Pence says he opposes RFK Jr.’s nomination for HHS secretary because of his stance on abortion
Former Vice President Mike Pence on Friday made his opposition to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s nomination to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services unequivocal. “The Trump-Pence administration was unapologetically pro-life for our four years in office. There are hundreds of decisions made at HHS every day that either lead our nation toward a respect for life or away from it, and HHS under our administration always stood for life,” Pence said in a lengthy statement on the website for his Advancing American Freedom nonprofit Friday. “I believe the nomination of RFK Jr. to serve as Secretary of HHS is an abrupt departure from the pro-life record of our administration and should be deeply concerning to millions of Pro-Life Americans who have supported the Republican Party and our nominees for decades.” Pence claimed Kennedy has “defended abortion on demand during all nine months of pregnancy” for the majority of his career and supports overturning the Dobbs decision and codifying Roe v. Wade. RFK JR. ASKS AMERICANS TO SUGGEST POLICIES FOR NEW TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: ‘TRANSITION TEAM BELONGS TO YOU’ “If confirmed, RFK, Jr. would be the most pro-abortion Republican appointed secretary of HHS in modern history,” Pence wrote. President-elect Trump on Thursday announced he was nominating Kennedy to head the agency as he had said he would during the campaign. “I am thrilled to announce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). For too long, Americans have been crushed by the industrial food complex and drug companies who have engaged in deception, misinformation, and disinformation when it comes to Public Health,” Trump said in his announcement. DR. MARC SIEGEL HIGHLIGHTS ‘DISTURBING’ ISSUES RFK JR. COULD ADDRESS AS HHS HEAD Kennedy was frequently seen with Trump in the last couple of months of the campaign after he dropped his independent bid for the White House and endorsed the Republican nominee. Pence, who served as Trump’s vice president during Trump’s first term, didn’t run with him again in 2024 and declined to endorse Trump. Kennedy has flip-flopped on abortion. In May, he said a woman should be able to have an abortion when she’s full term, which he later walked back, saying there should be restrictions at some point in the pregnancy. And last year he said he supported a 15-week ban on abortion before his campaign said he misspoke. On his campaign website, he said he would support legislation to overturn the Dobbs decision, according to The Hill. Last month, Trump said he would veto any attempt at a national abortion ban, saying it’s an issue for the states. Liberals are also concerned about Kennedy’s nomination due to his controversial stances on vaccines, fluoride in water and other issues. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Fox News Digital has reached out to Kennedy for comment.
Democrat wins House race to retain seat in California’s 21st district
Longtime Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., has won re-election in California’s 21st Congressional District after more than a week of counting ballots, according to the Associated Press. He successfully kept his seat against Republican challenger Michael Maher. The race was one of the final pending House races of the 2024 cycle, called more than a week after Election Day. Costa has represented the district since 2005, which includes the San Joaquin Valley, but the Democrat’s political work in California stretches back decades. REPUBLICANS PROJECTED TO KEEP CONTROL OF HOUSE AS TRUMP PREPARES TO IMPLEMENT AGENDA Costa served in the California State Assembly from 1978 to 1994, before being elected to the California State Senate from 1994 to 2002. The Democrat faced Republican opposition from California native Michael Maher, a veteran and former FBI agent.
Ban on BS-III petrol, BS-IV diesel 4-wheelers in Delhi amid rising pollution levels; Rs 20,000 fine for violators
All demolition works, earthwork for excavation and filling including boring & drilling works, and any transportation of demolition waste are banned with the implementation of GRAP III measures to fight air pollution.
Moderate Democrat and Marine veteran wins re-election in Trump leaning congressional district
The Associated Press projects that Democratic Rep. Jared Golden will win re-election in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, a red-leaning district in an overall blue state, by defeating Republican challenger Austin Theriault. He faced Republican Theriault, a former NASCAR driver, who’s a first-term state lawmaker who aimed to flip the seat from blue to red. Golden, a Marine veteran who served combat tours in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraqi, is a moderate Democrat who is often at odds with his party and with President Biden’s administration. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS 2024 ELECTION RESULTS The congressman made headlines earlier this year when he said he “didn’t know” whether he would vote for Biden’s re-election and was one of the first Democrats in Congress to question the 81-year-old president’s mental and physical abilities to handle another four years in the White House. Golden, who was first elected to Congress in 2018, has now won four straight elections in the swing district. Maine and Nebraska are the only two states in the nation to allocate their electoral votes in presidential elections by congressional district. And while Maine is reliably blue in White House races, former President Trump carried Maine’s second district in both 2016 and 2020. The mostly rural district, which comprises roughly 80% of Maine’s total land area, is the largest congressional district east of the Mississippi River. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
UP: 10 infants dead after massive fire erupts at Jhansi Medical College
According to hospital officials, there were 54 infants admitted to the NICU ward and several infants trapped have been rescued.
