Centrist group No Labels scraps bid to launch third-party presidential ticket
No Labels, the influential centrist group that had been working for over a year towards launching a bipartisan, third-party 2024 presidential ticket, is giving up its effort. The organization on Thursday announced in a statement that “No Labels is ending our effort to put forth a Unity ticket in the 2024 presidential election.” “Americans remain more open to an independent presidential run and hungrier for unifying national leadership than ever before. But No Labels has always said we would only offer our ballot line to a ticket if we could identify candidates with a credible path to winning the White House. No such candidates emerged, so the responsible course of action is for us to stand down,” the group explained. The announcement came a week after the group suffered a major loss with the death of former longtime Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Democratic Party’s 2000 vice presidential nominee and a 2004 presidential candidate who later became an independent and was a No Labels founding co-chair. NO LUCK FOR NO LABELS AS CENTRIST GROUP WORKS TOWARDS LAUNCHING PRESIDENTIAL TICKET In public, Lieberman was a tireless defender of the group’s push for a third-party ticket. And privately, he was a key player in No Labels’ recruitment efforts. Lieberman also repeatedly emphasized that Americans were anything but enthused about a 2024 rematch between President Biden and former President Donald Trump, and he regularly pushed back against warnings from Democrats that a No Labels ticket would pave a path to victory for Trump in November. Last month, in announcing the formation of a committee to vet contenders for the potential bipartisan ticket, Lieberman wrote that “if No Labels is unable to find candidates who meet this high threshold, then we simply will not offer our ballot line to anyone.” Hours before Lieberman’s death, former Republican Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey became the latest high-profile politician to decline to join a 2024 No Labels ticket, along with fellow Republicans in former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, and moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. CHRISTIE SAYS NO TO RUNNING ON NO LABELS PRESIDENTIAL TICKET There was also plenty of speculation that former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who was the final 2024 GOP presidential nomination rival to Trump before she ended her White House run earlier this month, would consider running on a No Labels ticket. No Labels had expressed interest in her earlier this year. But Haley repeatedly nixed joining a No Labels ticket, most recently in an interview last month on “FOX and Friends.” New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, another vocal GOP critic of Trump, was also courted. No Labels repeatedly reached out to Sununu and indicated in conversations that he was one of their top choices based on focus group data, a source familiar with those conversations confirmed to Fox News. “The Governor politely entertained their appeals, and indicated at numerous stages throughout the conversations that he had no interest in serving on their ticket. They reached out again at the beginning of March, and he once again told them no,” the source said. Complicating No Labels efforts was independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The longtime environmental activist and high-profile vaccine skeptic who is the scion of the nation’s most storied political dynasty is grabbing plenty of attention as he polls higher than any other third-party White House contender since Ross Perot over three decades ago. NAMING A RUNNING MATE MAY BOOST ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR’S BALLOT ACCESS BID Despite the announcement, No Labels continues its mission of obtaining ballot access across the country. The group on Thursday announced that it has officially qualified for the ballot in 21 states. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Having gained ballot access in 21 states and spurred a national conversation on the need for another choice in politics, No Labels is excited to build on our momentum to continue pursuing big ideas that promote unity and give voice to America’s commonsense majority,” the group said in its statement. And No Labels pledged that “we will remain engaged over the next year during what is likely to be the most divisive presidential election of our lifetimes. We will promote dialogue around major policy challenges and call out both sides when they speak and act in bad faith.”
