Wisconsin judge dismisses lawsuit challenging state’s new wolf management plan
A lawsuit filed by animal welfare advocates seeking to invalidate Wisconsin’s new wolf management plan was dismissed by a judge on Monday. Dane County Circuit Judge Stephen Ehlke threw out the case that accused Wisconsin wildlife officials of violating the state’s open meetings law and disregarding comments from wolf researchers and supporters, reflecting how contentious the debate over wolf management has become in the state. WISCONSIN DNR DEFENDS NO POPULATION CAP IN WOLF MANAGEMENT PLAN Ehlke ruled from the bench, granting a motion to dismiss filed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and its board. The lawsuit was filed by the Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance, also known as Friends of the Wisconsin Wolf & Wildlife. The lawsuit alleged that Department of Natural Resources policy board members collected comments on the wolf management plan from interest groups it favored even after the public comment period ended. The lawsuit focused on three private discussions attended by members of the board hosted by the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, the Wisconsin Association of Sporting Dogs, and Wisconsin Wolf Facts. The lawsuit alleged that even though a quorum of board members didn’t attend any of the meetings, enough of them participated to influence changes to the plan in violation of the state open meetings law. The judge said the open meetings law did not apply to the meetings in question because there was not a sufficient number of board members present to constitute a meeting. Ehlke also rejected allegations of due process and administrative procedure violations. The judge also rejected arguments that comments by Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance were ignored during formation of the wolf plan. The group didn’t cite any case to back up their discrimination claims, Ehlke said. Allowing them to allege that they were discriminated against would mean that anyone could make that argument when a governmental body does something they don’t like, the judge said. “This makes no sense to me and would cause governmental operations to grind to a halt,” the judge said. Susann Bradford, attorney for the Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance, asked the judge to reconsider the ruling. The judge denied that request. Bradford said after the hearing that the group was reviewing whether to file an appeal. Farmers in northern Wisconsin have complained for years that the wolf population is multiplying too quickly and preying on their livestock. Hunters say wolves are devastating the deer population across the northern reaches of the state. Conservationists argue that wolves have yet to firmly establish themselves in Wisconsin and need protection. The DNR’s board adopted the wolf management plan in October. It recommends maintaining the statewide population at about 1,000 wolves but doesn’t set a hard limit. The plan instead recommends allowing the population to grow or decline at certain numerical thresholds. State wildlife officials have said a lack of a hard limit gives the DNR more flexibility to manage the species, allows local wolf packs to fluctuate and gives the population a better chance at maintaining wolf abundance for years to come. Hunting advocates support setting a population limit, saying the lack of a goal leaves both wolves and people unprotected. Conservation groups opposed a provision related to how the DNR would respond to certain population ranges in different parts of the state. Last year, a federal judge placed gray wolves in the lower 48 states back on the endangered species list, making hunting illegal and limiting farmers to nonlethal control methods, such as fencing in livestock or using guard dogs. The DNR updated its wolf management plan in case wolves are removed from the list and hunting can resume. The U.S. House passed a bill last week to take wolves off the endangered species list, but it is likely doomed under opposition from the Biden administration. Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature passed a bill to require setting a specific population goal, but Democratic Gov. Tony Evers vetoed it.
