Vance speculates why Pennsylvania is trending red, warns battleground not to trust Harris on manufacturing
Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, speculated Thursday that the reason Pennsylvania is trending red could be related to former President Donald Trump’s proposal on tariffs, warning that voters in the battleground shouldn’t trust Vice President Harris’ promise to revive American manufacturing. “This is where President Trump gets the most criticism, but it’s also where President Trump is the most right,” Vance said at a campaign stop in Pittsburgh, referencing Trump’s plan to implement tariffs as a way to discourage imports and drive domestic production. Harris has criticized the plan as risking price hikes. “If you are a business, and you rely on foreign slave labor at $3 a day, the only way to rebuild American manufacturing is to say, if you want to bring that product made by slave labor back into the United States of America, you’re going to pay a big fat tariff before you get it back into our country,” Vance said. “My message to Pennsylvanians: don’t trust anybody, especially Kamala Harris, when she tells you she’s going to rebuild American manufacturing without forcing the Chinese to pay a tariff,” he continued, speaking to voters in the critical swing state. “There is no way to do it unless you’re fighting hard against the people who are stealing our jobs and stealing our manufacturing industries, you got to do it. And if you’re not doing it, you’re not serious about rebuilding the American middle class.” TRUMP RIPS HARRIS ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION DURING LATINO VOTER TOWN HALL: HISPANIC VOTERS ‘MOST AGAINST IT’ Vance was responding to a reporter’s question about what county in Pennsylvania the Trump campaign would turn to first to determine whether they won the election. “I’m not much of a political prognosticator. The only prognostication I’ll make is that Pennsylvania is going to make Donald Trump the next President of the United States,” Vance said. “I really do believe that.” “If you look at the early voting numbers, if you look at how much redder Pennsylvania has gotten in just the last couple of years, we are going to win this race so long as we work for it over the next 19 days,” Trump’s running mate added. “I really do believe that.” CARDINAL DOLAN ‘UPSET’ THAT HARRIS SKIPPING AL SMITH DINNER Vance credited Pennsylvania’s tradition of world-renowned steel manufacturing and craftsmanship, saying the country has unfortunately “gotten way too far away from self-reliance.” The senator turned vice presidential pick said he believes Trump’s message is resonating in Pennsylvania more than Republicans from 20 years ago had because of the 45th president’s belief in “making things in America and stamping more products with the incredible label Made in the USA.” Citing a statistic he said “scares the hell out of me,” Vance said China has 32% of world manufacturing GDP, meaning 32% of the goods made worldwide are made in China, compared to just 18% made in the U.S. “That means China makes more stuff – I’m talking about the pharmaceuticals that we put into the bodies of our children, some of the important weapons systems of the future, the computer chips,” he said. “We’ve got to make more of our own stuff in the United States of America. And the way to do that is to lower regulations, lower energy costs for American businesses, and to rebuild the great American middle class.”
