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Biden White House responds to Laken Riley murder on UGA campus: ‘People should be held accountable’

The White House on Monday shared a statement regarding the murder of Augusta University student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus in Athens. “We would like to extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Laken Hope Riley,” a White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “People should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law if they are found to be guilty. Given this is an active case, we would have to refer you to state law enforcement and ICE.” UGA Police Chief Jeffrey Clark on Feb. 23 announced the arrest of Jose Antonio Ibarra, a 26-year-old illegal immigrant from Venezuela, who is accused of murdering Riley on UGA’s campus while she was out for a Thursday morning jog. Clark said during a Friday evening press conference that Riley died of blunt force trauma. LAKEN RILEY MURDER SUSPECT JOSE IBARRA LIVED WITHIN 5-MINUTE WALK OF UGA CRIME SCENE Earlier, President Biden said the country’s laws and resources “haven’t kept up with our immigration system.” “It’s broken, and our politics has failed to fix it,” the president said. “To my Republican friends on the hill: Doing nothing is not an option. Compromise is part of the process.” GEORGIA MURDER SUSPECT CONFIRMED TO BE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT Fox News Digital previously reported that Ibarra illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico in El Paso, Texas, in September 2022 and was paroled into the United States.  He then traveled to New York City, where he temporarily lived with his wife, and then came to Athens, where he lived for about six months on the southern border of UGA’s campus, according to neighbors. LAKEN RILEY MURDER SUSPECT’S BROTHER FIRED FROM UGA AFTER PRESENTING FAKE PASSPORT Ibarra is now facing charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing the death of another. His older brother, Diego Ibarra, who is charged with green card fraud, was briefly hired by UGA as a dishwasher in one of the school’s dining halls after he presented fake documentation. He has since been fired. GEORGIA NURSING STUDENT FOUND DEAD ON UGA CAMPUS IDENTIFIED AS LAKEN RILEY In a statement to Fox News Digital, ICE confirmed Jose Antonio Ibarra had been encountered by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Sept. 8, 2022. ICE also confirmed that he had been arrested by the New York Police Department a year later, on Sept. 14, 2023, and “charged with acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation.” BROTHER OF UGA MURDER SUSPECT CHARGED WITH GREEN CARD FRAUD Riley’s family posted a statement on Saturday, describing the 22-year-old as “an amazing daughter, sister, friend and overall person.” “Her love for the Lord was exemplified in every aspect of her life. She will be missed every day, but we promise to honor her life moving forward in a very big way,” the statement shared with WXIA read, in part. “During this most difficult time, we ask that you respect our privacy, and provide us the time and space necessary to grieve our daughter’s life that was tragically cut short.” Fox News’ Adam Shaw, Michael Ruiz and Bill Melugin contributed to this report. 

Wisconsin GOP Senate candidate Eric Hovde releases first televised campaign ad

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Eric Hovde is launching his first television ad of the race, part of a seven-figure statewide buy his campaign said Monday will include multiple spots over the next month. Hovde, a multimillionaire businessman, is running to take on Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin. She has yet to run an ad in the race, despite officially announcing her reelection bid for a third term nearly a year ago in April 2023. Hovde’s first spot, which will air Tuesday, is the same one he made public on his website when he launched his campaign last week. WISCONSIN GOP SENATE CANDIDATE SAYS CHALLENGERS MUST BE ‘PRETTY WORRIED’ AFTER LATEST ‘SMEARING’ ATTEMPT In the ad, Hovde cites the economy, crime, health care and “open borders” as problems facing the country. He does not mention Baldwin or Wisconsin in the spot. “Everything is going in the wrong direction,” Hovde says in the ad. “All Washington does is divide us and talk about who’s to blame and nothing gets done.” Baldwin’s campaign spokesperson, Andrew Mamo, had no comment. Hovde has lined up support from the National Republican Senatorial Committee, but other Republicans are considering challenging him for the nomination. Scott Mayer, a Franklin businessman, and former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke are also considering Senate runs. Two lesser-known Republicans are also running: Trempealeau County Board Supervisor Stacey Klein and Rejani Raveendran, a 40-year-old college student and chair of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point College Republicans. Baldwin won reelection in 2018 by 11 percentage points and her winning this year is critical for Democratic hopes to maintain majority control of the Senate. Democrats are defending 23 seats in the Senate in November, including two held by independents who caucus with Democrats. That’s compared with just 11 seats that Republicans hope to keep in their column.

