NationalWatch

A record-high number of Americans see large numbers of illegal immigrants coming into the U.S. as a “critical threat” to U.S. interests, according to a new poll published Tuesday.

The Gallup poll found that 55% of U.S. adults say that “large numbers of immigrants entering the United States illegally” are a “critical threat” to U.S. vital interests. That is up 8% from 2023 and higher than the previous high of 50% in 2004.

Of those polled, 31% said large numbers of immigrants entering illegally is an “important” threat while 14% said it was not important.

BIDEN ADMIN WEIGHS EXECUTIVE ACTION ON BORDER CRISIS, DRAWING FIRE FROM LEFT AND RIGHT

The country is now in the third year of a historic border crisis. The record for yearly encounters at the southern border was broken last fiscal year when more than 2.4 million migrants were encountered at the border. The monthly record for encounters was set in December when there were more than 300,000 encounters for the first time.

In the poll, 28% of Americans say immigration is the most important problem facing the U.S., sharply higher than in January when the number was 20%. The polling highlights immigration as the most-named problem, above government (20%), the economy (12%) and inflation (11%).

That 28% essentially ties the 27% recorded in July 2019 as the highest since Gallup began polling mentions of immigration in 1981.

The poll was conducted between Feb. 1 and Feb. 20, based on a sample of 1,016 adults via telephone interviews. It comes as immigration remains in the spotlight due to a debate in Congress over a supplemental border funding bill, which stalled amid opposition from Republicans and some Democrats, and the continued impact the migrant crisis is having on cities and states across the country.

Republicans have blamed the crisis on the policies of the administration, including the rollback of Trump-era policies like border wall construction and the Remain in Mexico policy. The administration and Democrats have instead blamed Republicans for failing to approve funding and a comprehensive immigration reform bill to fix a broken system.

7.2M ENTERED US UNDER BIDEN ADMIN, AN AMOUNT GREATER THAN POPULATION OF 36 STATES

The Senate bill would have increased personnel at the border, provided additional funding and imposed some limits on migrant releases into the U.S., but conservatives warned that it would normalize an already high level of illegal immigration.

The polling comes just days after it was revealed that the suspect charged in connection with the murder of 22-year-old Georgia nursing student Laken Riley is an illegal immigrant originally from Venezuela.

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Meanwhile, as Congress continues to struggle to find legislation it can pass and send to the president’s desk, Gallup finds its approval rating has fallen to 12%, just a few points higher than the all-time low of 9% in November 2023.

Michigan voters hit the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots in the state-run primary, with both Republicans and Democrats making their pick for their party’s 2024 nominee. 

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time. Most of the state runs on Eastern Standard Time, but four counties in the Upper Peninsula observe Central Time.

Democrat primary voters can choose from President Biden and his challengers, Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota and author Marianne Williamson. Those voters will also have the option to cast an “uncommitted” vote.

Meanwhile, Republican voters on Tuesday will have their choice from former President Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, the only two GOP candidates left in the race, and others who have since dropped out, including former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. There are 16 delegates at stake.

TRUMP SAYS SOUTH CAROLINA IS ‘BIGGER WIN THAN WE ANTICIPATED,’ LOOKS FORWARD TO SAYING ‘JOE, YOU’RE FIRED’

Michigan’s Democrat-controlled legislature set the state’s primary date earlier than usual this year to comply with the wishes of the Democratic National Committee. But shifting the date for the Democrats pushed the Republicans out of compliance with the Republican National Committee (RNC). 

To avoid a penalty from the RNC, Michigan Republicans came up with a split-primary system, with voters casting ballots on Tuesday and on March 2.

TRUMP ‘REALLY NOT THINKING ABOUT’ HALEY AFTER SOUTH CAROLINA VICTORY, SAYS HE’S FOCUSED ON BEATING BIDEN

On Saturday, the Michigan GOP will hold a party-run convention in Detroit. The winner of that contest could receive up to 39 delegates, although they will be distributed by district. There are 13 total districts and three delegates per district. 

During that contest, voters only have the choice between Trump and Haley.

Michigan has a total of 55 pledged delegates.

Trump previously dominated the Iowa Caucuses, left New Hampshire with a commanding victory, swept the caucuses in Nevada and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and then won South Carolina with a “bigger win” than he anticipated, he said.

“I’m very honored by the elections,” he told Fox News Digital during an exclusive interview after his South Carolina victory on Saturday. “We’re setting records in every single state.”

Trump on Saturday looked ahead to Michigan and predicted a victory because “the autoworkers are going to be with us 100% because they got sold out by this country.” 

FOX NEWS POLL: BIDEN AND TRUMP IN CLOSE RACE IN MICHIGAN

Haley, despite losing another contest — this time in her home state of South Carolina — vowed to stay in the race.

Michigan’s government is under full control by the Democrats.

Republicans dominated in Michigan elections from 1972 through 1988. But the state became part of a so-called “blue wall” that backed Democrat nominees in six straight presidential elections from 1972 through 2012.

Trump changed the equation in 2016, and his narrow flipping of the state helped him win the White House over Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton.

But President Biden captured Michigan by nearly three points in the 2020 election as he brought Michigan back into the Democrats’ column and denied Trump reelection.

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Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

House Democrats have found a new political cudgel for the November 2024 elections after the Alabama Supreme Court’s recent ruling triggered a stoppage to IVF treatment around the state.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), House Democrats’ campaign arm, held a press conference on Monday morning to tie House Republicans to the ruling, even as top GOP figures continue to speak out for IVF access and accuse Democrats of twisting the issue.

“House Republicans have furthered this agenda at every turn. They want a national abortion ban, full stop. With their razor-thin majority, they have pushed anti-abortion, anti-freedom policies, including legislation that would double down on the Alabama court’s ruling and ban IVF nationwide,” DCCC Chair Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., told reporters.

It’s a similar playbook to the one Democrats followed after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.

ALABAMA IVF RULING REIGNITES DEBATE ON ABORTION, A MOTIVATING ISSUE FOR DEMOCRATS AHEAD OF ELECTION

Indeed, DelBene pointed to Democratic victories in states where abortion access was on the ballot and suggested the left would keep that momentum up in the wake of Alabama’s ruling.

“It has proven to be a losing issue for Republicans, whether in New York, Wisconsin, Ohio, Kansas, or dozens of other states across the country, we’ve seen voters head to the ballot box to defend their rights,” DelBene said. “And in this election, we’re fighting for our rights, our freedoms, our families, and Republicans keep making clear that they’re willing to do anything to rip those away.”

A cornerstone of House Democrats’ push is the GOP’s Life At Conception Act, which says life starts at the moment of conception and which critics warn could lead to nationwide abortion restrictions. With no mention of IVF, Democrats have argued that the bill’s lack of protections for the procedure could allow for its restriction as well. 

But Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., one of the 125 Republicans supporting the bill who is also one of the right’s leading voices on reproductive health access, said the accusation is “a leftist myth.”

TRUMP BREAKS SILENCE ON ALABAMA SUPREME COURT IVF RULING: ‘FIND AN IMMEDIATE SOLUTION’

“Some people are getting knocked for signing on to the Life of Conception Act, but that act doesn’t do anything to ban or prohibit access to IVF. That’s a leftist myth. What it does do is, it says the scientific fact that life begins at conception. That’s basic science, most people feel that way,” Mace said.

