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Prosecutor won’t bring charges against Wisconsin lawmaker over fundraising scheme

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin prosecutor said Friday that she won’t bring charges against a Republican lawmaker accused of trying to evade state campaign finance laws in order to unseat the powerful speaker of the Assembly. Waukesha County District Attorney Susan Opper said she would not be filing felony charges against Rep. Janel Brandtjen as was recommended by the bipartisan Wisconsin Ethics Commission. NEW WISCONSIN LAW REQUIRES TEACHING OF HMONG, ASIAN-AMERICAN HISTORY IN SCHOOLS She is the fourth county prosecutor to decide against filing charges against former President Donald Trump’s fundraising committee, Brandtjen and others involved in the effort to unseat Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. Ultimately, the state attorney general, Democrat Josh Kaul, could be asked to prosecute the cases. The ethics commission alleges that Trump’s fundraising committee and Brandtjen, a Trump ally, conspired in a scheme to evade campaign finance laws to support the Republican primary challenger to Vos in 2022. It forwarded recommendations for filing felony charges to prosecutors in six counties. Vos angered Trump by firing a former state Supreme Court justice Vos had hired to investigate Trump’s discredited allegations of fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Vos launched the probe under pressure from Trump, but eventually distanced himself from Trump’s effort to overturn President Joe Biden’s win in Wisconsin. Trump and Brandtjen then tried to unseat Vos by backing a GOP primary opponent, Adam Steen. Trump called Steen a “motivated patriot” when endorsing him shortly before the 2022 primary. Vos, the longest-serving Assembly speaker in Wisconsin history, defeated Steen by just 260 votes. The ethics commission alleges that Trump’s Save America political action committee, Brandtjen, Republican Party officials in three counties and Steen’s campaign conspired to avoid state fundraising limits as they steered at least $40,000 into the effort to defeat Vos. Opper said her decision did not “clear Rep. Brandtjen of any wrongdoing, there is just not enough evidence to move forward to let a fact finder decide.” “I am simply concluding that I cannot prove charges against her,” Opper said in a statement. “While the intercepted communications, such as audio recordings may be compelling in the court of public opinion, they are not in a court of law.”

White House defends Biden’s claim his uncle was eaten by cannibals: ‘We should not make jokes’

