Blue-state lobstermen say Biden’s ‘destructive’ green energy plans could cost their livelihood
New England lobstermen and fishery experts are taking aim at the Biden administration’s latest moves to expand offshore wind energy projects, claiming that they are “rushing” to “political proof” a green energy plan insulated from a possible administration change in November. The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA), a fishing advocacy group that represents wild harvesters in fisheries across New England, filed a public comment on Wednesday with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) opposing the agency’s recently unveiled plans to lease 2 million acres of ocean for offshore wind development. It’s an unprecedented leasing area that would allot for construction of enough wind turbines to produce 32 gigawatts (GW) of energy. NEFSA, along with Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA), say the administration’s plans are detrimental to the commercial fishing industry and marine life in the Gulf of Maine. They also say the plans are rushed and being constructed in such a way as to insulate them from a future administration that might not wish to make such wind energy investments. HOW MAINE LOBSTERMEN TURNED ‘SLAP IN THE FACE’ FROM WHITE HOUSE INTO POLICY VICTORY “This really looks like a way to keep this process moving forward and to provide some insulation against potential political changes, for this administration to hit its goals, but there’s nothing about it that makes sense,” Annie Hawkins of RODA said Monday. BOEM, an agency within the Department of Interior, announced last month its finalization of the wind energy area (WEA) lease. BOEM boasted that the Gulf of Maine WEA surpasses the current state goals for offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Maine – 10 GW for Massachusetts and 3 GW for Maine. In a public comment to BOEM’s Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment in the Gulf of Maine WEA, NEFSA urged the agency to consider the extent to which WEA “in its current form will have tremendously deleterious effects on the safety and well-being of the men and women who operate in the commercial fishing industry.” “These hazardous effects are a direct result of the deficient and incomplete data upon which BOEM relied, and the deficiencies in BOEM’s data is a direct result of the Agency’s decision not to consult with representatives from the commercial fishing industry before drawing its conclusions,” the comment states. MAINE LOBSTERMEN CATCH BIG COURT VICTORY AGAINST BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S ‘EGREGIOUS’ REGULATIONS One large portion of the WEA is frequented by the endangered North Atlantic right whale, the groups said, with 16 right whales observed in the area in just one day during the 2024 winter season. “Given the perilously low number of Right Whales left in existence, this area should have been removed from the final Wind Energy Area,” the group states. NEFSA also alleged that BOEM’s failure to consider the effects of wind farms on fish species and surface temperatures present dangerous environmental and economic consequences for the New England area. “Wind farms cause an increase in ocean surface temperatures and emit electromagnetic fields (EMFs). There is a wholesale lack of research documenting the effects of windmill heated water and EMFs on fish stocks, specifically bluefin tuna,” NEFSA claimed. The group claims that some research has shown that EMFs produced by sea cables “could have a 5 measurable impact on early development of two commercially important crustaceans.” “The adverse effects of EMFs – which 7 BOEM has failed to address – could disrupt and decimate fish populations in the New England area,” NEFSA stated in its comment. According to NEFSA, BOEM has also failed to consider “the adverse effects of wind farms on sea surface temperatures and climate change.” BIDEN ADMINISTRATION BLASTED FOR ‘HYPOCRISY’ ON OFFSHORE WIND AS IT SCRAMBLES TO PROBE WHALE DEATHS “Wind farms cause an increase in sea surface temperatures and disrupt upper-ocean hydrodynamics in ways that remain incompletely understood by scientists,” NEFSA said. The mixing of the ocean surface layer is predominantly driven by shear, so “anomalies in the wind field can have severe consequences for the upper ocean dynamics,” as noted in a 2022 study in “Frontiers of Marine Science.” NEFSA claims that BOEM’s sister agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which provided data to BOEM for its WEA assessments, has at various times “admitted that they have no baseline data – indeed, very little data at all – on habitats in the Gulf of Maine.” “And what little data they have was furnished by observers with little to no at-sea experience on commercial vessels.” “They have little to no sampling data collected, and the high turnover rate for NOAA personnel is an example of improperly vetted observers,” NEFSA states in its comment. “Taken together, the inescapable conclusion is that, insofar as BOEM has relied on the faulty information that it has received from NOAA, BOEM does not have the information it needs to accurately assess the impact that will be inflicted on the men, women, and sea life by its Wind Energy Area,” the group claims. BOEM said the Gulf of Maine WEA was finalized in support of the Biden-Harris administration’s goals for deploying 