Texas to reimburse landowners for damages caused by border property crime
Lawmakers created the program during last year’s legislative session.
House Republicans invite Nathan Wade to ‘interview’ with Judiciary committee regarding Trump election case
House Republicans have invited attorney Nathan Wade to interview with the House Judiciary Committee regarding his role in the election interference case against former President Trump. Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, announced the invitation on Thursday, saying Wade’s role in the case is too important to “go unquestioned.” Wade was tapped by Fulton County DA Fani Willis to prosecute the case against Trump. The decision later ignited a firestorm of controversy after it was revealed that the pair were in a relationship and that Willis may have misused state funds. “There are serious concerns about your role in the politically motivated prosecution initiated by Ms. Willis against President Donald J. Trump. You have reportedly ‘profited significantly’ from Ms. Willis’ prosecution, with unsealed court filings alleging that you have been paid ‘almost seven hundred thousand dollars since May of 2022 alone,’” Jordan’s invitation reads. Fox News Digital reached out to the Fulton County DA’s Office for comment, but they did not immediately respond. FANI WILLIS SUGGESTS SHE WON’T TESTIFY IN ‘UNLAWFUL’ GEORGIA SENATE INVESTIGATION Jordan’s letter calls on Wade or his attorney to respond no later than May 16. The Georgia election interference case is one of four cases against the former president. Trump’s attorneys have initiated an effort to disqualify Willis from the case due to her alleged misuse of funds and withholding information about her relationship with Wade. The Georgia Court of Appeals has agreed to hear Trump’s request to appeal an earlier court decision that kept Willis in place. JUDGE DISMISSES SOME COUNTS AGAINST TRUMP IN FANI WILLIS ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE Judge Scott McAfee’s order in March said that special prosecutor Nathan Wade had to be removed in order to keep Willis from disqualification in the Trump election interference case in Georgia. Trump and several co-defendants alleged Willis and Wade were romantically involved prior to his hiring and that she financially benefited from the relationship. Both Willis and Wade denied those allegations. “President Trump looks forward to presenting interlocutory arguments to the Georgia Court of Appeals as to why the case should be dismissed and Fulton County DA Willis should be disqualified for her misconduct in this unjustified, unwarranted political persecution,” Trump lawyer Steve Sadow said in a statement on Wednesday. JUDGE UNSEALS FBI FILES IN TRUMP CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE, INCLUDING DETAILED TIMELINE OF MAR-A-LAGO RAID 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. In his March order, McAfee said while Willis’ “reimbursement practice” was “unusual and the lack of any documentary corroboration understandably concerning,” he ultimately decided that the defendants did not present “sufficient evidence” that expenses weren’t “roughly divided evenly.” Fox News’ Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report.
Speaker Johnson calls Biden ‘off script’ with threats to pull Israel support: ‘I hope it’s a senior moment’
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said President Biden’s recent threat to withhold munitions shipments to Israel was completely unexpected and probably “off script.” Biden said in a Wednesday CNN interview that his administration will halt munitions shipments to Israel if the nation continues with plans to invade the city of Rafah. “My reaction honestly was — ‘Wow, that is a complete turn from what I have been told even in, you know, recent hours,” Johnson told Politico in a Wednesday night interview. BIDEN VOWS TO WITHHOLD WEAPONS FROM ISRAEL IF NETANYAHU GOES FORWARD WITH RAFAH INVASION “I mean, 24 hours ago it was confirmed to me by top administration officials that the policy’s very different than what he stated there,” he continued. “So I hope that’s a senior moment.” The House Speaker said he was already troubled by reports that U.S. support to Israel could be delayed before Biden’s interview. He told Politico that Biden administration officials dismissed his concerns and said delays were occurring with prior tranches of weapons, not aid recently passed by the House. Johnson speculated that Biden’s comments may have been a “senior moment” and at odds with the rest of the administration’s plans. US LAW COULD FORCE BIDEN TO PULL UN FUNDING IF PALESTINIAN RECOGNITION BYPASS SUCCEEDS, EXPERTS SAY “I believe he’s off script,” Johnson said. “I don’t think that’s something that staff told him to say. I hope it’s a senior moment, because that would be a great deviation in what is said to be the policy there.” Biden told CNN’s Erin Burnett in the Wednesday interview that civilian deaths in Gaza have given him pause on supplying weapons for the planned Rafah invasion. “Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,” the president said. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “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 said. Fox News Digital’s Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
Federal court denies Hunter Biden appeal in Delaware federal gun charges case
The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit refused to throw out Hunter Biden’s indictment on federal gun charges in a court document released Thursday. The president’s son is set to stand trial next month in Delaware. “The defendant in this criminal case appealed three pretrial orders entered on April 12, 2024, denying his motions to dismiss the indictment,” the court document released Thursday states. “This appeal is DISMISSED because the defendant has not shown the District Court’s orders are appealable before final judgment.” Hunter Biden’s lawyers filed the motion in federal court earlier this year arguing that a diversion agreement previously agreed to by the Department of Justice and Hunter Biden’s legal team should remain in effect.
