Top US Senator Bob Menendez’s corruption trial begins
Jury selection begins in trial accusing top Democrat of accepting bribes and acting as unregistered foreign agent. Jury selection has begun in the corruption trial of Bob Menendez, a top United States senator who is accused of accepting bribes in exchange for a range of favours and acting as an unregistered agent of the Egyptian government. Menendez, 70, faces 16 criminal charges and is being tried alongside two New Jersey businessmen in Manhattan federal court. Menendez sat with his lawyers on Monday and listened as Judge Sidney H Stein told several dozen prospective jurors about the charges. The judge told them the “sitting US senator from the state of New Jersey” had been charged in a conspiracy in which he allegedly “agreed to accept bribes and accepted bribes”. Menendez’s wife, Nadine, has also been charged but will be tried separately. All four defendants have pleaded not guilty. In September, prosecutors accused Menendez and his wife of accepting cash, gold bars and a Mercedes-Benz convertible in exchange for the senator wielding his political influence in New Jersey and helping the governments of Egypt and Qatar. Authorities said Menendez promised to help Egypt obtain arms sales and other military aid, and helped co-defendant Wael Hana, an Egyptian-American businessman, obtain a lucrative monopoly on the certification of halal meat exports to Egypt. Prosecutors also said Menendez tried to help his other co-defendant, prominent New Jersey developer Fred Daibes, obtain millions of dollars from a Qatari investment fund, and sought to disrupt a federal criminal case against Daibes in New Jersey. Much of the cash received by the couple was stuffed inside clothing at their home, prosecutors said. A few weeks after the initial indictment was unsealed, US authorities in October also charged Menendez – who previously chaired the influential Senate Foreign Affairs Committee – with serving as an unregistered agent of Egypt. Speaking to reporters in late September, Menendez said he was confident he would be exonerated in the case and would continue his political career. “I firmly believe that when all the facts are presented, not only will I be exonerated, but I still will be New Jersey’s senior senator,” he said. He also sought to defend his record on Egypt. “Throughout my 30 years in the House of Representatives and the Senate, I have always worked to hold accountable those countries including Egypt for human rights abuses, the repression of its citizenry, civil society, and more,” he told reporters at the time. Menendez is up for re-election in November and has said he might run as an independent if he is exonerated in the criminal case. But recent polls show he is deeply unpopular among New Jersey voters and many Democratic Party senators, including New Jersey’s Cory Booker, have called for him to resign. Fewer than one in six voters polled in March by Monmouth University and Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill said they approved of Menendez’s job performance. Even fewer said they would vote for him as an independent. This is Menendez’s second criminal trial: In 2017, a New Jersey federal judge declared a mistrial after jurors deadlocked on whether he broke the law by providing help to a wealthy ophthalmologist in exchange for lavish gifts and political contributions. Adblock test (Why?)
