Judge facing heat for releasing alleged DC teen shooter donated to Soros fund, posted about being ‘woke’
FIRST ON FOX: A Washington, D.C., judge who released on bail a teenager accused of firing over two dozen rounds at a car full of people along a busy street has a social media presence filled with progressive activism and a financial link to progressive mega donor George Soros. Lloyd U. Nolan, Jr., a magistrate judge on the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, is in the spotlight this week after he ordered that 18-year-old Amonte Moody be released from custody before his trial despite accusations he sprayed a D.C. neighborhood with shots from an AR-15 while targeting a car carrying four people. Nolan’s online presence includes examples of progressive activism, including a post boasting about being “woke,” a post promoting Black Lives Matter and a post showing he donated to a fundraiser supporting a professor with ties to George Soros. A Facebook post shows Nolan donated to Gideon’s Promise, a group founded in 2017 through a fellowship from George Soros’ Open Society Foundation on behalf of a professor named Jonathan Rapping. DC BUSINESS OWNER SLAMS CITY LEADERS FOR OUT-OF-CONTROL CRIME: ‘LACK COURAGE’ TO ‘BE MORE AGGRESSIVE’ Rapping, a professor at Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School, developed the venture, which is “devoted to training and supporting public defenders across the Southeastern United States.” “We envision a nation where every person has access to zealous, outstanding legal representation necessary to ensure ‘equal justice for all’ in the criminal justice arena,” the Gideon’s Promise website states. “Our programs and partnerships are uniquely tailored to support and strengthen the efficacy of public defenders as a critical part of systemic criminal justice reform. Public defenders are frontline advocates for the accused in this country and we are committed to nurturing and developing their skills at every career level to produce fairer outcomes for America’s most vulnerable citizens.” DEM MAYOR BOASTS ABOUT VIOLENT CRIME GOING ‘DOWN’ FOR A WEEK, LASHES OUT AT MEDIA FOR NOT COVERING Fox News Digital reached out to Nolan for comment on the social media posts but did not receive a response. Shortly after the request for comment was sent, Nolan’s Facebook page was set to private. Nolan concluded that Moody, who was charged with endangerment with a firearm, possession of a weapon and assault, was not a threat to the community and approved a request to release him on house arrest with a GPS monitor on May 3, WJLA-TV reported. The decision to release Moody on house arrest prompted outrage from many on social media. And prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., requested an emergency hearing scheduled for May 22 to discuss the matter and potentially reverse it. “The government presented evidence establishing probable cause that the defendant fired an AR-15 weapon approximately 26 times at a car driving away on a public street in the 1700 block of Independence Ave SE then dissembled the firearm and hid it away in a ceiling,” the prosecutors wrote. “Despite the egregiousness of this conduct, the strength of the case, including video evidence depicting it and two identifications of the defendant as the shooter, and the statutory presumption in favor of detention pending trial, the Magistrate Judge released the defendant.” A spokesperson for the D.C. court system told Fox News Digital all defendants “have a presumption of innocence.” “In this matter — after hearing arguments from both sides and the arguments for detention — the judge determined that 24-hour home confinement on electronic monitoring with the education and social services already in place for the defendant that release, on these strict conditions did ‘ensure the safety of the defendant and the public,’” the spokesperson added. The spokesperson also told Fox News Digital the defense “relied heavily” on the fact that Moody had no prior encounters with law enforcement, and he was provided educational support and family and community resources. “Judge Nolan conducted a very thorough hearing … and spoke directly with defendant about the consequences of violating any portion of the release conditions,” the spokesperson said.
