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Top 5 moments from Trump’s Fox News town hall in key battleground state: ‘World War III territory’

September 5, 2024 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News

Former President Donald Trump joined Fox News’ Sean Hannity in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he fielded top policy questions weighing on voters in the key battleground state, just days ahead of his first debate against Vice President Kamala Harris.

Trump spoke before a crowd of voters during the Hannity-moderated town hall at the New Holland Arena in the Keystone State, which has again emerged as a crucial state this election cycle that will likely help determine the outcome on Nov. 5. Trump won the state in 2016 when he earned 44,292 more votes than the Democratic nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The state then elected President Biden in his match-up against Trump in 2020 at a 1.17% margin.

Both Harris and Trump have repeatedly visited Pennsylvania in recent weeks, with Harris most recently joining the state on Monday with Biden in the president’s first campaign event for the Harris-Walz ticket since he bowed out of the race in July.

Ahead of the Fox News town hall, Trump was most recently in PA last Friday at a rally in Johnstown, in the western part of the state. Trump was also attending a Pennsylvania campaign rally in July when a shooter attempted to assassinate the 45th president, injuring him, two others and killing a local father and fireman, Corey Comperatore.

2024 SHOWDOWN: TRUMP HEADS TO A CRUCIAL BATTLEGROUND STATE FOR A FOX NEWS TOWN HALL MODERATED BY HANNITY

Trump and Harris will take the same stage next week on Tuesday, when the election foes will again travel to Pennsylvania, for their first, and perhaps only, debate, which will be held in Philadelphia.

Fox News Digital compiled the top five moments of Trump’s town hall as he gears up for his debate against Harris.

Trump vowed to “heal our world” if he’s re-elected after Hannity cited the mass shooting in Georgia that left at least four people dead and Trump’s heightened security following the assassination attempt on his life in July.

“It’s a sick and angry world for a lot of reasons and we’re going to make it better. We’re going to heal our world. We’re going to get rid of all these wars that are starting all over the place because of incompetence,” Trump said Wednesday from the New Holland Arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

“We’re going to hopefully do very well. We have an election coming up … We’re going to be, I think, we’re going to be very well set up to do a great job,” Trump added.

TRUMP VOWS TO ‘HEAL OUR WORLD’ AFTER FATAL GEORGIA SCHOOL SHOOTING: ‘SICK AND ANGRY’

At least four people were killed Wednesday at Apalachee High School, when 14-year-old suspect Colt Gray allegedly opened fire around the 10 a.m. hour. Officials said the four victims killed were two students and two teachers. An additional nine others were injured in the shooting.

Trump warned the U.S. is heading towards “World War III territory” as wars abroad rage under the Biden-Harris administration, whom he slammed as “clowns.”

“We’re heading into World War III territory, and because of the power of weapons, nuclear weapons in particular, but other weapons also, and I know the weapons better than anybody because I’m the one that bought them,” Trump said from the New Holland Arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

“We won’t have World War III when I’m elected. But with these clowns that you have in there now, you’re going to end up having World War III, and it’s going to be a war … like no other.”

War broke out in Ukraine in 2022, when Russia invaded the nation. Another war broke out in the Middle East last October, when Hamas terrorists launched attacks on Israel.

TRUMP WARNS US APPROACHING ‘WORLD WAR III TERRITORY’ UNDER BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN: ‘CLOWNS’

Trump argued that if he were in the Oval Office over the last three and a half years, wars would not have sparked in Ukraine or Israel.

“We have things going on in the world right now with Israel and with the Middle East. … It’s blowing up. We have Ukraine and Russia. That would never happen. That would have never happened. October 7th would have never happened if I were the president. It would have never happened. And everybody knows it. Iran was broke. They didn’t have the money for Hamas and for Hezbollah. They didn’t have the money for anybody. They wanted to get by, and we would have made a fair deal with them,” he said.

Trump slammed Harris for spiraling illegal immigration that has plagued the U.S. since 2021, citing that “she was in charge of the border” as illegal immigration surged to record levels.

TRUMP RIPS ‘BORDER CZAR’ HARRIS IN FOX TOWN HALL: ‘WORST BORDER IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD’

“They want open borders,” Trump told Hannity. “She wants open borders. Now she’s all of a sudden said, oh, I think we’re closing the borders. She was the border czar, whether you like it or not, but even if you don’t want to use that term. She was in charge of the border.”

“It’s the worst border in the history of the world, not just here. There’s never been a country that allowed 21 million people to come in over a three-year period. There’s never been. And 21 million people, many of whom are from prisons, many of whom are murderers and drug dealers and child traffickers.”

Immigration is the second most important issue to voters, behind the economy, heading into the 2024 election, according to recent Fox News polling.

