DeSantis rips California, New York policies allegedly fueling retail theft in announcing new Florida crackdown
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday blasted California, New York and “many leftist jurisdictions” he says “are enacting policies that ignore retail theft or even encourage it,” while announcing new Florida legislation further cracking down on retail theft and porch piracy in the Sunshine State. “Those policies are dead on arrival in Florida. We catch criminals and prosecute them,” DeSantis wrote on X, following a news conference he hosted at a Walgreens in Stuart, Florida, where he signed legislation known as HB 549. The new law increases penalties for retail theft, porch piracy and inciting looting via social media. “You look at a place like California, they passed Proposition 47 that allows people that commit retail theft to be charged with misdemeanor, even if it had traditionally been a felony. That means they get numerous retail theft offenses. Did they get held accountable? No, they get a slap on the wrist,” DeSantis said. “You look at New York, they eliminated cash bail for many offenses, including offenses for retail theft, so that now you can only get a felony theft charge if you steal more than $1,000 worth of merchandise, anything less, you get a desk appearance ticket that has caused people to loot stores and do $999 worth of looting. And then they leave knowing that they’re not going to be held accountable.” In 2022 alone, the U.S. experienced $112 billion in retail theft, including $4 billion in New York that year, the governor said. New York City has seen shoplifting increase by 63%, DeSantis said, adding that it is up in Los Angeles by 81% and in San Francisco by 24%. DESANTIS SIGNS BILLS TO PROTECT OFFICERS FROM FENTANYL EXPOSURE, RAISE AWARENESS FOR OPIOID EPIDEMIC “Now, that has an impact on you as a consumer because the prices will go up to reflect those stolen goods. That’s just basic business,” DeSantis said. “It also just has a demoralizing effect on people. When you go in and you want to buy toothpaste and it’s like Fort Knox because it’s all under lock and key for basic items. You got to get a clerk to come and open it and all this stuff just to do basic shopping. That is not something that is good for quality of life. And then, of course, if you can have people come in and just steal retail and walk out, that creates a contempt for the rule of law that has a spillover effect in areas far beyond retail theft.” By contrast, Florida has seen shoplifting decrease by 30% since DeSantis first took office, he said. “Nationwide, 88% of retailers have reported that shoplifters are more aggressive and violent now compared to just a few years ago, 49%. So they have observed much more violent and aggressive behavior. Why? Because I think these people come in and they have a sense of entitlement that they can take what they want and that they’re not going to be held accountable,” DeSantis explained. “And so I think the behavior has reflected that. You see stores closing down in different parts of the United States, whether that’s Target closing nine stores in Portland and Seattle, Walmart closing stores in Chicago, Nordstrom closing stores in San Francisco. That is a direct result of the lack of commitment to the rule of law and holding criminals accountable.” FLORIDA NO LONGER IN PLAY AS A SWING STATE AS GOP VOTERS SURGE OVER DEMS BY NEARLY 900K: DESANTIS The new law institutes a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, if criminals commit retail theft with five or more individuals. It also enforces a second-degree felony, punishable up to 15 years in prison, if criminals commit retail theft with five or more individuals and use social media to solicit others to participate in the theft. Committing retail theft with a firearm or with two or more prior convictions of retail theft constitutes a first-degree felony charge, punishable by up to 30 years in prison. The law also grants the ability to charge a felony for multiple retail thefts occurring in the span of 120 days, which is an increase from 30 days. HB 549 also increases the punishments for porch piracy. Theft of property in an amount less than $40 is a first-degree misdemeanor. A subsequent violation is a third-degree felony, and theft of property valued at $40 or more is a third-degree felony.
