North Carolina reports over 400,000 enrolled in Medicaid expansion program
Enrollment in North Carolina’s new Medicaid coverage for low-income adults has surpassed 400,000 in the expansion program’s first four months, Gov. Roy Cooper announced on Monday. The full health benefits coverage for some adults ages 19-64 who earn too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid began on Dec. 1, roughly two months after lawmakers completed their last step to implement a deal available through the 2010 federal Affordable Care Act. Nearly 273,000 people, most of whom had been receiving Medicaid for family-planning coverage alone, were covered on the first day of enrollment. Since then, North Carolina has enrolled an average of more than 1,000 people a day — a rate that Cooper’s office says outpaces other states that have expanded Medicaid. FIRST WEEK OF NC SPORTS BETTING SEES ALMOST $200M IN WAGERS: ‘STRONG START’ “This milestone and the speed at which we’ve reached it shows just how lifechanging Medicaid expansion is for our state and we will continue to get more eligible North Carolinians enrolled,” Cooper said in a news release. Cooper’s Department of Health and Human Services projects that the state’s enrollment under expansion will reach 600,000 within two years. DHHS is working with an array of health organizations and nonprofits to recruit more enrollees. Many enrollees are young adults or disproportionately live in rural communities, according to the news release, which added that expansion recipients already have benefited from over 700,000 prescriptions and generated more than $11 million in dental service claims. “People aren’t just getting covered, they’re getting care,” DHHS Secretary Kody Kinsley said in a video on social media. Since becoming governor in 2017, Cooper, a Democrat, lobbied hard for the Republican-controlled General Assembly to accept expansion. The legislature and Cooper enacted an expansion law in March 2023, but a separate state budget law also had to be approved. The federal government pays 90% of the cost of expansion, with the remainder paid by an increased assessment on hospitals. Enrollment also means North Carolina is poised to receive a $1.8 billion bonus over two years from the federal government. DHHS told lawmakers last month that it had already distributed $198 million of that money to nearly 50 government, health, education or nonprofit initiatives.
State Board of Education again delays discussion on whether to approve new Native studies course
The next opportunity for the board to review the course will not happen until its meeting in June.
DeSantis notches win in lawsuit over migrant flights, but company that arranged them not in the clear yet
A federal judge on Monday dropped Ron DeSantis from a lawsuit after the Republican Florida Governor coordinated flights of illegal immigrants from Texas to Martha’s Vineyard in 2022. In a 77-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Allison D. Burroughs dropped DeSantis and various past and present staff members from the lawsuit over “insufficient facts” presented in the case. Allison said the court could not “ascertain what actions were taken by whom and therefore cannot determine which, if any, of those individual Defendants transacted business or caused injury here, leaving it no choice but to find that, at least on this record, personal jurisdiction has not been established.” DESANTIS BLASTS BIDEN FOR DENYING TRANS VISIBILITY DECLARATION ON EASTER: ‘WHO’S RUNNING THE PRESIDENCY?’ Still, the ruling leaves open the possibility for further litigation against Vertol, the Florida-based company that coordinated the flights for $1.5 million. Like his counterparts in Texas and Arizona, DeSantis started flying illegal immigrants to progressive states in late 2022 to highlight the Biden administration’s failing at the southern border. Martha’s Vineyard is famously known as a playground of rich progressives, including former President Barack Obama, who bought a multimillion-dollar house there in 2019. DeSantis proposed Delaware or Martha’s Vineyard as a destination for such migrants, but his office explained at the time that they could also be sent “to other ‘progressive’ states whose governors endorse blatant violations of federal immigration law.” Fox News Digital has reached out to DeSantis’ office and Vertol for further comment. Fox News Digital’s Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.
