Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) warned noncitizen criminals with felony convictions this week that they “forfeit the privilege” to be in the United States — in the type of muscular language rarely used by the Biden administration.

“Noncitizens with felony convictions forfeit the privilege to be in the United States,” ICE’s enforcement and removal operations (ERO) office in New York said on Tuesday.

The statement came as it announced multiple arrests in New York City, which is a sanctuary city that limits cooperation with ICE detainers. Those detainers are requests that ICE be notified when a potentially deportable suspect is being released so that they can be taken into ICE custody. It means that ICE agents have to go into the community to make arrests of immigrant criminals.

TRUMP SOUNDS ALARM ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT MURDERERS: ‘A LOT OF BAD GENES IN OUR COUNTRY’ 

The ICE account noted the arrest of a 45-year-old Jamaican citizen convicted of forcible touching, and a 34-year-old Guatemalan convicted of illegal re-entry. Agents also arrested a 38-year-old Dominican Republic citizen charged with sexual misconduct and a “criminal sex act.”

The Biden administration has said it is prioritizing public safety and national security threats as part of its narrowed enforcement priorities. However, it has come under fire for a sharp drop in deportations compared to the prior administration.

Recently, the deportation of criminals came under scrutiny after numbers showing that among those in removal proceedings but who are not in ICE detention, there are 425,431 convicted criminals. That is up from about 405,000 in June 2021 and 368,000 in April 2016.

NEW POLL REVEALS TRUMP HAS SIGNIFICANT LEAD ON IMMIGRATION, BORDER SECURITY IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE

Overall, the non-detained docket, which lists those in removal proceedings or who have a final order of removal but who are not in ICE custody, has expanded to more than 7.4 million people, up from around 3.7 million when former President Donald Trump left office. 

Immigration has become a top election issue, with both Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris pushing to be seen as tougher on the border crisis than the other.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

A number of polls, however, have shown Trump to be the more trusted candidate on border security and immigration among voters.

Harris has hammered Trump on his failure to back a bipartisan border security bill that would have increased funding for the border and limited releases into the interior. Conservatives said the bill would only codify high levels of illegal immigration. Trump has accused the administration of fueling the crisis with its liberal border policies.

He recently commented on the number of illegal immigrant criminals in the country.

“You know, now a murderer, I believe this, it’s in their genes. And we got a lot of bad genes in our country right now,” he said.

A battleground U.S. House is locked in a tight race as the first-term Republican incumbent fights to maintain the seat in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, according to a new poll. 

Rep. Tom Kean, Jr., R-N.J., maintains an advantage among voters on several key issues, including economic growth and jobs, crime, immigration and inflation. But on abortion and reproductive policy, Democrat challenger Sue Altman, a former leader of the state’s progressive Working Families Alliance, has the biggest edge, according to the new Monmouth University Poll released on Tuesday. 

The poll found 47% of voters trust Kean on economic growth and jobs, compared to 38% who favor Altman; and 47% trust the Republican incumbent’s handling of crime, while 38% trust the Democratic challenger. On immigration, 40% prefer Kean compared to the 33% who trust Altman, and on inflation, the GOP congressman is preferred by 41% of voters compared to 37% who trust Altman more. 

The poll found 47% trust Altman on abortion and reproductive policy, while just 27% trust Kean. Despite the strong advantage, just one in four voters, or 26%, said abortion and reproductive policy was their top issue when deciding who to vote for in the U.S. House seat among the six polled. The poll found 28% listed inflation as their most important issue, 19% cited immigration, and 16% said economic growth. 

NYC PURSUING THOUSANDS OF HOTEL ROOMS TO HOUSE MIGRANTS AMID MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR COSTS: REPORT

New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District is among several seats encircling New York City that could determine who controls the House. GOP incumbents who won in 2022 are now fighting for second terms.

Fox News power rankings shows the district leans Republican.

“Altman’s advantage on abortion far surpasses the edge Kean has on any other issue. But that’s just one part of the equation,” Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, said in a statement. “The other part is how many voters are actually motivated by this issue.” 

