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Vulnerable Dem senator tied to ‘radical groups’ working to close massive power plant in swing state

Vulnerable Dem senator tied to ‘radical groups’ working to close massive power plant in swing state

FIRST ON FOX: A controversial nonprofit watchdog organization with a history of anti-Israel rhetoric and ties to vulnerable Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown is working to close one of the largest power plants in the United States in a move that could cost hundreds of jobs and raise energy costs for Ohioans. The Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP) recently sent a joint letter, along with the Sierra Club, to Blackstone urging the group to shut down the Gavin Power Plant in Ohio due to environmental concerns and arguing that the plant is the “largest and dirtiest” in the United States. The coal plant is the largest coal-burning power plant in Ohio and the 9th largest in the country, employing nearly 300 people. The Institute for Energy Research has estimated that closing the plant could “negatively impact the stability of the electric grid and power markets” given that it produces 11% of the electricity in the state of Ohio.  Other experts warn that residents of Gallia County, Ohio, the county where the plant is located, already have higher average electric bills than other areas in Ohio and 24% higher than the national average suggesting that closing the plant would send those costs up even higher. OHIO GOP SENATE CHALLENGER REACTS TO POLLS SHOWING DEAD HEAT IN CRITICAL SENATE RACE: ‘RADICAL LIBERAL’ In recent weeks, the Sierra Club has been running ads targeting Blackstone’s leadership in an attempt to put pressure on the group to retire the plant.  Brown, who benefitted from a virtual phone bank event hosted by the Sierra Club in late September and has been endorsed by their PAC, has a long history of working with PESP. Brown participated in a PESP press conference in June and cited PESP in a letter to the Federal National Mortgage Association in 2020. “NPR reports that Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, is seeking answers from a corporate landlord after a report by the Private Equity Stakeholder Project found the firm has been filing for evictions much more over in predominantly Black neighborhoods during the pandemic,” The National Low Income Housing Coalition wrote about Brown and his promotion of PESP In 2021. Brown also cited PESP’s work in a 2024 letter to the Department of Labor.  A previous FOX Business review found that several staff members at PESP, which has been funded by the Soros-backed Foundation to Promote an Open Society, the Ford Foundation, and Surdna Foundation, among other left-leaning groups, took part in anti-Israel protests or promoted radical claims related to the conflict. On the day of the Hamas attack on Israel, where over 1,200 people were murdered and hundreds more taken hostage, PESP senior research coordinator and self-proclaimed “Marxist” Abhilasha Bhola liked a post on X that included the phrase “from the river to the sea” which is widely understood as a call for the elimination of the state of Israel. Community organizer K Agbebiyi, a senior housing campaign coordinator with PESP, attended a November 2023 rally in Washington, D.C. “demanding an end to the genocide in Palestine” and in December of that year she posted a photo of a mural titled “Liberation looks like terrorism in the eyes of the oppressor.”  NRA TARGETS SEN SHERROD BROWN IN 7-FIGURE AD BUY IN OHIO: ‘VOTE LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT’ Additionally, Agbebiyi signed a letter with other alumni of the University of Michigan slamming the school for “anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim animus” and demanding the university “discontinue exchange programs and strategic partnerships with Israeli universities.” In 2022, Agbebiyi posted on X that she is “becoming more principled of a Marxist” and described her political views as “communist.” A spokesperson for the Brown campaign told Fox News Digital that Brown “will always fight to protect Ohio jobs and will continue to work with the company, workers, and community leaders to keep the plant open, keep energy costs affordable, and make sure local residents stay healthy and safe.” However, the campaign did not address Fox News Digital’s question about PESP’s anti-Israel rhetoric. Many experts believe the Ohio Senate race will play a critical role in determining which party controls the Senate next year and the Cook Political Report ranks the race between Brown and Republican businessman Bernie Moreno as a “toss up.” Energy has been a key issue in Ohio, a state where coal energy production and fracking are top issues with voters. The Brown campaign told Fox News Digital that Brown “believes in an all of the above approach to American energy independence” and pointed to examples of where he “stood up to his own party” to block Biden energy regulations, including voting against Biden’s “clean” power plant rules. “Sherrod Brown is a Green New Deal radical who wants to shut down Ohio energy production,” Moreno campaign spokesperson Reagan McCarthy told Fox News Digital. “While Sherrod claims there is ‘no war on coal,’ he is actively campaigning with radical groups who want to shut down Ohio coal plants. Unlike Sherrod, Bernie will always stand with Ohio’s energy industry.” Matt Parr, the communications director for PESP, defended the group’s push to close the power plant, calling it “one of the highest emitting, dirtiest, and deadliest coal-fired power plants in the United States.” “The Gavin coal plant, owned by private equity giant Blackstone, is one of the highest emitting, dirtiest, and deadliest coal-fired power plants in the United States, emitting 14.7 million tons of CO2 last year,” Parr told Fox News Digital. “The plume of toxins emitted by Blackstone’s 50-year-old Gavin plant have major public health impacts for Ohio and other states because it is upwind of major metropolitan areas across the eastern U.S. such as Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Modeling has found Blackstone’s Gavin plant to be the nation’s deadliest coal plant, causing an estimated 244 premature deaths each year from particulate emissions.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Sierra Club for comment but did not receive a response.

