Biden-era Coast Guard failed to ‘consistently’ stop drug smugglers: watchdog
The U.S. Coast Guard was unable to “consistently” stop drug smugglers during the Biden administration, with vessels unavailable for a combined total of 2,000 days over a three-year period, according to a new report. The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report found that the Coast Guard “was not able to consistently interdict non-commercial vessels smuggling drugs into the U.S.” from fiscal years 2021 through 2023. The audit looked at the Coast Guard’s ability to stop drug trafficking across 95,000 miles of coastal waters and more than 300 ports. The agency focuses primarily on cocaine because it is the primary drug smuggled across water. The report found the Coast Guard did not have enough cutter vessels to conduct the antidrug mission and “did not have a contingency plan to address the cutters’ unavailability.” US COAST GUARD RESCUES 3 AFTER BOAT CAPSIZES OFF FLORIDA COAST: VIDEO “We found Coast Guard cutters were unavailable for 2,058 cumulative days over a 3-year period,” the report said. Reasons for 39 of 90 cutters being unavailable included reallocation to migrant interdiction, unscheduled maintenance or being inoperable due to COVID-19 protocols. The report did find that the number of days the cutters were unavailable increased each year and correlated with a decline in seized cocaine. “According to Coast Guard personnel, many of the cutters scheduled for the counterdrug mission were reassigned to the migrant crisis, thus reducing the number of cutters available in the maritime transit zone, and negatively impacting cocaine removals,” the report said. RETIRED COAST GUARD HELICOPTER COMMANDER DETAILS RISKS TO AIR CREWS FIGHTING LA FIRES “Coast Guard personnel also attributed these issues to deferred maintenance. Coast Guard personnel said that insufficient funding for maintenance and repairs has reduced cutter availability, and that the more maintenance periods that are deferred in the short term, the more downtime is needed for maintenance and repair in the long term,” it said. It said that between fiscal 2021 and fiscal 2023, which included a few months of the Trump administration but was predominantly during the Biden administration, the Coast Guard intercepted around 421 metric tons of cocaine, short of its goal of 690 metric tons. CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE It also found that the Coast Guard did not accurately record all interdictions, with 58% of counter drug case files not containing seizure results and 68% not containing required documentation. “Without addressing the issues identified in this report, the Coast Guard may be missing opportunities to meet target goals of removing cocaine and reducing the illicit flow of drugs coming into the country,” the report concluded. It recommended that the Coast Guard develop a drug interdiction contingency plan to prioritize the availability of cutters and also update systems to ensure data accuracy, including a centralized database. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The Coast Guard agreed with the recommendations except for the contingency plan, which it said would be “redundant and not effective to resolve the documented issue of asset availability.” The Coast Guard also said it “remains committed to strengthening its tactics, techniques, and procedures to stop the illicit flow of drugs entering the United States by disrupting the flow of cocaine and other illegal drugs in the maritime environment.”
Trump tariffs set to hit Texas’ biggest trading partners beginning next week
The president said Mexico and Canada have failed to curb the flow of drugs into the U.S. after giving the countries 30 days to do so before enacting the tariffs.
