Maine governor signs off on new gun laws, mental health supports in wake of Lewiston shootings
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills on Friday signed into law a suite of gun safety legislation approved by lawmakers after the deadliest mass shooting in state history, expanding background checks for private sales of weapons, bolstering the state’s “yellow flag” law, criminalizing the transfer of guns to prohibited people and expanding mental health crisis care. The governor told lawmakers during her State of the State address that doing nothing was not an option after an Army reservist with an assault rifle killed 18 people and injured 13 others in Lewiston on Oct. 25. GOVERNOR KILLS MAINE PROPOSAL TO END ‘THREE STRIKES’ LAW FOR PETTY THEFT The bills drew opposition from Republicans who accused Democrats, who control both legislative chambers, of using the tragedy to advance proposals, some of which had been previously defeated. Mills said Friday the proposals would improve public safety while respecting the state’s long traditions of gun ownership and outdoor heritage. “This law represents important, meaningful progress, without trampling on anybody’s rights, and it will better protect public safety by implementing reasonable reforms and by significantly expanding mental health resources,” Mills said. The new law signed by the governor doesn’t require universal background checks but it does require background checks for people who advertise a gun for sale on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace or elsewhere. Sellers would be required to conduct a background check utilizing commercially licensed businesses like L.L. Bean or Cabela’s. The legislation includes changes to the state’s yellow flag law that allows police to assess an individual, take the person into protective custody for a mental health evaluation and hold a hearing before a judge to remove guns from someone in a psychiatric crisis. The new law allows police to go directly to a judge for a warrant, streamlining the process. It eliminates a hurdle when a deputy was stymied by the Lewiston gunman’s refusal to answer the door for a required face-to-face meeting that’s necessary under current law. Law enforcement members have said in testimony about the shootings that the state’s existing yellow flag law was cumbersome and hard to apply. Republicans in the state remain opposed to the bill, specifically because of the expanded background check proposal, said the Maine House of Representatives Republican leader, Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham, on Friday. “House Republicans have voiced ongoing support for strengthening Maine’s so-called yellow flag law and mental health services, but oppose the governor’s bill,” Faulkingham said. “The unenforceable background check provision will only create confusion among law-abiding Mainers.” Supporters of expanded gun control laws, who have advocated for the passage of the new standards for months, described the approval of the rules as a victory. Twenty-two states now have a background check law, said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. Advocates also said they’re hopeful other new gun measures approved by lawmakers in Maine will soon become law. “Today is a victory for the gun violence prevention movement and a demonstration of what Mainers can accomplish to keep our communities safe when we work together,” said Vicki Farsaci, a volunteer with the Maine chapter of Moms Demand Action. The bill signed by the governor also strengthens legal standards for prosecution and penalties to deter other people from selling weapons to prohibited buyers, making it a felony crime. The governor’s office said in a statement that the new approach “will mean that transfers of firearms to family members or trusted friends, as is common in Maine, will remain unchanged, but it will incentivize checks against the (National Instant Criminal Background Check System) for private, unadvertised sales to unknown individuals through the threat of increased risk of prosecution and prison time.” Mills’ approvals of the gun proposals came a day after a special commission she convened interviewed fellow reservists of Card who raised warnings about Card’s increasingly erratic behavior. Card was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the aftermath of the mass shooting after an extensive search. One of the fellow reservists interviewed on Thursday, Sean Hodgson, told superiors in September: “I believe he’s going to snap and do a mass shooting.” Mills also proposed the creation of a new violence and injury prevention program requiring the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention to serve as a clearinghouse for data from law enforcement, hospitals, schools and other sources to inform public policy decisions. Her proposal for a network of crisis centers, meanwhile, would build upon the first such facility already in operation in Portland and a second one that’s being created in central Maine.
Campuses across Texas had pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Why did only UT-Austin crack down?
Dozens of people were arrested in Austin, while sit ins and demonstrations elsewhere happened mostly unobstructed. School officials say it’s because campus rules were broken.
State’s premature release of bid proposal info touches off new battle over $116 billion in Medicaid contracts
The early release of documents meant a single competitor got an early look at the other bidders’ playbooks before final winners were announced.
Texas DPS could pursue criminal investigation into photojournalist arrested at UT-Austin protest
The FOX 7 employee is accused of hitting a trooper with his camera, but the arrested man told reporters he was pushed and didn’t hit any officer.
