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Year: 2023

Oregon Dem House candidate looks to ‘reclaim her sexuality’ after being outed as a Manhattan dominatrix

Oregon Dem House candidate looks to ‘reclaim her sexuality’ after being outed as a Manhattan dominatrix

An Oregon Democratic congressional candidate is embracing her past and looking to “reclaim her sexuality” after a clip of her working at a Manhattan BDSM dungeon was leaked online earlier this year. Prior to being exposed for her past work in her 20s and 30s, Courtney Casgraux, a 41-year-old self-described international businesswoman who is seeking to represent Oregon’s 1st Congressional District in the House, worked as a dominatrix and charged clients an estimated $500 per hour. In an interview with the New York Post, Casgraux discussed how she felt when the video was released and how she’s using the incident to empower her campaign for Congress. “[I was] just panicking. . . . Then I was like, ‘Who did this?’ and I just started calling every single person that I pretty much knew from my past. . . . I was like hyperventilating, crying,” Casgraux, the single mother of a teenage son, recalled of how she felt when she found out about the video. PARENTS, KIDS SIDELINED AS PORTLAND TEACHERS’ UNION, DISTRICT REMAIN GRIDLOCKED AMID STRIKE: ‘SETTING US BACK’ A native of California, Casgraux returned to the BDSM industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, this time working at Donatella’s Dungeon — an S&M club located in Midtown Manhattan, according to the Post. Though she was never able to identify who was responsible for leaking the video, Casgraux told the outlet she believes someone was attempting to “shame” her. “To shame me for something that helped create the life that I have today where I have opportunity . . . made me really mad. Because it felt like an attack on women, not just an attack on me,” Casgraux said. Casraux is also expressing frustration with those that currently represent the Democratic Party on a federal level, saying she believes the party currently lacks “strong leadership.” In a statement to Fox News Digital, Casgraux said she does “not feel Democrats have strong leadership” and that those representing the party have “compromised the nation,” pointing specifically to President Biden. Casgraux also told Fox that she is surprised about the state of Congress when it comes to who can represent people throughout the country and who cannot. “Unfortunately, we live in a nation where there can be sex purchasers in Congress, but not still not sex workers,” she said. Despite the incident that rattled Casgraux, she is now attempting to win a seat in the House that’s currently held by Democrat Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, who’s seeking re-election to her post. Casgraux’s campaign has reportedly focused on abortion rights and reversing the decriminalization of certain drugs in Oregon. OREGON MOMS UNION SLAMS REMOVAL OF STANDARDIZED TEST FROM HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION REQUIREMENT: ‘NOT SURPRISING’ Casgraux, who the Post reported is looking to use the “outing” in an effort to “reclaim her sexuality,” recently created a Playboy profile where she can sell risqué pictures of herself for up to $150 each. Through the Playboy profile, Casgraux, who doesn’t receive compensation from Playboy, posts other material, such as an explanation of how Article 2 of the Constitution grants presidential powers and impeachment, as well as her views on challenges faced by American farms, according to the report. “Once [the video] came out and I got the Playboy page, I was like, ‘Oh my God, I feel like I can just be me.’ And I could say the things that I wanna say, and I can be funny and be tongue in cheek with things, and reclaim my sexuality,” she said of the experience thus far. The Post also reported that Casgraux’s campaign has only raised $757 from a total of 13 donors so far, but her persistence in the race remains. Casgraux explained that her campaign, which was launched in June, is about more than winning a seat in Congress. “If I can win, that’s incredible — let’s go to Washington . . . and we’ll make amazing legislation,” she told the outlet. “But there’s no losing if I can make one woman feel like there’s no shame in your past and what you have done. . . . You too can run for Congress.”

Biden says Palestinians ‘deserve a state of their own’ in call for two-state solution ‘free from Hamas’

Biden says Palestinians ‘deserve a state of their own’ in call for two-state solution ‘free from Hamas’

