Laken Riley Act: House poised to pass 1st bill of 119th Congress
The House of Representatives is poised to vote on its first piece of federal legislation on Tuesday afternoon. Lawmakers will be voting on the Laken Riley Act, a bill named after a nursing student who was killed by an illegal immigrant while jogging on the University of Georgia’s campus. The bill would require federal immigration authorities to detain illegal immigrants found guilty of theft-related crimes. It also would allow states to sue the Department of Homeland Security for harm caused to their citizens because of illegal immigration. KAMALA HARRIS MAKES TRUMP’S 2024 PRESIDENTIAL WIN OFFICIAL DURING JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS Jose Ibarra, who was sentenced to life in prison for Riley’s murder, had previously been arrested but was never detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, the agency previously said. The bill passed the House along bipartisan lines last year after it was first introduced by Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga. All voting Republicans plus 37 Democrats voted for the bill by a margin of 251 to 170. All the “no” votes on the bill were Democrats. PRO-ISRAEL DEM COULD TIP SCALES IN KEY SENATE COMMITTEE AS MIDDLE EAST WAR CONTINUES It was not taken up in the Senate, however, which at the time was controlled by then-Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “[T]he Laken Riley Act, sponsored by Rep. Mike Collins, holds the Biden Administration accountable for their role in these tragedies through their open border policies, requires detention of illegal aliens who commit theft and mandates ICE take them into custody, and allows a state to sue the Federal government on behalf of their citizens for not enforcing the border laws, particularly in the case of parole,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said in his daily House floor lookout. HOUSE REPUBLICANS REJOICE OVER QUICK SPEAKER VOTE WITH ONLY ONE DEFECTOR “House Republicans won’t stop fighting to secure the border and protect American communities. When will Democrats finally decide enough is enough?” The Senate is also poised to vote on the bill this week. It is one of several border security bills House Republicans have reintroduced this year as they prepare to take over all the levers of power in Washington, D.C. Republicans held the House and took over the Senate in the November elections. President-elect Donald Trump will take office on Jan. 20.
Transgender bill barring men from women’s sports to get floor vote in newly GOP-led Senate
FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is reintroducing a measure to prevent biological male participation in women’s and girls’ sports in the newly Republican-led Senate, and with the approval of leadership, it’s expected to get a floor vote. The Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act has been a yearslong crusade for the Alabama Republican, who originally introduced it in 2023. The measure would maintain that Title IX treats gender as “recognized based solely on a person’s reproductive biology and genetics at birth” and does not adjust it to apply to gender identity. KAMALA HARRIS MAKES TRUMP’S 2024 PRESIDENTIAL WIN OFFICIAL DURING JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS Tuberville’s legislation would ban federal funding from going toward athletic programs that allow biological men to participate in women’s and girls’ sports. This would apply to biological men and boys who identify as transgender and seek to participate in events and leagues for women and girls. “President Trump ran on the issue of saving women’s sports and won in a landslide,” the senator said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “70% of Americans agree—men don’t belong in women’s sports or locker rooms. I have said many times that I think Title IX is one of the best things to come out of Washington. But in the last few years, it has been destroyed.” “While I’m glad that the Biden administration ultimately rescinded the proposed rule, Congress has to ensure this never happens again. I am welcoming my first granddaughter this spring and won’t stop fighting until her rights to fairly compete are protected. I hope every one of my colleagues will join me in standing up for our daughters, nieces, and granddaughters by voting for this critical bill.” NEW SENATOR BERNIE MORENO WANTS BORDER BILL ON TRUMP’S DESK ON DAY 1, PUTTING DEMS ON RECORD The measure is co-sponsored by 23 Republican senators, including Sens. James Risch and Mike Crapo of Idaho, Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Thom Tillis and Ted Budd of North Carolina, Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker of Mississippi, Tom Cotton, R-Ark., James Lankford, R-Okla., Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy of Montana, Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Mike Lee, R-Utah, John Kennedy, R-La., John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Pete Ricketts, R-Neb. According to Tuberville’s office, he is working closely with President-elect Donald Trump to ensure there is fair competition under his administration. With the new Senate under the authority of Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., Tuberville’s bill has gotten the proper blessing to move forward. A vote on the measure could come as soon as the end of the week. PRO-ISRAEL DEM COULD TIP SCALES IN KEY SENATE COMMITTEE AS MIDDLE EAST WAR CONTINUES Democrats will be forced to put themselves on record about the transgender issue, which managed to rear its head during the 2024 presidential election and get pushback from Americans at the ballot box. One of the most memorable ads from the Trump campaign claimed, “Kamala is for they-them; President Trump is for you.” Last month, the Biden administration withdrew a proposed Title IX rule change in a lame-duck move after a long fight to adjust the policy. HOUSE REPUBLICANS REJOICE OVER QUICK SPEAKER VOTE WITH ONLY ONE DEFECTOR During his term, the administration sought to expand the definition of sex discrimination to include both sexual orientation and gender identity in order to protect LGBTQ students. The proposal received inordinate levels of resistance and delayed plans to implement the new rule. Additionally, Biden’s effort was tied up in legal challenges. His rule change was struck down in several states by a U.S. district judge over the summer.
