Chinese President Xi Jinping is signaling solidarity with his “dear friend” Vladimir Putin this week in Moscow — a visit that also underscores Russia’s reliance on China to keep its economy and war machine running.

Why it matters: China has helped shield Russia from Western efforts to isolate it following the invasion of Ukraine, significantly increased imports of Russian oil, and become an even more crucial source for Russia of key inputs like microchips.

• The visit follows warnings from Washington that Xi might start backing the Russian war effort with weapons — claims Beijing denies.

Thus far, China has not openly breached Western sanctions or provided arms to Russia. In fact, Beijing is attempting to position itself as a mediator.

• Putin said Monday that he looks forward to discussing Xi’s recent peace proposal in detail.
• Putin also thanked Xi in an article published in Chinese state media for understanding the “true causes” of the conflict. Chinese officials and state media have echoed Putin’s arguments that NATO is to blame.
• More recently, Beijing condemned the “double standards” at the International Criminal Court after it issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest on Friday.

Between the lines: Xi’s pseudo-neutrality can be summed up by his itinerary this week: a three-day state visit with Putin; a planned phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

• A European official recently told reporters in Washington that one potential “nightmare” scenario is that the military balance of the war shifts toward Russia, Western influence diminishes, and Chinese mediation starts to seem far more plausible.

The big picture: While Xi may consider Putin his “best friend,” he has more practical reasons for aligning with Moscow.

• Russia remains a key source of oil, arms and military technology for China. It’s also an ideological ally for China in its rivalry with the U.S., with a seat on the UN Security Council, says Alexander Gabuev, an expert on the Russia-China relationship at the Carnegie Endowment.
• In an article of his own published Monday in the Russian press, Xi called for cooperation to confront “damaging acts of hegemony, domination and bullying.”

• Chinese leaders often make Moscow the first trip of a new term, but Xi’s decision to opt for a full state visit “is a statement that ‘we will stand by Russia,’” Gabuev says.

Between the lines: Expect three days of handshakes, smiles, pomp and circumstance in Moscow, at least in public. Dinner tonight was a seven-course affair featuring quail blinis, Siberian salmon, venison in cherry sauce and wine from Russia’s Black Sea coast, according to menus posted on Twitter.

• But the balance of power between the neighbors has flipped since the Soviet era, particularly since the invasion. Trade with China now accounts for more than 30% of Russia’s total imports and exports, but just 3% of China’s. That gives Xi a lot of leverage with his giant neighbor.
• “Continuing the war for Putin is more important than any attempt to keep balance or strategic autonomy,” Gabuev says. “Since the war is the organizing principle of Russian foreign policy now, whoever gives you the ability to continue is your best friend.”

A Missouri law that would have penalized police for enforcing federal gun laws was ruled unconstitutional by a federal judge Tuesday, handing a win to the Biden administration Department of Justice that filed suit against the law last year.

The DOJ alleged the law was undermining federal drug and weapons investigators by placing heavy fines of up to $50,000 on police departments if they “infringed” on Missourians’ Second Amendment rights by following any federal laws.

The Second Amendment Preservation Act (SAPA) was ruled “invalid, null, void and of no effect” by U.S. District Court Judge Brian Wimes, an Obama appointee.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said in a statement on social media he plans to appeal the court’s ruling at the Eighth Circuit Court and expects a “better result” there.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters on Tuesday that he will vote with Republicans on overturning a controversial D.C. crime bill that would have reduced maximum penalties for certain crimes, including burglaries, robberies and carjackings.

Asked Tuesday how he would vote and how his party and how the White House “so badly bungled this issue,” Schumer said, “I’m going to vote yes. It was a close question. But on balance, I’m voting yes.”

The original D.C. legislation would have reduced maximum penalties for certain crimes, like burglaries, robberies and carjackings, along with scrapping some mandatory minimum sentences. It faced backlash from conservatives and some liberals; Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser vetoed it this past January, but the City Council overrode her veto.

Then, the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives stepped in with a measure to override the City Council changes. President Joe Biden said last week that he would sign the House measure rather than veto it.

Under the Constitution, Congress can serve as a super city council for the District of Columbia.

Schumer confirmed Monday that the vote will take place this week. A Senate leadership aide said the vote would be on the House disapproval resolution rather than the D.C. council’s transmission to the Senate.

Despite Democrat control of the Senate, the criminal code seems likely to be rejected. One Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, already has said he will vote to overturn the law. Another, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, is in the hospital to receive treatment for clinical depression.

Hopes for presidential intervention were quashed last week when Biden said he would not use his veto if the measure reaches his desk. Biden publicly supports D.C. statehood and generally objects to Congress overturning the laws of the city’s elected officials.

In vetoing the revised criminal code, Bowser said she opposed provisions such as a reduction in the maximum penalties for burglary, carjacking, robbery and other offenses.

“Anytime there’s a policy that reduces penalties, I think it sends the wrong message,” she said in January.

Bowser has said she prefers that Congress stay out of the District’s affairs, but her veto has been frequently cited by critics in Congress as proof that the criminal code revision was out of step with mainstream Democratic thought.

D.C. Council Chairman Mendelson said Monday that the criminal code had been hijacked by Republicans in Congress, eager to create a hot-button issue that would carry through the 2024 presidential elections.

Mendelson said the controversy was designed to put Biden and congressional Democrats in a political bind; by defending D.C.’s right to self-governance, they would open themselves to charges of being soft on crime at a time of rising crime both in the nation’s capital and across the U.S., he said.

“This is about using the District for national political purposes,” he said. “Crime lends itself easily to demagogic rhetoric.”

The US National Transportation Safety Board announced it will conduct a special investigation into rail company Norfolk Southern’s safety practices and culture following the recent derailments of its trains.

“Given the number and significance of recent Norfolk Southern accidents, the NTSB also urges the company to take immediate action today to review and assess its safety practices, with the input of employees and others, and implement necessary changes to improve safety,” the NTSB wrote in a statement.

The company has been under fire since early February after a train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. The Ohio train derailment made national headlines after hazardous vinyl chloride gas in some of the cars was vented and burned to prevent an explosion. Residents of the village and the surrounding areas have been worried since the derailment that the burned gas will cause health problems and pollute the region’s water and ground.

