Portland leaders frustrated, say city allowed to set harsher rules for cigarettes than fentanyl: ‘It’s insane’
City leaders say they’ve been hamstrung when it comes to cleaning up Portland’s streets and are calling on legislators to help in the upcoming legislative session. “It is extremely frustrating for us to take the steps that we believe, and, frankly, that we know we need to take as a municipal government to address open drug use or to address addiction or to address unsanctioned, dangerous and squalid camps in our community,” Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said. “And yet we don’t have all of the tools we need at the municipal level to be able to get done what we need to have done.” CRISIS IN THE NORTHWEST: ARE VOTERS ‘BEYOND A TURNING POINT’ AFTER DECADES OF PROGRESSIVE POLITICS? The Portland City Council has passed two main ordinances addressing drug use and homeless camps in the last year that promptly hit road blocks. Commissioners unanimously approved an ordinance banning public drug use in September, but noted that the law couldn’t go into effect until state lawmakers pass legislation allowing them to enforce it. “It is insane,” said Commissioner Mingus Mapps, who is running to succeed Wheeler as mayor. “The city of Portland can make rules about where you can smoke a cigarette, but I cannot make any binding rules about where you smoke fentanyl. That is part of the reason why Portland looks the way it does, and that needs to change.” The council also passed an ordinance last June banning people from blocking access to Portland businesses or sidewalks with tents from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. But the Oregon Law Center sued, alleging the restrictions violate the state constitution and existing laws, and a circuit court judge blocked the city from enforcing the ban. “We’re going to end up winning this challenge,” Commissioner Dan Ryan said. “Because the fact is, we need to provide services for people who are on the streets during the day, and we need to free up our public right of way.” The Oregon Law Center is also behind the upcoming Supreme Court case over how local governments can respond to homeless people camping on public property. HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS REMAIN IN PORTLAND, DESPITE TENT BAN: ‘IT’S BULLS—‘ Oregon lawmakers will meet for a short legislative session beginning Feb. 5. Their biggest agenda item is likely to be reforming Measure 110, the voter-approved law that decriminalized possession of small amounts of all drugs. Drug possession is currently a Class E violation in the state and police can cite offenders with a $100 ticket, which can be waived if the suspect calls a hotline to complete a treatment assessment. Almost no one calls the hotline or pays the fine, and open-air drug use and overdoses have surged in areas like Portland. Several polls show Oregonians favor re-criminalizing hard drugs and making treatment required, not voluntary, as a jail alternative. Both Mapps and Ryan called reform a “common sense” move. “Oregonians are not happy with how [Measure 110 has] been implemented,” Ryan said. “It’s our job as legislators and public servants to listen to that and admit that we have to roll it out with some improvement.” WATCH MORE FOX NEWS DIGITAL ORIGINALS HERE Lawmakers on the Democrat-controlled Joint Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response have proposed making drug possession a Class C misdemeanor — the state’s lowest crime classification — punishable by up to 30 days in jail, a $1,250 fine, or both. Oregon Republicans want to make possession of drugs like fentanyl, heroin and meth a Class A misdemeanor and require treatment to avoid jail. If convicted, drug users could face up to a year in jail, a $6,250 fine, or both under their proposal. Lawmakers will have just 35 days to come to an agreement once the special session begins next month. Wheeler said he needs Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, the legislature and county government to work with the city, even if that means changing their views on homeless camp sweeps and drug policy. “If they really want to see this community improve the way it needs to improve, they need to get into line with what this city council is doing,” he said. “We’re unified as a city council … but if the courts and the legislature, and other political players in this state who hold sway over what we do continue to block us, it makes our job all that much harder.” “We’ll work around them. We’ll find other solutions,” he added. “But it would be great if we could all get on the same page.” ‘FENTANYL NEXUS’: PORTLAND POLICE’S BIKE SQUAD FACES ‘EXPLOSION’ OF OPEN-AIR DRUG USE Wheeler has presided over some of Portland’s most difficult years in recent history. The city suffered massive economic losses during the coronavirus pandemic and, nearly four years later, downtown foot traffic still has not fully returned. Protests and destructive riots seized the city for more than 100 consecutive nights after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Homicides hit a record high, homelessness continued to soar and open-air drug use became commonplace. The mayor told Fox News he was “happy to say we’re making really good progress” on public safety and livability issues. Homicides and shootings dropped dramatically last year. Assaults and car thefts also decreased in 2023, according to Portland Police Bureau data. “We’ve hired more police officers, we’ve expanded patrols, we’ve put foot patrols back into the central city,” Wheeler said. And while PPB continues to suffer from staffing shortages, the city council has “funded private sector security in particular hot spots,” according to the mayor. To hear more from Portland’s city leaders, click here.
Hispanic community leader raises big bucks in quest to flip Dem-controlled border congressional seat
FIRST ON FOX: A conservative Hispanic community leader aiming to flip a Democrat-held congressional district that sits on the U.S. border with Mexico announced Monday she had raised a massive amount of money to boost her bid. According to her campaign, former Republican Rep. Mayra Flores, who briefly represented Texas’ 34th Congressional District from 2022-2023, raised over $970,000 from 16,617 unique donors in all 50 states during the 4th quarter of 2023. “I am overwhelmed and incredibly grateful for the continued outpouring of support for our campaign. Voters across the Rio Grande Valley and the country know that our southern border is a disaster, illegal immigration is out of control, and Democrats like Joe Biden and Vicente Gonzalez are solely to blame,” Flores told Fox News Digital. FORMER GREEN BERET SHREDS ‘CRIMINALLY INCOMPETENT’ BIDEN, STRESSES NEED FOR MORE VETERANS IN CONGRESS “We are working every day to share our message of securing the border, lowering costs for families, improving education and healthcare, and restoring the greatness of our country — and that’s exactly what I’m going to do on day one when we retake this seat and put the people of TX-34 back in charge,” she added. Flores was first elected to Congress in June 2022 in a special election to fill a vacant seat, an historic victory in the traditionally Democrat-leaning majority Hispanic region along the southern border. She was defeated later that year, however, after Texas’ redistricting following the 2020 Census, when she was forced to run against incumbent Democrat Rep. Vicente Gonzalez in the 2022 midterm elections. VENTURE CAPITALIST, CONSERVATIVE FIREBRAND RAISES EYE-POPPING AMOUNT IN BID FOR ARIZONA HOUSE SEAT Flores announced her intention to challenge Gonzalez again last June, and stays vocal on issues pertaining to the border crisis and the Hispanic community in South Texas that she says has been left behind by the Democrat Party. She faces a number of other candidates in the Republican Primary, including Dr. Laura Cisneros, an oncologist and former Democrat, former congressional candidate Mauro Garza, and Gregory Kunkle, Jr. Elections analysts largely give Democrats the advantage in the race, but no significant polling has been taken. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Sen Thune challenges Biden admin’s Pentagon abortion policy, demands protection for military leaders
FIRST ON FOX: Senate Majority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., is urging the Pentagon to safeguard senior military leaders from enforcing the Department of Defense’s (DOD’s) abortion travel policy if it conflicts with their beliefs. He proposes that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin should personally take on the responsibility of approving service members’ requests to travel for abortion procedures. On Tuesday, Thune will send a letter to Austin urging him to allow military leaders to defer to him. “Their responsibilities already require tremendous testing of the soul and spirit,” Thune wrote. “It is a mistake to tax them further by compelling them to play even a perfunctory role in the Biden administration’s abortion leave and travel policy.” He added, “Implementation of this ill-advised policy should fall squarely on you, and you alone.” Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), chairwoman of the pro-life caucus, also signed the letter. WHITE HOUSE FUNDING REQUEST INCLUDES $14 BILLION FOR BORDER AS CRISIS HITS NEW RECORDS “The Biden administration has, regrettably, made it abundantly clear it is willing to flout longstanding federal policy to enable the use of taxpayer funds to support all aspects of an abortion but the procedure itself,” Thune wrote. The letter notes that under federal law, the DOD accommodates sincere beliefs — moral or religious principles — and seeks clarification on scenarios warranting denial of accommodation. “We recently witnessed an exodus of experienced professionals from our armed forces who chose to follow their conscience when their pandemic-era religious accommodation requests were summarily rejected,” Thune wrote. “Failure to learn from such errors and honor the deeply held convictions of our servicemembers may spur more untimely separations.” TUBERVILLE ENDS BLOCKADE OF MOST MILITARY PROMOTIONS AFTER MONTHS-LONG ABORTION FIGHT Thune is asking the DOD to provide information within 30 days regarding the process for facilitating conscience protections, the number of department workers seeking such protections or deferring approvals, the roles of individuals in the approval process, circumstances leading to refusal of conscience protections, and whether any accommodations have been denied to date. In December, Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., ended his monthslong hold on hundreds of military promotions in protest of the abortion policy, which compensates servicemembers for costs associated with traveling to undergo the procedure. Tuberville began blocking President Biden’s military nominations in February 2023 over what he said was the Pentagon’s “illegal” policy of providing travel expense reimbursement to service members who seek an abortion. The Biden administration adopted the policy last year in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and held the U.S. Constitution does not confer a right to abortion.
Cori Bush under Justice Department investigation over alleged misuse of security funds
The Justice Department is investigating Squad member Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., over the alleged misuse of government funds intended to pay for her security, two sources tell Fox News. The probe is related to allegations of federal security money being spent improperly, the sources said. A subpoena announcement was read on the House floor Monday, and sources said that is related to the investigation into Bush. The Justice Department declined to comment. Fox News also reached out to Bush’s office for comment, but they did not immediately respond. HOUSE NOTIFIED SERGEANT AT ARMS FACES DOJ SUBPOENA FOR DOCUMENTS AS SPECULATION SWIRLS In a message read aloud by a House clerk on Monday to notify Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., House Sergeant at Arms William McFarland relayed that his office received a grand jury subpoena for documents issued by the Justice Department and added that the sergeant of arms office would comply with that subpoena. The message did not elaborate further. WATCH: CORI BUSH’S HUSBAND CONFRONTED OVER THE THOUSANDS IN CASH HE HAS RECEIVED FROM HER CAMPAIGN Speculation swirled on social media about what the DOJ probe could be about, including whether it was related to Jan. 6, but sources later pointed to Bush instead. Bush notably has spent more than $500,000 on her own private security while publicly advocating for the defund the police movement. PunchBowl News first reported the Justice Department is conducting a criminal probe into Bush, connected with the House Sergeant at Arms subpoena. Bush’s husband and former security guard, Cortney Merritts, whom she married in February 2023, has pocketed more than $100,000 in payments since Bush added him to her campaign’s payroll in January 2022 for what they marked as “security” payments before switching their description to “wage expenses” in April, Fox News Digital previously reported. In March 2023, the watchdog group, Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT), filed a complaint asking the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to investigate whether Bush “used campaign funds for personal use,” citing one $60,000 payment in 2022 for security services provided to Merritts, the National Review reported. “It appears Rep. Bush’s campaign may have made payments for services that were unnecessary or above fair market value because of her personal relationship with the payee,” FACT executive director Kendra Arnold wrote in the complaint. “If so, these payments would qualify as either impermissible payments to a family member or an impermissible gift. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Therefore, we request the FEC investigate whether Rep. Bush converted campaign funds for personal use by paying a salary that was not for bona fide services at fair market value,” the complaint said at the time. “Ultimately, if one or more campaign laws are found to have been broken, we request the FEC hold the respondents accountable.” Fox News’ Joe Schoffstall contributed to this report. This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Ayodhya to get flight connectivity with 8 new cities from February 1; check new flight routes
Beyond enabling connectivity, this move is seen to boost spiritual tourism in Ayodhya. The initiative aims to strengthen the connection between these cities and the revered destination.
Sotomayor says ‘I live in frustration’ on Supreme Court
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has revealed that she lives “in frustration” among the court’s conservative majority but has to “get up the next morning and keep on fighting.” Sotomayor commented Monday while speaking to a packed auditorium of students at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. “I live in frustration. Every loss truly traumatizes me in my stomach and in my heart,” Sotomayor said, according to Bloomberg Law. “But I have to get up the next morning and keep on fighting.” “And to be almost 70 years old, this isn’t what I expected,” she reportedly added during a conversation with UC Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky. “But it is still work that is all consuming and I understand the impact the court has on people and on the country, and sometimes the world. And so it is what keeps me going.” SUPREME COURT SETS DATE TO HEAR ABORTION PILL CHALLENGE Sotomayor also said cases have become “bigger” and more “demanding” in recent years, Bloomberg Law reports. “The number of amici are greater, and you know that our emergency calendar is so much more active. I’m tired,” the news organization quoted her as saying. “There used to be a time when we had a good chunk of the summer break. Not anymore. The emergency calendar is busy almost on a weekly basis.” SUPREME COURT SIDES WITH BIDEN IN TEXAS BORDER RAZOR WIRE CASE At one point during the event, Sotomayor roamed among students in the audience. “Change never happens on its own. Change happens because people care about moving the arc of the universe toward justice,” she told them, according to KTVU, adding, “What choice do you have but to fight the good fight?” When asked how she gets along with colleagues with differing views, Sotomayor said: “If you look for the good in people, you can deal with the bad more easily. They are as passionate about what they believe, about the Constitution, about law, about our country, as I am. We have a different way of understanding what’s good for the country and the law, but it’s not because they’re men or women of ill will.”
Alaska governor’s State of the State speech postponed as high winds delay flights
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s State of the State speech has been postponed until Tuesday after high winds in the capital city disrupted flights. US LAUGHS OFF REPORTS OF PUTIN EYEING ALASKA AS RUSSIA’S ‘FORMER REAL ESTATE’: ‘NOT GETTING IT BACK’ Dunleavy was scheduled to deliver his annual address to a joint session of the state Legislature at 7 p.m. Monday. But that was delayed until 7 p.m. Tuesday after State of the State speech guests and department heads were not able to arrive in time on Monday evening, Dunleavy spokesperson Jeff Turner said. Juneau was under a high wind warning until mid-afternoon and also experienced pelting rains. Wind gusts reached as high as 93 mph at the Eaglecrest Ski Area on Douglas Island, across the Gastineau Channel from mainland Juneau, and 58 mph at the airport Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service. High winds were also experienced across other parts of southeast Alaska on Monday.
Biden super PAC targets battleground states with largest ad purchase in US history
The major super PAC supporting President Biden’s re-election effort is poised to make what it says is the single largest political ad purchase in American history on Tuesday. The organization, Future Forward, is reserving $250 million across the country, with $140 million going to television and another $110 million to digital and streaming platforms, the New York Times reported. The massive expenditure targets major battleground states, and the ads will run from August through Election Day. Specifically, the ads will run in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The purchase represents a huge increase over Future Forward’s spending in Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, when it spent just $151 million. BIDEN ADMINISTRATION IS ‘GRASPING AT STRAWS’ BY ‘DEPLOYING KAMALA HARRIS’: CAROLINE DOWNEY The content of the ads has yet to be determined, but Biden and Democrats appear to be operating on the assumption that former President Trump will be the Republican nominee. AS HALEY TRIES TO STOP TRUMP, MANY PUNDITS DOWNPLAY HIS IOWA LANDSLIDE Ads from Future Forward in 2023 focused on Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act as well as Latino issues in Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania, according to Politico. News of the ad spending comes just as Biden’s campaign leaked its 2024 strategy to the New York Times. Unsurprisingly, the plan calls for targeting Trump above all else, using social media as the primary tool. Biden’s chances of re-election remain up in the air, with many swing state polls showing Trump in the lead. Biden had taken severe hits thanks to his age, inflation, the ongoing border crisis and growing instability abroad.
Atlantic City casino smoking ban advances in New Jersey Legislature
A measure that would prohibit smoking in Atlantic City’s casinos moved forward Monday after three years of going nowhere, heartening casino workers who say they are literally sick and tired of having smoke blown in their faces at work. The New Jersey Senate health committee approved a long-delayed bill to impose a smoking ban in Atlantic City’s nine casinos. It was the first step in a long chain of necessary approvals, and it came as the movement by many casino workers to implement a ban entered its fourth year. UNION PROTESTERS BLOW CIGARETTE SMOKE AT NJ LAWMAKERS AS ATLANTIC CITY SMOKING BAN REMAINS IN LIMBO The vote also touched off a confrontation among casino workers outside the state Capitol afterward, with supporters of a smoking ban and opponents of the proposal screaming at one another on the sidewalk before being separated by their respective camps. And a prominent business group and a casino workers union warned that a smoking ban would be “an economic catastrophe” that would cost Atlantic City and the southern New Jersey region jobs and money. Casino workers who favor the ban were elated to finally have it voted on after years of inertia. “We feel like we cracked the egg,” said Nicola Vitola, a Borgata dealer and a leader of the movement to ban casino smoking. Smoking is permitted on 25% of the casino floor in Atlantic City. But those spaces are not contiguous, and smoke wafts into most areas of the gambling floor, regardless of their designation. Casinos were specifically exempted from New Jersey’s 2006 law that banned smoking in virtually all other workplaces. Vitola said that while she was pregnant, she was assigned to work tables in smoking sections. “Dealers are mere inches from players blowing smoke in our faces,” she said. Christina Renna, president and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey, said that while smoking is undoubtedly harmful, so, too, could be the layoffs she and executives from the casino industry warn could happen if smoking were banned. Donna DeCaprio, president of Local 54 of the Unite Here union, which represents bartenders, cocktail servers, room cleaners and others, noted that there used to be 50,000 casino jobs in Atlantic City. She warned that the bill could eliminate 3,000 of them. In an online discussion with Sen. Joseph Vitale, the committee’s Democratic chair, she said she warned that as many as three Atlantic City casinos could be forced to close if a smoking ban were imposed while casinos in neighboring Pennsylvania continue to offer it. “In south Jersey, there are no replacement jobs of this caliber,” she said. “A total ban is going to result in an economic catastrophe for Atlantic City, the region and the state.” Cynthia Hallett, president and CEO of Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, said polling has shown that more people say they would visit Atlantic City casinos if smoking were prohibited. The casino industry opposes a total smoking ban and says it is working on proposals including better ventilation systems and enclosed smoking rooms in which no employees would be involuntarily assigned to work. The Casino Association of New Jersey said in a statement it is eager “to find a meaningful compromise that will address the concerns of our employees without jeopardizing jobs and benefits to some of our most vulnerable citizens.” A Republican senator, Vince Polistina, has said he will draft a new bill incorporating those proposals, but he has yet to do so. The bill that was acted upon Monday now goes to the full state Senate for a vote. An identical bill also must be approved by an Assembly committee and voted upon by the full chamber before it can go to the desk of Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who has said he will sign a smoking ban into law. Sen. Shirley Turner, who has co-sponsored bills for years that would have imposed a casino smoking ban, said casino workers are left in an untenable position. “You shouldn’t have to make that kind of decision in this country: your job or your health,” she said. “That’s not America.”
Michigan House districts prepare to hold special election primaries
Two Michigan House districts will hold special election primaries on Tuesday to fill seats that were held by Democrats whose departures have left the legislative chamber in an even split since November. Six candidates are running in each of the Detroit-area districts. Both the 13th and 25th districts have historically voted Democratic and the candidate who secures the Democratic nomination is expected to be the frontrunner in the April 16 general election. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has endorsed fellow Democrats Mai Xiong in the 13th District and Andrea Rutkowski in the 25th. MICHIGAN TO PASS LAW DEMANDING TRANSPARENCY IN AI-GENERATED POLITICAL ADS The seats were vacated in November after Democratic state Reps. Lori Stone and Kevin Coleman won mayoral races in their hometowns. That eliminated the Democrats’ two-seat majority in the state House and put the chamber in a 54-54 deadlock. The House deadlock follows a year in which Democrats pushed through a number of key pieces of legislation after flipping both chambers in the Legislature while holding onto the governor’s office in last year’s midterms. There has been minimal voting activity in the Legislature since the 2024 session began on Jan. 10. JEWISH, ISLAMIC GROUPS BACK UP CATHOLIC SCHOOL IN LAWSUIT CHALLENGING NEW MICHIGAN LAW The April winner in each district will serve the remainder of the term, through the end of this year. The entire Michigan House will be up for election in November’s general election. In addition to Xiong, who is a Macomb County commissioner, Suzanne Ostosh and former state Rep. LaMar Lemmons III are running in the 13th District’s Democratic primary. Curtiss Ostosh, Brandon Cumbee and Ronald Singer are competing for the Republican nomination. In the 25th District, Melandie Hines, Layla Taha, Peter Herzberg and Shannon Rochon will compete for the Democratic nomination against Rutkowski, who received Whitmer’s endorsement and is a Westland City Council member. Josh Powell is the lone Republican running in the district.