FBI director says China is the ‘defining threat of our generation’
FBI Director Christopher Wray reiterated his warnings about China and the country’s cyber and physical threats toward the U.S. on Tuesday. Wray spoke before the American Bar Association in Washington, D.C. The FBI director has been ringing warning bells about China for months, both in personal statements and in congressional testimony. “Front and center is China – the defining threat of our generation,” Wray said. “To put it simply, the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] is throwing its whole government at undermining the security and economy of the rule-of-law world.” “China’s hacking program is larger than that of every other major nation, combined. If each one of the FBI’s cyber agents and intelligence analysts focused exclusively on the China threat, China’s hackers would still outnumber FBI cyber personnel by at least 50 to 1,” he added. CHINESE HACKERS OUTNUMBER FBI CYBER PERSONNEL ‘BY AT LEAST 50 TO 1,’ WRAY TESTIFIES “And it’s not just cyber, but also traditional espionage and economic espionage, foreign malign influence, election interference, and transnational repression – often working in tandem,” he continued. “They recruit human sources to target our businesses, using insiders to steal the same kinds of innovation and data their hackers are targeting.” NEW GROUP LAUNCHES TO COMBAT CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY INFLUENCE ACROSS US “They’re engaging in corporate deception – hiding Beijing’s hand in transactions, joint ventures and investments – all with the same goal,” he added. Wray’s warning echoes statements he made during a Munich security conference with U.S. allies in February. Wray spoke to allies at the conference about hackers affiliated with the CCP that are known to have infiltrated critical U.S. infrastructure and remain “poised to attack” even now. “You might find your companies harassed and hacked, targeted by a web of corporate CCP proxies,” Wray told the leaders gathered in Germany. “You might also find PRC [People’s Republic of China] hackers lurking in your power stations, your phone companies and other infrastructure, poised to take them down when they decide you stepped too far out of line, and that hurting your civilian population suits the CCP.”
Blue state high-capacity magazine ban is unconstitutional, judge rules, but law remains on books for now
A Washington judge ruled the state’s high-capacity magazine ban unconstitutional on Monday, but the law will remain in place for now after an emergency order from the state Supreme Court. Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Gary Bashor ruled Washington lawmakers’ 2022 ban on sales of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds violates both the state and U.S. constitutions, the Seattle Times reported. CRISIS IN NORTHWEST: ARE VOTERS ‘BEYOND A TURNING POINT’ AFTER DECADES OF PROGRESSIVE POLITICS? “There was no appetite to limit gun rights by the Founders. Though the specific technology available today may not have been envisioned, the Founders expected technological advancements,” Bashor wrote. “The result is few, if any, historical analogue laws by which a state can justify a modern firearms regulation.” He issued an injunction, which would have stopped the state from enforcing the ban and allowed stores to resume selling high-capacity magazines. But Washington’s attorney general immediately appealed to the state Supreme Court, calling Bashor’s decision “incorrect” and arguing the law is “essential to addressing mass shootings in our communities.” “This law saves lives, and I will continue to defend it,” Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who is currently running for governor, said in a statement Monday. Washington state’s Supreme Court commissioner granted an emergency stay minutes later, keeping the ban on the books while the state appeals Bashor’s decision. JUDGE BLOCKS AMERICA’S ‘MOST EXTREME’ GUN CONTROL LAW, BUT BLUE STATE PLANS TO APPEAL Monday’s ruling came after Ferguson sued Gator’s Guns in Kelso, Washington, alleging the store continued to sell high-capacity magazines after the ban took effect. In its defense, Gator’s Guns challenged the law’s constitutionality. Bashor pointed to the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bruen decision, in which the majority ruled that gun laws must be consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. Washington failed to cite a law from the same time period as the Second Amendment’s adoption to support the ban, Bashor wrote. “Looks like Attorney General Ferguson shot himself in the foot when he went after the gun store for not complying with an unconstitutional gun law,” Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), told Fox News in a statement. WHY PASSING BAR EXAM WILL NO LONGER BE REQUIREMENT TO BECOME ATTORNEY IN WASHINGTON STATE SAF was not involved with the high-capacity magazine case, but it is suing Washington over a separate law that bans so-called assault weapons. The foundation was “disappointed” the higher court stayed Bashor’s order so quickly, SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut said in a statement. “It seems more often than not, courts step in to protect Government quickly, but do not provide the same speed in reviewing the constitutionality of the challenge laws,” Kraut said. “Washingtonians continue to be deprived of their constitutional rights while this case proceeds.” Democrat lawmakers adopted the magazine ban in 2022 at Ferguson’s request. Since then, his office has targeted multiple businesses accused of illegally selling high-capacity magazines. Earlier this year, a gun store and its owner in Federal Way, Wash., agreed to pay $3 million after Ferguson sued them for breaking the law.
