‘Drone’ sightings in the Northeast spark ‘unfounded’ panic, says expert
An uptick in alleged drone sightings along the East Coast touched off a flurry of panicked calls for investigation on Friday from residents and state lawmakers, even as public officials stress the aircraft in question are, in fact, being flown lawfully, and a retired port authority aviation expert tells Fox News Digital that fears are overblown. The drone complaints began pouring in last month in New Jersey, where witnesses and residents first began reporting drone sightings off of coastal areas, including off of Cape May, a scenic town located outside of Atlantic City. More recently, lawmakers in New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Maryland have reported new alleged drone sightings in their home states, with some witnesses alleging the aircraft in question have been the “size of cars” or seen flying above sensitive infrastructure or in restricted airspace. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, told reporters on Friday he had written to President Biden to share his concerns about the fresh reports of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) sightings in New Jersey airspace, and called for more federal resources to investigate the issue. “It has become apparent that more resources are needed to fully understand what is behind this activity,” Murphy wrote in the letter. DRONE MYSTERY: NEW JERSEY HOMEOWNERS THREATEN TO TAKE MATTERS INTO THEIR OWN HANDS IF GOVERNMENT DOESN’T ACT Other lawmakers in the state have gone even further, calling for the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI to join in their investigations into the unmanned aircraft, with one Garden State lawmaker urging the objects be “shot down” if necessary. ”We are literally being invaded by drones,” Pequannock Mayor Ryan Herbwe told reporters on Wednesday night following a town hall meeting in New Jersey. “We have no idea who is doing [this] and where they’re coming from.” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., issued a statement on Friday citing concerns “about the potential for these unmanned aerial vehicles — many of which are as large as a car — to disrupt air traffic and, more alarmingly, to be used maliciously to threaten national security.” These remarks have added to a growing collective sense of panic — but a panic that many in the law enforcement community say is both unfounded and unnecessary. White House national security communications adviser John Kirby sought to assuage these fears, stressing during a press briefing Thursday that there is “no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus.” Others in the law enforcement community also echoed this sentiment. Retired Port Authority Police Detective Lt. John Ryan told Fox News Digital in an interview Friday that the uptick in activity is likely due to two things. HOMEOWNERS THREATEN TO TAKE MATTERS INTO THEIR OWN HANDS IF GOVERNMENT DOESN’T ACT The first, he said, is that drones are a fast-evolving technology that has seen a boom in both recreational and commercial use in the U.S. in the last 10 years. Federal data on drone registration reflects this sharp uptick in use, most if not all of which is legal. Federal data on drone registration reflects this sharp uptick in use: As of October of this year, there were more than 790,000 drones registered with the Federal Aviation Association (FAA), and nearly 400,000 registered commercial drones. That’s “just to give you an idea” of the magnitude of the number of legal drones in the U.S., said Ryan, whose extensive police career included serving for a decade as the emergency service special operations commander at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, and then later, the chief officer of the Port Authority, whose role includes oversight of all transportation facilities, including Kennedy, LaGuardia and all other airports and ports in the area. SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH REQUIRED TO SUBMIT TRUMP FINDINGS TO DOJ BEFORE LEAVING. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? The second mistake, Ryan said, is that the individuals in question are asking the wrong authorities for help. “The mistake I see people making is that they’re going to the wrong agencies and asking these questions,” he added. The FAA is the federal body tasked with registering drones and other U.S. aircraft. It’s also the one tasked with monitoring recreational and commercial drone use in the U.S. “In New Jersey, they’ve been asking the FBI, they’ve been asking the Department of Homeland Security — they’ve been asking everybody except the people that they should be asking,” said Ryan. The Pentagon also reiterated this view, noting that an initial assessment had shown the drones were not from another country, and were not shot down because they were not deemed a threat to national security. Kirby echoed this sentiment on Thursday. Asked whether the U.S. would consider banning drone use in U.S. airspace, he told reporters, “I don’t know that we’re at a stage right now where we’re considering that” as a policy option.