NYT COLUMNIST DETAILS SCENARIO IN WHICH ‘TRUMP WINS’ AND KAMALA HARRIS, DEMOCRATS ‘BLOW IT’

“And, by the way, women traffickers, you know, women trafficking is the biggest, and they’re traffickers in women. And they’re coming in now and they’re putting them in our Social Security accounts, and they’re putting them in Medicare. And just one thing, if you take a look, take a look. Over the last week, I said this was going to happen,” Trump continued. “And it’s happening because these people are tougher than our criminals are, our criminals are nice people by comparison.”

Trump predicted that the U.S. will fall into an economic depression if Harris wins the general election on Nov. 5.

“This country will end up in a depression if she becomes president. Like 1929, this will be a 1929 depression. She has no idea what the hell she’s doing,” Trump said from the New Holland Arena in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: WHISTLEBLOWERS CLAIM THAT THEY WERE ‘WOEFULLY UNPREPARED’ TO PROVIDE SECURITY

“I gave you the biggest tax cuts in the history of our country. If you let them. If you let the Trump tax cuts expire, which she wants to do, she wants to terminate them. If you do that, you will suffer the biggest tax increase in history. There’s never been a tax increase like it, on top of which she wants to add a lot of tax,” Trump argued of Harris’ economic agenda.

Trump cited Harris’ proposals on capital gains taxes and her plan to install price controls on companies to combat “price gouging” as evidence the U.S. would hit further financial woes similar to the Great Depression if Harris is elected to the Oval Office.

KAMALA HARRIS BEATING TRUMP IN ‘VIBES,’ SAYS CNN’S FAREED ZAKARIA

Amid the conversation, Trump said that Harris’ own father is a “Marxist” economist.

“Her father’s a Marxist teacher of economics. Can you believe this? But if that happened, this country and I think forgetting about that … shes got a lot of things that are just as bad. If she gets in, I think we will have a depression, 1929-style depression. That’s what I think will happen to our country already. They’ve set us on a path,” he said.

Harris’ father, Donald J. Harris is a retired Stanford University professor of economics, whose economics background is steeped in Marxist theory, which earned him the description from the Economist this year as a “combative Marxist economist.”

Trump declared that he was the “toughest” on Russia when he served as president, while again arguing wars in foreign nations would not have sparked if he were in the Oval Office.

“I was the toughest on Russia. Putin would even say, you know, if you’re not the toughest guy, you are, you’re killing us,” Trump said while discussing his opposition to the Nord Stream pipeline.

“This was the biggest job they’ve ever had and I stopped it.”

The 45th president continued that the “whole world” was a safer place when he was in office, while touting that wars would have not broken out in Ukraine and Israel if he had won re-election in 2020.

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“[Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban] said, you bring back Trump, everybody. Now I’m not saying it, but he said it because I’d rather say respect. But he said everybody is afraid of Trump. You bring him back, you’re not going to have any problems. It’s all going to go away,” he said.

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

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Jewish students describe going to college in NYC amid intense anti-Israeli protests: ‘Target on my back’

September 5, 2024 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News

Several Jewish college students talked about their experiences going to school where some of the most intense anti-Israel demonstrations in the country are occurring.

Shoshana Aufzien, Eliana Birman, and Aryeh Krischer appeared on “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday to express their horror and shock at the raucous anti-Israel protests that have taken over Columbia University and Barnard College in New York City throughout the last academic year and the beginning of this one.

“I honestly don’t find it fair for these students to take away the education that I’ve dreamed of my entire life and for me to just back down and go somewhere else simply because I’m Jewish and simply because I’m a Zionist,” Birman told the channel.

HAMAS TERRORISTS RELEASE FOOTAGE OF SIX SLAIN HOSTAGES, PROMISE TO SHARE ‘LAST MESSAGES’

Birman and Aufzien are freshmen at Barnard College, an all-female liberal arts college that shares a campus and faculty with Columbia University. Krischer is a PhD student at Columbia.

Both Barnard students told Fox News that they committed to attending their “dream school” despite being “disheartened” by the breakout of the protests – and the harassment of Jewish students that came with them – throughout the last year following Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre in Israel.

Aufzien said, “Like Eliana, I also always wanted to go to Barnard. It’s a women’s college and I’m also in a dual degree program with the Jewish theological seminary, so I’m able to pursue a couple of my diverse interests simultaneously. But believe me when I say that I was disheartened and appalled to see the events that transpired last year.”

Krischer admitted that staying at Columbia to finish his program “was something that I definitely thought a lot about,” noting that one of his good friends recently switched schools because of the agitators.

The PhD student said he’s been able to avoid confrontation with angry students most days because he works “near at the back of campus.”

“But when I need to buckle down and work, I can get away from it all and buckle down and work. That’s not a luxury everyone has,” he added.