Manhattan DA Bragg denies Trump hush money trial will benefit judge’s daughter despite Dem fundraising ties
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s Office used former President Trump’s defense team’s own words in arguing against their push to have Judge Juan Merchan recused from the hush-money case amid new allegations that Merchan’s daughter is financially benefiting as a result of the case through her work as a Democratic political consultant. Trump’s lawyers, Todd Blanche and Susan Necheles, argued in a pre-trial motion on Monday that Merchan’s daughter, Loren Merchan, works as an executive and partner at Authentic Campaigns, Inc., and financially benefits from the case and upcoming trial against Trump that her father oversees. Despite the new information coming to light, Bragg’s assistant district attorneys asserted in a letter of their own filed on Tuesday that Trump has “identified no changed circumstances” that warrant revisiting the court’s prior order on August 11, 2023, denying the defendant’s earlier motion for recusal. Merchan on Wednesday also separately denied Trump’s request to have the upcoming trial delayed until the Supreme Court rules on his presidential immunity. The assistant district attorneys rejected Trump’s argument that “Authentic has used social media to market its connections to President Biden and Vice President Harris while deriding President Trump.” “Even assuming that this claim is true, it merely reiterates defendant’s earlier argument based on Authentic’s client list,” Bragg’s office wrote. “This Court and the Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics have already determined that such a claim provides no basis for recusal.” NEW YORK JUDGE IN HUSH-MONEY TRIAL REJECTS TRUMP’S REQUEST FOR DELAY UNTIL AFTER SCOTUS RULES ON IMMUNITY In August 2023, the court said that Trump had presented only “speculative and hypothetical scenarios,” but the former president’s lawyers argued Monday that those scenarios “have come to pass” as Trump has advanced since then to become the presumptive GOP nominee for president in 2024. “Authentic and Your Honor’s daughter are making money by supporting the creation and dissemination of campaign advocacy for President Trump’s opponent, political rivals, and the Democrat party,” Trump’s defense said. “It can no longer be ignored that Authentic’s commercial interests are benefitted by developments in this case that harm President Trump’s penal interests and divert his efforts from running his leading campaign for the presidency by requiring him to prepare and sit for trial during the general election.” Citing filings with the Federal Election Commission, Trump’s attorneys argued that “Authentic has received millions of dollars in disbursements from entities associated with President Trump’s political rivals since the Indictment was returned” and “some of those funds were paid to Authentic by entities associated with legislators and PACs that have used email and/or social media to solicit contributions specifically based on this case.” Thus, they claimed, “there is strong evidence that Authentic has used this case to make money” and “those benefits and the ongoing financial interest cannot be ignored.” HOUSE GOP CHAIR DEMANDS TRUMP HUSH-MONEY JUDGE RECUSE HIMSELF AFTER LATEST GAG ORDER, CLAIMS ‘JUDICIAL BIAS’ But Bragg’s team cited that language in pushing back on Tuesday, writing, “defendant’s own careful wording reveals the multiple attenuated factual leaps here that undercut any direct connection between Authentic and this case: Authentic has received money from ‘entities’; those entities are ‘associated with’ politicians; and those politicians have raised money based on this case.” “This daisy chain of innuendos is a far cry from evidence that this Court has ‘a direct, personal, substantial or pecuniary interest in reaching a particular conclusion,’” the assistant district attorneys wrote. “There is simply nothing new here that would alter this Court’s prior conclusion that nothing about this proceeding will directly benefit Authentic or this Court’s family member, let alone this Court.” Trump’s team also criticized the court for making “extrajudicial comments about the case” despite Merchan issuing a gag order and subsequent extension that prevent the presumptive Republican nominee “from engaging in protected campaign speech.” Namely, Trump’s team took issue with the court using the Office of Court Administration to issue a statement relating to an X account used at some point by Merchan’s daughter. “As public scrutiny on these issues increased, the account in question appears to have been closed to the public. So too has Authentic’s X account, thereby limiting President Trump’s ability to investigate these issues,” they wrote. They cited the Associated Press having quoted a court spokesperson stating that Merchan’s daughter no longer owned an X account that appeared to have recently shared a photo of the former Republican president behind bars. Hitting back, Bragg’s office wrote, “To the extent defendant intends to seek recusal based on the cited article, such a request would be a frivolous and vexatious effort to further waste the Court’s time.” The prosecution said that Trump “fails to note that—aside from acknowledging ‘intense’ preparation the article reports that ‘Merchan wouldn’t talk about the case’” and “does not report that the Court was talking about this case when the Court reportedly said ‘There’s no agenda here. We want to follow the law.’” Bragg’s team added that “even if the Court did have this case in mind, expressing a broad commitment to impartiality is very obviously not a prohibited ‘comment about a pending or impending proceeding,’ and is not a basis for recusal.”
