Bill Clinton says it’s OK to vote for Harris even though Trump’s economy ‘was better’
Former President Bill Clinton encouraged voters in Michigan to throw their support behind Vice President Kamala Harris even if they believe the economy was better under former President Donald Trump. “I want to make three brief points,” Clinton told voters at a rally for Harris in Muskegon Heights, Michigan on Wednesday. “You did pretty well when I was president, and I think I’m entitled to my opinion about who’d be better. Two, I don’t think it’s right to say that people have to vote for Donald Trump because the economy was better… I don’t believe that.” Clinton’s comments come as both the Trump and Harris campaigns scramble to reach as many voters as possible with less than a week to go before election day, particularly in swing states such as Michigan, where polls show a razor tight race between the two candidates. BILL CLINTON MAKES ‘STUNNING’ REMARK ON LAKEN RILEY’S MURDER According to the Real Clear Politics polling average, Harris currently holds a slim 0.4 point lead over Trump in Michigan, while the latest Fox News Power Rankings rate the state as a toss-up. Clinton’s comments were not his first gaffe while hitting the campaign trail for Harris, coming a couple of weeks after the former president told voters in Georgia an immigrant who allegedly killed Georgia-native Laken Riley was not properly vetted before being let into the country. “You had a case in Georgia not very long ago, didn’t you? They made an ad about it. A young woman who had been killed by an immigrant,” Clinton said at the time. “Yeah, well, if they’d all been properly vetted, that probably wouldn’t have happened.” Despite that gaffe, the campaign brought Clinton to the critical swing state of Michigan to stump for Harris along with Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. SLOTKIN SLAMS FELLOW DEM BIDEN FOR ‘GARBAGE’ GAFFE AMID HEATED SENATE BATTLE Tudor Dixon, a Republican who ran for governor against Whitmer in 2022, argued that Clinton was just telling “the truth” during the event in Michigan. “Bill Clinton told the truth again when he admitted the economy is better under president Trump. Normal people buying groceries or school supplies know that’s true,” Dixon told Fox News Digital. “I’m beginning to wonder if he’s secretly a surrogate for the Trump campaign.” Nevertheless, Clinton said he was in Michigan to support Harris “enthusiastically,” arguing that “Kamala Harris will be a better president than Donald Trump.” “I want to assure the American dream for my grandchildren,” Clinton said. “I don’t want my 10-year-old granddaughter to have fewer freedoms than her 44-year-old mother.” The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Residents in small Ohio village reveal biggest concerns after community rocked by illegal immigrants
LOCKLAND, OHIO – Residents in this small village, where the population is just 3,400, have seen their lives upended by an influx of thousands of illegal immigrants that residents say has left strains on services and a significant drop in their quality of life. Officials have previously told Fox News Digital that there have been around 3,000 mostly Mauritanian illegal immigrants arriving in the small village of 3,400 residents, and it has strained services and made life worse for the people that live there. Migrants have clustered primarily in a number of apartment blocks in the area. Officials say the influx is hurting the village coffers as working residents are moving out to be replaced by illegal immigrants who are not contributing. “Our fire and paramedic services have been stressed. Since they moved into these apartment complexes, a lot of the longtime residents have moved out because of multiple fires. It’s been caused by their not understanding how to cook on stoves, and they use high levels of grease in their cooking, which have caused multiple fires,” Mayor Mark Mason Sr. said in an interview this month. OHIO MAYOR SOUNDS ALARM AFTER VILLAGE ROCKED BY THOUSANDS OF AFRICAN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: ‘UNSUSTAINABLE’ “And so a lot of people don’t want to subject their families to unsafe conditions in these apartment complexes. So, therefore, they’ve moved out – the working residents – and they have moved in. And most don’t have jobs, they don’t contribute to society. They don’t contribute to your earnings tax base. And it’s a real concern,” he said. Residents have echoed those concerns. One woman, Kelly, who lives on the top floor of one of the apartment buildings, says she is one of a few remaining Americans in the building, with the rest being illegal immigrants. She says the block has now become known as “the African village” due to the influx, where she says there are now about 85% illegal immigrants. “With the illegals hanging out in the apartment, at first they were hanging out 50 a day out in the parking lots and walking around. They don’t move out of your way when you’re driving. They don’t seem to care,” she said. “The fires that have been going on, I mean, the fire departments here, if not every day. Every other day. And I think at least four to five fires in less than the last six months. And the smoke alarms are going off constantly. They don’t know how to use the electric stoves and with all the oil and that they use, the smell of the food through the halls all the time is pretty bad,” she said. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS “The fires, that’s what scares me. I live on the third floor and pretty much by myself. And I’m afraid I’m going to burn up in a fire one night, because everybody that lives below me is all the illegals. In the two next to me . . . there are illegals, too, and the smoke alarms are going off day and night there.” “We’re all wanting to get out of here, the Americans,” she said. Another resident, Aaron, said immigration was the biggest issue facing the village, noting the packed apartments. “When it comes to the community center down here, they’re overwhelmed by it. And the churches are overwhelmed, the resources are limited.” Loitering was also an issue mentioned by some residents. HAITIAN MIGRANTS OVERWHELMING SMALL INDIANA TOWN: ‘IT’S JUST OVERRUN’ “There’s just so many of them hanging out, on the streets and the sidewalks. I’d be afraid to walk that way, and I’ve been here 37 years,” Dave, who lives on the town’s east side, told Fox. “I wish something could be done to keep them off the sidewalks.” Other residents pointed to other issues facing the village, like crime and drugs, although not necessarily connected to immigration. Marilyn Bartko, who lives near Lockland, didn’t mention immigration as a top issue. “I would think the need in Lockland for industry, for people to have better housing and better schooling and for the powers that be to work on having less crime,” she said. “Because I think areas like this are often left to their own. People forget, and they say, ‘Lockland’s too dangerous,’ but people don’t try to change things here,” she said. Village Administrator Doug Wehmeyer told Fox News Digital recently that it is leading to around $150,000 in losses for the village, as the illegal immigrants do not pay taxes and are displacing local residents who are moving out of those apartments. “I don’t know how they found our small village. We like it. We think it’s a great place to live, but the quality of life here is definitely being affected by this problem,” he said. Lockland’s case echoes towns and cities like Springfield, Ohio, which saw a surge in Haitian migration in recent years, and Charleroi, Pennsylvania, which has also been overwhelmed by Haitian migration. SWING STATE OFFICIAL WARNS VILLAGE STRUGGLING WITH FINANCIAL LOSSES AFTER INFLUX OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS Former President Trump has pointed to both of those towns as what he saw as the consequences of the Biden administration’s border policies, including its expansion of parole programs via the CBP One app and the use of Temporary Protected Status to protect some from deportation. In terms of illegal immigration, he has promised to continue building a wall at the southern border and restore many of his policies, as well as launch a mass deportation operation. Vice President Kamala Harris has challenged Trump’s narrative, and promised to sign a bipartisan border security bill if elected. But she has also called for a sweeping 2021 bill that also would have included a mass amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants already in the U.S. Fox News’ Emma Woodhead contributed to this report.
Residents in small Ohio village sound off on chaos after massive influx of illegal immigrants: ‘Overhwelmed’
LOCKLAND, OHIO – Residents in this small village, where the population is just 3,400, have seen their lives upended by an influx of thousands of illegal immigrants that residents say has left strains on services and a significant drop in their quality of life. Officials have previously told Fox News Digital that there have been around 3,000 mostly Mauritanian illegal immigrants arriving in the small village of 3,400 residents, and it has strained services and made life worse for the people that live there. Migrants have clustered primarily in a number of apartment blocks in the area. Officials say the influx is hurting the village coffers as working residents are moving out to be replaced by illegal immigrants who are not contributing. “Our fire and paramedic services have been stressed. Since they moved into these apartment complexes, a lot of the longtime residents have moved out because of multiple fires. It’s been