Jury convicts North Dakota lawmaker of misdemeanor speculation
A jury in North Dakota on Friday convicted a state lawmaker of a misdemeanor in connection with a state-leased building he has ownership ties to. A legislative leader said he disagrees with the verdict and plans to review the statute and rules involved. Republican Rep. Jason Dockter, of Bismarck, was charged in December 2023 with speculating or wagering on official action. He pleaded not guilty. The charge has a maximum penalty of 360 days in jail and/or a $3,000 fine. Dockter declined to comment on the verdict but said he will consider an appeal. His sentencing has yet to be scheduled. A criminal complaint alleged that, as a member of the North Dakota House of Representatives, Dockter voted “on legislative bills appropriating money to pay for property he had acquired a pecuniary interest in,” against the law and legislative rules. The charge arose from complaints to the state Ethics Commission. NORTH DAKOTA LAWMAKER HIT WITH MISDEMEANOR CHARGE IN SPECULATION CASE Republican House Majority Leader Mike Lefor said the case is concerning because “legislators aren’t going to feel comfortable knowing what a conflict of interest is.” “I’m thinking that we need to visit legislative rules, look at state statutes and have a thoughtful conversation with the Ethics Commission so that we can make absolutely sure that legislators are not looking over their shoulder worrying about does it rise to the level of a conflict of interest or not?” Lefor said. He called it a “slippery slope” for scenarios of a legislator who is a teacher voting on an education bill or a farmer voting on agricultural issues. Prosecutor Ladd Erickson declined to comment on the verdict. Dockter’s charge is part of a nearly two-year-old controversy involving the building, leased by the late Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem for consolidating divisions of his office, that under Stenehjem incurred a cost overrun of over $1 million that hasn’t been fully reconciled. Stenehjem’s successor, Attorney General Drew Wrigley, disclosed the overrun and that Stenehjem’s state email account was deleted days after his death in January 2022 at the direction of his executive assistant, Liz Brocker, who later resigned. A prosecutor declined to bring charges for the deleted emails. Dockter is a co-owner of companies that own and worked on the building. He was friends with Stenehjem, but has denied any wrongdoing in the lease arrangement. Dockter was first elected in 2012. He was reelected in 2022 without opposition. Democratic House Minority Leader Zac Ista called on Dockter to resign after the verdict. Dockter said he has no immediate plans to do so. Lefor said he doesn’t expect the Republican-majority House to take any immediate steps against Dockter. The Legislature is not in session, and isn’t scheduled to convene until January 2025, after a December organizational session. The cost overrun and deleted emails shocked state lawmakers, who raised concerns about trust and transparency. Earlier this year, Wrigley’s office recovered thousands of Stenehjem’s emails through a cellphone backup and released them in response to records requests. Stenehjem’s phone data became part of an investigation into former state senator Ray Holmberg, who is accused of traveling to Europe with the intent of paying for sex with a minor. Holmberg’s trial is set for September.
Trump says jail time to defend free speech a ‘sacrifice’ he’s willing to make
Former President Donald Trump said he’d make the “sacrifice” of going to jail to defend free speech amid the trial in Manhattan where the 45th president is under a gag order he has slammed as “unconstitutional.” “I have to watch every word I tell you people. You ask me a question, a simple question I’d like to give it, but I can’t talk about it because this judge has given me a gag order and [says] you’ll go to jail if you violate it,” Trump said in remarks outside the courtroom Monday afternoon. “And frankly, you know what? Our Constitution is much more important than jail. It’s not even close. I’ll do that sacrifice any day.” Earlier Monday, presiding Judge Juan Merchan said he will consider a jail sentence for Trump if he continues to violate the gag order. The gag order prevents Trump from making or directing others to make public statements about witnesses and their potential participation or remarks about court staff, DA staff or family members of staff. LIVE UPDATES: TRUMP ORG EMPLOYEE TAKES STAND AS PROSECUTORS BUILD TO MICHAEL COHEN TESTIMONY The DA’s office argued that Trump violated the order more than a dozen times, with the judge ruling last week that Trump violated the order nine times, resulting in a combined $9,000 fine. Merchan fined the former president another $1,000 for an additional violation on Monday, while arguing it’s “clear” that $1,000 fines for each violation are not effective. “The last thing I want to consider is jail,” Merchan said. “You are [the] former president and possibly the next president.” In the