Federal judge denies Trump motion to dismiss classified records case based on Presidential Records Act
The federal judge presiding over former President Trump’s classified records case has denied his motion to dismiss the charges based on the Presidential Records Act. U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon, last month, also dismissed Trump’s motion to dismiss charges of retaining classified documents on the grounds of “unconstitutional vagueness.” TRUMP FLORIDA JUDGE CANNON DENIES TRUMP DISMISSAL ON ‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL VAGUENESS’ Trump was charged out of Smith’s investigation into his retention of classified materials. Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony charges from Smith’s probe, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and false statements. Trump was also charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of the investigation — an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts. Trump pleaded not guilty. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Maryland Dem who used racial slur during House hearing ‘refused to commit’ to debate against primary opponent
A leading Democrat in the race to represent Maryland in the Senate never committed to a debate against his primary opponent at a previously scheduled event later this month. The April 23 debate between Rep. David Trone, D-Md. — who is running against Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks to become Maryland’s next U.S. Senator — was canceled Tuesday after the Trone campaign “refused to commit,” according to the debate host, NBC’s Baltimore affiliate. The announcement from NBC’s WBAL-TV came after it had partnered with NBC Washington, “Meet the Press” and Maryland Public Television to bring voters in Maryland a televised debate between the two Democratic candidates in the race ahead of the May 14 primary election. The Trone campaign defended its decision in a statement, saying the congressman had already committed to “a dozen public forums and a televised debate.” WATCH: DEMOCRAT FRONTRUNNER IN TIGHT SENATE RACE DROPS RACIAL SLUR DURING HOUSE HEARING “David has already participated in or committed to more than a dozen public forums and a televised debate. We look forward to continuing to campaign in every county in Maryland to talk about the issues that matter with the people who matter most: Marylanders,” Trone’s campaign said in a statement to the outlet. A Trone campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital that details of a separate televised debate between the congressman and Alsobrooks will be announced Thursday evening. Citing a “source close to the congressman’s campaign,” the Washington Times reported that Trone had to forgo the debate as “scheduling concerns, including the recent Baltimore bridge collapse and the House schedule, rendered him unable to accommodate the debate.” However, the House is scheduled for recess during the week of April 23. The Senate campaign for Alsobrooks, who accepted WBAL-TV’s invitation to debate, also weighed in on the matter following Trone’s refusal to engage in the debate. “Angela is committed to ensuring voters across Maryland have the opportunity to see the choice they have on the ballot in May,” Alsobrooks campaign manager Sheila O’Connell said in a statement. “Angela continues to gain momentum as we approach the primary, earning key endorsements and growing her grassroots movement in Maryland. Voters know she’ll best represent us in the Senate.” Trone, a leading candidate in the crowded Democratic primary field of ten candidates, has represented Maryland’s 6th Congressional District in the House since 2019. TOP DEMOCRAT IN TIGHT SENATE RACE BACKS CITIZENSHIP, VOTING RIGHTS FOR MILLIONS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS During his 2022 re-election campaign to the House, Trone blasted his Republican challenger, state Del. Neil Parrot, for his objection to a virtual forum conducted by Zoom, saying he was “disappointed” by the decision. “The League of Women Voters candidate debate has always played an important role in our congressional race, and I’m disappointed Delegate Parrott deprived the voters of this opportunity to hear from us,” Trone said in a statement at the time, according to one local outlet. The decision by Trone not to participate in the April 23 debate comes less than two weeks after the congressman uttered a racial slur during a House Budget Committee hearing. Trone uttered the disparaging term for Black people while speaking during the hearing about tax policy with Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Budget and Management, who was testifying before the committee. “So this Republican jigaboo that — it’s the tax rate that’s stopping business investment, it’s just completely faulty by people who have never run a business,” he said at the time. “They’ve never been there. They don’t have a clue what they’re talking about.” Trone later admitted to Fox News Digital he had used the term, but said he misspoke while meaning to use a different word. “Today while attempting to use the word ‘bugaboo’ in a hearing, I used a phrase that is offensive. That word has a long, dark terrible history. It should never be used any time, anywhere, in any conversation,” Trone said at the time. “I recognize that as a White man, I have privilege. And as an elected official, I have a responsibility for the words I use — especially in the heat of the moment. Regardless of what I meant to say, I shouldn’t have used that language.” The winner of the Democratic Senate primary election will likely head to a general election matchup against former Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who entered the race in February. Hogan, a popular critic of former President Donald Trump, is the leading GOP candidate among his primary challengers.
