Legendary 9/11 firefighter Bob Beckwith who stood with President George W Bush at Ground Zero dies at 91
Bob Beckwith, the New York City firefighter who stood at President George W. Bush’s side at Ground Zero in the immediate aftermath of the 2001 terror attacks, has died at age 91. Former President Bush addressed Beckwith’s passing in a statement Monday. “Laura and I are saddened by the passing of Bob Beckwith. On September 11, 2001, Bob was happily retired after more than 30 years of service with the New York City Fire Department. When the terrorists attacked, Bob suited back up and, like so many brave first responders, raced toward the danger to save and search for others,” the former president said. “His courage represented the defiant, resilient spirit of New Yorkers and Americans after 9/11. I was proud to have Bob by my side at Ground Zero days later and privileged to stay in touch with this patriot over the years. Laura and I send our condolences to Barbara and the Beckwith family as they remember this decent, humble man.” Former U.S. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., first announced Beckwith’s death in a post on Sunday. “Bob Beckwith has passed away. A man of class and dignity. An American icon who personified the best of the FDNY, New York and America at our most perilous moment. Bob Beckwith R.I.P.,” King wrote. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, whose nephew, New York State Court Officer Tommy Jurgens, died in the Sept. 11, 2001 attack while rendering aid at the World Trade Center, told Fox News Digital that he had grown close with Beckwith over the years. Both are native Long Islanders, and Beckwith’s grandson, Matt Beckwith, also works for Blakeman’s office. 9/11 VICTIMS’ RELATIVES BLAME ‘SPINELESS’ POLITICAL LEADERS, SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BIN LADEN LETTER GOING VIRAL “I’m very sad to hear that Bob Beckwith has passed. We became good friends, and we all remember that historic day when he stood next to President Bush on the pile of rubble at the World Trade Center. And it has special meaning to me because I lost my nephew, who was a court officer administering first aid when the building collapsed on him,” Blakeman said. “It’s a very emotional thing. And with Bob’s passing it, it brings up good memories of him. And it also brings up bad memories of 9/11. But, we’re going to miss him very much. He was a stalwart member of our community here in Nassau County. And, again, you know, it’s a big loss.” “It’s a reminder that on that occasion, which was so tragic for so many people, hearing the president on that pile of rubble with Bob standing next to him as a retired firefighter,” he said. “The symbolism was very powerful, and it gave comfort to those families that lost loved ones as well, as it gave us hope that we could overcome these murderous terrorists.” “I’m very proud that Bob’s grandson, Matt, works for us. He does a great job. And he’s the spitting image of Bob, which is something that every day I think about. Because, Matt, you can tell, they’re definitely related,” Blakeman added. Relatives tell Fox News Digital that 9/11-related illnesses contributed to Beckwith’s death. Wrapping his arm around Beckwith at Ground Zero on Sept. 14, 2001, President Bush addressed first responders while standing on a pile of rubble and speaking through a bullhorn. “I want you all to know that America today – America today is on bended knee in prayer for the people whose lives were lost here, for the workers who work here, for the families and more. This nation stands with the good people of New York City, and New Jersey and Connecticut, as we mourn the loss of thousands of our citizens,” Bush said. “I can hear you, the rest of the world hears you, and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon,” the president added, garnering applause and chants of USA. “The nation sends its love and compassion to everybody who is here. Thank you for your hard work. Thank you for making the nation proud. And may God bless America.” REMAINS OF 1,650TH 9/11 VICTIM HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED Beckwith, who served 30 years with the FDNY, was 69 years old and had retired six years prior at the time he watched the Twin Towers collapse on television from his home on Long Island. Three days later, he decided to drive to Lower Manhattan to help search for survivors, following police cars across the Williamsburg Bridge. Dressed in his old gear, including his leather fire helmet from Ladder Company 164, Beckwith managed to convince both members of the NYPD and National Guard that he was late for duty and was granted access to Ground Zero, according to the 9/11 Memorial Museum. Once on site, he went to work on the bucket brigade, as the lines of first responders who stood shoulder to shoulder, manually handed off buckets of debris in the search for survivors. The crew he joined managed to unearth FDNY Engine 76. As they searched for the truck’s driver, Beckwith overheard that Bush would be visiting the site shortly and jumped onto the fire truck to get a good view of the command post where the president was expected to speak. A person Beckwith believed to be a Secret Service agent – later identified as White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove – approached the truck and asked Beckwith to jump up and down to prove that the wreckage was safe to climb. He complied but was soon surprised to see the president walking toward him. “I see the president on the corner, and he’s headed for the microphones across the street, but he did a hard right, and he comes right in front of me, and he puts his arm up,” Beckwith recalled in a 2021 interview with NBC. “I said, ‘Oh my God.’ I pulled him up on the rig, I turned him around. I said, ‘Are you OK, Mr. President?’ He
PM Modi’s 2024 Lok Sabha polls prediction: ‘Our third term not far away; BJP will win…’
Prime Minister emphasized that the third term of his government would be full of big decisions.