A second Norfolk Southern train derailed in Springfield, Ohio — less than 10 miles away from East Palestine — last week. That train was not carrying hazardous materials.

Another Norfolk Southern train derailed three weeks ago near Detroit. That train was carrying hazardous materials, but response crews said none of the cars on the train were breached.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced in late February that it had placed Norfolk Southern under a binding order forcing it to stay in East Palestine and clean up the aftermath of the disaster upon penalty of fine. The federal agency said Norfolk Southern would have to foot the bill for the clean-up, and if it did not adhere to its plans, the company would be charged triple the cost for the work that needs done.

The company announced on Monday that it planned to revamp its bearing detector network along rail tracks in the wake of the East Palestine disaster.

According to preliminary NTSB reports, the East Palestine train derailed after a wheel bearing overheated and failed. Bearing detectors are placed along rail lines and monitor temperatures on the parts to prevent such accidents. The NTSB said it was examining whether more detectors would have alerted the train staff to the overheated bearing earlier.

NTSB Director Jennifer L. Homendy said during a press conference that the derailment in East Palestine was “100 per cent preventable.”

Though train derailments around the country have been making recent headlines in the wake of the East Palestine disaster, the events are not especially uncommon. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the US experiences 1,760 train derailments on average each year.

In the last two months, three trains in Ohio, one near Detroit, one in Nebraska, and another near Houston have derailed.

President Biden is considering bringing back the practice of detaining migrant families who cross the border illegally in what could be a major immigration policy reversal, according to a report on Monday.

Biden, 80 shut down the practice of family detention in 2021 amid pressure from Democrats, and after campaigning in 2020 against the Trump administration’s use of the policy.

The consideration of reimplementing family detentions comes as the Biden administration grapples with the looming end of Title 42, a Trump-era program that allowed authorities to swiftly deport migrants apprehended crossing the border.

Officials fear a surge of illegal immigrants at the border after May 11, when the Title 42 public health measure officially expires.

According to the New York Times, senior White House and Department of Homeland Security officials have held several meetings over the past few days to discuss options for deterring migrants — including detaining families caught crossing the border illegally for up to 20 days.

Continuing with the current practice of releasing families into the country with monitoring devices and requiring them to report to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office is also being considered, according to the report.

DHS has indicated that no final decisions have been made on how border policing will change, if at all, after the end of Title 42.

“The administration will continue to prioritize safe, orderly and humane processing of migrants,” a DHS spokesman told the outlet, which first reported the administration’s consideration of reimplementing family detentions.

Leecia Welch, the lead lawyer in Reno v. Flores, the Supreme Court case that led to limits on the time children can spend in detention and established minimum standards for holding facilities, told the Times that the possibility of family detention coming back is “heartbreaking.”

“Ending the inhumane practice of family detention has been one of the only positive immigration policy decisions of the Biden administration,” Welch told the outlet.

“It is heartbreaking to hear there could be a return to the Trump-era use of this practice,” she added.

Family detention has been used by former Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump.

The Trump administration sought to detain families indefinitely to discourage illegal immigration but attempts to end limits on how long minors could be detained were blocked by the courts.

Biden campaigned against Trump’s use of family detention, and was urged by fellow Democrats to adopt more humane immigration policies after he took office.

“Children should be released from ICE detention with their parents immediately,” he wrote in a Twitter post in June 2020. “This is pretty simple, and I can’t believe I have to say it: Families belong together.”

Last month, the Biden administration published a new immigration rule that would disqualify migrants who illegally cross into the US from applying for asylum.

The new rule would require asylum-seekers to apply for protection in any country they travel through before they arrive in the US.

President Joe Biden’s administration said Tuesday afternoon that it supports a bipartisan piece of legislation that was just introduced by a group of senators that would allow the U.S. to ban TikTok and take action against other foreign adversaries.

Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and John Thune (R-SD), ranking member of the Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications, Media and Broadband, led a group of 12 bipartisan senators to introduce the Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology (RESTRICT) Act.

The legislation empowers the Department of Commerce to review, prevent, and mitigate information communications and technology (ICT) transactions that pose undue risk to U.S. economic and national security.

“Today, the threat that everyone is talking about is TikTok, and how it could enable surveillance by the Chinese Communist Party, or facilitate the spread of malign influence campaigns in the U.S. Before TikTok, however, it was Huawei and ZTE, which threatened our nation’s telecommunications networks. And before that, it was Russia’s Kaspersky Lab, which threatened the security of government and corporate devices,” said Warner. “We need a comprehensive, risk-based approach that proactively tackles sources of potentially dangerous technology before they gain a foothold in America, so we aren’t playing Whac-A-Mole and scrambling to catch up once they’re already ubiquitous.”

The White House issued a statement from national security adviser Jake Sullivan about the legislation in which Sullivan signaled that the administration supports it and wants to sign it into law as fast as possible.

“This legislation would empower the United States government to prevent certain foreign governments from exploiting technology services operating in the United States in a way that poses risks to Americans’ sensitive data and our national security,” Sullivan said. “This bill presents a systematic framework for addressing technology-based threats to the security and safety of Americans. This legislation would provide the U.S. government with new mechanisms to mitigate the national security risks posed by high-risk technology businesses operating in the United States.”

“Critically, it would strengthen our ability to address discrete risks posed by individual transactions, and systemic risks posed by certain classes of transactions involving countries of concern in sensitive technology sectors,” Sullivan added. “This will help us address the threats we face today, and also prevent such risks from arising in the future.”

The bipartisan group of senators put out a summary explaining what the RESTRICT Act would do, including:

• Require the Secretary of Commerce to establish procedures to identify, deter, disrupt, prevent, prohibit, and mitigate transactions involving information and communications technology products in which any foreign adversary has any interest and poses undue or unacceptable risk to national security.
• Prioritize evaluation of ICT products used in critical infrastructure, integral to telecommunications products, or pertaining to a range of defined emerging, foundational, and disruptive technologies with serious national security implications.
• Ensure comprehensive actions to address risks of untrusted foreign ICT by requiring the Secretary to take up consideration of concerning activity identified by other USG entities.
• Educate the public and business community about the threat by requiring the Secretary of Commerce to coordinate with the Director of National Intelligence to provide declassified information on how transactions denied or otherwise mitigated posed undue or unacceptable risk.

