Indiana Gov. Holcomb signs elementary literacy bill into law
Indiana Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb signed 67 bills on Monday, three days after lawmakers concluded their annual session. This is Holcomb’s last year as governor as he cannot run again because of term limits. Among the legislation Holcomb signed was a major item on literacy that was sought by Republicans in both chambers of the General Assembly and the governor’s office. Senate Enrolled Act 1 will hold back thousands more third-graders who don’t pass the state reading exam as a proposed solution to the state’s long declining literacy rates. INDIANA NEARS LAW ALLOWING MORE ARMED STATEWIDE OFFICIALS AT STATE CAPITOL The law includes some exceptions and establishes several early intervention processes. For example, all second-graders will be required to take the test to gauge their reading abilities. While many lawmakers and organizations supported the early intervention pieces, the retention statute of the bill was hotly contested throughout the legislative session. Holcomb also signed a bill Monday that establishes several new voter verification checks in the state. Among the changes, first time voters will need to provide proof of residency when registering in person, unless they submit an Indiana driver’s license or social security number that matches an Indiana record. The law requires officials to cross reference the state’s voter registration system with data from the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. The intent is to identify any noncitizens enrolled in the voter registration system, something voting advocates in Indiana say does not exist. It also gives the state the power to contract with credit data agencies to verify voters’ addresses. Voting advocates called the bill cumbersome and said it could lead to legally registered voters being disenfranchised. Once bills reach the governor’s desk, he has seven days to either sign or veto them. If no action is taken, the bill automatically becomes law by the eighth day. Most laws in Indiana go into effect July 1, unless otherwise stipulated.
Axelrod criticizes Trump for mocking Biden’s stutter: ‘Pathetic and small’
David Axelrod, once an adviser to former President Barack Obama, criticized former President Donald Trump on Monday for mocking President Biden’s stutter. Trump was at a campaign rally in Rome, Georgia over the weekend when he mocked Biden’s State of the Union speech. “Mocking someone’s stutter for laughs is pathetic and small, the stuff of schoolyard bullies not grownups,” Axelrod wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “Acting like a total jack*** doesn’t make you strong.” In a clip, Trump is seen impersonating Biden saying he was going to “going to bring the country t- t- t- t- together. “I’m going to bring it together.” TRUMP INVITES NIKKI HALEY SUPPORTERS TO JOIN MAGA MOVEMENT, CELEBRATES SUPER TUESDAY VICTORIES A transcript of Biden’s SOTU speech revealed he didn’t actually say what Trump alleged was said, The Washington Post reported. Biden has been public about his life-long struggle with stuttering. While talking about the campaign trail on the debate stage in December 2019, Biden imitated a child he met with a stutter, saying to him, “I can’t talk.” Former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders later wrote in a since-deleted tweet, “I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I hhhave absolutely no idea what Biden is talking about,” referring to the debate moment. She clarified in another tweet that she was not mocking people with speech impediments. Biden responded, “I’ve worked my whole life to overcome a stutter. And it’s my great honor to mentor kids who have experienced the same. It’s called empathy. Look it up.”
