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Green cruises: Sustainable adventures for eco-conscious travelers

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Green cruises: Sustainable adventures for eco-conscious travelers

Cruises are not traditionally the most sustainable way to travel. Ships carrying thousands of people burn millions of gallons of gasoline to traverse destinations far and near, while endless dinner buffets result in tons of waste from food and garbage, which is often dumped into the water, causing pollution and endangering sea life. Their sheer size is greatly disruptive to nature as they travel to port.

But a new generation of cruise ships is flipping the script, providing eco-friendly travel to lively destinations with a focus on sustainability alongside fun and exploration. That means working with local artisans, eliminating single-use plastics, minimizing carbon footprints, focusing on environmentally friendly excursions and working to preserve and protect wildlife.

Safeguarding Sea LifeGalápagos Islands, Ecuador

Cruising the Pacific to the Galápagos Islands on Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Flora boat is a peek into the future. The first-of-its-kind 100-guest ship was specifically created for cruising these islands. It features natural materials and doesn’t drop anchor to maintain position, protecting sea life. Solar panels supplement electricity, and chocolates and bathroom supplies are locally sourced from Ecuador.

Alternative PowerBaie-Comeau, Quebec

Get off the Explora Journeys ship, which is primed for future eco-friendly power solutions, and go inside one of the world’s largest hydropower hollow-joint gravity dams as it harnesses Earth’s natural energy for Canada’s power needs. The Manic-2 reservoir features a 440-ton generator and is home to the first 735,000-volt power line ever installed. It’s a two-and-a-half-hour expedition that comes as an add-on to your cruise. On-the-water fun can be had courtesy of a sea kayak exploration of the St. Lawrence River with views of the Manicouagan Reservoir.

Carbon CutterAntarctica

All aboard the MS Roald Amundsen for a trip to the land of ice, snow and penguins via Hurtigruten Expeditions’ hybrid-powered ship. Like a car, the ship’s hybrid technology is designed to reduce fuel consumption, cutting carbon emissions by 20 percent. The cruise line encourages guests to view the icescape with a flexible itinerary to take advantage of the changing conditions at the South Pole.

Biodiversity at Sea Brest, France to Reykjavík, Iceland

Voyages on this unique Ponant journey will enjoy five days at sea aboard the first hybrid-electric polar exploration ship, Le Commandant Charcot, moving from France to Iceland. While onboard, environmental specialists share their knowledge of the polar regions via lectures and discussions.

In Full SailCannes, France to Bridgetown, Barbados

The wind catches the 42 sails of Star Clippers’ Royal Clipper vessel and propels it across the Atlantic Ocean, in emissions-free fashion. Don’t let its heritage-inspired design fool you, this is a luxurious, weeks-long cruise complete with swimming pools and opportunities for water sports along the way. What can’t be powered by wind is energized via low-sulphur gas oil.

Coastal CruiseNorwegian Fjords

Cruisers who climb aboard a Havila Voyages ship to cruise up or down the Norwegian coast will be in for a sustainable treat. The longest trip is a 12-day, 34-port affair that stretches from Bergen to Kirkenes and back. The ships have large battery packs that provide four hours of emissions-free sailing and recharge via hydropower as the ship moves.

Women’s EmpowermentAmman, Jordan

As part of Uniworld River Cruises’ Splendors of Egypt and the Nile extension itinerary, guests can experience a day at the Iraq Al-Amir Women’s Cooperative and help craft a project for three nights on land. The center is designed to give 150 Jordanian women from the Wadi Seer villages financial independence, raise their standard of living and preserve the heritage of the region. Back onboard, the cruise line has implemented various sustainability practices like relying on QR codes throughout, rather than paper menus and maps, and fitting windows with UV foil to reduce energy usage.

Low-Footprint Asia Dubai to Singapore

Virgin Voyages is working toward net-zero carbon emissions for its ships. Its destinations are similarly climate focused. This 16-night journey takes you from Dubai to Mumbai, Goa, Colombo, Phuket, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Excursions include low-carbon-footprint activities like cycling across an island, kayaking through a mangrove forest and a cooking class in a local home.

Cultural ExchangeYokohama, Japan

Take a three-month, around-the-world cruise on Peace Boat’s Pacific World and further the United Nations‘ Sustainable Development Goals and cross-cultural exchange both on- and offboard. Your voyage can include climate-change workshops onboard as well as planting trees and cleaning up beaches while on shore. Their forthcoming EcoShip, billed as the world’s most sustainable cruise ship, will include retractable sails with solar panels and vertical farming.

Wind-Powered Papeete, Tahiti

A multi-day Windstar sail around Tahiti on a wind-powered yacht allows for an intimate view of the South Pacific’s natural surrounds. Crystal-clear waters primed for snorkeling, lightly treaded beaches and jungles await you. Book a private feast on the beach under the stars, complete with a fire show, to up the extraordinary level of this deep dive into Polynesian culture.

