At least a dozen staffers at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs improperly accessed the medical records of both vice presidential nominees, Republican Sen. JD Vance, of Ohio, and Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, over the summer, according to a report. 

Those employees are under criminal investigation for potentially violating federal health privacy laws, The Washington Post reported. The unauthorized views came from staffers within the Veterans Health Administration and were uncovered by Veterans Affairs investigators, who notified the Vance and Walz campaigns, sources familiar with the probe told the Post. 

It’s the first time veterans were both parties’ vice presidential nominees since Democrat Al Gore and Republican Jack Kemp during the 1996 election. 

Law enforcement officials told the Post that VA Inspector General Michael Missal’s office shared evidence with federal prosecutors related to several health system employees, including a physician and a contractor who “spent extended time” viewing the medical files of former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mates. 

FOX NEWS MEDIA WILL PRESENT SPECIAL LIVE PROGRAMMING OF VANCE-WALZ DEBATE

The potential motive for accessing the medical records is under investigation, and investigators are still trying to determine if Vance and Walz’s information was shared as a result of the breaches, the Post reported. 

“We reported to law enforcement allegations that VA personnel may have improperly accessed Veteran records,” VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes said in a statement to Fox News Digital, regarding the report. “We take the privacy of the Veterans we serve very seriously and have strict policies in place to protect their records. Any attempt to improperly access Veteran records by VA personnel is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.” 

Hayes referred Fox News Digital to the Department of Justice for further queries.

The VA employees under investigation, including the physician and contractor, accessed the medical records using their VA computers and did so mostly from their government offices, the Post reported. Some of the staffers in question reportedly told investigators they were simply curious to see the files of Vance and Walz given both candidates have defended their military records on the campaign trail. 

JD VANCE ACCUSES TIM WALZ OF ‘LYING’ ABOUT MILITARY SERVICE: ‘STOLEN VALOR GARBAGE’

Walz in particular faced criticism for ending his 24-year career in the Army National Guard to run for Congress months before his unit would deploy to Iraq. 

Vance, who served four years in the U.S. Marines and deployed to Iraq for about six months in 2005, has accused Walz of being “dishonest” about having served in combat zones. 

Law enforcement officials told the Post that the VA staffers under investigation did not access any disability compensation records, which have more security protocols than health information. 

A source at VA shared with Fox News Digital an internal memo sent out Aug. 30, 2024, by VA Secretary Denis McDonough “upholding our commitment to protect privacy.” 

The message reminded VA staffers that veteran information “should only be accessed when necessary to accomplish officially authorized and assigned duties as an employee, contractor, volunteer, or other personnel.” The secretary said “viewing a Veteran’s records out of curiosity or concern – or for any purpose that is not directly related to officially authorized and assigned duties – is strictly prohibited.” 

The memo also warned VA employees that “failure to comply with these requirements may result in disciplinary action, including removal, as well as referral to law enforcement for civil penalties and criminal prosecution.” 

Social media critics are dragging second gentleman Doug Emhoff for his previously admitted affair with his family’s nanny after he joined MSNBC host Jen Psaki for an interview where he was lauded for reshaping “the perception of masculinity.”

“​​Psaki to Doug Emhoff: ‘You reshaped the perception of masculinity’ PS: He impregnated his kid’s nanny,” popular conservative X account End Wokeness posted Sunday. 

The account was reacting to a snippet from Emhoff’s interview with Psaki, who previously served as President Biden’s White House press secretary before joining MSNBC, where Psaki heaped praise on Emhoff for reshaping masculinity. 

KAMALA HARRIS’ HUSBAND DOUG EMHOFF ‘RESHAPED THE PERCEPTION OF MASCULINITY’: MSNBC HOST

“There is also an important, interesting part about how people have talked about your role is how your role has reshaped the perception of masculinity,” Psaki said. “I’m not sure you planned on that, but you are an incredibly supportive spouse. Has that been an evolution for you? Do you think that’s part of the role you might play as first gentleman?”

“It’s funny. I’ve started to think a lot about this. I’ve always been like this. My dad’s always been like this. To me, it’s the right thing to do, support women. It is mutual with Kamala and I. We support each other, we have each other’s back,” Emhoff responded. 

He added, “I’ve said many times when we lift up women, we support women, whether it’s pay equity, child care, family leave, and all of these issues in this post-Dobbs hellscape. Women should not be less than. Women should not have less rights and be treated differently. That’s not the American way.”

MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: TRUMP APPEALS TO MEN WITH ‘RETRO, MACHO’ VIEWS, WHILE EMHOFF EMBODIES ‘SUPPORTIVE’ MEN

Clips of the exchange spread like wildfire on social media as critics cited that just last month, Emhoff admitted to having an affair with his family’s nanny during his first marriage years ago. The nanny’s close friend claimed to the media that the nanny became pregnant during the affair with Emhoff, but did not keep the baby. 

Critics also slammed Psaki for the “softball interiew.” 

“Emhoff also once impregnated his child’s nanny. Jen still says she’s a journalist,” Fox News contributor Joe Concha posted on X in reaction to the clip. 

Psaki continued in the interview that aired Sunday by asking Emhoff if he’s familiar with “a pop-culture phrase, ‘wife guy,’ which you’ve kind of been known as.”

KAMALA HARRIS’ HUSBAND DOUG EMHOFF ADMITS TO EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIR THAT LED TO BREAKUP OF FIRST MARRIAGE

“I have heard about it,” Emhoff said.

“A ‘wife guy,’ a ‘proud wife guy.’ How do you feel about it?” she asked.

DOUG EMHOFF’S EX-WIFE RESPONDS AFTER SECOND GENTLEMAN ADMITTED TO AFFAIR WITH NANNY

Emhoff joked, “If I do something annoying to Kamala, and she gets upset, I’ll just show her that article.”

Emhoff admitted to having an affair with his family’s nanny shortly after the Daily Mail published a report in August that he got his daughter’s nanny pregnant. The nanny’s close friend told the outlet that she did not keep the baby, but did not elaborate further. 

The affair with a nanny occurred before Emhoff’s relationship with and eventual marriage to Harris. 

“During my first marriage, Kerstin and I went through some tough times on account of my actions. I took responsibility, and in the years since, we worked through things as a family and have come out stronger on the other side,” Emhoff said over the summer, acknowledging the affair, but not naming the nanny. 

HOW KAMALA HARRIS’ HUSBAND’S CHEATING SCANDAL COULD HELP TRUMP, EXPERT SAYS

Emhoff and his first wife, Kerstin Emhoff, were married from 1992 to 2008 and share two adult children. Harris married Emhoff in 2014, and helped co-parent his children, who call their stepmom “mommala.” 

The divorce cited “irreconcilable differences” as the motivation behind parting ways, the New York Post reported. 

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Harris knew about the affair before they married, and the Biden 2020 campaign knew about it when it was vetting her for Biden’s vice presidential pick.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment on the interview and social media reactions as well as for comment on the affair itself, but did not immediately receive a response. 

Fox News Digital’s Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report. 

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

Vulnerable Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., is continuing to defend his decision not to endorse in the 2024 presidential race ahead of his tough re-election, but the Democrat’s opponent suggests his “record” signals support for Vice President Kamala Harris.

Tester recently revealed that he would not be making an endorsement in the presidential race in order to focus on his re-election, despite being a key player in Harris’ recruitment to the Senate.

Tester served as chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) from 2015 to 2017, leading the efforts of the campaign arm to elect Democrats to the chamber when Harris first announced her senatorial aspirations. And after Harris launched her California Senate bid, the Los Angeles Times reported in January 2015 that, according to an adviser, Tester was one of the players who encouraged her to run.

Asked again about withholding an endorsement, Tester’s response was that he would work with or hold accountable whichever presidential candidate gets elected.

KAMALA HARRIS ISN’T ALONE: VULNERABLE DEMS WANT CURRENT FILIBUSTER GONE

“Unfortunately, my opponent would rather talk about a national race that will be decided by the people of Montana. Whoever gets elected to the U.S. president, I can guarantee you one thing, just like all previous ones, I’ll work with them when they’re doing good things for Montana, and I’ll hold them accountable when they’re not,” Tester told MTN News in an interview.

NEW YORKER SPENDS LARGE PART OF KAMALA HARRIS ENDORSEMENT REBUKING BIDEN: HE ‘STOOD IN THE WAY’

Tester endorsed Harris when she was selected as President Biden’s 2020 running mate. “My friend @KamalaHarris is a proven fighter and an excellent pick for Vice President. As VP, I’m confident she will continue to fight for working families across this country. Looking forward to supporting her and @JoeBiden in November,” Tester wrote in an August 2020 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Montana Republican nominee and Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy, who endorsed former President Trump in the presidential race, suggested that Tester’s voting record is his endorsement for Harris.

“Jon Tester votes with Kamala Harris 95% of the time. His voting record is his endorsement of the failed Harris agenda, and every time Montanans needed him to stop the insanity in Washington, he was the deciding vote to further her progressive liberal agenda,” a spokesperson for Sheehy for Montana told Fox News Digital. 

“That same agenda has made costs for things like groceries and gas skyrocket, it’s brought us record high inflation, and has given us a wide-open southern border that has brought crime and deadly drugs into our communities. Tester also voted to allow benefits for illegal immigrants paid for by the American taxpayer – a hallmark of the Harris agenda. We can’t afford to re-elect Jon Tester because his voting record in Washington proves he’s changed and is and will continue to support the radical America Last agenda.”

Tester is running for re-election in red state Montana, a race that could likely determine which party controls the chamber, and recent polling and political forecaster predictions suggest that Sheehy is currently leading the race just weeks before Election Day.

A recent AARP survey found that Sheehy is leading by six percentage points in a head-to-head matchup against Tester. His lead against Tester widened to eight points in a multi-candidate field that included the state’s Green Party and Libertarian candidates.

The Cook Political Report, an independent nonpartisan elections handicapper, recently shifted the race from “toss-up” to “lean Republican,” while Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics moved the race to “leans Republican.”

Tester’s campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment at the time of publication.

Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, who is currently running to be the next vice president of the United States, once said in a gubernatorial debate that he supports “single-payer health care,” also known as “Medicare-for-all.”

“I think that’s probably the path where we end up,” Walz said in a 2018 debate while running for governor when asked, “Are you for single-payer?”

“And I say that because, be very clear about this, there were no protections for preexisting conditions before the ACA,” Walz continued. “A vote for the ACA was the first time in this nation’s history we had those protections and making sure people have that protection, making sure they were covered, and then making sure we were focused on preventative care, people were finally getting that under the ACA, we started to see health outcomes improve and that’s the real key to driving down insurance premium prices.”

Walz went on to say “let’s be very clear” that there is “no market in health care.”

MINNESOTA GOP LEADER SOUNDS ALARM ON WALZ TRYING TO ‘BAMBOOZLE’ RURAL VOTERS: ‘BERNIE SANDERS IN FLANNEL’

“Because markets by nature would be a failure if someone didn’t have it, there’s not going to be, you cannot simply shrink a pool to the sickest people and say that’s where we are going to manage them when they’re in crisis. That’s not the way to go about this. The way to go about this is making sure everybody has that preventative care, making sure everybody has that access on the front end, you start to drive down prices. The ACA did that.”

Walz’s opponent, Republican Jeff Johnson, then pressed Walz on the issue.

“I’m not sure what your answer was. Do you support single-payer health care?”

“Yes,” Walz said. “That was the answer I just gave you.”

WALZ BLASTED FOR HUDDLING WITH GEORGE SOROS’ SON AT NYC LUXURY APARTMENT: ‘BILLIONAIRE NEPO BABY’

Johnson interjected, “Are you for it?”

“Yes,” Walz said. “I’m going to push for not paying twice as much as any other industrialized nation. Getting half for it. I’m making sure that the 14 top nations that get the best returns at the least cost make sure you cut out that piece that is simply payer getting between people and their doctors.”

When Johnson countered that “single-payer” means “everybody loses their insurance” and “forced on to one government plan,” Walz countered, “We can do better.”

The comments from Walz come under the backdrop of Vice President Kamala Harris supporting “Medicare-for-all” when she ran for president in 2019. However, in August, her campaign claimed she will not push the subject of single-payer or “Medicare-for-all” during the campaign.

In 2019, Fox News spoke to Harris in the hallways of Capitol Hill, asking about her plans for providing health care.

“How important is it to your health care plan to get rid of private insurance companies? Because there is some confusion about that,” Peter Doocy asked Harris on Jan. 30, 2019.

“I’m glad you asked. Yeah. So, the bottom line and the most important is that everyone have access to health care,” Harris said. “That is the goal. That is the purpose for me supporting the policy of ‘Medicare-for-all.’

“If Congress votes in a way that reflects the values and desires of the American people, then Congress will vote for a policy that gives everyone access to health care,” she later said.

Her proposed solution was to provide “Medicare-for-all” because “Medicare works” and “it’s popular.”

“‘Medicare-for-all‘ will cover all medically necessary services, including emergency room visits, doctor visits, vision, dental, hearing aids, mental health, and substance-use disorder treatment, and comprehensive reproductive health care services,” Harris wrote. “It will also allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris-Walz campaign for comment but did not receive a response.

Fox News’ Greg Wehner and Peter Doocy contributed reporting.

A U.N. human rights group confirmed Hamas’ leader in Lebanon, who was recently killed by Israeli strikes, was their employee. 

Fateh Sherif was killed Monday in an airstrike on the al-Bass refugee camp in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, along with his wife and children.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) noted that Sherif had been on suspension with the organization since March but had not been fired. 

“Fateh Al Sharif was an UNRWA employee who was put on administrative leave without pay in March and was undergoing an investigation following allegations that UNRWA received about his political activities,” an UNRWA spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

At the time, his suspension sparked widespread protests and strikes by teachers in Lebanon. 

“Sherif was responsible for coordinating Hamas’ terror activities in Lebanon with Hezbollah operatives. He was also responsible for Hamas’ efforts in Lebanon to recruit operatives and acquire weapons,” the Israel Defense Force (IDF) and Israeli Security Agency (ISA) said in a joint statement. 

“He led the Hamas terrorist organization’s force build-up efforts in Lebanon and operated to advance Hamas’ interests in Lebanon, both politically and militarily.”

ISRAELI STRIKE KILLS HAMAS COMMANDER IN LEBANON 

Israel alleges UNRWA is overrun with terrorist sympathizers, a claim the agency denies. 

Sherif was the principal of the UNRWA-run Deir Yassin Secondary School in al-Bass and head of the UNRWA teachers’ union, which has around 2,000 teachers. 

“Through that position, and as principal of a large UNRWA school, he was able to recruit operatives, and to brainwash generations of Palestinians to engage in terrorism,” Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, told Fox News Digital. 

Neuer and his organization had long pushed U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini to fire Sherif and said they provided both with a dossier proving his involvement in Hamas. 

“Everyone at UNRWA knew. Yet they refused to act,” Neuer said. 

IRAN’S AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI IN HIDING WITH EXTRA SECURITY FOLLOWING HEZBOLLAH LEADER’S DEATH: REPORT 

“Even as school principal al-Sharif openly incited terrorism on social media for over a decade, UNRWA did nothing. They failed to fire or even condemn their school principal for being a Hamas terror chief. Only this year, when there was intense scrutiny of UNRWA, did they finally slap him on the wrist with a suspension – while for months insisting that they were conducting ‘an investigation.’”

The Sherif killing unfolded as another terrorist group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, said three of its leaders were killed in an airstrike that hit the upper floor of an apartment building in Beirut, according to Reuters. 

Israeli officials said Monday they will “continue to operate against anyone who poses a threat to the civilians of the State of Israel.” 

Israel over the past few days has expanded its attacks on Iran-backed militant groups in the region, also killing Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike over the weekend.

While it weighs a full-on ground offensive, the IDF has been launching small special forces operations in southern Lebanon. 

A reported Israeli airstrike hit central Beirut, the first strike at the heart of the capital since 2006, in an escalation of the bombing that local officials say has killed more than 1,000 in Lebanon. 

Iran has vowed Israel’s “criminal acts” would not go unanswered, while President Biden has insisted all-out war in the Middle East “must be avoided.”

Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will face off in a vice presidential debate Tuesday evening, with Fox News airing special programming across its key platforms, including the Fox News Channel and Fox News Digital. 

Vance and Walz will travel to New York City for their first and only scheduled debate of the election cycle. The debate will be held at 9 p.m. EST. The debate will be moderated by “CBS Evening News” anchor Norah O’Donnell and “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan. 

The Fox News Channel, FOX Business Network, Fox News Digital, Fox News Audio and Fox Nation will air special programming of the debate. 

VANCE VS. WALZ: THINK VP DEBATES DON’T MATTER? JUST LOOK AT THESE 6 EXAMPLES

Fox News will begin broadcasting special coverage at 8 p.m. Tuesday, kicking off with debate preview analysis from “Jesse Watters Primetime” until 8:20, when the Fox News Channel will then air “FOX News Democracy 2024,” which will be hosted by Bret Baier, Martha MacCallum, Jesse Watters and Laura Ingraham. 

EXPERTS PREVIEW VANCE-WALZ DEBATE, SAY USUALLY ‘FORGETTABLE’ VP BOUT ‘MIGHT BE DIFFERENT’ THIS TIME

Fox News’ Sean Hannity will also join the coverage live from the debate’s spin room. Congressional correspondent Aishah Hasnie and senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich will also report live from the spin room. 

The Fox News Channel will present “FOX News Democracy 2024: CBS Vice Presidential Debate” between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Tuesday, which is a simulcast of CBS’s vice presidential debate. 

JD VANCE DEBATE PREP STRATEGY INCLUDES TAPPING PROMINENT LAWMAKER TO PLAY WALZ

The debate will last 90 minutes and wrap up at 10:30 p.m. The debate will include two four-minute commercial breaks, and campaign staff will not be permitted to interact with their respective candidates during the breaks, per debate rules. 

Microphones for Vance and Walz will not be muted during the debate, unlike the recent presidential debates, but CBS could turn off their mics if moderators find it is warranted. 

Vance won the coin toss and will deliver the final remarks. 

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

A group of Nantucket, Massachusetts, residents are appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court in their challenge to the industrialization of parts of the Atlantic Ocean, where they say offshore wind farms – developed with the blessing of the federal government – are putting an endangered whale species at risk. 

The group, Nantucket Residents Against Turbines, argues in its petition to the high court that “the federal government has lost sight of its statutory obligations to conserve endangered species that will be directly affected by the construction of thousands of wind turbines in the Atlantic Ocean.” 

They argue that the federal agencies that authorized the leasing of the water area to wind turbine companies excluded certain data in their analysis to the benefit of offshore wind development.

“Despite the agencies’ explicit statutory duty to consider all ‘best information available,’ regarding the impacts its actions might have on an endangered or threatened species and those habitats, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), did not consider the cumulative impacts of other planned projects when they authorized and issued permits to construct the Vineyard Wind 1 Project.”

MAINE LOBSTERMEN CATCH BIG COURT VICTORY AGAINST BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S ‘EGREGIOUS’ REGULATIONS

The petition to the high court is the latest swell in a surge of opposition to offshore wind development that was fast-tracked at the behest of the Biden-Harris administration, which has incentivized a goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore energy by 2030. 

Pursuant to that goal, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which President Biden signed into law in 2022, gave millions in tax breaks to green energy production deals.

Vineyard Wind, a joint venture between foreign entities Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, is the nation’s largest offshore wind energy project off the New England coast – 15 miles off Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. The project was one of the first beneficiaries of the IRA.

Vineyard Wind boasted of a $1.2 billion “first-of-its-kind tax equity package” for commercial scale offshore wind with three U.S.-based banks, calling it “the largest single asset tax equity financing and the first for a commercial scale offshore wind project.” 

“The Vineyard Wind 1 Project is the first of the government’s ‘coordinated steps’ to construct about 30 wind turbine projects along the Atlantic seaboard that, when built out, will have thousands of turbines covering millions of acres of federal submerged lands,” the petition states. 

“Vineyard Wind LLC has constructed, or partially constructed, 47 of the 62 approved wind turbines, with each turbine spaced one nautical mile apart. Once fully constructed, each turbine stands 853 feet above the water and is almost three times the size of the Statue of Liberty.”

The petition notes that 47 turbines so far have “already begun to adversely impact the Nantucket community, the ocean environment, and marine species’ habitat.”

“Although not considered in any environmental impact analyses, problems with the turbines have also already begun. In July 2024, a large portion of a 350-foot fiberglass and PVC blade broke off one of Vineyard Wind’s turbines into the water, and pieces of the blade washed ashore and littered the beaches of Nantucket,” it notes. 

‘RUINED BY NEGLIGENCE’: DAVE PORTNOY BLASTS NANTUCKET WIND FARM AFTER BROKEN BLADE SHUTS DOWN BEACHES

The petition argues that around the time of the Vineyard Wind 1 Biological Opinion, BOEM had issued over 25 offshore wind leases (on which one or more projects will be built). However, in the Biological Opinion, NMFS openly stated that it did not consider the cumulative impacts of those projects.

The North Atlantic right whale, which has been on the brink of extinction for more than 100 years, will “bear the brunt of the federal government’s shortcutting of the environmental review process,” the petition argues. 

“Despite the obvious effects that constructing wind turbines all along the North Atlantic Right Whale’s migratory route and now year-round habitat will have, the agencies evaluated only the impacts caused by the Project itself and ignored obvious impacts from all the other projects planned in the Atlantic Ocean,” it states. 

The petition argues that the Supreme Court should hear this case to decide a circuit split between the Ninth and First Circuit decisions on the matter, which conflict with one another. 

“Petitioners ask this Court to grant review of the important issue presented in this petition to resolve the split among the circuits and provide guidance to lower courts that will soon be facing the identical issue on how to conserve endangered species while seeking to achieve renewable energy objectives,” it states.  

Between the fishing industry arguing that offshore wind production unduly prohibits their business, to unprecedented whale deaths and the Nantucket blade disaster, criticism has mounted in recent months. 

However, despite public favor dwindling, government officials are still pushing for record areas of the Atlantic Ocean to be industrialized. 

Earlier this month, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy announced the single largest procurement of offshore wind in the state’s history by pursuing purchase agreements with SouthCoast Wind, New England Wind and Vineyard Wind II. 

Rebecca Tepper, the secretary of the state’s office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, said the state said, “offshore wind is our future, and it is vital that we build that future today.”

LOCAL FISHERMEN SLAM BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S NEWLY UNVEILED PLANS TO INDUSTRIALIZE GULF OF MAINE

“By going big now with projects, we are going to lead the nation in the global race for developers, vessels, materials and expertise,” she said. 

As to why wind energy production is undeterred by environmental warnings and concerns, Annie Hawkins, executive director of Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, says that offshore wind companies and government agencies are working hand-in-hand.

“For a long, long time now, we’ve had the tail wagging the dog in terms of the wind developers, energy companies and utilities, as well as investment banks and everyone else pushing forward offshore wind from a private sector perspective and from an economic interest investment. It’s far outpaced the environmental look and thought around offshore wind,” Hawkins said.

“It’s no surprise to me that because this whole thing has been set up from the relationships to the staffing of the offshore wind companies. There’s a real revolving door with federal and state agencies and offshore wind companies. The whole thing has been set up for a very, very fast takeover of the oceans. So they’re just going to keep pushing no matter what happens,” Hawkins said. 

A recent report by the Cato Institute found that while the offshore wind industry earns some of the biggest tax breaks, its “high costs, which require substantial—and increasing—taxpayer and ratepayer subsidies, will raise electricity rates and reduce electricity consumption.”

The report also warned of the economic deficits from the offshore wind. 

“It is impossible for a system of green energy tax credits and other subsidies to increase economic growth,” the report concluded. “

“Forcing consumers and taxpayers to subsidize offshore wind jobs at a cost of several millions of dollars per job each year—far more than the workers will be paid—cannot increase overall economic growth and employment,” it stated. 

Fox News Digital reached out to BOEM and NOAA but did not get a response by publication deadline.

Former President Trump has narrowed Vice President Kamala Harris’ small lead in the battleground states of Michigan and Wisconsin, new polling by the New York Times/Siena College finds. 

Among likely voters in Michigan, Harris received 48% support, while Trump garnered 47%, locking the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees in an essential tie well within the poll’s margin of error. Harris polled at 49% among likely voters in Wisconsin, while Trump received 47% support in the same state where polls usually overestimate backing for Democrats, according to the Times. 

The Times pointed to the economy, which remains the most important issue for voters, as Trump’s strength on economic issues helps him edge away at Harris’ slim lead in the two northern battlegrounds. 

The new poll contrasts with August’s New York Times/Siena College survey, which has Harris leading Trump by four percentage points, 50% to 46% among likely voters, in the battlegrounds of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania as well. That poll was the first conducted as the race reshaped with Harris becoming the presidential nominee following President Biden’s July departure from the contest.  

FOX NEWS POLL: HARRIS, TRUMP IN CLOSE RACE IN NORTH CAROLINA

Now with less than 40 days until the Nov. 5 election, New York Times/Siena College polling places Harris ahead of Trump by nine percentage points in Nebraska’s Second Congressional District, whose sole electoral vote could be critical in the Electoral College. The Times says Harris could receive exactly 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House if she picks up that district – given the vice president also wins Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and Trump is victorious in the Sun Belt battleground states. 

Though Ohio does not fall into the battleground state category for the presidential race, it’s home to one of the nation’s most competitive Senate contests between Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown and GOP challenger Bernie Moreno. New York Times/Siena College polling has Trump six points ahead of Harris in Ohio, whereas Brown leads Moreno by four points.

TRUMP VISITS WISCONSIN TOWN SHAKEN BY MIGRANT CRIME: ‘CROSSED KAMALA’S WIDE-OPEN BORDER’

Democrats have enjoyed an advantage for months in presidential contest polling in Wisconsin, which has been determined by less than a percentage point in four of the last six elections, including the 2020 race, the Times notes. Meanwhile, Biden carried Michigan by three points in 2020, while Trump won that Wolverine State in 2016 by three-tenths of a point. 

Abortion was placed as the second most important issue among Michigan and Wisconsin voters. 

The new poll found 18% of voters in the two states listed abortion as their top issue, noting an uptick since May when 13% of voters in Michigan and Wisconsin marked it as their determining cause. On abortion, Harris leads Trump by 20 points in Michigan, but now only by 13 points in Wisconsin. Harris had a 22-point lead over Trump in August on the abortion issue in the Badger State. 

FIRST ON FOX: Senate Republicans teamed up to lay out their closing arguments against the Biden-Harris administration and its policies in a new video series that addresses the border, the high cost of living and foreign policy. 

Featuring more than 20 Republican senators, the Senate Republican conference is releasing a three-part video series with specific emphasis on Vice President Harris amid her run for the presidency on Monday. The videos will take viewers through the years of President Biden and Harris’ administration, reminding them of past blunders. 

One video focuses on the southern border crisis, with Republican senators appearing on site at the border cut between footage of Harris responding to concerns over her administration’s inaction.

AS LEADER RACE LOOMS, JOHN THUNE TAKES SENATE MAP BY STORM TO BOOST GOP CANDIDATES

It notes Harris was put in charge of addressing the root causes of the border crisis and stemming the flow of migrants to the southern border by Biden as the administration’s “border czar.” However, in recent days, both members of the media and Democrats have suggested Harris was never actually tasked with managing the border crisis or in the position of border czar. 

Another video serves as a reminder of the enduring global crises and conflicts that began under the Biden-Harris administration, including the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Russia’s attack on Ukraine and terrorist group Hamas’ attack on Israel. 

KAMALA HARRIS ISN’T ALONE: VULNERABLE DEMS WANT CURRENT FILIBUSTER GONE

High prices and Americans’ struggles to make ends meet is addressed in the third video, and the evolution of the administration’s explanations for inflation is laid out. Footage of Harris touting “Bidenomics” is featured. The administration quickly stopped mentioning Bidenomics after the phrase proved unpopular. 

SENATE PASSES FUNDING BILL WITHOUT SAVE ACT, AVOIDING POTENTIAL SHUTDOWN

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said, “This series shows Americans a clear timeline of Kamala Harris’ failures. They will see how Harris’ tie-breaking vote led to record-high prices – 20% higher than when Harris took office. They will hear how Harris’ open-border policies led to more than 10 million illegal immigrants pouring across the border. They will see how Harris played a pivotal role in the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan that led to the death of 13 Americans.

GOP SENATORS EYE COMPREHENSIVE CHINA STRATEGY TO CURB CCP INFLUENCE

“These videos show America is worse off today because of dangerous liberal Kamala Harris.”

The video series comes after the departure of the Senate for a month-long recess. Lawmakers won’t return until after the November election. It serves as a final argument from the Republican conference against the Biden-Harris administration’s policies and leadership while also looking to pin that record on downballot Democrats seeking election or re-election. 

Republicans are favored to take the majority in the Senate, keeping all of their current seats and adding seats in West Virginia and Montana. This would put them at a 51-member majority, but there are several additional contests that are considered within reach, giving them a chance to expand on it. 

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Nebraska and Washington, D.C., began early voting on Monday. Here is the information you need to register and vote in both.

Nebraska is red territory. Former President Trump won the state by 19 points in the last presidential election and 25 points in 2016.

But the state has long allocated its electoral votes differently than most other states, and that could give Harris an opportunity.

The scenario goes like this: Vice President Harris wins Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and the less competitive states that President Biden won in 2020 (i.e. excluding Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina). 

That gives her 269 electoral votes, resulting in a tie that would, in the end, very likely hand Trump the election.

To win with the majority of the electoral college, either Harris or Trump needs 270 votes.

Nebraska’s 2nd district would provide that one extra vote.

(Maine and Nebraska are the only states that award electoral college votes both to the winner of the statewide vote, and the winner of the same vote but separated by congressional district.)

The district has voted for two Democrats and two Republicans in the last four elections:

Omaha and its suburbs make up a significant part of the district’s population, and the city has a disproportionately high percentage of people with a college education. That gives Harris the edge. Nebraska’s 2nd district is ranked Lean D on the Fox News Power Rankings.

Nebraska’s 2nd district is also, of course, home to a U.S. House race. Center-right Republican Rep. Don Bacon has held the seat since 2017, but as last week’s Power Rankings revealed, he is locked in a close battle with second-time rival and Democratic State Sen. Tony Vargas. The district is ranked a Toss Up.

Finally, Nebraskans will also vote in two U.S. Senate races this year. The one to watch is the regular election between incumbent Republican Sen. Deb Fischer, who has won the seat twice beginning in 2012, and independent challenger Dan Osborn, a Navy veteran and local union leader. Fischer has a clear advantage, but the race moved to Likely R last week.

This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Nebraska.

Nebraska began absentee voting on Monday. Applicants do not need to provide an excuse to receive a ballot. The state must receive a ballot application by Oct. 25, and that ballot must be delivered to state officials by Nov. 5.

Nebraska will begin early in-person voting on Oct. 7, and it will run through Nov. 4.

Nebraska residents can register to vote online or by mail through Oct. 18. They can register in-person through Oct. 25.

This is a guide to registration and early voting. For comprehensive and up-to-date information on voter eligibility, processes and deadlines, please go to Vote.gov and the election website for Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., began absentee voting on Monday. Registered voters do not need to apply for a ballot, as the district will begin sending ballots to all active registered voters this week. Ballots can be returned by mail or in person through election day.

Washington, D.C. will begin early in-person voting on Oct. 28, and it will run through Nov. 3.

Residents of the nation’s capital can register to vote online or by mail through Oct. 15. They can also register in-person during early voting (Oct. 28-Nov. 3) and on election day.