Senior Trump official reveals visit that set ‘trajectory’ for election victory
A top Team Trump official disclosed the moment that “really set the campaign on a trajectory to victory” – the day President-elect Donald Trump arrived in Columbiana County, Ohio, to survey the East Palestine train derailment. “The ripples from that day do not get enough attention,” White House communications director-designate Steven Cheung said on X, formerly Twitter, in retweeting an op-ed making that assertion. In February 2023, a Norfolk-Southern train hauling caustic industrial chemicals – including vinyl chloride – derailed in a small community near the Pennsylvania border, causing immediate chaos and long-lasting, widespread damage to the region. A controlled burn held shortly after the derailment released toxic phosgene into the air. WHISTLEBLOWER ALLEGES MISTAKES IN INITIAL EAST PALESTINE DISASTER RESPONSE On February 23 – Ash Wednesday – Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, hosted Trump at the site, where the former and future president highlighted Americans “forgotten” by President Joe Biden – who had not yet shown up and would not visit for several more months. The Republican mogul handed out “Trump”-branded water and met with local officials. Meanwhile, officials in both Ohio and Pennsylvania were also visibly working to hold the railroad accountable. In his tweet, Cheung was responding to an op-ed by Pittsburgh-based Washington Examiner writer Selina Zito, who covered the crisis at the time. Zito wrote that Trump’s arrival had happened at a political nadir for the Republican, following the 2022 midterm losses and amid a then-close presidential primary race with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. She noted in a tweet that it was Vance – his future running mate – who brought him to the site. Trump’s mantra of “you are not forgotten” to Rust Belt residents too often forgotten by Washington helped change minds in the area, Zito wrote, quoting a local resident who said she had “switched parties because of the way he spoke directly to the concerns.” “I have voted for him both times since then,” the woman, who owns an East Palestine farm, said. TRUMP VISITS EAST PALESTINE, HANDS OUT TRUMP-WATER: ‘WE STAND WITH YOU’ Trump told residents that day that “in too many cases, your goodness and perseverance were met with indifference and betrayal.” The disparity between Trump’s eagerness to “show up” and Biden’s apparent putting-off of a visit to East Palestine helped turn the tide in the Republican’s favor, the column continued. “100%,” Cheung wrote in his tweet. Trump’s former running mate, Mike Pence, also called out Biden at the time, saying he was “AWOL” and remarking to Fox News that the Delaware Democrat’s policies had “derailed the economy of East Palestine long before that train came through.” On the Pennsylvania side of the line, both Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and his then-former gubernatorial opponent, state Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Gettysburg, also responded quickly to the derailment. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Shapiro lodged a criminal referral at the time, and Mastriano led hearings that hosted affected residents along the Ohio border wherein Norfolk-Southern CEO Alan Shaw notably no-showed. “It is very disheartening to hear that these alleged delays and botched response approaches took place – especially since those in East Palestine, Ohio, and areas in my district here in Pennsylvania have been dealing with the aftermath of this derailment for over a year now,” state Sen. Elder Vogel Jr. told Fox News Digital at the time, after a whistleblower had spoken out about alleged mistakes from Biden’s EPA response – which the agency disputed.
DC food workers pledge to make Trump officials unwelcome, echoing confrontations in first term
Washington, D.C.-area restaurants once again will not be free from politics as the Trump team prepares to settle into the nation’s capital for a second term. Food workers inside the Beltway are prepared to refuse service and cause other inconveniences for members of the incoming Trump administration, but this is not the first time the administration and allies will have to deal with harassment while sitting down to dinner. In September 2018, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and his wife were harassed at Fiola, an upscale Italian restaurant in Washington, D.C. Protesters confronted them over Cruz’s support for then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh during his contentious confirmation hearings. Videos circulated online showing demonstrators shouting at the couple, chanting, “We believe survivors.” Cruz and his wife eventually left the restaurant due to the altercation. WASHINGTON, D.C., POLITICAL BAR TAKES DOWN REPUBLICAN SYMBOL AFTER FIERCE BACKLASH This incident was part of a broader wave of confrontations involving Trump administration officials and allies over the summer that year. As such, in June 2018, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen was confronted by protesters at MXDC Cocina Mexicana, a Mexican restaurant in Washington, D.C., over the Trump administration’s family separation policy at the U.S.-Mexico border. Protesters chanted, “Shame!” and called her a “villain,” forcing her to leave. Senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller, known for his role in shaping immigration policy, recounted an incident when he went to pick up an $80 sushi order from a restaurant near his apartment that same month. As he left, the bartender followed him outside, called out his name and, when Miller turned around, gave him a double middle finger. He threw away the sushi out of fear someone in the restaurant had tampered with the food, the New York Post reported at the time. DC FOOD WORKERS VOW TRUMP OFFICIALS WON’T FEEL WELCOMED WHEN DINING OUT IN NATION’S CAPITAL Also in June 2018, the owner of The Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia, asked then-White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders to leave, citing opposition to the Trump administration’s tough immigration policies. Industry veterans, bartenders and servers in the nation’s capital told the Washingtonian this week that resistance to the Republican figures in the progressive city was inevitable and a matter of conscience. BIDEN ADMIN SETS NEW TARGET TO TRIPLE US NUCLEAR CAPACITY FROM 2020 LEVELS “You expect the masses to just ignore RFK eating at Le Diplomate on a Sunday morning after a few mimosas and not to throw a drink in his face?,” said Zac Hoffman, a Washington, D.C., restaurant veteran who is now a manager at the National Democratic Club. Not every liberal hospitality sector worker in the report planned to protest the incoming administration while doing their job, however. A bartender named Joseph said while he was disappointed by the election results, he was looking forward to higher tips with more Republicans in Washington. Fox News Digital’s Kristine Parks contributed to this report.
