Dems join House GOP’s rebuke of Biden LNG export pause: ‘Whole-of-government attack’ on US energy
FIRST ON FOX: A bipartisan group of more than 50 House lawmakers is pushing the Biden administration to end its pause on new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export permits in compliance with a recent federal court order, arguing the progressive policy is undercutting U.S. energy both at home and abroad. “From day one, President Biden has waged a whole-of-government attack on the American oil and gas industry,” House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. “Like most of his executive actions, Biden’s ban on U.S. LNG export permits was blocked by the courts; yet, the Biden Administration’s response has been to flout the Judge’s decision and continue failing to approve these permits.” Arrington led four Democrats and 46 Republicans in urging the Department of Energy (DOE) to reverse the LNG pause, initiated in January of this year. The House Democrats who joined the rebuke are Reps. Lou Correa, D-Calif.; Henry Cuellar, D-Texas; Jim Costa, D-Calif.; and Jared Golden, D-Maine. LAWMAKERS WARN EPA’S CLEAN POWER PLAN 2.0 COULD HAVE CATASTROPHIC IMPACT ON ELECTRIC GRID Correa called LNG “clean and reliable” and said it facilitates “millions of good-paying American jobs.” “There were considerable negative economic, national security, and environmental impacts as a result of the Administration’s original pause — and they must begin expediting review of existing LNG export permit applications so that we can create American jobs, support U.S. allies, and reduce carbon emissions,” Correa told Fox News Digital. They are sending the letter – which is also backed by groups like the American Petroleum Institute, the Energy Workforce & Technology Council, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global Energy Institute – to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm weeks after a federal judge ordered her to lift the pause on new LNG export permits. Trump administration-appointed Judge James Cain granted 16 states’ request for an emergency stay on the policy over arguments it harmed their economies, in a massive blow to Biden’s climate agenda. EPA SUED OVER ‘CAPRICIOUS’ BIG-RIG EMISSIONS STANDARDS The 51 lawmakers who wrote to Granholm on Monday said Biden’s policy “reduced the competitiveness of American energy exporters, restricted critical energy supply to key U.S. allies, and politicized an LNG export approval process that should be based on business considerations and market demand alone.” The letter cited a 2017 study that projected LNG production could create between 220,000 and 453,000 new U.S. jobs and add $73 billion to the American economy by 2040. “LNG also emits significantly fewer CO2 emissions than other types of energy sources, making the scale-up of this fuel essential as consumers throughout the world look to reduce their carbon footprint,” they said. “In addition, the export of this fuel was, and continues to be vital for our European allies as these countries overcome the critical energy shortages that ensued following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.” WHY IS THE EPA REGULATING PFAS AND WHAT ARE THESE ‘FOREVER CHEMICALS’? The House voted mostly along party lines in February to reverse Biden’s LNG permit pause. The White House opposed the bill but stopped short of threatening a veto. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The White House also rejected a proposal from House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., in April to tie Ukraine aid to a reversal of the Biden LNG policy. Biden’s pause did have a healthy amount of support from Democrats, however. In May, more than 70 House and Senate Democrats led a letter praising the administration’s decision to pause the LNG permit approval process. Fox News Digital reached out to the DOE for comment.
Meta to pay Texas $1.4 billion for using facial recognition technology without users’ permission
Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the Facebook parent company in 2022, claiming it had used personal biometric data without permission.
