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State court delivers major setback to Delaware in climate change lawsuit against Big Oil

A top state court in Delaware partially dismissed a lawsuit the state’s government filed against several of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies over their greenhouse gas emissions and impact on global warming. Judge Mary Johnston, of the Delaware Superior Court, ruled that the state’s claims seeking damages from Big Oil defendants for alleged injuries stemming from out-of-state or global greenhouse gas emissions and interstate pollution are preempted by the federal Clean Air Act and are, therefore, beyond the limits of state statute. While other claims can be pursued, the ruling Tuesday significantly diminishes the case’s weight. “We are pleased with the Delaware Superior Court’s decision holding that the ‘claims in this case seeking damages for injuries resulting from out-of-state or global greenhouse emissions and interstate pollution, are pre-empted by the’ Clean Air Act and ‘beyond the limits of Delaware common law,’” Theodore Boutrous, Jr., a lawyer for Chevron, one of the defendants, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The global challenge of climate change requires a coordinated international policy response, not a series of baseless state and local lawsuits,” he added. ALASKAN NATIVE AMERICANS UNLEASH ON BIDEN ADMIN’S CLIMATE AGENDA: ‘COMMUNITIES AND CULTURE ARE AT RISK’ In addition to the court’s findings that out-of-state emissions were beyond its scope, it further dismissed the state’s claims that oil industry defendants — which include Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, the American Petroleum Institute and dozens of other energy companies — have misrepresented the dangers of their fossil fuel products, including through tactics such as “greenwashing.” OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS PERMITTING PLUMMETS TO 2-DECADE LOW UNDER BIDEN Delaware argued in its original complaint that Big Oil has spearheaded a coordinated “campaign of disinformation and deception” regarding the impact oil and gas production has on climate change. The state further alleged that the companies have engaged in “greenwashing” by publicly touting their investments in renewable energy projects, like solar arrays and wind farms, while ramping up fossil fuel production. “This Court finds that the State has failed to specifically identify alleged misrepresentations for each individual defendant,” Johnston wrote in her decision Tuesday. “All claims alleging misrepresentations, including ‘greenwashing,’ must be dismissed.” And the ruling found that the state’s claims that defendants violated the Delaware Consumer Fraud Act by misleading on the impacts of fossil fuel use were barred by the five-year statute of limitations, and additionally cast doubt on the ability for plaintiffs to isolate and measure alleged damages caused by air pollution limited to state-owned property. Delaware’s lawsuit dates back to September 2020 and is among several “climate deception” cases filed nationwide. BIDEN ADMIN HOLDS 73 MILLION-ACRE LEASE SALE AFTER APPEALS COURT STEPS IN “Delawareans are already paying for the malfeasance of the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies,” Democratic Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings said at the time. “Exxon, Chevron, and other mega-corporations knew exactly what kind of sacrifices the world would make to support their profits, and they deceived the public for decades.” “Now we are staring down a crisis at our shores, and taxpayers are once again footing the bill for damage to our roads, our beaches, our environment, and our economy. We are seeking accountability from some of the world’s most powerful businesses to pay for the mess they’ve made,” she added. Delaware is being represented in court by California law firm Sher Edling which was founded in 2016 to specifically take on such novel cases. The firm has pursued similar litigation on behalf of Minnesota, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York City, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Baltimore, Honolulu and several local governments across the country.  The latest such “climate deception” lawsuit was filed by California in September. Though it is unclear whether Sher Edling is involved in the case, California’s arguments largely mirror those made by the firm in its litigation. Sher Edling didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Trump boasts significant lead in Michigan as Biden falters: poll