FLASHBACK: Reaction to Harris’ plagiarism story much more benign than for Biden during ’88 election

FLASHBACK: Reaction to Harris’ plagiarism story much more benign than for Biden during ’88 election

After allegations of plagiarism levied against Vice President Harris, the New York Times quoted an expert who insisted Republicans were “mak[ing] a big deal” out of minor violations that were “an error and not an intent to defraud.” Meanwhile, speaking to the Washington Post, the same expert blamed Harris’ plagiarism on technical difficulties. Despite the benign reaction to the revelations of Harris’ plagiarism from her 2009 book about prosecuting crime, the reaction to plagiarism accusations against Joe Biden during his 1987-1988 run for president was much more aggressive, and many, such as the Washington Post, have credited the scandal with derailing his then-campaign. “Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., fighting to salvage his Presidential campaign,” the New York Times wrote in 1987 after reports he lifted excerpts from other politicians’ speeches to use as his own and plagiarized a paper in law school. They also called the revelations “damaging,” while independent columnist Lewis Grizzard described Biden’s plagiarism as “thievery and disinformation.” NY TIMES ENDORSES KAMALA HARRIS, CHOOSES DEMOCRAT IN 17TH STRAIGHT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION  The public was concerned enough about Biden’s alleged plagiarism that he was forced to withdraw from his regular duties in Congress, which, at the time, included the Senate confirmation of Supreme Court Justice nominee Robert Bork, to hold an impromptu press conference to answer questions about the ordeal. Roughly a week later, Biden withdrew from the race amid the backlash. When asked during the press conference if he thought the plagiarism accusations would affect his run for the presidency, Biden said he didn’t think so but conceded it would come down to how the press portrayed it to the American people: “You all will make the judgment about that. It will all depend on how you write it. I don’t mean that – I’m not being smart. It will all depend on how the American people look at me. They’re going to look at me and say, ‘Is Joe Biden being honest with me? Or is Joe Biden not being honest with me?”  The New York Times’ reporting on Harris’ plagiarism was slammed by Republican critic Christopher Rufo, who was the force behind the Harris account of plagiarism. Rufo, alongside an Austrian plagiarism expert, said they found dozens of violations in Harris’ 2009 book, “Smart on Crime: A Career Prosecutor’s Plan to Make Us Safer.” These reportedly included verbatim passages lifted from news reports at NBC and the Associated Press, as well as sections taken from Wikipedia, all without any citation or quotes indicating it was not her language. Harris also plagiarized excerpts from a Bureau of Justice Assistance report, a report from the Urban Institute and a press release from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice for her book, according to Rufo. NY TIMES ADVICE COLUMN PONDERS APPROPRIATENESS OF FLEEING THE COUNTRY IF ‘WRONG CANDIDATE’ GETS ELECTED After the New York Times came out with its reporting on the matter, Rufo criticized the paper for “lying.” The Times, which spoke to plagiarism expert Jonathan Bailey, said Rufo only found “five sections” of “about 500 words” that amounted to something problematic. Bailey referred to the alleged plagiarism as an “error and not an intent to defraud,” adding that Rufo was trying to “make a big deal of [something minor].”  The paper added that “none of the passages in question took the ideas or thoughts of another writer.” Meanwhile, in 1987, the Times slammed claims from Biden that the ideas he reportedly plagiarized came to him spontaneously: “Mr. Biden’s borrowing raises questions about how much a candidate can adapt someone else’s language and thoughts, whether he remembers to give credit or not,” the outlet posited at the time. Rufo also blasted the Washington Post’s coverage for downplaying the Harris plagiarism allegations. The paper, which spoke to Bailey as well, blamed the “errors” on technical difficulties. “Bailey said such errors are not uncommon in material written from the late 1990s to around 2010, a period when electronic research became more common, but plagiarism detection had not yet emerged,” wrote the Post. Rufo also drew a contrast between how the Post criticized first lady Melania Trump for what he described as “lifting a few turns of phrase” during a 2016 speech. “When Kamala Harris did this more than a dozen times, the paper explained that it was OK because Kamala didn’t know how to use a computer,” he said. In addition to alleging plagiarism by Harris, Rufo was also the force behind alleging plagiarism by the former president of Harvard, Claudine Gay. The revelations that Gay had reportedly copied numerous academics over the course of her own academic career subsequently led to her removal as Harvard’s president. Fox News Digital reached out to the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Harris campaign for comment but did not hear back by press time.

