Kentucky House passes bill to have more teens tried in adult courts for gun offenses
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Legislation intended to prosecute more Kentucky teenagers on gun-related felony charges in adult courts where they could face harsher penalties moved closer Tuesday to clearing the legislature. The bill passed the House on a 68-19 vote and now returns to the Senate, where it could receive a final vote if senators accept the changes made by the House. Senate Bill 20 is part of a broader push by the Republican-dominated legislature to toughen penalties for a range of crimes. 2 BLACK OFFICERS SUE LOUISVILLE PD FOR DISCRIMINATION The vote came as lawmakers took action on stacks of legislation ahead of their extended break starting Friday to give Gov. Andy Beshear time to decide whether to sign or veto bills sent to him. The biggest task still awaiting lawmakers is to pass the next two-year state budget. Under the juvenile-related bill, youths would be transferred to circuit court for trial as adults when charged with serious felony offenses and if they used a gun when allegedly committing the crime. It would apply to youths 15 years old and up. Republican state Rep. Patrick Flannery said the bill would improve public safety. “I think it’s very important to realize that while we use terms like ‘youthful offenders, teenagers,’ we are talking about very violent criminals, regardless of their age, that are using a firearm to kill others, to permanently injure others,” Flannery said. The measure would roll back a criminal-justice policy enacted three years ago in Kentucky. At that time, lawmakers ended the automatic transfer of youths from juvenile court to circuit court in certain cases. Judges now have to hold a hearing to determine whether a transfer is appropriate based on evidence. Once in circuit court, teens can face the same penalties as adults, including prison. Under the new bill, teens convicted in circuit court would be held in a facility for juveniles until turning 18. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Democratic state Rep. Lindsey Burke argued against the policy rollback. “Here we are three years later, going back to a presumption that teenagers ought to be punished to the full extent of the law, with very limited consideration of how we might rehabilitate them rather than punishing them,” Burke said. The bill’s lead sponsor, Republican state Sen. Matthew Deneen, has said the changes would ensure that “the time fits the crime” for gun-related offenses committed by teens. Deneen has said that many of the victims of teen gun violence are other teens.
GOP Sen blasts Biden admin claiming abortion travel policy is essential to military readiness
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, is questioning President Biden’s Department of Defense over its abortion travel assistance policies that Secretary Lloyd Austin has previously said are important for force readiness. Wicker suggested that recently-revealed data casts doubt on the Biden administration’s justifications for the policies. The Department of Defense has said the abortion travel policy is important for ensuring troop readiness. PENTAGON RELEASES DATA ON CONTROVERSIAL ABORTION TRAVEL POLICY FOR SERVICE MEMBERS In a letter sent on Monday, the senator requested evidence from the Pentagon on how its abortion travel allowances are necessary for force readiness in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s reversal, as Austin previously claimed. In a development on Tuesday, the department announced new figures regarding the policy, soon after being asked for comment by Fox News Digital, and one day after Wicker’s letter prompted it to explain new data he obtained through another Senate committee. According to Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh, the travel allowance policy was used 12 times from June-December of 2023. The allowances can be used for “non-covered” abortions, but are also approved for other procedures and treatments. The cost to the Pentagon was roughly $40,800, she said. While the department offers authorized allowances for travel and transportation assistance, this does not mean that all service members who travel to obtain abortions have requested or received such allowances. In his Monday letter, Wicker noted he received data “indirectly through a different Senate committee,” which showed that the Army recorded “between August 2023 and December 31, 2023, three service members utilized the policy and claimed travel expenses totaling $2,097.” REPUBLICANS SEE EMBATTLED MENENDEZ’S POTENTIAL INDEPENDENT BID AS CHANCE TO FLIP SENATE SEAT The data on abortion policy usage and cost in 2023 was provided to another Senate committee by the Army, per Wicker’s office. It was then forwarded to Wicker. “Still, with today’s news, the fact remains: This administration has recklessly politicized the military with this farce of a policy,” said Wicker in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The Department even admitted today that those that use the policy may not have even used it for an abortion. The reality is that access to abortions is not a threat to readiness.” Wicker recalled Austin’s past claim that the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, returning the issue of abortion to the states, “has impacted access to reproductive health care, with readiness, recruiting and retention implications for the force.” COMER FUNDRAISING EMAIL DAMPENS PROSPECTS OF BIDEN IMPEACHMENT, SAYS ‘CRIMINAL REFERRALS’ ARE GOAL In the letter, Wicker slammed the department for providing only “incomplete, evasive, or outright non-answers” when he prompted it on three separate occasions in 2023 for information to justify the abortion policy and how it affects force readiness. He noted that in response to his most recent letter in December, the department focused on fertilization services and avoided discussing the “provision of non-covered abortion services that end the lives of unborn babies.” Wicker further criticized the department’s response for refusing to provide information on the usage of the policies and the amount of money that was being spent, prompting him to obtain the information elsewhere. He claimed the response, “is contradicted by the Army’s data which clearly provided the number of service members who have claimed reimbursement of travel expenses using the policy.” GOING, GOING, GONE: COULD THE REPUBLICANS’ SLIM HOUSE MAJORITY SLIP AWAY BEFORE NOVEMBER? “That number is essential to best capture the actual readiness impact on the force, if any,” he explained in the Monday letter. Wicker additionally requested the department to provide up-to-date data, “in the same form the Army has provided,” on usage of the policy since implementation. The senator had also requested “immediate delivery” of this data from the department, noting the other occasions on which it was not provided.
