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More than a third of state agencies are using AI. Texas is beginning to examine its potential impact.
Amid fears that AI could heighten bias or affect privacy, the state is forming an advisory committee to recommend how the technology is deployed. “We’re gonna have to set up some rules,” the committee’s founder says.
New York AG case against NRA leader faces trial after court again rejects gun group’s claim of political probe
Longtime leader of the National Rifle Association, Wayne LaPierre, is set to face trial in the corruption case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James after a state court recently rejected the gun advocacy group’s argument that her office’s four-year investigation was politically motivated. LaPierre, who has been at the helm for more than three decades, is among four defendants named in James’ lawsuit brought in 2020 accusing the NRA and its senior management of violating numerous state and federal laws to divert millions of dollars to their own pockets and away from the mission of the organization. Jury selection is expected to kick off Tuesday before State Supreme Court Justice Joel M. Cohen. The trial, scheduled to begin on Jan. 8, is expected to last six to eight weeks. As recently as last Thursday, a New York state appeals court rejected the NRA’s latest effort to end James’ corruption investigation. TRUMP ATTORNEY SOUNDS ALARM ON NY AG LETITIA JAMES AMID CIVIL FRAUD CASE: ‘SHE CAMPAIGNED ON TRUMP’ The NRA has long alleged the case is politically motivated, arguing James violated the group’s First Amendment rights and executed selective enforcement of state laws governing nonprofits because she disagrees with the group’s gun advocacy. A five-judge panel of the Appellate Division in Manhattan unanimously ruled, however, that James’ office had probable cause to investigate and sue the NRA, citing the “ample evidence of malfeasance” her investigators claim to have found. The court also shot down the selective enforcement claim, saying other nonprofits where dissolution had been sought agreed to overhaul their leadership. In March 2022, Cohen rejected James’ goal of seeking to dissolve the NRA entirely, finding a lack of evidence that the gun advocacy group deserved the “corporate death penalty,” Reuters reported. TRUMP’S GAG ORDER CHALLENGE IN NEW YORK AG LETITIA JAMES’ CIVIL SUIT REJECTED James’ lawsuit still aims to recoup millions of dollars’ worth of assets and to stop LaPierre, along with co-defendants John Frazer, the NRA’s former general counsel, Wilson Phillips, the former finance chief of the NRA, and Joshua Powell, who was the group’s second-in-command for a time, from serving on the board of any not-for-profit charitable organization in the state of New York again. Jurors could recommend LaPierre and Frazer be removed and assess how much each of the four defendants should be required to pay back to the NRA. After being fired from the organization in early 2020, Powell notably assailed the NRA in a tell-all book, claiming the group focused too heavily on money rather than Second Amendment rights, according to the New York Times. He also has advocated for universal background checks and red flag laws. Powell has been engaged in settlement talks with James’ office, but no plea agreement has been reached, the Times reported. In an interview with the Times, the NRA’s lead lawyer, William A. Brewer III, said that James’ case relies heavily on witnesses no longer affiliated with the NRA. Those include Oliver North, the organization’s former president who was reportedly forced out in 2020 amid a power struggle between LaPierre and the NRA’s longtime advertising and public relations firm, Ackerman McQueen. Phillip Journey, a former NRA director turned critic of the organization, is also on the list of those scheduled to testify, the Times reported. Amid the New York probe, the NRA filed for bankruptcy in Texas nearly three years ago. Howeverr, in May 2021, a federal bankruptcy court in Texas rejected the NRA’s declaration, stating, “that the NRA did not file the bankruptcy petition in good faith.”
