Proposal to let parents be fined for kids’ crimes heads to Tennessee governor’s desk
A proposal that would allow parents to be fined for their child’s criminal offenses is headed to Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s desk for his approval. The GOP-dominant House on Monday approved allowing judges to levy up to $1,000 in fines against parents or legal guardians of children who commit a second criminal offense. The chamber voted 72-24 to send the bill to the governor after it previously secured the support from the similarly Republican-controlled Senate. TENNESSEE SCHOOL VOUCHER PROGRAM PLANS COME TO AN END AFTER GOV. LEE ADMITS DEFEAT Supporters argue the proposal is needed to hold families accountable for the child’s actions. However, Democratic lawmakers warned that the bill unfairly targets working parents who may have limited resources and burden them with fines that they may be unable to pay. “We’re not going to solve this problem by criminalizing parents doing the best that they can,” said Democratic Rep. John Ray Clemmons. According to the legislation, dubbed the “Parental Accountability Act,” judges would be allowed — but not required — to order parents pay restitution for law enforcement expenses for responding and investigating their child’s criminal offense. If the parents or legal guardians are unable to pay, the judge could order them to perform community service instead. “All were trying to do is create a mechanism for a judge to exercise and allow these parents to be better held accountable,” said Republican Rep. John Gillespie, who sponsored the legislation. While debating the bill, Gillespie said that state officials had assured him that the legislation would not apply to foster care parents. Democrats questioned that stance and asked the Republican to make a last-minute tweak to explicitly exempt foster care families but Gillespie refused. Lee, a Republican, hasn’t publicly stated whether he supports the measure.
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says Russian strike collapsed Kharkiv TV tower
Ukrainian president tells Joe Biden that Russian attack on the tower is part of a plan to make the city ‘uninhabitable’. A Russian missile strike that broke in half a 240-metre (787-foot) television tower in Kharkiv is part of a deliberate effort by Moscow to make Ukraine’s second-largest city uninhabitable, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. On Monday, dramatic video footage showed the main mast of the television tower breaking off and falling to the ground in the city, which has been pounded by missile and drone strikes for weeks. Zelenskyy said he told US President Joe Biden about the air strike that was carried out several minutes before they spoke by telephone. “It is Russia’s clear intention to make the city uninhabitable,” he said, according to a readout of the call published on the Telegram messaging application. The northeastern city of Kharkiv has a population of 1.3 million and lies just 30km (19 miles) from the Russian border, making it an easy target for ballistic missiles and other weapons as Ukraine’s air defences have dwindled. Its power facilities have been damaged particularly badly since Russia last month began targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. “At the moment there are interruptions to the digital television signal,” regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. There were no casualties because workers at the site had taken shelter, he added. The Service for State Special Communications said the structure of the tower had been “partially damaged” in what prosecutors said appeared to have been a strike with a Kh-59 cruise missile. It said that there was “temporarily” no television signal and that they were working to restore it, urging residents of the city and region without a digital television signal to use cable or online television or the radio. Russia first attacked Kharkiv’s television tower several times in early March 2022, soon after it launched its full-scale invasion. The signal was disrupted at the time. Moscow has recently stepped up its attacks, while Ukraine is suffering a shortage of air defence capabilities. Kharkiv and the surrounding region have experienced the most intense strikes. [embedded content] Adblock test (Why?)
What could be the consequences if Israel invades Rafah?
Several of Israel’s allies say they are opposed to Israeli forces launching an assault on the southern Gaza city. More than one million Palestinians have sought shelter in Rafah in southern Gaza, but there are growing fears that Israeli forces could launch an offensive on the city. Israel’s US and European allies say they are opposed. So will Israel push ahead regardless? What would be the consequences? Presenter: James Bays Guests: Kholoud Jwefil – economic justice officer at Oxfam who specialises in supporting women-led businesses and youth entrepreneurship Robert Geist Pinfold – peace and security lecturer at Durham University whose research focuses on Israeli foreign and security policy Hisham Mhanna – spokesman in Gaza for the International Committee of the Red Cross Adblock test (Why?)
Jury hears opening statements at Trump’s ‘hush money’ trial
NewsFeed Opening statements and testimony from the first witness was heard by the jury at Donald Trump’s ‘hush money’ trial. Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey is following the first ever criminal proceedings against a former president from New York. Published On 22 Apr 202422 Apr 2024 Adblock test (Why?)
