California Gov. Newsom’s team considering ways to help illegal immigrants ahead of second Trump admin: report
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is reportedly considering a plan to help illegal immigrants and their families threatened by president-elect Trump’s mass deportation plan. A draft of the plan obtained by POLITICO, titled “Immigrant Support Network Concept,” proposes the creation of an Immigrant Support Network comprised of regional hubs to “connect at-risk individuals, their families, and communities with community systems — such as legal services, schools, labor unions, local governments, etc.” Fox News Digital has reached out to Trump’s representatives. Newsom’s office told Fox News Digital that the draft was prepared by the California Department of Social Services and has not yet been reviewed in Sacramento. CHILD RAPE AND VIOLENT INCIDENTS REPORTED AT MASSACHUSETTS MIGRANT SHELTERS, FORMER FACILITY DIRECTOR SAYS “This document is an internal and deliberative draft document meant for internal discussions as part of a number of possible considerations given the incoming federal administration’s public remarks,” Scott Murray, the Deputy Director, Public Affairs and Outreach Programs for the Department of Social Services, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “It is not a final proposal.” The draft is part of an effort by California leaders to prepare for a second Trump administration. After Trump was elected, Newsom called a special legislative session and talked of a $25 million “Trump-proof” legal defense fund. In addition, state lawmakers were lobbying for additional funds. Senate Budget Chair Scott Wiener proposed legislation seeking $60 million, including funds to create an immigrant detention representation and coordination program, Politico reported. DEM GOVERNOR THREATENS TO USE ‘EVERY TOOL’ TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST TRUMP-ERA DEPORTATIONS Under the draft, the state Social Services Department would give state funds to eligible nonprofits and take on administrative duties for the hubs. The draft does not indicate how much funding the plan requires. However, it said the funds would go toward “community outreach, partnership, legal services staffing positions, and approved administrative costs associated with hub operations,” the Politico report said. California currently faces a $68 billion budget deficit, according to the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office. “The administration continues to collaborate with the Legislature to finalize a thoughtful special session funding proposal, which is on track to be signed into law before January 20, 2025,” department spokesperson Theresa Mier told the publication.
Fox News Politics Newsletter: Biden Vetoes Bill to Beef Up the Bench
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump transition, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content. **Please note the newsletter is going on a Christmas break through the rest of this week. It will return on Monday, Dec. 30.** Here’s what’s happening… – Biden signs defense bill despite ban on transgender treatment – Trump plans to rename Denali ruffles feathers – Former President Clinton discharged from hospital after being treated for flu President Biden on Monday vetoed a bill that would have added 66 federal district judgeships over a span of more than a decade, a once-bipartisan effort designed so that neither political party would have an advantage in molding the federal judiciary. Three presidential administrations, beginning with the incoming Trump administration, and six Congresses would have had the opportunity to appoint the new trial court judgeships, according to the legislation, which had support from organizations representing judges and attorneys. Despite arguments from the organizations that additional judgeships would help with cases that have seen serious delays in resolution and ease concerns over access to justice, the White House said that Biden would veto the bill. In a statement, Biden said he made his decision because the “hurried action” by the House of Representatives left open questions about “life-tenured” positions …Read More LAST MINUTE Biden signs defense bill despite ban on transgender treatment for military kids …Read more PEAK TENSION Trump plan to undo Obama’s ‘Denali’ rename ruffles feathers …Read more ‘WAR’ POSTURE NY Republican compares sanctuary states to the Confederacy …Read more ‘IMMINENT THREATS’ House lawmakers rally around funding Afghan visa program as Trump vows major spending cuts …Read more HOLDING THEM ACCOUNTABLE Top Dem committee chair reveals how party aims to win back majority during midterms …Read more TRUMP ON TRAIL Trump will be ‘very active on the campaign trail’ in 2026 midterms, Republican Party chair predicts …Read more BACK ON THE HORSE Governor Jim Pillen recovering from multiple injuries after being bucked from horse …Read more BOARDING CALL CA Dems urge feds to fund high-speed rail before DOGE …Read more HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS Bill Clinton discharged from hospital after being treated for flu …Read more BRING HIM HOME Rescue mission operator believes Marine veteran Austin Tice is alive, will be found soon …Read more ‘WARM HOSPITALITY’ University president has repeatedly cozied up to top CCP officials …Read more VOTER FRAUD ARREST PA woman allegedly registered dead father, others …Read more Get the latest updates on the Trump presidential transition, incoming Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Trump pledges to bring back federal executions after Biden commutes death sentences for 37 inmates