Top Senate Democrat joins growing chorus of lawmakers breaking from Biden on Israel
Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., said Friday that military aid to Israel should continue in a departure from the White House position. In a statement, Cardin said he disagreed with President Biden, who has threatened to withhold offensive aid from Israel if it proceeds with a ground invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where millions of Palestinians have sought refuge from the war. “While the most recent report regarding Israel under the NSM-20 has raised concerns, I agree with its assessment that Israel has not violated International Humanitarian Law and that military assistance to support Israel’s security remains in the U.S. interest and should continue,” Cardin said. “In this regard, I differ with President Biden’s recent decision,” he said. BIDEN’S DECISION TO PULL ISRAEL WEAPONS SHIPMENT KEPT QUIET UNTIL AFTER HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE ADDRESS: REPORT Cardin’s statement came in response to a State Department report released Friday, which raised “serious concerns” based on credible U.N. and non-governmental sources about alleged human rights violations by Israeli forces. The report documented credible allegations of human rights abuses by Israeli security forces, “including arbitrary or unlawful killings, enforced disappearance, torture, and serious abuses in conflict.” The State Department report also said an estimated 34,700 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict with Israel since the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack, citing figures from the Gaza Ministry of Health. The report deemed the estimate “credible” but noted that the Hamas-controlled ministry does not distinguish between Hamas fighters and civilians in casualty counts. The State Department said it is “reasonable to assess” that U.S. defense articles “have been used by Israeli security forces since October 7 in instances inconsistent with its [international humanitarian law] obligations or with established best practices for mitigating civilian harm.” However, the report came short of accusing Israel of specific humanitarian law violations and noted that Hamas hides military targets behind civilian populations and infrastructure. Israel’s continued military operation in Gaza has created a political problem for Biden as left-wing anti-Israel agitators in the U.S. have grown increasingly upset at his support for Israel. DEMOCRATS BLOW UP AT BIDEN FOR HALTING WEAPONS SHIPMENTS TO ISRAEL Biden signed off on a pause of a shipment of bombs to Israel that could be used in a potential assault on Rafah last week — but the White House National Security Council kept the decision quiet until after the president delivered a long-planned speech on Tuesday to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Associated Press reported. The shipment was supposed to consist of 1,800 2,000-pound bombs and 1,700 500-pound bombs, a senior U.S. administration official told the AP on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter. In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Biden said he would halt some shipments of U.S. weapons to Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a major invasion of the city of Rafah, the last major Hamas stronghold in the Gaza Strip. It was the first time Biden said he was prepared to condition American weaponry on Israel’s action in the seven-month-long war launched in response to the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks. “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,” Biden told CNN’s Erin Burnett. “I made it clear that if they go into Rafah – they haven’t gone in Rafah yet — if they go into Rafah, I’m not supplying the weapons that have been used historically to deal with Rafah, to deal with the cities — that deal with that problem.” BIDEN VOWS TO WITHHOLD WEAPONS FROM ISRAEL IF NETANYAHU GOES FORWARD WITH RAFAH INVASION His decision has prompted backlash from a growing chorus of pro-Israel Democratic lawmakers — now including Cardin — some of whom have suggested Biden’s decision was motivated by politics and the upcoming election in November. “I suspect it’s pandering to the far left,” Rep. Ritchie Tores, D-N.Y., told Axios. “It looks like election year politics was driving it. That’s my impression.” The Democratic Party is divided on Israel amid a massive wave of student protests at U.S. college and university campuses. Anti-Israel agitators have set up illegal encampments on at least 50 campuses and more than 2,800 have been arrested by police called to disperse the unlawful gatherings, according to the Associated Press. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., an outspoken advocate for Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas, told Axios that he opposed Biden’s pause on weapons shipments. BIDEN ADMINISTRATION CONFIRMS PAUSED SHIPMENT OF BOMBS TO ISRAEL OVER OPPOSITION TO OPERATION IN RAFAH “I strenuously disagree,” Fetterman said. “We have to stand with our key ally throughout all of this.” Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., said security assistance to Israel should be “unconditional” while Israel faces threats from Iran and its proxy groups, like Hamas. “The administration should not do anything that undermines Israel’s ability to defeat Hamas and address mounting threats across the region,” she told Jewish Insider. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., agreed that U.S. support for Israel should continue. “I don’t know what the president meant. I haven’t seen what the actual operation in Rafah is, but I certainly hope that we’ll continue to provide support militarily and diplomatically that Israel needs to defend itself,” he said. The White House pushed back on the suggestion that Biden’s decision on Israel was motivated by politics. “The American people expect their presidents to have the guts to make hard national security decisions, and to put our safety, interests, principles, and alliances above politics,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement. “That’s exactly what Joe Biden is doing. He is standing with Israel as they fight the Hamas terrorists who committed the hideous October 7th attacks, and is making clear that how Israel defends itself matters because we do not want to see any more civilians killed.” “Joe Biden is the only president in our history to have ordered the American military to actively defend Israel from a foreign attack, and the only