caused by their not understanding how to cook on stoves, and they use high levels of grease in their cooking, which have caused multiple fires,” Mayor Mark Mason Sr. said in an interview this month. OHIO MAYOR SOUNDS ALARM AFTER VILLAGE ROCKED BY THOUSANDS OF AFRICAN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: ‘UNSUSTAINABLE’ “And so a lot of people don’t want to subject their families to unsafe conditions in these apartment complexes. So, therefore, they’ve moved out – the working residents – and they have moved in. And most don’t have jobs, they don’t contribute to society. They don’t contribute to your earnings tax base. And it’s a real concern,” he said. Residents have echoed those concerns. One woman, Kelly, who lives on the top floor of one of the apartment buildings, says she is one of a few remaining Americans in the building, with the rest being illegal immigrants. She says the block has now become known as “the African village” due to the influx, where she says there are now about 85% illegal immigrants. “With the illegals hanging out in the apartment, at first they were hanging out 50 a day out in the parking lots and walking around. They don’t move out of your way when you’re driving. They don’t seem to care,” she said. “The fires that have been going on, I mean, the fire departments here, if not every day. Every other day. And I think at least four to five fires in less than the last six months. And the smoke alarms are going off constantly. They don’t know how to use the electric stoves and with all the oil and that they use, the smell of the food through the halls all the time is pretty bad,” she said. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS “The fires, that’s what scares me. I live on the third floor and pretty much by myself. And I’m afraid I’m going to burn up in a fire one night, because everybody that lives below me is all the illegals. In the two next to me . . . there are illegals, too, and the smoke alarms are going off day and night there.” “We’re all wanting to get out of here, the Americans,” she said. Another resident, Aaron, said immigration was the biggest issue facing the village, noting the packed apartments. “When it comes to the community center down here, they’re overwhelmed by it. And the churches are overwhelmed, the resources are limited.” Loitering was also an issue mentioned by some residents. HAITIAN MIGRANTS OVERWHELMING SMALL INDIANA TOWN: ‘IT’S JUST OVERRUN’ “There’s just so many of them hanging out, on the streets and the sidewalks. I’d be afraid to walk that way, and I’ve been here 37 years,” Dave, who lives on the town’s east side, told Fox. “I wish something could be done to keep them off the sidewalks.” Other residents pointed to other issues facing the village, like crime and drugs, although not necessarily connected to immigration. Marilyn Bartko, who lives near Lockland, didn’t mention immigration as a top issue. “I would think the need in Lockland for industry, for people to have better housing and better schooling and for the powers that be to work on having less crime,” she said. “Because I think areas like this are often left to their own. People forget, and they say, ‘Lockland’s too dangerous,’ but people don’t try to change things here,” she said. Village Administrator Doug Wehmeyer told Fox News Digital recently that it is leading to around $150,000 in losses for the village, as the illegal immigrants do not pay taxes and are displacing local residents who are moving out of those apartments. “I don’t know how they found our small village. We like it. We think it’s a great place to live, but the quality of life here is definitely being affected by this problem,” he said. Lockland’s case echoes towns and cities like Springfield, Ohio, which saw a surge in Haitian migration in recent years, and Charleroi, Pennsylvania, which has also been overwhelmed by Haitian migration. SWING STATE OFFICIAL WARNS VILLAGE STRUGGLING WITH FINANCIAL LOSSES AFTER INFLUX OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS Former President Trump has pointed to both of those towns as what he saw as the consequences of the Biden administration’s border policies, including its expansion of parole programs via the CBP One app and the use of Temporary Protected Status to protect some from deportation. In terms of illegal immigration, he has promised to continue building a wall at the southern border and restore many of his policies, as well as launch a mass deportation operation. Vice President Kamala Harris has challenged Trump’s narrative, and promised to sign a bipartisan border security bill if elected. But she has also called for a sweeping 2021 bill that also would have included a mass amnesty for millions of illegal immigrants already in the U.S. Fox News’ Emma Woodhead contributed to this report.
