Gov. Justice appoints Spencer, WV utility clerk to House of Delegates
A city administrative clerk from central West Virginia has been appointed to the state Legislature, Republican Gov. Jim Justice announced Tuesday.
Erica J. Moore, a Roane County Republican who works as a city of Spencer utility clerk, will represent the 15th District in the state House of Delegates serving Roane and Wirt counties.
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Moore will serve the remainder of the term vacated by former Del. Riley Keaton, who announced earlier this month he was departing to take a state government job in the Department of Health and Human Services. Keaton, who was the GOP’s assistant majority whip in the House, had served in the Legislature since 2020. There’s currently just over a year remaining of Keaton’s term.
Moore said she’s looking forward to serving in the Legislature and contributing to policy with her knowledge of water and sewer issues from her work with the city.
“Other than that, I’m just trying to soak it all in — I’m really honored to be appointed,” Moore said in a phone interview Tuesday morning.
Moore is a computer science graduate from West Virginia University. She’s lived in Roane County with her husband for 34 years and previously worked managing a family oil and gas business.
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Biden administration calls for all schools to stock naloxone for opioid overdoses
The Biden administration on Monday called for all U.S. schools to stock naloxone and to train students and faculty to be able to administer the medication in the event of an opioid overdose on their grounds.
“In the midst of this fentanyl overdose epidemic, it is important to focus on measures to prevent youth drug use and ensure that every school has naloxone and has prepared its students and faculty to use it,” reads a “Dear Colleague” letter signed by Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Rahul Gupta.
In the letter, Cardona and Gupta noted that 107,000 people died from an overdose last year, which they said is “unacceptably high,” even though 2022 was the first time in years the number began to drop.
They made the case that naloxone is safe and can help save lives, and they directed schools to webinars and online portals that contain resources to help educate faculty, staff, parents and community leaders on the benefits of naloxone and on ways to develop “safe, supportive, and drug free learning environments.”
“Studies show that naloxone access can reduce overdose death rates, that its availability does not lead to increases in youth drug use, and that it causes no harm if used on a person who is not overdosing on opioids,” they wrote, noting many states have Good Samaritan laws that protect bystanders who help at the scene of an overdose.
The push to stock the overdose antidote comes amid new steps from the Biden administration to fight the epidemic and to make naloxone more widely available.
It also comes nearly two months after Narcan became the first naloxone antidote to be available over the counter. The Food and Drug Administration first approved its over-the-counter use in March and has since approved a generic version of Narcan, as well as a second brand-name nasal spray, ReVive.
“It will be important for your schools to take advantage of this opportunity, and to encourage families to have naloxone at home,” Cardona and Gupta wrote about the new availability of the treatment. “Local public health departments, state behavioral health agencies, and state educational agencies can be helpful in working with schools and districts to access naloxone.”
“There is no time to waste when responding to an overdose, and it is critical that youth and school personnel can access naloxone on school grounds during and after school.”
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FBI Director Wray warns terror threat to Americans at ‘whole other level’ after Hamas-Israel attacks
FBI Director Christopher Wray on Tuesday warned that the threat of a terror attack against Americans has been raised to a “whole other level” due to ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“The reality is that the terrorism threat has been elevated throughout 2023, but the ongoing war in the Middle East has raised the threat of an attack against Americans in the United States to a whole other level,” Wray told lawmakers on the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
Hamas launched a deadly terrorist attack against Israel on Oct. 7, leading to a military response from the U.S. ally. It has renewed concern in the U.S. that there could be similar terror attacks inspired by Hamas and other terrorist groups, including by domestic and homegrown terrorists.
“We assess that the actions of Hamas and its allies will serve as an inspiration, the likes of which we haven’t seen since ISIS launched its so-called caliphate several years ago,” Wray said. “In just the past few weeks, multiple foreign terrorist organizations have called for attacks against Americans and the West.”
Wray warned that the most immediate concern is that individuals or small groups will draw inspiration from the events to attack Americans, including homegrown violent extremists who are inspired by foreign terrorist organizations, or by domestic violent extremists who are targeting Muslim or Jewish targets.
He cited the arrest of a man in Houston who had been studying how to build bombs and had posted support of killing Jews, and the killing of a 6-year-old Muslim boy in Illinois, which Wray said is being investigated as a federal hate crime.
“We also cannot and do not discount the possibility that Hamas or another foreign terrorist organization may exploit the current conflict to conduct attacks here on our own soil,” he said.
IN WAKE OF HAMAS ATTACK, WESTERN PROTESTS, REPUBLICANS INCREASE FOCUS ON LEGAL IMMIGRATION LIMITS
He also pointed to concerns about threats posed by Hezbollah and Iran – which supports both Hamas and Hezbollah – and noted their histories of support of terror and criminal operations.