During his visit to a war memorial near his hometown in Pennsylvania, President Biden appeared to imply his uncle was eaten by cannibals after his plane was shot down during World War II. “He flew single-engine planes, reconnaissance flights over New Guinea. He had volunteered because someone couldn’t make it. He got shot down in an area where there were a lot of cannibals in New Guinea at the time,” President Biden said. “They never recovered his body.” On Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre acknowledged that President Biden’s maternal uncle, Ambrose Finnegan, who he refers to as “Uncle Bosie,” did die in WWII when his plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean, but confirmed he was not eaten by cannibals, as Biden seemed to suggest on two separate occasions during his visit on Wednesday. When asked about his comments on Friday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed the President was having an “emotional moment” when he made his remarks. BIDEN’S FALSE CANNIBAL STORY DESCRIBED AS A SIMPLE ‘MISSTATEMENT,’ ‘OFF ON THE DETAILS’ BY THE MEDIA “The president had an emotional and I think a symbolic moment. He had an opportunity as president to honor his uncle’s service in uniform. He had an opportunity to be there as president, you know, to speak to people that put their lives on the line on behalf of this country,” Jean-Pierre said. She went on to explain what Biden’s comment meant. “So his uncle, who lost his life when the military aircraft he was on crashed in the Pacific after taking off near New Guinea. The president highlighted his uncle’s story as he made the case for honoring our sacred commitment to equip those we send to war and take care of them and their families when they come home,” Jean-Pierre said. “And as he reiterated, the last thing American veterans are or the last thing Americans should be called are suckers and losers. And those types of words should not come from a commander in chief, as we have in the past.” Jean-Pierre’s last statement was in reference to former President Trump, who President Biden claimed called soldiers “suckers and losers.”  Trump was alleged to have made the comments as he was set to visit the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery during a trip to France in Nov. 2018 while he was president. The allegations, sourced anonymously in The Atlantic, described multiple offensive comments allegedly made by Trump toward fallen and captured U.S. service-members, including allegedly calling the World War I dead at an American military cemetery in France as “losers” and “suckers” in 2018. JOE BIDEN LEFT OFF TIME ‘100 MOST INFLUENTIAL’ LIST FOR FIRST TIME IN PRESIDENCY “This is more made up Fake News given by disgusting & jealous failures in a disgraceful attempt to influence the 2020 Election!” Trump wrote in a post on Twitter about the comments made against him.  Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told “Fox & Friends”  that he was with the president for a good part of the trip to France. “I never heard him use the words that are described in that article,” Pompeo said. Former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted that she was part of the discussion about visiting the cemetery. “This never happened. I have sat in the room when our President called family members after their sons were killed in action and it was heart-wrenching. … I am disgusted by this false attack.” Fox News’ Peter Doocy continued to question Jean-Pierre about President Biden’s comments about his uncle, acknowledging that Second Lieutenant Ambrose Jay Finnegan was a war hero, but stating that the Pentagon said, for unknown reasons, the plane was forced to ditch in the ocean.  “Both engines failed at low altitude. Why is President Biden saying he was shot down? There’s no evidence of that. And why is he saying that his uncle was eaten by cannibals? That is a bad way to go,” Doocy questioned. BIDEN TAKES HEAT OVER GAFFE URGING AMERICANS TO ‘CHOOSE FREEDOM OVER DEMOCRACY:’ ‘GET THIS MAN OUT OF OFFICE!’ “He lost his life. It’s not. Look, I’m not, we should not make jokes about this,” Jean-Pierre said. Doocy reiterated that it wasn’t a joke, but said again, that is what Biden said.  “I mean, your last line is, it’s for a laugh, it’s for a funny statement. And he takes this very seriously. His uncle, who served and protected this country, lost his life serving. And that should matter. You have a president that lifts our U.S. troops, our American veterans every day. Who thinks about them? Who actually thinks they’re all heroes? And they are,” Jean-Pierre sparred back.  Doocy asked one more time why he used the term “cannibalism” as Jean-Pierre gave her last comment. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “I think you’re missing the point. The point is you have a president that lifts up American veterans, who lifts up our U.S. service members. And that’s what matters. He understands how critical and how important it is to be commander in chief,” Jean-Pierre finished.  The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton can be disciplined for suit to overturn 2020 election, court says

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas appeals court has ruled that Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton can face discipline from the state bar association over his failed effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election. A disciplinary committee of the State Bar of Texas accused Paxton in 2022 of making false claims of fraud in a lawsuit that questioned President Joe Biden’s victory. On Thursday, a three-judge panel of the 5th District Court of Appeals said Paxton can be sanctioned by the committee because the lawsuit seeks to punish him in his personal capacity as an attorney and not as a public official. JUDGE SHOOTS DOWN TEXAS AG PAXTON’S ATTEMPT TO BLOCK GUARANTEED INCOME PROGRAM “The focus of the Commission’s allegations is squarely on Paxton’s alleged misconduct — not that of the State,” Judge Erin Nowell, an elected Democrat, wrote in the 2-1 opinion. The lone Republican on the panel, Judge Emily Miskel, was in dissent. A similar lawsuit was also brought against one of Paxton’s top deputies. Earlier this week, a coalition of state Republican attorneys general urged the Texas Supreme Court to reject efforts by the bar to impose discipline. All nine members of the state’s highest civil court are Republicans. “As in that case, we will appeal this ruling and we have full confidence the Supreme Court of Texas will not allow false claims by the State Bar and partisan political revenge to affect professional licensure of the state’s lawyers,” Paxton spokeswoman Paige Willey said in a statement. A spokeswoman for the State Bar of Texas and the committee accusing Paxton declined to comment on the ruling. Paxton is among the highest-profile attorneys to face a threat of sanctions for aiding in efforts led by former President Donald Trump to throw into question Trump’s defeat. The state bar’s disciplinary group’s punishments against an attorney can range from a written admonition to a suspension or disbarment. The disciplinary process resembles a trial and could include both sides eliciting testimony and obtaining records through discovery. Paxton is not required to have bar membership in order to serve as attorney general. State bar officials began investigating complaints over Paxton’s election lawsuit in 2021. A similar disciplinary proceeding was launched by the group against Paxton’s top deputy. That case awaits a ruling by the Texas Supreme Court.

