Gov. Greg Abbott signals support for IVF in Texas after Alabama ruling
Abbott stopped short of calling on the Legislature to take actions to protect IVF after a Alabama court ruling threw fertility treatments into legal limbo in that state.
Biden calls Johnson, Schumer for White House meeting as congressional chaos stirs government shutdown fears
President Biden is calling all four congressional leaders to the White House on Tuesday as the federal government stares down the barrel of a partial shutdown at the end of this week. The president is convening the meeting with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., to discuss the ongoing negotiations on how to fund the government, which appear to have gotten rocky over the last several days. Johnson and Schumer were expected to announce some kind of deal on Sunday to fund government agencies and departments whose current dollars expire on March 1. The remaining funding expires March 8. CONGRESS LIKELY TO PUNT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN DEADLINES AGAIN, SOURCES SAY However, no compromise was announced over the weekend; instead, both Johnson and Schumer released public statements blaming the other side for the delays. Johnson’s office confirmed to Fox News Digital that he accepted Biden’s invitation and will be at the White House on Tuesday. It comes after the speaker accused Senate Democrats of making last-minute demands in the government spending negotiations. In a Sunday evening statement to Fox News Digital, he said “many of the points still being debated come from new Democrat demands” that Senate appropriators did not include in their versions of fiscal year 2024 spending bills. “At a time of divided government, Senate Democrats are attempting at this late stage to spend on priorities that are farther left than what their chamber agreed upon,” Johnson said. TOP HOUSE REPUBLICANS FLEE CAPITOL HILL AMID RISING CHAOS, DIVISION: ‘A BAD WORKPLACE’ A source familiar with negotiations told Fox News Digital that one of the main delays has to do with a supplemental nutrition benefits program for low-income women, infants and children under age 5, known as WIC. Senate Democrats want $7 billion for the program, the source said, higher than House Republicans’ proposed $6 billion and Biden’s budgetary request for $6.3 billion. Schumer’s office did not immediately return a request for comment on the WIC issue or on the White House meeting. The Senate Democratic leader wrote a letter to colleagues on Sunday fully pinning the blame for the delay – and a potential shutdown – on House Republicans. HOUSE GOP LEADERS JETTISON PROMISE TO VOTE ON 12 INDIVIDUAL SPENDING BILLS “Unfortunately, extreme House Republicans have shown they’re more capable of causing chaos than passing legislation,” Schumer said. “It is my sincere hope that in the face of a disruptive shutdown that would hurt our economy and make American families less safe, Speaker Johnson will step up to once again buck the extremists in his caucus and do the right thing. While we had hoped to have legislation ready this weekend that would give ample time for members to review the text, it is clear now that House Republicans need more time to sort themselves out.” If no deal is reached on new federal funding or an extension of current levels by March 1, the government will fall into a partial shutdown. Fox News Digital’s requests for comment to the White House and the offices of Schumer, McConnell and Jeffries were not immediately returned.