‘Making sure this doesn’t repeat…’: Maldives minister over remarks on PM Modi
Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer, who is on his first official visit to India, has distanced his government from the derogatory remarks made by some of its ministers against Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Universities would pay ‘hefty price’ for allowing encampments under new Senate bill
FIRST ON FOX: Under new legislation being proposed by a Republican senator, universities could be rendered ineligible for federal monetary assistance if they don’t promptly remove encampments, such as those erected during anti-Israel demonstrations across the country. Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, will introduce The Encampments or Endowments Act on Thursday in response to the various escalating protests professing anti-Israel sentiments at institutions of higher education, many of which have disrupted classes and school events, including graduation at some universities. “We cannot allow people who hate our country to turn campuses into garbage dumps. My legislation will force colleges to follow the law, protect their students, and shut these encampments down. If they refuse, they’ll pay a hefty price. It’s time to end this national embarrassment,” Vance told Fox News digital in a statement. ‘NO CHOICE’ BUT TO IMPEACH BIDEN OVER DELAYED ISRAEL AID, GOP SENATOR SAYS The Ohio senator’s bill will come as police have either arrested or detained over 2,200 people during demonstrations at about 49 college campuses in 26 states between April 18 and May 3. Per the bill, schools that do not clear encampments within a week would not be eligible for financial assistance under the Higher Education Act of 1965, which authorized numerous programs to support post-secondary education and provide student aid programs to assist with the cost of school for applicants. NPR CEO KATHERINE MAHER DECLINES HOUSE HEARING INVITE AMID BIAS SCANDAL Additionally, Vance’s new legislation would disallow those schools from participating in Title IV programs if they fail to clear the encampments. The Department of Education did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital. FANI WILLIS SUGGESTS SHE WON’T TESTIFY IN ‘UNLAWFUL’ GEORGIA SENATE INVESTIGATION The bill would also force ineligible schools to then provide grant-based aid to continuously enrolled students to make up for the federal aid they would have received otherwise. If it fails to do so, “it must pay a tax equal to 50 percent of its endowment’s assets,” according to the bill. Ineligibility would last for five years from when the Education Department determined it to be so. REPUBLICANS KEEP PRESSURE ON NPR AND CONTROVERSIAL CEO AMID POLITICAL BIAS SCANDAL Republicans have been significant critics of both the anti-Israel demonstrations and encampments, as well as the handling of the protests by both the universities and the Biden administration. While both President Biden and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona have denounced antisemitism in the demonstrations and protests that have escalated into property damage and violence, they have not signaled support for Republican requests, including that those students be prosecuted or deported.
FBI slams ‘false and insulting’ claim it urged more warrantless wiretaps on Americans
EXCLUSIVE: The FBI is disputing claims that the bureau has been urging employees to increase the use of warrantless wiretapping on U.S. soil. “Yesterday’s reporting in Wired magazine is a complete misrepresentation of the FBI Deputy Director’s email to the FBI workforce,” a spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Thursday. “Their allegation that the FBI instructed its employees to violate the law or FBI policies is categorically false and insulting.” At the heart of the issue is the FBI’s use of – and its directions to employees about – the controversial Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). A WIRED report on Wednesday quoted an April email sent out to employees about Section 702 by FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate, including a portion in which Abbate encouraged employees “to continue to look for ways to appropriately use US person queries to advance the mission.” While the section of Abbate’s email released by WIRED stressed the need for employees to use the tools “properly and in compliance with legal requirements” and to make sure queries into U.S. persons are “fully compliant with the law,” it also appeared to urge more frequent use of the program, arguing that doing so will “continue to demonstrate why tools like this are essential to our mission.” CONGRESS CANNOT LET FISA SECTION 702 EXPIRE Some lawmakers immediately took issue with the FBI’s apparent use of Section 702. “The deputy director’s email seems to show that the FBI is actively pushing for more surveillance of Americans, not out of necessity but as a default,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., told WIRED in response to the email. “This directly contradicts earlier assertions from the FBI during the debate over Section 702’s reauthorization.” But the FBI pushed back hard against WIRED’s characterization of the email in the report, issuing a statement to the outlet that accused it of alleging “that the FBI instructed its employees to violate the law or FBI policies.” Instead, the FBI claimed the email “emphasized Congress’ recognition of the vital importance of FISA Section 702 to protect the American people and was sent to ensure that FBI personnel