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030. BOEM told Fox News Digital that they will conduct a “phased leasing approach, and that BOEM does not intend to lease the entire final WEA, rather, but rather BOEM will now consider proposed lease areas from within the final WEA based on certain criteria.” They said the WEA was finalized “after extensive engagement with lobster fishermen in fishing communities” and “avoids several other important fishing areas and habitats, including important groundfish areas.” But Annie Hawkins, whose group aims to coordinate with regulatory agencies to help install policy that minimizes conflicts with existing traditional and historical fishing, says there’s no “transparent process” in place by BOEM in an effort to whittle down the massive WEA, and no specific criteria as it relates to the fishing industry. “It’s really clear that they are rushing to get some lease on paper before the end of this
California lawmakers rejects bill to restrict how utilities spend customers’ money
California lawmakers on Monday rejected a proposal aimed at cracking down on how some of the nation’s largest utilities spend customers’ money. California’s investor-owned utilities can’t use money from customers to pay for things like advertising their brand or lobbying for legislation. Instead, they’re supposed to use money from private investors to pay for those things. Consumer groups say utilities are finding ways around those rules. They accuse them of using money from customers to fund trade groups that lobby legislators and for TV ads disguised as public service announcements, including some recent ads by Pacific Gas & Electric. CALIFORNIA ANNOUNCES FIRST NEW STATE PARK IN A DECADE, SET TO OPEN THIS SUMMER A bill in the state Legislature would have expanded the definitions of prohibited advertising and political influence to include things like regulators’ decisions on rate-setting and franchises for electrical and gas corporations. It would also allow regulators to fine utilities that break the rules. Monday, the bill failed to pass a legislative committee for the second time in the face of intense opposition from utilities, including Pacific Gas & Electric. “We’ve seen too many examples of the blatant misuse of ratepayer funds across the state,” said Democratic state Sen. Dave Min, who authored the bill that failed to pass on Monday. “I know that consumers are outraged by this.” PG&E opposed the bill because it said it would take away the power of state regulators to examine utility companies’ costs and decide whether it is “just or reasonable″ for customers to pay for them. Plus, PG&E lobbyist Brandon Ebeck said it’s appropriate for customers to pay for the company’s membership fees that go to various industry associations because they benefit customers. He noted those groups coordinate emergency response and wildfire training. When the war in Ukraine started, the Edison Electric Institute — a national association representing investor-owned utilities — sought to find surplus equipment that could be sent to Ukraine. “There’s a lot of benefits to customers,” Ebeck said. The bill was part of a larger backlash against the rising cost of electricity in California. Power is expensive in California in part because of the work required to maintain and upgrade electrical equipment to reduce the risk of wildfires in a state with long, dry summers. As rates have continued to climb, utilities like Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric have faced increasing scrutiny from consumer groups over how they spend the money they collect from customers. Matt Vespa, senior attorney at the environmental advocacy group Earthjustice, said Monday’s vote was “incredibly disappointing.” He said the current rules for utilities “incentivizes them to see what they can get away with.” As an example, Min and consumer groups noted PG&E spent up to $6 million in TV ads to tout its plan to bury power lines to reduce wildfire risk, a plan that some consumer groups opposed because it increased customers’ bills. The ads first aired in 2022 and feature CEO Patti Poppe in a company-branded hard hat while saying the company is “transforming your hometown utility from the ground up.” The utility recorded the expenses for those ads to come from a customer-funded account that is dedicated to reducing wildfire risk, as first reported by the Sacramento Bee. PG&E spokesperson Lynsey Paulo said the company has not yet asked regulators to review that expense. The California Public Utilities Commission will decide whether customer funds can pay for the ads. Paulo noted state regulators allow utilities to use money from customers to pay for safety communications on television. “Our customers have told us they want to know how we are investing to improve safety and reliability,” Paulo said. “We also use digital and email communications, but some customers do not have internet or email access, so we use methods including television spots to communicate with all of our customers.” Some consumer groups say the ads have crossed the line. “Only at PG&E would (Poppe’s) attempts at brand rehabilitation be considered a ‘safety message,’” said Mark Toney, executive director of the Utility Reform Network. “This blatant misuse of ratepayer funds is exactly why we need SB 938 and its clear rules and required disclosures for advertising costs.”