Oregon lawmakers consider changing beloved anti-urban sprawl law to fight housing crisis
A severe lack of affordable housing has prompted Oregon lawmakers to consider chipping away at a 1970s law that made the state a national leader in leveraging land use policy to prevent suburban sprawl and conserve nature and agriculture. The so-called urban growth boundary, a sacred cow of Oregon’s liberal politics, helped to cement the state’s green reputation and has been “extremely influential” in its development, said Megan Horst, an urban planning professor at Portland State University. “I can’t overstate it,” she said of the half-century-old law. “All that farmland would likely be a sea of strip malls and subdivisions, as they are pretty much anywhere else in the country.” OREGON’S CRATER LAKE NATIONAL PARK MISMANAGEMENT PROMPTS FEDS TO CONSIDER TERMINATING CONTRACTS But interconnected homelessness and housing crises have forced exceptions to be considered by lawmakers, including Democrats who have historically defended the landmark policy. The sole bill introduced by Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek during this year’s short legislative session is a sweeping housing package aiming to jumpstart home construction by tweaking the 1973 law, which essentially drew a circle around cities to protect farmland, forests and nature from urban encroachment. Lawmakers have just two weeks to approve the bill before the session ends March 10. As the longest serving speaker of the Oregon House, from 2013 to 2022, Kotek became known for her progressive agenda. But as governor, she has sought to ease restrictions for developers in a bid to advance her housing production goals. Working to win support for the package has put her in the unusual position of having to lobby not Republicans — who largely back it — but members of her own party, many of whom voted against a similar measure last year. Kotek said she spent the seven months between legislative sessions speaking with lawmakers, housing developers and conservation groups to find a middle ground. “We had some proposals last year that didn’t work for everyone, but we didn’t walk away. We sat down and worked on it,” she said while testifying in support of the bill, describing herself as its “chief architect” and “chief cheerleader.” “I also know that the process means there might be amendments,” she added. “But what we can’t see happen is that this Legislature leaves at the end of their session without this bill.” On the ground, the anti-sprawl policy can look dramatic. At times, blocks of dense apartment complexes abruptly end and give way to thick forest or rolling fields. One side of a road can be lined with homes, while the other side features open space as far as the eye can see. The 42-page package would, among many other things, grant a one-time exemption to the decades-old rule by allowing cities to acquire new land for the purpose of building housing. It would require 30% of new units in expansion areas to be affordable. Currently, cities must forecast population growth over 20 years before requesting to change an urban growth boundary for new homes, businesses or industrial or public facilities. If they show the area inside their boundary won’t accommodate projected needs, and identify outside land meeting a complex set of criteria, they can apply to expand. Cities of more than 2,500 residents seeking to add more than 50 acres must submit an application to a state agency for approval. Ninety-five percent of such adjustments were approved between 2016 and 2023, according to the Department of Land Conservation & Development, the agency tasked with approvals. But many cities and developers say the rigorous evaluation and analysis requirements can be long and difficult to navigate. “While land supply is not a barrier for all cities, it is critical for some, and the current … process is time-consuming, cost-prohibitive, and litigious,” Ariel Nelson, a lobbyist for the League of Oregon Cities, which has a neutral stance on the bill, said in written testimony. To speed up the process, the bill before lawmakers would ease certain regulations and waive the 20-year population forecast if conditions are met. But the proposal still includes a number of restrictions largely stemming from Democrats’ requests. In order to be eligible, cities must prove they lack land as well as affordable housing. They would need to outline the history of their growth boundary in the previous 20 years and assess how much land inside the current boundary has been developed. They would also have to show that a certain percentage of households are severely cost burdened, meaning they spend more than half of their income on housing. In most cases, cities wouldn’t be able to add high-value farm or forest land. Additionally, cities would only be able to add relatively small areas of land: cities with populations less than 25,000, for example, could only add a maximum of 50 “net residential” acres, which is less than one-tenth of a square mile. A net residential acre refers to the amount of land used to build homes, excluding streets and utilities. The one-time exemption to urban growth boundary rules would expire in 2033. State Sen. Deb Patterson, a member of