Former President Trump is leading President Biden in Michigan, marking a distinct shift of support away from the current White House, a new poll finds. The survey, conducted by polling company Glengariff Group, found that Trump leads Biden in the state by 8% in a one-on-one election scenario. The incumbent president was selected by 39% of respondents in a head-to-head match-up, and Trump received 47%. POLL REVEALS ALARMING LEVEL OF FEAR OF WHETHER 2024 ELECTIONS WILL BE ‘FAIR,’ BALLOT COUNTING ACCURATE Approximately 3% of the Michigan respondents stated they would vote for another candidate, and 11% said they were still undecided. When accounting for third-party candidates, Trump’s lead against Biden grew to 12%. Significantly, only 17% of respondents stated that Biden deserves another term as the nation’s leader; 77% of respondents said they wanted someone else in the White House. BIDEN’S POLLING PROBLEM: RUNNING FOR REELECTION IN 2024, PRESIDENT ENDS 2023 UNDERWATER By comparison, 33% of voters surveyed said they believe Trump deserves another term in office. Approximately 62% said they believe someone else should be elected. The poll was commissioned by the Detroit News and WDIV-TV. It was conducted between Jan. 2 and Jan. 6. It surveyed 600 likely voters in Michigan and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4%. Biden previously won Michigan by three points in the 2020 presidential election. Last month, the Michigan Supreme Court rejected an attempt to remove Trump from the state’s 2024 Republican primary ballot. However, the Colorado Supreme Court on Dec. 19 and Maine’s secretary of state on Dec. 28 disqualified Trump from appearing on their respective state primary ballot in 2024. The disqualification, which was made under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, is related to Trump’s alleged role in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman contributed to this report.

Maryland faces budget deficit, crime, and housing shortage as 2024 session opens

The Maryland General Assembly opens its annual 90-day legislative session on Wednesday with lawmakers set to wrestle with budget challenges as well as measures on affordable housing and public safety. Like other states, Maryland greatly benefited from federal pandemic aid in recent years. But now Maryland is facing a projected structural deficit of $761 million in the next fiscal year. That is expected to balloon to about $2.7 billion in fiscal year 2029, largely due to rising costs of a K-12 education funding reform law. Gov. Wes Moore’s administration already has proposed roughly $3.3 billion in cuts for the state’s six-year transportation spending plan, as it faces inflationary pressures and sagging traditional revenue sources. MARYLAND BEACH DISCOVERY BELIEVED TO BE FROM 19TH CENTURY SHIP Looming deficits have prompted some talk in Annapolis about taking action to raise taxes, but leading lawmakers are sounding wary. Senate President Bill Ferguson said he doesn’t believe tax increases are on the table this year, especially when officials in many other states are talking about tax cuts. “I think we have sufficient resources to make investments that matter in Maryland, and so it just means we have to live within our means, and we have to say no to some things,” the Baltimore Democrat said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. “That’s what I think the session will be: is kind of trying to prioritize and adjust for the out years.” House Speaker Adrienne Jones said taxes should only be raised if “absolutely necessary.” However, the speaker pointed out that statewide transportation projects are at risk of being significantly underfunded, and she said “we can’t just cut our way out of this issue when revenues have been stagnant for a decade.” “We’re looking at all our options,” said Jones, a Baltimore County Democrat. Moore, now entering his second year in office, is expected to propose a package of legislation to make housing more affordable. “We know that Maryland is experiencing a housing shortage, and we will work to increase the number of affordable housing units,” Jones said. Public safety also is expected to be a top issue. Moore, a Democrat, outlined a package of proposals Tuesday including the creation of a new statewide center to help prevent gun violence. The governor also wants to increase apprenticeships in public safety to build stronger pipelines to law enforcement jobs for all Marylanders. Republican lawmakers have focused on public safety as well, including stronger penalties for committing crimes with an illegal firearm. Senate Republican leaders said the governor’s message was positive, but they wanted to hear more about accountability. MARYLAND REP. STENY HOYER ANNOUNCES RUN FOR REELECTION: ‘I HAVE MORE WORK TO COMPLETE’ “The rhetoric is great and we agree that accountability needs to be the watchword and that the entire state government needs to be focused on accountability for criminal activity, but there’s still a lot of fluff and not a lot of real concrete commitments to really embrace legislation that will actually put more criminals behind bars,” said Sen. Justin Ready, a Carroll County Republican. Despite those concerns, lawmakers note that Baltimore has been making progress in cutting violent crime. The city recorded fewer than than 300 homicides last year for the first time in nearly a decade, ending a surge that began in 2015. Maryland’s largest city still made headlines for crime last year. A man accused of killing Baltimore tech entrepreneur Pava LaPere in September was released from prison nearly a year earlier after serving a shortened sentence for a 2013 rape because he earned good behavior credits behind bars. Ferguson said he’s expecting legislation to make some changes regarding the granting such credits related to sexual assault. “I think that’s something we’re going to take a close look at fixing,” Ferguson said. “Clearly, there was something wrong, and I think there is something specific about sexual assault that is really important that when a penalty is imposed that penalty is what we all expect.” Jones said she will be promoting a package of bills she’s calling the “decency agenda” to address a spike in prejudice against Jewish and Muslim people. “These bills will put safeguards and best practices in place to make sure that intolerance and hate don’t take further root in our state’s institutions and schools,” Jones said. Juvenile justice reform also is expected to be taken up. Last year, lawmakers approved a measure that prevents a police officer from conducting a custodial interrogation of a child until an attorney has been consulted. Lawmakers are planning to consider some clarifications to the law. A debate over whether to allow the terminally ill to receive lethal medication to end their lives also is expected this session. Ferguson said it’s important to make sure strong protections are in place, so such a law cannot be abused. “I anticipate that we will have a bill on the floor for a vote,” Ferguson said.