California senator pushes ‘death on demand’ assisted suicide measure
This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255). A California Democrat is proposing an expansion to the state’s assisted suicide law by eradicating its current requirement that eligible people must have only six months to live to qualify for assisted suicide. Senate Bill 1196, authored by state Sen. Catherine Blakespear, would eliminate the “two provisions [the six-months-left-to-live and capacity requirements],” which “are needlessly excluding many Californians from accessing aid-in-dying medicine,” according to a fact sheet from Blakespear’s office. The controversial bill comes as 11 states, including California, already have assisted suicide laws. According to Blakespear’s fact sheet of the bill, it would change the current legislative language, which states one must have a “terminal disease” in order to qualify for assisted suicide, to “a grievous and irremediable medical condition,” including psychological suffering or an incurable disease. CANADA OFFERED ASSISTED SUICIDE TO A PARALYMPIAN VETERAN WHO WANTED A WHEELCHAIR LIFT INSTALLED: REPORT Blakespear said SB 1196 “is to provide those nearing their end-of-life with medical autonomy that best suits their needs — not mine or yours, but their specific needs during this personal moment.” “It is my intention with SB 1196 to ensure we provide patients more autonomy over their medical care and allow treatment that works best for them,” Blakespear said in March. “People with a terminal, incurable illness or disease have the right to determine what is best for their health and how they leave this existence. No person should have to suffer as they near end of life, and they should have the right to leave peacefully, on their terms. SB 1196 is about having choice, which we all deserve when deciding on our own medical care.” The bill would also expand the aid-in-dying medication to those with early to mid-stage dementia, the fact sheet states, and remove the 48-hour waiting barrier between a request for assisted suicide and the patient’s California residency approval. TOP MASSACHUSETTS COURT RULES AGAINST OVERTURNING LAW PROHIBITING PHYSICAN-ASSISTED SUICIDE Proponents claim denying mentally ill people access to the same humane option to end their suffering amounts to discrimination. But opponents of the bill argue it is immoral to help people commit suicide. Jonathan Keller, president of the California Family Council, a Christian nonprofit policy think tank, told Fox News Digital on Monday the bill “transforms despair into a policy of death on demand.” “Broadening the criteria for assisted suicide far beyond terminal illness represents a dangerous departure from the already inadequate safeguards,” Keller said. “California continues to devalue the inherent worth of every individual and disregards the profound moral, ethical, and societal implications of legalized euthanasia.” CANADIAN GOVERNMENT REPORTS EUTHANASIA ACCOUNTED FOR 4% OF ALL DEATHS IN 2022 In February, Colorado Democrats introduced similar legislation that would allow non-residents to access medically assisted suicide. The legislation, titled “Medical Aid-in-Dying,” would also dramatically reduce other barriers to accessing assisted suicide. In addition to allowing out-of-state access, the bill would allow advanced practice registered nurses to prescribe medication for assisted suicide, rather than just physicians. Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
House Speaker Dade Phelan’s immigration record central in bid to oust him
The Beaumont Republican’s foes are trying to paint him as soft on the border, even after last year’s passage of far-reaching laws and record border funding.
DeSantis blasts Biden for denying trans visibility declaration on Easter: ‘Who’s running the presidency?’