President-elect Trump on Monday pledged to seek the death penalty for certain federal criminal defendants, days after President Biden controversially commuted the death sentences for 37 inmates. Biden’s move to reclassify the death sentences to life without the possibility of parole was heavily criticized by Republicans and many Democrats. ‘SQUAD’ DEM APPLAUDS BIDEN FOR SPARING MURDERERS FROM ‘RACIST’ DEATH PENALTY IN 11TH-HOUR CLEMENCY MOVE “As soon as I am inaugurated, I will direct the Justice Department to vigorously pursue the death penalty to protect American families and children from violent rapists, murderers, and monsters,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. We will be a Nation of Law and Order again!” In his message announcing the move, the White House said Biden’s actions would prevent the incoming Trump administration from “carrying out the execution sentences that would not be handed down under current policy and practice.” BIDEN SETS RECORD WITH FIRST-TERM CLEMENCY GRANTS, HERE’S HOW OTHER PRESIDENTS RANK Only three men on federal death row failed to meet Biden’s requirements for having their sentences commuted. They are: Robert Bowers, the Tree of Life Synagogue shooter who killed 11 people in 2018; Dylann Roof, a White supremacist who killed nine Black parishioners at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015; and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who worked with his now-dead brother to carry out the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three people and injured hundreds. Trump spokesman Steven Chueng on Monday said Biden’s action was a “a slap in the face to the victims, their families, and their loved ones.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP During Trump’s first term, 13 federal prisoners were put to death, the most under any president in a century. Upon taking office in 2021, Biden declared a moratorium on federal executions.
PA woman charged with trying to register dead people, including own father, to vote
A Pennsylvania woman was arrested on felony forgery, public records tampering and voter registration-related charges based on allegations she tried to fraudulently register dead people, including her own father, to vote in the 2024 election. Jennifer Hill, from the Chester area, was arrested Thursday and accused of attempting to add four ineligible individuals to the voter rolls, including her late father. Delaware County’s Democratic district attorney, Jack Stollsteimer, said in public remarks that Hill used an app to register 324 people as a staffer for a group called the New Pennsylvania Project. Stollsteimer said the Pennsylvania Department of State makes the app available for legal voter registration drives. He said Hill successfully registered 181 people, but 129 other names – which he called a “big number” – were not successful. LIBERTY BELLWETHERS: FIVE COUNTIES IN PENNSYLVANIA TO WATCH ON ELECTION DAY “Literally what this woman did was to pad the numbers for her employment. She started registering people that were dead. One of them was her father.” Hill allegedly tried to register a second deceased individual, whom Stollsteimer said Hill knew was dead because they passed away in 2011 in the house she is currently living in. “She knows that because she was the person who called the police to come when he died in her house.” “She did register a fraudulent person,” Stollsteimer said, adding that particular registrant did not vote this year. The fake person’s identity was a portmanteau of her grandmother’s name and a different birthday, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. In addition, prosecutors charged an 84-year-old man named Philip Moss with voting both in Florida and by mail in Delaware County. PENNSYLVANIA’S AMISH: A KEY BUT HESITANT VOTING BLOC In a statement obtained by Fox News Digital, an executive at the New Pennsylvania Project called the allegations “heartbreaking” and said the group does not provide financial incentives or bonuses for additional voter registrations. “Our employees have no quota to meet, and hourly wages paid to part-time canvassing employees remain the same no matter the number of voter registration applications collected,” Kadida Kenner said. Kenner added that the Pennsylvania Department of State notified the group about potential issues with a canvasser and the person – believed to be Hill – was immediately suspended. “Due to the hard work of many individuals to prevent disruptive actions by bad actors, our voting rolls and elections are secure, and no fraudulent ballots were cast,” she said. “As a nonpartisan organization, our year-round voter registration efforts are not directed, in coordination, or aligned with any political party or candidate. Our registration efforts are not and will never be dictated by an election cycle,” Kenner went on. Of the nearly 10,000 applicants the group successfully canvassed for, 48% registered as Democrats, 34% as unaffiliated or third-party and 18% as Republicans. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Hill reportedly faces up to 10 counts for each of the four registrations that led to the indictment by prosecutors in Media. The Democratic-majority Philadelphia suburb was once more a “swing” county – often voting Democratic on the presidential level while electing state legislative Republicans like then-Senate leader Dominic Pileggi in the 2000s. But, “Delco,” as it is often called, along with neighboring Chester and Montgomery Counties, has swung heavily leftward in the age of Donald Trump. Vice President Kamala Harris won the county with 61% of the vote.
