California high-speed rail faces challenges after US award
California’s ambitious high-speed rail project that aims to move travelers from San Francisco to the Los Angeles basin in under three hours still faces significant funding challenges despite a $3.1 billion federal award.
Republicans unleash effort forcing Biden admin to hold oil and gas lease sales
FIRST ON FOX: A group of Senate Republicans led by Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., introduced a bill Friday that would require the federal government to hold regular oil and gas lease sales in an effort to shore up U.S. energy security. The so-called Supporting Made in America Energy Act would mandate that the Department of the Interior (DOI) holds at least four annual onshore oil and gas lease sales in the top seven producing states in addition to at least two annual offshore lease sales in both the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska. According to Daines, the bill would reverse the administration’s policies which have led to fewer fossil fuel lease sales on public lands and waters. “Now more than ever, energy security is national security,” Daines said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. “As President Biden continues to push his out-of-touch and unrealistic green agenda on the American people, I’ll continue to push for policies that bolster made-in-America energy.” In addition to forcing the administration to resume traditional energy leasing, the Supporting Made in America Energy Act would require DOI to create wind, solar, and geothermal energy priority areas on public land. ALASKAN NATIVE AMERICANS UNLEASH ON BIDEN ADMIN’S CLIMATE AGENDA: ‘COMMUNITIES AND CULTURE ARE AT RISK’ Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., Bill Cassidy, R-La., James Risch, R-Idaho, John Hoeven, R-Idaho, Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Roger Marshall, R-Kan., joined the effort Friday as cosponsors of the bill. And the seven states listed by the legislation as the top producing onshore states are Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Nevada and Alaska. INTERNAL EMAILS SHOW BIDEN OFFICIALS OPENLY DISAGREED WITH ADMIN’S FOSSIL FUEL POLICIES “The Biden administration’s first nineteen months in office saw the fewest acres leased for oil and gas since World War II. It is concerning that since taking office the BLM has only held one lease sale in Montana,” Daines and fellow GOP Montana lawmakers Reps. Ryan Zinke and Matt Rosendale wrote in a June letter to the DOI. “Despite congressionally mandated lease sales and a federal court reversal of the Biden administration’s leasing moratorium, the BLM is not offering any parcels in Montana for the upcoming competitive lease sale in June while Americans continue to face rising energy costs and persistent inflation,” they continued, adding that it is “imperative”for the agency to prioritize domestic energy production. Shortly after taking office in January 2021, President Biden issued a moratorium on all new oil and gas leasing, following through on a campaign promise that was part of his climate-focused platform. But, in June 2021, after the administration was sued by a group of state attorneys general, a federal court struck the moratorium down. It was permanently struck down in August 2022. Following the court rulings, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced that her agency would again proceed with fossil fuel leasing. The DOI then modified the federal oil and gas leasing program in April 2022 and ultimately held the administration’s first onshore lease sales months later. The agency was subsequently sued by environmental groups for holding the sales in a case that remains ongoing. But the administration has pursued a pared-back oil and gas leasing program despite a legal requirement to hold quarterly lease sales. DOI was sued by energy industry groups led by the Western Energy Alliance for, despite holding the sales in 2022, not regularly holding sales in accordance with the Mineral Leasing Act. “It’s unfortunate that clear statutory mandates from Congress, such as the straightforward requirement in the Mineral Leasing Act that the Interior Department hold quarterly lease sales, have been simply ignored by the Biden Administration,” Kathleen Sgamma, the president of the Western Energy Alliance, said Friday, endorsing Daines’ bill. “The fact that this bill is even necessary demonstrates how President Biden is completely comfortable violating the law. Congress shouldn’t have to keep making the same legislation, but we are certainly thankful that Senator Daines has done so with this bill,” she continued. The American Petroleum Institute and Montana Petroleum Association also endorsed the legislation.
Who is Mark C Scarsi, the Trump-appointed judge assigned to Hunter Biden’s case?
