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Just days after a young woman was murdered after accidentally getting into a car she thought was her Uber, legislation is being proposed in South Carolina to require drivers for ride-hailing services to have illuminated signs.
University of South Carolina student Samantha Josephson, 21, mistakenly got into the car of Nathaniel David Rowland, 24, car Friday night in Columbia, South Carolina, thinking it was her Uber ride, authorities have said. Rowland activated the child safety locks so Josephson was unable to get out of the car, according to police.
SOUTH CAROLINA COLLEGE REPORTS DEATH OF STUDENT, 21, A DAY AFTER SHE CLIMBED INTO CAR SHE THOUGHT WAS HER RIDE SHARE
The body of the woman, who was from New Jersey, was found dumped in the woods 65 miles away. Rowland was arrested after Josephson’s blood and cell phone were found inside his car, according to police.
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South Carolina’s state legislature is scheduled to debate the bill Wednesday. If passed, the “Samantha L. Josephson RideSharing Safety Act” would take effect 30 days after approval by Gov. Henry McMaster.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: Fox News National
Actress Alyssa Milano speaks after delivering a letter to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s office detailing her opposition to HB 481 at the State Capitol, Tuesday, April 2, 2019, in Atlanta. HB 481 would ban almost all abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected. (Associated Press)
Actress Alyssa Milano and around 30 other Georgia-based film TV and film workers urged Republican Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday to veto a “heartbeat” abortion ban that has drawn scorn from Hollywood figures.
Milano — who films her Netflix comedy “Insatiable” in Atlanta — delivered a letter to Kemp’s office in the Statehouse in Atlanta that was signed by other prominent Hollywood actors before speaking out on the bill.
The so-called “Heartbeat” bill would prohibit most abortions in the state after a heartbeat is detected – which can come as early as six weeks, before many women know they are pregnant. It would not apply in the case of rape, incest or if the life of the mother is in danger.
STEPHEN BALDWIN GOES ON TWITTER RANT AFTER BROTHER ALEC SIGNS ALYSSA MILANO-DRIVEN ABORTION PETITION
“We are going to do everything in our power to move our industry to a safer state for women if HB 481 becomes law,” Milano said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Last month, she tweeted the bill would “strip women of their bodily autonomy.”
But Georgia state Rep. Dominic LaRiccia, a Republican, confronted Milano outside Kemp’s office and asked which Georgia district she votes in. She replied she is currently working in the state but does not live there.
The legislation was approved last week and is backed by Kemp, who told the Journal-Constitution he won’t be swayed by Milano’s arguments against the proposal.
‘HEARTBEAT’ BILLS GAINING MOMENTUM IN SEVERAL STATES, INCLUDING KENTUCKY AND MISSISSIPPI
“I can’t govern because I’m worried about what someone in Hollywood thinks about me,” Kemp told the newspaper. “I ran the last two years on these issues, and I got elected with the largest number of votes in the history of the state of Georgia, and I’m doing what I told people I would do.”
“I can’t govern because I’m worried about what someone in Hollywood thinks about me. I ran the last two years on these issues, and I got elected with the largest number of votes in the history of the state of Georgia.”
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. (Associated Press)
Before it passed last week, film and crew members sent letters to production companies HBO, Sony, Disney, universal, Marvel and Netflix, urging them to publicly oppose the bill. Georgia has become a major hub for the film industry because of its generous tax credits.
The state was home to 455 productions last fiscal year, generating $9.5 billion in economic impact and $2.7 billion in direct spending, the paper reported.
Actress Alyssa Milano, left, delivers a letter to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s office detailing her opposition to HB 481 at the State Capitol Tuesday, April 2, 2019, in Atlanta. HB 481 would ban almost all abortions after a fetal heartbeat can be detected. (Associated Press)
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“These are the men that are voting on what goes on inside my uterus,” Milano said Tuesday.