Three ways Trump could "avoid accountability": Ex-prosecutor

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Three ways Trump could "avoid accountability": Ex-prosecutor

Donald Trump is trying to delay his criminal trials so that he can exonerate himself if reelected president, a former federal prosecutor who was fired by the ex-president has said.

Preet Bharara said that Trump likely has three options to avoid his two federal trials: pardoning himself, appointing a favorable attorney general, or claiming federal immunity.

Speaking on his Spotify podcast Stay Tuned With Preet, Bharara said that just as the Sixth Amendment guarantees a defendant the right to a speedy trial, “the public and the government” should also expect a speedy trial, free from unnecessary delays.

He said “time is ticking” in Trump’s two federal cases and it might not be possible to prosecute the former president if he is reelected.

“By my estimation, there are at least three ways that Donald Trump can avoid accountability or any kind of trial altogether potentially if the trials don’t happen before the [2024] election and if he becomes president again,” Bharara said.

In the federal cases, relating to election interference and the hoarding of classified documents, Trump could simply pardon himself when he becomes president, Bharara said. This option would be controversial and likely litigated in court, the former United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York said on his podcast.

The second option, according to Bharara, would be for Trump to appoint a favorable attorney general to drop the federal charges. This was an option that Trump “almost certainly” would employ if elected president in 2024, Bharara said.

The third option is to claim immunity from prosecution, based on constitutional protections for a president for acts committed in office, Bharara said.

Bharara said this option could also be used to defeat the state cases Trump faces—over election interference charges in Georgia and alleged hush payments to adult actress Stormy Daniels in New York. The former federal prosecutor said this option had already helped Trump with the Mueller report, which investigated alleged links between Trump and the Russian government. The report did not reach a conclusion about possible obstruction of justice by Trump, citing a Justice Department guideline prohibiting the federal indictment of a sitting president.

Trump has repeatedly denied all charges against him and called them a politically motivated “witch hunt.”

Bharara said that Trump was “certainly going to try” to delay the criminal process until he can become president.

He also said that “without question,” prosecutors will not conclude the four trials—which includes the January 6 Capitol attack investigation—before the 2024 presidential election and the public will have to wait to find out if prosecutors will get through any of the four trials.

In March 2017, Bharara made national news when he announced that he had been fired by the Trump administration.

“I did not resign. Moments ago I was fired,” Bharara wrote on X, then Twitter, at the time.

Presidents often order appointees of the previous administration to resign but the decision by Trump to replace over 40 of them made headlines.

Bharara was previously featured on Time magazine’s cover as the man “busting Wall Street” by indicting big-name financiers.

When he was sacked, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement: “President Trump’s abrupt and unexplained decision to summarily remove over 40 U.S. attorneys has once again caused chaos in the federal government.”

Trump to host D’Souza movie premiere: ‘Police State’

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Trump to host D’Souza movie premiere: ‘Police State’

While Donald Trump campaigns for president and deals with legal problems, his Mar-a-Lago resort will host a red-carpet movie premiere for a soon-to-release documentary from filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza and popular conservative radio host Dan Bongino.

D’Souza, often considered the conservative version of fellow documentarian Michael Moore given the success he has had with his films, will premiere his next, dubbed Police State, on November 1 at Trump’s landmark location in Florida that serves as his residence and as a private country club.

Police State features interviews with Rep. Jim Jordan, Sen. Rand Paul, and multiple alleged victims of government abuse to make the case that the U.S. is dangerously close to becoming a police state, typically defined as a totalitarian regime controlled by a political force.

The movie is especially critical of law-enforcement agencies like the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and the Transportation Security Agency, all of which are supposed to be non-partisan though the film alleges they are often used as political tools, mostly by the left to bludgeon the right.

While Trump is hosting the movie at his home, there’s no guarantee he’ll be there given his tight schedule both as a presidential candidate and a man fending off four indictments involving alleged hush money payment, the storage of sensitive documents, alleged interference with the peaceful transfer of power and alleged election interference.

But if history is a guide, Trump will be there, just as he was in May 2022 when he hosted the premiere of 2000 Mules, D’Souza’s previous film about alleged irregularities during the 2020 election when Trump lost to President Joe Biden.

While the November 1 Mar-a-Lago event is the official red-carpet premiere, the movie will have already been available on October 23 and October 25 in about 900 theaters the filmmakers have bought out and are selling tickets to at $20 apiece. There’s also a virtual premiere scheduled for October 27 at PoliceStateFilm.net. Additionally, the $3 million film will stream at Rumble, EpochTV and SalemNow.

“It seems upside down, but it’s very effective,” said D’Souza, noting it’s similar to the distribution of 2000 Mules. “The influencers will want to see it at the Mar-a-Lago premiere, plausibly with Donald Trump.”