‘Master dealmaker’: Inside Trump’s budget bill victory amid House GOP rebellion
House Republican leaders were preparing for defeat Tuesday night when they were forced to call off a vote on a resolution intended to serve as a framework for a massive bill to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda. Minutes later, however, a stunning about-face brought lawmakers sprinting back to the nearly empty House chamber. GOP leaders celebrated a narrow victory soon afterward, with the resolution being adopted in a 217-to-215 vote, with just one Republican voting against it. It was a stark departure from the situation hours earlier when several GOP lawmakers – Reps. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, and Thomas Massie, R-Ky. – all signaled that they would oppose the bill. Several people who have spoken with Fox News Digital in the days since then have credited Trump with getting the bill across the line. Trump had lengthy phone calls with both Burchett and Spartz on Tuesday, Fox News Digital was told. BLACK CAUCUS CHAIR ACCUSES TRUMP OF ‘PURGE’ OF ‘MINORITY’ FEDERAL WORKERS “He answered my questions,” Burchett told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “He’s very persuasive.” One person who is familiar with the discussions told Fox News Digital that Trump had spoken with Burchett for 15 or 20 minutes on Tuesday afternoon and that the discussion was cordial. Later, Spartz could be seen on the phone in the House Chamber during an earlier, unrelated vote. Another source who spoke with Fox News Digital said that Spartz had asked to speak to Trump before she could support the bill and wound up having two calls with him. Spartz declined to tell reporters how many times she had spoken with Trump and denied a Puck News report that the president had screamed at her over the phone. “It’s a complete lie,” Spartz said. A third source credited House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., with helping to get Spartz over the line as well. “Things got very emotional” on the House floor as leaders focused their efforts on Spartz for roughly an hour, the source said. “Tom was really able to reassure Victoria that everything was OK. People weren’t mad at her. He just knows what to say,” the source said. But the earlier, unrelated vote had been held open for 45 minutes past its 15-minute window, and lawmakers were getting testy at being kept in limbo. A vote that was meant to be third in the series was second instead and had also wrapped up. Meanwhile, three Democrats who had been absent earlier in the day returned in dramatic fashion – Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Colo., with her newborn infant, Rep. Kevin Mullin, D-Calif., using a walker just after knee surgery, and Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., who had returned for the earlier votes – until Republicans saw they could only lose one GOP lawmaker and still pass the bill. But Spartz had been convinced. Just after the vote was called off, she told House Republican leaders she would support the resolution if it were to come up for a vote the next day. GOP LAWMAKER CALLS FOR CONGRESSIONAL HEARING OVER DC PLANE CRASH Instead of delaying the vote for another day, however, GOP leaders made a split-second-play call to rush lawmakers back to the House floor. It angered Democratic leaders, who sent a message to their own caucus: “House Republicans are trying to jam through their Budget Resolution after assuring House Democrats that there would be no further votes this evening.” Ten minutes later, the vote was back on, and lawmakers on both sides were rushing back to the House Chamber. Burchett voted for the bill, and Spartz followed suit. Davidson, who also voted yes, said he had done so because he had gotten assurances from House GOP leaders about the March 14 government-funding deadline. “I voted ultimately . . . once I received the assurances I need that there would be actual cuts to discretionary spending. And, you know, everything about this is avoided,” Davidson told reporters. But a GOP lawmaker who spoke with Fox News Digital credited Trump with rescuing the bill due to his persuasion of Burchett and Spartz. When reached for comment, a White House official told Fox News Digital that the resolution had been on life support until Trump saved it. “As a master dealmaker, President Trump is always active in negotiations on Capitol Hill, and the budget bill was on life support until President Trump urged Members of Congress to pass it,” the White House official said. “The House and Senate must ensure that the final product encompasses all of the president’s priorities, but the budget passed this week was an extremely positive step towards one big, beautiful bill that puts America First.” A spokesperson for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., referred Fox News Digital to his comments after the vote: “This is the first important step in opening up the reconciliation process. We have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but we are going to deliver the America First agenda. We’re going to deliver all of it, not just parts of it. And this is the first step in that process.” Fox News Digital reached out to Spartz’s office but did not receive comment by filing deadline.
Trump administration removes five immigration judges in Texas, union says
The move raises concerns about large case backlogs that have persisted for years.