Texas officials search for 2 wanted migrants, release mugshots of others in March border stampede
Texas authorities have released the mugshots of a number of migrants, including Venezuelan nationals, and the names of two others who are facing felony charges for rioting and assault during a dramatic migrant surge in El Paso last month that saw migrants tear up fencing and charge past Texas forces. The Texas Department of Public Safety confirmed the arrest of 214 illegal migrants on state rioting charges in connection with the March 21 incident in which a group of predominantly adult male migrants pushed through the concertina wire and headed deeper into the U.S. Nine of them are facing felony rioting charges, seven of whom are in custody and have been booked in the El Paso County jail. Texas DPS released the names of the five Venezuelans, one Guatemalan and one Ecuadorian. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER CRISIS Junior Evaristo Benitez-Martinez, Keider Jose Zurita Aponte, Gregori Jose Guilarte-Acosta, and Omar Alejandro Graterol Colmenares are also charged with rioting as a felony, criminal mischief and assault of a public servant. Joshua Fernando Garcia Juarez, Luis Jesus Chacon and Martin Elias Villasis Cedeno are charged with rioting as a felony. But two others have warrants out for their arrest. Juan Jose Colorado Gutierrez and Gabriel Enrique Angarita Carrasquero, both of Venezuela, are wanted for rioting, criminal mischief and assault of a public servant. Texas DPS said that all 214 will be held until they can be taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The group is made up of men and women from Venezuela, Guatemala, Ecuador, Colombia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador. ILLEGAL MIGRANT WHO WENT TIKTOK VIRAL URGING OTHERS TO SQUAT IN PEOPLE’S HOMES ARRESTED BY ICE Public defender Kelli Childress, who is representing the migrants, said in a press conference on Tuesday that the incident had been misconstrued based on limited footage and that authorities did not have probable cause to arrest them. “The charges against these migrants are false, and they are an attempt to inflame the public,” she said. “We are armed with the truth, and we are prepared to defend our clients in criminal court.” Despite the arrests, it is unclear how likely it is they will ultimately be deported from the U.S. FORMER TOP ICE OFFICIAL SIDES WITH TEXAS GOV ABBOTT OVER BIDEN IN ONGOING BORDER BATTLE Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has previously said it is enforcing consequences for illegal entry as ICE prioritizes national security and public safety threats for deportation. “There are consequences to crossing the border illegally, and CBP continues to enforce United States immigration laws,” CBP said in a statement after the incident. “Individuals and families without a legal basis to remain in the U.S. are subject to removal, and are subject to a minimum five-year bar on reapplying for admission and potential criminal prosecution if they subsequently re-enter without authorization. No one should believe the lies of smugglers; individuals and families without a legal basis to remain in the United States will be removed.” But Venezuela, which started accepting direct deportation flights of its nationals in October, stopped accepting them earlier this year. Venezuelans can still be returned to Mexico, where the government will still take them, but officials have told Fox that many then re-enter as “gotaways.” Only 834 Venezuelans were deported in fiscal 2023, according to (ICE), despite there being more than 335,000 encounters at the border. Meanwhile, there have been growing concerns about the rise of the Venezuelan street gang Tren De Aragua in the U.S., which some lawmakers have compared to MS-13, the bloodthirsty Salvadoran gang. A CBP source provided Fox News with an internal CBP intelligence bulletin revealing tattoos and identifiers for Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan prison gang. Members of that gang have been entering the U.S. illegally through the southern border. In February, two suspects in the assault of two NYPD officers were revealed to be members of TdA. Also, the brother of the suspect accused in the recent killing of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley has ties to the gang, Fox News previously reported. Both the suspect and his brother are illegal immigrants from Venezuela. Fox News’ Emmett Jones and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