Mark C. Scarsi, a Trump-appointed judge, is presiding over Hunter Biden’s most recent federal indictment on tax evasion charges. He currently serves as the U.S. district judge for the Central District of California. Scarsi was selected at random to oversee the case against Biden, which includes nine new charges alleging a “four-year scheme,” when he did not pay his federal income taxes from January 2017 to October 2020 while also filing false tax reports. HUNTER BIDEN FACES NEW INDICTMENT IN CALIFORNIA The charges break down to three felonies and six misdemeanors centered around $1.4 million in owed taxes that were since paid. Scarsi was confirmed by the Senate in 2020 after being nominated by former President Trump. He spent most of his career on civil litigation “with an emphasis on intellectual property,” according to his bio on California’s district court website, and has represented Fortune 100 companies such as Apple and Google. FROM SEX CLUBS TO STRIPPERS: HERE ARE THE 5 MOST SALACIOUS DETAILS FROM THE HUNTER BIDEN INDICTMENT Earlier this year, Scarsi sentenced a California construction owner to two years in prison after failing to report more than $4.8 million in income over a five-year span and failure to pay nearly $2 million in taxes. In March, Scarsi sentenced a man to 10 years in prison for scamming eight romantic partners, as well as nine businesses and laundering funds. In Ocober, he ruled that the owner of an Orange County real estate finance business would spend more than five years in prison for “fraudulently obtaining” nearly $6.2 million from an investor by making false promises that shares of his private company were on the verge of going public. HERE’S WHAT’S IN HUNTER BIDEN’S NEW CALIFORNIA INDICTMENT Last year, he also sentenced a Los Angeles-based actor to 20 years in prison and ordered him to pay over $230,000 in restitution to his victims after he pleaded guilty to scamming $650 million from film investors. Also in 2022, he sentenced a former lawyer to more than three years for scamming clients, leading them to believe he won cases by forging judges’ signatures. Scarsi was born in 1964 in Syracuse, New York. He studied computer science at Syracuse University and earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degree. In 1996, he earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. In addition to his career in California, he also worked at two New York district courts in 2010. Fox News’ Houston Keene contributed to this report.
IRS whistleblowers: Hunter Biden indictment is a ‘complete vindication’ of investigation, allegations
IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler said the new charges against Hunter Biden are a “complete vindication” of their years-long investigation into the president’s son. Special Counsel David Weiss charged Biden late Thursday, alleging a “four-year scheme” when the president’s son did not pay his federal income taxes from January 2017 to October 2020 while also filing false tax reports. Weiss filed the charges in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The charges break down to three felonies and six misdemeanors concerning $1.4 million in owed taxes that were since paid. HERE’S WHAT’S IN HUNTER BIDEN’S NEW CALIFORNIA INDICTMENT IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler approached Congress earlier this year, alleging that prosecutorial decisions made throughout the federal investigation into the president’s son were impacted by politics. Reacting to the latest indictment, Shapley and Ziegler said they have been vindicated. “Eight months ago we did something ordinary people don’t do: we risked our careers and reputations to bring the truth out of the shadows and into the light,” Shapley and Ziegler said in a joint-statement. “We were moved solely by our consciences, yet faced continual attacks. Nevertheless, in the face of all odds, we never wavered from what we shared with Congress.” Shapley and Ziegler said the indictment “is a complete vindication of our thorough investigation, and underscores the wide agreement by investigators and prosecutors that the evidence supported charges against Hunter Biden.” “Yet as we have stated, this is much bigger than our investigation or any one individual: it’s about equal treatment of taxpayers under the law,” they said. Shapley, Ziegler and other IRS officials who testified before Congress, including Michael Batdorf, have said they were frustrated that the Justice Department did not charge Hunter Biden for failing to pay federal income tax for 2014 and 2015. They alleged that Weiss had allowed the statute of limitations to expire for tax charges against Hunter Biden from 2014 and 2015 in D.C. Shapley, who led the IRS portion of the probe, said that Hunter Biden should have been charged with tax evasion for 2014, and for filing false tax returns for 2018 and 2019. With regard to the 2014 tax returns, Shapley said that Hunter Biden did not report income from Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings. HUNTER