Germany’s government announced plans to impose stricter controls at the country’s land borders, not close its borders, contrary to posts making the claim online. “Germany closing its Borders for the next 6 months to get illegal migration under control,” said Sept. 10 Facebook posts. While it is true that Germany has tightened security on its land borders, this does not amount to a full closure. The country’s interior ministry announced, on Sept. 9 a “temporary reintroduction...

The former Border Patrol official responsible for securing nearly 1,000 miles of America’s frontier has charged that the Biden-Harris administration intentionally covered up the ongoing migrant crisis. Ex-San Diego Sector Chief Agent Aaron Heitke told members of the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday that the White House repeatedly tried to “quiet the border-wide crisis” by shielding information from the press and concealing crossings by dangerous migrants with terror...

LONDON, Sept 20 (Reuters) - British employers plan to scale back pay increases next year, according to a survey that is likely to encourage the Bank of England as it seeks further signs that inflation pressures in the economy are easing. Almost two thirds of employers are planning to offer employees smaller pay increases in 2025 than in 2024, according to the survey by Incomes Data Research, an independent data and analysis organisation. Last year, 53% of employers said they intended to scale...

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said Thursday that former President Donald Trump has created a special bond with Pennsylvanians following the assassination attempt against him July 13 and that he will be formidable to defeat in November. Trump was struck in the right ear by a bullet fired from about 130 yards away by Thomas Matthews Crooks, 20, who killed a spectator and seriously injured two others at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, before a Secret Service countersniper killed him. It was the...

Meteorologists are starting to sound the alarm of an area at a high risk of tropical development in the Gulf of Mexico next week that could impact Florida, Texas and several other Gulf Coast states. Earlier this year, weather experts warned of the high possibility of an above-average hurricane season, citing the climate pattern of El Niño and abnormally warm ocean surface temperatures. But as of mid-September, there have been only seven named storms that originated in the Atlantic Ocean. The...

In the wake of Israel’s (alleged) triumphant two-day sabotaging of Hezbollah’s communications devices, the subject has often turned to what role the missions played in Israel’s long-term strategy. It’s a legitimate question, but the wrong one to ask at this moment. This fact is highlighted by a February speech from Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah that has been making the rounds in articles about the pager attacks: “You ask me where is the agent. I tell you that the phone in your hands, in...

A group of House members from both parties succeeded Thursday in deploying a rarely executed method to bypass GOP leadership and force a vote on a bill to expand access to Social Security benefits. Why it matters: It's the second time this year that a bipartisan group of lawmakers has sidestepped House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) with the tool, called a discharge petition. • In May, a discharge petition led by Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) attained the necessary 218 signatures to force a House...

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Thursday the Federal Reserve’s decision to lower interest rates was “an important signal” that inflation has eased as he poked at Donald Trump’s economic policies as a failure in the past and sure to “fail again” if revived. “Lowering interest rates isn’t a declaration of victory,” Biden told the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. “It’s a declaration of progress, to signal we’ve entered a new phase of our economy and our recovery.” The Democratic...

On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warned that it would be “politically beyond stupid” for Republicans in the House to send the nation careening toward a government shutdown just one month before a national election. One day later, House Republicans seemed to treat this as a dare. They went beyond—by a big margin. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson finally got a continuing resolution to the floor on Wednesday evening to keep the government funded beyond the end of...

House Republicans have shifted gears as they race to avoid a government shutdown, eyeing a three-month stopgap spending bill — in lieu of a six-month extension — while dropping their demand for tougher voting rules as part of the package.  Top appropriators have already launched bipartisan talks in both chambers, and senior lawmakers said they expect the continuing resolution (CR) will extend 2024 funding into December while excluding the more stringent voter-eligibility rules demanded...