New California Senate leader will target opioid addiction, childhood poverty, housing shortage
When California Sen. Mike McGuire takes over as leader of the state Senate on Monday, it will be the first time in decades that the state’s top two legislative leaders aren’t from a major urban center. But McGuire says the issues that most afflict rural districts like his — including childhood poverty, opioid addiction and housing shortages — resonate with the 39 million people living across the state. “Everything that I just mentioned are concerns of Californians in Eureka and concerns of Californians in Los Angeles,” McGuire said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR PUSHES ADDICTION SCREENING FOR WELFARE RECIPIENTS, NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR POLICE McGuire, 44, comes from a family of prune farmers and was first elected to public office in 1998, when he won a school board seat in the small city of Healdsburg. He was elected to the state Senate in 2014 and has since authored legislation to protect marine life, support cannabis farmers, make cellphone service more reliable during power outages and fight the impacts of wildfires, an issue that hits close to home. The Democrat’s district spans from just north of the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border. McGuire will succeed state Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins, a San Diego Democrat who recently announced her bid for governor in 2026. As Senate pro tem, McGuire will be one of the most powerful politicians in California as he helps drive decisions about which policies make their way through the Legislature and appoints lawmakers to key committees. He will lead the Senate for two years before terming out of the Legislature in 2026. All the while, McGuire will work with Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Assembly on the state budget. He will have to balance the reality of the state’s projected budget deficit of nearly $38 billion with ambitious proposals from his caucus, including a bill by state Sen. Steven Bradford of Los Angeles to create an agency that would help Black families research their family lineage. He will lead alongside Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, a Democrat from a rural part of California’s central coast. While McGuire grew up in a farming family, Rivas was the grandson of farmworkers. Rivas, who was sworn into his leadership post in June, said recently that he first met McGuire at a 2010 California State Association of Counties training for new supervisors while McGuire was representing Sonoma County and Rivas was representing San Benito County. “We share a lot of the same priorities and experiences,” Rivas said. While they hail from rural areas, the two lawmakers continue to market themselves as leaders who will champion issues, from housing to education and climate, that are seen as priorities up and down the state. Chris Lopez, who chairs the policy group Rural County Representatives of California, is proud to see lawmakers from rural areas lead both chambers of the Legislature. He hopes they pass legislation to expand broadband access. “We know that while the policy may not always go our way, that in the back of their minds, they have considered us, because they have walked in our shoes,” Lopez said. The last time a lawmaker representing McGuire’s region led the Senate was in 1866, while the last Senate leader from a plant farming background was from 1894 to 1903, said Alex Vassar, a legislative historian at the California State Library. McGuire was raised primarily by his mother and grandmother in Sonoma County, a popular wine region. McGuire’s grandmother, who ran his family’s prune-turned-grape ranch, taught him to “work hard, work together” and to “never take no for an answer for the issues that you believe in,” he said. “At my core, I believe that we have to focus on policies that affect people’s everyday lives,” McGuire said. McGuire has spoken in broad strokes about wanting to address California’s persistent homelessness crisis and continue the state’s ambitious climate goals, but he and his team have been light on policy specifics as he prepares for the new job. Policy advocates and fellow lawmakers described McGuire as an honest, hard-working leader who is willing to listen to a variety of opinions. Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, a Republican representing part of San Diego County, said he has a good working relationship with McGuire. “I’m making sure that millions of California voices are being heard, and Mike McGuire is very respectful of that,” Jones said. “He’s respectful of our opinions even when he disagrees with them.” Kristina Bas Hamilton, a longtime labor lobbyist in Sacramento, doesn’t think McGuire’s leadership style and politics will differ greatly from his predecessor. She said they are both “down-to-earth lawmakers that have always been accessible and open doors to conversations.” McGuire’s smooth transition into Senate power stands in contrast to a chaotic handoff to Rivas from former Speaker Anthony Rendon. McGuire will step into the role with no prior experience in the Assembly, a departure from many of his predecessors, including Atkins, who was previously the Assembly Speaker. McGuire said he was dismissed due to his age when he was first elected to the Healdsburg school board at age 19. At one meeting, a fellow board member patted him on the head and said, “Isn’t he cute?” he recalled. “Obviously, that was quite upsetting,” McGuire said. “But I always accept a challenge.” McGuire later served on the Healdsburg City Council before election to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors in 2010. Supervisor David Rabbitt, who served alongside McGuire, said he can call McGuire up, ask him whether a policy will get passed and McGuire will set realistic expectations. “For me, that’s kind of a golden type of relationship to have, where we don’t have to kind of play the political games with one another,” Rabbitt said. “I think that actually has been the secret to his success.”