Appeals court weighs Delaware laws banning certain semiautomatic firearms, large-capacity magazines
DOVER, Del. (AP) — Lawyers for gun rights groups urged a federal appeals court on Monday to overturn a judge’s refusal to halt enforcement of Delaware laws banning certain semiautomatic firearms and restricting the size of firearm magazines. Delaware’s Democrat-controlled General Assembly enacted laws in 2022 that ban the sale of several types of semiautomatic firearms and shotguns, and limit magazine capacity to 17 rounds. DELAWARE GOV. CARNEY TOUTS JOB GROWTH, EDUCATION FUNDING IN FINAL STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS U.S. District Court Judge Richard Andrews denied a request by opponents for a preliminary injunction halting enforcement of the laws until a court decides whether they are unconstitutional. The Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association, joined by other gun rights advocates, argues that the laws violate Delawareans’ constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Andrews ruled last year that the firearms and large-capacity magazines targeted by the laws are presumptively protected by the Second Amendment. Nevertheless, he refused to issue an injunction, saying the state had sufficiently established that the weapons and magazines “implicate dramatic technological change and unprecedented societal concerns for public safety.” The gun restrictions are consistent with the historical tradition of firearm regulation in the United States, and opponents failed to demonstrate a likelihood of winning their lawsuit, Andrews concluded. He also said opponents had failed to show that they can’t adequately defend themselves with other firearms. Delaware is one of nine states, along with the District of Columbia, that ban certain semiautomatic firearms labeled “assault weapons” by gun-control advocates. Delaware is one of 14 states, along with the District of Columbia, that restrict the size of ammunition magazines for semiautomatic weapons. The legal fight has drawn “friend-of-the court” briefs on both sides of the issue from several states. “Every second of every day that Delaware’s law is enforced, it is preventing my plaintiffs from exercising their Second Amendment rights,” John Ohlendorf, an attorney representing the Firearms Policy Coalition and other appellants, told a three-judge panel in Philadelphia. David Ross, an attorney hired by Delaware officials, said Andrews was correct in denying a preliminary injunction because the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate that the laws subjected them to irreparable harm. Ross and other supporters of the laws also dismissed arguments that they should be declared unconstitutional because they target weapons and high-capacity magazines that are in common use and owned by millions of Americans. “Common use is not and cannot be the exclusive criterion for Second Amendment analysis,” New Jersey Solicitor General Jeremy Feigenbaum argued. Instead, according to supporters of the laws, a key question is whether the firearms in question are commonly used for self-defense. The answer, they contend, is “no.” “Your prototypical hunting rifle is going to be useful in self-defense, in sharp contrast to the large capacity magazines or the assault weapons,” Feigenbaum said. Judge Jane Roth seized on the self-defense issue, suggesting that it’s not enough for opponents of the law to say only that the banned firearms are capable of being used for self-defense, instead of showing that they are commonly used for that purpose. “I’m not sure about these automatic assault weapons, whether they are being used in self-defense,” Roth said, incorrectly characterizing the firearms at issue as fully automatic machine guns. Erin Murphy, an attorney representing the Delaware State Sportsmen’s Association and National Shooting Sports Foundation, quickly corrected Roth. Murphy said arguments that the weapons can be banned because they are not typically used for self-defense are contrary to U.S. Supreme Court rulings. The court has rejected the idea that possession of semiautomatic handguns for self-defense can be banned as long as possession of other firearms is allowed, she said. Murphy also argued that any “bearable arm” that can be carried and can be used for self-defense is protected by the Second Amendment. “There’s just not any argument to be made that a firearm ceases to be an arm simply because it has features like semiautomatic functionality and a detachable magazine,” she said. Restrictions on gun ownership have come under increasing legal scrutiny following a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2022 that established new standards for courts to evaluate such limitations. The court said judges should no longer consider whether a law restricting gun ownership serves public interests such as enhancing public safety. Instead, government officials must demonstrate that a proposed restriction is consistent with the country’s “historical tradition of firearm regulation.” The ruling has led courts to overturn laws designed to keep guns away from domestic abusers, felony defendants and marijuana users. Earlier this year, the Third Circuit court ruled that nonviolent offenders should not be subject to lifetime gun bans. That ruling came in the case of a man barred from buying a gun because he had pleaded guilty to misstating his income to receive food stamps for his family in 1995.
Alabama state lawmaker Rogers to plead guilty to federal charges
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — State Rep. John Rogers, a longtime member of the Alabama House of Representatives, will plead guilty to conspiracy and obstruction of justice charges, according to a plea agreement filed Monday. The charges are related to what federal prosecutors described as a kickback scheme that diverted money from a state fund intended to pay for community projects in Jefferson County. KATIE BRITT COMES OFF UNPOLISHED IN MUCH ANTICIPATED BIDEN SOTU RESPONSE, GOP STRATEGISTS SAY Rogers, a Democrat from Birmingham, will resign from office and pay $197, 950 in restitution as part of the plea deal. Federal prosecutors are recommending that the 83-year-old lawmaker be sentenced to 14 months of home confinement. According to a plea deal filed in federal court in Birmingham, Rogers has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. Former state Rep. Fred L. Plump, Jr. and Varrie Johnson Kindall, Rogers’ former assistant and girlfriend, previously pleaded guilty to related charges. Federal prosecutors said that between 2018 and 2018 Rogers directed $400,000 to a youth sports organization run by Plump. Federal prosecutors said that Plump gave approximately $200,000 back to Rogers and Kindall. Rogers, 83, has served in the Alabama Legislature since 1982. He is currently the longest serving member in the Alabama House of Representatives. Defense lawyer John Robbins, who is representing Rogers, did not immediately return an email seeking comment. Rogers is the third Alabama lawmaker to agree to plead guilty to a criminal charge during this four-year term. In addition to Plump, who resigned last year, former state Rep. David Cole, a Republican from Huntsville, last year pleaded guilty to a voter fraud charge that he rented a closet-size space in a home to fraudulently run for office in a district where he did not live.
