Kentucky House unanimously passes bill requiring disclosure of teacher sexual misconduct allegations
The Kentucky House overwhelmingly passed legislation Thursday to bolster disclosure requirements meant to reveal allegations of past misconduct when teachers seek jobs in other school districts. The measure won 95-0 House passage to advance to the Senate. The bill’s lead sponsor is Republican Rep. James Tipton, who chairs the House Education Committee. The goal is to make it more difficult for teachers with allegations of sexual misconduct to move from one district to another. The bill strives to do that by making sure Kentucky school administrators are aware when a teacher applying for a job in their district has been accused of such misconduct elsewhere. KENTUCKY MOMS SURVIVE BAHAMAS DRUGGING, SEXUAL ASSAULTS AFTER CRUISE STOPS AT RESORT: REPORT “This is a piece of legislation that I honestly wish we didn’t have to deal with,” Tipton said. “And I’m going to say that 99.9%-plus of our dedicated teachers and those individuals who work in our school systems are there to support our children, to help them in their education.” The legislation would apply those “small number of individuals” who face allegations of misconduct against students, he said. Between 2016 and 2021, 118 teachers in Kentucky lost their license due to sexual misconduct. The bill would prevent school districts from entering into nondisclosure agreements related to teacher misconduct involving a student. Applicants for jobs would have to disclose whether they were the subject of any allegation or investigation within the past 12 months, When considering a job applicant, districts would have to contact each district that previously employed the person for a reference check. Previous employers would have to disclose any allegation, investigation or disciplinary action related to abusive conduct while the applicant worked for that district. If an investigation concluded that a misconduct allegation was false, all related records would be removed from the teacher’s personnel file. The legislation is a response to a series of stories by the Lexington Herald-Leader that focused on teacher sexual misconduct. The newspaper uncovered instances where teachers who had previously been accused of sexual misconduct moved to other school districts and were accused again of misconduct.
‘Squad’s’ Jamaal Bowman honored radical Black activist, convicted murderer on middle school’s ‘Wall of Honor’
Far-left “Squad” member Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., honored a radical Black activist and convicted murderer during a special project at a New York City middle school while serving as its principal before being elected to Congress, according to a YouTube video reviewed by Fox News Digital. A 2014 video centered on Cornerstone Academy for Social Action Middle School’s (CASA) then-“Wall of Action” project shows Bowman praising various historical Black and Latino figures being honored on the wall, including Assata Shakur, who was convicted in the 1973 killing of a New Jersey state trooper. Bowman referred to the people on the wall as “tremendous, tremendous figures.” Shakur, whose real name is JoAnne Chesimard, was a member of the Black nationalist group Black Liberation Army and was serving a life sentence for the fatal shooting of the officer before escaping from prison in 1979 with the help of Mutulu Shakur, another radical Black activist praised by Bowman in the video. She fled to Cuba, where she remains a wanted domestic terrorist today. HISPANIC BUSINESS OWNER, GOP CANDIDATE RIPS DEM CRIME POLICIES AFTER DRUG ADDICTS TORCH HIS LAS VEGAS PROPERTY “Each and every member of the Wall of Honor has played a major role in moving our society from a bigoted, oppressive existence toward a world of freedom, justice and equality,” Bowman, who was the founder of the school and served as its principal until 2019, said in the video, which was first reported on by the Huffington Post, before naming various other less-controversial figures alongside both Shakurs, like former President Barack Obama and Booker T. Washington. Mutulu Shakur was later convicted of armed robbery and of aiding Assata Shakur in her escape from prison. He died last year after being released from prison around eight months earlier due to his worsening health. In addition to the Shakurs, who are not related, the wall included former Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., a known antisemite and promoter of conspiracy theories, such as that Jews were responsible for the September 11 terrorist attacks. OBAMA VETERAN WHO BOASTED ABOUT USING ‘KNOW NOTHING’ REPORTERS TO PUSH IRAN DEAL RE-LAUNCHES ANTI-TRUMP GROUP The video also included footage of hip hop artist Chuck D of Public Enemy, whom Bowman referred to as a “legendary hip hop artist and one of the pillars of the hip hop movement and hip hop culture,” visiting CASA. Chuck D has a long history of praising notorious antisemite Louis Farrakhan on his X (formerly known as Twitter) account. In 2020, he referred to a conservative pointing out his Farrakhan ties as “roaches.” In another video from 2013 also mentioned in HuffPost’s report, Bowman is seen discussing a career-development event being held at the school, but he has Assata’s 1988 book, “Assata: An Autobiography,” visibly placed on the table in front of him. Fox News Digital has reached out to Bowman’s office for comment. According to HuffPost, a spokesperson for Bowman told the outlet, “It is correct that many leaders in the Black liberation movement, from Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X to the names listed in this story, have complicated biographies.” “It is completely baseless, and a rhetorical tool of the far-right, to insinuate educating students on major figures of Black American history is serving to promote hateful or divisive rhetoric or actions,” they added. Fox News’ Stephen Sorace and Andrew Murray contributed to this report.