Ohio commission awards bids to frack oil and gas under state parks, wildlife areas

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio commission awarded bids to frack oil and gas under state parks Monday, despite statewide backlash and an ongoing investigation into possibly fraudulent support. The Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission granted the mineral rights to several oil and gas companies, allowing them to frack for oil and gas under land owned by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Ohio Department of Transportation, including state parks and designated wildlife areas. RFK JR’S VOW TO BAN FRACKING MET WITH INTENSE CRITICISM The Texas-based Encino Energy Partners was granted the rights to frack under Valley Run Wildlife Area and Zepernick Wildlife Area. The West Virginia-based Infinity Natural Resources, LLC, can frack under Salt Fork State Park. These and other entities are now cleared to receive leases from the state and must discuss permits and other details with state regulators. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources will receive $59.7 million in bonuses under the fracking leases and each lease includes a 12.5% royalty paid to the state for production. Fracking is a technique used to extract natural gas or oil from impermeable rock formations. Water, chemicals and sand are blasted into these formations at pressures high enough to crack the rock, which allows trapped gas and oil to flow to the surface. The department said in an emailed statement that the leases include provisions such as water quality testing and restricted drilling times. Commission chair Ryan Richardson also emphasized at the Monday meeting that according to the language in the awarded leases, no surface areas of the parks would be disturbed by drilling as it would occur underground and the well pads would be offsite. Richardson did not make herself available for comment Monday. Protesters filled the meeting room as they have consistently since last year, when nominations for the land to be fracked were first discussed. Many cried “shame,” and held signs in front of the meeting’s livestream cameras. Some had makeup on their faces to appear diseased and wore sacks with signs that read “disease” and “drought” among other effects of climate change. The commission has faced multiple legal challenges, including an appeal brought by Earthjustice, a nonprofit that helps litigate environmental issues. The organization filed it in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas last year, on behalf of advocacy groups including the Ohio Environmental Council and Save Ohio Parks, among others. The groups were appealing the state’s decision to open up the land to bids last November, arguing that the commission did not follow the bidding process outlined in state law and violated the state’s open meetings requirements. But a Franklin county judge said that the groups lacked authority to bring the appeal in the first place and dismissed the appeal Friday. “Climate change is real, and it is here,” Save Ohio Parks’ steering committee said in a statement. “Salt Fork State Park, Valley Run Wildlife Area, and Zepernick Wildlife Area are just the first to come under attack. Save Ohio Parks will continue advocating to protect our public lands.” Fracking opponents decried the commission as being “sheep” and giving in to corporate greed at the expense of Ohio greenspace. They also say the commission lacks transparency, as there have been no public hearings on the bids and they didn’t know who was bidding on the land, despite the lands being taxpayer funded. State law mandates that the entities who nominated the land for fracking and those that bid on the land must remain anonymous until the bidding process is complete. The amounts that companies paid for land mineral rights was not immediately disclosed. Opponents have also criticized the commission for continuing the process amid an investigation by the Ohio Attorney General’s office into possibly fraudulent letters sent in support of fracking. A Cleveland.com investigation last fall found that over a hundred Ohio residents said their names were attached to form letters sent to the commission in a public comment period without their knowledge — all of them urging state parks to allow fracking. The letters could be traced back to multiple pro-oil entities, including Consumer Energy Alliance, a Texas-based pro-oil and gas organization. The alliance has denied collecting names without permission and has called Cleveland.com’s coverage of the situation “libelous.” “CEA has cooperated fully with the Attorney-General’s Office at every step. While the situation is ongoing, we can make no further comment,” Bryson Hull, a spokesperson for the alliance, said in an emailed statement. A spokesperson for the Ohio Attorney General’s office said they are still completing the investigation and will make information available “at the appropriate time.”

