Go to Source: Breitbart News
FCC commissioner blasts Biden’s ‘digital equity’ plan as ‘unlawful power grab’
Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Brendan Carr is blasting President Biden’s new plan to achieve “digital equity” as a “breathtaking” government power grab.
Carr said the FCC will vote next Wednesday on whether to adopt the president’s plan to promote equal access to broadband internet access service.
A draft of the FCC order said the commission would implement a section of Biden’s 2021 infrastructure bill to establish a framework to “facilitate equal access to broadband internet access service by preventing digital discrimination of access to that service based on income level, race, ethnicity, color, religion and national origin.”
Carr said he opposes the order, which he said would give the “Administrative State effective control of all Internet services and infrastructure.”
‘BIDENOMICS’: $42B INTERNET INVESTMENT FAVORS WEALTHY LEFT-WING REGIONS, NEW REPORT FINDS
“President Biden has called on the FCC to adopt new rules of breathtaking scope,” Carr wrote Monday on X, formerly Twitter. “Those rules would give the federal government a roving mandate to micromanage nearly every aspect of how the Internet functions — from how ISPs allocate capital and where they build, to the services that consumers can purchase; from the profits that ISPs can realize and how they market and advertise services, to the discounts and promotions that consumers can receive.”
“Talk about central planning,” he added. “I oppose President Biden’s plan.”
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Go to Source: Latest Political News on Fox News
Biden to meet with UAW workers in Illinois to tout deal with auto companies
President Biden will head to Illinois on Thursday, where he will meet with United Auto Workers (UAW) president Shawn Fain and union workers to highlight a recent agreement between the union and the Big Three automakers that ended a weeks-long strike.
Biden will travel to Belvidere, Ill., the White House said, where he will deliver remarks and meet with UAW members. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) will also be in attendance.
The president’s visit is intended to “highlight his commitment to delivering for working families and creating good-paying union jobs, as well as the UAW’s historic agreement that includes bringing thousands of UAW jobs back to Belvidere and reopening a plant,” per the White House.
UAW leaders reached tentative deals late last month with Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, bringing to an end weeks of strikes.
The agreements with the auto companies included a 25 percent general pay increase over the course of a four-year contract, increased retirement benefits and more paid leave.
Biden, who has boasted that he is the most pro-union president in history, was steadfastly supportive of union workers and joined striking workers on the picket line in Michigan in late September.
The deal between organized labor and the companies marked a significant win for Biden, who has simultaneously fought for the rights of unions while pushing for more investments in electric vehicles, one of the issues that was at the center of the negotiations between the UAW and automakers.
Go to Source: Administration News | The Hill
House committee launches investigation into Biden admin’s handling of border, cutting razor wire
The House Republican-led Committee on the Judiciary launched an investigation into the Biden administration’s handling of the immigration crisis along the U.S.-Mexico border, including whether the president had the authority to cut razor wire installed by Texas authorities on the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas.
In a letter addressed to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the committee said the U.S. is experiencing “the worst illegal immigration crisis in our nation’s history,” blaming the actions taken by the Biden administration.
Since Biden took office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has encountered 6.3 million illegal immigrants along the southwest border, and DHS has release 2.9 million illegal immigrants into U.S. communities, the letter notes. The committee added that there were more than 1.7 million known “gotaways” that evaded Border Patrol and entered the country since Jan. 20, 2021.
TEXAS GETS MAJOR WIN IN BATTLE TO SECURE BORDER DESPITE BIDEN ADMIN’S ATTEMPTS TO STOP IT
The committee cited recent events in September, when in just five days, over 45,000 illegal immigrants were encountered along the border, with 4,000 occurring on Sept. 20 in Eagle Pass.
On one late September day, there were nearly 11,000 migrant encounters along the southern border, marking the single highest day in recent memory.
Leading up to Sept. 20, a Mexican cargo train filled with foreign nationals was heading to Piedras Negras, Mexico, across the Rio Grande from Eagle Pass, and the day before it arrived, the city was forced to declare a state of emergency.
CBP closed two of the three international bridges into Eagle Pass — bridge 1 and the international rail bridge, which is the second-busiest rail crossing along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The committed accused the Biden administration that by closing the train bridge, it prioritized processing illegal aliens “to the detriment of the American people by shutting down legitimate trade and travel via the international bridges.”
Then, when Texas state and local governments in Eagle Pass attempted to deter illegal aliens by installing Concertina wire and fencing, the Biden administration chose to cut and remove the razor wiring.