Alabama’s conservative Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that three couples trying in vitro fertilization (IVF) who lost their frozen embryos in an accident at a storage facility in the state are able to sue the medical providers for wrongful death of a child.

Since then, three Alabama medical facilities have stopped providing IVF treatment.

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM PAUSES IN VITRO FERTILIZATION FOLLOWING STATE SUPREME COURT EMBRYO RULING

It’s prompted pushback from key national Republicans like Mace, who told Fox News Digital she plans to introduce a resolution to support IVF access on a federal level.

“It’s a lie,” Mace said of the left-wing efforts to lump Republicans together on reproductive rights. “I’ve always believed that life begins at conception, that’s a belief of mine. That doesn’t mean I want to ban IVF.”

Mace warned fellow Republicans on Monday that IVF could be a “huge issue” and urged them to be “on board” with speaking out in support of the procedure.

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She dismissed concerns that it could be an election problem for Republicans, however, pointing to IVF access’ support from high-level Republicans like former President Donald Trump. Trump said at a rally over the weekend that he would “strongly support the availability of IVF.”

“I really liked seeing Donald Trump’s comments at the rally at Rock Hill on Friday. He’s spot on, 100%. That is where we need to be as a party,” Mace said.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also spoke out in favor of IVF access, as have a large share of establishment and moderate Republicans.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) told Fox News Digital, “Republican mothers, grandmothers, and foster parents all looked voters directly in the eyes and said they support IVF access. Democrats are cynically twisting a serious family issue and expecting voters to believe their lies; they’re going too far, and it will blow up in their faces.”

The NRCC also pointed out that Republicans targeted by the DCCC over the IVF ruling have spoken out in favor of the procedure.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has requested a judge impose a gag order on former President Donald Trump with less than a month to go until the hush money criminal court case goes to trial.

In three separate court filings dated Feb. 22, 2024, Bragg and his team asked for an order preventing Trump from making statements attacking others involved in his legal cases, sought a protective order to prohibit the names and addresses of jurors from being disclosed to anyone other than attorneys and requested evidence and testimony regarding campaign finance be limited.

Prosecutors claim Trump has a history of verbally attacking people involved in his cases.

“Defendant has a long history of making public and inflammatory remarks about the participants in various judicial proceedings against him, including jurors, witnesses, lawyers, and court staff,” prosecutors state. “Those remarks, as well as the inevitable reactions they incite from defendant’s followers and allies, pose a significant and imminent threat to the orderly administration of this criminal proceeding and a substantial likelihood of causing material prejudice.”

COURT DATES AND PRIMARIES: TRUMP FACES COMPETING CALENDARS IN 2024

Jury selection for the criminal trial is scheduled to begin on March 25.

The DA’s office requested the names and addresses of those jurors who are selected not to be disclosed to anyone other than counsel, citing the former president’s conduct toward jurors in other court proceedings.

The DA’s office cites Trump’s “conduct in this and other matters – including his extensive history of attacking jurors in other proceedings,” saying the conduct presents a “significant risk of juror harassment and intimidation that warrants reasonable protective measures to ensure the integrity of these proceedings, minimize obstacles to jury selection, and protect juror safety.”

TRUMP SLAMS BRAGG AFTER PLEADING NOT GUILTY: ‘I NEVER THOUGHT ANYTHING LIKE THIS COULD HAPPEN IN AMERICA’

In the filing, Bragg provided several examples of times when Trump made public statements directed at two different Fulton County grand juries.

“Thank you to the Special Grand Jury in the Great State of Georgia for your Patriotism & Courage. Total exoneration. The USA is very proud of you,” Trump said in one instance. “Would someone please tell the Fulton County Grand Jury that I did not tamper with the election,” he said in another.

The DA said in March 2023, Trump “repeatedly directed extrajudicial statements” toward members of the grand jury using social media and commented on the credibility of witnesses who testified before the grand jury, as the grand jury investigation was underway.

TRUMP PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO 34 FELONY COUNTS OF FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS LINKED TO 2016 HUSH MONEY PAYMENTS

One other example brought up by the DA in the filing was that Trump “frequently promises to seek revenge and retribution against his perceived opponents.”

Specifically, the DA pointed to a book published in 2007, in which Trump wrote, “My motto is: Always get even. When somebody screws you, screw them back in spades.”

The third motion filed looked to limit evidence and expert testimony that could be presented during the hush money trial, including campaign finance, “federal prosecutors’ purported views of Michael Cohen’s credibility,” and evidence that had already been rejected.

Judge Juan Manuel Merchan did not immediately rule on the filings, according to The Associated Press.

Bragg’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

“Today, the 2-tiered system of justice implemented against President Trump is on full display, with the request by another Deranged Democrat prosecutor seeking a restrictive gag order, which if granted, would impose an unconstitutional infringement on President Trump’s First Amendment rights, including his ability to defend himself, and the rights of all Americans to hear from President Trump,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said. “This is election interference pure and simple. This case, like the others, is a sham orchestrated by partisan Democrats desperately attempting to prevent the reelection of President Trump and distract from the decrepit presidency of Crooked Joe Biden. The Radical Left will fail, and President Trump will Make America Great Again.”

Trump is already subject to a gag order in another federal case, in which Washington, D.C. charges him with scheming to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

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The order was imposed in October by the judge overseeing the case, and then upheld by a federal appeals panel two months later. Still, the court drew in the initial speech restrictions and will allow Trump to criticize the special counsel who brought the case against him.

Trump was also under a limited gag order during his New York civil fraud trial and fined $15,000 for violating the order twice. The gag order was imposed by Judge Arthur Engoron on Oct. 3 after the former president posted on social media about his chief law clerk.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., sent a “Dear Colleague” letter Monday ahead of the government funding deadline later this week urging Republicans to reauthorize the federal radiation compensation policy.

The policy, known as the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), is on track to expire this spring. It was originally enacted in 1990 to compensate Americans exposed to radiation during the Manhattan Project and Cold War testing. While RECA has compensated many, there are still people awaiting claims, and certain affected groups have been overlooked, Hawley said.

“It is our duty to reauthorize and update RECA this spring. I emphasize that this is not a welfare program. It is a matter of basic justice for those the government poisoned,” Hawley wrote in the letter. “We’ve developed the most advanced nuclear weapons on earth, but we cannot forget the working people of this country who were sacrificed for it.”

BIDEN CALLS JOHNSON, SCHUMER FOR WHITE HOUSE MEETING AMID CONGRESSIONAL CHAOS STIRRING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN FEARS

Hawley, a skeptic of additional funding to Ukraine, added, “If we can send hundreds of billions of dollars in security assistance to foreign nations, we can spend a fraction of that on our own constituents who deserve help.”

Studies show that radiation from decades of mining, processing and enriching continues to permeate sites used during World War II and the Cold War.

In the 1940s, the U.S. was ramping up its military production to prepare for WWII, which included the government converting farmlands in Weldon Springs, Mo. into the Weldon Spring Chemical Plant. The plant produced a massive amount of TNT and DNT explosives for the war effort.

