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Kamala Harris played ‘critical’ role in California crime law now on chopping block

Kamala Harris played ‘critical’ role in California crime law now on chopping block

A movement is underway to reform a decade-old California crime law that opponents on both sides of the political aisle say has wreaked havoc on the state, while a “critical” supporter of the measure is running for president. The 2014 law, Proposition 47, reclassified a number of felonies, including retail and property theft, as misdemeanors. Under Prop 47, petty theft of goods valued at under $950 is classified as a misdemeanor, even for multiple offenses. It also took a broad swath of narcotics possession offenses that were previously felonies and converted them to misdemeanors. A ballot initiative launched last year to amend Prop 47, called the Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act, or Prop 36, has been gaining support from conservatives and liberals alike in the Golden State and will be included on the November ballot.  San Francisco Mayor London Breed and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan have joined the effort to amend the referendum, along with district attorneys up and down the state. Vice President Kamala Harris, critics say, gave the bill “critical” support, and she won’t say whether she wants to see Prop 47 amended. CALIFORNIA CRIME REFORM GETS ‘UNHEARD OF’ SUPPORT FROM DAS, SMALL BUSINESSES, PROGRESSIVE MAYORS “Kamala Harris is not a hardliner [on crime],” Douglas Eckenrod, a former deputy director of parole for the California prison system, told NBC News. “Prop 47 couldn’t happen without the AG’s office support. Her support of it was literally critical.” Should the initiative to reform Prop 47 pass, it would add fentanyl to the list of hard drugs — like heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine — that are illegal to possess with a gun, and it would mean more serious consequences for selling deadly quantities.  It would also enable stricter penalties for dealers whose trafficking causes death or serious injury and warns traffickers of potential murder charges if continued drug trafficking results in fatalities.  PROGRESSIVE CALIFORNIA MAYORS BACK EFFORT TO AMEND CRIME LAWS AMID ‘RAMPANT’ DRUGS AND THEFT “California and Californians are very much at a tipping point. The public is sick and tired of the rampant open-air drug use, the homelessness issue and the theft that occurs before their eyes,” Greg Totten, co-chair of Californians to Reduce Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft and CEO of the California District Attorneys Association, told Fox News Digital.   “I mean, they walk into stores, and products are locked up, inventories reduced. Store hours are reduced. Stores are closing. Malls are closed. And so the public is ready for change.”  Some of the unintended consequences of Prop 47, opponents say, include the pipeline from prison to homelessness. They add that there are no consequences for crime and drug use and that drug treatment programs are not being utilized.   During her time as attorney general, Harris and her office were responsible for writing the ballot initiative descriptions that helped voters decide what they were voting on. Her description predicted a reduction in prison populations, successful truancy programs and financial savings for the state that could be used for mental health services and K-12 education.  A report by NBC noted that while Harris didn’t take an official position, Republicans accused her of misrepresenting the bill.   NEWSOM SENDING 120 CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL OFFICERS TO OAKLAND TO CRACK DOWN ON ‘ALARMING’ CRIME SURGE Steve Cooley, who served as the Los Angeles County district attorney from 2000 to 2012, blamed the rise in crime on Harris and the referendum, NBC reported. “The damage has been untold and, in a sense, irreparable,” said Cooley, who ran as a Republican against Harris for attorney general. “It was beyond a bait and switch. It was fraud by misrepresentation.” When Prop 47 passed, law enforcement authorities blamed Harris for not acknowledging that it would massively reduce DNA collection to solve crimes like rape and murder. After the law was enacted, the amount of DNA samples collected per month dropped from 15,000 to 5,000. “[I]f she was aware of the DNA issue, Harris could have exchanged some of the verbiage for the following nine words: Will curb law enforcement’s authority to collect DNA samples. If she wasn’t aware of the DNA issue, she was not doing her job,” the editorial board of the Sacramento Bee wrote in 2015.  Speaking to Fox News Digital, a former elected public safety official said Harris’ purported ability to combat drug and violent crime is “all foam and no beer.”  “That’s really her principle. She doesn’t want to take a position because she doesn’t know how it will impact her future,” the former official said. “She’ll say that her job was to not formally take a position, but she could have. She didn’t want to because that’s how she threads the needle.  “If she had written a ballot title that was fair and balanced, perhaps Californians would have seen the true impact Proposition 47 would have had on public safety and our communities. Now, 10 years later, the truth has been revealed.” A spokesperson for the Harris campaign told Fox News Digital in a statement, “During her career in law enforcement, Kamala Harris was a pragmatic prosecutor who successfully took on predators, fraudsters and cheaters like Donald Trump.”

