Southeast
Biden admin alums team up with Bloomberg network in war on fossil fuels
FIRST ON FOX: Former Biden administration officials are entangled in a Michael Bloomberg campaign to block petrochemical projects nationwide while some organizations in the effort have collected millions of dollars in taxpayer-backed federal grants, records reviewed by Fox News Digital show.
The billionaire Democratic donor and former New York City mayor’s charity, Bloomberg Philanthropies, launched its $85 million Beyond Petrochemicals campaign last year in an effort to block the development of proposed petrochemicals projects in Texas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio. At the time, Bloomberg said the campaign would help combat emissions and the climate crisis broadly.
“Petrochemical plants poison our air and water — killing Americans and harming the health of entire communities. And with many heavily-polluting new projects planned around the U.S., we’re at a critical moment for stopping them,” Bloomberg said.
“Communities around the country are standing up to confront the petrochemical industry and defend their right to clean air and water,” he continued. “This campaign will help ensure more local victories, support laws that protect communities from harm, and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are fueling the climate crisis.”
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But the California-based Resources Legacy Fund — a left-wing dark money group with a history of funding environmental campaigns — has funneled money to Beyond Petrochemicals, according to Bloomberg’s group. Several individuals linked to the Resources Legacy Fund have served high-level stints in Biden’s administration, with one of them specifying petrochemicals as a primary area of concern.
For example, in early September, Gina McCarthy, President Biden’s former White House national climate adviser, joined the Resources Legacy Fund’s board of directors. The group’s president Avi Garbow lauded McCarthy and said she was among the “nation’s most respected voices on issues related to climate change.”
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McCarthy’s former role likely affords her a pipeline to Biden’s White House. During her final days in the role, she met with environmental leaders, including at least three individuals at groups now involved with Bloomberg’s Beyond Petrochemicals campaign, such as the Environmental Defense Fund, EarthJustice, and We Act for Environmental Justice.
McCarthy also recently joined the Bloomberg-backed climate change advocacy group America Is All In as its managing co-chair, where she supports “cities, states, businesses and institutions to scale climate action across the country,” the group wrote in August.
The former Biden official has identified the petrochemicals sector as a primary focus area for America Is All In, including the “growth of plastics and dealing with plastic pollution,” E&E News reported.
In addition, Garbow, the president of the Resources Legacy Fund, has also previously served in the Biden administration. Garbow took a six-month role as senior counselor to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan in 2021.
On his LinkedIn profile, Garbow states he took a leave of absence “at the request of the White House” to “help ensure that the Administration and EPA were positioned at the outset to successfully pursue an aggressive, protective, durable, and equitable environmental and climate agenda, and return EPA to its mission of protecting public health and the environment for all Americans.”
Under Regan’s leadership, the EPA has taken sweeping actions targeting the petrochemical industry in an effort to curb emissions and fight global warming. And, on behalf of the EPA, the Department of Justice has filed environmental litigation against petrochemical facilities in Louisiana.
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“For generations, our most vulnerable communities have unjustly borne the burden of breathing unsafe, polluted air,” Regan said in April in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, upon announcing a slate of new regulations targeting the petrochemical industry.
“When I visited St. John the Baptist Parish during my first Journey to Justice tour, I pledged to prioritize and protect the health and safety of this community and so many others that live in the shadows of chemical plants.”
Overall, the multibillion-dollar petrochemical industry is particularly prominent in Louisiana where it is a key driver of jobs and investment. The industry is also a central reason why the state is the third-largest consumer of petroleum and largest consumer of petroleum per capita in the nation, according to the Energy Information Administration.
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Petrochemicals such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polymer and ethylene glycol are key components of products like cars, ropes, pipes, artifical turf, playground equipment and antifreeze.
However, the petrochemical industry has long been target of environmentalists who argue it is responsible for harmful emissions and pollution negatively impacting surrounding communities’ health.
Mark Kleinman, senior communications officer for Resources Legacy Fund, told Fox News Digital the organization is “proud to work with the nation’s leading thinkers and advocates to protect the health of communities and build a cleaner, more prosperous future.”
“RLF serves as fiscal sponsor for the Beyond Petrochemicals Campaign, which means RLF provides administrative and grantmaking support,” he added.
The group did not address questions regarding individuals associated with it having worked in the Biden administration.
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Furthermore, representatives from Beyond Petrochemicals attended a July meeting with Michal Freedhoff, who serves as the assistant administrator in the EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, to urge them “to ban vinyl chloride,” according to Ohio’s WFMJ.
Broadly, Beyond Petrochemicals seeks to leverage research, litigation, legislation, and stakeholder engagement to achieve its goals, which include blocking “the expansion of more than 120 proposed petrochemical and plastic projects” in Louisiana, Texas, and the Ohio River Valley.”