Top House Republican threatens to expose CCP officials if China invades Taiwan
FIRST ON FOX: Deterring China is a top priority in Congress for the House’s number four Republican. Michigan Rep. Lisa McClain, GOP conference chairwoman, is putting forth legislation that would expose the assets of top CCP officials and bar them from using U.S. banking systems if China chooses to invade Taiwan. Her bill would require the Treasury secretary to unleash details about illegal assets held by Chinese officials and “expose all the players” to show where their money is coming from to the public. TAIWAN COAST GUARD DETAINS CHINESE-CREWED VESSEL SUSPECTED OF CUTTING UNDERSEA CABLE The U.S. has for decades operated under a deliberately vague “One China” policy that supports Taiwan with military aid but refuses to say whether America would defend Taiwan if China were to invade. “This is deterrence. The U.S. can’t risk an invasion of Taiwan that would interrupt our critical supply chains,” McClain, a member of the Financial Services Committee, told Fox News Digital. “We need to keep the pressure up, we need to remember that China is not our friend.” McClain’s legislation dropped just as President Donald Trump announced another 10% in tariffs he intends to place on Chinese goods – the latest shot in an escalating trade war. Canada and Mexico will also face another 10% in tariffs. The president imposed minimum 10% tariffs on Chinese imports last month. He had also proposed 25% tariffs for Mexico and Canada, but those were delayed amid promises that the two countries would do more to step up border enforcement. However, Trump said Thursday the nations were still not doing enough to combat drug trafficking. “Drugs are still pouring into our country from Mexico and Canada at very high and unacceptable levels. A large percentage of these drugs, much of them in the form of fentanyl, are made in, and supplied by, China,” Trump said. China, meanwhile, has warned the U.S. there are “no winners” in a trade war and insisted it has been aggressively targeting fentanyl as a favor to the U.S. “Out of kindness and sympathy to U.S. people and the responsibility as a big country, although fentanyl is not a problem in China, China has put into a lot of human, material and financial resources to assist U.S. to address the fentanyl crisis. It is fair to say that China is genuine and unselfish in this respect,” Yang Pang, second secretary for fentanyl and law enforcement, told U.S. journalists last week. TAIWAN FM HAILS IMPORTANCE OF US RELATIONSHIP, SAYS GROUP VISITS ‘CONTRIBUTE TO PEACE AND STABILITY’ She added that China has handed over more than 10,000 “pieces of information” to its U.S. counterpart related to online platforms conducting fentanyl trade. U.S. intelligence officials have pegged 2027 as the year when China will have the capability to launch a full-scale invasion of Taiwan. TAIWAN DISPATCHES NAVY, AIR FORCE AFTER CHINA LAUNCHES LIVE-FIRE DRILLS WITH NO WARNING China in recent years has increasingly crept into Taiwanese waters with threatening displays of force. Taiwan dispatched its naval, land and air forces on Wednesday after China launched a live-fire exercise zone just 40 nautical miles off its coast. As part of the drill, Taiwan says it detected 32 Chinese military aircraft carrying out joint exercises with warships. Chinese officials have so far not acknowledged Taiwan’s complaints. And days ago, the CCP’s fourth-ranked leader, Wang Huning, called for greater “reunification” efforts. China has long maintained that Taiwan is a rebel territory belonging to Beijing. China must “firmly grasp the right to dominate and take the initiative in cross-strait relations, and unswervingly push forward the cause of reunification of the motherland,” Huning said, according to a translation by Chinese state media. On Tuesday, Taiwan’s Coast Guard detained the Chinese crew of a Togolese-registered vessel suspected of severing an undersea fiber optic cable connecting the islands of Taiwan and Penghu. Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
Dan Crenshaw: Europeans can boost defense spending or ‘shut up’ on Ukraine negotiations
Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, said that Europeans complaining about not carrying more weight in negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine need to either step up their defense spending or “shut up.” Crenshaw said in Politico’s “Power Play” podcast on Thursday that Europeans haven’t “earned a seat” at the negotiating table and won’t — unless they step up and place 50,000 troops on the border of Poland to bolster NATO and deter Russia. “Unless you’re willing to put troops on the ground and increase the leverage for the West … unless you’re willing to do that, shut up,” Crenshaw said. “Shut up, and let Trump do the best he can.” The Trump administration is seeking to end the war in Ukraine, and Trump administration officials met with Russian officials in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 18. U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia Keith Kellogg and Ukrainian officials met in Kyiv Feb. 19. TRUMP AND ZELENSKYY WAR OF WORDS HEATS UP EVEN AS US LOOKS TO WIND DOWN WAR IN UKRAINE Several NATO members have pushed for European involvement in such discussions. For example, The Associated Press reports that German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Feb. 13 that Europe “must” be