INTERNACIONAL
Remembering Rep. Charlie Rangel — and a voicemail I’ll never forget
I didn’t recognize the «917» New York number that called me.
But there was no question about who phoned after they left a message.
The caller on the voicemail was utterly unmistakable.
They didn’t say their name.
They didn’t have to.
«Chad, you’re the only one who missed me,» croaked the voice.
FORMER NY DEMOCRATIC REP CHARLIE RANGEL DEAD AT 94
It carried the sleekness of a stone crusher working over basalt in a West Virginia quarry.
The voicemail was from the late Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y. And he was essentially calling to assure me that he wasn’t dead.
After all, I was apparently the only member of the congressional press corps who noticed that the New York Democrat hadn’t voted nor been anywhere near the U.S. Capitol in several weeks.
There was no article in Roll Call. Nothing in Politico. No statement from his office.
Rangel just wasn’t around.
Former Rep. Charlie Rangel, D-N.Y. — a man whose tenure on Capitol Hill I have many fond memories of — died Monday. He was 94. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
So I called and wound up speaking to his communications director Hannah Kim and chief of staff George Henry.
I inquired if Rangel was all right. They assured me he was. But they didn’t quite give me the full story. That was for Rangel to do.
And then Rangel himself called — from his sickbed — so I could hear his signature jackhammer-chopping-through-the-asphalt-of-Manhattan voice to prove to this reporter he was still among the living.
«I wanted you to hear it from me,» said Rangel.
EX-REP. CHARLIE RANGEL, 94, QUESTIONS WHETHER BIDEN BELONGS IN NURSING HOME, NOT WHITE HOUSE
It was 2012. Rangel was out because of a back injury and a viral infection, which made it difficult for him to stand for long periods of time. From 2008 through late 2010, I dogged Rangel through the halls of Congress on a daily basis as the veteran congressman grappled with an ethics scandal. The ethics case culminated in the House censuring Rangel, permanently smudging his record as a war hero, a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.
First elected to the House in 1970, Rangel’s star had dimmed after the ethics scandal. But in 2012, any information about an elderly, legendary congressman like Rangel was newsworthy. So, as a reporter on the Capitol Hill beat, I appreciated the phone call as he described the excruciating pain that beset him.
It’s possible the Ethics Committee investigation and censure by the House were more agonizing for Rangel than the back problem. Rangel was so confident that he didn’t violate House rules that he referred himself to the Ethics Committee.
Rangel’s woes with the Ethics Committee might as well have been more painful for him than his back problems. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Rangel started to feel the ethics heat in 2008. He used his position as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee to solicit funds for a school in his name at City College of New York. He failed to report hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes or rental income on a villa he owned in the Dominican Republic.
A rent-controlled apartment in Harlem doubled as a campaign office. He improperly parked his broken-down, 1972 silver Mercedes-Benz in the garage of the Rayburn House Office Building. The House prohibits lawmakers from using the garage for storage. The Benz lacked plates, wasn’t registered and apparently hadn’t been driven in about four years. A Falls Church, Virginia, towing company lugged the car out of the garage on Sept. 19, 2008.
Video of the tow-truck hauling away the Mercedes-Benz from Rayburn would have made a juicy story the next morning on TV. But Rangel caught a break.
Sort of.
VIRGINIA DEMOCRATIC REP GERRY CONNOLLY DEAD AT 75
Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., summoned then-Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to Capitol Hill that night. The U.S. economy teetered on the verge of an epic financial collapse. By nightfall, it was clear just how bad the nation’s economy was. Everyone temporarily forgot about Rangel. In fact, the inoperable Benz may have been in better shape than some American car companies at that moment.
But the House Ethics Committee was investigating Rangel. An inquiry started in 2009 and culminated in his censure on the House floor in 2010. The House voted 333-79 to discipline Rangel. A somber Rangel presented himself in the well of the House chamber, hands folded in front of him as though he were about to receive Communion. Pelosi doled out her admonition from the dais and lightly rapped the gavel.
«He violated the public trust,» said then-Ethics Committee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif.
It was the first censure of a House member in 27 years.
Years after the fact, I half-jokingly suggested that Rangel could blame his Ethics Committee problems on me. (Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
Years later, I half-jokingly told Rangel that he could blame me for his problems with the Ethics Committee.
As stated earlier, it was Rangel who believed his actions were beyond reproach. So he sent himself before the Ethics Committee to review his conduct.