For Hawley, the issue hits close to home. In his home state of Missouri, nuclear waste was reportedly mishandled at one processing site, with leaky barrels left in the open air and contaminating a nearby creek where children have played for years. Hawley says in the letter many of those children have since developed cancer. 

CONGRESS LIKELY TO PUNT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN DEADLINES AGAIN, SOURCES SAY

“Tens of thousands of other Americans were exposed to radiation ‘downwind’ from over 100 atmospheric tests in western States,” Hawley wrote. “In most cases, nobody was warned of this danger. In others, the government simply lied. Repeatedly.”

But this could slow up the legislative process to approve government funding at the end of the week, as the upper chamber scrambles to pass full-year appropriations bills that would fund several federal agencies. The current temporary spending patch, known as a Continuing Resolution (CR), expires Friday and Congress will have to pass legislation by then to avert a partial government shutdown. The Senate has not introduced spending agreements yet for the remaining nine bills. 

Hawley’s office told Fox News Digital it will seek to attach the RECA reauthorization to any legislative proposal that is likely to get signed into law. 

EXCLUSIVE: SENATE REPUBLICAN LEADER JOHN THUNE ENDORSES TRUMP IN 2024 REPUBLICAN PRIMARY

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This isn’t the first time Hawley has tried to increase RECA’s reauthorization chances by attaching it to any legislative vehicle that has a chance of passing. Last year, the Senate initially amended the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to include Hawley’s RECA amendment, but it was later removed right before the package passed. Hawley’s office has speculated it was removed due to cost. 

Last year, some Republicans opposed a similar bill by Hawley that included RECA, arguing it would cost $100 billion over the course of a decade. Hawley proceeded to revise that portion of the bill and slashed the multi-billion dollar price tag, but his colleagues were still not convinced. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson has opposed the proposal to reauthorize RECA, citing a commitment to shrink the federal deficit. 

Fox News’ Lawrence Richard contributed to this report. 

President Biden said Monday a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip is close and hoped to see one materialize by “the end of the weekend.”   

The seemingly casual comments, carrying massive geopolitical significance, came during the president’s stop at an ice cream parlor near Peacock Network’s headquarters, where he had just wrapped up an interview with Seth Meyers on the “Late Night” show. 

Asked by a reporter when he expected the ceasefire to begin, Biden, with a mint ice cream cone in hand, said he hoped by at least “the end of the weekend.” 

“At least, my national security advisor tells me that we’re close. We’re close. It’s not done yet,” Biden said. “And my hope is by next Monday, we’ll have a ceasefire.” 

ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE KILLS 2 PEOPLE DEEP INSIDE LEBANON, HEZBOLLAH RESPONDS WITH 60 ROCKETS

Biden also spoke about his planned trip to the southern border this Thursday where he will meet with border agents and discuss the need for bipartisan legislation. 

Biden joked that “my good friend” would be making a border stop as well, a subtle nod to GOP rival, former President Trump, who is traveling to the border as well. 

Biden’s visit comes after the murder of Augusta University student Laken Riley on the University of Georgia campus in Athens last week allegedly at the hands of an illegal immigrant. Her murder has reinvigorated calls for Biden to take more stringent border measures. 

The stop in Van Leeuwen came after a taped interview with Meyers, where dozens of pro-Palestinian activists were arrested for demonstrating in the lobby. 

Negotiations are underway for a weekslong cease-fire between Israel and Hamas to allow for the release of hostages being held in Gaza by the Iranian-backed terrorist group in return for Israel releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. The proposed six-week pause in fighting would also include allowing hundreds of trucks to deliver desperately needed aid into Gaza every day.

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Negotiators face an unofficial deadline of the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan around March 10, a period that often sees heightened Israeli-Palestinian tensions.

Opponents of California Gov. Gavin Newsom are making another attempt to recall him from office, citing the state’s looming budget deficit, among other policy issues that have negatively impacted the Golden State because of his alleged mismanagement. 

Rescue California, a citizen-led group, said it planned to serve Newsom’s office on Monday with recall papers, the first step in what could be a lengthy and expensive process to put the recall question before voters. 

The group said that Newsom’s response to a range of pressing issues – including homelessness, the increased cost of living, his response to the COVID-19 pandemic, illegal immigration and crime — has been largely inadequate. On their website, the group said Newsom “has abandoned the state to advance his Presidential ambitions.”

BIDEN PRAISES NEWSOM, JOKES ABOUT CALIFORNIANS FLEEING STATE AS 2024 SPECULATION SWIRLS

“California needs a full-time governor who is fully focused on the serious problems the state and its citizens are facing,” the campaign’s director Anne Dunsmore said in a statement. “This may be our last opportunity to rescue and restore our state, while we highlight for the rest of the country the destruction Newsom has left in his wake.”

Newsom, a strong supporter of President Biden, has been seen as a likely choice to launch a presidential bid in the future. Future speculation about his aspirations arose after he visited Israel and China last year. 

Specifically, Rescue California criticized Newsom for approving legislation that provided 700,000 immigrants free health care at an annual cost of $3 billion to taxpayers, “while cutting vital programs for veterans, school children, the disabled and the homeless.”

He also kept schools closed and ordered the release of criminals during the COVID-19 lockdowns and weakened public safety so much that it’s created an “epidemic” of smash-and-grab robberies that have plagued the state, the group said. In addition, Rescue California cited California’s high tax rate, increased home prices that have put home ownership out of reach for many and the spending of billions of dollars on homeless programs that have “repeatedly failed.”

JOE ROGAN SAYS DEMOCRATIC PARTY IS ‘SETTING UP GAVIN NEWSOM’ FOR 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RUN 

The Democratic governor has faced attempts to oust him from office before. This will be the fifth effort against him.  

Newsom responded to news of the recall on X, formerly Twitter. 

“Trump Republicans are launching another wasteful recall campaign to distract us from the existential fight for democracy and reproductive freedom,” he wrote. “We will defeat them.”

Fox News has reached out to the governor’s office, which cited his social media post. 

Newsom easily beat back the last recall effort in 2021 when he beat conservative radio host Larry Elder by a wide margin. Despite the governor’s success, Rescue California appears undeterred. 

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“We did it before. We will do it again,” the group wrote on Facebook. 

The group will need about 1.38 million verified signatures by May for their recall effort to qualify for the November ballot.

The Border Patrol Union on Monday ridiculed President Biden’s planned visit to the border this week as a cynical ploy to save his presidency at the expense of Americans’ safety. 

In a statement received by Fox News Digital, the union said Biden’s planned border visit, three years into his term, “after repeatedly stating there is no crisis is too little, too late.” 

The union argued that “there would be no point in visiting the border now” if the president’s assertions that he has done everything he can to secure the border were true. 

“But even if he were to put the proper policies in place at this late hour, he’d be doing it only to try to save his Presidency. And self-serving actions when time is winding down should always give Americans pause. Common sense dictates that as a lame duck, he’d revert to his open border policies if re-elected,” the union said. 

“Biden is going to the border now solely to try to save himself. Border security should never be about politics, it should always be about the safety and security of this great nation and the American people.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for a response. 