D’Souza, a former policy adviser to President Ronald Reagan, first made a name for himself as a filmmaker in 2012 with the movie, 2016: Obama’s America, which earned $33 million at the box office and became the second biggest political documentary in history, after Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11.

While Police State will assuredly be catnip to conservatives who share D’Souza’s view that government overreach is a threat to Constitutional freedoms, it will likely be dismissed as conspiratorial by his detractors on the left who say he was discredited when he pled guilty in 2014 to using a “straw donor” to give more money than legally allowed to Wendy Long, a friend who ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate.

D’Souza acknowledges his transgression is often used by his critics as a way to discount his work, but he notes he paid his fines, went through counseling, and performed his community service before Trump pardoned him in 2018 on the grounds that he was “a victim of selective prosecution.”

“His movie will be preaching to the choir,” said Robert Shapiro, a professor of political science at Columbia University. “D’Souza’s past claims have had no obvious net effect, as far as I can tell. Just one voice in the MAGA/Trump crowd.”

But D’Souza counters that his movie should serve as a warning to all Americans. “Stalin and Mao didn’t just murder bourgeois capitalists; they also murdered many of their fellow socialists and Communists,” he said.

Indeed, the movie, which Newsweek has viewed, takes aim not only at the left but the right, blaming Republican President George W. Bush for opening the floodgates to government surveillance and overreach with the Patriot Act and creation of the Department of Homeland Security.

Police State already got a marketing boost from Elon Musk. According to D’Souza, the film’s trailer was viewed 3.5 million times but soared to 70 million after the billionaire founder of Tesla put a link on his X platform (formerly Twitter) along with the text: “The FBI needs a thorough reform.”

Asked for his opinion of the most impactful moment of the film, D’Souza points to his on-screen interview with Geri Perna who explains, through tears, that her nephew, Matt Perna, hung himself in his garage after a prosecutor accused him of terrorism.

Matt Perna, says his aunt, was a Bernie Sanders supporter who switched allegiance to Trump and spent 14 peaceful minutes in the Capitol Rotunda during the January 6 riots in 2021. He was set to plead guilty to obstruction and spend up to a year in prison, but he killed himself when a prosecutor informed him of a “terrorism enhancement” to the charges against him, according to Geri Perna.

The film largely relies on video, dashcams and interviews of arrestees and witnesses to alleged abuse by law enforcement, but sometimes uses recreations by actors, most prominently Nick Searcy, who plays a composite “FBI bad guy. He’s a symbol. His dialogue is lifted from modified FBI statements,” said D’Souza.

“You take on the intelligence community, and they have six ways from Sunday of getting back at you,” says Democrat Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in a TV clip used in the film.

The FBI issued a statement to Newsweek that read: “While we decline to comment on the movie, the FBI mission is to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution. We investigate criminal activity that constitutes a federal crime and poses a threat to national security and are committed to upholding the constitutional rights of all Americans.”

The movie shows a pyramid of extremism allegedly created by a contractor for the DHS. The bottom wrung of the pyramid lists entities like Fox News, the Christian Broadcasting Network, the NRA, and the GOP itself. Up one wrung is Breitbart News, PragerU, and Turning Point USA, and above that are Nazis.

The pyramid was first reported in May after it was included as a footnote on a grant application submitted by the University of Dayton, and the DHS subsequently awarded the school $352,109 to explore domestic violence and hate movements. But the DHS said at the time that while the footnote referred to a seminar where the pyramid was used, the DHS had no part in funding, organizing or hosting that seminar.

D’Souza’s movie is also critical of COVID restrictions, the DHS and other entities for allegedly targeting pro-life activists and parents who complain about curriculum at school board meetings.

The DHS told Newsweek it would not comment on a film it hasn’t viewed.

The film features former air marshal Sonya LaBosco who says the TSA uses a database of people who were near the Capitol Building during the January 6 rioting and calls them potential terrorists. The database allegedly contains names of grandmothers, wounded U.S. war veterans and even some people who were in the area for a job interview, and the air marshal’s former colleagues are “disgusted” by the database, she claims.

The TSA told Newsweek it would not comment on the “sensitive nature of the information” it uses to determine threats.

The movie shows Trump telling a crowd near the Washington Monument on January 6, “I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol Building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard,” then D’Souza interviews Joseph Bolanos, an elderly Hispanic man who never entered the Capitol that day.

“There were no barriers, no police, no signage,” says Bolanos. When he saw people climbing walls, he retreated, and later showed people the video he took that day. He said a joint task force later entered his mother’s home, where he was sleeping on the couch at 6:30 a..m., aimed a rifle at his head and arrested him.

Bolanos said he panicked when he saw an NBC News crew filming his arrest, and four hours later he suffered a stroke. “The emotional stress is indescribable,” he says while sobbing. “I’m an American citizen. I had no reason to be attacked.”