Syria rescue-mission operator believes Austin Tice is alive and will be found soon
A hostage rescue operator in Syria offered a glimmer of holiday hope in the case of a missing U.S. journalist, telling Fox News Digital he believes Austin Tice is alive and is hopeful that he will be found soon. While refusing to divulge sensitive details, Grey Bull Rescue’s Bryan Stern asserted that he has intelligence that leads him to believe the 43-year-old Marine veteran and reporter who was kidnapped in Syria in 2012 is alive, or at least was up until recently. “I would say 100%, I would bet that he is alive, or at least was as of two weeks ago,” Stern told Fox News Digital from his hotel room in Syria. “I would bet that he’s being cared for and tended to,” he went on. “I further submit that, he’s findable,” he went on. “We don’t recover dead bodies. Not to say that we wouldn’t, but we’re a nonprofit, we wouldn’t be putting resources toward that, freezing to death, missing my fourth Christmas with my family, if I didn’t believe he was alive and findable.” TRUMP COULD FACE RENEWED ISIS THREAT IN SYRIA AS TURKEY GOES AFTER US ALLY Stern has led high-level rescue missions in some of the most dangerous corners of the world, including Ukraine, Russia, Sudan, Israel, Haiti, Lebanon and the U.S. during natural disasters. “We have done 12 jailbreaks from Russia,” said Stern. “That is 12 more than the CIA.” The ousting of Bashar al-Assad and subsequent takeover of Syria by HTS has offered the Biden administration and Tice’s family a renewed sense of hope that the journalist could be found. “He could have died of a stomach bug three years ago. And we just don’t know. I don’t think that that’s the case,” said Stern. “I have no reason to believe that that’s the case. There’s not a single piece of information, circumstantial or otherwise, that indicate anything near that. In fact, everything I have is counter to that.” The Syrian government for more than a decade refused to negotiate the release of Tice, who was abducted while reporting on the uprising against the Assad regime during the early stages of the Syrian civil war, which ultimately ended earlier this month after the Syrian president was ousted and fled to Moscow. TRUMP SAYS TURKEY ‘DID AN UNFRIENDLY TAKEOVER’ IN SYRIA AS US-BROKERED CEASE-FIRE APPEARS TO FAIL The mood in Syria is “cautiously happy” after decades of brutal oppression, according to Stern, and while the new governing force HTS is “not standing in the way” of finding Tice, they’re more preoccupied with learning how to govern than assisting in the search efforts. The most likely scenario, according to Stern, is that Tice is being detained in a home in a neighborhood, looked after by Assad-friendly Alawites, the same branch of Islam as the former leader. Many of the country’s prisons have now been searched or emptied and he doesn’t believe President Vladimir Putin would hold Tice in Russia. “The relationship between Assad and Putin is significantly overblown. [Assad] has been there over two weeks and they haven’t even seen each other,” said Stern. “The Russians are like we don’t need this problem, that is a great way to p— off soon-to-be-President Trump, I mean who was obsessed with the Austin Tice case years ago.” Investigators believe Tice escaped years ago but was found in just such a neighborhood in Damascus and thrown back in detainment. The State Department’s Rewards for Justice office is offering a $10 million reward for any information leading to the finding of Tice, but Stern said he believes anyone with information is more driven by tribal loyalty than monetary reward. “Assad is living the good life in the tower in Moscow. But make no mistake, he still has reach inside of Syria,” said Stern. “Half of the new government were Assad guys last week.” “That tribal nexus plus the fear of Bashar Assad being able to reach out and touch people still in Syria, why would they come forward?” Another group working with Grey Bull asserted this week that they believe Tice is alive. “We have data that Austin is alive till January 2024, but the president of the U.S. said in August that he is alive, and we are sure that he is alive today,” Nizar Zakka, president of Hostage Aid Worldwide, said Tuesday, according to multiple reports. “We are trying to be as transparent as possible and to share as much information as possible.” Zakka offered little evidence to back up its statements made from a press conference in Damascus, though he reportedly used an image to demonstrate the locations where Tice was held from November 2017 to February 2024. U.S. Hostage Aid Worldwide has engaged with Tice’s family and U.S. authorities in the hunt for Tice, and the Biden administration has echoed a message of hope that Tice is alive, despite months of little word about his whereabouts.