A lot of bipartisan support for Warner's RESTRICT Act that would take aim at foreign-owned companies like TikTok. But I'm still not sure I understand how this would be substantially different than the CFIUS process.

— Daniel Flatley (@DanielPFlatley) March 7, 2023

"CFIUS requires a transaction" to start its process, Warner says. This legislation would enable the government to act absent an acquisition or investment.

— Daniel Flatley (@DanielPFlatley) March 7, 2023

President Joe Biden’s pick to run the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) withdrew her name from consideration Tuesday, the White House confirmed.

Gigi Sohn, whom the White House first nominated in October 2021, said her decision came in response to “unrelenting, dishonest and cruel attacks” from cable and media industry lobbyists, the Washington Post first reported.

Sohn ruffled feathers with her past social media posts and views on certain key issues that prevented the Senate from ever holding a floor vote on her confirmation. During the Obama administration, Sohn was one of the chief architects of net neutrality, a cornerstone of progressive telecom policy, which was reversed by the free-market types who ran the FCC under former President Donald Trump.

Sohn said the attacks on her took an “enormous toll” on her and her family.

“As someone who has advocated for my entire career for affordable, accessible broadband for every American, it is ironic that the 2-2 FCC will remain sidelined at the most consequential opportunity for broadband in our lifetimes,” Sohn said in a statement. “This means that your broadband will be more expensive for lack of competition, minority and underrepresented voices will be marginalized, and your private information will continue to be used and sold at the whim of your broadband provider.”

The commission currently comprises two Republican and two Democrat members, which means it can’t green-light any regulatory rules that do not have bipartisan support. Sohn would have been the tie-breaking vote if she had been confirmed.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said earlier Tuesday that he would not support Sohn’s confirmation because her record demonstrated her inability to steer the agency in a non-partisan direction.

My statement on my decision to vote against Gigi Sohn for Democratic Commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission (@FCC) ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/wElUnbI9l4

— Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) March 7, 2023

“Especially now, the FCC must remain above the toxic partisanship that Americans are sick and tired of, and Ms. Sohn has clearly shown she is not the person to do that,” Manchin said. “For those reasons, I cannot support her nomination to the FCC, and I urge the Biden administration to put forth a nominee who can bring us together, not drive us apart.”

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called the withdrawal of Sohn’s nomination “a major victory [that] represents a strong bipartisan agreement that we need a fair and impartial candidate who can receive the support needed for confirmation.”

“The FCC is not the place for partisan activists; free speech is too important,” Cruz said. “Now, it’s time for the Biden administration to put forth a nominee who can be confirmed by the full Senate and is committed to serving as an even-handed and truly independent regulator.”

The White House on Tuesday said Sohn “would have brought tremendous intellect and experience, which is why the president nominated her in the first place.”

“We also appreciated her dedication to public service, her talent and her years of work as one of the nation’s leading public advocates on behalf of American consumers and competition,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

Democrats say Michelle Obama has the “it” factor that could maybe beat Donald Trump in 2024.

While Democratic leaders are publicly rallying behind Joe Biden to be their guy for the 2024 presidential election, behind the scenes Democrats are still mulling the best leader for the party who could win a stand-off against former President Donald Trump in 2024.

Former White House and Pentagon official Douglas MacKinnon said if not Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris, Democrats could look to a past superstar to create a more viable ticket.

Among the names of possible contenders, former first lady Michelle Obama’s name was floated ahead of the last Democratic presidential primary, although she has repeatedly denied any interest in seeking office. At 59, and with her “it” factor (as McKinnon labels it) she could emerge as a top candidate and Democrats could look to push her to run. She has previously denied any desire to seek candidacy.

According to a recent Politico article, Biden faces doubt from some “high-level Democrats” who may only support the president because they fear what a Biden-less ticket could look like.

“High-level Democrats are rallying to President Biden’s reelection, not because they think it’s in the best interest of the country to have an 82-year-old start a second term but because they fear the potential alternative: the nomination of Kamala Harris and election of Donald Trump,” the report read.

In 2020, Biden and Vice President Harris defeated Trump when they received more votes than any other presidential ticket in U.S. history. But, just three years later, Biden has an approval rating in the 40s and numerous verbal slipups have caused headaches for the White House press team.

According to the Politico report, a senator at the National Governor’s Association meeting in February went as far as to question whether Biden had the stamina for the presidential campaign season. Biden won his initial election during the travel-restricted COVID pandemic and spent much of his time campaigning from his basement.

At the same NGA winter meeting, a congressman “said Harris wasn’t an option,” Politico reported.

Other candidates could include those who previously won the Democratic presidential nomination, such as Hillary Clinton, John Kerry or Al Gore (setting up another rematch between Clinton and Trump).

The hypothetical candidates, however, fail to address the concerns of some voters who want a younger president as Clinton is 75, Kerry is 79 and Gore is 74.

Democrats could also look to past candidates that generated public support but ultimately fell short of securing the nomination. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., each ran in 2020, and could potentially step up for another presidential bid.

Warren is 73 and Sanders is 81, while Klobuchar is 62 and Booker is 53.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also ran and lost in 2020, but joined the Biden administration and has continued to grow his political resume over the last three years.

He is 41.

Beto O’Rourke, who most recently lost a statewide race in Texas, is 50.

Govs. Gavin Newsom of California, 55, and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, 51, could also look to make the moves from their respective state offices to the White House.

Any of these candidates, McKinnon notes, would have to trek strategically to explain why Democrats moved away from Biden or Harris.

“Are the chances of a superstar from the past becoming the 2024 nominee a pipe-dream? Most likely. But with the river of political denial threatening to wash away the Democrats’ chances in 2024, what else is a party to do?” he asked.

Currently, self-help author and spiritual guru Marianne Williamson is the only candidate to begin a long shot challenge to Biden.

“We are upset about this country, we’re worried about this country,” Williamson told a crowd on Saturday when she officially launched her campaign. “It is our job to create a vision of justice and love that is so powerful that it will override the forces of hatred and injustice and fear.”

Williamson, 70, also ran in 2020.

“I have run for president before. I am not naive about these forces which have no intention of allowing anyone into this conversation who does not align with their predetermined agenda,” she added. “I understand that, in their mind, only people who previously have been entrenched in the car that brought us into this ditch can possibly be considered qualified to bring us out of it.”

