West
Naomi Biden Secret Service shooting: Crime plague spreads to presidential granddaughter’s neighborhood
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secret Service agents protecting Hunter Biden’s daughter opened fire on a group of suspects early Sunday – and it’s not the first time that the elite agency has been involved in a law enforcement action in the vicinity.
The president’s 29-year-old granddaughter, Naomi Biden, lives with her husband in Georgetown, a historic waterfront stretch of D.C. packed with trendy bars and restaurants, scenic sidewalks and a handful of foreign embassies.
The incident comes amid a rash of car break-ins in the upscale community, according to neighbors. Signs posted around the tree-lined streets warn drivers not to leave any valuables in their vehicles.
SECRET SERVICE AGENT FIRES GUN AMID CAR BREAK-IN WHILE PROTECTING BIDEN GRANDDAUGHTER
Just steps away from what neighbors identified as her home and the scene of Sunday’s shooting, an off-duty officer two years ago thwarted a robbery in progress and engaging in a shootout with the suspects, according to police.
“The officer intervened in an ongoing armed robbery where two suspects, one armed, approaches a vehicle occupied three times with three victims, demanding either the vehicle or cash or other belongings from these individuals,” DC Police Executive Assistant Chief Ashan Benedict said at the time. “The officer engages the armed suspect – shots were fired.”
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The Secret Service assisted in arresting one of the suspects in that incident, Benedict said.
It was not immediately clear whether the Secret Service was present on behalf of Biden during that incident – uniformed division officers also patrol near the city’s foreign embassies and routinely come to the aid of city police when needed.
“While our primary focus is to ensure the highest levels of safety and security for our protectees and our protected sites, the Secret Service Uniformed Division also has an excellent working relationship with the DC Metropolitan Police Department,” said Anthony Guglielmi, the Secret Service’s chief of communications. “Our agencies work together every day in various operational capacities and the DC Police Department also supports our protective mission in many ways, and we are grateful for the hand in glove relationship.”
Washington, like many U.S. cities, is struggling to combat rising crime.
Another Georgetown shooting, this one in January 2022, left a 27-year-old man from Alexandria, Virginia, dead in the street, according to FOX 5 DC.
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Police statistics show increases in both the thefts of vehicles and of property inside vehicles this year. Even U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, fell victim when a group of masked men he described as “punks with guns” carjacked him near his Washington apartment building.
In Washington’s Second District, which includes Georgetown, more than a thousand additional property crimes have been reported year to date in 2023 compared to 2022. The area has seen 399 stolen vehicles, 1,207 thefts from inside vehicles and nearly 3,000 other types of theft.
“She can choose anywhere she wants to live, and we would just do our best to keep her safe – and our vehicles safe,” said Thom Bolsch, a former agent who now runs a range in Texas. “You’re running out of good, clean safe areas to live.”
Secret Service agents are bound by the same rules of engagement as other law enforcement officers, Bolsch told Fox News Digital.
“The only reason you’re allowed to discharge your weapon is your life, you feel your life is in danger, or someone else is in danger and you want to protect them,” he told Fox News Digital. “Maybe they can articulate that. If they just randomly shot at people running away from them, that’s not how it’s supposed to be done.”
WATCH: Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar discusses his own DC carjacking
The security team would have had cameras and surveillance in place around the protectee’s residents and would be monitoring constantly.
If the agent who opened fire on the would-be thieves feared for his life, or the life of someone else, he would have been justified in the shooting. Authorities have revealed few details, although the Secret Service said in a statement there was no threat to its protectees.
City police said no one was hurt in the incident and three suspects fled in a red car.
Bolsch, who no longer lives in Washington, said Georgetown used to be considered very safe but that crime has been “creeping” into nicer neighborhoods in the wake of widespread anti-police protests demanding departments be defended around the country.
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“With defund the police, they don’t have enough officers,” Bolsch said. “Small, petty crimes are what they don’t have the ability to enforce, and then when you do arrest somebody they get out by the time you finish the paperwork.”
City police are conducting a routine investigation into law enforcement’s use of force in connection with the shooting near Biden’s home.
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West
California Gov. Newsom's team considering ways to help illegal immigrants ahead of second Trump admin: report
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is reportedly considering a plan to help illegal immigrants and their families threatened by president-elect Trump’s mass deportation plan.
A draft of the plan obtained by POLITICO, titled “Immigrant Support Network Concept,” proposes the creation of an Immigrant Support Network comprised of regional hubs to “connect at-risk individuals, their families, and communities with community systems — such as legal services, schools, labor unions, local governments, etc.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Trump’s representatives. Newsom’s office told Fox News Digital that the draft was prepared by the California Department of Social Services and has not yet been reviewed in Sacramento.
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“This document is an internal and deliberative draft document meant for internal discussions as part of a number of possible considerations given the incoming federal administration’s public remarks,” Scott Murray, the Deputy Director, Public Affairs and Outreach Programs for the Department of Social Services, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “It is not a final proposal.”
The draft is part of an effort by California leaders to prepare for a second Trump administration. After Trump was elected, Newsom called a special legislative session and talked of a $25 million “Trump-proof” legal defense fund.
In addition, state lawmakers were lobbying for additional funds.
Senate Budget Chair Scott Wiener proposed legislation seeking $60 million, including funds to create an immigrant detention representation and coordination program, Politico reported.
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Under the draft, the state Social Services Department would give state funds to eligible nonprofits and take on administrative duties for the hubs.
The draft does not indicate how much funding the plan requires. However, it said the funds would go toward “community outreach, partnership, legal services staffing positions, and approved administrative costs associated with hub operations,” the Politico report said.
California currently faces a $68 billion budget deficit, according to the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office. However, in November, the LAO said the state budget was roughly balanced.
On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the state Finance Department said November revenues came in $1 billion below the month’s forecast.
“But it’s not a lump of coal (it’s a timing issue w/cash receipts),” H.D. Palmer, the principal spokesman on fiscal and financial issues for the Newsom Administration, posted on X. “Year to date, still nearly $4.3 billion above projections – and $7.5 billion up since April.”
“The administration continues to collaborate with the Legislature to finalize a thoughtful special session funding proposal, which is on track to be signed into law before January 20, 2025,” department spokesperson Theresa Mier told the publication.
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San Francisco, CA
3 California beaches closed as collapsed pier debris washes ashore
As detritus from the badly damaged Santa Cruz pier washes ashore, California State Parks officials are keeping three beaches closed. “Because of the amount of debris washing up onto the local beaches from the collapsing Santa Cruz municipal wharf,” Twin Lakes State Beach, Seabright State Beach and San Lorenzo Point will be closed until Dec. 30 at 6 a.m., Santa Cruz State Beaches said.
Seacliff State Beach and Rio Del Mar State Beach both reopened on Christmas morning, though visitors should take care: A high-surf warning is in effect along the coast from Thursday morning until Sunday afternoon. The National Weather Service is advising people to stay off piers and jetties.
About 150 feet of the Santa Cruz pier and an entire building housing a restroom broke off into the ocean on Monday amid battering waves. Three people working on the pier plunged into the water, where two needed rescue and a third was able to rescue themselves. Since then, pieces of the wharf have been washing onto local beaches. There is no estimated reopening for the wharf itself. Waves also pulled support piling from the Cayucos Pier about 160 miles south down the Central Coast. The end of the pier was already closed as it incurred damage during stormy conditions in February.
“Please be cautious when near the ocean, as debris from damage north of Capitola is making its way down the coastline,” the Capitola Police Department said. “Several large pilings from the Santa Cruz wharf have found their way to our shores, creating an extreme hazard. Please use caution if you are in the area.”
Denver, CO
Children’s Hospital signs deal with insurer to maintain continuity of care for Colorado military families
Children’s Hospital Colorado signed an agreement this week with TriWest Healthcare Alliance to remain in network with Tricare, which will ensure that Children’s medical services for uniformed service members, retirees and their families in Colorado don’t lapse.
The new arrangement, which begins on Jan. 1, comes as Tricare switches third-party companies — from Health Net to TriWest — to administer its healthcare plans. Tricare is overseen by the Defense Health Agency, which is part of the U.S. Department of Defense.
In a press release, Children’s Hospital Colorado said the new deal supplants a plan that would have moved it to a non-network participation status with Tricare. Children’s said Tricare reimbursement for children’s hospitals remains “well below the cost of providing care.”
This past spring, Children’s warned that it would have to make cuts to key departments this year because of a change in how Tricare pays for care. The insurer tied the payments to what Medicare would pay for the same services, as Tricare does for services to adults at civilian hospitals.
The U.S. Department of Defense said the change, which was implemented in October 2023, would save the military up to $45 million in taxpayer funds annually, according to the Military Times.
Children’s Hospital Colorado estimated it had lost about $2.1 million a month since the reimbursement change was put in place compared to how Tricare used to pay. The system estimated about 16,000 kids insured by Tricare receive care at Children’s Hospital Colorado facilities, and about one in five children who receive care at the Colorado Springs hospital and clinics have military coverage.
Children’s this week said it will continue conferring with the Department of Defense, and elected officials, to ensure it can maintain high-quality, specialty pediatric care for all kids in Colorado.
“We are grateful for all the individuals and families who have joined us in our efforts over the past 18 months to address these TRICARE cuts,” the hospital said in a statement. “We will continue to share opportunities where your advocacy can help us preserve critical access to healthcare services for military families like yours at Children’s Colorado.”
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