Dems use GOP-opposed immigration bill as cudgel against Republicans on border security
Democrats are reminding voters often of Republican opposition to a Senate bill designed to be a compromise on border security, accusing their counterparts of “exploiting” the crisis at the southern border rather than legislating. Democrats in the upper chamber have continued to espouse their support for a border security bill that was negotiated in a bipartisan fashion but was shot down in a test vote by Republicans in February for not being strong enough. “Instead of just making a lot of speeches, pointing a lot of fingers – blame, blame, blame – we Democrats want to get something done to secure our border,” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in floor remarks on Wednesday. DEMS SAY KATIE BRITT’S NEW BILL WOULD CREATE ‘DATABASE OF PREGNANT WOMEN’ Schumer began a daily countdown earlier this month, tracking the number of days that have gone by since the immigration bill failed to garner the 60 votes necessary to move forward. “It’s been 98 days since Donald Trump and the Republicans blocked the strongest, most comprehensive border security bill in a generation. And they still don’t have any plan except exploiting the border for Trump’s political gain,” he wrote Wednesday on X in the latest tally. This comes after a source familiar with the discussion told Fox News Digital that the majority leader relayed to Democrats last week his strong consideration for bringing the bill back to the floor, just months ahead of the 2024 elections. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., noted the renewed focus on the border measure in his own floor remarks. He pointed to months of polling revealing the importance of the immigration issue to voters going into the elections, telling colleagues, “perhaps it’s not a coincidence that the Democratic leader has indicated his intention to once again turn the Senate’s focus to the border crisis and to portions of the bipartisan legislation Senator Lankford helped produce earlier this year.” DEMS PUSH BIDEN TO ACT ON FOOD PRICES WITH INFLATION RANKING AS TOP ISSUE AHEAD OF ELECTION McConnell explained that President Biden already has all the power he needs to remedy the issues at the southern border, but that he refuses to do so. “The path out of the deepening border crisis [is] actually not a mystery. It just requires a president who’s willing to stop digging,” he said. When a procedural test vote was held in February on the negotiated border measure crafted by Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and James Lankford, R-Okla., it failed with nearly every Republican voting against it. Many claimed the bill was too weak and did not include enough Republican priorities, while some said it would make the border issue worse. BIDEN TORCHED BY REPUBLICANS FOR TOUGHER IMMIGRATION RULE AHEAD OF NOVEMBER ELECTION Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., discussed the potential revival of the measure, telling Fox News host Maria Bartiromo that Democrats weren’t operating in good faith during the negotiations. “Democrats were always negotiating for political cover with their failed border bill,” he wrote on X. “That will still be the case if they decide to bring it up again. It was an awful bill, that’s why it died within 24 hours of it being introduced,” he added. Republicans have also pointed to the fact that the House has previously passed a preferred border measure that would re-institute a policy requiring asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while awaiting hearings and resume construction of the border wall, among other things. A similar measure also touts strong support in the House and would similarly “institute Remain in Mexico, reform the parole and asylum laws, and build the border wall,” per a spokesperson from the office of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. DEMS PLAN TO REVIVE BORDER BILL REJECTED BY REPUBLICANS AHEAD OF NOVEMBER ELECTION However, the bill that already passed in the House was never taken up by Schumer. Upon the release of the text for the negotiated Senate border bill, Schumer said in a statement, “Many on the hard-right wanted to hijack this process by demanding we take up H.R. 2, but I made clear the only bill I would bring to the floor was one that could win bipartisan support.” “Not a single Democrat in the House or Senate voted for H.R. 2,” he said. In February, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, looked to attach the GOP-backed border measure, or H.R. 2, to a government spending extension. The proposal was ultimately rejected. Also in February, the issue of immigration soared to the top of Gallup’s “Most Important Problem” list that surveyed Americans. Of those polled, 28% said immigration was the country’s top issue. This was the first time immigration emerged as the most important issue since 2019. As McConnell alluded to, Democrats in the Senate face the worst election map in years, with several incumbents in competitive races in swing states. Schumer and the Democrats enjoy a slim majority in the upper chamber, with 51 senators caucusing with Democrats to 49 Republicans. The seven most competitive Senate races in 2024, per non-partisan political handicapper the Cook Political Report, are for seats that are currently held by those caucusing with Democrats in Michigan, Arizona, Montana, Ohio, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. Given the difficult election map, Republicans face a significant opportunity to regain the majority in the chamber come 2025, especially as the vulnerable incumbents are prompted to defend the border under Democratic rule.
