A massive arched monument that stood in North Korea for more than 20 years and symbolized the goal of reconciliation with South Korea has been demolished weeks after Kim Jong Un ordered it to be destroyed, according to a report by NK News, an online outlet that monitors North Korea.

The concrete straddled monument, known as the ‘Arch of Reunification,’ opened in 2001 to commemorate Korean reunification proposals put forward by former leader and dictator Kim Il Sung. At 100 feet high and 300 feet wide, it towered over the multi-laned Reunification Highway leading from Pyongyang to the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and consisted of two Korean women in traditional dress holding an emblem of the entire Korean Peninsula, symbolizing the North and the South.

But satellite imagery of Pyongyang on Tuesday showed that the monument had been destroyed. It is unclear when or how it was brought down, and it was last seen standing in an image taken on Jan. 19, NK News reports.

Reuters and Fox News could not independently confirm that the monument, known officially as the ‘Monument to the Three-Point Charter for National Reunification,’ had been demolished. The three charters were self-reliance, peace and national cooperation, according to South Korean government records.

Kim called the monument an ‘eyesore’ in a speech at the Supreme People’s Assembly on Jan. 15, where he ordered that the constitution be amended to say the South was a ‘primary foe and invariable principal enemy,’ official media said.

He ordered it be ‘completely removed… to completely eliminate such concepts as ‘reunification,’ ‘reconciliation’ and ‘fellow countrymen’ from the national history of our Republic,’ NK News reports.

The move indicates a further deterioration of relations between the two countries. 

Kim also asked authorities to block all channels of north-south communication along the border, including physically and completely cutting off the railway tracks ‘to an irretrievable level,’ the publication reports.

Tensions have spiked on the Korean peninsula following intensifying military maneuvers by South Korea and the U.S. in response to weapons testing by the North, which said it was readying for a ‘nuclear war’ with its enemies.

Asked if North Korea appeared to be changing its posture on conflict with the South, White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday, ‘We’re watching this very, very closely.’

‘I would just tell you that we remain confident that the defensive posture that we’re maintaining on the peninsula is appropriate to the risk,’ he added.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who took office in 2022, has taken a hard line against the North, calling for immediate and tough responses to North Korea’s military actions that have raised tensions on the Korean peninsula.

North Korea claims it has produced nuclear-capable underwater drones designed to destroy naval vessels. It has also been escalating missile tests and threats, with South Korea calling on the U.N. Security Council to address the situation. 

North Korea has vowed to ‘wipe out’ South Korea if attacked by the South and U.S. forces. Late last year, the North declared as no longer valid a key agreement signed with the South in 2018 aimed at de-escalating military tensions.

Reuters contributed to this report.  

Kevin Morris, a lawyer and close friend of Hunter Biden, confirmed to lawmakers that he still holds a stake in a Chinese private equity firm that he took over from the president’s son. 

Morris, who has been dubbed Hunter’s ‘sugar brother’ for loaning him millions of dollars to pay off back taxes and other bills, told lawmakers on the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees last week that he still holds a 10% stake in the Chinese private equity firm Bohai Harvest RST LLC (BHR). Morris initially acquired the shares after purchasing Skaneateles LLC, a company that Hunter had previously owned, in the fall of 2021 as pressure mounted for Hunter to divest.

In a transcript reviewed by Fox News Digital, Morris invoked attorney-client privilege when asked how ‘it came up that he would purchase Skaneateles,’ but said he eyed BHR because he thought it would be a promising investment. However, during the interview, he claimed he couldn’t recall ‘exactly what [the investments] were,’ but said he remembers ‘going through them’ and thought they were ‘infrastructure’ related.

‘I did the transaction because, you know, I evaluated it as a businessman, and I thought it was something that could be a very successful investment,’ Morris said. ‘I — you know, but I did diligence on the assets. I knew what — I knew what Hunter paid for it in the beginning, and I saw, and I still see upside.’  

Morris, who stated he purchased Skaneateles for $157,000, was then pressed on only paying that amount for the 10% stake in the Chinese equity firm. 

‘Look, I am going to do the best I can, okay? Morris responded. ‘I thought it ended up being 157 in cash. There was also a payment in there for — there was a $250,000 payment for a loan. I can’t remember if that’s part of that transaction, but if it is — that’s what it does — and whatever the — I believe those two were combined for the purchase price.’

Morris said he has not received any payout from BHR since he purchased Skaneateles in 2021.  

Before Morris took over the BHR shares, Hunter Biden continued owning a stake in the firm after his father pledged in October 2019 to keep his family free of foreign entanglements if he was elected president.

‘No one in my family will have an office in the White House, will sit in on meetings as if they are a cabinet member, will, in fact, have any business relationship with anyone that relates to a foreign corporation or a foreign country,’ now-President Biden said at the time, despite Hunter reportedly living at the White House for an unknown amount of time and participating in official White House events, including state dinners and an official trip to Ireland. Other Biden family members have also visited the White House throughout his administration.

During the 2020 campaign, now-White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates, who was a spokesperson for the Biden campaign at the time, took a shot at the Trump campaign in April 2020, calling the campaign’s communications director Tim Murtaugh a ‘liar.’ 

‘When it was announced that Hunter Biden would be quitting the board of a Chinese equity firm, lots of news outlets credulously reported it,’ Murtaugh tweeted, quote-tweeting a report about Hunter still being listed as a director and owning a 10% equity stake in BHR. ‘Six months later, records indicate that Hunter has not, in fact, quit. Will the mainstream media be following up?’

Bates, who would later be implicated in the ‘Russian disinformation’ narrative to discredit Hunter Biden’s laptop, then responded to Murtaugh while quote-tweeting a Washington Post ‘fact checker’ sharing a screenshot of a letter dated the same day as the tweet, which appeared to show BHR CEO Jonathan Li confirming to Hunter’s lawyer that Hunter was no longer an ‘unpaid director’ as of October 2019.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House to inquire whether Bates was aware that Hunter still held his stake in BHR when he attacked the Trump campaign regarding Hunter’s involvement with BHR, but he did not respond. 

In late December 2020, Hunter still owned the shares in BHR less than a month before his father took office. In November 2021, Chris Clark, who was a lawyer for Hunter at the time, told The New York Times that Hunter ‘no longer holds any interest, directly or indirectly, in either BHR or Skaneateles.’

The Washington Free Beacon reported in 2023 that Hunter’s stake in the Chinese private equity firm had moved to Morris after he had purchased Skaneateles.

Hunter previously sat on the Chinese firm’s board — whose financial backers include the Bank of China — before announcing in October 2019 that he would be stepping down over mounting scrutiny of his father’s presidential bid.

In December 2013, Hunter traveled with his dad on an Asia trip, which included China as a stop, and introduced him to Li in the lobby of the hotel where the U.S. delegation was staying. A recent closed-door interview with Hunter’s former business partner, Devon Archer, revealed that the elder Biden would have coffee with him too during the visit. Less than two weeks later, Hunter would enter into a joint-venture called BHR Partners, a Beijing-backed private equity firm controlled by Bank of China Limited.

Hunter initially invested $420,000 in BHR in October 2017 through Skaneateles. His interest in the company spiked to an estimated $894,000, according to a March 2019 email from his former business partner, Eric Schwerin.

Morris told lawmakers he did not know whether Hunter could buy back BHR in the future.

Following Morris’ interview with lawmakers, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer released a statement expressing concern about the lawyer’s financial support for his own client. Comer claimed that Morris’ actions raised ethical concerns, noting the millions of dollars the lawyer had previously loaned to Hunter.

‘Shortly after meeting Hunter Biden at a Joe Biden campaign event in 2019, Kevin Morris began paying Hunter Biden’s tax liability to insulate then-presidential candidate Joe Biden from political liability. Kevin Morris admitted he has ‘loaned’ the president’s son at least $5 million,’ Comer said. ‘These ‘loans’ don’t have to be repaid until after the next presidential election and the ‘loans’ may ultimately be forgiven.’

‘Since Kevin Morris has kept President Biden’s son financially afloat, he’s had access to the Biden White House and has spoken to President Biden,’ he added. ‘This follows a familiar pattern where Hunter Biden’s associates have access to Joe Biden himself. As we continue more interviews this month and the next, we will continue to follow the facts to understand the full scope of President Biden and his family’s corruption.’

Morris said that while he did loan Hunter money, the two consulted counsel on the transactions and that he is ‘confident’ Hunter will repay him. In addition, Morris denied ever believing the president or his administration would give him anything in return for the loans, saying his ‘only goal’ was to help a friend and that there is no prohibition against that.

A top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee is calling for a briefing on the deaths of two Navy SEALs during an operation to stop a shipment of weapons to Houthi rebels.

Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., a retired Army Green Beret, mourned the loss of the two special forces fighters but said he had ‘questions’ about how the mission took place. 

‘My heart breaks for the loss of these two Navy SEALs. Our country relies on the heroism of elite warriors like the Navy SEALs to conduct dangerous operations,’ Waltz told Fox News Digital.

‘I have questions on the risk assessment regarding the need to do the specific operation they were conducting. We must ensure that the strategy President Biden has chosen has a realistic chance of deterring Iran, so their lives were not lost in vain.’

Waltz is the chairman of the Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on military readiness. He also sits on the House committees on intelligence and oversight.

He said on X on Monday, ‘I have a lot of questions about the planning, execution, and aftermath of this operation. As Chairman of Military Readiness, I have requested a detailed briefing.’

The Navy announced earlier that day that the search and rescue mission for Navy Special Warfare Operator 1st Class Christopher J. Chambers and Navy Special Warfare Operator 2nd Class Nathan Gage had ended.

Chambers and Gage were lost at sea on Jan. 11 during a nighttime raid on a ship carrying weapons from Iran to rearm Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, the Navy said. 

The Associated Press reported that Gage slipped and fell into the Arabian Sea while boarding the Yemen-bound vessel, and that Chambers had jumped in to save him. 

They’re the first two U.S. soldiers to die in the ongoing conflict between Houthis and the West. The Iran-backed militants have been attacking U.S. ships and other commercial ships in the Red Sea, claiming their actions are in defense of Gaza amid Israel’s war with Hamas.

The U.S. has responded with multinational coalition air strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen.

A Filipino fisherman defiantly ignored the Chinese coast guard when confronted in the disputed South China Sea, telling the authorities to leave and asserting the Philippines’ right to the territory. 

‘This is Philippine territory. Go away,’ Joely Saligan, the captain of a small fishing vessel, told the Chinese coast guard, which tried to drive them away from the Scarborough Shoal near the northwestern Philippines.

Saligan relayed the details of the Jan. 12 confrontation to the Philippine Coast Guard after eventually leaving the area. Commodore Jay Tarriela, a spokesperson for the Philippine Coast Guard, said they have validated the written statements and videos submitted by the crew. 

Saligan and his men took a small boat and visited a coral outcrop that becomes exposed during low tide. The crew looked to collect seashells and fish from the area but had to cut their excursion short as five Chinese coast guards, three of whom carried steel batons, landed and ordered the boat to leave. 

Both sides tried to document the altercation as the Chinese authorities boarded the ship and got physical, trying to take a cellphone one of the fishermen tried to use. 

‘They looked angry. They wanted us to return our catch to the sea,’ Saligan told a group of journalists in Manila. ‘That’s inhuman because that was food which people should not be deprived of.’

Saligan returned some of his haul to the sea and then left the area. 

The Philippine government may consider a diplomatic protest against China for the incident, which is just one of several between the two countries as they seek to establish claims over the area. 

Last year saw a series of near-clashes between the two coast guards near the Second Thomas Shoal. The Philippine authorities protested China’s use of a water cannon and military-grade lasers. 

China established a claim to the Scarborough Shoal in 2012, after which the Philippines formally launched a protest that went before a United Nations-backed tribunal. A 2016 ruling went against China, rejecting Beijing’s claims on ‘historical grounds,’ but Beijing rejected the arbitration and its outcome. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., endorsed a primary challenger against House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good, R-Va., Monday, further pushing herself away from the ultra-conservative group she was once part of. 

‘John McGuire is a Navy SEAL who has stood with President Donald J. Trump since he came down the escalator,’ Greene wrote on X. 

‘Bob Good is an angry, disloyal, MAGA traitor who was caught on camera trashing President Trump and doing everything he could to defeat President Trump. Bob Good is NO GOOD and cannot be trusted.’

Greene’s endorsement came just a day after Good endorsed Trump for president and as he faces criticism from MAGA circles for not falling in line behind the ex-president earlier. 

An attack ad released against Good by the Virginians For Conservative Leadership PAC shows what appears to be a secret recording of the congressman saying, ‘I can’t sit by and watch and then regret that we nominated Trump.’

Good endorsed Trump minutes after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race.

He said in a statement Sunday, ‘We need President Trump to secure our border, strengthen our military, reestablish our energy dominance and reinvigorate our economy. I am committed to doing everything I can to help ensure he is re-elected President.’

Greene was ousted from the Freedom Caucus in the middle of last year after disagreements over ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s election last January, which much of the caucus had opposed. 

She’s been critical of the group and some of its members since then, such as when she told reporters in September, ‘I’m not a member of the burn-it-all-down caucus anymore.’

The Georgia Republican derided Freedom Caucus Policy Chair Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, as ‘Colonel Sanders’ when they publicly traded barbs over her resolution to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.

Good was one of eight House Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy in October. Greene had been one of the former leader’s allies.

His primary challenger is Virginia state Sen. John McGuire, who only took office earlier this month. Prior to that, McGuire served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2019 until early 2024.

Fox News Digital reached out to Good’s campaign for comment on Greene’s endorsement but did not hear back.

A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday denied former President Trump’s request to toss the gag order on his speech related to Special Counsel Jack Smith’s election interference case. 

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan first imposed the partial gag order on Oct. 17, blocking Trump from making statements targeting Special Counsel Jack Smith, his staff, witnesses and court personnel. 

Trump appealed the gag order, and a three-judge appeals panel upheld the order but broadened what Trump could say about the case and Smith. 

Last month, Trump appealed the order altogether to the full Appeals Court but was denied Tuesday. 

‘Upon consideration of appellant’s petition for panel rehearing filed on December 18, 2023, and the request for administrative stay, it is ordered that the petition be denied,’ the order states. ‘It is, further ordered, that the request for administrative stay be denied.’ 

Trump and his attorneys can now appeal to the United States Supreme Court. 

Attorneys for the former president and 2024 GOP front-runner have said that the gag order is a violation of his First Amendment rights, especially as he campaigns for the White House. 

‘No court in American history has imposed a gag order on a criminal defendant who is actively campaigning for public office — let alone the leading candidate for President of the United States,’ Trump’s attorneys wrote in an original filing in November. 

‘The Gag Order violates the First Amendment rights of President Trump and over 100 million Americans who listen to him,’ they added.

Trump pleaded not guilty in August in federal court to all four federal charges stemming from Smith’s investigation into 2020 election interference and the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. 

Trump was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and conspiracy against rights. 

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, is demanding the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) audit and publish every single Biden administration agency head’s schedule after Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin flew under the radar for several days while he was hospitalized last month. 

‘I was shocked – as surely you were too – to learn Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spent much of the past month recovering from surgery, which he failed to disclose even to the Deputy Secretary or Commander-in-Chief,’ Ernst wrote in a letter sent to the OMB on Tuesday. 

After an elective surgical procedure, Austin returned to work in a virtual capacity on Jan. 5 while still hospitalized, even authorizing airstrikes on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis. He was released last Monday. Despite being admitted to Walter Reed on Jan.1, the Pentagon didn’t inform the public, press or Congress until Jan. 5. 

Officials also acknowledged that the White House had not been informed about Austin’s hospitalization until Jan. 4. 

‘If true, this begs the question, is Secretary Austin working from home so frequently that he can disappear into the hospital for an entire week to undergo invasive surgery, and folks simply just think he’s working from home again? When department secretaries do work from home, are they as nonresponsive as someone under general anesthesia?’ Ernst probed.

Ernst argued that during Austin’s hospitalization, Biden vacationed in St. Croix and General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Robin Carnahan worked mainly from Missouri, defying the agency’s return-to-office plan with an 11% office space utilization rate.

‘The Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government state that ‘without a strong tone at the top to support an internal control system… results… may not be… acted upon to remediate deficiencies.’ This principle of risk mitigation and fraud prevention applies perfectly to remote work and telework abuse and fraud,’ Ernst wrote.

‘I am left drawing the unavoidable conclusion that the ‘tone at the top’ across the Biden administration has undercut your efforts. With the new year comes new year’s resolutions. I would encourage yours to be to redouble your efforts to get folks back in the office. That should include agency leadership as well,’ she continued.

Ernst expects the OMB to respond by Feb. 23 with what additional steps the agency has planned to get federal employees back in the office. 

‘Given the American people no longer trust senior leaders in the Biden administration to be where they say they are, every agency and department head should publish their schedule online,’ Ernst wrote. ‘And since even President Biden can’t trust leaders to be where they say they are, you must audit those calendars, on a quarterly basis at minimum, and let us know if leaders continue to pull the wool over our eyes.’

Ernst’s letter comes as part of her increased effort to crack down on federal employees who are abusing telework. Last year, Ernst urged the Inspector General to launch a federal investigation into whether some government agencies are overpaying remote workers who receive a Washington, D.C., salary but live in a lower cost of living state – a problem she says was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Remote work spread rapidly as a way to keep some industries afloat during nationwide stay-at-home orders, and government agencies were no exception. However, Ernst said the government is typically inept at keeping track of its workers, leading to ‘an avalanche’ of problems that started years before the pandemic.

Fox News’ Louis Casiano contributed to this report. 

JERUSALEM – The head of the Israeli army unit, tasked with coordinating the massive international humanitarian aid operation for millions of Gazan civilians caught in the midst of a raging war in their tiny enclave, rejected recent claims that the territory was on the brink of starvation or facing the imminent threat of infectious and noxious diseases. 

Col. Moshe Tetro, head of the Coordination and Liaison Administration (CLA) for Gaza, a division of the military body that in peace times facilitates entry permits for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians civilians and laborers and oversees Palestinian imports and exports to Israel and beyond, told Fox News Digital that while he was familiar with reports claiming the territory was on the brink of starvation, at the moment, ‘there are no restrictions on food going into Gaza.’

Speaking on Friday for the first time in nearly a month, President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayahu discussed the ongoing situation in Gaza. According to a readout of the call provided by the White House, ‘The President and the Prime Minister reviewed the situation in Gaza and the shift to targeted operations that will enable the flow of increasing amounts of humanitarian assistance while keeping the military pressure on Hamas and its leaders.’

Tetro, whose team of soldiers works around the clock to ensure that hundreds of aid trucks, drinking water and fuel enter the Palestinian enclave daily – and work to facilitate the hazardous journey through the Strip – said it was essential to look at the data. Before the war, he said, only 70 trucks of food entered Gaza each day. He said that number has now more than doubled to 220 trucks of food entering daily over the past week.

‘If you open Telegram and other social media pages, take a look at the marketplace in Rafah last Friday – you will see that while many things are missing, there is no shortage of food,’ he said, referring to Gaza’s southernmost town where hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians have sought shelter from the fighting. 

‘I recommend to anyone writing about this to base their words on the facts and not on the basis of political agendas,’ Tetro said.

‘Our figures come from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA,)’ said a spokesperson for the State Department. The spokesperson also noted that Blinken met with the U.N. Secretary General in Davos and spoke with the ‘U.N.’s newly appointed Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag underscoring the importance of strengthening the humanitarian assistance coordination mechanism in Gaza and facilitating assistance to the northern part of the Gaza Strip.’

Last week the heads of the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF and the World Health Organization issued a joint press release calling on Israel to allow more aid into the Gaza Strip as ‘the entire population of Gaza – roughly 2.2 million people – are in crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity.’ 

‘Virtually all Palestinians in Gaza are skipping meals every day while many adults go hungry so children can eat,’ said the statement, citing the latest Integrated Food Security and Nutrition Phase Classification report. The report has warned of famine if current conditions in Gaza persist.

‘People in Gaza risk dying of hunger just miles from trucks filled with food. Every hour lost puts countless lives at risk. We can keep famine at bay but only if we can deliver sufficient supplies and have safe access to everyone in need, wherever they are,’ WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain said in the statement, which made an urgent appeal for Israel to open additional crossing points, as well as its nearby port in Ashdod, so more aid being sent from around the world could be received.

Currently, most of the aid – mainly from Arab and Muslim countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Turkey – arrives at the smaller Egyptian port of al-Arish in northern Sinai. From there, it is transported to two stations on the border with Israel, where soldiers from Tetro’s unit check the shipments for weapons and ammunition that may be smuggled to Hamas terrorists inside the Strip.

Following a thorough security inspection, the trucks, which include food, medicine, and essential supplies such as blankets and tents, enter Gaza either through the Kerem Shalom Crossing from Israel or at the Rafah Crossing from Egypt. International aid agencies and local Palestinian organizations then distribute the goods among the needy across the war-stricken territory. Israel has also agreed to aid shipments of flour to its port in Ashdod. 

A spokesperson for Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, the military body that oversees the CLA Gaza, pointed out that Israel had already opened an additional checkpoint and another aid entry point at the Kerem Shalom crossing and increased its inspection capabilities in recent weeks. 

‘We are checking more trucks than the U.N. is able to accommodate in Gaza,’ the spokesperson said.

According to the latest figures published by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) – based on information from the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza – more than 1.9 million people, or nearly 85% of the Strip’s population, are internally displaced. The majority of those seeking refuge are sheltering in facilities run by UNRWA, the U.N. agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, OCHA said.

At a recent meeting of the U.N. Security Council, Martin Griffiths, the U.N.’s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, called the situation in Gaza ‘horrific,’ highlighting what he said were ‘the appalling conditions on the ground.’

‘Shelters are overflowing, and food and water running out, and the risk of famine is growing by the day,’ he said. ‘The health system is in a state of collapse: women are unable to give birth safely; children cannot get vaccinated; the sick and injured cannot get treatment; and infectious diseases are on the rise.’

Last week, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres echoed the same sentiments saying, ‘the long shadow of starvation is stalking the people of Gaza – along with disease, malnutrition and other health threats.’

At the Coordination and Liaison Administration for Gaza unit headquarters, where Israeli soldiers monitor news and social media reports coming out of Gaza 24 hours a day, speak to their local contacts on the ground and coordinate humanitarian aid efforts with international organizations, including the U.N., Col. Tetro said that he was not surprised by such comments.

‘We know these agencies systematically lie and use false narratives, but we are in close contact with international and Palestinian officials in order to assess the civil situation in the Gaza Strip,’ he said, reiterating that there is no shortage of food or water inside Gaza. 

Tetro also refuted claims that infectious diseases were on the rise. If that’s true, he said, ‘then why do those diseases not exist? None of the data we have, including that from the international agencies, has identified any outbreaks of diseases.’

‘I’m not saying the situation in Gaza is pleasant,’ said Tetro, who recently authorized additional vaccines for hospitals in case of potential outbreaks. ‘But there is a great distance between the truth and the lies and propaganda that sadly, the international community and also the media promotes, repeating the narrative of a barbaric terror organization without even checking the facts.’

On Monday, COGAT announced that the 10,000th aid truck had arrived in Gaza since the start of the war with Hamas. The statement noted that ‘close to 99% of the coordinated trucks were approved for entry.’

President Biden’s nomination of a judge who once released a man later involved in the murder of a 10-year-old, was not renewed after mounting pressure from Republicans in the senate, despite a Democrat majority. 

President Biden originally nominated Judge Todd Edelman in 2022 to serve on the U.S. District Court of Washington, D.C. Edelman currently sits on the district’s Superior Court, where he presided over a case involving Christian Wingfield.

Wingfield was awaiting trial for illegal possession of a firearm when Edelman released Wingfield with a GPS monitoring ankle bracelet. Shortly after his release, Wingfield was involved in the murder of a 10-year-old boy, Davon McNeal, July 4, 2020, while attending a ‘stop the violence’ cookout. 

‘Crime in DC and across the country is skyrocketing, thanks in large part to radical, activist judges like Judge Edelman,’ Senator Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee and opposed Edelman, told Fox News Digital.  

‘A child died because Judge Edelman didn’t do his job, but President Biden wanted to give him a promotion. I am pleased to see that the White House has backed down from its reckless decision to nominate Edelman to the federal bench,’ she said.

The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the matter. 

In an op-ed published by the Washington Post, author Dana Milbank, who is reportedly a friend of Edelman, said he was ‘an important pick for progressives.’ Milbank lamented Democrats’ inability to overwhelm Republican criticisms of Edelman, saying Democrats ‘cowered.’

‘[I]f Democrats are so cowardly that they won’t fight back and won’t answer the lies with truth, then the battle to preserve our democracy is already lost no matter who wins at the polls,’ said Milbank. 

In November of 2022, Edelman was questioned about his decision to release Wingfield in his nomination hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

‘When you made the choice to release Mr. Wingfield, you knew these following facts,’ Senator Blackburn told Edelman at the hearing. ‘You knew that he had multiple arrests for illegally possessing a firearm.’

‘And you know that he had been identified as the person who, on another occasion, had been shooting a gun in the street at 1 p.m. in broad daylight,’ she pressed. 

Blackburn added that a week prior to Edelman’s decision to release Wingfield, another judge denied Wingfield’s request for pre-trial release because he posed a ‘safety risk’ to the community.

Edelman said he recalled ‘virtually all the facts’ and defended his decision by calling the charge of illegal gun possession ‘non-violent.’ 

Edelman also stated that Wingfield pleaded guilty to ‘a lesser charge’ of associating with the group that killed McNeal and was not the person who fired the gun. Wingfield eventually pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter.

Edelman failed to earn enough votes in the committee to proceed to a full senate confirmation, which let his confirmation expire at the end of the 117th Congress. With Democrats in the majority, his failure to earn enough committee votes indicates that at least one Democrat was unwilling to back him for the judgeship.

President Biden did not renew is nomination.