Southeast
Trump hails Florida Dem's decision to ditch party, join GOP: 'THANK YOU HILLARY!'
President-elect Donald Trump congratulated and thanked Florida state Rep. Hillary Cassel after the Sunshine State lawmaker announced her decision to dump her Democratic Party affiliation and join the GOP.
“Today, I am announcing my decision to change my party affiliation from Democrat to Republican,” Cassel said in a statement. “I will be joining the Republican Conference of the Florida House of Representatives because I believe in their vision for a better, more prosperous Florida.”
In a statement hailing the move, Trump urged more Democrats to defect.
DESANTIS WELCOMES FLORIDA STATE LAWMAKER TO REPUBLICAN PARTY AS SHE DITCHES DEMOCRATS
“Congratulations to Hillary Cassel for becoming the second State Representative from the Great State of Florida to switch her Party affiliation from Democrat to Republican, once more expanding the GOP Supermajority in the State House! I would further like to invite other Disillusioned Democrats to switch Parties, and join us on this noble quest to Save our Country and, Make America Great Again – GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE. THANK YOU HILLARY!” Trump exclaimed in a Truth Social post.
Cassel’s announcement came after fellow Florida state Rep. Susan Valdés announced earlier this month that she was switching her registration from Democrat to Republican.
While seeking office in 2022, Cassel described herself as a “proud Democrat,” “pro-choice champion,” and “faithful ally of the LGBTQ+ community.”
FLORIDA BANS CHILDREN UNDER 14 FROM SOCIAL MEDIA
She also pledged that she would “stand up to #ClimateChange deniers” and “stand up to the NRA and fight for a ban on military style assault rifles and the high capacity ammunition that make them so lethal.”
But now Cassel says the Democratic Party does not reflect her values.
“As a mother, I want to help build a world where our children are judged on their character and their actions not on their labels,” she noted in her statement. “As a proud Jewish woman, I have been increasingly troubled by the Democratic Party’s failure to unequivocally support Israel and its willingness to tolerate extreme progressive voices that justify or condone acts of terrorism. I’m constantly troubled by the inability of the current Democratic Party to relate to everyday Floridians. I can no longer remain in a party that doesn’t represent my values.
TRUMP-BACKED CANDIDATE AIMING TO REPLACE MATT GAETZ WANTS FLORIDA TO ADOPT GOLD AND SILVER AS LEGAL TENDER
“I know I won’t always agree on every detail with every Republican, but I do know that I will always have input, collaboration, and respect. The House Republican Conference empowers members to find common sense solutions to real issues facing all Floridians. They welcome different ideas and collaboration, which is the cornerstone of effective government. Those are my values,” Cassel noted.
Read the full article from Here
Southeast
New Orleans attack: Inside Bourbon Street terrorist's Houston home
HOUSTON — New photos taken by Fox News Digital provide a look inside Bourbon Street killer Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s home in Houston.
Photos of the inside of Jabbar’s mobile home in a majority-Muslim neighborhood in north Houston revealed multiple copies of the Quran, a book on Christianity and a book about teaching children about Islam.
Jabbar, 42, rammed a white truck into a crowd full of New Year’s revelers in New Orleans on Wednesday around 3:15 a.m. He then began shooting at law enforcement officers, who returned fire, killing Jabbar on the scene. The rampage, which is being investigated as a terrorist attack, left 15 dead, including Jabbar, and more than 30 people injured.
SUGAR BOWL KICKS OFF AFTER NEW ORLEANS TERROR ATTACK
Jabbar, who served in the U.S. Army for 13 years, including one tour in Afghanistan, was flying an ISIS flag on his truck during the attack and was inspired by the Islamic state.
The FBI and a Houston SWAT team raided Jabbar’s home early Thursday morning. The team left the front door off its hinges and cracked open, revealing much of the house’s living room, kitchen and a glimpse of a bedroom.
BOMB-MAKING MATERIALS FOUND AT NEW ORLEANS AIRBNB POTENTIALLY TIED TO BOURBON STREET TERRORIST: REPORT
From outside the front porch, Jabbar’s living room could be seen left in a state of disarray by law enforcement officers who searched the home. A black suitcase lay strewn on the floor and a dart board and fake fireplace could be seen on the far side of the wall.
Next-door neighbors described Jabbar to Fox News Digital as a quiet, respectful neighbor who was devoted to his Islamic religion. A bookshelf sitting near the front door seems to back his religious devotion, containing several copies of the Quran and books about Islam as well as one about Christianity.
On the opposite side of the house, Jabbar had an elevated desk with a computer set up and a can of pepper spray, as well as several other items. A green, military-style backpack also lay near the kitchen.
PRO-ISIS GROUP CALLED ON MUSLIMS TO CONDUCT NYE ATTACKS AHEAD OF NEW ORLEANS MASSACRE
Jabbar was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas, and was living in a rented mobile home in Houston. The house is in a neighborhood among several other mobile homes and RVs, just about a seven-minute walk from the Masjid Bilal Mosque and Darul Arqam Islamic school.
