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Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein among 100 arrested protesting at Washington University

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein among 100 arrested protesting at Washington University

Green Party 2024 presidential candidate Jill Stein was among 100 people arrested Saturday at Washington University in St. Louis, her campaign manager confirmed to Fox News Digital. Stein’s campaign manager, Jason Call, said that he, Stein and deputy campaign manager Kelly Merrill-Cayer were all arrested at the encampment on the campus. “The demand from the encampment was specifically for the university to divest from Boeing, which manufactures munitions used in the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza at their nearby St Charles facility,” Call said to Fox News Digital. “The Stein campaign supports the demands of the students and their peaceful protest and assembly on campus. Student protest for peace and civil liberties has always represented the best part of our collective moral conscience. Solidarity.” More than 100 people were arrested at the Washington University anti-Israel protest on Saturday, which is one of many demonstrations taking place this week at college campuses across the country. STUDENTS ARE REJECTING ELITE COLLEGES LIKE COLUMBIA AND YALE TO ATTEND SOUTHERN SCHOOLS LIKE CLEMSON: REPORT “The Stein campaign supports the demands of the students and their peaceful protest and assembly on campus. Student protest for peace and civil liberties has always represented the best part of our collective moral conscience. Solidarity,” the campaign’s statement HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS ACCEPTED TO COLUMBIA SAYING ‘NO THANK YOU’ DUE TO ANTISEMITISM: COLLEGE CONSULTANT Stein’s arrest comes amid surging anti-Israel protests across the country, with incidents of antisemitism also on the rise. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP USC has closed its campus to non-residents and canceled on-stage graduations. More than 100 were arrested this week at Columbia University and dozens were arrested at the University of Texas on Wednesday as well. Demonstrations and protests have also taken place at Yale, Harvard, Minnesota, Johns Hopkins and Arizona State University, where 93 people were arrested on Saturday morning. Fox News’ Scott McDonald contributed to this report

RFK Jr. challenges Trump to debate after ‘Democrat plant’ accusation

RFK Jr. challenges Trump to debate after ‘Democrat plant’ accusation

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. responded to former President Trump’s allegations he is a “Democrat plant” and would be a “wasted protest vote,” challenging the presumptive Republican presidential nominee to a debate.  “When frightened men take to social media they risk descending into vitriol, which makes them sound unhinged,” Kennedy wrote in an X post on Saturday afternoon. “President Trump’s rant against me is a barely coherent barrage of wild and inaccurate claims that should best be resolved in the American tradition of presidential debate. President Trump, who has proven himself the most adept debater in modern American political history, should not be panicked to meet me on that stage.”  RFK Jr. said he will prove Trump “betrayed the hopes of his most sincere followers,” arguing the former president “promised to end the Ukraine war and then colluded with Speaker Johnson and President Biden to fund it.” Kennedy Jr. also said Trump “let Big Pharma and his corrupt bureaucrats run roughshod over him as President,” and “promised to cut the deficit and ran up the biggest debt in history.” “He promised to run the government like a business and then closed down our businesses. He promised to drain the swamp and then filled his administration with swamp creatures,” RFK Jr. said. “He promised to protect our rights and then torpedoed the Constitution.” TRUMP ACCUSES RFK JR. OF BEING A ‘DEMOCRAT PLANT’ AND ‘WASTED PROTEST VOTE’ “Instead of lobbing poisonous bombs from the safety of his bunker, let’s hear President Trump defend his record to me mano-a-mano by respectful, congenial debate,” Kennedy concluded. Trump’s 2020 campaign notably called out Biden’s “bunker” strategy, condemning how the Democrat largely stayed away from the campaign trail and ducked the public eye while running for president.  Kennedy’s challenge came after Trump blasted the independent presidential candidate on TRUTH Social. “RFK Jr. is a Democrat ‘Plant,’ a Radical Left Liberal who’s been put in place in order to help Crooked Joe Biden, the Worst President in the History of the United States, get Re-Elected,” Trump wrote in a series of posts earlier Saturday. “A Vote for Junior’ would essentially be a WASTED PROTEST VOTE, that could swing either way, but would only swing against the Democrats if Republicans knew the true story about him.” RFK JR.’S RUNNING MATE AN ‘UNKNOWN QUANTITY’ WITH ‘DEEP POCKETS’ AS GOP, DEMS FEAR SPOILER CAMPAIGN: EXPERTS Trump charged that RFK Jr. “is totally Anti-Gun, an Extreme Environmentalist who makes the Green New Scammers look Conservative, a Big Time Taxer and Open Border Advocate, and Anti-Military/Vet.”  “His Radicalized Family will never allow him to be a Republican, and his Chief ‘Funder’ is the V.P. Candidate that nobody ever heard of, except her ex-husband, who’s been stripped of a big chunk of cash,” Trump continued, taking a swipe at Kennedy’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan.  Trump said that while living in New York at the same time as Kennedy, he watched the former Democrat convince former Gov. Andrew Cuomo “to make environmental moves that were outright NASTY,” noting that upstate New York “was not allowed to drill or frack as Ohio, Pennsylvania, and others ripped off New York Energy,” causing energy costs in upstate New York and New England to skyrocket.  “His Views on Vaccines are FAKE, as is everything else about his Candidacy. Let the Democrats have RFK Jr. They deserve him!” Trump said. 

Dems disagree on whether party has antisemitism problem

Dems disagree on whether party has antisemitism problem

Democrats are not seeing eye to eye on whether the party has a problem with antisemitism ahead of the November general election.  “It’s easy to call out people with Tiki torches saying ‘Jews will not replace us’ or the former president saying ‘very fine people on both sides,’ Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., said in a statement to Fox News Digital, referencing a rally with White supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.  “However, when Democrats look inward and see ‘go back to Poland’ or ‘kill the Zionists,’ they pretend the antisemitic rhetoric on the left isn’t happening, or they are silent,” he added. “And as it turns out, the left and the right have something in common.” As the war between Israel and terrorist group Hamas has gone on, initially spurred by the latter’s surprise attack on innocent civilians on Oct. 7, acts of antisemitism have been observed more often in the U.S.  DEM SENATE CANDIDATE ELISSA SLOTKIN’S ‘SMALL CONSULTING BUSINESS’ MAY HAVE NEVER BEEN ACTIVE The Anti-Defamation League reported that U.S. antisemitic assaults in the three months following the October attack in Israel shot up, surpassing the totals for entire years in the past.  The ADL said 3,291 assaults happened between Oct. 7 and Jan. 7. In 2022, 3,697 assaults occurred over the course of the entire year. The totals for each of the last 10 years, except for 2022, were less than that three-month period following the beginning of Israel’s war with Hamas.  This month, anti-Israel and antisemitic demonstrations rapidly expanded at top-tier universities, with a Gaza solidarity encampment that is persisting at Columbia University inspiring many of its higher education counterparts to take over their respective campuses, disrupt school activity, and intimidate Jewish students.  A rabbi at the New York school ultimately reccommended Columbia Jewish students return home to ensure their own safety. While many Republican lawmakers have been quick to call out the demonstrations, Democrats have more often been quiet, and they have also been measured in their responses and calls for action from schools and police.  Some Democrats have even supported the encampment at Columbia, such as Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., who recently visited students involved in the protest.  TOP SENATE DEM CALLS FOR PROBE INTO MUSLIMS PROSECUTED BY DOJ FOR ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSINGS Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has additionally discouraged the use of police enforcement against such demonstrations.  Rachel Rosen, the chief communications officer for the group Democratic Majority for Israel, told Fox News Digital, “Antisemitism is emanating from the far left and the far right.” However, she said, “President Biden has forcefully condemned antisemitism and defended Israel.” JEWISH DEMOCRAT CALLS OUT BERNIE SANDERS OVER OPPOSITION TO ISRAEL AID: ‘NOW DO ANTISEMITISM’ She added, “We’re still waiting for GOP leaders to condemn Marjorie Taylor Greene’s ‘Jewish space lasers,’ the Republican candidate for governor of North Carolina’s Holocaust denialism and Donald Trump’s disgraceful trafficking in antisemitic tropes and dining with an actual Nazi.”  “Donald Trump regularly demeans Jewish Americans, dines with White nationalists, and said Adolf Hitler ‘did some good things,’” agreed Eric Schultz, senior advisor to former President Barack Obama. “Most Jewish voters support President Biden and that is because he has shown steadfast support for the Jewish people, especially with antisemitism on the rise.” The White House didn’t provide comment on whether the Democratic Party has a problem with antisemitism to Fox News Digital in time for publication.  Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., who has emerged as a vocal advocate of Israel, was quick to say the party does have such a problem: “The far left, clearly. And that seems to manifest itself especially on the college campuses,” he said.  According to Fetterman, the Democrats can grapple with the issue “by calling it out,” which he noted he has been doing. However, he said he wasn’t going to give his colleagues advice on how to do so. “I’m not aware of it,” Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said when asked by Fox News Digital if the Democrats had an issue with antisemitism within the party. “But if there is, I’d be concerned.” Tester is campaigning for re-election in Montana, which is poised to be one of the most competitive races in the country, rating as a “Toss Up” by non-partisan political handicapper the Cook Political Report.  Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., shared with Fox News Digital that he doesn’t believe there is an issue among Democrats with antisemitism. “I don’t believe there are antisemites among Democrats in the United States Congress,” he said, noting that he couldn’t possibly know the beliefs of every individual Democratic voter.  HELP CHAIRMAN BERNIE SANDERS AVOIDS AGREEING TO CAMPUS ANTISEMITISM HEARINGS “People often say things that may be misconstrued,” he explained. “And sometimes they say things that are offensive. But I don’t believe deep in their hearts people in the United States Congress hate Jews.” Several Democrats, prompted as to whether there is specifically an issue on the left, avoided answering, instead condemning antisemitism in general.  “As the co-founder of the Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism, I’ve been working across the aisle to fight the scourge of antisemitism wherever it rears its ugly head, regardless of political party or ideology,” Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., said in a statement to Fox News Digital. Rosen is the only Jewish woman in the Senate.  Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., similarly emphasized in a statement, “Antisemitism has no place in our country and I condemn this hate in no uncertain terms.”  The women each face their own competitive re-election battles in Nevada and Wisconsin in November.  Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., didn’t answer whether there was a problem within the party, but noted he felt badly for students across the country who are having school and graduation ceremonies potentially interrupted amid the hysteria of the demonstrations.  GOP LAWMAKERS DEMAND BIDEN ADMIN PROSECUTE ‘PRO-TERRORIST MOBS,’ HOLD SCHOOLS ACCOUNTABLE The question was also sidestepped by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., whose office directed Fox News Digital instead to recent legislation he introduced to address antisemitism on college campuses. 

California crime reform gets ‘unheard of’ support from DAs, small businesses, progressive mayors

California crime reform gets ‘unheard of’ support from DAs, small businesses, progressive mayors

