Texas teachers stand behind Kamala Harris after years of feeling targeted, neglected by Republicans
At a gathering for teachers in Houston, educators saw Harris as a potential ally at a time when conservatives push for changes in Texas classrooms.
Texas sues Biden administration over confidential contraception for teens
Federal clinics in Texas are already required to get parental permission to prescribe birth control after a 2022 court ruling.
California Senate Republicans blast Newsom ‘PR stunt’ clearing homeless camps: ‘convenient timing’
California Senate Republicans are calling out Gov. Gavin Newsom for what they say is a “PR stunt,” after he announced a new initiative to dismantle homeless encampments across the state through an executive order. The Republicans ripped Newsom in a press release after he announced the initiative Thursday. His office said the governor has ordered “state agencies and departments to adopt clear policies that urgently address homeless encampments while respecting the dignity and well-being of all Californians.” “It’s about damn time! Letting people live and die on the streets or in our parks is unsafe and unsanitary,” said Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones, R-San Diego. “I introduced a proposal earlier this year that would have provided even greater and more immediate solutions. While I am cautiously optimistic that the governor has finally taken note of the urgency of this problem, albeit many years later than needed, Californians deserve government for the people, not the PR hits.” GOV NEWSOM ORDERS HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS TORN DOWN ACROSS CALIFORNIA: ‘NO MORE EXCUSES’ Senate Bill 1011, introduced by Jones and all Senate Republicans in February, was a bipartisan effort that would have gone even further in clearing homeless encampments but was rejected by Democrats in the Senate Committee on Public Safety. Senate Republicans have introduced a number of bills in recent years to address the rampant and growing California homeless crisis but have been largely met with resistance from Newsom and Democrats. “Homelessness is one of the biggest challenges we face today, and it is imperative we take swift, decisive and effective action to address it,” said Sen. Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks. “This executive order is a good step, but it will require significant follow-through to ensure its effectiveness.” The statement from Newsom’s office said the executive order “directs state agencies and departments to adopt humane and dignified policies to urgently address encampments on state property, including by taking necessary and deliberate steps to notify and support the people inhabiting the encampment prior to removal.” The governor claims this initiative was prompted by the Supreme Court’s decision in Grants Pass v. Johnson last month, which found laws restricting sleeping in public areas did not violate the constitutional restriction against “cruel and unusual punishment.” MASSIVE CALIFORNIA RESIDENTIAL TOWER TO OFFER HOMELESS PRIVATE ROOMS, GYM, CAFE AND MORE AMENITIES “The state has been hard at work to address this crisis on our streets,” Newsom said. “There are simply no more excuses. It’s time for everyone to do their part.” The order is expected to affect tens of thousands of homeless Californians who have set up long-term encampments and occupied entire city blocks with open-air drug use. “Big promises. No action. Blame locals. No press. Rinse and repeat,” GOP Assembly Leader James Gallagher wrote in response to Newsom’s order in a post on X. CALIFORNIA GOP LEADERS CALL FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AFTER STATE CAN’T ACCOUNT FOR $24B SPENT ON HOMELESS CRISIS In April, California GOP leaders called for more accountability after an audit indicated the state spent around $24 billion to tackle the homeless crisis over the past five years but did not consistently track whether the huge outlay of public money did anything to actually improve the problem. A state auditor’s report found that despite roughly $24 billion spent on homeless and housing programs during the 2018-2023 fiscal years, the problem didn’t improve in many cities. According to a report from the Public Policy Institute of California, the 2023 Point-in-time (PIT) count released in December estimated that more than 180,000 people were homeless in California, up 6% from the previous count. Fox News Digital’s Timothy Nerozzi and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
How VP Harris is narrowing down her list of vice presidential candidates 2 weeks before DNC: report
Presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris is reportedly working with a specific short list of candidates to choose her vice presidential pick in the next two weeks before the Democratic National Convention. Harris’ list of potential running mates, according to NBC News, was whittled down to Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, governors Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania and Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. “You need someone who’s moderate, obviously, a white male, and I would say she needs someone from a border state,” Ashley Etienne, a former Harris communications director, told NBC News. “I think her choosing a white male counterbalances her race and her gender in a way that could open her up to peeling off many of those Nikki Haley voters, those disaffected Republicans, independents. And I think it rounds off the ticket in a way that I think feels fresh, feels also forward, but also feels fully aware of where we are as a nation.” TOP JEWISH GROUP FEARS A HARRIS PRESIDENCY WOULD BE ‘FAR WORSE’ AMID RISING ANTISEMITISM NBC reported the Harris campaign is hoping to find a candidate who will appeal to the demographics that Biden was strongest with, including older white voters and suburban women. Additionally, the campaign reportedly wants a candidate who appeals to white men who aren’t fans of Trump but are skeptical about Harris. If Harris ends up deciding against choosing a white male, NBC News reported Cedric Richmond, a former Biden adviser and Louisiana congressman, has also been floated as a possible running mate. Many had speculated Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and California Gov. Gavin Newsom would also be considered, but both have withdrawn their names from consideration. RACHEL MORIN’S MOM CALLS OUT BIDEN ADMIN ON BORDER AS KAMALA HARRIS KICKS OFF CAMPAIGN: ‘GOING TO GET WORSE’ “I think it’s Mark Kelly if I had to bet,” Etienne said. Arizona Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, who is running for Senate in Arizona, said Wednesday Kelly would give Harris a “jolt” if she chose him for vice president. Kelly’s Democratic colleagues in the Senate have spoken highly of him. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., the party’s 2016 vice presidential nominee, told NBC News Kelly would be a “superb” choice for Harris. Hailing from the key battleground state of Arizona, Kelly could assist Harris in locking up western states and provide credibility on the border, which he has said is in “crisis.” He has a compelling life story and career, being a former Navy pilot and astronaut. His parents were both police officers, which could help Democrats dodge GOP attacks for being too soft on crime. Kelly is married to former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., who was shot during a campaign event with constituents in 2011. He cared for her throughout her recovery and continues to do so. Both are leading advocates of gun control reforms. A top Democratic Party donor told NBC News Biden is “happy as a clam” to have Harris at the top of the ticket. “Vice President Harris has directed her team to begin the process of vetting potential running mates,” a Harris campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “That process has begun in earnest, and we do not expect to have additional updates until the vice president announces who will be serving as her running mate and as the next vice president of the United States.” Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report
Biden jokes he was ’12’ when he first met Israeli PM Golda Meir during Netanyahu visit at White House
While meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office on Thursday, President Biden joked that he has known leaders from the Jewish state as far back as his childhood. “Mr. President,” Netanyahu said at the start of the meeting, “we’ve known each other for 40 years. And you’ve known every Israeli prime minister for 50 years from Golda Meir. So, from a proud Jewish Zionist to a proud Irish-American Zionist, I want to thank you for 50 years of public service and 50 years of support for the State of Israel. And I look forward to discussing with you today and working with you in the months ahead on the great issues before us.” Biden answered, “I look forward to as well. By the way, that first meeting with Prime Minister Golda Meir, she had an assistant sitting next to me, a guy named Rabin. That’s how far back it goes. I was only 12 then. Anyway, thank you all for being here.” Biden was referring to Yitzhak Rabin, who served as prime minister of Israel from 1974-1977 and again from 1992 until he was assassinated in 1995. ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS DESCEND ON WHITE HOUSE AS BIDEN MEETS WITH NETANYAHU Biden actually met with Meir and Rabin in 1973 when he was a 30-year-old senator, a story he’s told frequently, three years ago incorrectly claiming he was a “liaison” between Israel and Egypt during the Six-Day War, which occurred in 1967 when he was still in law school. “I have known every, every prime minister well since Golda Meir, including Golda Meir,” Biden said during a menorah lighting in 2021. “And during the Six-Day War, I had an opportunity to, she invited me to come over because I was going to be the liaison between she and the Egyptians about the Suez.” He actually met with Meir just prior to the October 1973 Yom Kippur War. He added at the time: “And I sat in front of her desk,” he continued. “And she had a guy, her staff member, to my right. His name was Rabin. And she kept flipping those maps up and down. She had that bevy of maps, sort of kept it, and it was, it was so depressing what she was, about what happened. She gave me every detail.” Biden’s team confirmed to Fox News Digital on Thursday that he was joking about his age. Both leaders ignored reporters’ shouted questions about a potential cease-fire and the anti-Israel protests after the brief meeting. Netanyahu’s address to Congress on Wednesday tipped off anti-Israel protests in the capital, with some marching through the streets shouting “Free Palestine” and others waving Hamas flags, burning the American flag and painting graffiti. A Christopher Columbus statue outside Union Station was tagged with the warning: “Hamas is coming.” Netanyahu slammed the demonstrators during his address, calling them “Iran’s useful idiots.” HARRIS BOYCOTTS NETANYAHU, SNUBS ISRAELI LEADER’S WARTIME ADDRESS TO GIVE SORORITY SPEECH “I have a message for these protesters. When the tyrants of Tehran, who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair, are praising, promoting and funding you, you have officially become Iran’s useful idiots,” Netanyahu said. He added, “Some of these protesters hold up signs proclaiming ‘Gays for Gaza.’ They might as well hold up signs saying ‘Chickens for KFC.’ These protesters chant ‘From the river to the sea.’ But many don’t have a clue what river and what sea they’re talking about.” He addressed a nearly full House chamber, which included members of Congress and special guests like freed Israeli hostages who were taken by Hamas on Oct. 7 and billionaire Elon Musk, among others. Among those in the chamber was Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., Israel’s harshest critic in the House of Representatives. Tlaib has called for Netanyahu to be arrested by the International Criminal Court (ICC). She staged a silent protest for much of his speech, holding a double-sided sign that read “guilty of genocide” on one side and “war criminal” on the other. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Biden administration is also planning to discuss a cease-fire between Israel and Gaza as the war continues following Hamas’ unprovoked attack on Israel last October. Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo, Elizabeth Elkind and Julia Johnson contributed to this report.