BIDEN CLAIMS NETANYAHU NOT DOING ENOUGH TO SECURE DEAL WITH TERRORISTS

When Birman was asked if she felt her school was working to protect her, she replied, “Absolutely not.”

She explained that only a day before she moved onto campus, an article she published in a small Jewish outlet detailing her concerns about attending the school was shared online by anti-Israel agitators at the school and seen by her classmates. As a result, she was bullied as soon as she got to school.

“We moved in the following day and they were asking me how I could even show my face on campus, telling me that it’s embarrassing for me to even be there.”

She continued, “I don’t feel safe on campus even now that I’m here. From my room, I can hear the protests quite clearly. I’m on the second floor, facing Broadway. Walking through campus, I notice fliers being handed out to visibly Jewish students – basically, fliers telling them that they’re complicit in genocide. And I just feel like there’s a target on my back simply for being Jewish.”

Aufzien accused Columbia and Barnard administrators of “all talk, no action” when it comes to protecting Jewish students on campus.

“Columbia has an antisemitism task force that released a pretty damning report of antisemitism and antisemitic incidents that happened on campus this past year and, while that was disseminated to the entire university, I have not seen tangible examples of the administration taking note of that and truly it’s gross negligence,” she said.

Krischer added, “I mean look, when you have antisemitism lurking in the shadows and you deny it instead of addressing it, that sends a pretty clear message about everything else that you’re doing.”

The Memo: Gaza conflict roils presidential race

September 5, 2024 Published by Niall Stanage

International News

The conflict in Gaza is roiling the presidential campaign with roughly two months to go before Election Day.

Those contours have become particularly sharp since Hamas killed six hostages last week, including an Israeli American citizen, Hersh Goldberg-Polin.

President Biden and Vice President Harris have both promised that Hamas will pay for Goldberg-Polin’s death — and for its broader conduct, including the killing of around 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Former President Trump has blasted the Biden-Harris administration over the loss of the hostages.

On social media, Trump wrote that the hostages were “murdered by Hamas due to a complete lack of American Strength and Leadership.” This echoes a frequent attack from the former president, who blames many adverse events in the wider world on purported Democratic “weakness.”

On Thursday, Trump will deliver a virtual address to a Republican Jewish Coalition summit in Las Vegas.

Harris, for her part, has at times sounded a slightly more sympathetic rhetorical tone than Biden in relation to the suffering of the Palestinians. But she has not telegraphed any significant change in policy.

In her recent CNN interview, Harris was asked whether she might consider suspending arms shipments to Israel. She said that she would not do so — rebuffing a central demand of many pro-Palestinian voices on the left.

In her big speech to the Democratic National Convention last month, Harris said she would “always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself” and condemned the “horror” that Hamas inflicted on Oct. 7. But she added that what happened in Gaza was “devastating” and that “the scale of the suffering is heartbreaking.”

The attempt to cater to the concerns of both sides has, naturally, earned Harris the condemnation of some activists.

The Uncommitted National Movement — an organization that arose as a voice for those who cast protest votes against Biden over Gaza during the Democratic primaries — complained about Harris’s “embrace of militarism” after she contended, following the killing of Goldberg-Polin, that Hamas was an “evil terrorist organization” whose “threat” had to be “eliminated.”

On Tuesday, the Department of Justice unveiled new charges against Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and five other senior members of the group.

However, three of the six people indicted are known or assumed to be dead. It also seems highly unlikely that Sinwar — believed to be hiding in the tunnels under Gaza — would ever be arrested and brought to trial in the U.S.

Also, although the killing of the hostages has drawn widespread outrage, many Americans remain deeply critical of Israel’s 11 months of reprisal assaults following Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks.

Israel has killed upwards of 40,000 people in Gaza, roughly two-thirds of whom are said to be women and children, according to local health authorities. There has been a humanitarian crisis in the small strip of land for months. Almost 2 million people have been displaced within Gaza, many on multiple occasions.

All of that has fueled anger in the U.S. — especially acute among progressives, young people and minorities — about the scale of American military assistance to Israel.

That would seem to put Harris in a bind.

That said, it is notable that Harris leads Trump by 5 points among Michigan voters, in a new CNN poll released Wednesday. She is up by almost 2 points there in the polling average maintained by The Hill and Decision Desk HQ.

Biden was behind Trump in polling averages Michigan, which has an unusually high concentration of Arab-Americans, before he dropped out of the race.

In April, Biden signed a bill that included $17 billion in aid for Israel. Last month, the State Department approved $20 billion in arms sales to the nation. And just last week, Israel’s Defense Ministry said that, since Oct. 7, more than 50,000 tons of armaments and military equipment have been delivered from the United States.

In an Economist/YouGov poll released last month, 35 percent of all Americans wanted military aid to Israel to be decreased, compared to 20 percent who wanted it increased. Among Democrats, 42 percent wanted military aid decreased and only 10 percent wanted it increased.

