Author:

Ken Paxton and aides ordered to answer questions under oath in whistleblower case

The four whistleblowers asked the court last month to force the attorney general and his aides to sit for deposition, which would require them to answer questions under oath related to the allegations of bribery and corruption.

New York City bans solitary confinement in jails: ‘historic strides’

New York City on Wednesday voted to ban solitary confinement in city jails on the grounds that the practice has caused psychological harm and led to increased death and violence in these institutions.  “The [City] Council has taken historic strides to advance justice and safety by banning solitary confinement and improving police transparency,” Speaker Adrienne Adams said in a statement. “The physical and psychological harm caused by solitary confinement leads to increased death and violence in jails, endangering those incarcerated, as well as correction officers and staff.”  Under current rules, jail officials can punish violent inmates by isolating them in a cell for up to 23 hours a day for up to 60 days straight for the most serious infractions. The new rules will allow a detainee to be placed into “de-escalation confinement” for up to four hours after an episode of violence, with wellness checks by jail staff every 15 minutes.  NEW YORK CITY MIGRANT FAMILIES URGE MAYOR TO REVOKE 60-DAY SHELTER LIMIT The bill also allows any detainee found to have committed a serious infraction to be transferred from a jail’s general population to restrictive housing for up to 60 days in a single year. But the detainee cannot be isolated in a cell away from shared areas for more than 10 hours a day.  The bill has seen wide support from public defender groups, prison reform advocates and families of people who have died in custody on Rikers Island.  Jumaane Williams, the city’s public advocate and the bill’s prime sponsor, likened isolation to “torture.” He noted that many Rikers Island inmates suffer from mental health issues that are exacerbated by prolonged isolation.  The legislation has been opposed by Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, the New York City Police Department, and the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association. Mayor Adams, a former police captain, has been trying to avoid a federal takeover of the violence-plagued jail complex on Rikers Island.  The labor union representing the city’s jail guards has opposed the legislation, saying it will make it more difficult to protect jail workers from violence by detainees. The Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association has said that, even with the current punitive segregation rules in place, there were more than 6,000 episodes of detainees assaulting jail guards in the last three years, including 50 cases of sexual assault. Mayor Adams has already vowed to veto the bill. The council has promised to overrule any veto, which requires the vote of at least two-thirds of its members. Thirty-nine lawmakers voted to pass the bill, and seven opposed. Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report. 

Congress expands scope of Harvard investigation to include allegations of president’s plagiarism

A House of Representatives committee has expanded its inquiry against Harvard University’s handling of antisemitism on campus to include its embattled President Claudine Gay, who is facing a myriad of plagiarism allegations. The chair of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-VA, sent a four-page letter Wednesday to Penny Pritzker, the head of the school’s governing board, alleging that Harvard University applies a different standard of academic integrity to faculty members than to students. The committee cited the university’s Honor Code as justification for the probe. “The Harvard College Honor Code, which is ‘in effect for the academic community of Harvard College beginning in Fall 2015,’ provides: Members of the Harvard College community commit themselves to producing academic work of integrity,” Rep. Foxx wrote. “Does Harvard hold its faculty and academic leadership to the same standards?” EMBATTLED HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT CLAUDINE GAY HIT WITH MORE PLAGIARISM CHARGES The Republican representative highlighted the Ivy League university’s use of federal funding, saying that the funds are contingent on Harvard maintaining compliance with its accreditor, the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE). NECHE requires that accredited universities “works to prevent cheating and plagiarism as well as to deal forthrightly with any instances in which they occur,” the letter said. HARVARD STUDENT SAYS THE DECISION TO KEEP THE PRESIDENT IS ‘PART OF A REALLY LARGE TOXIC CULTURE’ ON CAMPUS Rep. Foxx said that Harvard holds its students to the NECHE standards of plagiarism. “Harvard does hold its students to these high academic and ethical standards: in the 2021-22 school year, the Harvard College Honor Council investigated 42 incidents of plagiarism, 35 allegations of exam cheating, and 19 other Honor Code violations.12 70 of these 100 cases resulted in a finding of responsibility, and 46 resulted in academic probation or mandatory withdrawal,” the letter said. “Again, does Harvard hold its faculty – and its own president – to the same standards?” The letter said that the committee’s “concern” is that if plagiarism standards are not “applied consistently,” then it “cheapens” the university’s academic credibility. “Our concern is that standards are not being applied consistently, resulting in different rules for different members of the academic community,” the letter said. “If a university is willing to look the other way and not hold faculty accountable for engaging in academically dishonest behavior, it cheapens its mission and the value of its education. Students must be evaluated fairly, under known standards – and have a right to see that faculty are, too.” HARVARD BOARD STANDS BY EMBATTLED PRESIDENT CLAUDINE GAY, ADMITS ‘INADEQUATE CITATION’ IN SOME WRITINGS The House Committee on Education and the Workforce demanded Pritzker produce internal documents on allegations of Gay’s plagiarism, disciplinary actions taken against students at the school accused of plagiarism and communications with the NECHE. Foxx asked Pritzker to provide a written response by Dec. 29, 2023. On Dec. 12, scholars alleged that Gay “definitely” plagiarized almost 20 authors in four of her 11 peer-reviewed academic papers, including her doctoral dissertation. The Manhattan Institute’s Christopher Rufo and Karlstack’s Chris Brunet published the initial report alleging plagiarism by Gay. NAACP LEADER DEFENDS HARVARD PRESIDENT CLAUDINE GAY, SAYS CRITICS ARE ‘ADVANCING A WHITE SUPREMACIST AGENDA’ Rufo and Brunet lay out several instances of alleged plagiarism by Gay, including taking a full paragraph from Franklin Gilliam’s and Lawrence Bobo’s paper “Race, Sociopolitical Participation, and Black Empowerment,” which Gay used nearly verbatim in her 1997 Harvard political science doctoral dissertation, “Taking Charge: Black Electoral Success and the Redefinition of American Policies.” The pair noted that while Gay referenced both Bobo and Gilliam in the paper, she did not use quotation marks for the language she pulled and only changed a few words. The Washington Free Beacon analyzed 29 potential instances of plagiarism in Gay’s work that appeared to be lifted from almost a dozen scholars. In at least 10 instances, Gay used complete sentences and paragraphs from sources with minor changes to only a few words, the report states. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The majority of the scholars told the Free Beacon that Gay not only went against her university’s policy on plagiarism but also a basic principle of academic integrity. Harvard did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. Fox News’ Houston Keene and Joe Schoffstall contributed to this report.