Vance sees ‘unique’ opportunity, challenges with Harris topping Dem ticket
Former President Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, told donors that running against Vice President Kamala Harris presents a “unique opportunity” but acknowledged her relative youth and lower profile when compared to President Biden offer the campaign challenges as well. “We have a very unique opportunity, but also a very unique challenge, because, let’s be honest, 10 days ago, the two candidates who were running for president, everybody had an opinion about ’em. Love ’em or hate ’em, everybody has an opinion about Donald Trump and Joe Biden after the past eight years,” Vance privately told donors in Minnesota of Biden’s decision to drop out of the race and endorse Harris, according to a recording of the Ohio senator’s remarks obtained by the Washington Post. “But Kamala Harris, people don’t really know.” The remarks come as the Trump campaign continues to adjust to the new reality of the race, pivoting from running against a candidate whose age and mental acuity were among the top concerns of voters to highlighting Harris’ role in an administration that remains unpopular with Americans. HARRIS CLOSES IN ON TRUMP IN ELECTION BETTING MARKETS Vance told donors that the campaign would have to attack Harris’ previous positions, including her opposition to fracking, praising the “defund the police” movement, and her record on the border, the report notes. The message echoed a similar sentiment Vance expressed to reporters the day after Biden’s decision, when the Ohio senator cited Harris’ role in the administration as being a weak spot for the vice president, most notably when it comes to issues such as border security. “I don’t think the political calculus changes at all,” Vance said. “We were running against Joe Biden’s open border, Kamala Harris’s open border. Kamala Harris supported the green new scam. Kamala Harris, frankly, covered Joe Biden even though it was obvious he was mentally incompetent for a very long time.” However, Vance admitted to donors that running against Harris also presents a new challenge for the campaign, noting that she does not come with some of the “baggage” Biden had on the trail. “All of us were hit with a little bit of a political sucker punch,” Vance. “The bad news is that Kamala Harris does not have the same baggage as Joe Biden, because whatever we might have to say, Kamala is a lot younger. And Kamala Harris is obviously not struggling in the same ways that Joe Biden did.” FLASHBACK: HARRIS COMPARED ICE TO KKK, SAID IMAGES OF BORDER PATROL AGENTS ‘EVOKED SLAVERY’ Nevertheless, the campaign has continued to express confidence in running against the vice president, who Trump has argued is worse than Biden. “Lyin’ Kamala Harris, the Biden appointed ‘Border Czar’ who never visited the Border, and whose incompetence gave us the WORST and MOST DANGEROUS Border anywhere in the World, has absolutely terrible pole [sic] numbers against a fine and brilliant young man named DONALD J. TRUMP! Be careful what you wish for, Democrats,” Trump posted on Truth Social in reaction to the news that Biden was dropping out of the race last week. Trump adviser Jason Miller struck a similar tone in an interview with Fox News the day after Biden’s announcement, arguing that “Democrats are a bit of jumping out of the frying pan into the fire.” “And they may have gotten rid of one problem with Joe Biden, but they’ve inherited a whole new problem with Kamala Harris,” Miller said. DEMOCRATS TO CONFIRM NOMINEES BY VIRTUAL ROLL CALL WEEKS BEFORE DNC IN CHICAGO TO AVOID LEGAL CHALLENGES When reached for comment by Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for Vance argued that the campaign is excited to take on Harris, a candidate who polls have long showed is not popular with voters. “Poll after poll shows President Trump leading Kamala Harris as voters become aware of her weak, failed, and dangerously liberal agenda,” the spokesperson, William Martin, said Tuesday. “Her far-left ideas are even more radioactive than Joe Biden, particularly in the key swing states that will decide this election like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.” Meanwhile, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital that Harris is a “weak” candidate. “Democrats are in complete disarray after their coup that forcibly removed Biden from the campaign, proving they are the real threats to democracy,” Cheung said Tuesday. “The fact remains that Kamala Harris is weak, failed, and dangerously liberal, and no amount of gaslighting from her or her campaign will erase her despicable record.” Polls have shown a tighter race for Trump against Harris in the week since Biden’s decision to drop out, with the Real Clear Politics polling average showing Trump with a 3.1 point lead over Biden nationally but just a 1.7 lead over Harris. Harris has also gained significant ground on Trump in presidential betting markets, with Trump having a 55% chance to win the election and Harris having a 39% chance, according to the Real Clear Politics betting odds average. While Trump maintains a 16-point gap, Trump enjoyed an almost 43-point gap between himself and Harris on July 20, the day before Biden dropped out of the election, and a nearly 52-point lead over Biden. However, Martin argued that Trump will have a wide advantage once voters become more familiar with Harris’ policies. “Her far-left ideas are even more radioactive than Joe Biden, particularly in the key swing states that will decide this election like Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin,” Martin said. The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Harris to name VP by next week, kick off battleground state tour together: report
Vice President and likely Democratic nominee for president Kamala Harris is reportedly close to making a decision on a running mate and will kick off a battleground tour next week. Harris will make appearances next week in key battleground states with her choice of vice president, indicating that she is close to making her decision, Reuters reported. The list of possible choices reportedly includes Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Harris took to the top of the Democratic ticket a little over a week ago after, facing insurmountable pressure from his party, President Biden dropped out of the race even though he had insisted for weeks he was “in it to win it.” TOP JEWISH GROUP FEARS A HARRIS PRESIDENCY WOULD BE ‘FAR WORSE’ AMID RISING ANTISEMITISM Biden endorsed his vice president to take his spot. Harris has since raised over $200 million. She is expected to be formally nominated at the Democratic National Convention next month. Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment.
