Mississippi anticipates slight budget growth in coming year
Budget writers in the Mississippi Legislature will have slightly more money to spend during the coming year than they did in the current one. Top members of the House and Senate met Friday and set a revenue estimate of $7.6 billion for the year that begins July 1. That is an increase of 1% from the current year. The estimate is experts’ best guess of how much money the state will collect, based on economic trends including employment rates and consumer spending patterns. MISSISSIPPI STATE BUDGET IS EXPECTED TO SHRINK SLIGHTLY IN THE COMING YEAR Legislators are in a four-month session that is scheduled to end in early May. During the next few weeks, they are supposed to finish writing the budget for the coming year, deciding how much to spend on schools, prisons, health care and other services. Republican Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann said Friday that legislators will be prudent with money. Mississippi is in the process of reducing its personal income tax under a law that Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed in 2022. In his budget proposal released in February, Reeves said he wants to erase the tax by 2029. Hosemann said Friday that he does not expect movement in that direction this year. “I can’t speak for the House. But for the Senate side, I don’t think we’re going to have any income tax cuts,” Hosemann told reporters. It has been months since state agencies submitted the budget requests for the coming year. Legislators rarely give agencies all the money they seek, and House Appropriations Committee Chairman John Read said that’s likely to be the case again this session. “I’m going to do as much as I can,” said Read, a Republican from Gautier. “We get requests. There’s no way I can do 100% of requests, so I tell people to give me a priority list, and that’s what I go on. We try to help everyone.”
Dems violated freedom of speech during transgender bill’s debate, conservative groups allege
The mandatory use of preferred pronouns is at the center of a battle between progressives in the Colorado House and Senate and conservative groups suing the liberal lawmakers, claiming the compulsory speech violates their First Amendment rights. Gays Against Groomers — a nonprofit coalition of gay people who oppose “the recent trend of indoctrinating, sexualizing and medicalizing children under the guise of ‘LGBTQIA+’” — and the Rocky Mountain Women’s Network — a women’s advocacy group fighting for “sex-based rights” in Colorado — were named on Thursday as plaintiffs in the joint lawsuit, which was filed by attorneys with the Institute for Free Speech. The suit alleges that Colorado lawmakers silenced the groups during public hearings for HB24-1071, colloquially known as “Tiara’s Law,” which is a bill that would make it easier for transgender felons to change their name. It is still being discussed in the legislature. COLORADO COULD BECOME THE FIRST STATE TO BUILD SEPARATE PRISON UNITS FOR TRANSGENDER FELONS The defendants listed in the 30-page lawsuit are: Rep. Lorena Garcia, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee Mike Weissman, Rep. Leslie Herod, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee Julie Gonzales and Sen. Dafna Michaelson Jenet. All are Democrats. “In many schools and workplaces, the ongoing debate about trans ideology has spawned pronoun rituals, with some people choosing to announce their pronouns as a matter of course and many transgender individuals insisting upon being referred to by their preferred pronouns, including fictional or plural pronouns,” the lawsuit states. “Americans also argue about whether, or when, to refer to people by their new trans-inspired names. “There is nothing wrong with Americans, or their elected representatives, debating trans ideology.” DETRANSITIONERS SAY THEY FACE VITRIOL FROM TRANS ACTIVISTS THEY PREVIOUSLY CONSIDERED A ‘SECOND FAMILY’ Colorado Democrats are “abusing their authority to put a thumb on the scale of the public’s debate about transgenderism” by prescribing how critics are permitted to “present their views during the public-testimony portion of committee hearings,” the groups allege. “By prohibiting ‘misgendering’ or ‘deadnaming’ and otherwise requiring citizens to express fealty to transgender ideology under the guise of ‘civility’ or ‘decorum,’” individuals aren’t able to fairly debate their ideas, the lawsuit states. “Deadnaming” refers to identifying an individual by their birth name instead of a new name that is usually chosen alongside a preferred pronoun. BIDEN SLAMMED ON SOCIAL MEDIA AFTER ANNOUNCING TRANSGENDER DAY OF VISIBILITY ON EASTER SUNDAY Lawmakers in Colorado “unlawfully trampled all over the First Amendment” because the groups’ public comments didn’t conform to the Democrats’ “ideology,” Jaimee Michelle, the founder of Gays Against Groomers, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “It was undemocratic and inappropriate,” Michelle said. While introducing “Tiara’s Law,” Gonzalez asked public commenters to refrain from “using derogatory language or misgendering witnesses or using a witness’ deadname.” Weissman then codified Gonzalez’s request and made it a rule during the hearings, preventing some people from giving public testimony altogether. The bill was originally named after Tiara Latrice Kelley, a Colorado transgender woman whose criminal record includes three misdemeanor sex work charges in Florida, the Colorado Newsline reported. The House voted against officially naming the bill Tiara’s Law after Republicans argued it shouldn’t be named for someone with a criminal history. Several other bills pertaining to transgender individuals are also making their way through the Colorado Legislature, including one that would create a category for gender-based hate crimes. The lawmakers named in the lawsuit did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