Tennessee Gov. Lee signs bill allowing concealed carry for public schoolteachers
Tennessee teachers and staff will be allowed to carry concealed handguns on public school grounds under legislation signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee on Friday. Lee, a Republican, had announced his support for the proposal just the day before while flanked by top Republican legislative leaders who had helped shepherd the bill through the GOP-dominant General Assembly. “What’s important is that we give districts tools and the option to use a tool that will keep their children safe,” Lee told reporters. TENNESSEE NEARS LAW BANNING ADULTS FROM HELPING MINORS FIND, RECEIVE SEX REASSIGNMENT CARE As the idea of arming teachers began to gain support inside the General Assembly, gun control advocates and families began swarming to the Capitol to show their opposition. During the final vote, protesters chanted “Blood on your hands” and many members of the public who oppose the bill harangued Republican lawmakers after the vote, leading House Speaker Cameron Sexton to order the galleries cleared. According to the statute, which becomes effective immediately, parents and other teachers will be barred from knowing who is armed at their schools. A principal, school district and law enforcement agency would have to agree to let staff carry guns, and then workers who want to carry a handgun would need to have a handgun carry permit and written authorization from the school’s principal and local law enforcement. They would also need to clear a background check and undergo 40 hours of handgun training. They couldn’t carry guns at school events at stadiums, gymnasiums or auditoriums. The legislation is the biggest expansion of gun access in the state since last year’s deadly shooting at a private elementary school in Nashville where shooter indiscriminately opened fire and killed three children and three adults before being killed by police. Lee initially asked lawmakers to keep guns away from people deemed a danger to themselves or others in response to the shooting, the Republican supermajority ignored that request. Many of the Covenant families had met with Lee and lawmakers hoping to persuade them to drop the idea of arming teachers. In the final days of the legislative session, Covenant families said they had collected nearly 4,300 signatures from Tennesseans against having public school staffers carry weapons on school grounds. “There are folks across the state who disagree on the way forward, but we all agree that we should keep our kids safe,” Lee said Thursday. It’s unclear if any school districts would take advantage if the bill becomes law. For example, a Metro Nashville Public Schools spokesperson, Sean Braisted, said the district believes “it is best and safest for only approved active-duty law enforcement to carry weapons on campus.”
NY congressional reps introduce law forcing colleges to address antisemitism or face losing federal funds
Two congressional lawmakers from different sides of the aisle, both of whom represent New York, are introducing legislation in response to antisemitic protests that have created a hostile environment for Jewish students at Columbia University, putting their safety and well-being at risk. Reps. Mike Lawler, a Republican, and Ritchie Torres, a Democrat, announced the College Oversight and Legal Updates Mandating Bias Investigations and Accountability (COLUMBIA) Act on Friday, which, if passed, would give the U.S. Department of Education the power to impose a third-party antisemitism monitor to colleges receiving federal funding. “Rising antisemitism on our college campuses is a major concern, and we must act to ensure the safety of students,” Lawler said. “If colleges will not step up to protect their students, Congress must act.” Under the proposed law, the Secretary of Education would appoint the monitor and set the terms and conditions of their work, while the college or university selected to be monitored would be responsible for paying the monitorship expenses. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY MOVES TO HYBRID LEARNING ON MAIN CAMPUS AMID ANTISEMITIC PROTESTS If passed, colleges and universities that fail to comply with the monitorship would face losing federal funding. The appointed monitor will be responsible for creating and publishing an online quarterly report that evaluates progress on combating antisemitism at the college or university. The report will also include recommendations for Congress, the Secretary of Education and others as needed. COLUMBIA SETS DEADLINE FOR AGREEMENT WITH PROTESTERS, THREATENS ‘ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS’ FOR CLEARING PROTESTERS “My office and I have spoken with countless Jewish students from campuses across America who feel deeply unsafe, purely as a result of their religious and ethnic identity. This is a blatant violation of Title VI, and the federal government cannot allow this to continue unchecked,” Torres said. “This past week’s crisis at Columbia is not an isolated incident — it is the straw that has broken the camel’s back — and I am prepared to do something about it. That’s why I am introducing the COLUMBIA Act today, and I urge all of my colleagues in the House, from both parties, to join me in this crucial action.” Students at Columbia and its sister school, Barnard College, have been camped out on campus while holding demonstrations in protest of Columbia’s investments in companies with ties to Israel. COLUMBIA SETS DEADLINE FOR AGREEMENT WITH PROTESTERS, THREATENS ‘ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS’ FOR CLEARING PROTESTERS The protests are part of a wider progressive backlash against Israel’s response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attacks against the Jewish state. The protest at Columbia, and similar ones cropping up at colleges around the country, are now facing bipartisan backlash and accusations of having waded into antisemitic territory. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Videos popping up on social media show activists cheering on the deaths of Israeli soldiers and showing support for Hamas at Columbia University. Jewish students have also reported feeling unsafe on campus and shared stories of being verbally and physically assaulted. Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