were immediately aware of, and in compliance with, the privacy enhancing changes the law has put in place.” The controversial 702 program allows the government to tap American companies to collect the communications such as calls, texts, and email, without the need for a warrant. A requirement within the program aimed at protecting the privacy of Americans states that at least one of the targeted individuals of a request has to be a foreigner the FBI reasonably believed to not be on U.S. soil. But the WIRED report notes that a Justice Department review last year found that the FBI’s compliance rate has hovered around 98%, a number that has been touted by Wray and other FBI officials despite it being possible that thousands of its searches were still not in compliance with Section 702 guidelines. FBI Director Christopher Wray defended the program last month, arguing that requiring the FBI to obtain a warrant to scan the database of information under its Section 702 authority would jeopardize its ability to combat national security threats. “If there’s no constitutional, legal, or compliance necessity for a warrant requirement, then Congress would be making a policy choice to require us to blind ourselves to intelligence in our holdings,” Wray said during a speech in front of the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Law and National Security. The entirety of the email, which was reviewed by Fox News Digital, does lay out changes to current procedures for using Section 702 after President Biden signed H.R. 7888, the Reforming Intelligence and Securing America Act. Notably, Abbate’s email highlights that while there will be no changes to the current law that would require a warrant for queries into U.S. persons, there will be additional protections as part of the pre-approval process in order for FBI employees to make such a query. HOUSE BRACES FOR BATTLE OVER RENEWING CONTROVERSIAL FISA SURVEILLANCE TOOL The email also highlighted Wray’s effort to maintain the program, with Abbate telling employees that the FBI was able to give concrete examples that demonstrated to lawmakers how the program has help “prevent attacks, warn victims, and inform intelligence analysis.” In providing the full context of the email to Fox News Digital, the FBI stressed that Abbate was simply highlighting the success of the program and changes to the law, encouraging employees to continue to demonstrate the useful nature of Section 702 while being mindful of compliance with the law. “The Deputy Director was not asking for FBI personnel to find new ways to use the program, but rather to make full use of the tools which have been provided to us by Congress to protect Americans,” the FBI said. “As we have consistently said, U.S. person queries of FISA 702 data are crucial to connecting the dots to identify threat information within our lawfully-acquired holdings.” The FBI also argued that a failure to “fully identify relevant threat information within that data, including through basic analytic techniques such as querying, puts Americans at unnecessary risk from foreign terrorists, spies, and hackers.” “Having an attorney or supervisor review queries to ensure compliance before they can be run, as mandated by Congress in the new law, is how we can be confident in higher levels of compliance going forward while we use this vital tool to the full extent allowed by law to protect national security,” the FBI said. WIRED did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
Student’s viral video of trans woman in ladies’ restroom spurs campus investigation, renewed debate
A North Carolina university is investigating after student Payton McNabb – who suffered long-term physical and mental injuries when a transgender volleyball player spiked a ball and hit her in the face during a high school match – filmed herself confronting a transgender woman in one of the girls’ bathrooms on campus. “Western Carolina University is dedicated to fostering a safe and welcoming environment for all students. The university’s primary concern is the safety and wellbeing of all members of its campus community,” a spokesperson for the school said in a statement issued to Fox News Digital. “WCU is committed to upholding its principles and ensuring that all students have equal access to education and opportunities. Violations of any university policies or state and federal laws will be addressed by appropriate campus officials. “Unlawful discrimination against any member of our campus community is not accepted at WCU.” Western Carolina did not respond to a follow-up question about the focus of the investigation and whether McNabb is at risk of disciplinary action. COLORADO COULD BECOME THE FIRST STATE TO BUILD SEPARATE PRISON UNITS FOR TRANSGENDER FELONS In the video, first uploaded to X last week, McNabb can be heard asking, “Why are you in the girls’ bathroom?” The individual, who has not been identified, responds, “I’m a trans girl.” “But you’re not a girl,” McNabb replies. “Interesting, I’ve never had this before. I don’t know what to say, I’m sorry you feel that way,” the person says. McNabb then tells the individual that she pays “a lot of money to be safe in the bathroom.” Encountering men in “intimate spaces can be an extremely uncomfortable and emotionally distressing experience for women,” Independent Women’s Law Center director May Mailman, representing McNabb, told Fox News Digital. TRANS INMATE WHO KILLED BABY AND IDENTIFIES AS MUSLIM WOMAN SUES CHAPLAIN FOR ALLEGEDLY NOT ALLOWING HIJAB “Including those like Payton who