According to a Fox News poll last month, 37{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266} of Democratic primary voters want to keep Biden as their party’s nominee, while 53{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266} said they would like someone else to run.

Former first lady Michelle Obama said she sobbed after leaving the White House and blasted former President Donald Trump’s inauguration for what she called a lack of diversity.

Obama made the comments in a recent episode of her new The Light Podcast shared with People magazine.

In the segment, she blasted Trump’s inauguration as small, lacking in diversity, and against her values.

“You walk through the Capitol, you wave goodbye, you get on Marine One, and you take your last flight flying over the Capitol, where there weren’t that many people there — we saw it, by the way!” she said.

The former first lady said the emotional nature of leaving the White House had her feeling a range of emotions.

“We were leaving the home we had been in for eight years, the only home our kids really knew,” she continued, referencing her two children, Malia, 24, and Sasha, 21. “They remembered Chicago, but they had spent more time in the White House than anywhere, so we were saying goodbye to the staff and all the people who helped to raise them.”

She then zoned in on the inauguration itself.

”To sit on that stage and watch the opposite of what we represented on display — there was no diversity, there was no color on that stage,” she continued. “There was no reflection of the broader sense of America.”

Obama continued to describe her experience leaving the White House for the last time.

“When those doors shut, I cried for 30 minutes straight, uncontrollable sobbing, because that’s how much we were holding it together for eight years,” she said.

Obama attended the inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017, with her children and husband, former President Barack Obama. Trump did not attend President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021.

Tom Brady isn’t looking to repeat last year’s retirement saga — especially with the addition of new four-legged friends.

One day after NFL Network’s Rich Eisen floated the idea that the former Buccaneers quarterback “might not be done” playing, Brady took to Twitter on Tuesday to dismiss rumors he’s coming out of retirement once again.

“Anyone who thinks I have time to come back to the NFL has never adopted a 2 month old kitten for their daughter,” Brady said of his 10-year-old daughter Vivian, whom he shares with ex-wife Gisele Bündchen.

February marked a busy month for Brady, who confirmed he was calling it a career after 23 seasons in the NFL.

The seven-time Super Bowl champion initially announced his retirement in February 2022 but walked back on that decision a month later.

Brady, 45, spent the final year of his playing career with the Buccaneers while also grappling with the fallout of his divorce from Bündchen, 42.

The couple finalized their split in October after 13 years of marriage and also share 13-year-old son Benjamin.

In the weeks following his most recent retirement announcement, Brady debuted the two kittens he adopted in an Instagram Story.

“Vivi wins again,” Brady captioned a clip that featured the felines play-fighting.

“This is what my mornings are like now. They are in good, loving hands,” he continued.

Although Brady has been savoring family time in the wake of his second NFL retirement, some within the community have speculated if the quarterback is truly done playing.

When recapping his experience at last week’s NFL Scouting Combine, Eisen noted on his show Monday that Brady was a hot topic in Indianapolis.

“This one just blew my mind: Tom Brady might not be done after all,” Eisen said.

“A couple people were just like, ‘Hang on, just you wait.’ And I was like, ‘He’s Instagramming out pictures of his cat.’ But it doesn’t look like he’s getting big and fat, does it? Let it play out. Let’s see who wants what.”

Eisen then noted, “The one place that folks are saying to keep an eye out for is Miami.”

Brady was previously linked to the Dolphins.

MiamI was punished by the NFL in August following a tampering investigation on the matter.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, Colin Cowherd said he spoke to a trustworthy source who echoed a similar sentiment about Brady wanting to suit up again.

“Somebody I trust outside of this building at Fox told me a couple of weeks ago, they said, ‘I don’t think Brady’s going to be a broadcaster anytime soon, I think he wants to play,’” Cowherd said on “The Herd.”

Interestingly enough, Brady appeared on Cowherd’s show in early February and revealed he would be sliding into the Fox Sports booth as their lead NFL analyst in the fall of 2024.

Brady signed a monster 10-year, $375 million contract with Fox last spring.

Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell warned on Tuesday the central bank may have to push interest rates higher than previously expected in order to curb stubborn inflation.

The warning, in testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, comes after a series of economic indicators that indicate the economy is running hotter than expected despite aggressive action from the Fed.

“Although inflation has been moderating in recent months, the process of getting inflation back down to 2{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266} has a long way to go and is likely to be bumpy,” Powell told senators.

Over the last year, the central bank has raised interest rates eight times in an effort to tamp down demand. But after appearing to cool off late last year, both consumer spending and hiring came roaring back in January, putting more upward pressure on prices.

“Some of this reversal likely reflects the unseasonably warm weather in January,” Powell said.

But he added that Fed policymakers may have to raise interest rates more aggressively at their next meeting in two weeks if upcoming data shows similar strength. The U.S. will release February jobs data on Friday, which will be followed by the monthly inflation report next week.

Markets are hit hard by Powell’s comments

Investors had expected the Fed to raise rates by 0.25 percentage points at that meeting later this month. But odds of a larger, half-point increase rose sharply after Powell’s testimony.

Powell also suggested that interest rates may ultimately have to climb higher than the 5 to 5.5{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266} range that policymakers had predicted in December in order to bring prices under control. The Fed’s benchmark rate is currently 4.50 to 4.75{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}.

The prospect of higher interest rates weighed on the stock market. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 575 points, or 1.7{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}.

Higher rates should help curb inflation. But the Fed’s actions also risk sparking a recession and a rise in unemployment.

The debt ceiling fight also looms

Both Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee tried to draw Powell into the looming fight over the federal debt ceiling.

Republicans are demanding the government rein in spending as a condition to raise the debt ceiling. Democrats accuse the GOP of risking a costly federal default if the debt ceiling is not raised and the government finds itself unable to pay its bills.

Powell avoided taking sides in the partisan wrangling.

“We do not seek to play a role in these policy issues,” he said. “But at the end of the day, there’s only one solution to this problem.”

“Congress really needs to raise the debt ceiling. That’s the only way out,” Powell said. “And if we fail to do so, I think that the consequences are hard to estimate, but they could be extraordinarily adverse, and could do longstanding harm.”