Balance of power: Jockeying begins for House Freedom Caucus top spot after leader’s unprecedented primary loss

Balance of power: Jockeying begins for House Freedom Caucus top spot after leader’s unprecedented primary loss

The House Freedom Caucus is discussing who could take the lead of the ultra-conservative group with its chairman, Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., expected to step aside. Multiple people granted anonymity to speak with Fox News Digital indicated they expect Good to step aside from his role after he lost his primary race in June and a subsequent recount Thursday night by a few hundred votes. Good had previously said that he would do so. It puts the GOP rebel group in uncharted territory. A chairman has never stepped down before the end of a term, and a sitting chair has never lost re-election. Two sources familiar with the discussions said they expected a previous Freedom Caucus chair, Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., or Scott Perry, R-Pa., specifically, to step in for the remainder of Good’s term. TRUMP ENDORSES 2 GOP CANDIDATES IN SAME KEY ARIZONA HOUSE PRIMARY Both sources, however, said discussions were leaning slightly toward Biggs. “I am going to push for Andy Biggs to take over during the remainder of Bob’s term. He supported Trump, and he knows how to be the chair already,” one Freedom Caucus member told Fox News Digital. Biggs did not comment when reached via spokesperson by Fox News Digital. A spokesperson for Perry also declined to comment. One of the two earlier sources told Fox News Digital Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, the group’s policy chair, has also been floated as a possible replacement.  But Roy, who also chairs the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on the Constitution and limited government, has not publicly indicated interest in the role.  HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON THE 2024 ELECTIONS Freshman Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., has also shown interest in the role, according to another source. But it’s not immediately clear if he would be interested in serving out the remainder of the year filling in for Good or whether he’d want to run in the group’s closed-door election for a new term, which usually takes place at the end of the year. Ogles’ office did not respond to a request for comment, while Roy declined, via spokesperson, to discuss private conversations. Politico reported last week that Perry and Biggs were both in consideration to finish out the remainder of Good’s term. Both have a significantly better relationship with former President Trump than Good does, a divide that drove his political unraveling. Trump backed Good’s primary rival, John McGuire, and actively spoke out against the Virginia conservative’s re-election. Good had originally endorsed Trump’s primary rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, before switching to the ex-president when DeSantis dropped out. THIS REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN FILES IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES AGAINST VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS, AGAIN Good’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital about whether he would follow through on stepping aside. A Freedom Caucus spokesperson told Fox News Digital, “HFC does not comment on membership or internal processes.” Good’s tenure as chairman has been a bumpy one, and multiple members left the group this year. Most recently, Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, who opposed Good’s chairmanship, was voted out of the Freedom Caucus shortly after he endorsed McGuire in the primary. Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, resigned in protest of Davidson’s ouster on the same day.

What is fuelling protests and a violent crackdown in Nigeria?

What is fuelling protests and a violent crackdown in Nigeria?

Demonstrators killed by police and millions put under curfew. In Nigeria, people have been shot dead by police and hundreds arrested for protesting against the government’s economic policies. President Bola Tinubu says the reforms are vital. Critics say they are too extreme. So why are people so angry? And could the unrest spread? Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom Guests: Isa Sanusi – Director of Amnesty International Nigeria Ayisha Osori – Director of Open Society Foundations Ideas and Fellowship Collaborative Kabir Adamu – Managing director of Beacon Security and Intelligence, a consultancy in Abuja Mohammed Idris – Minister of information and national orientation in Nigeria Adblock test (Why?)