Milano has become a prominent activist for the #MeToo movement and fierce critic of President Trump. In January, she compared his supporters to members of the Ku Klux Klan, saying “The red MAGA hat is the new white hood.”
During the confirmation hearing for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Milano supported women who accused him of sexually assaulting them years before.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: Fox News National
William “Bill” McLeod accidentally resigned after he posted online his intention to run for the state’s Supreme Court. (Facebook)
A judge in Texas recently resigned by accident after he publicized his intention to run for the state’s Supreme Court.
Democrat William “Bill” McLeod has served as a judge in Harris County Civil Court at Law Number Four since January. Thinking of the future, McLeod posted online his plans to run for the state’s highest court.
NORTH CAROLINA GOP CHAIRMAN, OTHERS INDICTED ON BRIBERY AND FRAUD CHARGES
He told KHOU that soon after, someone showed him the Texas Constitution, specifically Article 16, Section 65, which applies to district and county clerks, county judges, and judges of county courts at law, among other positions.
The law states that if any of those holding the aforementioned offices announce their candidacy for another office or become an actual candidate, “such announcement or such candidacy shall constitute an automatic resignation of the office then held.”
McLeod declined an interview with the news station but did plead on Facebook on Sunday for supporters to help him.
“There has been a discussion and a issue with a potential violation … with the Texas Constitution, and I am in dire need of people’s support.”
The judge said that County Attorney Vince Ryan “is trying to throw me off my bench because of this potential violation,” and added he has “no intention” to run for the Supreme Court.
Ryan will present the issue to a meeting of the county commissioners on Tuesday, according to the report. McLeod has asked for his supporters to call the commissioners and show their support.
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One of his supporters, Kandice Webber, said the incident “would not be the first time that a judge has made a mistake.”
“Our judges are human,” she told KHOU. “I would beg the court to leave him where he is. This is where Houstonians want him. This is where Harris County wants him, and we made that very loud and clear at the ballot.”
Source: Fox News National
FILE – In this June 3, 2017 file photo North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Robin Hayes speaks during the North Carolina Republican Party State Convention at the Wilmington Convention Center in Wilmington, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Spencer, File)
The chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party and a major donor were indicted Tuesday on federal bribery and wire fraud charges.
North Carolina GOP Chairman Robin Hayes and investment firm founder Greg Lindberg were among four people charged in federal indictments unsealed Tuesday.
Hayes, who served from 1999 to 2009 in Congress, Lindberg and his two associates, also charged, reportedly appeared in federal court in Charlotte, North Carolina on Tuesday
Hayes, Lindberg and his two associates are accused of trying to sway an insurance regulator’s decisions in favor of the donor’s insurance companies.
Federal prosecutors said that the four individuals promised or gave Republican Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey millions of campaign dollars to do things Lindberg wanted, including seeking the removal of a deputy insurance commissioner responsible for oversight of one of Lindberg’s businesses.
Lindberg has given more than $5 million to North Carolina candidates, party committees and independent expenditure groups.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: Fox News Politics
Newark Mayor Kenneth Gibson addresses reporters during a press conference in Washington, Aug. 5, 1970. (Getty Images)
NEWARK, N.J. – Ken Gibson, who became the first black mayor of a major Northeast city when he ascended to power in riot-torn Newark almost five decades ago, died. He was 86.
NJ.com reported that Gibson, who died Friday, served as the city’s mayor from 1970 to 1986, helping establish a foundation for black political power.
“He always thought that if you could help somebody, then that’s what you should do,” his wife, Camille Gibson, told NJ Advance Media. “That’s what he thought being the mayor was. He was very happy to do that.”
‘MAJOR’ NEW JERSEY FOREST FIRE CLOSES ROADS; SMOKE FROM BLAZE REPORTED IN NEW YORK CITY
Elected three summers after the devastating 1967 riots, Gibson is credited with stabilizing the city’s finances and improving the health of citizens.
