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Kamala Harris panned for requiring ID to enter Arizona rally after previously painting voter ID laws as racist

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Kamala Harris panned for requiring ID to enter Arizona rally after previously painting voter ID laws as racist

Vice President Harris was mocked online for requiring campaign rallygoers to present a government-issued ID upon entry, despite the Democratic presidential nominee opposing voter ID laws. 

Ahead of Harris’ rally alongside vice presidential running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in Arizona on Friday, her campaign sent out an email advising that only confirmed RSVPs will be admitted. 

The email said those on the RSVP list must present a matching government-issued photo ID in order to be admitted to the venue, KTAR reported. 

The exact site of the Phoenix-area campaign event, first announced on July 30, was not revealed until Thursday. The email specified the event would take place at Desert Diamond Arena, located 15 miles northwest of downtown Phoenix, with attendees being admitted Friday between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., according to KTAR. The campaign reportedly said the Arizona Democratic Party would send out “non-transferrable invitations” by email on Thursday afternoon to attend Friday’s event. 

MINNESOTA GOP DEMANDS PROBE AFTER NONCITIZEN CLAIMS RECEIVING PRIMARY BALLOT WITHOUT REGISTERING TO VOTE

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Vice President Kamala Harris walks out into a packed rally in Glendale, Arizona, on Friday Aug. 9, 2024. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

X users began sharing screenshots of the email and lambasted Harris for perceived hypocrisy. 

“Voter ID is racist, but you can’t get into a Kamala rally without ID,” actor Kevin Sorbo wrote to his 2 million followers. 

“So let me get this straight: Requiring ID to vote is racist… But requiring ID to attend a Kamala Harris ‘rally’ is NOT racist?” Nick Sortor wrote to his more than 448,000 followers. 

“You need photo ID to get into an invite-only Kamala Harris event, but not to vote?” another user, Ian Haworth, echoed. 

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“Kamala Harris requires photo ID to enter a private campaign event. Kamala Harris doesn’t want to require photo ID to vote. Kamala Harris doesn’t want to require ID before crossing our border. Weird,” political commentator Gunther Eagleman also wrote on X.  

Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris campaign for comment, but they did not immediately respond.

In 2021, Harris gave her first interview as vice president on the topic of changes to voting laws with Soledad O’Brien on BET.

“I don’t think that we should underestimate what that could mean,” Harris said about allowing voter ID laws. “Because in some people’s mind that means, well, you’re going to have to Xerox or photocopy your ID to send it in to prove you are who you are. Well, there are a whole lot of people, especially people who live in rural communities, who don’t – there’s no Kinko’s, there’s no Office Max near them. People have to understand that when we’re talking about voter ID laws, be clear about who you have in mind and what would be required of them to prove who they are.” 

Harris speaks to Arizona crowd

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event near Phoenix, Arizona, on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. (Rebecca Noble/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Of course, people have to prove who they are. But not in a way that makes it almost impossible for them to prove who they are,” Harris added. 

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AG GARLAND PLEDGES TO FIGHT VOTER ID LAWS, ELECTION INTEGRITY MEASURES

Not long after then-candidate Joe Biden named Kamala Harris his vice-presidential running mate in August 2020, Harris penned an op-ed in The Washington Post on the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the constitutional right to vote. 

“That is, unless you were Black. Or Latina. Or Asian. Or Indigenous,” Harris wrote. “And when the 19th Amendment was ratified at last, Black women were again left behind: Poll taxes, literacy tests and other Jim Crow voter suppression tactics effectively prohibited most people of color from voting.” 

Harris rally goers outside Phoenix

Supporters cheer during a campaign event with Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, outside Phoenix. (Rebecca Noble/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The vice presidential candidate at the time then tried to make a comparison to modern times. 

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Harris accused Republicans of “once again doing everything in their power to suppress and attack the voting rights of people of color.” 

“They are deploying suppressive voter ID laws, racial gerrymandering, voter roll purges, precinct closures and reduced early-voting days – all of which have been laser-targeted toward communities of color since the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013,” she wrote. 

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Uvalde school shooter’s uncle tried to intervene, but his call came 10 minutes after gunman was dead

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Uvalde school shooter’s uncle tried to intervene, but his call came 10 minutes after gunman was dead

As shots rang out in the hallways and classrooms of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, one of the terrified teachers who frantically dialed 911 described “a lot, a whole lot of gunshots,” while another sobbed into the phone as a dispatcher urged her to stay quiet.

“Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry!” the first teacher cried before hanging up.

UVALDE MASS SHOOTING VICTIMS’ FAMILIES SUING META, GUN MANUFACTURER AND VIDEO GAME MAKER

Those calls, along with bodycam footage and surveillance videos, were included in a massive collection of audio and video recordings released by officials of the city of Uvalde on Saturday after a prolonged legal fight. The Associated Press and other news organizations brought a lawsuit after the officials initially refused to publicly release the information from one of the worst school shootings in U.S. history.

One of the first calls police received on the morning of May 24, 2022, came from a woman who called 911 to report that a pickup truck had crashed into a ditch and that the occupant had run onto the school campus.

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A woman cries as she leaves the Uvalde Civic Center after a shooting was reported earlier in the day at Robb Elementary School, Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas.  (William Luther/The San Antonio Express-News via AP)

“Oh my God, they have a gun,” she said.

In a 911 call a few minutes later, a man screams: “He’s shooting at the kids! Get back!”

“He’s inside the school! He’s inside the school,” he yells as the screams of others can also be heard.

“Oh my God in the name of Jesus. He’s inside the school shooting at the kids,” he says.

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The delayed law enforcement response to the shooting — nearly 400 officers waited more than 70 minutes before confronting the gunman in a classroom filled with dead and wounded children and teachers — has been widely condemned as a massive failure.

The gunman, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was fatally shot by authorities at 12:50 p.m. He had entered the school at 11:33 a.m., officials said.

Just before arriving at the school, Ramos shot and wounded his grandmother at her home. He then took a pickup from the home and drove to the school.

Ramos’ distraught uncle made several 911 calls begging to be put through so he could try to get his nephew to stop shooting.

Uvalde Robb elementary banner

A banner hangs at a memorial outside Robb Elementary School, the site of a May mass shooting that killed 19 students and two teachers. (AP/Eric Gay)

“Maybe he could listen to me because he does listen to me, everything I tell him he does listen to me,” the man, who identified himself as Armando Ramos, said on the 911 call. “Maybe he could stand down or do something to turn himself in,” Ramos said, his voice cracking.

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He said his nephew, who had been with him at his house the night before, stayed with him in his bedroom all night, and told him that he was upset because his grandmother was “bugging” him.

“Oh my God, please, please, don’t do nothing stupid,” the man says on the call. “I think he’s shooting kids.”

But the offer arrived too late, coming just around the time that the shooting had ended and law enforcement officers killed Salvador Ramos.

Multiple federal and state investigations into the slow law enforcement response laid bare cascading problems in training, communication, leadership and technology, and questioned whether officers prioritized their own lives over those of children and teachers in the South Texas city of about 15,000 people 80 miles (130 kilometers) west of San Antonio. Families of the victims have long sought accountability for the slow police response.

Brett Cross’ 10-year-old nephew, Uziyah Garcia, was among those killed. Cross, who was raising the boy as a son, was angered relatives weren’t told the records were being released and that it took so long for them to be made public.

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Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas

Hearts on a banner hanging on a fence in front of Robb Elementary School. (AP/Eric Gay)

“If we thought we could get anything we wanted, we’d ask for a time machine to go back in time and save our children but we can’t, so all we are asking for is for justice, accountability and transparency, and they refuse to give this to us,” he said. “This small, simple ask that I feel that we are due.”

Two of the responding officers now face criminal charges: Former Uvalde school Police Chief Pete Arredondo and former school officer Adrian Gonzales have pleaded not guilty to multiple charges of child abandonment and endangerment. A Texas state trooper in Uvalde who had been suspended was reinstated to his job earlier this month.

In an interview this week with CNN, Arredondo said he thinks he’s been “scapegoated” as the one to blame for the botched law enforcement response.

Some of the families have called for more officers to be charged and filed federal and state lawsuits against law enforcement, social media, online gaming companies, and the gun manufacturer that made the rifle the gunman used.

Just before officers finally breached the classroom, one officer can be heard on a body camera expressing concern about friendly fire.

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“I’m kind of worried about blue on blue,” an officer said. “There are so many rifles in here.”

Law enforcement personnel stand outside Robb Elementary School following a shooting, Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas.

Law enforcement officials outside the Robb Elementary School following a shooting, May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

The classroom breach was followed by about five to six seconds of gunfire. Officers rushed forward as someone shouted, “Watch the kids! Watch the kids! Watch the kids!”

