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SCOTUS kicks off historic term under scrutiny amid ethics code debate

SCOTUS kicks off historic term under scrutiny amid ethics code debate

The Supreme Court begins its new term today amid lingering internal strife over several recent rulings, with details of its thorny internal deliberations selectively leaked to certain media outlets. All of this as the nine justices have come under increasing public scrutiny and criticism over perceived blatant partisanship on hot-button issues, ethics controversies and its own wilting reputation as a body remaining above politics. “The Supreme Court, in a sense, is on the ballot this election, or at least the future of the Supreme Court,” said Thomas Dupree, an appellate attorney and former top Justice Department official. “So any time the court wades into political waters, it’s going to be upsetting people, people who are on the side that loses. And they’ll say the court shouldn’t have got involved in the political fray. The court recognizes that it’s not something that it wants to do, but in some cases, it has no choice.” JUSTICE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON SAYS SHE WOULD SUPPORT AN ‘ENFORCEABLE CODE’ OF ETHICS FOR THE SUPREME COURT Here are five questions confronting the Supreme Court: Directly or indirectly, the nine members of the Supreme Court could again play an outsized role in determining who will be the next president. There is no indication yet of another Bush v. Gore, the case in which the justices in 2000 ended ongoing litigation over the Florida election results, essentially handing the presidency to George W. Bush. But the high court four years ago summarily refused to consider a series of lawsuits from Trump and other Republicans in five states President Biden won: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Former President Trump has again promised court challenges if he loses, and in a recent social media post, he said this election “will be under the closest professional scrutiny” and “people that cheated will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law.” Trump has proceeded with his campaign without the imminent cloud of legal jeopardy hanging over his head. His criminal sentencing in the New York business fraud conviction has been postponed until November at least. And his two separate federal cases involving document mishandling and 2020 election interference have been deferred indefinitely. Those prosecutions could disappear entirely if Trump is elected and dismisses the Justice Department’s special counsel. All this after the Supreme Court in July ruled former presidents enjoy a substantial amount of immunity for “official acts” committed in office. Trump has used that ruling to demand both of his federal cases be dismissed. Two justices took the unusual step of commenting publicly on its effect. “You gave us a very hard question,” Justice Neil Grouch exclusively told Fox News’ “America Reports” co-anchor Sandra Smith. “It’s the first time in American history that one presidential administration was seeking to bring criminal charges against a predecessor. We had to go back and look at what sources were available to us.” The Trump appointee said the Supreme Court ruled in Nixon v. Fitzgerald (1982) that civil claims cannot be brought against a president “presumptively, in his official capacity, after he leaves office. Why? Because that would chill him from exercising the powers and duties of a president while he is president,” Gorsuch said. “He would be overwhelmed. His political enemies would simply bring suits against him forevermore.” But Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who was on the losing side of the 6-3 opinion, has taken another approach. “I was concerned about a system that appeared to provide immunity for one individual under one set of circumstances, when we have a criminal justice system that had ordinarily treated everyone the same,” she told CBS News while promoting her new book, “Lovely One: A Memoir.” The Supreme Court has already gotten involved in several pre-election challenges: allowing some redistricting maps for congressional seats to go into effect and blocking others. And the justices last month allowed Arizona to temporarily enforce its law requiring proof of citizenship on state voter registration forms. ‘STOP PRETENDING’: CONSERVATIVE ACTIVIST WANTS DEMS BEHIND SCOTUS ETHICS RULES TO TAKE THEIR OWN MEDICINE Five days before President Biden withdrew as a candidate for re-election, he made the Supreme Court a major political issue.  Word leaked from the White House on July 16 that Biden was seriously considering proposals to establish term limits for the justices, and an ethics code that would be enforceable under law, amid growing concerns they were not being held accountable. The proposal was made public days later, including a congressional law limiting justices to 18-year terms despite the Constitution’s guarantee of life tenure for all federal judges. Biden framed it as an effort to address “recent extreme opinions the Supreme Court has handed down [that] have undermined long-established civil rights principles and protections.” Public calls for changes came after revelations of previously undisclosed free trips and gifts by the justices and lucrative book deals. Recent public polls support greater ethics reform. Other federal judges are bound by an enforceable code of conduct, but the high court had long resisted being included.  Under Chief Justice John Roberts’ leadership, he and his colleagues adopted a revised code last year, but it still lacks any enforcement mechanism, which critics say makes it feckless and ineffective. Fox News previously reported that the court had been privately meeting for months on how to structure a new ethics code, one that would address public concerns over its behavior without abdicating what Roberts in particular had said was the court’s independence on such matters from congressional oversight. So, the justices have near-total discretion to decide whether to abide by the new code. But growing and very public calls for more have come from some justices in recent days. “A binding code of ethics is pretty standard for judges,” said Jackson, “and so I guess the question is: Is the Supreme Court any different? I guess I have not seen a persuasive reason as to why the court is different.” “I am considering supporting it as a general matter,” she said. “I’m not going to get into commenting on