Join us for a May 29 conversation on the border and the election
In a virtual event held in partnership with ProPublica, we’ll discuss landmark federal policy shifts that precipitated last year’s deadly Juárez detention center fire, and how immigration is shaping the presidential election.
Vulnerable Dem incumbents move to the center in key swing states as Biden panders to far-left base
Democratic incumbent Senate candidates across the country in key battleground states are moving more and more to the center and right as polls continue to show President Biden trailing former President Trump in many key swing states. Biden trails Trump in six battleground states with about six months to go before the election, according to Fox News polling last month, with Biden finding himself behind in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina. Nevada Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen has made it a point to tout her bipartisan credentials on the campaign trail. “I know what Nevada families are going through,” Rosen said in her first ad launching her re-election campaign. “It’s why I first ran for Congress. And it’s why in the Senate, I’ve worked with both parties to solve problems. And always focused on making a difference in people’s lives.” NEVER SAY NEVER-TRUMP: BIDEN LEAVES GOP MODERATES WITH ‘NO ALTERNATIVE’ BUT TO BACK FORMER PRESIDENT Rosen, like many other incumbent Democrats, is in a tough re-election campaign under the backdrop of historically low approval ratings for Biden, while also carrying a record of voting with the president 98.6% of the time last year, Fox News Digital reported. “Since day one, Sen. Jacky Rosen has worked to get things done in a bipartisan way,” a Rosen campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “That’s why she’s been recognized as one of the most bipartisan and effective senators in the nation. No matter what year it is, Sen. Rosen will always be focused on bringing Republicans and Democrats together to deliver for Nevadans.” Longtime Democratic Sen. Bob Casey is up for re-election in the key swing state of Pennsylvania, which Biden narrowly won in 2020 in a race he has acknowledged will be “tough.” Casey recently distanced himself from the defund the police movement, despite recent endorsements from groups advocating that police departments be defended, and promoting a bill that would have overhauled policing practices at the height of 2020s protests and riots. ‘BIDEN HAS FAILED’: DEMS SOUND OFF AFTER HANDLING OF BORDER CRISIS FRACTURES THEIR OWN PARTY Casey has faced strong criticism from his Republican opponent, businessman Dave McCormick, for allegedly shifting positions on key issues like immigration over the years, particularly when he is up for re-election. The Pennsylvania Democrat has adopted a populist message on the economy, where Biden is underwater with voters, according to Fox News polling, by attacking “greedflation” – a blunt term for corporations that jack up prices and rip off shoppers to maximize profits – and trying to reframe the election-year narrative about the economy. “Casey’s biggest vulnerability is the Biden administration,” GOP consultant Vince Galko recently told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Casey wins or loses based on what Biden does in the next couple of months.” In a statement to Fox News Digital, Casey campaign spokesperson Maddy McDaniel said, “Bob Casey is consistently ranked among the most effective and bipartisan senators in Washington and has worked across the aisle to create jobs and lower costs. Meanwhile, his opponent David McCormick has only worked to increase his bottom line, from outsourcing American jobs to investing in Chinese military companies.” In Wisconsin, Dem. Sen. Tammy Baldwin is running in a state Trump won in 2016 and narrowly lost in 2020, and she has attempted to position herself as a “pro worker” candidate who champions the needs of the working class. While Baldwin often touts her relationship with Biden, she recently joined several other vulnerable Democrats and opposed the president’s unfreezing of Iranian assets in October. “Tammy Baldwin is willing to work with and stand up to anyone if it means getting the job done for Wisconsin,” Baldwin campaign spokesperson Andrew Mamo told Fox News Digital. “She has stood up for our workers by voting to repeal President Biden’s policy that let China cheat in the solar industry and successfully pausing his Indo-Pacific trade deal, and has gone to bat for our farmers by taking on the FDA for their wrongheaded decision to allow plant-based products to use the good name of Wisconsin milk.” Incumbent Democratic senators in Ohio and Montana are also finding themselves in close races, with the Cook Political Report labeling both a “toss up,” prompting each senator to publicly take more moderate positions. Sherrod Brown has served as a Democrat representing Ohio in the Senate since 2007 and finds himself running for re-election in a state that Trump carried by eight points in 2020 and is expected to carry again. Brown, who carries with him a record of voting with Biden 99% of the time from 2021-2023, and 97% of the time since 2023, has broken with the president on a few issues in recent months. Brown became only the second Democrat earlier this month to oppose Biden’s electric vehicle tax credit plan, Politico reported, and also bucked the president over his repeal of Title 42 last year. Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, running in a state that Trump carried by almost 20 points in 2020, has been described by his GOP challenger Tim Sheehy as “two-faced” during election years, and has been taking positions to the right of Biden on key issues such as immigration. Tester recently became the first Democrat in the Senate to back the Laken Riley Act, which would require federal officials to arrest illegal immigrants charged with certain crimes like burglary, similar to the illegal immigrant alleged to have killed the 22-year-old Georgia nursing student for whom the bill is named. Tester has publicly criticized Biden’s handling of the border and recently secured over $10 million to support law enforcement in Montana. “Jon Tester does what’s right for Montana. President Trump signed more than 20 of his bills into law, including to help veterans, crack down on government waste and abuse, and support our first responders, and Jon stood up to President Biden by demanding action be taken to secure our border and protect Montana’s way of life,” Tester campaign spokesperson Monica Robinson told Fox News Digital. “That’s
Jury picked, opening statements begin in US v. Menendez: ‘Use your good judgment’
A dozen jurors and six alternatives were chosen Wednesday and began hearing opening statements in the high-profile federal corruption trial of New Jersey Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez. Opening statements are expected to take up to three hours total, and prosecutor Lara Pomerantz was allotted 45 minutes. U.S. Judge Sidney H. Stein told the jurors, “use your common sense, use your life experience, use your good judgment.” Jurors will determine whether evidence against Menendez and two New Jersey businessmen, Fred Daibes and Wael Hana, shows a bribery scheme that allegedly involved meddling in criminal investigations and taking actions to benefit the governments of Egypt and Qatar. US V. MENENDEZ: DEM SENATOR’S CORRUPTION TRIAL KICKS OFF WITH SURPRISING DELAY Menendez “put his power up for sale,” while aiding the Egyptian government and trying to brush criminal cases under the rug in exchange for gold bars, jewelry, cash and a Mercedes-Benz convertible, according to the prosecutor’s opening statements. “He was powerful,” Pomerantz said in opening statements. “He was also corrupt.” The prosecutor said Daibes gave Menendez and his wife 1 kilogram gold bars worth, at the time, over $50,000 each and that Menendez Googled, “what is the price of a kilo gold bar?” Pomerantz also said lab tests show multiple cash envelopes had Daibes fingerprints and DNA on them. Each gold bar has a unique serial number traced back Daibes and Hana. The government also said text messages and emails will take the jury inside the alleged scheme, hour by hour, minute by minute. TRUMP VP CONTENDERS, SITTING SENATORS HEADLINE MENENDEZ TRIAL POTENTIAL WITNESS LIST Menendez’s attorney, Avi Weitzman, will have about an hour to present their defense, while Hana and Daibes’ attorneys are expected to each speak for about 30 minutes during opening arguments. In his opening statements, Weitzman described Menendez as “an American patriot,” waving away the claim that he’s a “foreign agent,” like the prosecution alleges, The Times reported. All three alleged conspirators have pleaded not guilty, but co-defendant Jose Uribe has pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the other defendants. A trial for the senator’s wife, Nadine, who is also charged and has also pleaded not guilty, is delayed until at least July for health reasons. This is the second time in a decade that Menendez has been accused in a federal corruption case. BOB MENENDEZ’S CORRUPTION CASE CO-DEFENDANT PLEADS GUILTY TO 7 COUNTS, COOPERATING WITH INVESTIGATORS On Tuesday, the judge told potential jurors that several sitting U.S. senators — including a couple rumored to be in consideration for the GOP vice presidential nod — are among a lengthy list of prominent individuals who could be called as witnesses. The list included: David Axelrod, former political strategist for former President Barack Obama; Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.; Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware; Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y.; Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia; former Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.; former Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin; former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.; Sen. Kristen Sinema, I-Ariz.; and Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland. Fox News’ Jennifer Johnson contributed to this report.