Less than a minute into the chaos, someone shouted, “”Where’s the suspect?” Someone else immediately answered, “He’s dead!”

The police response included nearly 150 U.S. Border Patrol agents and 91 state police officials, as well as school and city police. While dozens of officers stood in the hallway trying to figure out what to do, students inside the classroom called 911 on cellphones, begging for help, and desperate parents who had gathered outside the building pleaded with officers to go in. A tactical team eventually entered the classroom and killed the shooter.

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Previously released video from school cameras showed police officers, some armed with rifles and bulletproof shields, waiting in the hallway.

A report commissioned by the city, however, defended the actions of local police, saying officers showed “immeasurable strength” and “level-headed thinking” as they faced fire from the shooter and refrained from firing into a darkened classroom.

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Los Angeles, Ca

Pasadena City Hall sustains broken pipe during 4.4 magnitude quake

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Pasadena City Hall sustains broken pipe during 4.4 magnitude quake

While Monday’s 4.4. magnitude earthquake rattled the nerves of millions of people in Southern California, damage was thankfully minimal.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake struck at 12:20 p.m. about 2.5 miles south of Highland Park and just west of Pasadena, where city officials said the historic city hall building sustained a broken pipe.

Water was seen cascading off the City Hall’s roof as people evacuated the building. Employees were eventually allowed back into the building just over an hour after the quake initially struck, the City of Pasadena said.

Pasadena Fire Department crews surveyed the city and found no additional damage other than the burst pipe.

There were no reports of damage or injuries elsewhere in SoCal immediately following the earthquake.

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Gov. Abbott issues executive order requiring Texas hospitals to gather data on immigration statuses

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Gov. Abbott issues executive order requiring Texas hospitals to gather data on immigration statuses

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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, issued an executive order mandating that public hospitals in the state gather data on patients’ immigration statuses to report to the state government.

Order GA 46, issued on Thursday, directs the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to collect information on illegal immigrants who use public hospitals for inpatient and emergency care and report the healthcare costs, so the state can track how much money was spent on illegal immigrants’ medical treatment and send the bill to the Biden administration, which the governor blames for the influx of illegal migrants entering the U.S. through the Southern Border.

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“Due to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ open border policies, Texas has had to foot the bill for medical costs for individuals illegally in the state,” Abbott said in a statement. “Texas should not have to shoulder the burden of financially supporting medical care for illegal immigrants.”

“That is why I issued an Executive Order requiring the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to collect and report healthcare costs for illegal immigrants in our state,” he continued. “Texas will hold the Biden-Harris Administration accountable for the consequences of their open border policies, and we will fight to ensure that they pay back Texas for their costly and dangerous policies.”

GOP STATES SUE TO STOP BIDEN ADMIN EXTENDING OBAMACARE TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order requiring public hospitals in the state to collect data on patients’ immigration statuses. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

The new rule takes effect November 1.

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The hospitals must report the data quarterly, with the first submissions due on March 1. Beginning on January 1, 2026, annual reports must be provided to the governor, lieutenant governor, and the state’s Speaker of the House on the previous year’s costs for medical care provided to illegal immigrants.

The order also states that hospitals are required to inform patients that federal law mandates that their responses to questions about immigration status will not affect medical care.

The League of United Latin American Citizens, or LULAC, is criticizing the executive order as “political rhetoric.”

“It’s pretty vague. It’s like ‘Hey, let’s just get the data.’ Well, what are you doing to do with the data?,” Gabriel Rosales, the state director for LULAC in Texas, told Fox 26.

DENVER POLICE OFFICERS FIRED OVER DISTURBING TEXT MESSAGES ABOUT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: ‘TARGET PRACTICE’

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Greg Abbott of Texas

The order states that hospitals are required to inform patients that federal law mandates that their responses to questions about immigration status will not affect medical care. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

LULAC emphasized that the executive order could keep some immigrants from seeking the medical care they require.

“It just creates a lot of fear that’s unnecessary,” Rosales said. “They need to create a pathway to citizenship.”

This comes as politicians in Texas and elsewhere are calling on the Biden administration to do more to address the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Undocumented immigrants contribute $26.2 billion to this country, nationally,” Sergio Lira, the president of Greater Houston LULAC, told Fox 26. “2.6 billion dollars to the state and local taxes.”

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Lira also said the federal government “subsidizes and supplements a lot of the medical costs, locally, statewide.”

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