Republicans introduce resolution condemning UN agreement to shut down fossil fuels

FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans introduced a resolution Wednesday condemning the United Nations’ recent agreement to accelerate the phase down of global fossil fuel reliance. The lawmakers – Reps. Mary Miller of Illinois and August Pfluger of Texas – introduced the resolution less than a week after the U.N.’s COP28 climate summit in Dubai concluded. The summit saw various new climate initiatives, but delegates were forced into an “overtime” period as they negotiated the final global stocktake agreement which, for the first time ever, incorporated language calling for nations to transition “away from fossil fuels.” “Climate conference participants flew in [to the conference] on fossil fuels, were kept comfortable by fossil fuels, and went home to a privileged lifestyle thanks to fossil fuels,” Miller said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “A net zero carbon world means the world that we know would cease to exist. These climate elitists are forcing governments to starve and freeze their own people to death as part of their sick Climate Cult.” “The shale revolution is responsible for lifting one billion people out of poverty around the world,” added Pfluger. “The green energy cult followers are either oblivious to this fact or indifferent to the horrible consequences their anti-fossil fuels stance will have on humanity. America must separate itself from the U.N. globalists who signed our energy freedom away at COP28. We deserve the most affordable, reliable energy possible – which comes from fossil fuels.” GOP REP INTRODUCES RESOLUTION CONDEMNING UN FOR CALLING ON AMERICANS TO STOP EATING MEAT The Republicans’ resolution states that the U.S. should not promote policies discouraging fossil fuel use. It further states that Congress both condemns the COP28 final agreement and calls on the Biden administration to reject the policies listed. In addition, the resolution notes the importance of fossil fuel production and energy exports for the U.S. economy. High domestic energy production, according to the lawmakers, has led to significant declines in consumer prices. EXPERTS RAISE ALARM AFTER BIDEN STRIKES AGREEMENT WITH CHINA TO SHUT DOWN FOSSIL FUELS Overall, the top-line goal of the U.N. agreement, which COP28 President Sultan Al Jaber characterized as an “historic achievement,” is to ensure future carbon emissions reductions and limit global warming to just 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The world has already warmed about one degree above pre-industrial levels, according to the U.N. In addition to the pledge to phase out fossil fuels, it calls for a tripling of renewable energy capacity by 2030, includes a firm commitment to shutter coal-fired power generation, calls for greater proliferation of electric vehicles, endorses carbon capture technology and disavows fossil fuel subsidies. “The United States supported this call for clearer language about the need to largely phase out fossil fuels, but we know this was a compromise between many parties. And that does not detract from its significance,” Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, who led the U.S. delegation at the summit, told reporters last week. “This text also aligns with the decisions the marketplace has already made,” he said. “The message coming out of this COP is that we are moving away from fossil fuels and we are not turning back.”

