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Fox News Politics: North Carolina Voter Rolls Refreshed

Fox News Politics: North Carolina Voter Rolls Refreshed

Welcome to the Fox News’ Politics newsletter, with the latest political news from Washington, D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail.  DON’T MISS IT: Vance vs. Walz this Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET. What might set this VP debate apart from the rest? – 3 hackers with ties to Iran indicted in plot against Trump campaign – President Biden declines to say if Iran killing Trump would be an ‘act of war’ – NYC Mayor Eric Adams turns himself in to face charges in federal corruption case North Carolina has removed over 700,000 individuals from its registered voter list, officials say.  The State Board of Elections announced Thursday that 747,000 people have been removed from voter rolls in the last 20 months due to ineligibility.  “The county boards follow careful policies to ensure that only ineligible records are removed, not those of eligible voters,” the Board of Elections said in a press release. “Meanwhile, newly eligible voters are constantly being added to the registration rolls in our growing state,” the board added. “Currently, North Carolina has nearly 7.7 million registered voters.” A common reason for removal from voter rolls was moving residences — either within the state without notifying election officials or to another state altogether. …Read more AFRAID TO ESCALATE: White House declines to say if Iran killing Trump would be an ‘act of war’ …Read more BOYCOTTED: Democrats skip testimony from GOP lawmakers with sniper experience at Trump assassination attempt hearing …Read more ‘WE’VE GOT TO’: Kamala Harris isn’t alone: Vulnerable Dems want current filibuster gone …Read more BATTLEGROUND BLITZ: As leader race looms, John Thune takes Senate map by storm to boost GOP candidates …Read more PLOT AGAINST TRUMP: 3 hackers with ties to Iran indicted in plot against Trump campaign: DOJ …Read more BORDER BATTLE: Harris heads to southern border looking to flip script on immigration criticisms …Read more ‘VERY GOOD RELATIONSHIP’: Trump meets Ukraine’s Zelenskyy at Trump Tower, says Russia’s war must end with ‘fair deal’ …Read more UNDER SCRUTINY: Harris visits crucial border state as immigration record sparks scrutiny: A timeline …Read more DAY IN COURT: Mayor Eric Adams arrives to turn himself in to face charges in federal corruption case …Read more ‘APPEASING’ RADICALS: Harvard went easy on students for antisemitic conduct, House committee finds …Read more ‘SECRET CONVERSATIONS’: Trump-endorsed House candidate sounds alarm on China’s growing influence in battleground state …Read more HIGHLY REGULATED: 800-plus bills left on Newsom’s desk illustrate California’s overregulation problem: experts …Read more ‘ANTI-ENERGY AGENDA’: Vulnerable Dem senator ripped for votes on key 2024 Rust Belt issue: ‘Lockstep’ with Harris …Read more ‘DEFIES ALL COMMON SENSE’: Tens of thousands of illegal immigrant criminals, including sex offenders, loose on the streets: ICE data …Read more HUNGARY FOR TRUMP: Hungarian FM recalls strong Trump admin ‘experience,’ claims ‘our hope is all’ on former president …Read more THE COVID EXCUSE: China tried to smuggle drones to Libya disguised as Covid aid with help of UN workers, investigator says …Read more Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

Border-district Republicans hammer Harris, demand ‘an apology’ over ‘photo op’ campaign stop in Arizona

Border-district Republicans hammer Harris, demand ‘an apology’ over ‘photo op’ campaign stop in Arizona