US in negotiations with Taliban to swap Americans in Afghanistan for prisoner in Guantanamo
The Biden administration reportedly has been negotiating with the Taliban to swap three Americans being held in Afghanistan for a Guantanamo Bay prisoner who is alleged to have been a close associate of Osama bin Laden. The talks, which have been ongoing since at least July of last year, involve exchanging suspected senior Al Qaeda aide Muhammad Rahim al Afghani for American citizens George Glezmann, Ryan Corbett and Mahmoud Habibi, who were detained in Afghanistan in 2022, according to The Wall Street Journal. After the White House proposed that swap in November, the Taliban counteroffered, asking for Rahim and two others in exchange for Glezmann and Corbett, the newspaper reported. House Foreign Affairs Committee members told the newspaper that they later were informed by national security adviser Jake Sullivan during a Dec. 17, 2024, classified session that Biden was still mulling the offer. One attendee added that during the meeting, panel chair Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, expressed concern that the Taliban’s counteroffer wasn’t a good deal for the U.S. “The safety and security of Americans overseas is one of the Biden-Harris Administration’s top priorities, and we are working around the clock to ensure George, Ryan and Mahmoud’s safe return,” Sean Savett, a National Security Council spokesman, recently told The Wall Street Journal. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Ex-Chicagoland police chief wants cop murder to be federal crime: ‘Attacks on police officers’ up since 2020
An ex-Chicagoland police chief says violent ambushes and murder of on-duty police officers need to be punishable as a federal crime, and he’s calling on President-elect Donald Trump to move the effort forward. “Attacks on police officers are certainly on the rise since 2020, and what’s really on the rise is ambush,” retired Riverside Police Chief Tom Weitzel told Fox News Digital in an interview. “There’s been more ambush attacks on police officers in the last two to three years than I’ve ever seen before, and that goes from everything from just an officer sitting in a squad car, either writing a report or he or she is on an assignment, and somebody walking up and just shooting the officer right in the squad car.” “That’s happened several times over the last couple of years, or fake 911 calls where – the whole purpose of the calls [is] to get the officer to respond and to open fire on that officer and kill that officer. That’s happened many times. We had never seen that, you know, 10 years ago,” he added. CHICAGO LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS ID SUSPECT, ANNOUNCE CHARGES IN MURDER OF POLICE OFFICER Currently, killing state or local law enforcement officers can lead to a federal penalty only if the killing is committed to influence or retaliate against the officer’s official duties and involves interstate commerce or federal jurisdiction. While some laws have been passed in recent years to curb the uptick in police killings, there’s no official federal law that killing a police officer in any state is a felony because most cases are prosecuted under state law. States generally treat the murder of a police officer as an aggravated form of homicide that can carry harsh penalties, including life imprisonment or the death penalty. “What I’m looking for is uniformity, and I’m looking forward to give the family and loved ones some relief that things are being done properly, and I know for a fact that they’re not prosecuted and investigated the same in every state in America. That’s not happening,” Weitzel said. Weitzel, who was almost killed in an ambush shooting during his time as a cop, said he’s sent letters to his state legislators, including Sen. Tammy Duckworth, and both the Biden and previous Trump administrations, but he only heard back from Trump’s DOJ with a list of best practices. Last week, Weitzel sent another letter to Trump urging him to look at the proposal. CHICAGO REMOVES LARGEST HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT, RELOCATES TENT RESIDENTS INTO APARTMENTS AND SHELTERS: REPORT “There’s still an unsolved police murder in the west suburbs of Chicago, and that really that also made me think, like, we need to get an outside agency’s experts in doing it. I’m not criticizing local law enforcement, I’m saying we just want it done uniformly,” he said. FBI data shows a significant rise in officer fatalities nationwide between 2020 and 2023, with nearly 200 officers feloniously killed over three years. In Chicago, the police department saw several of its officers killed last year: Officer Andres Mauricio Vasquez Lasso on March 1 and Officer Arenah M. Preston on May 6. Officer Enrique Martinez, 26, was killed in November during a traffic stop in the city’s East Chatham neighborhood. TRUMP SUPPORTERS RIP CHICAGO MAYOR TO HIS FACE JUST DAYS BEFORE CITY COUNCIL REJECTS HIS TAX HIKE “President Trump has publicly stated he’s a law-and-order president. He has stated he supports law enforcement, many of the law enforcement ideals and legislation,” Weitzel said. “So, it’s the right time to at least push this, because we have somebody who in the White House says he’s willing to work and pass legislation and funding with local law enforcement.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump transition team for comment but did not hear back by the time of publication.