NY v. Trump: Cohen testifies to paying Stormy Daniels from his own pocket
Michael Cohen, who served as former President Trump’s personal attorney, testified in Manhattan court that he used his own funds to pay a former pornographic actress $130,000 to quiet her claims of an alleged affair with Trump. Cohen took the stand in the NY v. Trump case Monday, where he told the court that as the 2016 election came down to the wire, he took out a line of credit on his home in order to pay Stormy Daniels $130,000 in order to execute a non-disclosure agreement and obtain rights to her claims of the affair. Daniels alleges she had an affair with Trump in 2006 during a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, though Trump has repeatedly denied the allegations. In October 2016, according to Cohen’s testimony, he told Trump that Daniels must be paid in order to quiet her claims ahead of Election Day the following month. He testified that he spoke with Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg about how to fund the payment, with Weisselberg saying he was not in a position to initially foot the bill. “I ultimately said, ‘OK, I’ll pay it,’” Cohen testified, noting the urgency behind the matter as the election was just days away. Cohen described to the court that Daniels’ claims would have been “catastrophic to Mr. Trump and the campaign” if he did not take control of the situation and iron out the NDA and payment to Daniels. MICHAEL COHEN TESTIFIES HE SECRETLY RECORDED TRUMP IN LEAD-UP TO 2016 ELECTION Weisselberg, according to Cohen, said, “Don’t worry, we’ll make sure you get paid back.” Cohen said he did not discuss the matter with his wife, and decided to gather funds through a home equity line of credit instead of drawing the money from his personal account. TRUMP, DEFENDERS SHOW UP IN FORCE AHEAD OF COHEN TESTIMONY “My wife was CEO of the household, [she] would not understand $130,000 missing from our joint account,” he said. Cohen and Weisselberg informed Trump that Cohen would be using personal funds to front the payment, to which Trump responded, “good, good,” according to the testimony. Cohen said he was “doing everything that I could and more in order to protect my boss, which is something I had done for a long time. But I would not hand out a 130k NDA for somebody else.” MICHAEL COHEN’S CREDIBILITY ISSUES, BRAZEN TIKTOK USAGE RAISE MEDIA EYEBROWS AHEAD OF TESTIMONY Cohen said he also would not have proceeded with a payment to Daniels without Trump’s approval first, arguing “everything required Mr. Trump’s signoff… on top of that, I wanted the money back.” The former Trump attorney continued in his testimony Monday that when opening a bank account with First Republic Bank in order to transfer the funds to Daniels, he fraudulently described the account as one that would deal with “management consulting.” He argued to the court that he was not truthful regarding the intent of the account, as he did not believe the bank would allow him to proceed if they knew it was to pay a former pornography star. MICHAEL COHEN EXPECTED TO TAKE THE STAND AS NY V. TRUMP TRIAL RESUMES Cohen wired the funds to Daniels’ attorney Keith Davidson, telling the court that he marked the payment as a “retainer,” even though it was “to execute the NDA” and to obtain exclusive rights to Daniels’ claims. The funds were wired on Oct. 27, 2016. NY v. Trump revolves around the alleged falsification of business records. Prosecutors say Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 to quiet her claims of the alleged extramarital sexual encounter. The District Attorney’s Office alleges the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen and fraudulently logged the payments as legal expenses, and they are working to prove that Trump falsified records with the intent to commit or conceal a second crime. Trump has pleaded not guilty in the case. MASSIVE TRUMP BEACH RALLY IN DEEP-BLUE NJ DRAWS STARK CONTRAST TO BIDEN’S BEACH WEEKEND: ‘BIDEN COULD NEVER’ Trump has slammed the case as a “scam” promoted by the Biden administration ahead of the 2024 election, and touted Monday to the media that he’s leading President Biden in battleground states. “The New York Times just came out with a poll that shows us leading everywhere by a lot. This is the cover story. And I think you’ll find it very interesting, but I’m sure you’ve all read it. Leading in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan, Georgia and Nevada. Nevada, we are leading actually by 12 points, which is generally a Democrat state,” Trump said Monday morning. Monday’s day in court follows Trump holding a massive rally in the historically deep-blue state of New Jersey on Saturday, where the 45h president said “over 100,000 people” joined him on the beach in Wildwood. “I think we’re probably leading in New Jersey. We had a rally – over a 100,000 people this weekend. A lot of the mainstream media didn’t want to say how many people, they didn’t want to cover. But in fact… I hear the big crowd was not shown by the mainstream media,” Trump said Monday.