The union’s statement comes as President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will make dueling trips to the U.S-Mexico border this week, as both candidates try to turn the nation’s broken immigration system to their political advantage in an expected campaign rematch this year.

GOP AGS PRESS BIDEN ADMIN TO ACT AFTER REPORTS THAT 85,000 MIGRANT CHILDREN ARE MISSING, POSSIBLY TRAFFICKED

Biden will travel to Brownsville, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, an area that often sees large numbers of border crossings. He will meet border agents and discuss the need for bipartisan legislation. It would be his second visit to the border as president. He traveled to El Paso in January last year.

The trips underscore immigration’s central importance in the 2024 presidential race, for Republicans and increasingly for Democrats, particularly after congressional talks on a deal to rein in illegal immigration collapsed.

Biden has blamed Republicans for a collapsed bipartisan border deal after Trump came out in opposition to the plan to tighten asylum restrictions and create daily limits on border crossings, which reached record highs in December. 

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The Biden administration has been pairing crackdowns at the border with increasing legal pathways for migrants designed to steer people into arriving by plane with sponsors, not illegally on foot to the border. But U.S. policy right now allows for migrants to claim asylum regardless of how they arrive. And the numbers of migrants flowing to the U.S-Mexico border have far outpaced the capacity of an immigration system that has not been substantially updated in decades. 

The Supreme Court expressed strong concerns on Monday about the sweep of state laws restricting how large social media companies moderate user content, a digital free speech case with implications in the political and business arenas.

Separate laws that passed in Florida and Texas and are now challenged in court would require Big Tech companies like X, formerly Twitter, and Facebook to host third-party communications but prevent those businesses from blocking or removing users’ posts based on political viewpoints.

The regulations aim to address what some lawmakers call “censoring” of conservative messages, and banning politicians, like former President Trump, for violating subjective policies over offensive or “problematic” content.

But tech firms claim a First Amendment right as private entities to editorially regulate the billions of daily voices on their platforms — from political discourse and recipe sharing, to incitement and obscenity. 

GOP AGS ASK SUPREME COURT TO PEEL BACK CONTENT MODERATION FROM BIG TECH IN LANDMARK FIRST AMENDMENT CASES

Justices on both sides of the ideological spectrum openly questioned whether the regulations would make it impossible for private companies to operate as a forum for free speech and expression.

 “It covers almost everything,” said Justice Sonia Sotomayor of Florida’s law, which she said would affect what the arts and crafts retailer Etsy would have to allow on its digital marketplace. “That’s viewpoint discrimination. This falls under a whole lot of your listings and bans and disclosure requirements. Why are we imposing that on something like this?”

“The First Amendment restricts what the government can do,” Chief Justice John Roberts told Texas’ solicitor general. “What the government’s doing here is saying ‘you must do this, you must carry these people — you’ve got to explain if you don’t.’ That’s not the First Amendment.”

But there was widespread unease about the best approach they should take at this stage.

Some justices suggested large companies that host wide-ranging speech platforms may be able to exercise greater editorial control, but that e-commerce sites like Etsy, Venmo, and Uber could be regulated by the states to some extent.

“This is a sprawling statute and it makes me a little bit nervous,” said Justice Amy Coney Barrett, over how a court opinion could be applied across the infinite variety of digital media. She said the competing interests “had a bunch of landmines.”

Others on the bench wondered what the effect the big tech companies have on public discourse.

“There’s a lot of new terminology bouncing around in these cases, and just out of curiosity — and one of them is content moderation,” said Justice Samuel Alito. “is it anything more a euphemism for censorship?”

JAN 6 RIOTERS, ABORTION, GUN RIGHTS: A LOOK AHEAD AT LANDMARK CASES SCOTUS WILL HEAR IN 2024

Alito also warned about resisting “the Orwellian temptation to recategorize offensive conduct in seemingly bland terms.”

The Florida law would block a social media platform from engaging in censoring, prioritizing, or so-called “shadow banning” “based on the content.” It also would prevent “willfully deplatforming a candidate” for public office for material posted by or about that candidate.

Both Florida and Texas would also require those companies to notify a user when their content has been modified or edited, along with an explanation for that action.

The states argue social media companies have outsized influence over what news and information the public sees, and say they have a long tradition of ensuring their citizens have full access to a range of viewpoints, calling social media platforms the new “digital public square.”

The Florida and Texas laws were passed shortly after Twitter/X and Facebook separately removed Trump for their platforms, for his posts related to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots by his supporters.

Trump and a coalition of Republican-led states are among those filing separate amicus briefs supporting Florida and Texas 

The Biden administration has opposed the state laws.

GOP SENATOR URGES SCOTUS TO REIN IN BIG TECH’S CONTENT CENSORSHIP THAT DEFIES ‘LOGIC’

Trade groups representing big tech companies told the court the laws violate their free speech rights to decide what content meets their policies — saying their forums should not be an open-ended portal for offensive or dangerous speech — including school bullying, harassment, terrorist ideology, racial hatred, medical misinformation and voter fraud.

In almost four hours of oral arguments stretching well into the afternoon, the justices weighed whether to offer a sweeping ruling on the First Amendment implications of the state laws, or a more limited approach that might have the lower courts take another look at how those content moderation policies would be applied.

“Why isn’t that a classic First Amendment violation for the state to come in and say, ‘We’re not going to allow you to enforce those sorts of restrictions?'” asked Justice Elena Kagan.

“In your opening remarks,’ Justice Brett Kavanaugh asked of Florida’s Solicitor General Henry Whitaker, “you said the design of the First Amendment is to prevent ‘suppression of speech.’ And you left out what I understand to be three key words in the First Amendment or to describe the First Amendment, ‘by the government,'” with Kavanaugh suggesting private companies should be given broader latitude to moderate their users content.   

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Attorneys for the states told the court that social media companies lack free speech protection since they only “host” viewpoints, similar to the telecommunications industry — known as “common carriers” — which transmits speech with no editorial oversight.

“Separating the wheat from the chaff here is pretty difficult,” said Justice Neil Gorsuch.

Justice Clarence Thomas, who light-heartedly noted he was the only member of the court who pre-dated the widespread use of the Internet was especially animated in his extensive bench remarks on the implications, asking tough questions of both sides.

“What do you do if it’s a deep-learning algorithm which teaches itself and has very little human intervention?” he asked at one point. “So who’s speaking then, the algorithm or the person?”

After the arguments, Florida Gov. Ron De Santis — on Twitter/X no less — said, “We’re gonna make sure we’re doing everything we can to ensure people have a right to speak in these public forums. We want more speech, not less speech.”

These cases are just the latest in what is shaping up a busy term on the digital front at the Supreme Court.

The justices in March will hear an appeal from GOP-controlled states over whether federal government efforts to combat disinformation online violate the free speech rights of users on social media platforms.

Here too, those states say conservative political views are being silenced, after pressure on social media firms by the Biden administration.

And the justices have already heard arguments over whether public officials can block critical comments on their social media accounts from constituents.

Rulings in the cases argued Monday, Moody v. NetChoice, LLC and NetChoice, LLC v. Paxton, are expected by late June.

The Biden White House claimed the border was secure, the federal government had a process for processing migrants and that deportations were unreasonable shortly after the suspect in last week’s brutal University of Georgia murder entered the country illegally in September 2022.