White House hits Trump, Republicans over Senate border bill ahead of Biden’s dueling trip to Texas

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre knocked former President Trump and Republicans in Congress over the Senate border bill ahead of President Biden’s dueling trip to Texas.  While aboard Air Force One en route to New York City on Monday, Jean-Pierre said President Biden would spend his visit to Brownsville, Texas, on Thursday hearing directly from Border Patrol agents and about the resources they need to secure the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump, the GOP front-runner and Biden’s likely opponent come November, had already been scheduled to speak at the border in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Thursday, when the White House on Monday announced Biden’s trip approximately 325 miles away that same day.  Jean-Pierre focused her comments to reporters about how the bipartisan border supplemental passed out of the Senate 70-29 and needs to be called to a vote in the House.  Biden, “was able to move the ball forward in the Senate to get a bipartisan negotiation on the border security deal. That was rejected, obviously, by Republicans because of the last president and President Trump, to be exact,” Jean-Pierre said, stressing that the bipartisan border proposal also received support from the Border Patrol union.  Brownsville is part of the Rio Grande Valley sector, which has been considered dead or slow in illegal crossings over the past several months. It currently averages only between about 200-400 encounters per day across the entire​ sector, which includes nine separate Border Patrol stations in a handful of different cities and areas, and it is the sector with the most resources.  BIDEN, TRUMP TO MAKE US-MEXICO BORDER STOPS THURSDAY AS MIGRANT CRISIS ROILS ELECTION Therefore, there will be zero risk of any Border Patrol facility overcrowding for Biden’s visit.  A U.S. Customs and Border Protection source told Fox News that there were only 318 encounters in the Rio Grande Valley sector on Sunday.  Meanwhile, sectors in blue states are very busy. The San Diego and Tucson sectors are both getting 1,000-2,000 illegal crossings daily. Eagle Pass, where Trump will be visiting, has been the center of an ongoing stand-off and court battle between Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the Biden administration. Texas National Guard troops were ordered to deny access by federal Border Patrol agents to Shelby Park, which has seen a surge in illegal crossings, and erected razor wire to deter migrants.  Biden’s last visit to the border was in El Paso after a huge surge of illegal crossings where the streets had been cleared of migrant camps and the visit was highly sanitized. Biden did not see or talk to a single migrant, nor did he visit a Border Patrol station, opting for a CBP port of entry instead, where only lawful crossings occur. Asked if Biden plans to meet with migrants this time given the criticism that he didn’t last time, Jean-Pierre said she had no information yet.  “We’ll have more to share as we get closer to Thursday. Don’t have anything for you at this time. Obviously, he’s going to meet with frontline folks who work on the ground, including Border Patrol agents, hear directly from them. See also for himself what is it that they do every day to protect Americans, to secure the border,” she said. “They need more resources.” TRUMP BLAMES ‘BIDEN’S BORDER INVASION’ FOR LAKEN RILEY MURDER, VOWS ‘LARGEST DEPORTATION OPERATION’ IF ELECTED Pressed on whether Biden has any planned executive action to address the border crisis, Jean-Pierre again turned back to Congress.  “We’ve been very clear there is no executive action that would have done what the bipartisan Senate negotiation proposal could have done. That would have been a step forward in dealing with the challenges at the border and dealing with policy changes, obviously, and in dealing with what is actually happening with the immigration system,” she said.  “Republicans should get out of the way, not politicize this. This is an issue that the American people, majority of American people, care about,” she added.  The press secretary said Biden is “going to see for himself to see what they’ve been doing on the ground. Remember, these Border Patrol agents have been doing everything that they can to secure the border with the resources that they have. They need more. They need more.”  The White House billed the Senate bipartisan border bill as “the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border in decades,” saying it provides funding needed for additional U.S. border agents, more asylum officers, fentanyl detection technology and more.  Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

West Virginia Senate passes bill that would remove marital exemption for sexual abuse