Vice President Kamala Harris’ battleground border state visit on Friday is being panned by House Republicans whose districts represent the front lines of the current migrant crisis. At issue is Harris’ campaign stop in Douglas, a border town in the key state of Arizona, that comes less than six weeks before voters head to the polls to pick the next president. “I have been consistent in my willingness to work with anyone – on either side of the aisle – to address the crisis at the border,” Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., told Fox News Digital. “However, Vice President Harris’ visit to the border smells like nothing more than a photo opportunity to try and score political points.” Ciscomani is just one of several GOP lawmakers from border districts who are accusing Harris of caring more about optics than results. They have long blamed the Biden administration for the record number of illegal border crossings since Democrats took office, and Harris’ handling of the border is one of Republicans’ most significant political cudgels against her. HARRIS HEADS TO SOUTHERN BORDER LOOKING TO FLIP SCRIPT ON IMMIGRATION CRITICISMS  “For three and a half years, the Vice President has been in a position to address this crisis, but instead she has ignored it,” Ciscomani said. “As a result, border districts, like mine, have suffered under her lack of leadership.” HARRIS LEANS IN ON BORDER SECURITY AND TRUMP RELISHES THE FIGHT Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., whose San Diego-anchored district includes about 100 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border, suggested the border crisis is a “feature, not a flaw” of the administration’s policies. “What followed? America’s deadliest drug crisis ever, the unprecedented trafficking of women and girls, and 10 million illegals allowed to enter the country and stay,” Issa said. “Kamala owes America an apology, not a photo op.” Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital that she believes Harris’ trip is purely about playing politics.  “It’s no coincidence that this last-minute visit comes as polls show Harris struggling in Arizona,” she said. “Despite the photo ops, the fact remains [that] under Harris’s watch, we’ve faced an unprecedented border crisis, a stark contrast to the secure border we had under President Trump.” The 2024 election has seen a paradigm shift in how Democrats are discussing the border. Candidates on the left who need to appeal to moderate and independent voters – a contingent that includes Harris – have emphasized the need for border security. Democrats have also pointed to President Biden’s executive actions on asylum that preceded a drop-off in the number of illegal border crossings between ports of entry in recent months. Encounters at the southwestern border were lower in July than during former President Trump’s final month in office. On an annual basis, however, Biden’s tenure has seen more illegal crossings – with 2022 seeing a record 2.2 million border encounters. CLUB FOR GROWTH POURS $5M INTO TIGHT HOUSE RACES AS GOP BRACES FOR TOUGH ELECTION Crossings also soared between 2020 and 2021 when Biden took office and rolled back several of Trump’s more restrictive border policies. But rather than the issue uniting both parties, it has split Democrats and Republicans on how best to approach that goal. Harris has frequently touted her support for a border security plan that was tanked earlier this year by Republican lawmakers, who said it did not do enough to secure the border and also codified policies they opposed. Democrats accuse the GOP of killing the legislation because it was opposed by former President Trump. Asked for comment on Republicans’ attacks against Harris visit, a campaign spokesperson pointed Fox News Digital to a senior Harris campaign official’s comments that previewed the vice president’s Friday remarks. She’s expected to accuse Trump of blocking progress on border security for political gain and advocate for tougher border security measures. The Harris campaign also pointed Fox News Digital to a statement on her visit that said Harris will “outline her plan to deliver real solutions on border security and the fentanyl crisis – unlike Donald Trump, who did nothing to fix our broken immigration system, made things worse, and killed bipartisan border solutions to play politics.” Harris has not visited the border since 2021, a trip that came shortly after she was tasked with spearheading a solution to the root causes of mass migration, which earned her the informal title of “border czar.” The Trump campaign said in its own statement on Harris’ Friday trip: “Kamala’s last-minute trip to the border and empty calls for more security 39 days before the election will not rewrite the past 44 months of chaos, crime, and bloodshed caused by her open border policy.”

Heritage flips script on fired director of Project 2025 after ‘disconcerting’ revelations surface

Heritage flips script on fired director of Project 2025 after ‘disconcerting’ revelations surface