ACLU backs efforts to sink bill stripping any nonprofit that ‘bankrolls terrorists’ of tax-exempt status
FIRST ON FOX: A new bill that would strip the tax-exempt status of nonprofits found to be materially supporting terrorists – which passed the House with broad bipartisan support – is facing lobbying efforts to sink it by groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The bill, introduced by Reps. David Kustoff, R-Tenn., and Brad Schneider, D-Ill., passed the House of Representatives in April by a sweeping vote of 382-11. Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Angus King, I-Maine, have pushed a companion version of the bill. A spokesperson for Cornyn called the legislation a “commonsense” proposal to ban tax breaks for anyone who “bankrolls terrorists.” The ACLU has joined calls for Congress to kill the bill from groups like Council on American-Islamic Relations and American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) – the center of a recent lawsuit alleging that it and National Students for Justice in Palestine are “collaborators and propagandists for Hamas.” The ACLU argued in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital that the prohibitions instituted by the bill, which would amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, are already illegal under current law. IRS URGED TO PROBE TAX-EXEMPT GROUPS SUPPORTING ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS The group also claimed “the legislation raises serious constitutional concerns,” and because it “vests vast discretion in the Secretary of the Treasury, it creates a high risk of politicized and discriminatory enforcement.” However, Kustoff, one of only two Jewish Republicans in Congress, is baffled by the opposition. “Several weeks ago, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to pass bipartisan legislation I introduced that does one simple thing: take away the tax-exempt status of nonprofits that give financial support to terrorist groups and organizations,” he told Fox News Digital. “This bill and its purpose are clear and simple. The American taxpayer should not unknowingly be funding terrorists. It should be a no-brainer,” he said. “Now, there are some left-wing radical groups, and at least one pro-Hamas group, trying to influence the United States Senate,” he said. “Even in deeply divided Washington, 382 Members of Congress agree that any organization that funds terrorism should not receive tax-exempt status under the U.S. tax code,” he said. MAJOR US LAW FIRM SUES STUDENTS FOR JUSTICE IN PALESTINE FOR ALLEGED SUPPORT OF HAMAS ‘TERRORIST ACTIVITIES’ The ACLU claimed in its letter that “there has been no evidence presented as to the necessity of this legislation, and the lack of guardrails creates the potential for a future administration to weaponize this legislation to further its own political motives to target U.S. nonprofits, exposing them to stigmatizing and financially devastating punishments.” It also claimed the bill raises due process concerns, alleging it “switches the burden of proof about whether a nonprofit provides material support from the government to the nonprofit.” However, Rabbi Yaakov Menken, managing director of the Coalition for Jewish Values disagrees. “A tax exemption from the federal government is not a right, it’s a privilege. The burden of proof is on the organization to demonstrate that it is not using its tax exemption to engage in activities forbidden by a tax-exempt organization.” Under the current U.S. tax code, an entity’s tax-exempt status is suspended if it is designated by the U.S. Department of State as a terrorist organization, which includes groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and al Qaeda. Cornyn says the legislation would extend the current prohibition to include organizations that provide material support or resources, such as finances, services or training, to a terrorist organization within the past three years. Kia Hamadanchy, senior policy counsel at ACLU said in a statement, “While it is already illegal under current law to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations, by vesting vast discretion in the Secretary of Treasury, this bill creates a high risk of politicized and discriminatory enforcement.” “As drafted the lack of due process protections would hand current and future presidential administrations a tool perfectly designed to stifle free speech, target political opponents, and punish disfavored groups on both ends of the political spectrum,” Hamadanchy said. POLICE AT UCLA FACE OFF AGAINST LEFT-WING MOB, FORTIFIED ENCAMPMENT AS CAMPUS ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS ESCALATE “If this legislation isn’t necessary, how is it that American Muslims for Palestine are still tax-exempt? Within 36 hours of the atrocities of October 7, AMP’s campus arm, Students for Justice in Palestine, had already emerged with a detailed ‘Day of Resistance’ toolkit for campus chapters to hold activities in support of Hamas,” said Menken. “They declared that they not only support the messaging of Hamas, but they part of it,” Menken said, referring to the toolkit document released by the groups. AMP, headquartered in Falls Church, Virginia, is currently under investigation by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares for allegedly soliciting contributions in the commonwealth without first having registered with the commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Miyares also announced in November that he is investigating allegations the group may have used funds raised for illegal purposes under state law, including benefiting or providing support to terrorist organizations. Earlier this month, a major U.S. and global law firm, Greenberg Traurig, filed a federal lawsuit representing nine survivors of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks on southern Israel, arguing that NSJP and AMP are working in the United States “as collaborators and propagandists for Hamas.” Through NSJP, AJP Educational Foundation Inc. – also known as AMP – allegedly “uses propaganda to intimidate, convince, and recruit uninformed, misguided, and impressionable college students to serve as foot soldiers for Hamas on campus and beyond,” according to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern Division of Virginia, Alexandria Division. The litigation alleges AMP “serves as Hamas’s propaganda division in the United States” and “was founded from the ashes of disbanded organizations created by senior Hamas officials after those organizations and related individuals were found criminally and civilly liable for providing material support to Hamas and other affiliated terrorist groups.” AMP’s co-founder and current chairman, Hatem Bazian, supported the first SJP chapter as a professor at the University of
Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Why nomination of comedian Shyam Rangeela rejected in Varanasi
Shyam Rangeela has shared a video on his X account and talked about his cancellation of nomination from Varanasi.