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis slammed President Biden for denying he declared March 31, the same day as Easter Sunday this year, as “Transgender Day of Visibility.” When asked about his official White House proclamation, Biden said he “didn’t do that,” prompting DeSantis to suggest the president’s denial raises questions about who is running the White House. “Wait a minute, he said that didn’t happen, he said he didn’t do that,” DeSantis exclaimed during an appearance at the Greater Miami Expressway Agency on Monday. “Which raises the question that he’s either not being honest with the public or he really didn’t know what was going on.” DeSantis went on to call out President Biden and ask who is actually running our country. BIDEN SAYS HE ‘DIDN’T DO THAT’ WHEN ASKED ABOUT EASTER BEING ‘TRANS VISIBILITY DAY,’ DESPITE PROCLAMATION “Who’s running the presidency? Is it a bunch of woke, 20-something-year-old White House staffers? So I don’t know whose in charge. The fact that he’s not owning up to it – either way, it’s bad,” DeSantis said. DeSantis also shared how he celebrated Easter with his family, emphasizing the importance of the sacred holiday. “It’s the most important, for Christians, holiday on the calendar. And you know what Biden did, you know, I think was ridiculous, but it does raise the issue,” DeSantis said. In a statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for the White House downplayed the president’s comments, noting that he didn’t choose March 31 as the date for Transgender Day of Visibility. Since 2021, when Biden took office, the White House has issued the same proclamation on March 31 every year. “President Biden is right. He did nothing in conflict with the ‘tenets’ of Easter, which he celebrated yesterday. Nor did he choose the date of March 31 for Transgender Day of Visibility, which has been set since 2009,” White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in an email. In addition to the Transgender Day of Visibility proclamation, the White House simultaneously issued a flurry of other proclamations, including Cesar Chavez Day, National Donate Life Month, National Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Month, Arab American Heritage Month and Care Workers Recognition Month. MAGIC’S JONATHAN ISAAC CRITICIZES WHITE HOUSE OVER TRANSGENDER DAY OF VISIBILITY President Biden’s Transgender Day of Visibility proclamation generated widespread outrage among Christians, who characterized its timing with Easter as disrespectful. Orlando Magic star Jonathan Isaac joined in on ripping the president, saying on X, formerly Twitter, the White House “know[s] exactly what they are doing.” “They want you to hate! This helps no one and only promotes division,” he wrote. “They know exactly what they are doing… we should be angry but shouldn’t lose the spirit of what tomorrow means! Don’t lose focus. Because He is risen there is hope for all.” DC ARCHBISHOP JABS BIDEN AS ‘CAFETERIA CATHOLIC’ WHO ‘PICKS AND CHOOSES’ FOR HIS ‘POLITICAL ADVANTAGE’ “I am absolutely disgusted that Joe Biden has declared the most Holy of Holy days – a self proclaimed devout Catholic – as Transgender Day of Visibility. The only thing you should be declaring on this day is ‘HE is Risen’.,” Caitlyn Jenner wrote on X. The White House also announced that it was banning National Guard children from submitting Easter egg designs that include “questionable content, religious symbols, overtly religious themes, or partisan political statements,” for the Easter Egg Roll event. “The art contest is a tradition at the White House Easter Egg Roll however the Catholic president doesn’t want to see anything religious-themed,” Co-Owner of Trending Politics, Collin Rugg wrote on X. Fox News Digital’s Ryan Morik, Thomas Catenacci, Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Haley Chi-Sing, and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
Florida Supreme Court approves abortion ballot initiative while upholding 15-week ban
Florida’s highest court issued a pair of rulings Monday that upholds a 15-week ban on abortion and allows voters to decide on a proposed constitutional amendment that would enshrine abortion rights. The ruling by the Florida Supreme Court rejected an argument by the state Attorney General Ashley Moody that a proposed amendment on the matter should be kept off of the ballot. In a post on X, Moody said her office appreciated the court “revisiting its precedent on Florida’s right to privacy and returning the meaning of that amendment to the voters’ original intention.” NEW YORK REPUBLICAN CO-SPONSORS BILL DEFENDING IVF TREATMENT “That decision outlines the difficulties and divisiveness of allowing vague and misleading initiatives on the ballot,” she wrote. “We have argued from the beginning that these two new constitutional initiatives will mislead voters. We maintain that it will be an uphill battle to educate them. However, we respect the court’s decisions.” Moody, a Republican, argued that the amendment was deceptive and that voters won’t realize how far it will expand access to abortion. “Not only will this measure bring dangerous late-term abortions back to Florida, but it will allow girls who aren’t old enough to get their ears pierced on their own get an abortion without a parent’s okay,” said Katie Daniel, the Florida policy director for Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, which filed a brief opposing the proposed amendment. “Those girls and the women who have abortions will be put at risk when this measure eliminates every abortion health regulation on the books.” Fox News Digital has reached out to abortion providers. DeSantis Press Secretary Julia Friedland said the three female justices on the court who dissented from the majority “got it right.” ALABAMA GOVERNOR SIGNS BILL PROTECTING IVF INTO LAW: ‘PROUD WE ARE A PRO-LIFE, PRO-FAMILY STATE’ “This amendment is misleading and will confuse voters,” she told Fox News Digital in a statement. “The language hides the amendment’s true purpose of mandating that abortions be permitted up to the time of birth.” The proposed amendment that will be put before voters is worded: “No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider.” The high court also upheld Florida’s ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, which means a subsequently passed six-week ban can soon take effect. The ruling means that a six-week abortion ban that was signed into law last year by DeSantis will take effect. Abortion-rights supporters across the country have pushed to put the question on the ballot following the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court. Voters in Maryland will decide in November whether the state should enshrine the right to an abortion and “reproductive freedom” in the state’s constitution. In New York, voters will decide on a proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit the denial of their rights based on “ethnicity, national origin, age, and disability” or “sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.