Fox News Politics: The ‘Border Czar’ Six
Welcome to the Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington, D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. Here’s what’s happening… – Harris finally responds to pro-Hamas protests in DC… – Videos show what emergency responders found on Trump shooter’s body – Harris campaign is reportedly vetting a dozen VP prospects… The House of Representatives voted along bipartisan lines to condemn Vice President Kamala Harris’ handling of the U.S.’ southern border, the first piece of legislation targeting Harris since she became the Democrats’ presumptive 2024 nominee. Six Democrats joined all House Republicans in voting for the measure, which passed 220-196. The House Democrats who voted for the resolution are Reps. Jared Golden, D-Maine; Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash.; Mary Peltola, D-Alaska; Henry Cuellar, D-Texas; Don Davis, D-N.C.; and Yadira Caraveo, D-Colo. For years, Republicans have accused Harris of failing her job as “border czar” after President Biden handed her the task of mitigating the “root causes” of illegal immigration in 2021. It’s quickly becoming the cornerstone of GOP-led attacks against Harris as she gears up for an expected head-to-head race with former President Trump. But the six moderate Democrats who voted to condemn Harris amount to a scathing rebuke of their party’s likely presidential candidate — despite dozens of left-wing lawmakers rushing to endorse her…Read more KEEP ALERT: Global adversaries watching ‘tenuous’ Biden White House following president’s address: expert …Read more EXIT EXPLANATION: Five key takeaways of Biden’s address to the nation from the Oval Office …Read more ‘ABSOLUTELY NOTHING’: Political insiders foresee lackluster time period for Biden’s last months in White House …Read more WHEN DID SHE KNOW IT: Harris’ office mum on when exactly she learned Biden was dropping out …Read more ‘HORRIBLE IMAGES’: Dem senator scrambles to condemn pro-Hamas agitators hours after attacking Netanyahu’s rhetoric on them …Read more BETTER LATE THAN NEVER: Harris finally releases statement day after anti-Israel unrest, flag-burning …Read more RAISING THE FLAG: House Republicans replace American flags at Union Station taken down in anti-Israel protests …Read more ‘FREE HATE’: ‘Woke’ political, college leaders set the stage for chaotic pro-Hamas protests: lawmaker …Read more WEAPON SALE: FBI reveals how Thomas Crooks obtained gun used in attempted Trump assassination …Read more ‘NO MORE EVADING’: Senator introduces bill to declassify key information about attempted Trump assassination …Read more BLAME GAME: Local DA refutes state police claim about local officers at Trump shooting …Read more SEE IT: Video shows what emergency responders found on Thomas Crooks’ body …Read more DRONE FOOTAGE: New images show sight line Trump shooter used to open fire on rally …Read more ‘OUTRAGEOUS’: Trump shooting post linked to FBI under investigation …Read more ‘JOLT’: Arizona Senate candidate throws support behind potential Harris VP nominee …Read more ‘MAKING IT UP’: Hakeem Jeffries accuses Republicans of ‘making up’ Harris ‘border czar’ title …Read more ‘WAS SHE?’: House Dem dodges with another bizarre response when asked to defend Harris’ border record …Read more NUMBER 2: Harris campaign vetting approximately a dozen possible running mates: report …Read more NEW BOOK: Trump’s ‘Save America’ book to highlight ‘great success’ the US ‘will have again’ if he’s re-elected …Read more ‘WE’RE WATCHING’: New group paying whistleblowers to find election issues makes first big payout …Read more UP TO YOU, AMERICA: Biden says voters will decide between Trump and his opponent …Read more ‘FLAGRANT’ VIOLATION: Republican AGs warn Biden official of Hatch Act breach with student loan handout comments …Read more ‘BAILING OUT BAD GUYS’: Blue city cops say Kamala Harris ‘helped’ killers and rapists, warn of ‘disaster’ if she becomes president …Read more ‘NO MORE EXCUSES’: Newsom orders California officials to begin dismantling homeless encampments …Read more Subscribe now to get Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Republicans dominate airwaves as Harris seeks comeback in polls, but Dems aren’t worried