President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre all lauded the administration’s work to secure the southern border and handle migrant flows at the time. Their comments, though, have taken on a new meaning after it was revealed Jose Antonio Ibarra, the suspect charged with murdering former University of Georgia student Laken Riley, crossed into the United States illegally on Sept. 8, 2022, after traveling from Venezuela.

“We have a secure border in that, that is a priority for any nation including ours and our administration,” Harris remarked during an interview with NBC News on Sept. 12, 2022, four days after Ibarra crossed the U.S.-Mexico border.

Harris added that issues related to immigration remained, such as the need for a “pathway for citizenship.”

AP REPORT ON LAKEN RILEY MURDER OMITS SUSPECT’S IMMIGRATION STATUS, FOCUSES ON DANGERS OF WOMEN JOGGING ALONE

One day after Harris’ comments, Jean-Pierre reiterated during a press briefing that the border was secure.

“As far as the border, we’re taking unprecedented action,” she told reporters. “We had to fix something that was broken, especially by the last administration. We’ve secured record levels — this is what we have been able to do — of funding for the Department of Homeland Security.”

And, during a press briefing two days later on Sept. 15, 2022, Jean-Pierre reiterated that the Biden administration had taken “unprecedented action” to secure the border and “rebuild a safer and orderly process system.” She further boasted that border agents had made 3,000 arrests related to human trafficking enforcement.

TRUMP BLAMES ‘BIDEN’S BORDER INVASION’ FOR LAKEN RILEY MURDER, VOWS ‘LARGEST DEPORTATION OPERATION’ IF ELECTED

Later that same day, the president repeated Jean-Pierre’s comments in remarks at the annual Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Gala. Biden also blasted Republicans for “playing politics” in reference to governors sending busloads of illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities.

“I’m proud that the Obama-Biden administration stood up for DREAMers,” Biden said. “My predecessor tried to end DACA, but the Biden-Harris administration is working to preserve it and fortify it. And with Secretary Mayorkas’s leadership, we’re committed to fixing the immigration system.”

“Instead of working with us on solutions, Republicans are playing politics with human beings, using them as props. What they’re doing is simply wrong. It’s un-American. It’s reckless,” he added. “And we have a process in place to manage migrants at the border. We’re working to make sure it’s safe and orderly and humane.”

LAKEN RILEY CASE: GEORGIA AUTHORITIES IDENTIFY MURDER SUSPECT IN CUSTODY IN NURSING STUDENT’S SLAYING

Then, on Sept. 20, after a reporter asked Biden why the border had become overwhelmed during his presidency, he said more migrants are coming from certain countries including Venezuela, where Ibarra traveled from weeks earlier. The president then quickly ruled out deportations.

“What’s on my watch now is Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua. And the ability to send them back to those states is not rational,” he commented. “You could send them back and have them — we’re working with Mexico and other countries to see if we can stop the flow. But that’s the difference.”

The comments from Biden, Harris and Jean-Pierre came amid a surge in illegal immigration that began shortly after Biden entered office in early 2021. 

In September 2022, Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) reported 227,547, up 18% year-over-year. The figure represented a far higher number than those reported during the Trump administration, when agents generally reported less than 58,000 encounters in the month of September.

Then-CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus noted at the time that the figure was driven higher by migrants traveling to the U.S. from Venezuela.

LAKEN RILEY MURDER SUSPECT JOSE IBARRA LIVED WITHIN 5-MINUTE WALK OF UGA CRIME SCENE

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed that Ibarra entered the U.S. illegally in September 2022. In a statement to Fox News Digital, ICE confirmed he had been encountered by CBP after entering near El Paso, Texas, and was “paroled and released for further processing.”

ICE also confirmed that Ibarra had been arrested by the New York Police Department a year later, on Sept. 14, 2023, and “charged with acting in a manner to injure a child less than 17 and a motor vehicle license violation.”

Police in Georgia accused Ibarra of murdering Riley, a 22-year-old UGA nursing student, and charged him with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing the death of another, authorities said on Friday.

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Riley, a nursing student at the neighboring Augusta University was found dead Thursday after she left her dormitory to go on a run.

“We would like to extend our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Laken Hope Riley,” a White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “People should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law if they are found to be guilty. Given this is an active case, we would have to refer you to state law enforcement and ICE.”

The White House didn’t respond to a request for comment about its comments regarding the border being secure in September 2022.

FIRST ON FOX: Nearly two-dozen Republican attorneys general are imploring the Biden administration to act following “grim” reports that 85,000 migrant children are missing with “reason to believe” that some are being trafficked.  

In a letter sent Monday, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, and Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes wrote to Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra and FBI Director Christopher Wray saying that “the United States needs to stop handing over children to ‘probable traffickers.’”

“Losing 85,000 kids is like losing the entire population of Sioux City, Iowa. This is unacceptable,” Bird told Fox News Digital in a statement. “As a mom, it makes me sick to know that many of these missing kids have been trapped into forced labor and exploited by heinous sex traffickers. It’s the federal government’s job to keep these children safe.”

“President Biden’s own Department of Health and Human Services is sounding the alarm that unaccompanied children are being released into compromising situations but seems unwilling or unable to devise a strategy to address these concerns,” Fitch told Fox News Digital. “This may end up one of the greatest tragedies to come from the chaos they have created at the border.”

BIDEN, TRUMP TO MAKE US-MEXICO BORDER STOPS THURSDAY AS MIGRANT CRISIS ROILS ELECTION

“President Biden’s border crisis has reached never-before-seen levels. Even worse, we now learn that the Department of Health and Human Services cannot find more than 85,000 migrant children who entered our country over the last two years,” the AGs wrote. 

“Reports show that many of those children have been forced into the labor market, where they work debilitating hours under dangerous conditions in violation of child-labor laws or are sex trafficked,” they said.  

The Republican AGs cited a report published earlier this month by the HHS Office of Inspector General which they described as “grim.” That report, they said, found “major problems with safety concerns for unaccompanied children,” and “explained that for more than one-in-five children required sponsor safety checks were not timely performed.”

“In more than one-third of the cases, IDs submitted by sponsors raised concerns. Some children were released without home studies—to homes investigators later found to be vacant or nonresidential.”

“[We] write because there is reason to believe that some of the 85,000 missing children are being trafficked. That cannot continue. But since this news surfaced, neither the Department of Health and Human Services nor the Department of Homeland Security has offered a plan for identifying and protecting those vulnerable children,” the AGs said. 

“Trafficking minors cannot continue. We demand a response to this crisis,” they added. 

MOST AMERICANS CALL ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION ‘VERY SERIOUS PROBLEM,’ POLL FINDS

The Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services and the FBI did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

“Parents send their children alone to the United States for a better life. Some come to escape war, others to escape gangs or violence,” the AGs wrote. 

“By law, the Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for keeping these children safe when they arrive. That responsibility includes reuniting children with family or placing them with a sponsor who will protect them from trafficking and exploitation. But that Department is not living up to its responsibilities, and the cost of that failure is tens of thousands of missing children,” they charged.

The AGs said that the HHS “loosened vetting procedures” and as a result claim that “thousands of children have now fallen victim to forced labor and sex trafficking.”