Trump says Biden ‘surrounded by fascists’ at New Jersey rally campaign trail return amid hush money trial
Former President Donald Trump on Saturday night said President Biden is “surrounded by fascists” at the White House running a “radicalized” Democratic Party, ripping his response to anti-Israel campus protests. “He’s surrendering our college campuses to anarchists, jihadist freaks and anti-American extremists who are trying to tear down our American flag,” Trump told a crowd of tens of thousands in Wildwood, New Jersey. “They want to tear down every single place they go. They want to rip down our flag. The chaos and violence happening on our college campuses right now is all because Crooked Joe Biden doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing. Joe is weak.” “He’s surrounded by fascists around the Oval Office. It’s not him,” Trump added. “He’s not doing a very good at cheating on elections. He doesn’t stand up to our enemies abroad. And he does not stand up to the extremists in his own party, the Democrat Party is becoming radicalized. It’s becoming radical left, and they’re going to lose our country.” NORTH DAKOTA GOV, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE DOUG BURGUM FRONT AND CENTER AT TRUMP NEW JERSEY RALLY Speaking before what his team deemed a “mega crowd” about 150 miles south of the New York City courthouse where he has been forced to spend most weekdays sitting silently through his felony hush money trial, Trump also claimed “the very same people who are funding the violent campus uprisings are also funding Joe Biden’s campaign.” “Those people that you see putting up all that money for all those signs, You know, you can always tell a fake protest when every sign is beautifully made by a printer, all the same color green signs, everything,” Trump said. “Tonight, I’m officially calling on Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee to return the donations of all anti-Semites, American haters and financiers of chaos who have funded the chaos on our campuses. Return the money, Joe. They raised plenty of money.” REP. ISSA REACTS TO GROWING ANTISEMITISM WITHIN DEMOCRATIC PARTY AMID ANTI-ISRAEL CAMPUS PROTESTS “When I’m president, we will not allow our colleges to be taken over by violent radicals,” the presumptive Republican presidential nominee added. “And if you come here from another country and try to bring jihadism or anti-Americanism or anti-Semitism to our campuses, we will immediately deport you. You’ll be out of that school.” The beachfront gathering, described by Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., as the largest political gathering in state history, was designed to serve as a show of force at a critical moment for Trump, who is facing dozens of felony charges in four separate criminal cases with the election less than six months away. Lisa Fagan, spokesperson for the city of Wildwood, told The Associated Press that she estimated a crowd of between 80,000 and 100,000 attendees, based off her own observations on the scene Saturday, having seen “dozens” of other events in the same space. Trump was joined on stage by several high-level endorsers, including North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who is on the short list as one of Trump’s vice presidential running mate contenders. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Balance of power: Senate GOP’s campaign chair cautiously optimistic about retaking majority in 2024 elections
Senate Republican campaign chief Steve Daines is tempering any talk of a red wave this autumn leading to a large GOP majority in the chamber. “I want 51. That’s the majority,” the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) told Fox News Digital this week when asked what he’s aiming for in November’s elections. Democrats control the U.S. Senate, 51-49, but Republicans are looking at a favorable Senate map this year, with Democrats defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs. Three of those seats are in red states that former President Trump carried in 2020 — Ohio, Montana and West Virginia, where Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin is not running for re-election. 6 KEY SENATE SEATS REPUBLICANS AIM TO FLIP IN NOVEMBER “The first state that we know that we’re going to win at this point is West Virginia,” Danies said. “There’s one pickup seat right there.” Five more Democrat-held seats are in key general election battleground states. Democrats are also defending an open seat in blue Maryland, where popular former two-term Republican Gov. Larry Hogan is running for the Senate. “We like where Larry’s at. We know that’s going to be a tough race because Maryland is a blue state, but it’s a Hogan state first and foremost,” Daines argued. BERNIE SANDERS MAKES A MAJOR DECISION ABOUT HIS FUTURE IN THE SENATE While the map favors the GOP, Daines, the junior senator from Montana, is on the same page as longtime Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, who also appears to be pouring cold water on hopes of sweeping victories. And he’s striking a very different tone than his predecessor, Sen. Rick Scott of Florida. Scott predicted a 55-seat majority would come out of the 2022 midterms, but he fell far short as Republicans faced ballot box setbacks in key contests and failed to win back the Senate majority they lost in the 2020 cycle. “As we looked at the results of ’22, nobody was happy,” Daines said in a sitdown interview at his office at the NRSC. “Everybody likes winning. Nobody likes to lose. We looked first and foremost at a strategy that would start with finding candidates that could win not just primary elections but general elections.” Daines made news in a Fox Digital interview in December 2022 as he was coming onboard as NRSC chair. The senator vowed to do “whatever it takes to make sure we have a Republican majority.” And that included having the NRSC get involved in contested GOP primaries, which marked a significant change from his predecessor on the committee. Fast-forward a year and a half, and Daines says “we’re positioned now in most of these states with candidates that not only can win primaries but are making every general election race right now competitive.” Plenty of the blame for 2022’s GOP Senate election setbacks was directed at Trump, who shaped key primary battles. In some of the races, the nominees either supported or begrudgingly disavowed Trump’s repeated re-litigating of his 2020 election defeat to President Biden and his unproven claims his loss was due to a “rigged” and “stolen” election. Herschel Walker in Georgia, Blake Masters in Arizona, Adam Laxalt in Nevada and Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania, who won their primaries due in part to Trump’s endorsements and support, all went down in defeat. It’s been a different story in 2024, with Trump, the NRSC and McConnell mostly on the same page when it comes Senate race recruitments. Daines credits his “strong productive working relationship, a friendship,” he has with Trump, which has bridged the still-lingering intra-party divide between the former president and McConnell. “From the very beginning, the president and I have worked very closely, very carefully, finding candidates that we agree on, that are the best candidates that can not only win primaries but general elections,” he noted. “We compare notes… there’s trust built there, constructive dialogue. We text and speak to each other frequently … as we shape the Senate map for 2024.” But Daines hasn’t been able to totally avoid competitive and contentious primaries. The Trump-supported Bernie Moreno earlier this year won a combustible nomination battle in Ohio, although the contest wasn’t as bitter as the 2022 GOP Senate primary slugfest in the Buckeye State. And Republican Senate primaries are heating up in Michigan and Nevada, where Trump and the NRSC are once again backing the same candidate. In Nevada, Sam Brown, a former Army officer who was severely injured in the Afghanistan war, has the backing of Trump and the NRSC. But former Trump Ambassador to Iceland Jeff Gunter has vowed to spend “whatever it takes” to defeat Brown. In Michigan, wealthy investor and entrepreneur Sandy Pensler is spending big bucks on a major ad blitz as he takes aim at former Rep. Mike Rogers, the one-time FBI agent and former House Intelligence Committee chair who is endorsed by Trump and supported by the NRSC. “He has the full, complete, 100% endorsement and support of President Trump, of the NRSC, and that’s why Mike Rogers will win that primary,” Daines emphasized. The rival Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee argues that stories about the NRSC’s successes so far this cycle may have been prematurely written. “Senate Republicans’ roster of recruits is reeling from a series of reports uncovering their lies about their biographies, vulnerabilities tied to their finances and a lifetime of toxic statements and policy positions,” DSCC spokesperson Tommy Garcia argued in a statement to Fox News. “Meanwhile, their primaries in states like Nevada and Michigan are erupting in chaos. The NRSC’s big bet to back a bunch of unvetted carpetbaggers is looking worse by the day.” Regardless of the Democrats’ criticism, Daines remains optimistic — and one reason is President Biden. Daines says having Biden at the top of the Democrats’ ticket this autumn is making his job easier. Daines argues Democrats “have got to really combat the incredible headwinds they will face with a president who is so unpopular. Joe Biden makes Jimmy
Schumer may let controversial Biden nominee with ‘problematic’ ties quietly expire: expert
A controversial judicial nominee proposed by President Biden will expire at the end of the 118th Congress in just months, and some experts are speculating that this is just what the president and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., are planning for. “This nominee has lost all hope from the Biden White House of getting a floor vote, given we are months away from the election,” explained Ron Bonjean, a former spokesman for former Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., and former chief of staff of the Senate Republican Conference. “They are more than likely going to let him twist in the wind hoping he withdraws on his own,” he continued. Bonjean ran communications for the Senate confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch while working in the upper chamber and has experience with the process. IRS URGED TO PROBE TAX-EXEMPT GROUPS SUPPORTING ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS Neither the White House nor Schumer’s office provided comment to Fox News Digital regarding their plans for Mangi’s nomination and whether it would ever see the chamber floor for a vote, where it would likely fail. “Having a vote and losing it, due to members of your own party, would only serve to advertise the problems the president is having related to the Israel-Hamas war,” said Grant Reeher, a political science professor at Syracuse University. Ross Baker, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Rutgers University, suggested, “If there is any way in which a member of Congress can avoid taking a controversial vote, that would be the course that they will take on this nomination.” One of the significant critiques of Mangi’s nomination has been his association with the Rutgers University Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), where he served on the board of advisers from 2019 to 2023. CSRR has been accused of antisemitism, particularly in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attack against Israel and subsequent war. BACKERS OF ANTI-ISRAEL RADICALS ARE FUNDING DEM RIVAL’S SENATE RUN, RED-STATE REPUBLICAN SAYS Critics have pointed to an event held on the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that hosted controversial speakers such as Hatem Bazian, who in 2004 called for an “intifada,” according to video from an anti-war protest in San Francisco. Another speaker was Sami Al-Arian, who, In 2006, pleaded guilty to “conspiring to provide services to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad,” according to the Justice Department. Noura Erakat, a human rights attorney, Palestinian-American activist and associate professor at Rutgers, has also been a speaker for CSRR. It was uncovered that she had separately been advertised as a panelist for an event alongside Hamas commander Ghazi Hamad. CSRR did not provide comment to Fox News Digital. “That’s not a message you want six months out from an election,” Reeher added. The political science professor concluded that the odds of Mangi’s confirmation are low, noting, “Three Democrats have publicly said they would vote no, and it’s unlikely that he will get any Republican votes.” Both Democratic Nevada Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen came out against Biden’s nominee, citing concerns from law enforcement constituents and Mangi’s connection to a controversial and allegedly anti-law enforcement group. Mangi is a current advisory board member of the Alliance of Families for Justice (AFJ). The group’s founding board member was Kathy Boudin, who notably pleaded guilty to the felony murder of two police officers in 1981 after they died following an armored truck robbery. The robbery was carried out by the Weather Underground Organization, an FBI-designated domestic terrorist group, of which Boudin was a part. ANTI-ISRAEL OCCUPIERS COULD LOSE FEDERAL STUDENT LOANS UNDER NEW GOP SENATE BILL “If religion, by itself, should not be an obstacle to confirmation, association with a controversial organization would probably be fatal,” Baker explained. “Judges, especially, should be seen as free of problematic associations,” he added. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., has emerged as the fiercest proponent for Mangi, even as his confirmation likelihood looks dim. A spokesperson for the committee told Fox News Digital, “Sen. Durbin will continue to point out the false, baseless nature of Senate Republicans’ accusations against Mr. Mangi, a historic nominee who is well-qualified for the federal bench. These guilt-by-association smears are blatantly hypocritical coming from Senate Republicans and their dark money allies, who worked to confirm objectively unqualified nominees to the federal bench during the Trump Administration.” Durbin did not provide comment on whether he thinks Biden and Schumer are waiting for the nomination to expire and whether he would be frustrated by this. His office also did not say if he would like to see it come to the floor for a vote. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., a member of the committee, claimed, “Adeel Mangi’s credible ties to antisemites and terrorist sympathizers make him wholly unqualified to serve as an appellate judge.” ‘NO CHOICE’ BUT TO IMPEACH BIDEN OVER DELAYED ISRAEL AID, GOP SENATOR SAYS “By refusing to pull his nomination, President Biden is choosing to play electoral politics with our country’s judiciary,” he said. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., addressed the still-active nomination of Mangi in floor remarks on Thursday, criticizing Democrats for mounting “an all-out campaign to gin up left-wing support for Mr. Mangi.” He claimed they “can’t rebut these disqualifying associations because they’re facts.” “For the past few months, Democrats have paraded Mr. Mangi in front of liberal interest groups in order to secure their endorsements,” McConnell explained, referring to a number of endorsements the Biden administration has rolled out to shore up support for the nominee, who would be the first Muslim circuit appellate court judge. The minority leaders suggested the meetings with these groups call into question Mangi’s ethics. Mangi did not return a request for comment to Fox News Digital. While Biden doesn’t appear to be publicly pushing Mangi’s nomination in the wake of Democratic defectors, “There is always a chance that there could be another push to confirm him during the lame duck session before the next Congress,” said Bonjean.
Trump Veepstakes: The pros and cons of South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of profiles of potential running mates for presidential candidate Donald Trump on the 2024 Republican Party ticket. A full-on horse race is underway for those hoping to stand alongside former President Donald Trump as his running mate on the stage at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this summer. Trump appears to be in no rush to select his potential future vice president as he remains stuck on trial in a New York City courtroom, but those widely considered to be on his shortlist are continuing to clamor for his favor. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem — one of the many names who traveled to Florida last weekend for a set of fundraisers with Trump which some described as “auditions” for the role — has long been considered a frontrunner on the shortlist, but recent negative headlines could be complicating her chances. BIDEN GETS BOOST FROM MAJOR HEALTH CARE GROUP WARNING TRUMP POSES ‘THREAT TO PUBLIC HEALTH’ “The first rule of a VP pick is to do no harm, and Noem’s recent self-inflicted controversies have shown her potential selection would likely not provide support to the Trump candidacy without drama,” Axiom Strategies’ Erin Perrine told Fox News Digital, referencing a week of criticism aimed at Noem, who confessed in a recently released book excerpt to shooting her dog for attacking a neighbor’s chickens. Noem spent the week aggressively pushing back on her critics over the story, arguing that the dog had been “vicious” as well as “dangerous,” and a potential threat to her family. “I had to make a choice between the safety of my children and an animal that was killing livestock and attacking people,” Noem told Fox Business host Stuart Varney in a contentious interview on Tuesday. “So it’s included because a lot of politicians have run from the truth. They want to try to hide from tough decisions.” Perrine, who served as Trump’s director of press communications for his 2020 re-election campaign, said that Noem had handled the book controversy “incredibly poorly,” and added that her seemingly false claim — also in the book — that she had once met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would hinder to her consideration. “It’s easy to see how her selection could cause heartburn and doubt. These controversies will continue to be part of the conversation around her for some time. While Noem brings strengths to the table, these controversies would overshadow her candidacy and make her a more contentious choice for the VP slot,” Perrine said. WATCH: DEM GOVERNOR SWARMED BY ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS WHILE CELEBRATING DAUGHTER’S COLLEGE GRADUATION Democratic strategist Kevin Walling echoed Perrine’s concerns over Noem’s book, calling it a “total disaster,” and also pointed to the principle of “doing no harm” when it comes to political memoirs. “Her recent turn in the national spotlight has likely tanked her chances of joining the ticket. Above all, Trump values an individual’s performance in TV appearances and her inability to answer simple questions about her own biography has been an embarrassment,” Walling said. “Hailing from reliably red South Dakota provides some geographic balance to the ticket but wouldn’t drive actual help in the Electoral College in November,” he added. Others put the prospect of Noem as Trump’s running mate a little more plainly, including pollster and political analyst Scott Rasmussen, who told Fox she “could have been an interesting option before her book release. At this point, she is no longer a serious contender.” One top Republican strategist and former Trump administration official