The poll found that 46% of voters in the district supported Kean – 31% of those respondents said they’d definitely and 15% said they’d probably vote for the GOP incumbent. That compares to the 44% who support Altman, including the 32% who definitely and 12% who said they’d probably pick the Democrat. 

NEW YORK CITY MIGRANT CRISIS COSTS EXPECTED TO EXCEED $5B IN TWO-YEAR PERIOD – DOUBLE TO $10B BY 2025

In the final weeks of the contest, both candidates have an opportunity to court new votes, as the poll found 37% of respondents say they will definitely not vote for Kean and 38% will definitely not vote for Altman. 

“The level of support for each candidate may be equal right now, but there is more than enough room for one of them to break away,” Murray said. “There is a sizable undecided vote and both candidates have relatively high ceilings for their potential vote share.” 

Among voters polled, 49% viewed Kean as in sync with the district’s residents, while 33% considered him out of touch. For Altman, 35% saw her as in line with the district, while 43% saw her out of sync. 

“Which messages will really motivate your base? Altman’s across-the-board advantage on abortion is keeping her competitive. But Kean counters that with strength among voters without a college degree as well as an edge among white college-educated men who are more concerned about the economy than other issues,” Murray said, adding, “Altman is doing well among minority voters in this district, but there is lower overall motivation to get out and vote this year. On top of that, they don’t see much difference between the two House candidates on the issue that matters most to them.”

EXCLUSIVE: House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer revealed his committee’s oversight work of the Biden-Harris administration, telling Fox News Digital that Americans “cannot afford” another term of “incompetence.”

Vice President Kamala Harris has “been an active participant in the worst administration in U.S. history that has inflicted untold harm on the American people,” Comer told Fox News Digital. 

Comer compiled a 72-page report with the committee’s “118th Congress accomplishments,” highlighting the committee’s work — including its investigation into the Biden family’s domestic and international business dealings, oversight of the Biden-Harris administration’s border crisis, as well as probing the fraud and abuse related to COVID unemployment relief benefits and the infiltration of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the U.S. 

“Republicans on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee are committed to achieving what Democrats have neglected: rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse within the federal government and holding the Biden-Harris Administration accountable,” he said. “We have succeeded.”

BIDEN COMMITTED ‘IMPEACHABLE CONDUCT,’ ‘DEFRAUDED UNITED STATES TO ENRICH HIS FAMILY’: HOUSE GOP REPORT

“Our thorough oversight and investigations have revealed rampant waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement in the Biden-Harris Administration, and we’ve provided the transparency and accountability the American people demand,” Comer said. 

The report included the committee’s latest Secret Service oversight following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at his Butler, Pennsylvania, rally in July. Then-Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned the day after she publicly testified before the committee. 

“Americans cannot afford another four years of the same failed policies and incompetence,” Comer told Fox News Digital. 

“Vice President Kamala Harris has been an active participant in the worst administration in U.S. history that has inflicted untold harm on the American people,” Comer continued. “We must return to pro-growth, America-first policies to restore prosperity, liberty, and security for the American people.”

During the 118th Congress, the House Oversight Committee held 135 hearings, sent more than 600 investigative letters, issued 51 subpoenas, heard testimony from 112 government witnesses and saw 23 bills passed in the House — with three signed into law. 

The committee investigated the Biden family’s business dealings, finding that from 2014 to the present, Biden family members and their associates received more than $27 million from foreign individuals or entities. The committee claimed that the family set up shell companies to conceal the payments from scrutiny. 

The White House previously ripped the investigation as an “evidence-free, politically-motivated” probe. 

Comer also co-led the impeachment inquiry into President Biden. Comer’s Oversight Committee led the inquiry after its monthslong investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings, alongside the House Judiciary Committee and House Ways & Means Committee. 

The committees concluded that Biden engaged in “impeachable conduct, “abused his office” and “defrauded the United States to enrich his family.”

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“We also exposed Joe Biden’s corruption at the highest levels of government as he actively participated in his family’s influence peddling racket that made the Bidens millions from Chinese, Russian and other foreign entities,” Comer told Fox News Digital. 

From those investigations, Comer, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and Ways & Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith sent criminal referrals to the Justice Department recommending Hunter Biden and James Biden be charged with making false statements to Congress about key aspects of the impeachment inquiry. 