Trump keeps massive lead, Haley ties DeSantis for second in new 2024 GOP presidential primary poll

With less than four weeks to go until the first votes in the 2024 White House race, a new national poll indicates former President Donald Trump remains the commanding frontrunner for the Republican nomination. And a Quinnipiac University public opinion survey released Wednesday is also the latest to spotlight that Nikki Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina governor, is tied with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for a distant second place behind Trump. Trump holds the support of two-thirds (67%) of Republican and GOP-leaning voters questioned in the poll, with Haley and DeSantis each drawing 11% support.  Multimillionaire entrepreneur and first-time candidate Vivek Ramaswamy grabs the backing of 4%, with former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who’s making his second presidential bid, at 3%. RAISING THE STAKES: ARE TRUMP’S EXPECTATIONS IN IOWA TOO HIGH? Trump’s support is the highest in Quinnipiac polling this cycle, as is Haley’s, with DeSantis reaching a new low. “DeSantis continues his yearlong slide. Haley gains momentum. The battle for second place heats up, but it’s unlikely it will send a holiday chill through MAGA world,” Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy emphasized. WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING IN THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE SHOWS The Quinnipiac poll, conducted Dec. 14-18, is in line with other national polls in the Republican nomination race also released in recent days. Among those surveys is a Fox News poll conducted Dec. 10-13 that indicated Trump at 62% support, DeSantis at 12%, and Haley at 9%. A New York Times/Siena College survey in the field Dec. 10-14 put Trump at 64%, Haley at 11% and DeSantis at 9%. Trump made history earlier this year as the first former or current president to be indicted for a crime, but his four indictments, including charges he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss, have only fueled his support among Republican voters. DeSantis for months was solidly in second place in the GOP nomination race, but his numbers have slipped in recent months. TRUMP CAMPAIGN LAUNCHES ‘EXTREMELY AGGRESSIVE OPERATION’ IN IOWA  Haley has enjoyed plenty of momentum in the polls this autumn, thanks in part to well-received performances in the first three Republican presidential primary debates. She leapfrogged DeSantis for second place in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary and votes second after Iowa. And she’s in second place in her home state, another crucial early voting state that holds the first southern contest. Haley’s also working to make a fight of it in Iowa, whose Jan. 15 caucuses lead off the GOP nominating calendar, as she pulled closer to DeSantis. The new Quinnipiac national poll is the latest to indicate that Trump voters are much more firmly set on their choice for the nomination, compared to those backing other Republican contenders. Only 37% of Trump supporters said they may change their mind. That percentage soars to 82% for those supporting Trump’s rivals. AS FRONTRUNNER TRUMP RETURNS TO IOWA, RIVALS HALEY AND DESANTIS TURN UP THE VOLUME — ON EACH OTHER In the 2024 Democratic primary, President Biden stands at 75% support, with author Marianne Williamson, who’s making her second straight White House run, at 13% and Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota at 5%. In a likely general election matchup next November, the poll puts Biden at 47% and Trump at 46%, a virtual tie. But when the November 2024 field expands to include third-party and independent candidates, Trump gains a slight edge over the president. The poll indicates Trump at 38% and Biden at 36% with environmental activist and high-profile vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a scion of arguably the nation’s most famous family political dynasty, at 16%. Progressive university scholar Cornell West stands at 3%, along with Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Kennedy and West face uphill climbs to obtain ballot access in states across the country. The Quinnipiac poll is the latest to find Biden’s approval rating below 40%. He stands at 38% approval and 58% disapproval, basically unchanged from a month ago. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Gaza death toll surpasses 20,000 as UN Security Council delays vote on aid

At least 20,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Israel began bombarding the enclave more than 10 weeks ago, according to Palestinian officials. At least 8,000 children and 6,200 women are among those killed, Gaza’s Government Media Office said on Wednesday. The grim milestone was passed as the United Nations Security Council postponed a key vote on a bid to boost humanitarian aid for Gaza for the third time to avoid a veto from the United States, which traditionally shields its ally Israel from UN action. Since a seven-day truce collapsed on December 1, the war has entered a more intensive phase with ground combat previously confined to the northern half of the territory now spread across its length. When asked about the ever-growing casualty count, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it is “clear that the conflict will move and needs to move to a lower intensity phase”. “We expect to see and want to see a shift to more targeted [Israeli] operations with a smaller number of forces that’s really focused in on dealing with the leadership of Hamas, the tunnel network and a few other critical things,” he said. “And as that happens, I think you’ll see as well the harm done to civilians also decrease significantly.” Air strikes continued across Gaza on Wednesday with at least 46 people killed and dozens wounded in Israeli attacks on the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, according to the enclave’s Ministry of Health. In Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where hundreds of thousand of people have been pushed since early December by Israel’s continued onslaught, air strikes hit a building near a hospital close to an Al Jazeera crew reporting live on air, killing at least 10 people. “More air strikes are conducted, more victims fall due to the expansion of the Israeli military operations in the areas that are supposed to be safe zones where the majority of Gazans have been urged to flee,” Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum said in reporting from Rafah. “The air strike took place in an area considered to be very densely populated, and it’s a miracle that no more than this number of people were killed,” he added. Key Security Council vote postponed The UN Security Council vote on a bid to boost aid to the Gaza Strip and ask the UN to monitor humanitarian aid deliveries there has been delayed at the request of the US, diplomats said. According to the United Arab Emirates envoy to the UN, Lana Nusseibeh, the vote will take place on Thursday. “Everyone wants to see a resolution that has impact and is implementable on the ground, and there are some discussions going on on how to make that possible,” Nusseibeh, whose country drafted the resolution, told reporters in New York. The text aims to dilute Israel’s control over all humanitarian aid deliveries to the 2.3 million people of Gaza. The initial text has been reportedly modified to soften calls to end the fighting in Gaza to avoid yet another veto from the US. “We want to make sure that the resolution … doesn’t do anything that could actually hurt the delivery of humanitarian assistance, make it more complicated. That’s what we’re focused on,” Blinken told reporters on Wednesday. “I hope we can get to a good place.” Currently, Israel monitors the limited humanitarian aid and fuel deliveries to Gaza via the Rafah crossing from Egypt and the Israel-controlled Karem Abu Salem crossing, known as Kerem Shalom in Hebrew. On Wednesday, the first aid convoy entered Gaza directly from Jordan with 750 metric tonnes of food. The World Food Programme said half of Gaza’s population is starving and only 10 percent of the food required has entered Gaza since the war began on October 7. The US and Israel oppose a ceasefire, believing it would benefit only Hamas. Washington instead supports pauses in fighting to protect civilians and allow the release of captives taken by Hamas. Hamas leader in rare visit to Egypt Separately on Wednesday, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh paid his first visit to Egypt for more than a month in a rare personal intervention in diplomacy amid hopes that the Palestinian group and Israel could agree terms for another truce. Haniyeh arrived in the Egyptian capital to meet with Cairo’s spy chief and other Egyptian officials who are acting as key mediators. Meanwhile, Israeli officials have indicated in talks with US and Qatari representatives that they could be open to a truce. The Hamas leader last travelled to Egypt in early November before the announcement of the only pause in the fighting so far, a weeklong truce that saw the release of about 110 of 240 captives taken by Hamas into Gaza on October 7. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a smaller armed group that is also holding captives in Gaza, said its leader would also visit Egypt in the coming days to discuss a possible end to the war. A source briefed on the negotiations said envoys were discussing which of the captives still held by Palestinian groups could be freed in a new truce and what prisoners Israel might release in return, the Reuters news agency reported. But there remains a huge gulf between the two sides’ publicly stated positions on any halt to the fighting. Hamas rejects any further temporary pause and says it will discuss only a permanent ceasefire. Israel has ruled that out and says it will agree only limited humanitarian pauses until Hamas is defeated. US President Joe Biden said he did not expect an Israel-Hamas deal for the release of captives held in Gaza to be struck soon. “We’re pushing,” Biden told reporters during a trip to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Adblock test (Why?)

Israeli strike hits during live report near hospital in Rafah

NewsFeed “There is no safe place in Gaza.” Al Jazeera correspondent, Hani Mahmoud reports as a missile strike hits behind him in Rafah. He continued to report as people ran in fear from the site, close to a hospital in a densely populated residential area. Published On 20 Dec 202320 Dec 2023 Adblock test (Why?)

Where does the conflict in Sudan stand after eight months?

Fighting shows no sign of ending and no political settlement on the horizon. It’s been more than eight months since the lives of millions of Sudanese were plunged into conflict and uncertainty. The paramilitary group, Rapid Support Forces, has gained momentum in recent weeks, consolidating its grip on the vast Darfur region and seizing new territory, including the second-largest city, Wad Madani. It’s been a major hub for people displaced from their homes. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) – a regional body which has been trying to spearhead peace talks – said last week that had it secured a commitment from the rival sides to implement a ceasefire and hold dialogue. So how does this latest development in Wad Madani change the dynamics of the conflict? Presenter: Cyril Vanier Guests: Hamid Khalafallah – Researcher and policy analyst specialising on Sudan’s constitution building Alan Boswell – Horn of Africa project pirector at the International Crisis Group David Shinn – Former US chief of mission in Sudan Adblock test (Why?)

North Carolina reports nearly 300,000 Medicaid enrollments in weeks after expansion

The number of North Carolina residents enrolled in Medicaid under the state’s new coverage for low-income adults is nearing 300,000 in the first weeks of the program, the state Department of Health and Human Services says. Medicaid expansion began Dec. 1 in North Carolina, after Republican legislators and Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper agreed to legislation this year that accepted the coverage offered to states through the 2010 Affordable Care Act. The expansion coverage applies to people ages 19-64 who make too much to qualify for traditional Medicaid but not enough to benefit much from government-subsidized private insurance. NC GOV. COOPER, HEALTHCARE ADVOCATES, TAKE VICTORY LAP ON MEDICAID EXPANSION As of Dec. 12, the latest figures available from DHHS, there were 280,000 expansion enrollees. Nearly 273,000 were enrolled and covered by expansion on Dec. 1, with the first-day total largely coming from people who were already receiving Medicaid for family-planning coverage and were moved automatically through expansion for broader medical care. As the start date for expansion neared, the Cooper administration estimated that close to 300,000 would be enrolled on day one, with ultimately 600,000 receiving coverage over time. The data comes as DHHS unveiled on Wednesday an online dashboard that will update monthly expansion enrollment and demographic and health care trends. For example, the agency says, the dashboard shows the highest percentages of adults 19-64 now covered by Medicaid are in four rural counties — Anson, Edgecombe, Richmond and Robeson. DHHS also said more than 84,000 people had applied for Medicaid through Dec. 15, with county social service officials processing the application. And 49,000 prescriptions have been filled for expansion enrollees as of Dec. 12. “Hundreds of people each day are gaining health care coverage and getting the care they need,” state health Secretary Kody Kinsley said in a news release. “Our work continues with state and community partners to support enrollment efforts to ensure as many people as possible can get covered.” The state continues to operate an online dashboard that keeps track of overall Medicaid enrollment, which was about 2.85 million people as of November. North Carolina was the 40th state, along with the District of Columbia, to implement Medicaid expansion.

Trump lawyers say request to have SCOTUS hear immunity claims presents ‘momentous, historic questions’

Former President Trump‘s legal team has filed its written response to Special Counsel Jack Smith’s request that the U.S. Supreme Court hear Trump’s immunity claims in the election interference criminal case against him.  In their brief, the Trump team urged the high court not to rush things and accept the issue before the lower courts have heard the matter. “This appeal presents momentous, historic questions,” the brief states. “An erroneous denial of a claim of presidential immunity from criminal prosecution unquestionably warrants this Court’s review. The Special Counsel contends that “[i]t is of imperative public importance that respondent’s claims of immunity be resolved by this Court.”  “That does not entail, however, that the Court should take the case before the lower courts complete their review. Every jurisdictional and prudential consideration calls for this Court to allow the appeal to proceed first in the D.C.” TRUMP DECISION SPLITS COLORADO SUPREME COURT ALONG ELITE EAST COAST LAW SCHOOLS, DENVER LAW LINES Smith is expected to file a final written rebuttal in the next few days to urge the court to quickly accept the case on its merits. The justices will then privately consider whether to review the case.  DEM-APPOINTED COLORADO JUSTICE SAYS TRUMP BALLOT BAN UNDERMINE ‘BEDROCK’ OF AMERICA IN FIERY DISSENT Smith has made his request for the high court to act quickly to prevent any delays that could push back Trump’s trial until after next year’s presidential election.  A federal judge previously ruled the case could go forward, but Trump said he would ask the federal appeals court in Washington to reverse that outcome. Smith is attempting to bypass the appeals court – the usual next step in the process – and have the Supreme Court take up the matter directly. “This case presents a fundamental question at the heart of our democracy: whether a former President is absolutely immune from federal prosecution for crimes committed while in office or is constitutionally protected from federal prosecution when he has been impeached but not convicted before the criminal proceedings begin,” prosecutors wrote. Trump faces charges accusing him of working to overturn the results of the 2020 election in which he lost to President Biden before the violent Jan. 6, 2021 protest by his supporters at the U.S. Capitol. He has denied any wrongdoing. Should the justices decline to step in, Trump’s appeal would continue at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Smith has asked for quick review there too, but said even a rapid appellate decision might not get to the Supreme Court in time for review and final word before the court’s traditional summer break. Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz contributed to this report.