Harris, Trump camps launch dueling ad blitzes to define VP for voters
The crucial race to define Vice President Kamala Harris is accelerating, with the campaigns of Harris and former President Trump both dishing out big bucks to run ads that aim to harden voters’ perceptions of the vice president. The commercial by Harris – her first since President Biden dropped his 2024 re-election bid and endorsed his vice president nine days ago – is titled “Fearless” and spotlights her years as San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general. “As a prosecutor, she put murderers and abusers behind bars. As California’s attorney general, she went after the big banks and won $20 billion for homeowners,” the narrator in the spot says. And pointing to her three and a half years as vice president, the narrator spotlights that Harris “took on the big drug companies to cap the cost of insulin for seniors. Because Kamala Harris has always known who she represents.” WATCH: NEW TRUMP INTERVIEW ON FOX NEWS’ ‘THE INGRAHAM ANGLE’ Trump’s ad – part of the Republican presidential nominee’s first major ad buy since the beginning of the year during the GOP primaries – targets Harris for being weak on border security, which along with crime is a leading issue on the minds of American voters. “She’s failed us. Under Harris, over 10 million illegally here. A quarter of a million Americans dead from fentanyl. Brutal migrant crimes. And ISIS – now here,” the narrator argues. HOW LONG WILL THE HARRIS ‘HONEYMOON’ IN THE POLLS LAST? The ad includes a clip of Harris’ well-watched and widely criticized interview in 2021 with NBC News in which she pushed back against a question about whether she had visited the nation’s southern border with Mexico. “Kamala Harris. failed, weak, dangerously liberal,” the narrator charges. Trump’s campaign says it will spend over $12 million to run the ad for the next two weeks in the key battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. It amplifies Trump and his campaign’s attacks on Harris over the past week over the surge of migrants over the nation’s southern border during the Biden administration. Harris was tasked by Biden in 2021 with leading the diplomatic outreach to tackle the “root causes” of migration in Central American countries. It led to her being dubbed the “border czar” both by the media and Republican opponents, although the White House has rejected that description. WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING IN THE KEY BATTLEGROUNDS SHOWS The former president’s campaign comes as two pro-Trump super PACs, MAGA Inc. and Preserve America, are running multimillion-dollar ad blitzes that also criticize Harris over border security. The Harris campaign says its first TV commercial – which uses clips from her first rally last week, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin – is part of a $50 million ad buy on local and national broadcast TV, cable, streaming and social channels, ahead of the Democratic National Convention, which kicks off Aug. 19 in Chicago. The narrator in the Harris spot claims that “Donald Trump wants to take our country backward,” which appears to be a move by the 59-year-old vice president to spotlight the 78-year-old Trump’s age. HARRIS SHOWCASES ‘RECORD-BREAKING’ FUNDRAISING Biden’s blockbuster announcement nine days ago came amid mounting pressure from within the Democratic Party for him to drop out after a disastrous performance in last month’s first presidential debate with Trump. The 81-year-old Biden’s halting and stumbling delivery fueled questions about his physical and mental abilities to serve another four years in the White House. But Biden’s immediate backing of Harris ignited a surge of endorsements for the vice president by Democratic governors, senators, House members and other party leaders. Within 36 hours, Harris announced that she had locked up her party’s nomination by landing the verbal backing of a majority of the nearly 4,000 convention delegates. The switch at the top of the Democratic Party ticket upended the presidential race, which was a rematch between two candidates who were extremely well known to Americans. But the