BIDEN FACES NEW INDICTMENT IN CALIFORNIA Fox News Digital first reported in December 2020 that Hunter Biden did not report “approximately $400,000” in income he collected from his position on the board of Burisma Holdings when he joined in 2014. But Special Counsel David Weiss, during his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee last month, seemingly hinted that tax charges could be coming. Weiss testified that the statute of limitations did, in fact, expire on the 2014 and 2015 tax years, but he said he could not comment as it “pertains to the ongoing litigation and our outstanding investigation.” “I’m just not at liberty to comment at this time, but there will come a time,” Weiss said, adding that he would explain in his eventual report why the statute of limitations was allowed to lapse. “But even though the statute of limitations has lapsed, and even though charges won’t be filed, if there were to be an outstanding tax prosecution, there is no reason to believe that evidence pertaining to prior years, or witnesses involved in prior years, wouldn’t be part of that litigation,” Weiss said. In the indictment, Weiss alleged that Hunter “engaged in a four-year scheme to not pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019, from in or about January 2017 through in or about October 15, 2020, and to evade the assessment of taxes for tax year 2018 when he filed false returns in or about February 2020.” Weiss said that, in “furtherance of that scheme,” the younger Biden “subverted the payroll and tax withholding process of his own company, Owasco, PC by withdrawing millions” from the company “outside of the payroll and tax withholding process that it was designed to perform.” FROM SEX CLUBS TO STRIPPERS: HERE ARE THE 5 MOST SALACIOUS DETAILS FROM THE HUNTER BIDEN INDICTMENT The special counsel alleged that Hunter “spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills,” and that in 2018, he “stopped paying his outstanding and overdue taxes for tax year 2015.” Weiss alleged that Hunter “willfully failed to pay his 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 taxes on time, despite having access to funds to pay some or all of these taxes,” and that he “willfully failed to file his 2017 and 2018 tax returns on time.” Meanwhile, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., who is co-leading the impeachment inquiry against President Biden and who has been investigating the Biden family’s foreign business dealings for months, praised Shapley and Ziegler for having “placed their careers on the line to blow the whistle on misconduct and politicization in the Hunter Biden criminal investigation.” “The Department of Justice got caught in its attempt to give Hunter Biden an unprecedented sweetheart plea deal, and today’s charges filed against Hunter Biden are the result of Mr. Shapley and Mr. Ziegler’s efforts to ensure all Americans are treated equally under the law. Every American should applaud these men for their courage to expose the truth,” Comer said. Comer also said that Shapley and Ziegler “revealed investigators were prevented from following evidence that could have led to Joe Biden.” “The House Oversight Committee’s investigation of the Bidens’ influence peddling schemes reveals how Joe Biden knew about, participated in, and benefitted from his family cashing in on the Biden name,” Comer said. “In fact, Hunter Biden’s corporate entities implicated by today’s indictments funneled foreign cash that landed in Joe Biden’s bank account.” Comer added: “Unless U.S. Attorney Weiss investigates everyone involved in the Bidens’ fraud schemes and influence peddling, it will be clear President Biden’s DOJ is protecting Hunter Biden and the big guy.” Hunter Biden, in October, pleaded not guilty
Stanford University condemns calls for Jewish genocide after Ivy League competitors faceplant on Capitol Hill
Stanford University on Friday issued a statement condemning calls for Jewish genocide after presidents of other Ivy League schools shocked the nation with their Congressional testimony regarding antisemitism on campus. “In the context of the national discourse, Stanford unequivocally condemns calls for the genocide of Jews or any peoples,” the school posted on X. “That statement would clearly violate Stanford’s Fundamental Standard, the code of conduct for all students at the university.” The statement comes as the presidents of Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and The University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) are reeling from backlash to their remarks before lawmakers earlier this week. On Tuesday, the universities’ presidents were summoned to Capitol Hill to give testimony about rising antisemitism on their campuses before the House Education and Workforce Committee. HOUSE REPS ANNOUNCE INVESTIGATION INTO HARVARD, MIT, UPENN AFTER ‘MORALLY BANKRUPT’ TESTIMONY ON ANTISEMITISM During the hearing, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., asked