Business experts say Biden regulations have stifled growth: ‘America wants a different choice’
The Biden administration’s aggressive regulatory stance towards big businesses has stymied growth, a cohort of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and other business sector experts expressed to Fox News Digital. Earlier this week, Albertsons abandoned its $25 million merger with fellow grocery store chain Kroger, after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), led by President Biden appointee Lena Khan, sought to challenge the buyout, arguing it would stifle competition and raise prices. The challenge and the merger’s eventual failure is the latest example of the Biden administration’s offensive against big business. “We have literally had offers from strategic buyers to buy us, and we go to our counsel and the counsel says, ‘Don’t even try. The FTC will absolutely flag this thing, and you will spend tens of millions of dollars and be stuck in a bureaucratic hell answering questions in court for a year,” said venture capitalist Ravin Gandhi, a former CEO who has been involved in multiple merger and acquisition deals and maintains a stake in a number of startups. ‘GOV’T KNOWS BEST’: BIDEN ADMIN BREAKS OBAMA RECORD FOR FILLING FEDERAL REGISTER WITH MOST REGULATIONS “Lena Khan was explicit in talking about even mid-market M&A as a vehicle for monopoly. And anyone who has built a business and sold it, like I have, knows that’s ridiculous.” The chilling effect described by Gandhi has been echoed by other analysts, who say that the Biden administration’s rhetoric and policies have required businesses to take matters into their own hands by abandoning or restructuring their transactions in the face of FTC and Department of Justice antitrust concerns. An analysis by international law firm Morgan Lewis found that under Biden, the vast majority — nearly three-quarters — of all transactions in which the government sought more details from companies about a proposed merger were subject to enforcement action. “America wants a different choice,” said Cardone Capital CEO Grant Cardone. “This idea that Joe Biden is going to make the world more competitive is a red herring.” Cardone, too, expressed frustration over regulatory battles with the Biden administration, noting that they have made it “almost impossible for people to do business.” Several other business leaders, venture capitalists and people with detailed knowledge of mergers and acquisitions echoed the concerns shared by Gandhi and Cardone that business growth has been stymied. “The FTC’s aggressive antitrust enforcement under the Biden administration has significantly dampened M&A activity, particularly in the tech sector,” said Kison Patel, a financial tech entrepreneur and the host of “M&A Science,” a podcast about mergers and acquisitions. “For example, one Fortune 10 tech company has scaled back its deal making from 30 to fewer than five transactions.” CONSTRUCTION TRADE GROUP LEADERS LOOK FORWARD TO NEW LEADERSHIP UNDER TRUMP: ‘RELIEF ON THE HORIZON’ Armen Martin, a veteran merger and acquisitions attorney, added that in talking to venture capitalists, he had heard optimism about FTC Commissioner Khan’s exit. She will be replaced by President-elect Trump’s nominee for FTC Commissioner, Andrew Ferguson. “I think you will see a lot more M&A activity under the Trump administration as companies feel more confident that the government won’t get involved,” Martin said. Meanwhile, in a statement to Fox News Digital, FTC spokesperson Douglas Farrar said that the recently blocked grocery store merger “makes it clear that strong, reality-based antitrust enforcement delivers real results for consumers, workers, and small businesses.” “Today’s win protects competition in the grocery market, which will prevent prices from rising even more,” he added.
NJ lawmaker crafts state DOGE committee to ‘mirror’ Elon’s brainchild: ‘We need it more’
A top New Jersey lawmaker is proposing legislation to form a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in the Garden State, modeling it after the one Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are forming at the federal level. “We need it more” than Washington, Senate Minority Whip Joe Pennacchio, R-Boonton, said. “We’re mirroring what the federal government and what those two gentlemen are doing.” Pennacchio, who also previously worked under former Republican Gov. Donald DiFrancesco on economic development, said NJDOGE would take on a state budget that has increased 60% in the past seven fiscal years. DRONE ACTIVITY NEAR TRUMP-BEDMINSTER, PICATINNY ARSENAL SPURS NJ FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS “A lot of those increases were one-shots, when they borrowed money during the period of COVID. You’re not going to get that back. … They haven’t even spent it all. Those one-shots, they’re all gone. “I’ve seen estimates of a budget deficit next year of maybe $4 billion. Next year is the governor’s race. We will have a new governor, and regardless of who comes in — Republican or Democrat — it would be nice to have a committee together to give them a blueprint of what we can or should not do.” He said the state does have a “red tape” commission set up by former Gov. Chris Christie to trim regulations, adding it hasn’t borne results. “Every dollar we save is $1 less that [Trenton] has to raise taxes,” Pennacchio said. Pennacchio’s committee, if approved, would consist of one member from the state Treasury, one from the Chamber of Commerce, the top Republican and Democrat from the Senate and General Assembly and one public member appointed by the governor. DOGE-MEETS-CONGRESS: GOP LAWMAKER LAUNCHES CAUCUS TO HELP MUSK ‘TAKE ON CRAZYTOWN’ “[N]ot only can we start to chip away at our exacerbated affordability crisis by cutting wasteful spending and ensuring efficiency, we can also ease the financial burden for our constituents across the Garden State by lowering the onslaught of taxes and fees,” Pennacchio said. At least one other state senator is planning to endorse the idea but has not yet done so publicly. Fox News Digital also reached out to representatives of the General Assembly for their reaction to the senator’s legislation. Despite being long viewed as a reliably “blue” state, New Jersey came within about four points of electing Donald Trump instead of Vice President Kamala Harris. Political analysts pointed to the results as evidence of a tidal shift in public opinion toward government spending, among other subjects. GOP LAWMAKER TORCHES OFFSHORE NJ WIND PROJECTS AS MD MAYOR BLASTS ‘STAR WARS’ BACKDROPS Trump twice won Morris County and flipped Passaic County in 2024, parts of which Pennacchio represents. The lawmaker said his constituents are on board with his NJDOGE proposal and that they’ve similarly recognized disparities in the funding support they receive from Trenton. Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump Transition for comment on the plan. “My district is a district that is getting the bills. Schools in my district are seeing cuts while schools in other districts are not seeing cuts,” Pennacchio said. “It is stuff like this that we should look at. … If the legislature sees fit that they still want to subsidize this nonsense, then that’s fine. They’ll be on record. “Let’s greet the next new governor with outlines of what they can do, where there are cost savings, where things can be eliminated; that will stimulate the economy, maybe decrease taxes on the people.” The 2025 field for that governor’s race is packed, with several top names in both partisan primaries. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, former Senate Leader Steve Sweeney and representatives Mikie Sherrill and Josh Gottheimer round out the Democratic choices. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Truck driver and former state Sen. Ed Durr, Sen. Jon Bramnick, conservative journalist Bill Spadea and 2021 gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli are the top names on the Republican side. State Sen. Robert Singer, R-Lakewood, also joined Pennacchio’s call for a NJDOGE. “With President Trump’s plan to bring business back to the U.S., New Jersey has the chance to lead the charge. It’s time to restore our state’s manufacturing glory with high-paying jobs,” Singer said. “Let’s make New Jersey the blueprint for the Make America Work Again movement, starting with a statewide DOGE.” Recently, large drones have been spotted across Pennacchio’s district, making nationwide news. Pennacchio slammed the feds for offering Jerseyans few answers on the aircraft, saying that when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center in 2001, government officials knew right away who orchestrated it. “We even had some face time with the Department of Homeland Security (about the drones). They were useless. … They should be ashamed of themselves. The FBI director, he checked out. [Christopher Wray] already announced that he’s leaving. … So who’s minding the store here?”
European countries put freeze on Syrian asylum claims after Assad’s fall, unclear if US will follow
Countries in Europe are slamming the brakes on asylum cases filed by Syrian migrants in the wake of the fall of dictator Bashar al-Assad, but it is not yet clear whether the U.S. will take similar action. The U.K. and Norway, along with E.U. countries of Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Finland, Ireland and Sweden, have suspended applications from Syrians after the fall of the Assad regime. While it does not necessarily mean those people will be returned to Syria, it puts those applications in limbo in a continent that saw a massive surge of Syrian migration during the 2015 European migration crisis. TRUMP’S PLEDGE AGAINST ‘FOREVER WARS’ COULD BE TESTED WITH SYRIA IN HANDS OF JIHADIST FACTIONS The European Union has also said that conditions are not currently in place for the safe return of nationals to Syria. While Europe has seen a considerably more sizeable influx of migrants from Syria than the U.S., it is not clear how those cases in the U.S. will change, if at all, given the changing political dynamics in the Middle Eastern country. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services handle asylum cases, and asylum officers are instructed to consider changes in circumstances when considering those cases. So, if an applicant’s country becomes more stable, then the consideration of that case changes dynamically. Therefore, if Syria stabilizes, it may make it harder for Syrians to receive a positive ruling on their cases. US GROUP LOOKS FOR KIDNAPPED AMERICANS IN SYRIA AFTER FALL OF ASSAD REGIME: WON’T ‘LEAVE A STONE UNTURNED’ But so far, there have been no pauses of Syrian asylum cases announced by the Biden administration. The White House did not respond to requests for comment on the matter. One factor that could change in the next year is Temporary Protected Status, which grants deportation protection and work permits for nationals of countries deemed unsafe. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas extended and redesignated Syria for TPS in January, and that lasts until September 2025. Should the Trump administration choose not to extend or redesignate Syria for TPS, it would require those who are no longer protected from deportation and who do not have another legal status to leave the U.S. or face deportation. However, the number of Syrians protected under TPS is relatively few, compared to other nationalities and the situation in Europe. DHS estimated that around 8,000 Syrians were eligible for TPS in January. The Center for Immigration Studies cited statistics showing that the number of Syrians granted asylum between 2011 and 2023 was just over 7,000. Meanwhile, data obtained by Fox News Digital this week shows that there are 741 Syrians with deportation orders on Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) non-detained docket. In Europe, around 183,000 Syrians applied for asylum in 2023, according to the Associated Press. The U.N. refugee agency has called for “patience and vigilance” for Syrian migrants, arguing that much will depend on whether Syria’s new government is respectful of law and order. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
‘Unethical garbage’: ProPublica faces backlash for ‘journalism’ claim after email to Hegseth gets exposed
Left-wing nonprofit ProPublica is facing renewed scrutiny after an email exchange related to its recent unpublished story on Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth was released on Thursday. A media firestorm began earlier this week when Hegseth revealed on X that ProPublica, which he called a “Left Wing hack group” was planning to publish a “knowingly false report” that he was not accepted by West Point in 1999. Attached to the post was a photo of Hegseth’s acceptance letter signed by West Point Superintendent Lieutenant General Daniel Christman, U.S. Army. ProPublica editor Jesse Eisinger responded to the post, explaining that West Point public affairs had told the outlet twice that Hegseth hadn’t applied. “We reached out,” Eisinger wrote. “Hegseth’s spox gave us his acceptance letter. We didn’t publish a story. That’s journalism.” TIDE TURNS IN FAVOR OF TRUMP DOD PICK PETE HEGSETH AFTER MATT GAETZ FAILURE After intense criticism from conservatives online, with some questioning why ProPublica did not press West Point on the inaccurate information and publish a story on that aspect, Eisinger posted a lengthy X thread outlining the steps ProPublica had taken researching the story claiming and touting how they “care about accuracy” and being “intellectually honest” and had given Hegseth a “fair chance to respond to all of the salient facts in the story.” Questions about ProPublica’s journalistic standards intensified shortly afterward when Daily Caller published an email from reporter Justin Elliot reaching out to Hegseth’s lawyer, giving him an hour to respond to the allegation that he never went to West Point and asking, “Why did Mr. Hegseth say he got into West Point when that is not true?” SAMUEL ALITO SLAMS PROPUBLICA AS ‘MISLEADING’ AHEAD OF REPORT ALLEGING CONFLICT OF INTEREST FROM SCOTUS BENCH “How can Mr. Hegseth be Secretary of Defense given that he has made false statements about getting into the military’s most prestigious academy?” Elliot asked. That email drew the ire of many on social media, who took issue with the accusatory tone of the email and the small window to respond to such a serious allegation, which suggested the story had already been completed without hearing Hegseth’s side. “ProPublica did not contact Pete Hegseth to get the full story,” Red State writer Bonchie posted on X. “They contacted him to claim he was a liar while demanding a response within one hour not to offer his side, but to ask why he ‘lied’ and what else he ‘lied’ about.” “This isn’t ‘journalism.’ It’s unethical garbage.” “***Nothing*** in Jesse’s 11-tweet thread even hinted that ***this*** is how ProPublica actually approached the story— taking the falsehood from West Point, repeatedly asserting to Hegseth that he was a liar & implying he is unfit for SecDef, & giving him just one hour to respond,” journalist Jerry Dunleavy posted on X. “ProPublica’s Editor-in-Chief claimed that they gave @PeteHegseth a fair chance to respond to the West Point story because they ‘care about accuracy,’” Trump 2024 Rapid Response Director Greg Price posted on X. “According to this unhinged email obtained by @reaganreese, they straight up accused him of being a liar and gave him a one hour deadline to respond.” REPUBLICAN MILITARY VETS IN CONGRESS ARE ON A MISSION TO GET HEGSETH CONFIRMED In a statement to Fox News Digital, a ProPublica spokesperson said, “Reporters do their job by asking tough questions to people in power, which is exactly what happened here. Responsible news organizations only publish what they can verify, which is why we didn’t publish a story once Mr. Hegseth provided documentation that corrected the statements from West Point.” Fox News Digital reached out to West Point asking whether any disciplinary actions had been taken against the staffers for providing false information and why procedures had not been in place to prevent that kind of error. West Point directed Fox News Digital to its previously issued statement. “A review of our records indicates Peter Hegseth was offered admission to West Point in 1999 but did not attend. An incorrect statement involving Hegseth’s admission to the U.S. Military Academy was released by an employee on Dec. 10, 2024. Upon further review of an archived database, employees realized this statement was in error. Hegseth was offered acceptance to West Point as a prospective member of the Class of 2003. The academy takes this situation seriously and apologizes for this administrative error.” In a letter to West Point this week, Republican Congressman Jim Banks wrote, “It is outrageous that West Point officials would so grossly interfere in a political process and make false claims regarding a presidential nominee.” “Even in the unlikely scenario of OPA mistakenly making false claims not once but twice, it is an unforgivable act of incompetence that OPA did not make absolutely sure their information was accurate before sharing it with a reporter.” This week’s ProPublica controversy comes after the nonprofit, which has received millions of dollars from liberal foundations, faced strong criticism for its reporting on conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, which critics referred to as “hit pieces.” “Journalistic inquiry into the private dealings of public officials is essential for our democracy. But honest inquiry applies the same standard to all people rather than single out those with whom one disagrees,” Gretchen Reiter, senior vice president of communications at Stand Together, told Fox News Digital last year regarding ProPublica’s reporting on Thomas. ProPublica’s reporting on Alito prompted the justice to write a Wall Street Journal op-ed where he wrote, “ProPublica has leveled two charges against me: first, that I should have recused in matters in which an entity connected with Paul Singer was a party and, second, that I was obligated to list certain items as gifts on my 2008 Financial Disclose Report. Neither charge is valid.” ProPublica stood by its reporting on Alito but acknowledged there are “lessons for ProPublica in this experience.”
Texas files first lawsuit against out-of-state abortion provider
This case sets up a legal battle between Texas’ near-total abortion ban and New York’s shield law that protects doctors from out-of-state prosecution.
Drone experts rule out US government experiment, unsure of other New Jersey drone phenomenon theories
Drone experts have little idea what the dozens of drone sightings over New Jersey could be, but have ruled out the possibility that they might be the work of a classified government program. They say the lack of a clear image or any residual hardware makes it difficult to make any guesses. “Until something is found, it’s really difficult to say,” said Brett Velicovich, Fox News contributor and CEO of Expert Drones. “We haven’t seen any clear images.” The drone sightings were first reported nearly a month ago – on Nov. 18 – and have been spotted every night from about dusk until around 11 p.m. The drones are “six feet in diameter,” fly in a coordinated way with their lights off and “appear to avoid detection by traditional methods,” according to New Jersey state Rep. Dawn Fantasia, who relayed a briefing given by law enforcement. Reports have ranged from four to 180 sightings per night, throughout New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. With little information on their origin from law enforcement, public speculation has run wild. Velicovich poured cold water on the idea that the drones could be part of a classified government test – one theory circulated to explain the lack of information shared with the public. “I find it hard to believe,” said Velicovich. “Maybe it started that way, and now people think everything they see is a drone . . . . I’ve seen a lot of images that look like planes. But he said that when he worked on classified drone projects, the protocol was always to inform local police. MORE THAN 20 DAYS INTO PHENOMENON, PENTAGON STILL HAS NO ANSWERS ABOUT ORIGINS OF MYSTERIOUS NJ DRONES “There’s a reason why we test stuff in Area 51 or all these remote locations, so that you don’t have to cause public hysteria. And then when we would test stuff in cities, we would always, whenever we do secret exercises in cities, we would always inform the local police.” Stacie Pettyjohn, drone expert with the Center for New American Security, agreed. “They would be doing it on a military base or a testing facility. And you know, they’re not overflying sort of sensitive industrial locations, like they have been in New Jersey.” Both experts agreed that what could have started off as drones may now have developed into a public panic, where everything in the air is assumed to be a drone. They said it could also be photographic drones looking to pick up images of the drone phenomenon, adding to the panic. “People are gonna start to see what they expect to see,” said Pettyjohn. “No one has shown me a clear photograph of a drone,” said Velicovich. “Either it’s just overblown right now, and everything in the air is a drone, or, you’ve got a lot of planes in the area that are probably trying to pick up, take photographs and detect stuff and see what’s really going on.” The FBI, in a statement, suggested that many of the drone sightings had turned out to be planes. “We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus,” a joint FBI and Department of Homeland Security statement said Thursday. “We are supporting local law enforcement in New Jersey with numerous detection methods but have not corroborated any of the reported visual sightings with electronic detection. To the contrary, upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft, operating lawfully. There are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted airspace.” NEW JERSEY DRONE SIGHTINGS: MILITARY ANALYSTS BREAK DOWN NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS, DOUBT HOBBYISTS AT PLAY The FBI revealed this week its budget for counter-drone technology is a mere $500,000 per year. Earlier this week, Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., said that the drones may be linked to an Iranian “mothership,” a theory that prompted the Pentagon to say that it had seen no evidence the drones could have come from a U.S. adversary. Velicovich said he “isn’t sold” that the drones are foreign in origin, but U.S. adversaries would have the capability to be behind the occurrences. “If we go with the theory that it’s foreign, China, Russia, Iran, they all have systems that can travel over large amounts of terrain, over oceans and and carry other drones with it. So that’s not the difficult thing that’s happening every single day right now in countries like Ukraine.” Pettyjohn assumed that the drones would need to be operated by someone within the U.S. “I would assume that it’s someone who’s here locally, which may be a spy, which may be a nefarious actor, but that they’re they’re individuals on the ground, and it’s just easier to blend in and difficult to identify who they are and where they are with these rather innocuous systems,” she said. “They can be in the air probably on the order of, like, five hours or so, or less, and a lot of them, it’s way less than that. And that just means that they have to be someone probably physically here, [who] is flying them.” China expert Gordon Chang mused that the drones could be an adversary merely looking to offer a form of distraction. If it were intended as an attack, “you wouldn’t put on this big display over the course of days . . . with these very large objects and flashing lights. You’re not going to advertise a drone attack on the U.S.,” Chang said. “I think that they’re trying to attract our attention, distract us from something that’s happening elsewhere,” he said. “So, I worry about what is going on that we’re not paying attention to because of the drones.”
Climate justice group has deep ties to judges, experts involved in litigation amid claims of impartiality
FIRST ON FOX: A controversial judicial advocacy organization funded by left-wing nonprofits continues to work with judges and experts involved in climate change litigation despite publicly downplaying the extent of those connections. “CJP doesn’t participate in litigation, support or coordinate with any parties in litigation, or advise judges on how they should rule in any case,” the Environmental Law Institute Climate Judiciary Project President Jordan Diamond wrote in a recent letter to The Wall Street Journal in response to criticism of the project. The Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Law Institute (ELI) created the Climate Judiciary Project (CJP) in 2018, establishing a first-of-its-kind resource to provide “reliable, up-to-date information” about climate change litigation, according to the group. The project’s reach has extended to various state and federal courts, including powerful appellate courts, and comes as various cities and states pursue high-profile litigation against the oil industry. A Fox News Digital review shows that several CJP expert lawyers and judges have close ties to the curriculum and are deeply involved in climate litigation. DARK MONEY FUND POURED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS INTO ECO ACTIVIST GROUPS BLOCKING HIGHWAYS, DESTROYING FAMOUS ART Princeton University professor Michael Oppenheimer contributed to the CJP curriculum and presented “Evidence of Change: Judging Climate Litigation” with CJP’s Sandra Nichols Thiam at the 2022 Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference July 20, 2022. Oppenheimer has a long history of filing climate-related amicus briefs from 2019-2022 in litigation across several states. Robin Kundis Craig, a professor at the University of Utah’s Law School, wrote a module for CJP in 2022 and has also filed several amicus briefs showing she is active in court cases. One example occurred in 2023, when Craig is listed on an order granting legal scholars’ request to file amicus, which was signed by Justice Mark Recktenwald, who, Fox News Digital previously reported, quietly disclosed last year that he presented for an April course in collaboration with the Environmental Law Institute Climate Judiciary Project. Recktenwald co-presented at a December 2022 National Judicial College webinar sponsored by CJP, “Hurricanes in a Changing Climate and Related Litigation.” In 2023, he co-presented with Professor Robert DeConto at a National Judicial College seminar, “Rising Seas and Litigation: What Judges Need to Know about Warming-Driven Sea-Level Rise.” RADICAL CLIMATE ACTIVIST ENDORSES BLOWING UP PIPELINES IN STARTLING INTERVIEW, ADMITS PEOPLE COULD BE KILLED In October 2023, Recktenwald’s Hawaii Supreme Court denied an appeal from oil companies to toss a Honolulu climate misinformation suit. Craig also filed an amicus in Hawaii state court in July 2022, where an order was signed by Judge Jeffrey Crabtree allowing the brief to be filed. Crabtree is a member of the National Judicial College Curriculum Development Committee, which creates curricula for “Environmental Law Essential for the Judiciary.” “Don’t underestimate the importance of the role of state court judges in environmental law,” the curriculum’s website states. Ann Carlson, who joined the Biden administration in 2021, served on ELI’s board of directors for years while also “providing pro bono consulting” for Sher Edling, an eco law firm representing a number of jurisdictions, on litigation against oil companies, financial disclosures showed. Sher Edling counsel Michael Burger has also participated in multiple ELI events, and former Sher Edling lawyer Meredith Wilensky was previously an ELI Public Interest Law Fellow. BIDEN ADMIN REPORT COULD SLOW TRUMP’S EFFORTS TO UNLEASH DOMESTIC NATURAL GAS, EXPERTS SAY Burger is the executive director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and an ELI presenter who has filed amicus briefs in support of plaintiffs in climate cases across the United States. UCLA’s Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment hosted a talk in October 2017 with Sher Edling’s Vic Sher, “Suing Over Climate Change Damages: The First Wave of Climate Lawsuits.” Ann Carlson was the moderator for that discussion. John Dernbach, listed as an expert on CJP’s website, filed an amicus brief in 2019 as part of a brief of legal scholars in support of plaintiffs in City of Oakland v BP. “Judges attending Climate Judiciary Project events are advised that they are walking into a left-wing lobbying shop,” American Energy Institute President Jason Isaac told Fox News Digital. “Under the guise of ‘judicial education,’ CJP uses activist academics to give a pro-plaintiff sneak peek at climate change lawsuits. This kind of politicking underlines that the climate change lawsuits themselves are a left-wing attack on our quality of life. “The Supreme Court will have an opportunity early next year to hear a case asking whether blue states and far-left mayors like Brandon Johnson can sue energy providers for climate change. Let us hope the court takes the case and ends Green New Deal lawfare.” Fox News Digital previously reported that since it was founded more than five years ago, the project has crafted 13 curriculum modules and hosted 42 events, and more than 1,700 judges have participated in its activities. And multiple judges serve as advisers at CJP, potentially having an impact on its curriculum and modules. “So-called ‘climate change lawsuits,’ lawsuits claiming that private companies should be monetarily liable for damage to public infrastructure allegedly caused by climate change, have exploded in the past five years,” GOP Sen. Ted Cruz wrote in a letter to Environmental Law Institute earlier this year. “In tandem with this unprecedented litigation, the Environmental Law Institute (ELI) launched a ‘first-of-its-kind effort’ to provide judges with ‘education on climate science, the impacts of climate change, and the ways climate science is arising in the law.’ It appears that ELI’s goal in providing this ‘education,’ however, may be to influence judges to side with plaintiffs in climate change cases.” The letter went on to label Carlson as “one of the program’s architects” and requested “information to allow the Committee to evaluate the efforts of both Ms. Carlson and ELI to influence the federal judiciary in its adjudication of climate litigation.” Cruz alleged that “ELI intends to accomplish via the courts what it cannot get enacted into law: a radical environmental agenda.” “To help judges reach those ‘appropriate’ decisions, the Project developed the ‘Climate Science and Law for Judges Curriculum’ (the Curriculum).