told Fox that Noem was “never a top contender to whom it matters most,” and, according to another former Trump official, “We all make mistakes at some point in our lives. Noem just made hers at the most inopportune time.” WATCH: DEM SENATE CANDIDATE CAUGHT ON VIDEO SCREAMING AT REPORTER OVER CONTROVERSIAL POLICE REMARK Noem, though reeling from a bad few days that even Trump admitted had been “rough,” has a number of strengths and qualifications that experts point to that could serve as a potential boost to the former president’s White House chances. “Noem is a two-term governor with both executive and legislative experience, having also served four terms in congress representing South Dakota. As both a woman and a member of Gen X, she would provide both gender and generational balance to the ticket, especially seeing more and more voters in their 50s and 60s trending towards the GOP brand,” Perrine said. Falling to the right of Trump on issues like abortion, Perrine argued, could play a similar role for the campaign as former Vice President Mike Pence’s conservative credentials did in 2016 when it came to engaging with the hard right of the GOP voter base. In addition to her time in various elected offices and appeals to the Republican base, Walling said that Noem, at 53, represents “a younger, fresher face for the party.” “Her diverse background as a business owner, farmer, rancher and former congressional intern for college credit when she returned to finish her degree as a member of Congress adds depth to her candidacy. Notably, her candidacy could deflect Democratic attacks on the GOP’s stance on women’s issues,” he added. Noem is expected to attend another fundraiser alongside Trump in New York City on Tuesday, a source familiar confirmed to Fox News Digital. A number of other big names have also been floated to join Trump on the Republican ticket, including South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, House GOP Conference Chair Eliste Stefanik, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. It’s unclear when exactly Trump might announce his vice presidential pick, but he recently hinted that it could be shortly before the July RNC convention. Fox News Digital has reached out to representatives of Noem for comment. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital
Guardians of the glaciers – life alongside Pakistan’s vanishing ice
Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan – As we make our way towards Pakistan’s first organic village, an intense one-hour trek along the rugged, steep and unfenced mountainside pathway from Mindoq-Khar, near Kharpocho Fort, my legs are shaking with a mix of fear and strain. The sharp mountain edges stick out threateningly, and I am reminded of the soulful lyrics of Ali Zafar’s Paharon Ki Qasam (Oaths of the Mountains), a tribute to the late Pakistani climbing hero, Muhammad Ali Sadpara from Skardu, who tragically lost his life in February 2021 while climbing the notorious Bottleneck gully which is just 300 metres (984 feet) below the summit of K2. Above us, the sky is a brilliant shade of blue, adding to the surreal beauty of the landscape. As we gain a wider view of the Indus River Valley below us, our 44-year-old guide, Abbas Jaan, stops and draws our attention to the colour of the water. “You can see the water turning a murky grey, carrying with it the particles from the retreating glaciers,” he says, his eyes scanning the slow-flowing waves of this vital drinking water supply. “And even though it’s grey,” he adds, “the glacial water is mineral-rich and incredibly pure.” “But, year by year, these glaciers are melting fast. They are decreasing,” he says, pointing towards the thousands of smaller glacier peaks that surround us in the far distance; some mountains are snow-covered while others are dry and brown. The city of Skardu, from where we have departed, sits some 2,228 metres (7,310 feet) above sea level. It is the gateway to the Karakoram mountain range and some of the world’s highest peaks such as K2, Broad Peak and Gasherbrum, making it a popular destination for trekkers and mountaineers who come to marvel at the breathtaking scenery. Following the rugged, fenceless path to the organic village, Khari Nangsoq [Anam Hussain/Al Jazeera] With a population of more than 200,000, the city boasts a rich cultural blend influenced by Tibetan, Balti and other Central Asian traditions, where diverse Islamic sects, including Noor Bakshi, Sunni and Shia, coexist. But this region of Pakistan is also home to more than 7,000 glaciers – the largest number outside the earth’s polar regions. These icy giants are far more than just a breathtaking natural spectacle; they are vital to the local ecosystem. They serve as a crucial source of freshwater, sustaining agriculture and powering electricity generation through the meltwater that feeds into rivers. Now, however, their existence is under threat. A 2019 study (PDF) published in the Pakistan Geographical Review by Lahore College for Women University, highlights the increasingly unusual behaviour of glaciers in the Karakoram range, compared with glaciers in other parts of the world. The Baltoro Glacier is a particular example. Spanning some 63km (39 miles) in length, the Baltoro is one of the longest glaciers in the world outside the polar regions. Its width varies, but generally ranges from two to three kilometres. The meltwater from the Baltoro Glaciers feeds the Shigar River, which is the main right-bank tributary of the Indus River Valley in the Skardu Valley. It is an essential source of freshwater for this region and beyond, but the study showed that the glacier has been decreasing in size by 0.9 percent each year between 2003 and 2017. The immediate effect of the shrinking glacier is a rise in water levels and even dangerous flooding in the Shigar River. The position of the Baltoro and Sachien glaciers in Pakistan (AJ Labs) Locally, roads have been known to have become completely submerged when water levels rise too high, says Chris Lininger, founder and director of US-based travel company Epic Expeditions, who has been travelling across Pakistan’s intricate terrains, including the Baltoro Glacier, since 2018. “I actually had a problem coming out of a trip when the floods happened in 2022 because the road was just gone,” he says over a Zoom call. “Many [locals] are already in a low socioeconomic state, and when this happens, it’s catastrophic for them.” But the extreme long-term effect will be even more deadly – the water will eventually dry up when the glacier is gone. Adblock test (Why?)