White House mum on whether Hunter Biden gave advanced notice he would appear at House contempt meeting

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre would not say if the White House had advanced knowledge that Hunter Biden would visit Capitol Hill on Wednesday to sit in a meeting to consider a resolution that would hold him in contempt of Congress, saying the first son “makes his own decisions.” Hunter Biden unexpectedly appeared with his attorneys at the House Oversight Committee’s meeting Wednesday morning to consider the resolution that, if passed, would set up a full House vote on whether to hold him in contempt of Congress for defying a congressional subpoena for a closed-door deposition as part of the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden. The subpoena was for a deposition on Dec. 13. Hunter Biden had offered to testify publicly — an offer rejected by House Republicans, citing the setting for other witness interviews, and vowing to release a transcript of his deposition. HOUSE GOP PROBING IF BIDEN WAS INVOLVED IN HUNTER’S ‘SCHEME’ TO DEFY SUBPOENA, POTENTIAL ‘IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE’ The president’s son, instead of complying with the subpoena, delivered a public statement on Capitol Hill and did not appear for his deposition. On Wednesday, Hunter Biden and his attorneys Abbe Lowell and Kevin Morris came to Capitol Hill to sit in the audience as lawmakers on the panel considered whether to pass the resolution out of committee. He and his attorneys ultimately left before the vote on the resolution.  When asked during the White House press briefing if President Biden or his staff was informed that his son would appear for the committee markup, Jean-Pierre did not respond, but said he is a “private citizen.” HUNTER BIDEN MAKES SHOCKING APPEARANCE AT HIS OWN CONTEMPT HEARING “So here’s what I’ll say. And I’ve said this many times before: Hunter, as you all know, as a private citizen, he’s not a member of this White House,” Jean-Pierre said. “He makes his own decisions like he did today about how to respond to Congress.” She went on to refer “any further questions, any additional questions about this process” to Hunter Biden’s attorneys. When pressed again on whether the White House was informed in advance, Jean-Pierre said: “I don’t have anything — we don’t have anything else to share beyond that.” “He is a private citizen, and he makes his own decisions as it relates to this particular, you know, response, is potentially a response to the Congress,” she said. “That’s something that he decides on, and I would refer to his representatives.” Fox News’ Peter Doocy went on to press Jean-Pierre, reminding her that last time the first son was on Capitol Hill, on Dec. 13 to defy the subpoena, she told reporters that the president “was certainly familiar with what his son was going to say.”  Doocy pressed again, asking if the president helps his son “skirt congressional subpoenas.”  “That is not even true — that is a jump. That is incredibly disingenuous in that question,” she said. “What I will say to you — I’m helping you out. I don’t have anything else to share.”  Last month, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, expanded their investigation to probe whether President Biden was involved in his son’s “scheme” to defy his subpoena for deposition earlier this month, which, they say, “could constitute an impeachable offense.”  Comer and Jordan pointed to a statement made by Jean-Pierre on Dec. 13, after Hunter Biden defied his subpoena. She was asked whether the president had watched his son’s public statement.  “White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that President Biden was ‘certainly familiar with what his son was going to say,’” they wrote in a letter to White House Counsel Edward Siskel last month. “Ms. Jean-Pierre declined, however, to provide any further details about the President’s actions on whether the President approved of his son defying congressional subpoenas.”  WHITE HOUSE, HUNTER BIDEN’S TEAM KEEP SHIFTING GOALPOSTS IN DENYING DAD’S INVOLVEMENT WITH BUSINESSES They added, though, that Jean-Pierre’s statement “suggests the President had some amount of advanced knowledge that Mr. Biden would choose to defy two congressional subpoenas.”  The chairmen pointed to the criminal code, citing the section which states that it is unlawful to “corruptly… endeavor to influence, obstruct, or impede the due and proper exercise of the power of inquiry under which any investigation or inquiry is being had by… any committee of either House or any joint committee of Congress.”  “Likewise, any person who ‘aids, abets, counsels, commands, induces or procures’ the commission of a crime is punishable as a principal of the crime,” they wrote.  “In light of Ms. Jean-Pierre’s statement, we are compelled to examine the involvement of the President in his son’s scheme to defy the Committees’ subpoenas,” they wrote, adding that the president “had advanced awareness” that his son would defy the subpoenas which “raises a troubling new question that we must examine: whether the President corruptly sought to influence or obstruct the Committee’s proceeding by preventing, discouraging, or dissuading his son from complying with the Committee’s subpoenas.”  “Such conduct could constitute an impeachable offense,” they wrote. Meanwhile, the House Oversight Committee’s meeting to consider the resolution to hold Hunter Biden in contempt of Congress stands in recess. The House Judiciary Committee is also considering the resolution.  If passed out of committee, the resolution would come to the floor for a full House vote. 

