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Hawaii’s Big Oil suit a ‘stalking horse’ for Green New Deal push nationwide, experts say

Hawaii’s Big Oil suit a ‘stalking horse’ for Green New Deal push nationwide, experts say

The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether to take up a case that has one side claiming a “hyper-ideological” Hawaii court is threatening to “strong-arm progressive lifestyle choices” on Americans nationwide by blessing a lawsuit aimed at holding some of the biggest fossil fuel companies liable for climate change. In 2020, the city of Honolulu sued several major fossil fuel companies, including Exxon and Chevron, claiming the companies’ products cause greenhouse gas emissions and global warming without warning consumers about the risks.  The city employed a series of state laws like public nuisance and trespass measures and said the companies should pay billions to the state to abate the effects of climate change like weather events, sea level rise, heat waves, flooding and global warming generally.  The energy companies appealed to the Hawaii Supreme Court, arguing federal law prevents individual states from effectively shaping energy policies for all states.  But that court disagreed and ruled that the case should advance to trial. One justice said “the Aloha Spirit inspires constitutional interpretation.” BIG OIL COMPANIES ASK SUPREME COURT TO INTERVENE IN HIGH-STAKES CLIMATE CASE Consumer and legal experts told Fox News Digital they hope the U.S. Supreme Court will step in to avoid “compounding impacts on everyday Americans,” should the case progress to “giant judgments” on oil corporations.  O.H. Skinner, the CEO of Alliance for Consumers and former solicitor general of Arizona, told Fox News Digital in an interview the Honolulu suit is “a stalking horse for the Green New Deal, with lefty enclaves looking to strong-arm progressive lifestyle choices onto an otherwise unwilling public by targeting industries that have yet to fall in line with the progressive ideal.” “The hyper-ideological justices on the Hawaii Supreme Court seem to want to bankrupt fossil fuel companies and see this lawsuit as a magical key that unlocks unlimited power and a lot of money for progressive agendas,” Skinner said.  BILLIONAIRE-FUELED ROCKEFELLER FUND COORDINATED CLIMATE LAWSUITS WITH DEM STATE AG: INTERNAL DOCUMENTS Hawaii Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald, in his opinion rejecting the energy companies’ arguments, wrote, “Defendants knew of the dangers of using their fossil fuel products, ‘knowingly concealed and misrepresented the climate impacts of their fossil fuel products,’ and engaged in ‘sophisticated disinformation campaigns to cast doubt on the science, causes, and effects of global warming,’ causing increased fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, which then caused property and infrastructure damage in Honolulu.”  Fox News Digital reported last year that Recktenwald quietly disclosed in May that he presented for a course in collaboration with a little-known judicial advocacy organization funded by left-wing nonprofits, the Environmental Law Institute (ELI). According to the ELI, the Climate Judiciary Project is designed to educate judges across the country on how to handle climate change litigation that comes before them. “As the body of climate litigation grows, judges must consider complex scientific and legal questions, many of which are developing rapidly,” CJP states on its website. “To address these issues, the Climate Judiciary Project of the Environmental Law Institute is collaborating with leading national judicial education institutions to meet judges’ need for basic familiarity with climate science methods and concepts.” Other justices on the state’s Supreme Court took shots at the U.S. Supreme Court and questioned its legitimacy.  In a concurring opinion rejecting the energy companies’ petition, Associate Justice Todd Eddins wrote that the U.S. Supreme Court “could use a little Aloha,” adding, “the Aloha Spirit inspires constitutional interpretation.”  Eddins in his concurrence also outlined a larger political argument against originalism, the philosophy behind a conservative interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, and why the country’s highest court should not be allowed to determine a case like this.  Eddins cited Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, the abortion case that overturned Roe v. Wade, and the landmark Second Amendment case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Ass’n, Inc. v. Bruen, writing, “a justice’s personal values and ideas about the very old days suddenly control the lives of present and future generations.”  Eddins wrote that the originalism on the Supreme Court “revives the value judgments” of “[t]he few white men who made laws and shaped lives during the mostly racist and misogynistic very old days.”  “I fear the Court self-inflicts harm, loses public confidence, and exposes itself to real criticisms about its legitimacy,” Eddins wrote.  Associate Justice Sabrina McKenna, who joined the unanimous decision against the oil companies, said in a speech last year, “Climate change is, in my view, the most important issue facing all courts in the world at this point. It’s an existential threat.”  DARK MONEY-FUELED LAW FIRM JOINS MASSACHUSETTS CLIMATE SUIT AGAINST BIG OIL Skinner said “Honolulu’s proverbial ‘spirit of Aloha’ assault here, if left unchecked, will actually bore a hole in the pockets of Americans as it marches across industry after industry, increasing the costs of food, cars, travel, and all the other basic building blocks of the modern American life at a pace that everyday Americans won’t be able to afford.” Climate change activist groups praised the Hawaii Supreme Court decision, saying it will advance efforts in helping Honolulu “survive” the climate crisis. “We will continue pursuing this case in the trial court where we filed it 3½ years ago, and where discovery can now begin in earnest,” said Matthew Gonser, executive director of Honolulu’s Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency.   The companies in their appeal to the Supreme Court said federal law preempted state law under the Clean Air Act, which is aimed at reducing and controlling air pollution nationwide.  Carrie Severino, president of Judicial Crisis Network (JCN), said “one rogue state court in Hawaii can’t dictate climate policy for the nation” and that “it’s Congress’ job to set national policy in this area.” “This is the high court’s problem because it will have compounding impacts on everyday Americans who are already struggling to keep up with the rising costs just to live a decent life,” said Skinner.  “These lawsuits are about getting giant judgments of huge quantities of