The White House discounted the committee’s investigations, calling the impeachment inquiry a “failed stunt” that “will only be remembered for how it became an embarrassment that their own members distanced themselves from as they only managed to turn up evidence that refuted their false and baseless conspiracy theories.”

Following the investigation, Comer introduced the bipartisan Presidential Ethics Reform Act — a bill requiring presidents and vice presidents to disclose conflicts of interest while in office and disclose foreign payments, expensive gifts, loan transactions and tax returns during the two-year period prior to taking office, time in office, and for two years after leaving office. That bill also required presidents and vice presidents to make disclosures for immediate family members who receive foreign payments and other gifts, or who use official travel for personal business. 

HOUSE OVERSIGHT INVESTIGATING WALZ OVER ‘LONGSTANDING CONNECTIONS’ TO CHINA

Regarding its oversight of the Biden-Harris administration’s border crisis, Comer said the committee found there have been more than 8 million illegal immigrants encountered entering the country and over 1.9 million gotaways — illegal immigrants who avoided agents but were detected by other forms of surveillance — since they took office. 

As for China, Comer sent letters to 25 federal agencies to investigate whether officials were aware of CCP outreach to the American public. The committee held briefings with 23 federal agencies revealing “there is no cohesive, government-wide strategy to identify, deter, and defeat CCP political warfare.”

The committee also found that American taxpayers lost more than $100 billion to fraud and improper payments as a result of temporary unemployment insurance programs created in response to COVID-19. 

The committee also investigated Biden-Harris administration officials implementing a “radical environmental agenda” that Comer said is “jeopardizing jobs, energy security, and national security.”

SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR CHEATLE RESIGNS AFTER MOUNTING PRESSURE IN WAKE OF TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

Meanwhile, after the July 13 assassination attempt against Trump, Comer launched an oversight investigation into the U.S. Secret Service, acting “quickly” to investigate the “historic failure and prevent a similar incident from happening again in the future.” 

Comer held an immediate hearing with Cheatle, who testified publicly about the egregious security lapses that led to the assassination attempt of Trump and the murder of an innocent attendee, Corey Comperatore. 

Cheatle resigned the following day. 

Most recently, Comer launched an investigation into Harris’ running-mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, for alleged connections to the CCP. 

Comer said the committee’s “effective, targeted oversight has led to transparency, accountability, and solutions for the American people.” 

Former Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., is suddenly gaining steam in his bid for Michigan’s open Senate seat, with polls showing a tightening race down the stretch.

“It’s clear the momentum is fully behind Mike Rogers,” Chris Gustafson, communications director for the Rogers campaign, told Fox News Digital. “It’s no surprise as Mike crisscrosses the state talking to families and small business owners while our unprecedented field operation contacts millions of voters at the doors.”

The comments come as Rogers has gained ground on his Democratic opponent, Rep. Elissa Slotkin, in the critical Senate race in recent weeks, moving from over five points down as recently as September 23 to just 2.7 points down as of Wednesday, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average.

The race, which is to replace retiring Michigan Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow, is rated as “Lean Dem” by Fox News Power Rankings, 270toWin and RacetotheWH, representing one of the few races that will help determine control of the Senate in this year’s election.

WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLS IN THE 2024 ELECTION SHOW 

However, while former President Donald Trump was able to crack the fabled “Blue Wall” in 2016 and became the first Republican presidential candidate to win Michigan since 1988, GOP Senate candidates have not fared so well in the state in recent elections.

The outgoing Stabenow has held this seat in the Senate since being elected in 2000, while Michigan’s other Senate seat has been held by a Democrat since 1975, first by longtime Sen. Carl Levin and currently by Sen. Gary Peters. The last Republican to win a Senate campaign in Michigan was Spencer Abraham in 1994, serving only one term before losing the seat to Stabenow.

CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS 

However, Peters narrowly defeated Rep. John James, R-Mich., by just over one percentage point in his race in 2020, signaling potential renewed Republican strength in the state for Rogers to capitalize on.