the Environmental Caucus and the Senate’s housing committee, said these guardrails made her feel comfortable supporting the bill. She was one of the Democratic lawmakers whose “no” vote killed last year’s proposal. “While it’s not in any way shape or form a perfect bill, so much work has been done to make this a much better bill that I do believe I will be a ‘yes’ vote,” she said. One of her Republican colleagues on the Senate’s housing committee, Sen. Dick Anderson, also supports the bill but said the boundary expansion rules were restrictive “almost to the point of not being of use.” “You should not be envisioning a Las Vegas or Phoenix style expansion, with houses galore and subdivision after subdivision,” he said. Anderson thinks other parts of the bill would be more useful in his coastal district, specifically a measure allowing cities to “swap” land currently within their boundaries, which is harder to
Colorado House advances bill mandating schools use transgender students’ preferred name
The Colorado state legislature advanced a bill on Friday aimed at mandating K-12 schools statewide to implement policies requiring educators to address transgender students by their preferred name in all school settings – including in records and documents – independent of parental approval or a formal legal name change. The bill will need one more round of voting before advancing to the Senate floor. House Bill 1039 — a bill largely backed by the progressive group Colorado Youth Advisory Council — would also impact charter schools and mandates that educators use students’ non-legal names in all school-related functions, including extracurricular activities, rosters, attendance lists, yearbooks and student ID cards. In its proposal to lawmakers, the youth council said many “school administrative systems cause humiliation for transgender Colorado youth when schools use the students’ deadnames (birth names that do not align with their gender identities).” INDIANA PARENTS WARN NATION AFTER CHILD IS REMOVED FROM HOME FOR IMPROPER PRONOUN USAGE: ‘CAN HAPPEN ANYWHERE’ “When schools keep a student’s former name and gender marker on school transcripts and records, it outs transgender students to their peers, thereby violating their privacy,” the group wrote prior to the legislature’s vote. One Colorado, a progressive LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, also supports the bill, alongside the Colorado School Counselors Association. The bill would also deem that “intentional use of a name other than a student’s chosen name is discriminatory.” State Rep. Anthony Hartsook, a Republican, called the bill “open-ended and ill-defined” that could lead to “many, many paths.” “We open up Pandora’s Box for discernment on what is discriminatory and what is not, what is intentional and what is not,” Hatsook said on the House floor. “Who starts deciding that when and where do we start deciding that? When and where do we bring the parents into that discussion?” CAMPUS RELIGIOUS GROUPS REPORT GREATER INTEREST FROM STUDENTS TRYING TO FIND MEANING IN ‘CRUMBLING’ CULTURE Republican State Rep. Brandi Bradley agreed with Hartsook and urged colleagues to vote “no” on the legislation. “And now we have told the teachers that they’re being discriminatory,” Bradley said of the bill. “I have four teenagers. They are awesome kids, but sometimes they like to play games. So tell me how codifying or putting this bill in is not going to go against teachers and their rights in a field where we already have so much shortage?” Republican State Rep. Rose Pugliese added she does not want schools to know more about her kids than she does. “Parents have the right to know,” said Pugliese. Other Republican lawmakers argued students would be allowed to change their names more than once, furthering burdening teachers to remember their new names. Meanwhile, State Rep. Stephanie Vigil, a Colorado Springs Democrat co-sponsoring the bill, contended that some transgender kids who may not have come out to their parents yet would be in danger if the legislation is not approved. On the other hand, parents who support their transgender children would also have their parental rights usurped if they approve of the name change. RESEARCHERS ARGUE ‘RAPID ONSET GENDER DYSPHORIA’ DOES EXIST, DESPITE NARRATIVE AGAINST IT “And so I would just suggest to you all as we talk through this bill today that we bear in mind that there is such a thing as a kid who’s not safe with their own parents,” said Vigil. “Certainly, kids belong with their parents – that relationship is precious. But I do not accept the premise that a child is anyone’s property or that their safety isn’t to be prioritized, even when the person who is a danger to them is their own parents.” The bill was also sponsored by Democratic State Sens. Faith Winter, of Westminster, and Janice Marchman, of Loveland. State Rep. Brianna Titone, an Arvada Democrat and the legislature’s only transgender member, is also a co-sponsor. If cleared by the Senate and signed by the governor, the bill would go into effect in July 2025. Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Montana, North Dakota, Tennessee and Utah are several states that have passed laws restricting pronoun use in schools.