Biden says he is working to secure release of Evan Gershkovich on 1-year anniversary of detention in Russia

Biden says he is working to secure release of Evan Gershkovich on 1-year anniversary of detention in Russia

President Biden said Friday, on the one-year anniversary of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich’s detention in Russia, that the U.S. government is working every day to secure his release and is “not giving up.” Gershkovich, 32, was arrested on espionage charges for allegedly collecting secret military information while he was on a work trip to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. The Federal Security Service said he was acting on U.S. orders to obtain state secrets, but no evidence was provided to support the accusation. The U.S. government, The Wall Street Journal and Gershkovich all reject accusations that he was working for the U.S. government to collect Russian secrets, with U.S. officials saying he was wrongfully detained. “Journalism is not a crime, and Evan went to Russia to do his job as a reporter —risking his safety to shine the light of truth on Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine,” Biden said in a statement Friday. “Shortly after his wholly unjust and illegal detention, he drafted a letter to his family from prison, writing: ‘I am not losing hope.’” WALL STREET JOURNAL LEAVES FRONT PAGE PORTION BLANK IN HONOR OF EVAN GERSHKOVICH: ‘HIS STORY SHOULD BE HERE’ “As I have told Evan’s parents, I will never give up hope either,” he continued. “We will continue working every day to secure his release. We will continue to denounce and impose costs for Russia’s appalling attempts to use Americans as bargaining chips. And we will continue to stand strong against all those who seek to attack the press or target journalists — the pillars of free society.” The Wall Street Journal on Friday left a blank space on the front page of its newspaper with Gershkovich’s image in the space where the image of an article’s author would be and a headline that read: “His Story Should be Here.” A recent court hearing offered little new information in Gershkovich’s case. He was ordered to remain behind bars pending trial until at least June 30, the fifth extension of his detention. “I admire the hell out of him,” Biden told reporters Friday when asked about Gershkovich’s case before traveling from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to the Camp David presidential retreat. “We’re not giving up.” FOX NATION’S ‘PRISONER OF PUTIN’ EXAMINES EVAN GERSHKOVICH’S LIFE, RESILIENCE WHILE DETAINED IN RUSSIA Biden said in his statement that the U.S. government was working to free all Americans held hostage or wrongfully detained abroad, including Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, a corporate executive from Michigan who is also locked up in Russia on espionage charges. Whelan was arrested in 2018 in Russia and, two years later, was sentenced to 16 years in prison. Whelan, who said he traveled to Moscow to attend a friend’s wedding, has denied the allegations. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Gershkovich and Whelan have “remained resilient despite the circumstances of living in Russian detention.” “People are not bargaining chips,” Blinken said in a statement. “Russia should end its practice of arbitrarily detaining individuals for political leverage and should immediately release Evan and Paul.” The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Democrats fear ‘outraging’ young voters over TikTok, GOP experts say: ‘Bowing to the progressive mob’

