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Year: 2024

US judge orders Virginia to restore voters removed from rolls, restoring access for thousands

US judge orders Virginia to restore voters removed from rolls, restoring access for thousands

A federal judge on Friday ordered Virginia to halt its removal of potential non-citizens from state voter rolls, a decision expected to restore the voting rights to some 1,600 residents ahead of Election Day. U.S. Judge Patricia Giles issued a preliminary injunction Friday to reinstate all voters that had been removed from state voter rolls in the state in the last 90 days, finding that the removals had been in fact “systematic,” not individualized, and were thus a violation of federal law. The news comes just weeks after the Department of Justice sued Virginia over its program, arguing the removals were conducted too close to the Nov. 5 elections and violate the National Voter Registration Act– a federal law that requires states to halt all systematic voter roll maintenance for a 90-day “quiet period” before an election. Justice Department officials also cited concerns that eligible votes may have incorrectly been removed from the rolls without adequate notice, or enough time to correct the mistake. “States may remove names from official lists of voters in various ways and for various reasons, but they may not carry-on this kind of systematic removal program so close to a federal election,” DOJ officials wrote in filing their Oct. 11 lawsuit. The injunction upholds this line of thinking, and is likely to be met with fierce pushback from Gov. Glen Youngkin, who has insisted the voters were removed legally, and has himself objected to a court ruling less than two weeks before a federal election. BATTLEGROUND STATE’S HIGH COURT REJECTS GOP CHALLENGE TO PROVISIONAL BALLOT RULES At issue is an executive order signed by Youngkin in August that authorized the state to conduct “daily” updates to its voter rolls.  The order allowed the state to compare its Department of Motor Vehicles non-citizens list against its list of registered voters. Those without citizenship were then informed that their voter registration would be canceled unless they could prove their citizenship in 14 days. Gov. Glenn Youngkin has insisted the voters were removed legally and is based on precedent from a 2006 state law enacted by then- Gov. Tim Kaine, a Democrat.  Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Youngkin defended the state’s system and insisted it is not “systematic.” Instead, he said, it uses an “individualized process” to determine and notify potential non-citizens that they had been included on the voter registration list, and without further action would be removed.  “To be clear, this is not a purge,” he said. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Virginia school board silenced parents concerned with MS-13-affiliated student in school, lawsuit claims

Virginia school board silenced parents concerned with MS-13-affiliated student in school, lawsuit claims

A group of parents is suing the Loudoun County School Board in northern Virginia, claiming they were silenced by the board when attempting to raise concerns about a student who was allowed to return to school despite alleged ties to the notorious MS-13 gang. The group of parents at the center of the lawsuit claims that they were silenced by the board during a public meeting when trying to raise concerns about reports that a student who is allegedly in the country illegally and affiliated with MS-13 was allowed to return to school despite being arrested for carrying a gun and threatening to shoot another student. “Time and time again, the Loudoun County School Board has demonstrated through its actions an unwillingness to respect those rights exercised by community members and parents commenting concerned with the actions of their public schools. This latest constitutional violation is even more pronounced, given that the topic was related to the safety of students,” America First Legal Senior Advisor Ian Prior, whose organization is representing the parents, said in a statement. YOUNGKIN CONDEMNS LOUDOUN COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD DENYING DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MALES AND FEMALES The parents, who are suing in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, claim that their First Amendment rights were violated during an Oct. 8 public school board meeting, where some of them attempted to raise concerns to the board about their decision to reinstate the student only for the board to cut off their microphones and end the public comment period. In a press release after the incident, the board claimed that the parents violated the rules of the public comment period and that they were attempting to prevent the spread of “misinformation.” “A number of individuals sought to discuss what was reported in the media and discuss a specific student despite repeated requests from the Board Chair not to do so. As a result, the Board Chair concluded public comment to restore order, in accordance with School Board public comment procedures,” the release said. “Misinformation is on the rise, and school divisions like LCPS must be vigilant in actively combating it. It is our responsibility to call out misinformation when allegations are incorrect, unsubstantiated, or deliberately used to create division within our community.” YOUNGKIN AD DECLARES ‘PARENTS STILL MATTER’ AMID 2024 SPECULATION The board also argued that the allegations against the student at the center of the controversy “are not facts,” and that naming the student or speaking about the student public would do a “disservice not just to the individuals involved” and “the entire community.” “This is particularly dangerous when it involves our children and their safety,” the release read. LOUDOUN COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS NAMES NEW SUPERINTENDENT AMID CONTROVERSY OVER RESPONSE TO SEXUAL ASSAULTS The incident is not the first time the Loudoun County School Board has found themselves in the spotlight, having generated controversy over the last few years for its policies on transgender students and bathroom policies that allow transgender students and locker rooms based on their chosen, not biological, gender. In the board’s latest controversy, the parents argue that they have a right to voice their concerns about the district’s policy during public hearings. “While Loudoun County Public Schools may believe that it can deprive First Amendment rights based on its claims of so-called ‘misinformation,’ the Bill of Rights makes clear that in the United States, the government is not the arbiter of truth,” Prior said. The Loudoun County School Board did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