New poll reveals voters prefer Trump on these key issues
Most voters prefer former President Donald Trump to handle their top issues over President Joe Biden ahead of the 2024 election, recent polling shows. A new NBC News poll found that inflation is the number one issue for voters going into November — an issue that most respondents believe would be better handled by Trump than the current president. When asked who they preferred to handle the issue of rising costs, the majority of respondents, 52%, said they prefer Trump to Biden. Only 30% of likely voters said that they believe Biden is better at leading on the issue. BIDEN TOUTS US ECONOMY IN BATTLEGROUND PENNSYLVANIA AMID PERSISTENT INFLATION The survey also found that the crisis at the southern border is the second most important issue to voters, another area where Biden was found to trail Trump. When asked about their opinion of the president’s handling of immigration and the crisis at the border, a whopping 69% of respondents said they disapprove of Biden’s handling of the crisis. REPORTER SOUNDS ALARM ON ‘TROUBLING NUMBERS’ FOR PRESIDENT BIDEN IN LATEST POLL: ‘A CLEAR LIABILITY’ The NBC poll from April did not ask respondents their current view of Trump’s handling of the immigration crisis, but an NBC survey from January revealed that 57% of respondents preferred the former president’s handling of the issue at the border over only 22% who favored Biden. The poll also found that if the election were held today, Trump bests Biden by 2-points, 46% to 44%. The results are the most recent in a string of polling that shows voters are not only most worried about the border and rising costs, but that they trust Trump to be the best presidential candidate to handle the issues. Recent Fox News statewide surveys in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin mirrored the results that Trump is the preferred candidate to handle the issues of immigration and the economy over Biden. Additionally, a recent Axios/Ipsos survey found that 42% of Latino voters believe Trump is good for the economy, while only 20% could say the same about Biden. On the issue of immigration, 29% of Latino respondents gave Trump a positive rating, over 22% who preferred Biden. The NBC poll was conducted from April 12 to 16, 2024 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
‘Significant threat’: ICE tracks down illegal immigrant charged with child sex crime
A Honduran illegal immigrant, charged with a child sex crime was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) — months after he was released from jail in Connecticut despite ICE’s pleas to take custody of him. The unnamed 26-year-old Honduran national had initially been released into the U.S. in 2013 after being arrested by Border Patrol. He was given a notice to appear and released into the U.S. to family members. In September 2023, police in New Britain, Connecticut, arrested and charged him for sex offenses — including first-degree sexual assault against a minor under the age of 13 and illegal sexual contact with a minor. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHARGED IN ‘HORRIFIC’ CHILD SEX CRIME ARRESTED BY ICE AFTER POLICE LET HIM GO ICE issued a detainer against him in October. The detainer is a request that the agency be notified before a suspected illegal immigrant is released from local police custody and to hold them until ICE can take custody of them. However, some jurisdictions, including “sanctuary” jurisdictions, do not honor detainers. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS In this instance, ICE says that the Hartford Correctional Center ignored the detainer and released the Honduran back onto the streets on Feb. 1. He was eventually picked up by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers on April 4 — nearly two months after his release. In a statement, ICE again scolded those jurisdictions that don’t cooperate with detainers. “This is a disturbing example of how noncooperative jurisdictions can pose a significant threat to communities in our region,” ERO Boston Field Office Director Todd Lyons said in a statement. “Despite the presence of an immigration detainer, local authorities released an alleged sexual predator onto the streets of a Connecticut neighborhood.” BORDER STATE LAWMAKER SOUNDS ALARM ON BLOODTHIRSTY VENEZUELAN GANG ENTERING US ICE and the Biden White House have repeatedly urged cities and jurisdictions to cooperate with federal authorities with regard to handing over criminal illegal immigrants. “We welcome local law enforcement’s support and cooperation in apprehending and removing individuals who pose a risk to national security or public safety,” a White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital in February in response to a question about its stance on sanctuary cities. “When a local jurisdiction has information about an individual who could pose a threat to public safety, we want them to share that information with ICE.”