Much of the neighborhood is in an extreme state of disrepair with dilapidated houses, parts of the road ripped up and trash and stray animals present throughout the street. Jabbar’s yard had several ducks and chickens wandering about and several goats were in another yard nearby.
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT VICTIMS OF NEW ORLEANS TERRORIST ATTACK
A next-door neighbor, who asked not to be identified, told Fox News Digital he had seen Jabbar loading up a white pickup truck on Tuesday outside his Houston home, the morning before the attack in New Orleans, where he rammed the truck into New Year’s revelers. The neighbor said he spoke with Jabbar, who told him he had gotten a job and was moving to Louisiana. The neighbor said he was under the impression Jabbar had gotten another job in information technology.
“He said he got the job that day in Louisiana,” the neighbor said, describing how Jabbar was loading “very light stuff, handheld stuff, not heavy stuff” into the truck.
“The morning he was moving, I asked him if he needed help moving out, as a neighbor, ‘Do you need any help for moving?’ He said, ‘I’m OK,’” the neighbor told Fox News Digital.
The neighbor expressed disbelief upon learning Jabbar was accused of the Bourbon Street bloodshed.
“Blow my mind, I was shocked, somebody seized the carpet under my feet, I was just like too shocked, unbelievable. ‘This really happened?’” the neighbor said. “Like I said, we still don’t believe, we still don’t believe that that’s the person, just there’s no way, it can’t be like that.”
Read the full article from Here
Southeast
New Orleans attack could embolden ISIS to radicalize other Americans, experts say
Shamsud-Din Jabbar’s New Year’s massacre in New Orleans, carried out with a pickup truck flying an ISIS flag, could embolden the terrorist organization to radicalize more Americans, experts told Fox News Digital.
Jabbar’s younger half-brother, Abdur Rahim-Jabbar, told Fox News Digital that he, his Army veteran half-brother and their three siblings were raised in a Muslim household in Beaumont, Texas; Jabbar stepped away from the religion, but embraced it again after his latest divorce, his brother said.
Rahim-Jabbar said this “was not a direct reflection of his brother and the Muslim community,” blaming Wednesday’s attack on his half-brother’s radicalization rather than religion.
NEW ORLEANS TRUCK ATTACK SUSPECT INSPIRED BY ISLAMIC STATE TERRORIST GROUP
He added that Jabbar did not know what he wanted to do in life and began his military career “to get some sort of discipline.”
While he was traveling from his home in Texas to Louisiana on Tuesday, Jabbar posted videos to his Facebook account pledging his allegiance to ISIS, law enforcement sources said.
Retired FBI agents Scott Duffey and Chris Swecker told Fox News Digital Wednesday’s attack could embolden ISIS, other terrorist groups or individuals who have been radicalized.
NEW ORLEANS TERROR SUSPECT’S BROTHER SAYS ATTACK IS SIGN OF ‘RADICALIZATION’: REPORT
“This is a time where ISIS is under extreme stress, and their existence is being threatened in Syria and elsewhere. It would make sense for them to double down on their message to radicalize Americans to put them into action and activate any cells that they have in place,” Swecker said.
Before his rampage in New Orleans, Jabbar posted several videos on Facebook declaring his support for ISIS, the FBI said at a news conference Thursday.
“In the first video, Jabbar explains he only planned to harm his family and friends but was concerned the news headlines would not focus on the ‘war between the believers and the disbelievers,’” FBI Deputy Assistant Director Christopher Raia said.
ISIS and other terrorist organizations often use social media to recruit new members, experts said.
NEW ORLEANS ATTACK: INVESTIGATION CONTINUES, AS FBI SAYS NO OTHER SUSPECTS INVOLVED
“ISIS and other foreign adversaries use all sorts of social media platforms to spread anti-American ideologies, rhetoric and propaganda,” Duffey said. “It’s free speech and designed to slowly convert young people to start questioning their American and religious ideals.
“It starts off (with) soft messaging to attract people into their thought process,” he added. “Links are often provided that lead people to additional messages… sowing division and distrust of government in young impressionable minds.
“I think there is often an underlying mental issue in the reader that attracts them to the message, which over time leads to… more encrypted messages of violence.
“It’s a win for them if someone does something like what he did yesterday.”
Most people are radicalized by online materials, said John Ryan, who served as chief of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department.
“Him being an IT person, it would mean he probably knows how to access the dark web where a lot more material is available,” Ryan said of Jabbar’s background in information technology.
“In regards to whether it could trigger other people, sadly there are a lot of keyboard warriors who are being exposed to this and searching for something to connect to. Given the high level of mental health issues in the aftermath of COVID and the number of protests in support of Hamas and pro-Palestine and anti-Israel, the answer is yes. Mostly lone wolf type of people.”