Texas accuses El Paso doctor of providing ‘dangerous’ gender-transition drugs to kids: lawsuit
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against an El Paso doctor this week for allegedly providing sex-change hormones to children in violation of a state statute. Paxton announced the lawsuit against Hector Granados, a pediatric endocrinologist, Wednesday, arguing Granados is “harming the health and safety of Texas children by providing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children.” Paxton says such actions are in violation of a Texas law that prohibits “medical providers from prescribing certain gender-affirming treatments, including puberty blockers and hormones, to minors to assist them to medically transition,” according to the statement released by Paxton’s office. ADVOCATE FOR ‘GENDER AFFIRMING CARE’ FOR PRISONERS NAMED BY AG GARLAND TO CORRECTIONS ADVISORY BOARD Under current state law, doctors are not allowed to provide children with puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones or to conduct surgery to affirm their self-professed gender identity in a way that is inconsistent with their biological sex. “Despite the enactment of the law, Granados continues to prescribe and distribute puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to his minor patients for the purposes of transitioning their biological sex or affirming their belief that their gender identity or sex is inconsistent with their biological sex,” the filing alleges. The suit listed 21 anonymous patients Granados has allegedly treated, several of whom were prescribed puberty blockers and others who were provided hormone treatment such as testosterone. The suit alleges Granados has written “unlawful prescriptions for drugs as recently as August 19, 2024, with patients filling those unlawful prescriptions as recently as October 12, 2024.” TRANS ATHLETES IN WOMEN’S SPORTS WILL GET ‘RADICALLY WORSE’ UNDER A HARRIS PRESIDENCY, WARNS TULSI GABBARD The filing also alleges Granados has “engaged in false, misleading, and deceptive acts and practices to mislead pharmacies, insurance providers, and/or patients” by falsifying medical records, prescriptions and other medical documentation. “Texas is cracking down on doctors illegally prescribing dangerous ‘gender transition’ drugs to children,” Paxton said in a statement. “State law forbids prescribing these interventions to minors because they have irreversible and damaging effects. Any physician found doing so will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.” DETRANSITIONER CHLOE COLE SCORCHES LA TIMES FOR SUGGESTING MOVEMENT COULD CAUSE ‘DEATH’ OF TRANS CHILDREN Paxton is seeking temporary and permanent injunctions against Granados that would block him from continuing to prescribe puberty blockers and testosterone and impose civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation. Fox News Digital reached out to Granados for comment but did not immediately hear back. This is the second suit of this nature Paxton has launched this month. The attorney general is also suing Dallas doctor May Lau, alleging the physician provided prohibited “gender transition” hormones to over 20 adolescents in violation of state law Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
Swing state GOP candidate could hit major milestone in mayoral race amid ‘Republican wave’ optimism
Las Vegas, Nevada, which sits in battleground Clark County in one of the most closely watched swing states in the upcoming election, is home to a mayoral race where a Republican could win for the first time in half a century. Democrat Shelley Berkley and Republican Victoria Seaman, the top two vote-getters in the June primary, will square off on Tuesday to determine who will be mayor of Las Vegas, a city that hasn’t had a Republican mayor since Oran Grayson left office in 1975. Fox News Digital spoke to Councilwoman Seaman about Republican enthusiasm in Nevada and why the climate on the ground is potentially ripe for a conservative to be elected mayor of one of the nation’s most rapidly growing cities. “I think people are tired of extreme liberal policies that simply don’t work, and they want to find common sense solutions,” Seaman told Fox News Digital. “And we’re seeing an incredible Republican wave right now in Clark County. And I think it speaks for itself that people are tired of policies that simply don’t work.” BATTLEGROUND SERIES: KEY SWING STATE’S 6 ELECTORAL VOTES HINGE ON CANDIDATE PERFORMANCES IN THIS COUNTY The mayor, who is considered nonpartisan although the candidates are both affiliated with political parties, is a member of the Las Vegas City Council and is the only member elected at large. The city of Las Vegas does not include the resort-lined Strip, which is in unincorporated Clark County and falls under the jurisdiction of a county commission. Rising housing costs has been a top concern of voters both Democrat and Republican in Nevada which Seaman told Fox News Digital she is committed to addressing if elected mayor. “Almost 87 percent of southern Nevada is owned by the Bureau of Land Management,” Seaman said. “It’s really important to be working with our delegation to make sure that we can get some of this land back and annex that into the city for workforce and affordable housing. And those are the things that I’ve been working on to give