‘World’s sexiest albino’ posed as BLM leader to steal nearly $500k through fake charity, prosecutors
An activist who calls himself the “world’s sexiest albino” is on trial this week after allegedly conning nearly $500,000 from donors through a reportedly phony Black Lives Matter charitable group he established. The FBI arrested Sir Maejor Page, 35, back in 2020 after a complaint detailed how he fraudulently utilized a Black Lives Matter non-profit organization “by way of misrepresentations and by posing as a Black Lives Matter leader.” Page, who is also known as Tyree Conyers-Page, began his trial on Tuesday stemming from federal charges of wire fraud, one count of concealment money laundering and two counts of money laundering. He pleaded not guilty to the charges back in 2021 and has seen his trial repeatedly pushed back, including in August, before it kicked off this week. Authorities detailed that in 2018, Page set up a bank account called “Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta Inc.,” and also set up a social media page, “Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta,” as a supposed charitable foundation and listed the group on GoFundMe, the FBI said in 2020. ATLANTA ACTIVIST SPENT $200G IN BLACK LIVES MATTER DONATIONS ON HOUSE, PERSONAL EXPENSES: FBI Page is a former actor who has appeared in small roles on TV shows such as “American Horror Story” and “Constantine.” He dubbed himself “the world’s sexiest Albino model and actor” on his Vimeo account, a video sharing platform, the Daily Mail reported. Authorities say funds in the Black Lives Matter of Greater Atlanta Inc. bank account “ebbed and flowed” after he established the account in 2018, seeing highs exceeding $5,000 and lows of -$12.42. LEFT-WING ACTIVIST ALLEGEDLY DEFRAUDED $450G USING ‘BLACK LIVES MATTER OF GREATER ATLANTA’ FACEBOOK PAGE In the summer of 2020, however, Page saw a donation boon, according to the FBI: with the social media account pulling in $36,493.80 in June, $370,933.69 in July and $59,914.69 in August. The increase in donations followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May of 2020, which sparked renewed calls from coast to coast to defund the police, support for the Black Lives Matter movement, and widespread protests and riots in many cities. The movement even swept the highest echelons of America, from corporate leaders to Hollywood icons to powerful sports figures pledging support to BLM and supporting the message that police departments should lose their funding. BLM SILENT WHEN CONFRONTED WITH DATA SHOWING MASSIVE 2020 SPIKE IN BLACK MURDER VICTIMS Page claimed that none of the funds donated would be used for personal purchases and were given to “all movement related” causes, but authorities found evidence showing a different story. “However in June, July, and August, Page repeatedly used a debit card linked to this same account to make purchases related to food, dining, entertainment, clothing, furniture, a home security system, tailored suits and accessories. The largest sum purchase made from the BLMGA bank account was to a title company on August 21, 2020, for the purchase of a residence and an adjacent vacant lot in Toledo, Ohio. The total purchase price for both properties was approximately $112,000,” the FBI said in the press release when he was first arrested. BLM HAS LEFT BLACK AMERICANS WORSE OFF SINCE THE MOVEMENT BEGAN, EXPERTS SAY Page reportedly tried to conceal his ownership of the property, with the real estate transaction outlining the purchase was “by and between Hi Frequency Ohio via Sir Maejor Page” and a real estate agent. Page also purchased a handgun and two AR-15s, totaling roughly $3,000, a month after buying the real estate, according to an FBI agent’s testimony at the trial. The Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation responded to the allegations against Page in 2020, following his arrest, saying that he “has continued to compromise the integrity of the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, supporters, and allies.” “Our stance remains that Mr. Page is not affiliated with Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation,” the group continued at the time. Black Lives Matter released another statement Thursday reiterating that it is “unassociated with Sir Maejor Page and the