India Lok Sabha election 2024 Phase 4: Who votes and what’s at stake?
India is bracing itself for the fourth phase of its weeks-long elections on May 13 to elect 96 members of parliament to the Lok Sabha, or the lower house of parliament, as the world’s largest electoral exercise moves into its final month. The two main contenders for power are Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), a coalition of 26 parties led by the main opposition party, Rahul Gandhi‘s Indian National Congress. Last week, the third phase of the voting saw Modi cast his vote in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar constituency. It also saw the competition between the two main contenders heighten as the Congress Party’s former President Sonia Gandhi said Modi and the BJP were focusing “only on gaining power at any cost”. The fourth phase also features a bit of glamour in the east of the country, where Bollywood veteran Shatrughan Sinha is seeking re-election in West Bengal’s Asansol, and to the south, where actress Maadhavi Latha from the BJP is standing for the Hyderabad seat in Telangana. Latha is pitted against Asaduddin Owaisi, a four-time MP from the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen party. The first three phases of the election, which were held on April 19, April 26 and May 7, saw a voter turnout of 66.1, 66.7, and 61 percent, respectively. The voting so far has been lower than in the 2019 elections. In total, 969 million people are registered to vote in 543 parliamentary constituencies across 36 states and federally-governed union territories. Who is voting in the fourth phase? Registered voters across nine states and a union territory will cast their ballots for the following constituencies: Andhra Pradesh: All 25 constituencies in the southern coastal state Telangana: All 17 constituencies in the southern state Jharkhand: Four of the eastern state’s 14 constituencies Odisha: Four of the eastern state’s 21 constituencies Uttar Pradesh: Thirteen of the northern state’s 80 constituencies Madhya Pradesh: Eight of the central state’s 29 constituencies Bihar: Five of the eastern state’s 40 constituencies Maharashtra: Eleven of the western state’s 48 constituencies West Bengal: Eight of the eastern state’s 42 constituencies Jammu and Kashmir: One of the union territory’s five constituencies Which are some of the key constituencies? Hyderabad (Telangana): Asaduddin Owaisi is being challenged by the BJP’s Maadhavi Latha in his family bastion. Owaisi’s brother, Akbaruddin Owaisi is a member of the state legislative assembly while his father, Sultan Salahuddin Owaisi, represented the parliamentary constituency, with a substantial Muslim population, six times. Owaisi pitches himself as the voice of India’s Muslim minority whose issues he regularly raises in his parliamentary debates. Owaisi was given the “best parliamentarian” award in 2022. Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir): This constituency in Kashmir registered just 15 percent voting in the 2019 election, which was marred by a boycott. This is the first parliamentary election in Kashmir since the region’s special status was removed in August 2019. The two biggest mainstream pro-India parties in the region – the National Conference and People’s Democratic Party – have fielded Aga Syed and Waheed Parra, respectively, as their candidates. Krishnanagar, Baharampur and Asansol (West Bengal): These three parliamentary contests in West Bengal state, bordering Bangladesh, offer a mix of star power and political significance. Bollywood actor-turned-politician Shatrughan Sinha is seeking re-election from Asansol, while ex-cricketer Yusuf Pathan is taking on senior Congress Party leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who has been representing Bahrampur since 1999. Chowdhury was also the leader of the opposition Congress Party in the outgoing Lok Sabha. Pathan is the candidate of the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the party that rules the state and is also aligned with the national opposition INDIA alliance – even though the coalition’s members are standing against each other in West Bengal. Yet, the most high-profile electoral battle in the state on May 13, is in Krishnanagar, where the fiery TMC parliamentarian and fierce critic of Modi, Mahua Moitra, is seeking a second term. A former vice president of JPMorgan Chase based in London, Moitra entered politics in 2009. Her parliamentary speeches asking tough questions of the government often go viral. In December 2023, the firebrand MP was expelled from parliament after being accused of accepting cash to ask questions. She said her expulsion was a way to silence her. She has challenged her expulsion in the Supreme Court. The BJP has fielded Amrita Roy, whose husband is a descendant of the erstwhile king of the region, against Moitra. Kannauj and Lakhimpur Kheri (Uttar Pradesh): Akhilesh Yadav, the leader of the Samajwadi Party – a regional powerhouse that has seen its influence shrink with the BJP’s rise – has decided to enter the electoral race in Kannauj in northern Uttar Pradesh state, which accounts for 80 seats in the parliament. The BJP currently governs the state. Kannauj, known for its perfume industry, has been a Yadav family bastion. Akhilesh, his father Mulayan Singh Yadav and his wife Dimple Yadav have represented