An attorney discipline judge in California has recommended that ex-Trump election lawyer John Eastman be disbarred, according to an opinion released on Wednesday.
"Curb Your Enthusiasm" star Larry David shares how he feels about former President Donald Trump and the 2020 election. Watch the full episode of "Who's Talking to Chris Wallace," streaming March 29 on Max.
Texas Trey, a lifelong Republican voter, speaks with CNN's Laura Coates about why he plans to leave the party before the 2024 election.
Even before most Americans woke up to the news of the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, wild conspiracy theories about what supposedly had "really" happened were running rampant online. CNN's Donie O'Sullivan reports on some.
CNN's Katelyn Polantz breaks down the argument Donald Trump's lawyer made about the First Amendment to get the judge to dismiss Trump's election subversion case in Georgia.
A judge is holding a hearing Thursday on a motion to dismiss the Georgia 2020 election case against Donald Trump on First Amendment grounds. Follow here for the latest live news updates.
In a 2020 interview with CNN, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington criticized the manner of President Donald Trump's visit to St. John's Episcopal Church amid protests over the death of George Floyd.
A Republican state representative in Michigan, Rep. Matt Maddock, claimed on social media that he had photo evidence of "illegal invaders" arriving at Detroit Metro Airport. CNN's Daniel Dale explains that it only took a few minutes to find out it was the Gonzaga men's college basketball team arriving for their March Madness game.
CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten breaks down the latest campaign fundraising numbers for President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., met with Texas Governor Greg Abbott on the latter’s home turf on Thursday, where they discussed the ongoing border crisis and the House GOP’s response to it.
The meeting came hours after Johnson revealed that the House of Representatives would send articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate on April 10.
"By opening the border to criminals, traffickers, and cartels, the Biden administration is actively endangering the American people, our families, ranchers, and law enforcement. When the federal government fails to perform its constitutional duty to protect our borders, states have no choice but to fill that role," Johnson said in a statement after the meeting.
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"Right now, we’re witnessing a gross abuse of power as Biden’s Department of Justice uses the judicial system to go after the state of Texas for attempting to safeguard its citizens. Texans, and all Americans, deserve better."
Johnson expressed support for Abbott’s efforts to secure the border between Texas and Mexico, the speaker’s office said, and that the two discussed ways to "hold the Biden administration accountable."
The Louisiana Republican also briefed Abbott on the House readying to transmit the impeachment articles to the Senate, Johnson’s office said.
Abbott, in turn, urged Johnson to "pass border security legislation that will help stop illegal crossings between ports of entry along the southern border," the governor’s office said.
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"The Governor also implored Speaker Johnson to support the state's ongoing fight against President Biden's attacks on Texas' historic border mission and his refusal to secure the border," Abbott’s office said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on the meeting.
Abbott has been in a standoff with President Biden for months over differing views on how to handle the migrant crisis at the border.
The White House has criticized Abbott and Texas officials for actions carried out under Operation Lone Star, which has included putting up razor wire at the border and transporting migrants to Democrat-run cities like New York and Chicago. Texas officials have accused the White House, however, of not doing enough to stop the migrant crisis on the federal level.
MEXICAN PRESIDENT SAYS THE ‘FLOW OF MIGRANTS WILL CONTINUE’ UNLESS THE US MEETS HIS DEMANDS
House Republicans have similarly pressured Biden over the border crisis, repeatedly hammering him and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for failing to take up a strict border security bill, H.R.2, which Democrats have dismissed as a nonstarter.
Johnson sent a letter to Schumer on Thursday informing him that House impeachment managers would send the impeachment articles to his chamber on April 10 and urged him to hold a trial "expeditiously."
"As Speaker and impeachment managers of the U.S. House of Representatives, we write to inform you that we will present to you upon the Senate’s return, on April 10, 2024, the duly passed articles of impeachment regarding Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. We urge you to schedule a trial of the matter expeditiously," Johnson wrote alongside the 11 Republicans selected as impeachment managers.
The Biden administration finalized long-awaited regulations targeting emissions generated from heavy-duty vehicles, including trucks and buses, the latest salvo in President Biden's sweeping climate agenda.
The Environmental Protection Agency announced the new regulations Friday morning, and officials said they represent the strongest-ever greenhouse gas emissions standards of their kind. The rules will kick in beginning in 2026 for model year 2027 vehicles and progressively become more stringent through model year 2032, forcing a larger number of trucks and buses to be zero-emissions in that time frame.
"EPA’s standards complement President Biden’s unprecedented investment in our workers and communities to reduce harmful emissions, while strengthening our manufacturing capacity for the transportation technologies of the future," said White House Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi. "By tackling pollution from heavy-duty vehicles, we can unlock extraordinary public health, climate, and economic gains."
"In finalizing these emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles like trucks and buses, EPA is significantly cutting pollution from the hardest-working vehicles on the road," said EPA Administrator Michael Regan. "Building on our recently finalized rule for light- and medium-duty vehicles, EPA’s strong and durable vehicle standards respond to the urgency of the climate crisis by making deep cuts in emissions from the transportation sector."