Republican sources in the state believe Rogers is beginning to capitalize on that momentum, stressing that GOP operatives up and down the ballot have been working in tandem to knock on thousands of doors for the party’s candidates.

The push has included integration between the Trump and Rogers campaigns, one GOP source on the ground in Michigan told Fox News Digital, noting that Rogers is also winning on issues most important to Michigan voters, such as inflation and resistance to electric vehicle subsidies.

The Rogers campaign has continued to stress those issues as the election nears, signaling optimism as the race enters its final days.

“Whether it’s a dangerous border, record prices for gas and groceries, or job-destroying EV Mandates, Slotkin has made it abundantly clear that she does not share our Michigan values,” Gustafson said. “Mike Rogers has proven that he’ll fight for the people of Michigan like he always has. With just three weeks to go, Mike is well positioned to win and help elect Republicans up and down the ballot.”

The Slotkin campaign did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment by publication deadline.

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

Vice President Kamala Harris is barnstorming Wisconsin on Thursday with three separate engagements scheduled across the crucial state. 

The Democratic nominee for president has events scheduled in Milwaukee, La Crosse and Green Bay throughout the day as she tries to make her pitch to voters just weeks from the election. 

FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: HARRIS LOSES HER LEAD AND A NEW ELECTORATE EMERGES

She will begin her day in Milwaukee, which is the state’s biggest Democratic stronghold. According to the Harris-Walz campaign, the vice president will drop in on a business class at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She will also speak with students on campus and emphasize her “opportunity economy” plan. 

Afterward, Harris will go to La Crosse and hold a rally at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. 

STRIKING BOEING WORKERS BOO AFTER DEMOCRATIC SEN. MARIA CANTWELL CRITICIZES TRUMP

For her last event of the day in Wisconsin, she will have a rally in Green Bay outside of Lambeau Field. 

Harris’ campaign emphasized that counties surrounding Green Bay have trended toward Democrats in recent elections, which they attribute to former President Donald Trump’s policies and rhetoric. For this reason, they believe the area presents a prime opportunity for the candidate. 

LAKEN RILEY ACT SPONSOR BLASTS BILL CLINTON’S CLAIM ABOUT GEORGIA STUDENT’S DEATH

The campaign noted that Harris’ Wisconsin barnstorm comes as they officially knocked on more than 1 million doors in the swing state. Her team said it has over 250 coordinated staff working in more than 50 field offices in 43 counties in Wisconsin, in addition to a team of campus organizers focused on turning out young voters. 

Wisconsin has notably flipped in the last two presidential elections and is rated one of several “toss-ups” in Fox News Power Rankings’ latest update. Other such states are Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia. 

SENATE DEMS TARGET BLACK VOTERS WITH NEW AD AS HARRIS’ SUPPORT FALLS SHORT

Harris and Trump were tied in Wisconsin at 48% each in a recent poll by the Wall Street Journal. The poll was of 600 registered voters in Wisconsin and was conducted over Sept. 28-Oct. 8. It had a margin of error of +/-4 percentage points. 

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

FIRST ON FOX: The state of Florida is suing the Biden administration over what it claims is a refusal to verify immigration records so that the Sunshine State can ensure the integrity of its voter rolls and prevent noncitizens from voting.

In a lawsuit, obtained first by Fox News Digital, the state argues that DHS is mandated to respond to an inquiry from state or local governments seeking to verify the immigration status of anyone in their jurisdiction for a purpose authorized by law. 

“Because the federal government is refusing to comply with these obligations and frustrating Florida’s ability to maintain the integrity of its elections, Florida files this suit,” the lawsuit says.

GOP GOVERNOR SLAMS ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ DOJ LAWSUIT OVER REMOVAL OF NONCITIZENS FROM VOTER ROLLS

Florida says it “has an obligation to maintain accurate and current voter registration records” and also notes the impact of the crisis at the southern border, which brought millions of noncitizens into the U.S.

It argues that it cannot track and maintain immigration information on its own. States can verify status through a DHS program called the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program. According to the lawsuit, DHS and Florida have an agreement to allow the state to use SAVE to verify immigration and citizenship status for people on the the voter registration rolls.