present for negotiations, especially if it is “supposed to play a central or the main role in the peace order.” But Crenshaw dismissed such comments. “You know how many people are scared of the European Union?” Crenshaw said in the podcast. “None. Be scary, be threatening, actually show that you can have some leverage, and then maybe you can have a seat at the table.” Crenshaw, who attended the Munich Security Conference in February, reiterated that European countries that are part of NATO need to beef up defense efforts, aligning with statements from Trump administration officials like Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Hegseth told NATO members in Brussels on Feb. 13 that “our partners must do far more for Europe’s defense.” In 2023, the U.S. spent 3.3% of its GDP on defense spending — totaling $880 billion, according to the nonpartisan Washington, D.C.-based Peterson Institute for International Economics. The institute also found that more than 50% of NATO funding comes from the U.S., while other allies, like the United Kingdom, France and Germany, have contributed between 4% and 8% to NATO funding in recent years. RUSSIA, UKRAINE TAKE ‘SIGNIFICANT FIRST STEP TOWARD PEACE’ AFTER RUBIO-LED NEGOTIATIONS, WHITE HOUSE INSISTS Crenshaw also issued support for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who met with President Donald Trump on Thursday. Starmer pledged on Tuesday to boost UK defense spending to 2.5% of its gross domestic value. That is up from the 2.3% the UK currently spends, and it equates to a nearly $17 billion increase. Starmer said he is prepared to send British troops to Ukraine if necessary to ensure peace between Ukraine and Russia, according to an op-ed published in The Telegraph on Feb. 16. Such efforts are what deters Putin and will prevent the Kremlin from jeopardizing safety on the European continent, according to Crenshaw. “That’s what starts to worry Putin,” Crenshaw said. “And until Putin is actually scared of y’all in Europe, he’s going to keep coming. And that’s what you need to learn.” Crenshaw did not provide additional comment to Fox News Digital. ‘MAKE NATO GREAT AGAIN’: HEGSETH PUSHES EUROPEAN ALLIES TO STEP UP DEFENSE EFFORTS The Trump administration is continuing to advance discussions to end the war in Ukraine, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to visit the White House on Friday. French President Emmanuel Macron visited the White House Monday and called for the U.S. to coordinate with France to secure lasting peace. Still, he advised the U.S. to exercise caution when dealing with Russia. “We want peace,” he said in an interview from Blair House Monday on “Special Report.” “And I think the initiative of President Trump is a very positive one. But my message was to say be careful, because we need something substantial for Ukraine.” “I think the arrival of President Trump is a game-changer,” he said. “And I think he has the deterrence capacity of the U.S. to re-engage with Russia.”
‘Structural racism’: Top taxpayer-funded academy rife with DEI programs, hefty executive salaries
FIRST ON FOX: The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has raked in hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer funds in recent years while doling out hefty salaries to its top brass and bankrolling a variety of left-wing initiatives. NASEM, which the New York Times reported in 2023 derives 70% of its budget from federal funds, received $200,616,000 in taxpayer funding from grants and contracts in 2023, according to its own Treasurer’s Report. That budget includes several salaries for top-level positions at NASEM that exceed $1 million per year, according to the organization’s 990 forms reviewed by Fox News Digital. National Academy of Medicine President Victor Dzau receives a salary of $1,026,973 per year, National Academy of Engineering President John Anderson earns $1,027,185 per year, and National Academies President Marcia McNutt earns $1,061,843 each year. NPR REAFFIRMS DEI COMMITMENT AFTER CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT Additionally, NASEM’s chief diversity and inclusion officer, Laura Castillo-Page, earned $333,788 in 2023. NASEM has used its federal funding to promote a variety of liberal causes, including putting on events related to climate change, racism and “health equity.” In 2021, NASEM helped put on an event that discussed how “environmental injustice” and “structural racism” exacerbate climate change for “communities of color.” Attendees discussed ways to use “stories” to influence elected officials on climate policy, including “the powerful indigenous voice about the existential threats that humanity faces.” A 2021 NASEM workshop examined how “spatial justice” can exacerbate public health problems among “historically marginalized communities.” NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE SPENDS $218M PER YEAR ON GRANTS FOR ‘UNDERREPRESENTED’ GROUPS: SOURCE NASEM organized an event a year later that examined how “structural racism” and biased “social norms,” including “representation in media and body image,” contribute to obesity. NASEM issued a report in 2023 detailing recommendations for federal policies to improve “racial, ethnic, and tribal health equity” and another report in 2023, titled Advancing Antiracism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in STEMM Organizations, recommending ways to address widespread racial discrimination in science, engineering, and mathematics organizations in the U.S. In another report in 2022, NASEM outlined the need to define and incorporate “structural racism” into scientific study and policymaking. A 2021 NASEM workshop examined “anti-Black racism” in “Science, Engineering, and Mathematics.” “A planning committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will organize a virtual public workshop to explore facets of anti-Black racism in U.S. science, engineering, and medicine (SEM),” NASEM wrote. “The workshop will review the discussions at recent workshops of the Roundtable on Black Men and Black Women, identify policies and practices that perpetuate racism in SEM, and lay a foundation of knowledge for others to move more effectively towards anti-racist outcomes.” NASEM also held a workshop in 2022 called “The Roles of Trust and Health Literacy in Achieving Health Equity,” where a speaker blamed non-diverse leadership of healthcare institutions for alienating minority patients. McNutt has also been critical of DOGE chief and X owner Elon Musk on social media and said last year, “This will be my last post on Twitter/X. I can no longer be part of a platform that actively encourages disinformation and amplifies misinformation, especially when its CEO colludes to undermine democracy.” In a statement to Fox News Digital, a NASEM spokesperson said, “Each year, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine conduct hundreds of studies, workshops, and other activities at the request of federal and state agencies, Congress, foundations, and private-sector sponsors on a variety of critical issues facing the nation.” The spokesperson added that 58% of NASEM’s funding came from the government in 2024. “For decades, our work has advanced the American economy, strengthened our national security, bolstered U.S. global competitiveness, and improved our nation’s health and safety. We have taken measures to ensure that we are in compliance with executive orders, including closing our Office of Diversity and Inclusion. We stand ready, as we always have, to advise the new administration on its priorities.” NASEM’s spending comes under the backdrop of the newly formed DOGE efforts by Musk and the Trump administration to rid the federal government of DEI and wasteful spending. Trump’s January executive order removing DEI from the federal government has already had an affect on NASEM and caused it to close its DEI program and remove DEI from its website, the New York Times reported. It is unclear if DOGE’s efforts will continue to effect the day-to-day operations at NASEM. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
Trump says Ukraine rare earth minerals deal will lead to ‘sustainable’ future between US, Ukraine
President Donald Trump said Thursday that the rare earth minerals deal he’s confident Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will sign during their Friday visit will pave the way for the U.S. to become a partner with Ukraine in developing resources like oil and gas. As part of negotiations to end the Russia-Ukraine War, the Trump administration is angling for Zelenskyy to sign an agreement that would allow the U.S. access to Ukraine’s minerals in exchange for support the U.S. has provided the country since Russia’s invasion in 2022. Congress has appropriated $175 billion since 2022 for aid to Ukraine, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Trump described the agreement as a breakthrough deal that would reimburse U.S. taxpayers, and will help Ukraine rebuild in the aftermath of the conflict. As a result, Trump said the minerals agreement would benefit both the U.S. and Ukraine and would serve as the foundation for a more “sustainable” future relationship between the two countries, while allowing the U.S. to access to resources like oil and gas that “we need for our country.” “We’re going to be signing really a very important agreement for both sides, because it’s really going to get us into that country,” Trump told reporters Thursday while meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “We’ll have a lot of people working there and so, in that sense, it’s very good.” Trump also told reporters that a peace negotiation was in the final stages but no deal was secured, and hesitated to discuss plans regarding a peacekeeping force in the region until one is signed. “I think we’re very well advanced on a deal,” Trump said. “But we have not made a deal yet. So I don’t like to talk about peacekeeping until we have a deal. I like to get things done.” Additionally, Trump said he didn’t expect Russian President Vladimir Putin to breach any agreement to create peace with Ukraine. “I don’t believe he’s going to violate his word,” Trump said. “I don’t think he’ll be back when we make a deal. I think the deal is going to hold now.” Trump also didn’t double down on previous comments calling Zelenskyy a “dictator,” ahead of the Ukrainian leader’s visit to the White House on Friday. “Did I say that?” Trump asked. “I can’t believe I said that. Next question.” The Trump administration has advanced negotiations for a peace deal to end the conflict in Ukraine, and U.S. officials met with Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia on Feb. 18. However, Ukraine’s absence from the talks prompted Zelenskyy to tell reporters that “nobody decides anything behind our back.” TRUMP SAYS MINERALS DEAL HAS BEEN ‘PRETTY MUCH’ NEGOTIATED WITH ZELENSKYY, MEETING SLATED FOR FRIDAY Trump and Zelenskyy proceeded to verbally dish out barbs at one another, with Zelenskyy accusing Trump of advancing Russian “disinformation” and Trump labeling Zelenskyy a “dictator” that has failed his country. “A Dictator without Elections, Zelenskyy better move fast or he is not going to have a Country left,” Trump wrote in a social media post Feb. 19. “In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the War with Russia, something all admit only ‘TRUMP,’ and the Trump Administration, can do.” Russia has pushed for Ukraine to hold an election as part of a peace deal, nearly a year after Zelenskyy’s five-year term was slated to end. Zelenskyy has remained in his position leading Kyiv because the Ukrainian constitution prohibits holding elections under martial law. Ukraine has been under martial law since February 2022. TRUMP AND ZELENSKYY WAR OF WORDS HEATS UP EVEN AS US LOOKS TO WIND DOWN WAR IN UKRAINE Starmer, who announced on Feb. 16 the U.K. is ready to send troops to Ukraine if necessary to ensure peace between Ukraine and Russia, told reporters Thursday that the U.K. wants to coordinate with the U.S. on a peace negotiation “to make sure that peace deal is enduring, that it lasts, that it’s a deal that goes down as a historic deal, that nobody breaches.” French President Emmanuel Macron expressed similar sentiments regarding working with the U.S. to secure lasting peace when he visited the White House Monday. However, he also advised the U.S. to exercise caution when dealing with Russia. “We want peace,” he said in an interview from the Blair House Monday on “Special Report.” “And I think the initiative of President Trump is a very positive one. But my message was to say be careful because we need something substantial for Ukraine.” “I think the arrival of President Trump is a game-changer,” Macron said. “And I think he has the deterrence capacity of the U.S. to reengage with Russia.”
SCOTUS tosses challenge to TN law banning drag shows with kids present, state AG hails decision
Tennessee’s ban on drag shows when children are present will remain in effect, as the Supreme Court earlier this week refused to hear a challenge to the law brought on by a drag performance group, a move the state’s Republican attorney general heralded as “another big win for Tennessee.” The state’s Adult Entertainment Act, passed in 2023, does not allow “adult-oriented performances” in public spaces, or anywhere where minors may see them. “Free speech is a sacred American value, but the First Amendment does not require Tennessee to allow sexually explicit performances in front of children,” Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in a post on X. “We will continue to defend TN’s law and children.” GOP AG PREDICTS WHICH SIDE HAS ADVANTAGE IN HISTORIC SCOTUS TRANSGENDER CASE WITH ‘DIVIDED’ JUSTICES A federal judge ruled that the law, which specifically targets drag shows, was “unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad,” temporarily halting enforcement. However, in July, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision, asserting that the Memphis-based theater company that filed the lawsuit – Friends of George’s Inc. – lacked standing to challenge the law. Another lawsuit challenging the ban filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is still underway on behalf of Blount County Pride, another LGBTQ+ advocacy group, after then-Attorney General Ryan Desmond threatened to prosecute anyone violating the ban during the 2023 pride festival. Fox News Digital reached out to Friends of George’s Inc. and the ACLU but did not receive a response by publication time. LAWSUIT OVER TENNESSEE LAW THAT PUTS LIMITS ON DRAG SHOWS DISMISSED BY FEDERAL COURT IN WIN FOR REPUBLICANS Violators who do not adhere to the Adult Entertainment Act could be prosecuted for a Class A misdemeanor, while a second or third offense is a Class E felony. Both could result in fines and jail time anywhere from 11 months to six years. “I’m proud that the United States Supreme Court has upheld yet another Tennessee law protecting our children. SB 3 ensures that Tennessee children are not exposed to sexually explicit entertainment,” state’s Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson said in an X post. Johnson was one of the sponsors of the bill in 2023. The Supreme Court already has another case in front of them brought by the ACLU challenging a Tennessee law prohibiting transgender medical treatments and procedures for minors. In that case, the court is weighing whether the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause, which guarantees equal treatment under the law for individuals in similar circumstances, prevents states from banning medical providers from offering puberty blockers and hormone treatments to children seeking transgender surgical procedures. Speaking to Fox News Digital last month, Skrmetti expressed cautious optimism of a favorable outcome. “It seems like the momentum has really shifted almost culturally on these issues. And when you see people trying to rewrite laws through creative judging, through creative regulating, that alienates the people from the laws that bind them, and it’s bad for America.” “We’ll know what the Supreme Court does when the Supreme Court does it,” he added. The high court is expected to rule on that case by June.
