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West Virginia House advances bill requiring state ID to access internet pornography

West Virginia House advances bill requiring state ID to access internet pornography

People in West Virginia would need to present some form of state-sponsored identification before accessing internet pornography under a bill that advanced Monday in the Republican-dominated state House of Delegates. Sponsors say the bill, similar to one passed in Virginia last year, is meant to prevent children from accessing harmful explicit material. The proposal passed the House Judiciary Committee with little discussion and will now be considered by the full chamber. The legislation would require companies with “materials harmful to minors” making up a “substantial portion” — or a little over 33% — of its website offerings to perform “reasonable age verification methods.” WEST VIRGINIA SENATE PASSES BILL TO ALLOW ARMED SECURITY PERSONNEL IN SCHOOLS Material harmful to minors is defined as content that the “average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find, taking the material as a whole and with respect to minors, is designed to appeal to, or is designed to pander to, the prurient interest.” The bill also provides a detailed list of sexual acts that depiction of would be restricted. Lead sponsor GOP Del. Geno Chiarelli said the 33% provision is meant to “act as a buffer” for social media websites like X, formerly known as Twitter, that host adult content, but pornography is not the “intent of the website.” “That protects us from having to go after, you know, requiring social media companies to require the same type of verification that you would of Pornhub or something like that,” he said. The company would not be allowed to retain any identifying material about users once they prove they’re 18 or older. The proposal would not apply to content published by news organizations. People would be able to file civil lawsuits against companies that violate the proposed law.

Kentucky Senate reviews bill aimed at improving student transportation

Kentucky Senate reviews bill aimed at improving student transportation

Legislation allowing school districts to expand fleets transporting students to school and home was promoted Monday as a way to fix bus systems hampered by long routes and too few bus drivers. Democratic Sen. David Yates, the bill’s lead sponsor in the Republican-led Senate, said improving student transportation is a nonpartisan issue. The bill has been sent to a Senate committee and its supporters tried giving it a boost, saying it would benefit urban and rural districts in the Bluegrass State. “We know the transportation system in Kentucky right now is strained,” Yates said at a news conference. “This is a way to help alleviate that strain and make it a little bit safer for our children, more cost efficient and faster.” KENTUCKY CHARTER SCHOOL FUNDING LAW STRUCK DOWN BY JUDGE, DEALING BLOW TO SCHOOL CHOICE ADVOCATES The bill would allow district-owned and district-leased vehicles to transport students to and from school as well as for approved school activities under an alternative transportation plan approved by the state education department. Those vehicles could include vans and other smaller vehicles. The goal is to reduce the time students spend on a school bus each day. Safety standards would be developed for such vehicles and the drivers would have to meet training requirements. Drivers would undergo criminal background checks and reviews of their driving records. The expanded fleets would lead to greater efficiencies in districts across the state, Yates said. In urban areas, the bill would result in more efficient and safer routes as well as alternate routes for specialized schools. In rural areas, the smaller vehicles could be used on less populated routes. KENTUCKY COMMITTEE CLEARS MANDATORY ‘MOMENT OF SILENCE’ BILL FOR SCHOOLS “This legislation is about ensuring that every child, no matter their zip code, has access to safe, efficient and cost-effective transportation to and from school,” Democratic Sen. Robin Webb, who has been working with Yates on the legislation, said in a news release. Jefferson County Public Schools, the state’s most populous district, suffered a meltdown of its bus schedule at the start of the school term last August. The superintendent called it a “transportation disaster” and apologized to the Louisville district’s 96,000 students along with their families, the bus drivers and the school officials who had to stay with students for hours as they waited on buses to arrive. The district made fixes to the system but has grappled with a bus driver shortage for years. Yates, a Louisville lawmaker, said Monday he has been working on the legislation since then. He said the legislation would provide flexibility to help the Jefferson County district as well as rural districts.

Republican-led Kentucky House advances bill to make paid family leave more accessible

Republican-led Kentucky House advances bill to make paid family leave more accessible

Legislation portrayed as a market-driven, voluntary approach to expand access to paid family leave in Kentucky was overwhelmingly passed by the state House on Monday. The measure, which drew strong bipartisan support, sailed through the House on a 92-1 vote, sending it to the Senate for consideration. Republicans have supermajorities in both chambers. House Bill 179 would allow voluntary paid family leave insurance to be available to Kentucky employers, who would choose whether to offer it as a benefit to their employees. KENTUCKY CHARTER SCHOOL FUNDING LAW STRUCK DOWN BY JUDGE, DEALING BLOW TO SCHOOL CHOICE ADVOCATES The goal is to expand the benefit to more workers who now can’t afford to take time away from work in times of need at home, without forcing anything onto employers. If employers chose to offer the benefit, it would provide temporary wage replacement for workers who need to be away from work to care for a sick relative, bond with a newborn child or care for a relative in the military or is a first responder and was injured in the line of duty. Other reasons could be outlined in an employer’s benefit plan. Supporters see it as a way to help employers attract and retain workers. “This is a market-driven policy proposal that includes no mandates on employers, workers or families,” said Republican Rep. Samara Heavrin, the bill’s lead sponsor. “And as long as I’m working on this policy, there will not be any mandates on small businesses for paid family leave.” The measure is the result of work that began in late 2021 to develop a family leave plan that could help strengthen Kentucky families without hurting small businesses, she said. The length of paid leave benefits would be determined by the employer’s plan. KENTUCKY COMMITTEE CLEARS MANDATORY ‘MOMENT OF SILENCE’ BILL FOR SCHOOLS Paid family leave is seen as an important asset to help retain women in the workforce, said Democratic Rep. Rachel Roarx, who is among the bill’s cosponsors. “This bill is an opportunity for us to help make our state more competitive with surrounding states, and help our businesses be able to attract more and diverse folks to Kentucky,” she said. Heavrin characterized the measure as a “great first step” for Kentuckians, while acknowledging that it would not “be enough for everyone.” “It’s more important to pass good policy rather than to completely deprive Kentucky families for the opportunity to have any type of paid family leave,” she said. Employers already offering paid family leave benefits through self-insurance models could also benefit. They could see lower, more consistent costs through the voluntary insurance product allowed under the measure, Republican Rep. Stephanie Dietz, another cosponsor, said previously.

Michigan man charged after threatening to hang Biden and Harris, bomb Washington, DC

Michigan man charged after threatening to hang Biden and Harris, bomb Washington, DC

Federal prosecutors on Monday charged a Michigan man who threatened to execute President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, called for the killing of federal agents and judges, and suggested that a bomb would be dropped on Washington, D.C. Russell Douglas Warren, 48, was charged in the Eastern District of Michigan after a series of posts last week on X, formerly Twitter, included threats to kill public officials and bomb government buildings, The Detroit News reported. The X account that made the posts has 22 followers and was still active as of Tuesday. The account features dozens of nearly identical threats aimed at a variety of targets, including current and former politicians, current and former judges and magistrates, government buildings and the military. One post from the account threatened to drop a bomb on the nation’s capital. He also threatened bombs against specific government agencies, including the National Security Agency, the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security. IRANIAN, 2 CANADIANS CHARGED IN MARYLAND MURDER-FOR-HIRE PLOT: ‘ERASE HIS HEAD FROM HIS TORSO’ “A complete evacuation of Washington D.C. must begin immediately. We’re gonna drop a mother f–king bomb on it,” he wrote in one post. “FBI Headquarters shall be BOMBED,” one post from Friday reads. “All Employees of the FBI have been CONDEMNED. Shoot to kill,” another post read. Warren also said Biden and Harris had been condemned and should be taken to prison and executed by hanging. “Take Him to the Prisons to await Execution. He shall be Hanged,” he wrote, targeting the president. Similar posts were made targeting Harris, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and other administration officials. Threats of execution were also made against Republicans and Democrats who ran for president this election cycle, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, author Marianne Williamson and lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. SOUTH DAKOTA JURY FINDS 2 GUILTY OF KIDNAPPING, CARJACKING FBI EMPLOYEE “Ron Desantis is CONDEMNED. Death by Milestone,” Warren wrote. Warren also threatened the use of nuclear weapons against Mt. Rushmore, the Statue of Liberty, all national parks and Disney theme parks. The account’s bio reads, “Donald Trump is Not going to save us. Our last chance for a political solution died with John F Kennedy.” Including this case, there have been 12 people charged with federal crimes involving threats to a public official this year and charges have been filed against 579 people since 2013, according to an investigation by National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center researchers Pete Simi of Chapman University and Seamus Hughes of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Warren is charged with one count of threats against the president and successors to the presidency, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. He was ordered to be temporarily held without bond until a detention hearing Friday in federal court in Bay City. An investigation was opened Saturday after the U.S. Secret Service and FBI learned about the threats posted to the X account. Agents obtained subscriber information from X Corp. pinpointing the IP address being used by the account to connect to the internet since late last week. The IP address was found to be owned by cable company Charter Communications, which told investigators Warren was the subscriber using that IP address, according to the criminal complaint obtained by The Detroit News. The first name matched a post from Thursday that said, “My name is Russ. After having a stroke, I was hospitalized in a nursing home. Unable to make my own medical decisions, I was forced to get vaccinated multiple times. I understand that I am dying. I understand that Donald Trump killed me.” Warren has a criminal history, according to the court filing, and was convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon in 2022.

McConnell-aligned GOP groups raise a record $95 million last year in battle for Senate majority

McConnell-aligned GOP groups raise a record million last year in battle for Senate majority

EXCLUSIVE: Two outside groups aligned with longtime Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell report that they hauled in nearly $95 million in fundraising last year as Republicans aim to win back the chamber’s majority in November’s elections. Senate Leadership Fund, which is the top super PAC backing Senate Republican incumbents and candidates, and the affiliated non-profit public advocacy group One Nation, raised a combined $94,789,049 last year, according to figures shared first with FOX News on Tuesday. Last year’s haul is roughly $400,000 more than One Nation and Senate Leadership raised in total in 2021 and the two groups say their combined 2023 fundraising is a record for an off-election year. CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS 2024 POWER RANKINGS “There continues to be widespread enthusiasm for our mission to retake the Senate majority. Senate Republicans’ emphasis on candidate quality and raising the resources to compete with well-funded Democrats will pay off in November,” Senate Leadership Fund President and CEO Steven Law highlighted in a statement. Law also predicted that “Senate Democrats’ days in the majority are numbered.” One Nation ended 2023 with nearly $61 million cash on hand and the Senate Leadership Fund had over $35 million in its coffers at the end of last year. THESE FIVE SENATE SEATS ARE MOST LIKELY TO FLIP IN NOVEMBER Democrats hold a slim 51-49 majority in the chamber, which includes three independent senators who caucus with the Democratic conference. That means Republicans need a net gain of either one or two seats to win back the majority – depending on which party controls the White House after this year’s presidential election. The math and the map favor the GOP in 2024. Democrats are defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs. Three of those seats are in red states that former President Trump carried in 2020 – West Virginia, Montana and Ohio. Democrats are defending an open seat in West Virginia after Sen. Joe Manchin announced late last year that he wouldn’t seek re-election. Five other blue-held seats are in key swing states narrowly carried by President Biden in 2020 – Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Texas and Florida, where incumbent Sens. Ted Cruz and Rick Scott are seeking re-election, appear to be the only potentially competitive GOP-held seats up for grabs this November. Senate Leadership Fund and the aligned American Crossroads this week reserved nearly $50 million to run ads this autumn in Montana. It’s the first major ad reservation this cycle by the two groups. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan, top aide get 10-year jail in state secrets case

Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan, top aide get 10-year jail in state secrets case

A Pakistan court has sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi to 10 years jail in a case related to the leaking of state secrets. The special court in capital Islamabad on Tuesday announced the sentence in the so-called cypher case, which pertains to a diplomatic cable that Khan claims proves his allegation that his removal from power in 2022 was a conspiracy. More to come… Adblock test (Why?)