Biden admin warns ‘avalanche’ of deportations could be scuttled if SCOTUS rules against them in key case

The Biden administration warned Supreme Court justices on Monday that hundreds of thousands of deportation cases could be reset and sent back into the immigration system if the justices rules against the administration on a key case regarding the use of immigration notices. The remarks came during oral arguments in a case related to Notices to Appear — orders given to illegal immigrants before they are released into the interior to appear before an immigration court. However, sometimes those documents when issued do not include a court date and only say “TBD.” A separate court date is later mailed to the illegal immigrant in those instances. If the immigrant does not turn up for that hearing, they can be ordered deported “in absentia.” The case focused initially on an El Salvadoran illegal immigrant who was given an NTA in 2005, and months later was mailed a court date, but says he didn’t receive it. The case has been joined by two other illegal immigrants with similar situations.  MAYORKAS TELLS BORDER PATROL AGENTS THAT ‘ABOVE 85%’ OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS RELEASED INTO US: SOURCES The lawyers for the illegal immigrants represented argue that the two separate mailings to do not count as proper notice as dictated by statute. Government lawyers argued that such practices do count as proper notice, and also warned that if the court ruled against them, then hundreds of thousands of people who received TBDs on their NTAs would be allowed to seek a review of their case. McCloud said that numbers of in absentia orders of removal had risen sharply amid the recent border crisis, from 380 in 2021 to over 11,000 in 2023. “We are very concerned that those hundreds of thousands of cases could be injected back into the immigration system,” Charles McCloud, representing the government, told the justices. “So…that already substantial increase we have seen is going to turn into an avalanche,” he said. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT POPULATION SOARS UNDER BIDEN: GOVERNMENT DATA He said if lower court orders were allowed to stand by the Supreme Court, it would be unfair to illegal immigrants who did show up to their hearings versus those who chose not to show up and hoped the order would be rescinded. “And that disadvantages other non-citizens who did follow the rules, who complied and went to their removal proceedings, because those non-citizens could be removed at the end of their proceedings, but someone…who just decides ‘I don’t want to show up’ has this in absentia order, but it could always be rescinded under the Ninth Circuit’s rule.,” he said. The lawyer representing the illegal immigrants pushed back arguing that any consequences would be a “function of the government ignoring the text of the statute over many cases and many years.” Lawyer Easha Anand also said that while there would be an increase in the number of such motions, she said the impact would be limited as the result would only be another hearing. MAYORKAS ACKNOWLEDGES THAT MAJORITY OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS RELEASED INTO US: ‘I KNOW THE DATA’  “And so, you know, for many, many non-citizens who have no pathway to staying in the United States, it’s very unlikely that they’re going to come forward and file one of these motions to reopen because the best they get is another hearing,” she said. The case is the latest immigration case to face the court, which has faced a plethora of cases related to illegal immigration and border security in recent years and will face more in 2024. The court will this year take up a dispute between Texas and the government over Texas’ construction of razor wire at the border, and whether federal officials can cut it. Meanwhile, the government has also sued Texas over its new anti-illegal immigration law which allows state and local law enforcement to arrest illegal immigrants. Gov. Greg Abbott has pledged to fight the case to the Supreme Court if necessary. The U.S. is currently facing a massive immigration backlog which has been growing for years but has skyrocketed amid the recent migrant crisis. The immigration court backlog is now over 3 million and the number of illegal immigrants on the non-detained docket is now over 6 million. Meanwhile, there were 302,000 migrant encounters in December alone. Fox News reported on Monday that DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has admitted to Border Patrol agents that currently the rate of migrant releases into the interior is “above 85%” — although DHS officials have said they have removed more migrants since May than in all of FY 2019. “We are doing everything we can, within a broken system, to incentivize noncitizens to use lawful pathways, to impose consequences on those who do not, and to reduce irregular migration,” he said in Texas.