Trump to headline sold-out Al Smith charity dinner as Harris sends pre-recorded video message
Former President Trump is set to attend and address the 79th Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner on Thursday evening for the bipartisan political event that typically adds a bit of levity to the campaign trail each presidential election cycle, while simultaneously raising donations for women and children in need. This year’s Al Smith dinner, however, is set to be a bit different from previous years, as Vice President Kamala Harris is skipping the in-person event and sending a pre-recorded video to be broadcast to the audience instead. “VP Harris will appear via a pre-recorded message,” the communications director for the Archdiocese of New York, Joseph Zwilling, told Fox News Digital on Thursday. Harris’ snub of the historic Catholic charity event irked New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, the host of the dinner, on his podcast this week. HARRIS TO VIRTUALLY ATTEND CATHOLIC CHARITY DINNER THAT RIVAL TRUMP IS HEADLINING “This year will be imbalanced because sadly, Kamala Harris isn’t coming,” Dolan said on his podcast Wednesday. “It’s a shame because the nature of the evening is to bring people together. The nature of the evening is civility, patriotism, humor. It’s not a campaign speech. It’s not a campaign stop.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment on sending a pre-recorded video message for the event, but did not receive a reply. The campaign previously told Fox News that Harris was skipping the event to focus on campaigning in the battleground state of Wisconsin on Thursday. KAMALA HARRIS PLANS TO SKIP HISTORIC AL SMITH DINNER DESPITE LONG-STANDING TRADITION “The Vice President is going to be campaigning in a battleground state that day, and the campaign wants to maximize her time in the battlegrounds this close to the election. Her team also told the organizers that she would very much like to attend their event as President. This would make her one of the first sitting Presidents to attend,” the campaign said. The event this year, will instead focus on Trump’s in-person remarks, as well as Harris’ video – not the typical speaker schedule that spotlights the presidential candidates from both political parties while they lob lighthearted jabs at each other. TRUMP APPLAUDS CATHOLIC GROUP’S MULTI-MILLION ANTI-HARRIS CAMPAIGN APPEALING TO CHURCH FAITHFUL The Al Smith dinner was launched in 1946, and has raised millions of dollars for charities supporting women and children. It has since grown to become a political and cultural hallmark of election seasons. The dinner is named after the first Catholic presidential candidate, Al Smith, who served as the 42nd governor of New York. He ran for president as a Democrat in 1928. Trump has attended the event each election year since 2016, when he and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traded barbs that drew roaring laughter and some jeers from the crowd. “It’s great to be here with a thousand wonderful people, or, as I call it, a small intimate dinner with some friends. Or as Hillary calls it, her largest crowd of the season,” Trump quipped during his 2016 remarks. CARDINAL DOLAN ‘UPSET’ THAT HARRIS SKIPPING AL SMITH DINNER “People look at the Statue of Liberty and they see a proud symbol of our history as a nation of immigrants. A beacon of hope for people around the world. Donald sees the Statue of Liberty and sees a 4. Maybe a 5 if she loses the torch and tablet and changes her hair,” Clinton joked amid her remarks. Comedian Jim Gaffigan will emcee this year’s dinner. Gaffigan has notably joined “Saturday Night Live” in recent weeks to play the role of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’ running mate, during sketches mocking the election cycle. Trump has celebrated his third return to the dinner as the GOP’s presidential nominee, while also taking a shot at Harris for skipping attending the event. MORNING GLORY: WHY IS KAMALA HARRIS SKIPPING THE AL SMITH DINNER IN NEW YORK CITY? “It will be an honor to attend the SOLD OUT 79th ANNUAL AL SMITH DINNER on October 17th in New York. It will be great to see so many wonderful people there, including Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan. We know the Spirit of Al Smith, the first Catholic Nominee of a Major Party, and John F. Kennedy, the FIRST Catholic President, will be in the room with us that night,” Trump posted on Truth Social last month. “It was a virtual event in 2020, and I was delighted to speak to our Catholic friends that day and, of course, it was a HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL evening in 2016 when we were there in person with Crooked Hillary Clinton. The reviews of my remarks were TREMENDOUS. It’s sad, but not surprising, that Kamala has decided