judge’s initial gag order ruling last Tuesday, he threatened Trump with jail time if he further violated the order, while also lamenting not being able to fine Trump more than $1,000 for each violation. Merchan wrote in the Tuesday order that if Trump carries out “continued willful violations” of the gag order, he could face “incarceratory punishment” if “necessary and appropriate.” NY V TRUMP TO RESUME MONDAY AFTER EVENTFUL 3RD WEEK OF TESTIMONY, THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF GAG ORDER FINES In the text of his order, Merchan lamented that the fines’ costs “unfortunately will not achieve the desired result in those instances where the contemnor can easily afford such a fine.” Merchan continued in the order last week that it would be “preferable” if the court “could impose a fine more commensurate with the wealth of the contemnor.” “In some cases that might be a $2,500 fine, in other cases it might be a fine of $150,000. Because this Court is not cloaked with such discretion, it must therefore consider whether in some instances, jail may be a necessary punishment,” he said, highlighting again that Trump could face time behind bars if he continues violating the order. HOPE HICKS: COHEN CALLED HIMSELF ‘MR FIX IT’ ONLY BECAUSE HE ‘BROKE IT’ Trump, who is standing trial over 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, has railed against the gag order as “unconstitutional” and accused Merchan of “election interference,” while slamming the case overall as a “scam” promoted by the Biden administration. Trump said in his remarks Monday that the trial will last an additional two to three weeks, which he said delighted Merchan as he will be kept away from the presidential campaign trail. “So we just found out the government just said that they want two to three more weeks. That means they want to keep me off the trail for two to three more weeks. Now, anybody in there would realize there’s no case. They don’t have a case. Every legal scholar says they don’t have a case. This is just a political witch hunt. It’s election interference. And this is really truly election interference. And it’s a disgrace,” Trump charged, while noting his high poll numbers. NY V TRUMP: WITNESS SAYS COHEN DREAMED OF WHITE HOUSE JOB DESPITE DENYING AMBITIONS IN HOUSE TESTIMONY “The judge is so happy about two to three more weeks because they all want to keep me off the campaign trail. That’s all this is about. This is about election interference.“ HUSH MONEY TRIAL JUDGE DOUBLES DOWN ON NOT SHOWING TRUMP ‘ACCESS HOLLYWOOD’ TAPE TO JURORS Monday marked the beginning of the fourth week of the trial where Trump’s facing 34 counts of falsifying business records. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The case focuses on Trump’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, paying former pornographic actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 to allegedly quiet her claims of an alleged extramarital affair she had with the then-real estate tycoon in 2006. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels. Prosecutors allege that the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen and fraudulently logged the payments as legal expenses. Prosecutors are working to prove that Trump falsified records with the intent to commit or conceal a second crime, which is a felony.
CO Legislature passes funeral home crackdown after fake ashes, heaps of rotting bodies make national headlines
Colorado lawmakers passed a sweeping bill Monday to overhaul the state’s lax oversight over funeral homes after a series of horrific incidents, including sold body parts, fake ashes and the discovery of 190 decaying bodies. The cases have devastated hundreds of already grieving families, and encouraged lawmakers to pass the bill, which now goes to Democratic Gov. Jared Polis’ desk for a signature. COLORADO DENTIST ACCUSED OF POISONING WIFE TRIED TO GET FELLOW INMATE TO PLANT FAKE SUICIDE NOTES: POLICE If signed, the law would give regulators far greater enforcement power over funeral homes and require routine inspections of facilities including after one shutters. It joins a second bill that passed both chambers last week which, if signed, would require funeral home directors and other industry roles to pass a background check, get a degree in mortuary science, and pass a national examination and an apprenticeship. The legislations’ passage arrives after the 190 decomposing bodies were found at a funeral homes’ bug-infested facility about two hours south of Denver. The owners have been arrested and face hundreds of charges, including abuse of a corpse. At another Colorado funeral home in February, a body was left for over a year in the back of a hearse. Colorado’s funeral home regulations are some of the weakest in the nation. Funeral home directors don’t have to graduate high school and regulators weren’t required to do routine inspections, as is the case in many other states. These bills would be a dramatic update, putting Colorado on par with the rest of the country.