Ledecky seals GOAT status, USA break world record in Olympic swimming pool

Ledecky seals GOAT status, USA break world record in Olympic swimming pool

Already rated one of swimming’s all-time greats coming into the Paris Olympics, Katie Ledecky made it official by storming to victory in her signature event, the 800-metre freestyle,  to end her work in the French capital in great style. French torpedo Leon Marchand may be the prince of Paris, electrifying the home nation with four spectacular gold medals, but it is Ledecky writing her name in the record books after she claimed her ninth gold, equalling Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina for the most by any woman in any Olympic sport. In sharp contrast to Ledecky’s runaway win in the 1,500-metre, the 800-metre freestyle on Saturday was a thriller from start to finish, with Ariarne Titmus matching her stroke-for-stroke for almost the entire distance. But with the American setting a relentless, grinding pace, her great Australian rival would never get her nose in front, settling for silver as Ledecky got to the wall first in a time of 8 minutes, 11.04 seconds. Paige Madden took bronze for the United States. It is the fourth time Ledecky has won the 800-metre freestyle and she joins compatriot Michael Phelps as the only swimmer to win gold in four different Olympics. The 800-metre was the final event on Ledecky’s Paris card and she returns home having added two golds, a silver and a bronze, bringing her Olympic stockpile to 14 medals in all – with more possible. The 27-year-old has hinted that a home Olympics in Los Angeles in four years is on her mind. Katie Ledecky had plenty of support in the stands [Manan Vatsyayana/AFP] And in a passing of the baton moment, Canada’s Summer McIntosh enhanced her status as the rising star of women’s swimming by winning her third gold medal of the games in the 200-metre individual medley. The 17-year-old produced a brilliant late surge to win in a time of 2min 06.56sec, the third-fastest time in history. Kate Douglass of the USA finished second to take silver while Australian Kaylee McKeown took the bronze after American Alex Walsh, who had finished third, was disqualified. McIntosh had already claimed gold in the 400-metre individual medley and the 200-metre butterfly, as well as a silver in the 400-metre freestyle. “It’s pretty surreal. I’m just so proud of myself, how I’ve been able to recover and manage the events because it is a lot,” said the teenager, who also won silver in the 400-metre freestyle during what has been an intense games for her. “The reason I’m able to do this just because of all the hard work and dedication I’ve given to this moment along with all my family and my teammates and my coaches, and I’ve also worked so hard for me to be here today,” she said. The Canadian said she knew that she had to pull out all the stops to secure her latest win. Canada’s Summer Mcintosh celebrates her second gold medal of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games [Manan Vatsyayana/AFP] Earlier, Hungarian powerhouse Kristof Milak stormed to a second Olympic gold with victory in a thrilling men’s 100-metre butterfly final, while adding to the silver medal he won in the 200-metre event at the Paris Games. Three years after claiming the 200-metre gold at Tokyo, the 24-year-old secured the shorter of the two Olympic butterfly titles by touching the wall in 49.90, 0.09 seconds ahead of Canadian runner-up Josh Liendo. Ilya Kharun grabbed a second bronze for Canada, having also taken one in the 200-metre butterfly in Paris. Now boasting four Olympic medals, Milak gave Hungary a second gold in the Paris meet following Hubert Kos’s 200-metre backstroke title. Hungary’s Kristof Milak celebrates during the podium ceremony of the men’s 100-metre butterfly event [Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP] In the final race of the night in the pool, the United States broke the world record in winning the 4×100-metre mixed medley relay gold, outgunning China and Australia. Their team of Ryan Murphy, Nic Fink, Gretchen Walsh and Torri Huske touched in 3min 37.43sec to narrowly better the mark set by Britain at the Tokyo Games, when the event was first added to the Olympic programme. China’s Zhang Yufei took silver in 3:37.55, with Australia filling the podium in 3:38.76. It is only the second world record in the pool in Paris after China’s Pan Zhanle smashed the men’s 100-metre freestyle best. Teams in the mixed medley comprise two women and two men, with each of the four swimmers allocated to one of the four traditional medley strokes – backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle. The United States chose to lead off with Murphy up against China’s Xu Jiayu, while Australia opted for Kaylee McKeown. Both Fink and Walsh then swam storming legs before Huske brought it home with China’s Yang Junxuan and Australia’s Mollie O’Callaghan in hot pursuit. USA won the mixed 4×100-metre medley relay final ahead of China and Australia [Sebastian Bozon/AFP] Adblock test (Why?)