Israel’s UN ambassador: Response to Iran will be ‘very painful’

Israel’s UN ambassador: Response to Iran will be ‘very painful’

EXCLUSIVE: The world is watching for Israel’s response to Iran’s missile attacks on Oct. 1, and the nation’s U.N. ambassador, Danny Danon, promised it would be “very painful” in order to deter Iran from attacking again in the future.  Danon emphasized Israel’s authority over the decision on how they strike back at Iran – they won’t be paying much heed to President Biden’s insistence on “proportionality.”  “We will decide about the timing, the location,” he said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.  “The regime is vulnerable, and it’s up to us to decide which message we want to send to them,” Danon went on. “It will be very painful for the Iranian regime, and they will think twice in the future whether to attack Israel or not.” Iran rained down some 200 missiles on Tel Aviv on Oct. 1. A looming counterattack has awaited Iran in the two weeks since – and Biden has urged Israel to avoid striking nuclear or oil facilities and limit the counter-strike to military sites.  Danon said the world needs to do more to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power.  “God forbid, if they will have a nuclear bomb,” said Danon. “We all can imagine what they will do with that. So, I don’t think we should wait for that day. I expect the U.S., Europe and other strong democracies to take action against Iran today.” Since Oct. 7, 2023, Iran has been fighting Israel through its proxies, Hamas and Hezbollah. Its missile attack earlier this month represented the first direct attack from Iran on Israel since April. Over the past week, Iran’s foreign minister has traversed the Middle East to shore up backing from other nations, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar and Jordan. Soon, he’ll travel to Egypt and Turkey.  In the U.S., Biden has come under pressure from progressives to use leverage and condition aid to Israel to avoid further civilian casualties.  Once a vocal antagonist of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the right, Danon insists the Netanyahu government of today is united – even as condemnation for Israel’s actions pours in from other parts of the globe.  ISRAEL DECIDES ON POSSIBLE IRAN TARGETS: ‘PRECISE AND DEADLY’ “We have no place to go. That’s why we stand united, committed to fight back and to protect our people and our nation.”  Some have called for a day-after plan once Israel determines its enemies defeated in Gaza and Lebanon. “We can speak about reconstruction only after we defeat Hamas,” Danon said.  “All of those who care about the future of the Palestinians in Gaza should support Israel,” he went on. “If we allow Hamas to stay there, there will be no future for Gaza.” In Gaza, eradicating Hamas, which have controlled the strip since 2006, leaves open the question of who will maintain the authority.  And as Israel furthers its incursion into Lebanon to push back Hezbollah, Danon called on the local population to starve Hezbollah of its power and reclaim their sovereignty from Tehran’s influence.  “I approached the Lebanese people, I even spoke to them in Arabic, I urged them to take responsibility over the future, not to allow Iran to use Lebanon as a launch pad against Israel,” he said, referring to a United Nations Security Council session earlier this month.  “Lebanon is for the Lebanese people, not for the interest of Iran.” NETANYAHU HITS BIDEN ADMIN, SAYS ISRAEL – NOT US – WILL DECIDE HOW TO HANDLE IRAN Different from its goal of eradication of Hamas in Gaza, Danon said Israel is looking to push Hezbollah back in Lebanon and away from its own northern border. “We want to go back to the situation where Hezbollah is not on the border with Israel according to U.N. Resolution 1701. Hopefully, this time, it will be better implemented,” said Danon. “We are pushing them back, and I hope it will be completed soon.”  Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006, established a buffer zone between Israel and Hezbollah, where the terror group is not sitting along Israel’s border.  United Nations peacekeeping forces, UNIFIL, were tasked with enforcing that resolution, but Hezbollah quickly moved back into the area.  For the past two weeks, Israel has been telling U.N. peacekeepers to move 5 km (3 miles) back from the so-called Blue Line – a U.N.-mapped line separating Lebanon from Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights – for their own safety. FROM CEASE-FIRE PUSH TO BOOTS ON THE GROUND IN ISRAEL: US SEEMINGLY ACCEPTS INVOLVEMENT IN ESCALATING WAR They’ve so far refused to do so, but Danon said he is still in conversations imploring the UNIFIL troops to relocate for their safety.  “We think it’s a mistake [to stay put], but we will continue to do our best to make sure that the U.N. forces are not targeted by accident. But you know, when you are in the crossfire between Hezbollah and the IDF, it’s not safe.” Danon has often found himself on the front line of tense relations between Israel and the United Nations as the organization has continuously demanded the IDF cease hostilities.  “We have seen that the U.N. forgot about the moral issues that they have to advocate for,” said Danon.  Asked if he still believed in the U.N. as a force for peace and security, he said: “Well, the idea was good… Unfortunately, today, it’s being used by hostile forces to attack the victims and not to condemn those who attack other countries and civilians.”