Blue city mayor embraces government efficiency in new memo to city employees
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie directed city employees to return to the office at least four days a week, as laid out in a memo on Tuesday. The liberal city joins local leaders across the country who have asked their employees to retire hybrid schedules since President Donald Trump took office. Lurie, the new mayor committed to shaking up San Francisco, said working in-person “provides critical operational benefits to the City” that will improve government efficiency. “Bringing our workers back to the office will make our services more effective and responsive to our residents. That is what San Franciscans expect and what Mayor Lurie will deliver. We look forward to working with our partners across the departments and in labor over the coming weeks to implement the mayor’s plan,” Charles Lutvak, spokesperson for Lurie, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. In the memo to department heads, Lurie said 70% of San Francisco employees currently work in-person five or more days a week with the remaining 30% working in-office three days a week. Lurie directed employees to return to the office at least four days a week as soon as possible with a “target date of April 28th for full implementation.” DEM MAYOR UNLEASHES TASK FORCE IN ATTEMPT TO RESCUE CRIME-RIDDEN CITY: ‘RESTORE ORDER TO OUR STREETS’ The memo outlines how working in-office benefits performance, communication and collaboration, while making more employees available to deliver for San Franciscans. OHIO GOVERNOR ORDERS GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES TO RETURN TO OFFICE, FOLLOWING TRUMP’S LEAD Trump signed an executive order on his first day back in office terminating all remote work in the federal government as part of the Department of Government Efficiency‘s efforts to improve productivity. Governors and mayors across the country have followed suit by directing their employees to return to the office. While San Francisco employees are now expected to return to the office, California state employees can still follow a hybrid schedule. Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration ordered state employees to return to the office at least two days a week. The governor’s office did not provide comment on Lurie’s memo by the deadline for this article. Lurie’s return-to-work order coincides with his plans to revitalize San Francisco. He campaigned on cleaning up San Francisco’s streets, enhancing public safety, tackling the city’s drug crisis, creating housing, cutting through corrupt bureaucracy and “breathing life back into our downtown.” Lurie announced on Tuesday an agreement with the Board of Supervisors on legislation to convert empty offices in downtown San Francisco into new housing. The legislation will allow the city to cut through red-tape regulations that make it difficult to launch “office-to-housing conversion projects.” “Transforming vacant offices into housing will help drive our recovery downtown while creating new homes for San Franciscans,” Lurie said. “This is a win-win for our city thanks to the new era of collaboration at City Hall, so we can create a thriving, 24/7 downtown that benefits both residents and business.” The mayor’s office said the new legislation will reduce developmental costs of converting office spaces and extend application deadlines for a program that would make it easier to get zoning and building permits. Earlier this month, Lurie launched the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) Hospitality Task Force to increase the police presence in San Francisco’s business and tourist districts and dedicate more resources to high-traffic areas. San Francisco also passed the Fentanyl State of Emergency Ordinance this month, which will provide resources “to get drugs off the street and keep San Franciscans safe” by increasing shelter capacities, expanding health initiatives and unlocking funding for expanded treatment options.