New York Appeals Court denies Trump motion to delay hush-money trial, setting up jury selection for next week
A New York Appeals Court rejected former President Trump’s motion to delay his trial on charges stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s hush-money payments investigation. The former president and 2024 presumptive Republican presidential nominee sought to delay the trial, which is set to begin with jury selection on April 15. He also sought to change the venue for the trial—asking that it be removed from New York. TRUMP FILES MOTION REQUESTING JUDGE IN HUSH MONEY TRIAL BE RECUSED AMID DAUGHTER’S DEMOCRAT-AFFILIATED WORK Trump’s application to the New York Appellate Division 1st Department said that while jury selection is set to begin next week, “polling and quantitative analysis of media coverage shows that a fair and impartial jury cannot be selected right now based on prejudicial pretrial publicity.” But the judge on Monday evening denied Trump’s motion to delay the trial. “Defendant’s application for a stay of trial…pending the determination of defendant’s motion for change of venue, is denied,” Hon. Lizbeth Gonzalez decided Monday. Last week, Manhattan Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the trial, denied Trump’s bid for a delay. The former president had requested the trial be put on hold pending the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity. Arguments are set to be heard by the high court on the matter on April 25, with a ruling expected in mid-June. Trump contends he is immune from prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office. His lawyers argue some of the evidence and alleged acts in the hush money case overlap with his time in the White House and constitute official acts. NEW YORK JUDGE IN HUSH-MONEY TRIAL REJECTS TRUMP’S REQUEST FOR DELAY UNTIL AFTER SCOTUS RULES ON IMMUNITY Also last week, Trump and his attorneys filed a motion requesting Merchan be recused from the trial altogether, due to his daughter’s Democrat-affiliated political work and his alleged “hostility” against the 2024 presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Merchan has imposed a gag order against Trump, which the former president’s legal team is also fighting. Bragg, last April, charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. The charges are related to alleged hush-money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign. Bragg alleged that Trump “repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election.” Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Longest-serving Wisconsin state Senator to retire
Sen. Rob Cowles, the longest-serving incumbent in the Wisconsin Legislature, announced Monday he will retire rather than run in a district now more favorable to Democrats or move under new district boundaries that take effect in November. Cowles, 73, had originally said he planned to move and run again to represent the bulk of the district he currently serves that is more Republican. He was first elected to the Senate in 1982 after serving four years in the Assembly. Under the new maps, Cowles was put in the same Green Bay-area Senate district as two other Republican incumbents: Sens. Andre Jacque and Eric Wimberger. That district will now lean slightly Democratic. WISCONSIN GOV. EVERS VETOES BILL TO LET TEENS WORK WITHOUT PARENTAL CONSENT Wimberger has said he plans to move into the same district Cowles had contemplated moving into, meaning they would have faced each other in a Republican primary. Jacque isn’t up for re-election until 2026. Cowles said “after much thought and deliberation,” he has decided against seeking re-election. “I’ve enjoyed the opportunity I’ve had to meet people in the State Capitol and throughout Wisconsin who share my love for the state we call home,” Cowles said in his statement. “From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank everyone who wakes up every day working to make our great state an even better place.” He did not address the new maps in his statement. Cowles has been active on environmental policy, currently serving as chair of the Natural Resources and Energy Committee. He was also the former co-chair of the Senate’s Audit Committee, which ordered and reviewed audits of state agencies and programs. With Cowles’ departure, Democratic Sen. Bob Wirch, of Kenosha, will be the longest-serving senator. He was first elected in 1996, after spending four years in the Assembly. Democratic Sen. Tim Carpenter, of Milwaukee, has more seniority in the Legislature. He was first elected to the Assembly in 1984, but he wasn’t elected to the Senate until 2002.