the seat since 1999. But in 2019, Dimple lost to the BJP in a shock defeat. Akhilesh’s entry into the electoral fray is an attempt to wrest back the family pocket borough. The other seat that has attracted a lot of attention is Lakhimpur Kheri, where controversial federal Minister of Home Affairs Ajay Mishra Teni is seeking re-election. Mishra has been caught in a storm since his son Ashish Mishra allegedly ran his car over farmers protesting against now-repealed farm laws. Ashish is out on bail and farmers’ groups as well as activists have been demanding that Mishra be denied a ticket by the BJP. Indore (Madhya Pradesh): This constituency, a stronghold of the BJP, has been in the news for unlikely reasons. The Congress candidate Akshay Kanti Bam withdrew from the race at the last minute, after the last date for candidates to file nominations had passed. The Congress could not field a replacement and Bam later joined the BJP. Thirteen other candidates are in the fray, but the Congress Party has urged voters to opt
NBA playoffs: Stars shine for Celtics, Mavericks in Game 3 victories
Celtics score 106-93 comeback win over Cavs, while Luka Doncic-led Mavericks beat OKC Thunder 105-101. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined to score 61 points to fire the Boston Celtics to a bounce-back NBA playoff win over Cleveland as Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic led Dallas over Oklahoma City. Tatum scored 33 points and Brown 28 as top seeds Boston, stunned by the Cavaliers on their home court in game two, beat the Cavs 106-93 in Cleveland to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal on Saturday. For Dallas, Irving scored 14 of his 22 points in the second half and Doncic scored 22 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as the Mavericks rallied for a 105-101 victory that put them up 2-1 against Western Conference top seeds Oklahoma City. The Celtics emerged from a nip-and-tuck first quarter with a two-point lead and never trailed again. “We just wanted to bounce back,” Tatum said after they pushed their advantage to 23 points by opening the third quarter on a 14-0 scoring run. “Essentially our back was against the wall, so it was a good test for us to see how we respond,” Tatum said. “We were up for the challenge.” Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points for the Cavaliers, but appeared to tweak his troublesome left knee in the fourth quarter. Cleveland halted Boston’s third-quarter spurt with a 9-0 run of their own. But the Celtics had an answer for every Cleveland surge and the Cavs could not get any closer than nine points behind in the final period. In Dallas, the Mavericks dug deep in the face of another bruising defensive effort from the Thunder. Irving’s second-half star turn included a floater that pushed the Dallas lead to five points with 39.3 seconds remaining. 🏆 SATURDAY’S FINAL SCORES 🏆 P.J. Washington follows up 29 on Thursday with 27 today as the @dallasmavs gets the home win and take a 2-1 series lead! Kyrie: 22 PTS, 5 REB, 7 ASTLuka: 22 PTS, 15 REB, 5 AST SGA: 31 PTS, 10 REB, 6 AST, 5 BLK G4: Monday, 9:30pm/et on TNT pic.twitter.com/1D4Cnz7bQ9 — NBA (@NBA) May 11, 2024 Irving ‘doing it all’ Slovenian star Doncic took another pounding, including a hard fall flat on his back after a midair collision with Luguentz Dort, and said he tweaked his sprained right knee as the game ended. “We got the win, that’s all that matters,” said Doncic, who when asked what was hurting the most – his knee, his back or his sore ankle – said “everything”. “I think I’m battling,” he said. A day without travel before the Mavs host game four on Monday was welcome, he added. PJ Washington led the Mavs with 27 points and Dereck Lively added 12 off the bench to help Dallas withstand a 31-point performance from Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Both teams struggled to get their offences firing in the first quarter, which ended with Dallas up by three. Oklahoma City connected on 60 percent of their shots in the second quarter to take a 52-51 half-time lead and pushed their advantage to 65-55 with an 11-0 scoring burst in the third. The Mavs responded with a 16-0 run that featured a huge dunk by Washington and was capped by his three-pointer that pushed their lead to 71-65. The run energised the American Airlines Center crowd, but Oklahoma City quickly cut the lead to one before the Mavs responded again. Irving connected on a pair of three-pointers and fed Daniel Gafford for a dunk before Tim Hardaway Jr closed the third quarter with a three-pointer that put Dallas up 82-78. Irving, who handed out seven assists as he focused early on getting his teammates involved, said one Dallas coach told him he had left it a bit late to make a scoring push. But Doncic said his contribution was “amazing”. “He’s doing it all on both ends of the floor,” Doncic said. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said his young team – with an average age of just more than 23 – got a little sloppy in the third quarter to squander a golden chance to grab a win in Dallas. “There’s a lot of things we can learn from,” he said. Adblock test (Why?)
Odessa shuts off entire water system due to leak in water line
It’s the second time in two years Odessa has lost water. Officials expect restoration within hours but boil-water notice to remain.