Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas cannot “remain in office any longer‚” Rep. Mark Green says.   Green‚ R-Tenn.‚ chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee‚ oversaw the markup of two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas on Tuesday.   “Today is a grave day‚” Green said at the start of the all-day markup. “We have not approached this day or this process lightly. Secretary Mayorkas’ actions have forced our hand.”  Chairman Mark Green on advancing impeachment against Mayorkas: “Today is a grave day. We have not approached this day or this process lightly. Secretary Mayorkas’ actions have forced our hand.” pic.twitter.com/nZwu2enfw2— Virginia Allen (@Virginia_Allen5) January 30‚ 2024 The markup to discuss‚ debate‚ and offer amendments to the article of impeachment against Mayorkas began at 10 a.m. and was still going 12 hours later after several recesses throughout the day. “The time for accountability is now‚” the Tennessee lawmaker said.   Rep. Green on Secretary Mayorkas: “We cannot allow this man to remain in office any longer. The time for accountability is now.” pic.twitter.com/7WRJUzTVHZ— Virginia Allen (@Virginia_Allen5) January 30‚ 2024 The first article of impeachment asserts that Mayorkas has failed to enforce America’s borders and immigration laws‚ and has instead executed policies that incentivize illegal immigration.    The DHS secretary “has willfully and systemically refused to comply with federal immigration laws‚” the article reads. Specifically‚ the article contends that Mayorkas has “repeatedly violated laws enacted by Congress regarding immigration and border security‚” which is at least partly responsible for why “millions of aliens have illegally entered the United States on an annual basis with many unlawfully remaining in the United States.”  Under Mayorkas’ leadership within the Biden administration‚ Customs and Border Protection has encountered more than 8.5 million illegal aliens at America’s borders. The exact number of those illegal aliens who have been released into the U.S. is not publicly reported‚ but during a closed-door meeting with Border Patrol agents in Eagle Pass‚ Texas‚ on Jan. 8‚ Mayorkas reportedly said that more than 85% of the illegal migrants encountered at the border are released into the country.    The second article of impeachment contends that Mayorkas is in breach of public trust and has made false statements to Congress and to the American people.    “Mayorkas knowingly made false statements to Congress that the border is ‘secure‚’ that the border is ‘no less secure than it was previously‚’ that the border is ‘closed‚’ and that DHS has ‘operational control’ of the border‚’” according to the article text.   Mayorkas defended himself in a letter sent to Green Tuesday. “You claim that we have failed to enforce our immigration laws. That is false‚” he writes. “We have provided Congress and your committee hours of testimony‚ thousands of documents‚ hundreds of briefings‚ and much more information that demonstrates quite clearly how we are enforcing the law.” In the letter‚ Mayorkas said the Biden administration had deported more migrants in the past three years than the Trump administration had done over four years. “I assure you that your false accusations do not rattle me and do not divert me from the law enforcement and broader public service mission to which I have devoted most of my career and to which I remain devoted‚” the Homeland Security secretary adds. Committee member Rep. Dan Bishop‚ R-N.C.‚ said during the markup Tuesday that the impeachment effort against Mayorkas is focused on “vindicating the rule of law in our constitutional system.”  The process of impeaching Mayorkas‚ according to @RepDanBishop‚ is about “vindicating the rule of law in our constitutional system.” pic.twitter.com/mham1Gv57K— Virginia Allen (@Virginia_Allen5) January 30‚ 2024 Rep. Dan Goldman‚ D-N.Y.‚ told the committee that the Republicans’ impeachment effort against Mayorkas is “debasing and demeaning the impeachment clause of the United States Constitution.”   Goldman argued that the impeachment clause of the Constitution is “not designed to remove bad policy‚” but rather only “bad men.”   Rep. Goldman‚ D-N.Y.‚ tells Republicans they are “debasing and demeaning the impeachment clause of the United States Constitution” in their effort to impeachment Mayorkas. pic.twitter.com/rTMw6lp1cb— Virginia Allen (@Virginia_Allen5) January 30‚ 2024 Mayorkas himself weighed in on the impeachment proceedings against him‚ sending a letter to Green on Tuesday saying that the “problems with our broken and outdated immigration system are not new.”   The DHS chief called on Congress to deliver a “legislative solution” to the situation at the southern border‚ and said it is “false” to claim that his DHS has “failed to enforce our immigration laws.”   “We have provided Congress and your committee hours of testimony‚ thousands of documents‚ hundreds of briefings‚ and much more information that demonstrates quite clearly how we are enforcing the law‚” Mayorkas wrote in the letter.   He also cited the “bipartisan group of United States Senators” who are currently working on a compromise border security bill as a path forward to address the issues at the southern border.   The Senate’s border bill‚ the text of which has not yet been released‚ reportedly allows up to 5‚000 illegal aliens to cross the border each day.   Obama administration DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson said in 2019 that 1‚000 apprehensions on the border a day “was a relatively bad number.” Now‚ the average daily number of illegal aliens encountered at the southern border in December was more than 9‚000.  Rep. Michael Guest‚ R-Miss.‚ said Republicans in the House have already taken action to secure the border‚ pointing to the passage HR 2 in May 2023‚ and said that the House appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security “went above and beyond what was requested by the president.”   “Secretary Mayorkas has been untruthful with the American public‚ and he has been untruthful for Congress." – @RepMichaelGuest pic.twitter.com/Zwqnx0yBzM— Virginia Allen (@Virginia_Allen5) January 30‚ 2024 Providing the House Homeland Security Committee votes to advance the impeachment proceedings against Mayorkas‚ as they are expected to do‚ the House may hold a floor vote as soon as next week to impeach Mayorkas.   Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the url or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state.   The post Highlights From Marathon Mayorkas Impeachment Markup appeared first on The Daily Signal.

You Should Rethink Flying United Airlines

Some major news broke today with regard to U.S. sanctions against Venezuela and with potentially huge implications on the border crisis. But you wouldn’t know it from watching any of the network evening newscasts. As The Daily Mail reports: Venezuela has threatened to ban deportation flights from the US in response to the White House's decision to reimpose oil and gas sanctions on the bankrupt socialist nation. The Biden administration began deporting Venezuelans on October 18 for the first time in years after the Nicolas Maduro regime made a secret deal with the US that saw the dictator pledge to allow free elections next year in exchange for sanctions relief. The restarting of deportations saw illegal border crossings by Venezuelans drop as much as 74 percent in October. It came at a crucial time‚ as the number of Venezuelans crossing the US-Mexico border had reached a record high and replaced Mexicans as the largest nationality appearing at the border in September‚ 2023.  The reason that these sanctions against Venezuela were snapped back in the first place is because of the regime’s refusal (via the court system) to reinstate leading opposition presidential candidate María Corina Machado to the ballot. So the Maduro dictatorship issued an ultimatum to the Biden administration. Vice President Delcy Rodriguez posted the following on X: The whole of Venezuela rejects the rude and improper blackmail and ultimatum expressed by the US government. If they take the wrong step of intensifying economic aggression against Venezuela‚ at the request of the extremist lackeys in the country; repatriation flights for Venezuelan migrants would be immediately revoked as of February 13th‚ and any existing cooperation mechanism would be placed under review as a countermeasure against the deliberate attempt to strike the Venezuelan oil and gas industry. Venezuela‚ inspired by its glory and historical dignity‚ will continue in its recovery of the Venezuelan economy with its own efforts in national unity! February 13th- that’s two weeks. The fact is that there weren’t that many repatriation flights happening in the first place‚ but they nonetheless served a deterrent purpose. Refusal of deportation flights would constitute an opening of the floodgates in the midst of an ongoing border disaster.  Recall that Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) expressly cited the removal of all sanctions against Venezuela as one of several preconditions to future immigration assistance from Mexico. That makes TWO Latin American socialist rulers that have President Joe Biden over a barrel when it comes to the border. Not optimal. But you heard about none of this on the ABC‚ NBC‚ or CBS evening newscasts. Instead‚ viewers got process coverage of the Mayorkas impeachment hearings‚ and more shilling for the dying Senate-White House border deal. Univision and Telemundo provided brief summaries for their evening newscasts‚ of 24 and 36 seconds‚ respectively. Not impressive‚ but still more than what everybody else did.   Serious coverage of what is happening at the border would include fulsome coverage of these critical developments‚ which might lead to greater chaos along the southern border. For now‚ though‚ the major networks choose to keep their viewers in the dark.  

Brian Wilson of Beach Boys fame announced that his wife Melinda has passed away. The bereaved music legend noted that he and his wife had been married for 28 years. He described her as his "savior" and "anchor.""My heart is broken. Melinda‚ my beloved wife of 28 years‚ passed away this morning. Our five children and I are just in tears. We are lost. Melinda was more than my wife. She was my savior. She gave me the emotional security I needed to have a career. She encouraged me to make the music that was closest to my heart. She was my anchor. She was everything for us. Please say a prayer for her‚" Wilson said in an Instagram post. See on Instagram According to People‚ the couple‚ who wed in 1995‚ adopted five children.A statement‚ apparently from their children‚ was also included in Wilson's post."It is with a heavy heart that we let everyone know that our mom‚ Melinda Kay Ledbetter Wilson passed away peacefully this morning at home. She was a force of nature and one of the strongest women you could come by. She was not only a model‚ our fathers savior‚ and a mother‚ she was a woman empowered by her spirit with a mission to better everyone she touched. We will miss her but cherish everything she has taught us. How to take care of the person next to you with out expecting anything in return‚ how to find beauty in the darkest of places‚ and how to live life as your truest self with honesty and pride‚" the statement read. "We love you mom. Give Grandma Rose and Pa our love."Wilson had previously been married to Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford‚ but the marriage ended in divorce‚ according to Variety‚ which noted that the couple had two children.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

President Joe Biden's @POTUS X account responded to a post from the account for the "Sesame Street" character Elmo.The Tuesday tweet from the president's account came after a prior post on the Elmo account went viral. On Monday‚ the red monster's social media account posed a seemingly innocuous question‚ "Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?"But that question triggered a torrent of replies‚ with the post amassing more than 167 million views so far‚ appearing to become something of a phenomenon."The world is burning‚ Elmo. No amount of tickles can fix this‚" the Not the Bee account quipped in response to Elmo's question."America is struggling‚ Elmo. We need Trump back!" Brigitte Gabriel tweeted."Elmo‚ my man‚ you been to the grocery store lately? I don't know if you drive‚ but you filled up a gas tank? Stop gas lighting us. You know it's real out here‚" someone else wrote. — (@) Then‚ on Tuesday‚ the Elmo account tweeted‚ "Wow! Elmo is glad he asked! Elmo learned that it is important to ask a friend how they are doing. Elmo will check in again soon‚ friends! Elmo loves you." The post also included the hashtag "#EmotionalWellBeing."Biden's @POTUS account responded to that post‚ writing‚ "I know how hard it is some days to sweep the clouds away and get to sunnier days. Our friend Elmo is right: We have to be there for each other‚ offer our help to a neighbor in need‚ and above all else‚ ask for help when we need it. Even though it's hard‚ you're never alone." — (@) Unsurprisingly‚ the post swiftly earned backlash."To the staffer or intern who wrote this... Do you need help?" Rudy Giuliani tweeted."Shut up and close the border‚" Ben Deeter declared."U.S. service members are being killed overseas. There’s an invasion at our border. Americans are struggling to make ends meet. And our president is tweeting at Elmo….you really can’t make this up‚" Courtney Holland wrote. — (@) Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors‚ sign up for our newsletters‚ and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

First mentioned by Plato in Timaeus and Critias‚ the lost city of Atlantis later became a widely debated topic among historians. But is Atlantis real? The post Was Atlantis Real? Inside The Myth Of The Lost City And The Intriguing Theories About Its Existence appeared first on All That's Interesting.

On May 3‚ 2010‚ University of Virginia student Yeardley Love was found beaten to death in her apartment — and her ex-boyfriend George Huguely was soon arrested. The post The Tragic Story Of Yeardley Love‚ The UVA Lacrosse Player Murdered By Her Ex-Boyfriend appeared first on All That's Interesting.

OH NOOOO ... Anyway: 'No One Is Buying Kathy Griffin Comedy Tour Tickets‚' Sobs Kathy Griffin

Comer: Joe Biden Got Free Services From Hunter's Business Associate‚ Eric Schwerin

Former President Donald Trump maintains a substantial lead over contender Nikki Haley‚ surpassing her by a margin exceeding 2-to-1‚ according to internal polling released by the super PAC aligned with Trump.