Actions against Ohio Dem accused of ‘erratic and abusive behavior’ were justified, investigation finds
An independent state-ordered investigation has concluded that Ohio legislative leaders were justified in disciplining a state lawmaker who was removed by House Democratic leadership from committees and banned from contacting staff following an alleged pattern of “erratic and abusive behavior.” The investigation found numerous witnesses corroborated accusations of Cleveland-area Democratic Rep. Elliot Forhan’s behavior during the past year, including confrontations with other lawmakers, constituents, and lobbyists. The probe, requested by the leaders, was conducted by a Columbus law firm appointed by Republican Attorney General Dave Yost. OHIO DEMOCRAT UNDER INVESTIGATION AFTER ALLEGATIONS OF ‘ERRATIC AND ABUSIVE’ BEHAVIOR In response to the allegations, Forhan lost all of his committee assignments last November and was barred by House Minority Leader C. Allison Russo from contacting interns, pages and Democratic legislative aides. He also was required to have a House sergeant-at-arms accompany him while he was at the Statehouse. The report states Forhan has repeatedly failed to comply with the latter provision, showed up at the Statehouse and a nearby legislative office building unannounced, and yelled at the sergeant-at-arms or one of his assistants at least twice. Forhan’s behavior, if left unaddressed, would have posed “a significant threat to the institutional integrity of the Ohio House and its reputation, and posed a credible risk of escalating to violence or violent conduct,” the report concluded. However, it also stated that Forhan’s actions to date “do not warrant his removal from office,” Forhan told Cleveland.com that the investigation was a “sham” that does not show his actions rose to “violence or violent conduct,” but just states that there could be at some future time, a contention he also disagreed with. Forhan was elected to his first term in 2022 but was defeated in the Democratic primary last month, finishing third overall. His term will expire at year’s end.
Pence worries TikTok bill could get lost in ‘fog of presidential politics,’ urges Senate vote
Former Vice President Mike Pence is concerned that a bipartisan effort to force popular social media app TikTok to cut ties with China will fall victim to presidential politics ahead of the November election, which promises to be fiercely competitive. “I am concerned that this vitally important national security measure could be caught up in the delays in the United States Senate and ultimately be lost in the fog of presidential politics,” he told Fox News Digital in an interview, referencing the upcoming November election that is expected to be a rematch between former President Trump and President Biden. Pence’s organization, Advancing American Freedom, is spearheading a campaign to push a bill through Congress and to Biden’s desk that would require TikTok to either divest from Chinese-owned company Bytedance or see itself banned in the U.S. His effort includes a multimillion-dollar ad buy in Washington, D.C., and several states aimed at pressuring Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and other key senators to get the legislation to the finish line. TRUMP’S ABORTION STANCE PROMPTS PUSHBACK FROM ONE OF HIS BIGGEST SUPPORTERS The $2 million ad started running in the nation’s capital on Sunday, and Pence previewed to Fox News Digital that it would also run at a later date “in a number of states around the country,” including Montana, Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. “We’ll be not only calling on people to call Schumer, but also to call the relevant Democrat senators in those states to urge them also to step forward in support of forcing the sale of TikTok and bringing this matter to the floor to a vote and to final passage,” he said. TRUMP MAKES ENDORSEMENT IN RACE FOR GOP REP. GALLAGHER’S CONGRESSIONAL SEAT According to the former vice president and former 2024 presidential candidate, TikTok “represents a profound compromise of the privacy of millions of Americans and creates an opportunity for the Chinese Communist Party to collect data on tens of millions of Americans that could be exploited in the future.” Pence noted that it is “perhaps even more perilous” that TikTok has been able to establish an “unprecedented, propaganda platform for an adversarial nation in the United States.” Part of Pence’s worry about swift action on the bill is born out of his own experience in Congress. “My concern, having spent 12 years in the House of Representatives, is that not a whole lot gets done after Memorial Day during a presidential election year.” HOUSE REPUBLICANS REBUKE BIDEN FOR ‘ONE-SIDED PRESSURE’ ON ISRAEL AFTER NETANYAHU CALL But he explained that TikTok’s data collection and connection to China present too urgent a threat to put off. The bill, introduced by House China Select Committee Chair Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., and ranking member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., passed the lower chamber with a bipartisan vote of 352-65. Once it reached the Senate, it was referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, rather than being expedited