Former President Donald Trump is reportedly considering picking a female running mate for the 2024 election, with former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake being seen as a potential model. Other potential candidates include Nikki Haley, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Kristi Noem.

Trump’s spokesperson, Steven Cheung, warned against speculating on who Trump will choose as his running mate, stating that anyone claiming to know is misinformed and playing a risky media game.

Axios reported:

Kaire Lake, a former TV anchor who lost her race for Arizona governor in November, meets Trump’s most important qualification for a No. 2:

• She has shown she’s willing to defend him vociferously, no matter the issue or controversy.
• But Trump friends say Lake carries a big downside: He wants no risk that his running mate could outshine him. Lake would be assumed to be angling for president from the day she entered the White House. She made a political trip to Iowa last month.
• And, of course, losing her winnable governor’s race (which she challenged) hurts her mojo.

Some close to Trump think Nikki Haley — former South Carolina governor and his ambassador to the U.N. — might be the best fit.

• She’s his best-known declared opponent for the GOP nomination. He calculates she doesn’t take a single vote from him.

Another strong fit might be Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was Trump’s White House press secretary.

Two of the four American citizens kidnapped in Mexico are dead while the other two remain alive, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing the governor of Tamaulipas.

Tamaulipas Gov. Américo Villarreal said Tuesday that one of the surviving Americans was wounded and the other was not, while two of the four U.S. citizens who traveled to Mexico were found dead.

The FBI is still working to return the missing Americans, who were abducted after being caught in the crossfire of rival cartels shortly after crossing the U.S. border with Mexico.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said during a Tuesday news conference that he has been briefed by the FBI on the situation unfolding in Mexico and said the State Department was working with Mexican authorities on the investigation.

Garland offered sympathies to the families of the victims of the attacks, but did not confirm the reports that two of the Americans died in the attack.

The attorney general added that the Justice Department would be working to prosecute the cartel members behind the incident.

Dramatic video shows the moment four Americans were kidnapped shortly after crossing into Mexico, in what authorities have called a case of mistaken identity.

The video of the violent incident shows armed men in body armor dragging one person across the pavement and pushing a woman into the bed of a white truck, then dragging two more men who appear to be wounded across the pavement and loading them into the bed of the same truck.

Photos from the scene show a white minivan with North Carolina plates riddled with bullet holes shortly after the kidnappings, with a woman who reportedly witnessed the attack telling the Associated Press she saw the minivan collide with another vehicle before hearing gunfire and seeing armed men approach the van.

“All of a sudden they (the gunmen) were in front of us,” said the woman, who declined to be identified for fear of retaliation. “I entered a state of shock, nobody honked their horn, nobody moved. Everybody must have been thinking the same thing, ‘If we move they will see us, or they might shoot us.’”

She added that she saw the men force one woman who was able to walk into the bed of their truck, while another victim who she said could move his head was loaded into the truck.

“The other two they dragged across the pavement, we don’t know if they were alive or dead,” she said.

According to law enforcement, the group of Americans were traveling to Mexico for health services last week when the minivan they were driving was attacked by a group of armed men, who shot at the vehicle before dragging the Americans out and loading them into a truck. The four Americans were not thought to be the intended target of the attack.

The group crossed from Brownsville, Texas, into the Mexican city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, an area that has been plagued by cartel violence and carries a travel advisory from the State Department warning Americans to avoid visiting.

UPDATE 1:

The two Americans who were found dead in Mexico have been identified as Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown.

A US official familiar investigation confirmed the identities to CNN Tuesday.

UPDATE 2:

The two American citizens who were found alive have been identified as Latavia “Tay” McGee and Eric James Williams — and have returned to the US, sources said.

Latavia “Tay” McGee and Eric James Williams were rushed to the border near Brownsville, Texas Tuesday in a convoy of ambulances and SUVs escorted by Mexican military Humvees and National Guard trucks with mounted .50-caliber machine guns.

U.S. Capitol Police Chief Tom Manger hit Tucker Carlson on Tuesday, criticizing the prime-time Fox News host for his coverage of the Jan. 6 attack that featured never-before-seen surveillance footage taken from inside the Capitol during the riot.

Manger accused Carlson of deliberately selecting video clips that showed the “calmer moments” of the Capitol riot while failing to provide context of the attack as a whole. Carlson debuted the footage on his show Monday night to argue that the incident was a “mostly peaceful” gathering of protesters.

“Last night an opinion program aired commentary that was filled with offensive and misleading conclusions about the January 6 attack,” Manger wrote in an internal memo to USCP officers. “The program conveniently cherry-picked from the calmer moments of our 41,000 hours of video. The commentary fails to provide context about the chaos and violence that happened before or during these less tense moments.”

Carlson played footage that showed Jacob Chansley, who has become known as the “QAnon Shaman,” walking around the Capitol without pushback from security officials. In one clip, Chansley is seen walking alongside two officers to the Senate chamber, where he is later seen taking a photo inside.

While walking around, video footage does not appear to show any of the officers intervening — prompting Carlson to accuse Capitol Police of being complicit “as his tour guides.” It’s not clear from the video whether Chansley and the officers engaged in a conversation, as there is no audio in the tapes.

Manger pushed back on Carlson’s comments, calling his accusations “outrageous and false.”

“This Department stands by the officers in the video that was shown last night,” Manger wrote. “I don’t have to remind you how outnumbered our officers were on January 6. Those officers did their best to use de-escalation tactics to try to talk rioters into getting each other to leave the building.”

Carlson accused Democrats of lying about several aspects of the Jan. 6 riot, including the death of Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick. Sicknick died of natural causes one day after the Capitol riot. An autopsy report ruled that “all that transpired (on January 6) played a role in his condition.”

“The most disturbing accusation from last night was that our late friend and colleague Brian Sicknick’s death had nothing to do with his heroic actions on January 6,” Manger wrote. “The Department maintains, as anyone with common sense would, that had Officer Sicknick not fought valiantly for hours on the day he was violently assaulted, Officer Sicknick would not have died the next day.”

Brian Sicknick’s family Response

Sicknick’s family also responded to Carlson’s comments, denouncing Fox News as being the “propaganda arm of the Republican Party.”