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Overall, EPA said the aggressive standards will avoid a billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions and provide $13 billion in annualized net societal benefits related to public health, the climate and business savings. The agency claims that the regulations will set the heavy-duty vehicle industry on a "trajectory for sustained growth."
The new regulations apply to short-haul and long-haul tractor-trailer trucks, in addition to vocational trucks like delivery vehicles, garbage trucks, school and public transit buses, concrete trucks and fire trucks. EPA previously projected that the standards could lead to 50% of vocational trucks, 35% of short-haul tractor-trailers and 25% of long-haul tractor-trailers produced in 2032 being electric.
Less than 1% of new truck sales in the U.S. are zero-emissions, according to the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association, which represents the world’s leading manufacturers of heavy-duty vehicles.
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"With the climate crisis underway and many of our communities facing unprecedented fires, droughts and floods, it’s crucial that truck manufacturers get into the fast lane with zero-emission trucks to deliver the climate, health, and economic benefits we deserve," said Katherine Garcia, director of the Sierra Club’s Clean Transportation for All campaign.
Garcia and other environmental activists who lauded the regulations have for years called on the federal government to crack down on the trucking industry, pointing to its heavy carbon footprint. The transportation sector accounts for 29% of the nation's total greenhouse gas emissions, and medium- and heavy-duty trucks account for 23% of those emissions, federal data shows.
However, the announcement immediately received pushback from the trucking industry and energy producers, who argued that it would lead to higher costs for trucking companies.
"Small business truckers, who happen to care about clean air for themselves and their kids as much as anyone, make up 96% of trucking," said Todd Spencer, president of Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, an organization that represents more than 150,000 members across all 50 states and Canada. "Yet, this administration seems dead set on regulating every local mom-and-pop business out of existence with its flurry of unworkable environmental mandates."
MAINE REJECTS SWEEPING ELECTRIC VEHICLE MANDATE IN BLOW TO GOVERNOR'S CLIMATE AGENDA
In comments filed with the EPA last year, the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association warned that the administration had overestimated the nearer-term feasible market penetration and adoption rates of electric trucks, and the demand for them.
In a joint statement, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers President and CEO Chet Thompson and American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Mike Sommers called on Congress to immediately overturn the regulations. They also said they were prepared to take the administration to court over the rule.
"This is yet another example of the Biden administration’s whole-of-government effort to eliminate choices for American consumers, businesses and industries," Thompson and Sommers said. "There is significant uncertainty regarding the technological and infrastructure capability to comply with this rule, which may threaten the speed and cost of goods moving throughout the country."
130+ HOUSE, SENATE REPUBLICANS JOIN FORCES IN OPPOSITION OF BIDEN'S UPCOMING EV MANDATE
The regulations are also sure to attract considerable criticism from Republican lawmakers, who have for months warned the Biden administration against targeting the heavy-duty vehicle industry. Last week, Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said he would soon introduce a resolution to rescind the standards once they are finalized.
"In the midst of sustained, crippling inflation, President Biden is choosing to add more regulatory dead weight onto our economy and our critical supply chains," Sullivan said. "Hard-working families across the country will pay the price if this rule is allowed to stand. The cost of this rule will be felt in the rising price of gas, bread, eggs and other life essentials."
The final standards are somewhat less stringent than the first proposed standards in April 2023. They come one week after the EPA finalized its multi-pollutant emission standards for light- and medium-duty vehicles, the strongest of their kind to date.
Rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs, whose homes were raided this week as part of a federal human trafficking investigation, has been a staunch supporter of Democrats during his career.
Combs' Los Angeles home was searched Monday by Homeland Security officials, and agents were also seen at his home in Miami. A U.S. official confirmed to Fox News that the raids were linked to a federal human trafficking investigation.
Combs has leveraged his stardom and fame to back Democrats during his career, including President Biden during the 2020 elections, in what looked to be an attempt to persuade Black voters.
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Combs was part of a group of dozens of Black individuals who sent a letter to Biden in August 2020 urging him to select a Black vice presidential candidate, which appeared to reference reports that then-Sen. Kamala Harris was too "ambitious" to be his choice, The Hill reported.
"Was Joe Biden ever labeled 'too ambitious' because he ran for president three times? Should President Obama not have made him VP because he had to worry about his 'loyalty' when he clearly had AMBITIONS to be president himself?" the letter said.
"Why does Senator Kamala Harris have to show remorse for questioning Biden's previous stance on integrated busing during a Democratic primary debate?"
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In October 2020, Variety reported that Combs endorsed Biden while saying he "played the game" by endorsing Democrats for their views in the past, but said problems persisted.
He added that neither major political party has done enough for Black people and launched the so-called Our Black Party to bring Black voters behind a single agenda, the outlet reported.
Combs has also appeared to be friendly with former President Barack Obama.
In 2004, he interviewed the then-Illinois state senator for MTV's "Rock the Vote" campaign and later appeared friendly with him in pictures posted to social media.
"This week has been great," Combs wrote in a September 2017 Facebook post showing a photo of him and Obama. "Shout out to the king Barack Obama!!! #BlackExcellence"
Combs also said "white men like [Donald] Trump need to be banished" during a 2020 interview with Charlamagne tha God when he endorsed Biden's candidacy, CNN reported. Trump has appeared in pictures alongside Combs in the past, primarily at public events.