incentives to builders. Tax increment financing and all the grants that we’ve been getting from the state and federal government to make sure that we’re working on mixed-use housing. What we’ve done is we’re not leaving anything on the table. We’ve applied for grants, any grants that we can get.” MILLIONS OF VOTERS HAVE ALREADY CAST BALLOTS FOR NOV. 5 ELECTION Seaman, who was recently joined on the campaign trail by the Republican mayors of Dallas, Texas, and Newport Beach, California, told Fox News Digital that in addition to housing, the economy is at the top of the minds of voters in Clark County. “People are struggling and having a hard time, not just with housing, but with putting food on the table,” Seaman said. “So they really want to see those who are going to have bold leadership and make sure that they’re enacting commonsense policies that work for the people.” Seaman called Berkley an “extreme liberal” who supported “extreme liberal policies” when she was in Congress.” “Open borders, she voted against extra security when she was in Congress, and people are tired,” Seaman said. “They want someone who’s going to care about the American people and the constituents.” In a statement to Fox News Digital, Berkley campaign manager Tom Letizia accused Seaman of trying to turn a “non-partisan race” into a “partisan battle with baseless accusations.” “For nearly two years, Shelley Berkley has been focused on the issues that truly matter to Las Vegas: public safety, homelessness, affordable housing, and working toward a fair solution to the Badlands situation—a costly issue Seaman failed to resolve, now burdening taxpayers with millions of dollars,” Letizia said. “Shelley Berkley’s record speaks for itself in tackling real challenges without stooping to divisive, lying attacks.” Nevada’s early voting has been strong for Republicans, which Seaman said is energy she has seen when she speaks with constituents in the county. “We’re seeing a lot of enthusiasm,” Seaman said. “I’m going to leave Las Vegas better than when I found it, and my pledge to the people of Las Vegas is that I want to make it one of the safest cities in the union.” “We have over 42 million tourists coming here every year and so it’s important for our economy that we continue to be a very safe city. I also want to make sure that we diversify the economy. We can’t depend on gaming alone, and that’s something I’ve been doing in the five years that I’ve been on the city council, and I will continue to do that to bring more diversified businesses to Las Vegas.” Associated Press contributed to this report.
Delhi residents defy firecracker ban, illuminate night sky with Diwali celebrations
At 9 pm, Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) was recorded at 327 including at Alipur and Anand Vihar.
A West Texas pecan farm fights to save its water supply as neighbors sell it to growing cities
A yearslong dispute over exporting water to growing Texas cities offers a hint at the battles to come as the state’s population booms and water supply dwindles.
‘Tipping the scales’: House GOP leaders rip ActBlue after Dem fundraising giant hit with subpoena
Top House Republicans are coalescing behind the House Administration Committee’s subpoena of Democratic fundraising giant ActBlue. Republicans have accused the company of having insufficient donor verification standards. Committee Chair Bryan Steil, R-Wis., has argued that the site is vulnerable to fraudulent and illegal foreign donations, though ActBlue has said it “rigorously protects donors’ security.” “ActBlue has a lot of explaining to do, and Chairman Steil is right to demand answers on these very serious allegations of foreign funds being funneled through the platform,” Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., chairman of House Republicans’ campaign arm, told Fox News Digital. “Just as we must protect the right to vote for American citizens, we must ensure our elections are free from foreign financial interference.” FORMER REPUBLICAN US SENATOR ENDORSES KAMALA HARRIS, SAYS ELECTION OFFERS ‘STARK CHOICE’ House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., also credited Steil and pointed out that his accusations come amid reports that China and Iran are trying to influence the election. “Malign foreign actors are attempting to hijack American elections through the Far Left Democrat fundraising platform ActBlue by tipping the scales in favor of Kamala Harris and Congressional Democrats,” Stefanik said. “It has never been more critical to ensure American elections are free from foreign manipulation.” ActBlue did not require a card verification value (CVV) to be input for donations until recently, prompting a flurry of concern from Republican lawmakers and some GOP state attorneys general. Steil sent multiple letters and requests for information to the platform, which has insisted it holds donor security to a high standard. ‘ILLEGAL, UNCONSTITUTIONAL AND VOID’: GEORGIA JUDGE STRIKES DOWN NEW ELECTION RULES AFTER LEGAL FIGHTS A spokesperson for House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said he was “supportive” of the subpoena, adding, “Only American citizens should be participants in our elections, and this investigation is critical to ensure that our elections remain secure and shielded from foreign actors.” Steil issued a subpoena Wednesday to