SEE IT: Top moments from the DA Fani Willis hearing over ‘improper’ affair with Nathan Wade
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is undergoing a an evidentiary hearing regarding allegations she engaged in an “improper” affair.
Kids Online Safety Act reintroduced in Senate expected to pass with major support
Sens. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., reintroduced the Kids Online Safety Act with more than half of the Senate’s backing, including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, suggesting that the bill will be filibuster-proof when it comes to the floor. On Thursday, Blackburn and Blumenthal announced that the revised bill had 62 senators on board, split evenly between both parties. If passed, it would be one of the largest Big Tech crackdowns in recent years, restricting content for minors that promotes substance abuse, the promotion of suicide, sexual exploitation and alcohol abuse. It would also mandate social media companies to implement certain controls to limit screen time, ban restrictive features and limit access to potentially harmful user profiles. “This overwhelming bipartisan support for the Kids Online Safety Act—62 total co-sponsors, Democrats and Republicans—reflects the powerful voices of young people and parents who want Congress to act,” lawmakers said in a joint statement. HUNDREDS OF PARENTS DEMAND SCHUMER TAKE ACTION ON CHILD SOCIAL MEDIA SAFETY BILL: ‘PAID THE ULTIMATE PRICE’ The fresh legislation comes just a few weeks after the CEOs of Discord, Snap, TikTok, X and Meta testified before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to discuss online child safety. It also addresses conerns raised by groups who opposed the legislation when it was first rolled out last year due to what they believed would be harmful to LGBTQ+ children. GLAAD, a nonprofit LGBTQ+ advocacy group, and the Human Rights Campaign both rescinded their previous opposition to the bill. “The recent watershed hearing with Big Tech CEOs showcased the urgent need for reform. With new changes to strengthen the bill and growing support, we should seize this moment to take action. We must listen to the kids, parents, experts, and advocates, and finally hold Big Tech accountable by passing the Kids Online Safety Act into law,” lawmakers said. President Joe Biden urged lawmakers last year, when it was first introduced, to pass the bill. GRAHAM TELLS ZUCKERBERG, ‘YOU HAVE BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS,’ AUDIENCE CHEERS Schumer, who also faced pressure this month from hundreds of family members who blamed social media for the death of their children, said in a statement that he looks “forward” to collaborate on a “bipartisan basis” to advance the bill. The Kids Online Safety Act will require social media companies to design their products with the safety of kids and teens in mind, provide parents tools to protect their kids and give families more options for managing and disconnecting from these platforms. I look forward to working on a bipartisan basis with Senators Blumenthal and Blackburn to advance this bill in the Senate,” BIG TECH FACES BRUTAL QUESTIONING ON CAPITOL HILL OVER CONTENT HARMING KIDS Earlier this month, the youngest victim whose relatives signed a letter to Schumer urging his support for the bill, was eight-year-old Lalani Erika Walton, of Texas. Her parents are suing TikTok and parent company, ByteDance, alleging the girl died of self-strangulation while participating in the viral “Blackout Challenge,” which encouraged users to choke themselves with belts, purse strings or other similar items until passing out. Fox News’ Daniel Wallace contributed to this report.
Farmers’ protest: ‘Hope to find solutions soon,’ says Union Minister Arjun Munda
The third round of talks with the central government ended on Thursday, amid the standoff between the protestors and security personnel on the Punjab-Haryana border.
Imtiaz Qureshi, legendary chef, Padma Shri awardee, dies at 93
In 2016, he received the Padma Shri award for his contributions to cooking, highlighting his lasting impact.