Democrats fear ‘outraging’ young voters over TikTok, GOP experts say: ‘Bowing to the progressive mob’

Democratic lawmakers who oppose legislation targeting TikTok do so because they fear “outraging” and losing young voters, Republican experts told Fox News Digital.  The House of Representatives recently passed a bill requiring TikTok to divest itself of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) control or face a ban in the U.S. in a largely bipartisan 352-65 vote. The bill would block TikTok in the U.S. if its parent company, the Beijing-based ByteDance, does not divest from it within 165 days of passage.   Critics have long raised concerns about the social media app being a national security threat. They fear the Chinese government can exploit its influence over ByteDance to obtain sensitive user data, even in the U.S., which the company has denied. Democrats who oppose the legislation do so because it could hurt their efforts to mobilize young voters — a critical demographic that tends to swing their way, Republican critics say. GOP LAWMAKERS PRESS TIKTOK CEO ON ‘DELUGE OF PRO-HAMAS CONTENT’ ON PLATFORM “The Democrats are letting voter demographics be the moral compass of their party,” former Vice President Mike Pence, founder of Advancing American Freedom, told Fox News Digital. ‘They’ve abandoned Israel for Michigan voters, and many are refusing to support the legislation on TikTok that would disentangle it from the CCP, for fear of outraging young voters.”  “Congress must work to pass this legislation as soon as possible to protect the data of Americans from the growing threat of the Chinese Communist Party,” he said. “National security extends beyond Nov. 5.” A Republican strategist who spoke on background with Fox News Digital echoed Pence’s sentiments, adding that some Democratic politicians have acted hypocritically during the process. “Democrats are opposing a TikTok ban, not because it’s bad legislation, but because it’s a useful political tool,” the GOP strategist said. “TikTok is a total national security threat, and you’re seeing hypocritical Democrats like [Rep.] Ruben Gallego, for example, in Arizona, tout national security, all while voting to protect the CCP app.” In the House, the bill mainly faced opposition from progressive lawmakers such as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Maxwell Frost of Florida, Jamaal Bowman of New York, Cori Bush of Missouri and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts.  In total, 50 Democrats and 15 Republicans opposed the House bill. TIKTOK’S CHINESE PARENT COMPANY FUNNELED SIX-FIGURE DONATIONS TO BLACK AND HISPANIC CAUCUS NONPROFITS “This is another classic case of Democrats bowing to the progressive mob instead of doing what’s right for the country,” Heritage Action executive vice president Ryan Walker told Fox News Digital. “Conservatives have been consistent for years when it comes to TikTok, warning that it’s a Chinese spy tool that puts the CCP in the pockets of 170 million Americans.” “Chuck Schumer, the Democrat leader of the Senate, called for the forced divestment of TikTok from the CCP in 2020. Now that a bipartisan bill to do just that passed the House with 350+ votes, he won’t commit to putting it on the floor in the Senate,” Walker said. “The only things that have changed since then are the party of the person in the White House and their desire to get him re-elected.” The bill could also put President Biden in a bind. In early February, his re-election campaign joined TikTok to woo young voters after the administration banned the Chinese-owned app from federal devices over security concerns. “TikTok is espionage and propaganda tool powered by the CCP and aimed at 170 million American users,” Michael Lucci, founder and CEO of State Armor Action, told Fox News Digital. “That’s why the House legislation to ban Chinese ownership of TikTok passed with an overwhelming bipartisan majority, and President Biden himself has said he would sign the bill if it made it to his desk.” “It is our hope that Senate Democrats will join their party colleagues in the House and Executive Branch and do what’s right for the American people, which is to divest China’s greatest propaganda tool into an American company,” Lucci said. “We are committed to educating the public on the dangers of TikTok and will continue to push for meaningful action to safeguard the security of our nation.” State Armor Action recently launched a multimillion-dollar campaign aimed at TikTok. Meanwhile, a slim majority of Americans back the bill. A recent Quinnipiac University poll found that 51% support the legislation, while 41% support an outright national ban. A plurality of voters, 47%, said they oppose the latter move. MOST AMERICANS SUPPORT HOUSE PLAN TO BAN TIKTOK IF IT ISN’T SOLD, POLL FINDS Younger Americans, however, are far more likely to defend TikTok. Among 18- to 34-year-olds, 60% opposed the House legislation, while 35% supported it.  “This process was secret and the bill was jammed through for one reason — it’s a ban,” a TikTok spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “We are hopeful that the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents, and realize the impact on the economy, 7 million small businesses, and the 170 million Americans who use our service.” Many Republicans have resisted using TikTok due to data security concerns, while an increasing number of Democrats have adopted the platform. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP A States Newsroom analysis from last year found that at least 32 members of Congress — all Democrats except for one independent — had TikTok accounts. At least half of those members either “currently sit or have previously served on committees dealing with foreign affairs, the U.S. military, investigations and national security.”  Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