Barge hits, damages bridge in Galveston, causing an oil spill
The damaged bridge connects Pelican Island, where the Texas A&M Galveston campus is located, to Galveston Island.
Biden highlights police funding, gun control efforts at National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service
President Biden addressed the National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service at the Capitol on Wednesday, paying tribute to police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty. In remarks at the annual event, which is sponsored by the National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), Biden highlighted the trip he took to North Carolina just a couple of weeks ago to meet with the families of fallen officers in Charlotte. Four law enforcement officers were killed, and four other officers wounded by a suspect who opened fire in a warrant-related gunfight on April 30. “Every time you put on that shield and walk out of the house, your family wonders if that call will come, or if they’ll get that terrible call somewhere during the day or night,” Biden said. “You feel like you’re being sucked into this… losing part of your soul,” he added, sharing about his personal experiences with loss. TRUMP ACCEPTS BIDEN OFFER TO DEBATE HIM IN JUNE AND SEPTEMBER He referenced his late son Beau’s Army service and repeated a common line about how loss feels like a “black hole in the middle of your chest.” Beau Biden died from glioblastoma, the most common form of brain cancer, in May 2015 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Beau served a tour in Iraq from 2008 to 2009. Biden said, “I hope you take comfort, and knowledge that their sacrifice will never be forgotten.” The president spoke about some of the achievements his administration has prioritized to get cops on the street, invest in public safety, pass gun control measures and protect first responders. He mentioned $350 billion included in the American Rescue Plan for states and cities to hire and retain police officers and pay benefits to disabled first responders, as well as $37 billion included in the Save America Plan to improve community policing. Biden also touted his executive order on policing and reforms to mental health services. MIGRANTS IN NYPD TIMES SQUARE ATTACK OFFERED PLEA DEALS, INCLUDING 1 JUST RE-ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY STEALING “Being a cop is one hell of a lot harder than it’s ever been. We expect everything of you,” Biden said, saying that officers are expected to be drug counselors, social workers and guardians of “communities flooded with weapons and fear.” Biden claimed violent crime is near a 50-year low thanks to “the extraordinary efforts” of law enforcement in communities across America. The FBI reported a 5.7% drop in violent crime between Q4 2022 and Q4 2023 in the latest Quarterly Uniform Crime Report, made available on March 18, 2024. The murder rate also fell 13.2%, FBI data showed. Biden’s claim about violent crime appears to reference Jeff Asher, a crime analyst, who wrote in his newsletter that the violent-crime rate was near its lowest level in more than 50 years, citing FBI figures. AS ASSAULTS ON LAW ENFORCEMENT HIT 10-YEAR HIGH, POLICE UNION SAYS OFFICERS ‘TREATED LIKE SCUM’ “The decline in crime shown in the quarterly data – if realized – would be historically large,” Asher wrote in December. “To put some of this in perspective, a 4 percent decline in the nation’s violent crime rate relative to 2022’s reported rate would lead to the lowest violent crime rate nationally since 1969.” The FBI will release an annual report on crime rates later this year. During his remarks, Biden emphasized his administration’s gun control initiatives. “The historic steps taken to support you, to stop the flow of illegal guns, to hold gun traffickers accountable for crime, it matters, and it matters a lot,” Biden told the gathered law enforcement officers, adding, “There’s still much more to be done.” Fox News’ Nick Rojas contributed to this report.