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Arizona Supreme Court upholds near-total abortion ban
The Arizona Supreme Court issued a ruling on Tuesday reverting the state back to a 160-year-old, pre-statehood law that outlaws abortions in nearly all circumstances and criminalizes abortions. The law would also make it a felony for anyone who “provides, supplies or administers to a pregnant woman, or procures such woman to take any medicine, drugs or substance, or uses or employs any instrument or other means whatever, with intent thereby to procure the miscarriage of such woman, unless it is necessary to save her life,” potentially carrying a prison sentence between 2 and 5 years. The law, which was codified in 1913 after Arizona became a state, includes an exception in cases where the mother’s life is at risk. WHOOPI GOLDBERG CLASHES WITH NANCY MACE OVER ABORTION DURING ‘THE VIEW’ The law was never repealed, and a state court allowed the ban to remain in place last year as long as it was compatible with a 2022 law that allows women to get an abortion within the first 15 weeks of pregnancy. In contending with the two distinct laws, the court concluded in a 4-2 ruling Tuesday that the 2022 law “does not create a right to, or otherwise provide independent statutory authority for, an abortion that repeals or restricts” the 1913 law. The court’s majority wrote that instead, it “is predicated entirely on the existence of a federal constitutional right to an abortion since disclaimed” by the overturning of Roe v. Wade. The 160-year-old law is “now enforceable,” the opinion read, and will go into effect in 14 days. Tuesday’s highly anticipated ruling comes as the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case four months ago. The Biden administration issued a statement following the ruling, saying that “millions of Arizonans will soon live under an even more extreme and dangerous abortion ban, which fails to protect women even when their health is at risk or in tragic cases of rape or incest.” “This cruel ban was first enacted in 1864—more than 150 years ago, before Arizona was even a state and well before women had secured the right to vote,” the statement read. “This ruling is a result of the extreme agenda of Republican elected officials who are committed to ripping away women’s freedom.” WHERE AMERICANS STAND ON ABORTION IN OUR LATEST FOX NEWS POLL “The decision made by the Arizona Supreme Court today is unconscionable and an affront to freedom,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, said in a statement. “Make no mistake, by effectively striking down a law passed this century and replacing it with one from 160 years ago, the Court has risked the health and lives of Arizonans.” “Today’s decision to reimpose a law from a time when Arizona wasn’t a state, the Civil War was raging, and women couldn’t even vote will go down in history as a stain on our state,” the statement continued. This is a breaking story, check back for updates.
Anti-Israel agitators shut down Senate cafeteria, around 50 arrested
More than 50 people were arrested Tuesday after the Senate cafeteria was shut down by anti-Israel protesters chanting “Senate can’t eat until Gaza eats!” The U.S. Capitol Police confirmed to Fox News that those arrested inside the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., were charged with Crowding, Obstructing, or Incommoding. “It is illegal to demonstrate inside any of the Congressional Buildings,” Capitol Police said in a statement. A video obtained by Fox News shows demonstrators walking through the hallways of the building, raising their hands and saying “Children are starving in Gaza” and “People are dying in Gaza.” PRO-PALESTINIAN PROTEST BREAKS OUT INSIDE SENATE OFFICE BUILDING One woman was wearing a shirt that read “Biden’s legacy = Genocide.” President Biden has come under pressure over the growing civilian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war, which began on Oct. 7 last year when the Gaza-based terrorist group launched a surprise attack on Israel. CAPITOL POLICE ARREST PRO-PALESTINIAN DEMONSTRATORS INSIDE CANNON HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING A source told Fox News that Capitol Police at one point shouted “Everybody out or be placed under arrest” – to which a protester replied “this is the house of the people!” Some of the demonstrators appeared to be same individuals that interrupted testimony from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing this morning. Fox News’ Chad Pergram, Kelly Phares and Aishah Hasnie contributed to this report.