Texas can schedule Robert Roberson’s execution — but lawmakers still expect his testimony first
Roberson was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter in a “shaken baby” case that many say led to an innocent man’s death sentence.
Trump picks Karoline Leavitt to serve as White House press secretary
President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Karoline Leavitt to serve as his press secretary for his upcoming administration. Leavitt has already acted as Trump’s spokesperson throughout his campaign. “Karoline Leavitt did a phenomenal job as the National Press Secretary on my Historic Campaign, and I am pleased to announce she will serve as White House Press Secretary,” Trump said in a statement Friday evening. “Karoline is smart, tough, and has proven to be a highly effective communicator. I have the utmost confidence she will excel at the podium, and help deliver our message to the American People as we, Make America Great Again.” This story is breaking. Please check back for updates.
A narrow margin: Trump taps House Republicans for his second administration
First, there was House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. President-elect Trump tapped her to serve as ambassador to the United Nations. Then there was Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla. The incoming President asked Waltz to become his national security adviser. THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO POTENTIALLY RELEASING THE ETHICS COMMITTEE REPORT ON GAETZ Then Mr. Trump selected former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., for attorney general, and Gaetz promptly quit. That’s quite a drain on one institution in just a few days. Anybody else from the House? “I know he’s already pulled a few really talented people out of the House. Hopefully, no more for a little while until special elections,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La. It’s about the math. With Stefanik, Waltz and Gaetz on board, House Republicans likely score a majority of 221 seats to 214 for the Democrats. It’s a margin of seven. But it means the GOP can only lose three votes on any given roll call and still pass the issue at hand without needing assistance from the other side. With Gaetz out and Stefanik and Waltz departing, that majority shrinks to 218-214. A margin of four votes. But Republicans can now only lose one vote. And there is almost never perfect attendance in the House. Absences are inevitable. But what if there are more departures? A senior House GOP source told Fox before the departure of Gaetz the Republican majority could lose no more than two House members to the Trump administration. “I don’t know if the administration has a number in their head,” the source said. THUNE WINS SECRET BALLOT TO BECOME NEW SENATE GOP LEADER, SUCCEEDING MCCONNELL And remember, you can’t appoint a House member. You can do that in the Senate. But not the House. Governors must call special elections to fill these seats. So, in the case of Stefanik, it may take Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul three to four months to call a special election. Naturally, that presumes the seat stays in the GOP column. These are Republican seats. But there are surprises in special elections. The usual universe of voters don’t always show up. “I would imagine Hochul, given her cynical attempt at politics, will likely try to use the full 90 days,” groused Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y. Meantime, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., got on the horn to Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in hopes of calling a special election in just a few weeks for the seat left vacant by Gaetz. The hope is that the district will send a Republican successor to Gaetz to Washington just after the new year. This is why you can possibly quash chatter about whether Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine might appoint Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, to the Senate seat of Vice President-elect JD Vance. Under other circumstances, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., could be in play for an administration post or to even succeed Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in the Senate if he’s confirmed as secretary of state. But that scenario creates yet another House vacancy. “President Trump fully understands and appreciates the math here. And it’s just a numbers game,” said Johnson. “But every single vote will count, because if someone gets ill or has a car accident or a late flight on their plane, then it affects the votes on the floor. So, I think he and the administration are well attuned to that.” Johnson added, “I don’t expect that we will have more members leaving.” Then President-elect Trump drafted Gaetz. House Republicans struggled at times to advance their own agenda with a similar narrow majority over the past two years. They leaned on Democrats to avoid multiple government shutdowns and to lift the debt ceiling. They failed on their first attempt to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Republicans dithered for a grand total of 27 days on two different occasions last year trying to figure out who would be speaker of the House. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., couldn’t become speaker at the beginning of Congress because the GOP numbers were so thin. House Republicans then struggled for more than three weeks last fall to elect a successor to McCarthy for the same reasons. So, what is past is prologue. RICK SCOTT GAINS NEW SENATE ENDORSEMENTS OUT OF CANDIDATE FORUM ON EVE OF LEADER ELECTION A failure of simple parliamentary algebra could stymie the agenda of President-elect Trump. “Between the speaker and (incoming Senate Majority Leader John) Thune, R-S.D., there’s a real understanding we’ve got to maintain these majorities,” said Rep. Marc Molinaro, R-N.Y. Ironically, had Molinaro held his seat against Rep.-elect Josh Riley, D-N.Y., the GOP would enjoy a bigger cushion. Trump is acutely aware of the problem in the House. “I promised Mike that I wouldn’t be taking too many more before we start counting the votes. He said, ‘Please, could you slow down a little bit?’ I just like the people in Congress. Mike, I’m sorry. But don’t worry about it, Mike. Just relax. Just relax,” the president-elect said. Republicans are already building potential absences and vacancies into their legislative calculus for the new year. “It’ll be like a logistics chess match. When we have to do a certain vote, if we’re really at a one-seat majority and someone’s sick, there’ll be logistics involved with that,” said Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, vice chairman of the House Republican Conference. But that is easier said than done. That presumes that everyone present and accounted for is on board with the issue of the day. Republicans struggled with that phenomenon on a regular basis over the past two years. “This is a deeply divided Republican Party – unified now by their victory. But see how long that lasts,” said former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md. “We know there are deep philosophical and procedural differences within the Republican Party that we saw repeatedly in the last Congress.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told Republicans to not expect a lifeline from the minority
Left-wing dark money network hauled in more than $1.3B in anonymous donations for liberal causes in 2023
A left-wing dark money network, known for its secretive funding operation, raised more than $1.3 billion in anonymous donations to fund progressive projects in 2023, according to tax filings reviewed by Fox News Digital. Arabella Advisors, a billion-dollar, Washington, D.C.-based consulting network, consists of six nonprofits: New Venture Fund, Sixteen Thirty Fund, Windward Fund, Hopewell Fund, North Fund and Telescope Fund. In total, the groups acquired about $1.35 billion in 2023 alone and the six funds collectively sent nearly $1.5 billion that same year in grants to other organizations, tax filings show. Each fund acts as a fiscal sponsor to other left-wing nonprofits by providing their tax status to the nonprofits housed beneath them. This setup allows the fiscally sponsored groups to avoid filing tax forms to the IRS. The six funds also move massive sums to progressive groups outside their network. The latest expenses include hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for internally managed initiatives, meaning the network spent well over $1 billion to support various liberal causes on top of operational costs such as salaries. ‘FAILED EXPERIMENT’: EXPERTS REVEAL WHY SOROS-BACKED POLICIES TOOK BEATING IN DEEP BLUE STATE New Venture Fund, the largest nonprofit in the network, raised $669 million while the Windward Fund, a “climate resilience” group, received $212 million in secret donations. Combined, the groups spent about $1.1 billion in 2023. The Sixteen Thirty Fund, a group “committed to tackling society’s biggest social challenges” such as climate change and gun reform, brought in $181 million, spending about $141 million. EVEN DEMOCRAT VOTERS REJECTED LEFTIST POLICIES AND POLITICIANS IN THE MOST SURPRISING PLACES The North Fund, which received $59 million last year, funds projects related to LGBTQ+-related initiatives, the environment and “gender equity.” The group reported spending about $39 million last year. The Hopewell Fund brought in about $157 million, while the Telescope Fund raised over $69 million in donations last year. The two groups together spent about $193 million. Combined, the nonprofits also sent back about $48 million to their firm, Arabella Advisors. The network sent about $17 million to Democratic attorney Marc Elias’ firm, Elias Law Group, from both the Hopewell Fund and the North Fund, The Windward Fund sent $2.2 million to the China-tied Rocky Mountain Institute, a group with ties to the Biden White House that is working to ban gas stoves. “Year after year the undisputed kings of dark money — the Arabella Advisors network — rake in over a billion dollars to fund their radical leftwing policy pushes across the country,” Americans for Public Trust Executive Director Caitlin Sutherland told Fox News Digital in a statement. “For people who claim to want to ban dark money, liberals sure have no problem when it funds their own team.” In 2022, Arabella raised a staggering $1.3 billion in anonymous donations and poured more than $900 million into a wide range of progressive causes last year, a previous Fox News Digital review found. Arabella Advisors told Fox News Digital that the firm is a “consulting business that supports philanthropy” and that they “did not spend nearly $1.5 billion in 2023.” “The 2023 tax filings you are referring to do not belong to Arabella Advisors,” Arabella Advisors continued. “They are tax filings for independent nonprofit organizations.” Fox News’ Joe Schoffstall contributed to this report.