suffered and continue to experience trauma,” Mailman said. “No matter what men are wearing or how they feel internally, schools can’t forget about their obligation to women.” Mailman added that she is fearful that colleges “seem more interested” in “investigating a polite inquiry of what a man is doing in a woman’s bathroom” than dealing with recent instances of anti-Israel unrest on campuses. After the video circulated on X, McNabb said she started facing threats from students who were encouraging others to report her to the university for being “transphobic.” “Currently, I’m facing reports to the school for alleged ‘transphobia,’ alongside attempts to tear down my sorority, despite it having nothing to do with it,” McNabb wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “I believe in everyone’s right to their own opinion, and I shouldn’t face punishment simply because I felt uncomfortable with a man being in our bathroom.” FEMALE ATHLETE INJURED BY TRANSGENDER SLAMS DEM LAWMAKERS WHO DISMISSED DANGERS In September 2022, McNabb was injured during a high-school volleyball game by a transgender athlete on the opposing team who spiked the volleyball and struck her in the face, causing her to fall backward and suffer a concussion and neck injury. “Other injuries I still suffer from today include impaired vision, partial paralysis on my right side, constant headaches, as well as anxiety and depression,” McNabb said during a press conference last year. “My ability to learn, retain [and] comprehend has also been impaired, and I require accommodations at school for testing because of this.” In 2016, North Carolina enacted the nation’s first “bathroom bill,” mandating individuals to use restrooms corresponding to their biological sex. Since then, dozens of similar bills have passed in several state legislatures. However, a year later, several portions of the bill were repealed, and the federal departments of education and justice issued guidance stating that public universities receiving federal funds are required to treat a student’s gender identity as their sex, including in bathrooms. The Biden administration also revised Title IX last month. Under the new rules, sex discrimination includes discrimination based on gender identity as well as sexual orientation. A school must not separate or treat people differently based on sex, except under limited circumstances, according to the provisions, and critics say that the change will allow locker rooms and bathrooms to be based on gender identity. Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
Boeing 737: Plane skids off runway in Senegal, tyre bursts in Turkey
Accidents involving Air Senegal, Corendon Airlines come as aircraft manufacturer in crisis over its poor safety record. Two Boeing 737 passenger planes have been involved in accidents in Senegal and Turkey on takeoff and landing, raising further questions about the aircraft manufacturer’s safety record. In Senegal, a chartered Air Senegal Boeing B737-300 plane skidded off a runway before takeoff early on Thursday at Blaise Diagne International Airport in the capital, Dakar. Eight-five people – including two pilots and four cabin crew – were on board the flight operated by TransAir and bound for the Malian capital Bamako. At least 10 people were injured, the transport ministry said. Photos showed the damaged plane at a standstill in a grassy field with a damaged wing, its emergency exit slides deployed. Videos shared on social media appeared to show a left wing on fire. The aircraft was later cordoned off with red and white tape, the Reuters news agency reported. The facility was closed after the accident but had reopened by 11:00 GMT, the airport operator said. In Turkey, 190 people – including six crew members – were safely evacuated from a Boeing 737-800 belonging to Corendon Airlines after one of the aircraft’s tyres burst on Thursday during landing at Gazipasa, an airport near the Mediterranean coastal town of Alanya. Corendon Airlines denied Turkish media reports that the aircraft, which had arrived from Cologne, Germany, had landed on its nose. Turkey’s Ministry for Transport and Infrastructure reported damage to the plane’s nose landing gear. Flights were diverted to nearby Antalya airport while the aircraft was removed, the ministry said. It was the second incident at a Turkish airport in as many days. On Wednesday, a Boeing 767 cargo aircraft belonging to FedEx made an emergency landing at Istanbul Airport after its front landing gear failed. No one was injured and the crew safely evacuated the aircraft. Manufacturers are not typically involved in the operation or maintenance of jets once they enter service, but Boeing has been under intense media and regulatory scrutiny following a series of incidents involving its 737s. In January, a door panel blew out of a Boeing 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight. The midair blowout followed two 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. Further denting the company’s image, air safety officials in the United States are currently investigating whether employees at Boeing falsified inspection records for the 787 Dreamliner. Adblock test (Why?)
Israeli activists block Gaza-bound aid trucks on desert highway
NewsFeed Drone footage captured a long line of aid trucks bound for Gaza stuck on a narrow mountain pass after being blocked by Israeli activists. The demonstrators covered the roadway with large stones to prevent their passage through Mitzpe Ramon. Published On 9 May 20249 May 2024 Adblock test (Why?)