“Given that disturbing history, we are keeping a close eye on what impact recent events may have on those groups’ intentions here in the United States and how those intentions might evolve,” he said, citing cyber targeting of American interests by Iran and other foes.
Wray’s comments echo those by other agencies. The White House said this week that the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security have seen an “alarming rise” in antisemitic incidents and threats against Jewish communities.
A DHS spokesperson said this week that the U.S. remains in a heightened threat environment and recent events reinforce that.
“As the Israel-Hamas conflict continues, we have seen an increase in reports of threats against Jewish, Muslim, and Arab communities and institutions. Lone offenders, motivated by a range of violent ideologies, pose the most likely threat. We urge the public to stay vigilant and to promptly report suspicious activity to local law enforcement,” the spokesperson said.
Fox News’ Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.
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Blinken, on Gaza aid, says US has to anticipate possible ‘spillage’ over to Hamas
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has admitted to lawmakers Tuesday that “we have to anticipate” some of the humanitarian aid flowing into the Gaza Strip will end up in the hands of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
Blinken made the remark in front of the Senate Appropriations Committee as he said the U.S. is trying to coordinate 100 trucks of aid per day into the conflict zone this week, arguing that it is the “bare minimum of what is needed.”
“Can I promise you in this committee that there’ll be 100% delivery to the designated recipients? No, there will inevitably be some spillage,” he said. “We haven’t seen it to date, but I think we have to anticipate that. But the overwhelming, overwhelming majority of the assistance thus far is getting to people who need it. And we need more.”
Blinken said so far, the U.S. has gotten up to 50 trucks of aid per day into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.
LIVE UPDATES: ISRAEL AT WAR WITH HAMAS
“Before the conflict in Gaza, before Hamas’ aggression against Israel and its response, the U.N. and other agencies and other organizations providing relief were sending in between 500 and 800 hundred trucks a day,” he said. “Right now, we’re up to almost 60. We’re trying to get to 100 this week.”
When asked about the process to make sure the aid is not going to terrorists, Blinken said “from day one, we have been working with the Israeli government, with Egypt, with the U.N. agencies, as well as with other actors to try to make sure that assistance could get in to people who need it in Gaza, but get in, in a way that doesn’t go to the people who don’t need it. And that’s Hamas.
HECKLERS SCREAM AT BLINKEN FOR ISRAEL-HAMAS ‘CEASEFIRE’ DURING SENATE HEARING
“So we’ve set up a system where assistance is coming through Rafah, the gate between Egypt and Gaza. The assistance is checked by Israel at a site that has been established to do that, so that every truck that goes in is verified by Israel as well as by the Egyptian authorities. The trucks go in. These are U.N. trucks. They go in, they connect to other U.N. trucks on the other side of the line in Gaza. These trucks then go to distribution facilities that are run by U.N. agencies,” Blinken explained.
“The supplies are then taken from those agencies to various points to hospitals to bakeries, because bread is critical and to other end points throughout this process, we have an ability and others have an ability to track where the assistance is going,” he added. “We’re then able to do monitoring on the other end by contacting the designated recipients to ensure that it’s actually gotten to where it’s supposed to go and not been diverted.
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House Republicans demand transparency from Biden admin on how US funds are being spent in Ukraine
FIRST ON FOX: Republicans on the House Budget Committee are demanding a full accounting of all funds sent by the United States to Ukraine amid its war with Russia.
Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, and Budget Committee Oversight Task Force Chairman Jack Bergman, R-Mich., directed a letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Shalanda Young, demanding transparency regarding the strategy behind sending billions of dollars overseas.
“It has now been over 20 months since Russia invaded Ukraine. Congress has provided $114 billion in supplemental appropriations – not including potentially billions in additional repurposed, transferred, and reprogrammed funds – and yet we are no closer to getting a clear picture of the Biden Administration’s strategy for providing U.S. assistance in Ukraine,” the letter reads, asserting that Congress remains in the dark on how funds are being spent.
In a press release shared first with Fox News Digital, the committee urged “the Biden Administration be accountable, transparent, and most importantly, honest, with the American people about funding for Ukraine.”
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Members of the Budget Committee, alongside Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, sent an initial letter to OMB in January regarding the continuous funding to Ukraine, but have yet to receive a response as of October.
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“What has become abundantly clear, however, is that this conflict is far from over – therefore, it is imperative that the Biden Administration be accountable, transparent, and most importantly, honest, with the American people about funding for Ukraine,” the committee wrote. “As you are aware, it is Congress that has the power of the purse, and there’s no excuse for Congress to be unaware of how congressionally appropriated funds are being spent.”
The United States sent over $100 billion of taxpayer dollars to Ukraine since the beginning of its war against Russia, according to the White House.
The committee seeks to understand where each dollar went, specifically demanding “a full accounting of expenditures, transfers and reprogrammed funds, as well as obligations, apportionments, and outlays for each appropriations account providing assistance to Ukraine.”