Biden support from Black voters plummeting as Democrats blame ‘disinformation’
President Biden’s support among Black voters has dropped significantly since 2020, and his supporters are beginning to blame the change on “disinformation.” The Democratic Party in South Carolina, where the Black vote essentially saved Biden’s candidacy in the 2020 primary, launched a program seeking to “educate” the state’s Black voters this month. Party officials went on a 30-stop bus tour of the state in an effort to close “the information gap” among Black voters. “I think there’s a lot of disinformation out there,” Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison told NOTUS. “There are a lot of folks who don’t want this president for whatever reason, and I think some foreign and some domestic. They don’t want the record to be straight in terms of what this president has done and accomplished.” “We needed to educate our voters and create a space for our candidates to come talk about their record,” Christale Spain, the Democratic Party chair in South Carolina, told the outlet. “That’s really why we launched this historic effort, to fill what I feel is an information gap and not an enthusiasm gap.” BLACK VOTERS IN GEORGIA ‘DISAPPOINTED’ BY BIDEN: ‘IT MAKES ME WONDER WHY I VOTE’ Democrats argue Black voters need to be taught about what they say are Biden’s major successes, pointing to the Inflation Reduction Act, student loan forgiveness and other issues. BIDEN’S POLLING PROBLEM: RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION IN 2024, THE PRESIDENT ENDS 2023 UNDERWATER According to a USA Today/Suffolk University poll released in January, Biden’s support among Black voters has fallen to just 63%, down from the 92% that Pew Research Center data shows he won in the 2020 presidential election. His support among Hispanic voters is down to 34% from 59%. One student at South Carolina State University told NOTUS that she only began supporting Biden after finding out his record on appointing Black judges to the bench. “I really didn’t know the information,” the student, Zyah Cephus, told the outlet. “I think those are things that the youth need to hear. I think, oftentimes, we’re kind of connected with the wrong things and disconnected with the right things. We know about Nicki Minaj and Megan Thee Stallion, but we don’t know about what’s going on in politics.” Biden’s poll numbers more generally have remained historically low, with some Democratic commentators saying it is time to “panic.” “Precisely how scared Democrats should be about Biden’s standing depends on how his plight compares with those of presidents past. And there’s no sugarcoating it: This might be the worst polling environment for an incumbent president one year out from an election since the advent of the polling era in the 1930s and also the most dire situation facing any Democratic presidential candidate in decades,” David Faris, a writer and political science professor at Roosevelt University, said last month. “Panic is entirely warranted,” he added. Fox News’ Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report
Haley touts January fundraising haul ahead of first rally in Super Tuesday state
Nikki Haley heads to California on Wednesday, where the Republican presidential candidate is scheduled to headline her first rally in any of the 15 states that hold nominating contests on Super Tuesday in early March. Ahead of her western campaign and fundraising swing, the former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as U.N. ambassador in former President Donald Trump’s administration is aiming to spotlight her momentum as she faces a steep uphill climb for the 2024 GOP nomination against her former boss. Haley’s team says they hauled in $16.5 million in fundraising last month across all of their campaign committees, including $11.7 million from small-dollar grassroots supporters. The January haul – Haley’s best fundraising month to date – was first reported Sunday by Axios and confirmed by Fox News. Haley’s campaign also said they added nearly 70,000 donors last month. HALEY, TRUMP, TRADE SHOTS OVER WHO’S STRONGER AGAINST BIDEN Haley has seen her fundraising continue to increase since launching her presidential campaign a year ago. She raised $7.3 million during the April-June second quarter of 2023 fundraising, $11 million during the July-September third quarter, and over $24 million during the final three months of last year, as first reported by Fox News. WHAT NIKKI HALEY TOLD FOX DIGITAL ABOUT WHAT SHE NEEDS TO DO TO KEEP RUNNING “Hundreds of thousands of Americans are supporting Nikki’s campaign because they don’t want two grumpy old men and all their chaos, confusion and grievances. They want a strong, conservative leader who will save this country,” Haley campaign spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas argued, as she took aim at the 77-year-old Trump and 81-year-old President Biden. Once a very long shot for the nomination, Haley enjoyed momentum in the polls in the late summer and autumn, thanks in part to well-received performances in the first three GOP presidential primary debates. She’s the final major rival to Trump in a GOP presidential field that expanded to nearly 15 candidates last summer before shrinking. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race last month, two days ahead of the Jan. 23 New Hampshire primary, making the nomination race a two-candidate showdown between Haley and Trump, who’s the commanding frontrunner as he runs a third straight time for the White House. Haley captured 43% of the vote in New Hampshire, trailing Trump by 11 points. She and her team have repeatedly spotlighted her grassroots fundraising in the days since the New Hampshire primary. And Haley held fundraisers last week with top dollar GOP donors in New York City and South Florida, with similar finance events scheduled for California this week, as well as Texas. WHERE TRUMP AND HALEY STAND IN THE LATEST POLL IN A KEY REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY STATE The next major contest on the Republican schedule is Haley’s home state, which holds its GOP primary on Feb. 24. The latest public opinion survey indicates the former president has a formidable 26-point lead over Haley. But Haley said she doesn’t need to win in South Carolina to keep her campaign for the Republican presidential nomination alive. “Success means being competitive. Closing the gap. Making sure we can continue to go forward as we go into Super Tuesday,” Haley emphasized in a Fox News Digital interview last Thursday. Haley, speaking with Fox News after a campaign event at a popular eatery in the Palmetto State’s capital city, reiterated her goalposts. “It’s just about keeping that momentum going. We got 20% in Iowa. We got 43% in New Hampshire. Let’s bring it a little bit closer so that we can get closer in to him [Trump] and make it more competitive going into Super Tuesday,” she emphasized. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Thirty-six percent of all Republican presidential delegates will be up for grabs in the primaries and caucuses held on Super Tuesday, which this year will take place on March 5. Since her 11-point loss to Trump on Jan. 23 in New Hampshire, Haley has faced calls to drop out, so Trump can start focusing on defeating President Biden in November’s general election. But Haley emphasized that “we’re not going anywhere.” “This is about just closing that gap,” she added. “We have a country to save, and I am determined to keep on going the entire way as long as we can keep closing that gap.” Trump has repeatedly slammed Haley since she announced on primary night in New Hampshire that she would continue her presidential campaign. On Sunday, Trump took to his Truth Social plaform to charge that Haley was a “Failed Political Candidate.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Senate border bill says non-Mexican children won’t be counted in migrant total to trigger mandatory shutdown
The Senate’s bipartisan $118 billion border security and foreign aid package includes a stipulation that unaccompanied minors not originally from Mexico would not be included in the total number of migrant encounters tallied in the 5,000 weekly average that triggers emergency authority to shut down the border. American First Legal, a conservative group, brought attention specifically to pages 212 and 213 of the package on X. “The new ‘break glass’ emergency authority is a disaster. The Secretary ‘may’ use it if there are 4,000 or more aliens encountered each day (28k per week, 121k a month, 1.46 mil a year). But he ‘must’ use it when there are more than 5,000 a day over a week or 8,500 in a single day. Those are insane numbers and totally unacceptable to the American people,” the group wrote. “And Non-Mexican UAC are NOT counted in the total that triggers the emergency authority,” they added. SENATE RELEASES LONG-AWAITED BORDER LEGISLATION, MAJOR ASYLUM CHANGES At a seven-day rolling average of 5,000 encounters per day, or 8,500 encounters in a single day, the Department of Homeland Security must use “mandatory activation” and is required to shut the border down and turn away anyone who crosses, according to the legislative proposal. No new asylum claims would be allowed, and anybody crossing would be removed, putting an end to the notion that any migrant who makes it onto U.S. soil would need to be processed. Under the bill, Border Patrol would not process illegal border crossers, and they would be removed. The average for the applicable seven-day period shall be calculated using the sum of the number of encounters that occur between the southwest land ports of entry of the United States and the number of encounters that occur between the ports of entry along the southern coastal borders, and the number of inadmissible aliens encountered at a southwest land border port of entry. However, page 213 lists the limitation that aliens described in subsection (a)(2)(C) from “noncontiguous countries shall not be included in calculating the sum of aliens encountered.” Subsection (a)(2)(C), as described previously on page 206, applies to exceptions for use of border emergency authority for “an unaccompanied alien child.” HOUSE SPEAKER SAYS SENATE BORDER BILL ‘DEAD ON ARRIVAL’ IF IT REACHES CHAMBER: ‘EVEN WORSE THAN WE EXPECTED’ Under the legislative proposal, no asylum claim would be permitted after the 5,000 weekly cap, unless it is made at a legal port of entry. The proposal partially ends catch and release. Single adults would be detained, but families and unaccompanied minors would be released via ATD (alternatives to detention), and asylum cases would be fast tracked to months