Former Trump co-defendants want judge to block Special Counsel Jack Smith report
Two of President-elect Trump’s former co-defendants in the classified documents case want a judge to block Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report from being released to the public. Trump’s valet Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, the property manager of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, want U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to keep Smith’s report out of the public eye. Fox News is told the report is days from being released. It could be later this week or sometime next week. Smith will resign from his position before Trump takes office on January 20. “These Defendants will irreparably suffer harm as civilian casualties of the Government’s impermissible and contumacious utilization of political lawfare to include release of the unauthorized Report,” Nauta and De Oliveira’s attorneys wrote in an emergency motion filed on Monday. “The Final Report relies on materials to which Smith, as disqualified special counsel, is no longer entitled access— making his attempt to share such materials with the public highly improper.” SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH PLANS TO RESIGN, FILE REPORT BEFORE TRUMP CAN FIRE HIM: REPORT The emergency motion asked the Court for an immediate hearing to “establish the impropriety of unchecked release; the scope of the resulting prejudice; and the specific materials contained in the Report for which release is impermissible.” “The Final Report promises to be a one-sided, slanted report, relying nearly exclusively on evidence presented to a grand jury and subject to all requisite protections—and which is known to Smith only as a result of his unconstitutional appointment—in order to serve a singular purpose: convincing the public that everyone Smith charged is guilty of the crimes charged,” Nauta and De Oliveira’s attorneys wrote. “But Nauta’s and De Oliveira’s criminal cases are not over; the appeal of this Court’s dismissal order by Smith is still pending,” the motion says. “The Government notably continued briefing the appeal even following the dismissal of the appeal as to President Trump. There remains the threat of future criminal proceedings as to Nauta and De Oliveira, and those proceedings will be irreversibly and irredeemably prejudiced by dissemination of the Final Report.” It is customary for a special counsel to release a final report when his or her work is done, detailing the findings of their investigation and explaining any prosecution or declination decisions they reached as a result of the probe. In Smith’s case, the prosecution decision is immaterial, given Trump’s status as president-elect and longstanding Justice Department policy against bringing criminal charges against a sitting president. The report would first go to Attorney General Merrick Garland’s office for review, according to standard practice. Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche, who is poised to be in a senior role at the Department of Justice, is asking Garland not to release the report. “Smith’s proposed plan for releasing a report is unlawful, undertaken in bad faith, and contrary to the public interest,” Blanche wrote in an exhibit attached to the same motion. “Smith’s conduct also raises grave concerns under Article II because it unlawfully encroaches on the Executive authority of the incoming Administration of President Trump to resolve the issues surrounding Smith’s Office in accordance with President Trump’s commanding national mandate from the voters.” SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH REQUIRED TO SUBMIT TRUMP FINDINGS TO DOJ BEFORE LEAVING. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? “The time has come to put an end to this weaponization of the justice system and move forward constructively,” he argued further. “No report should be prepared or released, and Smith should be removed, including for even suggesting that course of action given his obvious political motivations and desire to lawlessly undermine the transition.” Trump, Nauta and De Oliveira all pleaded not guilty to federal charges alleging they conspired to obstruct the FBI investigation into classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago. Smith was tapped by Garland in 2022 to investigate both the alleged effort by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election, as well as Trump’s keeping of allegedly classified documents at his Florida residence. But he still must outline the investigation and its findings in his report to Garland, who will then decide whether to share it publicly. Notably, Garland has opted to release the reports from two other special counsels whose investigations concluded during his tenure — publishing both the summary reports submitted by John Durham, who was tapped by then-Attorney General Bill Barr in 2019 to review law enforcement and intelligence gathering during the 2016 presidential campaign and the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, as well as the final report from Robert Hur, a former U.S. attorney whom he tapped in 2023 to investigate President Biden’s handling of classified documents. These reports were made public at the same time as they were shared with members of Congress. It is unclear whether Garland will move to do the same with Smith’s findings, given their sensitivity and Trump’s status as president-elect. Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
Maharashtra govt makes FASTag mandatory at all toll plazas from THIS date; check details
Vehicles without FASTag or those entering the dedicated lanes without proper tags will have to pay double the toll fee.