CIA guilty of mishandling internal sexual assault cases, bombshell House report says
A bombshell new congressional report is accusing the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of severely mishandling incidents of sexual assault and harassment within its own ranks. Republicans and Democrats on the House of Representatives’ Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence have been investigating the CIA’s handling of such cases after a whistleblower came forward in January 2023 to say they had been “physically attacked and sexually assaulted at CIA headquarters” by a fellow officer, according to the report. “Over the course of the investigation, the Committee discovered that CIA failed to handle allegations of sexual assault and harassment within its workforce in the professional and uniform manner that such sensitive allegations warrant,” the report said. WHISTLEBLOWER CLAIMS CIA ‘STONEWALLED’ IRS INTERVIEW WITH HUNTER BIDEN ‘SUGAR BROTHER’ KEVIN MORRIS: HOUSE GOP The committee spoke with more than two dozen whistleblowers and reviewed over 4,000 pages handed over by the CIA, among other materials, over the course of its probe. Lawmakers found “confusion and disorder in the process for reporting sexual assault and harassment” within the CIA’s ranks and that victims “were aware of little to no accountability or punishment for the perpetrators of the assaults or harassment often because of an inadequate investigatory process,” the report said. They also found that insufficient anonymity shields discouraged victims from coming forward and that coordination with law enforcement on sexual assault and harassment claims was inadequate. TOP ARMY OFFICIAL BLAMES ANTI-WOKE RHETORIC OF RIGHT FOR SEVERE RECRUITING CRISIS Further internal issues discovered were a lack of training for CIA personnel on how to identify and report such cases and that the agency’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office did not have the resources nor ability to actively fulfill its role. Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio, and Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., the top committee Democrat, told Fox News Digital that the “significant” reforms were put in place by Congress to help the agency improve, but vowed the panel would keep an eye on the progress. “For more than a year, the House Intelligence Committee has investigated the responsiveness of the Central Intelligence Agency to personnel who have survived sexual assault and sexual harassment. We heard directly from whistleblowers who courageously shared their stories in order to push for change and accountability,” the joint statement said. “Our Committee has put in place significant legislative reforms to address failures, and we will continue to monitor progress to ensure there is no slippage in the Agency’s commitment to addressing sexual assault and harassment.” FLORIDA CAR CHASE IN 2020 MAY BE LINKED TO HAVANA SYNDROME: REPORT Reforms proposed by the committee include requiring the CIA director “to create uniform policies and training for all aspects of CIA’s response to allegations of sex-related offenses and sexual harassment,” and codifying a process for which assault and harassment claims within the agency can be reported. Many of the provisions proposed by the committee ended up signed into law in late December as part of fiscal year 2024’s National Defense Authorization Act, according to the report. Fox News Digital reached out to the CIA for comment.