The lawsuit claims that Florida’s Department of State identified a number of individuals for whom it had evidence that they were not citizens, but couldn’t run a search via SAVE as it doesn’t have unique identifiers.

The state says it reached out to DHS’ U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requesting the verification of those people, but was denied.

“Thus, Florida has identified a subset of individuals for whom it cannot verify citizenship or immigration status through SAVE and for whom DHS refuses to verify citizenship or immigration status through other means,” the state says. DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

THOUSANDS OF NONCITIZENS REMOVED FROM VOTER ROLLS, DOZENS OF LAWMAKERS WANT ANSWERS FROM GARLAND
 

The state is seeking an order saying the refusal to provide Florida with a response is unlawful, a declaration that they are entitled to a response and an order requiring DHS to respond to the inquiry.

“Voting is a right granted to American citizens—not illegal immigrants or other noncitizens. The Biden-Harris administration has allowed millions of illegal immigrants into the country, and we must ensure that only citizens are on our voter rolls,” Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “I am taking legal action against the Department of Homeland Security and Secretary Mayorkas to ensure Florida is able to maintain the integrity of our state’s voter rolls.”

“The Florida Constitution is clear that only citizens can vote in our elections.  Florida is calling on the federal government to dismantle the barriers blocking the states from obtaining critical information needed to prevent non-citizens from voting in our elections,” said Florida Secretary of State, Cord Byrd.  “We are going to prevail in our effort to uphold the law and uphold the Constitution’s guarantee of one citizen, one vote.”

A similar lawsuit was filed by the state of Ohio, requesting access to multiple DHS databases.

DOJ: ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT STOLE US CITIZEN’S IDENTITY TO VOTE IN MULTIPLE ELECTIONS, OBTAIN AMERICAN PASSPORT

It marks the latest in a continued back and forth between GOP-led states and the Biden administration over concerns about noncitizen voting. A number of states have made efforts to remove noncitizen voters from the rolls, but some have fallen foul of the administration.

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The Department of Justice has sued both Alabama and Virginia over those states’ efforts to remove noncitizens, arguing that they have violated the Quiet Period Provision, which says that states must complete maintenance no later than 90 days before the election.

In a statement responding to the lawsuit against his state, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin called the lawsuit “politically motivated.”

With the 2024 presidential campaign soon coming to a close, Vice President Kamala Harris has sought to rally Black male voters with proposals to boost their financial and career prospects.

The “Opportunity Agenda for Black Men” released on Monday promises that a future Harris administration would provide “1 million loans that are fully forgivable to Black entrepreneurs and others to start a business.” Harris also proposes new “education, training and mentorship programs that help Black men get good-paying jobs,” in addition to legalizing marijuana and offering assistance to Black men for elderly care. 

But if that all sounds exclusive to non-Black Americans, the Harris campaign assures it is not. In statements to The Wall Street Journal, the campaign said Wednesday that Harris’ proposals will be open to all Americans, regardless of their race or ethnicity. 

HARRIS UNVEILS AGENDA TO HELP BLACK MEN ‘GET AHEAD’ AS POLLS SHOW TRUMP GAINS

The vice president is “clear-eyed about how Black men have long been denied the tools that would allow them to grow their wealth, get a good-paying job and support their loved ones—she is championing solutions that will benefit all Americans and address these specific barriers to economic opportunity,” a campaign aide told the WSJ. 

The Harris campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment. 

OBAMA, STUMPING FOR HARRIS, REPEATEDLY TAKES AIM AT TRUMP

The report notes that the U.S. Supreme Court has recently shown hostility towards government programs tailored to a specific race. The court in 2023 struck down college and university affirmative action policies, which made institutions of higher learning consider race in admissions in an effort to mandate diversity on campus. 

“Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion. 

PRO-TRUMP BLACK GROUP FIRES BACK AT OBAMA

Activist Edward Blum, founder and president of Students for Fair Admissions, has led the charge to force companies and government entities to abandon programs and policies that take race into consideration, arguing any such endeavor is discriminatory. The WSJ reported that in September, Blum settled a lawsuit with the Atlanta-based Fearless Fund, a group that promotes minority female entrepreneurs, in which the group agreed to end a grant program that awarded $20,000 to small businesses owned and operated by women of color.