Biden ghostwriter escapes special counsel charges despite deleting evidence
President Biden’s ghostwriter will not face charges despite deleting evidence of the sharing of classified material during the investigation. Mark Zwonitzer — who collaborated with Biden on his memoir “Promise Me, Dad” — erased audio files in his possession that contained “significant evidentiary value,” according to a report published by Special Counsel Robert Hur. Zwonitzer admitted to the FBI that he “was aware that there was an investigation” when he deleted the evidence. NO CHARGES FOR BIDEN AFTER SPECIAL COUNSEL PROBE INTO IMPROPER HANDLING OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS Hur began investigating Biden’s improper retention of classified records last year. Those records included classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan, among other records related to national security and foreign policy, which Hur said implicated “sensitive intelligence sources and methods.” “When asked whether he deleted the recordings to try and prevent investigators from obtaining them, Zwonitzer said that he did not,” the report states. BIDEN ‘DID NOT REMEMBER WHEN HE WAS VICE PRESIDENT,’ WHEN HIS SON BEAU DIED, DURING SPECIAL COUNSEL INTERVIEWS It added, “Our investigation […] did not uncover any evidence that Zwonitzer had been in contact with anyone about his decision to delete the recordings.” Hur will not recommend criminal charges against Biden for mishandling classified documents, despite finding “evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen.” The materials included “marked classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan, and notebooks containing Mr. Biden’s handwritten entries about issues of national security and foreign policy implicating sensitive intelligence sources and methods.” Hur said FBI agents recovered the materials from “the garages, offices, and basement den in Mr. Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware home.” The special counsel described Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” Fox News Digital’s Joe Schoffstall, Brooke Singman, David Spunt, and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.
House Republicans in Iowa kick majority leader over budget issues
Republican state lawmakers in Idaho ousted a senior member of the Republican leadership Thursday in an escalation of a dispute over the way budgets for state agencies are passed. Rep. Megan Blanksma of Hammett was removed from her position as House majority leader in a vote by colleagues, the Idaho Statesman reported. The vote came a day after Blanksma was the lone House leader to oppose budgets passed by a panel of lawmakers, a controversial new process. Factions within Idaho’s GOP have been at odds since the co-chairs of the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee this year introduced rules that nix the process of passing individual agency budgets. Instead certain agencies are grouped together for the purpose of passing “maintenance” budgets, which provide only the minimal funds needed to keep the agencies operating. THOUSANDS OF BLUE STATE RESIDENTS FLOCK TO IDAHO, BRINGING CONSERVATIVE POLITICS WITH THEM: DATA Only after those budgets are approved can lawmakers consider agency requests for new spending. The committee leaders have said that process allows for more scrutiny. Blanksma in a statement said she was disappointed by the ouster decision but stands by her “concerns over the new budgeting process.” “It is our responsibility as elected officials to be vocal and express apprehensions over critical policy that will have major impacts on our state,” her statement said. “While I am no longer majority leader, tomorrow is a new day and I look forward to continuing to diligently work for District 8 and the people of Idaho.” While the Legislature’s hard-right members and some others have come out in favor of the new budget approach, a group of more centrist Republicans rebelled, sending alternative budget bills — more similar to those of years past — to the House floor. House lawmakers voted to pass the first “maintenance” budget bill Wednesday, after which House Republicans met privately and then announced Blanksma’s ouster Thursday in a news release. “On behalf of my fellow legislators, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude for Rep. Blanksma’s time as our majority leader,” Republican Rep. Dustin Manwaring of Pocatello, who is also majority caucus chair, said in the news release. “Please be assured that the House Republican Caucus is still focused on the needs and concerns of the people of Idaho. We will continue to work collectively to ensure our communities’ best interests are our number one priority.” Republicans plan to pick a new majority leader on Monday. “The caucus has had some contentious issues amongst itself the last little bit, especially what’s going on in our appropriations committee with the budgets,” House Speaker Mike Moyle told reporters Thursday. “We’re like a dysfunctional family right now; we’ve got a little bit of tension. We’ll get through it.”
Abhishek Ghosalkar murder: Police arrest man whose pistol was used to kill Uddhav Sena leader
Mauris Noronha shot Abhishek Ghosalkar during Facebook Live in suburban Borivali (West) on Thursday evening and then killed himself.