“He gets a lot of credit for holding things together when things could have easily fallen apart,” said the late Bob Curvin, who spearheaded Gibson’s 1970 campaign and later directed the Ford Foundation’s Urban Poverty Program.
Born in 1932, Gibson spent his early years in Enterprise, Alabama, and came to Newark with his family when he was eight years old. He attended Newark College of Engineering, now the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and worked as an engineer for the Newark Housing Authority.
A 1966 run for mayor was unsuccessful but garnered 15,000 votes. The riots occurred the following year, and following his 1970 election he became a national spokesman on the plight of America’s cities, featured on the cover of Time magazine and in 1976 becoming the first African-American elected president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
Gibson ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for governor in 1981 and 1985. In 2002, he pleaded guilty to tax evasion and was sentenced to three years of probation.
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Speaking to NJ Advance Media in 2017 during the 50th anniversary of the Newark riots, Gibson said he was seeing the city’s reputation finally recover.
“The city’s rep really got to be bad because of the disturbances in ’67,” Gibson said. “Trying to overcome that is very difficult. It never goes completely away. It gets better, though,” he said from his home.
Camille Gibson called him a good husband and father, and “probably the best, sweetest and nicest man that anybody could know and love.”
“I haven’t spent a day without that man in 40 years,” she said. “I just don’t know how I am going to get through it, either.”
Source: Fox News Politics
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is leading an effort to get rid of the state’s burdensome occupational licensing laws, which he says cost many ordinary professionals hundreds of dollars and subject them to frustrating and unnecessary bureaucracy.
Studies have shown that nearly one in three jobs in America are subject to stringent occupational licensing laws, with Arizona being one of the most strictly regulated, hindering professional employment and deterring individuals from starting their own businesses.
STATES ARE USING ABSURD LICENSING REQUIREMENTS TO LICENSE PEOPLE RIGHT OUT OF WORK – IT HAS TO STOP
Ducey, 54, a Republican originally from Ohio who succeeded the GOP’s Jan Brewer as Arizona’s governor in 2015, said it’s time to get rid of the laws that cost on average of $455 in fees and almost 600 days of education and experience, according to Reason magazine.
“Our focus [has been] on improving that structure of government and really stopping the bullies that were part of the boards and commissions,” he told the libertarian magazine.
“Our focus [has been] on improving that structure of government and really stopping the bullies that were part of the boards and commissions.”
The governor is backing a measure that would allow Arizona to recognize occupational licenses granted by other states.
“Just because somebody packs up that moving van in Chicago, Illinois, they don’t lose their skills on the way to the state of Arizona,” Ducey explained. “Why should somebody have to suffer the burden of thousands of dollars, or weeks or months of recertification, in a skill that they already have?”
“Just because somebody packs up that moving van in Chicago, Illinois, they don’t lose their skills on the way to the state of Arizona.”
But Democratic critics say the bill could drive down professional standards in the state, by attracting people who experience licensing problems elsewhere.
EFFORT TO ELIMINATE FLORIST LICENSES IN LOUISIANA BECOMES A THORNY ISSUE
“My issue is that we don’t really know what the standards are in these other states,” Democratic state Rep. Pamela Powers Hannley told Reason. “Why should we dumb down our standards? I see this as sort of deregulation for the sake of deregulation.”
Yet the measure addresses the problems raised by the critics, explicitly noting that only people who have no problems in other states or a disqualifying criminal history would be able to transfer their occupational licenses to Arizona.
Some professionals may still have to take tests, if required, to make sure they are familiar and understand Arizona laws related to their occupation.
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“I think it’s important that we remember who the voters are and who the citizens are and we’re here to serve them,” Ducey says. “Too many of these boards and commissions exist to stop competition, to stifle and protect the status quo. And we’re changing that in Arizona.”