President Biden on Saturday called for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestinians in the Middle East, but one that is “free from Hamas” as he put forward his plan for peace in the region in the wake of the Hamas terror attack against Israel. “The Palestinian people deserve a state of their own and a future free from Hamas,” he said. Biden used the op-ed in The Washington Post to argue that the world faces “an inflection point” in the Middle East, and stressed that the U.S. stands with Israel in the face of the atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists. BIDEN SAYS ISRAEL WILL STOP FIGHTING IN GAZA WHEN HAMAS ‘NO LONGER MAINTAINS THE CAPACITY TO MURDER’ But he also said he was “heartbroken” by the images out of Gaza in the wake of the Israeli military response as it seeks to wipe out Hamas. Biden said the goal should now be to “break the cycle of unceasing violence.”  “This much is clear: A two-state solution is the only way to ensure the long-term security of both the Israeli and Palestinian people. Though right now it may seem like that future has never been further away, this crisis has made it more imperative than ever,” he said. “A two-state solution — two peoples living side by side with equal measures of freedom, opportunity and dignity — is where the road to peace must lead. Reaching it will take commitments from Israelis and Palestinians, as well as from the United States and our allies and partners,” he said. “That work must start now.” He says that in order to achieve that, there must be certain principles as a foundation — including that Gaza cannot be used as a platform for terrorism, there can be no forcible displacement, no “reoccupation” or blockade and no reduction in the territory. “As we strive for peace, Gaza and the West Bank should be reunited under a single governance structure, ultimately under a revitalized Palestinian Authority, as we all work toward a two-state solution,” he said. “I have been emphatic with Israel’s leaders that extremist violence against Palestinians in the West Bank must stop and that those committing the violence must be held accountable. The United States is prepared to take our own steps, including issuing visa bans against extremists attacking civilians in the West Bank.” PRO-PALESTINIAN VIOLENT PROTEST ERUPTS OUTSIDE DNC HEADQUARTERS IN WASHINGTON DC, CAPITOL POLICE INJURED In the meantime, Biden rejected the idea of a cease-fire, saying that to Hamas “every cease-fire is time they exploit to rebuild their stockpile of rockets, reposition fighters and restart the killing by attacking innocents again.” “An outcome that leaves Hamas in control of Gaza would once more perpetuate its hate and deny Palestinian civilians the chance to build something better for themselves,” he said. Biden has been facing pressure from the left of his party for his pro-Israel support, with a number of Democrats demanding calls for a cease-fire.  Biden on Wednesday, however, said that Israel’s military operation in Gaza will stop when Hamas “no longer maintains the capacity to murder, abuse, and do horrific things to the Israelis.”

Mayor Adams urges rich New Yorkers to step up as city buckles under financial costs of migrant crisis

Mayor Adams urges rich New Yorkers to step up as city buckles under financial costs of migrant crisis

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is urging the city’s richest to open their wallets to help the city weather a financial storm created by the ongoing migrant crisis, days after the city unveiled deep budget cuts. “This is a moment where it’s an all hands on deck moment,” Adams told a Police Athletic League lunch on Friday, according to the New York Post. “The way it goes, New York goes, America goes, but I’m going to need you more than ever to support many of these organizations like PAL, Robin Hood Foundation, and others,” he said. “A moment where our philanthropic interests must align with some of the gaps and services that we are seeing today.” NEW YORK CITY TO REDUCE POLICE NUMBERS, SLASH BUDGETS DUE TO BILLIONS SPENT ON MIGRANT CRISIS  Adams also reportedly urged New Yorkers to “reach out to Washington, D.C.” and demand more support for the city, which he says is carrying a “national crisis.” The remarks came a day after the “sanctuary” city announced that it is reducing police numbers and slashing budgets in areas like education and sanitation. Adams announced a $110.5 billion budget, saying that cuts across all agencies were necessary with the city having spent $1.45 billion in fiscal 2023 on the migrant crisis and nearly $11 billion expected to be spent in 2024 and 2025. The New York Police Department will freeze hiring to bring numbers below 30,000 by the end of fiscal year 2025 from over 33,000. There will also be deep cuts to education, including the universal pre-kindergarten program, and sanitation. New York City has seen over 130,000 migrants come to the city since last year, part of the knock-on effect of the nearly three-year crisis at the southern border. It’s a small number of the more than 2.4 million migrant encounters at the southern border in FY 23, but Adams has warned that the crisis could “destroy” the city. The budget cuts drew fury from the city’s teachers and police unions. “This is truly a disaster for every New Yorker who cares about safe streets,” police union President Patrick Hendry said. “Cops are already stretched to our breaking point, and these cuts will return us to staffing levels we haven’t seen since the crime epidemic of the ‘80s and ‘90s.” NYC MAYOR ERIC ADAMS SAYS PARENTS MAY NEED TO HELP IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS AMID MIGRANT CRISIS “We cannot go back there. We need every level of government to work together to find a way to support police officers and protect New York City’s thirty years of public safety progress,” he said. New York City and other liberal jurisdictions, including Massachusetts and Chicago, have called for additional federal help with the numbers they are seeing. The Biden administration has pointed to more than $770 million it has given out to support communities taking in migrants in the last year and recommendations its teams of experts have made. It has also deployed personnel to help with authorizing work permits and to educate migrants on the immigration system, a DHS official said.  Separately, the White House has requested an additional $14 billion in emergency funding for border operations, which includes an additional $1.4 billion in grants to help local governments and nonprofits. However, the crisis at the border continues. There were more than 249,000 migrant encounters in October, only slightly lower than the record high set in September. Fox News reported this week that there have been over 1,000 detected gotaways per day on average since the beginning of the fiscal year. 

