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Newsom, Dem leaders try to negotiate Prop 47 reform off California ballots, as GOP wants to let voters decide

Newsom, Dem leaders try to negotiate Prop 47 reform off California ballots, as GOP wants to let voters decide

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday that he and fellow Democratic leaders in the state legislature are attempting to negotiate a Proposition 47 reform measure off the November ballot, but Republican leaders affirmed their support for voters to determine if parts of the initiative should be repealed. Prop 47, which was approved by voters in 2014, made several crimes — including shoplifting, grand theft and receiving stolen property — a misdemeanor instead of a felony if the value of the property did not exceed $950. It also lowered the penalty for the personal use of most illegal drugs below a certain weight. The initiative has been blamed by law enforcement, businesses and others for the rise in theft in California, according to KCRA. “There’s a lot of moving parts, a lot of negotiations concurrently happening,” Newsom told reporters on Friday. “Prop 47 is included.” NEWSOM PROPOSES DEFUNDING LAW ENFORCEMENT, PRISONS, PUBLIC SAFETY AS CALIFORNIA FACES MASSIVE DEFICIT The governor and some Democrats have said they do not support the bipartisan effort to amend Prop 47. Newsom and legislative leaders are pushing some public safety bills circulating through the state Capitol that attempt to address organized retail theft, car break-ins and other crimes, after residents in the state voiced their concerns about the rise in crime. The Prop 47 reform initiative is likely to make it onto the ballot, according to recent data from the California Secretary of State’s office. Proponents of the reform gathered 910,000 signatures supporting the ballot measure, although the signatures are still being verified. Some Democrat lawmakers plan to add inoperability clauses into the public safety bills to prevent them from going into effect if voters approve the Prop 47 reforms, according to KCRA. Some Democrats said this is to ensure there are not any inconsistencies in the law, a claim the campaign seeking to reform Prop 47 rejected on Friday. Republicans are calling this plan a “poison pill.” Republican leaders wrote a letter to Democrat leaders on Thursday announcing their opposition to “poison pills” that include repealing retail theft bills should voters adopt Prop 47 reforms. “To combat the California crime wave, we need to strengthen our laws, both in the Legislature and at the ballot box,” Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones said in a statement. “It’s irresponsible to force voters into a false choice between the two. Unfortunately, some Democrat politicians are too prideful to admit their mistake with Prop 47 and they continue to deny the desperate need for reform. The Democrats’ poison pill amendments are a cynical attempt to mislead voters and prevent the necessary overhaul of our broken laws.” CALIFORNIA HAS TO PROVIDE 1,200 TINY HOMES FOR STATE’S HOMELESS THAT WERE PROMISED IN MARCH 2023 Newsom declined to say if he would sign the legislation if it includes the inoperability clauses. When asked if he was not confident that voters would reject the measure if it makes it onto the November ballot, the governor said he does not believe it is necessary to have it on the ballot. “Why have something on the ballot that doesn’t actually achieve the goals that are intended? Why do something that can be done legislatively, with more flexibility? I think it’s a better approach,” he said. The ballot initiative would change Prop 47 to enhance penalties for repeat thieves, requiring people who steal for a third time to spend up to three years in prison. The measure would also classify the possession of fentanyl as a felony. “Democrats need to stop playing politics with public safety and let voters decide on fixing Prop. 47,” Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher said in a statement. “These poison pills show that Democrats aren’t serious about ending the crime wave – they just want to look like they’re doing something because their years-long support for criminals has become a political liability.” Democrat Senate Pro Tempore Mike McGuire has said the measure is unnecessary, and that the legislative public safety package is the better choice. “If you want a set of laws that will blunt retail theft, this plan is exactly what’s needed in this state,” McGuire said. “That’s why these bills are supported by law enforcement, firefighters, retailers, store owners and trusted local leaders. These 14 bills that will move next week aren’t about partisan politics, they’re about keeping the people of California safe.” California’s secretary of state has until June 27 to certify the November ballot, which means Democrat leaders have just weeks to attempt to negotiate the measure off the ballot.

Governor says Trump could become the first GOP presidential candidate to win his state in 20 years

Governor says Trump could become the first GOP presidential candidate to win his state in 20 years

It’s been two decades since a Republican carried Virginia in the race for the White House.  You have to go back to then-President George W. Bush, who won the Commonwealth in his 2004 re-election victory. Democrats have carried the state in four straight presidential elections, including President Biden’s 10-point victory over Donald Trump four years ago as he won the White House. But GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin thinks the former president has a very good shot of ending the Republican losing streak in Virginia as Trump faces off this autumn with Biden in a 2024 election rematch. REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS DRILL INTO BIDEN OVER HIGH ENERGY PRICES “Let’s just begin by remembering where we were in 2020 when Joe Biden won Virginia by 10 points, and the fact that we’re having this discussion is a huge turn of events,” Youngkin said earlier this week in a Fox News Digital interview in New Orleans, as he attended a Republican Governors Association (RGA) conference. Youngkin emphasized that “we’re here in June and there’s still a lot of water to go under the bridge, but Virginia looks like it’s in play and that’s pretty exciting.” CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING IN THE 2024 ELECTION The governor was interviewed a couple of days ahead of the release of a Fox News poll that indicated Biden and Trump are deadlocked in Virginia.  The survey, conducted June 1-4, shows the Democratic president and his Republican predecessor in the White House each with 48% support in a head-to-head match. In a multi-candidate race, Biden stands at 42% and Trump at 41%, with Democrat-turned-independent Robert K. Kennedy at 9% and Green Party candidate Jill Stein and independent Cornel West each at 2%. Yougkin captured the governor’s office in 2021 as the GOP also won the races for lieutenant governor and attorney general in the party’s first statewide victories in a dozen years. They also flipped the state House, and the victories in a state that had trended blue over the previous decade energized Republicans nationwide. But last November, Democrats won back the majority in the state House and defended their control of the state Senate in a setback for Youngkin, who led the Republican charge on the campaign trail even though his name wasn’t on the ballot. Looking ahead to this autumn’s elections, Youngkin noted that he’s “fully endorsed” Trump and said “we’re going to enthusiastically campaign in order to win this thing.” There was plenty of speculation last year that Youngkin would potentially launch a White House run of his own, but the governor has kept his focus squarely on his home state. TRUMP LANDS ENDORSEMENT OF TOP TECH INVESTOR WHO HOSTED $12 MILLION FUNDRAISER Asked about the possibility of a 2028 White House run, Youngkin pivoted and said his priority is “to be the best governor I possibly can in the Commonwealth and I gotta tell you, I love this job. We have made huge progress, and I’ve got almost another two years to continue to do for Virginia what Virginians hired me to do.” Listing some of his accomplishments during his tenure so far as governor, Youngkin touted that “commonsense conservative policies work.” Political pundits also view Republican Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia as another potential contender for the 2028 GOP presidential nomination. When asked about his next political chapter, Kemp told Fox News Digital “I am focused on winning in 2024. Then we’ll worry about anything else.” Kemp, a popular conservative governor, earned Trump’s ire starting in late 2020, after he certified Biden’s narrow victory in Georgia in the presidential election following multiple recounts of the vote.  Trump, who had unsuccessfully urged the governor and other top Republican officials in the state to overturn the results, returned to Georgia twice to campaign against Kemp as the governor ran for re-election in 2022. But in that year’s GOP gubernatorial primary, the governor squashed former Sen. David Perdue, whom Trump had backed in hopes of ousting Kemp. Asked if he’ll be involved with helping Trump try to win back Georgia in the presidential election, Kemp said, “I’m involved right now. We have a lot on the ballot in Georgia… We’ve got to hold our majorities and we’ve got to hold Georgia, just like we did in 2022. That’s what I’m working on right now, helping to make sure we have a ground game to do that. And making sure that we keep Georgia red.” CLICK HERE TO GET FOX NEWS APP Kemp was interviewed in the wake of Trump’s convictions on all 34 felony counts in the first trial of a former or current president in the nation’s history. Kemp wouldn’t say if Trump’s guilty verdicts will make the governor’s job harder in the autumn. “We’ll let voters decide that. To me, at the end of the day, this is about the people, it’s not about me. It’s not about some DA in New York City that I think was being political,” he said. New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu is another Republican who’s far from a Trump ally. Sununu is a longtime vocal GOP critic of the former president who was a top supporter and surrogate of Trump’s last challenger in the presidential primaries — former ambassador to the U.N. and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. After Haley dropped out of the race in March, Sununu reiterated that he would vote for the GOP standard-bearer. And Sununu said he will still vote for Trump even after the former president’s conviction. Asked if he would join Trump on the campaign trail in swing-state New Hampshire, the governor said, “I’m going to campaign with the candidates that need the help. Trump is Trump. People are going to make their minds up about President Trump whether individuals are on the campaign trail with him or not. I’m really about making sure we win that Statehouse. We have more than 201 Republicans in the House of Representatives. More than 14 senators, a strong executive council and

Fani Willis faces nothing but setbacks in case against Trump, the latest pending with Supreme Court

Fani Willis faces nothing but setbacks in case against Trump, the latest pending with Supreme Court

District Attorney Fani Willis had high hopes to take former President Trump to trial before the November election, but with the latest court decision on her scandalous relationship with a special prosecutor, that prospect has never appeared slimmer.  Willis was accused in February of having an “improper” affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she had hired to help prosecutor the sweeping racketeering case against the former president. A decision by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAffee not to disqualify her from the case is now on appeal, with that hearing slated for early October. And until then, McAfee can take no action in the electioneering against Trump – including taking any time this summer to decide how the Supreme Court’s decisions in the presidential immunity and “obstruction of official proceeding” matters will impact Willis’ case.  Legal experts say the scandal could prove disastrous for the case. Clark D. Cunningham, an expert in legal ethics and a law professor at Georgia State University told the New York Times that Willis “just stabbed the case right in the heart.” GEORGIA COURT PUTS PAUSE ON FANI WILLIS’ SWEEPING ELECTION CASE AGAINST TRUMP Trump was indicted in August along with 18 co-defendants in the yearslong criminal investigation led by Willis and state prosecutors in Georgia into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state. In February, Michael Roman, a GOP operative and co-defendant in the case, dropped bombshell accusations that Willis had an “improper” affair with Wade, whom she hired to help prosecute the case in November 2021.  Other co-defendants made similar allegations, that she had financially benefited from her relationship with him by taking lavish vacations together.  Both Wade and Willis denied they were in a romantic relationship prior to his hiring and that the couple would split the costs of their shared travels; Willis said she reimbursed Wade for her share of the trips in cash. After evidentiary hearings held in February, Judge McAfee ordered that Wade had to be removed in order to keep Willis from disqualification in the Trump election interference case in Georgia. He also dismissed six of the states’ charges. TRUMP’S APPEAL TO DISQUALIFY FANI WILLIS FROM GA CASE GETS OCTOBER HEARING DATE “With 14 remaining defendants in the Georgia case, it was always a pipe dream to believe that the case would be tried before the election,” John Malcolm, a former federal prosecutor in Atlanta, told Fox News Digital.  “The recent order from the Court of Appeals sent two signals, in my view. First, the court believes that the issues that have been raised – which include not only the payments made to Nathan Wade and her relationship with him, but also her ill-advised speech from a church pulpit essentially calling the defendants racists – are substantial and serious,” McAfee said.  He referenced a speech made by Willis at an Atlanta church in January, when she claimed she and Wade were being scrutinized because of their race, which McAfee scolded in a court order.  “And second, in light of that, the court believes it would be fundamentally unfair to put the defendants to the time and expense of litigating pretrial issues before Judge McAfee when there is a reasonable possibility, if not a likelihood, that Fani Willis and the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office will be disqualified from continuing with the case,” Malcolm added.  “If that were to happen, the case would likely be turned over to another prosecutor who may decide to proceed or to drop the whole thing,” he added.  REP JORDAN URGES CONGRESS TO ‘DEFUND LAWFARE ACTIVITIES’ OF TRUMP PROSECUTORS Malcolm also said that the pending presidential immunity case before the Supreme Court “will have a dramatic impact on both the Georgia case and the federal case that is pending against former President Trump in D.C., and may make it difficult for Fani Willis (or some other prosecutor if she is disqualified) to continue to pursue Trump.” Anthony Michael Kreis, a Georgia State Law professor, said that if Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, is elected in November, the trial will “almost certainly be delayed until 2029.”  When asked if Willis might consider recusing herself to put the litigation back on track, Kreis said, “she is not one to back down from a fight.” “ “I think the only way she might do that is if she really felt like the case was kind of getting out from underneath her,” Kreis said. “But I think we all know from Fani Willis, she is not one to back down from the fight. She’s not going to take that hit, right? If she’s going to be off the case it’s because the court will force her off.” A representative for Willis did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Major lithium discovery in fracking wastewater leaves the left facing EV ‘irony’

Major lithium discovery in fracking wastewater leaves the left facing EV ‘irony’

The discovery of the potential for thousands of tons of lithium to be extracted annually from wastewater generated by fracking in the Marcellus Shale leaves proponents of a green energy future at a crossroads, Republicans said Thursday. A University of Pittsburgh study suggested processing byproducts from natural gas production in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale basin could potentially meet nearly half of U.S. lithium needs. The typical electric vehicle (EV) requires nearly 18 pounds of lithium to power its battery. That figure grows exponentially for Teslas, according to reports. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., who represents much of the Marcellus territory, told Fox News he wants to see those on the left change their tune. “Now nearly 40% of our nation’s domestic need for lithium can be found right here as a byproduct of fracking,” he said. “I fully expect every single Democrat to join Republicans in supporting domestic natural gas development.”  YOUNGKIN DECLARES ‘INDEPENDENCE FROM CALIFORNIA’ AS VIRGINIA EXITS EMISSIONS PACT “[There are] 100,000 union jobs the industry supports in Pennsylvania alone,” Reschenthaler said, while criticizing progressives in the Democratic Party for opposing the same fossil fuel speculation that led to the reported lithium boom. “Under the Biden administration, Republicans have fought to unleash American energy while Democrats increased our dependence on China and other foreign adversaries with their disastrous rush-to-green agenda,” he said. In the study, published in Nature’s “Scientific Reports,” estimates of annual lithium yields from Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale totaled 1,278 tons. The Marcellus Shale range covers large swaths of Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia. One of the researchers, Justin Mackey, told KDKA that in addition to supplying substantial amounts of lithium, processing the wastewater in that way “reduce[s] the cost of remediating and handling” it, adding there may likely be similar lodes of lithium in West Virginia and Ohio shale deposits that could lead to an “economic boom.” One top Pennsylvania state lawmaker expressed delight at the discovery and, like Reschenthaler, called on Democrats to come to the table. State Sen. Doug Mastriano, the GOP’s 2022 gubernatorial nominee, said common ground should be found on the prospect of fracking to produce both natural gas and electric battery components. “The great irony is the same climate extremists who oppose harvesting fossil fuels under all circumstances are dependent on lithium for solar panels and for the battery components they need for things like electric cars, which often are powered on electricity generated by natural gas,” he said. “Fracking may provide the cleanest, most environmentally friendly way to produce natural gas energy and harvest the domestic lithium we need for the green future endorsed by my colleagues on the extreme left.” Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican who has battled the Biden administration over its stringent energy regulatory adjustments, said “what America needs most is more energy, not less,” and that the Pennsylvania lithium discovery has the potential to change the U.S. energy game. “We also need to store the energy for when the wind’s not blowing and the sun isn’t shining. If we can develop lithium, an essential component of EVs and batteries, as a byproduct of legacy oil and gas production, that is a win-win for America,” he said. Pennsylvania’s senior senator, Democrat Bob Casey Jr., struck a positive tone over the development, highlighting the potentially multifaceted value of such mineral lodes. “This is an opportunity to source a critical mineral right here at home to both support American jobs and manufacturing, as well as reduce our reliance on countries like China,” Casey said. AUTO INDUSTRY EXPERTS WARN BIDEN’S EV MANDATE WILL LIMIT GAS CAR OPTIONS IN FUTURE “I am interested in learning more about the potential lithium can bring to Pennsylvania’s economy.” Fox News Digital reached out to several other top Democrats, including Green New Deal co-sponsors Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Edward Markey, D-Mass., for comment about their stance on obtaining EV components from fossil fuel-based sources but did not receive responses.  Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., told Fox News Digital the lithium discovery is a “significant development” but added there is still a “moral obligation to wean ourselves off dirty fossil fuels and raise the bar on mining domestically and internationally.” “Sourcing lithium and other critical minerals from waste could potentially reduce the environmental footprint of our mineral supply chains, but it must be done responsibly. It’s critical that we align our environmental regulations with legislation that will ensure the safeguarding of local ecosystems and communities from the adverse impacts of irresponsible mining and fossil fuel extraction,” Grijalva said. Requests for comment were also sent to other relevant lawmakers, including Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio and Senate Energy Chairman Joe Manchin, I-W.V., whose states comprise part of the Marcellus range. Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said technology like hydraulic fracturing has made the U.S. the “world’s leading oil and natural gas producer.” “It appears these technologies may also have the potential to unlock significant amounts of lithium, a mineral needed in batteries for electric cars.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP In addition to lithium exploration, some lawmakers have in past years called for the U.S. to step up its game on the prospecting of rare earth minerals that are otherwise sourced from China and Africa and also needed for green technologies and telecommunications. In 2018, Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pa., told Fox News that his Hazleton area, once the epicenter of coal mining, should be further utilized and explored. “Studies have shown the Appalachian coal fields in Pennsylvania contain some of the highest concentrations of REEs (rare earth elements) in the country,” Barletta said. “Researchers have found ways to extract REEs from Appalachian coal byproducts that are more environmentally friendly than traditional methods and require less energy,” he wrote at the time. The White House did not respond to a request for comment for this story. 

Tim Scott snaps back after Chelsea Handler clip on Black voters resurfaces

Tim Scott snaps back after Chelsea Handler clip on Black voters resurfaces

A clip of liberal comedian Chelsea Handler saying that 50 Cent “cannot vote” for former President Donald Trump during 2020 because he is Black sparked a snarky response from Sen. Tim Scott this week. Sen. Scott, R-S.C, hit back at Handler in a social media post on Friday, saying, “tell another Black man how to think.” “Yes, by all means, please tell another Black man how to think, White lady,” Scott wrote. TIM SCOTT RESPONDS TO TRUMP CONSIDERING HIM FOR VICE PRESIDENT: ‘THE ONLY THING I CAN TELL YOU IS…’ The comedian made the comments about the rapper, 50 Cent, who she briefly dated in 2011, during a remote interview with Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show in 2020. “And I had to remind him that he was a Black person, so he can’t vote for Donald Trump,” she told Fallon.  The comedian argued that the rapper had a responsibility to not influence people to vote for Trump in 2020. TIM SCOTT RESPONDS TO ‘THE VIEW’ MOCKING HIS CAREER “He shouldn’t be influencing an entire swathe of people who may listen to him, because he’s worried about his own personal pocketbook,” she said.  Scott previously pushed against the narrative that Black people should vote for Democrats, recently calling out “The View” after they mocked him for his leadership in bringing Black voters over to the Republican Party. “Women of “The View”: My goodness gracious. Let me just be plain and simple. Without the Black vote, there is no Democratic Party,” Scott told “Hannity.” “And since I was elected in 2010 to Congress, before that, no Black Republicans [in Congress]. But since then, there’s been seven.”  Scott said, “President Trump’s policies have led to a surge” of Black Republican political candidates taking office at the “city level, to the county level, to the state level, and in Congress.”  “We’re seeing Black city council members, we’re seeing Black assembly members all across this nation,” he said. “There is a wave of Black elected officials who happen to be Republicans. But the Black vote is following.”  “The View” co-host Sunny Hostin had said Friday that Scott was not making a strong case for Black conservatives. Scott got under Hostin’s skin last year when he rejected her beliefs on the show about systemic racism. “Just to speak for African-American voters,” Hostin said. “If anyone thinks that Tim Scott is going to bring over a bunch of Black men, they need to just get with it, because Tim Scott is the only African-American senator in the Republican Party for a reason.”  Scott is one of several candidates that former President Trump is reportedly considering as his running mate in the 2024 election.  Scott ran for the Republican nomination but dropped out before the Iowa caucuses and went on to endorse Trump. Fox News’ Jeffrey Clark contributed to this report.