Texas ready to pick up IVF debate following Alabama embryo ruling: ‘pro-life state’
Republican Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott said his state will weigh in on the in vitro fertilization (IVF) debate following the Alabama state Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are unborn children. “I have no doubt that Texas will be among the states that will be addressing this issue when we can bring in all the different facts and scenarios about what can happen. But also knowing Texas, as soon as you know, Texas is a pro-life state, and we want to do everything possible that we can to maintain Texas being a pro-life state,” Abbott told CNN’s Dana Bash Sunday on “State of the Union.” “But at the very same time, I think Texans agree with what President Trump said. And that is, we as a state, want to ensure that we promote life. We bring more life into the world, and we empower parents to be able to have more children,” he added. Abbott’s comments follow the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that an 1872 state law allowing parents to sue over the death of a child “applies to all unborn children, regardless of their location.” The decision was reached after two wrongful death cases were brought forth by three couples who say their frozen embryos were destroyed in an accident at an Alabama fertility clinic. TRUMP BREAKS SILENCE ON ALABAMA SUPREME COURT IVF RULING: ‘FIND AN IMMEDIATE SOLUTION’ “Unborn children are ‘children’ under the Act, without exception based on developmental stage, physical location, or any other ancillary characteristics,” Justice Jay Mitchell wrote in the majority ruling. The ruling subsequently led to a halt of IVF services at some Alabama medical centers. UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM PAUSES IN VITRO FERTILIZATION FOLLOWING STATE SUPREME COURT EMBRYO RULING “There’s some uncertainty lingering from this, but candidly, let’s go to President Trump because President Trump put out a statement on this that I think a lot of people agree with and that is a goal that we all kind of want to achieve,” Abbott said. “And that is we want to make it easier for people to be able to have babies. Not make it harder.” “And the IVF process is a way of giving life to even more babies. And so what I think the goal is, is to make sure that we can find a pathway to ensure that parents who otherwise may not have the opportunity to have a child will be able to have access to the IVF process and become parents and give life to babies,” the Texas governor added. ALABAMA IVF RULING REIGNITES DEBATE ON ABORTION, A MOTIVATING ISSUE FOR DEMOCRATS AHEAD OF ELECTION Trump posted on Truth Social last week that if re-elected, the Republican Party “will always support the creation of strong, thriving, healthy American families.” ALABAMA PROVIDERS SUSPEND IVF TREATMENTS AFTER STATE COURT’S RULING AS FERTILITY EXPERTS WEIGH IN “We want to make it easier for mothers and fathers to have babies, not harder! That includes supporting the availability of fertility treatments like IVF in every State in America,” Trump wrote. “Like the OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of Americans, including the VAST MAJORITY of Republicans, Conservatives, Christians, and Pro-Life Americans, I strongly support the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious baby,” Trump continued. “Today, I am calling on the Alabama Legislature to act quickly to find an immediate solution to preserve the availability of IVF in Alabama. The Republican Party should always be on the side of the Miracle of Life – and the side of Mothers, Fathers, and their Beautiful Babies. IVF is an important part of that, and our Great Republican Party will always be with you, in your quest, for the ULTIMATE JOY IN LIFE!” Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
Andy Kim sees 3rd straight win over New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy in primary battle for Bob Menendez seat
Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., picked up a third consecutive win over New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy as the Democratic primary contest heats up for embattled Sen. Bob Menendez’s seat. Kim’s victory at the Hunterdon County Convention on Sunday means his name will appear in the same column down the ballot as other candidates endorsed by the Democratic Party. His third consecutive county-line win did not come without controversy. An ally of Murphy, Hunterdon County Democratic Chair Arlene Quinones Perez, proposed a change in the endorsement rules to allow candidates with 30% of the vote to share the valuable county-line positioning on the primary ballot. The proposal was met by cursing and screaming from fellow delegates and was ultimately rejected by a hand vote, Politico reported. ANDY KIM GAINS MOMENTUM OVER NJ FIRST LADY IN DEMOCRATIC SENATE CONVENTION TO REPLACE BOB MENENDEZ The wife of Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, U.S. Senate candidate Tammy Murphy had reached out to Perez and other county chairs after losing the Monmouth County Democratic convention earlier this month, the New Jersey Globe reported. Kim won in Monmouth over Murphy by 57%-39%. On Sunday, Kim won in Hunterdon County with 120 votes compared to Murphy’s 64, or 62%-33%, Politico reported. It varies by county how the party-line is awarded in New Jersey’s primary system. Some counties have delegates vote, while in other counties it is enough to have just the county party chair’s support to win the party line. Perez on Sunday cited a letter from Murphy and two