Washington Senate approves $8M to combat addiction among Native Americans, but some say it is not enough
Evelyn Jefferson walks deep into a forest dotted with the tents of unhoused Lummi Nation tribal members and calls out names. When someone appears, she and a nurse hand out the opioid overdose reversal medication Naloxone. Jefferson, a tribal member herself, knows how critical these kits are: Just five months ago, her own son died of an overdose from a synthetic opioid that’s about 100 times more potent than fentanyl. The 37-year-old’s death was the fourth related to opioids in four days on the reservation. “It took us eight days to bury him because we had to wait in line, because there were so many funerals in front of his,” said Jefferson, crisis outreach supervisor for Lummi Nation. “Fentanyl has really taken a generation from this tribe.” CRISIS IN THE NORTHWEST: POLICE STRUGGLE AS FENTANYL’S GRIP IN RURAL OREGON BECOMES ‘NEXUS’ OF DAILY RESPONSES A bill before the Washington Legislature would bring more state funding to tribes like Lummi that are trying to keep opioids from taking the next generation too. The state Senate unanimously approved a bill this week that is expected to provide nearly $8 million total each year for the 29 federally recognized tribes in Washington, funds drawn in part from a roughly half-billion-dollar settlement between the state and major opioid distributors. The approach comes as Native Americans and Alaska Natives in Washington die of opioid overdoses at five times the state average, according to 2021-2022 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data that includes provisional numbers. The rate in Washington is one of the highest in the U.S. and more than three times the rate nationwide — but many of the state’s Indigenous nations lack the funding or medical resources to fully address it. Lummi Nation, like many tribes, faces an additional challenge when it comes to keeping outside drug dealers off their land: A complicated jurisdictional maze means tribal police often can’t arrest non-tribal members on the reservation. “What do we do when we have a non-Lummi, predatory drug dealer on our reservation with fentanyl, driving around or on their property and are selling drugs?” said Anthony Hillaire, tribal chairman. Against the backdrop, tribes such as the Lummi Nation, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) north of Seattle, say the proposed funding — while appreciated — would barely scratch the surface. The tribe of about 5,300 people on the shores of the Salish Sea has already suffered nearly one overdose death a week this year. Lummi Nation needs $12 million to fully finance a 16-bed, secure medical detox facility that incorporates the tribe’s culture, Hillaire said, and money to construct a new counseling center after damage from flooding. Those costs alone far exceed the annual total that would be designated for tribes under the legislation. The Senate has proposed allotting $12 million in its capital budget to the facility. “We’re a sovereign nation. We’re a self-governed tribe. We want to take care of ourselves because we know how to take care of ourselves,” he said. “And so we usually just need funding and law changes — good policies.” The proposed measure would earmark funds deposited into an opioid settlement account, which includes money from the state’s $518 million settlement in 2022 with the nation’s three largest opioid distributors, for tribes battling addiction. Tribes are expected to receive $7.75 million or 20% of the funds deposited into the account the previous fiscal year — whichever is greater — annually. Republican state Sen. John Braun, one of the bill’s sponsors, has said he envisions the funds being distributed through a grant program. “If this ends up being the wrong amount of money or we’re distributing it inequitably, I’m happy to deal with this,” he said. “This is just going to get us started, and make sure we’re not sitting on our hands, waiting for the problem to solve itself.” Opioid overdose deaths for Native Americans and Alaska Natives have increased dramatically in the past few years in Washington, with at least 100 in 2022 — 75 more than in 2019, according to the most recent numbers available from the Washington State Department of Health. In September, Lummi Nation declared a state of emergency over fentanyl, adding drug-sniffing dogs and checkpoints, while revoking bail for drug-related charges. The tribe has also opened a seven-bed facility to help members with withdrawal and get them on medication for opioid use disorder, while providing access to a neighboring cultural room where they work with cedar and sage. In its first five months, the facility treated 63 people, the majority of whom are still on the medication regimen today, said Dr. Jesse Davis, medical director of the Lummi Healing Spirit Opioid Treatment program. But truly thwarting this crisis must go beyond just Lummi Nation working on its own, said Nickolaus Lewis, Lummi councilmember. “We can do everything in our power to protect our people. But if they go out into Bellingham, they go out anywhere off the reservation, what good is it going to do if they have different laws and different policies, different barriers?” he said. The tribe has urged Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and President Joe Biden to declare states of emergency in response to the opioid crisis to create a bigger safety net and drive additional vital resources to the problem. In the encampment in Bellingham, Jefferson estimates there are more than 60 tribal members, some she recognizes as her son’s friends, while others are Lummi elders. She suspects many of them left the reservation to avoid the tribe’s crackdown on opioids. When she visits them, her van filled with food, hand warmers and clothing to hand out, she wears the shirt her niece gave her the day after her son died. It reads, “fight fentanyl like a mother.” “It’s a losing battle but, you know, somebody’s got to be there to let them know — those addicts — that somebody cares,” Jefferson said. “Maybe that one person will come to treatment because you’re there to care.”