American Library Association claims ‘censoring’ sexually explicit books targets LGBTQ+ community
The American Library Association (ALA), the oldest and largest library nonprofit in the world, claimed that the “censorship” of sexually explicit books in children’s libraries is discriminatory to the LGBTQ+ community. “In looking at the titles of the most challenged books from last year, it’s obvious that the pressure groups are targeting books about LGBTQIA+ people and people of color,” ALA President Emily Drabinski said in a statement Monday. “At ALA, we are fighting for the freedom to choose what you want to read. Shining a light on the harmful workings of these pressure groups is one of the actions we must take to protect our right to read.” The group, which sponsors National Library Week in the second week of April every year, identified the top 10 most “banned” books from children’s libraries — all of which were removed for purportedly some sort of sexually explicit content. The association also pioneered the Unite Against Book Bans’ Book Résumé. PASTOR WAS BOOTED FROM BOARD MEETING FOR BASHING SCHOOL-APPROVED BOOK: THESE ARE ‘SNOWFLAKE ADULTS’ According to ALA, the number of books “targeted for censorship” rose 65% in 2023 compared to the year before, making it the highest recorded number of bans, the group claims. “Gender Queer,” by Maia Kobabe, “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” by George M. Johnson, “This Book is Gay,” by Juno Dawson and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky were among the list of most-banned books in public libraries last year for having LGBTQIA+ and sexually explicit content. “These are books that contain the ideas, the opinions, and the voices that censors want to silence – stories by and about LGBTQ+ persons and people of color,” ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom director Deborah Caldwell-Stone said. “Each challenge, each demand to censor these books is an attack on our freedom to read, our right to live the life we choose, and an attack on libraries as community institutions that reflect the rich diversity of our nation.” PARENTS AND TEACHERS BATTLE IN MARYLAND COUNTY OVER ‘SEXUALLY EXPLICIT’ BOOKS IN SCHOOL Last year, during a Senate Judiciary Hearing on book bans last year, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., read an excerpt from Johnson’s “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” which has been banned in more than two dozen school districts. “I put some lube on and got him on his knees, and I began to slide into him from behind,” Kennedy read from the book, which is a memoir of Johnson’s life. “I pulled out of him and kissed him while he masturbated.” At the time, a college activist defended the book, arguing that if students cannot read books like “All Boys Aren’t Blue,” then “they cannot learn about abuse.” “Gender Queer” has also been banned in school districts in a few states, including Florida and Texas. The author previously told the Washington Post in an interview that she “originally wrote it for my parents, and then for older teens who were already asking these questions about themselves.” ‘MARXIST LESBIAN’ AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION HEAD SAYS CONSERVATIVE BOOK BANS ARE ‘ATTACKS ON CHILDREN’ “I don’t recommend this book for kids!” Kobabe told the outlet. In July 2021, ALA adopted a new code of ethics built upon “racial and social justice” “to foster cultural understanding by providing library professionals with a professional framework that supports equity, diversity, and inclusion.” The association also has an advocacy arm that lobbies in Congress to advance “key policies” and represents “the voice for libraries in Washington, D.C.” Last year, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a bill making it the first state in the nation to outlaw book bans.