12 Dems join GOP lawmakers to threaten UN funding over ‘ongoing hostility’ to Israel

12 Dems join GOP lawmakers to threaten UN funding over ‘ongoing hostility’ to Israel

FIRST ON FOX: More than 100 bipartisan House lawmakers are warning that the United Nations’ funding could be on the line if the international entity retaliates against Israel over its war with Hamas. “We write to express our deep concern about prospective efforts of the Palestinian Authority to downgrade Israel’s status at the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) and strip the State of Israel of its key privileges in the body,” a letter led by Reps. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., and Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla, read. “Any downgrade in Israel’s status or standing at the UNGA will result in a corresponding downgrade of U.S. financial, material and political support to the U.N.” The message, sent to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, was signed by 105 of their Republican and Democrat colleagues. BLINKEN ARRIVES IN ISRAEL AS BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION FACES SCRUTINY OVER COMPROMISING JERUSALEM’S SECURITY  Signatories include all the House Republican leadership, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and 11 House Democrats, in addition to Moskowitz – a testament to the significant support Israel continues to receive from Congress, particularly in the House of Representatives. The lawmakers said they were “outraged” by the UNGA’s recent adoption of a resolution demanding Israel return all land and assets it settled in the Palestinian Territories since 1967. It also calls on nations to halt treaty and trade relations with Israel where Palestinian territories are involved. They warned the decision, particularly as it relates to forcing Israel out of the West Bank, is “undercutting Israel’s right to defend itself” from Hamas after the Oct. 7 terror attack by the Palestinian militant group “with no recognition or consideration of Israel’s legitimate security concerns.” ISRAELI WOMAN BRAVELY DESCRIBES HORROR AS HAMAS HOSTAGE: ‘THEY WERE TAKING PLEASURE IN HURTING ME’  “Congress has taken note of the numerous U.N. actions aimed to delegitimize Israel’s right to self-defense, raising serious questions over the future of U.S. funding to the U.N.,” the lawmakers wrote. “We remind you that the U.S. is the largest donor to the U.N. Our contributions account for one-third of the body’s collective budget.” The letter also accused the U.N. of having “definitively taken sides against Israel,” rather than remaining a “neutral body.” “We will not accept the U.N.’s ongoing hostility to our ally Israel,” they wrote. BIDEN-HARRIS ENVOY ACCUSED OF PRESSURING ISRAELI LAWMAKERS TO DROP BILL BANNING TERROR-LINKED UN AGENCY It comes as cease-fire talks are expected to restart after Israeli forces killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the Oct. 7 attack. Israel has enjoyed a level of steady support in Congress throughout its war in Gaza, even as a growing number of Democrats are criticizing the Middle Eastern nation for the scores of Palestinian deaths caused as it works to eradicate Hamas. Roughly half of congressional Democrats skipped Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of the House and Senate earlier this year. 