Biden admin abruptly delays plan to ban menthol cigarettes amid widespread opposition
The Biden administration abruptly announced Friday that it will delay regulations banning menthol cigarettes amid widespread opposition to the proposal. In a statement, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra said his agency would not move to finalize the regulations and pointed to opposition from civil rights activists. Since they were first proposed by the HHS’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the regulations have sparked a contentious debate between health advocates and civil liberties and business groups. “This rule has garnered historic attention and the public comment period has yielded an immense amount of feedback, including from various elements of the civil rights and criminal justice movement,” Becerra said in a statement. “It’s clear that there are still more conversations to have, and that will take significantly more time.” The announcement comes exactly two years after FDA initially proposed the regulations, paving the way for an historic ban on menthol cigarettes that the administration said would be a “critical” piece of President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative. FDA also argued at the time that the ban would broadly “reduce the appeal of cigarettes” and have substantial health impacts. BIDEN ADMIN FACING CONGRESSIONAL PROBE OVER PROPOSED BAN ON MENTHOL CIGARETTES FDA ultimately handed the regulations off to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for final approval months ago after a lengthy public comment period. However, officials dragged their feet in moving forward with the regulations and missed multiple self-imposed deadlines to finalize them, igniting concerns among health advocates that the administration may change course. “Unfortunately, the possibility of this administration making these rules a reality is shrinking with the passage of time, and ACS CAN is calling on the administration to not miss the opportunity to make a historic gain in the fight against cancer,” American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network CEO Karen Knudsen said in a statement on Friday ahead of Becerra’s announcement. CONSERVATIVE GROUP UNLEASHES 6-FIGURE AD CAMPAIGN TARGETING BIDEN’S MENTHOL CIGARETTE BAN OMB declined to comment and referred Fox News Digital back to Becerra’s statement. And an FDA spokesperson said the agency remains committed to issuing tobacco product standards for menthol in cigarettes and characterizing flavors in cigars. “As we’ve made clear, these product standards remain at the top of our priorities,” the spokesperson said. During the public comment period, associations representing convenience stores, police, consumers and minority groups warned the administration that a ban on menthol cigarettes could foster an illicit market for the product, while punishing small business owners and minorities who are the largest consumers of the product. Groups representing minorities, like the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement and the nonprofit National Action Network — the latter of which was founded by civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton — argued that banning menthol cigarettes while not restricting non-menthol cigarettes “puts a microscope on minority communities.” BIDEN ADMIN’S PROPOSED MENTHOL CIGARETTE BAN COULD BECOME LIABILITY IN 2024: ‘UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES’ The National Organization of Black Law Enforcement, National Action Network, National Newspaper Publishers Association and civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump met with Becerra, FDA Commissioner Robert Califf and White House domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden to discuss the proposal in November, according to White House records. The White House also convened meetings with other stakeholders, including the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Lung Association, and the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS). “The USHBC applauds President Biden for his leadership in delaying the menthol ban, recognizing the unintended consequences it would have had on convenience store sales nationwide and the livelihoods of over 600,000 workers,” Javier Palomarez, the president and CEO of the U.S. Hispanic Business Council, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Implementing a ban would have not only been ineffective but would also risk disproportionately criminalizing people of color, the very communities where menthol cigarettes are consumed,” Palomarez added. “We are delighted that the President has heard our concerns and we offer ourselves up as a resource to develop a comprehensive approach to public health.” According to NACS, the rule would have led to a reduction of $72,285 a year in non-tobacco sundry sales and $160,107 a year in tobacco product sales for the typical convenience store nationwide. The organization projected that the convenience store industry could have collectively lost $2.16 billion in sales as a result of the regulations. In addition, government watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT) said the administration’s actions Friday confirmed its concerns it expressed last week when it sued HHS for withholding documents related to the regulations. “This announcement appears to confirm the basis for our lawsuit a few weeks ago on the proposed menthol cigarette ban. Public health authorities following the polling rather than the science is not a good look. It’s also a major reason why trust in our public health officials is at an all-time low,” PPT Director Michael Chamberlain said. “This only heightens the need for transparency into what’s really driving decisions at the FDA.”