Sen. Mike Lee calls for investigation of J6 committee after tapes released: ‘Deliberately hid from us’

Sen. Mike Lee calls for investigation of J6 committee after tapes released: ‘Deliberately hid from us’

Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee is calling for an investigation into the now-defunct House January 6 committee, accusing former and current lawmakers who served on the committee of “deliberately” hiding some of the footage from the Capitol riots. Lee’s comments came after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., began releasing more than 40,000 hours of footage taken at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, when protesters angry about the 2020 election results entered the halls of Congress. Highlighting the release of the footage in a series of posts to X, formerly known as Twitter, Lee called into question the character of former Republican representatives Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois. “Why didn’t Liz Cheney and Adam Kizinger ever refer to any of these tapes? Maybe they never looked for them. Maybe they never even questioned their own narrative. Maybe they were just too busy selectively leaking the text messages of Republicans they wanted to defeat,” Lee wrote in a post to the platform, which included a video that purportedly showed Capitol police officers facilitating the passage of protesters through the building that day. SPEAKER JOHNSON BEGINS RELEASING 40,000 HOURS OF JAN 6 FOOTAGE Cheney and Kinzinger, Lee wrote in another post to X, were “people who helped hide the J6 tapes” and “are cut out of the same cloth as those who will tell you that FISA 702 must be reauthorized without reforms—’because search warrants require too much effort.’” “We need to investigate the J6 committee,” he wrote in another post. Lee also took aim at the committee overall, as well as then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who appointed the select committee to investigate what took place at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. “Given the evidence they apparently suppressed, how much footage (and how many other records) do you think Nancy Pelosi and the J6 committee deliberately lost or destroyed?” Lee questioned in one post. In response to a Friday post by Cheney, which included “some January 6th video” of disgruntled protesters tangling with Capitol police, Lee wrote, “Liz, we’ve seen footage like that a million times. You made sure we saw that — and nothing else. It’s the other stuff — what you deliberately hid from us — that we find so upsetting. Nice try.” “P.S. How many of these guys are feds? (As if you’d ever tell us),” Lee added in his response to the former lawmaker. LEFT-WING ACTIVIST CHARGED IN CAPITOL RIOT AFTER SAYING HE WAS JUST THERE TO ‘DOCUMENT’ In another post, Lee wrote, “Taxpayer dollars funded the sham J6 committee.” The GOP senator also amplified a clip released Friday that shows an officer working inside the Capitol on January 6, 2021, who appeared uncuffed and released a protester. The protester could be seen in the clip giving a fist bump to what appeared to be another officer who was nearby at the time of his release. “I walk through these doors every day — several times a day. I’ve never seen this happen,” Lee wrote in response. In releasing the remaining footage from the Capitol on January 6, 2021, Speaker Johnson said in a statement: “When I ran for Speaker, I promised to make accessible to the American people the 44,000 hours of video from Capitol Hill security taken on January 6, 2021. Truth and transparency are critical.” Some video was made available to the public on Friday, with the bulk of it to be released gradually over time, Johnson said. Johnson said his decision to release the remaining footage “will provide millions of Americans, criminal defendants, public interest organizations, and the media an ability to see for themselves what happened that day, rather than having to rely upon the interpretation of a small group of government officials.” Johnson said that roughly 5% of the footage would likely be held back due to “sensitive security information related to the building architecture,” and that some faces would be blurred “to avoid any persons from being targeted for retaliation of any kind.” It is being made public through the House Administration Committee’s subcommittee on Oversight. Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.