vice president is not nearly as well known to voters, and both the Harris and Trump campaigns are aiming to be the first to define her. “Kamala Harris has always stood up to bullies, criminals and special interests on behalf of the American people – and she’s beaten them,” Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a statement accompanying the ad’s release. For over a week, Harris has been pointing to her hefty law enforcement résumé as she spotlights Trump’s numerous legal controversies, including his 34 felony convictions two months ago in the first criminal trial of a former or current president. “As many of you know, before I was elected as vice president, before I was elected as a United States senator, I was the elected attorney general of California. Before that, I was a courtroom prosecutor. In those roles, I took on perpetrators of all kinds,” Harris said at a campaign event last week. “Predators who abused women, fraudsters who ripped off consumers, cheaters who broke the rules for their own gain. So, hear me when I say I know Donald Trump’s type,” she emphasized as she pointed to Trump’s multiple lawsuits and criminal cases, many of which are ongoing. Trump pushed back at a rally last week in Charlotte, North Carolina. “I don’t think people are going to buy it.” Trump emphasized, as he argued that the vice president “was one of the worst prosecutors in history” and that “she destroyed San Francisco.” And in an interview Monday on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle,” the former president reiterated his charge that Harris is far more liberal than Biden. Longtime Republican consultant David Kochel emphasized that both the Trump and Harris campaigns are “in a race to define” the vice president and that most Americans “know so little about her record… It’s go-time for both sides.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub. Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to
Former VP contenders Rubio, Burgum in running for Trump admin secretary of state: report
Former President Trump is floating names to fill top positions in his Cabinet should he win a second term in November. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Gov. Doug Burgum, R-N.D., two of Trump’s former top candidates for vice president, are reportedly both being considered for secretary of state, Trump sources told Axios. Burgum was also noted as a potential contender for energy secretary. According to the report, Sens. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., are also in the running for secretary of state. ELON MUSK BLASTS GOOGLE OVER OMISSION OF TRUMP ASSASSINATION SEARCH SUGGESTIONS Several other people close to Trump are reportedly being considered for positions in a potential Cabinet. Top Trump adviser Susie Wiles is reportedly a top candidate for chief of staff. However, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is also a contender for the role. THE ‘WEIRD’ CAMPAIGN: THE STUNNING DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HARRIS AND VANCE COVERAGE Trump 2024 senior campaign adviser Chris LaCivita could see a counselor or senior adviser role. Stephen Miller, who previously served in the White House and currently works as senior adviser to the former president, could reportedly be considered for a counselor or senior adviser position. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, is reportedly a contender for treasury secretary, while Ric Grenell, former acting director of U.S. national intelligence, is being considered for national security adviser. Trump has not yet confirmed any of the Cabinet appointments for a second administration if he wins the upcoming 2024 election.
Wayanad landslide: Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin announces Rs 5 crore aid to Kerala
A 20-member State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) team, a 10-member medical team, and 20 firefighters led by a deputy director formed the rescue squad. The rescue units are on their way to Wayanad.
Why Not Evade Crypto Taxes in India?
Handling your crypto taxes might not be the most thrilling part of trading, but it’s essential for staying within the law.