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Married people in West Virginia could be charged with certain sexual assault acts against their spouses for the first time under a bill passed by West Virginia’s Republican-dominated Senate on Monday. The bill, pushed by former prosecuting attorney Republican Sen. Ryan Weld of Brooke County, would remove marriage as a defense to first- and third-degree sexual assault. It now heads to the House for consideration. WEST VIRGINIA GOP PROPOSES SLAPPING TEACHERS, LIBRARIANS WHO SHOW SEXUAL MATERIAL TO KIDS WITH FELONIES “The marital exception exists or has existed in code for quite some time,” Weld said on the floor Monday. “And I think now is the time to correct an injustice.” Weld explained that there are two crimes of sexual violence outlined in West Virginia code: One is penetrative rape, and the other is the forcible touching of a person’s sexual organs, breasts, buttocks or anus by another person. For the latter offense, a martial exemption exists that shields a person from conviction if the crime is perpetrated against their spouse. Even if the couple is legally separated, an individual accused of this kind of sexual abuse couldn’t be charged. Until 1976, a married person couldn’t be charged with penetratively raping their spouse. That law was changed at the urging of the former Republican Sen. Judith Herndon, who was the only woman in the Legislature at the time. Weld honored Herndon on the floor Monday before the bill passed 22-9, with three senators absent or not voting. “This is carrying on what I believe to be an unfinished job that she wasn’t able to get done before she unfortunately passed away in 1980,” Weld said of the bill.

Pentagon review of Austin’s hospitalization finds staffers were ‘significantly’ limited, no ‘ill intent’

Staffers for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin were limited in a number of ways while he was hospitalized last month as the public, the press and the White House were unaware of what was happening for several days but that there was no ill intent, according to the findings of a 30-day review of the communication breakdown that was released Monday. An internal review of the transfer of authority during Austin’s hospitalization found that concerns about medical privacy and a rapidly fluid situation contributed to why Austin’s hospitalization was kept secret, the summary said.  Austin was hospitalized at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Jan. 1 for an infection related to a bladder issue that stemmed from prostate cancer surgery performed in December. The Pentagon has been heavily criticized for waiting to inform the White House, Congress and the public about the episode.  WHITE HOUSE PROMOTES KIRBY TO EXPANDED ROLE TO COORDINATE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS Despite the delay, President Biden has stood by Austin.  During his hospital stay, Austin transferred his duites to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, who was on leave in Puerto Rico, on Jan. 2, the day after he was admitted. However, neither she nor the White House knew he had been hospitalized until two days later. Congress and the public weren’t informed until Jan. 5. A three-page summary of the review’s findings said there was no “indication of ill intent or an attempt to obfuscate.” However, Austin’s staff was “significantly” limited in three ways. “Medical privacy laws prohibited medical providers from candid sharing of medical information with the Secretary’s staff. Second, for privacy reasons, his staff were hesitant to pry or share any information that they did learn,” the summary states. “Third, the Secretary’s medical situation remained in flux and as long as he remained in the Critical Care Unit, timely secured communications could not be assured.” After returning to work, Austin took the blame for the communication breakdown, saying he was responsible for decisions not to disclose his health status.  “We did not handle this right, and I did not handle this right,” he said in a news conference at the time. “I should have told the president about my cancer diagnosis. I should have also told my team and the American public. And I take full responsibility. I apologize to my teammates and to the American people.”

Colorado Dems kill bill to have harsher penalties for child prostitution crimes

Colorado Democrats killed a bill this month that would have created a mandatory minimum sentence of four years for child prostitution. Under the current law, people who commit sex offenses against children can be charged with probation-eligible offenses. “Probation-eligible offenses” refers to crimes for which a judge has the discretion to sentence the offender to probation instead of incarceration. House Bill 1092 was postponed indefinitely in the House’s State, Civic, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee — dubbed the “kill committee” by state lawmakers — by an 8 to 3 party-line vote. Postponing a bill indefinitely is a legislative tool used to terminate the main motion without taking a direct vote.  COLORADO HOUSE ADVANCES BILL MANDATING SCHOOLS USE TRANSGENDER STUDENTS’ PREFERRED NAME Some Democrats in the state legislature oppose mandatory minimum sentencing, arguing that minorities are disproportionately incarcerated and that the law is duplicative.  Members of the Colorado Public Defender’s Office and the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar have testified against it. A public defender handout argued the bill “is unnecessary because in most circumstances across Colorado, these crimes are charged concurrently with Human Trafficking.” Under the bill, offenses like soliciting, pandering and pimping a child would carry a minimum four-year prison term. Additionally, pandering involving intimidation would result in a minimum eight-year sentence. On Feb. 15, more than 50 witnesses reportedly crowded a Colorado Capitol hearing room, with nearly all voicing support for the bill. Most were adult survivors recounting being sold into the sex trade as children, often by family or friends, some unaware of the buyers, according to a Colorado Politics report.  One of the survivors, Kelly Dore, testified that her father was given a sentence of less than one year for selling her in exchange for drugs for 14 years, beginning when she was just one year old. After he was released, he continued to victimize female members of her family, she said. NEARLY NAKED PROSTITUTES PROWL STREETS IN BROAD DAYLIGHT, BUT CALIFORNIA LAW TIES POLICE HANDS: MAYOR “I can’t tell you the number or the hundreds of men that I was forced to sleep with. My earliest memories, I was still in diapers, and I was born thinking that this is what all little girls do, that this is what we’re supposed to do,” she said. According to Arapahoe County District Attorney John Kellner, the bill would have targeted perpetrators who “do not see full justice because of the way that our statutes currently exist.” He said that of the 33 sex trafficking cases he prosecuted in the last two years, only a third of those convicted got any actual time behind bars. The problem of sex trafficking minors and child prostitution has reached nationwide heights. Last year, FBI and state agencies rescued 27 sex trafficking victims in Colorado over the course of two days as part of a rescue campaign. Eight of them were minors. CHURCH SERVICES DISTURBED AS RAMPANT SAN DIEGO PROSTITUTION HITS FEVER PITCH As such, the Denver Gazette Editorial Board reported that Colorado falls in the top 20 states for human sex trafficking and called the vote against harsher penalties “inconceivable.”  “They sent a message that Colorado doesn’t care much about adults who use child prostitutes. Just as soft-on-crime drug laws have attracted drug dealers and traffickers, this will bring in people who sell children for sex and those who patronize them,” the editorial board wrote.  In a previous Fox News Digital article, Geoff Rogers, co-founder of the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking, said the U.S. “is the No. 1 consumer of sex worldwide.”  “So, we are driving the demand as a society,” he said.

House Democrats eye Alabama IVF ruling as path to retaking majority in November

House Democrats have found a new political cudgel for the November 2024 elections after the Alabama Supreme Court’s recent ruling triggered a stoppage to IVF treatment around the state. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), House Democrats’ campaign arm, held a press conference on Monday morning to tie House Republicans to the ruling, even as top GOP figures continue to speak out for IVF access and accuse Democrats of twisting the issue. “House Republicans have furthered this agenda at every turn. They want a national abortion ban, full stop. With their razor-thin majority, they have pushed anti-abortion, anti-freedom policies, including legislation that would double down on the Alabama court’s ruling and ban IVF nationwide,” DCCC Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., told reporters. It’s a similar playbook to the one Democrats followed after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. ALABAMA IVF RULING REIGNITES DEBATE ON ABORTION, A MOTIVATING ISSUE FOR DEMOCRATS AHEAD OF ELECTION Indeed, DelBene pointed to Democratic victories in states where abortion access was on the ballot and suggested the left would keep that momentum up in the wake of Alabama’s ruling. “It has proven to be a losing issue for Republicans, whether in New York, Wisconsin, Ohio, Kansas, or dozens of other states across the country, we’ve seen voters head to the ballot box to defend their rights,” DelBene said. “And in this election, we’re fighting for our rights, our freedoms, our families, and Republicans keep making clear that they’re willing to do anything to rip those away.” A cornerstone of House Democrats’ push is the GOP’s Life At Conception Act, which says life starts at the moment of conception and which critics warn could lead to nationwide abortion restrictions. With no mention of IVF, Democrats have argued that the bill’s lack of protections for the procedure could allow for its restriction as well.  But Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., one of the 125 Republicans supporting the bill who is also one of the right’s leading voices on reproductive health access, said the accusation is “a leftist myth.” TRUMP BREAKS SILENCE ON ALABAMA SUPREME COURT IVF RULING: ‘FIND AN IMMEDIATE SOLUTION’ “Some people are getting knocked for signing on to the Life of Conception Act, but that act doesn’t do anything to ban or prohibit access to IVF. That’s a leftist myth. What it does do is, it says the scientific fact that life begins at conception. That’s basic science, most people feel that way,” Mace said. Alabama’s conservative Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that three couples trying in vitro fertilization (IVF) who lost their frozen embryos in an accident at a storage facility in the state are able to sue the medical providers for wrongful death of a child. Since then, three Alabama medical facilities have stopped providing IVF treatment. UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM PAUSES IN VITRO FERTILIZATION FOLLOWING STATE SUPREME COURT EMBRYO RULING It’s prompted pushback from key national Republicans like Mace, who told Fox News Digital she plans to introduce a resolution to support IVF access on a federal level. “It’s a lie,” Mace said of the left-wing efforts to lump Republicans together on reproductive rights. “I’ve always believed that life begins at conception, that’s a belief of mine. That doesn’t mean I want to ban IVF.” Mace warned fellow Republicans on Monday that IVF could be a “huge issue” and urged them to be “on board” with speaking out in support of the procedure. She dismissed concerns that it could be an election problem for Republicans, however, pointing to IVF access’ support from high-level Republicans like former President Donald Trump. Trump said at a rally over the weekend that he would “strongly support the availability of IVF.” “I really liked seeing Donald Trump’s comments at the rally at Rock Hill on Friday. He’s spot on, 100%. That is where we need to be as a party,” Mace said. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also spoke out in favor of IVF access, as have a large share of establishment and moderate Republicans. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) told Fox News Digital, “Republican mothers, grandmothers, and foster parents all looked voters directly in the eyes and said they support IVF access. Democrats are cynically twisting a serious family issue and expecting voters to believe their lies; they’re going too far, and it will blow up in their faces.” The NRCC also pointed out that Republicans targeted by the DCCC over the IVF ruling have spoken out in favor of the procedure.

2nd Dem faces recall effort in crime-ridden city after business owner endures violent robberies

Concerned Washington, D.C. residents and small business owners have banded together to oust a Democratic councilmember during an ongoing crime surge, marking the second recall effort launch in the district in months. The recall effort against Councilmember Brianne Nadeau launched Tuesday over her relaxed criminal justice reform policies as the district grapples with skyrocketing crime in recent years, leaving some business owners in turmoil and many residents feeling unsafe. The announcement echoed a push to remove fellow Councilmember Charles Allen, which has attracted support from Democratic political fundraisers and congressional staffers who have helped raise over $56,000 for the campaign. “The historic rise in crime is not just mere numbers; they represent shattered lives, eroded trust, and a community living in fear,” the Nadeau recall effort’s chairwoman, Diana Alvarez, said last week. Alvarez, who owns a small business in Nadeau’s district, said she was driven to launch the campaign after her smoke shop endured three violent robberies.  DC AG INFURIATES RESIDENTS AFTER SAYING CITY ‘CANNOT PROSECUTE AND ARREST’ OUT OF CRIME CRISIS: ‘MADNESS’ “My employees were terrorized, and my security costs have become astronomical,” she said in the statement. “I know that I am one of many people and businesses in this dire situation.” As crime has dropped in some major cities across the country, the nation’s capital ended 2023 with a 26-year high in homicides with 274 murders, according to Metropolitan Police Department data. Robberies and thefts spiked 67% and 23%, respectively, and motor vehicle thefts nearly doubled. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES NEW RESOURCES TO COMBAT VIOLENT CRIME IN DC The surging violence has caused some district businesses to move or shut down completely, including a nearly 10-year-old wine bar that closed in December after the restaurant faced five burglaries in five months. In Nadeau’s district, a string of 10 robberies within a few weeks last year led to increased fear and hefty damages for some business owners and residents in the Adams Morgan neighborhood, ABC7 reported. “I understand people’s concerns about crime,” Nadeau told WUSA9 in response to the recall campaign. The three-term councilmember said she’s spearheading three bills to address public safety concerns, including legislation aimed at improving the city’s 911 center and police cadet recruitment.  “I will focus on doing the work that I was sent here to do by Ward 1 voters, and I will keep doing that regardless of any recall efforts,” Nadeau told the local outlet.  DC SUPERMARKETS TURN TO HIGH-TECH SECURITY GATES AS CRIME CONTINUES TO SURGE But Alvarez accused Nadeau of allowing an environment for criminals to thrive as violence escalated.  “Brianne Nadeau has fundamentally failed to take any consequential action to reduce crime, and it is time she is held accountable,” Alvarez said.  The recall campaign blamed Nadeau for encouraging criminals through her support of progressive legislation in recent years. The councilmember voted in favor of slashing $15 million from the police budget in 2020 and supported an overhaul to the city’s criminal code in 2022 that would have lowered the maximum penalties for certain offenses like burglaries and carjackings if Congress hadn’t blocked the legislation.  “The dream of a safe, vibrant, and prosperous Ward-1 seems more distant with each passing day,” Alvarez said. “I am proud to lead this effort because we deserve representation that is responsive to our needs, not in denial of them.” The campaign intends to file an intent for recall with the Board of Elections in a few weeks and will then have 180 days to obtain signatures from 10% of the ward’s registered voters, The Washington Post reported. Nadeau’s seat would be vacant until a special election is held to replace her if the recall campaign prevails, but a recall effort hasn’t been successful in the district’s 50 years of home rule.  Nadeau did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment. 

Wyoming Republican presidential contest begins, but it is not like other primaries

Although the South Carolina primary has been the focal point of the GOP presidential nomination fight for much of the last month, it’s not the only contest on Saturday where Republicans will be voting for a presidential candidate or where all-important delegates will be at stake. More than 1,800 miles away, state GOP officials in Wyoming will meet to begin awarding the first of the state’s 29 delegates to the Republican National Convention this summer, but the contest won’t much resemble the South Carolina primary or any other presidential contests held so far this year. Like a handful of other states, Wyoming doesn’t hold presidential primary elections where voters head to the polls or cast ballots by mail. WYOMING JUDGE DISMISSES EFFORT TO BAR TRUMP FROM BALLOT Instead, both state parties use what’s known as a “caucus-convention” system, which is a multi-step process that begins with local meetings (usually at the precinct level), then moves to mid-level meetings usually at the county or district level (or sometimes both) and then culminates with the state party convention. At each level, participants elect representatives to attend the event at the next level until finally, somewhere along the way, delegates to the national party convention are awarded to candidates and individuals are chosen to fill those positions. The entire process can last several months. Iowa and Nevada are both well-known for their presidential caucuses, and, while the Wyoming Republican process bears some structural similarities to other caucus systems, there are some notable differences. For starters, Wyoming Republicans do not conduct a statewide presidential preference vote, at least not this year. In Iowa or Nevada, there is a statewide “winner” to report based on how participants at the precinct caucuses voted. Not so for the Wyoming Republicans. The only presidential result there is to report from the Wyoming GOP’s caucus process is how many national convention delegates each presidential candidate has won. There are no tables or graphics with raw vote totals or vote percentages, as there are for other presidential nominating contests. The state party has held non-binding presidential straw polls or caucus votes in the past – Mitt Romney won the vote in 2012, receiving 39% of just over 2,100 votes cast – but it had no impact on delegates. Another key difference is that the Wyoming Republicans do not hold all their events on the same day. In Iowa, state Republicans convened precinct-level caucuses all on the same day – Jan. 15. This year, Wyoming’s 23 county-level Republican party committees have held their precinct caucuses mostly on different days, with the first one on Feb. 2 and the final county scheduled to go on Saturday. The precinct caucuses were open to any registered Republican who will be 18 by the November election. Those caucus-goers discussed issues of concern to them and then selected individuals to represent their precinct at the county conventions, where participants will vote for a presidential candidate and award national convention delegates. Each of the 23 counties has one national convention delegate at stake. The winner of the vote in a county convention wins that county’s lone delegate. While these events are generally open to the public, it’s only those individuals who were elected at the precinct caucuses who get to cast a vote for president at the county conventions. And, just like the precinct caucuses, the county conventions are not all scheduled for the same day. The first two county conventions will award their delegates on Saturday in Campbell and Carbon counties. The rest will follow suit at some point over the next two weeks. One county, Platte, has not yet scheduled its convention, according to the state party’s public events calendar. The county conventions will award 23 of the state’s 29 national convention delegates. The remaining six delegates will be awarded at the state party convention in April. Here’s a recap of what to expect in Wyoming over the coming days: Wyoming’s 23 counties will each hold a county GOP convention to award national convention delegates. The first county conventions will convene on Saturday, with the rest holding theirs over the next two weeks. Each county convention has one delegate at stake, for a total of 23 delegates. The Associated Press will report how many delegates each presidential candidate has won. There is no statewide presidential vote. The state’s remaining six delegates will be awarded at the state convention in April. Individuals elected at precinct caucuses held throughout the state in February will meet at the county conventions to vote on which presidential candidate will win the delegate from their county.