House GOP takes steps to hold AG Garland in contempt over subpoenaed Biden audio
The House Oversight and Judiciary Committees will consider a resolution Thursday to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress over his failure to produce the subpoenaed audio recording of President Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur during his classified records probe. House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., and House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, had previously threatened to hold Garland in contempt of Congress over the Justice Department’s failure to produce the audio recordings. Each committee will meet Thursday at 11:00 a.m. on Capitol Hill. DOJ WILL NOT TURN OVER BIDEN’S RECORDED INTERVIEW WITH SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR TO CONGRESS The Justice Department last month reminded the committees that it had produced a transcript of Biden’s interview with the special counsel, and said it would not turn over the audio recording of that interview. Comer said Monday that Garland “has refused to provide the audio files of President Biden’s interview with the Special Counsel.” “The House Oversight and Judiciary Committees issued lawful subpoenas to Attorney General Garland for the audio recordings of President Biden’s interview with Special Counsel Hur, yet he continues to defy our subpoenas,” Comer said in a statement Monday. “These audio recordings are important to our investigation of President Biden’s willful retention of classified documents and his fitness to be President of the United States.” Comer added: “There must be consequences for refusing to comply with lawful congressional subpoenas and we will move to hold Attorney General Garland in contempt of Congress.” HOUSE GOP THREATENS TO HOLD AG GARLAND IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS OVER RECORDINGS OF BIDEN INTERVIEW IN HUR CASE Hur, who released his report to the public in February after months of investigation, did not recommend criminal charges against Biden for mishandling and retaining classified documents, and he stated that he would not bring charges against Biden even if he were not in the Oval Office. Those records included classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan and other countries, among other records related to national security and foreign policy, which Hur said implicated “sensitive intelligence sources and methods.” Hur, in his report, described Biden as a “sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory” — a description that has raised significant concerns for Biden’s 2024 reelection campaign. Republicans initially subpoenaed Garland for the audio recording in March and set a deadline to turn it over by April 8.
Dems plan to revive border bill rejected by Republicans ahead of November election
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats are plotting a potential revival of a bipartisan-negotiated border package that was panned by Republicans earlier this year. A source familiar with the discussion told Fox News Digital the Democratic leader from New York told his colleagues during a weekly policy luncheon last week that he is strongly considering raising the issue of border legislation once again in the upper chamber. Schumer’s office did not provide comment to Fox News Digital when asked about the claim. SCHUMER MAY LET CONTROVERSIAL BIDEN NOMINEE WITH ‘PROBLEMATIC’ TIES QUIETLY EXPIRE: EXPERT “Our bipartisan bill was the closest Congress has been in decades to fixing our southern border – until Donald Trump blew it all up for political gain,” the majority leader told his colleagues last week in floor remarks. The package was the result of a months-long discussion between designated negotiators, Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and James Lankford, R-Okla. However, many Republicans expressed frustration during the negotiation process due to what they called a lack of transparency. Senators were often left to rely on reports of the packages’ contents and broader ideas, many of which elicited concerns. By the time the text of a border bill was released in February, many GOP lawmakers were already against it. Former President Trump also came out against the bill shortly after the text was made available, pushing Republicans to oppose it. VULNERABLE DEMOCRATIC SENATOR BACKS LAKEN RILEY IMMIGRATION BILL AHEAD OF TOUGH RE-ELECTION IN RED STATE Many Republicans took issue in particular with the measure’s so-called “border emergency” provision that would effectively shut down the border when illegal crossings hit 5,000 a day for multiple days. The president could also choose to trigger this with the number at 4,000 a day. But for Republicans who have been highlighting the border issue for years, many have stated repeatedly that it needs to be considered an emergency and shut down right away, not once a threshold is met. In a recent interview with Fox News Digital, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., reflected on the issues with the negotiated bill. “The nastiest part of that was the 4,000 migrants threshold that gave the president discretion to stop