On Tuesday, Combs' lawyers said that the raids on his homes were "a gross use of military-level force" and maintained his innocence.
"Yesterday, there was a gross overuse of military-level force as search warrants were executed at Mr. Combs' residences," attorney Aaron Dyer said in a statement. "There is no excuse for the excessive show of force and hostility exhibited by authorities or the way his children and employees were treated."
Dyer said there has been "no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations" and called them a "witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits."
A Pennsylvania federal appeals court has ruled that mail-in ballots received without accurate handwritten dates on the outside of envelopes are not valid, a ruling that will have a significant impact on this year's elections in the key battleground state.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled 2-1 on Wednesday, overturning a lower court’s November decision.
The lower court had ruled that even without the proper dates, mail-in ballots should be counted if received on time. The court said that "trivial paperwork" errors disenfranchised voters and violated the Materiality Provision of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964, which states that immaterial errors or omissions should not be used to prevent voting.
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But in Wednesday’s federal appeals court’s opinion, Judge Thomas Ambro wrote that under a state legislature passed law, mail-in voters must write the date on their envelopes in order to make their vote effective.
"The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania unanimously held this ballot-casting rule is mandatory; thus, failure to comply renders a ballot invalid under Pennsylvania law," Ambro wrote.
The Materiality Provision "only applies when the State is determining who may vote," Ambro wrote.
Under a state law passed in 2019, Pennsylvania voters must "fill out, date and sign the declaration printed on [the] envelope" before returning their ballot.
Proponents of mail-in ballots argue it makes voting more convenient, as well as being easier for senior citizens and people with disabilities to vote. However, some Republicans say that the process raises serious election integrity issues, while former President Donald Trump has blasted the system as "totally corrupt" and blames it, in part, for his 2020 election loss.
In Pennsylvania, Democrats have been far more likely to vote by mail than Republicans.
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"This is a crucial victory for election integrity and voter confidence in the Keystone State and nationwide," Michael Whatley, the chair of the Republican National Committee said in a statement.
"Pennsylvanians deserve to feel confident in the security of their mail ballots, and this Third Circuit ruling roundly rejects unlawful left-wing attempts to count undated or incorrectly dated mail ballots."
The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, which helped represent groups and voters who challenged the date mandate, said that voters will lose as a result of the ruling.
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"If this ruling stands, thousands of Pennsylvania voters could lose their vote over a meaningless paperwork error," said Mike Lee, the executive director of the ACLU in Pennsylvania.
"The ballots in question in this case come from voters who are eligible and who met the submission deadline. In passing the Civil Rights Act, Congress put a guardrail in place to be sure that states don’t erect unnecessary barriers that disenfranchise voters. It’s unfortunate that the court failed to recognize that principle."
In the 2022 midterms, more than 7,600 mailed ballots in 12 counties were tossed because their outer envelopes lacked dates or had incorrect dates, according to the decision.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Georgia could join other states in requiring children younger than 16 to have their parents’ explicit permission to create social media accounts.
Lawmakers on Friday gave final approval to Senate Bill 351, which also would ban social media use on school devices and internet services, require porn sites to verify users are 18 or over and mandate additional education by schools on social media and internet use. The House passed the measure 120-45 and the Senate approved it 48-7.
The bill, which Republican Sen. Jason Anavitarte of Dallas called "transformative," now goes to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature or veto.
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A number of other states including Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and Utah passed laws last year requiring parental consent for children to use social media. In Arkansas, a federal judge in August blocked enforcement of a law requiring parental consent for minors to create new social media accounts.
Some in Congress also are proposing parental consent for minors.
State Rep. Scott Hilton, a Peachtree Corners Republican, argued the state should do more to limit social media use by children, saying it's causing harm.
"Every rose has a thorn, and that’s social media in this generation," Hilton said. "It’s great for connectivity and activism, but it has reared its ugly head on mental health."
But opponents warned the bill would cause problems. For example, Rep. David Wilkerson, a Powder Springs Democrat, said that the ban on use of social media in schools could ban teachers from showing educationally valuable YouTube videos.
"If we do pass this, we’ll be back fixing this next year, because there are too many issues with this bill," Wilkerson said.
The bill says social media services would have to use "commercially reasonable efforts" to verify someone's age by July 1, 2025.
Services would have to treat anyone who can't be verified as a minor. Parents of children younger than 16 would have to consent to their children joining a service. Social medial companies would be limited in how they could customize ads for children younger than 16 and how much information they could collect on those children.
To comply with federal regulation, social media companies already ban kids under 13 from signing up to their platforms, but children have been shown to easily evade the bans.
Up to 95% of teens aged 13 to 17 report using a social media platform, with more than a third saying they use them "almost constantly," the Pew Research Center found.
The Georgia bill also aims to shut down porn sites by requiring submission of a digitized identification card or some other government-issued identification. Companies could be held liable if minors were found to access the sites, and could face fines of up to $10,000.