ICE CONFIRMS GEORGIA STUDENT MURDER SUSPECT ENTERED US ILLEGALLY, WAS PREVIOUSLY ARRESTED IN NYC

“They spend their time in this country working dangerous and sometimes inhumane jobs. They are deprived of necessities like sleep and food and denied an education. Some even face life-altering injuries and death,” they said. 

One recent example they cited is a sixteen-year-old person who was crushed under an earthmover near Atlanta, Georgia. Another example is a fourteen-year-old person who was hit by a car while delivering food on a bike in Brooklyn, New York. And another — a fifteen-year-old — died on his first day of work for a roofing company when he fell 50 feet. 

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There are also numerous examples of young women brought across the border in Texas only to be placed immediately into sex trafficking rings, they note. 

“In a country that claims to value both children and the rule of law, this cannot happen,” they said. 

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre knocked former President Trump and Republicans in Congress over the Senate border bill ahead of President Biden’s dueling trip to Texas. 

While aboard Air Force One en route to New York City on Monday, Jean-Pierre said President Biden would spend his visit to Brownsville, Texas, on Thursday hearing directly from Border Patrol agents and about the resources they need to secure the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump, the GOP front-runner and Biden’s likely opponent come November, had already been scheduled to speak at the border in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Thursday, when the White House on Monday announced Biden’s trip approximately 325 miles away that same day. 

Jean-Pierre focused her comments to reporters about how the bipartisan border supplemental passed out of the Senate 70-29 and needs to be called to a vote in the House. 

Biden, “was able to move the ball forward in the Senate to get a bipartisan negotiation on the border security deal. That was rejected, obviously, by Republicans because of the last president and President Trump, to be exact,” Jean-Pierre said, stressing that the bipartisan border proposal also received support from the Border Patrol union. 

Brownsville is part of the Rio Grande Valley sector, which has been considered dead or slow in illegal crossings over the past several months. It currently averages only between about 200-400 encounters per day across the entire​ sector, which includes nine separate Border Patrol stations in a handful of different cities and areas, and it is the sector with the most resources. 

BIDEN, TRUMP TO MAKE US-MEXICO BORDER STOPS THURSDAY AS MIGRANT CRISIS ROILS ELECTION

Therefore, there will be zero risk of any Border Patrol facility overcrowding for Biden’s visit. 

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection source told Fox News that there were only 318 encounters in the Rio Grande Valley sector on Sunday. 

Meanwhile, sectors in blue states are very busy. The San Diego and Tucson sectors are both getting 1,000-2,000 illegal crossings daily.

Eagle Pass, where Trump will be visiting, has been the center of an ongoing stand-off and court battle between Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the Biden administration. Texas National Guard troops were ordered to deny access by federal Border Patrol agents to Shelby Park, which has seen a surge in illegal crossings, and erected razor wire to deter migrants. 

Biden’s last visit to the border was in El Paso after a huge surge of illegal crossings where the streets had been cleared of migrant camps and the visit was highly sanitized. Biden did not see or talk to a single migrant, nor did he visit a Border Patrol station, opting for a CBP port of entry instead, where only lawful crossings occur.

Asked if Biden plans to meet with migrants this time given the criticism that he didn’t last time, Jean-Pierre said she had no information yet. 

“We’ll have more to share as we get closer to Thursday. Don’t have anything for you at this time. Obviously, he’s going to meet with frontline folks who work on the ground, including Border Patrol agents, hear directly from them. See also for himself what is it that they do every day to protect Americans, to secure the border,” she said. “They need more resources.”

TRUMP BLAMES ‘BIDEN’S BORDER INVASION’ FOR LAKEN RILEY MURDER, VOWS ‘LARGEST DEPORTATION OPERATION’ IF ELECTED

Pressed on whether Biden has any planned executive action to address the border crisis, Jean-Pierre again turned back to Congress. 

“We’ve been very clear there is no executive action that would have done what the bipartisan Senate negotiation proposal could have done. That would have been a step forward in dealing with the challenges at the border and dealing with policy changes, obviously, and in dealing with what is actually happening with the immigration system,” she said. 

“Republicans should get out of the way, not politicize this. This is an issue that the American people, majority of American people, care about,” she added. 

The press secretary said Biden is “going to see for himself to see what they’ve been doing on the ground. Remember, these Border Patrol agents have been doing everything that they can to secure the border with the resources that they have. They need more. They need more.” 

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The White House billed the Senate bipartisan border bill as “the toughest and fairest set of reforms to secure the border in decades,” saying it provides funding needed for additional U.S. border agents, more asylum officers, fentanyl detection technology and more. 

Fox News’ Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

Concerned Washington, D.C. residents and small business owners have banded together to oust a Democratic councilmember during an ongoing crime surge, marking the second recall effort launch in the district in months.

The recall effort against Councilmember Brianne Nadeau launched Tuesday over her relaxed criminal justice reform policies as the district grapples with skyrocketing crime in recent years, leaving some business owners in turmoil and many residents feeling unsafe. The announcement echoed a push to remove fellow Councilmember Charles Allen, which has attracted support from Democratic political fundraisers and congressional staffers who have helped raise over $56,000 for the campaign.

“The historic rise in crime is not just mere numbers; they represent shattered lives, eroded trust, and a community living in fear,” the Nadeau recall effort’s chairwoman, Diana Alvarez, said last week.

Alvarez, who owns a small business in Nadeau’s district, said she was driven to launch the campaign after her smoke shop endured three violent robberies. 

DC AG INFURIATES RESIDENTS AFTER SAYING CITY ‘CANNOT PROSECUTE AND ARREST’ OUT OF CRIME CRISIS: ‘MADNESS’

“My employees were terrorized, and my security costs have become astronomical,” she said in the statement. “I know that I am one of many people and businesses in this dire situation.”

As crime has dropped in some major cities across the country, the nation’s capital ended 2023 with a 26-year high in homicides with 274 murders, according to Metropolitan Police Department data. Robberies and thefts spiked 67% and 23%, respectively, and motor vehicle thefts nearly doubled.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES NEW RESOURCES TO COMBAT VIOLENT CRIME IN DC

The surging violence has caused some district businesses to move or shut down completely, including a nearly 10-year-old wine bar that closed in December after the restaurant faced five burglaries in five months. In Nadeau’s district, a string of 10 robberies within a few weeks last year led to increased fear and hefty damages for some business owners and residents in the Adams Morgan neighborhood, ABC7 reported.

“I understand people’s concerns about crime,” Nadeau told WUSA9 in response to the recall campaign. The three-term councilmember said she’s spearheading three bills to address public safety concerns, including legislation aimed at improving the city’s 911 center and police cadet recruitment. 

“I will focus on doing the work that I was sent here to do by Ward 1 voters, and I will keep doing that regardless of any recall efforts,” Nadeau told the local outlet. 

DC SUPERMARKETS TURN TO HIGH-TECH SECURITY GATES AS CRIME CONTINUES TO SURGE

But Alvarez accused Nadeau of allowing an environment for criminals to thrive as violence escalated. 

“Brianne Nadeau has fundamentally failed to take any consequential action to reduce crime, and it is time she is held accountable,” Alvarez said. 