“The Sicknick family is outraged at the ongoing attack on our family by the unscrupulous and outright sleazy so-called ‘news’ network of Fox News who will do the bidding of Trump or any of its sycophant followers, no matter what damage is done to the families of the fallen, the officers who put their lives on the line, and all who suffered on Jan. 6th due to the lies started by Trump and spread by sleaze slinging outlets like Fox,” the family wrote in a scathing statement. “Every time the pain of that day seems to have ebbed a bit, organizations like Fox rip our wounds wide open again and we are frankly sick of it. Leave us the hell alone.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Response

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) notably backed Manger’s criticisms on Tuesday, expressing concerns to reporters about how the Jan. 6 riot “was depicted” on Carlson’s show.

“It was a mistake, in my view, [for] Fox News to depict this in a way completely at variance with what our chief law enforcement official in the Capitol [did],” McConnell said at a press conference. “I want to associate myself entirely with the opinion of the chief of the Capitol Police about what happened on Jan. 6.”

New intelligence reviewed by U.S. intelligence agencies reportedly indicates that a pro-Ukrainian group was behind the attacks on the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines last year.

Unnamed U.S. officials briefed on new intelligence said that it indicated that pro-Ukrainian actors, likely Ukrainian or Russian nationals, were behind the explosions, the New York Times reported Tuesday.

The U.S. officials said they do not have evidence that the group was tied to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky or that the perpetrators were acting on the orders of any Ukrainian government officials. They declined to disclose additional details about the nature of the intelligence, including details of how it was obtained.

Ukraine denied any involvement in the explosions Tuesday.

“Although I enjoy collecting amusing conspiracy theories about Ukraine’s government, I have to say: Ukraine has nothing to do with the Baltic Sea mishap and has no information about ‘pro-Ukrainian sabotage groups,'” Zelensky adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter.

The twin Nord Stream gas pipelines were hit by four undersea blasts in September. European officials said the explosions caused “extensive damage” to Nord Stream 1, the main gas artery linking Russia to the EU and supplying the bulk of the bloc’s supplies until Moscow began throttling its deliveries last summer.

Western officials, including in the United States, had described it as an act of “sabotage,” though they had stopped short of blaming any individuals or countries involved in the attack.

Swedish and Danish security authorities have been separately investigating the explosions, which occurred in their exclusive economic zones. Neither country has finished its investigation or named a culprit in the explosions.

Seymour Hersh, a Pulitzer-winning investigative journalist and former New Yorker staff writer whose recent reporting has frequently come under scrutiny from both the Bush and Obama administrations, claimed last month in a Substack post that the Nord Stream blasts were a long-planned covert operation carried out by Navy divers operating under the cover of NATO military exercises.

His reporting cited an anonymous source and was denied by the White House.

Two Honduran nationals believed to be illegal migrants were arrested in Nebraska on Tuesday after gunning down a North American bald eagle with the intention of cooking and eating it.

The two men were identified as Ramio Hernandez-Tziquin and Domingo Zetino-Hernandez, both 20-year-old Honduran nationals living in Norfolk, the Stanton County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.

The duo indicated to authorities that they “planned on cooking and eating the bird,” according to the news release.

Sources said the men had no identification on them.

The pair are believed to be here illegally, Stanton County Sheriff Mike Unger told The Post Monday.

“We do believe they’re here illegally after conferring with the United States Immigration,” he said.

Police officers responded to a report around 4:00 p.m. of a suspicious vehicle near the main Wood Duck Recreation area, located about three miles southwest of Stanton.

The car was found on a field in the 629-acre wetland and when officers stopped the men they determined they had a dead North American Bald Eagle in their possession.

“Further investigation revealed that the two had shot and killed the protected national bird in that area and stated they planned on cooking and eating the bird,” the release stated.

Unger said they also cut off the bird’s feet, intending to “make the talons into ornaments.”

Nebraska Game and Parks was contacted and took custody of the eagle and the rifle used to kill the bird of prey.

Both Hernandez-Tziquin and Zetino-Hernandez were cited for unlawful possession of the eagle.

Hernandez-Tziquin was also cited for not having a driver’s license.

Additional charges against the men are pending as officials continue to investigate the unlawful killing, according to the release.

Philadelphia police are on the hunt for eight suspects in connection to the brutal beating of a woman on a downtown street late last month.

The department said several people in a group assaulted a 33-year-old woman at 15th and Chestnut Streets just after 7 p.m. Feb. 23.

Police said the attackers knocked the woman to the ground and continued to punch and stomp her until she was unconscious. Police are calling it an aggravated assault.

The attack took place just a block from City Hall, WPVI-TV reported.

A portion of the attack was captured on surveillance video, and images of all eight suspects also were captured:

Police said the victim suffered injuries to her head, face, and body; she was transported to Jefferson Hospital for her injuries.

There was no word on possible motives for the assault, WPVI said.

Police added that you shouldn’t approach these suspects if you see them; instead contact 911 immediately.

To submit a tip via telephone, dial or text 215-686-TIPS (8477), police said, adding that all tips will be confidential. You also can use this electronic form to submit a tip anonymously, police said. If you have any information about this crime or these suspects, contact Det. R. Williams (DC 23-09-006668) at 215-686-3093/3094.

Violence erupted across France today as thousands took to the streets to protest against pension reforms.

More than 1.2 million protesters marched as rail workers and refinery staff began rolling strikes and trade unions stepped up their campaign to try to stop Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the pension age to 64.

Riot police fought running battles with demonstrators in Paris on a so-called Black Tuesday of industrial action across the country.

The worst trouble was close to the Port Royal metro station, where hundreds of riot police used tear gas and baton charges. As projectiles rained down on them, bins were set on fire and bus stops destroyed by so-called Black Bloc anarchists.

https://twitter.com/WallStreetSilv/status/1633235494950584321

Big crowds also took to the streets in Marseille, Nice and other cities, and trouble was also reported in other major cities including Lyon, Nantes, and Rennes.

A Parisian police spokesperson said ‘radical agitators’ had joined the crowds and accused them of ‘attacking police whenever they can’. ‘A protest march is being heavily policed, and everything is being done to restore law and order,’ he added.

Millions are furious at President Emmanuel Macron’s attempt to increase the retirement age from 62 to 64.

As a result, Macron is is facing his biggest standoff with France’s trade unions since coming to power in 2017, as his flagship proposal hangs in the balance.