11 Dems join GOP lawmakers to threaten UN funding over ‘ongoing hostility’ to Israel

11 Dems join GOP lawmakers to threaten UN funding over ‘ongoing hostility’ to Israel

FIRST ON FOX: More than 100 bipartisan House lawmakers are warning that the United Nations’ funding could be on the line if the international entity retaliates against Israel over its war with Hamas. “We write to express our deep concern about prospective efforts of the Palestinian Authority to downgrade Israel’s status at the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) and strip the State of Israel of its key privileges in the body,” a letter led by Reps. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., and Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla, read. “Any downgrade in Israel’s status or standing at the UNGA will result in a corresponding downgrade of U.S. financial, material and political support to the U.N.” The message, sent to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, was signed by 105 of their Republican and Democrat colleagues. BLINKEN ARRIVES IN ISRAEL AS BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION FACES SCRUTINY OVER COMPROMISING JERUSALEM’S SECURITY  Signatories include all the House Republican leadership, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and 10 House Democrats, in addition to Moskowitz – a testament to the significant support Israel continues to receive from Congress, particularly in the House of Representatives. The lawmakers said they were “outraged” by the UNGA’s recent adoption of a resolution demanding Israel return all land and assets it settled in the Palestinian Territories since 1967. It also calls on nations to halt treaty and trade relations with Israel where Palestinian territories are involved. They warned the decision, particularly as it relates to forcing Israel out of the West Bank, is “undercutting Israel’s right to defend itself” from Hamas after the Oct. 7 terror attack by the Palestinian militant group “with no recognition or consideration of Israel’s legitimate security concerns.” ISRAELI WOMAN BRAVELY DESCRIBES HORROR AS HAMAS HOSTAGE: ‘THEY WERE TAKING PLEASURE IN HURTING ME’  “Congress has taken note of the numerous U.N. actions aimed to delegitimize Israel’s right to self-defense, raising serious questions over the future of U.S. funding to the U.N.,” the lawmakers wrote. “We remind you that the U.S. is the largest donor to the U.N. Our contributions account for one-third of the body’s collective budget.” The letter also accused the U.N. of having “definitively taken sides against Israel,” rather than remaining a “neutral body.” “We will not accept the U.N.’s ongoing hostility to our ally Israel,” they wrote. BIDEN-HARRIS ENVOY ACCUSED OF PRESSURING ISRAELI LAWMAKERS TO DROP BILL BANNING TERROR-LINKED UN AGENCY It comes as cease-fire talks are expected to restart after Israeli forces killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the Oct. 7 attack. Israel has enjoyed a level of steady support in Congress throughout its war in Gaza, even as a growing number of Democrats are criticizing the Middle Eastern nation for the scores of Palestinian deaths caused as it works to eradicate Hamas. Roughly half of congressional Democrats skipped Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of the House and Senate earlier this year. 

‘Ill-fated effort’: McConnell was ‘furious’ at Rick Scott’s 2022 leader bid, book says

‘Ill-fated effort’: McConnell was ‘furious’ at Rick Scott’s 2022 leader bid, book says