Biden warns climate change deniers are ‘condemning’ Americans to ‘dangerous future’ during Earth Day event
President Biden commemorated Earth Day by telling a crowd in Triangle, Virginia that anyone who denies the impacts of climate change is “condemning the American people to a very dangerous future.” The president’s comments were made while speaking at Prince William Forest Park, where he announced two programs he expects to benefit the environment and the American people. The first program Biden introduced is to help low- to middle-income families dealing with the inflated costs of energy bills. Under the president’s new “Solar for All” plan, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will invest $7 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act, to reduce energy costs. BIDEN LAUNCHES BILLION-DOLLAR CLIMATE WORK PROGRAM AS PART OF EARTH DAY ACTIONS Biden said the reward will provide 60 grants across the country to states, territories, municipalities, tribal governments, and religious nonprofits to create programs that enable low-income and disadvantaged communities to benefit from residential solar. “It’s a big deal,” he said. “This new Solar for All program means that 900,000 households, 900,000, will have solar on the rooftops for the first time, and soon millions of families will save over $400 a year in utility bills, and that’s $350 million nationwide.” Another program Biden introduced is the American Climate Corps, which will provide over 2,000 positions in 36 states. The president said Americans can now apply to become the first members of the American Climate Corps and get paid to fight climate change by learning how to install solar panels, fight wildfires, rebuild wetlands and winterize homes, among other things. LEFT-WING CLIMATE GROUP WITH SHADY BACKING TAKES PROMINENT ROLE AGAINST GAS STOVES Biden said he has seen the “devastating toll” of climate change firsthand, saying since becoming president, he has flown over all the major fires and “thousands upon thousands of acres” that were burned flat by wildfires. He also said he met with families whose homes were “wiped off the map” by hurricanes, floods and storms last year, adding that last year Earth faced the hottest day on record. In just two years, he said, natural disasters and extreme weather in America caused $270 billion in damages. “But folks, despite the overwhelming devastation in red and blue states, there’s still those who deny climate is in crisis,” Biden told the crowd. “My MAGA Republican friends don’t seem to think it’s a crisis… they actually want to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act, which actually provides the funding for a vast majority of these projects and roll back… protections for clean air and clean water. BIDEN ADMIN PROBED AFTER FOX NEWS DIGITAL SHOWS IT MAY HAVE FABRICATED PAPER TRAIL TO SHUTTER CHEMICAL PLANT “I’m not going to go into it now, but I’m not making it up. It’s real. Just listen to what they say,” the president said. “Anyone in or out of government who willfully denies the impacts of climate change is condemning the American people to a very dangerous future, and the world, I might add. They want to take us backwards, sideline our workers, let China and others lead the race for clean energy. I’m determined, absolutely determined we move forward.” Before the president walked up to the podium, several lawmakers spoke about Earth Day, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who thanked Biden for launching the American Climate Corps. Ocasio-Cortez also spoke about Franklin D. Roosevelt inspiring the idea through a bill he put forward in 1933, to create the original Civilian Conservation Corps. Ocasio-Cortez called Roosevelt’s bill revolutionary in the wake of the Great Depression, as it put over 3 million young people to work, created 711 new state parks and improved the nation’s public lands. At the beginning of Biden’s speech, he acknowledged comments made by Bernie Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez. “Bernie, you’re the best. And Representative Ocasio-Cortez of New York. You know, I learned a long time ago, listen to that lady. Listen to that lady. We’re going to talk more about another part of the world, too, really quickly,” Biden said in a cryptic way. Despite what looked to be foreshadowing before his speech, the president never spoke of other parts of the world, except for when he mentioned the U.S. rejoining the Paris Agreement. In his closing statement, Biden spoke about Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps, which Biden said, “was referenced by the Congress lady,” failing to refer to Ocasio-Cortez by name. Biden quoted Roosevelt, saying, “more important than the material gains, will be the moral and spiritual value of such work.” “He always put it in context and went beyond just what the immediate need was,” Biden said. “I’d say the same holds true for what we’re doing here today as a moral imperative, and I’ve never been more optimistic about America’s future.”
Raiganj Lok Sabha constituency: Know polling date, candidates list, past election results
The parliamentary elections in West Bengal for its 42 seats are scheduled to be conducted in all seven phases (April 19, April 26, May 7, May 13, May 20, May 25 and June 1).
Tony Gonzales openly blasts fellow Republicans as “scumbags” and klansmen
Gonzales’ interview on CNN infuriated members of the House Freedom Caucus, causing one to endorse his primary opponent.