No luck for No Labels as centrist group tries to launch third-party presidential ticket

No luck for No Labels as centrist group tries to launch third-party presidential ticket

It was a rough week for No Labels, the influential centrist group that’s been working for over a year towards launching a bipartisan, third-party 2024 presidential ticket. Hours after former New Jersey governor and two-time Republican White House contender Chris Christie announced he wouldn’t join the No Labels so-called “unity” ticket, their most well-known champion died. 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. 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. “That’s not our goal here,” Lieberman told Fox News Digital late last year. “We’re not about electing either President Trump or President Biden.“ Hours before Lieberman’s death, Christie 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 on “FOX and Friends.” Christie, a vocal GOP critic of Trump who made his opposition to the former president the centerpiece of his unsuccessful 2024 campaign, said in a statement that “while I believe this is a conversation that needs to be had with the American people, I also believe that if there is not a pathway to win and if my candidacy in any way, shape or form would help Donald Trump become president again, then it is not the way forward.” As Christie looked into the possibility of joining a No Labels third-party ticket in recent weeks, sources confirmed to Fox News he commissioned polling before deciding against the move.  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.  TRUMP AIMS TO TOP BIDEN’S RECORD-BREAKING $26 MILLION FUNDRAISER “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. Longtime Republican strategist and communicator Ryan Williams said that much of the hesitancy appears to be “a great concern that a third-party run on any ticket could help Trump. If you don’t like Trump, you don’t want to help him.” And Williams, a veteran of multiple GOP presidential campaigns, noted that running for president is a massive endeavor which “takes up much of your life. Without a clear path at this point for a third-party candidate, that’s a big sacrifice to make.” Complicating No Labels efforts is 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 setbacks this week, No Labels continues its mission of obtaining ballot access across the country. Hours before word of Lieberman’s death, the group announced that it has officially qualified for the ballot in 19 states. Lieberman, in announcing earlier this month the formation of a committee to vet contenders for the potential bipartisan ticket, wrote that “if we find two candidates that meet our high threshold, we will recommend that ticket to No Labels’ delegates for a nomination vote at a National Nominating Convention that will be held later this spring.” But he acknowledged 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.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Pete Buttigieg is facing his biggest test yet