New York lawmakers nearing passage of $237B budget plan

New York state lawmakers are on the verge of passing a $237 billion budget that includes sweeping plans to build housing, shutter unlicensed cannabis storefronts and help manage the city’s migrant crisis. The raft of proposals is expected to pass through the Legislature late Friday and potentially into the weekend, almost three weeks after the budget was due. The governor and leaders of the state Senate and Assembly weighed countless political and business demands during their negotiations behind doors. They also contended with a cyberattack that temporarily shut down the statehouse’s bill drafting office just as legislation started to flow. NEW YORK LEGISLATURE HIT BY CYBERATTACK The housing agreement, the crown jewel for Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, was the most contentious issue of the spending plan. The goal is to tackle one of the state’s most pressing problems: a housing crisis in New York City, where supply is ever shrinking and prices are astronomical. To do so, Hochul turned to a familiar idea: a tax break for developers who agree to include below-market-rate apartments in new buildings. New York first offered a tax incentive for developers to build in the 1970s, when the city was in dire financial shape, then more recently required buildings to offer some discounted apartments in order to qualify for the program, known as 421-a. The incentive has always been controversial. Critics bash it as a giveaway for developers, who in turn respond that the cost of building in the city makes doing so unprofitable. Opponents also point out that it cost the city a lot of money: about $1.8 billion in one of its final fiscal years. As for its effectiveness, a report from the Furman Center, a housing and urban policy research group at New York University, found 68% percent of the more than 117,000 housing units built between 2010 and 2020 benefited from the program. State lawmakers let the 421-a tax break expire in 2022, with lawmakers in the state Legislature thwarting an effort from Hochul to adjust the program. This year, the plan was to resurrect the tax incentive but also weave in the interests of labor unions fighting for wage standards and progressives who have long wanted stronger protections for tenants against sharp rent increases and evictions. The end product is something called 485-x. And though the formal budget language has not yet been released, officials have said it includes a tax break for developers if they rent a percentage of their apartments for below market rate, a wage deal for construction workers and a package of protections for tenants. The state will also offer tax incentives to turn vacant office space into apartments and will set aside a pot of money to build apartments on state-owned land, as part of the larger strategy to jump-start the housing supply. “This is a great deal for New Yorkers,” Hochul said in an interview this week on Spectrum News NY1. Hochul has presented the agreement as a big legislative victory on a pressing problem, especially after her prior plans to drive construction in the state have failed in the statehouse. It also marked an important moment of compromise with progressive Democrats at a critical time for her party. In a few months, New York is set to be a congressional battleground where races in New York City’s suburban districts could decide which party controls the House. Hochul, who has taken a more prominent role in her party’s messaging strategy, has appeared eager to carry Democratic political wins into the campaign season, and has already begun to tout her budget wins in public. The governor also pushed to legislate other headline-grabbing issues, including how to handle the large number of international migrants who have overwhelmed New York City’s homeless shelters. Others include retail theft concerns that have resulted in cumbersome security measures at many stores, and unlicensed cannabis storefronts that have become ubiquitous in the city. Over the objections of progressives, Hochul pushed through a measure to enhance criminal penalties for assaulting retail workers, though at the bargaining table she agreed to make the crime a Class E felony rather than a more stringent felony classification she had first proposed. The budget also includes $40 million to establish law enforcement teams dedicated to organized retail theft and a $5 million tax credit for small businesses to install security measures. On the bootleg marijuana shops, the budget is set to have a measure allowing local law enforcement to more easily shut down unlicensed stores. The move is intended to solve bureaucratic problems that have embarrassingly stymied government efforts to close thousands of bootleg retailers, which operate in glitzy storefronts on seemingly every street corner in New York City. The state will also spend $2.4 billion to provide migrants shelter services, legal aid and health care, among other things, another proposal from the governor’s office. The budget, composed of several dense pieces of legislation, has been slowly introduced in incremental steps this week and is expected to be finalized in a set of votes late Friday night and potentially into the weekend.