GOP blasts Dems’ ‘out-of-touch’ warning of no more White House Correspondents’ Dinners if Trump wins election
FIRST ON FOX: The GOP is blasting President Biden’s campaign over an “out-of-touch” memo warning that former President Trump’s re-election could mean the end of one of Washington’s most glamorous traditions. The White House Correspondents’ Dinner and the days leading up to it are an annual social event, frequently invitation-only, where D.C.’s elite in media, journalism and politics gather for a celebration of the press. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) warned Thursday evening that Trump returning to the White House could put a stop to the festivities. BIDEN VOWS TO LET TRUMP-ERA TAX CUTS EXPIRE NEXT YEAR, MEANING HIGHER RATES FOR MANY The Republican National Committee (RNC) on Friday told Fox News Digital in response, “The fact that Joe Biden is pandering to journalists by threatening their annual ego-stroking elites fest is pathetic and out of touch, but it goes to show that Democrats can’t win on the issues.” “Biden can spend 2024 vacationing in Delaware and rubbing elbows with East Coast elites all he wants, but President Trump and Republicans will continue to talk about the issues that matter and present solutions to Biden’s failures on everything from the economy to the border,” RNC spokesperson Anna Kelly said. Trump never attended the event as president. He held a rally with supporters in 2019 instead and even prohibited his administration officials from attending, according to Reuters. It was canceled in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. NEW POLL SHOWS BIDEN’S 2024 LEAD VANISHING WITH TRUMP ON TRIAL Democrats’ Thursday evening statement criticized Trump for shunning the dinner, arguing it was another way Trump was showing contempt for journalists and the First Amendment. “We hope everyone has a good time this weekend, because if Donald Trump wins in November, this Saturday could also be known as the last White House Correspondents’ Dinner. To state the obvious: Trump is a thin-skinned narcissist who – despite spending seemingly every waking moment glued to his seat consuming cable news – is constantly attacking the free press and unable to handle a little good-natured ribbing,” DNC rapid response director Alex Floyd said. “He skipped the White House Correspondents’ Dinner every single year he was in office because of his deep-seated insecurities and pathetic desperation to be liked by the same people he rails against, and that was before he outright banned members of his administration from attending at all. TRUMP ATTORNEY, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE CLASH ON WHETHER A PRESIDENT WHO ‘ORDERED’ A ‘COUP’ COULD BE PROSECUTED “Fun and jokes aside this weekend, Saturday is also a reminder of what’s at stake with an angry, vengeful Trump on the ballot. He may be a punchline, but he is also a sad, vindictive wannabe authoritarian who shows no respect for the First Amendment – or the Fourth Estate.” The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment. The DNC declined to provide additional comment.
Trump suggests White House as venue for debate with Biden: ‘Would be very comfortable’
Former President Trump suggested the White House as the venue for a debate against President Biden, saying he “would be very comfortable.” The presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, after hours in a Manhattan courtroom for the eighth day of his criminal trial, has repeatedly said he will debate Biden “anywhere, anytime, anyplace.” Biden broke his silence on debating his 2024 opponent on Friday during an interview with radio host Howard Stern. Biden said he would be “happy” to debate Trump. TRUMP CAMPAIGN DEMANDS BIDEN DEBATE HIM ‘MUCH EARLIER’ AND MORE OFTEN “I am, somewhere, I don’t know when,” Biden said, after Stern said he didn’t know whether Biden would participate in a debate. “I’m happy to debate him.” Trump, shortly after Biden’s interview, which he did during a visit to New York City Friday, posted to his Truth Social account inviting Biden to debate him at the courthouse in Lower Manhattan. “In the alternative, he’s in New York City today, although probably doesn’t know it, and so am I, stuck in one of the many Court cases that he instigated as ELECTION INTERFERENCE AGAINST A POLITICAL OPPONENT – A CONTINUING WITCH HUNT!” Trump posted to Truth Social. “It’s the only way he thinks he can win. In fact, let’s do the Debate at the Courthouse tonight – on National Television, I’ll wait around!” Trump, after court ended Friday, came out and reflected on the day of testimony. “We sit here day, after day, after day, which is their plan,” Trump said of the Democrats, who he said hope to win the election. “But I doubt it because the poll numbers are very good for us.” Trump told reporters he had invited Biden to debate. TRUMP CALLS FOR DEBATES WITH BIDEN ‘ANYTIME, ANYWHERE, ANYPLACE’ “He can do it anytime he wants, including tonight. He can do it tonight,” Trump said. “I invited him to the courthouse that he has us tied up in. This is a well coordinated attack on a political opponent.” Trump added: “But