Early voting begins in California, Texas, 5 other states

Early voting begins in California, Texas, 5 other states

The country’s two most populous states, California and Texas, begin early voting on Monday along with Montana, Georgia, Nebraska, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Here is everything you need to know about the voter registration and early voting plans for each state. Georgia has voted Republican in all but two elections in the last four decades. The first was former President Clinton’s landslide win in 1992, and the second was 2020, when President Biden brought the state back to the Democrats by 11,779 votes. A win for either candidate here would make their path to victory easier. The Peach State has 16 electoral votes on offer, and with recent polls showing a tight race, it’s ranked Toss Up on the Fox News Power Rankings. Democrats do well in metro Atlanta, home to more than half the state’s population, and particularly its densest counties, Fulton and DeKalb. There is a higher concentration of Black and college voters there. The surrounding suburban areas also help Democrats run up the vote. Republicans win big with rural voters, who can be found just about everywhere else. The GOP won all but 30 counties in the last election, with many of the largest victories in the sparse northwest and southeast regions. Over in the northwest of the country, Montana is a Republican stronghold at the presidential level, but it also hosts one of the most competitive Senate races in the country this cycle. Incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Tester faces Republican Tim Sheehy in a race where Trump’s popularity and Sheehy’s discipline gives the GOP an edge. It’s Lean R on the rankings. Finally, absentee in-person voting begins today in Nebraska, where absentee voting is already underway. The state is home to three competitive races. Voting also begins today in nine House districts ranked Lean or Toss Up on the Fox News Power Rankings. For a full list of competitive races, see the latest Senate and House rankings. This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for California. California began absentee voting on Monday, and the state will proactively send absentee ballots to actively registered voters. That ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5. California offers early in-person voting, but the dates vary by location. Check the state’s website for more information. California residents can register to vote online or by mail through Oct. 21. They can register in-person during early voting from Oct. 7 through election day. CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE 2024 ELECTION This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Montana. Montana began absentee voting on Monday. Residents do not need to provide an excuse in order to receive a ballot. State officials must receive a ballot request by Nov. 4, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5. Montana offers early in-person voting beginning Oct. 7 and running through Nov. 4. Montana residents can register to vote by mail through Oct. 7. They can register in-person during early voting from Oct. 7 through election day. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING IN THE HARRIS-TRUMP PRESIDENTIAL RACE This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Georgia. Georgia began absentee voting on Monday. Residents do not need to provide an excuse in order to receive a ballot. State officials must receive a ballot request by Oct. 25, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5. Georgia offers early in-person voting beginning Oct. 15 and running through Nov. 1. Georgia residents must have registered to vote by Oct. 7. IN BID FOR DISGRUNTLED REPUBLICANS, HARRIS TEAMS UP WITH CHENEY IN GOP BIRTHPLACE This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Nebraska. Nebraska began absentee voting last month. Applicants do not need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. The state must receive a ballot application by Oct. 25, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5. Nebraska began early in-person voting on Oct. 7, and it will run through Nov. 4. Nebraska residents can register to vote online or by mail through Oct. 18. They can register in-person through Oct. 25. This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for New Hampshire. New Hampshire began absentee voting on Monday. Applicants will need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. The state must receive a ballot application by Nov. 4, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5. New Hampshire does not offer early in-person voting. New Hampshire does not offer voter registration by mail or online. Residents can register to vote in-person on election day. Check the state’s website for more information. This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for South Carolina. South Carolina began absentee voting on Monday. Applicants will need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. The state must receive a ballot application by Oct. 25, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5. South Carolina will begin early in-person voting on Oct. 21, and it will run through Nov. 2. South Carolina residents can register to vote online, in-person and by mail by Oct. 14.  This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Texas. Texas began