Country music star releases song endorsing ‘America’s Governor’ DeSantis: ‘Never Back Down’

FIRST ON FOX: A Florida country music star has released a song supporting Gov. Ron DeSantis touting the governor’s leadership that his presidential campaign says will be played at all events going forward.  Billy Dean, a member of the Florida Music Hall of Fame with 3 certified gold albums and 11 Billboard country music top hits to his credit, recorded a song called “Never Back Down” which the DeSantis team used to produce a music video supporting the governor.  “The fight is tough, you gotta stand your ground, and if you still believe in the American Dream then never back down, never back down, never back down, and if you still believe in living free, never back down,” Dean sings in the song.  The song continues, “They shame us just because we love our country, attacking everything that we hold dear. They shame us for our faith, our flag, our family, so why the hell are they still living here?” DESANTIS DECLARES IOWA GOALPOST AT FOX NEWS TOWN HALL: ‘WE’RE GOING TO DO WELL HERE’ “I’m a Florida native and resident, who has lived the American Dream,” Dean, nominated for a Grammy in 1992 for his song “Somewhere In My Broken Heart”, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “My dad served in WW2 and lost 2 brothers Harold Mason Dean and Robert Lloyd Dean to the cause. They sacrificed their dreams so I could live mine. My dad did not want me to serve the country with guns and bullets but I can serve with my pen, paper, and guitar.” “Ron DeSantis is not just Florida’s Governor, he is America’s Governor and he inspired me to write and record a song as a message to all those who put power and party above country, you won’t get away with it without a fight. I owe it to our Veterans to NEVER BACK DOWN” FIREBRAND HOUSE REPUBLICAN SEEING ‘MASSIVE SURGE’ FOR DESANTIS IN IOWA: ‘CLOSER THAN PEOPLE THINK’ Dean’s song marks the second time in about a year that a star musician has publicly supported his political efforts. In 2022, Johnny Van Zant, lead vocalist of Lynyrd Skynyrd, and his brother Donnie Van Zant of 38 Special wrote “Sweet Florida” with lyrics touting DeSantis’s leadership. “We got to thank Governor DeSantis for standing and believing for what he believes…he’s been a great governor for us,” Johnny told “Fox & Friends” at the time. The song’s release comes less than a week before Monday’s Iowa Caucus where voters will take part in the first election of the 2024 presidential cycle. DeSantis is currently polling at 16.4% in Iowa, according to the Real Clear Politics average of polls, neck and neck with former ambassador Nikki Haley at 16.6% and trailing former President Donald Trump who sits at 52.2%.