Source: Fox News Politics
In this Wednesday, March 27, 2019 photo, signs posted on the doors of the Bolten Street Baptist Church are seen during a meeting coordinated to garner support for one black candidate in Savannah’s mayoral race, in Savannah, Ga. Organizers of a meeting to discuss an upcoming mayoral race in Georgia barred reporters from attending, unless they were African-American. (Eric Curl/Savannah Morning News via AP)
The organizers of a community meeting held in Savannah, Georgia on Wednesday evening to discuss the city’s upcoming mayoral race only allowed black reporters to attend.
Organizers of the meeting at the Bolton Street Baptist Church, which was put on by Rev. Clarence Teddy Williams, reportedly posted signs stating “Black press only” on the doors of the church.
At least two black reporters and the publisher of a local African-American newspaper were allowed inside, the Savannah Morning News reported. Television crews were also prohibited from entering.
MARYLAND STATE LAWMAKERS VOTE UNANIMOUSLY TO CENSURE HOUSE DEMOCRAT OVER RACIAL SLUR
Williams did not return Fox News’ request for comment, but an advertisement for the meeting on the Facebook of the Trigon Group, a consulting firm Williams’ owners, states that the event is for “Black Media ONLY!”
Van Johnson, a Savannah city councilman and one of three black mayoral candidates to have announced campaigns so far, attended the Wednesday meeting at Bolton Street Baptist Church. Johnson said afterward he relayed “my vision for an inclusive Savannah, a progressive Savannah.”
Asked by WTOC-TV about only black reporters being allowed inside, Johnson said: “It’s not my meeting. Again, I was asked to come give a statement, and so I came and I gave a statement.”
Johnson issued a revised statement on Thursday on Facebook, calling the organizer’s decision to ban certain journalists “unfortunate” and saying he expressed his concerns with them over their move.
“I have expressed my concerns to the organizers of this event as my history of service in this community has ALWAYS been one of inclusion, of partnership and of communication,” Johnson said in a statement. “While this decision of this group is unfortunate, I work toward the day when we trust each other enough to be inclusive in all of our gatherings.”
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Louis Wilson, who says he’s running for mayor again after an unsuccessful 2015 campaign, also attended the meeting.
Regina Thomas, a former Georgia state senator and one of the incumbent mayor’s black challengers, skipped the church gathering Wednesday. She said the meeting appeared divisive and was scheduled too early in the campaign. The deadline for candidates to sign up for the race is Aug. 23. Thomas said she also had a scheduling conflict: her Bible study group met Wednesday night.
The Wednesday meeting in Savannah was held to try to unite the city’s black community behind a single candidate for mayor in the Nov. 5 election.
Mayor Eddie DeLoach is seeking re-election this fall. He became Savannah’s first white mayor in 20 years after winning the 2015 campaign. Elections for Savannah’s top office are nonpartisan, meaning all candidates who qualify end up on the November ballot.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Authorities in North Carolina would have to hold defendants in jail if requested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials under a bill that cleared its first hurdle on Wednesday.
A House judiciary panel approved House Bill 370, a measure sponsored by North Carolina Republican lawmakers unhappy with recent decisions by newly elected sheriffs to stop assisting federal immigration agents.
"These sanctuary sheriffs are putting politics ahead of public safety," said Rep. Destin Hall, a chief sponsor of the bill, said during a committee meeting.
BORDER HITS ‘BREAKING POINT’ IN EL PASO, CBP COMMISSIONER SAYS
Hall’s bill would require sheriffs in all counties to fulfill ICE detainer requests, which can be used to hold criminal suspects up to 48 hours. Those holdings currently aren’t mandatory.
"No matter what these sheriffs do, ICE has a job to do," Hall said Wednesday. "When sheriffs don’t cooperate with them, they still have that duty to enforce federal immigration law, and they’re going to do that. Except, instead of doing it in the jail — a controlled environment that’s much more safe — they’re going to do it out in the community."