rather than years under a new rapid/expedited expulsion system. Those who fail would be quickly removed from the U.S., according to the legislative package. Those who initially pass would be released with work authorization and 90 day supervision until a final asylum claim is determined. The shutdown authority would not drop until crossings decrease significantly in the days following the shutdown. The bill says no unaccompanied minors can be removed, and some of these minors will receive attorneys, either pro bono or taxpayer-funded. There is also a provision in the bill that would allow the president to suspend the “shut down” authority for up to 45 days if deemed best for national interest. The long-awaited national security supplemental earned swift criticism from mainly House Republicans, with House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson declaring the package “dead on arrival.” “The Senate bill is awful! America, read from pages 212 to 217, and you will see why,” Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., wrote on X. “There have to be 41 Republican Senators who will say NO to this monstrosity. @SpeakerJohnson, this bill should never get a vote in the House!” Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
Republican governors converge in Texas in support of Gov. Abbott’s border security measures
As more than a dozen Republican governors gathered Sunday on the Texas border, Kyle Willis was across the river in Mexico considering his next move to enter the U.S. The 23-year-old Jamaican, who said he left his country after facing attacks and discrimination due to his sexuality, had followed the path of a historic number of migrants over the past two years and tried crossing the Rio Grande at the border city of Eagle Pass. But he waded back across the river after spending hours, in soaking clothes, failing to persuade Texas National Guard soldiers behind a razor wire fence to let him through. “It’s not just something they’re saying to deter persons from coming in. It’s actually real,” said Willis, who for now is staying at a shelter in Piedras Negras. LARGE MAJORITY OF ILLEGAL BORDER CROSSINGS SHIFT TO ARIZONA AND CALIFORNIA, PIVOTING AWAY FROM TEXAS His experience would be considered a victory for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who returned to Eagle Pass on Sunday surrounded by GOP governors who have cheered on his extraordinary showdown with President Joe Biden’s administration over immigration enforcement. But declines in crossings are part of a complex mix of developments along the U.S. border, including heightened enforcement in Mexico. Meanwhile, migrants are moving further down the river and crossing elsewhere. The issue was also at the forefront in Washington, where senators on Sunday raced to release a highly-anticipated bill that pairs border enforcement policy with wartime aid for Ukraine. Abbott said he would continue expanding operations along the Texas border but did not provide details. For nearly a month, Texas has restricted U.S. Border Patrol’s access to an area along the river known as Shelby Park, accusing the Biden administration of not being tough enough on crossings. “We are here to send a loud and clear message that we are banding together to fight to ensure that we will be able to maintain our constitutional guarantee that states will be able to defend against any type of imminent danger,” Abbott said. The record number of border crossings is a political liability for President Joe Biden and an issue that Republicans are eager to put front and center to voters in an election year. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last week committed to send more National Guard troops to Texas and other governors are also weighing new deployments. Although DeSantis wasn’t present Sunday in Eagle Pass, Abbott was joined by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkanas and Gov. Bill Lee of Tennessee, among other Republicans. Eagle Pass is where Texas has been locked in a power struggle with the Biden administration for the past month after the state began denying access to U.S. Border Patrol agents at Shelby Park. Crossings in recent weeks are down overall along the entire U.S. border, including areas without such a heavy security presence. Tucson, Arizona, which has been the busiest of nine Border Patrol sectors on the Mexican border, tallied 13,800 arrests in the weeklong period that ended Friday. That is down 29% from a peak of 19,400 in week ended Dec. 22, according to John Modlin, the sector chief. Just a day after Biden expressed “his appreciation for Mexico’s operational support and for taking concrete steps to deter irregular migration” in a call with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the Mexican immigration agency said Sunday that in the last week, they had rescued 71 immigrants – 22 of them minors— in two groups stranded on sand bars of the Rio Grande, between Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras. They were from Mexico, Central America, Ecuador and Peru. A Honduran woman and her 1-year-old baby were also rescued from the water and the emergency team also found three corpses, apparently migrants who died trying to cross into the U.S. Biden, now sounding increasingly like former President Donald Trump, is pressing Congress for asylum restrictions that would