ron did very well,” Trump said. “But again, I beat everybody by numbers that have never happened before. And they keep talking about Nikki. Nikki, I like Nikki. Nikki, I don’t think she should have done what she did. And that’s fine that she did it.”

Trump added, “They say, ‘Oh, when is Nikki coming back?’”

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He emphasized that “Nikki is in. Nikki is helping us already….Nikki is already in, you know, she’s out campaigning.”

Sources familiar confirm to Fox News that Haley is in talks to join Trump on the campaign trail.

Up until now, Haley’s efforts to help Trump court disgruntled Republicans and others not backing the GOP presidential nominee have been limited to some fundraising emails.

While Trump retains vast sway over the GOP, even a small sliver of Republicans supporting Vice President Kamala Harris could make an important impact in what will likely be a tight race in the battleground states.

The vice president has stepped up efforts in recent weeks to court Republicans who backed Haley during the GOP primaries.

House Republican notices clear shift in tone from Biden amid consequential Ukraine decision

President Biden has gone silent on Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s push for permission from its Western partners to use long-range missiles to strike targets deep inside Russia, a ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee revealed.

Sen. Roger Wicker, the GOP ranking member on the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, shared with FOX that he is concerned that Biden does not intend to make any decision on Zelenskyy’s top request, saying that the administration had gone quiet.

Wicker’s statement was released as Biden departed on a visit to Berlin, Germany – which was supposed to advocate for further Ukraine support, but Biden has made zero major announcements.”

ZELENSKYY VICTORY PLAN: REPLACE US TROOPS AT OUTPOSTS IN EUROPE WITH BATTLE-HARDENED UKRAINIANS

The Mississippi senator sent Biden a letter with ten recommendations to place Ukraine in the most advantageous position for Biden’s successor.

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“I am frustrated – and mystified – that your administration has accomplished so little in the last three months regarding the war in Ukraine. You seem poised to leave the next president a weak hand,” Wicker wrote in his letter to Biden. “Nonetheless, I maintain that a focused effort – directed by you – could make a substantial difference over your final 90 days as president.”

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Wicker’s Ten Recommendations:

• Increase the pace of weapons transfers to Ukraine: The Senator suggested that the U.S. immediately provide Ukrainian allies with the remaining $5.5 billion in Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA).
• Allow greater flexibility on restrictions for U.S.-provided munitions: Wicker argued that Biden should immediately revise any policies that limit the use of U.S.-provided munitions, including ballistic missiles, to strike military targets inside Russia. He said that the U.S. should change its policy to restrict the type of targets, rather than the distance from the border.
• Increase the cap of U.S. government non-military personnel allowed in-country: Wicker suggested that Biden direct Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to increase the number of government personnel allowed in Ukraine. He said that the current personnel are overwhelmed and are unable to provide anything beyond day-to-day management.
• Establish a regulated presence of U.S. military contractors inside Ukraine: The Senator said that the administration should allow a limited number of U.S. military contractors to support operations inside the country. He said that the presence of U.S. military contractors would also help mentor Ukrainian personnel to increase self-sufficiency and increase their ability to maintain U.S. equipment.
• Expand training for Ukrainian land forces: The United States should maximize the use of all available training capacity located in the European Command (EUCOM) area of responsibility, Wicker said. The expansion would allow Ukraine to train more troops, he said.

• Deliver more shareable, commercially-derived intelligence: The administration should use processes already in place to increase the delivery of available unclassified information to Ukraine, Wicker wrote.
• Dramatically expand the Pentagon industrial base policy workforce: The Senator suggested that Biden should direct the Secretary of Defense to reassign at least 100 DOD civil servants and move them into the base policy workforce offices and ask Congress for new hiring authority and supplemental money.
• Rapidly accelerate contracting timelines: Wicker said that Biden should formally direct the Secretary of Defense and the service acquisition executives to require all contracting officers to leverage contracting flexibilities laid out by the DOD.

UKRAINE DEFENSE MINISTER CONFIDENT CAN REPLENISH TROOPS BUT IN NEED OF WEAPONS, EQUIPMENT FROM ALLIES

• Hold monthly high-level defense industrial base meetings: Wicker said that Biden should direct the Secretaries of State, Defense, and Commerce to host monthly high-level defense industrial base meetings with Ukraine, key NATO allies, and defense industry officials.
• Deliver more Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions (DPICMs): Wicker said that the U.S. inventory includes hundreds of thousands of serviceable 155mm DPICMs rounds and that Biden should send $250 million of them to Ukraine.

Kyiv has been pleading with America for permission to use long-range missiles supplied by the West to hit air bases deep inside Russia from where aircraft are flying missions to target towns and cities in Ukraine with “glide bombs”.

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In an overnight address following Biden’s visit to Berlin, Zelenskyy thanked the U.S. for their continued support.

“Last night, I spoke with President Biden. Many issues were covered. I am grateful for the new support package. 425 million dollars is the amount. This is air defense – our special priority,” he said. “We also talked about our upcoming packages. President Biden gave me his word that the package will be implemented in the near future. We spoke about long-range weapons.”