The conflict more broadly has divided Americans. In a Gallup poll in June, 48 percent of Americans disapproved of Israel’s actions in Gaza and 42 percent approved.

There have been pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the streets of many American cities and on college campuses. Meanwhile, pro-Israel Americans worry about a loosening of the traditional alliance between the two countries — and about a rise in antisemitism.

Trump has sought to take political advantage of this situation.

His appearance via satellite with the Republican Jewish Convention is plainly part of an effort to reduce Democrats’ traditional advantage with Jewish voters. That effort has itself been controversial, including Trump’s contention, made more than once, that any Jewish person who votes for Democratic candidates “should have their head examined.”

There is scant evidence that Trump’s efforts are working — though polling on the topic is infrequent. A poll from the nonpartisan Jewish Electoral Institute this spring, when President Biden was still the Democratic nominee, showed Jewish voters favoring Biden over Trump by 67 percent to 26 percent.

For Biden, the search for a cease-fire in Gaza is also an attempt to put to rest one of the most troublesome issues of his presidency — and one that could negatively impact his legacy.

Biden has recently grown more critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in regard to cease-fire talks.

Asked Monday whether the Israeli prime minister was doing enough to reach a deal, Biden simply replied, “No.”

Aides have not clarified exactly what the president meant — though those talks appear to have foundered in part because of Netanyahu’s insistence that Israel should maintain a military presence on the border between Gaza and Egypt.

Netanyahu’s perceived intransigence has also fueled massive demonstrations in Israel following the killing of the hostages.

So far, a cease-fire remains out of reach — which also ensures the conflict will keep affecting the final stretch of the presidential race.

The Memo is a reported column by Niall Stanage.

Lobbying World: DGA Group snags Akin adviser

September 5, 2024 Published by

Just In News

Justin McCarthy has joined DGA Group as a partner in the firm’s U.S. government relations practice. McCarthy was most recently a senior adviser at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and was previously special assistant to the president for legislative affairs during the George W. Bush administration and director of government relations at Pfizer.

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck is adding Lauren Flynn as a policy director and Maxwell Huntley as senior policy adviser. Flynn previously served as staff director of the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee in both chambers of Congress, and Huntley was most recently a professional staff member for the House Armed Services Committee.

Brownstein also named Greg Brower co-chair of the firm’s government investigations & white collar defense practice group. Brower was most recently chief global compliance officer at Wynn Resorts and is an FBI alum and a former U.S. attorney for the District of Nevada.

Wiley Rein LLP has hired Sarah Amick as special counsel in the firm’s environment and product regulation group. Amick was most recently ESG counsel at Alcoa Corporation and was previously a senior vice president and senior counsel at the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA).

Tim Monahan, Nick Crocker and Andrea Porwoll are joining the government affairs team at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which recently hired former Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.) as head of government affairs.

Monahan joins from Atlas Crossing LLC, where he was senior vice president for government affairs, and is a Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) alum. Crocker was most recently senior advisor and director of coalitions for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Porwoll was most recently vice president for communications and public affairs at Bullpen Strategy Group and was previously McCarthy’s communications director. All three previously worked under Davis on the House Administration Committee.

Cody Carbone has been promoted to president of The Digital Chamber. Carbone was previously chief policy officer and is an Ernst & Young alum.

News, chamber of commerce, Kevin McCarthy, lobbying, Rodney Davis Read More

Venezuelan gang’s alleged takeover of Aurora, Colorado apartments began in 2023: report

September 5, 2024 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News

A violent transnational gang from Venezuela allegedly first gained a “stranglehold” on an apartment complex in Aurora, Colorado, late last year, according to a local report.

Tren de Aragua gang members took over the Whispering Pines Apartments in 2023, engaging in violent assaults, murder threats, extortion, child prostitution and strongarm tactics, Denver law firm Perkins Coie wrote to city leaders in a nine-page report obtained by CBS News Colorado.

The firm was hired to investigate the alleged gang takeover of the apartment building, the outlet said, and interviewed witnesses and reviewed video footage from the complex prior to issuing its report.

“The evidence we have reviewed indicates that gang members are engaging in flagrant trespass violations, assaults and battery, human trafficking and sexual abuse of minors, unlawful firearms possession, extortion, and other criminal activities, often targeting vulnerable Venezuelan and other immigrant populations,” T. Markus Funk, a former U.S. Attorney, wrote in the letter.

TREN DE ARAGUA GANG MEMBERS ARRESTED IN AURORA, COLORADO IN CONNECTION TO APARTMENT BUILDING TAKEOVER: POLICE

The firm interviewed the apartment complex’s property manager, who said “he had never seen anything remotely like the Tren De Aragua takeover of Whispering Pines in his entire career.”