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was privately infuriated at then-National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chairman Rick Scott’s last-minute leaderhip challenge in 2022, calling it an attempt to shift attention from the Florida Republican’s “poor job” running the Senate GOP campaign arm, according to a forthcoming biography. “McConnell was furious with Scott,” wrote Michael Tackett, deputy Washington bureau chief of the Associated Press in the book “The Price of Power.” “He’s angry about it because since he’s been leader he’s always had command and control of the conversation during a midterm, and this changed that,” former McConnell Chief of Staff Josh Holmes said in the biography. The leader said at the time, according to the book, “I don’t think Rick makes a very good victim.”  SCHUMER, DEMS PRE-ELECTION REPORT URGES VOTERS TO BE WARY OF ‘MISINFORMATION’ ABOUT RESULTS “I think he did a poor job of running the [Senate campaign] committee. His plan was used by the Democrats against our candidates as late as the last weekend [before the election.] He promoted the fiction that we were in the middle of a big sweep when there was no tangible evidence of it,” McConnell reportedly added.  He referenced an 11-point agenda “to Rescue America” that Scott released while chairing the NRSC, the book said. The plan was unveiled after McConnell, the longtime Republican leader, had dismissed efforts to put out such an agenda ahead of the midterms, considering it to be a mistake.  According to the biography, previewed by Fox News Digital, McConnell believed himself to have been right about this and thought Scott’s plan was “laughably bad.”  The leader specifically lamented parts of Scott’s plan stating that all Americans should pay some degree of income tax, and “All federal legislation sunsets in five years. If a law is worth keeping, Congress can pass it again.”  These were things McConnell expected Democrats to seize on, especially as the latter could be understood as endangering Social Security and Medicare.  SAM BROWN BEGINS TO CLOSE GAP WITH INCUMBENT SEN. JACKY ROSEN IN BATTLEGROUND NEVADA According to the forthcoming book, McConnell stated that Scott’s “campaign against me was some kind of ill-fated effort to turn the attention away from him and onto somebody else” when Republicans did not take back the Senate majority in the midterms.  At the time, the leader reportedly said, “We had a good opportunity to discuss the differences, people had an opportunity to listen to both candidates, and I’m pretty proud of 37 to 10,” in reference to the vote totals in the secret ballot.  The Kentucky Republican reportedly wasn’t offended by the challenge from Scott. In fact, he took great pleasure in the personal win, according to the book.  “McConnell relished the win like his childhood pummeling of Dicky McGrew,” wrote Tackett. Tackett said that McGrew was a “friend and foe” of young McConnell, who picked on him until his father demanded he confront his bully. The now-Republican leader fist-fought McGrew as a child, despite the latter being bigger and stronger, the book said. His deep private enjoyment of triumphing over Scott’s challenge exemplified a “competitive fire” noted in the biography that “could sometimes flare hotter when he was confronting Republicans who opposed him than when he was tangling with Democrats.”  TIM WALZ SLAMS ELON MUSK AS A ‘DIPS—‘ DURING RALLY WITH OBAMA IN WISCONSIN McConnell gave this greater credence in recent remarks in Kentucky during the congressional recess. Explaining that “I’m still a traditional Republican: pro-trade, low taxes, pro-business,” he told the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, “there are some on my side now who don’t sound that way.” “I’m going to be arguing more with them probably than the Democrats. Again, depending upon how the election comes out.” In a statement to Fox News Digital, Scott responded to McConnell’s revealed comments about himself, saying, “While Leader McConnell and I have fundamental disagreements, I am shocked that he would attack a fellow Republican senator and the Republican nominee for president just two weeks out from an election.” Scott was referring to McConnell’s several past candid criticisms of former President Donald Trump outlined in the book. While Trump is competing for the presidency against Vice President Kamala Harris, Scott is also seeking re-election in Florida. TOP REPUBLICANS ACCUSE FTC CHAIR OF HATCH ACT VIOLATIONS OVER ‘CAMPAIGN-STYLE EVENTS’ WITH DEMS “I believe we should be talking about solutions, he doesn’t,” Scott continued. “I support Donald Trump and his work to fundamentally change the way Washington operates, he doesn’t. I believe we should support the candidates Republican voters choose, he doesn’t.” “With almost $36 trillion in debt, an open southern border, historic inflation, and a world on fire, I know we need dramatic change, and he doesn’t.” As for McConnell’s remarks about Trump detailed in the book, he said in a statement, “Whatever I may have said about President Trump pales in comparison to what JD Vance, Lindsey Graham, and others have said about him, but we are all on the same team now.”  The leader, who is the longest-serving party head in Senate history, notably announced in February that he would not be seeking to lead the GOP conference again, opening up the opportunity for the first time in years.  Earlier this year, Scott launched another leader bid. In 2022, he received 10 votes on the secret ballot after announcing a campaign against McConnell at the last minute.  Both Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, have also thrown their hats in the race. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.