D’Souza told Newsweek his original idea was to make a film entirely about January 6, until he learned other movies on that topic were in the works, including one from Searcy, who was there that day. Searcy’s film, dubbed Capitol Punishment, was released in 2021, thus D’Souza switched gears to Police State and widened its scope.

“Mass surveillance, censorship, political indoctrination in schools, media propaganda, political prisoners. Every one of those in one form or another can be found in the U.S.,” D’Souza said. “I grant that there are some things you see in a police state that you don’t see here. For example, I’m a critic and a rebel, but I’m free to leave the country.”

Professor praising "much needed cleansing" of Palestinians sparks fury

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Professor praising "much needed cleansing" of Palestinians sparks fury

A professor at a Missouri university has sparked backlash over a social media post that allegedly endorsed the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza.

Seth Crosby, an assistant professor of genetics at the Washington University in St. Louis., wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday that the attacks by Israel were a “much needed cleansing, yes, but not an ethnic one. Israel is not targeting humans.”

He was responding to another post on the platform that said Israel “is engaged in the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.”

According to screenshots posted on the platform, Crosby wrote in another post that he believes “rabid animals should be put down.”

In later posts, Corby said he had been referring to Hamas, the group that led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack in Israel’s history on October 7. Israel has since launched its heaviest ever airstrikes on the besieged Gaza Strip, a territory with a population of about 2.3 million.

Israel has cut off the flow of food, medicine, water and electricity to Gaza, and at least a million have been forced to flee their homes. Gaza “is being strangled,” Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of the U.N.’s Palestinian refugee agency, said on Sunday. A U.N. expert warned that Palestinians are in grave danger of “mass ethnic cleansing.”

The Gaza Health Ministry said 2,670 Palestinians have been killed since the fighting erupted, The Associated Press reported. More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed, most in Hamas’ October 7 assault, the AP said.

“I am so very sorry for the anger I have caused by my clumsy words,” Crosby wrote. “Israel is targeting Hamas, an organization which has taken the life’s of thousands of Israeli citizens. I did not intend to imply that the deaths of the Palestinian people was in any way acceptable.”

In other posts, he said he had been fired and his account was later deleted. Crosby did not respond to a request for comment sent via LinkedIn on Sunday.

Julie Flory, a spokesperson for Washington University in St. Louis, said in an email to Newsweek on Sunday that Crosby remains employed.

“The opinions he has expressed as an individual do not represent the university’s position,” she said. “We are following up as appropriate, according to our policies and processes.”

According to Crosby’s LinkedIn profile, he has worked at the Washington University School of Medicine for almost two decades, and has been the director of research collaborations in the department of genetics since 2017.

His profiles on Washington University’s websites were wiped on Sunday, but still had him listed as an assistant professor of genetics.

Crosby’s comments prompted condemnation, including from the Missouri chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

“It is unconscionable that a professor at a Missouri institution of higher education would allegedly call for the ethnic cleansing of any population and would seek to dehumanize the target of that crime against humanity,” CAIR-Missouri board chair Yasir Ali said.

Others took to social media to call for Crosby’s firing.

“Hi @WUSTLmed: Is this genocidal commentary acceptable and in line with your school’s values?” Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, a Palestinian-American poet wrote on X.

“I bet there are Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students at your school and they are now unsafe. I’m sure people of all backgrounds object to Dr. Seth Crosby’s racist remark. Do you?”

Another person wrote: “How are Palestinian students meant to feel safe on Washington University campus while you employ a professor calling for their genocide? Your assistant professor of genetics Seth Crosby is spreading dangerous hateful rhetoric that has no place at @WUSTL or any other institution!”

Both Muslim and Jewish groups have reported an increase of hateful and threatening rhetoric since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.

On Sunday, a 71-year-old Illinois man was charged with a hate crime after allegedly fatally stabbing a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy and injuring his mother.

Marjorie Taylor Greene says Jan. 6 will destroy Democrats "in the end"

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Marjorie Taylor Greene says Jan. 6 will destroy Democrats "in the end"

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol has exposed Democrats “for who they really are” and that this will lead to their destruction.

The Georgia congresswoman made the remarks in response to a clip posted on social media from documentary filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi’s The Insurrectionist Next Door.

Greene, an ally of former President Donald Trump, wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Democrats wanted the January 6 riot “to be the reason Americans turned their backs on Trump and they are trying to use it to destroy him.”

“But it didn’t work, it won’t work, and it will never work. Because it’s only exposing Democrats for who they really are, which will destroy them in the end,” she said.

In the documentary, released by HBO on Sunday, Pelosi spends time with supporters of Donald Trump who stormed the Capitol in a bid to disrupt Joe Biden‘s election victory. She was at the Capitol on the day of the riot, capturing footage for a documentary about her mother, then Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The clip shows Paul Hodgkins, a Capitol rioter who pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing an official proceeding, refusing to place blame on Trump after being sentenced to eight months in prison.

