Northeast
Maine Rep Laurel Libby appeals Biden-appointed judge's verdict on controversial trans athlete censure
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Maine GOP state Rep. Laurel Libby filed an emergency appeal with the First Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday over a recent ruling that upheld her censure in the legislature.
The state’s Democrat majority voted to censure her for writing a social media post that identified a trans athlete who won a girls’ state pole vault competition in February. Libby filed a lawsuit against House Speaker Ryan Fecteau to have it overturned, but Rhode Island U.S. District Court Judge Melissa DuBose ruled against Libby on Friday.
DuBose was appointed by former President Joe Biden just before he left office in January.
Libby previously told Fox News Digital that she would appeal the ruling once it was announced, and now she has, and she is willing to take her case to the Supreme Court.
“Our appeal asks the court to correct this abuse of power and reaffirm that legislative leadership cannot use procedural maneuvers and sweeping assertions of immunity to sideline dissenting voices and disenfranchise entire communities,” Libby told Fox News Digital in a statement.
“I remain optimistic that the court will recognize what is plainly at stake: the integrity of representative government and the foundational principle that no elected official, no legislative leader, and no partisan majority is above the Constitution. The people of House District 90 deserve full representation, and we intend to see that right restored.”
Libby represents 9,000 constituents in Maine’s 90th District and has not been able to speak or vote on their behalf in the state legislature for two months.
“This appeal is about far more than one legislator’s seat – it’s about defending the constitutional rights of 9,000 Mainers who currently have no voice and no vote in the Maine House of Representatives,” Libby said.
“I’m grateful for the support of my constituents and so many others across Maine who understand the importance of speaking truth and standing firm. I will continue to press forward until the voices of the people I was elected to represent are heard once again in Augusta.”
DuBose presided over the case after every district judge in Maine refused to take it.
Judges John C. Nivison, John A. Woodcock, Lance E. Walker, Karen F. Wolf, Stacey D. Neumann and Nancy Torresen signed recusal orders shortly after the case was initially filed. No reason was given.
So the case went to DuBose in Rhode Island.
MAINE GIRL INVOLVED IN TRANS ATHLETE BATTLE REVEALS HOW STATE’S POLICIES HURT HER CHILDHOOD AND SPORTS CAREER
The censure so far has cost her a chance to vote on the state’s biannual budget and propose a bill to expand access to mental health resources for residents. It also prevents Libby from voting on or speaking on the House floor about a bill that would add trans inclusion in girls’ sports to the state constitution.
Her colleagues will vote on the Democrat majority’s bill after it passed with a slim simple majority in the House on Thursday, but it needs a two-thirds majority in both chambers before it can go before voters. If passed, it would codify in the state’s constitution the Maine Human Rights Act, which protects the rights of transgender athletes to compete for sports teams of the opposite sex.
The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state for its ongoing defiance of Trump’s Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports executive order. Maine has faced federal pressure in the last two months over its refusal to comply, including two federal investigations, a funding freeze by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and now a lawsuit.
The Democrat leadership in the state, led by Gov. Janet Mills, has fought back by filing its own lawsuit against Trump over the funding freeze. Another federal judge has already ruled the USDA must unfreeze the funding.
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Northeast
DHS torches New Jersey’s profane ‘F—ICE Act’ as assaults on agents skyrocket 1,300%
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EXCLUSIVE: The Department of Homeland Security slammed a new vulgar New Jersey bill aimed at punishing federal immigration enforcement in the Garden State, highlighting several victims of crimes committed by illegal immigrants that officials say lawmakers are ignoring.
Earlier this week, Assemblymembers Ravinder Bhalla and Katie Brennan, both Hoboken Democrats, drafted the “F—ICE Act” — with the profane acronym spelled out — that would allow civil action to be taken against immigration enforcement agents.
The bill was reportedly drafted after a Democratic Socialist councilman from neighboring Jersey City was rebuked by a federal agent when he arrived at the scene of a raid on the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, where an agent told him: “I don’t need a warrant, bro.”
“This is a disgusting bill just meant to demonize our officers who are experiencing a highly coordinated campaign of violence against our law enforcement,” Deputy Assistant DHS Secretary Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital.
New Jerseyans protest ICE. (Charly Triballeau/Getty Images)
“Our officers are facing a 1,300% increase in assaults against them, a 3,200% increase in vehicular attacks, and an 8,000% increase in death threats.”
Bis warned that anyone who lays hands on officers or tries to obstruct their operations “is committing a felony and a federal crime.”
“What these New Jersey sanctuary lawmakers are trying to do is unlawful, and they know it. Federal officials acting in the course of their duties are immune from liability under state law,” she said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the New Jersey Assembly Majority Office for comment from Bhalla and Brennan.
Bis later added that New Jersey is the same state that “allowed a criminal illegal alien onto American streets who killed a mother and 11-year-old daughter while drunk driving.”
HOCHUL ENDORSES LEGISLATION TO ALLOW NEW YORKERS TO SUE ICE AGENTS: ‘POWER DOES NOT JUSTIFY ABUSE’
“What about recourse for the victims of illegal aliens?” she asked of the F—ICE Act sponsors.
Bis outlined several recent DHS arrests of illegal immigrants convicted of violent crimes, including Felix Diaz of Cuba, who was arrested on a homicide charge.
Rodrigo Basantes of Ecuador was convicted of endangering the welfare of a child through sexual contact and sexual assault of a victim under age 13, while Mexican national Jose Villalva was previously convicted of child molestation.
Later Friday, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill doubled down on the state’s tack toward ICE with a scathing letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem objecting to the purchase of a warehouse near Lake Hopatcong that would be used as a federal facility.
“The Roxbury immigration detention facility will not make New Jerseyans safer. Across the country, federal immigration officers have trampled on basic liberties and engaged in unconscionable acts of violence against law-abiding Americans,” Sherrill claimed.
“These acts of violence have left Americans severely injured and, in some cases, resulted in their deaths. ICE agents have repeatedly violated the constitutional rights of citizens and non-citizens alike. I have no reason to believe that DHS will treat the people of New Jersey any differently should it expand its presence in our state.”
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She claimed DHS has shown a “chilling disregard for both human life and the rule of law.”
However, not every New Jerseyan has been on board with the new governor, as boos rained down on the former Morristown congresswoman when she was introduced at a New Jersey Devils hockey game this week.
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Boston, MA
Flights to and from Middle East keep getting canceled at Boston Logan
As tensions remain high in the Middle East, travel continues to be impacted across the globe.
Flights to and from the Middle East keep getting canceled at Boston Logan International Airport, and there were no signs of improvement Sunday as Americans are left scrambling to get to safety. The Trump administration has promised to help but getting out isn’t easy.
Several flights from Dubai to Boston were canceled Sunday, and aviation experts say about 3,000 seats per day go through Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Without them, people are trying to get home through Europe or Asia.
When not in use by the team during the NFL season, the Patriots team plane is operated by a charter company for various flights.
Meanwhile, Iran’s busiest airport was hit by strikes with Israel later saying it was being used to transfer weapons to regime allies in the region.
The Iranian foreign minister spoke on Meet the Press Sunday about what it would take to agree to a ceasefire and ultimately end the war.
“Nobody wants to continue this war. This is not our war. This is not a war of our choice. This is imposed on us by the United States, by Israelis…” Abbas Araghchi said. “People have been killed. Places have been destroyed and now they want to ask for a ceasefire again? This doesn’t work like this.”
With no clear end to this conflict and airlines backed up as it is, experts say it will take a while to get people where they need to go, though the State Department says it has chartered many flights to bring Americans home, including chartering the Patriots plane.
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