"It will protect our children," said Rep. Rick Jasperse, a Jasper Republican who argues age verification will lead porn sites to cut off access to Georgians. In March, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Texas law, leading Pornhub to cut off access to Texans.
The Free Speech Coalition, which represents adult film makers, says the bill would be ineffective because users could mask their location and because people would be forced to transmit sensitive information. They also argue it's unconstitutional because there are less restrictive ways to keep children out and discriminate against certain types of speech. The coalition has sued multiple states over the laws.
The ban on school social media excludes email, news, gaming, online shopping, photograph editing and academic sites. The measure also requires a model program on the effects of social media and for students in grades 6-12, and requires existing anti-bullying programs to be updated.
The move comes after U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned in May that social media hasn’t been proven to be safe for young people.
Murthy called on tech companies, parents and caregivers to take "immediate action to protect kids now" and asked tech companies to share data and increase transparency and for policymakers to regulate social media for safety the way they do car seats and baby formula.
Meta, the parent of Facebook and Instragram, announced in 2022 it was taking steps to verify ages. Meta says it provides "age-appropriate experiences" for teens 13-17 on Instagram, including preventing unwanted contact from unknown adults.
Dozens of U.S. states, including California and New York, also are suing Meta Platforms Inc., claiming the company harms young people and contributes to a youth mental health crisis by knowingly and deliberately designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to its platforms.
Florida recently passed a law banning social media accounts for children under 14 regardless of parental consent and require parental permission for 14- and 15-year-olds.
Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., shared a brief post on social media Thursday evening, criticizing Republicans who are pushing to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
"Extreme MAGA Republicans are demanding a full impeachment trial in the Senate," Jeffries wrote in a post on X. "They want to continue the phony political stunt targeting the Homeland Security Secretary."
He added: "My response? Get lost."
The post comes as the U.S. Senate is going to receive House-passed articles of impeachment against Mayorkas next month.
JOHNSON TO FORMALLY HAND MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES TO SENATE, URGES TRIAL 'EXPEDITIOUSLY'
On Thursday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., notified Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., that the House of Representatives would formally send over the impeachment articles to his chamber on April 10.
In his letter to Schumer, Johnson urged him to hold an impeachment trial "expeditiously."
"As Speaker and impeachment managers of the U.S. House of Representatives, we write to inform you that we will present to you upon the Senate’s return, on April 10, 2024, the duly passed articles of impeachment regarding Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. We urge you to schedule a trial of the matter expeditiously," Johnson wrote.
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In February, all but three House Republicans voted to impeach Mayorkas over his handling, or mishandling as Republican content, of the U.S. southern border. It was the first time since 1876 that a cabinet secretary had been impeached.
Schumer‘s office told Fox News Digital that the Senate would initiate the impeachment trial once it receives the impeachment articles.
"As we have said previously, after the House impeachment managers present the articles of impeachment to the Senate, senators will be sworn in as jurors in the trial the next day. Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray will preside."
The trial is highly unlikely to result in a conviction.
Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind and Julia Johnson contributed to this report.
FIRST ON FOX: A California climate-focused law firm, which has received millions of dollars from left-leaning nonprofits, has quietly joined Massachusetts' persistent legal battle against the oil giant ExxonMobil.
According to court filings reviewed by Fox News, Sher Edling's founding partners, Vic Sher and Matt Edling, were admitted to the case of Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. ExxonMobil Corp. following a request from Seth Schofield, senior counsel for the Massachusetts Attorney General's Energy and Environment Bureau. Both Sher and Edling affirmed in separate affidavits that they would appear on behalf of the state.
Text from both affidavits, filed in Suffolk County Superior Court, read: "I am familiar with the facts and law relevant to the claims and defenses in this action, and my appearance and participation will aid the attorney general in her prosecution of this case."
It remains unclear what Sher Edling's exact role in the case will be and how its involvement will impact the many other Big Oil cases it is pursuing on behalf of more than a dozen states and cities. Sher Edling and the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office didn't respond to multiple requests for comment.
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In October 2019, then-Attorney General Maura Healey, a Democrat who is now the state's governor, filed the initial complaint against ExxonMobil, accusing the company of engaging in deceptive practices by failing to disclose the climate change risks posed by fossil fuels. The lawsuit came after a yearslong investigation into the company's day-to-day operations.
Healey said at the time that ExxonMobil "has known for decades about the catastrophic climate impacts of burning fossil fuels — its chief product."
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But ExxonMobil fired back, arguing in court that Massachusetts' allegations implicate the company's "right to petition as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution." It added that the state objects to the company's protected activities merely because they "influenced climate policy in a manner that is contrary to the policy objectives of the attorney general."
Sher Edling's involvement, meanwhile, adds to the growing list of cases the firm has taken up. It was founded in 2016 to pursue climate-related litigation against oil companies, arguing they have known about their impact on global warming for decades.
The firm is pursuing such litigation on behalf of Delaware, Minnesota, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Baltimore, Honolulu and several local governments across the country. Overall, more than 25% of Americans live in jurisdictions suing Big Oil for climate deception.