other Senate candidates, Patricia Campos-Medina and Lawrence Hamm, asking that an “office block” primary be established in the 19 of New Jersey’s 21 counties that instead employ the party line, according to Politico. Murphy did not clarify if she knew in advance of the specific Hunterdon County Convention proposal when Perez announced it on the floor Sunday. “I thought it actually might have made sense, but I had no vote in it,” Murphy said. DEMOCRAT SEN. BOB MENENDEZ ACCUSED OF ACCEPTING BRIBES TO BENEFIT QATAR IN SUPERSEDING FEDERAL INDICTMENT “They decided that it’s good to have something sprung upon a convention at the last possible second without any ability to discuss or deliberate,” Kim said, according to Politico. “You saw the reaction from people. They don’t like that… I made it very clear what I want, which is every single county to be able to do the office block.” While Kim’s convention wins in Burlington County – where he grew up – Monmouth, about a third of which he represents in Congress, and now Hunterdon might suggest he’s gaining momentum, those counties represent only a small fraction of the state’s registered Democratic voters. Murphy, who has lived in Monmouth County for well over two decades despite losing the convention there, is expected to enjoy favorable ballot positioning in the state’s Democratic strongholds, such as Middlesex County. Murphy did not answer directly to Politico when asked if she would support a similar 30% shared party line rule in other counties she is expected to win.
House Republican critical of Biden impeachment push demands his removal via 25th Amendment
FIRST ON FOX: A House Republican who has been critical of rushing to impeach President Biden is calling for his removal over questions about his mental fitness for the job. Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., told Fox News Digital that he plans to introduce a resolution on Monday to call on Biden’s Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment of the Constitution. His most-cited reason was Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report on Biden’s handling of classified documents. The report did not recommend any charges for the president but repeatedly painted him as an aging leader with a poor memory. Buck said the report “addressed what many Americans have long witnessed with their own eyes – that President Biden is no longer fit to successfully discharge the critical duties of his office.” JAMES BIDEN SAYS HIS BROTHER ‘HAS NEVER HAD ANY INVOLVEMENT’ OR ANY ‘FINANCIAL INTEREST’ IN BUSINESS VENTURES “Numerous instances were articulated in the report, and have played out in full public view, showing President Biden’s apparent cognitive decline and lack of mental stamina,” he told Fox News Digital. “The societal challenges and security threats our country faces are innumerable and require a chief executive with both strong mental and physical faculties. The time has come for the vice president and the Cabinet to put our country first and move forward on invoking the 25th Amendment.” DEVON ARCHER: HUNTER BIDEN, BURISMA EXECS ‘CALLED DC’ TO GET UKRAINIAN PROSECUTOR FIRED In his resolution text, Buck also cited Biden’s verbal stumbles and public gaffes as evidence of mental decline. It pointed out that Biden recently confused French President Emmanuel Macron with a predecessor who died decades prior, and that he also mixed up German leaders’ names and mistakenly referred to the president of Egypt as the president of Mexico. Biden and his allies have vigorously denied that his mental acuity is suffering. But Buck’s resolution is a significant addition to the growing pressure for Biden officials to address scrutiny over the president’s mental fitness. The Colorado Republican, who is retiring at the end of this term, is one of the few House GOP lawmakers who have publicly expressed wariness over the push to impeach Biden over allegations that he and his family’s businesses profited off of his political weight. Buck voted along with the rest of the House GOP Conference to formalize the Biden impeachment inquiry in December, but just last week he criticized the probe’s leaders for relying on allegations made by FBI informant Alexander Smirnov, who was recently indicted for lying to the bureau. BIDEN MET WITH CHAIRMAN OF CHINESE ENERGY FIRM HUNTER DID BUSINESS WITH IN 2017, EX-ASSOCIATE TESTIFIES “We’ve always been looking for a link between what Hunter Biden received in terms of money and Joe Biden’s activities or Joe Biden receiving money. This clearly is not a credible link at this point,” Buck said in a CNN interview. He told the network in September, “I want to make sure we don’t ruin this institution over a tit-for-tat impeachment. If the evidence is there… I will absolutely vote for impeachment. I don’t see the evidence at this point.” Section 4 of the 25th Amendment allows the vice president and a majority of the White House Cabinet to declare the president unfit to perform his duties, transferring power to the vice president. The president is able to take those powers back by writing to Congress that he is able to serve. The Cabinet would then have four days to refute that, after which Congress would vote on whether the president could remain in power. Buck is one of several Republican lawmakers who have called for the constitutional amendment to be invoked in the wake of Hur’s report, including Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, as well as Reps. Mary Miller, R-Ill., and Mike Collins, R-Ga. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment on Buck’s resolution.