not to attend. I don’t know what she has against our Catholic friends, but it must be a lot, because she certainly hasn’t been very nice to them, in fact, Catholics are literally being persecuted by this Administration. Any Catholic that votes for Comrade Kamala Harris should have their head examined,” he added. The 2020 Al Smith dinner was held virtually as the pandemic and its government-mandated lockdowns upended society. Both Trump and President Biden virtually attended that year’s dinner. Dolan said he anticipates the dinner to raise roughly $9 million, which will be given to various charities to assist women and children in need, as part of the Church’s pro-life mission, according to a press release from the foundation. This year’s event will be held at New York Hilton Midtown, and kicks off at 7 pm. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Majority of Pennsylvania county sheriffs ‘wholeheartedly endorse’ Trump for president
EXCLUSIVE: The majority of county sheriffs in battleground state Pennsylvania endorsed former President Trump on Thursday, saying they are “confident in his leadership and ability to safeguard our country.” Fox News Digital obtained a letter signed by 49 of the 67 county sheriffs in the state, who said Trump is the best candidate to support law enforcement and secure the border. “As elected law enforcement officers in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, we consistently hear two messages from our constituents and neighbors: that they want safe communities for their families and children, and that they oppose radical defund-the-police agendas by career politicians,” they wrote. “That is why we are proudly standing with President Donald J. Trump and wholeheartedly endorse his candidacy for President of the United States.” FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: HARRIS LOSES HER LEAD AND A NEW ELECTORATE EMERGES The county sheriffs said that “even before” Trump was a candidate for office, he “stood shoulder-to-shoulder with police and law enforcement.” “He is the only candidate who has supported and continues to support law and order, law enforcement, and our duty to serve our communities and keep them safe,” they wrote. “This is most evident with our Southern Border.” FETTERMAN ADMITS ELON MUSK ‘ATTRACTIVE TO A DEMOGRAPHIC’ DEMOCRATS ‘NEED’ TO WIN PENNSYLVANIA The county sheriffs pointed to the unprecedented flow of illegal immigrants through the U.S. southern border under the Biden-Harris administration and stressed that “immigration is not only a border-state issue.” The county sheriffs pointed to the Trump administration, where they said the U.S. had “a secure border and proper enforcement of our immigration laws.” “World leaders respected President Trump, and border crossings fell,” they wrote. “Without his strong leadership, our border has been swung open – open to thousands of border crossers each day and unimaginable quantities of lethal drugs such as fentanyl and methamphetamine that are pouring right into Pennsylvania communities, bringing crime and devastation to countless families.” The county sheriffs said Trump “understands that we cannot have a functioning country without borders.” POPULAR PA DEMOCRATIC MAYOR WARNS TRUMP IS ‘OUT-MESSAGING’ HARRIS: ‘I GET MORE FROM COLBERT’ “He understands the destruction that an open border has brought to our country, our commonwealth, and our communities,” they continued. “He understands the critical role that law enforcement plays in maintaining safety, stability, law and order. And that’s why we are confident in his leadership and his ability to safeguard our country.” They added: “We know that President Trump backs the blue, and we are proud to back him as the 47th President of the United States of America.” INEFFECTIVE PLANNING, LACK OF CONNECTIONS HAS DEMS ON EDGE IN ‘KEY’ BATTLEGROUND OF PENNSYLVANIA: REPORT The counties represented by the sheriffs endorsing Trump include Adams, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Berks, Blair, Bradford, Bucks, Butler, Cambria, Cameron, Carbon, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Cumberland, Dauphin, Elk, Fayette, Forest, Franklin, Fulton, Greene, Huntingdon, Indiana, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lycoming, McKean, Mercer, Mifflin, Montour, Northumerland, Perry, Potter, Snyder, Somerset, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Venango, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Westmoreland and York. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP According to the Fox News Power Rankings as of Thursday, the race in Pennsylvania between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris is a toss-up. In September, the Harris-Walz campaign touted the endorsements of 101 law enforcement officials of varying ranks in states across the country.