Though the entirety of Sher Edling's funding structure is unknown, the firm has for years raised millions of dollars from nonprofit organizations. These nonprofits shield the identities of their individual donors, effectively ensuring that anonymous individuals and groups play a pivotal role in the firm's climate litigation efforts.
According to tax filings, between 2017 and 2020, the Collective Action Fund for Accountability, Resilience, and Adaptation (CAF), a secretive group fiscally sponsored by Washington, D.C.-based New Venture Fund, wired more than $5.2 million to Sher Edling. In 2021, CAF funneled $3 million to the firm, and in 2022, it wired grants worth a total of $2.5 million to the firm.
In 2021, CAF switched its fiscal sponsorship from a smaller, dark new money group to New Venture Fund, which is managed by Arabella Advisors, a firm that oversees a liberal billion-dollar dark money network.
While CAF's, and by extension Sher Edling's, individual donors are also unknown, a previous Fox News Digital review showed past funding has flowed through the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
"As I’ve warned, it’s clear that radical, left-wing dark money groups are footing the bill for Sher Edling’s climate crusade with the goal of bankrupting American energy employers," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, previously told Fox News Digital. "New Venture Fund and Sher Edling’s litigious gamble is nothing but an attempt at achieving a goal lacking majority support in Congress: the eradication of fossil fuels."
Cruz, who is the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, and Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the House Oversight Committee chair, have conducted a wide-ranging probe into Sher Edling and its ties to the Biden administration, an investigation which is ongoing.
ExxonMobil didn't respond to a request for comment for purposes of this story.
A senior House Republican is predicting that a funding package to help with the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore would begin to take shape "in a matter of weeks."
House Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., who also leads the House Appropriations Committee’s subcommittee on transportation, spoke with Fox News Digital days after a barge struck the bridge, destroying the structure and forcing the Port of Baltimore to temporarily shut down. Six construction workers who were on the bridge at the time are since presumed dead.
Cole said there are ongoing discussions about what role Congress has to play, and that a funding package could be "well beyond just the construction of the bridge."
"We have to wait for a damage estimate. And this could be a little more complex than normal. There's obviously the bridge itself, but there's also… potential damages relating to the interruption of traffic at the port," Cole explained. "Certainly, we stand ready to work very closely with both federal and state officials."
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Any funding package for the bridge would likely have to go through Cole's subcommittee — the House Appropriations Committee controls the purse strings of Congress.
Asked about when Congress could start working on a package in earnest, Cole said, "Sometimes it takes a while, and you want to be very sure that you really do include everything. So it would probably be a matter of weeks."
"We've had a good exchange with the Department of Transportation. There are a number of things they are doing and can do right now. They have the ability to advance money for debris removal. They've got an emergency fund for meeting expenses. So there are resources there to do the things that need to be done," Cole said.
On the timing, he explained, "A lot of this depends on, you know, do you want to attach it to something else, or do you want it to stand alone?," adding that figuring out the congressional committees of jurisdiction could also take some time.
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"It’s a terrible tragedy. My heart breaks for people that have lost their lives in this. We’re certainly sensitive to the fact that this has real larger economic implications for the region and, frankly, for the national economy, as well. So we’re going to do the things we can to be helpful," Cole said.
Two House members from Maryland suggested to Fox News Digital that they’d prefer the package not be linked to other legislation.
"Given the local, regional and national impact of this tragedy, our delegation will be pushing hard to ensure that the process for moving the funding legislation forward is expedited and straightforward," said Rep. John Sarbanes, D-Md., who represents part of Baltimore.
Sarbanes pushed for swift congressional consideration, telling Fox News Digital, "We will be pressing for quick action to deliver these essential funds to the families and communities who are feeling the impact of this horrific incident."
Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., said bluntly, "If you attach unrelated legislation, it’s going to kill this."
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Harris, however, warned against committing funding until the federal government and Maryland state government could consider waiving environmental and other regulatory restrictions to hasten reconstruction.
"I think certainly we shouldn't commit any funds until we've addressed the issue of whether or not we're going to streamline the regulation process. This regulation process adds cost," Harris said. "We should discuss, you know, whether we can waive some of the environmental requirements and regulations for studies, as well as some of the labor regulations that the administration has sought for major projects that increase the costs."
Cole anticipated it was "likely" a package would not include unrelated measures.
"There's not likely to be much entangled with this. It's pretty straightforward. I've just wanted to leave the possibility out there simply because, with all due respect to my two colleagues, none of the three of us make that decision," Cole said. "But again, I have no reason to believe that the folks that do… will not be sympathetic."
It’s not immediately clear how much the rebuilding would cost. The White House and the Department of Transportation did not return multiple requests for comment on the price tag, which Bloomberg and Roll Call have reported the figure to be at least $2 billion.
Fox News Digital also reached out to Speaker Mike Johnson’s office for comment.
The White House is moving forward with its campaign to confirm judicial nominee Adeel Mangi and pushing back on claims that he is antisemitic or against law enforcement, despite several Democratic senators expressing concern over the nominee's organizational ties and casting doubt on his chances of garnering enough votes.