Today marks the sixth day of nationwide strikes since mid-January, and could surpass the largest protests so far, with more than 1.27 million gathering on January 31.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said some 11,000 police were mobilised across the country, including some 5000 in Paris alone.

French unions promised the biggest protests yet with trains coming to a halt, fuel deliveries being disrupted and schools shut in response to government plans to raise the pension age. Strikes led to numerous public services and businesses being shut down on Tuesday, including oil refineries.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, the hard-Left politician who came third in last year’s presidential election, was among those out on the Paris march.

He called for all Left Wing parties to ‘unite, and stand up to the reforms’.

Authorities were bracing themselves with at least 260 demonstrations expected across the country, with police anticipating as many as 1.4 million taking part.

‘The strike has begun everywhere… with deliveries blocked from all the refineries this morning,’ said Eric Sellini, branch coordinator for national trade union body CGT.

The group launched a similar blockade last autumn that eventually saw petrol stations running out of fuel.

Transport workers are also striking. A fifth of flights were cancelled at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and about a third of flights at Orly Airport, it was reported today.

The government is hoping to rush through the reforms, which it hopes could be adopted by parliament by the end of March, with the changes slated to come into force in September.

More than 60 per cent of teachers in primary schools are expected to be on strike, as well as public sector workers elsewhere.

The reform would raise the official pension age from 62 to 64 and require 43 years of work to earn a full pension, as France’s population ages and life expectancy lengthens.

Opinion polls suggest most French voters oppose the bill. Left-wing lawmakers say companies and the wealthy should pitch in more to finance the pension system.

Philippe Martinez, head of the CGT union, said the protest movement is ‘entering a new phase’.

‘The goal is that the government withdraw its draft reform. Full stop,’ he said.

‘We are going into a higher gear,’ he told weekly JDD. ‘The ball is now in [the] president’s court. It is up to him to withdraw this reform.’

Fox News host Tucker Carlson said that his show will air Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol footage this week and claimed it will show that federal and congressional officials “are lying” to Americans.

“The defenders of democracy are defending democracy again,” the Fox News host said last week. “They’re telling you it’s really, really dangerous. And anyone would get to see the thousands of hours of surveillance footage from January 6, which has been hidden from the public for two years as a tiny group of people gets to make up stories about what happened that day and change the country on the basis of those stories.”

“How does that work exactly?” he asked. “Well, it’s not democracy, of course. It’s building a bulwark against your lies being revealed. And they are lying. And we know that because we’ve been looking at the tape.”

In a March 3 follow-up post on Twitter, Carlson wrote that “the results of our investigation will air Monday and Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel,” referring to his timeslot. Carlson did not provide further details about what has been “hidden from the public.”

It was confirmed by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) last month that he provided the popular Fox host with more than 41,000 hours of Jan. 6 Capitol security footage, granting Carlson exclusive access. McCarthy said that after Carlson is finished, the footage would be released to the public at a later, undisclosed time.

Tucker Carlson Releases Exclusive Jan. 6 Video Footage:

Capitol Officer Was NOT Killed By Trump Supporters

Tucker Carlson showed in newly released video footage from inside the Capitol on January 6th, 2021 that Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick was walking around uninjured at the time when mainstream media outlets reported he was killed by protestors.

Carlson explained how the footage shows an uninjured Sicknick walking around the Capitol “after he was supposedly murdered by the mob outside.”

Carlson pointed out how the officer was wearing a helmet, commenting, “it’s hard to imagine he was killed by a head injury.”

Taking shots at the January 6 committee, Carlson said, “Whatever happened to Brian Sicknick was very obviously not the result of violence he suffered at the entrance to the Capitol. This tape overturns the single most powerful and politically useful lie the Democrats have told us about January 6.”

“They refused to release this tape to the public because this tape would shatter the fraud they were perpetrating on the country, because hiding the truth served their political interests.”

Full and conclusive proof that @AdamKinzinger, @Liz_Cheney, @RepAdamSchiff, and the rest of the J6 Committee knowingly and willingly lied to the American people about how Brian Sicknick died.

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 7, 2023

Ray Epps Lied In Sworn Testimony

Carlson has shed even more light on the suspect activities of one mysterious figure at the heart of the Capitol Riots: Ray Epps.

“We do know from contemporaneous video tape that a mysterious figure called Ray Epps encouraged the crowd to go into the capitol,” he added. “For some reason, Epps has never been indicted for that. But there’s no question he did it. Under public pressure, the January 6th committee finally interviewed Ray Epps. Epps told the committee that he never entered the capitol and therefore never committed a crime. His text messages showed that at 2:12 PM he boasted to his nephew that he had quote ‘orchestrated’ the protests at the capitol.”

https://twitter.com/bennyjohnson/status/1632920605048684544?ref_src=twsrc{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}5Etfw{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}7Ctwcamp{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}5Etweetembed{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}7Ctwterm{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}5E1632920605048684544{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}7Ctwgr{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}5E70c71528ef73687c6ce3ce995175c303acb07892{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}7Ctwcon{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}5Es1_c10&ref_url=https{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}3A{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}2F{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}2Ftrendingpoliticsnews.com{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}2Fray-epps-busted-knab{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}2F

Dems Lied, J6ers Escorted Through Capitol By Police

Another video shows Jacob Chansley, the QAnon Shaman, being escorted through the Capitol by police the entire time that he was in the building. The footage was obtained and aired by Tucker Carlson on his primetime show.

Tucker said that Chansley had been described as a “dangerous conspiracy theorist dressed in outlandish costume who led the violent insurrection to overthrow American democracy for these crimes.”

“Chansley was sentenced to nearly four years in prison,” he added. “Far more time than many violent criminals now receive.”

“What did Jacob Chanley do to receive this punishment?” he continued. “To this day, there is dispute over how Chanley got into the Capitol building, but according to our review of the internal surveillance video, it is very clear what happened once he got inside.”

“Virtually every moment of his time inside the Capitol was caught on tape. The tape show that Capitol Police never stopped Jacob Chansley. They helped him. They acted as his tour guides.”