The Texas Tribune has been named a Pulitzer Prize finalist for the first time
Alongside partners ProPublica and FRONTLINE, the Tribune was recognized in the explanatory reporting category for our investigative coverage of the 2022 Uvalde school shooting.
Nashik Maharashtra Lok Sabha election 2024: Check important dates, key candidates, past results and more
The date of voting for the Nashik Lok Sabha Constituency Election 2024 is on 20 May.
NY v Trump: DA’s witness testifies Trump did not direct him on Cohen repayments
Former President Trump did not personally direct a Trump Organization executive to set up reimbursement payments to former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, according to witness testimony Monday in the NY v. Trump case. “Michael Cohen was a lawyer?” defense attorney Emil Bove asked former Trump Organization controller Jeffrey McConney on Monday at the start of the fourth week of the trial. “Sure, yes,” McConney responded. “And payments to lawyers by the Trump Organization are legal expenses, right?” asked Bove. “Yes,” said McConney. LIVE UPDATES: EX-TRUMP ORG CONTROLLER TAKES STAND AS PROSECUTORS BUILD TO MICHAEL COHEN TESTIMONY “President Trump did not ask you to do any of the things you just described … correct?” Bove asked. “He did not,” McConney replied. NY V TRUMP TO RESUME MONDAY AFTER EVENTFUL 3RD WEEK OF TESTIMONY, THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS OF GAG ORDER FINES Trump is in Manhattan for the fourth week of a trial in which he faces 34 counts of falsifying business records. The NY v. Trump case focuses on Trump’s former attorney, Cohen, paying former pornographic actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 to allegedly quiet her claims of an alleged extramarital affair she had with the then-real estate tycoon in 2006. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels. Prosecutors allege that the Trump Organization reimbursed Cohen and fraudulently logged the payments as legal expenses. Prosecutors are working to prove that Trump falsified records with the intent to commit or conceal a second crime, which is a felony. McConney, who served as the Trump Organization’s controller for more than two decades, took the stand Monday, where he was grilled by both prosecutors and the defense team. HOPE HICKS: COHEN CALLED HIMSELF ‘MR FIX IT’ ONLY BECAUSE HE ‘BROKE IT’ McConney testified that he was directed by former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg to reimburse Cohen with $35,000 per month payments, with the last being sent to Cohen in December 2017. McConney also detailed that Cohen was initially reimbursed through a trust before switching to payments from Trump’s personal account. An email from McConney to Cohen was entered into evidence, which showed the controller replying to Cohen and confirming that checks would have to be sent to the White House to be signed by Trump. Cohen was paid a total of $420,000, according to the testimony, a sum that was “grossed up” so Cohen wouldn’t lose money through taxes. NY V TRUMP: WITNESS SAYS COHEN DREAMED OF WHITE HOUSE JOB DESPITE DENYING AMBITIONS IN HOUSE TESTIMONY His testimony during cross-examination bolstered the Trump team’s defense, with McConney outlining that the 45th president did not have an active role in the reimbursements to Cohen. “And as far as you know, President Trump did not ask anyone to do those things?” Bove continued, as prosecutors objected. “In none of the conversations that you had with Mr. Weisselberg, did he suggest that President Trump had told him to do these things?” Bove pressed. HUSH MONEY TRIAL JUDGE DOUBLES DOWN ON NOT SHOWING TRUMP ‘ACCESS HOLLYWOOD’ TAPE TO JURORS “Allen never told me that,” McConney said. TRUMP DELIVERS PIZZA TO NEW YORK CITY FIREFIGHTERS IN CAMPAIGN STOP AFTER DAY IN COURT McConney is the prosecution team’s 10th witness since the trial began in mid-April. Last week, the court heard from Keith Davidson, an attorney who once represented Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal; computer forensic analyst for the DA’s office Doug Daus; bank executive Gary Farro; and Hope Hicks, who worked for the Trump Organization and later served as Trump’s press secretary during the 2016 presidential campaign. The Trump trial is expected to last at least six weeks. Trump has railed against the case as a “scam” promoted by the Biden administration ahead of the 2024 election. Earlier Monday, presiding Judge Juan Merchan said he will consider a jail sentence for Trump if he continues to violate a gag order. The gag order prevents Trump from making or directing others to make public statements about witnesses and their potential participation or remarks about court staff, DA staff or family members of staff. The DA’s office argued that Trump violated the order more than a dozen times, with the judge ruling last week that Trump violated the order nine times, resulting in a combined $9,000 fine. Merchan fined the former president another $1,000 for an additional violation on Monday, while arguing it’s “clear” that $1,000 fines for each violation are not effective. “The last thing I want to consider is jail,” Merchan said. “You are [the] former president and possibly the next president.” Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman and Michael Lee contributed to this report.