Biden continues bleeding support from key voter groups as Dems sound alarm over 2024: poll
President Biden is continuing to bleed support from a number of voter demographics key to any hopes he has at winning a second term in the presidential election later this year, a new poll has found. According to the USA Today/Suffolk University poll released Monday, Biden’s support among Black voters has fallen to just 63%, down from the 92% that Pew Research Center data shows he won in the 2020 presidential election, while his support among Hispanic voters is down to 34% from 59%. Additionally, Biden trails former President Donald Trump, his likely Republican opponent, 37%-33%, among voters under the age of 35. BIDEN’S POLLING PROBLEM: RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION IN 2024, THE PRESIDENT ENDS 2023 UNDERWATER On a positive note for Biden, the poll finds that most of that lost support shifts to third-party candidates rather than Trump, but still appears to give the former president the edge. Trump leads Biden 39%-37% with an unnamed third-party candidate receiving 17%. With specified third-party candidates, Trump leads Biden 37%-34% while independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. garnered 10% support. According to the poll, 20% of Black and Hispanic voters say they support a third-party candidate over Trump or Biden, while 21% of young voters say the same. BIDEN SCRAMBLES TO WIN OVER SWING STATE BLACK VOTERS AS SUPPORT FROM THE TRADITIONALLY BLUE BLOC FALTERS The poll also finds a significant enthusiasm gap between those supporting Trump and Biden, with 44% of Trump supporters describing themselves as “a 10,” the highest level of enthusiasm, compared to just 18% of Biden supporters who say the same. Among their respective likely primary voters, Trump and Biden continue to hold commanding leads. Sixty-two percent of Republicans say they will support Trump, light years ahead of former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley at 13%, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 10%, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at 6% and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 4%. Biden performs even better within his party, garnering 74% support, compared to just 9% for author Marianne Williamson and 2% for Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips. BLACK VOTERS IN GEORGIA ‘DISAPPOINTED’ BY BIDEN: ‘IT MAKES ME WONDER WHY I VOTE’ Just 39% of voters say they approve of Biden’s job performance, with 58% disapproving. That number edges Vice President Harris’ approval rating of 33%, compared to 57% disapproving. The disappointing numbers for Biden come as pundits and experts from within his own party continue to sound the alarm over the possibility of Trump winning back the White House, including veteran Democrat strategist James Carville and former Obama administration official David Axelrod. David Faris, a writer and political science professor at Roosevelt University, recently called the bad news for Democrats “even worse than it looks,” and argued that Biden’s historically low polling numbers should “panic” the party heading into 2024. “Precisely how scared Democrats should be about Biden’s standing depends on how his plight compares with those of presidents past. And there’s no sugarcoating it: This might be the worst polling environment for an incumbent president one year out from an election since the advent of the polling era in the 1930s and also the most dire situation facing any Democratic presidential candidate in decades,” the liberal-leaning political scientist wrote. “Panic is entirely warranted,” he added. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Biden campaign for comment. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
House GOP majority officially whittles down to 3 seats after McCarthy resignation
The House Republican majority is officially whittled down to three as the chamber updated its numbers after former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s retirement. The House gathered in a pro-forma session on Tuesday, officially updating the number of seats held by members of Congress. McCarthy’s resignation from Congress was effective Dec. 31, 2023, but Tuesday’s pro-forma session was the first gavel since the former speaker’s resignation went into effect. THE LEAST MERRY CHRISTMAS? KEVIN MCCARTHY’S ROUGH 2023 With McCarthy’s departure, the House is down to 433 members in total. House Republicans hold 220 seats in the lower chamber while House Democrats currently control 213 seats. Two vacancies — McCarthy’s resignation and the removal of disgraced former New York GOP Rep. George Santos from Congress — have House Republicans walking a political tightrope under the new leadership of Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. With only a three-seat majority, Johnson can only have three defectors in his party should Democrats vote en-bloc on a measure. GEORGE SANTOS FACES CALLS TO ‘RESIGN IMMEDIATELY’ AFTER DAMNING ETHICS REPORT The House breakdown is likely going to change again soon with New York Democrat Rep. Brian Higgins’ resignation in February to take a position at Buffalo, New York’s Shea’s Performing Arts Center. This will give House Republicans some breathing room, but potentially only for a little bit. The special election to replace Santos in Congress will take place on Feb. 13, 2024, in New York’s Third Congressional District. Should the seat flip blue, the GOP majority would once again narrow. McCarthy’s resignation came after his removal from the speakership by eight Republicans led by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and every Democrat present in the chamber. McCarthy has taken parting shots at Gaetz as he headed for the exit door, recently telling Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade that history will not look back fondly on Gaetz’s move. “History will judge him,” McCarthy said. “And history will judge all of us.” Fox News Digital’s Taylor Penley contributed reporting.
Manipur violence: Curfew relaxed in five valley districts
The curfew was imposed in five districts of Imphal valley on Monday evening after four villagers were gunned down in Thoubal.