Blum told the Journal that he would seek to challenge the Harris administration if she delivered on programs that exclusively benefited Black men or any other racial group. “Racially exclusive programs like the one she has proposed have been repeatedly struck down by the courts in the past,” he said.

The Harris campaign’s proposal comes as Democrats are increasingly concerned about wavering support among Black men, and in particular younger Black men, for Harris, who would make history if she is elected as the nation’s first female president.

Harris and Trump are locked in a neck and neck race in the seven key battleground states whose razor-thin margins decided President Biden’s 2020 election victory over Trump and will likely determine the winner of the 2024 White House race. Any erosion of support among Black voters, and in particular Black males, could prove costly to the vice president.

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

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

After allegations of plagiarism levied against Vice President Harris, the New York Times quoted an expert who insisted Republicans were “mak[ing] a big deal” out of minor violations that were “an error and not an intent to defraud.” Meanwhile, speaking to the Washington Post, the same expert blamed Harris’ plagiarism on technical difficulties.

Despite the benign reaction to the revelations of Harris’ plagiarism from her 2009 book about prosecuting crime, the reaction to plagiarism accusations against Joe Biden during his 1987-1988 run for president was much more aggressive, and many, such as the Washington Post, have credited the scandal with derailing his then-campaign.

“Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., fighting to salvage his Presidential campaign,” the New York Times wrote in 1987 after reports he lifted excerpts from other politicians’ speeches to use as his own and plagiarized a paper in law school. They also called the revelations “damaging,” while independent columnist Lewis Grizzard described Biden’s plagiarism as “thievery and disinformation.”

NY TIMES ENDORSES KAMALA HARRIS, CHOOSES DEMOCRAT IN 17TH STRAIGHT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 

The public was concerned enough about Biden’s alleged plagiarism that he was forced to withdraw from his regular duties in Congress, which, at the time, included the Senate confirmation of Supreme Court Justice nominee Robert Bork, to hold an impromptu press conference to answer questions about the ordeal. Roughly a week later, Biden withdrew from the race amid the backlash.

When asked during the press conference if he thought the plagiarism accusations would affect his run for the presidency, Biden said he didn’t think so but conceded it would come down to how the press portrayed it to the American people: “You all will make the judgment about that. It will all depend on how you write it. I don’t mean that – I’m not being smart. It will all depend on how the American people look at me. They’re going to look at me and say, ‘Is Joe Biden being honest with me? Or is Joe Biden not being honest with me?” 

The New York Times’ reporting on Harris’ plagiarism was slammed by Republican critic Christopher Rufo, who was the force behind the Harris account of plagiarism. Rufo, alongside an Austrian plagiarism expert, said they found dozens of violations in Harris’ 2009 book, “Smart on Crime: A Career Prosecutor’s Plan to Make Us Safer.” These reportedly included verbatim passages lifted from news reports at NBC and the Associated Press, as well as sections taken from Wikipedia, all without any citation or quotes indicating it was not her language. Harris also plagiarized excerpts from a Bureau of Justice Assistance report, a report from the Urban Institute and a press release from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice for her book, according to Rufo.

NY TIMES ADVICE COLUMN PONDERS APPROPRIATENESS OF FLEEING THE COUNTRY IF ‘WRONG CANDIDATE’ GETS ELECTED

After the New York Times came out with its reporting on the matter, Rufo criticized the paper for “lying.” The Times, which spoke to plagiarism expert Jonathan Bailey, said Rufo only found “five sections” of “about 500 words” that amounted to something problematic. Bailey referred to the alleged plagiarism as an “error and not an intent to defraud,” adding that Rufo was trying to “make a big deal of [something minor].” 

The paper added that “none of the passages in question took the ideas or thoughts of another writer.” Meanwhile, in 1987, the Times slammed claims from Biden that the ideas he reportedly plagiarized came to him spontaneously: “Mr. Biden’s borrowing raises questions about how much a candidate can adapt someone else’s language and thoughts, whether he remembers to give credit or not,” the outlet posited at the time.