Kamala Harris’ treatment of staff under scrutiny as reports of poor office culture resurface
Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is raising concerns about Vice President Kamala Harris’ documented struggles with retaining staff, telling Fox News that “nobody lasts very long” while working for her and that “how she treats people around her is a real indication of what she’ll do in the future.” McCarthy made the comments during an appearance on “Life, Liberty & Levin” this week, when he said, “Nobody lasts very long. Even as VP, when she didn’t do anything, she could not keep staff. That is a person that the press will never talk about… How she treats people around her is a real indication of what she’ll do in the future.” He said, “It is known in California, and it’s known in Washington. It is a heroic work environment if you work for her.” McCarthy also said, “When she got elected to the U.S. Senate, I was the Majority Leader. I reached out to meet with her. Not once would she meet with me. If I talked to the Democrats inside the California delegation, they didn’t care for her because she would not meet.” HARRIS NOW BACKING AWAY FROM SEVERAL FAR-LEFT STANCES SHE ONCE PROMOTED The former California House Republican’s remarks come after OpenTheBooks.com, which describes itself as a “government watchdog organization,” reported last week that Harris is experiencing a 91.5% staff turnover rate within the Office of the Vice President. The organization, citing payroll records, says as of March 31, 2024, only four of the initial 47 staffers employed during Harris’ first year as vice president in 2021 are still working for her without interruption. In the year leading up to that date, 24 of her staffers quit, it added. Harris reportedly has 50 staff working for her right now. BIDEN GIVES 4-WORD ANSWER ON WHEN HE’LL CAMPAIGN FOR HARRIS Overall, Harris’ staff turnover rate of nearly 92% surpasses President Biden’s rate of 77% and former President Trump’s rate of 72% during the first to fourth years of their terms, according to OpenTheBooks.com. Since 2021, 127 of Biden’s initial 560 White House staff are still with him, it also said. “It’s always been a problem,” one former Harris aide was quoted telling The Hill in 2022. “You have to have your people around you.” “Politics is about relationships and the relationships with the people around you,” added another former staffer. “I think there’s a lot of improvement needed there.” Years earlier, the father of a former intern for then-California Attorney General Harris wrote an op-ed for The Union newspaper in which he said his son, Gregory, had an “eye-opening experience” working for her that “none of us expected.” “Senator Harris vocally throws around ‘F-bombs’ and other profanity constantly in her berating of staff and others. The staff is in complete fear of her and she uses her profanity throughout the day,” Terry McAteer wrote. “As Attorney General, Senator Harris instructed her entire staff to stand every morning as she entered the office and say, ‘Good Morning General,’” he added, mentioning how “Gregory was also given instructions to never address Harris nor look her in the eye as that privilege was only allowed to senior staff members.” The Harris campaign did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
‘We just tell the truth’: VP Harris’ longtime mentor repeatedly defended controversial Obama pastor
Vice President Kamala Harris’ pastor and longtime mentor repeatedly defended former President Obama’s controversial pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, when his past sermons sparked a firestorm of controversy during the 2008 presidential campaign, a Fox News Digital review found. Rev. Amos Brown, the longtime minister of San Francisco’s Third Baptist Church, and Wright were reportedly “friends” and attended the same graduate ministry school together in Dayton, Ohio, according to a March 2008 San Francisco Chronicle article profiling Brown’s sermon. The article went on to say Brown even has a photo of Wright in his church office. “On Sunday, he told a packed church that the criticisms being hurled at Obama for his close ties to Wright are part of a conspiracy aimed at damaging the candidate on the issue of religion because there’s not another negative issue out there that has tarnished his reputation,” the article said. “What you are seeing happening to Barack Obama was hatched, crafted and developed a year ago when you were sleeping,” Brown reportedly said during the sermon. “This kind of nonsense does not just happen.” ‘VOICE OF LEADERSHIP’: HARRIS HAS REPEATEDLY PRAISED HER PASTOR WHO BLAMED AMERICA FOR 9/11 Brown, who said he has known Harris and her family for more than two