Red state university accused of giving more financial aid to Black students
FIRST ON FOX: Students at the University of Oklahoma filed a class action lawsuit Wednesday alleging the school violated their equal protection clause rights by awarding students financial aid on the basis of race. Plaintiffs Brayden Johnson, Logan Rhines and Kayla Savage – all undergraduate students – claimed in a lawsuit that the university “places a high value on racial diversity,” particularly Black students, through various “race conscious” programs on campus that begin before enrollment and continue through graduation. “Racial discrimination in all of its forms is illegal and immoral, and we intend to vindicate that principle in this lawsuit,” attorney for the plaintiffs David Thompson told Fox News Digital in a statement. UNC CHAPEL HILL BOARD VOTES TO DISMANTLE DEI PROGRAMS, USE FUNDS ON CAMPUS POLICE AFTER ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS The lawsuit names the university’s president, Joseph Harroz, alongside chief enrollment officer Jeff Blahnik, director of financial aid services Courtney Henderson and student engagement director Dorion Billups as defendants. The lawsuit comes after the Supreme Court held in a 2023 ruling that the use of race in admissions violated equal-protection rights, ending prior leniency toward such programs. Black students receive more financial grants compared to other racial groups, based on the university’s published enrollment data it reported to the Department of Education from 2009 to 2022, “even when controlling to the extent possible for factors such as family income,” the lawsuit alleged. “This statistical analysis provides evidence of the extent of discrimination stemming from affirmative action policies in university grants that benefit some favored group (in this case, black students) and harm other disfavored groups (in this case, nonblack students),” the lawsuit alleged. UNC CHAPEL HILL BOARD VOTES TO DISMANTLE DEI PROGRAMS, USE FUNDS ON CAMPUS POLICE AFTER ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS The students alleged that because of the university’s “race-based financial aid decision making,” they received fewer grants “than they would have if the University of Oklahoma did not discriminate on the basis of race when awarding financial aid.” All three students identified as “white” and “non-Hispanic” when applying for grants. Savage, who is a senior at the university, alleged in the lawsuit that a university official told her “that financial aid was generally not available to students like her,” but would have been if she were Black. The lawsuit lays out several incidences in which events and opportunities are exclusionary on the basis of race. The “racially exclusionary nature is not subtle,” the lawsuit states, detailing the university’s three-day “Welcome Black Weekend” orientation for incoming students. “In an effort to obscure the extent to which it has engaged in race-based decision making, the University of Oklahoma has recently deleted many webpages with information about its diversity and race-based programs. It is therefore difficult to determine the full extent of the University’s race-based programs,” the lawsuit alleges. MAJOR CORNELL DONOR PULLS FUNDING OVER ‘TOXIC’ DEI CULTURE, PENS LETTER CALLING FOR PRESIDENT’S RESIGNATION Fox News’ Digital reached out to the University of Oklahoma for comment and a spokesperson said “the practice of the university is not to comment on pending litigation.”
Senators unveil bipartisan push to spend billions on AI research, warn China is ‘in a hurry’
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators joined in a call to boost American funding of artificial intelligence research Wednesday. The group, led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., argues the U.S. is at risk of being left behind on AI if government funding does not increase. Joining Schumer from the other side of the aisle were senators Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and Todd Young, R-Ind. “This is a time in which the dollars related to this particular investment will pay dividends to the taxpayers of this country long term,” Rounds said in a statement. “China now spends probably about 10 times more than we do on AI development. They are in a hurry.” The group’s plans center on generative AI, which can create text, photos and videos in response to open-ended prompts. The technology has created widespread excitement and also concern because it could render vast number of jobs obsolete. STATE DEPARTMENT WANTS CHINA, RUSSIA TO DECLARE THAT AI WON’T CONTROL NUCLEAR WEAPONS, ONLY HUMANS The group is calling for the U.S. to spend at least $32 billion on non-defense-related AI research annually. Schumer noted Congress is also planning to spend “a very large number” on defense-related AI issues, arguing it is critical to “outcompete China.” The majority leader added that there does not need to be an overarching AI bill that includes every issue. Rather, individual committees can work on AI issues and present related legislation as they become ready, he said. DEMOCRAT SENATOR LEADS BIPARTISAN EFFORT TO STRENGTHEN TAIWAN SUPPLY CHAIN DURING CHINA THREAT “We’re not going to wait on legislation that addresses every aspect of AI in society,” he said. Later on Wednesday, the Senate Rules Committee is scheduled to take up debate on how AI could impact or threaten the U.S. election system. OVER 40% OF AMERICANS SEE CHINA AS AN ENEMY, PEW REPORT SHOWS The news came as top U.S. and Chinese authorities met for their first AI talks in Geneva Tuesday. The talks, which presidents Biden and Xi Jinping agreed to launch in 2023, are meant to open bilateral dialogue between the world’s two biggest economies — and increasingly, geopolitical rivals — on a fast-moving technology that already has consequences for trade, lifestyles, culture, politics, national security, defense and much more. U.S. technology experts say the meeting — led on the American side by high-level White House and State Department officials — could offer a glimpse into Beijing’s thinking about AI amid a generally tight-lipped Chinese approach to the technology. Reuters contributed to this report