Although law enforcement officers were initially searching for accomplices in the attack, the FBI said Thursday it appears Jabbar acted alone. However, Swecker said, that does not discount the possibility of an active terror cell within the country.
“If his radicalization was as a result of the propaganda and calls to action from ISIS on the internet, this is [still] international terrorism. We’re calling him homegrown, but it’s directed from a terrorist organization,” Swecker said.
“Even if he doesn’t carry a card, even if he isn’t on the phone with the ISIS director but he’s being called to action by propaganda on their websites, it’s still international terrorism,” he said. “That’s very much a part of the playbook for al Qaeda and these international groups.”
Jabbar was stationed at Fort Bragg, now called Fort Liberty, in North Carolina, as was active-duty U.S. Army soldier Matthew Livelsberger, who police said intentionally set and died in an explosion that injured seven outside Trump International Hotel Las Vegas on Wednesday.
Investigators have uncovered no evidence of a connection between the Bourbon Street terror attack in New Orleans and the Cybertruck explosion in Las Vegas despite the suspects’ shared military history.
“If they served at the same base, I think I’m still very open and there’s a distinct possibility that they linked up on the internet or with their prior military associations,” Swecker said. “If [Livelsberger] was a convert, he would have been going to the same [religious] services as [Jabbar].
“What [Jabbar] did and what happened in Las Vegas does give credibility to the movement and creates that excitement in others who may be thinking about it [carrying] on their plan in a short time frame,” Duffey said.
Read the full article from Here
Southeast
Florida DEI leader sees revenue cut in half due to state policies: 'We're in trouble'
Multiple diversity, equity and inclusion consulting companies have been struggling in Florida in the years following the “Stop WOKE Act.”
Roni Bennett, the Executive Director of South Florida People of Color, told the Miami Herald on Thursday that she has seen her annual revenue of nearly $300,000 be cut in half thanks to Florida’s new policies.
“We’re in trouble,” Bennett said.
The “Stop WOKE Act” or the “Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act” is a law that was passed in 2022 by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. It targeted critical race theory in work and educational programs. Bennett found that many businesses stopped requesting services from her organization despite a slight boost during the pandemic.
FAR LEFT IDENTITY POLITICS HAS LOST ITS ‘GRIP ON THE COUNTRY’ THIS ELECTION, NYT REPORTS
Bennett added how even prior to the act she saw shifts in some clients’ attitudes, suggesting their original interest was “performative.”
“One client had a president change, and the new president wasn’t into DEI training,” she said.
Consultants like Bennett are now trying to remind current and potential clients that, regardless of the national concerns about the “Stop WOKE Act,” the bill does not actually target private businesses.
“It’s important because the Stop Woke Act for businesses became very prominent after passing,” Alexander Rundlet, a Brickell lawyer and public policy consultant, said. “It made every business fearful it couldn’t [participate] in DEI training in fear of the act. Since March, it’s clear this doesn’t apply to businesses.”
In March, a federal appeals court ruled that the workplace portion of the law violated the First Amendment.
“We cannot agree, and we reject this latest attempt to control speech by recharacterizing it as conduct. Florida may be exactly right about the nature of the ideas it targets. Or it may not. Either way, the merits of these views will be decided in the clanging marketplace of ideas rather than a codebook or a courtroom.” Judge Britt C. Grant wrote at the time. “The First Amendment keeps the government from putting its thumb on the scale.”
A federal judge later granted a permanent injunction against that portion of the law in July. However, the portion of the law focused on education has been allowed to remain intact.
Despite the favorable ruling, DEI consultant businesses continue to struggle based on the growing anti-woke culture, Rundlet said.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF MEDIA AND CULTURE
“A lot of deep and widespread harm has been inflicted over the past few years,” Rundlet said. “People like Roni Bennett have to do a lot of work to undue that harm.”
The Miami Herald reported that Bennett nevertheless “remains steadfast in her work,” though she is looking for an angel investor to help her business.
“We owe it to the next generation to make progress for them,” she said. “I want to be able to dismantle systematic racism in America.”
Read the full article from Here
-
Business1 week ago
On a quest for global domination, Chinese EV makers are upending Thailand's auto industry
-
Health6 days ago
New Year life lessons from country star: 'Never forget where you came from'
-
Technology6 days ago
Meta’s ‘software update issue’ has been breaking Quest headsets for weeks
-
Business3 days ago
These are the top 7 issues facing the struggling restaurant industry in 2025
-
Politics1 week ago
'Politics is bad for business.' Why Disney's Bob Iger is trying to avoid hot buttons
-
Culture3 days ago
The 25 worst losses in college football history, including Baylor’s 2024 entry at Colorado
-
News1 week ago
American Airlines lifts ground stop that froze Christmas Eve travelers
-
World1 week ago
Who is Europe's top investor in space in 2023?