It also seeks to establish “stricter rules for existing plants to safeguard the health of American communities,” Bloomberg Philanthropies’ website states.
While Bloomberg Philanthropies says “over 50 partners” are involved with the campaign, the website currently only identifies 18 by name. According to records, seven of those groups have garnered a combined $15.3 million in government grants from the Biden administration — with one group receiving a bulk of that sum.
The EPA recently awarded a $13 million grant to the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, a Beyond Petrochemicals coalition member that seeks to develop “minority leadership in the areas of environmental, social, and economic justice along the Mississippi River Chemical Corridor and Gulf Coast Region,” its website states.
The group received the grant as part of an effort to help “underserved and overburdened communities across the country access funds from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda for a variety of activities to advance environmental justice,” the EPA said in an August announcement.
Bloomberg Philanthropies did not respond to a request for comment.
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Southeast
Federal judge strikes down Biden admin's Title IX rewrite
A federal judge in Kentucky blocked the Biden administration’s attempt to redefine sex in Title IX as “gender identity,” striking down the change nationwide.
The U.S. District Court Eastern District of Kentucky Northern Division made the ruling in Cardona v. Tennessee on Thursday.
“Another massive win for TN and the country!” Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in a post on X. “This morning, a federal court ruled in our favor and vacated the Biden admin’s radical new Title IX rule nationwide.
“The court’s order is resounding victory for the protection of girls’ privacy in locker rooms and showers, and for the freedom to speak biologically-accurate pronouns.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., released a statement on the ruling.
“It is clear the Biden-Harris administration completely lost its way on Title IX. They betrayed the original intent of Title IX by removing longstanding protections that ensured fairness for women and girls. Good to see this harmful regulation overturned,” he said. “With President Trump and a Republican majority in Congress, we will ensure women and girls have every opportunity to succeed on the field and in the classroom.”
The ruling came months after the Supreme Court rejected the Biden administration’s emergency request to enforce portions of a new rule that would have included protections from discrimination for transgender students under Title IX.
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The sweeping rule was issued in April and clarified that Title IX’s ban on “sex” discrimination in schools covers discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation and “pregnancy or related conditions.”
The rule took effect Aug. 1, and, for the first time, the law stated that discrimination based on sex includes conduct related to a person’s gender identity.
It led to more than two dozen attorneys general suing over the rule, arguing it would conflict with some of their state laws that block transgender students from participating in women’s sports.
“When Title IX is viewed in its entirety, it is abundantly clear that discrimination on the basis of sex means discrimination on the basis of being a male or female,” the court’s opinion read. “As this Court and others have explained, expanding the meaning of ‘on the basis of sex’ to include ‘gender identity’ turns Title IX on its head.
“While Title IX sought to level the playing field between men and women, it is rife with exceptions that allow males and females to be separated based on the enduring physical differences between the sexes.”
Kristen Waggoner, president, CEO and general Counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a statement the ruling was a “colossal win for women and girls” in the U.S.
“The Biden administration’s radical attempt to redefine sex not only tossed fairness, safety, and privacy for female students out the window, it also threatened free speech and parental rights,” she added. “With this ruling, the federal court in Kentucky rejected the entire Biden rule and the administration’s illegal actions. We are thankful for the leadership of Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and other state attorneys general who challenged this blatant overreach alongside our courageous clients.
“This ruling provides enormous relief for students across the country, including our client who has already suffered harassment by a male student in the locker room and on her sports team. The U.S. Supreme Court can further protect girls like our client by granting cases brought by the ACLU against West Virginia and Idaho laws that protect women’s sports.”
The decision came as Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is set to push the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act to the Senate Floor.
A procedural vote on it will happen on Friday.
Fox News’ Julia Johnson and Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
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Southeast
Laken Riley Act roils NJ governor’s race as 2 Dems skip roll: ‘The more someone campaigns the less they vote'
Two Democrats in the 2025 race to succeed term-limited New Jersey Gov. Philip Murphy did not cast votes this week in Congress on the Laken Riley Act, leading them to be lambasted by gubernatorial candidates from both parties.
The House Clerk’s office recorded Reps. Mikie Sherrill of Essex and Josh Gottheimer of Bergen County recorded as “not voting” on the landmark bill, which would require illegal immigrants convicted of theft-related crimes be detained by municipal and state authorities.
The bill takes its name from a young woman murdered by an illegal immigrant in Georgia who had been previously arrested and released on lesser charges.
Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop exclaimed, “This is cowardly,” in an X post.
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“We lose elections when we don’t have any core convictions… when we can’t explain why we have a view and why we believe in it. Hiding is not an answer that wins elections,” the Democrat said.