decades and was one of Harris’ guests to attend her inauguration in 2021, could be a major liability for her campaign as his past sermons and ties to Wright start to surface. Harris previously praised Brown for being “on this journey with me every step of the way.” In an April 2008 op-ed for SFGate, Brown defended Wright and claimed that the soundbites from Wright’s previous sermons were being “mischaracterize[d]” by the media. He responded to the San Francisco Chronicle piece by saying the reporter characterized his and Wright’s style of preaching as similar, but Brown rejected the description of their tone as “fiery.” “As regards to Wright’s and my style of preaching; we are not angry; we are not inflammatory; we just tell the truth with passion and enthusiasm,” Brown said. “And we will not be silent when persons mischaracterize our witness as anger.” “If White preachers – Billy Graham, Pat Robinson, Jerry Falwell and others – can exercise their freedoms, and sometimes say the wrong things – as the facts document – we should be able to say the right things on the behalf of social justice and peace, and not be demonized by detractors,” he added. Wright previously blamed Jews in 2009 for keeping him from talking with Obama after he won the White House. He has also made a number of other inflammatory remarks, including when he said after 9/11 that “America’s chickens are coming home to roost.” Obama would go on to distance himself from Wright during the 2008 campaign, saying he was “outraged” and “saddened” by Wright’s words and resigned his membership at the church in May 2008. FLASHBACK: HARRIS COMPARED ICE TO KKK, SAID IMAGES OF BORDER PATROL AGENTS ‘EVOKED SLAVERY’ The following year, months after Obama was sworn in as president, Wright was invited by Brown to speak at his church, where Brown has been the pastor since 1976. Wright was reportedly “one of several featured speakers as part of a celebration of the church’s 33rd anniversary under Brown’s leadership” and gave a “half-hour, high-energy sermon, sprinkled with spontaneous songs, jokes and impersonations.” Brown, who previously broadcast an entire Wright sermon before his congregation during the presidential campaign in an attempt to prove Wright was being taken out of context, defended Wright’s participation in his church’s anniversary event honoring him, saying, “That is part of the spiritual DNA of this church, to lend clarity and context to important public policy issues.” In addition to the 2009 visit, Wright visited Brown’s church at least two other times, in 2010 and 2012. In September 2010, Wright visited multiple churches between Oakland and San Francisco, including Brown’s Third Baptist Church. In December 2012, Brown posted on his Facebook that “in the wake of last week’s atrocious tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut,” his church would be doing a service focused on peace and ending violence in America. VICTIM OF BRUTAL 2008 ILLEGAL MIGRANT ATTACK SPEAKS OUT ABOUT HARRIS’ RECORD AS PROSECUTOR “The entire Bay area community is invited to join in this worship experience which will feature President Obama’s former pastor, Dr. Jeremiah Wright, D.Min, Pastor Emeritus of Trinity United Methodist Church, Chicago, Illinois, as the guest preacher,” the Facebook post said. “Other special guests include legendary actor and activist Danny Glover.” Harris has repeatedly praised Brown, who previously sparked his own controversy by blaming America for 9/11 days after the terrorist attacks during a memorial service, and has given him multiple shoutouts during speeches as the vice president. “I just want to, if you don’t mind for a moment, take a moment of personal privilege to talk about Dr. Brown. He has been on this journey with me every step of the way, from when I first thought about running for public office almost two decades ago,” Harris said in 2022 during the NAACP National Convention. “And he has been such a voice of leadership, more leadership, and leadership in our nation. And so I want to thank you, Dr. Brown, for all that you are – all that you are.” During the annual session of the National Baptist Convention, USA in 2022, Harris reflected on her longtime friendship with Brown. “For two decades now, at least, I have turned to you,” Harris said. “I have turned to him. And I will say that your wisdom has really guided me and grounded me during some of the most difficult times. And – and you have been a source of inspiration to me always. So thank you, Rev. Brown, for being all that you are.” “It is always an honor to spend time with my pastor, Rev. Dr. Amos Brown of the Third Baptist Church of San Francisco,” Harris said in a 2023 Instagram photo caption of her and Brown embracing.