“I’m not going to place blame on the former president. I’m not going to place blame on journalism,” he said. “I made a poor decision, and I’m going to be held accountable for my poor decision.”

When Pelosi interviews him after his release, eight months later, she is surprised to find him watching OAN, One America News, the network that was among the conservative media outlets promoting Trump’s baseless claims that questioned the validity of the 2020 presidential election.

“You’re still watching conservative television?” she asks Hodgkins. “You served eight months in jail for everything you believe in based on what you saw on those shows and you’re still watching them?”

He replies: “I was supposed to turn into a liberal with that or something? No, no. My opinions on what’s good and not good for our country have not changed.”

Greene has repeatedly defended Capitol rioters, and declared her “unwavering” support for Trump after he was indicted in August for working to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the January 6 riot. He is facing charges in three other criminal cases while campaigning to regain the White House. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

“Innocent individuals, including former President Donald J. Trump, are being unjustly targeted by a Department of Injustice and an FBI transformed into political hitmen, acting at the behest of the sitting president,” Greene said in August.

Newsweek has contacted Greene’s office and Alexandra Pelosi for further comment via email.

University loses funding on Israel stance as college donors apply pressure

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University loses funding on Israel stance as college donors apply pressure

The University of Pennsylvania has lost one of its biggest longtime donors while several other institutions are reportedly facing pressure from powerful financial backers over what they see as insufficient condemnation of Hamas’ attack on Israel.

Jon Huntsman, a former U.S. ambassador to China and Russia, told Penn President Liz Magill that his family will “close its checkbook” on future donations to the university.

“The University’s silence in the face of reprehensible and historic Hamas evil against the people of Israel (when the only response should be outright condemnation) is a new low,” Huntsman wrote in an email to Magill, according to the student-run Daily Pennsylvanian. “Silence is antisemitism, and antisemitism is hate, the very thing higher ed was built to obviate.”

The controversy at Penn comes as college campuses across the U.S. have seen tensions heighten as the death toll continues to rise in the Israel-Hamas war. Jewish students and their allies are demanding strong condemnation after Hamas militants on October 7 stormed into southern Israel from the blockaded Gaza Strip, gunning down and abducting civilians and soldiers.

On Sunday, Magill sent a message to the Penn community referring to Hamas’ violence as a “terrorist” attack for the first time. She also addressed criticism of Penn for hosting a Palestinian-focused literary festival.

“The University did not, and emphatically does not, endorse these speakers or their views,” she said in the message, which was posted on the university’s website. “While we did communicate, we should have moved faster to share our position strongly and more broadly with the Penn community.”

She continued: “I stand, and Penn stands, emphatically against antisemitism. We have a moral responsibility—as an academic institution and a campus community—to combat antisemitism and to educate our community to recognize and reject hate.”

Newsweek has contacted Huntsman for comment via email through the Huntsman Corp. Penn has also been contacted for comment via email.

Supporters of Palestinians have condemned Israel’s actions following the Hamas attack and point to Israel’s treatment of Palestinians during decades of conflict.

After the Hamas attack, Israel launched heavy airstrikes and a total blockade of Gaza, cutting off the flow of food, medicine, water and electricity into the territory, which has an estimated population of 2.3 million. The continuing airstrikes have flattened buildings and homes in Gaza, and more than a million have fled their homes ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive seeking to eliminate Hamas’ leadership of the territory.

As of Monday, the death toll was more than 2,750 in Gaza and more than 1,400 in Israel, according to the Associated Press.

Many colleges across the U.S. have faced criticism for statements they have put out, either for not going far enough in condemning Hamas’ attack or for failing to condemn the rising civilian death toll in Gaza.

The most notable dispute has come at Harvard, where the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups released a statement after Hamas’ attack saying they held the “Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence.”

The statement, signed by at least 30 student groups, brought a backlash. Former Harvard President Larry Summers, who is Jewish, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that the university’s silence made it “appear at best neutral towards acts of terror against the Jewish state of Israel.”

But some of the most intense demands calling for Harvard and other elite schools to denounce students who criticize Israel have been made behind the scenes by Wall Street financiers who donate to the universities, The New York Times reported. They make up a “powerful block of donors” to such colleges as New York University, Stanford and Cornell.

Kenneth Griffin, the founder of the hedge fund Citadel, told the newspaper that in a private conversation with Penny Pritzker, senior fellow of the Harvard Corp., he urged Harvard to come out strongly in defense of Israel after the student groups released the statement blaming Israel for Hamas’ attack.

He said he learned during the call that Harvard was preparing a statement to address this.

In the second of two statements she issued, Harvard President Claudine Gay condemned “the terrorist atrocities perpetrated by Hamas,” and said that students have the right to speak for themselves, but do not speak for Harvard or its leadership.