Epic clash: Pressed by Fox News, Kamala Harris comes out swinging

Epic clash: Pressed by Fox News, Kamala Harris comes out swinging

Kamala Harris’ first interview on Fox News was a contentious affair, and at times she and Bret Baier wound up talking over each other.  But while the vice president repeatedly ducked some questions, she also had several moments when she appeared to be standing up to her least favorite network–undoubtedly something she hoped to achieve. WHY TRUMP, BATTLING MEDIA HOSTILITY, IS DECLARING WAR ON FACT-CHECKERS She showed passion, even anger, raising her voice, on a question about most of the country believing we’re on the wrong track, saying that Donald Trump was “unfit to serve” and “unstable.” Turning questions into broadsides against the former president was her signature move. But what about half the country that supports him, Baier asked. “Are they stupid?” No, but “he’s the one who tends to demean and belittle and diminish,” Harris said. Trump is the one talking about “an enemy within,” and using the military against Americans. “He’s talking about locking people up because they disagree with him.” Several times she told Baier “you and I both know” before lobbing a grenade at Trump, trying to project an image of standing up to both Fox and her opponent. She wanted this fight. AS A CAUTIOUS KAMALA LOSES MOMENTUM, DEMOCRATS ARE PANICKING OVER A TRUMP WIN Among the questions Harris didn’t want to answer: Does she support taxpayer-funded transgender surgery for federal inmates, as she did in 2019? “I will follow the law,” she said flatly, insisting Trump had done the same. (The Trump camp shot back that the first such surgery took place in 2022, during her tenure.) Didn’t she know that Joe Biden had been diminished? She danced around that one. Why hasn’t she made progress on these issues during her time as vice president? “My presidency will not be a continuation of Joe Biden’s presidency,” she said, pointing out that she hasn’t spent most of her life in Washington. That was a cleanup of her disastrous response on “The View” that she couldn’t think of a single thing where she differed from the president. TRUMP COUNTERS HARRIS MEDIA BLITZ BY RIPPING BOB WOODWARD, HOWARD STERN AND HER HURRICANE BRIEFING The Fox anchor spent the first chunk of the interview on immigration, following up again and again to pin her down.  At first Harris conceded the obvious: “We have a broken immigration system that needs to be repaired.” Why didn’t you fix it? Trump killed their most recent attempt at a bipartisan bill, though nothing was accomplished when Democrats controlled both houses of Congress. Had she changed her position since her 2019 campaign, when she said border crossings should be made legal? “I do not believe in decriminalizing border crossings,” Harris responded, without explaining the change. Asked about crimes committed by illegal immigrants, such as the murder of Laken Riley, Harris called them “tragic cases” and said her heart went out to their families. There were times when her answers seemed thin, and other times when she slipped in a litany of her proposals. The confrontational session was Harris’ first of this short campaign, after a series of softball sitdowns with people openly supporting her candidacy. Fox News got the exclusive, and Harris got what she wanted: A defiant half hour in which she could try to change minds among the largest audience by far in cable news.  She should abandon her friends like Howard Stern and Stephen Colbert and do more tough interviews, because that’s how you show voters you can take the heat.