How and where to watch Fox News’ town hall with Donald Trump

Former President Trump will participate in a Fox News Channel town hall on Wednesday, January 10th. The highly anticipated live event will begin at 9 p.m. EST, concluding three straight nights of Fox-hosted town halls with presidential candidates in Iowa. The discussion will be co-moderated by Fox News’ “The Story” executive editor and anchor Martha MacCallum and “Special Report” chief political anchor Bret Baier. Trump will field questions from both the hosts and a live audience. In early December, Trump sat down with Fox News host Sean Hannity in Davenport, Iowa for an exclusive town hall. The former president touched on President Biden and his cognitive health, the upcoming Iowa caucuses, Obamacare, education and more issues that are important to American voters. There are several ways viewers can watch the live town hall event with Trump, including tuning in live to FOX News Channel. Viewers can also access a live stream on FOXNews.com, FOX Nation, and FOX News Media’s streaming platform. FOX websites will have live debate reporting and a live blog throughout the evening. FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: WHAT EACH CANDIDATE MUST DO TO MAKE THE GOP PRIMARY COMPETITIVE Presidential primary polling shows Trump remains the steady frontrunner of the GOP race, locking in wide double-digit leads over his opponents over the past couple months. The former president has been in the midst of fighting several legal battles over the course of his campaign. Various states, including Colorado and Maine, have recently taken action to try and block Trump from appearing on the primary ballots, a move his primary opponents and many members of the Democratic Party have condemned.  The live town hall will take place the same time that Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Ambassador Nikki Haley, who participated in Fox News Channel town halls Monday and Tuesday evening, will go head-to-head at the fifth presidential debate.

WV Gov. Justice to deliver final speech before bringing ‘folksy’ style to US Senate run

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice once rejected a legislative budget by showing a plate of cow dung he brought from a farm to the state Capitol on a silver platter. He hoisted the hind end of his pet English bulldog in the House chamber in response to criticism. And he was always ready with a poster board or prop to illustrate a point. Justice will deliver his final State of the State address Wednesday night, bringing a close to one avenue for his quirky, unpredictable speeches. The popular two-term Republican governor is running for Democrat Joe Manchin’s U.S. Senate seat in November. The 6-foot-7 (2-meter) Justice will leave big shoes to fill — literally and metaphorically. WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATORS LOOK AHEAD TO FENTANYL CRACKDOWN AND EDUCATION FUNDING A former billionaire who owns dozens of businesses, Justice, 72, has always put on a show never seen before under the Capitol dome. Gone this time next year from the Statehouse will be Justice’s overused adverbs such as “really, really,” the informal “lotta lotta,” or, in order to get his point across, “more than good sense.” He refuses to use teleprompters or speak from a script, and his staff has admitted they are often as surprised as anyone by what he says or does. During his first State of the State in 2017, he referred to the West Virginia budget as “an 18-karat dog’s mess.” Usually at Justice’s side — or on his lap — is his grumpy-looking English bulldog, Babydog, who sometimes dresses up, such as when she wore a hat with a giant bow for a briefing ahead of the Kentucky Derby. In 2022, Justice ended his televised address by flashing Babydog’s rear to the crowd in response to singer and actress Bette Midler, who called West Virginians “poor, illiterate and strung out” in a tweet after Manchin refused to support President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better agenda. “Babydog tells Bette Midler and all those out there: Kiss her heinie,” Justice said, grinning, to a standing ovation. Justice has been described as “folksy” for his unique, rambling speaking style, a characterization he embraces. He’s said West Virginia is on an economic “rocket ship ride” and has called himself a frog who’s proud of his pond. “I speak in real common language. … Really and truly you know that I am talking to you, just like we were sitting in your house and I was talking to you,” he said during his 2022 State of the State. “I’m not talking down to anybody. I don’t believe in it.” REPUBLICAN WV DELEGATE CALEB HANNA RESIGNS TO FOCUS ON STATE AUDITOR CAMPAIGN In 2017, he brought to his inauguration an ax and tackle box that he bought for $200 on the side of the road from a woman who had fallen on hard times. “I carry the tackle box and the ax every day,” he said. “I can’t stand how good we are and how troubled we are and how many people are hurting.” Not everyone has been charmed by Justice, who has sparred with politicians from both sides. He’s been critiqued for not spending enough time in Charleston, instead devoting time to other activities like coaching a girls’ basketball team near his home on the Virginia border. Justice has also been criticized for underfunding everything from public schools to the state’s foster care system, and advocates for low-income residents say he has failed to meet the challenges facing the neediest citizens. Others have groaned that stunts like the Babydog hind-end episode are unprofessional and hurt the state’s image. Justice has also received attention for failing to pay fees for safety violations at family coal mines and millions in unpaid business debt. State Democratic Party Chair Mike Pushkin took a jab at Justice in November, saying residents deserve a politician who “shows up to work, pays his debts, and brings more to the U.S. Senate than just a cute dog.” Six months after taking over as governor as a Democrat, Justice announced at a rally for then-President Donald Trump that he was switching to the GOP. He oversaw the response to two statewide teachers’ strikes, COVID-19 and the ongoing opioid epidemic, which has claimed lives in West Virginia at a higher rate than any other state. During the pandemic, the pro-vaccine governor said residents who went unvaccinated were “entering the death drawing.” He has also focused on economic development and tourism. West Virginia has long ranked near the bottom of U.S. health and economic statistics. Justice has consistently condemned jokes made at the state’s expense. “I don’t subscribe to that, and I know you don’t either,” he said during his 2021 State of the State. Instead, Justice calls West Virginia a “diamond in the rough.” When he reintroduced a proposal to cut the state’s personal income tax, Justice said legislative leaders told him to either give up or “make a big splash.” “And so here comes me cannonballing into the pool,” the governor during last year’s State of the State. “By God, I’ll make a big splash.” After lawmakers agreed to a compromise cut of 21.25%, Justice signed it in early March.

