Virginia Democrats quash Republican voting bills and shelve constitutional amendments
A Democrat-led Virginia Senate panel on Tuesday defeated a handful of Republican-sponsored voting bills and moved to put on hold consideration of several proposed constitutional amendments until after this year’s session. Without discussion, the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee voted to carry over the proposed amendments, which had been unveiled with great fanfare after the November elections, when Democrats held their Senate majority and flipped control of the House of Delegates. The measures included proposals to repeal a now-defunct ban in the state constitution on same-sex marriage, expand protections for abortion access and reform the state’s system of civil rights restoration for felons who have completed their sentences. VIRGINIA VETERAN AIMS TO BE 1ST FEMALE MARINE ELECTED TO CONGRESS, JOINS RACE TO FLIP COVETED DEM-HELD SEAT Senate Democratic Leader Scott Surovell said in a text message that the proposed amendments were being carried over until the 2025 session, something he characterized as a standard practice, given that amendments are typically introduced in odd-numbered years. The move won’t slow down the timeline by which voters could potentially consider the measures. Proposed constitutional amendments must first pass both chambers of the General Assembly in two years, with an intervening election for the House of Delegates in between. Those elections happen every two years in odd-numbered years, meaning the soonest they could be up for a vote is 2026. “I think what they wanted to do is put all these folks on record right before the (2025) election,” said Bob Holsworth, a veteran political analyst. A spokesperson for the House Democratic caucus did not respond to inquiries about whether leadership planned to do the same with corresponding measures pending in that chamber. The committee’s move also continued until 2025 a proposal from Lynchburg Republican Sen. Mark Peake to preclude anyone elected as lieutenant governor or attorney general in 2029 and onward from serving more than two terms. It did not apply to a proposed constitutional amendment from Democratic Sen. Jeremy McPike that deals with an expansion of a tax exemption for the surviving spouses of soldiers who died in the line of duty, McPike confirmed. That proposal passed last year and could go to voters this fall if approved again this session. The Senate committee later moved on to taking up and dispensing with several Republican-sponsored bills dealing with voting access, including a proposal to end same-day registration on Election Day and curtail the state’s lengthy early voting period. “We vehemently oppose and will relentlessly combat all legislative attempts to undermine or restrict voting access in the Commonwealth of Virginia,” the Senate Democratic caucus said in a joint statement after the hearing. Peake, who sponsored the bill to limit same-day registration, argued that it was creating a burden for registrars. He cited reports of big crowds in Blacksburg and Williamsburg — localities that are both home to universities — in the last election cycle. The committee voted down another bill from Peake that would have limited absentee voting from the current 45 days to 21 days. Peake argued that the lengthy absentee period was out of line with even liberal states elsewhere in the country and created a burden not only for registrars but for campaigns that may want to monitor or staff the polls. The Virginia NAACP and the League of Women Voters of Virginia were among the groups that spoke against the measure. The committee also defeated a bill that would have required a voter show a photo ID to cast a ballot. Virginia Democrats repealed a previous photo ID requirement in 2020.
Ex-NATO chief: Dems opposing tough border policy need to ‘come to their senses’
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former secretary general of NATO, urged Democrats that President Biden must make the border a “non-issue” for Republicans as he campaigns ahead of the 2024 election, warning that the immigration crisis left unchecked “will fuel extremists” on both sides of the aisle. “If I were asked by Democrats what to do, my advice would be to accommodate Republican views on the border issue and create a package with four elements: support for Ukraine, support for Israel, support for Taiwan and solve the border issue,” Rasmussen, who led NATO from 2009 to 2014, told Politico in an interview published Wednesday. “President Biden has an interest in solving that issue before the election campaign starts in earnest,” he added. Rasmussen, a former prime minister of Denmark who governed from the right of center, highlighted how European governments that have failed to mitigate migration felt the consequences at the polls, urging that Democrats opposing tougher border policy should “come to their senses.” NATO NEEDS A ‘WARFIGHTING TRANSFORMATION’ AS ‘ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN AT ANY TIME,’ TOP MILITARY OFFICIAL SAYS Specifically, he pointed to November’s elections in the Netherlands, where the center-right government faltered to a far-right rise in political power largely due to the immigration issue. “If I were in the leadership of the Democratic campaign, I would not hesitate to close this issue — to accommodate Republicans to make it a non-issue in the coming election campaign,” he said, acknowledging how the border crisis brings political vulnerability for Democrats ahead of the election. “If you do not address the immigration issue and the border issue effectively, then you will fuel extremists … On both sides of the political spectrum,” said Rasmussen, who spoke to Politico during a recent visit to Washington, D.C., where he intended to meet with the House Freedom Caucus to convince them on further Ukraine aid. LEAKED GERMAN DOCUMENTS SHOW LEADERS ARE PREPARING SHOULD RUSSIA LAUNCH WORLD WAR 3: REPORTS As Republicans have resisted calls from Democrats for billions more in support for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan without a deal on the border, Rasmussen argued that failing to provide further U.S. support for the Kyiv forces nearly two years after Russia’s full-scale February 2022 invasion “would be the withdrawal from Afghanistan on steroids.” He said he expected to counter Republicans’ argument that the U.S. is shouldering too much of the war effort by noting that Europeans spent $59 billion in Ukraine aid compared to the $48 billion supplied by the U.S. “It’s not true when they are arguing that Europeans do not step up to the plate and do not share a fair burden of support for Ukraine,” Rasmussen said. “I’m not a liberal in the American sense of the word,” he said, recommending House Freedom Caucus members read his 1993 book, “From Social State to Minimal State.” “I think I’m one of the most pro-American European politicians.” Speaking a day after former President Trump swept the Iowa caucuses, Rasmussen also expressed hope former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley would see a New Hampshire revival. Saying Haley is “very much in line with my thinking about world affairs,” he argued that the former South Carolina governor’s momentum in the 2024 race demonstrates how “in the Republican Party — despite Trumpism — there is a classical Republican sentiment that I think Trump should take into account.”
Kentucky Democratic governor and House Republicans clash on teacher raises
Kentucky House Republicans on Tuesday unveiled spending bills aimed at boosting education funding and tapping into budget reserves to pump more money into public pensions and infrastructure projects. The two-year budget plan introduced in the House doesn’t offer a guaranteed pay raise for teachers and other public school employees. Nor does it contain state funds to provide access to preschool for every 4-year-old in Kentucky. Both were cornerstones of Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s budget plan. Instead, the House GOP budget proposal calls for a large infusion of additional money for the state’s main funding formula for K-12 schools — known as SEEK — and for student transportation. The House plan will include language suggesting “very strongly to administrators that their school personnel deserve and need pay raises,” Republican House Speaker David Osborne said. KENTUCKY DEMOCRAT GARNERS BIPARTISAN SUPPORT FOR AFFORDABLE DIAPER BILL “So we fully expect and anticipate that school administrators would reward their teachers accordingly,” Osborne told reporters. Under the House plan, it would be up to local school districts to decide whether to use additional state funding to provide pay raises to teachers and other staff. Local administrators would decide the size of the raises as well. GOP lawmakers followed the same course two years ago and most districts followed through with raises, Republicans say. Beshear proposed an 11% raise for teachers and all other public school employees. His plan also included $172 million each year of the budget to provide preschool for every Kentucky 4-year-old. He says the state’s low rankings in starting and average teacher pay hurt its ability to attract and retain educators. “When I look at a problem — and our teacher salaries … are a problem — I want to make sure any solution fixes it,” the governor said recently. “So if we truly want to fix it, then we have to do both an amount of money for teacher raises, that we require to go to teacher raises, but we also have to fully fund other parts of education.” Top Republican lawmakers support helping the state’s struggling childcare sector. The House plan includes additional funding to maintain higher reimbursement for providers. House Appropriations and Revenue Committee Chairman Jason Petrie introduced both bills on the 10th day of this year’s 60-day session. One bill would fund operations across much of state government during the next two years. The other would tap into the state’s vast budget reserves to make targeted, one-time investments in public pensions, infrastructure, public safety and economic development. Work on the next two-year budget — the state’s signature policy document — will dominate the session. Once the House passes its plan, the Senate will put its imprint on spending policies. Negotiators from each chamber will ultimately hash out any differences. The GOP has supermajorities in both chambers. The state’s main budget bill — House Bill 6 — also includes strategic investments in public safety, infrastructure and health services, top Republicans said. “HB6 continues our commitment to investing in our commonwealth’s future while prioritizing responsible spending that aims to efficiently allocate resources while maintaining essential public services,” Petrie said. “This approach has served us well, allowing us to provide Kentuckians with necessary services while helping amass a historic amount in our budget reserve trust and addressing state debt and liabilities.” The House GOP plan calls for providing another round of pay raises for state police troopers and hiring more social workers, as the governor also proposed. For higher education, the House GOP bill includes $600 million over the two years for facility maintenance, renovations and repairs on campuses. The other bill unveiled Tuesday, House Bill 1, would tap a portion of the state’s massive budget reserves to make one-time investments totaling more than $1.7 billion for infrastructure, public safety and economic development and to help pay down unfunded liabilities in public pension systems. Portions of the money would go for drinking water and wastewater projects and to prepare sites for economic development projects. Both have been priorities for Beshear as well. “We’ve made saving a priority and now the budget reserve trust fund exists to ensure our state is both prepared to take advantage of opportunities as well as provide for the state during difficult times,” Petrie said.
Virginia veteran aims to be 1st female Marine elected to Congress, joins race to flip coveted Dem-held seat
FIRST ON FOX: A U.S. Marine Corps veteran and security official in Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration is aiming to be the first female former Marine ever elected to serve in Congress. In an interview with Fox News Digital, Aliscia Andrews, the deputy secretary of Homeland Security for the Commonwealth of Virginia, announced she was joining the race to try and flip the suburban Democrat-held 10th Congressional District, a seat long coveted by Republicans after the party lost it in 2018. Democratic Rep. Jennifer Wexton announced earlier this year that she would not seek re-election in the district. “I joined the Marine Corps when I was 20 years old and had no idea what I was getting myself into,” Andrews told Fox. “It’s incredible to think about what I learned in the Corps and what shaped me as an individual.” WATCH: NEW CONSERVATIVE TECH COMPANY INSPIRED BY SWING STATE ELECTION LOSSES AIMS TO FLIP SCRIPT ON DEMOCRATS She detailed her time as a Marine intelligence analyst and explained the stresses of knowing how much of an impact every decision and movement around the world could make. “That’s shaped me so much now … But it’s been applicable to my entire career of looking to see what could happen, what’s likely to happen, and what happens if everything goes out the window,” she said. When asked why she decided to jump into the race, Andrews told Fox News it was because of the economic, educational and national security challenges she says are threatening the people of the district. WATCH: VETERAN AIR FORCE COMMANDER JOINS RACE FOR CONGRESS, SAYS MOMENT ‘TOO IMPORTANT’ FOR CAREER POLITICIANS “The things that we’re seeing aren’t getting better,” she said, adding that the fentanyl crisis was claiming the lives of Americans all over the country every day, and that it was “unbelievable” to see the slow reaction from the federal government in dealing with that slew of problems. Andrews was sworn into Youngkin’s administration on the day of his inauguration as the 74th governor of Virginia, and she began serving as a cybersecurity official before being appointed to her current role. She touted that experience in a video accompanying her campaign announcement but also ripped the “reckless spending” she said was coming out of Washington, D.C., and lamented the pressures on families due to subsequent economic challenges, the effects of COVID-19 shutdowns on schools, and the Biden administration’s “failed” border policies. WAR VETERAN SETS MAJOR FUNDRAISING RECORD IN BID TO FLIP CRUCIAL SENATE SEAT FROM DEMOCRATS Citing those same areas of concern, Andrews told Fox she was the best choice to represent Virginia’s 10th Congressional District because she was “listening to families” telling her the issues most affecting them. “It’s more expensive now to live than ever before. Families are having to make hard decisions when it comes to their mortgages, when it comes to their groceries, when it comes to their childcare. It’s impacting us on every single level, and it’s not some MSNBC talking point,” she said. Andrews joins a crowded primary field of six other Republicans also vying for the party’s nomination, but she likely enjoys an advantage in name recognition as her announcement marks her third time running for the seat. However, this will be her first time running since the redistricting following the 2020 U.S. Census. Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, once a key swing district targeted heavily by both parties, has become increasingly easy for Democrats with the growth of the Northern Virginia’s suburbs just outside Washington, D.C. No Republican has won there since former Rep. Barbara Comstock in 2016. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Vivek Ramaswamy urges DeSantis and Haley to drop out of race
Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is urging two of the three remaining GOP hopefuls to drop out and endorse former President Donald Trump. Ramaswamy made the remarks during an interview with Fox News’s Jesse Watters on Tuesday following his own decision to drop out and back the former president. “I think Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley would actually, at this point, do this country and this party a service by stepping aside to make sure that we’re focused on not only nominating Donald Trump but getting this country back and reviving those founding revolutionary ideals,” Ramaswamy said. VIVEK RAMASWAMY ENDS PRESIDENTIAL BID FOLLOWING IOWA CAUCUSES He went on to assert that it “would be healthy for this country” if the two competitors stepped down and endorsed the frontrunner after just one primary. “[GOP voters] sent a positive message to all of us that Donald Trump needs to be the nominee of this party, and I think Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley would actually at this point do this country and this party a service by stepping aside,” the former candidate claimed. Ramaswamy specifically shouted out DeSantis, who he claimed would be invaluable to the Trump team. RAMASWAMY: US IS BACK IN A ‘1776 MOMENT’ THAT REQUIRES UNITY BEHIND TRUMP “Especially Ron DeSantis, of the two of them, will have an important role to play in the future of this country and leading this nation. I believe that,” he said. Ramaswamy said he bowed out of the presidential race Monday night because Republican voters sent the clear message that Trump is the candidate to right the wrongs and return the country to governmental normalcy. “And for my part, I did run in this race. I started at 0%. I finished around 8% in the Iowa caucus yesterday. But We the People of this country apparently sent a clear message.” CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Wow! How was that? Pretty good, right?” Trump reacted to Ramaswamy’s remarks at a New Hampshire rally on Tuesday. “He’s a fantastic guy. He’s got something that’s very special because he started off with a zippo and he ended up very strong. He did a great job. I was actually surprised when he called because he was doing well. And it’s an honor to have his endorsement.” “He’s going to be working with us and he’ll be working with us for a long time,” Trump added before the crowd broke out in cheers. Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz and Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
Biden challenger Dean Phillips wipes reference to ‘DEI’ from campaign website
Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., wiped a reference to “diversity, equity and inclusion” from his campaign website this week as part of his effort to replace President Biden. Phillips’ campaign had used the term as a header in its political platform. It has now been replaced with the phrase “Equity and Restorative Justice,” but the description beneath the header remains the same., according to Politico. The change, made sometime Monday or Tuesday, comes just after Phillips’ political PAC received a $1 million donation from businessman Bill Ackman, who has publicly pushed against DEI initiatives in business and academia. DEI programs have come under increased scrutiny in recent years due to their discrimination on the basis of race. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year struck down affirmative action, a major pillar of DEI programs. DEAN PHILLIPS SAYS HE HAD A ‘VERY DIFFICULT EPISODE’ WITH FRIEND RASHIDA TLAIB OVER ISRAEL’S RIGHT TO EXIST Ackman publicly called out the inclusion of DEI in Phillips’ platform in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Ackman posited that Phillips “didn’t understand what DEI was when that was made part of his website. I made the same mistake.” DEMOCRAT DEAN PHILLIPS ATTACKS BIDEN FOR TRYING TO UPEND TRADITIONAL PRIMARY ELECTION PROCESS “He is getting educated as we speak. Let’s listen to what he has to say after he gets educated,” he added. “That’s the danger of the DEI movement. It comes inside a Trojan horse of constructed of [sic] beneficent sounding words.” Meanwhile, Phillips’ campaign argued that the term “DEI” was simply no longer useful. “DEI now means such divergent things to different people that it is no longer descriptive. Instead of an academic discussion of a phrase our campaign prefers to focus on the urgent need to address and redress racial disparities — the policy substance of which remains completely unchanged on our site,” Phillips campaign spokeswoman Katie Dolan told Politico. “We believe the current accordion drop down button ‘Equity and Restorative Justice’ provides an unambiguous description of the campaign’s goal of an America where all people live in economic security and social dignity.”
At least 17 people killed in explosion at Thai fireworks factory
DEVELOPING STORYDEVELOPING STORY, The explosion takes place in a remote area as photos by rescue workers show debris and body parts. At least 17 people have been killed in an explosion at a fireworks factory in central Thailand. The explosion took place at about 3pm (08:00 GMT) in a remote area in the province of Suphan Buri, about 120km (74 miles) north of the capital, Bangkok, police said, according to a video shared with media of Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin being briefed by telephone. The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear. Photos posted online by local rescue workers in Suphan Buri showed the site, in an otherwise unoccupied rice field, levelled flat aside from debris and body parts, with a huge plume of black smoke rising above. The explosion came less than a month before Chinese New Year, which falls on February 10, when demand for fireworks is strong. ฝากท่านผู้ว่าฯสุพรรณบุรีช่วยเหลือทันที และขอแสดงความเสียใจกับครอบครัวและญาติผู้เสียชีวิตด้วยครับ https://t.co/CZynRJZRjo — Srettha Thavisin (@Thavisin) January 17, 2024 The provincial governor told the Reuters news agency that no survivors had yet been found. “There were deaths, we are checking how many people died,” police colonel Theerapoj Rawangban told the AFP news agency. “We do not see more damage toward other houses or people who live in the [nearby] community,” he added. Srettha expressed his condolences and issued an order to help the victims and families of the deceased. One worker was killed in an accident at the factory in November 2022. In July 2023, a large explosion at a fireworks warehouse in southern Thailand killed at least 10 people and wounded more than 100, according to officials. Adblock test (Why?)
Two dead, dozens injured in explosion in southwest Nigeria
Oyo state governor said explosives stored by illegal miners triggered the blast on Tuesday evening. At least two people were killed and dozens injured when explosives stored at a private residence detonated in Nigeria’s southwest Oyo state, its governor said on Wednesday. Several houses collapsed from the impact of the blast on Tuesday evening in the Bodija area of the city of Ibadan, witnesses said, sending panicked residents into the streets. Residents said the impact was also felt in different parts of the city. In a statement, the governor, Seyi Makinde, said there were two deaths while 77 people were treated for injuries, most of them being discharged. “Preliminary investigations by the security agencies revealed that illegal miners occupying one of the houses in Bodija had stored explosive devices there which caused the blast,” Makinde added. Ibadan, 130km (80 miles) from Nigeria’s commercial capital of Lagos, is Nigeria’s third most populous city with four million people, but its largest by land mass. Makinde said search and rescue operations were under way and the state government would provide temporary accommodation for those who lost their homes. Adblock test (Why?)
Thai democracy activist sentenced to more jail time for ‘royal insults’
Lawyer Arnon Nampa is already serving a four-year sentence for comments about the monarchy made at a rally in 2020. A court in Thailand has sentenced a jailed activist and lawyer to four more years in prison for royal insults from a 2021 social media post, his lawyer said. Arnon Nampa, 39, was handed the four-year sentence on Wednesday in one of the country’s high-profile lese majeste cases. He is already serving a four-year sentence since September for his comments about the monarchy in a speech during a 2020 rally. “Arnon has denied wrongdoing,” his lawyer Kritsadang Nutcharat said, adding they would appeal and, if necessary, take the case to the Supreme Court. The two sentences would run consecutively, so Arnon is set to serve eight years. Thailand’s lese majeste law safeguards its palace from any criticism, with royal insults penalised for a maximum jail sentence of up to 15 years for each perceived insult. The law has been criticised by international human rights groups as extreme. The verdict on Wednesday is the second in 14 cases against Arnon, a human rights lawyer, who has led a democracy movement that held protests in Bangkok in 2020, calling for reform of the monarchy. He has chosen not to request bail for his cases and stayed in jail after the court rejected a previous request on the grounds that he would escape. At least 262 people have been charged with lese majeste offences since 2020, according to Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, a legal aid group. The verdict is a setback for groups seeking to amend the lese majeste law, which was a key policy proposal by the progressive Move Forward Party that won the most seats in parliament in May elections, but was blocked from forming a government by conservative lawmakers and an unelected Senate. Adblock test (Why?)
Nino Bambino: Weaving a New Narrative – How One Baby Brand is Reshaping India’s Love Affair With Cotton
Nino Bambino is a young organic baby clothing brand that’s rewriting the narrative around cotton, one bib at a time.