One-year anniversary of Oct. 7 attacks arrives with lasting trauma for Israelis, American Jews: expert

One-year anniversary of Oct. 7 attacks arrives with lasting trauma for Israelis, American Jews: expert

Life in Israel one year after the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks is far from a return to normal, as one expert explained to Fox News Digital what it’s like dealing with the psychological fallout of the massacre while living near an active war zone – and even the lasting consequences for American Jews 12 months later. Dr. David Fox, director of crisis and trauma services for Chai Lifeline International, a Jewish nonprofit and network supporting families living with illness or loss, said he’s traveled to Israel multiple times over the last year to meet with hostages’ families and consult with survivors’ families on the ground.  “I think Oct. 7 will remain seared into the consciousness of Jews and of Israelis,” Fox told Fox News Digital. “It’s sometimes just referred to as ‘the seventh’ or as ‘October.’ October is not an Israeli or Hebrew word, but that’s what it’s been called. So I don’t think it will ever be forgotten as an infamous day of what has become an ongoing battle for survival.” The Los Angeles-based rabbi described to Fox News Digital how daily life in Israel remains uprooted: Tens of thousands of Israelis are internally displaced, and Israeli families must adjust as parents who were in the Army Reserves are tapped again for active duty. With a cease-fire and hostage release deal still yet to actualize, Fox also explained the lasting trauma and constant fear of another attack — especially in border areas.  Fox said he spoke to one of the country’s most prominent infertility specialists who transitioned from his day-to-day life as a gynecologist and obstetrician back into military service.   The doctor now spends his days crawling onto the battlefield to rescue soldiers who have been hit and carry them back to ambulances to be transported to hospitals.  ISRAELI AIR FORCE STRIKES HOUTHI TARGETS IN YEMEN WITH ‘EXTENSIVE’ OPERATION “The families of those reservists who have now been activated and deployed, they may not see daddy for weeks or sometimes months at a time. Spouses may not see one another for a while… and there is that apprehension. Will he or will she return? So that has been a crisis for many individuals,” Fox explained. “On the other hand, those who serve in the IDF and the armed forces, they do it with a strong sense of conviction that we’re doing the right thing, and we’re doing really what God wants, but we’re doing what our families need us to be doing right now. So those unfortunate separations don’t end up fragmenting the family.”  “But I believe in most situations, the children will look up to that parent who has to be away,” Fox said. “They’ll look up with love and admiration. But this has definitely been a change in what goes on on the ground, that family life has been changed.”  A heightened threat environment is especially palpable in moshavs, which are cooperative Jewish agricultural settlements in Israel. Fox cited a recent conversation with members of one moshav, which was “surrounded by villages which were hostile,” where settlers could hear messages broadcast from prayer towers or minarets calling out for attacks against Jews.  “Some of them are armed and many of them are not,” Fox said of the Jewish residents. “The army and security guards may not always be available at this point to shelter, to protect civilians. So there is a feeling of fluidity. The situation is changing.”  Over the past year, Fox said Chai Lifeline worked to expand its crisis hotline to provide “around the clock” support, as well as Zoom counseling, trauma intervention and other materials to Israelis or people who had family in Israel who witnessed the horrors of Hamas terrorists slaughtering approximately 1,200 people and taking hundreds of hostages on Oct. 7, 2023. Since then, the rabbi said he observed another societal change among young Israelis “who are politically conscious” as they look at the “response or non-response of other countries, of the Red Cross or the United Nations” and are “rethinking their confidence in who we trust.”  “An ally who’s with you in peace time, but who ignores you or turns against you in times of strife is not an ally,” Fox said.  “The world does not expect the Jews to fight back,” he added. “The world does not expect a small country who has faced massacre and slaughter to get up and protect itself by going on the, let’s say, the avenging offense. And we do have to face the condemnation of many of the sanctions of others. But I think a groundswell of understanding from still others that we are fighting to survive, and we are doing what any other country would do. If citizens were attacked and raped and mutilated and butchered, and their homes desecrated, I think we are doing what virtually any sovereign nation would do if its people were attacked.”  The trauma of the Oct. 7 attacks, Fox said, has remained for Israeli civilians and the families of hostages, including those who are still held in Gaza and are subjected to deprivation and torture.  Yet, Fox said there’s also a bolstered sense of support among the Israeli people in supporting each other as the Jewish state continues its war effort.  “We know that there is a constant punctuation of the reactive grief by an intensification of horror and feeling terrorized,” Fox told Fox News Digital. “The attitude of the Jewish people historically and of the Israeli nation since its inception has been to react to oppression by displays of resilience coming together.”  IRAN’S AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI IN HIDING WITH EXTRA SECURITY FOLLOWING HEZBOLLAH LEADER’S DEATH: REPORT The rabbi told Fox News Digital that he has been directly in touch with Israeli families who’ve retreated from their homes in the north along the Lebanon border amid the Israeli military’s escalating skirmishes and exchanges of rocket fire with Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorists, as well as people who have fled their homes in the south along the