ActBlue for “documents and communications related to ActBlue’s donor verification policies and the potential for foreign actors, primarily from Iran, Russia, Venezuela, and China to use ActBlue to launder illicit money into U.S. political campaigns.” ActBlue responded to Steil in a statement, “ActBlue has received Chairman Steil’s latest inquiry and will respond to address the continued inaccuracies and misrepresentations about our platform, as we have done previously. We rigorously protect donors’ security and maintain strict anti-fraud compliance practices. We have zero tolerance for fraud on our platform.” SPEAKER JOHNSON RIPS ‘LACK OF LEADERSHIP’ IN BIDEN ADMIN’S HELENE RESPONSE: ‘ALARMED AND DISAPPOINTED’ But fellow Republicans on his committee are standing firm that the subpoena was necessary. Rep. Laurel Lee, R-Fla., the chair of the panel’s subcommittee on elections, told Fox News Digital, “In our investigation so far, we have found that loopholes in ActBlue’s insufficient security protocols may be exploited by bad actors, potentially leading to countries like China, Russia and Venezuela donating to campaigns in the names of Americans without their consent.” “With the general election just five days away, Americans need to have confidence that our elections are secure and that there is no foul play involved,” she said. Committee member Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., said, “The subpoena is critical for the committee to ensure federal campaign finance laws are not being violated, including laundering money into campaign coffers through inadequate security protections.” Meanwhile, Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital, “Like the chairman, I have been concerned by the inadequate security protocols at ActBlue, who haven’t required CVV verification and allow for pre-paid cards for political donations.” The accusations come at a critical time, with Election Day less than a week out. The platform denied all GOP allegations of wrongdoing in a statement to Fox News before Steil’s subpoena, “These false claims about ActBlue have been discredited repeatedly by campaign finance experts. ActBlue protects donors’ information by maintaining a robust security program and fraud prevention measures, often beyond what is required by law.” Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Harris slams ‘offensive’ Trump remark on protecting women from migrant crime
Vice President Kamala Harris criticized former President Donald Trump’s remarks at a rally about protecting Americans, particularly women, from migrant crime “whether the women like it or not,” calling his comment “offensive.” Speaking with reporters Thursday morning, Harris said, “It’s just, it actually is being very offensive to women in terms of not understanding their agency, their authority, their rights and their ability to make decisions about their own lives, including their own bodies,” tying his comments on illegal immigration to abortion. HOW GOP, DEM SENATORS ARE USING 2024 CAMPAIGN TRAIL TO LOBBY FOR CONFERENCE INFLUENCE During his Green Bay, Wisconsin rally, Trump talked about the southern border under President Biden and Harris. “Kamala has imported criminal migrants from prisons and jails, from insane asylums and mental institutions all over the world, from Venezuela to the Congo, including savage criminals to assault, rape and murder our women and girls,” he said. He then discussed conversations with his staff on whether he should profess that he specifically wants to protect women from the consequences of an unsecured border. According to Trump, his advisers suggested it could be inappropriate to say. TOP REPUBLICANS PROBE BIDEN ADMIN ON AFGHAN NATIONALS’ ALLEGED ELECTION DAY TERRORIST PLOT “I said, well, I’m going to do it. Whether the women like it or not, I’m going to protect them,” he told the crowd before being met with cheers. “I’m going to protect them from migrants coming in. I’m going to protect them from foreign countries that want to hit us with missiles, and lots of other things.” Harris told reporters that “this is just the latest in a series of revelations by the former president of how he thinks about women and their agency.” HARRIS BREAKS SILENCE AFTER GOP LEADERS SAY ANTI-TRUMP RHETORIC ‘RISKS INVITING’ ANOTHER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT Trump is notably against a federal abortion ban and has emphasized that he wants the issue to remain in the individual states. The vice president referred to state-level abortion restrictions as a “Trump abortion ban,” claiming, “one in three women live in a Trump abortion ban state and has legal restrictions on the right she rightly should have to make decisions about her own body.” SEN TAMMY BALDWIN HITS BACK AT GOP OPPONENT’S CLINTON COMPARISON: ‘ACTUALLY CALLED YOU DEPLORABLE’ In a 2023 survey by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, the nuance of public sentiment on abortion was revealed in greater detail. While most Americans believed that abortion should be legal to a certain extent, opinions changed drastically when the 15-week and 24-week markers were addressed. Overall, nearly three quarters believed in legal abortion at six-weeks, including more than half of Republicans. However, just 51% supported legal abortion at 15 weeks, and only 27% backed it as far as 24 weeks. The poll was conducted between June 22 and 26, 2023, and featured 1,220 respondents. The margin of error was +/- 3.9 percentage points. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Congressional panel urges University of Michigan to cut ties with Chinese institute