The recall campaign blamed Nadeau for encouraging criminals through her support of progressive legislation in recent years. The councilmember voted in favor of slashing $15 million from the police budget in 2020 and supported an overhaul to the city’s criminal code in 2022 that would have lowered the maximum penalties for certain offenses like burglaries and carjackings if Congress hadn’t blocked the legislation. 

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“The dream of a safe, vibrant, and prosperous Ward-1 seems more distant with each passing day,” Alvarez said. “I am proud to lead this effort because we deserve representation that is responsive to our needs, not in denial of them.”

The campaign intends to file an intent for recall with the Board of Elections in a few weeks and will then have 180 days to obtain signatures from 10% of the ward’s registered voters, The Washington Post reported. Nadeau’s seat would be vacant until a special election is held to replace her if the recall campaign prevails, but a recall effort hasn’t been successful in the district’s 50 years of home rule. 

Nadeau did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment. 

Although the South Carolina primary has been the focal point of the GOP presidential nomination fight for much of the last month, it’s not the only contest on Saturday where Republicans will be voting for a presidential candidate or where all-important delegates will be at stake.

More than 1,800 miles away, state GOP officials in Wyoming will meet to begin awarding the first of the state’s 29 delegates to the Republican National Convention this summer, but the contest won’t much resemble the South Carolina primary or any other presidential contests held so far this year.

Like a handful of other states, Wyoming doesn’t hold presidential primary elections where voters head to the polls or cast ballots by mail.

WYOMING JUDGE DISMISSES EFFORT TO BAR TRUMP FROM BALLOT

Instead, both state parties use what’s known as a “caucus-convention” system, which is a multi-step process that begins with local meetings (usually at the precinct level), then moves to mid-level meetings usually at the county or district level (or sometimes both) and then culminates with the state party convention.

At each level, participants elect representatives to attend the event at the next level until finally, somewhere along the way, delegates to the national party convention are awarded to candidates and individuals are chosen to fill those positions. The entire process can last several months.

Iowa and Nevada are both well-known for their presidential caucuses, and, while the Wyoming Republican process bears some structural similarities to other caucus systems, there are some notable differences.

For starters, Wyoming Republicans do not conduct a statewide presidential preference vote, at least not this year. In Iowa or Nevada, there is a statewide “winner” to report based on how participants at the precinct caucuses voted. Not so for the Wyoming Republicans. The only presidential result there is to report from the Wyoming GOP’s caucus process is how many national convention delegates each presidential candidate has won.

There are no tables or graphics with raw vote totals or vote percentages, as there are for other presidential nominating contests. The state party has held non-binding presidential straw polls or caucus votes in the past – Mitt Romney won the vote in 2012, receiving 39% of just over 2,100 votes cast – but it had no impact on delegates.

Another key difference is that the Wyoming Republicans do not hold all their events on the same day. In Iowa, state Republicans convened precinct-level caucuses all on the same day – Jan. 15. This year, Wyoming’s 23 county-level Republican party committees have held their precinct caucuses mostly on different days, with the first one on Feb. 2 and the final county scheduled to go on Saturday.

The precinct caucuses were open to any registered Republican who will be 18 by the November election. Those caucus-goers discussed issues of concern to them and then selected individuals to represent their precinct at the county conventions, where participants will vote for a presidential candidate and award national convention delegates.

Each of the 23 counties has one national convention delegate at stake. The winner of the vote in a county convention wins that county’s lone delegate. While these events are generally open to the public, it’s only those individuals who were elected at the precinct caucuses who get to cast a vote for president at the county conventions.

And, just like the precinct caucuses, the county conventions are not all scheduled for the same day. The first two county conventions will award their delegates on Saturday in Campbell and Carbon counties. The rest will follow suit at some point over the next two weeks. One county, Platte, has not yet scheduled its convention, according to the state party’s public events calendar.

The county conventions will award 23 of the state’s 29 national convention delegates. The remaining six delegates will be awarded at the state party convention in April.

Here’s a recap of what to expect in Wyoming over the coming days:

WYOMING GOP COUNTY CONVENTIONS

Wyoming’s 23 counties will each hold a county GOP convention to award national convention delegates. The first county conventions will convene on Saturday, with the rest holding theirs over the next two weeks.

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DELEGATES AT STAKE

Each county convention has one delegate at stake, for a total of 23 delegates. The Associated Press will report how many delegates each presidential candidate has won. There is no statewide presidential vote.

The state’s remaining six delegates will be awarded at the state convention in April.

WHO GETS TO VOTE AT THE COUNTY CONVENTIONS

Individuals elected at precinct caucuses held throughout the state in February will meet at the county conventions to vote on which presidential candidate will win the delegate from their county.

There is growing frustration among the 11 House impeachment managers about when they will present their articles to the Senate in the case of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. 

House managers serve as “prosecutors” and argue the impeachment case before the Senate. 

One impeachment manager told Fox they had been given “no clear guidance” about the roles they might play or when the House may even transmit the articles to the Senate. 

Fox was told the earliest the Senate could begin a trial is Wednesday. However, the decision lies at the feet of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). 

RANCHER SOUNDS ALARM ON ‘ROUTE’ FOR TERROR AS MAYORKAS DENIES RESPONSIBILITY FOR MASS BORDER CROSSINGS

Some House Republicans – and some impeachment managers – are itching to get started, but that could backfire without preparation.

Fox was told two weeks ago that House impeachment managers believed they might meet late last week to prep and organize – even doing “mock trial” sessions. Democrats who were impeachment managers conducted such dry runs in late 2019 and early 2020 ahead of the first impeachment trial of former President Trump. However, such sessions never materialized, although there were conversations among chiefs of staff for the impeachment managers.

HOUSE VOTES TO IMPEACH DHS SECRETARY MAYORKAS OVER BORDER CRISIS

“We hoped to get clarity on the next steps two weeks ago, if not the end of last week,” said one frustrated manager. 

There has been some chatter that the House might not even send over the impeachment articles until the issue of two looming government shutdowns subsides.

Managers expressed concern about how they should prepare or if the managers would be assigned “subject lanes” to argue before the Senate.

One manager feared that House leaders might want to send over the articles promptly, initiating a trial without any preparation. The manager worried how that would look if Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) decides to give impeachment managers some latitude and present their arguments. 

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“We might fall on our face,” said one manager.

Republican Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott said his state will weigh in on the in vitro fertilization (IVF) debate following the Alabama state Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are unborn children. 

“I have no doubt that Texas will be among the states that will be addressing this issue when we can bring in all the different facts and scenarios about what can happen. But also knowing Texas, as soon as you know, Texas is a pro-life state, and we want to do everything possible that we can to maintain Texas being a pro-life state,” Abbott told CNN’s Dana Bash Sunday on “State of the Union.”

“But at the very same time, I think Texans agree with what President Trump said. And that is, we as a state, want to ensure that we promote life. We bring more life into the world, and we empower parents to be able to have more children,” he added. 

Abbott’s comments follow the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that an 1872 state law allowing parents to sue over the death of a child “applies to all unborn children, regardless of their location.” The decision was reached after two wrongful death cases were brought forth by three couples who say their frozen embryos were destroyed in an accident at an Alabama fertility clinic. 