for floor consideration as some had hoped. Pence said he discussed the bill and its path in the Senate with Gallagher, who he said had detailed Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell’s, D-Wash., staff being both open and constructive, despite potential concerns emerging about her control over the bill’s fate. Pence claimed Gallagher told him Cantwell’s team was “engaging in a constructive way.” SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN UNLOADS ON SQUATTERS, SAYS THEY HAVE ‘NO RIGHTS’: ‘I AM NOT WOKE’ Several reports from Politico revealed last month that multiple of Cantwell’s former staffers are now lobbying on behalf of TikTok, prompting questions regarding the senator’s role in overseeing the bill’s trajectory. TikTok did not provide comment to Fox News Digital. There is no clear timeline for the legislation in the Senate, and many senators have warned that bills often take longer in the body than in the House. However, some have disputed this, including Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., noting its quick passage in the House and national security implications. “I wouldn’t accept the premise that there’s a default to a long process,” he recently told Fox News Digital. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., previously pointed the finger at outside lobbying efforts for the bill’s stall in the Senate. He claimed the bill being moved to committee was a bid to “kill it.” “Just put a sign right there on the door that says ‘Property of Big Tech,’” he suggested at the time. Cantwell has signaled her intent to hold public hearings on the proposed bill, in addition to a markup. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, ranking member of the Commerce Committee, telegraphed approval of the possibility as a frequent champion of returning to regular order in Congress.
Abbott sends Biden message on ‘sovereign authority’ as Texas National Guard reinforces border razor fencing
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday highlighted how Texas is reinforcing barriers in a key border crossing area and pledged to exercise its “sovereign authority” — amid an ongoing months-long legal fight with the Biden administration over enforcement. Abbott posted an image of Texas National Guard soldiers reinforcing border barriers, including razor wire, in El Paso, Texas — an area that has seen a number of migrant surges in recent weeks. “Texas National Guard soldiers continue to reinforce border barriers in El Paso to deter and repel illegal crossings,” he said. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS “Texas will exercise our sovereign authority to protect our southern border — and our nation — because President Biden refuses to enforce federal immigration laws.” Texas, as part of Operation Lone Star, has set up the razor wire and other barriers along the border in an effort to curb the historic amounts of illegal migration that have hit it since 2021. The wire has become a point of contention between Texas and the Biden administration. Texas sued the administration after federal officials cut the wire in order to be able to apprehend migrants who were technically already in the U.S. CAUGHT ON CAMERA: CROWDS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CUT RAZOR WIRE, RUSH ACROSS BORDER INTO TEXAS Earlier this year, Texas seized Shelby Park, a key staging ground in Eagle Pass and continued reinforcing the razor wire and other barriers. The administration has since sued Texas over an anti-illegal immigration bill that would allow local police to arrest illegal immigrants and would allow judges to order them deported. The Biden administration says that Texas’ actions interfere with federal enforcement, while Texas says it needs to act in the face of inaction over the border crisis from the federal government. “Whether it is leaving migrants on the side of the road in the dead of winter, installing razor wire to make Border Patrol’s job more dangerous, promoting extreme and unconstitutional laws like S.B. 4, or his latest actions in Eagle Pass, Governor Abbott has repeatedly proven that he is not interested in solutions and only seeks to politicize the border,” the White House said in a statement during the Shelby Park incident. As that standoff continues, there have been a number of rushing incidents in El Paso, including one last month in which a large group broke through the razor wire. Texas authorities have since charged hundreds with rioting charges and some others with assault and criminal trespass. Fox obtained video last week of crowds of migrants cutting the wire in El Paso and surging through a gap in the wire. At one point, the Texas forces intervene and push the migrants back. “Back the f— up, get the f— off of here, back the f— up,” the soldier yells at them. “Get the hell out of here.” Meanwhile, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas took aim at Texas’ use of razor wire last week, doubling down on the claim it hurts Border Patrol’s job. “We do not consider concertina wire to be effective. It impairs Customs and Border Protection’s ability to do its job, and we’re also seeing migrants rather easily cutting concertina wire,” Mayorkas told a group of reporters Friday, according to CBS News.