FIRST ON FOX: The House’s China Select Committee is calling on the University of Michigan to cease its partnership with a Chinese institute that they claim is sending sensitive technological expertise back to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). “I urge you to conduct a comprehensive national security review of this partnership in light of the facts below,” the letter, penned by committee Chair Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., and obtained by Fox News Digital, read. “I strongly encourage you to shutter the partnership between U-M and Shanghai Jiao Tong and take the necessary steps to safeguard the integrity of federally funded research at U-M and carefully vet international students studying on U-M’s campus.” A recent GOP-led report by the committee found “U.S.-PRC academic joint institutes as a core channel leveraged by the PRC government and its affiliated entities through which sensitive U.S. technologies and research know-how are transferred to the PRC’s defense and research industrial base.” After the report came out, a number of other universities, including Georgia Tech and the University of Berkeley, dissolved their partnerships with Chinese institutes. Michigan kept its partnership with Shanghai Jiao Tong Institute. HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF US RESEARCH DOLLARS MAY HAVE AIDED CHINESE MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, GOP-LED REPORT SAYS The letter says the institute plays a “critical role” in the CCP’s military-civil fusion strategy. The university has been under the supervision of China’s State Administration of Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND) since 2016, according to a select committee report from last year. The federal government heavily invests in military research at the University of Michigan. In 2023, the university received $77 million for research from the Department of Defense (DOD). Its researchers have boasted of developing what they described as an “unhackable” computer chip known as MORPHEUS. The joint Michigan-Jiao Tong partnership now features 35 specialized labs. It has received funding from China’s 863 Program, which supports the PRC’s military technology development. “Institute researchers have helped the PRC achieve advancements in defense technologies from propellant combustion modeling and solid rocket fuel research to anti-corrosion technology for military aircraft developed with People’s Liberation Army (PLA) researchers,” the letter said. It also said projects that included DOD-funded research improved CT technology to detect flaws in advanced military equipment. Shanghai Jiao Tong also agreed in 2017 to train combat forces for the PLA. Freshman at the Joint Institute are required to undergo military training when they enroll. BIDEN FINALIZES CRACKDOWN ON US MILITARY TECH INVESTMENTS IN CHINA WITH ONE WEEK TO LAME DUCK SESSION “Through its extensive military-aligned departments and laboratories, advanced dual-use research programs, and large-scale operational training platforms, Shanghai supervises universities like Shanghai Jiao Tong specifically to “strengthen military forces with additional personnel and more advanced equipment” through leveraging their research and resources,” the letter read. “This military-academic integration enables Shanghai Jiao Tong to make significant contributions to the PRC’s most sensitive defense programs, including nuclear weapons, carrier rockets, satellites, nuclear submarines, and fighter jets.” Earlier this month, U.S. authorities charged five Chinese nationals who were enrolled in the joint institute at the University of Michigan with lying and trying to cover up their visit to a remote Michigan military site where they took photos. In the summer of 2023, the five were confronted after midnight at Camp Grayling, near a lake, by a member of the Utah National Guard. In 2020, two Chinese nationals who were pursuing master’s degrees at the University of Michigan were sentenced to prison for illegally photographing sites at a Naval Air Station Key West in Florida. Under the guise of academic cooperation, the committee’s report from last month said China has orchestrated a campaign to pair with prestigious U.S. universities to transfer U.S. technologies and expertise back to China and circumvent government blacklists. The House Select Committee on China Competition, together with the Education and Workforce Committee, found some 9,000 joint research publications that were funded either through the DOD or the intelligence community published by co-authors with ties to China’s “defense and security apparatus,” including entities that are on a Commerce Department blacklist. More than 2,000 DOD-funded papers included Chinese co-authors who were directly affiliated with China’s defense research and industrial base, according to the report. The report recommends stricter guidelines around federally funded research, including cutting back on the ability of researchers who receive U.S. grants to work with Chinese universities and companies that have military ties.