New York Judge Engoron rescinds offer for Trump to deliver closing argument in NYAG civil trial

The judge presiding over the civil trial stemming from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against former President Trump and his business empire has rescinded the court’s offer for the 2024 GOP frontrunner to deliver a closing argument in the case. Judge Arthur Engoron on Wednesday rescinded permission for Trump to make a closing argument during proceedings on Thursday. DEUTSCHE BANK SOUGHT OUT ‘WHALE’ OF A CLIENT IN TRUMP, BENEFITED FROM RELATIONSHIP, FORMER EXECUTIVE TESTIFIES Engoron had initially approved the request for Trump to make his own closing statement, but said the former president would be required to limit his remarks to “commentary on the relevant, material facts that are in evidence, and application of the relevant law to those facts.” Engoron said Trump would be prohibited from introducing new evidence or commenting on “irrelevant matters” and said he could not “deliver a campaign speech” or speak ill of court staff or the attorney general. However, Trump attorney Chris Kise, in an email to Engoron, said Trump has “been wrongfully demeaned and belittled by an out of control, politically motivated Attorney General” and he should be allowed to “speak about the things that must be spoken about.”  Kise also requested to postpone closing arguments, citing the death of Trump’s mother-in-law, Amalija Knavs, whom Kise said Trump “was very close to.”  MELANIA TRUMP ANNOUNCES PASSING OF ‘BELOVED’ MOTHER: ‘WE WILL MISS HER BEYOND MEASURE’ Former first lady Melania Trump made the announcement about her mother’s passing on X late Tuesday. Engoron said he was “sorry to hear the sad news,” but denied the request. Engoron went on to impose a deadline for Kise to agree, on behalf of Trump, to abide by his rules for the closing argument; a deadline Kise missed. “Not having heard from you by the third extended deadline (noon today), I assume that Mr. Trump will not agree to the reasonable, lawful limits I have imposed as a precondition to giving a closing statement above and beyond those given by his attorneys, and that, therefore, he will not be speaking in court tomorrow,” Engoron wrote in an email. The trial, which Engoron is presiding over, stems from James’ lawsuit against Trump, his family and his businesses. James accused Trump of inflating his financial statements and deceiving banks. James filed the lawsuit against Trump “under a consumer protection statute that denies the right to a jury,” a Trump spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “There was never an option to choose a jury trial,” the spokesperson said. “It is unfortunate that a jury won’t be able to hear how absurd the merits of this case are and conclude no wrongdoing ever happened.” Trump and his family have denied any wrongdoing. The former president has repeatedly said his assets were actually undervalued. Trump has repeatedly said his financial statements had disclaimers, requesting that the numbers be evaluated by the banks. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Greg Abbott will use $13 million he raised in 2023 to target anti-voucher Republicans

Abbott’s campaign announced the sum Wednesday, adding that he also has $38 million cash on hand across two political accounts.