The property manager, who has 15 years of experience, told the firm that two gang members were arrested as they were “coming to kill him” over an apparent late rent payment.

He also detailed how the gang was collecting “rent” from residents, and allegedly stabbed one individual for refusing to pay. In June, the gang members approached the property manager with an offer to help him if he paid the gang 50% of what was collected in rent, the report said.

“This is our business plan,” one gang member allegedly told a housekeeper who spoke to the firm. “If he [the property manager] doesn’t like it, we’ll fill him with bullets.”

Vacant units at the apartment complex were used to host “parties” where the gang provides “drugs and child prostitution,” the property manager told firm investigators, adding that “minors are a good source of money.”

AURORA POLICE REACT TO ALLEGED VENEZUELAN GANG PRESENCE AT APARTMENTS: ‘HAVE NOT TAKEN OVER’

Alleged gang activity in at least two apartment complexes in Aurora has sparked intense scrutiny in recent days after a surveillance video went viral showing heavily armed men kicking down an apartment door.

The Tren de Aragua is based mainly in Venezuela and has roughly 5,000 members between the South American country and the United States.

Last week, the Aurora Police Department refuted the claim that Tren de Aragua gang members had taken over one complex, The Edge at Lowry, though said that authorities were aware of the gang’s alleged criminal activity in the area.

The department announced a special task force appointed in August to help combat the presence of Tren de Aragua.

On Wednesday, police shared the names and photos of two documented Tren de Aragua gang members and two suspected members who were arrested in July for attempted murder.

Happy to see the @AuroraPD finally start to tell the truth and make arrests!” Aurora City Council member Danielle Jurinsky wrote on X. “Aurora citizens deserve to feel safe!”

Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.

Harvard, Columbia rank last in nonprofit’s 2025 college free speech scorecard

September 5, 2024 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News

For the second year in a row, Harvard University’s “abysmal” free speech climate earned it the lowest ranking among 251 colleges and universities scored by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).

“This year, however, Harvard has company. Columbia University ranks 250, also with an overall score of 0.00,” reads the report released Thursday.

New York University, University of Pennsylvania and Barnard College rounded out the bottom-five colleges, according to the report.

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FIRE, a pro-First Amendment nonprofit, worked with College Pulse to survey tens of thousands of students about the free speech environments on their college campuses for its annual College Free Speech Rankings.

“We’re trying to provide an indication of where students can get the best experience in college in terms of being exposed to a diverse set of views,” FIRE’s chief research adviser Sean Stevens told Fox News Digital.

A Barnard spokesperson told Fox News Digital the college is “committed to protecting academic freedom and freedom of expression, and to fostering environments where students, faculty, and staff can engage in open and respectful dialogue.”

Barnard has adopted the Chicago Principles, a free speech policy previously endorsed by FIRE, and this school year a faculty committee will develop “a Barnard-specific framework,” the spokesperson continued.

Harvard, Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

WATCH MORE FOX NEWS DIGITAL ORIGINALS HERE

The universities that ranked poorly all experienced incidents in which speech was censored, suppressed or shouted down, Stevens said. Since FIRE started ranking schools in 2020, the bottom-five colleges and universities have been “consistently bad performers,” he added.

“They rarely stand up for speech,” Stevens said. “When a controversy arises, the speech typically gets punished. A speaker gets disinvited. A faculty member gets sanctioned in some way, or a student or student organization does.”

The poor performers share another notable trait, according to FIRE’s analysis.

“Most of the students are very upset with how the administration has responded to protests over the past year,” Stevens said.

NEW MEXICO POLICE CHIEF CLAIMS HE HAD CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO LEAVE HIS BODY CAM OFF AFTER CRASH: REPORT

Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the war that followed “sent shockwaves through American college and university campuses,” according to the FIRE report. Protesters occupied the South Lawn at Columbia for about two weeks in April before police broke up the encampment.

After the start of the encampments, researchers noticed a large increase in the percentage of Columbia students who said they self-censor in classroom discussions or in conversations with professors or other students.

At the other end of the free speech spectrum, the University of Virginia earned the top ranking. Michigan Technological University, Florida State University, Eastern Kentucky University and Georgia Institute of Technology rounded out the top five.

The full rankings can be viewed here.

Stevens noted that the schools that performed well tended to have fewer controversies overall and, when controversies did arise, administrators typically defended speech rights.

He said he hopes parents and prospective students use FIRE’s ranking tool to make better-informed choices. The tool also provides a look at the liberal-conservative ratio on campuses, and a deeper look at student attitudes toward free expression.

“Experiencing open inquiry and that process, having to grapple and have their views challenged” sets students up to be better “adult citizens in our country, once they graduate,” Stevens said.

FIRE and College Pulse surveyed students at 257 schools in total, but excluded six from the main rankings and gave them “warning” ratings.