The former director of Project 2025 did not step down in July, as was initially reported, but was fired due to “dismissive and unprofessional” workplace behavior, the conservative think tank revealed Friday. The man at the center of the controversy says he’s being made a “scapegoat.” Project 2025 is only the latest iteration of a longstanding Heritage Foundation initiative to establish a conservative governing blueprint. But incessant attacks by Democrats focusing on Project 2025 have led to intense scrutiny and frequent misrepresentations of the plan’s details. Still, Paul Dans’ departure from the institution had little to do with that firestorm, according to Heritage. “Paul Dans was terminated from the Heritage Foundation due to a number of related issues, including his dismissive and unprofessional approach to interacting with a number of his colleagues,” Kelly Adams, director of people operations at Heritage, told Fox News Digital.  TRUMP HITS BACK AT HARRIS WITH ‘KAMALA’S PROJECT 2025′ “After some specific disconcerting interactions were brought to the attention of senior management, an internal review was conducted, and a decision was made to separate Mr. Dans’ employment as amicably as possible.” At the time, Dans was said to be stepping down as the Project 2025 head. But Heritage soon reportedly received multiple communications from Dans that accused the think tank of terminating him on false grounds. “I was made a scapegoat by The Heritage Foundation to cover up for their own mishandling of the public relations fiasco over Project 2025,” Dans told Real Clear Politics. “It appears that the Heritage Foundation continues to trash my good name and professional reputation for their benefit.” The Heritage Foundation defended its decision and said it was Dans’ workplace behavior that led to his firing. HERITAGE FOUNDATION PRESIDENT CONFIRMS TRUMP HAD NO INVOLVEMENT IN PROJECT 2025 “The Heritage Foundation deeply values all of our staff and is committed in both practice and principle to maintaining a positive work environment where abusive or demeaning behavior is not welcome,” Adams said. “We are deeply disappointed that Mr. Dans is using the liberal media to attack Heritage’s decision to terminate him, thereby making the rationale behind his dismissal public. We will not allow him to falsely attack Heritage and its people, without defending the difficult decision to terminate Paul’s employment based on facts. We will continue to defend our staff and our institution from false narratives and disgruntled former employees.” New reports have surfaced detailing Dans’ behavior leading up to the termination, specifically allegations about his conduct at the Republican National Convention in July, when he reportedly cursed at colleagues while critiquing their performance and was issued a warning by Heritage President Kevin Roberts.  “He was being so demeaning,” a source told Real Clear Politics. “It was constant, and he refused to listen.”  After he was fired, Dans, through his legal counsel, reportedly sought $3.1 million from Heritage and wanted the funds delivered in two days, according to documents reviewed by RCP. Heritage rejected the request. Soon after he was fired, Dans became a vocal critic of the Trump campaign, telling The New York Times in September the former president should replace two of his senior advisers, Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita. Dans claimed their mismanagement had prevented Trump from surging ahead of Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump has repeatedly denied any involvement in Project 2025’s formation, saying, “I disagree with some of the things they’re saying, and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.”

Zelenskyy downplays comment that Trump doesn’t know how to end Russia’s war with Ukraine

Zelenskyy downplays comment that Trump doesn’t know how to end Russia’s war with Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is downplaying past disagreements with former President Donald Trump following a meeting in New York City. Zelenskyy visited Trump Tower on Friday to meet with the Republican presidential nominee, then sat down with Fox News’ Griff Jenkins to discuss what seems to have been a good-spirited conversation. “We understand that even in any kind of future negotiations, Ukraine has to be strong. That’s what it’s about,” Zelenskyy told Jenkins when asked why he met with Trump. “We spoke with Biden, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump and the Congress of the United States.” TRUMP MEETS UKRAINE’S ZELENSKYY AT TRUMP TOWER, SAYS RUSSIA’S WAR MUST END WITH ‘FAIR DEAL’ Jenkins pressed Zelenskyy about his comments that appeared in a New Yorker article earlier this week — in which he was quoted saying that he believes Trump “doesn’t really know how to stop the war even if he might think he knows how” — and whether Trump had said anything to change Zelenskyy’s mind. “No, I said that I think that we understand much more better than everybody, really, including Donald Trump, what’s going on in Ukraine and how to stop him. It’s difficult to understand,” Zelenskyy responded. The Ukrainian president said his country is now a completely different nation from the one that was first invaded in 2022. ZELESNKYY SAYS ‘TRUMP DOESN’T KNOW PUTIN,’ RUSSIAN DICTATOR WILL ‘NEVER STOP’ “Ukraine, during the war in Ukraine before the full-scale invasion — two different countries. So without this experience, you can’t really understand how to stop [Russian President Vladimir Putin],” Zelenskyy continued. “And that’s what I wanted to share to president . . . and the price of this tragedy of bloody invasion of Putin.” At one point during their meeting, Trump told the press that he had a “good relationship” with both Zelenskyy and Putin. Zelenskyy then interjected to say he hopes the U.S. has a better relationship with Ukraine than Russia. Jenkins asked the Ukrainian president whether Trump’s comment about maintaining a good relationship with Putin concerned him. Zelenskyy said he was not necessarily concerned, acknowledging that “Trump has relations and had relations when he was the president, during his term” and maintains “relations with a lot of countries and a lot of UN leaders.” During the exclusive interview, Zelenskyy lamented the lack of response Putin received from the rest of the world when Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in 2014 with the taking of Crimea. “Nobody kicked him, and that meant he understood that he can occupy it and go further. He can occupy new territories of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said. “He began to prepare to do this — his plan — and he did it.”