Rufo also blasted the Washington Post’s coverage for downplaying the Harris plagiarism allegations. The paper, which spoke to Bailey as well, blamed the “errors” on technical difficulties.

“Bailey said such errors are not uncommon in material written from the late 1990s to around 2010, a period when electronic research became more common, but plagiarism detection had not yet emerged,” wrote the Post.

Rufo also drew a contrast between how the Post criticized first lady Melania Trump for what he described as “lifting a few turns of phrase” during a 2016 speech.

“When Kamala Harris did this more than a dozen times, the paper explained that it was OK because Kamala didn’t know how to use a computer,” he said.

In addition to alleging plagiarism by Harris, Rufo was also the force behind alleging plagiarism by the former president of Harvard, Claudine Gay. The revelations that Gay had reportedly copied numerous academics over the course of her own academic career subsequently led to her removal as Harvard’s president.

Fox News Digital reached out to the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Harris campaign for comment but did not hear back by press time.

FIRST ON FOX: A controversial nonprofit watchdog organization with a history of anti-Israel rhetoric and ties to vulnerable Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown is working to close one of the largest power plants in the United States in a move that could cost hundreds of jobs and raise energy costs for Ohioans.

The Private Equity Stakeholder Project (PESP) recently sent a joint letter, along with the Sierra Club, to Blackstone urging the group to shut down the Gavin Power Plant in Ohio due to environmental concerns and arguing that the plant is the “largest and dirtiest” in the United States.

The coal plant is the largest coal-burning power plant in Ohio and the 9th largest in the country, employing nearly 300 people. The Institute for Energy Research has estimated that closing the plant could “negatively impact the stability of the electric grid and power markets” given that it produces 11% of the electricity in the state of Ohio. 

Other experts warn that residents of Gallia County, Ohio, the county where the plant is located, already have higher average electric bills than other areas in Ohio and 24% higher than the national average suggesting that closing the plant would send those costs up even higher.

OHIO GOP SENATE CHALLENGER REACTS TO POLLS SHOWING DEAD HEAT IN CRITICAL SENATE RACE: ‘RADICAL LIBERAL’

In recent weeks, the Sierra Club has been running ads targeting Blackstone’s leadership in an attempt to put pressure on the group to retire the plant. 

Brown, who benefitted from a virtual phone bank event hosted by the Sierra Club in late September and has been endorsed by their PAC, has a long history of working with PESP.

Brown participated in a PESP press conference in June and cited PESP in a letter to the Federal National Mortgage Association in 2020.

“NPR reports that Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, is seeking answers from a corporate landlord after a report by the Private Equity Stakeholder Project found the firm has been filing for evictions much more over in predominantly Black neighborhoods during the pandemic,” The National Low Income Housing Coalition wrote about Brown and his promotion of PESP In 2021.

Brown also cited PESP’s work in a 2024 letter to the Department of Labor. 

A previous FOX Business review found that several staff members at PESP, which has been funded by the Soros-backed Foundation to Promote an Open Society, the Ford Foundation, and Surdna Foundation, among other left-leaning groups, took part in anti-Israel protests or promoted radical claims related to the conflict.

On the day of the Hamas attack on Israel, where over 1,200 people were murdered and hundreds more taken hostage, PESP senior research coordinator and self-proclaimed “Marxist” Abhilasha Bhola liked a post on X that included the phrase “from the river to the sea” which is widely understood as a call for the elimination of the state of Israel.

Community organizer K Agbebiyi, a senior housing campaign coordinator with PESP, attended a November 2023 rally in Washington, D.C. “demanding an end to the genocide in Palestine” and in December of that year she posted a photo of a mural titled “Liberation looks like terrorism in the eyes of the oppressor.” 

NRA TARGETS SEN SHERROD BROWN IN 7-FIGURE AD BUY IN OHIO: ‘VOTE LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT’

Additionally, Agbebiyi signed a letter with other alumni of the University of Michigan slamming the school for “anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim animus” and demanding the university “discontinue exchange programs and strategic partnerships with Israeli universities.”

In 2022, Agbebiyi posted on X that she is “becoming more principled of a Marxist” and described her political views as “communist.”

A spokesperson for the Brown campaign told Fox News Digital that Brown “will always fight to protect Ohio jobs and will continue to work with the company, workers, and community leaders to keep the plant open, keep energy costs affordable, and make sure local residents stay healthy and safe.” However, the campaign did not address Fox News Digital’s question about PESP’s anti-Israel rhetoric.

Many experts believe the Ohio Senate race will play a critical role in determining which party controls the Senate next year and the Cook Political Report ranks the race between Brown and Republican businessman Bernie Moreno as a “toss up.”

Energy has been a key issue in Ohio, a state where coal energy production and fracking are top issues with voters.

The Brown campaign told Fox News Digital that Brown “believes in an all of the above approach to American energy independence” and pointed to examples of where he “stood up to his own party” to block Biden energy regulations, including voting against Biden’s “clean” power plant rules.

“Sherrod Brown is a Green New Deal radical who wants to shut down Ohio energy production,” Moreno campaign spokesperson Reagan McCarthy told Fox News Digital. “While Sherrod claims there is ‘no war on coal,’ he is actively campaigning with radical groups who want to shut down Ohio coal plants. Unlike Sherrod, Bernie will always stand with Ohio’s energy industry.”

Matt Parr, the communications director for PESP, defended the group’s push to close the power plant, calling it “one of the highest emitting, dirtiest, and deadliest coal-fired power plants in the United States.”

“The Gavin coal plant, owned by private equity giant Blackstone, is one of the highest emitting, dirtiest, and deadliest coal-fired power plants in the United States, emitting 14.7 million tons of CO2 last year,” Parr told Fox News Digital. “The plume of toxins emitted by Blackstone’s 50-year-old Gavin plant have major public health impacts for Ohio and other states because it is upwind of major metropolitan areas across the eastern U.S. such as Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Modeling has found Blackstone’s Gavin plant to be the nation’s deadliest coal plant, causing an estimated 244 premature deaths each year from particulate emissions.”

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

The United States has attacked five military sites controlled by Houthi forces in Yemen by using B-2 bombers for precision strikes against weapons storage locations.

“U.S. forces targeted several of the Houthis’ underground facilities housing various weapons components of types that the Houthis have used to target civilian and military vessels throughout the region,” Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said in a statement. 

“This was a unique demonstration of the United States’ ability to target facilities that our adversaries seek to keep out of reach, no matter how deeply buried underground, hardened, or fortified.”

DISAPPROVAL MOUNTS BOTH AT HOME AND ABROAD AS US AVOIDS DIRECT ACTION AGAINST HOUTHI REBELS

Austin said the employment of U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit long-range stealth bombers demonstrated U.S. global strike capabilities to “take action against these targets when necessary, anytime, anywhere.” 

“For over a year, the Iran-backed Houthis, Specially Designated Global Terrorists, have recklessly and unlawfully attacked U.S. and international vessels transiting the Red Sea, the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden,” he said. 

The Houthis’ illegal attacks continue to disrupt the free flow of international commerce, threaten environmental catastrophe, and put innocent civilian lives and U.S. and partner forces’ lives at risk, he said. 

U.S. FORCES DESTROY MULTIPLE HOUTHI WEAPONS, VEHICLES IN PAST 24 HOURS: CENTCOM

Austin said the attack was approved by President Joe Biden.

“At the direction of President Biden, I authorized these targeted strikes to further degrade the Houthis’ capability to continue their destabilizing behavior and to protect and defend U.S. forces and personnel in one of the world’s most critical waterways.

“Again, the United States will not hesitate to take action to defend American lives and assets; to deter attacks against civilians and our regional partners; and to protect freedom of navigation and increase the safety and security in these waterways for U.S., coalition, and merchant vessels. 

“We will continue to make clear to the Houthis that there will be consequences for their illegal and reckless attacks. I am grateful for the professionalism and skill of the brave American troops who took part in today’s actions and who continue to stand guard in defense of our Nation.”

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Early assessments by the U.S. Central Command indicate that none of the strikes injured any civilians. Here’s some background about the Houthi effects in the Middle East and throughout shipping corridors in the region:

This is a developing story.