The private colleges, which include Pepperdine University, Hillsdale College, and Brigham Young University, all “have policies that clearly and consistently state” that they prioritize “other values over a commitment to freedom of speech,” according to the FIRE report.

Like Brazil, the European Union also has an X problem

September 5, 2024 Published by [email protected] (Agence France-Presse)

Europe – Voice of America

Brussels — Elon Musk’s woes are hardly limited to Brazil as he now risks possible EU sanctions in the coming months for allegedly breaking new content rules.

Access to X has been suspended in South America’s largest country since Saturday after a long-running legal battle over disinformation ended with a judge ordering a shutdown.

But Brazil is not alone in its concerns about X.

Politicians worldwide and digital rights groups have repeatedly raised concerns about Musk’s actions since taking over what was then Twitter in late 2022, including sacking many employees tasked with content moderation and maintaining ties with EU regulators.

Musk’s “free speech absolutist” attitude has led to clashes with Brussels.

The European Union could decide within months to take action against X, including possible fines, as part of an ongoing probe into whether the platform is breaching a landmark content moderation law, the Digital Services Act (DSA).

Nothing has yet been decided but any fines could be as high as 6% of X’s annual worldwide turnover unless the company makes changes in line with EU demands.

But if Musk’s reactions are anything to go by, another showdown is on the cards.

When the EU in July accused X of deceptive practices in violation of the DSA, Musk warned: “We look forward to a very public battle in court.”

The temperature was raised even further a month later with another war of words on social media between Musk and the EU’s top tech enforcer, Thierry Breton.

Breton reminded Musk in a letter of his legal duty to stop “harmful content” from spreading on X hours before an interview with U.S. presidential challenger Donald Trump live on the platform.

Musk responded by mocking Breton and sharing a meme that carried an obscene message.

EU ban ‘very unlikely’

Despite the bitter barbs, the European Commission, the EU’s digital watchdog, insists that dialogue with X is ongoing.

“X continues to cooperate with the commission and respond to questions,” the commission’s digital spokesman, Thomas Regnier, told AFP.

Experts also agree that a Brazil-like shutdown in the 27-country EU is unlikely, although it has the legal right.

The DSA would allow the bloc to demand a judge in Ireland, where X has its EU headquarters, order a temporary suspension until the infringements cease.

Breton has repeatedly insisted that “Europe will not hesitate to do what is necessary.”

But since X has around 106 million EU users, significantly higher than the 22 million in Brazil, the belief is that Musk would not want to risk a similar move in Europe.

“Obviously, we can never exclude it, but it is very unlikely,” said Alexandre de Streel of the think tank Centre on Regulation in Europe.

Regardless of what happens next, de Streel said the case would likely end up in the EU courts, calling X “the least cooperative company” with the bloc.

Jan Penfrat of the European Digital Rights advocacy group said a ban was “a very last resort measure” and that X would “probably” not close shop in the EU.

“I would hope that the commission thinks about this very, very hard before going there because this (a ban) would have a tremendously negative effect on the right to freedom of expression and access to information,” Penfrat said.

EU’s X-File

The commission in July accused X of misleading users with its blue checkmarks for certified accounts, insufficient advertising transparency and failing to give researchers access to the platform’s data.

That allegation is part of a wider probe into X, launched in December, and regulators are still probing how it tackles the spread of illegal content and information manipulation.

X now has access to the EU’s file and can defend itself including by replying to the commission’s findings.

The list of governments angry with Musk is growing. He also raised hackles over the summer in the UK during days of rioting sparked by online misinformation that the suspect behind a mass stabbing that killed three girls was a Muslim asylum seeker.

The billionaire, whose personal X account has 196 million followers, engaged in disputes with British politicians after sharing inflammatory posts and claiming a “civil war is inevitable” in the country.

Non-EU member Britain will soon be able to implement a similar law to the DSA with enforcement expected to start next year.

Police shoot suspicious person near a museum and Israeli Consulate in Munich

September 5, 2024 Published by

Top News: US & International Top News Stories Today | AP News

BERLIN (AP) — Police officers in Munich opened fire Thursday at a person who appeared to be carrying a firearm in an area near a museum on the city’s Nazi-era history and the Israeli Consulate.

The person was wounded, police said on social network X. They didn’t identify the person or detail the extent of the injuries, but said there were no indications that anyone else was hurt. They also said there was no evidence of any more suspects connected to Thursday morning’s incident.

The shooting took place in the Karolinenplatz area, near downtown Munich. Police said they had increased their presence in the city, Germany’s third-biggest, but they had no indication of incidents at any other locations or of any other suspects.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the consulate in Munich was closed when the shooting occurred and that no consulate staff had been hurt.