Newsweek has contacted Griffin and Harvard for further comment via email.

Other donors, who did not want to be named, told the Times they felt they had a right and obligation to weigh in with their opinion. Some, but not all, are Jewish, the newspaper reported, and not all have a history of actively supporting pro-Israel causes.

Ron DeSantis spent $1.5m on private jets as cash dries up, filing reveals

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Ron DeSantis spent $1.5m on private jets as cash dries up, filing reveals

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spent about $1.5 million on private jets over a three-month period during his 2024 presidential campaign, even as his White House bid faces financial difficulties.

DeSantis, who is considered Donald Trump‘s main rival in the GOP primary, but massively trails the former president in the polls, was found to have forked out vast sums on private travel as his campaign spent almost as much as it brought in, according to third-quarter financial filings on Sunday.

As noted by Politico, while DeSantis’ campaign did travel on commercial flights, it also spent $1.5 million on private jets during the last quarter. The campaign paid the sum to at least six private jets providers: Advanced Aviation Team and Avion Aviation, Empyreal Jet, IsraJets, N2024D LLC, and Silver Air Private Jets. The Washington Post reported that most of the private plane flights stopped in July and August, with only an Israjets charge showing up in September.

Many of the plane trips were going back and forth to Iowa, the crucial first-in-the-nation primary caucus state where the DeSantis team appears to be pinning all its hopes on a positive result in January in order to give him a much needed boost for the 2024 bid.

The amount spent on private jets has emerged as DeSantis’ floundering 2024 campaign is being dogged with indications it’s struggling financially. The latest fillings show that DeSantis has spent nearly all of the $11.2 million raised in the last quarter, and entered October with around $1 million in unpaid invoices.

Currently, DeSantis’ campaign still has around $12.3 million of the $31.3 million it has raised during his 2024 bid. However, only $5 million of this money is available as cash for the remainder of the primary season.

The $11 million DeSantis raised in the last quarter was way down on the $20 million the Florida governor managed to raise in the first six weeks of his 2024 campaign, which officially launched in May.

DeSantis’ office has been contacted for comment via email.

It was recently reported that the DeSantis campaign was moving around one-third of its staff out of Florida to Iowa to give greater focus to the state’s primary, as well as cut down on costs.

The latest filings show that DeSantis’ team appears to have been reducing its expenditure, spending around $6 million in July, $3.8 million in August and $1.3 million in September, but still spending almost the total sum it raised in the third quarter.

This comes following reports the campaign had overspent in the first few months of the 2024 campaign, resulting in some 38 staff members—around one-third of the team—being cut in July.

Trump is dominating the GOP primary in terms of fundraising, as well as in the polls.

His latest filings show the former president’s campaign raised $24.5 million over a three-month period, and he went into October with $37.5 million in cash to spend. However, it’s unclear just how much of this money Trump can set aside for the remainder of the primary season.

Trump spent $9.5 million on his campaign in the last quarter, around $1.5 million less than DeSantis.

In an October 10 post on Truth Social, Trump suggested that DeSantis may soon drop out of the GOP primary because of his financial difficulties and falling poll numbers.

“Ron DeSanctimonious has the Poll numbers of a wounded bird falling from the sky. I am up on him by 57 points, and going higher,” Trump wrote.

“He will SOON be out of money and dropping out of the race for President. After having single handidly [sic] gotten him elected Governor, with no thanks or glory, it has been a beautiful thing to watch. Good luck Ron!”

Steve Bannon reveals plan to get Jim Jordan elected

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Steve Bannon reveals plan to get Jim Jordan elected

Steve Bannon, a top Donald Trump ally, has reacted to claims that supporters of Rep. Jim Jordan are trying to intimidate Republicans to back the Ohio congressman for the House Speaker role.

Bannon, a former White House chief strategist in the Trump administration, was responding to reports that Fox News‘ Sean Hannity program has been emailing GOP lawmakers to ask them directly why they are not supporting Jordan for the speaker’s role following his nomination for the candidacy by the party, while outlining the need to urgently fill the position.

On Friday, Jordan was elected by the GOP to be their nomination to become the new House Speaker following Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s removal from the position in a 216-210 vote on October 3.

However, just like the previous candidate put forward by the GOP, House Majority Speaker Stave Scalise, it appears Jordan doesn’t have enough support within the party to get a simple 217 vote majority on the House floor.

The email, shared on social media by Axios reporter Juliegrace Brufke, is allegedly being sent to House Republicans who are not backing Jordan to replace McCarthy following his historic ousting earlier this month.

Brufke posted the contents of the email on X, formerly Twitter, while claiming some moderate Republicans are “growing increasingly irritated” with allies of Jordan trying to “pressure them” into voting for him. She also claimed that Hannity’s show “has gotten involved in the efforts” to elect the MAGA congressman who has also been endorsed by Trump to House Speaker. Newsweek was not able to immediately verify the veracity of the alleged email to Republicans.

While sharing Brufke’s post, NBC‘s senior national politics reporter Sahil Kapur wrote: “This is where the rubber meets the road. Jim Jordan’s allies are betting his opponents buckle when he puts them on record and conservative media lights them up. Trump is with Jordan, creating an added specter of retribution. Will come down to whether 5+ ‘Never Jim’ Rs hold firm.”

In a response on social media site Gettr, Bannon said: “That’s The Plan: Public Votes to Break The Cartel.”

In a follow-up statement, Bannon told Newsweek: “We intend to break the old bulls in front of the nation.”

Washington Post Live anchor Leigh Ann Caldwell said she is also aware of the email, posting on X: “One member said Hannity reached out directly with this same message—that the war in Israel is a reason to get behind Jordan. Member told me it’s not going to persuade them.”

The five “Never Jim” votes mentioned by Kapur is referencing how Jordan cannot afford to lose the support of just five House Republicans in a ballot for House Speaker, due to the GOP’s slight 221-212 majority in the lower chamber.

Following his nomination, a second secret House ballot was held on Friday which revealed a 152-55 split in support for Jordan as speaker. Jordan is said to have spent the weekend attempting to garner endorsements from his own party in order to achieve the almost unanimous GOP support to get elected House Speaker without the need of assistance from the Democrats.

When asked by NBC if there are five “Never Jordan” votes on Thursday, New York GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis replied: “There’s probably five ‘Never Everybodys’—that’s the problem.”

The email which is alleged to have been sent from Hannity’s team to some GOP lawmakers reads: “Sources tell Hannity that rep xxxx is not supporting Rep Jim Jordan for Speaker. Can you please let me know if this is accurate?

“And, if true, Hannity would like to know why during a war breaking out between Israel and Hamas, with the war in Ukraine, with the wide open borders, with a budget that’s unfinished why would Rep. xxxx be against Jim Jordan for speaker? Please let us know when Rep xxx plans on opening the People’s House so work can be done. Lastly, are there any conditions Rep xxxx will work with Democrats on the process of electing a new speaker?”

Fox News is now being criticized for the alleged attempt to influence the House vote and get the candidate the former president has endorsed elected to the speaker role.

“So at the lowbrow entertainment network that paid a $787.5 million settlement for parroting lies crafted to overturn the Constitution, producers openly campaign in support of a coup-plotting legislator’s bid for the insurrectionist party’s leadership,” posted lawyer and frequent Trump critic George Conway. “How deeply runs the rot.”

George Corn, Mother Jones‘ Washington bureau chief, added: “More evidence Fox is a political/propaganda operation, not a journalistic entity. In case you needed more evidence the sun rises in the East.”

Newsweek has contacted Fox News for comment via email.

Update 10/16/2023 9:46 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Steve Bannon.

Marjorie Taylor Greene wants to deport Hamas supporters

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Marjorie Taylor Greene wants to deport Hamas supporters

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene voiced support for deporting supporters of Hamas after the militant group launched an attack against Israel earlier in October.

Hamas, on October 7, led the deadliest Palestinian attack on Israel in history, and Israel subsequently launched its heaviest airstrikes against Gaza. The Associated Press reported that at least 1,400 people in Israel and 2,670 people in Gaza have been killed since the fighting erupted. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country is “at war” and has cut off supplies of food, fuel, electricity and medicine into Gaza. He has vowed to “demolish Hamas,” ordering 1.1 million people in northern Gaza to relocate to the south.

The attack against Israel has drawn bipartisan rebuke from the United States government, a crucial ally to Israel that has provided billions of dollars in military aid over the years. It has also fueled tensions domestically over the longstanding Israel-Palestinian conflict that has divided the country for decades, though Americans generally support Israel, polls have found.

Supporters of both Israel and Palestinians have held rallies to show solidarity amid the escalation. Pro-Palestinian protests have drawn the ire of political leaders from both major parties, with some critics raising concerns that some attending those protests have failed to adequately rebuke Hamas or have even shown support.

Others, however, note that supporting Palestinians does not equate to supporting Hamas or the latest attack against Israel.

Greene, a Georgia Republican, said the U.S. should deport supporters of Hamas in a Sunday night post to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

She responded to a post from Stephen Miller, who served as an adviser to former President Donald Trump and called for the U.S. to revoke visas from Hamas “supporters.”

“I agree,” Greene posted. “And I’d like to add many more to the deportation list. Millions actually.”

It remains unclear whether there are “millions” of Hamas supporters in the United States. There is no public polling on support for Hamas, though polls have found widespread support for Israel following the attack. A CNN poll of 1,003 Americans from October 12 to 13 found that only four percent of Americans said they felt no sympathy for the Israeli people—but that poll did not ask whether they supported Hamas.

Critics also questioned whether her plan is feasible.

“Tell us all both of you don’t know how visas and immigration laws work and what’s required to revoke and deport. I’m also curious how you would go about determining they are in fact Hamas supporters. Well I already got a good idea,” posted @A_to_theZ_Amber.

Newsweek reached out to Greene’s office for comment via email.

Germany and the United Kingdom are among the countries taking action against individuals who show support for Hamas.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a ban on Hamas activities, saying that anyone who “supports terror organizations like Hamas commits a criminal offense,” according to German media outlet DW News. Although Hamas does not have an official branch in Germany, about 450 individuals in the country support Hamas. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser was also considering the deportation of “offenders from the Islamist scene, if they are not German passport holders.”

Meanwhile, foreign students studying in the United Kingdom who praise Hamas could also be deported from the country, according to a report from British publication The Telegraph. Expulsion would require “proportionate” evidence, according to the report.

Donald Trump warns Iran is building "large scale" nuclear arsenal

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Donald Trump warns Iran is building "large scale" nuclear arsenal

Following Donald Trump‘s previous warning that Iran is waiting to make a big move due to the foreign policies of President Joe Biden, the former president warned on Monday that the Middle Eastern country is building a “large scale” nuclear arsenal.

On October 7, Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest ever airstrikes on Gaza. As of Monday, the Gaza Health Ministry said 2,670 Palestinians have been killed and 9,700 wounded, while over 1,400 Israelis have been killed in the conflict, the Associated Press reported.

Iran, which backs Hamas, has denied involvement in the attack on Israel. However, a Hamas representative Ahmed Abdulhadi previously told Newsweek that the militant group had coordinated with Iran and Hezbollah—a Lebanese Islamist militant group that is also backed by Iran—”before, during and after this battle at the highest level.”

In a post to Truth Social on Friday, Trump said that the ongoing Israeli-Hamas conflict would never have happened if not for the “rigged and stollen [sic]” 2020 presidential election, repeating the unsubstantiated claim that his loss to Biden was caused by widespread voter fraud.

On Monday, the former president, who is also the frontrunner in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, followed up on his previous statement with another post to Truth Social, calling out Biden and claiming that “Iran is rapidly building a large scale arsenal of nuclear weapons and once they have them, which will be soon, all negotiations stop.”

“Would somebody please inform our worst president in history, crooked Joe Biden, who doesn’t have a clue, that while he dithers around and illegally attacks his political opponent, me, and is always trying to blame everyone else for the many, many, many mistakes he has made, Iran is rapidly building a large scale arsenal of nuclear weapons. Once they have them, which will be soon, all negotiations stop,” Trump wrote.

He continued: “That’s when our incompetent fool of a president will drop to his knees and beg Iran for mercy. ‘Please, please, please, Mr. Ayatollah, sir, I will give you everything, I will do anything you demand. Don’t hurt us!’ This is the position that this stupid fool has put us in. Three years ago, under ‘Trump,’ Iran was broke—no nuclear weapons, or prospects. Biden has made them rich, and has no idea what to do. They started the attack on Israel and desperately want to become openly involved. ‘Death to Israel,’ they chant. Don’t let Iran have nuclear weapons!”

In his Truth Social post on Friday, Trump accused the Biden administration of being responsible for Israel’s “unprecedented death and destruction,” arguing that the region had been at peace due to his own administration’s role in brokering the Abraham Accords.

The Abraham Accords, agreements intended to normalize Israeli-Arab relations, were signed between Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates in September 2020. Israel signed additional agreements with Morocco and Sudan during the final months of the Trump administration.

However, the agreements have faced criticism for failing to ease Israeli-Palestinian tensions prior to the current conflict.

Since Hamas’ October 7 attack, the Biden administration has faced criticism from other Republicans over a prisoner exchange deal that involved the release of $6 billion in frozen funds to Qatar, alleging that the money was used by Iran to fund the attack on Israel.

Shortly after the attacks, Representative Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican, took to social media to criticize Biden’s policies in regards to the Middle Eastern country, calling them “irresponsible.”

“Today, we are watching the culmination of Biden’s absolutely irresponsible policies with respect to Israel. He has directed funds to Palestine. UN funds have gone to Palestine. He JUST handed $6 BILLION to Iran. Now we see the results. Israel is our closest ally in the world. We need to stand by Israel in this deadly situation!” the congresswoman wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

However, White House officials said on Friday that Iran had not actually accessed any of the funds. The Biden administration maintains that the money would only be available for humanitarian purchases from non-Iranian sources.

“No funds enter Iran ever, nor do any funds get paid to Iranian companies or entities,” a senior administration official told reporters in September. “These funds will be available only for transactions for humanitarian goods with vetted third-party, non-Iranian vendors.”

Newsweek has reached out to Trump and Biden via email for further comment.

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