organization he founded.” “Black Lives Matter Foundation, the global organization powering Black Lives Matter, is unassociated with Sir Maejor Page and the organization he founded,” BLM said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital. “Anyone can start an organization and add the words Black Lives Matter to it in an attempt to muddy the waters of our movement. There exists no affiliation, past or present, between the two entities. Any purported ties between the two are unequivocally baseless and untrue.” Page is facing trial in Toledo, Ohio, in a case presided over by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Helmick, the Toledo Blade reported. FBI agent Matthew DeSorbo, one of the lead investigators on the case, testified this week that the FBI did not find instances of Page directly soliciting donations through ads or direct messages, but said he believes Page “did mislead donors by not providing answers” to them on the legitimacy of the group. DeSorbo presented the court with a handful of videos Page posted to social media to show how Page began wearing “fancy suits and sunglasses” in the summer of 2020 and appeared to be making “lavish purchases.” DeSorbo detailed that Page bragged about owning ”16 blue suits” and having “six figures,” which DeSorbo argued could only mean donations to the phony charity, the Toledo Blade reported. MASSIVE INCREASE IN BLACK AMERICANS MURDERED WAS RESULT OF DEFUND POLICE MOVEMENT: EXPERTS The videos also include Page boasting about the office space in Atlanta he had set up for the reportedly phony organization, “$150 dollar ties” and the position of a hotel room he stayed in. “My room way up at the top…at the top top…they put the bottom feeders on these floors….” he said of the hotel room. Page’s attorney, Charles Boss, pushed back that the videos were just evidence of a young man’s “braggadocio,” the Toledo Blade reported, and that more than half the money that was raised was never spent, as
Republicans, pro-life advocates urge Dem governor to sign bill making coercive abortion a felony
A Republican-led bill that would make coercive abortion a felony in Kansas is now headed to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s desk. Both the House and Senate passed House Bill 2436, with the Senate passing the bill last week and the House passing it this week mainly along Republican Party lines. The bill would make it a felony to coerce a pregnant woman into having an abortion through physical or financial threats, such as withholding legal documents such as passports or immigration forms, threats of arrest or deportation, controlling the woman’s access to prescribed medications, or extortion. All 50 states already have laws on the books criminalizing fathers who coerce pregnant women into getting an abortion, but Kansas’s proposed law would carry the harshest penalties. PRO-LIFE ADVOCATES SOUND ALARM ON ‘EXTREME’ FLORIDA ABORTION VOTE THAT DEMS HOPE COULD SWING GENERAL ELECTION “If a woman has expressed her desire to continue the pregnancy, and someone threatens her, whether it is to harm her physically, whether it’s to harm her financially, or whether it is to hold documentation in the case of someone who is being trafficked, that would now be punishable as a crime,” Rep. Rebecca Schmoe, one of the Republican supporters of the bill, said during Monday’s hearing. Shmoe has previously spoken publicly about a doctor coercing her to get an abortion when she was younger. However, Democrat Rep. Jo Ella Hoye said the bill does not properly establish what would be considered coercive and that other parts of it, like what classifies a “putative father,” is too vague. “This is not ready for prime time,” she said during the vote. “This is not ready to be put on the books. But, there is bipartisan support to keep this moving.” FLORIDA SUPREME COURT APPROVES ABORTION BALLOT INITIATIVE WHILE UPHOLDING 15-WEEK BAN The bill especially received praise from pro-life groups and researchers. Tessa Longbons Cox, a senior researcher at Charlotte Lozier Institute, submitted written testimony in support of the bill and cited her peer research reviews, which found that more than 60% of women who had abortions “recalled feeling pressured to choose abortion by finances, circumstances, or other people in their lives.” “These studies add to a growing body of literature on the prevalence and impact of unwanted abortions and abortion