Dem-backed Chinese firm razing trees in Michigan to make way for EV plant
A Chinese green energy firm backed by Michigan’s state government is tearing down trees to make way for a proposed electric vehicle (EV) battery plant designed to help the state meet its climate goals. Gotion Inc. — whose parent company is Hefei, China-based Gotion High-Tech — said it has initiated its tree-cutting process this week to make way for its controversial EV project in Mecosta County, Michigan, which has received support from Democrats and climate activists, but opposition from Republicans and national security experts. The firm said the process is legal and pushed back against concerns raised by locals. “It’s unfortunate that some extremist groups have targeted Mecosta County area businesses that want to work with Gotion Inc. to grow and strengthen jobs in our region,” said Chuck Thelen, Gotion’s vice president of North American operations. “A small minority of people continue to spread misinformation and manufacture lies about Gotion Inc., which invariably leads some residents to act out and make threats,” he continued. “Despite these attempts at intimidation, the legal selective cutting of trees will start on Feb. 14.” FORD PLANS TO HIRE CHINESE MILITARY SOFTWARE SUPPLIER FOR EV FACTORY IN US: GOP INVESTIGATORS Gotion first unveiled its development plans for the project in October 2022 alongside Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, agreeing to invest $2.4 billion in two 550,000-square-foot production plants and other supporting facilities across a large plot of land in Green Charter Township. Then, in August, the firm purchased 270 acres of land for the project, including land zoned for industrial, agricultural and residential use. However, amid increasing opposition to the project over Gotion’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party, the project has faced delays even as the Whitmer administration has earmarked nearly $200 million in taxpayer funding for the development. While mass tree-cutting to make way for construction was originally slated to occur late last year, the process was delayed until this week. 120 REPUBLICANS JOIN EFFORT OPPOSING BIDEN’S ‘DE FACTO EV MANDATE’ Crain’s Detroit Business reported earlier this week that one local logging business had been awarded the contract but ultimately backed out over the sustained local opposition, saying they didn’t want to be “tied up in a bunch of gobbledygook.” The opposition appears to have been spearheaded, in part, by Marjorie Steele, the founder of the Economic Development Responsibility Alliance of Michigan. “To date, Gotion has applied for no environmental permits through EGLE, no soil erosion permits through the county, and has presented no site plan to local or state agencies. Yet Gotion is preparing to log the site before the end of the month,” Steele wrote to the local U.S. Environmental Protection Agency office last month. “This environmental situation is about to come to a head,” she continued. “We as representatives of the local community ask once more, urgently, that EPA Region 5’s offices take action on the federal oversight required of this development, before violations occur.” 17 RETIRED MILITARY OFFICIALS RAISE ALARM ON BIDEN’S ELECTRIC VEHICLE PUSH In a statement to Fox News Digital, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy spokesperson Jeff Johnston confirmed that Gotion has yet to file any permit applications with the agency regarding its project or tree-cutting plans. However, he said that permits are only required if the work is to be done on wetlands. “Cutting trees does not require a permit from EGLE if the cutting does not occur within a regulated wetland,” Johnston said. In addition to locals, the project has received pushback from state and federal lawmakers, in addition to national security experts. In a House hearing last month, former CIA Directors Leon Panetta and Mike Pompeo warned that Gotion’s project could be covertly used by Chinese assets for espionage. This week, Republican Michigan state Sens. Jonathan Lindsey and Lana Theis demanded the Whitmer administration to halt funding for the project in light of the concerns raised by Panetta and Pompeo. “National security experts from both sides of the aisle have sounded the alarm about China’s attempts to infiltrate and compromise our safety through industrial espionage,” Lindsey said in a statement on Wednesday. “Yet, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer continues to ignore their warnings and further place our state and nation at risk — while using taxpayer dollars to do so.” Whitmer’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Protection of contraception access advances in Virginia legislature