Trump slams anti-Israel protests as ‘disgrace’ that are ‘all Biden’s fault’ ahead of Manhattan court
Ahead of entering Manhattan court on Tuesday, former President Donald Trump slammed anti-Israel protests raging on college campuses as a “disgrace” while pinning blame on President Biden. “What’s going on at the college level … Columbia, NYU and others is a disgrace. And it’s really on Biden,” Trump said Tuesday morning outside the courtroom. “He’s got the wrong words. He doesn’t know who he’s backing. And it’s a mess. And if this were me, they’d be after me, they’d be after me so much, but they’re trying to get him a pass. And what’s going on is a disgrace to our country. And it’s all Biden’s fault, and everybody knows it. He’s got no message, he’s got no compassion and doesn’t know what he’s doing,” Trump continued, adding Biden is the “worst president in the history of our country.” Antisemitism has intensified on the campuses of some of the country’s most elite universities in recent days, including protesters on Columbia’s campus saying Jewish students were Hamas’s “next targets” amid ongoing demonstrations. More than 100 students were arrested on Columbia’s campus last week, while dozens more were arrested on Yale’s and NYU’s campuses this week. Some students have also established encampments on campus demanding their schools completely divest from Israel. LIVE UPDATES: NY VS. TRUMP TRIAL TO RESUME AS FORMER PRESIDENT FIGHTS OFF GAG ORDER ALLEGATIONS A rabbi at Columbia even warned Jewish students to leave campus due to the antisemitism, while a professor at the university told Fox Digital this weekend that anti-Israel campus groups have morphed into becoming an “actual terror organization” during the recent protests. “Al-Qassam you make us proud, kill another soldier now,” protesters on Columbia’s campus were seen chanting over the weekend, referring to the military wing terrorist organization Hamas. TRUMP RAILS AGAINST MANHATTAN DA BRAGG, SAYS ‘NUMEROUS OTHER AGENCIES’ DIDN’T PUSH CASE Biden and the White House has condemned the protests, including on Monday when he came under fire for equating the antisemitic protests with people who “don’t understand” the Palestinians. “I condemn the antisemitic protests. That’s why I have set up a program to deal with that. I also condemn those who don’t understand what’s going on with the Palestinians,” Biden told reporters Monday. Trump continued in his comments Tuesday that Biden is “no friend of Israel” or the “Arab world.” “It all starts with Joe Biden. The signals he puts out are so bad. And I can tell you he’s no friend of Israel, that’s for sure. And he’s no friend of the Arab world either,” Trump said Tuesday morning outside the courtroom. “He wants to take like a middle ground. And oftentimes that doesn’t work, but it’s certainly not working here. But what he’s done to Israel is abandon them, and he’s trying to be as nice as he can to the other side,” Trump continued. NY VS. TRUMP: JUDGE DELIVERS JURY INSTRUCTIONS AS OPENING STATEMENTS KICK OFF The 45th president is in Manhattan for the second week of his trial involving 34 counts of allegedly falsifying business records in the first degree. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. The charges were brought by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in connection to Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen paying former pornographic actor Stormy Daniels $130,000 ahead of the 2016 election to allegedly quiet her claims of an extramarital affair. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels. NY VS. TRUMP: FIRST WITNESS TAKES THE STAND IN MANHATTAN COURT 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 an intent to commit or conceal a second crime, which is a felony. The case kicked off in earnest on Monday, after the court spent last week selecting and seating 12 jurors and six alternates to the panel. Tuesday will include a hearing on the prosecution’s request that Trump be held in contempt for violating a gag order, which bans him from speaking publicly about witnesses and family members of court officials, as well as continued testimony for the trial’s first witness, former media publisher David Pecker.
GOP lawmaker demands answers on former Biden official joining ‘cesspool’ team prosecuting Trump
FIRST ON FOX: A House Republican lawmaker is demanding answers from the Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding the hiring of a former Biden administration attorney on the prosecution team of former President Donald Trump. Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas sent a scathing letter to DOJ and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Tuesday, highlighting the hire of Michael Colangelo on the team attempting to charge the former president with 34 counts of falsifying his business records, including alleged hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Colangelo was previously employed as a senior official at President Joe Biden’s DOJ, but reportedly left his role in December 2022 to work as Senior Counsel at the DA’s office a few months before the indictment of Trump. “The politicized persecution of former President Trump and the collusion between the Biden Administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Manhattan District Attorney (DA) General’s Office have raised several concerns among the public,” Gooden wrote in the letter obtained by Fox News Digital, demanding documents pertaining to Colangelo’s hiring documents be released. SUPREME COURT PREPARES TO DEBATE TRUMP IMMUNITY CLAIM IN ELECTION INTERFERENCE CASE Gooden also requested any and all communication between Bragg and Colangelo while he was still employed at DOJ “to ensure transparency and accountability are upheld in this case.” In the letter, the congressman questioned whether Colangelo was asked to leave by the department, or if he accepted a position in a lower office voluntarily and if he remains in contact with DOJ officials. GOV GAVIN NEWSOM WORRIES ABOUT ‘OVERINDULGENCE,’ ‘OBSESSION’ WITH TRUMP HUSH MONEY TRIAL: ‘LESS IS MORE’ Additionally, the Texas lawmaker asked if Colangelo was asked to leave, “what was he promised in return for accepting such a substantial demotion from his position at DOJ to joining a Manhattan DA prosecution team.” “The Department of Justice under President Biden has proven to be a cesspool of partisanship, further evident by the hyper-politicized courts that have taken up President Trump’s criminal trials,” Gooden’s letter read. “DA Bragg’s decision to hire Mr. Colangelo, a former DOJ official with close ties to the White House and Attorney General Garland, is yet another example of the unconstitutional approach to President Trump’s trial.” Gooden asked to receive a response to his questions by May 24, 2024. Trump is currently on trial for making alleged hush money payments while he was campaigning for president in 2016. The former president has pleaded “not guilty” to the charges, and will spend the next several weeks of his 2024 presidential campaign in the courtroom. Fox News Digital reached out to the DOJ and Bragg’s office.