As the House seeks to gain answers on past funding expenditures to Ukraine, President Biden’s OMB is asking Congress to pass an emergency supplemental funding package that would supply even more aid to the country amid its conflict with Russia.
The $100 billion package also includes assistance to Israel and U.S. southern border funding, but it gives $61.4 billion to Ukraine and only $14.3 billion to Israel amid its brutal war with Hamas.
The request was quickly counteracted by Senate Republicans who are seeking to eliminate additional Ukraine funding from aid packages to Israel. GOP Sens. Vance, Roger Marshall, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee introduced the Israel Supplemental Appropriations Act, which seeks to increase Israel’s defense capabilities against Hamas and contains no additional funding to Ukraine.
As Congress scrambles to align on an aid package, the House Budget Committee seeks to ensure that the Biden administration’s “spending and revenue decisions are transparent.”
“Pursuant of Rule X the Committee on the Budget has jurisdiction over ‘the budget process generally,’ including the executive budget process. The Committee’s responsibilities in this area include ‘ensuring spending and revenue decisions are transparent and effectively carried out by the Executive Branch,’” the committee’s letter read. “This entails the duty to elicit accurate information about expenditure and related matters from the Executive Branch to keep the federal government accountable to the American people.”
The committee also requests Young testify before the House Budget Committee on the spending of the funds.
Fox News’ Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.
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GOP senators bash Biden’s immigration policies after trip to border: ‘Increased threat for terrorist attack’
GOP Sens. John Barrasso, John Cornyn, Ted Cruz and Pete Ricketts railed against the Biden administration’s border policies as migrants continue to enter the U.S. illegally.
“We have just returned from our southern border, and it is painfully clear that with Joe Biden’s open border policy, our country is really at an increased threat for a terrorist attack,” said Barrasso, the Senate Republican Conference chairman, during a press conference Tuesday.
Border Patrol agents seized immigrants carrying with them explosive devices “tailored for terrorism,” he said.
Following the border trip last Thursday and Friday, Ricketts added that the country is “opening ourselves up for a terrorist attack.”
BORDER PATROL AGENTS RELEASED OVER 900,000 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS INTO THE US LAST FISCAL YEAR
Cruz, who has led several groups of lawmakers to southwest Texas, said Border Patrol agents are “frustrated” because “they risk their lives catching dangerous people, and they turn around and their political superiors just let them go.”
“And the next day, they go back and catch the same people all over again,” he said.
Minors are often accompanied by older men, and it is unclear whether they are actually related to the child, Cruz said.
“We know under the Trump administration when they DNA tested grown men with children about 30% of them were not related to the kids. That’s because you get preferential treatment if you arrive as a family unit,” Cruz said.
WHITE HOUSE FUNDING REQUEST INCLUDES $14 BILLION FOR BORDER AS CRISIS HITS NEW RECORDS
Meanwhile, Department of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas confirmed there were more than 600,000 known gotaways at the border in fiscal year 2023 during a hearing in the Senate Homeland Committee Tuesday morning.
The Biden administration recently called on Congress to provide an additional $14 billion in funding for border operations, including for processing, support for states and communities into which migrants have been released, and additional agents.
The White House says the money includes funding for transportation, including removal flights and resources for alternatives to detention. It also includes money for “non-custodial housing options” for those in expedited removal, including facilities with housing, legal services and medical care.
However, Republican lawmakers contend Biden’s request will only speed up asylum processing without fixing the problem of flowing migrants by restoring Title 42, a COVID-19-era provision that allowed for faster expulsion of illegal entrants.
“What the Border Patrol tells us… is there’s no consequences associated with illegal entry in the United States,” Cornyn said. “And these criminal organizations that smuggle people and drugs are smart. They know how to exploit our system.”
Barrasso said the Biden administration’s goal with the supplemental funding is to provide “money to make people come in easier.”
HIGH MIGRANT NUMBERS BREAK MULTIPLE RECORDS IN NEW BLOW TO BIDEN BORDER STRATEGY
Border Patrol released over 900,000 illegal immigrants into the interior of the United States in fiscal year 2023, including more than 150,000 in September alone, according to data on the Customs and Border Protection website.
The figure does not include any ICE releases or migrants encountered at ports of entry. Those released were primarily given a NTA/OR (notice to appear on own recognizance), meaning they were released into the U.S. with instructions to appear in court, often at a date years in the future. A minority were released under humanitarian parole between October 2022 and January 2023.
As Congress gears up to negotiate a supplemental funding package, GOP lawmakers — including Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. — are urging for a “number of changes” that ensure tighter border security.
“It’s pretty clear that the supplemental that was set up is just a starting place,” McConnell told reporters following the leadership conference’s weekly luncheon last week. “We’re going to go over it with a fine tooth comb, as you can see is a lot of passion among our members without having a credible border security provision in there, and we’re going to make other changes as well.”
Fox News’ Adam Shaw and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.
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