According to a White House official, Biden's team is keeping the pressure on senators to confirm Mangi, who is nominated to serve on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, dismissing attacks on him as false. The official said those focused on lobbying senators to support the nominee are White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, White House Director of Legislative Affairs Shuwanza Goff, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs Ali Nouri, White House Counsel Ed Siskel, and White House senior counsel in charge of nominations Phil Brest.
Zients said in a statement to Fox News Digital, "Some Senate Republicans and their extreme allies are relentlessly smearing Adeel Mangi with baseless accusations that he is anti-police."
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"That could not be further from the truth and the close to a dozen law enforcement organizations that have endorsed him agree," he said, pointing to several new endorsements of Mangi by three former attorneys general in New Jersey, two former U.S. attorneys who served in the state, the International Law Enforcement Officers Association, the Italian American Police Society of New Jersey and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.
"The Senate must confirm Mr. Mangi without further delay," Zients said.
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Chances of Mangi being confirmed have appeared grim in recent weeks as allegations of antisemitism have been spotlighted due to his previous role on the board of advisers for the Rutgers University Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR). The center has sponsored events, including one on the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, with controversial speakers like Hatem Bazian, who in 2004 called for an "Intifada," according to video from an anti-war protest in San Francisco, and Sami Al-Arian, who in 2006 pleaded guilty to "conspiring to provide services to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad," according to the Justice Department.
The CSRR has also hosted an event with Noura Erakat, who had previously been advertised as a panelist for a separate event alongside Hamas commander Ghazi Hamad.
Mangi has also been accused of being against law enforcement because of his role as a current advisory board member for the Alliance of Families for Justice (AFJ). The alliance's founding board member, Kathy Boudin, pleaded guilty to the felony murder of two police officers in 1981 after they died during the robbery of an armored truck. The robbery was carried out by Boudin's group, the Weather Underground Organization, which was recognized as a domestic terrorist organization by the FBI.
Neither the CSRR nor AFJ provided comments to Fox News Digital.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital in a statement, "It is unsurprising that Mangi’s record has split Senate Democrats, and the White House should recognize their error, withdraw Mangi’s nomination, and instead nominate a candidate who can garner widespread bipartisan support."
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said Mangi's "well-known ties to this extreme organization that supports terrorists and cop killers makes him wholly unqualified to serve as an appellate judge."
JOHNSON TO FORMALLY HAND MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES TO SENATE, URGES TRIAL 'EXPEDITIOUSLY'
Biden's White House has previously hit back at criticism of Mangi, calling it a "malicious and debunked smear campaign" prompted by the nominee's potential to become the first Muslim appellate judge.
While Judiciary Republicans had already sounded alarm bells over Biden's pick last year after probing Mangi about his connections to the groups, Democratic senators appeared likely to fall in line behind the president's choice.
However, after a recent report indicated Biden was being privately warned that Mangi may not have enough votes for confirmation, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., revealed she was one of the lawmakers to reach out to the White House with concerns.
The senator previously confirmed her stance against the nominee to Fox News Digital, citing his connection to AFJ.
Several other Democratic senators recently refused to say whether they would support Mangi.
The office of Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., confirmed to Fox News Digital that he is also committed to voting against Biden's pick.
Cortez Masto and Manchin were recently joined by Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., who said in a statement, "Given the concerns I’ve heard from law enforcement in Nevada, I am not planning to vote to confirm this nominee."
Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, the law firm at which Mangi is a partner, did not provide comment to Fox News Digital.
The loss of any Democratic support is a concern for Mangi's confirmation prospects, given the Senate's close 51-49 split in favor of the Democratic caucus.
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Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., called on Biden last week to withdraw the nomination, and now Republicans are reinforcing their campaign against Mangi's confirmation.
"The White House can’t defend Adeel Mangi’s record. So, they’re launching personal attacks against anyone who notices the ties to cop-killers and antisemites that Mr. Mangi has forged of his own free will," Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said in a statement.
He added, "It’s not Islamophobic for senators to recognize" a nominee's failure to meet qualifications.
"Now even his own Democrat party is rebelling against [Biden]," Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., remarked in a statement, attributing it to the president's "push for radical, anti-Israel nominees."
On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary GOP revealed three additional law enforcement groups were opposing Biden's choice, bringing the total to 17. The Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Police, Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5 and Pennsylvania State Troopers Association penned a joint letter to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Ranking Member Graham; and Pennsylvania Sens. Bob Casey and John Fetterman, who are both Democrats.
The court that Mangi has been nominated to serve on is located in Philadelphia.
The Pennsylvania-based groups noted their letter is on behalf of over 40,000 members requesting that the Senate "reject the nomination" of Mangi, citing his AFJ affiliation.
President Biden appeared with his predecessors — former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton — at a star-studded fundraiser in New York City on Thursday night expected to fetch more than $25 million toward his re-election campaign.
The one-night event was held at Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan. More than 5,000 people were expected at the sold-out gala. The event isn't cheap.
Organizers charged a minimum of $250 to attend and up to $500,000 for a more intimate, exclusive reception. For $100,000, guests can get a photo with all three presidents taken by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz.
Stephen Colbert, host of "The Late Show," moderated a discussion with Biden and two former commanders-in-chief in front of thousands of guests.
Entry to a smaller, virtual event with Biden, Clinton and Obama costs $25.