A measure to reform California’s crime referendum that downgrades penalties for petty theft and drug possession will be on the ballot in November after garnering an “unheard of” number of signatures.  The 2014 law in question, Proposition 47, reclassified several felonies, including retail and property theft, as misdemeanors.  Under Prop 47, petty theft of goods valued under $950 is classified as a misdemeanor, even for multiple offenses. It also took a broad swath of narcotics possession offenses that were previously felonies and converted them to misdemeanors. But a ballot initiative to amend Prop 47, called the Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act, secured over 900,000 citizen signatures required to put the measure to an official vote in November, far surpassing the roughly 500,000 required signatures. PROGRESSIVE CALIFORNIA MAYORS BACK EFFORT TO AMEND CRIME LAWS AMID ‘RAMPANT’ DRUGS AND THEFT Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho, who supported the effort, said in an interview with Fox News Digital that some Golden State residents waited hours in line to sign the petition.  “That’s how, that’s how popular it is. That’s the sentiment of people, and it’s across all spectrums,” Ho said. “It cuts across party lines and cuts across racial lines, social and economic lines. It’s small businesses, big businesses, everyday people” who are “very passionate” about seeing reforms, he added. Prop 47, enacted in 2014, was an effort to reduce incarcerations. One of the mechanisms for making any changes is that it can’t be done through legislation, only through the people’s direct vote.  “We needed about almost 500,000 signatures in order to get it on the ballot. Instead, we ended up collecting orders and turning over 900,000 signatures. That is unheard of,” Ho said.  The DA said that while he is in favor of the “spirit” behind Prop 47, the law needs to be changed to stem its “unintended consequences,” which he identified as a “fentanyl crisis,” a “retail theft crisis” and a “homeless crisis.”  Ho noted a big-box retailer in Sacramento told him that the region ranks No. 1 in theft for the company, and that one of their stores in the area saw a 253% increase in theft between 2022 and 2023.  NEWSOM SENDING 120 CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL OFFICERS TO OAKLAND TO CRACK DOWN ON ‘ALARMING’ CRIME SURGE He also said one mom-and-pop convenience store in the area reported that 6 out of 10 of their customers were committing theft. “And then you talk about fentanyl. We see a true crisis in terms of fentanyl overdoses and deaths. Four hundred people last year died of fentanyl poisoning in Sacramento County. We see the No. 1 cause of death in our homeless population is drug overdose primarily from fentanyl,” Ho remarked.  Should the initiative pass, it would add fentanyl to the list of hard drugs — like heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine — that are illegal to possess with a firearm and authorizes greater consequences for selling deadly quantities.  It would also enable stricter penalties for dealers whose trafficking causes death or serious injury, and warns traffickers of potential murder charges if continued drug trafficking results in fatalities. “So there are a number of things that kind of interplay together here, and I think people see a public safety crisis. And as a result of that, people were standing in line waiting up to half an hour, an hour to sign the petition,” Ho said.  Two Democratic progressive mayors in two of California’s biggest cities — San Francisco Mayor London Breed and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan — endorsed the reform campaign earlier this year. Breed, who initially supported Prop 47, said she’s now seeing unintended consequences of the measure as she tries to crack down on illegal drugs and theft in her city, the San Francisco Chronicle reported in February. “Our goal is not to keep people locked up,” she said. “But when there are no real consequences for crimes that are committed in this city, that’s a real problem.” NEWSOM RECALLS SEEING BRAZEN THEFT, REFUSES PHOTO AND ASKS FOR MANAGER WHEN WORKER BLAMES HIM: LEAKED VIDEO If passed, reforms to Prop 47 would classify repeated theft as a felony for individuals who steal less than $950 if they have two or more prior theft-related convictions. It would also allow stolen property values from multiple thefts to be combined, so repeat offenders can be charged with a felony if the total exceeds $950. It authorizes judges to impose an enhanced penalty when an offender steals, damages or destroys property by participating in organized theft with two or more offenders or by causing losses of $50,000 or more.  The initiative would also enact a new class of crime called a “treatment-mandated felony,” where offenders with multiple hard drug possession convictions would be given the option of participating in drug and mental health treatment in lieu of incarceration. It also would allow offenders who successfully complete treatment to avoid jail time and have the charge fully expunged. Among the many signatories are California business owners who are looking for a policy change to curb crime affecting their livelihoods. Tony Konja, owner of high-end liquor store chain Keg N Bottle in San Diego, told Fox News Digital that the opportunity to allow voters to change the crime law gives him and other business owners “hope.”  “It gives us hope that it’s going to change, because something has to happen,” he said. “You know, it’s hard to make it these days as a small business owner.” Konja, who inherited the business from his father, said, “What’s insane is just how, before, when some crimes happened, you call the police, and they come, and people were scared to commit crime.”  But now, he said, “the brazenness of the homeless and the brazenness of the people that come in to steal is insane.” Konja said the crimes span all levels of sophistication and happen so frequently that sometimes police don’t ever come to the scene.  “Police don’t even come out sometimes, and it takes too long for them to come