RFK Jr says he meets ballot threshold in another key battleground state
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign says the independent presidential candidate has moved a step closer to his goal of getting on the ballot in all 50 states. The campaign of the longtime environmental activist and high-profile vaccine skeptic, who is the scion of the nation’s most storied political dynasty, on Monday announced that it had collected the necessary number of signatures to put “Bobby on the Ballot” in North Carolina. More than 23,000 signatures were collected through the new political party “We The People,” officials with the campaign said. “We The People” was formed in January by supporters of Kennedy to get him on the ballot in six states, including North Carolina — a crucial battleground. With a little more than seven months to go until the presidential election, Utah is the only state in which Kennedy’s name is confirmed to be on the ballot. His campaign says he also has secured enough signatures to land on the ballot in the swing state of New Hampshire and in Hawaii. REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS PANIC TO QUICKLY DEFINE ‘SPOILER’ CANDIDATE RFK JR The picture is murkier in Nevada. Kennedy’s campaign reported gathering enough signatures, but state election officials last week said that the signatures may be invalid because Kennedy didn’t have a running mate at the time they were collected. The campaign fired back, claiming that Democrats were trying to keep him off the ballot in the key western battleground state. NO LUCK FOR NO LABELS AS CENTRIST GROUP TRIES TO LAUNCH THIRD-PARTY PRESIDENTIAL TICKET Kennedy, at an event in Oakland, California, on Wednesday, announced 38-year-old attorney, tech entrepreneur and philanthropist Nicole Shanahan as his running mate. The naming of Shanahan will likely boost Kennedy’s ballot access bid, as he needs a running mate to qualify in several states. The campaign said it was already collecting signatures in 16 states before announcing a vice presidential nominee. After Shanahan was added as Kennedy’s running mate, 19 additional states opened for petitioning. While attaining a spot on the ballot is a costly and time-consuming venture for any candidate not tied to a major political party, campaign press secretary Stefanie Spear emphasized, “We have the field teams, volunteers, legal teams, paid circulators, supporters and strategists ready to get the job done.” Kennedy is polling in the double digits in some national surveys and in polls in some of the key general election battlegrounds — higher than any other third-party or independent White House contender since Ross Perot more than three decades ago. DEM CAMPAIGN CALL REVEALS PANIC MODE OVER RFK JR.’S WHITE HOUSE BID, SCRAMBLE TO SAVE BIDEN RE-ELECTION HOPES President Biden’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee — which recently brought on veteran communicators to target third-party and independent candidates — have repeatedly slammed Kennedy as a potential spoiler whose supporters could hand Donald Trump a presidential election victory in November. “We are doing everything in our power to get President Biden and Vice President Harris reelected. It’s critical that we take seriously every possible obstacle to that goal,” Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis emphasized in a conference call with reporters last week. “And let me be clear, that’s exactly what Robert F. Kennedy is in this election. He’s a spoiler.” Plenty of pundits and pollsters are making the case that Kennedy also could pose a similar problem for former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee. And in recent days, the former president’s campaign has characterized Kennedy, whose populism on some issues seems similar to Trump’s, as a far-left politician. Trump charged last week that Kennedy was “the most Radical Left Candidate in the race, by far.” And Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt argued in a “Fox and Friends” appearance on Monday that “the polling does indicate that RFK Jr. hurts Joe Biden far more than he hurts President Trump.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
White House Spanish X account doesn’t mention ‘Transgender Day of Visibility’