Virginia Democrats who control the state Legislature are advancing legislation that aims to protect access to a wide range of contraception, something they say should not be taken for granted after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Similar bills that would establish a right to obtain and use a detailed list of contraception approved by the federal government — including oral medications, intrauterine devices, condoms and the Plan-B morning-after pill — have cleared both the House of Delegates and the Senate. The legislation also creates a right to sue over violations of its provisions. “I think the overturning of Roe was a first step on the assault on reproductive health care,” said Sen. Ghazala Hashmi of Chesterfield, the sponsor of one of the measures. VIRGINIA DEMS ADVANCE BILL THROUGH SENATE TO PROVIDE TAXPAYER-BACKED HEALTH INSURANCE TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS The court’s June 2022 majority opinion overturning the 1973 Roe decision said it applied only to abortion. But Hashmi noted conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ separate concurring opinion that said the court “should reconsider” other precedents, including decisions legalizing same-sex marriage, striking down laws criminalizing gay sex and establishing the right of married couples to use contraception. “I didn’t hear any of his other conservative member justices challenge him on that. And so if he’s saying this, I think we ought to believe him,” Hashmi said. Hashmi and Democratic Del. Cia Price of Newport News, the sponsor of the House bill, emphasized the importance of access to contraception not only for family planning but to prevent sexually transmitted infections and to help manage other medical conditions, including endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome. Similar efforts have been made in other states around the country. Thirteen states had enacted some kind of legal protections for the right to contraception as of October and more were pending, according to research from KFF, a nonprofit that studies health care issues. In Congress, a measure to enshrine the right to use contraceptives passed the House of Representatives in July 2022 but failed to advance in the Senate. While Price’s version of the legislation picked up a handful of Republican votes on the House floor, the bills have been advancing largely along party lines. And they have drawn opposition from religious and socially conservative groups, who have raised a range of objections, particularly over the lack of an exemption for health care workers who may have a religious or moral objection to offering contraception. The bill is “designed to restrict the conscience rights of medical providers,” said Jeff Caruso, executive director of the Virginia Catholic Conference. Other opponents raised concerns that the bill was written broadly enough that it could protect access to abortifacient drugs. Price said that’s unfounded, noting that the bill defines contraception as “an action taken to prevent pregnancy.” The definition also covers sterilization procedures. “This is not a conversation about abortion,” she said in a committee hearing. During discussion on the Senate floor, Sen. David Suetterlein of Roanoke, a Republican with an independent voting streak, said that while he supports the “spirit” of the legislation, he had concerns about creating an “affirmative legal right.” “I think that we need to continue making sure that we expand contraceptive coverage and access. I think abortion is a tragedy, and I think one of the greatest things we can do to reduce the likelihood of those occurring is make sure that we have contraceptives available to people across this Commonwealth,” he said. The measures are supported by associations representing health care providers — the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American College of Nurse Midwives — along with the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia. The bills are almost certain to reach final passage in the coming weeks. But it’s not clear how Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin will act on them. Asked for comment, his press office said only that he will review all legislation that reaches his desk. If Youngkin does not sign the legislation, “he’ll need to explain to Virginians why he thinks contraception ought not to be protected,” Hashmi said.