Harris to virtually attend Catholic charity dinner that rival Trump is headlining
Vice President Kamala Harris will virtually attend the historic Al Smith dinner on Thursday evening, the Archdiocese of New York confirmed to Fox News Digital. “VP Harris will appear via a pre-recorded message,” the communications director for the Archdiocese of New York, Joseph Zwilling, told Fox News Digital on Thursday. Harris will be the first presidential candidate in 40 years to not physically attend the Catholic charity event – since 1984 when failed presidential Democratic candidate Walter Mondale skipped. Former President Trump will attend and address the sold-out audience during the event Thursday. Harris’ snub of the historic Catholic charity event irked New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan on his podcast this week. KAMALA HARRIS PLANS TO SKIP HISTORIC AL SMITH DINNER DESPITE LONG-STANDING TRADITION “This year will be imbalanced because, sadly, Kamala Harris isn’t coming,” Dolan said on his podcast Wednesday. “It’s a shame because the nature of the evening is to bring people together. The nature of the evening is civility, patriotism, humor. It’s not a campaign speech. It’s not a campaign stop.” He did add during the podcast that Harris was slated to appear via “Zoom.” “She’s sending a Zoom,” Dolan said during the podcast. Adding: “We have it already… I haven’t looked at it. There’s an embargo on it.” MORNING GLORY: WHY IS KAMALA HARRIS SKIPPING THE AL SMITH DINNER IN NEW YORK CITY? The Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner was launched in 1946, and has raised millions of dollars for charities supporting women and children, and has since grown to become a political and cultural hallmark of election seasons. The dinner is named after the first Catholic presidential candidate, Al Smith, who served as the 42nd governor of New York and ran for president as a Democrat in 1928. This year’s dinner will be emceed by comedian Jim Gaffigan, who has portrayed Harris’ running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in sketches on “Saturday Night Live” this fall. Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment and confirmation that Harris will virtually attend the event, but did not receive a reply. The campaign previously told Fox News that the vice president would not physically attend the event, focusing her time on campaigning in the battleground state of Wisconsin instead. TRUMP CAMPAIGN PREVIEWS AL SMITH DINNER REMARKS AMID HARRIS’ ABSENCE: ‘WON’T BE DISAPPOINTED’ “The Vice President is going to be campaigning in a battleground state that day, and the campaign wants to maximize her time in the battlegrounds this close to the election. Her team also told the organizers that she would very much like to attend their event as President. This would make her one of the first sitting Presidents to attend,” the campaign said. Trump attended the dinner in-person in 2016, as did then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and attended 2020’s virtual dinner due to the pandemic. CLINTON AND TRUMP TRADE JABS AT AL SMITH DINNER “It will be an honor to attend the SOLD OUT 79th ANNUAL AL SMITH DINNER on October 17th in New York. It will be great to see so many wonderful people there, including Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan. We know the Spirit of Al Smith, the first Catholic Nominee of a Major Party, and John F. Kennedy, the FIRST Catholic President, will be in the room with us that night,” Trump posted on Truth Social last month. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “It was a virtual event in 2020, and I was delighted to speak to our Catholic friends that day and, of course, it was a HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL evening in 2016 when we were there in person with Crooked Hillary Clinton. The reviews of my remarks were TREMENDOUS. It’s sad, but not surprising, that Kamala has decided not to attend. I don’t know what she has against our Catholic friends, but it must be a lot, because she certainly hasn’t been very nice to them, in fact, Catholics are literally being persecuted by this Administration. Any Catholic that votes for Comrade Kamala Harris should have their head examined,” he added. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Mike Johnson kicks off swing-state tour as GOP clings to House control
House Speaker Mike Johnson is embarking on a swing-state tour in the closing weeks of the election as Republicans fight to keep hold of their razor-thin majority in the House. Johnson’s “American Revival Tour” is making stops in Michigan this weekend, and additional events are being planned in Ohio and Pennsylvania, among other states. Its purpose is “highlighting House Republicans’ agenda for the next Congress,” Johnson’s political team told Fox News Digital. The Louisiana Republican has been crisscrossing the country in 24 states in a bid to keep and possibly expand the GOP’s control over the House. CLUB FOR GROWTH POURS $5M INTO TIGHT HOUSE RACES AS GOP BRACES FOR TOUGH ELECTION All three states are also being viewed as critical keys to victory for former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign. It is no surprise they line up considering Johnson’s efforts to unite the GOP behind the former president. A video rolling out the tour, previewed by Fox News Digital, features Johnson pledging, “We are going to win the White House, the Senate, and take back the House.” “We’re going to secure the border, unleash our energy sector, protect our rights, support working families, pursue peace through strength,” Johnson says in the video. “Everything is on the line. We will be able to restore those foundations, and we really truly can bring about an ‘American Revival.’” Johnson has been appearing with Republican incumbents and candidates across the country while also diving into the fundraising circuit – a baptism by fire for a previously little-known policy wonk who was rocketed to the national stage after the ouster of ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., roughly a year ago. SPEAKER JOHNSON RIPS ‘LACK OF LEADERSHIP’ IN BIDEN ADMIN’S HELENE RESPONSE: ‘ALARMED AND DISAPPOINTED’ The work he has put in appears to be paying off. Earlier this week, it was announced that Johnson raised $27.5 million from July through September, “the highest amount raised by a Republican Speaker of the House in the third quarter of a presidential election year,” according to his team. Of that, just over $8 million went to individual GOP candidates. That cash will likely be much needed as groups aligned with the House GOP continue to trail their Democratic counterparts. House Democrats’ campaign arm, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), outraised the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) in August, according to numbers released late last month. FORMER REPUBLICAN US SENATOR ENDORSES KAMALA HARRIS, SAYS ELECTION OFFERS ‘STARK CHOICE’ The DCCC raised $22.3 million in August, compared to $9.7 million by the NRCC. House Democrats ended that time period with more cash than the GOP as well – $87 million compared to $70.7 million. Meanwhile, Republicans in tight races like Reps. Marianette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, and Ken Calvert, R-Calif., have been trailing their Democratic challengers in terms of funding as of the latest fundraising quarter. Johnson is pivoting his “American Revival” tour to swing states after kicking off a pro-Trump event in Texas earlier this month.
Supreme Court to allow Biden admin power plant climate standards to remain in place – for now
The Supreme Court is allowing the Biden administration’s climate standards on power plant emissions to remain in place, declining an emergency request to temporarily block the rule while it moves through a lower court. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a final rule in April for pollution standards under the Clean Air Act to require that all coal-fired plants running in the long term reduce 90% of their carbon emissions by 2032. West Virginia, along with several other Republican-led states, filed an application for a stay to put a hold on the EPA emissions standard while they challenge the rule in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit — but the request was denied by the Supreme Court on Wednesday. Justice Clarence Thomas would have blocked the EPA rule, while Justice Samuel Alito did not participate in the decision, according to the denial of stay order reviewed by Fox News Digital. HARRIS TOUTS OIL PRODUCTION DURING 2024 RUN AFTER SAYING COMPANIES NEED TO ‘PAY THE PRICE’ FOR CLIMATE CHANGE Justice Brett Kavanaugh released a statement regarding why the standards will remain in place, for now. VOTERS TO FACE CLIMATE-RELATED BALLOT INITIATIVS, SUCH AS REPEALING LAW TO REDUCE EMISSIONS BY 95% BY 2050 “In my view, the applicants have shown a strong likelihood of success on the merits as to at least some of their challenges to the Environmental Protection Agency’s rule. But because the applicants need not start compliance work until June 2025, they are unlikely to suffer irreparable harm before the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decides the merits. So, this Court understandably denies the stay applications for now,” Kavanaugh said. West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, who is leading the challenge against the EPA rule in his state, said, “This is not the end of this case.” “We will continue to fight through the merits phase and prove this rule strips the states of important discretion while forcing plants to use technologies that don’t work in the real world,” Morrisey said in a statement. “Here, the EPA again is trying to transform the nation’s entire grid, forcing power plants to shutter.” The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), however, praised the court’s ruling. “Today, the Supreme Court rejected that end run around our country’s bedrock legal processes,” Vickie Patton, general counsel of EDF, wrote in a press release Wednesday after the ruling. “EPA’s protections will help address dangerous pollution, save people money, and create high quality jobs.”
Cardinal Dolan ‘upset’ that Harris skipping Al Smith Dinner
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, said he was “upset” that Vice President Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, is skipping out on the Al Smith charity dinner on Thursday. “This year will be imbalanced because, sadly, Kamala Harris isn’t coming,” Dolan said on an episode of his podcast Tuesday. “It’s a shame because the nature of the evening is to bring people together. The nature of the evening is civility, patriotism, humor. It’s not a campaign speech. It’s not a campaign stop.” Trump is expected to attend the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner on Thursday, while Harris is campaigning in Wisconsin as the Democratic presidential nominee turns her focus to the “blue wall” states, which Hillary Clinton neglected in the final weeks of her failed 2016 campaign. KAMALA HARRIS PLANS TO SKIP HISTORIC AL SMITH DINNER DESPITE LONG-STANDING TRADITION Dolan argued the dinner is “worth keeping, worth doing,” given it could raise $9 million for charity. “We’re upset that she didn’t come because we’ve missed an evening to access something sorely needed now that even she articulates rather eloquently: that we’ve got to turn the page on bitterness,” Dolan said of Harris on the podcast. “And the Al Smith, you know, traditionally tries to do that.” “It’s not a roast. There’s teasing, big time teasing,” the archbishop said of the dinner. “A lot of laughs. But, but it’s – it’s a grand evening. … A lot of people think it’s a Catholic campaign stop. Not really, no. I would say the evening is reflective of New York demographics.” “It’s not a Republican crowd. It’s not a Democratic crowd,” he said. “It’s kind of evenly split.” TRUMP APPLAUDS CATHOLIC GROUP’S MULTI-MILLION ANTI-HARRIS CAMPAIGN APPEALING TO CHURCH FAITHFUL Dolan said there’s a possibility of Harris appearing virtually. “The Vice President is going to be campaigning in a battleground state that day, and the campaign wants to maximize her time in the battlegrounds this close to the election,” the Harris campaign told Fox News, explaining her absence. “Her team also told the organizers that she would very much like to attend their event as president. This would make her one of the first sitting presidents to attend.” Hosted annually since 1946, the charity dinner has raised millions of dollars for New York’s women and children, according to the foundation’s website, and “has featured renowned cultural, business, and political figures, including most major party presidential nominees during election years since 1960.” Trump’s Make America Great Again (MAGA) PAC sent out an email Thursday noting that Harris would be the first presidential candidate to skip the annual Al Smith charity dinner since 1984. “Her radical policies are fundamentally at odds with Catholic teachings, and her history of anti-Catholic rhetoric has further alienated this crucial voting bloc,” the pro-Trump PAC wrote.
Biden admin moves to shield thousands of Lebanese nationals in US from deportation
The Biden administration announced Thursday that it will be moving to protect Lebanese nationals in the U.S. from deportation and allow them to obtain work permits, arguing that it can’t return them due to the conflict with Israel. The Department of Homeland Security announced that it is designating Lebanon for Temporary Protected Status, which allows nationals who are living in the U.S. already to obtain work permits and be shielded from deportation. The designation is for 18 months and applies to any national in the U.S. on Wednesday or earlier. TPS grants protection for nationals in countries found to be unsafe for them to be returned and is based on three grounds: armed ongoing conflict, environmental disasters or “extraordinary and temporary conditions.” HERE’S HOW THE US HAS HELPED A TINY FRACTION OF ITS CITIZENS EVACUATE WAR-TORN LEBANON This designation is being announced due to “ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions in Lebanon that prevent nationals of Lebanon from returning in safety.” “Those approved for TPS will be able to remain in the country while the United States is in discussions to achieve a diplomatic resolution for lasting stability and security across the Israel-Lebanon border,” DHS said in a press release. 1 YEAR AFTER HEZBOLLAH STRIKES, ISRAEL REINFORCES TROOPS AND QUESTIONS MOUNT OVER ‘LIMITED’ OPERATION Israel recently launched a ground invasion in Lebanon against Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has fired thousands of rockets into Israel. Israel began what it said were “limited, localized and targeted ground raids” in Lebanon on Oct. 1. Lebanon says more than 2,300 people have been killed in the past year and 77% of public schools are out of service, either because of their use as shelters or their location in areas impacted by the conflict. The TPS designation builds upon a move by President Biden in July to grant Deferred Enforced Departure (DED), which delays deportations for 18 months, for certain Lebanese nationals in July. But TPS acts as an immigration benefit rather than just an act of executive authority by the president. BIDEN AND NETANYAHU SPEAK AFTER REPORT US PRESIDENT CALLED ISRAELI COUNTERPART A ‘BAD F—ING GUY’ DHS estimates that approximately 11,000 Lebanese nationals will be eligible for protection under DED or TPS. It is the latest use of TPS by the administration, which has proved controversial in some cases. Conservatives have been angered by the use of TPS to protect Haitian and Venezuelan nationals, who are allowed into the U.S. on parole via a separate Biden-era program. Fox News’ Bill Melugin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
“More than our wombs”: Women in conservative Texas cities mobilizing to end GOP dominance
Democrats in Lubbock and Amarillo hope Kamala Harris’ candidacy and a backlash to abortion laws will help make their long-held vision of a blue wave a reality.
Nebraska high court restores voting right for thousands of convicted felons
The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the state attorney general does not have the authority to strip residents with felony criminal records of their right to vote, a major decision that could allow thousands of new voters to participate in the November elections – and have a possibly decisive sway in its outcome. The court’s unanimous decision restores the right to vote for Nebraska residents with felony criminal records upon completion of their sentence, doing away with a two-year waiting period that had been in place for the last two decades. The decision comes months after the Nebraska high court heard arguments in the case, which sought to restore voting rights for residents with felony criminal records in the state. Lawmakers had included the new voting rights provision in a state law, LB 20, earlier this year. However, that right was invalidated by Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen and Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers, who ruled in July that the law violated the Nebraska constitution and its separation of powers, under which they said only the state Board of Pardons has the authority to restore such rights. The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska immediately sued to overturn the decision, noting that if upheld, it could have restricted up to 7,000 residents in the state from voting in the November election. FLURRY OF PRE-ELECTION LEGAL CASES IS NOW ‘STANDARDIZED’ STRATEGY, EXPERTS SAY The court declined to weigh in on the merits of the case on Wednesday. Rather, the judges simply stated that Hilgers and Evnen had failed to meet the burden of proof required for defining the law as “unconstitutional,” and ordered Evnen to “remove any disqualification on registration he has imposed that is not contained within L.B. 20.” Evnen agreed to comply, saying in a statement that his office is “following the requirements of the decision.” “With our counties across the state, we are working to ensure that those who were made eligible to register to vote under LB 20 may now do so,” he added. The American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska praised the court’s decision Wednesday and urged all voters to check their registration status to ensure eligibility. The court’s ruling comes at a crucial time for Nebraska, whose voter registration deadline ends in just one week. CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE 2024 ELECTION It could also have a major impact on the results of the election, including the neck-and-neck presidential race and tight down-ballot races in Congress. Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional district is something of an anomaly. That is partly due to its unique system of assigning Electoral College votes. Though Nebraska is a Republican-led state, it is one of just two U.S. states whose electoral votes are assigned at the district level, with the remaining two votes assigned to the candidate who wins the majority. Besides Nebraska and Maine, other states rely on the “winner take all” system to assign their electoral votes. Additionally, its voter base is a solid-purple demographic that has voted for both former President Donald Trump and President Biden, respectively, in the last two presidential elections. Before then, Sen. Mitt Romney won the district during his 2012 bid for president, and former President Barack Obama captured the vote in 2008. Down-ballot races are also expected to be tight. Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer, a Republican, is facing a tough reelection bid this year, while Republican Rep. Don Bacon is fighting off state Sen. Tony Vargas, a Democrat, to keep his House seat. Now, with both Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris locked in a dead heat, it is possible that the district could have more sway than ever in deciding the next president. In such a tight election, Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District “could decide who the eventual winner will be,” Jimmy Keady, president of JLK Political Strategies, a national Republican consulting firm, told Fox News Digital last month.