coercion,” Cox wrote. “One study shows that victims of human trafficking have frequent contact with abortion centers and are at risk of undergoing multiple abortions against their will. The women at greatest risk of forced abortion may be least able to stand up for their rights when a forced abortion occurs.” MAINE GOP LAWMAKER SOUNDS ALARM ON ‘SANCTUARY STATE’ PROPOSAL FOR ABORTIONS AND SEX CHANGES If Kelly signs the bill into law, violators could face a $5,000 to $10,000 penalty and imprisonment up to 25 years if the coercion was conducted through stalking, human trafficking, blackmail, criminal threat, domestic battery, kidnapping, assault, rape, incest and more than 10 other criminal offense categories. Some pro-life organizations are already flagging their support for the bill. “We applaud the Kansas Legislature for prioritizing the protection of women and girls from abusers and sex traffickers,” Adam Schwend, SBA Pro-Life America director, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “If Gov. Kelly is truly for choice rather than for the extreme Democrat agenda of increasing the number of abortions, she will sign this bill protecting Kansas women and girls from coercion.”
Himachal Pradesh: 5.3 magnitude earthquake hits Chamba
Himachal Pradesh: 5.3 magnitude earthquake hits Chamba.
Georgia judges denies Donald Trump’s motion to dismiss charges on First Amendment grounds
A Georgia judge has denied former President Trump’s motion to dismiss his 2020 election interference indictment on the grounds of First Amendment protection. “After considering the extensive briefing, the argument of counsel, and the indictment, the Court finds these vital constitutional protections do not reach the actions and statements alleged by the State. Nor do the statutes themselves facially violate the First Amendment,” Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled Thursday. “They argue this prosecution violates the First Amendment’s protections of political speech and activity, freedom of association, and the right to petition Congress as-applied to their alleged conduct, and further contend that the indicted charges are overbroad,” he said.
COVID origins: EcoHealth Alliance president to testify publicly before Congress next month
EXCLUSIVE: EcoHealth Alliance President Peter Daszak will testify publicly before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic next month, Fox News Digital has learned. Daszak will testify before the COVID subcommittee on May 1, chaired by Rep. Brad Wenstrup. US TAXPAYER FUNDS FLOWED TO CHINESE ENTITIES THAT CONDUCTED CORONAVIRUS RESEARCH BEFORE COVID PANDEMIC: GAO Daszak testified behind closed doors in November, but House Republicans said his testimony contained many “discrepancies,” according to a letter from Wenstrup and other committee chairs sent to Daszak. The letter, obtained by Fox News Digital, also contained a list of documents and records Daszak must produce to the committees prior to his public hearing next month. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer; House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rogers; House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith; and House Subcommittee on Health Chairman Brett Guthrie will also be invited to the May 1 hearing to ask questions of Daszak. Fox News Digital previously reported that EcoHealth Alliance received millions of dollars in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). U.S. taxpayer funds flowed to Chinese entities conducting coronavirus research through EcoHealth Alliance. Those funds — at least $600,000 — were redirected to the Wuhan Institute of Virology and went towards research to assess the transmission of bat coronaviruses to humans. The research included conducting RNA extractions and DNA sequencing on bat samples, and conducting biological experiments on pathogen spillover from bats to humans. EcoHealth Alliance also received over $200,000 in funds that were redirected to Wuhan University and went towards disease surveillance research activities, including collection of biological samples from individuals in China with high levels of exposure to bats for Wuhan Institute of Virology to conduct further screening. Former U.S. government officials, like former director of NIH Francis Collins, said that the U.S. taxpayer funds were not approved to conduct gain of function research, which is research that involves modifying a virus to make it more infectious among humans. US FUNDED RESEARCH TO CREATE ‘MUTANT VIRUSES’ AT WUHAN LAB AHEAD OF COVID-19, RECORDS SHOW “Dr. Daszak’s closed door testimony raised serious concerns about EcoHealth Alliance’s relationship with the Wuhan Institute of Virology,” COVID Subcommittee Chairman Brad Wenstrup told Fox News Digital. “Even after the Select Subcommittee reminded Dr. Daszak that he could be subject to criminal prosecution if he lied to the Committees, Dr. Daszak made numerous claims that seemed to be inconsistent with outside evidence and previous revelations.” “We are looking forward to an honest forum where the American people can hear directly from the President of EcoHealth Alliance and finally receive the answers about the origins of COVID-19 that they deserve,” Wenstrup said. One discrepancy in his testimony, Wenstrup said, was regarding gain-of-function research at a University of North Carolina lab. Daszak, during his closed-door interview, was asked about the company’s DEFUSE research proposal EcoHealth Alliance, with the University of North Carolina (UNC) and the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), submitted to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). When asked about the location of planned experiments involving the reverse engineering and characterization of coronavirus spike proteins, Daszak said he understood that the gain of function work would be conducted at UNC. But Wenstrup and the committee found a recent Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) document which calls into question whether Daszak’s testimony omitted a material fact and was misleading. According to the document, Daszak had written to his collaborators at UNC and the Wuhan Institute of Virology saying that he did “not propose that all of this work will necessarily be conducted” at UNC, but wrote that he did “want to stress the US side of this proposal so that DARPA are comfortable with our team.” FORMER INTELLIGENCE CHIEF SAYS A LAB LEAK IS THE ‘ONLY EXPLANATION’ FOR COVID “Once we get the funds, we can allocate who does what exact work, and I believe that a lot of these assays can be done in Wuhan as well,” Daszak wrote, according to the committee. Wenstrup said that comment “appears to be materially inconsistent with your testimony assuring the committees that the proposed work was planned to be done exclusively at UNC.” Next, the committee is raising questions about Daszak’s testimony regarding biosafety levels used by the Wuhan Institute of Virology when conducting research funded by the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID). The committee said EcoHealth Alliance intended to follow the weaker biosafety measures set by the Chinese government instead of the U.S. biosafety standards that should have regulated the research EcoHealth conducted with the Wuhan Institute of Virology. “The Committees are alarmed at the divergence between your statements and your comments in the DEFUSE draft. These revelations undermine your credibility as well as every factual assertion you made during your transcribed interview,” the letter to Daszak states. “The Committees have a right and an obligation to protect the integrity of their investigations, including the accuracy of testimony during a transcribed interview. We invite you to correct the record.” FBI DIRECTOR SAYS COVID PANDEMIC ‘MOST LIKELY’ ORIGINATED FROM CHINESE LAB Ahead of his public testimony, Wenstrup is demanding Daszak turn over phone records and calendars between November 2019 and January 13, 2021 — with a focus on documents showing any meetings or phone calls between Daszak and the federal government or any entity in China. Wenstrup is also demanding Daszak provide a list of EcoHealth employees who visited the Wuhan Institute of Virology since January 2018, and documents and communications between EcoHelath and federal government agencies between January 2014 through the present. Those requested documents would be related to the reinstatement and renewal of the grant entitled “Understanding the Risk of Bat Coronvirus Emergence,” documents regarding the suspension of Wuhan Institute of Virology, and more. Wenstrup is also calling for documents and communications between EcoHealth Alliance and the FBI and the Intelligence Community, including the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the CIA, between January 2014 and the present. By