have been unthinkable when he took office. Immigration remains a major worry for voters in the 2024 election: An AP-NORC poll earlier this month found that voters voicing concerns about immigration climbed to 35% from 27% last year. The arrival of GOP governors to Eagle Pass rounds out a weekend that has kept the small border city of roughly 30,000 residents in an unwitting spotlight. Hundreds protesting Biden’s immigration policies held a “Take Back Our Border” rally on the outskirts of the city on Saturday where vendors sold Donald Trump-inspired MAGA hats and Trump flags. The number of crossings in Eagle Pass has recently fallen to a few hundred a day. Texas closed access to federal agents at Shelby Park after the number of crossings decreased sharply at the end of December. Mike Banks, who Abbott appointed last year to oversee Texas’ border operations, described the park as a “magnet” for migrants trying to enter the country. ‘TAKE BACK OUR BORDER’ CONVOY ARRIVES IN TEXAS: ‘WE WANT OUR NATION SAVED’ “So we’ve taken that pull factor away,” Banks said. Mexico has bolstered immigration efforts that include adding more checkpoints and sending people from the northern border to southern Mexico. The country has also deported some Venezuelan migrants back home. Melissa Ruiz, 30, arrived at the Piedras Negras shelter, across the river from Eagle Pass, along with her four children. The Honduran mother said gang members back home had tried to recruit her 15-year-old son, her oldest, prompting her to reluctantly flee. Ruiz said she had little awareness of the tightening security on the Texas side, having heard of many people crossing into the U.S. since she arrived at the shelter. The main deterrence for her, she said, is the cold weather and the river’s increased flow after recent rainfall. Drownings in the river are tragically common.
GOP senators demand ‘adequate time’ to review border security bill
GOP senators on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee want Senate leaders to conduct a full legislative process for the supplemental package, which includes border policy changes agreed upon by negotiators, instead of rushing the bill to a floor vote this week. In a letter to Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., committee ranking member Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., urged leaders to allow the upper chamber the normal allotted time to sift through the 370-page bill text. Committee members Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., also signed the letter. “Any legislation impacting border security has significant consequences for our nation’s security, immigration system, and taxpayers,” the senators wrote in the letter Wednesday. “It is imperative that Members of this body are afforded the opportunity to thoroughly review and consider any proposed changes.” BORDER DEAL PRICE TAG LIKELY TO COST MORE THAN $14 BILLION, BUT GOP LAWMAKERS GROW RESTLESS TO SEE BILL TEXT “Rushing a bill to the Senate floor without allowing adequate time for the committees of jurisdiction to deliberate on the legislation and conduct hearings with individuals possessing relevant expertise would be a significant oversight,” the letter read. The senators suggested allowing key stakeholders, including officials the Secretary of Homeland Security, Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Chief of the U.S. Border Patrol, the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and others, to publicly testify so they “can hear directly from the Biden administration on how they would implement the changes” of the proposed border provisions. Senators said a hearing would “enhance transparency” and further ensure senators are “well-informed” about potential consequences, including financial implications and long-term effects, before it is brought to a vote. Last week, Schumer said a vote on the supplemental bill could come as soon as Wednesday. More than a handful of GOP senators have already indicated they would vote against the bill. SENATE RELEASES LONG-AWAITED BORDER LEGISLATION, MAJOR ASYLUM CHANGES Senate negotiators on Sunday released the text of the much-anticipated border deal that lawmakers have been hashing out with White House officials since December, incorporating significant reforms, including a crackdown on asylum and parole. In the Biden administration’s original supplemental request last October, officials sought over $100 billion in funding, including $14 billion for the border. However, Republicans demanded limits on migrant releases into the interior, including the use of parole, and negotiators have been attempting to find a compromise. Sunday’s proposed legislation will total just over $118 billion, with 50,000 new visas. The border proposal, which took months to negotiate, is aimed at gaining control of an asylum system that has been overwhelmed by historic numbers of migrants coming to the border. The bill proposes an overhaul to the system with tougher and quicker enforcement measures. If the number of illegal border crossings reaches above 5,000 daily for a five-day average, an expulsion authority would automatically kick in so that migrants are sent back to Mexico without an opportunity to make an asylum claim. If the number reaches 4,000, presidential administrations would have the option of using the expulsion authority.