Meta ends fact-checking program as Zuckerberg vows to restore free expression on Facebook, Instagram
FIRST ON FOX: Meta is ending its fact-checking program and lifting restrictions on speech to “restore free expression” across Facebook, Instagram and Meta platforms, admitting its current content moderation practices have “gone too far.” “We’re going to get back to our roots and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies and restoring free expression on our platforms,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a video posted Tuesday morning. “More specifically, we’re going to get rid of fact-checkers and replace them with Community Notes similar to X, starting in the U.S.” Meta’s chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan, will be on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” Tuesday morning for an exclusive interview to discuss the changes. Meta’s third-party fact-checking program was put in place after the 2016 election and had been used to “manage content” and misinformation on its platforms, largely due to “political pressure,” executives said, but admitted the system has “gone too far.” HOUSE WEAPONIZATION PANEL RELEASES 17,000-PAGE REPORT EXPOSING ‘TWO-TIERED SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT’ “We went to independent, third-party fact-checkers,” Kaplan told Fox News Digital in an interview. “It has become clear there is too much political bias in what they choose to fact-check because, basically, they get to fact-check whatever they see on the platform.” Kaplan told Fox News Digital that Meta is “ending that completely” and will replace it with a “Community Notes” model similar to the one used on X, formerly Twitter. “Instead of going to some so-called expert, it instead relies on the community and the people on the platform to provide their own commentary to something that they’ve read,” Kaplan explained, noting that if a note gets support from “the broadest cross-section of users,” that note can be attached to the content for others to see. “We think that’s a much better approach rather than relying on so-called experts who bring their own biases into the program,” Kaplan said. ZUCKERBERG SAYS TRUMP FIST-PUMP REACTION TO SHOOTING WAS ‘BADA–’ Kaplan also told Fox News Digital that Meta is changing some of its own content moderation rules, especially those that they feel are “too restrictive and not allowing enough discourse around sensitive topics like immigration, trans issues and gender.” “We want to make sure that discourse can happen freely on the platform without fear of censorship,” Kaplan told Fox News Digital. “We have the power to change the rules and make them more supportive of free expression. And we’re not just changing the rules, we are actually changing how we enforce the rules.” Kaplan said Meta currently uses automated systems, which he said make “too many mistakes” and removes content “that doesn’t even violate our standards.” He also said there are certain things Meta will continue to moderate, like posts relating to terrorism, illegal drugs and child sexual exploitation. But as for the timing of the changes, Kaplan told Fox News Digital the company has “a real opportunity now.” ZUCKERBERG, EXPRESSING REGRETS, ADMITS BOWING TO BIDEN ADMINISTRATION PRESSURE TO REMOVE CONTENT “We have a new administration coming in that is far from pressuring companies to censor and [is more] a huge supporter of free expression,” Kaplan said, referring to the incoming Trump administration. “It gets us back to the values that Mark founded the company on.” Last year, Zuckerberg sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee in which he admitted that he felt pressure from the Biden administration, particularly with regard to COVID content, and even items like satire and humor. “The thing is, as American companies, when other governments around the world that don’t have our tradition or our First Amendment, when they see the United States government pressuring U.S. companies to take down content, it is just open season then for those governments to put more pressure [on their companies],” Kaplan explained. “We do think it is a real opportunity to work with the Trump administration and to work on free expression at home.” MUSK PROVES HUNTER BIDEN CENSORSHIP CAME FROM COLLUSION AMONG BIDEN CAMPAIGN, LAW ENFORCEMENT AND TWITTER Kaplan also said Meta sees “opportunities for partnership” with the Trump administration, not only on issues of free expression but also in “promoting American business and America’s technological edge.” “Those are issues of great importance to Meta and our sector,” Kaplan told Fox News Digital. “And we’re excited to work with the Trump administration to advance those goals.” Meanwhile, Meta also said it plans to take a more personalized approach to political content, so that users who want to see more posts of that kind can do so. Meta said it will refocus its enforcement efforts to “illegal and high-severity violations.”