Senate Republicans mark Oct 7 attack 1 year out as Israel-Hamas war continues

Senate Republicans mark Oct 7 attack 1 year out as Israel-Hamas war continues

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, led the entire Senate GOP conference in introducing a resolution on Monday to condemn the Hamas terrorist attack against Israeli civilians exactly one year prior on Oct. 7, 2023.  The full conference-backed resolution condemns the “brutal Hamas-led terrorist attack” and supports “an outcome that ensures the forever survival of Israel” as well as “the complete denial of the ability of Hamas to reconstitute in the region, and the safe release of United States hostages from the Gaza Strip.”  “This time last year, I woke up in the Middle East to the unbearable news that Israel was under attack by Iran-backed terrorists and Americans were being killed and taken hostage,” Ernst said in a statement to Fox News Digital. HERE’S WHAT 2 UNDECIDED WISCONSIN VOTERS ARE HOLDING OUT FOR IN 2024 ELECTION “I immediately traveled into Israel to show that our nation’s friendship is unwavering, in good times and bad. Regardless of whether I have been in Jerusalem, Washington, or Iowa, I have worked around the clock to hold the White House accountable to its ‘ironclad’ commitment, bring our hostages home, and cut off the source of terrorism in Tehran. One year since that day, as Israel remains under attack on all fronts, Senate Republicans stand united with our greatest ally in the Middle East.” SOROS-LINKED DARK MONEY GROUP PROPS UP NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE IN KEY SENATE RACE The 2023 attack perpetrated by Hamas terrorists saw about 1,200 die and hundreds be taken to Gaza as hostages.  There are roughly 100 hostages reported to still remain in Gaza, and it is believed that fewer than 70 of them are alive, according to the Associated Press.  TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM ONLY VP DEBATE BETWEEN VANCE, WALZ BEFORE ELECTION In the lead-up to the attack’s anniversary, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued a public service announcement warning of hate crimes or violence: “Jewish, Muslim, or Arab institutions – including synagogues, mosques/Islamic centers, and community centers – and large public gatherings, such as memorials, vigils, or other lawful demonstrations, present attractive targets for violent attacks or for hoax threats by a variety of threat actors, including violent extremists and hate crime perpetrators,” it stated. A new report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), also released before the attack’s one-year anniversary, revealed that after Oct. 7, antisemitic incidents in the U.S. rose more than 200% from the year prior.  AS LEADER RACE LOOMS, JOHN THUNE TAKES SENATE MAP BY STORM TO BOOST GOP CANDIDATES According to the ADL, there were more than 10,000 antisemitic incidents after the Hamas terrorist attack, which was more than any other year since the ADL began recording them in 1979. The year before the Oct. 7 attack saw 3,325 incidents. In a Hebrew message to Israeli citizens after Rosh Hashanah, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recounted the months of war on multiple fronts and touted recent military successes in taking out key Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist leaders. “Citizens of Israel, as the New Year dawns upon us, we do not forget, and I do not forget, our 101 hostages in Gaza, to whom we are fully committed to bringing back home,” he said in a translated quote.

Battleground Senate candidate unloads on ‘radical’ Dem opponent for disparaging Trump voters

Battleground Senate candidate unloads on ‘radical’ Dem opponent for disparaging Trump voters

PHOENIX, AZ – Arizona GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake is blasting her Democratic opponent Rep. Ruben Gallego and labeling him as “radical as they come” after a resurfaced interview of him disparaging Trump voters.  “Isn’t that terrible?” Lake said in response to Fox News Digital reporting of a comment made by Gallego in 2016 where he said that Trump voters were “dumb” and the “worst people in the world.” “He’s been lying about who he is,” Lake added. “He’s trying to paint himself as a moderate, which is it’s laughable if it wasn’t so dangerous.” Lake told Fox News Digital that Gallego “bullied” moderate Sen. Kyrsten Sinema out of the race “because she wasn’t liberal enough.” KARI LAKE SHREDS VP HARRIS’ ‘DESPICABLE’ SOUTHERN BORDER VISIT: JUST TO MAKE THE ‘MAINSTREAM MEDIA HAPPY’ “Now he is doing all these ads trying to say he’s a moderate when, in fact, he’s voted to spend our federal dollars, our tax dollars, our money, supporting sanctuary cities and states. He’s voted against securing our border every step of the way. He’s for an open border America. He’s voted to defund the police. He actually co-sponsored the George Floyd legislation, which would have defunded the police nationwide.” Lake went on to tell Fox News Digital that Gallego has “never batted an eyelash” when it comes to spending bills and has not been strong enough defending women’s sports. “He wants biological men to participate in women’s athletics.,” Lake said. “That means it’s an end for girls sports. Anybody out there who played sports? I did for a little bit. It’s an end. I mean, if you have to compete with biological men, what’s the purpose of having girls sports?” ENIGMATIC VOTER GROUP COULD SPLIT TICKET FOR TRUMP, DEM SENATE CANDIDATE IN ARIZONA Lake added, “It’s absolutely crazy and he’s as radical as they come.” Gallego and Lake will both be attempting to sway independent voters, especially in Maricopa County, the largest county in the state, where independents make up a third of the electorate. Lake told Fox News Digital she is optimistic she can win votes from Arizonans who aren’t Republicans. “I do believe that independents are with me, I think we’re doing pretty well, our polling is showing that we’re building on the independent vote,” Lake said. “And I think a lot of Democrats, while he [Gallego] hates Trump voters and he hates Republicans. I don’t hate Democrats. I actually believe that disaffected Democrats are going to help us turn the corner.” “They’re realizing, looking at Kamala Harris and Ruben Gallego, and they’re saying, wait a minute, this isn’t the Democrat Party that I signed up for years ago, the old Democrat Party used to care about the working class. The old Democrat Party wanted a strong economy for everybody. This Democrat Party is a bunch of globalists, and they are for, they want to spend more money helping people coming here illegally than they do people who are American citizens.” While the Real Clear Politics average of polls shows Gallego leading Lake by about 7 points, Lake told Fox News Digital she is confident the race is much closer and says her internal polling shows that she is within the margin of error. “We have to go into it acting like we’re ten down, but we’re not ten down,” Lake said. “This is a very tight race. I’m proud of that, considering, as I said, he spent 75 million. He’s been outspending us massively and the fact that this is such a tight race is incredible. Chuck Schumer is in a panic about Arizona. He’s dumping 5 million bucks a week into Arizona.” Lake told Fox News Digital that Democrats are in a “tailspin” in Arizona because their efforts to make the election about abortion have not been fruitful because most voters are focused on other issues like the economy. Lake also criticized Gallego over his record before he entered politics, including his involvement with a bank that worked with illegal immigrants, a harassment claim against him by a 20-year-old intern while he worked at city hall, and his time working for an ambulance company that was being investigated for fraud. “The people of Arizona know me and they trust me and I love the people of the state, Lake said. “I want to represent all of them, including people who maybe don’t even vote for me. If you choose not to vote for me, I hope I can earn your vote, but I still want to represent you and I want to do a great job for you in Washington, D.C. We need decent, honest people back to D.C. and Ruben Gallego was not honest before he got into politics.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Gallego campaign for comment but did not receive a response.