Musicians Queen Latifah, Lizzo, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo and Lea Michele are slated to perform, Reuters reported.
Biden, who has routinely raised more campaign cash than former President Trump, raised more than $53 million in February, and $10 million in the 24 hours following his March 7 State of the Union address.
"This historic raise is a show of strong enthusiasm for President Biden and Vice-President [Kamala] Harris and a testament to the unprecedented fundraising machine we’ve built," said Jeffrey Katzenberg, the Hollywood film mogul who serves as Biden campaign co-chair, said in a statement.
BIDEN CHOOSING FUNDRAISER OVER NYPD WAKE ‘INSULTING,' SAYS EX-FBI AGENT
"Unlike our opponent, every dollar we’re raising is going to reach the voters who will decide this election — communicating the president’s historic record, his vision for the future and laying plain the stakes of this election. The numbers don’t lie: today’s event is a massive show of force and a true reflection of the momentum to re-elect the Biden-Harris ticket."
Obama is still very popular with young voters and progressives, who have voiced disdain over Biden's support for Israel after its response to the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas. Thursday's fundraiser was met with pro-Palestinian protests outside Radio City Music Hall.
Video footage taken from outside Radio City Music hall showed protesters clashing with police and accusing Biden of being complicit in the deaths of residents of the Gaza Strip at the hands of Israeli forces.
During the event, several people interrupted the presidents' during the question-and-answer portion of the night.
"You can't just talk and not listen," Obama said before the audience gave him a standing ovation.
Another shouted: "You’re out of your f----- minds," while being escorted out of the building.
As the event got underway, emcee Mindy Kaling joked that it was nice to be in a room with "so many rich people," adding that she loved they were supporting a president who "openly" promised to "raise your taxes."
"The reason we are here is to re-elect President Joe Biden," she said.
As Biden was preparing for the event Thursday, Trump was some 40 miles away on Long Island to attend the wake for slain New York police officer Jason Diller, who was fatally shot this week during a traffic stop in Queens.
After the service, Trump emphasized law and order.
"Such a sad, sad event. Such a horrible thing. And it's happening all too often and we're just not going to let it happen," Trump said. "We need law and order."
The White House offered its condolences to Diller's family and NYPD, saying Biden has stood law enforcement his entire career.
"The President has stood with law enforcement his entire career and continues to stand with them as they put their lives on the line for their communities," she said. "Under his leadership, we will continue to support police officers and ensure that they have resources they need to continue — to continue to do the work — the all-important that — work that they have to do on behalf of the community."
President Joe Biden was joined Thursday by two of his Democratic predecessors for a star-studded fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall that his campaign said brought in more than $26 million.
A Texas appeals court tossed out a woman's five-year prison sentence for voting illegally Thursday, ending a yearslong saga that garnered national attention.
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. — A Michigan state lawmaker involved in former President Donald Trump’s election denials is being widely criticized making false claims that buses carrying college athletes to Detroit for March Madness were shuttling illegal migrant “invaders” into the city.
President Biden was joined by former Presidents Obama and Clinton at the event at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The Biden campaign said the event will raise $25 million. Former President Trump attended the wake of a New York police officer who was shot and killed this week. NBC News' Gabe Gutierrez reports.
The Republican chairman of the House Oversight panel formally invited President Joe Biden to testify before his committee as a part of its impeachment probe.
Kari Lake is struggling to win over her Republican skeptics in her Arizona Senate campaign. Biden is stockpiling cash as Trump faces a perilous moment.
NBC News Foreign Correspondent Raf Sanchez joins Meet the Press NOW to discuss the diplomatic relationship between the U.S. and Israel as the war in Gaza continues.
NBC News Senior National Political Reporter Sahil Kapur explains the state of impeachment efforts against U.S. Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and President Biden.
PHOENIX — This winter, Kari Lake was facing a daunting reality: The voters who rejected her in her 2022 run for governor could now jeopardize her entire political future.
Bills against book bans are gaining traction in state legislatures around the country — and with them have come worries about the potentially negative impact on libraries themselves.
A Texas appeals court has overturned a woman's voter fraud conviction and five-year sentence for casting an illegal provisional ballot
Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and some big names from the entertainment world have delivered a rousing New York embrace of President Joe Biden at a campaign fundraiser that hauled in a record-setting $26 million-plus for the incumbent's reelection campaign
Voters in the pivotal swing state of Wisconsin and three Northeastern states will weigh in on their respective parties' presumptive nominees in upcoming presidential primaries
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will compete in the Wisconsin presidential primaries, a contest that’s now less about winning delegates and more about carrying the pivotal state in November
Voters in three Arkansas state House districts are returning to the polls to complete some unfinished business from the March 5 primaries
NBC News' messy hiring and firing of former Republican National Committee head Ronna McDaniel puts a spotlight on television's practice of paying on-air political contributors
Georgia lawmakers have approved new rules for challenging voters and qualifying for the state’s presidential ballot
Chicago plans to close five shelters for migrants in the coming weeks
Georgia lawmakers are agreeing on pay raises for public school teachers and state employees, although they still have differences to work out in the upcoming budget
Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry has died a day after after experiencing a medical emergency related to his stomach cancer
President Biden vows to keep "working every day" for the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who's been "wrongfully detained" by Russia for a year.