Jeb Bush comes to Trump’s defense after $355M fraud judgment: ‘Damage could cascade’
Former Republican Florida Gov. Jeb Bush came to the defense of former President Trump in a Wall Street Journal op-ed slamming the recent New York civil fraud court case that ordered the 45th president to pay a $354.8 million fine plus interest. “Every American has a right to be critical of Mr. Trump’s politics—one of us ran against him in 2016,” reads Bush’s op-ed, titled, “Elon Musk and Donald Trump Cases Imperil the Rule of Law.” “…But equality before the law is precious, and these rulings represent a crisis not only for the soundness of our courts, but for the business environment that has allowed the U.S. to prosper,” the opinion piece continued. “If these rulings stand, the damage could cascade through the economy, creating fear of arbitrary enforcement against entrepreneurs who seek public office or raise their voices as citizens in a way that politicians dislike.” The column, which was co-authored by Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, railed against the recent monthslong civil fraud trial against Trump, which resulted in a nearly $355 million fine and bars Trump from operating his business in New York for three years. The opinion piece also spoke out against how a Delaware judge recently rescinded tech billionaire Elon Musk’s $56 billion compensation from Tesla. TRUMP BLASTS ‘CLUBHOUSE POLITICIAN’ JUDGE AFTER BEING FINED $350M, DEFENDS THE ‘GREAT COMPANY’ HE BUILT Bush ran against Trump in the 2016 presidential election, when the two exchanged repeated barbs, including personal jabs such as Trump claiming Bush is an “embarrassment to his family.” In 2018, Bush said Trump is “Republican in basically name only” and took another apparent stab at the then-president, saying after he bowed out of the primary that he returned home where his children “actually love me.” Following Jan. 6, 2021, when supporters of Trump breached the U.S. Capitol, the former Florida governor said Trump “provoked the disgusting events at the Capitol today.” “He has gone from creating chaos to inciting insurrection,” Bush said in a post at the time. “Mr. President, accept your defeat, go home to Florida and let our elected officials do their jobs and rebuild confidence in our democracy.” TRUMP BACKS GEORGE P. BUSH, JEB’S SON, IN TEXAS POLITICAL RACE The op-ed marks a defense of Bush’s former 2016 rival, albeit not for Trump’s political stances. Instead, Lonsdale and Bush are calling for a “dispassionate” legal system that will not throttle businesses and lead to a weakened economy. “New York and Delaware have played an outsize role in business in the U.S.” the pair wrote. “Many major companies are incorporated in Delaware owing to the state’s body of corporate legal precedents; and a significant number of banks operate in New York, the world financial capital. The appellate courts in those states now have a chance to review these dangerous judicial rulings and try to stop further damage to the reputations of their respective judiciaries.” “If they don’t, blue-state politicians may have the satisfaction of ‘sticking it’ to Messrs. Trump and Musk, but the loss to those states will be significant,” they continued. “The damage to the legal fabric of the country will be even worse. A dispassionate justice system is at the heart of American exceptionalism, and the country will be poorer if we lose it.” Trump has since appealed the ruling and repeatedly argued that the presiding judge, Arthur Engoron, and New York Attorney General Letitia James were politically motivated in the case. FORMER TRUMP RIVAL JEB BUSH CALLS MANHATTAN GRAND JURY INDICTMENT ‘VERY POLITICAL’ “A crooked New York judge working with the very corrupt attorney general of New York State, who ran on the basis of ‘I will get trump’ before knowing me — before even knowing anything about me — just ruled that I have to pay a fine of $355 million based on absolutely nothing,” Trump told Fox News Digital after the fine was announced. “No victims. No damages. Great financial statements, with full disclaimer clauses, only success.” NEW YORK AG TAKES VICTORY LAP AFTER TRUMP FRAUD RULING: ‘JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED’ The op-ed noted that when James was on the campaign trail for the attorney general position, she ran on a campaign “promise to target the man she called ‘an illegitimate president.’” “The unusual New York law Ms. James used to investigate and sue Mr. Trump didn’t require her to prove that he had intended to defraud anyone, or even that anyone lost money. The Associated Press found that of the 12 cases brought under that law since its adoption in 1956 in which significant penalties were imposed, the case against Mr. Trump was the only instance without an alleged victim or financial loss,” the pair wrote. Trump attorneys had asked Engoron to delay enforcement of the payment by 30 days to allow time for an “orderly post-judgement process,” which was denied Thursday afternoon.
Biden, Trump to make US-Mexico border stops Thursday as migrant crisis roils election
President Biden will visit the southern border on Thursday – the same day former President Trump is also scheduled to go. Biden will travel to Brownsville, Texas to meet with U.S. Border Patrol agents, law enforcement, and local leaders, according to a White House official. That same day, Trump is delivering remarks in Eagle Pass, Texas, Fox News has previously confirmed. Brownsville and Eagle Pass are about 325 miles, or about a 5-hour-20 minute drive, apart. Biden is expected to use his trip to “discuss the urgent need to pass the Senate bipartisan border security agreement, the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border in decades,” the White House official said. “He will reiterate his calls for Congressional Republicans to stop playing politics and to provide the funding needed for additional U.S. Border Patrol agents, more asylum officers, fentanyl detection technology and more.” According to a Fox News analysis published last week, nearly 7.3 million migrants are known to have illegally crossed the southwest border since Biden took office. 7.2M ILLEGALS ENTERED THE US UNDER BIDEN ADMIN, AN AMOUNT GREATER THAN POPULATION OF 36 STATES That number is greater than the population of 36 individual states. It comes from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which has already reported 961,537 border encounters in the current fiscal year, which runs from October through September. If the current pace of illegal immigration does not slow down, fiscal year 2024 will break last year’s record of 2,475,669 southwest border encounters — a number that by itself exceeds the population of New Mexico, a border state. The total number of southwest land border encounters since Biden assumed office in 2021 is 7,298,486, CBP data shows. Eagle Pass has been the center of an ongoing conflict and court battle between Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the Biden administration. BORDER PATROL UNION RIPS BIDEN OVER BORDER CRISIS: ‘YOU OWN THIS CATASTROPHIC DISASTER’ The Justice Department last month asked the Supreme Court to order Texas to allow Border Patrol agents back into Shelby Park in Eagle Pass. Texas National Guard troops blocked federal agents from entering the park and have erected razor wire and shipping containers to discourage migrants from crossing the border there illegally. Amid the standoff, the Department of Homeland Security has written to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton demanding full access to the park, especially in emergency scenarios. U.S. Customs and Border Protection sources told Fox News this month the majority of illegal crossings are shifting away from Texas to Arizona and California, where there’s less deterrence. Fox News’ Kellianne Jones, Bill Melugin and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
Trump appeals ruling in $350 million NY civil fraud case
Former President Trump’s legal team has appealed a ruling from New York Judge Arthur Engoron’s finding him liable for more than $350 million in damages in the civil fraud case brought against him by New York Attorney General Letitia James. With interest, the total amount Trump is currently on the hook for is just over $454 million, with post-judgment interest accruing at nearly $112,000 per day. James’ case also targeted Trump’s family and the Trump Organization. Engoron ruled that Trump and defendants were liable for “persistent and repeated fraud,” “falsifying business records,” “issuing false financial statements,” “conspiracy to falsify false financial statements,” “insurance fraud,” and “conspiracy to commit insurance fraud.” This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates.