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Harris' shift from tough-on-crime prosecutor to social justice advocate faces scrutiny from conservative group
Vice President Kamala Harris’ checkered prosecution record during her tenure as California attorney general is resurfacing as her bid for the White House heats up. From locking up parents whose children had chronically missed school to supporting a bail fund that let violent Black Lives Matter rioters out of jail in 2020, Harris’ approach to criminal justice is facing fresh scrutiny.
America First Legal (AFL), a nonprofit conservative legal watchdog group, launched seven investigations into Harris’ prosecutorial background on Thursday afternoon, alleging that Harris “has proven to be the most radically progressive Vice President in American history.”
“A lot of her tough on crime reputation goes to her prosecution when she was San Francisco DA, individuals who use marijuana and other sorts of things,” Dan Epstein, president of AFL, told Fox News Digital. “Our investigation, however, makes it very clear that Kamala Harris does not believe much in terms of statutes passed by legislatures, including the Federal United States, Congress, as well as the state of California.”
IT’S A MARGIN OF ERROR RACE BETWEEN TRUMP AND HARRIS
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at her presidential campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday. (Erin Schaff/Pool via Reuters)
Through public records requests to the California Attorney General’s Office, AFL is investigating Harris for failure to comply with federal donor privacy laws; failure to enforce federal immigration laws; failure to pursue equal justice; failure to disclose conflicts of interest; failure to address evidence of misconduct; the nature of probes by the California Fair Practices Commission; and potential cover-up of misconduct evidence.
“And so those are really our probes of her not following the rule of law and bending it for a political objective,” Epstein said. “We also probe numerous kind of potential ethics issues and failures to disclose conflicts of interest, allowing her own staff as attorney general to engage in fraud and not kind of overseeing that.”
Early in her legal career, Harris dated California Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, who reportedly helped her secure influential positions at the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board and the California Medical Assistance Commission. AFL is now investigating whether Harris received undue political favoritism and whether she properly recused herself or disclosed conflicts of interest.
HARRIS BREAKS FUNDRAISING RECORDS SINCE BIDEN DROPPED OUT OF 2024 RACE
Vice President Kamala Harris delivers remarks with President Biden in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washinogton, D.C., on July 26, 2021. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
During her 2020 presidential campaign, which she launched in January 2019, Harris faced significant criticism over her prosecutorial record. Opponents of tough-on-crime prosecutions argue it disproportionately affects low-income families and minorities, further entrenching them in the prison system.
One of the most criticized aspects of Harris’ record was her handling of school truancy cases. Harris supported a truancy law, passed in 2011, that allowed district attorneys to charge parents with a misdemeanor if their children were chronically absent during the school year without a valid reason.
In 2019, Molly Redden of HuffPost reported how the truancy program affected some families in her article, “The Human Costs of Kamala Harris’ War on Truancy.” Among those impacted was Cheree Peoples, an African American mother arrested in April 2013 after her child had missed 20 days of school.
ABORTION, ‘FREE’ EDUCATION AMONG TOP ISSUES FOR HARRIS VOTERS
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at West Allis Central High School in West Allis, Wisconsin, on Tuesday. (Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)
Harris later walked back her crackdown on truancies in a 2019 podcast, saying it “never was the intention” to criminalize parents and describing the California law as one with “unintended consequences,” Politico reported at the time.
She also faced accusations of being too harsh on low-level drug offenders during her time as San Francisco’s district attorney and later as the state’s attorney general. Liberal critics argued that her policies contributed to mass incarceration of Black men rather than focusing on rehabilitation and criminal justice reform.
But in June 2020, Harris promoted the bail fund that helped bail Black Lives Matter rioters out of jail, but only a fraction of the more than $41 million actually went to freeing rioters.
As of Monday night, the website was running and accepting donations.
Meanwhile, some Democrats are framing a potential Harris-Trump matchup as the “Prosecutor vs. the Felon,” in light of former President Trump’s recent court cases.
“It’s fairly clear that nobody disagrees, nobody disagrees that Trump is a felon because of political prosecution,” Epstein said. “And if the standard for Kamala Harris is that the process that led to Donald Trump being convicted is one of justice and one that she follows, then logically, it means that she is a political prosecutor, not a fair honest broker.”
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
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The Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport has reached new heights, becoming the largest cargo hub in the U.S. last year.
It may be a first for the Anchorage airport, based on historical data from the Airports Council International.
The ascendance is based partly on the airport’s steady growth in cargo volume landed there in recent years, according to figures from the group.
It came even as President Donald Trump’s tariffs upended global trade patterns, the group’s latest rankings show.
A key part of the rise? The state’s strategic perch near much of the industrialized world.
But perhaps more important in the latest figures was the large decline in cargo volume at the Memphis International Airport last year.
The FedEx superhub has long been the dominant cargo airport in the U.S., and sometimes the world. But FedEx has restructured its operations, contributing to the airport’s drop in cargo volume.
That helped the Anchorage airport leapfrog past Memphis last year.
With 3.9 million tons of cargo landed, Anchorage was behind only the Hong Kong and Shanghai airports, globally.
In recent years in particular, the Anchorage airport has become a critical crossroads for aviation shippers, in part due to the increase in e-commerce packages moving between Asia and the U.S.
Carriers often drop into Anchorage to refuel, allowing them to haul more of their valuable payload, and less fuel traveling between continents.
“Aircraft can reach 90% of the industrialized world within 9 1/2 hours from the airport,” said Teri Lindseth, the airport’s development manager, in an interview Friday.
Also important is the “targeted effort by the airport development team and the (Alaska) Department of Transportation to expand Anchorage’s cargo presence and overall airport development,” she said. “We’ve focused on supporting our existing partners at the airlines, creating opportunities for growth, and we’re seeing that strategy pay off.”
Over 30 cargo carriers using the airport have helped boost those numbers, Lindseth said.
Some of the carriers have significantly increased their cargo landings in Anchorage last year, she said, including China Airlines and Taiwan-based EVA Air Cargo, and Kalitta Air and Atlas Air, based in the U.S., she said.
Greg Wolf, head of the Alaska International Business Center, said that the airport has done a good job marketing the benefits of the Alaska route to cargo carriers.
The extra cargo each jet can carry as it lands in Anchorage helps give extra oomph to the numbers, compared to other airports, he said.
The Anchorage airport’s rise to first place came as Alaska reached its highest-ever volume in foreign exports, at $6.7 billion, Wolf said.
Some of that product moved by air, adding to the airport’s cargo numbers, he said.
And while Trump has slapped extra-high tariffs on China, Alaska exports still traveled there, apparently after first reaching other Asian countries with lower tariffs before making their way to China, Wolf said.
Alaska’s export value to China fell to fourth last year — behind Korea, Australia and Japan — though it’s typically been the state’s top export partner.
“I’ve talked to businesses, not just from Alaska, but other American businesses, and they’ve done their best to work around the tariffs,” he said.
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Warmer weather is in store for Mother’s Day weekend in the Valley, with temperatures jumping 10 to 15 degrees above average.
We have issued First Alert Weather Days for Saturday and Sunday with high temps expected near 104-105. A heads-up in case you’re planning any Mother’s Day activities, because you may want to take part in outdoor events in the morning or move those activities indoors.
And high temperatures could get even warmer by next week. Right now, models are hinting at temps near 107 Monday and 106 Tuesday. These above-average temperatures are due to a ridge of high pressure building from the west.
For the weekend, a widespread Moderate Heat Risk is expected. What that means is that the weather will affect those who are sensitive to heat, especially those without cooling/hydration, and some health systems and industries.
Right now, there are no Extreme Heat Watches or Warnings in effect from the National Weather Service, but we will keep you posted.
By the end of next week, an incoming weather system could lead to slightly cooler temperatures, but temps should still stay above average.
We’re not tracking any chances for rain in the Valley for the next five to seven days.
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Five favorite walkable, bikable cities in America
USA TODAY 10Best readers voted these five cities as the most walkable in the nation. Check out the full list of 10 Most Walkable Cities on 10Best.com.
Scott L. Hall, USA TODAY
A lifestyle television network recently released a list on its website of the hottest suburbs in the city, with two in California
Home and Garden Television, or HGTV as it’s most commonly known, released its list of the 20 hottest suburbs in the country for those hoping to escape city life.
HGTV partnered with Suburban Jungle, a website that advises people move from cities to suburbs, to create the list.
The channel’s website cited entertainment, seasonal festivals and local theater programs as just a few perks to suburban living.
So, what are the best suburbs according to HGTV?
What are the best suburbs in the U.S.?
Among the list of the 20 hottest suburbs around the U.S., two California towns near San Francisco made the cut.
Mill Valley, a small town in Marin County, has an estimated population of about 13,904 as of 2024.
The city is just outside San Francisco and is known for its Mill Valley Film Festival amd live performances at Sweetwater Music Hall or Throckmorton Theater are available to residents.
“Mill Valley has a one-of-a-kind natural environment and access to nature: It borders Muir Woods National Monument, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Mount Tamalpais State Park and the San Francisco Bay,” said Pam Goldman, head Bay Area strategist for Suburban Jungle to HGTV.
Redwood City was the second California town among the hottest suburbs in the country. It is located in the heart of Silicon Valley and about 27 miles from San Francisco, HGTV says.
The city has an estimated population of 82,982 as of 2024 and several tech companies. Despite the tech presence, the town maintains a close-knit feel and has several year-round community events on Broadway, as well as seasonal events such as Oktoberfest and Music on the Square, the home and garden website said.
“Redwood City has lots of energy and youthful vibes, and it’s also right between San Francisco and San Jose,” Goodman said.
Top 20 hottest suburbs, according to HGTV:
- Chappaqua, New York
- Larchmont, New York
- Summit, New Jersey
- Port Washington, New York
- Greenwich, Connecticut
- Westport, Connecticut
- Glencoe, Illinois
- La Grange, Illinois
- Needham, Massachusetts
- Winchester, Massachusetts
- Lafayette, Colorado
- Littleton, Colorado
- Bethesda, Maryland
- Fairfax, Virginia
- Boca Raton, Florida
- Wesley Chapel, Florida
- Mill Valley, California
- Redwood City, California
- Dunwoody, Georgia
- Milton, Georgia
Ernesto Centeno Araujo covers breaking news for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at ecentenoaraujo@vcstar.com, 805-437-0224 or @ecentenoaraujo on Instagram and X.
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