Udhampur Jammu & Kashmir Lok Sabha constituency: Check polling date, candidates list, past election results
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Convicted pedophiles could face much darker future with GOP-backed bill: ‘Can’t rehabilitate a predator’
Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna is slated to introduce a bill this week that would raise the federal minimum for sexual abusers of children to the death penalty or life in prison, the congresswoman told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview. “One of my big platforms has been: how do you combat child trafficking, just with everything happening in our country? And it seems like there’s been this obviously massive issue here in the states with consumption of whether it’s child pornography and/or just attacks really on kids. And in honor of sexual assault prevention month, we actually want to introduce legislation,” Luna told Fox News Digital in a phone interview this week. Called the “No Repeat Child Sex Offenders Act,” the bill would amend a U.S. code that states anyone who “knowingly transports any individual in interstate or foreign commerce” to engage in prostitution or sexual activity “shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.” The bill would strike the language that an offender be “imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both,” and replace it with stronger penalties: “and punished by death or imprisoned for life.” NEW UN-BACKED LEGAL RECOMMENDATIONS NORMALIZE SEX WITH MINORS, OUTRAGED CRITICS SAY “It’s absurd to me, not only as a new mom, but also if you just look at some of the federal statutes, that there’s not more strict punishments for people that are doing this,” Luna said. The Florida congresswoman added that she, similar to others across the nation, believe child predators cannot be rehabilitated, and would reoffend when back on the streets. “I have the firm belief, which I think many of my colleagues also hold, that you can’t rehabilitate a predator. And so we have to increase the federal minimums. And as you see, it’s pretty simple text. It’s maybe a page and a half, but it will increase the federal minimums to death penalty or life in prison,” Luna said. TRANSGENDER MINNESOTA LAWMAKER INTRODUCES BILL REMOVING ANTI-PEDOPHILE LANGUAGE FROM STATE’S HUMAN RIGHTS ACT April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, which works to reduce the likelihood of sexual abuse. Luna said that in addition to her bill raising the federal minimum for abusers of children, she’s also introducing a bill that would increase the federal minimums for rape to 30 years, as well as another bill that increases the penalties for those in possession of child pornography. “I am also introducing a bill this week regarding rape. It is absurd that rapists can get off after a few years of ‘good’ behavior after destroying lives. I will also be asking to increase the federal minimum,” Luna posted on X on Saturday. WARNING: LAWMAKER’S BILL MANDATES AUTOMATIC DEATH PENALTY FOR CHILD SEX CRIMES FOLLOWING EPSTEIN FILES RELEASE Luna’s bills come as some states and cities, such as in California or New York, have seen an increase in prostitution in broad daylight on bustling streets. Experts have previously told Fox News Digital that the immigration crisis and lax laws have likely caused the spike in brazen prostitution, which also often includes human trafficking and the trafficking of children. Luna said her bill raising the penalties against child sexual assault includes so-called “Johns” who hire underage girls. PIMPS CONTROL SAN DIEGO NEIGHBORHOODS AS RESIDENTS FEAR SPEAKING OUT AMID BRAZEN PROSTITUTION: BUSINESS OWNER “Anyone who is even going to consider exploiting someone like this – and you can’t tell me that they don’t know that these people are trafficked or that they don’t know that that’s a young child – but the fact is, is that, if you’re knowingly doing this, you have to be held accountable,” she said. “It’s pretty black and white,” she said. DESANTIS EXPANDS DEATH PENALTY LAW FOR CONVICTED CHILD RAPISTS, DEFYING SUPREME COURT PRECEDENT Luna compared rape to murder, saying the assault of a child destroys the victim’s life, as well as the lives of family members. She’s hopeful Democrats will join her in passing the bill, calling it a nonpartisan effort, though some Democrats might not agree with the legislation due to opposition to the death penalty. “I think that this does speak to a deeper issue, in that, whether it’s issues of rape or molestation that, you know, it destroys people’s lives, and it’s something that they carry with them for the rest of the time that they’re adults. And so it can impact people, and we should be thinking of this very seriously,” she said. Luna will introduce the bills Thursday in the House. “I think that if you’re really about protecting children… you have to have strict laws. And that’s exactly why we’ve introduced it.”