Anti-Catholic FBI memo’s origin revealed as bureau absolved of ‘malicious intent’

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been exonerated by a Department of Justice review that found investigators did not intend to target traditional Catholics as potential “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists.” The Justice Department Inspector General review noted, however, that analysts “incorrectly conflated” an investigative subject’s religious views with his alleged domestic terrorism activities.  Findings from the 120-day review, which was handled by Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz and ordered by Congress, were outlined in a letter sent to members of Congress on Thursday. An FBI Richmond, Virginia, internal memo, titled “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities,” was leaked in January 2023 and drew instant criticism from Republicans, who demanded immediate answers from the agency. According to the inspector general’s report, the memo, which has been dubbed the “Richmond Product,” was circulated amid an investigation of a potentially violent individual who was identified in the report as “Defendant A” and has since been arrested. GOP SENATORS DEMAND THE FBI ‘REPAIR THE DAMAGE’ TO ITS CREDIBILITY OVER ANTI-CATHOLIC MEMO DEBACLE Though Defendant A was not been identified in the report, the dates and details of the case match the case against Xavier Lopez, who was indicted on federal weapons charges last June. The FBI had been monitoring the suspect since 2019 due to his extremist views on social media, according to the inspector general’s review.  The review stated that the suspect expressed neo-Nazi rhetoric and described himself as a “Catholic clerical fascist.” The FBI said he wrote in a letter to a family member that he needed to “build guns, explosives, and other forms of weaponry” in order to “make total war against the Satanic occultist government and the Zionist devil worshiping bankers who control it.” The indictment against Lopez did not mention the church he attended or that he was monitored ahead of his arrest in November 2022, when a search of his apartment uncovered Molotov cocktails and firearms he was not allowed to possess. Lopez was on probation at the time after pleading guilty to felony vandalism for slashing tires. Though the investigation was appropriate, the inspector general’s review criticized aspects of the memo warning about potential extremism within certain Catholic churches that was shared by the FBI’s Richmond field office. “The [FBI Inspection Division] report found that although there was no evidence of malicious intent or an improper purpose, the [memo] failed to adhere to analytic tradecraft standards and evinced errors in professional judgment, including that it lacked sufficient evidence or articulable support for a relationship between RMVEs (Racially Motivated Violent Extremists) and so-called RTC (Radical Traditional Catholicism) ideology; incorrectly conflated the subjects’ religious views with their RMVE activities, creating the appearance that the FBI had inappropriately considered religious beliefs and affiliation as a basis for conducting investigative activity; and reflected a lack of training and awareness concerning proper domestic terrorism terminology,” the inspector general noted. One of the FBI analysts involved in the creation of the memo maintained that the goal was to enable FBI Richmond to conduct outreach to these “faith communities to make them aware of what we would call warning signs to radicalization, for the protection of everybody.”  The inspector general noted in his assessment that he and his team “did not find evidence that anyone ordered or directed” the individuals responsible for crafting the memo “to find a link between RMVEs and any specific religion or political affiliation … or that there was any underlying policy direction concerning such a link.” The inspector general said a review of text messages and other conversations had between those who crafted the memo at the time “did not identify any evidence of discriminatory or inappropriate comments by them” about the church in question in the FBI’s investigation “or individuals who practiced a particular religious faith or held specific political beliefs.” The inspector general also noted that he and his team did not find evidence that the FBI took any investigative steps involving the church except to monitor the suspect’s interactions. Investigators said they interviewed church members about the defendant’s alleged intent to incite violence. CATHOLIC VOTERS RESPOND AFTER ‘DEVOUT’ BIDEN ONCE AGAIN SIDES AGAINST HIS CHURCH “We found that FBI Richmond used these investigative techniques to obtain information about Defendant A and not to prepare the Richmond DP or collect intelligence more generally,” Horowitz wrote. Based on findings by the FBI Inspection Division, the inspector general noted that the FBI “instituted corrective actions, including expanding training on analytical tradecraft standards and domestic terrorism terminology, enhancing review and approval requirements for intelligence products involving a sensitive investigative matter, and formally admonishing the employees involved.” “We did not assess, and therefore do not comment on, the corrective actions taken by the FBI,” he said. Following Horowitz’s report to Congress, the FBI released a statement applauding him for his work and concluded that it aligns with their past remarks on the incident. “We thank the Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General for its review. The FBI has said numerous times that the intelligence product did not meet our exacting standards and was quickly removed from FBI systems,” the agency said. “We also have said there was no intent or actions taken to investigate Catholics or anyone based on religion; this was confirmed by the findings of the OIG.” “The FBI’s mission is to protect our communities from potential threats while simultaneously upholding the constitutional rights of all Americans. We do not conduct investigations based solely on First Amendment protected activity, including religious practices,” it added. Lopez was indicted in June 2023 in federal court on one count of possessing ammunition while a convicted felon and one count of possessing destructive devices. In March of this year, he pleaded guilty to possessing destructive devices. His sentencing is scheduled to take place in September. Horowitz noted that there were preliminary discussions with the FBI’s Domestic Terrorism Strategic Unit to draft a similar memo to send

White House hosted meeting with climate activist group that sparked chaos at recent DC gala

The climate activist and protest group that caused chaos at a Washington, D.C., gala this week featuring Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, was recently hosted for a private meeting at the White House. On Thursday, members of the Washington, D.C.-based Climate Defiance – which was founded in early 2023 by activists Michael Greenberg and Rylee Haught – physically disrupted the event hosted by the Bryce Harlow Foundation as Murkowski was delivering remarks. Then, in a moment captured on video, several activists were forcibly shoved by security off the stage, tumbling to the ground. “We just shut down a gala honoring U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski. Murkowski is a murderer. She incinerates us to enrich her cronies. As Chevron’s top lobbyist gave her an award, we stepped in and stopped the ceremony,” Climate Defiance said in a social media post. “Respect us or expect us.” According to video of the incident, which garnered nearly more than 3.5 million views in 24 hours, the Climate Defiance activists chanted anti-fossil fuels slogans as they were removed from the stage. The video further shows Murkowski slowly walking away as the activists tried to get closer to her. HERE ARE THE TOP FIVE MOST DISRUPTIVE CLIMATE PROTESTS OF 2023 Climate Defiance also posted that Murkowski is an “ecocidal pyromaniac” and excoriated her for supporting the Willow Project, a massive oil drilling project in Alaska that the group characterized as “cruel and barbaric beyond description.” The activist group has made a name for itself in recent months for disrupting events hosting lawmakers and public officials, as it demands aggressive climate action. It has shut down events with senior White House officials, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. LEFT-WING CLIMATE GROUP IS QUIETLY PREPARING JUDGES FOR GLOBAL WARMING CASES However, Climate Defiance, which has been widely criticized over its disruptive methods, was invited to the White House for a private meeting with President Biden’s senior clean energy czar John Podesta in December.  According to White House records, on Dec. 15, Podesta met privately with Greenberg, the Climate Defiance co-founder, and Climate Defiance campaigner Bala Sivaraman. The group later boasted on social media that it had met with the top official and publicly shared a letter that its members had handed to him. “Thank you for taking the time to meet with us today,” the group wrote to Podesta in the letter. “We appreciate your willingness to heed our deeply-held concerns. Echoing the voices of millions of Americans, we write to you in the eleventh hour of the greatest threat that humanity has ever faced: planetary and societal collapse due to the continued burning of fossil fuels.” “We urge you to wield your utmost authority to implement a swift end to any federal support for new fossil fuel infrastructure. Both the urgency of this action and the severe consequences of further delay cannot be overstated,” it continued. “Climate Defiance recognizes your commitment to climate action and commends you on your vital work developing and implementing the Inflation Reduction Act.” The White House and Murkowski did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

GOP lawmakers slam Biden administration’s new Title IX protections for ‘gender identity’

Republicans blasted new regulations for Title IX being ushered in by President Biden’s Department of Education that would protect gender identity from discrimination, while rolling back Trump-era rules that bolstered the rights of those accused of sexual misconduct.  “The Biden administration has completely lost its way on Title IX,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said in a statement. Cassidy serves as ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. He prefaced that his office is still examining the new regulations, “but it appears to be an attempt by the Biden administration to pursue an ideological agenda on gender identity and inject federal bureaucrats into the parent-child relationship.” BIDEN’S TITLE IX RULES ARE A VICTORY FOR POWERFUL TEACHERS UNIONS FUELING DEM CAMPAIGNS Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the chairman of the HELP committee, did not provide comment to Fox News Digital.  Biden announced new regulations for Title IX Friday morning, which included expanding the definition of sex discrimination to include both sexual orientation and gender identity, which the president’s administration touts as protection for LGBT students. The unveiled rule changes also rolled back regulations put in place by former Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos that ensured due process for the accused.  Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona cheered the announcement of the rules. “These final regulations build on the legacy of Title IX by clarifying that all our nation’s students can access schools that are safe, welcoming and respect their rights,” Cardona said.  REPUBLICANS ACCUSE BIDEN, SCHUMER OF EMBOLDENING IRAN PRIOR TO ATTACK ON ISRAEL “Title IX was meant to protect female students from sex discrimination,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Sadly, the Biden administration’s new Title IX rule does the exact opposite and makes it harder for schools to protect women. “As we saw in the tragic Loudon County case, these kinds of woke policies are putting our daughters at risk,” Cruz warned, mentioning an event in northern Virginia where a female student was sexually assaulted in a bathroom by a male student wearing a skirt. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., said in a statement the regulations are “not about protecting students.” Instead, he claimed Biden’s rules are “about appeasing the radical members of their base by imposing woke policies that rob women and girls of equal opportunities and jeopardize their safety.” Reacting to the rules, Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., claimed, the “left wants to use it as a tool to further its woke gender ideology.” BIDEN DISMANTLES TRUMP-ERA TITLE IX RULES, SIDESTEPS ISSUE OF TRANS ATHLETES IN GIRLS’ SPORTS “We identify as pissed off,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital in a statement.   The congresswoman claimed Biden’s administration is “effectively saying that women’s safety is expendable” with the new rules.  “Recent incidents, like the appalling rape of a woman in Rikers by a biological male, are a stark reminder of the very real dangers posed by these reckless policies. This isn’t progress; this is regression at its worst, and women are paying the price,” she continued.  Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who has made protecting women’s sports a legislative priority, said in a statement, “Today, the Biden administration redefined the definition of a ‘woman.’ “This means that biological women now have zero safe spaces and no real identity.”  Tuberville recently offered an amendment to a federal government spending package, adding his Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act to it last month. However, the Senate voted along party lines to reject it, including the amendment in the massive government spending bill.  Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., also warned of the rule changes’ effect on women’s sports, telling Fox News Digital in a statement, “Regardless of the propaganda being pushed by the left, men and women are biologically different. We’ve seen how Joe Biden’s vision for female sports will result in two teams – one team of men and another team of folks that used to be men.” Two congressional aides informed Fox News Digital that lawmakers were briefed on the changes Friday by Catherine Lhamon, the assistant secretary in the Office for Civil Rights at the DOE. According to the sources, Lhamon reiterated that the regulations would not affect school athletics because the rulemaking process related to this is still ongoing. They added that no clarity was provided as to how sports would be unaffected when gender identity will be protected from discrimination.  The aides additionally raised concerns over the department’s lack of a plan for assisting schools with implementation, which is required by Aug. 1. The sources said rules are traditionally rolled out with a plan to coordinate implementation with schools. This often includes webinars, they said.  When asked if there was a plan to assist schools with implementation, a spokesperson for the department did not answer directly but shared that it would be available to provide technical assistance and other resources when deemed appropriate.  Democratic House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., disagreed with her Republican counterparts, telling Fox News Digital in a statement, “I’m grateful to the Biden-Harris administration for defending gender equality and protecting the safety and well-being of students across the country. “We must stand up for the basic dignity of every person amid so much hateful rhetoric and violence against [transgender] youth and women.” 

Fox News Politics: Trump gets a jury

Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail.  What’s happening?  – Biden taking heat for another gaffe – Democrats come to Speaker Johnson’s rescue – Judge denies Trump’s bid to halt Jan. 6 lawsuits – Fox News Digital at the southern border The full jury, including alternate jurors, has been selected and sworn in former President Trump’s criminal trial in New York City, setting the stage for opening arguments to begin next week.  Twelve jurors were seated on Thursday at the end of the third day of jury selection.  By midday Friday, all alternate jurors had been selected and sworn in. Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the trial, instructed jurors ahead of the weekend not to discuss or to research anything relating to the former president’s case.  MAN ON FIRE: Authorities identified the man who set himself on fire 30 feet from Trump’s trial …Read more ‘GLARING OMISSION’: Biden left off Time 100 ‘Most Influential’ list for first time in presidency …Read more ANOTHER GAFFE: Biden takes heat over gaffe urging Americans to ‘choose freedom over democracy’ …Read more BLUE WALL: Dems save Johnson’s $95 billion foreign aid plan from GOP rebel blockade …Read more FLIP FLOP: Vulnerable House Dems do a U-turn on illegal immigration after calling crisis ‘non-existent threat’ …Read more RED SCARE: Third House Republican calls for Speaker Johnson’s ouster over $95B foreign aid plan …Read more MONEY FOR NOTHING: ‘Squad’ member under DOJ investigation is still paying her husband with campaign funds, filings show …Read more OPEN THE GATES: Arrest of Ilhan Omar’s daughter at anti-Israel protest was political, fellow Squad member says …Read more ‘OVERTLY POLITICAL’: Trump trial risks eroding Americans’ faith in judicial system, experts say …Read more REQUEST DENIED: US judge denies Trump’s bid to halt Jan. 6 lawsuits while he fights criminal charges in 2020 election case …Read more NOT JUST DON: Trump warns that if he loses presidential immunity, so will ‘crooked’ Joe Biden …Read more ‘UNITE’: Melania Trump says US ‘must unite’ ahead of Mar-a-Lago Log Cabin Republicans event …Read more BLOOD CURDLING: Anti-Biden protester derails Kennedy interview with blood-curdling screams …Read more 100,000 STRONG: New Trump voter fraud squads begin gearing up for ‘election integrity’ fight …Read more CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Fence-cutting migrants busted by feds …Read more COLLEGE ‘COVER-UP’?: Stefanik accuses Columbia president of ‘pro-terrorist’ professor ‘cover-up,’ warns of potential felony …Read more Subscribe now to get Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

If Congress passes funding, this is how the US could rush weapons to Ukraine for its war with Russia

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon could get weapons moving to Ukraine within days if Congress passes a long-delayed aid bill. That’s because it has a network of storage sites in the U.S. and Europe that already hold the ammunition and air defense components that Kyiv desperately needs. Moving fast is critical, CIA Director Bill Burns said Thursday, warning that without additional aid from the U.S., Ukraine could lose the war to Russia by the end of this year. UKRAINE CLAIMS IT SHOT DOWN A RUSSIAN STRATEGIC BOMBER AS MOSCOW’S MISSILES KILL 8 UKRAINIANS Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said, “We would like very much to be able to rush the security assistance in the volumes we think they need to be able to be successful.” If about $61 billion in funding for the war-torn country gets the green light, “we have a very robust logistics network that enables us to move material very quickly,” Ryder told reporters Thursday. “We can move within days.” The Pentagon has had supplies ready to go for months but hasn’t moved them because it is out of money. It has already spent all of the funding Congress had previously provided to support Ukraine, sending more than $44 billion worth of weapons, maintenance, training and spare parts since Russia’s February 2022 invasion. By December, the Pentagon was $10 billion in the hole, because it is going to cost more now to replace the systems it sent to the battlefield in Ukraine. As a result, the Pentagon’s frequent aid packages for Ukraine dried up because there’s been no guarantee Congress would pass the additional funding needed to replenish the weapons the U.S. has been sending to Ukraine. The legislation would include more than $20 billion to restock the Pentagon’s shelves and ensure that the military services have what they need to fight and protect America. The lag in weapons deliveries has forced Ukrainian troops to spend months rationing their dwindling supply of munitions. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is pushing the Ukraine funding bill toward a weekend vote despite threats from within his party that doing so could cost him his job. If Congress passes the bill, President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has said he will sign it “immediately,” which then triggers the Pentagon to begin pulling stockpiled weapons to deliver to Ukraine. A look at how the U.S. can quickly move weapons to Ukraine: PRESIDENTIAL DRAWDOWN AUTHORITY When an aid package for Ukraine is announced, the weapons are either provided through presidential drawdown authority, which allows the military to immediately pull from its stockpiles, or through security assistance, which funds longer-term contracts with the defense industry to obtain the systems. The presidential drawdown authority, or PDA, as it’s known, has allowed the military to send billions of dollars worth of ammunition, air defense missile launchers, tanks, vehicles and other equipment to Ukraine. “In the past, we’ve seen weapons transferred via presidential drawdown authority arrive within a matter of days,” said Brad Bowman, director at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies center on military and political power. Those stocks are pulled from bases or storage facilities in the U.S. or from European sites where the U.S. has already surged weapons to cut down on the amount of time it will take to deliver them once the funding is approved. DWINDLING U.S. STOCKS As the war in Ukraine has dragged on, the U.S. began to send increasingly larger, more lethal and more expensive systems to the warfront. They included entire air defense systems, armored vehicles, sophisticated missiles — even Abrams tanks. Those systems cost more to replace, so the military — in particular, the Army — went deeper into debt. Compounding that, the military in some cases opted to replace older systems sent to Ukraine with pricier, higher-tech ones at home. As a result, Army leaders recently told Congress that without passage of the foreign aid bill, they will begin to run out of money and have to move funds from other accounts. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth and Gen. Randy George, chief of staff of the Army, said the branch wouldn’t have enough money to bring home troops serving in Europe or to train units in the U.S. U.S. WEAPONS STORAGE The military has massive weapons storage facilities in the U.S. for millions of rounds of munitions of all sizes that would be ready to use in case of war. For example, the McAlester Army Ammunition Plant in Oklahoma sprawls across 45,000 acres (70 square miles) connected by rail and has a mission to surge as many as 435 shipping containers — each able to carry 15 tons (30,000 pounds) worth of munitions — if ordered by the president. The facility is also a major storage site for one of the most used munitions on Ukraine’s battlefield, 155 mm howitzer rounds. The demand by Ukraine for that particular shell has put pressure on U.S. stockpiles and pushed the military to see where else it could get them. As a result, tens of thousands of 155 mm rounds have been shipped back from South Korea to McAlester to be retrofitted for Ukraine. STORING WEAPONS IN EUROPE According to a U.S. military official, the U.S. would be able to send certain munitions “almost immediately” to Ukraine because storehouses exist in Europe. Among the weapons that could go very quickly are the 155 mm rounds and other artillery, along with some air defense munitions. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss preparations not yet made public. A host of sites across Germany, Poland and other European allies also are helping Ukraine maintain and train on systems sent to the front. For example, Germany set up a maintenance hub for Kyiv’s Leopard 2 tank fleet in Poland, near the Ukrainian border. The nearby maintenance hubs hasten the turnaround time to get needed repairs done on the Western systems.

Appeals court drops charges against Michigan elections worker who downloaded voter list

An appeals court dismissed charges against a Michigan election worker who put a USB flash drive into an electronic poll book and downloaded the names of voters at the close of a primary election in 2022. The court’s conclusion: James Holkeboer’s conduct was improper but not a crime. He was charged with election fraud. But Holkeboer’s lawyers pointed out that the state law used by prosecutors only bars acts that change the election record. CALIFORNIA SUES BEACH CITY OVER VOTER ID LAW BACKED BY MAJORITY OF RESIDENTS “The prosecution had to demonstrate that Holkeboer fraudulently removed or secreted the election list of voters such that the information was no longer available or altered,” the court said in a 3-0 opinion Thursday. “Here, no evidence was presented that election information was altered or made unavailable” to local election officials, the court said. Holkeboer’s acts did not affect the results of the 2022 primary election. He was working at a polling place in Kent County’s Gaines Township, south of Grand Rapids, for the first time. Holkeboer, a Republican, told investigators that he downloaded information about voters because he wanted to compare it to lists he was seeking under a separate public records request, according to a summary of the case. Kent County Clerk Lisa Posthumus Lyons, who oversees elections, said she’s in favor of an appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court. “This breach of public trust must be addressed,” she said.