Investigator reveals China tried to smuggle drones to Libya disguised as COVID aid

Investigator reveals China tried to smuggle drones to Libya disguised as COVID aid

China attempted to send $1 billion worth of drones disguised as COVID-19 aid to a Libyan warlord through the assistance of corrupt U.N. officials, according to a Canadian government investigator.  New court documents accuse Chinese state officials of conspiring to hide the $1 billion deal to offer 42 drones to Libyan General Khalifa Haftar through U.N. officials, who would mark the arms shipments as COVID-19 aid.  Through FBI intercepts, Canada’s Royal Mounted Police found alleged plots to sell Libyan oil to China and to buy drones from 2018 to 2021.  “The Chinese government seems to have approved a strategy to aid Libya in the procurement and delivery of military equipment through designated and approved companies to obscure the direct involvement of government agencies,” the investigator stated. Two Libyan nationals working in Canada at the International Civil Aviation Organization, a U.N. agency, were charged with conspiracy for the scheme in April. A preliminary hearing is expected in the spring.   REPUBLICANS PROPOSE BILL THAT WOULD DOUBLE TARIFFS ON CHINESE IMPORTS  The accusations, first reported by Defense News, are part of documents submitted in court in Montreal to obtain warrants to access the phones of the men involved.  “This scheme appears to be a deliberate attempt to circumvent U.N. sanctions that were in effect at the time,” the report said.  Haftar, who received the drones, is a Russia-backed strongman who controls eastern Libya. He unsuccessfully tried to seize control of western Libya in 2020. The aim of the drones’ shipment was “‘using war to end war quickly’ without attracting the attention of the international community,” said the investigator, adding “the fight against the Coronavirus” was used as cover.  95 LIBYAN NATIONALS ARRESTED AT SUSPECTED SOUTH AFRICAN MILITARY TRAINING CAMP  One of the Libyan nationals involved in the scheme – Fathi Ben Ahmed Mhaouek – was arrested while the other, Mahmud Mohamed Elsuwaye Sayeh, is still at large.  The court documents also accuse a U.S. citizen, who has not been charged, of involvement. “My client will plead not guilty – he denies all wrongdoing,” said Mhaouek’s lawyer in Canada, Andrew Barbacki. Investigators uncovered a May 2020 message from Sayeh to an official at the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs requesting a meeting in Egypt between the Chinese ambassador and a Libyan military official close to Haftar, Major General Aoun Al-Ferjani. In the messages, the drones are “clearly described with weaponry, attack and lethal strike capabilities.” Investigators are unsure if the deal went through or if talks failed.  Italian authorities in July said they seized Chinese military drones that were headed for Benghazi, Libya, in violation of a U.N. embargo. 

Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants with sexual assault, murder convictions roaming US streets: ICE data

Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants with sexual assault, murder convictions roaming US streets: ICE data

Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants with sex offenses and homicide convictions are loose on the streets, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) data provided to lawmakers this week.  The agency provided data to Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, about national data for illegal immigrants with criminal charges or convictions. The data, as of July 2024, is broken down by those in detention, and those who are not in detention — known as the non-detained docket.  The non-detained docket includes illegal immigrants who have final orders of removal or are going through removal proceedings but are not detained in ICE custody. There are currently more than 7 million people on that docket. The data says that, among those not in detention, there are 425,431 convicted criminals and 222,141 with pending criminal charges. ICE NON-DETAINED DOCKET EXPLODES TO 7.4M CASES Those include 62,231 convicted of assault, 14,301 convicted of burglary, 56,533 with drug convictions and 13,099 convicted of homicide. An additional 2,521 have kidnapping convictions and 15,811 have sexual assault convictions.  There are an additional 1,845 with pending homicide charges, 42,915 with assault charges, 3,266 with burglary charges and 4,250 with assault charges. “As of July 21, 2024, there were 662,566 noncitizens with criminal histories on ICE’s national docket—13,099 criminally convicted MURDERS!” Gonzales said in a statement. “Americans deserve to be SAFE in our own communities.” In a statement accompanying the latter, ICE took aim at so-called “sanctuary” cities, which refuse to cooperate with federal law enforcement in deporting illegal immigrant criminals. “ICE recognizes that some jurisdictions are concerned that cooperating with federal immigration officials will erode trust with immigrant communities and make it harder for local law enforcement to serve those populations. However, ‘sanctuary’ policies can end up shielding dangerous criminals, who often victimize those same communities,” it said. It also stressed DHS’ efforts to remove illegal immigrants: “From mid-May 2023 through the end of July 2024, DHS removed or returned more than 893,600 individuals, including more than 138,300 individuals in family units. The majority of all individuals encountered at the Southwest Border over the past three years have been removed, returned, or expelled.” ‘POLITICAL STUNT’: CRITICS DISMISS HARRIS’ EXPECTED ARIZONA BORDER VISIT AS IMMIGRATION REMAINS TOP ISSUE However, the Biden administration came under fire for releasing many migrants who came to the U.S. border into the interior, which coincided with a sharp drop in deportations as it focused on prioritizing public safety and national security threats. There were 142,580 removals in FY 23, up considerably from 72,177 in FY 22 and 59,011 in FY 21, but still down from the highs of 267,258 under the Trump administration in FY 19.  The number of illegal immigrants on the non-detained docket, meanwhile, has soared from 3.7 million in FY 2021 to nearly 4.8 million in FY 2022 to over 7 million in FY 2023.  Republicans have blamed the border crisis on the policies of the administration, including rolling back Trump policies that limited “catch and release.” “It may be shocking to hear that the Biden-Harris administration is actively releasing tens of thousands of criminal illegal aliens into our communities, but their own numbers conclusively prove this to be the case. This defies all common sense,” House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green told Fox News Digital. “Under President Biden and his ‘border czar,’ Vice President Harris, DHS law enforcement has been directed to mass-release illegal aliens whom they know have criminal convictions or are facing charges for serious crimes—and these dangerous, destructive individuals are making their way into every city and state in this country. How many more Americans need to die or be victimized before this administration is forced to abide by the laws they swore to uphold? This is madness. It is something no civilized, well-functioning society should tolerate.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS The administration has said it needs more funding and reforms from Congress, including via a bipartisan Senate bill introduced this year – which has been rejected by Republicans. “Despite the challenges of operating within a broken immigration system, and in the face of an enormous workload and consistently limited funding, DHS continues to enforce the law to secure our borders,” DHS said in its letter. That bill would increase the number of ICE detention beds, but critics of the administration have pointed to numbers showing not all beds are being filled currently. The data’s release comes as Vice President Kamala Harris visits the southern border in Arizona as she seeks to blunt criticism from former President Trump on the matter, and renew her call for the bipartisan border bill. Conservatives were not swayed by the visit. “Border Czar Kamala Harris has had nearly four years to protect America and failed,” RJ Hauman, president of the National Immigration Center for Enforcement (NICE), told Fox News Digital in response to the data. “She is allowing tens of thousands of murderers and rapists to roam free. She puts criminals first and the safety and security of you and your family last.” Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.