McConnell, back in Kentucky, talks about life in the Senate after leaving longtime leadership post
SHELBYVILLE, Ky. (AP) — For nearly two decades, Mitch McConnell’s only job uncertainty hinged on whether he’d serve as Senate majority or minority leader after the next election. With his days as Republican leader now numbered, the Kentuckian is talking more freely about his priorities once he’s no longer calling the shots for his party. During events last week back in the Bluegrass State, McConnell offered fresh details about his decision to step down in November from his role as the longest-serving Senate leader in history, which set off a wave of speculation about the future of his seat. The 82-year-old McConnell still hasn’t said for sure whether he might seek another term, leaving others to fill in the gaps, but in a radio interview and a speech, he did grow more expansive about what he hopes to accomplish in the more than two and a half years remaining of his current term. MITCH MCCONNELL STEPPING DOWN AS REPUBLICAN LEADER After months when his public visits back home seemed to taper off amid concerns about his health — though McConnell has meetings and events in Kentucky that aren’t publicized to the media — the senator kept the focus on policies he hopes to help move forward in Congress. “I felt it’s time to shift to a new mission,” he said during a speech in Shelbyville. “And I’m certainly not leaving the Senate and still have a lot of interest in the issues that are before us.” Topping his to-do list: fighting back against what he sees as his party’s increasing shift toward an isolationist foreign policy, McConnell said. He’s been on the same mission as GOP Senate leader but it’s a politically difficult stance as conservatives become increasingly opposed to spending on overseas wars amid the fiery, often isolationist populism of former President Donald Trump. “I have a great passion for trying to help do everything I can to push back against the notion that somehow this is not in America’s interest to be the leader of the democratic world,” the senator said during his speech. “Things don’t work well if we are not in the leadership position.” McConnell has steadfastly supported a muscular U.S. foreign policy during his Senate career. Nowhere would a hands-off approach pushed by some in his party be more risky than in Ukraine, he said. Backing off support for Ukraine in its war with Russia would embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin’s expansionist ambitions and ultimately could trigger a wider conflict, McConnell said. “If the Russians take Ukraine, some NATO country will be next and then we will be right in the middle of it,” McConnell said last week during an interview on WHAS-AM radio in Louisville. McConnell parried questions about his health and political future. He said he will serve out his seventh Senate term, adding: “I don’t know how many times I can say that. But that’s exactly what I’m going to do.” He offered no hints whether he will run for reelection in 2026, but McConnell had continued raising campaign funds for himself. Asked in Shelbyville how he’s doing, McConnell replied curtly: “I’m great. How are you?” He had a concussion from a fall last year and two public episodes where his face briefly froze while he was speaking. Aides said McConnell’s decision to give up his leadership post was unrelated to his health. When the topic turned to Kentucky losing clout once he’s no longer in leadership, the ever-restrained McConnell replied: “Well I think I’m still going to have a pretty big voice.” McConnell’s reputation as a prodigious campaign fundraiser for his party also will keep him influential in Republican politics. Throughout his career, McConnell has been a prolific appropriator for the Bluegrass State, a role he’s well positioned to continue as a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “I think in a state like ours, what we can get out of the federal government we need to get,” McConnell told reporters in Shelbyville. McConnell also sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee and again will have a big hand in crafting the next federal farm bill — crucial to Kentucky’s diversified farm sector. The speech included zingers aimed at Democratic President Joe Biden, whose policies he blamed for fueling inflation and overreaching through regulations. As usual, the senator made no direct mention of Trump. The two have been estranged since December 2020, when McConnell refused to abide by Trump’s lie that Biden’s election as president was the product of fraud. McConnell broke the ice long enough last month to endorse Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee in the November election. McConnell talked expansively in his speech about the dangers of isolationism, suggesting that more is at stake for U.S. interests than at anytime since the fall of the Berlin Wall. “You can say ‘well, I’ll just keep my head down and maybe everything will be OK,’” the senator said. “Or you can stand up to it. It may not be fashionable now, but I’m a Ronald Reagan Republican — peace through strength.” He punched back against resistance to sending more aid to Ukraine. It helps employ American workers to replenish U.S. military stocks, McConnell said, and halting the aid would send a dangerous signal to other U.S. adversaries. “This war is not taking a single American life,” he said. “We’re not involved directly in the war. We’re trying to help these brave people stand up for their own independence.” In another public appearance last week, McConnell introduced U.S. Sen. Katie Britt when the Alabama Republican spoke at the University of Louisville — McConnell’s alma mater. McConnell has become more reflective on his long Senate career when speaking to Kentucky audiences. And he’s poked fun at his own elder stateman status. “I often tell people my real break in politics was my internship with Henry Clay,” he said, referring to the 19th century Kentuckian.
Fewer Americans want to buy an EV — even as Biden pushes for strongest-ever climate change rules
A decreasing number of Americans report that they are either seriously considering or might consider buying an electric vehicle, even as President Biden continues to push for greater EV ownership. While 55% of Americans said last year that they were considering an EV purchase, that figure has declined to 44%, according to a Gallup poll conducted in March and published Monday. The data further showed that just 9% of respondents report that they are seriously considering buying an EV. “Gallup data confirm that the U.S. market for electric vehicle ownership remains fairly limited, with about one in six Americans currently owning one or seriously considering purchasing one,” Gallup analyst Jeffrey Jones wrote. “The size of that market is unchanged since last year, although it has shifted toward more owning and fewer seriously considering buying an EV.” According to the Gallup poll, Americans are deeply divided on whether to purchase an EV when factoring in income, age and political ideology. MAINE REJECTS SWEEPING ELECTRIC VEHICLE MANDATE IN BLOW TO GOVERNOR’S CLIMATE AGENDA Among those who earn a salary of more than $100,000 per year, 59% reported owning or considering purchasing an EV. That number fell to 56% and 39% among middle-income and lower-income Americans, respectively. An even larger disparity is present when comparing those younger Americans with older Americans, and Democrats with Republicans. Sixty-two percent of those 18 to 29 own or would consider purchasing an EV, while 63% of those aged 65 and up said they would not buy an EV. And while 73% of Democrats said they own or would consider buying an EV, 69% of Republicans would not buy an EV, according to the Gallup poll. 17 RETIRED MILITARY OFFICIALS RAISE ALARM ON BIDEN’S ELECTRIC VEHICLE PUSH The survey data comes shortly after the Biden administration finalized the most aggressive tailpipe emissions regulations ever crafted, as part of its climate-related effort to incentivize a large-scale increase in EV manufacturing and ownership. Biden said the rules would help achieve his goal of ensuring 50% of all U.S. car sales are electric by 2030. The regulations were blasted by oil producers and petroleum refiners who argued they would “unequivocally eliminate most new gas cars” from the market in less than a decade. “This regulation will make new gas-powered vehicles unavailable or prohibitively expensive for most Americans,” said American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers President and CEO Chet Thompson and American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers in a joint statement. “For them, this wildly unpopular policy is going to feel and function like a ban.” In 2023, 9.5% of new, light-duty vehicle sales were EVs, up from 7% in 2022 and 4.3% in 2021, according to data from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an industry group that represents major automakers. At the same time, EVs remain more expensive than traditional, gas-powered cars. But Daniel Villaseñor, a spokesperson for California Gov. Gavin Newsom, said “actions matter more than polls,” noting the high number of zero-emissions car sales in California, where the state government has finalized an aggressive EV mandate. “More zero-emission vehicles were sold in California last year than at any point in history, including in Q3 when sales hit their highest share ever,” Villaseñor said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Sales soared by 46% year-over-year, continuing the upward trend led by our state every year. Consumer trends show California is going to achieve our world-leading goal of 100% [zero-emissions vehicle] sales by 2035.” The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment for purposes of this story.