‘Warm hospitality’: University president has repeatedly cozied up to top CCP officials
FIRST ON FOX: A top diplomat of the Chinese Communist Party, who recently replaced a controversial official with deep ties to top New York Democrats, recently touted his relationship with an American university president and former top education official in New Jersey. Chen Li, who assumed the role of consul general of the People’s Republic of China in New York last month, took to social media last week to praise the “warm hospitality” he received from Kean University President Lamont Repollet. “Absolutely overwhelmed by the warm hospitality from President Repollet. I truly felt at home on this campus,” Li wrote on X. “The commitment to bilateral educational exchange and people to people connections is key to the success of Wenzhou-Kean University, a Chinese-American joint institution.” Repollet, who served as New Jersey’s commissioner of education under Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy for more than two years, was seen smiling in two of the photos that Li posted. According to Repollet’s Kean University biography, he was in charge of “overseeing the shift to remote education amid the COVID-19 pandemic and playing a key role in planning for the 2020-2021 school year.” DEM GOVERNOR REVEALS CCP OFFICIAL WITH DEEP TIES TO HER OFFICE ‘NO LONGER’ IN ROLE AMID FORMER AIDE’S ARREST Despite Biden and Trump administration officials warning about the influence of the CCP, Repollet has developed deep ties to China dating back several years, a Fox News Digital review found. He most recently visited Beijing in October of this year to give a keynote speech at the Triennial Conference of the International Association of University Presidents, which was held in Beijing. Press releases from the conference emphasized how Repollet was passionate about equity in education and that his keynote speech highlighted how “AI is a revolutionary tool that can foster equity and transform how we engage with students and support their success.” “AI has the power to help close achievement gaps and ensure that every student, no matter their challenges, has access to high-quality educational resources,” he continued. “By offering personalized learning experiences, AI empowers historically marginalized students with the tools they need to succeed.” Months earlier, Chinese state media amplified China President Xi Jinping’s letter to Repollet, which was in response to a letter he sent to Xi, according to state media. CHINESE OFFICIAL WHO PRAISED CCP MAKES ANOTHER APPEARANCE AT TOP IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL: ‘HISTORIC CONNECTIONS’ “Recently, President Xi Jinping replied to a letter from Lamont Repollet, president of Kean University of the United States, encouraging Chinese and American universities to strengthen exchanges and cooperation and contribute to China-U.S. friendship,” the Chinese government said in a press release. “Recalling witnessing the signing ceremony of the China-U.S. cooperation agreement on jointly establishing Wenzhou-Kean University in 2006 at Kean University, Xi Jinping said he is pleased to see that with the joint efforts of both sides, Wenzhou-Kean University has achieved remarkable results and become a landmark project in China-U.S. educational cooperation.” “Xi expressed appreciation for what Repollet said in his letter about deepening cooperation with Wenzhou-Kean University and encouraging American students to come to China for exchange and study, and called on universities of the two countries to step up exchanges and cooperation through different modalities to cultivate young envoys who know both countries well, and build more bridges to promote China-U.S. friendship,” the statement continued. Additionally, a press release from Wenzhou-Kean University touted Repollet’s “momentous” visit to China in April 2023. “Kean University President Lamont O. Repollet and his delegation embarked on a momentous visit to Wenzhou, marking the first visit in three years,” the press release said. “This visit presented a unique opportunity to strengthen the interactions between the two universities, foster people-to-people exchanges between Zhejiang province and New Jersey in the United States, and enhance the long-standing friendship between the two countries.” The press release said Repollet arrived in China on March 20, 2023, and he “wasted no time” meeting with Wenzhou Party Secretary Shuji Liu Xiaotao. “Mr. Liu Xiaotao expressed his hope that the two sides would continue to build a model of Sino-US