I entered the Capitol one morning in 2008 and discovered his longtime aide, Emile Milne, wandering the basement. I asked Milne what he was looking for. He waived an overstuffed envelope at me.
«The Ethics Committee,» said Milne.
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This was the actual «self-referral» to the Ethics Committee. And Milne was the courier of a dossier Rangel would use to defend himself.
I knew exactly where the Ethics Committee was located in those days in the Capitol catacombs. So I escorted Milne to the door.
As I said, I told Rangel he could blame all of his problems on me.
I recall one instance in which Rangel, hounded by the press, fired back at them with his name, rank and serial number — the only things a prisoner of war is obliged to provide. (Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images)
Between 2008 and 2010, I staked out Rangel somewhere at the Capitol nearly every day. The day Pelosi summoned him to her office. The day Pelosi removed him as Ways and Means Committee chairman. The day he spoke at length on the House floor to defend himself against the allegations after the ethics panel formalized its inquiry.
One night, a scrum of reporters caught Rangel in the hallway off the House floor and pelted him with a barrage of questions. Rangel briefly answered. Then deflected. He then decided he had enough as scribes fired questions at him with the speed of a Gatling gun.
Rangel sighed, exasperated at what to do.
«Sergeant Charles B. Rangel. 85718162!» hollered Rangel. «And that’s all I’m going to say about it!»
It’s unclear if the other reporters understood what just happened. But I did.
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Rangel served in the Army during the Korean War. He was wounded in the back by shrapnel and eventually led dozens of men out of a firefight and to safety. Multiple soldiers died, and others were taken prisoner. Rangel received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star with valor.
Rangel survived that day. But back on Capitol Hill, the news cycle had effectively taken Rangel prisoner. So he complied with the terms of the Geneva Convention. A prisoner of war is only compelled to provide enemy captors their name, rank and serial number. And after absorbing heavy fire from the press corps, Rangel had only one option.
It’s notable that someone with Rangel’s military record and Army service passed away on Memorial Day.
Rangel, a decorated veteran, died on Memorial Day. (Seth Wenig-Pool/Getty Images)
In August 2008, Rangel published his autobiography entitled «And I Haven’t Had a Bad Day Since.» The book chronicles how a high school dropout joined the Army and was wounded on the battlefield. Rangel chose to continue — eventually winding up in Congress as one of the most important lawmakers of the last 50 years. But Rangel then faced one of the harshest punishments Congress could dole out. It cost him his chairmanship and upended his reputation.
But Rangel was often philosophical about his fate and transgressions in Congress. He argued that despite the trouble, he still hadn’t had a bad day since that fateful battle in Kunu-ri, Korea in late 1950.
Back in 2012, I may have been the only one who noticed that Rangel was absent when he was suffering from a back issue and viral infection.
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But I certainly won’t be the only one today.
Congress,New York,New York City,House of Representatives Democrats,House Of Representatives,Politics
INTERNACIONAL
Cronología de las treguas en Gaza: dos altos el fuego quebrados y “pausas tácticas” que no frenaron la guerra
El primer ministro israelí, Benjamín Netanyahu, aceptó este lunes en una comparecencia en la Casa Blanca la última propuesta estadounidense de alto el fuego en Gaza, sobre la que aún se tiene que pronunciar el grupo islamista Hamás y que supone un nuevo intento de conseguir la paz, a una semana de cumplirse el segundo aniversario de los ataques del 7 de octubre.
La esperanza de alcanzar un alto el fuego ha pasado desde 2023 por distintas fases. Entre los principales escollos han figurado tradicionalmente la petición del grupo terrorista Hamas de una tregua que suponga el fin definitivo de la guerra, el desarme del grupo islamista, así como la insistencia israelí en mantener su presencia en la Franja de Gaza.
Durante casi dos años de ofensiva, se han producido hasta el momento dos treguas, la primera de ellas, de seis días, en noviembre de 2023, que supuso la liberación de 105 rehenes de Hamas en Gaza y 205 presos palestinos en Israel, y la segunda, de casi dos meses, en enero de 2025.
Este último alto el fuego supuso la liberación de 33 rehenes mientras Israel emprendía la retirada progresiva de sus tropas, así como la puesta en libertad de presos palestinos, unos 1.900 en total.
Duró hasta que el 18 de marzo Israel lo rompió de forma unilateral y volvió a su ofensiva en Gaza, donde se han producido hasta el momento 66.000 muertes por el fuego israelí e Israel ha ocupado un 80 % de su territorio.