Hamas says no progress in Gaza truce talks as sides set to meet again
Israeli and Hamas officials say no significant progress has been made in the latest round of Gaza truce talks in Cairo attended by representatives from mediators Egypt, Qatar and the United States. “There is no change in the position of the occupation and, therefore, there is nothing new in the Cairo talks. … There is no progress yet,” a Hamas official, who asked not to be named, told the Reuters news agency on Monday, shortly after reports quoting Egyptian sources said headway had been made. Israel’s Ynet news outlet cited an unidentified Israeli official as saying there had been “nothing dramatic” in the talks. “We still don’t see a deal on the horizon. The distance is still great, and there has been nothing dramatic in the meantime,” the official said. A separate senior Israeli official was quoted by Ynet as saying: “Patience is needed. There is potential, but we are not there yet.” Much of the international community has expressed outrage over the Palestinian death toll and humanitarian crisis arising from Israel’s military operation that it says is aimed at destroying Hamas in the Gaza Strip. More than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7, according to Palestinian officials. Israel launched its assault on Gaza in response to Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, which killed 1,139 people, according to an Al Jazeera tally based on Israeli statistics. Hamas seized 253 people at that time and took them back to Gaza. Of those, 133 captives remain, and negotiators have spoken of about 40 going free in the first stage of a prospective deal with Hamas. Israel’s army says more than 600 of its soldiers have been killed in combat. Delegations set to return to Cairo Israel and Hamas sent teams to Egypt on Sunday after the arrival on Saturday of CIA Director William Burns, whose presence underlined rising pressure from the White House for a deal that would reach a truce, free captives held in Gaza and get aid to isolated civilians. Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan, reporting from occupied East Jerusalem, said the fact that talks have not broken down was a positive development. “There is apparently a ceasefire framework that the Israelis are now taking back to the war cabinet and Hamas is discussing within the movement,” he said. Khan said senior Israeli politicians are actually talking about the potential of the talks. “Finance Minister [Bezalel] Smotrich is calling for a meeting to get an update on what this framework is, and Yair Lapid, head of the opposition, says he’s willing to give the government a safety net to be able to come to some sort of deal,” Khan said. Two Egyptian security sources and state-run Al-Qahera News said on Monday that some progress had been made in the Cairo talks. The security sources said both sides had made concessions that could help pave the way for a deal for a truce that – as proposed during previous talks – would be staggered over three stages with the release of the remaining Israeli captives and a long-term ceasefire addressed in the second stage. The concessions relate to the release of Israeli captives and Hamas’s demand for the return of displaced residents to northern Gaza, they said. Mediators suggested the return could be monitored by an Arab force in the presence of Israeli security deployments that would later be pulled back, they added. Delegations left Cairo, and consultations were expected to continue within 48 hours, the sources and Al-Qahera said. ‘Mixed messages’ Luciano Zaccara, a professor of Gulf politics at Qatar University’s Gulf Studies Center, told Al Jazeera that while mixed messages were emerging from Egypt, the Israeli government has made it clear the war will go on. The weekend pullout of Israeli forces from Gaza is aimed at reorganising troops for their future mission in Rafah, “meaning that Israel has not stopped pursuing the main objective, which is to destroy Hamas completely”, Zaccara said. “But the government is aware of the mounting pressure from captives’ families who joined forces with those seeking the prime minister’s resignation,” he added. “It seems like something is moving inside Israel to reach an agreement. They have to show they are working towards a solution, but we have to wait for the next 48 hours to see if a deal is reached,” Zaccara said. Six months into its offensive on Gaza, Israel has devastated the enclave and left most of its 2.3 million people homeless and many at risk of famine. The country is under global pressure to ease Gaza’s humanitarian crisis and drop its plans to storm Rafah, a town on the southern border with Egypt packed with more than a million displaced Palestinians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that a date has been set for the Israeli offensive on Rafah. He did not disclose when it would be. Adblock test (Why?)