cooperation in education and foster a bridge of friendly exchanges, with a bright future ahead for the university,” the press release states. “President Repollet extended his heartfelt gratitude to the Wenzhou government for its unwavering support toward the construction and development of WKU.” Xiaotao has been a member of the Chinese Communist Party since 1991 and has served in various roles over the last few decades. Additionally, a Chinese state media company held an event in New York City in September of this year that listed Repollet as a speaker where, according to a press release, he “emphasized the importance of cultural exchange and people-to-people diplomacy in fostering mutual understanding between nations.” The slate of speakers included several Chinese officials, including Xie Feng, Chinese ambassador to the U.S., and Shen Haixiong, the deputy minister of the publicity department of the CPC Central Committee. Haixiong also serves as the head of the China Media Group, which is a crucial media conglomerate that plays a major role in the country’s state media apparatus. While Repollet’s ties to China have become stronger since he became the president of Kean University, his Facebook profile shows that he made multiple visits to China before he became the top administrator at Kean. For example, a 2016 Facebook post shows Repollet attending Wenzhou-Kean University’s inaugural commencement in China as a member of the university’s board of trustees. He attended the 2017 commencement in China also, according to another Facebook post. Prior to Chen Li taking over the top position in China’s New York consulate, that position was held by Huang Ping, who has a long history of promoting CCP propaganda and calling the CCP a “great party,” denying the alleged Uyghur genocide, and meeting with officials across the United States at universities, media companies and in elected office. Ping repeatedly met with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Sen. Chuck Schumer, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, all Democrats. Earlier this
Arif Mohammad Khan appointed new Bihar Governor, ex-bureaucrat Ajay Bhalla to take charge of Manipur, check full list
These appointments will take effect from the dates they will assume charge of their respective offices, it added.
Biden signs defense bill despite objections to ban on transgender health care for military children
President Joe Biden on Monday signed into law a defense bill that authorizes significant pay raises for junior enlisted service members, aims to counter China’s growing power and boosts overall military spending to $895 billion despite his objections to language stripping coverage of transgender medical treatments for children in military families. Biden said his administration strongly opposes the provision because it targets a group based on gender identity and “interferes with parents’ roles to determine the best care for their children.” He said it also undermines the all-volunteer military’s ability to recruit and retain talent. “No service member should have to decide between their family’s health care access and their call to serve our nation,” the president said in a statement. The Senate forwarded the bill to Biden after passing it last week by a vote of 85-14. In the House, a majority of Democrats voted against the bill after House Speaker Mike Johnson insisted on adding the provision to ban transgender medical care for children. The legislation easily passed by a vote of 281-140. Biden also objected to other language in the bill prohibiting the use of money earmarked to transfer detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to some foreign countries and into the United States. He urged Congress to lift those restrictions. The annual defense authorization bill, which directs Pentagon policy, provides a 14.5% pay raise for junior enlisted service members and a 4.5% increase for others. The legislation also directs resources towards a more confrontational approach to China, including establishing a fund that could be used to send military resources to Taiwan in much the same way that the U.S. has backed Ukraine. It also invests in new military technologies, including artificial intelligence, and bolsters the U.S. production of ammunition. The U.S. has also moved in recent years to ban the military from purchasing Chinese products, and the defense bill extended that with prohibitions on Chinese goods from garlic in military commissaries to drone technology. The legislation still must be backed up with a spending package.