Growing ‘uncommitted’ movement could cost Biden pivotal swing state
DEARBORN, Mich. – The movement to deny President Biden the Democratic nomination in Michigan could end up costing the president the crucial swing state in November. “I think this state is in play,” Ronald Stockton, a professor emeritus at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, told Fox News Digital. “From a Biden point of view, I think he’s got a really good chance to lose this state.” The comments come as Biden, who has garnered more than enough delegates to secure the Democratic nomination, turns his attention to a likely 2020 rematch with former President Trump in November. One such state that figures to play an outsized role in that battle is Michigan, a critical Midwestern swing state which has seen tight battles in the previous two presidential elections. Trump defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Michigan by under half a percentage point in 2016 on his way to the White House, but was denied a second term after losing the state by just under 3 points in 2020. DEARBORN ‘UNCOMMITTEDS’ PLAN TO MAKE ‘EXAMPLE’ OF BIDEN, TURN PARTY AGAINST JEWISH STATE Polls indicate a close race is brewing in the state again, with the latest Real Clear Politics polling average showing Trump with a narrow 3.3 point lead over Biden in Michigan. Compounding matters for Biden are multiple movements out of the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, a city with the highest per capita Muslim population in the country that has expressed deep dissatisfaction with the president’s handling of the conflict in Gaza. Those voters represent what has in recent elections been a dependable voting bloc for Democrats, with Biden winning 74.29% of the Dearborn vote in 2020. Biden also carried Wayne County overall, where Dearborn and the nearby suburb of Dearborn Heights are located, carrying 68.12% of the vote. But Biden’s electoral grip on the area is being threatened by the “Listen to Michigan” and “Abandon Biden” movements that sprung up out of Dearborn, leading to over 100,000 voters to mark “Uncommitted” on their ballots in the state’s Democratic primary instead of supporting the president’s bid for re-election. Worse for Biden, those that helped lead the movement show no intention of rallying around the president in November. “The grassroots movement we’ve built in the way that people have felt inspired and re-engaged in being politically active, we felt it was incumbent upon us as an organization to keep that growing,” Lexis Zeidan, one of the lead organizers and the spokesperson for Listen to Michigan, told Fox News Digital while noting that her organization has plans to expand to swing states and to continue organizing ahead of the general election. DEARBORN ACTIVISTS’ PUSH TO BAIL ON BIDEN SPREADS TO OTHER KEY BATTLEGROUND STATES Samraa Luqman, who worked as the Abandon Biden co-chair in Michigan, echoed a similar sentiment, telling Fox News Digital that their movement will continue to expand and target costing Biden re-election. “I think it sent a message as well that it’s going to be disastrous for Democrats if they don’t start paying attention and listening and changing their stance,” Luqman said. According to Zeidan, the movements should send a clear message to Democrats that continued support for Israel’s offensive could cost the party even beyond the presidential election. “Biden is the example,” Zeidan said. “Telling the Democratic Party, putting them on notice that even for down ballot elections, for those Congress people that are not pro-Palestinian and calling for cease-fires, their positions are at stake.” The political organizers of the movement have found support from the community’s religious leaders, who have expressed equal disdain for the administration’s foreign policy decisions in recent months. ‘DEATH TO AMERICA,’ ‘DEATH TO ISRAEL’ CHANTS POUR OUT OF MUSLIM PROTESTERS IN MICHIGAN ON LAST DAY OF RAMADAN “It’s a genocide… in Metro Detroit alone, we have over 40 families who have lost family,” Sufian Nabhan, the executive director of the Islamic Center of Detroit, told Fox