Former Secretary of State John Kerry claimed that there is a “climate emergency,” and suggested that Africans without electricity must select “the right kinds of electricity,” likely referring to green energy production, and that the U.S. must help them to afford it.

Kerry made the comments at a speaking event at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics on Nov. 21, 2024.

The Democrat suggested there will be a need to “declare a climate emergency, which is what we really have. And we need to get people to behave as if this really is a major transitional challenge to the whole planet.”

He noted that the U.S. has the biggest economy on earth, with China in second place.

“Adios comunista,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Tx., wrote in a post on X when replying to a post featuring a clip of Kerry’s comments.

Kerry, a former senator and the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee who lost to incumbent Republican President George W. Bush, went on to serve as secretary of state during a portion of President Barack Obama’s White House tenure.

He has also previously served as special presidential envoy for climate under President Joe Biden. 

Biden awarded Kerry the Presidential Medal of Freedom this year.

A Texas Democrat believes President-elect Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on Mexico will get the country to come to the table “so we can solve the problem about immigration and fentanyl.” 

Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas’ 28th Congressional District – which borders Mexico in the southern part of the state – made the comment Tuesday during an interview on NewsNation. 

“If it means a 25 percent tariff to potentially fix the border, would you favor that?” Cuellar was asked. 

“Well, let me put it this way: Laredo’s the largest port; we handle 40 percent of all the trade between the U.S. and Mexico. I know this is a way to negotiate, get some leverage. I know that Mexico will come to the table,” he responded. 

“But nobody wants a 25 percent tariff on them, and the Mexicans are threatening to do the same thing, and we don’t want to get into that,” Cuellar added. “But I think this will definitely get Mexico to the table so we can solve the problem about immigration and fentanyl.” 

Trump has vowed to impose tariffs on Mexico when he returns to the White House in January. 

“As everyone is aware, thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before,” Trump wrote Monday on Truth Social. “Right now a Caravan coming from Mexico, composed of thousands of people, seems to be unstoppable in its quest to come through our currently Open Border.”

“On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders. This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” Trump continued. 

“Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem,” he declared. “We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price!” 

A source told Reuters that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had a “good discussion” with Trump regarding trade and border security following that Truth Social post.

Trump also said Monday, “I have had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States – But to no avail.”

“Until such time as they stop, we will be charging China an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States of America,” he added.

In response to that, the China Daily newspaper – which is run by the Chinese Communist Party – published an editorial Tuesday saying, “The excuse the president-elect has given to justify his threat of additional tariffs on imports from China is far-fetched,” according to Reuters.

The editorial added: “There are no winners in tariff wars. If the U.S. continues to politicize economic and trade issues by weaponizing tariffs, it will leave no party unscathed,”

U.S. Reps. James McGovern, D-Mass., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky., wrote a letter to President Biden calling on him to pardon WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to “send a clear message” that his administration will not target journalistic activity.

Assange, an Australian publisher, pleaded guilty in June and was sentenced to time served as part of a deal he reached with the U.S. Justice Department to end his imprisonment in London over charges for publishing classified U.S. military documents leaked to him by a source. Assange had spent years attempting to avoid extradition from the U.K. to the U.S.

“We write, first, to express our appreciation for your administration’s decision last spring to facilitate a resolution of the criminal case against publisher Julian Assange and to withdraw the related extradition request that had been pending in the United Kingdom,” the lawmakers wrote to Biden. “This brought an end to Mr. Assange’s protracted detention and allowed him to reunite with his family and return to his home country of Australia.”

Before his plea deal, Assange, 53, was facing 17 counts under the Espionage Act for allegedly receiving, possessing and communicating classified information to the public, as well as one charge alleging conspiracy to commit computer intrusion. The agreement helped him avoid the potential of spending up to 175 years in an American maximum security prison.

The charges were brought by the Trump administration’s Justice Department over WikiLeaks’ 2010 publication of cables leaked by U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, and the Biden administration had continued to pursue prosecution until the plea deal. The cables detailed alleged war crimes committed by the U.S. government in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, detention camp, as well as instances of the CIA engaging in torture and rendition.

WikiLeaks’ “Collateral Murder” video showing the U.S. military gunning down civilians in Iraq, including two Reuters journalists, was also published 14 years ago.

The lawmakers told Biden, who is set to leave office in January, that they are “deeply concerned that the agreement that ended the case required Mr. Assange to plead guilty to felony charges under section 793 of the Espionage Act,” highlighting that the decision to prosecute Assange under the Espionage Act “set off alarms” among members of Congress, as well as advocates for freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

In 2013, the Obama administration decided not to indict Assange over WikiLeaks’ 2010 publication of classified cables because it would have had to also indict journalists from major news outlets who published the same materials.

President Obama also commuted Manning’s 35-year sentence for violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses to seven years in January 2017, and Manning, who had been imprisoned since 2010, was released later that year.

“Put simply, there is a long-standing and well-grounded concern that section 793, which criminalizes the obtaining, retaining, or disclosing of sensitive information, could be used against journalists and news organizations engaged in their normal activities, particularly those who cover national security topics. This risk reportedly informed the Obama administration’s decision not to prosecute Mr. Assange,” McGovern and Massie wrote.