“Here’s video of Chanley in the Senate Chamber,” he went on. “Capitol Police officers take him to multiple entrances and even try to open locked doors for him. We counted at least nine officers who were within touching distance of unarmed Jacob Chanley. Not one of them even tried to slow him down. Chanley understood that Capitol Police were his allies. Video shows him giving thanks for them in a prayer on the floor of the Senate Watch:”

https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1632912031882805250?ref_src=twsrc{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}5Etfw{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}7Ctwcamp{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}5Etweetembed{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}7Ctwterm{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}5E1632912031882805250{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}7Ctwgr{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}5E1d2decbbf64d2edb1591f9c7ae210397a9d7a3ec{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}7Ctwcon{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}5Es1_c10&ref_url=https{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}3A{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}2F{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}2Ftrendingpoliticsnews.com{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}2Fbombshell-j6-video-knab{17fd9ed690c1b52b81269a246981635feafa4e787b5d1af0bbeaebca7de63266}2F

J6 Committee Deceptively Edited Video Of Josh Hawley “Fleeing”

Tucker Carlson exposed the Democrats on the January 6th Committee for deceptively editing J6 footage to use as “propaganda” against Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO).

The committee accused Hawley of “running away” from the Capitol like a “coward,” and Democrats like Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA) mocked Hawley for this, without telling the full truth.

“The surveillance footage we reviewed shows that famous clip (of Sen. Hawley) was a sham, edited deceptively by the January 6th committee. The clip was propaganda, not evidence,” Carlson explained.

“The actual videotape shows that Hawley was one of many lawmakers being ushered out of the building by Capitol hill police officers. And in fact, Hawley was at the back of the pack. The ‘coward tape’ was a lie, one of many from the January 6th committee.”

Remember the infamous video of Josh Hawley running away from the chaos on January 6?

Never before seen J6 footage shows he was in fact one of many lawmakers running away from the chaos in that moment and was actually at the back of the pack. pic.twitter.com/wu8Q80b18y

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) March 7, 2023

Atlanta police have named 23 of the 35 Antifa extremists who they say assaulted their police officers and torched the future cop training facility which has been nicknamed “Cop City.”

Only two are from Georgia. As first reported by Fox 5 Atlanta, all have been charged with domestic terrorism.

Here are the suspects’ identities. Fox News first obtained them:

• France: Dimitri LeNy
• Canada: Fredrique Robert-Paul
• Georgia:Thomas Jurgens and Jack Beaman
• Massachusetts: Ayla King, Alexis Paplai and Timothy Bilodeau
• Arizona: Samuel Ward and Max Biederman.
• New York: Mattia Luini and Priscilla Grim
• Wisconsin: Kayley Meissner and Grace Martin
• Kamryn Pipes is from Louisiana
• Maggie Gates is from Indiana
• Ehret Nottingham is from Colorado
• Victor Puertas is from Utah
• Amin Chaoui is from Virginia
• James Marsicano is from North Carolina
• Emma Bogush is from Connecticut
• Luke Harper is from Florida
• Colin Dorsey is from Maine
• Zoe Larmey is from Tennessee

The only two suspected perpetrators from Georgia are Thomas Jurgens and Jack Beaman.

A suspected Antifa activist charged with domestic terrorism over riots in Atlanta is an attorney for the hard-left Southern Poverty Law Center.

Thomas Webb Jurgens, 28, is one of 23 people who were detained after violent clashes between police and protesters at the construction site for the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. Others include serial protesters, a former school teacher and a young dancer who recently turned to activism.

Fireworks and Molotov cocktails were used to attack police and destroy construction equipment and machinery during the riots on Sunday. Activists have spent months staging demonstrations against the police facility which they dub ‘Cop City’.

Jurgens joined the SPLC in September 2021 and worked on its Economic Justice Project, according to his LinkedIn page. He has also worked as an assistant public defender and a legal intern at a US attorney’s office in Florida. The Florida Bar’s website lists him as a current SPLC lawyer.

The LinkedIn page includes a professional photo of Jurgens with neatly-styled hair and a suit and tie. The picture is a marked contrast to the mugshot released by police on Monday that shows him sullen-faced in a green sweater with long, unkempt hair and stubble.

Jurgens’ social media profile also details an impressive academic career, which included a term at the prestigious University of Oxford, in England, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia School of Law.

The Southern Poverty Law Center is a social justice organization which describes its goals as to ‘dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people’. Republican activists claim the SPLC is a ‘radical’ left-wing and ‘anti-Christian’ organization.

Jurgens and 22 other activists from as far away as France and Canada have now been charged with domestic terrorism after the riots at the police training facility.

Another, Timothy Bilodeau is a former teacher at Acera, the Massachusetts Schools Science, Creativity and Leadership. His LinkedIn profile lists him as a teacher of engineering, although a spokesman for the school told DailyMail.com he left his position before the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year.

In a gushing biography for himself, Bilodeau, 25, writes: ‘I’m not just a musician or an engineer. I’m an aficionado of learning in all forms.’

‘Leveraging the power of humor, joy, curiosity, and collaboration, I seek to build self-confidence so students can more effectively express themselves and solve problems in any area of their lives,’ he writes.

Bilodeau also has a degree in mechanical engineering from Northeastern University.

Ehret Nottingham, 22, is a serial activist who has also taken a central role in pro-abortion and fair wage rallies.

In a interview in June 2020, while studying political science at Colorado State University, Nottingham said he ‘became an activist’ in 2018.

He described himself as a climate activist who was also involved in Black Lives Matter protests. He said he has a ‘whole lot of privilege and a whole lot of ability to affect the world’.

‘The role in my future that I hope to achieve is to be an advocate and the platform I have to make change,’ said Nottingham. He said he met ‘most of my activist friends’ through Instagram.

James Mariscano, 29, whose surname also appears as Mariscana in police statements, is a known Antifa activist who has been arrested previously.

In June 2020, Mariscano was arrested in Charlotte, North Carolina, for assaulting a law enforcement officer. He was also charged with disorderly conduct and resisting a public offer after initially fleeing arrest.

Emma Bogush, who also uses the name Bo, was a keen dancer who performed regularly before she turned to activism.

The 24-year-old’s Facebook page includes many photos with her dance teams, and lists vacations to London and Stonehenge in the UK.

Atlanta Police Department released details of the suspects on Monday. The individuals are mostly men and women from outside of Georgia , indicating a concerted effort to bring in outside help for the action.