Vulnerable House Dem ‘fighting’ to retain his seat rejects GOP challenger’s claim he’s ‘beholden’ to Biden

Vulnerable House Dem ‘fighting’ to retain his seat rejects GOP challenger’s claim he’s ‘beholden’ to Biden

A North Carolina Democrat seeking re-election in the House says he is “fighting every day” for the families in his district as he fends off accusations made by his Republican challenger that he’s “beholden” to President Biden and dismissive of constituent concerns. Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., said he and his team have “been working so hard to deliver for families across eastern North Carolina” in an interview with Fox News Digital. “In the past few weeks alone, we’ve announced over $13 million in community project funds, 15 different projects in eight counties.” Republican Laurie Buckhout, who is in the race to represent North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, said Davis is a “career politician” who has “never had a day in his life where he’s run a business.”  FORMER ARMY COLONEL SEEKING TO FLIP NORTH CAROLINA HOUSE SEAT SAYS DEM OPPONENT IS ‘BEHOLDEN’ TO BIDEN But Davis, an Air Force veteran, said he is “working every single day to make sure that the people of eastern North Carolina, that their voices are heard in Washington, D.C., that we’re making connections and telling the story.” He also rejected his Republican challenger’s claim he is “beholden” to President Biden and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. “Let me be clear. I want to thank Col. Buckhout for her service to our country. But I think she couldn’t be more off on that whole comment because this is not about being beholden,” he said. “I’ve heard about flipping the seat. But, for me, it’s about fighting every day for families of eastern North Carolina.” Davis said he is “only beholden to the families of eastern North Carolina,” and pointed to his “fight” for farmers and military families in his district. GOP SET TO GAIN 3 US HOUSE SEATS UNDER MAP ADVANCED IN NC SENATE “I’m fighting to make sure that our children, our young people, have a future,” he said. “I’m beholden to that farmer out there who is struggling right now to figure out how they’re going to keep the farm open. I’m beholden right now to those young people who see that they have a future in the East. I’m beholden to those veterans and those military families who are putting their lives on the line every single day. “I’m only beholden to the people of eastern North Carolina, and I think people know that about me.” Buckhout, a former Army colonel and first-time candidate, also took aim at Davis for his voting record. “We have to admit that Davis is just Biden’s, you know, surrogate on the ground,” Buckhout said. “He’s his agent, he’s his guy. He does what Biden says. He votes with Biden.” Davis, however, urged voters to look at his record as he campaigns in the race, which has been ranked a “Democrat Toss Up” by nonpartisan election analyst the Cook Political Report. “Anyone can take a look at my record. I mean, you’re talking to the third-ranking member of our caucus in the Congress when it comes to bipartisanship,” Davis said. Asked about the chief concerns among those living in eastern North Carolina, Davis admitted there are “enormous concerns right now with costs.“ “It’s really costly when you put the cost of food on top of paying rent, a mortgage payment, housing. And we know that we still have great health disparities. And we have to then put some cost of medications on top of that,” he said. “It begins to add up, and it places a lot of stress on families.” Davis said he had made more than 170 different stops in the district as he campaigns for re-election and recognizes that “people are hurting.” “I feel the pain, you know, with the cost of just trying to make ends meet,” he said. Among other concerns, Davis, who previously served as the mayor of Snow Hill, North Carolina, in the early 2000s, said his constituents have been vocal about broadband and infrastructure. In October 2023, the North Carolina General Assembly adopted new congressional district boundaries, adding the counties of Chowan, Franklin, Greene, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Tyrrell and the remainder of Vance to the state’s 1st Congressional District. The newly redrawn district now excludes Wayne County. Davis, who has served in Congress since 2023 and previously served for ten years in the North Carolina state Senate, will face off against Buckhout in the state’s general election Nov. 5.