Trump-endorsed Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno blasts Biden for ‘far overdue’ visit to East Palestine
FIRST ON FOX: Ohio U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno took aim at President Biden on Friday for his planned visit to East Palestine, Ohio, insisting his trip to the region is “far overdue” after a hazardous train derailment last year sent the community’s residents into peril. “Joe Biden’s visit to East Palestine is far overdue. While this administration and Democrats in the Senate have been focused on giving endless aid to Ukraine while neglecting our own nation, citizens of East Palestine have paid the price,” Moreno told Fox News Digital. “I hope that Biden’s visit will inspire him to confront challenges that Americans are dealing with every day rather than continuing to fund endless wars abroad,” he added. Biden’s visit, which was announced last month by the White House, comes more than a year after the train derailment shook the rural Ohio village, which is located in Columbiana County on the state’s border with Pennsylvania. TRUMP ALLY MORENO PICKS UP NOEM ENDORSEMENT, RISES TO TOP OHIO REPUBLICAN VYING TO BOOT DEMOCRAT SHERROD BROWN Last month, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was asked whether Biden still had plans to visit East Palestine. She told reporters, “The president will visit when it’s most helpful to the community.” East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway told Fox last month that he believed the “best time” for Biden to travel to the village “would be February of 2025, when he is on his book tour.” Conaway additionally told Fox, “The president is always welcome to our town,” adding, “that being said, I don’t know what he would do here now.” Biden had claimed in September that he simply had not had time with his busy schedule to visit the Ohio town. Biden’s lack of a visit came in contrast to former President Trump, who met with residents of East Palestine on Feb. 22, 2023, just weeks after the incident. Joining him was Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio. “You are not forgotten. We stand with you. We pray for you. And we will stand with you and your fight to help ensure the accountability that you deserve,” Trump told the crowd at the time. “The community has shown the tough and resilient heart of America. And that’s what it is. This is really America right here. We’re standing in America.” A successful Cleveland-based businessman and luxury auto dealership giant, Moreno launched his second straight bid for U.S. Senate in Ohio last April, touting himself as an outsider and a conservative. TED CRUZ MAKES ENDORSEMENT IN KEY BATTLEGROUND SENATE RACE: ‘BERNIE MORENO HAS WHAT IT TAKES’ In December, Moreno’s candidacy in the race was endorsed by Trump. “It’s time for the entire Republican Party to UNITE around Bernie’s campaign for Senate, so that we can have a BIG victory in what will be the most important Election in American History,” Trump wrote on TRUTH Social at the time. “Bernie is the Father of wonderful Emily, the wife of outstanding young Ohio Congressman, Max Miller. Bernie is Strong on the Border, Crime, Cutting Taxes, Election Integrity, the Military / Vets, and will always protect our under siege 2nd Amendment.” Furthering his remarks, Trump insisted that Moreno “will be an outstanding United States Senator, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement—He will never let you down.” In a second post, Trump went on to say, “Bernie Moreno, a highly respected businessman from the GREAT State of Ohio, is exactly the type of MAGA fighter that we need in the United States Senate. Bernie will always stand up to the Fascist ‘nut jobs’ and the spineless RINOS in order to fight the corrupt Deep State that is destroying our Country.” “Remember, we need a successful political outsider like Bernie to defeat Liberal career politician, Sherrod Brown, who has so poorly represented Ohio, and pretends that he’s all for the Policies of your Favorite President, Donald J. Trump, but then gets to the Senate and votes 100% for the horrendous Policies of Crooked Joe Biden, the worst President in the History of our Country,” Trump added. Trump’s endorsement will likely give Moreno an advantage over other Republican primary candidates, including Frank LaRose, who serves as Ohio’s secretary of state, and state Sen. Matt Dolan. The winner of the March 19 GOP primary election will challenge Brown, who’s the only Democrat to win statewide in Ohio in the past decade. Brown will be heavily targeted by Republicans in a state that was once a premiere general election battleground but has shifted red over the past six years. Moreno, an immigrant who arrived in the U.S. legally from Colombia with his family as a 5-year-old boy, made border security a top issue during his 2022 Senate campaign and visited the U.S.-Mexico border. He suspended his campaign in February last year. Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom, Danielle Wallace and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Joe Manchin will not launch third-party presidential run