House Bill 370 would require sheriffs in North Carolina to fulfill ICE detainer requests, which can be used to hold criminal suspects up to 48 hours. These holdings currently aren’t mandatory. (AP Photo)
Sheriffs elected last year in urban areas in and around Raleigh, Asheville and Durham have announced they won’t honor these requests.
In response to those actions, ICE stepped up immigration raids in the state because of the decreased cooperation, with the regional director calling the heightened presence the "new normal," WRAL reported.
LARGE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT GROUPS CROSSING US-MEXICO BORDER PUSHING AGENTS TO ‘BREAKING POINT’
Immigration advocates and some state Democrats have come out opposing the measure, with one lawmaker called it a "gross overreach" by the government to take power away from locally-elected sheriffs, The Winston-Salem Journal reported.
“Who are we to tell our elected law-enforcement officers how they should behave,” Rep. Wesley Harris said during the hearing.
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Those opposed to the measure are already urging Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to veto any final bill that comes to him.
A spokesperson for the governor told the Journal that Cooper has "serious concerns" about taking away local authority from sheriffs.
“The governor will review any legislation that comes to his desk before making a decision,” Cooper spokesman Jamal Little told the newspaper.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: Fox News National
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has come under fire from state Democrats over a $25,000-a-plate fundraiser. (Fox News)
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is reportedly facing criticism from at least three fellow Democrats over an exclusive $25,000-a-plate fundraiser held at the swanky St. Regis Hotel in New York City earlier this month.
State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi of the Bronx, State Sen. Jessica Ramos of Queens and Assemblymember Yiu-Line Niou of Manhattan accused the governor of hypocrisy after his promises of “real campaign reform,” the New York Post reported Thursday.
TRUMP, MEETING WITH ANDREW CUOMO ON TAX REFORM, PIVOTS TO LATE-TERM ABORTION
Biaggi implied that the governor might be engaging in "pay-to-play" politics.
"It’s impossible to say that a $25,000 ticket is not influencing decisions," she said.
A spokesman for Cuomo called his critics “hypocrites,” noting they also hold their own fundraisers, the Post reported.
The lawmakers said the fundraiser was an example of why Cuomo should agree to a taxpayer-funded election.
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Cuomo has served as governor since 2011 and was easily reelected to a third term last November.
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Democratic Mayor Catherine Pugh was elected in 2016. Before that, she served as a state senator. (Associated Press)
Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh is under fire over “Healthy Holly,” a children’s book series she authored, for which she has reportedly received $500,000 from the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) since 2011.
The university paid Pugh for 100,000 copies of her books between 2011 and 2018, the Associated Press reported Tuesday. The series of healthy lifestyle books for children was intended to go to schools and day care centers. However, the Baltimore Sun reported that some 50,000 copies remain unaccounted for and may never have been printed.
OFF-DUTY MARYLAND STATE TROOPER CHARGED IN ALLEGED ROAD RAGE INCIDENT
Pugh, who sat on the UMMS board of directors since 2011, resigned from the position and returned her most recent $100,000 payment after the Baltimore Sun exposed the arrangement in early March.
Six fellow members of the UMMS board either resigned or went on voluntary leave over the revelation that one-third of the board members have received financial compensation for their businesses from UMMS and the president and CEO of UMMS is on a leave of absence, according to the AP.
Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot called UMMS’s arrangements with board members “self-dealing” and said there needs to be an independent audit. Franchot told the Associated Press there were “no receipts, no contracts, no procurement” regarding Pugh’s book deal. He referred to it as a “gift” from the university.
Pugh has called questions about the deal a “witch hunt.”
The mayor did not properly disclose the deal on state ethics forms, the Sun reported and Monday a complaint was filed with the Office of the State Prosecutor, accusing Pugh of perjury over her omissions. She claims it was an oversight.
Her office says she plans to hold a news conference regarding “Healthy Holly” “as soon as possible following her release from the hospital” for pneumonia.
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Pugh was elected in 2016 and faces a primary in 2020.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Source: Fox News Politics
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