“Mikie and Josh are the same again – If you don’t have the courage to vote for a bill then what does that say about your courage to lead as Governor?” Fulop added.
Meanwhile, former Republican Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli slammed the two lawmakers from their right.
“Shame on [Josh and Mikie] for gutlessly ducking a vote on the Laken Riley Act today,” said Ciattarelli.
On X, Ciattarelli said Riley “fought till her last breath against a murderous illegal immigrant, but Josh/Mikie didn’t have the courage to stand up to their extreme far left base.”
Ciattarelli ran against Murphy in 2021 and nearly defeated him by Garden State standards, losing by less than three points. In November, President-elect Trump only lost the state by four points, leading the GOP to signal their optimism about flipping Trenton red this fall.
When the bill last came up for a vote, Gottheimer voted “yea,” and a spokesman told the Philadelphia Inquirer he would have supported the bill this week if he had voted.
New Jersey’s three Republican congressmen – Reps. Christopher Smith, Jeff Van Drew and Tom Kean Jr. – all voted for the Laken Riley Act.
Democratic Reps. Nellie Pou, Frank Pallone, Herbert Conaway, LaMonica McIver, Donald Norcross and Rob Menendez Jr. all voted against it.
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Republican Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia – who is not running for governor – torched the pair on Wednesday with a quip:
“The Road to Drumthwacket is paved with flat squirrels who couldn’t make a decision,” she said, referring to the historic governor’s mansion near Princeton.
State Sen. Jon Bramnick, a GOP gubernatorial candidate, told Fox News Digital on Thursday that a lawmaker’s first responsibility is to their constituents, not their next campaign.
“I think you have to have campaign activities come secondary to your responsibility,” Bramnick said when asked about Gottheimer’s and Sherrill’s non-votes.
“The key question is – if you’re going to run – campaign activities must be secondary to your voting,” adding that systemically it seems “the more [someone] campaigns the less they vote.”
Bramnick, who is also an attorney in Plainfield, added that he couldn’t assume what was on the two Democrats’ minds in terms of their vote, but that immigration is a hot issue and often difficult to navigate.
With the Laken Riley Act scoring 48 Democratic “yea’s,” Bramnick said immigration is a bipartisan issue.
If elected governor, he said he would “follow the law” when asked how he would approach President-elect Trump or border czar-designate Tom Homan.
“Unfortunately, the Congress hasn’t done anything to [create] a path to citizenship for people who may have an opportunity to stay here,” he said, discussing those who have lived in the U.S. for many years as otherwise law-abiding members of their communities.
“If America doesn’t like the law, change it, but state-by-state shouldn’t change the law based on how they feel on the issue.”
Sherrill and Gottheimer did not immediately respond to inquiries made via their campaigns.
Another Democrat in the race, Ras Baraka – mayor of the state’s largest city, Newark – also did not respond.
Baraka, however, separately indicated he would have voted against the Laken Riley Act if he were in Congress.
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Southeast
Apalachee High School student arrested for allegedly bringing gun to campus months after deadly mass shooting
The Barrow County Sheriff’s Office said a 14-year-old student was arrested Wednesday after he allegedly brought a gun to Apalachee High School, the same Georgia school where two students and two teachers were killed in a mass shooting in September.
At approximately 2:02 p.m., school resource officers arrested the student without incident.
“The student was cooperative and compliant when encountered by law enforcement officers, and there have been no reports of the student threatening anyone with the gun,” the sheriff’s office said.
The boy, who was not named due to his age, has since been transported to a youth detention center.
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The boy was charged with theft, being a minor in possession of a gun and possessing a weapon on school grounds.
Officials didn’t say what type of gun was seized or how the child acquired the gun.
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In response to the incident, the Barrow County School System canceled Thursday’s classes at the high school and called for a meeting to discuss immediate safety enhancement options.
“We understand this brings up many different feelings in each of us,” the school system said. “We will update you all following the board meeting tomorrow with any changes regarding school procedures.”
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On Sept. 4, 14-year-old student Colt Gray allegedly opened fire at Apalachee High School, killing two teachers and two students.
Teachers Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Cristina Irimie, 53, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, were killed.
Gray has since been indicted on 55 counts as an adult, including 25 counts of aggravated assault. He has pleaded not guilty and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole or life with the possibility of parole if convicted.
His father, Colin Gray, who was arrested and charged with buying the semiautomatic AR-15-style rifle used in the shooting and giving it to Colt for Christmas, is facing 29 counts, including two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of involuntary manslaughter. He has also pleaded not guilty.
Georgia is one of 42 states in the U.S. that holds parents criminally responsible for their children.
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