The endorsement of President Biden comes as independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is calling on his family's ties to the Latino community and the civil rights leader.
"With such a tiny majority, all it would take is a tiny number of Republicans to decide ... they want to go and leave immediately," one expert said.
President Biden is in New York City for a fundraiser with former Presidents Obama and Clinton at Radio City Music Hall. The event is expected to bring in some $25 million, increasing the fundraising gap between Mr. Biden and his presumptive opponent, former President Trump. Caitlin Huey-Burns reports.
House impeachment managers are set to present the articles of impeachment against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate upon Congress' return from recess next month.
GOP Rep. James Comer of Kentucky asked President Biden to appear on April 16, an invitation he is almost certain to decline.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are mourning the loss of Joe Lieberman, 82, a longtime senator from Connecticut who was once the Democratic Party's nominee for vice president in 2000. He died Wednesday in New York City from complications from a fall, according to a statement from his family.
The wife and children of American Ryan Corbett, who is being held hostage by the Taliban, say they are worried his health has "significantly deteriorated."
A three-judge federal district court panel ruled in January 2023 that South Carolina's Congressional District 1 was racially gerrymandered.
The Biden administration is ordering agencies to put safeguards in place to protect Americans' security and privacy.
Live updates from the 2024 campaign trail, with the latest news on presidential candidates, polls, primaries and more.
A Texas appeals court reversed its earlier opinion that had upheld the conviction of Crystal Mason, who was found guilty of illegally casting a provisional ballot in 2016, even though she claimed she hadn’t known she was ineligible to vote.
A granddaughter of the celebrated Maine brand’s founder, she set out as an entrepreneur in her mid-60s and used her wealth to fund right-wing causes.
At a daylong retreat, 175 of the president’s biggest financiers and fund-raisers will hear from top campaign officials.
President Biden raised $25 million at a Radio City Music Hall event, adding to his huge cash edge, after Donald Trump pushed his law-and-order message at a wake for a police officer killed on duty.
They argue that quickly dispensing with the charges, as senators in both parties are inclined to do, would be an affront to Americans.
Mr. Trump called the officer’s death a horrible tragedy and, as he often does on the trail, broadly called for a crackdown on violent crime without mentioning specific policies.
Justice Clarence Thomas gave Crystal Clanton a home and a job after she left a conservative youth organization in controversy. Then the justice picked her for one of the most coveted positions in the legal world.
The new regulation reverses a Trump-era policy that expanded access to health plans with fewer benefits than those sold on the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces.
A federal judge is expected to rule soon on whether the government must provide shelter, food and medical care to minors while they await processing.
The former president’s son hemmed and hawed before eventually working in a Biden slam.
The president claimed he even offered the presumptive GOP nominee an unfair advantage when he made the offer in person in 2020.
The Pennsylvania senator used an off-color term to describe the longtime Republican strategist.
Speculation by Joe Kent, currently running for Congress in Washington, is similar to the line taken by Russian state propaganda.
MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace asked ex-White House communications director why it's "so hard" for people to speak out against the former president.
The SSI program disallows beneficiaries from saving money, but new rule changes will allow them to accept food from friends without losing benefits.
The “Curb Your Enthusiasm star called Trump “amazing” — but not for a good reason.
Audio depicts the recently retired House Republican taking a swipe at Boebert during a local Rotary Club meeting.
"I mean, is there no depth to which he will not descend?" asked Andrew Weissmann.
The longtime Democratic strategist dished out several election predictions on MSNBC.
Pope Francis washed the feet of 12 women inmates at a Roman prison Thursday evening, the first time any pope included no men in the Holy Thursday ritual.
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The presidential press pool spotted Hunter Biden on Thursday waiting around to attend Stephen Colbert's high-dollar fundraiser in New York City with his father and former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
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"The largest crane on the East Coast " has arrived in Baltimore to start clearing away the twisted wreckage of the Scott Key Bridge.
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Former President Barack Obama snapped at protesters at a glitzy star-studded fundraiser in New York City meant to bring in millions for President Joe Biden's 2024 presidential campaign.
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Grammy winning pop star Lizzo's appearance at the celebrity drenched New York fundraiser for President Joe Biden on Thursday night drew an angry response from one party in particular.
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On Thursday’s broadcast of CNN’s “AC360,” CNN Political Commentator and former Obama adviser Van Jones said that the economy is an issue where “actual reality and emotional reality have not lined up” for President Joe Biden because while there are many
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During an interview released on Thursday, NPR International Correspondent Daniel Estrin asked Luis Har, an Israeli taken hostage by Hamas during the October 7 terror attack, about claims by the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza that airstrikes that the Israeli military
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Four people have died after falling into the sea in three incidents on Spain's Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts.
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Details in the lawsuits against music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs allege a debaucherous lifestyle of underage sex, drugs, beatings, and rapes.
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Dozens of men clashed as a riot broke out at a Paris airport amid efforts to deport a Kurdish activist from the country.
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