Hochul silent as pressure grows for National Guard to break up Columbia’s anti-Israel throng
Democrat New York Gov. Kathy Hochul refused to send in the National Guard on Monday to quell anti-Israel protests at Columbia University – despite mounting pressure from lawmakers and experts saying she has the legal justification, if not the obligation, to do so. The NYPD also has yet to take action on campus as tensions continued to rise on the eve of the Jewish Passover holiday, despite in-person classes being canceled Monday due to concerns about Jewish students’ safety. “The fact that they had to go to remote learning today, because they can’t keep their students safe is disgraceful,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital in an interview. “There should certainly be NYPD on campus, the governor should be offering National Guard and shutting down these horrific antisemitism events.” Malliotakis also added her voice to the rising chorus calling for the resignation of Columbia University President Dr. Nemat “Minouche” Shafik. Malliotakis said that Shafik had permitted antisemitism to “fester on campus for months.” Shafik, who was called to testify before Congress to address the school’s inaction on antisemitism after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, said on Monday she was hoping the school “will try to bring this crisis to a resolution” in the coming days. Shafik’s didn’t respond to Fox News Digital when asked if the NYPD or National Guard would be requested to de-escalate the protest and disperse the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment.” IVY LEAGUE ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS’ PROTESTS SPIRAL INTO ‘ACTUAL TERROR ORGANIZATION,’ PROFESSOR WARNS If requested by the governor – or the Biden administration – the use of the National Guard would be a justified measure to restore “public order,” said Ilya Shapiro, the director of constitutional studies at the Manhattan Institute. “And the justification would be Title VI, which ensures equal educational opportunity,” Shapiro told Fox News Digital. “And the argument is that Jewish students are being denied that, and that Columbia is failing of its obligation to enforce it.” Title VI, part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, “provides that no person” in the U.S. “shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” Shapiro, a legal scholar who in 2022 stepped down from his brief tenure as executive director at Georgetown University’s Center for the Constitution due to a free speech dispute, noted that not all speech is protected under the First Amendment, including speech that incites violence or death threats, which places many of the anti-Israel agitators at odds with the law. “Similarly, beating somebody up, harassing them, false imprisonment, vandalism – you don’t get defenses for that,” he said. Other lawmakers took to X on Monday urging the National Guard to disperse protesters lobbing antisemitic chants and supporting Islamist terrorist group Hamas as “freedom fighters.” STEFANIK ACCUSES COLUMBIA PRESIDENT OF ‘PRO-TERRORIST’ PROFESSOR ‘COVER-UP,’ WARNS OF POTENTIAL FELONY “Eisenhower sent the 101st to Little Rock,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said on X Monday. “It’s time for Biden to call out the National Guard at our universities to protect Jewish Americans.” Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., who in 2020 wrote a New York Times op-ed advocating for the use of the military to quell riots that occurred during that summer’s nationwide social justice protests, said on X that if Mayor Eric Adams “won’t send the NYPD and Kathy Hochul won’t send the National Guard, Joe Biden has a duty to take charge and break up these mobs.” The throngs occupying Columbia University grounds hurled violent threats against Jewish students beginning last week. Those at Columbia set up encampments, waved Palestine flags, and refused to leave. “We are Hamas,” some agitators chanted, while others called for the expulsion of Zionists. “The First Amendment protects the right to protest, but students also have a right to learn in an environment free from harassment or violence,” Hochul said in a statement Monday. “At Columbia or on any campus, threatening Jewish students with violence or glorifying the terror of October 7 is antisemitism.” Still, she refused to call on authorities to break up the encampment. Hochul’s office did not respond when asked by Fox News Digital if the National Guard would be requested. Meanwhile, Shafik said that she was “deeply saddened” by certain actions of agitators, who have formed an “encampment” on the campus and have riled students and faculty with anti-Jewish slogans and chants. “I know that there is much debate about whether or not we should use the police on campus, and I am happy to engage in those discussions. But I do know that better adherence to our rules and effective enforcement mechanisms would obviate the need for relying on anyone else to keep our community safe,” she said. “We should be able to do this ourselves.” COLUMBIA RABBI TELLS JEWISH STUDENTS TO LEAVE CAMPUS, WARNS THAT SCHOOL, NYPD ‘CANNOT GUARANTEE YOUR SAFETY’ The statement comes after the Orthodox rabbi at Columbia University and Barnard College sent a message encouraging Jewish students to leave campus and go home after protesters were caught on camera espousing full-on support for terrorism and supporting violence toward Jewish students. Rabbi Elie Buechler sent a message to hundreds of students recommending they leave “as soon as possible” until the situation improves, noting that “what we are witnessing in and around campus is terrible and tragic.” Adams, a Democrat, said in a statement he condemns “this hate speech in the strongest of terms.” “Supporting a terrorist organization that aims to kill Jews is sickening and despicable. As I have repeatedly said, hate has no place in our city, and I have instructed the NYPD to investigate any violation of law that is reported. Rest assured, the NYPD will not hesitate to arrest anyone who is found to be breaking the law,” Adams said. “We will not be a city of lawlessness, and those professional agitators seeking to seize the ongoing conflict in the