TEXAS AG PAXTON SUES BIDEN ADMIN OVER CUTTING OF RAZOR WIRE AT SOUTHERN BORDER: ‘THIS IS ILLEGAL’
“In fact, as encounters continued to surge in Eagle Pass, and while a lawsuit challenging the practice was pending, the Biden Administration “escalated matters, trading bolt cutters for an industrial-strength telehandler forklift to dismantle Texas’s border fence…,” the letter read. “Days later, a federal judge granted a temporary restraining order, largely halting the Administration from cutting, interfering with, or removing Concertina wire installed by the State of Texas.”
As a result of the actions, the committee is asking for several things, including all documents and communications regarding the ingress and egress of foreign nationals en route to the U.S. before the influx on Sept. 20 in Eagle Pass, and all communications regarding the cutting, interfering with or removing of Concertina wire and fencing installed by state and local governments along the southern border.
The committee also asked Mayorkas whether there was a policy on cutting or interfering with the razor wire installed by local or state governments, and asked to have it explained, as well as the identification of the individuals who made the decision to cut the concertina wire.
The letter was signed by Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who is the chairman of the committee, and Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif.
It comes just less than a week after a federal judge ordered the Biden administration stop cutting razor wire along the southern border. The temporary order is the result of a lawsuit brought on by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, arguing that federal officials said they had the authority to destroy state property “to allow [illegal] aliens to enter & be processed.”
Go to Source: Latest Political News on Fox News
Youngkin urges Virginia voters to reject Democratic Party of ‘simply chaos’: ‘Not about two philosophies’
Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin made the rounds to polling places Tuesday to urge Virginia voters to reject a Democratic Party of “simply chaos” in the state’s 2023 legislative contests being watched closely on the national stage ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Youngkin, who previously billed the Virginia legislative races the “most important elections in America” ahead of 2024, made the argument that the GOP is a party of results when it comes to job creation, reducing tax burdens and restoring excellence in education while campaigning in Bristow, Virginia. He was joined by Senate District 30 candidate Bill Woolf and House District 22 candidate Ian Lovejoy.
“We’re the party that’s really trying to forge a better day in Virginia, and what the other side stands for, honestly, is simply, simply chaos. They’re doing everything they can to strike fear into people’s hearts over topics that the bottom line is we’re moving forward in order to build a better Virginia. And we’re the party of hope. And hope beats fear every day of the week.”
The governor responded to criticism from Democrats accusing him of attempting to buy votes by sending out tax rebates so close to Election Day. Youngkin, in turn, slammed Democrats in Richmond for delaying the budget for seven months, noting that if they hadn’t done so, the tax checks “would have gone out a long time ago.”
WHAT THE RESULTS OF THE NOVEMBER 2023 ELECTIONS WILL MEAN FOR REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS
“They literally delayed the signing of a budget for their own political gain and then turn around and are concerned that tax relief is going out to Virginians,” he said. “And this is, at the end of the day, a moment where I hope Virginians recognize that the Senate — the Senate that’s been controlled by Democrats — has truly been working against things like job growth, things like tax relief, things like excellence in education and safe communities. And this is our chance to stand up as Virginians and hopefully charge a different direction.”
The outcome in Virginia — among just four states with legislative elections this year — will be closely scrutinized nationwide for hints of what may come in the 2024 presidential cycle.
While all 140 General Assembly seats are on the ballot in a costly and competitive election year, the balance of power, currently divided, will likely be decided in about a dozen districts in Hampton Roads, suburban Richmond and northern Virginia, according to The Associated Press. Candidates have been making their case to voters on the economy, the environment, public safety and schools. And abortion is being hotly contested in the last state in the South without new restrictions since the end of Roe v. Wade.
“And I hope Virginians understand that, that we are the party that is trying to do everything we can to create jobs — 230,000 new jobs in the last 22 months,” Youngkin continued. “We’ve gone from near the bottom of job growth to No. 3 in the country in job growth during that time period. We’re reducing tax burdens with $5 billion of tax relief.
“We are working hard to reestablish excellence in education. I am so excited about the intensive tutoring program that’s going on in third through eighth grade across Virginia because of bad decisions made by the previous administration and school boards to block kids out of school for so long.”
Youngkin touted successes during Saturday’s early voting and great participation in absentee ballots and early votes. Though remaining “optimistic,” Youngkin acknowledges that many contests will remain close races and he urged continued momentum from Republicans on Election Day.
“I encourage everyone to vote as governor. And then, as a Republican, I ask you, please send me a team in Richmond that will work with me and not against me,” Youngkin said. “We can unleash unlimited prosperity in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and we have a plan that has worked.