Thursday was the 52nd anniversary of the attack by Palestinian militants on the Israeli delegation at the 1972 Munich Olympics, which ended with the death of 11 Israeli team members, a West German police officer and five of the assailants. It was unclear whether the incident was in any way related to the anniversary.

Red counties fight blue state’s immigration stance as migrant gangs take over suburbs

September 5, 2024 Published by

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News

As Colorado combats rising gang violence from illegal immigration, six counties are suing the state over a law they say hobbles their ability to tackle migrant crime.

Those counties are battling a state law that prohibits local law enforcement from communicating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The issue is boiling over in the region as at least one Denver suburb is seeing an unprecedented influx of transnational gang activity and armed migrants were recently seen taking over an apartment complex.

El Paso, Elbert, Garfield, Mesa and Rio Blanco counties joined Douglas County in a lawsuit against the state and its governor in April. They argue that HB119-1124, which prohibits local governments from cooperating with the federal government for immigration enforcement, violates the state constitution and is in violation of the U.S. Supremacy Clause, which outlaws state laws from violating federal ones.

“Our local law enforcement would like the ability to communicate with local immigration officials,” Douglas County Commissioner Abe Laydon said. “We have been apprised that there has absolutely been an increase in property crimes, assault and trafficking, and it’s specific issues with the cartels coming out of Venezuela.”

“[Colorado has] rendered us feeling like we don’t have the tools necessary, and that’s incredibly frustrating,” El Paso County Commissioner Carrie Geitner said.

SANCTUARY CITY’S POLICIES PUSH VIOLENT MIGRANT GANG INTO SUBURBS: ‘IT’S A NATIONWIDE PROBLEM’

In 2019, the bill passed through the state’s House of Representatives, 36-28, with nearly every Republican representative voting nay. Several Democrats also opposed the bill.

That May, the bill passed through the state Senate in another party-line vote and into law, 20-15, with one Democrat also opposing.

The counties also argue against HB23-1100, which prohibits local governments from entering into intergovernmental agreements with ICE or another federal body to get around the law. This law was enacted after nearby Teller County, which is not involved in the suit, entered a 287 (g) agreement with ICE to hold migrants arrested there. Colorado’s appeals court ruled the practice illegal under state law.

“Even before we decided to get into this lawsuit, we had encouraged Denver to consider what they might be attracting to our area,” Geitner told Fox News Digital. “It’s a huge concern. We’re watching it trickle out, and we’ve been ringing the alarm bells on this for the last couple years.”

Officials in Aurora, a city within Douglas County nine miles east of Denver, previously told Fox News Digital that the notorious Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua had developed a strong foothold in their community, putting “entire apartment complexes under gang control.”

Days later, video went viral of armed members of the gang storming an Aurora apartment complex just before a shoot-out occurred in the parking lot.

AFTER VIDEO OF ARMED VENEZUELAN GANG SHARED BY LOCAL OFFICIAL GOES VIRAL, COLORADO CITY TAKES ACTION

“Parts of the city are absolutely under this gang control. The local media is downplaying this,” Aurora City Council member Danielle Jurinsky said. “I believe politics is being played with people’s lives. … Nothing is being done to help the American citizens that are being trapped under this gang’s control.”

The handful of red counties suing Colorado don’t share the sanctuary city policies that brought more than 40,000 migrants to Denver, and several instituted their own laws in an effort to barricade themselves against migrant populations expanding outward. Douglas County, for example, outlawed unscheduled buses from stopping in their community, threatening to fine each bus up to $1,000.

“We feel that it simply doesn’t make any sense for a law enforcement agency to not have the ability to work with any other law enforcement agency but then have a restriction on our ability to work with immigration,” El Paso County Commissioner Stan VanderWerf said of his county’s decision to join the lawsuit.

AURORA POLICE REACT TO ALLEGED VENEZUELAN GANG PRESENCE AT APARTMENTS: ‘HAVE NOT TAKEN OVER’

“It’s been decades and decades and decades of working with them just to help a community be safer. Then this law was passed, and it simply makes no sense to us – we don’t think it’s appropriate.”

VanderWerf told Fox News Digital that in one instance, a man arrested on probable cause for child molestation was found to be an illegal immigrant.

“What used to happen before was that they would communicate with ICE and ICE would issue a warrant for a hold. Then we would hold that person until ICE could come to our jail, and they could pick them up,” VanderWerf said.

“Instead, [this person] went to a hearing and a judge set bail. This person paid that bail and then was released. He has disappeared. We have no idea where that person is. That person is not re-engaging with law enforcement.”

Geitner told Fox News Digital that although it is “frustrating” to see Aurora’s gang problem in national news headlines after years of warning Denver of this sort of outcome, it is also “encouraging” that people are being shown “what is going on.”

“The local media doesn’t want to cover a lot of what’s been happening [with migrant crime],” she said. “We have local media that still have not acknowledged the problems that have been created.

“It’s incredibly frustrating to be in a state where our state government is completely ignoring reality. We have been telling our state government this is very problematic. I hope that they will take note. I don’t have a lot of confidence. We are seeing the leadership in our state not wanting to accept reality.”

“People need to know what’s happening, they need to know the effects of these policies. We’re asking our states, we’re asking our federal government, please fix the border, please fix the problem,” Geitner said, adding that she “never thought we’d be having a discussion about the effects of having an open border in our community” when she took office in 2018.

Democrat Gov. Jared Polis could not be reached for comment on the lawsuit.

Chris Swecker, the former head of the FBI’s criminal investigation division, previously told Fox News Digital that this influx of gang members was “predictable and preventable” and that federal law enforcement agencies would be needed to combat it.

“At this point, federal agencies should get involved,” he added. “The bureau has to get involved with ATF and DEA, share their intelligence and approach this as an international crime problem.”

The numbers behind the rise in US mass shootings

September 5, 2024 Published by

BBC News world-us_and_canada

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Image caption,

Data shows gun ownership in the US has grown over the last several years

Gun violence is a fixture in American life – but the issue is a highly political one, pitting gun control advocates against people who are fiercely protective of their right to bear arms.

We’ve looked into some of the numbers behind firearms in the US.

Mass shootings on the rise

There have been more than 385 mass shootings across the US so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, external, which defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are injured or killed. Their figures include shootings that happen in homes and in public places.

For each of the last four years there have been more than 600 mass shootings – almost two a day on average.

He counts US shootings. He no longer remembers names

The deadliest such attack, in Las Vegas in 2017, killed more than 50 people and left 500 wounded. The vast majority of mass shootings, however, leave fewer than 10 people dead.

How do US gun deaths break down?

48,830 people died from gun-related injuries in the US during 2021, according to the latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), external.

That’s nearly an 8% increase from 2020, which was a record-breaking year for firearm deaths.

While mass shootings and gun murders (homicides) generally garner much media attention, more than half of the total in 2021 were suicides.

That year, more than 20,000 of the deaths were homicides, according to the CDC, external.

Data shows more than 50 people are killed each day by a firearm in the US.

That’s a significantly larger proportion of homicides than is the case in Canada, Australia, England and Wales, and many other countries.

How many guns are there in the US?

While calculating the number of guns in private hands around the world is difficult, the latest figures from the Small Arms Survey – a Swiss-based research project – estimated that there were 390 million guns in circulation in the US in 2018.

The US ratio of 120.5 firearms per 100 residents, up from 88 per 100 in 2011, far surpasses that of other countries around the world.

More recent data out of the US suggests that gun ownership grew significantly over the last few years. A study, published by the Annals of Internal Medicine in February, external, found that 7.5 million US adults became new gun owners between January 2019 and April 2021.

This, in turn, exposed 11 million people to firearms in their homes, including 5 million children. About half of new gun owners in that time period were women, while 40% were either black or Hispanic.

Who supports gun control?

A majority of Americans are in favour of gun control.

57% of Americans surveyed said they wanted stricter gun laws – although this fell last year – according to polling by Gallup, external.

32% said the laws should remain the same, while 10% of people surveyed said they should be “made less strict”.

The issue is extremely divisive, falling largely along party lines.

“Democrats are nearly unanimous in their support for stricter gun laws,” another Gallup study noted, external, with nearly 91% in favour of stricter gun laws.

Only 24% Republicans, on the other hand, agreed with the same statement, along with 45% of Independent voters.

Some states have taken steps to ban or strictly regulate ownership of assault weapons. Laws vary by state but California, for example, has banned ownership of assault weapons with limited exceptions.

Some controls are widely supported by people across the political divide – such as restrictions governing the sale of guns to people who are mentally ill or on “watch” lists.

Who opposes gun control?

Despite years of financial woes and internal strife, the National Rifle Association (NRA) remains the most powerful gun lobby in the United States, with a substantial budget to influence members of Congress on gun policy.

Over the last several election cycles, it, and other organisations, have consistently spent more on pro-gun rights messaging than their rivals in the gun control lobby.

A number of states have also gone as far as to largely eliminate restrictions on who can carry a gun. In June 2021, for example, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law a “permitless carry bill” that allows the state’s residents to carry handguns without a licence or training.

Similarly, in April last year Georgia became the 25th in the nation to eliminate the need for a permit to conceal or openly carry a firearm. The law means any citizen of that state has the right to carry a firearm without a licence or a permit.

The law was backed by the NRA, and leaders within the organisation called the move “a monumental moment for the Second Amendment”.

Category: All

Mass shootings on the rise

How do US gun deaths break down?

How many guns are there in the US?

Who supports gun control?

Who opposes gun control?

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