McCormick-Casey recount cost to top $1M; GOP slams blue counties defying high court
The cost of Pennsylvania’s Senate recount is expected to top $1 million as Republicans seek to prevent three Democratic-friendly counties from counting ballots against the apparent wishes of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt, a Philadelphia Republican appointed by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, said Thursday that automatic recounts are triggered if the unofficial margin is within 0.5%. GOP Sen.-elect David McCormick and Democratic Sen. Bob Casey Jr. were separated by 0.43% with a maximum 80,000 provisional and mail-in ballots to be counted, Schmidt said in a video address. In a press call, McCormick representatives analyzed raw data and calculated “zero” path for Casey — recount or not — to overtake their boss. FETTERMAN DEFENDS CASEY-MCCORMICK RECOUNT; DINGS KARI LAKE Schmidt said the last automatic recount, between McCormick and cardiothoracic surgeon Mehmet Oz, cost Pennsylvania taxpayers $1.053 million and resulted in Oz moving on to the general election against John Fetterman. In Casey’s case, about 7 million ballots will be subject to recount, and counties must report their data to Schmidt by Nov. 27. The trailing candidate in three of the state’s previous eight automatic recounts waived the opportunity. Pennsylvania’s top legislative Republican also slammed the incumbent for declining to waive the costly recount. HOCHUL SPURS BIPARTISAN OUTRAGE AMID TOLL REBOOT BEFORE TRUMP CAN BLOCK IT “Throughout his entire career, Sen. Casey has publicly called for the enforcement of the rule of law and the upholding of judicial norms,” said House Minority Leader Bryan Cutler of Lancaster. “The facts and the law are clear: The election was free and fair; Dave McCormick is our new U.S. senator; a costly, statewide recount is unnecessary and duplicative; and Democrat-controlled counties are now openly defying the courts and the plain language of the election law to try and overturn a legal election result.” Cutler said Casey should “immediately” concede and halt the recount and multiple cases of litigation across the state relating to the race. McCormick’s campaign call foreshadowed news from Bucks, Centre and Philadelphia counties that their boards of election were prepared to count small numbers of undated or misdated ballots. Republicans said that runs counter to a recent ruling from the 5-2 Democratic majority Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The high bench declined to rule on the September case’s merits in tossing a lower court ruling that Philadelphia and Allegheny counties should count misdated or undated ballots from a prior election. The RNC filed an emergency petition with the Supreme Court, urging it to reaffirm its recent decision. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP While the Casey campaign did not immediately return a request for comment, campaign manager Tiernan Donohue told PennLive the campaign was working to ensure all “Pennsylvanians’ voices are heard.” “McCormick and his allies are working to disenfranchise voters in Pennsylvania and spread misinformation,” Donohue said. Fox News Digital reached out to officials in Bellefonte, where the Centre County elections board reportedly signaled its intent to count undated ballots. McCormick and the Pennsylvania GOP have sued Centre County, and a hearing was scheduled for Friday in Bellefonte. The plaintiffs alleged Centre’s decision is “legally erroneous.” The mostly rural county, home to Penn State University, had been ground zero for Republicans seeking to make inroads in Democratic-friendly areas. Philadelphia’s city commissioners also voted 2-1 to count about 607 questioned ballots. In a response to Fox News Digital, the board said several counties voted to count a “relatively small number of undated and incorrectly dated mail ballots” and acknowledged GOP litigation. “We are reviewing the filings,” Board Chairman Omar Sabir and Lisa Deeley, both Democrats, and Republican Seth Bluestein said in a joint statement. In Doylestown, Bucks County Board of Elections Chairman Bob J. Harvie Jr. told KYW he’d rather “be on the side of counting ballots than not counting them.” “The courts, I believe, will take this up. So, we’re going to get sued either way,” he said.