“This is not about two philosophies. This is about proven results of job creation and of raising expectations in schools and doing the work necessary so our kids are absolutely prepared for the future, of reducing taxes. This is real and this is what we can do even more of. I just need a team in Richmond that’ll work with me.”
Drawing from the lessons of the 2022 midterm elections, Youngkin explained he was pleased to have seen increased participation in absentee ballots and in early voting.
“We’re unified in Virginia, and we have a very clear direction that we have set. All the candidates are committed to supporting our platform, and that’s a unified Republican Party,” he said of the GOP’s new approach.
“And it’s been great to see that we launched early voting because I was tired of seeing Virginians come to the polls on the last day and see Republicans behind by tens of thousands of votes when, in fact, everybody wants to vote. And so we’ve we’ve invited everybody to vote early. And we had really good turnout. We’ve seen a major difference.”
The governor specifically cited close races for Republican candidates for Woolf in Prince William County, Juan Pablo Segura in Loudon County and Tara Durant running in Fredericksburg.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Go to Source: Latest Political News on Fox News
Supreme Court appears likely appears likely to hand Biden DOJ a win on challenge to gun law
The Supreme Court appears inclined to uphold a federal law banning guns from those subject to domestic violence restraining orders (DVROs), in the first major test of the Second Amendment at the high court this term.
In oral argument Tuesday, justices on both sides of the ideological spectrum seemed to agree with the Biden administration that there was a history and tradition of keeping firearms from dangerous people, despite the lack of any specific ban that may have been in place when the Constitution was enacted in the 1790.
The court’s ruling in the case, U.S. v. Rahimi, could have major implications for several gun rights measures working their way through the legal system, and in state legislatures.
It could also affect current cases dealing with whether current and former drug users can similarly be denied gun ownership – like that of Hunter Biden. The president’s son plans to challenge a pending federal indictment after allegedly lying on a federal registration form in 2018 about his drug addiction when buying a firearm.
The case before the court stems from a lawsuit involving a Texas man, Zackey Rahimi, who – under a DVRO – argued he still had a right to keep a gun for self-protection. Rahimi was charged with separate state offenses that began with the 2019 physical assault of his ex-girlfriend, and later another woman by use of firearms.
Despite some concerns about its application, a majority of justices appear to be convinced by large parts of the federal government’s argument.
“It’s so obvious that people who have guns pose a great danger to others, and you don’t give guns to people who have the kind of history of domestic violence that your client has or to the mentally ill,” Justice Elena Kagan told the lawyer for the Texas defendant. “I’m asking you to clarify your argument because you seem to be running away from it because you can’t stand what the consequences of it are.”
But Chief Justice John Roberts worried that disarming people deemed “irresponsible” could deprive some law-abiding citizens of their rights.
“It seems to me that the problem with ‘responsibility’ is that it’s extremely broad, and what seems irresponsible to some people might seem like, well, that’s not a big deal to others.”
A Texas court in a civil proceeding found Rahimi had “committed family violence,” then granted his former girlfriend a protective order that included suspension of Rahimi’s gun license. Court records show he was warned gun possession under the protective order would be a federal offense.
GOP AG HOPEFUL SUPREME COURT WILL BLOCK BIDEN ADMIN FROM ‘WORST FIRST AMENDMENT’ BREACHES IN HISTORY
After Rahimi repeatedly violated the order, including approaching the victim and threatening her, he was also accused of firing a gun in public in five different locations within a span of weeks. Police then searched his residence and found handgun, rifle and ammunition.
While contesting some of the allegations against him, he pleaded guilty to a violation of federal law for later possessing a handgun despite an earlier restraining order, but then appealed.
The 5th Circuit U.S Court of Appeals ruled for Rahimi, saying the federal restriction was unconstitutional since there was no historical analog justifying the burden on individual self-defense rights.
But even the conservative Roberts expressed concern over Rahimi’s record.
“Well, to the extent that’s pertinent, you don’t have any doubt that your client’s a dangerous person, do you?” Roberts asked Rahimi’s lawyer. When Matthew Wright demurred, Roberts jumped in.
“Well, it means someone who’s shooting at people. That’s a good start” he said to nervous laughter in the court.
Outside the court Tuesday morning, hundreds of demonstrators gathered, most supporting tighter guns restrictions.
This case comes to the justices less than two weeks after the deadliest mass shooting in the United States this year. Eighteen innocents were killed, 13 others wounded in Lewiston, Maine, by a lone gunman.