NY Republican compares sanctuary states to Confederacy: ‘We had a Civil War’ over federal law
New York’s last Republican governor said this week that sanctuary jurisdictions are reminiscent of the Confederate states that balked at federal law and waged war against the Union. Former Gov. George Pataki was speaking with businessman and 2013 New York City GOP mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis on 77WABC radio when he was asked about the state of the Big Apple in that regard. “Right now, I’m concerned and people are concerned and rightfully so. But it comes down to leadership. We’ve had worse times in the past. I remember back in the ’60s and then in the early ’80s. And things got infinitely better,” Pataki said. “And it comes down to having the right people with the right policies running the city, running the state and running the country. I think we’re going to have the right policies in Washington. Now we just need to have the right leadership doing the right thing in Albany and in New York City.” MAGAVENUE: LAWMAKERS PREP LEGISLATION TO NAME SEVERAL HEARTLAND HIGHWAYS AFTER TRUMP Catismatidis said Trump has “put his foot down” against sanctuary policies, and quipped that he now has a “very large-sized shoe” given his overwhelming electoral victory. Pataki agreed, adding that if the U.S. is to be based on the rule of law, it should apply equally everywhere. “Cities or states that can pretend that the federal rules don’t apply to them are just violating the Constitution and violating our freedom… We had a Civil War over this,” he said. “And, it became plain that under the Constitution, every city, every state has to follow the law of this country.” Prior to the war-triggering attack on Fort Sumter, South Carolina, President James Buchanan, a Pennsylvania Democrat, was critical of Republican abolitionists and lamented his home state’s opposition to the Fugitive Slave Law. Following Illinois Republican Abraham Lincoln’s 1860 victory, southern states began to secede, which Buchanan opposed, while believing a military response was the wrong option. The election of Lincoln, who opposed the expansion of slavery into federal territories, alarmed Deep South states, with South Carolina leading the way in declaring secession from the Union on Dec. 20, 1860. Pataki went on to say the nation’s largest city is bucking the feds in that regard, along with Los Angeles and other cities. NEW YORK’S LAST GOP GOVERNOR CONDEMNS BIDEN’S INACTION AS IRAN STATE TV PLAYS SCENES OF US ‘ANARCHY’ “Trump must make them follow the law or cut off all federal funding. And I think that would be a very positive step to bring America together and to bring us forward,” he said. The two discussed how New York City Council enacted a sanctuary city policy, and whether the state or federal government may step in against it. “I think [Mayor Eric] Adams may go along with [Trump intervention],” Pataki predicted, as other observers have viewed the mayor as being critical of sanctuary city policy but hamstrung by the 45-6 Democratic-majority city council. The former governor said he is optimistic about the New Year and that Trump must “dramatically reform” Washington instead of “tinker[ing] around the edges.” He noted Trump does have limits, in that he cannot statutorily rein in New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg or other far-left officials. Current Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat who has clashed with the MAGA wing of the Republican Party at times, once vociferously opposed another predecessor’s successful bid to make illegal immigrants eligible to receive driver’s licenses. In 2007, Hochul balked at Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s policy while she was serving as clerk of Erie County – which includes Buffalo. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP However, when she became governor upon the resignation of Andrew Cuomo, she reversed course. In November, Hochul indicated she would be the “first one” to call Immigration & Customs Enforcement to help the feds capture migrants or illegal immigrants accused of another crime and “get them out of here.” However, she maintained during her remarks in Queens that she supports helping otherwise law-abiding migrants find work in New York. Trump’s pick for “border czar,” Tom Homan, notably hails from the Watertown area and has condemned his home state’s current policies.
Atul Subhash’s wife Nikita Singhania makes shocking claim, accuses Bengaluru techie of spending entire salary on…
Atul Subhash suicide case has taken a new turn with his wife Nikita Singhania making shocking claims about the Bengaluru techie’s girlfriends, treatments of their relationship and others.