The White House’s Spanish-language account on X, formerly Twitter, failed to commemorate Transgender Day of Visibility even as its English-language account celebrated it on March 31, Easter Sunday. On Sunday, both X accounts posted similar messages wishing Americans a happy Easter, but it was only the English-language account that celebrated Transgender Day of Visibility, according to a Fox News review of the social media accounts. President Biden’s proclamation declaring Sunday as Transgender Day of Visibility was widely criticized by conservatives who said it was disrespectful and tone-deaf. “Transgender Americans are part of the fabric of our nation,” the White House said in an English-language post Sunday. “On Transgender Day of Visibility, our Administration honors the extraordinary courage of transgender Americans and reaffirms our commitment to forming a more perfect union – where all people are treated equally.” No such post was made by La Casa Blanca, the White House’s Spanish-language X account. BIDEN SAYS HE ‘DIDN’T DO THAT’ WHEN ASKED ABOUT EASTER BEING ‘TRANS VISIBILITY DAY,’ DESPITE PROCLAMATION In a statement to Fox News Digital, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates noted that the English-language and Spanish-language White House social media accounts often have different posts. “That’s the case with most tweets from the English-language account,” Bates said. BIDEN SKEWERED AS ‘WORLD’S WORST CATHOLIC’ WHO CHEAPENS IRISH AND CATHOLIC IDENTITY As an example, the Spanish-language White House account commemorated Cesar Chavez Day on Sunday, celebrating the life of the famous labor leader. The English account didn’t mention the day. However, the timing of the president’s Transgender Day of Visibility proclamation was met with widespread condemnation among Christians. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the White House “betrayed the central tenet of Easter – which is the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” According to Pew Research Center polling, 43% of Americans identify as Catholic while another 21% identify as Protestant. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “everyone, man and woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity,” and “by creating the human being man and woman, God gives personal dignity equally to the one and the other. Each of them, man and woman, should acknowledge and accept his sexual identity.”
DR Congo president names Judith Suminwa Tuluka as first woman PM
Judith Suminwa says she will work for peace and the development of the country, after being appointed by President Tshisekedi. Democratic Republic of Congo’s President Felix Tshisekedi has appointed the country’s first-ever female prime minister, naming planning minister Judith Suminwa to the role. An economist, she takes over as prime minister from Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde, following Tshisekedi’s sweeping re-election as president on December 20. Tshisekedi’s inauguration for a second term in January kick-started a lengthy search for a majority coalition in the National Assembly – a key step before a prime minister could be named and a government formed. “I am aware of the great responsibility … We will work for peace and the development of the country,” Suminwa said on national television on Monday. Tshisekedi officially triumphed with 73.47 percent of the vote in December, and the election passed largely peacefully in a country long torn by violence and instability. The opposition branded the ballot a sham. Voting was officially extended by a day due to logistical snarls, and polls were open for days afterwards in remote areas. PM’s challenges Parties supporting Tshisekedi garnered more than 90 percent of the seats in parliament, allowing him to legislate with ease. The new prime minister will be tasked with pushing the president’s declared priorities of employment, youth, women and national cohesion for the nation of about 100 million people. Tshisekedi first became president in 2019 promising to improve living conditions in the DR Congo – which boasts mineral riches but has a largely impoverished population – and put an end to 25 years of bloodshed in the east. The president failed to keep those promises, but he campaigned for a second term on his achievements such as free primary medication, asking for another mandate to “consolidate” the progress. According to the United Nations, some seven million people have been internally displaced by conflict in the DR Congo, one of the world’s poorest countries. The security situation has worsened in North Kivu province, where a Rwanda-backed rebel group M23 has seized swathes of territory over the last two years. Adblock test (Why?)