News Digital. Nabhan said the hope among members of the community was that Biden would call for a cease-fire and play a role in ending the hostilities in Gaza, but instead is now seen as “supporting the genocide, supporting it with our tax money.” “I feel betrayed,” Nabhan said. “We elect Biden, and we were hoping that he will do a change, that he will respect the community that put him in office. But unfortunately, he did not.” Islamic Center of Wisdom Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi told Fox News Digital that he was a supporter of Biden’s 2020 bid but has since lost faith in the president. “Unfortunately, President Biden, while he is giving some lip service to Palestinians and to the Muslim community, but in action he is hurting everyone. And he is hurting himself,” Elahi said. BIDEN CAMPAIGN: WE DON’T WANT THE VOTES OF ‘DEATH TO AMERICA’ PROTESTERS IN MICHIGAN The Biden campaign has been keenly aware of the issues bubbling up in Dearborn, sending campaign officials to the city to meet with Arab American and Muslim leaders in January. But the move was called out as “dehumanizing” by Democratic Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud, who argued that it was “not a moment for electoral politics.” “Over the course of now, 115 days, Israel murdered more than 26,000 Gazans and displaced over 2 million,” the mayor told CNN in an interview after the meeting with the campaign. “For us, this is an issue that demands action and not lip service. This is an issue that requires policymakers to come talk about taking a different course of action. This is not a conversation you have with campaign staff.” The White House received that message loud and clear, opting the next month to send top administration officials to Dearborn in an attempt to mend relationships. That outreach was also rebuked, with Democratic state Rep. Abraham Aiyash vowing there would be no further dialogue between the two sides unless the administration shifted gears in Gaza. Meanwhile, Stockton pointed out that the movement to ditch Biden has expanded beyond
Democratic Minnesota state senator arrested on suspicion of burglary
A Democratic state senator in Minnesota was arrested early Monday after a homeowner reported a burglary in progress, authorities said. Sen. Nicole Mitchell, 49, was booked into the Becker County Jail on Monday for a suspected first-degree burglary offense, according to online jail records. A homeowner on the 700 block of Granger Road in Detroit Lakes reported an active burglary to 911 around 4:45 a.m., Detroit Lakes Police Chief Steve Todd told FOX9 Minneapolis. During a search of the home, the chief said officers found and arrested Mitchell. Todd said few other details are available because the case is still under investigation. MARYLAND DEM WHO USED RACIAL SLUR DURING HOUSE HEARING ‘REFUSED TO COMMIT’ TO DEBATE AGAINST PRIMARY OPPONENT The Becker County Attorney was deciding on any formal charges. Fox News Digital reached out to Becker County Attorney Brian McDonald, but did not immediately receive a response. Mitchell, of Woodbury, represents District 47 since she was elected to the state Senate in 2022. She was previously a meteorologist for KSTP-TV and Minnesota Public Radio, and currently serves as lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard. The Senate Democratic Caucus told The Associated Press in a statement that it’s “aware of the situation and has no comment pending further information.” BATTLEGROUND DEM SENATOR POSTED 23 TIMES ON GEORGE FLOYD, SILENT ON LAKEN RILEY Republican Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, of East Grand Forks, released a statement to news outlets saying that he was shocked by the arrest, but did not know any further details. “The public expects Legislators to meet a high standard of conduct,” Johnson said. “As information comes out, we expect the consequences to meet the actions, both in the court of law, and in her role at the legislature.” Mitchell’s arrest could pose a problem for Democrats, who currently hold a one-seat majority in the Senate with four weeks left in the legislative session.