Centre favours enhanced security, CCTVs in schools to tackle hoax bomb threats
It asked Delhi Police and schools to have close coordination for an effective response mechanism so that misinformation does not create any unnecessary panic.
Lawmakers introduce legislation holding UNRWA accountable for joining, assisting Hamas terror attack in Israel
Members of Congress are looking to take action against a United Nations agency serving Palestinian refugees in Gaza, amid reports the international organization assisted the Hamas terror group. Reps. Brian Mast, R-Fla., and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., are introducing legislation that would demand the U.S. State Department does everything it can to return American tax dollars that went to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). “For way too long, UNRWA has masqueraded as a relief organization, while in reality serving as an incubator for Palestinian terrorists. Intelligence reports indicate that as many as 10% of UNRWA workers have direct links to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihadists,” Mast said in a statement to Fox News Digital. He added: “It’s ludicrous that our hard-earned American tax dollars were going to fund this crap. The State Department needs to do everything it can to recoup this money.” DOSSIER REVEALS INFORMATION USED TO EXPLAIN UN AGENCY’S DEEP TIES TO HAMAS IN GAZA The legislation comes after allegations surfaced that at least a dozen UNRWA employees joined or otherwise assisted Hamas terrorists during their overnight attack on Israeli border communities on Oct. 7. The attack left more than 1,200 people dead, and Hamas took more than 200 hostages from a music festival and from their homes back into Gaza. After reports that some UNRWA members helped Hamas, the Biden administration announced on Jan. 26 that it would stop additional taxpayer dollars from going to the agency. Just days before the freeze, however, the administration had already transferred $121 million to UNRWA. Mast and Gottheimer’s bipartisan bill hopes to recoup that sum to the U.S. The legislation is part of a continued effort from the U.S. — and other countries — to separate itself from the agency. ISRAEL URGES PALESTINIANS TO EVACUATE RAFAH AHEAD OF EXPECTED GROUND OPERATION IN HAMAS STRONGHOLD U.S. intelligence in February said it was likely some employees of UNRWA participated in the attack, but it also said it could not verify Israeli allegations of wider links between the agency and UNRWA, according to The Wall Street Journal. In March, the Israeli government named 12 UNRWA employees who had ties to and assisted Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel in a dossier that it shared with several of its allies. Three were suspected of being involved in the kidnapping of the hostages or keeping them in their homes. The agency fired the 12 employees named in the allegations, but the damage was already done and UNRWA lost hundreds of millions of dollars from donors after the dossier was sent. The information includes allegations that approximately 1,200 employees shared some connection with Hamas — including around 17% of UNRWA teachers (out of a total 8,300) and around 20% of UNRWA school principals and deputy principals (out of a total 500) are members of Hamas. Ties to the group extend to UNRWA workers in positions related to relief and humanitarian aid, with about 10% of the 151 relief workers, and members of UNRWA’s health services. The dossier also included excerpts from textbooks used in the agency’s school curriculum that allegedly include glorification of martyrdom and antisemitic tropes. Maps provided to children in their textbooks show a singular land where Israel and the Palestinian territories exist but labeled as a singular Palestine. After the report surfaced, Congress passed legislation to defund UNRWA until 2025. Other governments similarly cut financial ties to UNRWA. The report and subsequent response comes years after former President Trump took action against UNRWA when he was serving in the White House. Fox News’ Peter Aitken contributed to this report.
Rumble reveals censorship demands from surprising list of countries as CEO to testify on free speech threats
EXCLUSIVE: Rumble, a popular video-sharing and cloud service platform, has revealed a number of censorship demands it’s received from the governments of countries that may surprise many. The major tech company shared the details of those demands with Fox News Digital, as well as CEO Chris Pavlovski’s prepared remarks for his testimony on Capitol Hill this week, which will take place at a House hearing centered on rising censorship and free speech concerns in Brazil. “Freedom of speech and freedom of expression are the cornerstones of a democratic society,” Pavlovski is expected to tell members of the House Subcommittee on Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations on Tuesday. WAR VETERAN IN CRUCIAL BATTLEGROUND RACE EXPANDS CAMPAIGN, SETS SIGHTS FIRMLY ON VULNERABLE DEMOCRAT “Freedom of expression is so important, that not only is it the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, but it is also Article 19 in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights,” he is expected to say. “It is extremely troubling to me that in 2024 I have to come before the U.S. Congress to testify that these fundamental rights are being threatened.” Of those threats Pavlovski is expected to mention – most of which would be considered the norm by countries like China, Russia or North Korea – the perpetrators are actually liberal democracies where personal freedoms have typically been held in high regard. According to Rumble, it’s become a common theme for those countries to try and control what can and cannot be said online, especially if the content happens to be politically unpopular or inconvenient for their respective governments. One such demand came from the French government, which wanted Rumble to essentially take action reminiscent of the Chinese Communist Party by removing content posted on its site by Russia Today – an outlet funded by the Russian government – despite none of its posting policies being violated. Rumble is in the midst of a legal battle with the French government over the demand despite trying to engage with it over the content, and has temporarily suspended its service in the country. FORMER TRUMP OFFICIAL ANNOUNCES MAJOR ‘DEPORT THEM ALL’ BORDER INITIATIVE AMID BID TO FLIP CRUCIAL SENATE SEAT A similar situation has played out in Brazil following President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s election victory in 2022 and subsequent protests by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro that some likened to the Jan. 6, 2021, protests at the U.S. Capitol. According to Rumble, whose services are also suspended in the country amid ongoing legal challenges, the Brazilian government has attempted to censor political opponents and journalists on the site. Additionally, Rumble has faced pressure from the Australian and New Zealand governments to remove content from its site, including the viral video of a Sydney bishop being attacked while conducting a church service, and data released by a government whistleblower concerning the efficacy of a COVID-19 vaccine. The company is challenging those governments as well. In his congressional testimony, Pavlovski is expected to inform the committee about the efforts by France, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil to block the availability of certain content from their respective citizens, and will emphasize the “overt” nature of governments’ censorship attempts. GOP IN BATTLEGROUND STATES RIP TRUMP TRIAL JUDGE’S ‘DANGEROUS’ RULING “Governments are acting in ways we only imagine happening 50 to 60 years ago, openly asking platforms to censor and take down disfavored content. They are back in the business of thinking they know what’s best, dictating and controlling conversations, and stripping the human right to speak and share freely,” Pavloski is expected to testify. “These are not theoretical fears. These things are happening, and I know this personally as the CEO of a platform that receives demands from governments around the world,” he will say. “Countries in every hemisphere, all of them members of the United Nations, are no longer upholding the human right to freedom of expression. This is getting out of control, and it should alarm everyone in this room.” Pavlovski is expected to call on the U.S. government to no longer remain “silent” on the issue of defending freedom of speech, and will issue a stark warning that although Rumble is facing these demands today, it could be other outlets in the future. “Today it is Rumble, yesterday it was X, but tomorrow it could be The New York Times. The platform shouldn’t matter; the universal right to freedom of speech and expression – the core of Western democracy – is at stake. America needs to step up and take a leading role,” he will add.