Pete Buttigieg is facing his biggest test yet

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who has handled a number of transportation crises since assuming the role, is facing his biggest challenge yet with the deadly collapse of a major bridge in Baltimore. Almost immediately after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed at approximately 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Buttigieg was again thrust into the spotlight as he was forced to begin marshaling his agency’s resources to address the disaster. Buttigieg was soon on the phone with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and, shortly thereafter, on his way to the site to begin coordinating the federal response. “The path to normalcy will not be easy, it will not be quick, it will not be inexpensive, but we will rebuild together,” Buttigieg told reporters on Tuesday, flanked by Moore, local officials and local lawmakers. One day later, he called on both Democrats and Republicans to “stand together” to approve a funding package to aid the recovery and rebuilding operation. And on Thursday, Buttigieg announced that the Department of Transportation (DOT) would immediately make $60 million in emergency federal funds available for the initial stages of that effort. EX-MERCHANT MARINE CAPTAIN WARNS THERE IS ‘NO WAY OF CONTROLLING’ CARGO SHIP WITH MECHANICAL ERROR Since Buttigieg was first alerted to the accident, a DOT spokesperson said the secretary has since been “working around the clock” with federal, state and local officials, while also coordinating with shippers, truckers, port workers and port operators, all of whom have been impacted by what happened. The quick response and actions taken by Buttigieg could ultimately lay the groundwork for a recovery effort that may take years, likely stretching past his tenure at the agency, according to former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who served during the Obama administration. “No question about it: his biggest test yet, and he’s handled it with flying colors,” LaHood told Politico this week. PHOTOS: MARYLAND’S FRANCIS SCOTT KEY BRIDGE COLLAPSE Overall, the crisis presents a unique challenge, given the significance of the bridge and the nearby Port of Baltimore, which remains blocked as a result of the downed bridge. With the wreckage in the Patapsco River, it will halt the flow of ships in and out of the port indefinitely, disrupting the flow of commerce and putting a strain on supply chains. In addition to the 8,000 jobs associated with port activities that are threatened, up to $200 million worth of products come through the port every day. In addition, according to the American Trucking Association, roughly 4,900 trucks traveled the bridge every day, carrying about $28 billion in goods on an annual basis. As a result of the collapse, all vessel traffic and trucking traffic has been diverted, potentially straining other ports and infrastructure. BALTIMORE BRIDGE COLLAPSE SHUTTERS PORT INDEFINITELY, IMPACTING SUPPLY CHAIN “The collapse of this critical piece of infrastructure in Baltimore — and its immediate impact on the community, those who were killed and their families, and a significant East Coast port — has been an all-hands-on-deck moment not just for the Department of Transportation, but across the administration,” a DOT spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “While this incident occurred in Baltimore, it has regional and national implications, and we hope to see everyone coming together as a country to support the rebuilding efforts just as we’ve seen in previous disasters.” The Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse is just the latest in a string of crises which Buttigieg has been forced to handle as DOT secretary. Republicans and some progressives have been quick to attack Buttigieg in response to the crises, arguing they reflect on his lack of experience. Hours after the bridge collapse Tuesday, for example, Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, took to social media noting the “repeated infrastructure crises under Transportation Secretary Buttigieg.” In particular, Buttigieg has been criticized for his handling of the supply chain crisis in 2021, for not doing enough to remedy major airline delays, vacationing in Portugal amid tense negotiations with rail worker unions in 2022 and not responding quickly enough to the derailment of a freight train carrying hazardous materials in East Palestine, Ohio, last year. “Whether it’s waiting weeks to visit East Palestine, vacationing in Portuguese wine country during vital union negotiations, his extended absence during one of the largest shipping crises we’ve faced, or his failure to prevent massive aviation groundings, Secretary Buttigieg has shown an inability to carry out the duties of his office,” Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., previously told Fox News Digital. Still, it remains unclear exactly how Buttigieg’s approach to past crises has influenced his current handling of the Baltimore bridge collapse. He recently told Politico that every emergency “informs how you deal with the next one.” FOX Business’ Eric Revell contributed to this report.