Less than a week since becoming the presumptive Democratic Party nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris is facing a tidal wave of GOP attack ads as she enters the spotlight in the presidential race and while she is benefiting from a massive surge in “earned” media. The Associated Press reports that former President Trump and his allies are outspending Harris’ campaign 25-1 on TV and radio advertising. Republicans have spent more than $68 million, compared to $2.6 million by Democrats since Monday, according to the media tracking firm AdImpact. Top topics include the ongoing border crisis and inflation, as well as her record that critics have presented as extremely left-wing. Meanwhile, Harris has earned a flood of media coverage since President Biden announced Sunday that he would not stand for re-election and endorsed Harris as his successor. The Trump campaign has dubbed it a “Harris honeymoon” and predicted a polling boost for the former California senator. KAMALA HARRIS VETTING LIST OF POSSIBLE RUNNING MATES WITH 4 STAND OUTS: REPORT But the Harris campaign is not worried about the flood coming from the Republicans, “We’re working to get up ads as quickly as we can (though it’s only been three days) and in the meantime she’s dominating earned media,” a campaign official told Politico. “I think it’s lighting your money on fire to do ads when you’re getting the best and most earned media of the cycle,” Clinton veteran Nick Merrill told the outlet. That outlet reported that filmmakers were at Harris’ rally in Wisconsin on Tuesday to catch footage for a digital-only ad. KEY ENDORSEMENTS POUR IN FOR KAMALA HARRIS AS VP SELECTION NEARS Meanwhile, the AP reported that the Harris campaign has raised a massive $100 million between Sunday and Monday afternoon, and can launch a robust advertising campaign whenever it wants to. Harris spokesperson Kevin Munoz told the AP that the vice president “will make her case aggressively alongside a campaign infrastructure designed to win close elections.” BIDEN SAYS ‘THE CHOICE IS UP TO YOU, THE AMERICAN PEOPLE,’ WHILE SAYING HE WON’T SEEK RE-ELECTION “In just 24 hours, Kamala Harris put abortion rights front and center for voters, broke fundraising records, and spun Donald Trump out into a manic and public breakdown — because he knows she is best-equipped to prosecute the case against a convicted felon like himself,” he said. Democratic-backed ads are set to fire up soon too. While there’s only about $2.6 million in ads through the end of August, according to AdImpact, the pro-Biden super PAC Future Forward will roll out a $129 million ad campaign in September. But the Trump campaign still has more coming. The pro-Trump Preserve America Super PAC has booked $45 million in ads through the end of August, while MAGA Inc. has booked another $23 million. Meanwhile, Harris and Trump are locked in an extremely close contest, according to a new national poll conducted entirely after Biden announced that he was suspending his campaign and endorsing his vice president. Trump stands at 46% support among registered voters in an NPR/PBS News/Marist Poll. Harris stood at 45% support. Trump’s one point edge is well within the survey’s sampling error. Nine percent of those questioned were undecided. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Harris’ shift from tough-on-crime prosecutor to social justice advocate faces scrutiny from conservative group
Vice President Kamala Harris’ checkered prosecution record during her tenure as California attorney general is resurfacing as her bid for the White House heats up. From locking up parents whose children had chronically missed school to supporting a bail fund that let violent Black Lives Matter rioters out of jail in 2020, Harris’ approach to criminal justice is facing fresh scrutiny. America First Legal (AFL), a nonprofit conservative legal watchdog group, launched seven investigations into Harris’ prosecutorial background Thursday afternoon, alleging that Harris “has proven to be the most radically progressive Vice President in American history.” “A lot of her tough on crime reputation goes to her prosecution when she was San Francisco DA, individuals who use marijuana and other sorts of things,” Dan Epstein, president of AFL told Fox News Digital. “Our investigation, however, makes it very clear that Kamala Harris does not believe much in terms of statutes passed by legislatures, including the Federal United States, Congress, as well as the state of California.” IT’S A MARGIN OF ERROR RACE BETWEEN TRUMP AND HARRIS Through public records requests to the California Attorney General’s Office, AFL is investigating Harris for failure to comply with federal donor privacy laws; failure to enforce federal immigration laws; failure to pursue equal justice; failure to disclose conflicts of interest; failure to address evidence of misconduct; the nature of probes by the California Fair Practices Commission; and potential cover-up of misconduct evidence. “And so those are really our probes of her not following the rule of law and bending it for a political objective,” Epstein said. “We also probe numerous kind of potential ethics issues and failures to disclose conflicts of interest, allowing her own staff as attorney general to engage in fraud and not kind of overseeing