Pence calls it ‘particularly admirable’ for VP Harris to preside over election certification following loss
Former Vice President Mike Pence said it was “particularly admirable” that Vice President Kamala Harris oversaw certification of the 2024 presidential election, which she lost to President-elect Donald Trump. “The peaceful transfer of power is the hallmark of our democracy and today, members of both parties in the House and Senate along with the vice president certified the election of our new president and vice president without controversy or objection,” Pence declared Monday in a post on X. He congratulated Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance on their victory, and hailed the “return of order and civility” to the certification process. KAMALA HARRIS MAKES TRUMP’S 2024 PRESIDENTIAL WIN OFFICIAL DURING JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS “I also commend the members of the House, Senate and the Vice President who did their duty under the Constitution of the United States, it being particularly admirable that Vice President Harris would preside over the certification of a presidential election that she lost,” Pence noted. After Trump and Pence lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, then-Vice President Pence presided over the certification during a joint session of Congress in 2021 that was temporarily interrupted due to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Pence, who mounted then later dropped a GOP presidential primary bid in 2023, did not endorse Trump in 2024. PENCE SAYS HE OPPOSES RFK JR.’S NOMINATION FOR HHS SECRETARY BECAUSE OF HIS STANCE ON ABORTION The last time a sitting vice president who lost a presidential bid presided over the certification of their own presidential election loss was in 2001, after outgoing Democratic Vice President Al Gore lost to Republican George W. Bush in the 2000 White House contest. Pence congratulated House Speaker Mike Johnson last week after the congressman won the speakership again. GOP REBELS SWITCH VOTE TO JOHNSON AFTER TRUMP’S 11TH HOUR CALLS, PUSHING HIM OVER THE FINISH LINE “Well Deserved! Our prayers are with you as you take the gavel once again to lead the Peoples House!” Pence declared in a tweet.
With lawsuits and legislation, Texas Republicans take aim at abortion pills
More than 2,800 Texans are getting abortion pills through the mail from out-of-state every month, prompting a lawsuit and legislation seeking to end the practice.
Georgia GOP expels former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan from party, citing alleged disloyalty
The Georgia Republican Party’s State Executive Committee has voted to expel former GOP Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan from being associated with the party, pointing to his alleged efforts to undermine Republican candidates. The decision, approved unanimously, was finalized on Jan. 6, cutting Duncan’s ties to the GOP after years of accusations of disloyalty. The resolution makes several allegations against Duncan, including accusations that he undermined GOP candidates, endorsed Democrat opponents and used his affiliation with the Republican Party for personal gain. In a post on X, Duncan suggested that the resolution was not a good use of the party’s time. JIMMY CARTER’S FUNERAL SERVICES BEGIN WITH TREK TO CHILDHOOD HOME, ATLANTA “Hard to believe this is a good use of time for a party that’s only got a limited amount of time to figure out mass deportations, world peace and global tariffs. Learn how to take a victory lap not light another dumpster fire @JoshMcKoon,” he wrote, calling out the Georgia GOP chair. According to the resolution, Duncan is “banned from all property owned or leased by the Georgia Republican Party and all events held by or under the authority of the Georgia Republican Party.” The Georgia GOP said Duncan is prohibited from qualifying as a candidate for the Georgia Republican Party. The group also said his previous GOP nominations for lieutenant governor and, before that, the state House of Representatives, both races in which he won the primary and general elections, have been expunged. The resolution demanded Duncan cease calling himself a Republican for personal profit or to undermine and sabotage the Republican Party and its candidates. The state party also urged media outlets to refer to Duncan as an “expelled Republican” in future references. The resolution claims Duncan undermined and sabotaged some Republican candidates, including current Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and failed 2022 Senate candidate Herschel Walker. It also notes Duncan’s public endorsements during the 2024 presidential race of President Biden and, when Biden dropped out, his subsequent endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris as a violation of his allegiance to the GOP. GEORGIA AG URGES STATE SUPREME COURT TO REJECT DA WILLIS’ APPEAL IN TRUMP CASE Georgia Republican Party chair Josh McKoon previously demanded that Duncan stop using his Republican credentials in public and media appearances. The resolution also claims Duncan engaged in a “pattern of false and exaggerated claims” about his education and career. The Georgia GOP additionally said Duncan, in his role as a CNN commentator, used his Republican title to “attack the Republican Party.”