Dem campaign call reveals panic mode over RFK Jr.’s White House bid, scramble to save Biden re-election hopes
Democrats appear to be in panic mode as they scramble to save President Biden’s re-election hopes from the threat of independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign, a call hosted by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) revealed Tuesday afternoon. The call with members of the press took place immediately after Kennedy announced tech entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan as his vice presidential running mate at a rally in Oakland, California, and included Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., Pennsylvania Lieutenant Gov. Austin Davis, and Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, who all fretted that Kennedy would likely ruin any chance of Biden being re-elected. “We are doing everything in our power to get President Biden and Vice President Harris reelected. It’s critical that we take seriously every possible obstacle to that goal. And let me be clear, that’s exactly what Robert F Kennedy is in this election. He’s a spoiler,” Davis said. WHO IS NICOLE SHANAHAN? MEET THE WEALTHY ENTREPRENEUR RFK JR SELECTED AS HIS VP RUNNING MATE McMorrow agreed, saying it was important for her to be on the call to share “how horrifying this campaign is and what it really means on the ground for Michigan.” “Him being in the race means that there is a greater likelihood that Donald Trump will become president again,” she said. Earlier in the call, Garcia railed against Kennedy as “a tin foil hat conspiracy theorist,” referencing his past skepticism toward vaccines, particularly those aimed at combating the COVID-19 pandemic. He also accused Shanahan of holding an “anti-health agenda” despite a large portion of her introduction as Kennedy’s running mate being focused on Americans’ health, especially that of children. “He’s turning to Trump mega-donors to really support this, really, spoiler campaign. I think he’s likely interested in trying to get Donald Trump elected. Maybe that’s what this is about. And many of us are not sure, but he is someone that should not be taken seriously as a serious person. I mean, certainly his campaign is quite dangerous,” Garcia said, appearing to launch his own conspiracy theory about Kennedy’s candidacy. His reference to former President Donald Trump’s donors supporting Kennedy was likely referring to Timothy Mellon, the heir to the Mellon banking fortune who has given millions to outside groups supporting Trump’s third run for the presidency. Last year, Mellon donated millions to American Values 2024, a super PAC backing Kennedy. DEMOCRATS RIPPED FOR TRYING TO ‘KILL DEMOCRACY’ WITH EFFORT TO PROTECT BIDEN, SILENCE THIRD-PARTY CANDIDATES Garcia continued to harp on Kennedy’s past positions on vaccines, referring to his bid for the presidency as “disgusting and shameful,” and calling on him to end his “horrific campaign.” Davis also focused heavily on Kennedy’s past vaccine rhetoric, but repeated Garcia’s theories on the origination of Kennedy’s campaign. “The truth is that he was drafted into this race by Donald Trump’s top supporters and is being financed in this race by Trump’s largest donor. That isn’t merely a coincidence,” he said. “He has no realistic path to victory in Pennsylvania. All he can do is take away votes from President Biden and make it easier for Donald Trump to win, and we simply can’t afford to let that happen.” Davis went on to accuse Kennedy of “deliberately” targeting Black people “with dangerous lies and conspiracy theories” about vaccines, and claimed that any suggestion he was an ally of the Black community was “frankly outrageous, and it’s offensive.” McMorrow later added, “We cannot afford Donald Trump to be back in the White House, which is what is going to happen if people don’t see RFK for what he actually is, which is Donald Trump with a Kennedy name slapped on him.” WATCH: DEMOCRAT FRONTRUNNER IN TIGHT SENATE RACE DROPS RACIAL SLUR DURING HOUSE HEARING She went on to fret that Kennedy — like Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein in 2016 — could spoil a key swing state like Michigan for Biden. “You don’t need significant support to throw an election to Donald Trump. We saw this play out in 2016 where Jill Stein got 50,000 votes and Hillary Clinton lost by 10,000 votes in Michigan. So it is this type of a campaign — and Kennedy should be smart enough to know better. But I don’t think he does. I think his ego is in the way,” she said. Earlier this month, the DNC launched an effort to silence the threat from third-party candidates, namely Kennedy, in the form of a team that is expected to actively combat them with legal challenges and opposition research. Democrat strategist Lis Smith, who helped lead Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 campaign and is consulting for the DNC on the project, set off a storm of X posts and reposts following Kennedy’s Tuesday speech, referring to the candidate as a “spoiler,” and sharing a video where she accused Shanahan of buying her inclusion on the ticket by donating millions to boost Kennedy before she was named his running mate. Recent polls have shown Kennedy, Stein and independent candidate Dr. Cornel West would pull significant support from both Biden and Trump, but with Biden appearing to be at risk of losing the most potential votes. The latest RealClearPolitics average of polls has Kennedy reaching 15% in a three-way race against Biden and Trump. The average shows Trump ahead of Biden by 4 points. A five-way race including West and Stein has Kennedy’s support at 11%, with Trump having a 2-point advantage over Biden. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.