During almost 100 minutes of tense oral arguments, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said a woman who lives in a house with a domestic abuser is five times more likely to be murdered if the abuser has access to a gun.
SUPREME COURT SIDES WITH BIDEN, BLOCKS JUDGE’S ORDER ALLOWING ‘GHOST GUN’ SALES
“As this court has said, all too often the only difference between a battered woman and a dead woman is the presence of a gun,” said Prelogar. “Throughout our nation’s history, legislatures have disarmed those who have committed serious criminal conduct or whose access to guns poses a danger.”
Justice Clarence Thomas – the author of last year’s landmark ruling expanding gun rights outside the home – suggested it may be too easy for state courts to deny a gun to someone in a civil proceeding, absent a criminal conviction. But the issue before the high court was the federal prohibition on gun ownership for restraining order violators.
“We’re assuming dangerousness or irresponsibility. Take your pick,” said Thomas. “And we are – we have a very thin record, and I’m trying to get a sense of what actually happened in this case.”
A major question was whether there was a precise analog now to the 18th-century legal concept of domestic violence and gun rights – that would give modern-day legislatures and courts the discretion to limit gun possession for those deemed dangerous or irresponsible.
“I guess I’m a little troubled by having a history and traditions test that also requires some sort of culling of the history so that only certain people’s history counts,” Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson said. “So what do we do with that? Isn’t that a flaw with respect to the test” established in the high court’s recent precedent.
“I’m so confused, because I thought your argument was that there was no history or tradition” to deprive Rahimi of a gun, said Justice Amy Coney Barrett. “But now it kind of sounds like your objection is just to the process.”
Barrett also questioned why Rahimi was challenging his disarmament judgment in the DVRO, but not the fact his handgun license was also suspended.
A decision in the DVRO case is expected to be narrow in scope, focusing only on whether the Second Amendment protects those considered a danger to society.
That could do little to aid lower federal courts, which have struggled to develop a framework for deciding a range of legal challenges in the wake of the 2022 high court precedent, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen.
“There seems to be a fair bit of division and a fair bit of confusion about what ‘Bruen’ means and what ‘Bruen’ requires in the lower courts,” said Kagan.
The high court is already prepared for more such disputes, agreeing last week to decide the constitutionality of another federal gun regulation – a Trump-era ban on gun attachments known as “bump stocks” that make semi-automatic weapons fire like machine guns.
A decision in U.S. v. Rahimi is expected by next summer.
Go to Source: Latest Political News on Fox News
House Republicans: Biden Plan to Turn U.S. Airports into Migrant Camps Poses Major ‘Security Risks’ to Americans
Go to Source: Breitbart News
Anti-Trump Dem claimed Maryland home as primary residence despite running for Senate in California
California Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff allegedly claimed a primary residence in Maryland for years despite his goal to represent Golden State residents in the Senate.
All while owning a 3,420-square-foot home in Maryland, Schiff has reportedly taken a homeowner’s tax exemption on a smaller 650-square-foot condo he owns and designates as his primary residence in Burbank, California.
By claiming his California home as his primary residence, Schiff was able to receive a $7,000 reduction in his property assessment – an estimated $70 in annual savings from property taxes, according to a CNN report. In California, each county collects a general property tax equal to 1% of the assessed value. Schiff, who announced his Senate ambition in January, did not take a similar exemption on his Maryland home.
Tax records reviewed by the outlet revealed Schiff paid his property taxes in California with a personal check featuring his Maryland address in 2017. The outlet’s review of past records and comments from the lawmaker, as well as photos shared to social media in recent history, also indicated Schiff has made his Maryland home his full-time residence.
Deed records also revealed Schiff designated his Maryland home his primary residence in 2003, the year he bought the home. Additionally, Schiff reportedly refinanced his mortgage and indicated that his Maryland home was his primary residence in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
Los Angeles County deed records for Schiff’s California condo, which was purchased in 2009 for a little under $300,000, were notarized in Maryland, the outlet highlighted.
FETTERMAN HITS NEWSOM FOR NOT HAVING ‘GUTS’ TO ADMIT HE’S RUNNING SHADOW CAMPAIGN AGAINST BIDEN
One page of the deed reportedly replaced “California” and “Los Angeles” with “Maryland” and “Montgomery County.” The records also listed Schiff’s Maryland home as the return address.
A spokesperson for Schiff’s campaign told Fox News Digital the congressman’s primary residence is in California and that he and his family made the “difficult decision” to move to the D.C. area so he could spend more time with his children while serving in Congress.
“Adam’s primary residence is Burbank, California, and will remain so when he wins the Senate seat,” said Marisol Samayoa, a Schiff campaign spokesperson.
“As Adam has discussed openly many times over the years, including in his recent New York Times best-selling book, he and Eve made the difficult decision to move their family to the D.C. area to spend more time with his children while doing his job — voting and representing the people of California’s 30th Congressional District.
“Members of Congress have to decide how best to balance work and family, and the Schiffs did exactly that. Adam’s constituents appreciate how devoted he is to both the responsibilities of his job and his family.”
The Schiff for Senate campaign also told Fox News Digital Schiff claimed both homes as primary residences due to “loan purposes.”
“Adam’s California and Maryland addresses have been listed as primary residences for loan purposes because they are both occupied throughout the year and to distinguish them from a vacation property,” his campaign said.
A 2010 to 2014 biography featured on Schiff’s campaign website at the time made no mention of the Maryland home and indicated Schiff and his family were “settled” in Burbank. In 2020, however, Schiff refinanced his mortgage and indicated that the Maryland residence was his second home.
A family photo shared on Schiff’s website in 2021, as highlighted in the report, matched the exterior of Schiff’s Potomac home in Maryland. Additionally, several social media posts by Schiff in recent years suggested he still lives at his Maryland home.
In a June 2022 photo shared by Schiff on social media, the congressman posed with an “I Voted” sticker in front of his Maryland home on the day of the Democratic primary in the Los Angeles mayor’s race.
Under California law, to qualify for a homeowner’s exemption, the “dwelling must be the person’s true, fixed and permanent home and principal establishment to which he/she, whenever absent, intends to return.” Certain factors used to determine if someone lives in the state include “in-state presence, vehicle registration, voter registration, bank accounts, and state income tax filings.”
Several lawmakers have faced scrutiny in recent years for living in certain states and representing others at the federal level, including former Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz, a Republican.
The residency revelations surrounding Schiff, who served as the lead House impeachment manager for former President Donald Trump’s first trial in the Senate, come as he prepares to take on stiff competition in the California Senate race. Democratic representatives Katie Porter and Barbara Lee of California also announced this year they would make a run for the seat.
Go to Source: Latest Political News on Fox News
White House won’t validate Gaza Health Ministry’s 10,000 death toll
The White House on Tuesday continued to refuse to validate the Gaza Health Ministry’s death toll, even as it reported 10,000 people in Gaza have died from Israeli strikes a month into the war with Israel.
The White House has cast doubt on the Hamas-run Health Ministry’s death toll since Israeli forces retaliated to terrorist attacks launched by Hamas on Oct. 7. National security spokesman John Kirby on Tuesday said that White House still doesn’t believe those numbers, following the Health Ministry saying the death toll surpassed 10,000 a day prior.
“We don’t have an exact figure,” he said when asked how many Palestinian civilians have died in Gaza. “We don’t have the capacity and the capability to provide you with that. We still don’t believe that taking the Ministry of Health’s numbers at face value is wise, but we can’t provide you with an alternative number.”
Kirby said the U.S. acknowledges the death toll in Gaza is in the “many, many thousands” while stressing that the White House isn’t “walking away” from the idea that innocent people in Gaza have been killed, injured, and displaced.
“All of that tragedy weighs heavily on the president and all of us here,” he said.
When asked how the U.S. is confident that laws of war aren’t being broken in Gaza if they aren’t analyzing the impact on the ground, Kirby noted that these are Israel’s military operations.
“Now, were in constant communication with them so the sense we get from how they’re doing is from our communication with them,” he said.
And, he added that humanitarian aid organizations working to provide food, water, and medicine, among other needs, on the ground are also helping the U.S. assess what is happening.
“We have ways of collecting information, we can talk to humanitarian aid organizations that are on the ground, certainly we’re talking to our Israeli counterparts,” Kirby said. “It’s not like we don’t have an idea but we don’t have a number that I would feel comfortable giving you from this podium with exactly to, but of course we have an idea of what’s going on because now that more humanitarian aid is going in, we have the ability to talk to those aid organizations to get a sense of what they’re seeing on the ground.”
President Biden last month said he had “no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth” when asked about the official death toll out of Gaza, prompting outrage from the community.
The Health Ministry’s indication at the time said that more than 6,000 Palestinians had died.
Go to Source: Administration News | The Hill
Reuters Poll: Joe Biden’s Popularity Tumbles to 39%, Lowest Since April
Go to Source: Breitbart News