RNC shakeup: New Trump leadership slashes dozens of Republican National Committee staffers
Former President Donald Trump’s newly installed leadership team at the Republican National Committee on Monday began the process of pushing out dozens of officials, a senior RNC source confirmed to Fox News. RNC staffers who work in the national party committee’s communications, data, and political departments are being asked to resign, including a handful of senior staff, sources say. The move came hours after the Trump campaign on Monday took operational control over the RNC. It comes as the new leadership aims to merge parts of the RNC with the Trump 2024 presidential campaign. PARTY TAKEOVER: TRUMP INSTALLS TOP ALLY AND DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AT RNC The former president’s picks to serve as RNC chair and co-chair – Trump ally and North Carolina GOP chair Michael Whatley and daughter-in-law Lara Trump – were unanimously confirmed on Friday by voice votes as the RNC met in general session in Houston, Texas. Whatley, who was the RNC’s general counsel, succeeded longtime chair Ronna McDaniel, whom Trump picked to steer the national party committee after he won the White House in 2016. Her departure on Friday came after Trump earlier this year repeatedly urged changes at the committee – after lackluster fundraising last year and his opposition to the RNC’s presidential primary debates – which essentially pushed McDaniel out the door. WHO IS NEW TRUMP-BACKED RNC CHAIR MICHAEL WHATLEY? Trump also installed campaign adviser Chris LaCivita as RNC chief of staff. LaCivita, a longtime Republican strategist and RNC veteran, will continue to keep his role as one of the two top advisers steering Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. “The RNC today. It’s not going to look the same next week. There’s obviously going to be changes,” LaCivita told reporters on Friday. But he declined to get into details. Friday’s RNC meeting came in the same week Trump swept 14 of the 15 GOP primaries and caucuses on Super Tuesday – which moved him much closer to officially locking up the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. It also comes just two days after Trump’s last rival for the nomination – former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley – dropped out of the race. Trump was expected to formally clinch the nomination on Tuesday, as four more states hold primaries and caucuses. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
FBI director warns of ‘very dangerous threats’ at border, smuggling network with ‘ISIS ties’
FBI Director Christopher Wray on Monday warned of a “wide array” of dangerous threats coming from the U.S. border, including drug trafficking, violent gangs and smugglers with ties to ISIS. Wray was asked by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing about the threats at the border, including the Tren de Aragua gang from Venezuela. Wray said he couldn’t speak to a specific gang, but said that there were dangerous individuals entering via the southern border. “From an FBI perspective, we are seeing a wide array of very dangerous threats that emanate from the border. And that includes everything from drug trafficking — the FBI alone seized enough fentanyl in the last two years to kill 270 million people — that’s just on the fentanyl side,” he said. BLOODTHIRSTY VENEZUELAN GANG TREN DE ARAGUA SETS UP SHOP IN US AS BORDER AUTHORITIES SOUND ALARM “An awful lot of the violent crime in the United States is at the hands of gangs who are themselves involved in the distribution of that fentanyl,” he said. Officials have warned about the presence of gangs, including Tren De Aragua. Fox News reported last week about a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) internal bulletin that told agents to be on the lookout for those coming across the border who may show signs of belonging to the bloodthirsty gang. Fox News reported last week that the brother of the suspect in the killing of Georgia student Laken Riley has ties to the gang. Both the suspect and his brother are Venezuelans who entered the U.S. illegally. Rubio asked Wray whether smuggling networks that are moving people all over the world could also have ties to ISIS or other terrorist organizations. “So, I want to be a little bit careful how far I can go in open session, but there is a particular network that, where some of the overseas facilitators of the smuggling network have ISIS ties that we’re very concerned about and that we’ve been spending enormous amount of effort with our partners investigating. Exactly what that network is up to is something that’s, again, the subject of our current investigation,” he said. Rubio asked him to confirm that there is a network “we’re concerned about” that has facilitators involved with ties to ISIS. “Correct,” Wray said. ILLEGAL BROTHER OF LAKEN RILEY MURDER SUSPECT LINKED TO VENEZUELAN CRIME GANG: DOJ There were more than 2.4 million migrant encounters in FY 23, and FY 24 so far included a month with record encounters of over 300,000. The border has become a top political issue with both President Biden and former President Donald Trump visiting the border this month. Republicans have blamed the crisis on the administration, while the administration says it needs more funding, staffing and immigration reform to be provided by Congress — and has accused Republicans of stalling that aid for political purposes.