NY House Republicans demand Columbia University president step down over anti-Israel ‘chaos’
Every single House Republican from New York is demanding that Columbia University President Dr. Nemat “Minouche” Shafik step down from leading the Ivy League school as tensions mount on campus over the Israel-Hamas war. “Over the past few days, anarchy has engulfed the campus of Columbia University. As the leader of this institution, one of your chief objectives, morally and under law, is to ensure students have a safe learning environment. By every measure, you have failed this obligation,” the GOP lawmakers wrote. “The situation unfolding on campus right now is a direct product of your policies and misguided decisions. As representatives from the State of New York, many of our constituents are directly impacted by the unfolding chaos on Columbia’s campus.” COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS: 5 DRAMATIC MOMENTS FROM A WEEK OF CHAOS The lawmakers said they had “no confidence” in Shafik’s “leadership of this once esteemed institution.” The letter was led by House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and signed by her nine fellow Republicans representing parts of the state. In their criticism of the embattled academic, the lawmakers cited Shafik’s recent congressional testimony at a heated GOP-led hearing examining accusations of antisemitism on campus and the school administration’s role in combating it. Shafik, meanwhile, has been lambasted by people on both sides of the divide, catching heat from the progressive activist community for allowing NYPD officers to arrest protesters at the tent encampment. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT ORDERS VIRTUAL CLASSES AS ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS TAKE OVER: ‘WE NEED A RESET’ However, in their Monday letter, the House Republicans wrote, “Despite implementing new rules to stop such unauthorized events and this illegal, antisemitic encampment clearly violating these rules, it was nearly two days before the New York Police Department (NYPD) was authorized to clear the encampment.” “Since then, the encampment has shockingly been allowed to reconvene, order has not been restored, and NYPD has not been allowed to return,” they wrote. “The ongoing situation that has unfolded is a direct symptom of your continued lax enforcement of policy and clear double standards.” Columbia University students and attendees of its sister school, Barnard College, have been camping on university grounds and staging demonstrations for weeks in protest of the university’s investments in companies tied to Israel. IVY LEAGUE ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS’ PROTESTS SPIRAL INTO ‘ACTUAL TERROR ORGANIZATION,’ PROFESSOR WARNS Some Jewish students have even reported being targeted physically and verbally by mobs of anti-Israel protesters on campus. Classes have moved to a hybrid remote and in-person status amid concerns over students’ safety. “It’s time for Columbia University to turn the page on this shameful chapter,” the letter said. “This can only be done through the restoration of order and your prompt resignation.” Fox News Digital has reached out to Columbia University for a response.
Climate activists have new target in mind for major summer protest: ‘Make their lives miserable’
A group of climate activists are eyeing their next big protest over the summer. In a statement to group members and supporters, Climate Defiance is calling for a “historic blockade” of the Congressional Baseball Game, an annual competition where Republican and Democratic members of Congress compete in America’s favorite pastime. “We – society, humanity – are careening into an abyss. The decisions we make now will reverberate not for centuries, but for millennia. If we do not act now, boldly and swiftly, millions will die from storms and from starvation,” Climate Defiance said in an email to supporters. “So long as Congress torches our planet, we won’t give them a moment of rest. It is unconscionable that they play games while destroying our prospect for a decent future,” Climate Defiance founder Michael Greenberg said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Our entire world faces imminent catastrophe. Congress has the power to save millions – even billions – of lives. The fact that they haven’t already ended fossil fuel subsidies is shameful. We’re shutting down the Congressional Baseball Game to send a message: we will do whatever it takes to force those in power to end fossil fuels.” ACTIVIST GROUP THAT OFFERED BOUNTIES FOR SUPREME COURT JUSTICES’ LOCATIONS TARGETS CONGRESSIONAL BASEBALL GAME In the mass email, Greenberg said he organized a similar protest at the Congressional Baseball Game two years ago as “it is unconscionable that they play games as our prospects for a decent future slip out of our grip.” The protest did not materialize, however, after the U.S. Senate reached a deal on climate spending just ahead of the scheduled event, meeting the group’s interests. So, Climate Defiance is organizing another attempt to disrupt the game. STEVE SCALISE, 5 YEARS AFTER BASEBALL SHOOTING, THANKS GOD AND ‘HEROES’ FOR SAVING HIS LIFE “This March was the warmest on record – the tenth month in a row that was the hottest ever. Our planet is burning, and Congress is playing baseball,” the environmental group said in the email. The anticipated protest is targeting members of both parties as “like the Congressional Baseball Game, fossil fuel subsidies are a bipartisan affair,” Climate Defiance told Fox News Digital. It added, “Biden’s 2023 budget plan even proposed cutting tens of billions in tax breaks for fossil fuel companies, but House Democrats themselves fought to keep those subsidies in place.” “We are not asking you to give money right now. We are not asking you to sign a petition, or call your legislator, or tweet. We are asking you to join us, in person, in a blockade of the Congressional Baseball Game,” the group instructed members. “Shut it down with us.” On the Climate Defiance website, the group calls for “consistent, mass-turnout, nonviolent disruption to stop business as usual and compel politicians to act.” “When we engage in direct action — whether through a strike, a blockade, or a mass occupation — we break through,” it continues. “Direct action puts the state in a double-bind: allow the action (and the disruption) to continue or crack down, further driving up public support for the cause.” In the email, the group clarifies, “We’ve never blocked roads (no shade to those who do). We’ve never targeted artwork. What we do, and what we do very well, is take the fight directly to the people in power. We make their lives MISERABLE until they relent.” “That is exactly what we will do at the Congressional Baseball Game.” The 2024 Congressional Baseball Game is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, June 12. The Congressional Baseball Game was founded and first played in 1909. Republicans won the 2023 contest 16 to 6.
GOP governor rips Biden’s top education official ahead of state visit: ‘Empty words’
FIRST ON FOX: Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, R-Ark., blasted the Biden administration’s “unconstitutional” student loan handout and “functionally nonoperational” revisions to the college financial aid application process ahead of a top official’s trip to Arkansas. In a fiery letter sent to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona Tuesday, the Republican Governor charged that the Biden administration’s “gleeful disregard for our nation’s highest court should appall every American.” Biden has made various attempts to forgive student loans throughout his presidency, most recently proposing the cancelation of student debt for more than 30 million Americans which Sanders called out in her letter, which was first obtained by Fox News Digital. “The Biden Administration’s forgiveness of certain student loans is unfair, unwise, and unlawful. Not only does it force Arkansans who chose not to attend college to pay for others’ education, not only does it offer forgiveness for past loans with no plan to address the future growth of college tuition expenses, but it has also been declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court,” Sanders wrote. “This administration’s gleeful disregard for our nation’s highest court should appall every American.” ‘HARASSMENT’ OF CHRISTIAN COLLEGE BY BIDEN ADMINISTRATION BLASTED BY STATE EDUCATION OFFICIAL Sanders also expressed being “deeply concerned” by the administration’s handling of Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), after the department revised the application process for students. Students have reportedly had issues using the new FAFSA application, and due to delays with the new process, some have even postponed their college decisions as they wait to find out whether they will receive financial aid. “Students, particularly from low-income families, need answers. State government needs clarity,” Sanders said. “Currently, we are ‘conditionally awarding’ scholarships to ensure students know we intend to fund their state scholarship awards. If these issues continue, though, we will be forced to pull state dollars from other sources to ensure scholarships are funded.” US STUDENTS ARE PUTTING OFF COLLEGE DECISIONS DUE TO DELAY IN FINANCIAL AID APPLICATIONS Cardona recently said he will work to shut down Grand Canyon University (GCU), the largest Christian university in America, over claims the college failed to accurately disclose its cost to students. GCU called the comments “disturbing and defamatory,” and Sanders highlighted the move as an example of the department being “a constant source of frustration for Americans and Arkansans.” “Your department is a constant source of frustration for Americans and Arkansans. You’ve promised to shut down the nation’s largest Christian university. You oppose education freedom. You attack parents who speak up for their children’s education at school board meetings,” the Republican governor wrote. “The botched FAFSA update, the unlawful student debt forgiveness program, and so much more have created a mess,” she said. “I hope your visit to Arkansas offers more than just empty words for struggling Arkansans.” Fox News Digital reached out to Cardona’s office.