I’m here, I’m ready, willing and able.” Trump said “if he wants, I’ll do it on Monday night, Tuesday night and Wednesday night.” Trump said Wednesday night he will campaign in Michigan, saying it is a state that Biden “has destroyed because of the auto industry” and said auto jobs are “all going over to China with his ridiculous electric vehicle mandate.” “But we’re willing to do it Monday night, Tuesday night, Wednesday night, Thursday night, Friday night on national television,” Trump said. “We’re ready. Just tell me where.” “We’ll do it at the White House,” Trump said. “That would be very comfortable, actually. You tell me where. We’re ready.” Trump told reporters that Biden was “obviously not showing up now” to the courthouse. BIDEN SAYS DEBATING TRUMP ‘DEPENDS ON HIS BEHAVIOR’ “We’ve heard nothing, but he said today he’d love to debate,” Trump said. “But he won’t debate. I don’t think he’ll debate. Maybe he will. Maybe he will. I’m not sure he has a choice.” He added: “We’re ready, willing and able. We don’t see him and I don’t think he’ll be here. Maybe next week he’ll do it.” “I doubt it,” Trump said. “But maybe next week.” Earlier this month, the Trump campaign called for additional 2024 presidential debates and for them to take place “much earlier” than initially proposed by the debate commission. Trump, in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital shortly after, said he is “totally committed” to debating President Biden “anytime, anywhere, anyplace.” As for Biden, before today, he had not yet committed to debating his opponent. When asked last month if he would debate the former president, Biden said it was dependent on Trump’s “behavior.” “Depends on his behavior,” Biden said. Earlier this year, Biden addressed previous calls for earlier debates with Trump. “If I were him, I would want to debate me, too,” Biden told reporters in Nevada when asked about Trump wanting to debate him earlier in the election cycle. “He’s got nothing else to do,” Biden said.
Ex-MLB star running for Senate goes to bat for plan to cut federal cash for schools allowing unrest
Former MLB star and U.S. Senate candidate Steve Garvey said if he’s elected to Congress he’d push for Ivy League colleges and universities to appear before Congress to testify about their failure to protect their Jewish students. “At this time, next year, as a sitting U.S. senator, I would call to have committees that will talk to these presidents and leadership and ask why they haven’t protected their students,” the California Republican told Fox News Digital in an interview. “And if they can’t protect them, let’s talk about affecting them with federal funds and start to take back the federal funds. “If you’re not going to protect these Americans that are on your campus, then you’re going to have to make a decision on what’s important to you.” Garvey said the demonstrators on college campuses should be arrested and prosecuted “to the full extent of the law,” adding the protests are “terrorism under the guise of free speech.” MLB GREAT STEVE GARVEY SWINGS FOR THE SENATE, ANNOUNCES CAMPAIGN TO HELP TURN AROUND CALIFORNIA On Thursday, the University of South California called off its graduation ceremony for 2024 graduates as anti-Israel agitators descended upon campus, where 93 arrests were made. The college campus is among several universities in the U.S. experiencing unrest, as demonstrators chant “death to America,” “We are Hamas” and advocate for divestment from Israel. Earlier this month, USC faced intense backlash for barring its valedictorian, Muslim biomedical engineering student Asna Tabassum, from speaking at the commencement ceremony over safety concerns after her critics accused her of promoting anti-Israel rhetoric on social media. “What’s happening on campuses is against the law,” Garvey said. “There’s an attack physically, mentally and spiritually on these Jewish students. We need to stand up now more than ever.” Garvey also said university presidents should “take back their campuses” and “form a protective environment for these students that are being attacked.” MLB GREAT STEVE GARVEY OFFERS SUPPORT TO ISRAELIS AFTER HAMAS ATTACKS: ‘OUR HEART BREAKS FOR YOU’ Garvey, who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres during his professional baseball career, is facing off against Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff to fill the late Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat. The two advanced to the November general election in this year’s primary. His comments come as the Israel-Hamas war has dragged on for more than six nonths. Nearly 1,300 Israelis were killed Oct. 7, and thousands of civilian deaths have been recorded in the region since the terrorist attack. EX-MLB STAR IN STATISTICAL TIE WITH SCHIFF IN CALIFORNIA SENATE RACE, SAYS VOTERS ARE ‘MAD’ AT DEMOCRATS Yale, MIT, UC Berkeley, the University of Southern California, Princeton, Harvard, Stanford, Northwestern University, Vanderbilt University, the University of Michigan, the University of North Carolina and the University of Virginia are some of the campuses where major demonstrations broke out this week.