Florida’s controversial parental rights law upheld after federal court settlement, DeSantis touts ‘major win’
A controversial Florida bill, dubbed by critics as “Don’t Say Gay,” is being upheld under a settlement reached Monday in federal court that will allow students and teachers to discuss sexual orientation and gender identity freely, so long as it’s not part of instruction. The settlement aims to spell out exactly what is and is not permitted in Florida classrooms. The Florida Board of Education will send instructions to every school district saying the Florida law doesn’t prohibit discussing LGBTQ+ people, nor prevent anti-bullying rules on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or disallow Gay-Straight Alliance groups. The settlement also clarifies that the law is neutral — meaning that it applies to LGBTQ+ people and heterosexual people equally — excluding library books not being used for instruction in the classroom. The law also doesn’t apply to books with incidental references to LGBTQ+ characters or same-sex couples. Roberta Kaplan, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, said the settlement “re-establishes the fundamental principal, that I hope all Americans agree with, which is every kid in this country is entitled to an education at a public school where they feel safe, their dignity is respected and where their families and parents are welcomed.” WASHINGTON COUNTY SHERIFF TELLS DEPUTIES TO NOT ENFORCE CITY’S NEW HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT LEGISLATION: REPORTS Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s office described the deal as a “major win against the activists who sought to stop Florida’s efforts to keep racial, gender and sexual ideology out of the classrooms.” “We fought hard to ensure this law couldn’t be maligned in court, as it was in the public arena by the media and large corporate actors,” said Ryan Newman, an attorney for the State of Florida. “We are victorious, and Florida’s classrooms will remain a safe place under the Parental Rights in Education Act.” DeSantis, who dropped his bid for the White House in January, has championed the law since before its passage in 2022 by the GOP-controlled Florida Legislature. It barred instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through the third grade and was expanded to all grades last year. Republican lawmakers had argued that parents should discuss these subjects with children and that the law protected children from being taught about inappropriate material in school. Opponents, meanwhile, argued the law created a chilling effect in classrooms where, in some cases, books dealing with LGBTQ+ topics were removed. The civil rights attorneys sued Florida education officials on behalf of teachers, students and parents, claiming the law was unconstitutional, but a federal judge in Tallahassee dismissed the case last year, saying they lacked standing to sue. The case was appealed to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
Georgia House approves ‘swatting’ crackdown following attacks on Lt. Gov., Rep. Greene
Georgia would strengthen penalties against false reports of shootings and bomb threats at homes, known as swatting, under a bill passed Monday by the state House. The measure would also define a drive-by shooting as a separate crime. The House voted 162-2 for Senate Bill 421, sending it back to the Senate because the House amended it to add the drive-by shooting provisions. GEORGIA IMMIGRATION BILL WOULD CUT STATE FUNDING OF SANCTUARY CITIES IN WAKE OF LAKEN RILEY MURDER Georgia elected officials in December experienced a spate of swatting calls — prank calls to emergency services to prompt a response to a particular address, particularly a SWAT team. Among those targeted were multiple state senators, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. Jones said his home in a small town south of Atlanta was swatted, only to have a bomb threat called in the next day. It’s already a crime in Georgia to make such false reports, but first offenses right now are misdemeanors unless they are directed at critical infrastructure. The bill would also make a first offense a felony if it were aimed at a dwelling or a place of worship. The measure also increases the felony penalty for second offenses, making the minimum prison sentence five years, instead of one year. It also adds stronger penalties for a third offense, requiring a sentence of 10 to 15 years. The measure also requires that a someone convicted make up for any monetary losses by property owners or expenditures by a responding agency, including restitution for property damages or the cost of treating injuries. “Those folks will be behind bars that are doing the swatting,” said state Rep. Matt Reeves, a Republican from Duluth. Georgia is the latest state to consider stricter swatting penalties. Ohio last year made it a felony offense to report a false emergency that prompts response by law enforcement. And Virginia increased the penalties for swatting to up to 12 months in jail. Some swatting injuries have led to police shooting people, and officials say they also worry about diverting resources from real emergencies. The Georgia law would also define a drive-by shooting as a separate crime. Supporters say it’s needed because some shooters have escaped criminal penalties because current law is not precisely defined. The new crime would require a sentence of five to 20 years for shooting into an occupied dwelling or motor vehicle. It would also make it a crime that qualifies as a racketeering offense under Georgia’s anti-racketeering law.
Should Ukraine start talks to end Russia’s war – or fight on?
Kyiv rebuffs Pope Francis’s call for negotiations and suggestion Ukraine should raise ‘white flag’. Pope Francis says Ukraine should consider raising the “white flag” and talks should begin to bring an end to Russia’s war – in comments rejected by Kyiv but welcomed in Moscow. The war, which has cost thousands of lives, continues with little movement on the battlefield by either side. Should Ukraine talk – or fight on? Presenter: Jonah Hull Guests: Volodymyr Yermolenko – chief editor of Ukraine World Pavel Felgenhauer – independent Russian foreign policy analyst in Moscow Patrick Bury – defence and security analyst, senior lecturer at the University of Bath Adblock test (Why?)
Russia, NATO at odds over pope’s call for Ukraine to show ‘white flag’
Moscow said the pope’s comment was ‘quite understandable’ while NATO said ‘it’s not the time to talk about surrender’. The Kremlin has said Pope Francis’s call for talks to end the war in Ukraine was “quite understandable”, while NATO’s secretary general said now was not the time to talk about “surrender”. Pope Francis said in an interview recorded last month that Ukraine should have “the courage of the white flag” to negotiate an end to a war that is now in its third year. As Russia makes gains on the battlefield, the West grapples with how to support Ukraine and the prospect of a dramatic change in United States policy if Donald Trump wins November’s presidential election. “It is quite understandable that he [the pope] spoke in favour of negotiations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday. He said Russian President Vladimir Putin had repeatedly said his country was open to peace talks. “Unfortunately, both the statements of the pope and the repeated statements of other parties, including ours, have recently received absolutely harsh refusals,” he said. Moscow’s offers to negotiate have invariably been predicated on Kyiv giving up the territory that Moscow has seized and declared to be part of Russia, amounting to more than a sixth of Ukraine. Peskov said Western hopes of inflicting a “strategic defeat” on Russia were “the deepest misconception”, adding: “The course of events, primarily on the battlefield, is the clearest evidence of this.” ‘Not the time to talk about surrender’: Stoltenberg NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said negotiations that would preserve Ukraine as a sovereign and independent nation would only come when Putin realised he would not win on the battlefield. “If we want a negotiated, peaceful, lasting solution, the way to get there is to provide military support to Ukraine,” he told the Reuters news agency at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Asked if this meant now was not the time to talk about a white flag, he said: “It’s not the time to talk about surrender by the Ukrainians. That will be a tragedy for the Ukrainians.” “It will also be dangerous for all of us. Because then the lesson learned in Moscow is that when they use military force, when they kill thousands of people, when they invade another country, they get what they want,” he said. Pope Francis with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at the Vatican, May 13, 2023 [Vatican Media/Handout via Reuters] On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Pope Francis’s call for talks with Russia as “virtual mediation” from a distance. In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy did not directly refer to Francis or his remarks, but said the pope’s ideas had nothing to do with efforts by religious figures in Ukraine to help the country. “They support us with prayer, with their discussion and with deeds. This is indeed what a church with the people is,” Zelenskyy said. “Not 2,500km [1,550 miles] away, somewhere, virtual mediation between someone who wants to live and someone who wants to destroy you.” Zelenskyy, who signed a decree in 2022 ruling out talks with Putin, said last week that Russia will not be invited to a peace summit due to be held in Switzerland. Adblock test (Why?)