each president about the pro-Palestinian protests on their campus and whether antisemitic chants calling for the genocide of Jews at those demonstrations violated their school codes of conduct on bullying and harassment. “If targeting individuals, not making public statements,” MIT President Sally Kornbluth said, denying that she heard calls for the genocide of Jews on campus. “But you’ve heard chants for intifada,” Stefanik said, a reference to the Arabic word “uprising” or “shaking off.” The term has been used to describe periods of Palestinian resistance against Israel, often in the form of terrorism. The MIT leader replied that such incidents would be investigated as harassment if found to be “pervasive and severe.” UPENN PRESIDENT TORCHED OVER ANTISEMITIC SPEAKERS, TEACHERS ALLOWED ON CAMPUS BUT NOT TRUMP ICE DIRECTOR UPenn President Elizabeth Magill was then asked the same question. She told Congress that if the speech turned into conduct, it would be considered harassment. She added that it was a “context-dependent” situation that would constitute bullying and harassment if it was “directed,” “pervasive” and “severe.” Stefankik, stunned, repeatedly asked Magill if she would answer “yes” that calling for the genocide of Jews is harassment. “It can be harassment,” Magill admitted when pressed. HARVARD, MIT AND UPENN PRESIDENTS PRESSED ON ‘RACE-BASED IDEOLOGY OF THE RADICAL LEFT’ AT ANTISEMITISM HEARING Harvard President Claudine Gay answered next, saying the situation would depend on the “context” and if it targets specific individuals. These answers sparked public outrage and have led to calls for each university president to resign. Two of the presidents, Gay and Magill, subsequently released statements adding context and clarification to their testimony. “There are some who have confused a right to free expression with the idea that Harvard will condone calls for violence against Jewish students. Let me be clear: Calls for violence or genocide against the Jewish community, or any religious or ethnic group are vile, they have no place at Harvard, and those who threaten our Jewish students will be held to account,” Gay said in a statement posted to Harvard’s X account. Magill released a statement that put the blame on existing policies in the institution. “There was a moment during yesterday’s congressional hearing on antisemitism when I was asked if a call for the genocide of Jewish people on our campus would violate our policies. In that moment, I was focused on our University’s longstanding policies aligned with the U.S. Constitution, which say that speech alone is not punishable. I was not focused on, but I should have been, the irrefutable fact that a call for genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence human beings can perpetrate. It’s evil — plain and simple,” she said. “I want to be clear, a call for genocide of Jewish people is threatening… In my view, it would be harassment or intimidation… Penn must initiate a serious and careful look at our policies, and Provost Jackson and I will immediately convene a process to do so.” The House Committee on Education & the Workforce on Thursday announced an investigation into the three elite schools over “rampant antisemitism” after their “morally bankrupt” testimony. Fox News Digital’s Hannah Grossman, Danielle Wallace and Nikolaus Lanum contributed to this report.
Madhya Pradesh Assembly Elections: ‘Congress lost due to ego after Karnataka victory, not because of EVMs’: CM Chouhan
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party retained power in MP in an emphatic manner winning 163 seats in the 230-member Assembly, while the Congress managed to emerge victorious on just 66 seats, down from the 114 it had secured in the 2018 polls.
Atlanta police probe attempted arson at Martin Luther King Jr. birthplace
Atlanta police on Friday were trying to determine what motivated an Alabama woman accused of a failed attempt to set fire to the home where the civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was born.
IPC issues warning against reactions of painkiller drug Mefenamic Acid; know possible side-effects here
Recently, the Commission released a public notice alerting individuals to the possibility that this medication may cause Drug Rash with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS) syndrome.
Michigan school shooter faces life in prison as victims’ grieving parents testify
A teenager who fatally shot four classmates two years ago at his high school outside Detroit faces life in prison without parole at his sentencing on Friday, as grieving parents and siblings described the horrors he inflicted on their families.
Wharton letter adds pressure on Penn president to resign
The governing body of the University of Pennsylvania’s influential Wharton business school has joined a growing chorus calling on Penn’s president to resign after what they see as her failure to condemn antisemitic rhetoric on campus, according to a letter obtained by Axios.