TRUMP BREAKS SILENCE ON ALABAMA SUPREME COURT IVF RULING: ‘FIND AN IMMEDIATE SOLUTION’

“Unborn children are ‘children’ under the Act, without exception based on developmental stage, physical location, or any other ancillary characteristics,” Justice Jay Mitchell wrote in the majority ruling.

The ruling subsequently led to a halt of IVF services at some Alabama medical centers. 

UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM PAUSES IN VITRO FERTILIZATION FOLLOWING STATE SUPREME COURT EMBRYO RULING

“There’s some uncertainty lingering from this, but candidly, let’s go to President Trump because President Trump put out a statement on this that I think a lot of people agree with and that is a goal that we all kind of want to achieve,” Abbott said. “And that is we want to make it easier for people to be able to have babies. Not make it harder.”

“And the IVF process is a way of giving life to even more babies. And so what I think the goal is, is to make sure that we can find a pathway to ensure that parents who otherwise may not have the opportunity to have a child will be able to have access to the IVF process and become parents and give life to babies,” the Texas governor added.

ALABAMA IVF RULING REIGNITES DEBATE ON ABORTION, A MOTIVATING ISSUE FOR DEMOCRATS AHEAD OF ELECTION

Trump posted on Truth Social last week that if re-elected, the Republican Party “will always support the creation of strong, thriving, healthy American families.”

ALABAMA PROVIDERS SUSPEND IVF TREATMENTS AFTER STATE COURT’S RULING AS FERTILITY EXPERTS WEIGH IN

“We want to make it easier for mothers and fathers to have babies, not harder! That includes supporting the availability of fertility treatments like IVF in every State in America,” Trump wrote. 

“Like the OVERWHELMING MAJORITY of Americans, including the VAST MAJORITY of Republicans, Conservatives, Christians, and Pro-Life Americans, I strongly support the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious baby,” Trump continued. “Today, I am calling on the Alabama Legislature to act quickly to find an immediate solution to preserve the availability of IVF in Alabama. The Republican Party should always be on the side of the Miracle of Life – and the side of Mothers, Fathers, and their Beautiful Babies. IVF is an important part of that, and our Great Republican Party will always be with you, in your quest, for the ULTIMATE JOY IN LIFE!”

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Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report. 

President Biden will visit the southern border on Thursday – the same day former President Trump is also scheduled to go.

Biden will travel to Brownsville, Texas to meet with U.S. Border Patrol agents, law enforcement, and local leaders, according to a White House official. 

That same day, Trump is delivering remarks in Eagle Pass, Texas, Fox News has previously confirmed. 

Brownsville and Eagle Pass are about 325 miles, or about a 5-hour-20 minute drive, apart. 

7.2M ILLEGALS ENTERED THE US UNDER BIDEN ADMIN, AN AMOUNT GREATER THAN POPULATION OF 36 STATES

According to a Fox News analysis published last week, nearly 7.3 million migrants are known to have illegally crossed the southwest border since Biden took office. 

That number is greater than the population of 36 individual states. It comes from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which has already reported 961,537 border encounters in the current fiscal year, which runs from October through September. If the current pace of illegal immigration does not slow down, fiscal year 2024 will break last year’s record of 2,475,669 southwest border encounters — a number that by itself exceeds the population of New Mexico, a border state. 

The total number of southwest land border encounters since Biden assumed office in 2021 is 7,298,486, CBP data shows. 

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Eagle Pass has been the center of an ongoing conflict and court battle between Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the Biden administration. 

Fox News’ Kellianne Jones and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report. 

Hunter Biden reportedly said in a new interview published Monday that he views his sobriety battle as key to ensuring former President Trump does not win a second term in November. 

“Most importantly, you have to believe that you’re worth the work, or you’ll never be able to get sober. But I often do think of the profound consequences of failure here,” Hunter Biden told Axios about his struggle with addiction. 

“Maybe it’s the ultimate test for a recovering addict – I don’t know,” the president’s son said. “I have always been in awe of people who have stayed clean and sober through tragedies and obstacles few people ever face. They are my heroes, my inspiration.”

“I have something much bigger than even myself at stake. We are in the middle of a fight for the future of democracy,” he added.

HUNTER BIDEN’S PHONE CONTAINED MULTIPLE PHOTOS OF COCAINE, CRACK COCAINE AND DRUG PARAPHERNALIA: DOJ

Hunter Biden said he feels obligated to “make it through that fight clean and sober, and I feel a responsibility to everyone struggling through their own recovery to succeed.”

“I don’t care whether you’re 10 years sober, two years sober, two months sober or 200 years sober — your brain at some level is always telling you there’s still one answer,” he said.

The president’s son also gave advice to others struggling to stay sober. 

“Embrace the state in which you came into recovery — which is that feeling of hopelessness which forces you into a choice,” he said. “And then understand that what is required is that you basically have to change everything.”

Hunter Biden is expected to testify before closed doors on Wednesday before the Republican-led House Oversight and Judiciary committees, where lawmakers are expected to focus on President Biden’s son’s business dealings, as well as his addiction to alcohol and crack cocaine. 

In a filing last week, the Justice Department alleged that Hunter Biden’s iPhone had pictures and videos of “apparent” cocaine, crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia documenting his drug use in November and December 2018. Hunter Biden is charged with lying about his drug use on a federal form to purchase a firearm.

HUNTER BIDEN LAWYER SAYS PHOTO ON HIS PHONE SHOWED SAWDUST, NOT COCAINE: ‘PROSECUTION IS FLAT OUT WRONG’

The filing also revealed that Hunter talked about his drug use with his then-girlfriend, Hallie Biden.

Hunter’s lawyers disputed one of the photos, saying it depicted sawdust, not drug residue. 

Hunter Biden’s notorious laptop’s content provided a window into his overseas business dealings, as well as more sordid material like homemade sex tapes and videos that appeared to show him using illegal drugs. The New York Post’s reporting about the laptop was censored on social media before the 2020 election amid pressure from the FBI. 

Last July, Hunter Biden swore in a federal court hearing that he had been sober since June 1, 2019. 

At a hearing in September, U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher Burke said Hunter Biden had tested negative for drugs and alcohol since August, and the president’s son’s legal team told Axios he has continued to test negative since then.

A baggie of cocaine was found at the White House in a storage locker last July, but the Secret Service closed their investigation without identifying a suspect. 

In his memoir, Hunter Biden wrote about how he was still in the throes of his addiction weeks after a family intervention at their home in Delaware when his father, Joe Biden, announced his presidential candidacy in April 2019. Hunter fled to California, where he met and soon married Melissa Cohen, a documentary filmmaker.

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He considered their wedding his initial sobriety date – May 17, 2019, the day before Joe Biden officially launched his campaign in Philadelphia, according to Axios. 

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel will formally resign her position after the March 5 Super Tuesday primaries, weeks after former President Trump asked her to step down.

The move, reported by the New York Times and ABC News, comes weeks after Trump announced his recommendations for changes within the RNC earlier this month. He proposed that North Carolina GOP chair Michael Whatley take over as chairman, while his daughter-in-law Lara Trump and campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita also receive leadership positions.

This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates.