Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Senate President Pro tempore Patty Murray, D-Wash., and others revealed on Tuesday their plans to force votes on abortion-related bills in the wake of two pregnant women’s deaths after taking abortion pills.

In floor remarks, Schumer said, “What happened in Georgia is a direct example of how abortion bans continue to exacerbate the racial disparities in maternal death. Amber’s doctors didn’t perform the medical procedures they knew she needed because of Georgia’s law.”

“It was the law overruling their good medical judgment. She went into septic shock and her heart stopped – all while doctors did everything except the medically-sound treatment she needed,” he said, in reference to ProPublica‘s reporting on the deaths of Candi Miller and Amber Nicole Thurman. 

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Both of the women died in Georgia after taking abortion pills and suffering complications. In Thurman’s case, according to ProPublica, doctors waited a prolonged period of time before performing the necessary dilation and curettage (D&C) procedure, which is not an abortion. Miller was found unresponsive by her family after suffering from the pill’s complication. 

“Today, as you heard from the leader, we’re going to try and pass this resolution, and we’re going to see if the Senate can come together with one voice and tell women, ‘Women, we want to put your health first,'” Murray said at a press conference. 

The Washington Democrat will attempt on Tuesday afternoon to advance her resolution to affirm “the basic right to emergency health care, including abortion care” for a vote by unanimous consent. However, this is expected to be objected to by a Republican. 

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The Democrats’ plan to seek forced votes on abortion items comes in response to the deaths of Miller and Thurman, which have caused a dispute over what is to blame. 

“Amber Thurman and Candi Miller are two Black mothers who lost their lives in Georgia due to the state’s draconian abortion ban. Women who could have survived if they had been able to get the health care they needed. These are the consequences of Trump abortion bans,” Murray claimed earlier this month. 

Roe v. Wade was overturned in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in 2022, which turned the authority to determine limitations on abortion back to the states. Former President Trump’s appointment of Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett is largely credited for giving conservative justices the majority and pushing the decision over the edge. 

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Other Democrats have echoed Murray’s sentiment, including Vice President Kamala Harris, blaming the overturn of Roe v. Wade for the women’s deaths. 

Some conservative leaders and groups have pushed back on Democrats’ characterization of the women’s deaths, including top pro-life organization Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. 

SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a statement, “Pro-life laws are clear, yet politicians and the media are sowing confusion at women’s expense. Across the nation, pro-life laws allow doctors to provide emergency care, and doctors who fail to provide necessary medical care should be held accountable.”

“Pro-abortion Democrats and the abortion industry fearmonger and exploit tragedies resulting from abortions themselves, like the deaths of Amber Thurman and Candi Miller – leaving women confused about the law and scared to get care in emergency situations. These lies have real consequences, and we urge pro-abortion Democrats to value women’s safety over limitless abortion,” she said. 

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During a Senate Finance Committee hearing on “Threats to Reproductive Health Care,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., questioned Dr. Christina Francis, an obstetrician and gynecologist, and CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, on the safety of the abortion pill. 

“Obviously, we have recent cases of Candi Miller dying from a chemical abortion. FDA has changed the rules of late, to be able to say, ‘Don’t give us information about consequences. Don’t even report that. Don’t turn it in.’ You don’t have to get to a doctor to be able to get access to a chemical abortions. There’s been lots of conversations I’ve heard from my Democratic colleagues saying chemical abortions are as safe as Tylenol. Can you tell me a little bit more about chemical abortions?” he asked. 

“Incomplete abortion, where all of the tissue, from all of the fetal tissue and placental tissue don’t pass after taking these drugs, occurs in 5 to 10% of women. That may sound like a small number, but when you look at the number of chemical abortions that are done in this country every year, that’s a significant number of women that are experiencing this complication,” Francis responded. 

She further warned that abortion pills are not on par with Tylenol, remarking, “These are not safe drugs, and women deserve to have accurate information about that.”

Violent crimes have dramatically increased during the Biden-Harris administration, according to a recent Department of Justice study that appears to refute consistent claims by the Harris campaign – and some in the media – that serious offenses are on a downward trajectory.

Crimes such as rape or sexual assault, aggravated assault, and robbery increased from 2020 to 2023, the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics revealed earlier this month as part of its National Crime Victimization Survey. Across the board, the survey found total instances of reported violent crimes increased from 5.6 per 1,000 individuals aged 12 and over in 2020, when Trump was still in office, to 8.7 per 1,000 in 2023. 

The study found 9.8 instances of violent crime per 1,000 people aged 12 and over in 2022, which marks the highest rate during the 2020-2023 era. 

Crime is once again a top concern this election cycle, with voters often listing crime behind the economy, ongoing inflation woes, immigration and foreign policy on their list of concerns ahead of voting on Nov. 5. 

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During Trump’s debate against Vice President Harris on Sept. 10, the 45th president stated that crime is on the rise in the U.S., while linking the trend to the influx of illegal migrants who crossed the border since 2021. 

“All over the world crime is down. All over the world except here,” Trump said. “Crime here is up and through the roof. Despite their fraudulent statements that they made. Crime in this country is through the roof. And we have a new form of crime. It’s called migrant crime. And it’s happening at levels that nobody thought possible.” 

ABC News’ David Muir, who co-moderated the debate, interjected that FBI data shows crime is on a downward trajectory. 

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“President Trump, as you know, the FBI says overall violent crime is coming down in this country,” Muir said, before Trump added that the FBI didn’t include data from the “worst cities.”

The FBI released its quarterly crime report for 2024 in June, which found violent crime decreased by 15.2% between January-March 2024 compared to the same time period in 2023. The FBI data, however, does not include crimes that were not reported to the police. 

On the other hand, the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is one of the most comprehensive federal surveys, according to some experts, which includes interviewing 230,000 U.S. residents on whether they’ve been the victims of crimes, what the crime entailed and if the crime was reported to police. 

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“When David Muir goes and says the FBI shows that crime is down, that’s not what the FBI is measuring,” Crime Prevention Research Center President John Lott told Fox News Digital in an interview this week. “What the FBI measures is that reported crime went down, and that’s a big difference between total and reported crime. We know most crimes aren’t reported to the police. And the rate that people report crimes to the police depends in part on things like whether they think the guys are going to be arrested or not.”

Lott noted that arrest rates have dipped, with 2022 data showing only 20% of reported violent crimes resulted in an arrest in major cities. 

“So, if people don’t think that the criminals are going to be caught and punished, it reduces the returns for some people reporting the crimes to the police to begin with,” he argued. 

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An opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal this week argued that the National Crime Victimization Survey is far more reliable than FBI crime data for five reasons: NCVS data is finalized before it’s published, unlike the FBI data that shows partial-year data; the FBI overhauled its reporting system in 2021 that makes year-to-year comparisons more difficult; the NCVS study represents data nationally via its surveys, while the FBI data does not include stats from some massive police departments such as the Los Angeles PD; the ​​FBI “isn’t considered a principal statistical agency” and so it is unable to compensate for missing data from agencies such as the LAPD; and the FBI data only includes crimes that were reported to police, while NCVS data includes surveys from individuals who did not report a crime. 

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On Monday, the FBI did publish its crime report for 2023 and found violent crime declined an estimated 3% when compared to 2022. That FBI report is based only on reported crimes, and includes data from more than 85% of law enforcement agencies enrolled in the FBI’s program. 

When asked for comment about NCVS data, the White House pointed to a Politifact article published this month that argued that while both the methodology for the FBI data and the NCVS “have value,” FBI data is typically more reliable. The article argued that while NCVS data may include unreported crimes, it might “also capture events that don’t rise to the level of a crime.”

“As PolitiFact explained when they debunked this lie, ‘the FBI data tends to be more rigorous’ and ‘nongovernmental groups have released data’ that ‘aligns’ with those numbers – whereas ‘the victimization survey excludes murders.’ It would track that apologists for the Trump Administration, which oversaw the biggest murder rate increase in American history, would cherry pick a survey that excludes murders altogether,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said. 

“Here are the facts: every year in office, the Trump Administration and congressional Republicans attempted to defund the police by cutting the COPS program; then, in 2020, murders spiked more than ever. Now, after making an unprecedented federal investment in public safety, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have delivered a record *drop* in the murder rate and the lowest violence crime in 50 years.”  

Lott, who also served as a senior adviser for research and statistics at the DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs, authored an op-ed for Real Clear Politics this month and detailed that the DOJ survey found that total violent crimes are 55.4% higher in 2023 than in 2020, the end of Trump’s tenure, while rape crimes increased by 42%, robbery by 63%,and aggravated assault by 55%. The DOJ survey does not include surveys on murder, but that category is almost always reported to police departments, and subsequently to the FBI, he noted, and makes up about 1% of the U.S.’ total violent crimes.

The FBI’s quarterly data found murders dropped by 13% in 2023 compared to 2022, but the rate remains 5% higher than pre-pandemic data from 2019, Lott explained. 

The Associated Press published a fact-check following the presidential debate and determined Trump’s claim that violent crime has been on the rise under the Biden-Harris administration was false, citing the NCVS study outlining that the rate of violent victimizations in 2023 was not statistically different from the rate in 2019. 

“​​The 2023 rate was higher than the 2020 (6.6 per 1,000) and 2021 (7.5 per 1,000) rates but was comparable to 5 years ago in 2019 and consistent with the overall downward trend since 1993 (33.8 per 1,000),” the NCVS study states. 

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Lott countered that the AP report failed to “mention whether the rate is statistically different than in 2020 or 2021.” 

“Nor do they mention how large the increases are. Trump’s point was that violent crime had increased during the Biden-Harris administration. The rate in 2022 was statistically significantly higher than in either of those previous years. The violent crime rate in 2022 and 2023 was also significantly higher,” he wrote in his Real Clear Politics op-ed. 

“Total felonious violent crime increased by 19% from 2019 to 2023, and there is only one other time when the increase over four years was larger.”

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Lott found that the 55% increase in total violent crime between 2021-2023 was the “largest percentage increase over three years” in the roughly 50 years the NCVS has collected crime data. 

“​​The next largest percentage increase over three years was in 2006 and that was 27%. The percentage increase under Biden is slightly more than twice the largest previous increase. Now, if you want to take it from 2019 for serious violent crime, then what you see is it’s increased by 19% from 2019 to 2023. That’s the second-largest percentage increase in serious violent crime that we’ve ever seen. That’s a huge increase. And those percentage increases are both very statistically significant,” he said. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment on the data, but did not immediately receive replies. 

After the NCVS data was published this month, Trump touted it as evidence supporting his debate remark that violent crimes have increased under the Biden-Harris administration. 

“You remember where David Muir tried to correct me that crime is rampant like never before?” Trump said from the campaign trail in California this month. 

“I guess [the DOJ] probably watched the debate and they heard this foolish man, this foolish fool make that statement to me,” Trump added. 

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

Vice President Kamala Harris said she backs eliminating the 60-vote filibuster requirement in order to reinstate Roe v. Wade, which would federalize abortion access nationwide, during a Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) interview Tuesday. 

The filibuster is a Senate rule that allows a minority to block legislation pending a supermajority vote, so ending it would make it easier to pass laws related to abortion rights.

“I think we should eliminate the filibuster for Roe,” Harris said on the “Wisconsin Today” show. “And get us to the point where 51 votes would be what we need to actually put back in law the protections for reproductive freedom and for the ability of every person and every woman to make decisions about their own body and not have their government tell them what to do.”

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The vice president’s comments come amid her fourth campaign visit to the battleground state. 

Harris also said in the WPR interview that, “It is well within our reach” to keep a Democratic Senate majorirty and “take back the House.”

“I would also emphasize that while the presidential election is extremely important and dispositive of where we go moving forward, it also is about what we need to do to hold onto the Senate and win seats in the House,” Harris said.

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While Harris first said she would support ending the filibuster to reinstate Roe v. Wade era abortion protection in 2022, she has since made abortion a major issue in her Democratic bid for presidency this election cycle. She also supported ending the filibuster to pass the progressive Green New Deal climate legislation in 2019. 

“With just two more seats in the Senate, we can codify Roe v. Wade, we can put the protections of Roe in law,” Harris said in September 2022. “With two more seats in the United States Senate, we can pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. Two more seats.”

“You know, our President, Joe Biden, he’s been clear. He’s kinda done with those archaic Senate rules that are standing in the way of those two issues,” Harris said of the Senate filibuster. “He’s made that clear and has said that he will not allow that to obstruct those two issues. And, you know, for me, as vice president, I’m also president of the Senate.… I cannot wait to cast the deciding vote to break the filibuster on voting rights and reproductive rights. I cannot wait! Fifty-nine days.”

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

When the Biden administration nominated Michael Sfraga to be special ambassador to the Arctic, he failed to disclose his deep history with Russia and China. 

The Senate is expected to vote on Sfraga’s confirmation on Tuesday – over a year after his nomination, which was held up by Republicans who claim he is too close to U.S. adversaries. 

Sfraga has traveled extensively across Russia and China, and even spoke at an event where Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the headline address. 

An Alaskan and geographer by background, Sfraga chairs the Polar Institute and the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. He is looking to lead the U.S. in diplomatic relations between the eight Arctic nations: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the Russian Federation and the U.S.

His foreign ties prompted Sen. Jim Risch, Idaho, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, to write a letter in 2023 asking the FBI for help in vetting Sfraga, Fox News Digital has learned. 

He negotiated joint partnerships with Chinese academic institutions tied to defense and intelligence services and spoke glowingly about the two U.S. adversaries in interviews for different publications – all of which he failed to reveal until confronted by Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff.  

Sfraga had to update his disclosures three times, claiming he had forgotten to mention his record of trips and collaboration with Chinese and Russian leaders, Republicans have said. 

Risch placed a hold on Sfraga’s nomination, which prompted Republican infighting. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R–Alaska, recommended Sfraga to the Biden administration, and she defended him to the committee. “If there is any challenge that you have as a committee, it’s that his expertise in the Arctic is so voluminous,” she said. “It takes a while to wade through all of it.”

Sfraga was key in negotiating memorandums of understanding – legal documents that establish a partnership – between the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) and Chinese universities, including Shanghai Jiao Tong University, which has been designated a “high threat” due to its high-level defense research and alleged ties to cyberattacks. 

The partnership included access to UAF’s IT infrastructure and involvement in policy and legal reviews on any Arctic region subject, in addition to research and exchange programs.

In 2021, Sfraga spoke on a virtual panel on “Cooperation and Environmental Sustainability in the Arctic at Fort Ross Dialogue,” an event sponsored by two U.S.-sanctioned Russian companies, Transneft and Sovcomflot, and Chevron. His co-panelist was ​Russian Ambassador-at-Large for Arctic Cooperation Nikolai Korchunov.

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The event stressed cooperation with Russia on Arctic issues. In a 2021 interview with Voice of America’s Russia service, Sfraga claimed Russia and the U.S. were “not understanding each other” and that “the Arctic is an integral part of Russia’s DNA.”

In a 2022 Newsweek article on mounting U.S.-Russia tensions in the Arctic, Sfraga is quoted lamenting that the Arctic is no longer insulated from strains in the bilateral relationship. He said it is “not a good thing” that the Arctic Council canceled a forum with defense chiefs, including Russia’s, following Russia’s attempted annexation of Crimea. “I certainly understand the motives, but it’s not a good thing to have that happen,” he said. 

In 2021, after Russia’s annexation of Crimea but before the war in Ukraine, Sfraga argued for cooperation with Russia in the Arctic. 

“If both nations, especially the United States, are looking for places to actually cooperate with the Russians like we do in the International Space Station and trying to find a path towards some amount of productive engagement, I would argue that the Arctic may provide for us at least a few of those pathways to a more predictable and stable relationship between these two countries,” he said.

At his Senate hearing in March, he struck a tougher tone with Russia. 

“Russia’s war against Ukraine has rendered cooperation virtually impossible with Russia, including in the Arctic,” he said. “The PRC (China) is attempting to reshape the global aid rules based system in its favor, and increasingly working with Moscow to elevate and advance its presence and its influence in the Arctic in ways that threaten our interests.”

In 2017, Sfraga attended the International Arctic Forum in Arkhangelsk, Russia, an event headlined by Putin and attended by numerous other state-sanctioned people. He was a speaker on a panel entitled “Arctic: Territory of Professionals.” 

When questioned about the event in a Senate hearing, Sfraga said, “It’s hard to ignore half of the Arctic, which is Russia, and in the North, it is a big neighborhood, but a small community, and you must engage. And indeed, at one of those conferences, President Putin did provide a keynote address, but I had no interaction with President Putin at all.” 

Reports show Sfraga has taken at least half a dozen trips to China to participate in panels on Arctic issues. 

In October 2019, for example, he attended the Arctic Circle China Forum in Shanghai, where he spoke to the panel on the topic of, “The Arctic Council: A Model for Regional Cooperation.”

In November 2018, he attended the 11th Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavík, Iceland, where he co-chaired the breakout session “China’s Arctic Policy: Opportunities and Challenges” with Dr. Yang Jian, vice president of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies.

In April 2016, he attended the Fulbright Arctic Initiative Symposium in Washington, D.C., where he met with Chinese representatives from the Polar Research Institute of China and the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration. He also delivered a keynote speech on “The Arctic in a Globalized World” at the China-Nordic Arctic Cooperation Symposium in Beijing.

Additionally, during a 2018 event entitled, “The Polar Silk Road: China’s Arctic Ambitions,” Sfraga is quoted as saying, “In the United States, we think four seconds long; we think commercials and sound bites and bumper stickers. But the Chinese think in long narratives; they go over decades… [The United States] think[s] about reaction versus being proactive… as we see the polar ice continue to retreat — and there’s both opportunity and challenge there.”

“As the Arctic ice continues to retreat, there’s both opportunity and challenge there. How we best situate our own interests and those of like minds is probably best considered quickly. That doesn’t mean we’re pitted against China. I think there are ways we engage with them in a very productive, meaningful dance forward – and that can be for the good of a lot. But we should not be lulled into a false narrative either way.”

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Sfraga also has ties to the Arctic Circle – an organization that some have raised concerns about giving China an outsized voice on Arctic issues. Unlike the Arctic Council, which only includes Arctic nations, the Arctic Circle includes China and is its preferred platform to engage on Arctic issues. 

Under Sfraga, the U.S. Arctic Research Council became an official Partner to the Arctic Circle, but his attendance at Arctic Circle events dates back to at least 2016. Olafur Grimsson, chair of the Arctic Circle, described Sfraga as a “good friend” and said he looked forward to collaboration when he was named head of the Research Council. 

Grimsson’s name appeared on a list of pro-Russian European experts who Russia intended to use in an influence campaign targeting the Baltic States. A report by Ukraine state news agency Ukrinform notes that Grimsson opposed sanctions on Russia in 2014 as Iceland’s president and called for turning the old U.S. airbase in Keflavik over to the Russians, and took part in Russian government-organized events.

FIRST ON FOX: A Democratic candidate is facing criticism from his GOP opponent in a new radio ad after he declined on multiple occasions to endorse VP Kamala Harris as he runs to represent his deep red state in the U.S. Senate.

“I didn’t join the race to decide who the president is or to tell other people how to decide to vote for the president,” Missouri Senate candidate Lucas Kunce told NBC’s Kristen Welker last week when asked if he would be endorsing the Harris-Walz ticket. 

Kunce, who declined multiple times to endorse Harris when pressed by Welker in the interview, is now the subject of a minute-long radio ad in Missouri from GOP Sen. Josh Hawley that will run this week, mocking Kunce for not standing by the nominee of his own party.

“People are excited about voting for Kamala Harris,” a woman says to another woman in the radio ad, which is running on statewide African American radio. “But not this guy Lucas Kunce.”

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“He says he’s a Democrat, but get this, Lucas Kunce is scared to admit he’s voting for Kamala Harris,” the woman says. 

“Wait, Lucas Kunce is not voting for Kamala Harris?” another woman responds.

“He’s too scared to answer the question. The press asked him not once, not twice, not three times, but four different times,” the ad continues. “What is Lucas Kunce afraid of? Kunce comes into our community asking us for our vote, but he won’t tell us about his vote.”

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The ad continues, “It’s weak. It’s unacceptable. I don’t agree with Josh Hawley a lot. But, you always know where he stands. You sure do.”

Kunce has previously declined to endorse Harris, including in a recent debate, which Hawley has focused on in social media posts.

“So ⁦@LucasKunceMO⁩ won’t endorse Kamala Harris,” Hawley posted on X. “Why not? Is he embarrassed of her for some reason? Is he supporting ⁦@realDonaldTrump⁩?”

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

Hawley won the Senate race in Missouri by six points in 2018 and recent polling shows him leading by roughly 10 points in the race with just over 40 days left until the election.

Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro was lambasted online after he took time to autograph a missile over the weekend that is potentially bound for Russian assets in the Ukraine war.

Shapiro, considered the runner-up to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, posted a video of him signing the missile at the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant (SCAAP), in President Biden’s hometown.

“We must all do our part in the fight for freedom – from the workers in Scranton who make Pennsylvania the arsenal of democracy to the brave Ukrainian soldiers protecting their country,” Shapiro captioned his video.

“We stand with Ukraine in their just defense of their homeland in the face of Russian aggression.”

However, response from the right was brisk – with conservative commentator David Harris Jr. saying the situation showed “Democrats are now the party of war, and they’re proud of it. Sad.”

“The U.S. should be negotiating peace not fueling war,” added Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.

“I am 100% against this and so are most Americans,” she wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “The U.S. is funding the Ukraine Gov at $1 billion/month to keep it running and funding most of the war by providing weapons, ammo, and equipment.”

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Other critics contrasted the autograph with Shapiro’s criticisms of former President Trump.

“Zelenskyy just essentially endorsed Kamala in Pennsylvania while with Josh Shapiro autographing ammunition,” wrote Philadelphia commentator Joey Mannarino on X.

“He called Trump and Vance ‘radical’. He also said Trump has no idea how to end the war. How is this not some sort of violation from a man who we are funding?”

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa. – locked in a tight re-election race with businessman David McCormick – was seen shaking hands with Zelenskyy as Shapiro wrote a message on the missile.

Other critics pointed out that chaos was erupting elsewhere in the commonwealth while Shapiro, Zelenskyy and Casey were touring the ordnance plant.

SCRANTON OPENS UP ABOUT ‘BIDENOMICS’

Philadelphia native Jack Posobiec, a right-wing commentator and senior editor at Human Events, shared video of that city enveloped in illegal “car meets” and the responding police activity.

At least three people were arrested and a police official told WCAU they have photos of numerous others who took over Center City, set off fireworks, did donuts with their cars, injured police officers and caused mayhem into the wee hours of the morning, disrupting neighbors.

Video posted to X also appeared to show an Apple Store in Center City being looted Monday night.

“This was going on in Philadelphia while Josh Shapiro was taking selfies with artillery shells and Zelensky,” Posobiec said on X.

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In an official statement, Shapiro said Pennsylvania is the “birthplace of American freedom” and Pennsylvanians therefore stand with Ukrainians in their fight against “naked aggression.”

He also noted Pennsylvania will sign an agreement with the Ukrainian state of Zaporizhizhia that will “foster collaboration for years to come.”

In regard to the agreement, Pennsylvania Secretary of Community & Economic Development Rick Siger told WHTM that the pact will “help support the future economic revitalization of Ukraine, while boosting our economy and creating jobs for Pennsylvanians.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Shapiro and Casey for further comment but did not receive a response at press time.

FIRST ON FOX – House Republicans from Minnesota joined the Republican National Committee (RNC) in demanding that Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz’s administration provide an update on voter roll cleanup efforts, after it was discovered that noncitizens and otherwise ineligible individuals were improperly registered to vote under the state’s automatic voter registration process.

Reps. Tom Emmer, Brad Finstad, Michelle Fischbach and Pete Stauber signed onto a follow-up letter RNC election integrity counsel Kevin J. Cline and Minnesota Republican Party Chairman David Hann sent this week. The letter, addressed to Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon and Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobson, acknowledged communication between their offices for over a month. 

The Republicans said they provided Simon and Jacobson’s offices “with the information necessary to remove known noncitizens from the Minnesota voter rolls over a month ago,” and “despite our continued efforts to receive updates on the actions your office is taking, it took over three (3) weeks to get any information, which came on the same day you released the information to the public.” 

“Commissioner Jacobson’s September 12 letter admits there were approximately 1,000 individuals who may have been improperly registered to vote under the automatic voter registration (‘AVR’) process,” Cline and Hann wrote. “This leads us, and others, to consider all means necessary to obtain transparency from your office. To this end, we are now joined by Congressman Tom Emmer, Congressman Brad Finstad, Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach, and Congressman Pete Stauber, to demand you provide further answers on this disastrous failure.” 

RNC BLASTS WALZ ADMIN’S NONANSWER ON HOW NONCITIZENS MADE IT ONTO MINNESOTA VOTER ROLLS: ‘NO HYPOTHETICAL’

The letter demands the Walz administration provide “the exact number of individuals who were inactivated,” answer what “the different categories of information the individual records were missing” are, and “provide how many individuals were inactivated for each category of missing information.” It also asks Simon and Jacobson how many of the inactivated individuals have voted in a past election, how many of the inactivated individuals were sent ballots in past elections, and if those people will “be able to register and vote in the November election?” 

“Would eliminating any of the inactivated individuals’ votes have changed the outcome of any past elections?” the letter asks. It also asks both Walz administration officials when they plan to “complete your confirmation of each individual’s voter registration information?” 

“It is imperative that Minnesota voters trust in the State’s election system, which includes knowing the voter rolls only consist of legally registered voters,” Cline and Hann wrote. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of both Simon and Jacobson regarding the letter but did not immediately hear back. 

The RNC and Minnesota GOP first wrote to the Walz administration in August flagging how a noncitizen, legally living in the state and fearful of jeopardizing his status, came forward to report receiving a primary ballot without having registered to vote. In past letters, Cline and Hann have cited how Walz in March 2023 signed a bill into law allowing noncitizens to receive driver’s licenses, also known as “Driver License for All.” Less than two months after signing that bill into law, Walz signed the “Democracy for the People Act,” permitting automatic voter registration through the Department of Public Safety’s Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS). 

MINNESOTA GOP DEMANDS PROBE AFTER NONCITIZEN CLAIMS RECEIVING PRIMARY BALLOT WITHOUT REGISTERING TO VOTE

The Republicans claim that Jacobson in particular has only described how the DVS division is supposed to function to ensure each applicant is a U.S. citizen – and has not explained how noncitizens “made it through that process and ultimately made it onto Minnesota’s voter rolls.” In early September, Cline and Hann wrote to Jacobson: “This is no hypothetical; lawfully present noncitizens were registered to vote through your department, and Minnesota voters deserve transparency from your department to understand how this failure occurred and how it is being addressed.” 

In a Sept. 12 news release, Simon’s office admitted that “DVS flagged a small number of applicant files as needing additional confirmation of voter registration information, including address, name, and citizenship.” The announcement focused on how 65,339 Minnesotans had registered to vote and 25,572 16- and 17-year-olds preregistered to vote but also explained “changes made to internal processes.” 

The Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State said it was partnering with the DVS division “to ensure the process works as expected and that only eligible Minnesotans are being registered to vote.” 

“That partnership includes a manual, two-layer review by DVS of all applicant files it sends to the Office of Secretary of State to be registered or pre-registered to vote. During this review, DVS flagged a small number of applicant files as needing additional confirmation of voter registration information, including address, name, and citizenship,” the release says. 

“Out of an abundance of caution,” the release continues, “the Office of the Secretary of State has inactivated the voter registrations of any individuals whose registrations DVS flagged. These individuals may be still eligible to vote, but due to human error their documentation was misclassified or not properly saved to the DVS database. The impacted individuals will be notified that if eligible to do so they will need to register to vote online, with their local election office, or in-person at their polling place on Election Day.” 

Simon’s office said that in order to “add additional quality assurance to the process to catch and correct the instances of human error,” DVS is now using “two distinct staff areas to double check all documentation at DVS before applicant files are sent to be registered to vote.” His office also said that “DVS is making sure workers who classify documents are getting increased training, and that automatic voter registration has been paused in certain situations. 

House GOP leaders are poised to skirt Republican opposition to their federal funding plan as they race the clock against a partial government shutdown.

“We’ve got a lot of people that honestly think a government shutdown is a good idea, or at least don’t want to take responsibility for avoiding one,” House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., said Tuesday. “It’s not good for the American people, it doesn’t work politically…and you’re sent up here to be responsible.”

Normally, a bill would have to advance through the House Rules Committee and then receive a House-wide procedural vote, known as a “rule vote,” before lawmakers decide on the measure itself.

However, rule votes traditionally fall along party lines, regardless of who supports the bill itself.

JOHNSON’S PLAN TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN GOES DOWN IN FLAMES AS REPUBLICANS REBEL

Rep. Ralph Norman, a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus who sits on the Rules Committee, told Fox News Digital on Monday night that he would support the rule advancing through the panel but would reject it on the House floor.

With opposition bubbling up and just a three-seat majority, House GOP leaders likely do not have the votes to pass the rule.

Instead, multiple people told Fox News Digital they expect Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to put the measure up for a vote under suspension of the rules – meaning it forgoes the House-wide rule vote in exchange for raising the threshold for passage from a simple majority to two-thirds of the chamber.

The bill is a short-term extension of this year’s government funding, known as a continuing resolution (CR), through Dec. 20. The goal is to give Congress more time to negotiate spending priorities for fiscal year 2025, which begins Oct. 1.

A significant number of Republicans are opposed to a CR on principle, arguing it is an unnecessary extension of government bloat. 

SHUTDOWN FEARS MOVE HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO PROTECT MILITARY PAYCHECKS

However, a government shutdown just weeks before Election Day could come at a heavy political cost for Republicans – something Johnson pointed out to GOP lawmakers at a closed-door meeting on Tuesday morning, three people told Fox News Digital.

Johnson also promised lawmakers they would not be forced to vote on an end-of-year “omnibus” spending bill, which wraps all 12 annual appropriations bills into a massive vehicle – something nearly all Republicans oppose.

Johnson was always expected to need Democratic votes to pass his December CR. Dozens of Republicans have voted against such measures in the past. 

Putting the bill up under suspension of the rules, however, appears to be an indirect acknowledgment that Democrats will need to carry much of the weight for it to pass.

“Having to rely on liberal Democrats to pass anything is very disappointing,” Norman said after Tuesday morning’s meeting.

MCCARTHY’S ‘FINAL STRUGGLES’ THREATEN TO HAUNT JOHNSON’S GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN FIGHT

Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital, “A CR, an appropriations bill, under suspension? That’s not the way to run a railroad.”

Both said they expected Congress to be forced into an omnibus bill, jammed up against the holiday recess.

Johnson did get some backup from House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., however.

“I take the speaker at his word that he will not do that,” Harris said when asked about an end-of-year omnibus.

Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told reporters that the CR would get a vote on Wednesday, suggesting suspension of the rules was their likely option.

Last week, a more conservative CR – one that would’ve kicked the funding fight into March and attached a measure cracking down on noncitizens voting in U.S. elections – was defeated by 14 Republicans and all but three Democrats.

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., one of the 14 rebels who voted against that plan, gave Johnson grace for the position he was in.

“Speaker Johnson’s on the spot,” Burchett told reporters. “He has to do what he has to do.”

NEW YORK CITY — President Biden, in his final address to the United Nation’s General Assembly, warned that the world is at an “inflection point,” while defending his decision to withdraw from Afghanistan and his move to suspend his re-election campaign.

Biden delivered his fourth and final speech to the assembly as President of the United States on Tuesday, addressing leaders and representatives from 134 countries around the globe. 

“Today is the fourth time I’ve had the great honor of speaking to this assembly as President of the United States,” Biden said Tuesday morning. “It’ll be my last.” 

Biden reflected on the global order when he was first elected as a U.S. senator in 1972, saying the world was at “an inflection point” and a “moment of tension and uncertainty.” 

BIDEN ADDRESSES UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY FOR LAST TIME AS DICTATORS, DESPOTS COME TO NEW YORK

“The world was divided by the Cold War; the Middle East was headed toward war; America was at war in Vietnam at that point — the longest war in America’s history,” Biden said. “Our country was divided and angry, and there were questions about our staying power and our future. But even then, I entered public life not out of despair, but out of optimism.” 

Biden said when he was elected president, the world was in “another moment of crisis and uncertainty,” referring to the ongoing U.S. presence in Afghanistan. 

“We were attacked on 9/11 by Al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. We brought him justice. Then I came to the presidency in another moment of crisis and uncertainty,” Biden said. “I believed America had to look forward — new challenges, new threats, new opportunities were in front of us.” 

Biden said he needed to put the United States “in a position to see the threats, to deal with the challenges, and to seize the opportunities as well.” 

“We needed to end the war that began on 9/11,” Biden said. “I came to office as president, with Afghanistan to replace Vietnam as America’s longest war.” 

“I was determined to end it,” he said. “And I did.” 

Biden said it was a “hard decision but the right decision.” 

“Four American presidents had faced that decision, but I was determined not to leave it to a fifth,” Biden said, while acknowledging the decision was “accompanied by tragedy,” as 13 U.S. service members lost their lives, along with hundreds of Afghan civilians in a suicide bombing outside of Kabul Airport during the withdrawal. 

But under the Biden-Harris administration, officials have sought diplomacy amid global instability and fears of a growing war in the Middle East, especially following its botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, the years-long Russia-Ukraine war, the growing threat from Iran’s nuclear development, increased aggression from China, and a crisis at the U.S. southern border. 

“I truly believe we’re at another inflection point in world history, where the choices we make today will determine our future for decades to come,” Biden said Tuesday. “We stand behind the principles that unite us; we stand firm against aggression; we end the conflicts that are raging today. We take on global challenges like climate change, hunger and disease.” 

Also under his administration, in 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine. 

“The good news is Putin’s war has failed,” Biden said, while adding though, that the world “cannot grow weary” and “cannot look away” or “let up on our support for Ukraine.” 

As for increasing aggression in China, Biden said there is a need to continue to “responsibly manage the competition with China so it does not veer into conflict.” 

Biden stressed that he is working to “bring a greater measure of peace and stability to the Middle East.” 

“The world must not flinch from the horrors of October 7th – any country would have the right responsibility to ensure that such attack can never happen again,” Biden said, referring to Hamas’ brutal terror attack in Israel. “Thousands of armed Hamas terrorists invaded a sovereign state, slaughtering and massacring more than 1200 people, including 46 Americans in their homes and at a music festival, the despicable acts of sexual violence, 250 innocents taken hostage.” 

Biden said he has met with the families of those hostages. 

“I grieve with them,” he said. “They’re going through hell.” 

UN CHIEF DEFENDS UNRWA, SAYS ONLY ‘A FEW ELEMENTS’ PARTICIPATED IN OCT 7

But Biden said, “Innocent civilians in Gaza are also going through hell.” 

Biden pointed to the ceasefire and hostage deal his administration has worked on with Qatar and Egypt. 

“Now it is time for the parties to finalize terms, bring the hostages home, secure Israel and Gaza free of Hamas’ grip, ease the suffering in Gaza and end this war,” he said. 

Biden stressed that his administration has been “determined to prevent a wider war that engulfs the entire region.” 

“A full scale war is not in anyone’s interest,” he said. “Even as the situation has escalated, a diplomatic solution is still possible.” 

“In fact, it remains the only path to lasting security,” Biden continued, so that “the residents from both countries return to their homes.” 

“That’s what we’re working tirelessly to achieve,” Biden said. 

But as for the war in Gaza, Biden, notably, did not mention rising antisemitism in the United States and around the globe since the Oct. 7 attacks, but instead, discussed the “rise of violence against innocent Palestinians on the West Bank.” 

Biden said the world needs to work towards “a two-state solution where the world—where Israel enjoys security and peace and full recognition and normalize relations with all its neighbors; and with Palestinians, living securely with dignity and self-determination in a state of their own.” 

Meanwhile, Biden declared the need to continue to ensure Iran will “never obtain a nuclear weapon.” 

As he closed his, likely, final address to the world, Biden said he and world leaders “must never forget who we’re here to represent–We the people.” 

UN’S ‘PACT FOR THE FUTURE’ FULL OF EMPTY PROMISES, WILL BE ‘CUDGEL’ TO ATTACK THE UNITED STATES, EXPERT WARNS

“These are the first words of our Constitution. The very idea of America. They inspired the opening words of the UN charter. I made the preservation of democracy the central cause of my presidency,” Biden said. 

Biden explained his decision to suspend his 2024 re-election campaign, calling it a “difficult decision.” 

“Being president has been the honor of my life. There is so much more I want to get done,” Biden said, but urged world leaders not to forget that “some things are more important than staying in power.” 

“It’s your people. It is your people that matter most,” Biden said. “We are here to serve the people, not the other way around, because the future will be won by those who unleash the full potential of their people to breathe free, to think freely, to innovate, to educate, to live in love openly without fear.” 

He added: “That’s the soul of democracy. It does not belong to any one country. I’ve seen it all around the world.” 

Biden stressed the “remarkable the power of ‘We the people.’” 

“It makes me more optimistic about the future than I’ve ever been since I was first elected to the United States Senate in 1972. Every age faces challenges,” Biden said. “I saw it as a young man. I see it today. But we are stronger than we think. We’re stronger together than alone.” 

He added: “My fellow leaders, there’s nothing that’s beyond our capacity. If we work together, let’s work together.” 

FIRST ON FOX: A group of attorneys general across the country are demanding that the nation’s leading pediatric organization rescind its support for transgender procedures – such as puberty blockers and surgeries – on children. 

Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador sent a letter Tuesday to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) accusing the organization of abandoning “its commitment to sound medical judgment.” 

“That halt on what is fairly described as medical experimentation on children is long overdue – particularly since the majority of children initially diagnosed with gender dysphoria desist and ‘grow out’ of the condition by the time they are adolescents or adults,” the letter reads. “It is abusive to treat a child with biologically altering drugs that have an unknown physiological trajectory and end point. It is also inhumane to endorse such experimentation without a confident safety profile, especially if more times than not, it proves to be medically unnecessary.”

BIDEN SLAMMED ON SOCIAL MEDIA AFTER ANNOUNCING TRANSGENDER DAY OF VISIBILITY ON EASTER SUNDAY

“And yet, the AAP continues to authoritatively declare that puberty blockers are ‘reversible,’” the letter continued. “That claim is scientifically unsupported and contradicts what is medically known. And because that claim raises questions under most state consumer protection laws, it has the undersigned alarmed.”

Last year, the AAP recommitted its pledge to support “gender-affirming care” and expanded its guidelines for pediatricians to “ensure young people get the reproductive and gender-affirming care they need and are seen, heard and valued as they are,” AAP CEO Mark Del Monte said at the time.

AAP has published several reports on reaffirming transgender youth in their preferred gender identities. In January, the AAP published a report titled, “Prohibition of Gender-Affirming Care as a Form of Child Maltreatment: Reframing the Discussion,” which claimed many bills aimed at restricting transgender treatments for children lead to poor mental health. 

BIDEN OFFICIALS PUSHED TO DROP AGE LIMIT ON TRANS SURGERIES FOR MINORS: REPORT

“Ultimately, the AAP’s statements and guidance affect how physicians practice medicine and treat children. Because providers rely on the AAP when they make treatment decisions, parents and their children are harmed by the AAP’s misleading and deceptive claim,” the letter read. “When pediatricians are told by the AAP that treating children with puberty blockers is ‘reversible,’ that claim becomes part of the medical discussion and decision-making with parents and children.”

Attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Utah signed the letter, as well as the president of the Arizona Senate and the speaker of the Arizona state House of Representatives. 

INDIANA JUDGE RULES PRISON MUST PROVIDE TRANSGENDER SURGERY FOR INMATE WHO KILLED BABY

“Children with gender dysphoria need and deserve love, support, and medical care rooted in biological reality,” Labrador told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Parents should be able to trust that a doctor’s medical guidance isn’t just the latest talking point from a dangerous and discredited activist agenda.”

The letter comes as transgender surgeries for kids has become a cultural issue in the 2024 election. And according to unsealed documents published over the summer, health officials in the Biden administration successfully pressured the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) to omit the age limit in its guidelines for transgender surgical procedures for adolescents. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to AAP for comment.