processing asylum claims,” he said. “That implies that Congress doesn’t believe the president has discretion right now,” he said. “The president does.” “And then, even worse, that discretion went away after three years,” Johnson added, referring to the fact that the border provision would expire in three years. BIDEN ADMINISTRATION GRANTED SANCTIONS RELIEF TO ARAB NATIONS JUST BEFORE PRESIDENT’S ISRAEL AID THREAT All hopes for the measure were squashed just days after the text was revealed – it only garnered 50 of the necessary 60 votes to move forward. Forty-nine senators voted against it. Four Republicans voted with Democrats to overcome the procedural hurdle, while six Democrats defected. Lankford’s office did not provide comment to Fox News Digital when asked if he would support the bill he helped negotiate again. Democrats in the upper chamber have continued to reiterate their support for the stalled bill, especially as the 2024 election map features several incumbent Democrats in difficult match-ups in states where voters consider the border a top issue. Schumer’s potential move to re-up the measure would come just months before the pivotal elections. “I assume that almost anything done between now and the election will be perceived as a political exercise and not taken seriously by the voters,” predicted Republican strategist John Feehery. “The problem for Democrats is that Republicans will make them vote on the Trump immigration plan which unites the Republicans and divides the Democrats and put vulnerable Democrats in a very tough spot.” Per fellow GOP strategist David Kochel, Democrats might be looking to revive the bill “because they see the damage the border crisis is doing to Biden and the Democrats, and they need to try and change the narrative to blame Republicans for being obstructionists.” BACKERS OF ANTI-ISRAEL RADICALS ARE FUNDING DEM RIVAL’S SENATE RUN, RED-STATE REPUBLICAN SAYS National Republican Senatorial Committee communications director Mike Berg said in a statement: “Joe Biden could secure the border tomorrow by reinstating President Trump’s policies that he unilaterally canceled. The truth is, Biden and Democrats intentionally opened our border and allowed a full-scale invasion of our country. They are only pretending to care about the issue now because it has become a political problem.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., did not provide comment to Fox News Digital. “It’s definitely a smart decision to reintroduce the bipartisan border bill,” said Democratic strategist Kaivan Shroff. “By putting the bill back into focus, Schumer will once again call the GOP’s bluff on the important issue,” he predicted. He added that it further presents “an opportunity to shift some focus back to a domestic policy issue – the border – at a time when the two main stories for months have been about Israel and the Trump trials.” Eric Schultz, senior adviser to former President Obama, claimed, “There’s no more devastating proof point of Republicans’ phoniness than their rejection of an immigration border bill that their own colleagues negotiated.” “They are so obliged to Donald Trump that they’d turn a blind eye to the issue they pretend to care the most about, and turn their backs on each other,” he said, noting a second rejection of the measure would prove Republicans are not operating in “good faith” on the border. As for the fate of the Senate bill if it managed to pass the upper chamber, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., would be unlikely to bring it to the floor. A spokesperson for his office said in a statement: “Senator Schumer and Senate Democrats already have a House-backed bill that has bipartisan support which will solve the southern border catastrophe engineered by the Biden administration, but they’re letting it collect dust in the Senate.”
State Dept stresses no conclusion on Israel’s possible international law violations after critical report
State Department spokesman Vedant Patel stressed on Monday that no conclusions have been reached by the U.S. on whether Israel possibly violated international law in Gaza after a critical report on Friday. “The report makes clear that this is a very complex and complicated battlefield. It is a very dense and urban setting. We are also dealing with the belligerent, in this case, Hamas, that has a clear track record and history of co-locating itself with civilians and civilian infrastructure, using civilians as human shields,” Patel told reporters at a press conference. “The IDF has undertaken steps to implement international humanitarian law obligations for the protection of civilians in the current conflict.” “We also are clear in our report that it’s reasonable to assess that defense articles covered under the National Security Memorandum has been used by Israeli security forces in instances that are inconsistent with its obligations. But we also have no direct indication of Israel intentionally targeting civilians,” he added. “Israel does have a number of ongoing active criminal investigations pending, and there are hundreds of other cases under administrative review. Israel has taken steps to and is