Nebraska lawmaker proposes ‘stand your ground’ gun law
Nebraska would become one of the last Republican-led states to enact a so-called “stand your ground” law under a bill presented to a legislative committee on Thursday. State Sen. Brian Hardin, of Scottsbluff, said he brought the bill at the urging of his constituents and to keep residents who use deadly force while defending themselves from facing prosecution. “This bill would ensure that we’re not revictimizing a person who’s already been a victim of a crime,” Hardin said. “It should be difficult to put someone in jail who was protecting himself.” 12-WEEK ABORTION LAW TAKES EFFECT IN NEBRASKA AS STATE PREPARES CRACKDOWN ON TRANSGENDER SURGERIES FOR MINORS Nebraska is among a handful of states where the law says a person has a duty to retreat from threat if they can do so safely before using deadly force, with the exception of a person’s home or workplace. Thirty-eight states — including all six of Nebraska’s neighboring states — have stand your ground laws. The concept came under national scrutiny in the 2012 fatal shooting of a Black teenager from Florida, Trayvon Martin, by a neighborhood watch volunteer who was following him. The volunteer, George Zimmerman, was later acquitted after a trial in which his attorneys essentially used the law as a defense. Critics have labeled the measure as a “shoot first” law and argue it makes it easier for a person to shoot someone and avoid prosecution by saying they felt threatened. Some prosecutors have complained that the laws have increasingly placed the burden on them to prove self-defense did not occur by defendants making a stand your ground defense. The top prosecutor for Nebraska’s most populous county, Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine, was the first of several people who testified against Hardin’s bill Thursday, saying that the state’s current law already allows latitude for those who are threatened with imminent harm. “Obviously, if someone points a gun at you, you don’t even have to think about that,” he said. “Of course you can defend yourself. I think this law change is unnecessary.” NEBRASKA GOP LAWMAKERS PROPOSE BILLS INTERTWINING RELIGION WITH PUBLIC EDUCATION While several people and groups, including the Nebraska Firearms Owners Association and Women for Gun Rights, testified in favor of the bill, others opposed it, citing several high-profile cases across the nation in the last decade that have called stand your ground laws into question. They included the 2020 fatal shooting of 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia and the shooting last year in Kansas City, Missouri, that injured 17-year-old Ralph Yarl. The two Black males were doing everyday tasks — Arbery was jogging and Yarl was knocking on the door of a home where he thought his brother was visiting — when they were shot by white men who later claimed they did so because they felt threatened. The Nebraska bill comes at a time when GOP-led state legislatures across the country are embracing bills expanding gun rights. Last year, Nebraska lawmakers passed a bill allowing residents to carry concealed guns without a permit. Under the so-called “constitutional carry” law, people can carry guns hidden in their clothing or vehicle without having to pay for a government permit or take a gun safety course.
Biden official claims special counsel report was ‘Comey moment’
An unidentified Biden official compared Special Counsel Robert Hur’s decision not to recommend criminal charges against the president to a similar decision made during investigations into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Hur did not recommend charges against President Biden after a monthslong investigation into the president’s alleged improper retention of classified records — despite finding “evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen.” “It felt like a Comey moment for me,” the Biden official reportedly told Politico. BIDEN ‘DID NOT REMEMBER WHEN HE WAS VICE PRESIDENT,’ WHEN HIS SON BEAU DIED, DURING SPECIAL COUNSEL INTERVIEWS The official was comparing the Biden report to a similar document filed in 2016 by then-FBI Director James Comey. Comey, investigating whether then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton improperly handled classified document, did not recommend charges despite “evidence of potential violations.” Both investigators cited the unlikelihood of successfully bringing charges against the individuals and the logistical nightmare of making the charges as reason not to act. NO CHARGES FOR BIDEN AFTER SPECIAL COUNSEL PROBE INTO IMPROPER HANDLING OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS The Biden official speculated to Politico that Hur pushed his “thumb on the scale during an election season” with his decision. Biden lashed out Thursday night at reporters following an address where he remained defiant following the release of Hur’s damning report, which fueled more questions about his mental acuity. Biden got into a combative exchange with CNN correspondent MJ Lee, who pressed him on his previous comments urging Americans to “watch me” when he was asked about his age. “Many [of the] American people have been watching, and they have expressed concerns about your age,” Lee said. “That is your judgment!” Biden shouted at her. “That is your judgment! That is not the judgment of the press.”
Weather Update: IMD issues rainfall, cold wave warning in these states; check forecast here
The Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 161, based on data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
UP: Tension prevails in Bareilly after cleric’s call for protest on Gyanvapi issue
The Islamic cleric was detained by the police for giving a ‘jail bharo’ call over Gyanvapi case.
Biden refers to Egypt’s Sisi as ‘president of Mexico’
NewsFeed US President Joe Biden accidentally referred to Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as the “president of Mexico”. Biden was speaking to journalists after a report into his handling of classified documents found the president’s memory was ‘severely limited’. Published On 9 Feb 20249 Feb 2024 Adblock test (Why?)