Maine secretary of state denies politics played role in decision to kick Trump off ballot
The Maine election official who disqualified former President Trump from the state’s presidential primary ballot said on Monday that politics did not influence her decision. Last week, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, ruled that Trump was barred from running for president in her state because he allegedly “engaged in insurrection” through his actions leading up to and during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. “Politics and my personal views played no role,” Bellows told NPR in an interview. “I swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and that is what I did.” Her controversial decision followed a similar ruling by Colorado’s state Supreme Court that cited Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars candidates who have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the United States from holding federal elected office. TRUMP DISQUALIFIED FROM MAINE 2024 REPUBLICAN PRIMARY BALLOT The Trump campaign had derided both decisions and called Bellows “a virulent leftist and a hyper-partisan Biden-supporting Democrat,” accusing her of election interference on behalf of President Biden. However, the Maine election chief explained said she was required to issue a decision after registered voters challenged Trump’s qualification for the ballot. “Under Maine law, when I qualified Mr. Trump for the ballot, any registered voter had the right to challenge that qualification,” Bellows told “All Things Considered” host Scott Detrow. “Five voters did so, including two former Republican state senators. And then I was required under the statute, under the law, to hold a hearing and issue a decision, and do so within a very compressed timeline. So this wasn’t something I initiated, but it’s something that’s required under Maine election law.” Bellows said she “carefully” reviewed evidence presented at a hearing that the violence on Jan. 6 “occurred at the behest of, and with the knowledge and support of, the outgoing president.” MAINE DEMOCRAT WHO BARRED TRUMP FROM BALLOT MET WITH BIDEN TWICE, CALLED ELECTORAL COLLEGE ‘WHITE SUPREMACY’ She called the riot “tragic” and an “attack not only upon the capital and government officials, but also an attack on the rule of law, on the peaceful transfer of power.” “The United States Constitution does not tolerate an assault on the foundations of our government. And under Maine election law, I was required to act in response,” Bellows said. The Maine and Colorado decisions provoked an outcry from Trump supporters, GOP officials and even some liberal Democrats who view efforts to take Trump off the ballot as overreach. Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, who voted to impeach Trump for his role in the Jan. 6 riot, criticized Bellows’ decision and said voters should be able to vote for Trump “until he is actually found guilty of the crime of insurrection.” In response to her critics, Bellows told NPR that the Constitution does not require Trump to be convicted to be barred from the ballot. MAINE SEC. OF STATE SAYS SHE’S RECEIVED ‘THREATENING COMMUNICATIONS’ AFTER TRUMP MOVE: ‘TRULY UNACCEPTABLE’ “So I encourage people to read my decision, and also read very carefully Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. It doesn’t say ‘convict.’ It doesn’t say ‘convicted’ or ‘impeached,’” she said. “But furthermore, here’s what’s very, very important: In my decision, I made clear this is part of Maine’s process,” she continued. “It now goes to Maine Superior Court. Mr. Trump may, and will, appeal to Superior Court. Then it goes to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, and then to the U.S. Supreme Court.” Bellows noted that she suspended her decision from taking effect pending court review of the Colorado and Maine actions. Trump is expected to contest both decisions and the case will likely be resolved by the U.S. Supreme Court sometime before January 20 — the deadline when military and overseas voters must receive their ballots for Maine’s presidential primary on March 5. Bellows said Maine “would certainly welcome” a Supreme Court decision to clarify Trump’s eligibility to run for president. “So the courts are compelled by a very compressed timeline as well here in our state. And I am hopeful we’ll have resolution,” she said. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Trump wins endorsement from House Majority Leader Steve Scalise
FIRST ON FOX: Former President Trump is getting a blessing from the bayou as he seeks a second term in the Oval Office. Fox News Digital has learned that House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., is endorsing Trump, the leading GOP candidate, for president. “When Donald Trump was President, American workers and families were thriving,” Scalise said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. MAINE DEMOCRAT WHO BARRED TRUMP FROM BALLOT MET WITH BIDEN TWICE, CALLED ELECTORAL COLLEGE ‘WHITE SUPREMACY’ “The economy was strong and interest rates were low — grocery costs were affordable, and families could afford to buy a house and provide for their children,” Scalise continued. “The border was secure and crime was down. America had secure energy policies, keeping gas and utility prices low.” Scalise said that President Biden “has driven our country into chaos with skyrocketing costs, and hardworking taxpayers are the ones paying the price,” and that under his administration, “gas prices more than doubled, housing affordability reached all-time lows, mortgage rates doubled, inflation hit the highest level in 40 years, and interest rates are at the highest level in 22 years.” “Hardworking Americans are fed up — consumer sentiment fell to its lowest level ever under President Biden,” Scalise said. The House majority leader said Americans need “a strong leader to fix the problems Joe Biden has created and — with rising aggression from adversaries abroad — deter foreign actors who wish to harm us,” noting the “over 6.2 million encounters at the southern border” and the “1.7 million known gotaways” coming and being arrested from “hundreds of countries,” not just Latin America. BIDEN’S HOMETOWN REVEALS HOW IT REALLY FEELS ABOUT ‘BIDENOMICS’ “Fiscal Year 2023 surpassed Fiscal Year 2022 as the worst year at the border with the most migrant encounters on record, 169 individuals on the terrorist watchlist apprehended attempting to enter illegally, and over 27,000 pounds of fentanyl seized by the CPB.” “In Joe Biden’s America, our communities aren’t safe,” Scalise said. Scalise said that “American families and workers deserve a president who will stand up for them and their safety, rescue us from failed Bidenomics, and restore our nation to greatness.” “In this race, there is one man who has a proven track record of being able to save our country and get us back on track: Donald Trump,” Scalise said. “He has done it once before, and I know he will do it again.” “I am proud to endorse Donald Trump for president in 2024, and I look forward to working with President Trump and a Republican House and Senate to fight for those families who are struggling under the weight of Biden’s failed policies,” he concluded. The Republican leader’s endorsement comes as Trump, the leading GOP nominee, faces attempts from several states to remove him from their primary ballots. Last month, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled 4-3 to remove Trump from the ballot over the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots, citing the 14th Amendment’s insurrection clause. Following the ruling, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows removed Trump from the state’s ballot, citing the same clause of the 14th Amendment. Fox News Digital has reached out to the Trump and Biden campaigns for comment.
Israel maintains onslaught as Gaza death toll tops 22,000
Israeli attacks have continued across the Gaza Strip with little let-up, as the death toll in the enclave rose above the latest milestone of 22,000. The total number of Palestinians killed in Gaza since October 7 now stands at 22,185, while at least 57,000 have been injured, the Hamas-run Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday. Meanwhile, air and ground attacks continued across the Strip, including in the south, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people have been directed to seek safety. Some two-thirds of those killed amid Israel’s bombardment of Gaza are women and children, according to the ministry. Israel launched its campaign following Hamas’s raid into southern Israel, which killed around 1,140 and saw around 240 taken hostage. Overall, 207 Palestinians have been killed in 15 Israeli attacks over the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Tuesday. It also reported that 338 people were wounded. Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Khan Younis in the south, said there was “intense bombardment” in the central and southern regions last night and in the early hours of Tuesday morning. A view of a street filled with debris of destroyed buildings in Deir el-Balah, Gaza [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu Agency] “There were reports of massive explosions in these two areas, in Khan Younis and refugee camps in the central part,” he said. The intensity of the bombing and the fact that many roads and much infrastructure were destroyed prevented ambulances from going to the targeted sites and taking people to hospitals. Israeli forces hit a home in the central Gaza city of Deir el-Balah, and the majority of the dead were women and children, local Palestinian outlet Wafa News Agency said. In the Nuseirat refugee camp, also in central Gaza, at least one girl was killed and several others injured after an Israeli drone opened fire on the market. Meanwhile, in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, four people were reported killed in an Israeli bombing. More than one million Palestinians have been displaced from northern Gaza since October 13, when the Israeli military ordered people to evacuate to the south with 24 hours of notice. Attack on Israeli forces In central Gaza’s Bureij refugee camp, Hamas’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, said it had clashed with Israeli forces in the eastern part of the camp, while also targeting an Israeli Merkava tank. The al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad, says that its fighters fought an armed battle with Israeli soldiers in the Bureij refugee camp that resulted in injuries among the soldiers. The armed wing also announced that it targeted the Israeli military with mortar shells in the al-Mahatta area in Khan Younis. Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it killed Hamas members who were planting mines along Gaza’s coastline and in nearby buildings. The Israeli army said it also killed three Hamas members in an air attack after seeing them enter a building south of Gaza City in the north. Lost ‘carte blanche’ With at least 22,000 Palestinians massacred in Gaza, Israel has lost its “carte blanche” from Western allies, said Adel Abdel Ghafar, a senior fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs. “As scenes of carnage, displaced populations, dead children and starvation fill our screens, the tide is really shifting,” he told Al Jazeera, adding that massive pro-Palestinian rallies across Europe and the United States have exerted pressure on politicians, with some European countries like Belgium changing their tone on Gaza and calling for a ceasefire, something Israel has firmly rejected. “It’s also very interesting to keep an eye on US politics given that this is an election year and [US President Joe] Biden’s ratings are down,” said Abdel Ghafar. “This will factor into his calculus in this New Year.” Adblock test (Why?)
It is time to tax the rich… and their foundations
We are wrapping up yet another tumultuous year in which wars and disasters have ravaged communities across the world. These misfortunes have added to the misery of those who are already facing the ravages of harsh inequality, climate chaos, dispossession and marginalisation. As in the past, part of the global response to these crises included the “generous giving” of various philanthropists. Indeed, their representatives joined heads of state, CEOs, celebrities, royalty, and government officials for the annual United Nations General Assembly in September and then for the UN climate conference (COP28) in November to seek “solutions”. Many of them will meet again for the World Economic Forum in Davos later in January under the same guise. Yet, every year, nothing seems to change as the outcome of these events. This is partly because the very way elites see problems and solutions are limited by their gaze and worldview, which create and perpetuate the crises in the first place. But they are also ineffective because that is their purpose: They are structured to uphold the status quo, not to create deep systemic change. The philanthropic sector was also not created to address the root causes of systemic problems, but to protect private financial interests. It is time for the world to realise this. The sooner we do so, the sooner we can find more relevant ways to truly bring philanthropy into the important and messy work of real social change. How the rich get richer We all know the rich are getting richer, controlling a huge percentage of wealth across the planet. According to Oxfam’s recent Global Wealth Inequality Report, since 2020, the richest 1 percent have captured almost two-thirds of all new wealth, nearly twice as much as the bottom 99 percent of humanity. Rich people pay virtually no tax (often 3 percent or less of their income) and their billions just keep on growing through the application of compound interest. In the next 20 years, most of this wealth will move between family members in the wealthiest 1 percent. In the US alone, it is estimated that between $36 trillion and $70 trillion in wealth will be transferred from one generation to another. Calls to tax the rich are growing globally, and will be even more pronounced as this massive generational wealth transfer takes place. One of the key ways the rich address this pressure is through philanthropy. Philanthropic contributions are commended and perceived as a form of “giving back”. Currently, the estimated global value of philanthropy is $2.3 trillion, or approximately 2 percent of the world’s GDP, with most of those funds held in endowments. This is larger than the annual GDP of countries like Canada and Brazil. If philanthropy is inherently good, and more philanthropy is going to happen, what is there to worry about? Let us look at how philanthropy actually works in practice. For example, in the US, one aspect of philanthropy is the 5 percent payout rule which was put into US tax law in 1976. According to these legal provisions, a charitable foundation has to give just 5 percent of its overall endowment in the form of grants or programme-related investments annually in order to maintain its not-for-profit status. In practice, this rule has become the ceiling for giving grants rather than the floor. The other 95 percent of the endowment is treated as tax-exempt investment money, which most foundations continually grow. Let us break this down further. In 2020, the average rate of return for foundation endowments was 13.1 percent. If we take a $100m foundation as an example, it would be required to give away just $5m over the course of the year, but its endowment would have grown to $113m minus $5m for a year-end sum of $108m. The following year, this expanded pie of $108m would become $122m minus roughly $5.4m it would give away for a total of roughly $117m. So, the $100m becomes $117m in just two years and continues to grow. These endowment funds – or rather untaxed investment capital – are then funnelled into the usual engines of extractive capitalism: stock markets, bonds, real estate, fossil fuel companies, etc. This results in further wealth accumulation. While this 5 percent rule payout started in the US, it has been exported around the world and continues to be promoted as the global model for philanthropy: keep growing endowments, while foundations grant the minimum amount required. Their wealth and power grow while they trickle-down grants to those doing the hard work. It does not take an accountant or an economist to understand the implications of this model. Only a fraction of tax-exempt philanthropic funding is actually used to address social and ecological issues while the majority is reinvested in life-destroying activities via the extractive markets with high, ongoing returns on investment. Philanthropy as redistribution In most countries, any individual or corporation that makes a philanthropic donation receives a direct tax break against their income for the donated amount. As a result, philanthropy is an important part of a larger tax minimisation strategy, further concentrating wealth. A recent investigative report by The Nation magazine estimated that Bill Gates may have received more money back in the form of tax breaks than he has given in philanthropic grants through the activities of the Gates Foundation. Another example involves MacKenzie Scott, one of the largest philanthropic donors in the US. Over the past couple of years, she has been celebrated for the size, type and speed of her grants. According to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index, in 2023, her wealth continued to grow, even though she gave away significant funds. Despite receiving huge tax benefits and doling out the smallest fraction of their endowments as grants, philanthropists are elevated in our society as benevolent, generous, and magnanimous individuals. It is time to drop the hero worship of philanthropists and go beyond simple declarations to tax the rich. We need to start taxing endowments. Consider what a tax on these massive philanthropic endowments