US candidate Jill Stein considering vocal Palestine advocates for VP spot

US candidate Jill Stein considering vocal Palestine advocates for VP spot

United States Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein is considering three Palestinian rights advocates, including two Arab Americans, to be her running mate in the elections, her campaign has confirmed. The vice president announcement will be made during a livestream rally on Thursday, the Stein campaign told Al Jazeera. The candidates are Abed Ayoub, executive director at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC); Amer Zahr, a Palestinian American activist; and Jacqueline Luqman, a journalist and activist. All three have been vocal critics of Israel and the US’s unflinching support for the war on Gaza. Stein, a physician and activist, herself is a longtime supporter of Palestinian rights. Having one of the three on the ballot could boost Stein’s chances of tapping into the mass of disaffected voters who have grown angry with the mainstream Democratic Party’s stance on Israel. While Stein’s campaign is a long-shot bid, with US politics dominated by the Republican and Democrat parties, if she wins a significant share of the votes, her campaign may affect the result of the election. Moreover, Stein’s supporters say they hope that her candidacy could broaden the conversation around Gaza and amplify voters’ concerns with US policy. With a Palestine advocate on the ticket, Stein’s candidacy could also force Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, to further contend with the growing frustration with President Joe Biden’s unconditional backing of Israel. Even with a small percentage of the votes, Stein’s campaign could make a major impression on the election in places like the swing state of Michigan – home to large Arab- and Muslim-American communities. Both Ayoub and Zahr are from Michigan. ‘Honoured’ Luqman, Zahr and Ayoub all confirmed to Al Jazeera that they were approached by the campaign and said they were “honoured” to be considered for the position. Ayoub said it is “important” that Stein is considering Palestinian rights advocates to be her running mate. “This is a critical time. This is a time where the genocide is in front of everybody’s eyes. There’s no hiding from it. And it’s a time where most of the world and many Americans see how complicit and active both parties are in the genocide.” Zahr also said selecting a vocal supporter of Palestinian rights as Stein’s running mate was a “smart choice” by the campaign. “It’s clear that the genocide in Gaza has dominated the entire presidential campaign,” Zahr told Al Jazeera. While Biden dropped out after growing concerns over his age following a disastrous debate performance in May, Zahr said the Democratic president’s coalition “was falling apart” because of the war on Gaza. Luqman said opposing the war on Gaza should not be a campaign issue, but a human issue. “There’s no such thing as lesser evil. Evil is evil, and genocide is evil,” she told Al Jazeera. The US-backed Israeli offensive in Gaza has killed at least 39,550 people, levelled large parts of the territory and brought its more than two million inhabitants to the verge of starvation. Gaza and the elections While foreign policy is not usually a major factor in US elections, the war on Gaza has increasingly become a decisive issue in the presidential race. Arabs, Muslims, young people and progressives have expressed anger at Biden’s support for the war. And while it remains unclear how the issue will play out following the US president’s withdrawal from the race and endorsement of Harris, some communities have shown willingness to break with Democrats over Gaza. Predominantly Arab neighbourhoods in places like the Detroit suburb of Dearborn voted overwhelmingly for Biden against former President Donald Trump in 2020, helping him win Michigan. But with the war in Gaza, support for Biden dropped sharply in Arab-American communities, according to public opinion polls. The US administration has signed off on at least $14bn in additional military aid to Israel and vetoed three United Nations Security Council proposals that would have called for a ceasefire in Gaza. The White House has said that Harris has been a “full partner” in shaping Gaza policy. Still, the vice president has expressed greater empathy for Palestinian suffering while still pledging “unwavering commitment” to Israel. Harris, who is set to become the Democratic candidate to take on Trump in November after securing enough delegates to win the nomination, has not selected a running mate. But Palestinian rights advocates are pushing against a rumoured frontrunner for the position – Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who earlier this year compared Gaza solidarity protesters on college campuses to the Ku Klux Klan. In 2021, Shapiro – as Pennsylvania’s attorney general – also backed sanctions against Ben & Jerry’s after the ice cream company decided to stop doing business in the Israeli-occupied West Bank over ethical concerns. Opposition to Shapiro grew this week after The Philadelphia Inquirer unearthed a 1993 college newspaper op-ed, in which Shapiro played down the prospect of solving the conflict after White House talks between then-Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. “Palestinians will not coexist peacefully,” Shapiro wrote in the article. “They do not have the capabilities to establish their own homeland and make it successful even with the aid of Israel and the United States. They are too battle-minded to be able to establish a peaceful homeland of their own.” Why run? As Democrats rally around Harris, they have portrayed Trump as an existential threat to US democracy. Democratic officials have also accused Stein of helping the former president by taking progressive votes despite not having a realistic chance of winning. Stein ran for president in 2012, 2016 and 2020 but never mounted a competitive campaign. Luqman, Ayoub and Zahr all said Stein’s bid was about giving the voters a choice and challenging the monopoly of the two major parties on US politics. “We don’t engage in the franchise of voting … only to vote for candidates who are guaranteed to win,” Luqman told Al Jazeera. “We are supposed to exercise that right however we choose. And if the two major parties offered nothing