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced Friday that he will not be running for president, shooting down months of speculation that he would join the race on a third party ticket. “I will not be seeking a third party run, I will not be involved in a presidential run,” Manchin said. Manchin made the announcement during a speech at West Virginia University as part of his “listening tour” that kicked off last month with his daughter’s campaign group “Americans Together” — a movement that touts itself as the “moderate majority” that rejects the “extremism in politics.” “I’m working with my daughter, working with people that we have around Americans Together and putting all my efforts toward that,” Manchin said Friday. Manchin previously said he would not make a decision on whether he would run until after Super Tuesday on March 5. “People are looking for options,” Manchin said at the time. “And we’re going to be looking at that, too.” JOE MANCHIN SUGGESTS IT ROMNEY, ROB PORTMAN AS POTENTIAL RUNNING MATES AS HE FLIRTS WITH THIRD-PARTY TICKET On Thursday at the Cleveland City Club breakfast forum, Manchin said in a hypothetical run, he would tap Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, or former Ohio senator Rob Portman to be his vice presidential running mate, but later added he’s not “running for anything.” “Hypothetically, if I was picking my running mate, really who I would ask right now is Mitt Romney,” Manchin, who has left the door open to a 3rd party presidential run, told voters at the City Club of Cleveland breakfast forum Thursday. Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who ran for the White House in 2008 and 2012, jokingly called Manchin’s remarks “presumptuous.” MANCHIN ‘ABSOLUTELY’ CAN SEE HIMSELF AS PRESIDENT, THINKS BIDEN HEALTH OR TRUMP CONVICTION COULD GIVE OPENING “I would be the president. He would be my running mate,” Romney said in a statement to Deseret News when asked about Manchin’s comment. Romney also announced last year that he would not seek re-election to the Senate when his term expires in 2025. “No, I’m not going to run for president,” he added. “Certainly I’m not running for vice president. But (Manchin is) kind to say that. We’re good friends.” No Labels, the third party effort that is on the ballot in several states and was rumored to be considering placing Manchin on a presidential ticket, said it is considering other potential candidates for a “unity ticket.” “No Labels has spent 14 years working to create a movement for America’s commonsense majority and we welcome Senator Manchin’s efforts to strengthen it,” No Labels co-chairs Sen. Joe Lieberman, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., and Gov. Pat McCrory said in a joint statement. “No Labels is currently speaking with several exceptional leaders about serving on the presidential Unity ticket. We are continuing to make great progress on our ballot access efforts and will announce in the coming weeks whether we will offer our line to a Unity ticket.” Fox News’ Aubrie Spady and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Mitt Romney says he is ‘not going to run for president’ in 2024 after being floated as Manchin VP pick
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said that he does not have any plans to run for president or vice president in 2024. Romney’s comment came after Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said he would pick either Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, or former Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman as a running mate if he jumped into the 2024 presidential race. “Hypothetically, if I was picking my running mate, really who I would ask right now is Mitt Romney,” Manchin, who has left the door open to a 3rd party presidential run, told voters at the City Club of Cleveland breakfast forum Thursday. Manchin, however, added that he was not “not running for anything.” Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who ran for the White House in 2008 and 2012, squashed the rumors and noted he would “certainly” not be a vice president. JOE MANCHIN SUGGESTS IT ROMNEY, ROB PORTMAN AS POTENTIAL RUNNING MATES AS HE FLIRTS WITH THIRD-PARTY TICKET “Well, that’s really presumptuous. I would be the president. He would be my running mate,” Romney joked in a statement to Deseret News when asked about Manchin’s comment. MANCHIN ‘ABSOLUTELY’ CAN SEE HIMSELF AS PRESIDENT, THINKS BIDEN HEALTH OR TRUMP CONVICTION COULD GIVE OPENING “No, I’m not going to run for president,” he added. “Certainly I’m not running for vice president. But (Manchin is) kind to say that. We’re good friends.” After flirting with a third-party White House run for months, Manchin on Friday said he wouldn’t bid for the presidency. “I will not be seeking a third party run, i will not be involved in a presidential run,” Manchin announced during a speech in West Virginia. Romney was the Republican presidential nominee in 2012, sparking rumors he might be considering a third run at the White House after deciding not to seek re-election in the Senate in 2024. Romney also added that he will “not” be voting for former President Trump if he is the 2024 GOP nominee. Fox News’ Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.