Assange had been held at London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison since being removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy on April 11, 2019, for breaching bail conditions. He had sought asylum at the embassy since 2012 to avoid being sent to Sweden over allegations he raped two women because Sweden would not provide assurances it would protect him from extradition to the U.S. The investigations into the sexual assault allegations were eventually dropped over lack of evidence.

He was the first journalist to be charged under the Espionage Act.

“The terms of Mr. Assange’s plea agreement have now set a precedent that greatly deepens our concern,” the letter reads. “A review of prosecutions under the Espionage Act makes clear that Mr. Assange’s case is the first time the Act has been deployed against a publisher.”

The congressmen said they share the view of Jodie Ginsberg, the chief executive of the Committee to Protect Journalists, who reacted to the plea agreement by saying: “While we welcome the end of his detention, the US’s pursuit of Assange has set a harmful legal precedent by opening the way for journalists to be tried under the Espionage Act if they receive classified material from whistleblowers.”

“We therefore urge you to consider issuing a pardon for Mr. Assange,” the lawmakers wrote. “A pardon would remove the precedent set by the plea and send a clear message that the U.S. government under your leadership will not target or investigate journalists and media outlets simply for doing their jobs.”

Last year, as Assange was still in prison in London fighting extradition to the U.S., McGovern and Massie led a letter to Biden signed by a bipartisan group of congressional colleagues urging the president to drop the case against Assange.

Assange’s brother, Gabriel Shipton, is returning to Washington, D.C., in January as part of a campaign calling on Biden to pardon the WikiLeaks founder before leaving office.

Shipton and Assange’s wife, Stella, have asked Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who before the plea deal had called for an end to Assange’s prosecution and said he had raised the case with Biden, to urge the president to issue a pardon in his farewell phone call with the outgoing commander in chief.

As a condition of his plea, Assange was required to destroy classified information provided to WikiLeaks.

During his sentencing hearing in June in federal court in Saipan, the capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the Pacific, U.S. District Judge Ramona Manglona noted that the U.S. government admitted that there is no evidence that WikiLeaks’ publications put anyone in harms way.

“The government has indicated there is no personal victim here. That tells me the dissemination of this information did not result in any known physical injury,” the judge said at the time. “These two facts are very relevant. I would say if this was still unknown and closer to [2012] I would not be so inclined to accept this plea agreement before me. But it’s the year 2024.”

President-elect Trump is enjoying a bump in favorability since winning a second White House term earlier this month, while figures for outgoing President Biden sank to a four-year-low, according to a new poll.

An Emerson College poll found both men trending in opposite directions, with Trump’s favorability jumping six points to 54% after the Nov. 5 election. Biden, on the other hand, has a 36% job approval rating.

Disapproval of Biden remains steady at 52%, the poll found.

“Trump’s favorability varies significantly by gender, race and age,” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling. “Trump’s strongest age cohort is among voters 40-59, with 60% viewing him favorably, compared to 48% among those over 70. Notably, his favorability has risen among younger voters, with 55% of those under 30 expressing a favorable opinion.”

Trump polled best with men at 61%, compared to 48% of women. In terms of race, 59% of White voters viewed Trump positively, compared to 53% of Hispanics and 28% of Black voters.

The incoming president never cracked 50% approval during his first administration or post-presidency before his election win over Vice President Kamala Harris, according to Gallup, the New York Post reported.

When asked if they were surprised by the results of the 2024 election, 46% of respondents said they were, while 54% were not.

“There is a sharp difference in reaction to the election results based on who voters supported: 67% of Harris voters were surprised by the results, while 71% of Trump voters were not surprised by his victory,” Kimball said.

Looking ahead to 2028, voters were asked about a hypothetical field of candidates.

Vice President-elect JD Vance led the field with support from 30% of respondents. He was followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 5%, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at 3% and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Nikki Haley tied at 2%.

Harris led the field of Democrats with 37%, followed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom at 7% and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg at 4%.

The number of nationals from countries like Afghanistan, China and Iran coming through a key migrant crossing linking Panama and Colombia has increased dramatically in the last four years, according to a new report by a conservative group.

The report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) – which advocates for lower levels of immigration – looked at the increase in migration through the Darien Gap in the last four years since 2021, compared to 2010-2020. The report was first obtained by Fox News Digital.

Citing statistics from Panama, it found that the number of Afghans passing through increased from 98 between 2010-2020, to 8,294 between 2021 and 2024, a 8,363% increase. Meanwhile, Chinese nationals increased from 299 to 39,921. Iranian crossings increased from 14 to 935, and Syrians increased from 28 to 762.

Overall, numbers increased in the Darien Gap from 115,758 between 2010 and 2020 to 1.18 million in 2021-2024.

There have been widespread concerns about nationals from Afghanistan and China in the US. China is a geopolitical foe of the U.S., and Republicans have expressed concern about the potential for espionage or cyberattacks from CCP members who infiltrate the U.S.

“There have been numerous documented instances of Chinese nationals, at the direction of the CCP, engaging in espionage, stealing military and economic secrets,” lawmakers, led by Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said last year.

Meanwhile, concerns about Afghan nationals were highlighted when authorities foiled an Election Day terror plot being planned by an Afghan national who was paroled into the U.S. as part of the evacuation after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

The report blames the crisis that has hit Panama on “open border policies” in the U.S. that “encourage migrants from all over the world to undertake a long, costly, and dangerous journey to reach the ‘El Dorado’ that is the United States.”

“Migrants know that if they can somehow get to the porous borders of the U.S., they will likely be released into the country,” it argues.

Overall, it finds that between 2021-2024, at least 760,000 nationals from “special interest” countries were encountered in the Gap – including nationals with links to Hezbollah and other terror groups. The report, citing data from Panama, found that over half of all those who crossed were adult men.

The top nationalities in 2024 to cross were Venezuelans, Colombians, Ecuadorians, Chinese and Haitians.

Numbers rocketed in the area from just over 6,000 in 2020 to more than 520,000 in 2023, and have since decreased to 286,000 in 2024. Panama elected a new president in May who campaigned on ending illegal migration through the area, and has since signed an accord with the U.S. Under that deal, the U.S. government would cover the costs of repatriations of those who entered through the Darien Gap.

The agreement said the U.S. would support Panama with equipment, transportation and logistics to send migrants caught illegally entering Panama back to their countries. Meanwhile, there has been a sharp drop in migrant encounters at the U.S. border this year, including a more than 55% decrease in encounters after President Biden signed a proclamation in June limiting asylum in the U.S.

President-elect Trump, meanwhile, has promised to provide additional border security and to launch a large-scale deportation operation after he is inaugurated.

FAIR says in its report that Panama, even with U.S. assistance, won’t be able to fully rectify the situation at the Darien Gap.

“A permanent solution to the Darién Gap crisis can only come from where the crisis originated, i.e., when American immigration policy stops inducing illegal aliens to make this dangerous trek,” it says.

Incoming border czar Tom Homan joined Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday at the southern border in Texas, serving meals to troops stationed there over Thanksgiving – as he praised the governor’s “unprecedented success” in securing the border and warned Democratic officials not to get in the way of an incoming deportation operation.

“I’ve said 100 times in the last week, don’t cross that line. It’s a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal illegal alien from immigration authorities – don’t test us,” Homan said of those Democratic officials in multiple states who have said they will oppose President-elect Trump’s plan to launch a mass deportation operation.

Governors in Arizona, Illinois and Massachusetts have pledged not to assist in the deportation operation, while the mayor of Denver recently said he was willing to go to jail over his opposition to the plan.

Homan and Abbott served meals to Texas National Guard soldiers and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers in Eagle Pass, Texas and later in Edinburg, Texas. In Edinburg, Homan said the Texas authorities were doing “God’s work.”

“You’re not just protecting Texas, you’re protecting the entire country,” he said.

In Eagle Pass, Homan praised Abbott for his job in securing the border.

“Governor Abbott has done an amazing job. Illegal immigration in Texas is down 86%, 86% think about that. This is a model we can take across the country. We’re going to help Governor Abbott finish the job he started,” he said.

Homan was appointed “border czar” by President-elect Trump this month after Trump’s election win. A former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director, Homan will be one of the most high-profile figures in terms of the mass deportation operation the incoming administration has planned.

Abbott, meanwhile, has clashed repeatedly with the Biden administration over border security as his state bore the brunt of the historic migrant crisis at the southern border. Numbers hit record highs in 2023, but dropped sharply in 2024. Texas has put that down in part to its own efforts. But the Biden administration has noted that the drop has been border-wide, including a 55% drop in encounters since President Biden signed a presidential proclamation limiting asylum in June, and amid increased co-operation with Mexico. The administration says it needs more funding from Congress, including via a bipartisan bill that failed to pass the Senate earlier this year.

Abbott caused controversy by bussing migrants to “sanctuary” cities like New York City, Chicago and others as a way to relieve the pressure on the state. His administration has also built its own border wall, set up buoys in the Rio Grande and deployed troops to provide additional border security.

Abbott, a Republican, is likely to find an alliance with the incoming administration with aligned views on additional border security, the ending of “catch-and-release” and tougher penalties on those entering the U.S. illegally. Speaking on “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday, Homan said the incoming administration is not waiting until Jan 20 to get to work.

“We’re already planning what we’re going to do to lock down the state of Texas,” he said. “Gov. Abbott’s doing a great job so far. Illegal crossings in Texas are down over 80% because of the great work by Gov. Abbott, and he’s been successful because he has taken the Trump policies and put them to work.”

“We’re going to partner up and help him do 100% security on his border, and we’re going to do that across the southwest border,” he said.

On Monday, Abbott announced that Texas recently installed more buoy barriers on the Rio Grande.

“Texas continues our historic border security mission to stop illegal entry and safeguard our nation,” he said.

“We’ll use every tool and strategy available to hold the line,” he said.

Later Monday, he told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that he was thankful for the incoming administration and the role Homan will play in it.

“I’m thankful that we have Tom Homan as the incoming border czar who is going to help execute those laws and enforce those laws and make sure that we get back to restoring order.”