State AGs warn Biden AI order could centralize control over tech, be used for ‘political ends’
FIRST ON FOX: A coalition of state attorneys general is warning that an executive order signed by President Biden last year on artificial intelligence could be used by the federal government to “centralize” government control over the emerging technology and that that control could be used for political purposes — including censoring alleged “disinformation.” “The Executive Order seeks—without Congressional authorization—to centralize governmental control over an emerging technology being developed by the private sector. In doing so, the Executive Order opens the door to using the federal government’s control over AI for political ends, such as censoring responses in the name of combatting ‘disinformation,’” the coalition of 20 attorneys general, led by Utah AG Sean Reyes, said in a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. WHITE HOUSE UNVEILS AI EXECUTIVE ORDER, REQUIRING COMPANIES TO SHARE NATIONAL SECURITY RISKS WITH FEDS Biden signed the order in October, which established new standards for AI safety and included moves to protect privacy and protect workers and consumers. Specifically, it requires developers to share safety test results and other information with the government. “In accordance with the Defense Production Act, the Order will require that companies developing any foundation model that poses a serious risk to national security, national economic security, or national public health and safety must notify the federal government when training the model, and must share the results of all red-team safety tests,” the White House said at the time. “These measures will ensure AI systems are safe, secure, and trustworthy before companies make them public.” The White House also said the order is aimed at protecting Americans from AI-enabled fraud by establishing standards and best practices to differentiate between AI-generated and authentic content. However, in a letter to the Commerce Dept. responding to a request for information from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the AGs say the order created a “gatekeeping function” for the Commerce Department to supervise AI development and forces developers to submit to an “opaque and undemocratic process.” “We are further concerned that the Executive Order’s bureaucratic and nebulous supervisory process will discourage AI development, further entrench large tech incumbents, and do little to protect citizens,” they say. They also accuse the executive of creating a “governmental black box” by failing to disclose how the federal government will use the information provided. EXPERTS CALL BIDEN EXECUTIVE ORDER ON AI A ‘FIRST STEP,’ BUT SOME EXPRESS DOUBTS “The reporting requirements appear to be merely a pretext for ensuring that the federal government can find out who is developing AI models, supervise that process, and exert pressure to bend those AI models to the administration’s liking,” they say. They also warn that the order will inject “partisan purposes” into decision-making, including by forcing designers to prove it can tackle “disinformation.” “NIST should not use its assignment under the Executive Order to push a partisan agenda of censorship,” they say. The attorneys general also say that the authority in the Defense Production Act contains no authority to regulate development, only to encourage the production of it, meaning the executive does not have the authority to regulate this technology. The officials tell Raimondo that the issues relating to AI are “complex and important, but they must be addressed by our constitutional, democratic process, not by executive fiat.” The Commerce Dept. did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. “While there is serious debate as to the best approach to regulate AI, one thing is clear—-the Biden administration cannot simply bypass congressional authority to act here,” Reyes told Fox News Digital. “Any regulation must comport with the Constitution including only authorized executive action, as well as protecting against government censorship. As the administration proceeds to implement the White House AI Executive Order, we will remain vigilant on upholding the rule of law.” Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.
Israel’s ‘chilling disregard’ for life in occupied West Bank: Amnesty
Israel has unleashed unlawful lethal force against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, carrying out unlawful killings and displaying “a chilling disregard for Palestinian lives”, Amnesty International says. The human rights organisation said in a report released on Monday that Israel’s actions in the territory have intensified during its war on Gaza and its military and other bodies are committing numerous illegal acts of violence that amount to clear violations of international law. The world’s eyes are mostly on the Gaza Strip, where the Israeli military has killed more than 27,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since the start of the war on October 7. But Israeli forces are also carrying out unlawful killings in occupied Palestinian territories, Amnesty said in the report. The document was compiled with remote interviews with witnesses, first responders and local residents as well as verified videos and photos. “Under the cover of the relentless bombardment and atrocity crimes in Gaza, Israeli forces have unleashed unlawful lethal force against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, carrying out unlawful killings and displaying a chilling disregard for Palestinian lives,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s director of global research, advocacy and policy. “These unlawful killings are in blatant violation of international human rights law and are committed with impunity in the context of maintaining Israel’s institutionalized regime of systematic oppression and domination over Palestinians.” Palestinians in the West Bank were already experiencing deadly Israeli raids on a regular basis even before the war, but there has been an explosive increase in the number of Israeli attacks since October. According to figures by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Israel killed at least 507 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank in 2023, including at least 81 children, making it the deadliest year since the organisation started recording casualties in 2005. UN numbers also show that 299 Palestinians were killed from the start of the war until the end of 2023, a 50 percent increase compared with the first nine months of the year. At least 61 more Palestinians, including 13 children, were killed by Israeli forces in January, the UN said. ‘Wilful killing’ Amnesty International’s analysis of a 30-hour-long Israeli raid on the Nour Shams refugee camp in Tulkarem that took place on October 19 demonstrates the tactics employed by the Israeli military. In that raid, Israeli soldiers used a large number of military vehicles and soldiers to storm more than 40 homes. They destroyed personal belongings, drilled holes in walls for sniper outposts, cut off water and electricity to the refugee camp, and used bulldozers to destroy public roads, electricity networks and water infrastructure. By the end of the raid, they had killed 13 Palestinians, including six children, four of them under the age of 16, and had arrested 15 Palestinians. One Israeli border police officer was killed after an improvised explosive device was used against a military convoy. Among those killed during the raid was an unarmed 15-year-old named Taha Mahamid, whom Israeli forces shot dead in front of his house as he came out to check whether Israeli forces had left the area, Amnesty said. “They did not give him a chance,” said Fatima, Taha’s sister. “In an instant, my brother was eliminated. Three bullets were fired without any mercy. The first bullet hit him in the leg. The second in his stomach. Third in his eye. There were no confrontations. … There was no conflict.” Taha’s father, Ibrahim, tried to carry his son to safety while unarmed but was shot and suffered serious internal injuries. “This unnecessary use of lethal force should be investigated as possible war crimes of wilful killing and wilfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health,” Amnesty said. But that was not the end of the Israeli operation for the family. About 12 hours after Taha’s killing, the Israeli military stormed his family’s home and locked his family members, including three children, in a room under the supervision of a soldier for about 10 hours. They also drilled holes in the walls of two rooms to position snipers overlooking the neighbourhood. One witness said the soldiers searched the house, beating a member of the family, and one was seen urinating on the doorstep. The extensive damage done by Israeli bulldozers to the narrow streets of the refugee camp meant that ambulances could not get through, hampering medical evacuation of the injured. Targeting ambulances, killing protesters Amnesty also documented instances in which Israeli forces directly opened fire on ambulances and medical staff. The obstruction of medical assistance to Palestinians by Israeli forces is now “routine practice”, the human rights organisation said. It documented one instance in which Israeli soldiers prevented ambulances from reaching victims who ended up bleeding to death. “The victims were later collected by an Israeli military ambulance, and their bodies have yet to be returned to their families,” Amnesty said. The organisation also documented how the Israeli military cracks down on peaceful Palestinian protests held in solidarity with the people of Gaza, firing live bullets and tear gas canisters into crowds. Adblock test (Why?)