A continuación, las fechas destacadas en las negociaciones en la que media Egipto, Qatar y EEUU:
23 noviembre: Egipto confirma un acuerdo de tregua temporal de cuatro días que incluye la liberación de rehenes a cambio de presos. Al día siguiente, Hamas libera a 24 rehenes e Israel excarcela a 39 palestinos.
27 noviembre: La tregua se extiende dos días más. En total, 105 rehenes fueron liberados —24 de ellos extranjeros— a cambio de la excarcelación de 240 presos palestinos.
9 abril: Tras una ronda de conversaciones en El Cairo, Hamas recibe una propuesta de tregua que permitiría la liberación de 40 rehenes en Gaza a cambio de un alto el fuego temporal y la puesta en libertad de cientos de presos palestinos.
1 junio: Joe Biden presenta un plan de tres partes que comenzaría con un alto el fuego de seis semanas en el que Israel se retiraría de Gaza, un “aumento” de ayuda humanitaria y un intercambio de rehenes por prisioneros palestinos.
11 junio: Hamas acepta la resolución de alto el fuego adoptada el día anterior por la ONU y dice estar dispuesto a negociar.
19 agosto: EEUU asegura que Netanyahu ha aceptado su última propuesta e insta a Hamas a hacer lo mismo.
9 noviembre: Qatar anuncia que suspende su mediación por los escasos avances.
6 diciembre: Hamas se muestra con “esperanza de alcanzar un acuerdo” que ponga fin a la guerra.
15 enero: Acuerdo de alto el fuego por el que Hamas liberará a 33 rehenes vivos o muertos —en tres fases de 42 días cada una— e Israel emprenderá la retirada progresiva de sus tropas y la puesta en libertad de presos palestinos (en total unos 1.900).
17 enero: El Gobierno israelí vota el alto el fuego para que entre en vigor el domingo a las 12:15 horas.
2 marzo: Israel bloquea la entrada de ayuda humanitaria al enclave, después de que Hamas rechazara la extensión de la primera fase del alto el fuego en lugar de pasar a la segunda, tal y como recogía el acuerdo.
18 marzo: Israel termina con el alto el fuego y vuelve a su ofensiva en Gaza. Mata en un día a más de 400 civiles, en una oleada de ataques aéreos.
1 julio: Trump anuncia que Israel habría aceptado una propuesta de alto el fuego de 60 días a cambio de que Hamas libere a 10 rehenes con vida y entregue los cuerpos de otros 15.
27 julio: En medio de muertes que se multiplican por desnutrición, Israel anuncia una “pausa táctica” diaria de diez horas en su actividad militar en tres zonas del enclave para permitir la distribución de ayuda humanitaria.
29 julio: Pese a la “pausa táctica”, 20 gazatíes mueren por disparos israelíes en dos puntos de distribución de comida, unas muertes que se repiten casi cada día.
8 agosto: El Gabinete de Seguridad del Gobierno de Israel da luz verde a un plan militar para ocupar la ciudad de Gaza, capital del enclave palestino.
18 agosto: Hamas acepta una propuesta de alto el fuego temporal de 60 días de Egipto y Qatar, que incluye congelar sus actividades militares en la Franja de Gaza. Israel no responde oficialmente a esa propuesta.
(Con información de EFE)
INTERNACIONAL
Blogger arrested for sharing anti-Hamas meme online, claims cops didn’t know about October 7th horrors
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A blogger has blasted British police after they arrested him for sharing a meme on social media that read «F— Hamas.»
Pete North, 47, filmed officers arriving at his Yorkshire home in the U.K. on Sept. 25 and telling him he was being detained because he had «posted something on the internet» that a member of their hate crime team «didn’t appreciate.»
The shocking footage shows an officer explaining that North was being arrested «on suspicion of publishing or distributing written material intended to stir up racial hatred.»
The post in question had been shared by North on X in August and featured a Palestinian flag with the words: «F— Palestine. F— Hamas. F— Islam. Want to protest? F— off to Muslim country and protest.»
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A blogger has blasted British police after they arrested him for sharing an anti-Hamas meme on social media.
North confirmed to The Telegraph that although the meme contained offensive references to Palestine and Islam, officers in the interview at the station appeared preoccupied with the part directed at Hamas.
«The officer in the interview said, ‘Well, firstly, let’s start with the meme. You posted a meme that said f— Hamas,’» North recalled to the British outlet.
«I said, ‘yeah, I did post a meme that said f— Hamas, because Hamas are a proscribed terrorist organisation internationally, including in Britain’.»
He added: «I then asked him, ‘Just so we’re on the same page, you do know who Hamas are?’ And he just… shook his head. He looked totally blank. If you’re going to arrest people for memes, you probably need to pay more attention to current affairs.»
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Two North Yorkshire officers came to arrest Pete North at home and took him to Harrogate police station.
North told The Telegraph he pressed the officer on whether he was aware of Hamas’s atrocities, including the murder of civilians on October 7. «He was totally oblivious,» North claimed.
After being questioned for several hours, North was released without charge.
«I feel quite strongly that what political cartoons and memes I post on social media is none of the police’s business,» North said.
«Nobody should be facing police inquiries for posting memes on Twitter. The whole point of this exercise is not to win convictions. It’s to terrorize people like me into thinking twice about posting spicy memes,» he added.
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North Yorkshire Police confirmed the arrest, telling UK media: «A 47-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of publishing or distributing written material intended to stir up racial hatred. He has been released under investigation while inquiries continue.»
Fox News Digital has reached out to North Yorkshire Police for comment.
culture opinion,united kingdom,media,terrorism
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After an illegal alien, Ian Andre Roberts, the superintendent of the Des Moines Public Schools in Iowa, was arrested by ICE, Republicans blew the whistle on the fact that he was a registered active Democrat voter in the state of Maryland.
According to the official website for the Maryland State Board of Elections, Roberts, who overstayed a student visa from 1999, has an active voter status and is registered as a Democrat in Maryland. The development was first reported on by columnist Dustin Grage.
Republican state Delegate Matt Morgan, who is chair of the Maryland House Freedom Caucus, told Fox News Digital that Roberts’ registration means that he is eligible to vote in all federal, state and local elections despite not being a U.S. citizen, and also despite likely not having lived in Maryland for the past decade.
Morgan explained that there is nothing in Maryland law allowing for non-citizens to be registered to vote in federal or state elections even if Roberts were still a legal resident.
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Ian Roberts, head of Des Moines Public Schools, was arrested by immigration authorities on Friday after a brief chase, Roberts was living in the United States illegally, authorities said. (Getty Images; ICE)
Now, the House Freedom Caucus is demanding answers from the Maryland State Board of Elections about «gaping holes» in the state’s election integrity systems.
In a letter sent to the elections board on Monday, the Freedom Caucus also demanded answers on why the board has been «obstructing a valid request by the Department of Justice to ensure compliance with federal election laws, citing immigration enforcement as a primary concern.
Morgan pointed to a letter the elections board sent to the Justice Department in August in which State Administrator of Elections Jared DeMarinis expressed concern that if the board gave over voter information to the federal government that data would be used for «used for enforcement of immigration laws against Maryland residents.»
Commenting on the letter, Morgan asked, «If illegal aliens are not allowed to vote, why would they be on the voter rolls in the first place? And how would that enhance immigration enforcement? I don’t know, but that’s the excuse that they wrote to the DOJ.»
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The Maryland State Capitol in Annapolis. (Getty)
«It’s ridiculous,» he went on, adding that «everyone reasonable wants a safe and secure election.»
Before his arrest by ICE, Roberts headed the Des Moines Public Schools, the largest school district in the state, despite not being legally authorized to work in the U.S. after his employment authorization card expired in 2020, according to authorities.
He was taken into custody on a fugitive warrant last week. ICE agents arrested Roberts after he attempted to flee and was found hiding in brush. The vehicle Roberts was driving was found with $3,000 in cash, a fixed-blade hunting knife, and a loaded Glock 19 firearm, ICE said.
Roberts also had illegal weapons possession charges from 2020 and was given a final order of removal in 2024.
The state of Iowa revoked Roberts’ education license on Sunday, triggering the Des Moines School Board to place him on unpaid leave.
«We were notified that the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners revoked Doctor Roberts’ license to practice as a superintendent in the state of Iowa. Without such a license, Doctor Roberts is not in compliance with his contract,» said Jackie Norris, chair of the school board.
IOWA PUBLIC SCHOOL OFFICIAL CALLS FOR ‘RADICAL EMPATHY’ AFTER ICE ARRESTS SUPERINTENDENT
Authorities said a handgun was found in a vehicle used by Ian Roberts to flee from pursuing ICE agents. (ICE)
Morgan said that though Roberts’ case is baffling, he fears he may just be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to illegal aliens registered to vote in Maryland.
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«We have no idea how widespread this is. We hear rumors, but we have no idea,» he said.
«This is uncharted territory,» he added.
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
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