that.” Early in her legal career, Harris dated California Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, who reportedly helped her secure influential positions at the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and the California Medical Assistance Commission. AFL is now investigating whether Harris received undue political favoritism and whether she properly recused herself or disclosed conflicts of interest. HARRIS BREAKS FUNDRAISING RECORDS SINCE BIDEN DROPPED OUT OF 2024 RACE During her 2020 presidential campaign, which she launched in January 2019, Harris faced significant criticism over her prosecutorial record. Opponents of tough-on-crime prosecutions argue it disproportionately affects low-income families and minorities, further entrenching them in the prison system. One of the most criticized aspects of Harris’ record was her handling of school truancy cases. Harris supported a truancy law, passed in 2011, that allowed district attorneys to charge parents with a misdemeanor if their children were chronically absent during the school year without a valid reason. In 2019, Molly Redden of HuffPost reported how the truancy program affected some families in her article, “The Human Costs Of Kamala Harris’ War On Truancy.” Among those impacted was Cheree Peoples, an African American mother arrested in April 2013 after her child had missed 20 days of school. ABORTION, ‘FREE’ EDUCATION AMONG TOP ISSUES FOR HARRIS VOTERS Harris later walked back her crackdown on truancies in a 2019 podcast, saying it “never was the intention” to criminalize parents and describing the California law as one with “unintended consequences,” Politico reported at the time. She also faced accusations of being too harsh on low-level drug offenders during her time as San Francisco’s district attorney and later as the state’s attorney general. Liberal critics argued that her policies contributed to mass incarceration of Black men rather than focusing on rehabilitation and criminal justice reform. But in June 2020, Harris promoted the bail fund that helped bail Black Lives Matter rioters out of jail, but only a fraction of the more than $41 million actually went to freeing rioters. As of Monday night, the website was running and accepting donations. Meanwhile, some Democrats are framing a potential Harris-Trump matchup as the “Prosecutor vs. the Felon,” in light of former President Trump’s recent court cases. “It’s fairly clear that nobody disagrees, nobody disagrees that Trump is a felon because of political prosecution,” Epstein said. “And if the standard for Kamala Harris is that the process that led to Donald Trump being convicted is one of justice and one that she follows, then logically, it means that she is a political prosecutor, not a fair honest broker.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub. Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
CenterPoint CEO promises improvements as Texas scrutinizes company’s Beryl response
Jason Wells told regulators the company will launch a new outage tracker by Aug. 1. It will also trim more tree limbs near power lines and hire an executive to focus on emergency response.
Harris edging Trump in new poll conducted after Biden’s withdrawal
Vice President Kamala Harris is edging former President Donald Trump in a hypothetical general election match-up, according to a new poll conducted after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race. The New York Times/Siena College released a new survey that found that Trump leads Harris by only one percentage point among likely voters, 48% to 47%. Among registered voters, Trump led Harris by two percentage points. The new results reveal a tightening of the race since Democrats changed their nominee when compared to a New York Times poll in July that found Trump was leading Biden by 6 points. HAVE BATTLEGROUNDS SHIFTED WITH HARRIS AT TOP OF TICKET? Harris secured a 10-point lead over Trump among voters 45 and younger, a key demographic that the Republican nominee was previously leading in, according to NYT polling just three weeks earlier. FLASHBACK: SEE HOW KAMALA HARRIS ANSWERED WHEN SHE WAS CONFRONTED IN 2020 AS ‘THE MOST LIBERAL SENATOR’ According to the survey, about 79% of Democratic or Democratic-leaning voters want Harris to be the party nominee after Biden’s withdrawal from the race, while 27% think Democrats should have a competitive process to select a new nominee. About 87% of respondents said they either somewhat or strongly approve of Biden’s decision to drop out of the race. Additionally, 45% of respondents say that they do not approve of the job Biden is currently doing as president. The New York Times/Siene College poll was conducted from July 22 to 24 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.