taking steps to hold itself and its actions accountable.” His remarks come after Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered an overdue national security memorandum to Congress on Friday that said Israel’s use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law, though wartime conditions prevented American officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes. The critical report also noted Israel has had to confront an “extraordinary military challenge,” as Hamas “has embedded itself deliberately within and underneath the civilian population to use civilians as human shields.” GRAHAM: BIDEN THREAT TO PULL MILITARY AID FOR ISRAEL ‘REWARDING THE TACTICS OF HAMAS TO PUT CIVILIANS AT RISK’ The report states Hamas “intentionally uses schools, hospitals, residential buildings, and international organization facilities for military purposes” and “constructed a vast tunnel network beneath this civilian infrastructure not to protect civilians, but to hide its leaders and fighters and from which it stages and launches attacks.” Hamas also continues to hold more than 100 hostages in Gaza. “Given the nature of Hamas’s track record of co-locating itself with civilians using civilians as human shields, we’re unable to make a conclusive determination as it relates to violations of international humanitarian law,” Patel said on Monday. “There is a moral and strategic imperative to take every possible step to minimize civilian casualties, steps that we know that the IDF has the tools and the capability to undertake.… But simultaneously that this is also a belligerent that is using civilians as human shields. And therefore, we’ve not been able to come to any kind of conclusive conclusion on this.” BERNIE SANDERS SAYS ISRAEL SHOULDN’T RECEIVE ‘ANOTHER NICKEL’ IN US MILITARY AID AFTER STATE DEPT. REPORT “We didn’t issue this memorandum because we thought any country was necessarily violating these standards,” he added. “Instead, we wanted to be transparent about the standards that we require countries to adhere to and offer an assessment of a certain time period that the national security memorandum is consistent with.” Blinken on Sunday delivered some of the Biden administration’s strongest public criticism yet of Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza, saying Israeli tactics have meant “a horrible loss of life of innocent civilians” but failed to neutralize Hamas leaders and fighters and could drive a lasting insurgency. In a pair of TV interviews, Blinken underscored that the United States believes Israeli forces should “get out of Gaza,” but also is waiting to see credible plans from Israel for security and governance in the territory after the war. Hamas has reemerged in parts of Gaza, Blinken said, and “heavy action” by Israeli forces in the southern city of Rafah risks leaving America’s closest Mideast ally “holding the bag on an enduring insurgency.” He said the United States has worked with Arab countries and others for weeks on developing “credible plans for security, for governance, for rebuilding” in Gaza, but “we haven’t seen that come from Israel…. We need to see that, too.” Blinken also said that as Israel pushes deeper in Rafah in the south, a military operation may “have some initial success” but risks “terrible harm” to the population without solving a problem “that both of us want to solve, which is making sure Hamas cannot again govern Gaza.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP More than a million Palestinians have crowded into Rafah in hopes of refuge as Israel’s offensive pushed across the Gaza Strip. Israel has said the city also hosts four battalions of Hamas fighters. Israel’s handling of the war, Blinken said, has put the country “on the trajectory, potentially, to inherit an insurgency with many armed Hamas left or, if it leaves, a vacuum filled by chaos, filled by anarchy, and probably refilled by Hamas. We’ve been talking to them about a much better way of getting an enduring result, enduring security.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Louisiana Republicans push to add abortion pills to list of ‘controlled dangerous substances’
Republicans in Louisiana are pushing legislation that would add popular abortion pills to the state’s list of “controlled dangerous substances.” The provision comes as an amendment in a larger abortion bill that would criminalize instances in which someone administers an abortion pill to a pregnant woman without her consent. The amendment would add both mifeprestone and misoprostol to the list of controlled substances. Louisiana would be the first state to make such a move, according to the Washington Post. If the legislation passes, an individual who possesses the pills without a valid prescription or practice could be subject to fines or even incarceration. FOR A LOUISIANA LAWMAKER, EXEMPTING INCEST AND RAPE FROM THE STATE’S ABORTION BAN IS PERSONAL The move comes in an election year when Democrats have sought to place the abortion issue front and center for voters. Republicans have struggled to adopt a universal position on the issue after achieving their decades-long goal of ending Roe v. Wade. OUTSPOKEN PRO-ABORTION GOVERNOR GETS SPEAKING SLOT AT VATICAN SUMMIT Former President Trump has adopted the position of allowing states to determine for themselves how to regulate abortion, something that was not an option under Roe. Meanwhile, Democrats have pushed to impose Roe’s standards – more liberal ones – nationwide via federal legislation. Independent 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced his support for abortion “even if it’s full term” last week. RFK JR. ACCUSES MSNBC HOST ARI MELBER OF ADDING TO ‘VITRIOL’ IN AMERICA DURING HEATED CLASH RFK made the shocking admission during an interview with Sage Steele. “I have been probably one of the leading, arguably one of the leading people in this country for medical freedom and for bodily autonomy,” Kennedy told Steele. “I think with abortion, every abortion is a tragedy. Many of them leave permanent trauma on the woman. But I think, ultimately, I don’t trust government to have jurisdiction over people’s bodies. I think we need to leave it to the woman, her pastor and to, you know, her spiritual advisers or physician, whatever, to make those decisions.” “So, in other words, keeping it as is with Roe v. Wade having been overturned and leaving it up to the states to determine if and when a woman can have an abortion,” Steele followed. “No, I wouldn’t leave it to the states,” Kennedy responded. “We should leave it to the woman. We shouldn’t have government involved.” “Even if it’s full term,” Steele said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Even if it’s full term,” Kennedy confirmed, later adding, “I think we have to leave it to the woman, not the state. I think we should do everything in our power to make sure that never happens and everything that we can do. But I think, ultimately, you know, nobody sets out to do that. And there are always some kind of extenuating circumstances that would make a mother make that kind of choice, a terrible, terrible choice which is, you know, you can’t overstate how bad that is. And I think, ultimately, we have to trust women.”
Dem mayor faces backlash for city’s ‘haphazard’ migrant policy: ‘Cruelty’
A Democrat mayor is facing scathing criticism over the “haphazard” implementation of a limit on the length of time migrants could stay in city shelter — with a new report finding that the policy was hurried, lacked clear objectives or written protocols. The report was issued by Comptroller Brad Lander and looks into the implementation of the policy issued by New York City Mayor Eric Adams‘ administration in October 2023, which limited stays in migrant shelters to 60 days. The policy came at a time when the city was being crushed by an influx of new arrivals who had traveled up from the border and into the sanctuary city, where there was a “right to shelter” policy. Adams had said repeatedly throughout 2023 that the city was overwhelmed and needed more federal assistance. ADAMS TOUTS NYC’S ABILITY TO ‘MANAGE’ MIGRANT CRISIS, OFFERS ABBOTT FREE STAY AT SHELTER DURING TRIP When the policy was implemented, the city had said it was receiving an average of 600 people a day, and had over 64,000 still in custody. The policy said that the city would give 60 days notice to families with children, while also helping them find “alternative housing” and provide additional casework services to “take the next steps in their journey.” But the comptroller’s report found that the rule was launched without written objectives and found that the case management consisted of “little more than repetitive screening for alternatives to shelter.” “Moreover, the policy has been implemented in a haphazard manner. No written policies are in place for key elements of the program; even the exemption of women in the final months of pregnancy, announced after pregnant women were evicted, is not a written policy provided to staff or shelter providers,” the report found. “Families are not provided with adequate notice of their right to return to shelter, or of their right to seek reasonable accommodations that could lead to a waiver of the rule.” The report also found that the rule undermined migrants’ ability to obtain work authorization and unemployment, and the city does not evaluate program effectiveness. NEW YORK CITY BEGINS GIVING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS PREPAID DEBIT CARDS AS PART OF $53 MILLION PILOT PROGRAM Lander’s office recommended that the city end the rule and implement what it said are more “humane” and long-term strategies, provide additional information, move away from emergency procurement to competitive bidding for providers, and track program effectiveness. “Back in January, the Adams Administration enacted a cruel policy of evicting families from shelter every 60 days with the empty promise of intensive case management—as a result, City Hall has subjected over 37,000 people to repetitive screenings for shelter alternatives, disrupted families’ efforts to obtain work authorization and legal status, and uprooted children from the schools where they made connections,” Lander said in a statement. “Beyond the cruelty of the policy, our investigation found significant management flaws in how City Hall is administering these evictions and how poorly they are tracking outcomes. Our City can do so much better.” Adams’ office responded to the report by highlighting its record amid the enormous numbers of migrants it has seen flood into the city. It says that it has written policies for areas referenced in the report used to guide implementation, including a policy for pregnant women, training and exit planning. His office says they have more than 18,000 children in temporary housing enrolled in schools and have provided over 65,000 immunizations. “With more than 195,000 migrants coming through our care since the spring of 2022 — more than 65,600 of which are still in our shelter system — and hundreds of more people arriving every single day asking for shelter, our 30-and-60-day notices are one tool in our very limited toolbox to help migrants to exit shelter because, as we have repeatedly said, New York City is long past its breaking point,” a City Hall spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Nearly half of all families who have seen their 60-day notices expire, and more than 65% of all migrants that have come through our care, have moved out of our shelter system — without a single migrant family with children being forced to sleep on the street,” they said. “While several suggestions made in the comptroller’s report are already part of our policy, any ideas on how to improve our herculean work are welcome and will be considered. But let’s be clear: A national humanitarian crisis requires a national solution.” The spokesperson said they continue to call on New Yorkers to urge the federal government for “meaningful financial support, to create a national resettlement strategy for migrants, and to finish the job they started by allowing the hundreds of thousands of those they let into this country to immediately work.” Recently, Adams touted his handling of the crisis and said he hoped Texas Gov. Greg Abbott would stay in a shelter when he visits the city. Adams has blamed Abbott for busing migrants to the city. “I’m going to offer him a stay in one of the [Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers] so he can see what he has created and understand how we are treating people with the dignity and respect that he should have shown as well,” Adams said at a press conference when asked about Abbott’s trip to the city. Fox News’ Kyle Morris contributed to this report. Get the latest updates on the ongoing border crisis from the Fox News Digital immigration hub.
Former Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi passes away at 72
Former Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Kumar Modi has passed away.
Biden facing uphill battle in key battleground states as down-ballot Dems lead: poll
Democrats hold a major advantage in four of this year’s crucial battleground Senate races, but President Biden isn’t getting that same good news, according to a series of New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer and Siena College polls released early Monday. The Democratic incumbents, or likely nominees, in the Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin Senate races all lead their respective GOP opponents, or hypothetical opponents, with less than six months to go until the general election in November, but the president trails former President Trump in almost every single battleground state, often by a significant margin. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Bob Casey leads his Republican challenger, Dave McCormick, 46%-41% in Pennsylvania, while, in Wisconsin, incumbent Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin leads Republican Eric Hovde 49%-40%. TRUMP VEEPSTAKES: THE PROS AND CONS OF SOUTH DAKOTA GOV. KRISTI NOEM The races in Arizona and Nevada show a closer margin, with likely Democratic nominee Ruben Gallego leading Republican Kari Lake 45%-41%, and incumbent Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen leading Republican Sam Brown 40%-38%, respectively. The poll did not include Brown’s primary challenger, former U.S. Ambassador to Iceland Dr. Jeffrey Gunter, who is expected to pose a formidable challenge for the GOP nomination. Trump leads Biden in a head-to-head matchup in nearly every battleground state, including Arizona, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia and Michigan. However, in Wisconsin, Biden held a 47%-45% lead. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s inclusion in the polls largely boosts Trump to a bigger advantage. In Arizona, the former president garners 42% of the vote to Biden’s 33% and Kennedy’s 10%, and in Nevada, 41% support Trump, 27% Biden and 12% Kennedy. BIDEN GETS BOOST FROM MAJOR HEALTH CARE GROUP WARNING TRUMP POSES ‘THREAT TO PUBLIC HEALTH’ Trump and Biden tie in Wisconsin at 38% with Kennedy at 9%, and Trump’s lead in Pennsylvania grows by four points, 40%-36%, with Kennedy at 10%. Biden also trails Trump in Georgia, 39%-31%, with Kennedy at 9%, and in Michigan, 38%-36%, with Kennedy also at 9%. Minority groups that have traditionally supported Democrats appear to be trending away from Biden and toward either Trump or Kennedy. Collectively, Hispanic voters in the battleground states are split at 31% between Biden and Trump, but 14% say they support Kennedy. BIDEN GETS BOOST FROM MAJOR HEALTH CARE GROUP WARNING TRUMP POSES ‘THREAT TO PUBLIC HEALTH’ Biden still holds a significant advantage with Black voters in the same states with 49% support, but 14% say they are backing Trump and 11% Kennedy. Just 36% of voters in battleground states say they approve of the job Biden is doing as president, with 60% disapproving. Trump also edges Biden when it comes to favorability – 45% say they view the former president favorably and 53% unfavorably. Just 40% say they view Biden favorably, with 59% viewing him unfavorably. Senate races in Montana, Ohio, West Virginia, Michigan and Maryland are also expected to be pickup opportunities for Republicans in November. Considering the Democrats’ one-seat margin in the Senate, Republicans just need to win two of the races and hold their other seats up for re-election in order to win control of the chamber. Republicans will only need to win one of the races to control the chamber if Trump wins the White House, since his vice president would serve as the tie-breaking vote. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Jill Biden tells Arizona college graduates ‘community colleges should be free in America’
First lady Jill Biden called for community college education to be “free in America” during her commencement address in Arizona to Mesa Community College’s class of 2024. At the Saturday event in Tempe, on Arizona State University’s campus, Biden’s call was met with cheers from those assembled, as she further spoke about her own role as an educator at a Virginia community college while her husband serves in the White House. “On behalf of President Biden, Vice President Harris, and the Second Gentleman: Congratulations, Class of 2024, we are so proud of you,” Biden said. “I teach at a community college for the same reason students go to community colleges. They’re flexible and meet people where they are. And, as my husband, President Biden, says, they provide the ‘best career training in America.’” FLASHBACK: BIDEN’S 2020 PLAN FOR FREE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, EXPANDED LOAN PROGRAMS Biden praised Mesa Community College’s “Promise” program, which its website describes as a needs-based commitment from the city of Mesa to residents that eligible students can attend the school without paying tuition or registration fees. “Community colleges should be free in America,” she said. The first lady’s remarks come as the Biden administration continues to take heat over its machinations to cancel student loan debt. Yet, the U.S. national debt is climbing at a rapid pace and has shown no signs of slowing down. As of last week, the national debt – which measures what the U.S. owes its creditors – rose to $34,541,727,970,599.17, according to the latest numbers published by the Treasury Department. In June 2023, the Supreme Court ruled against the Biden administration, in asserting 6-3 that federal law does not permit Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to cancel more than $430 billion in student loan debt. GOP REP JABS EDUCATION SECRETARY OVER DEBT FORGIVENESS: ‘ARE CAR LOANS NEXT?’ In February, President Biden, in turn, received blowback for saying the high bench “didn’t stop me” after “my MAGA Republican friends” sued. One critic wrote on X that “one of the ‘nobody is above the law’ people is debunking that again,” while Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., said, “the decay of checks and balances isn’t a flex.” In his 2020 campaign platform, Biden called for making community colleges and tech schools free. However, an analysis by The Associated Press suggested that the cost of his proposal stopped short of the $1 trillion mark, a figure associated with the more expansive education funding plans championed by his progressive counterparts, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. President Biden’s 2025 fiscal budget also seeks $90 billion to expand access to free community college despite congressional and judicial resistance. During a hearing last week before the House Education & Workforce Committee, Cardona was confronted by a Republican member over the administration’s overall efforts to forgive student debt. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., pointedly asked if car loans are next on the administration’s debt-cancellation agenda, while also appearing to suggest the administration sees themselves as “above the law.” “Mr. Secretary, President Biden’s Department of Education has canceled $153 billion in student loans, with plans to cancel $1.4 trillion. The House of Representatives said no – We actually passed legislation on that – The Senate said no. The Fifth Circuit Court said no. And the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court, said no,” McClain said. “Yet you continue to march on. I would like to know what makes you qualified to ignore the majority of Congress and the Supreme Court.” Fox News’ Lindsay Kornick, Elizabeth Elkind and The Associated Press contributed to this report.