West
Vulnerable Dem meets with group that supports 'halting' deportation, employs reps with anti-police views
A vulnerable Democrat senator met with a group on Capitol Hill that supports “halting expansions of immigration detention and deportation” and whose members claim police “kill people of color” and “often for no reason.”
Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., according to the senator’s public schedule, met with representatives of Voices for Progress on May 16, 2024, which is a group that has a controversial stance on immigration, law enforcement, the prison system and employs members with radical views on police and the GOP.
New figures reveal there are 7.4 million migrants on ICE’s non-detained docket as a result of the open southern border under the Biden administration, with Tester’s own state seeing direct effects of drug trafficking after reporting a 1,900% increase in fentanyl-related overdose deaths in Montana from 2017 to 2023. Additionally, there were reportedly 7.87 kilograms of fentanyl, or 106,500 pills seized in Montana during calendar year 2023, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Despite the direct impact on the Big Sky State, the group Tester met with advocates for “halting expansions of immigration detention and deportation.”
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Sen. Jon Tester is seeking re-election in 2024. (Drew Angerer)
Voices for Progress also advocates for “ending the money bail system,” a move which the Constitutional Accountability Center says “could let criminals roam free.”
Additionally, the group voices support for “enacting ultra-wealthy taxation” and “ending discrimination against transgender individuals in health care and during incarceration,” according to their website.
The issue of transgender-identifying inmates being housed in prisons based on gender identity was recently brought under the national spotlight after a California biological male, Tremaine “Tremayne” Deon Carroll, was transferred to a women’s prison but was later removed after being charged with raping a female inmate.
When asked about the meeting, a spokesperson for the senator said the focus of the meeting was “ensuring the ultra-wealthy and massive corporations pay their fair share in taxes.”
“Senator Tester meets with a wide variety of groups with a wide variety of viewpoints, all of which can be viewed on his public schedule,” a spokesperon told Fox News Digital. “The main topic of Senator Tester’s meeting with this group was ensuring the ultra-wealthy and massive corporations pay their fair share in taxes.”
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) speaks to reporters as he walks through the Capitol Building on Feb. 5, 2024 in Washington, D.C. The Senate is working on bringing a bipartisan border security and immigration bill to the floor later this week for a vote. The bill, that also provides funding to Ukraine, Israel and humanitarian aid to Gaza, has received criticism from House Republicans, with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) calling it “dead on arrival.” (Anna Moneymaker)
Members of the group Tester met with also have individual histories of vocal opposition to the GOP and law enforcement.
One of the representatives reportedly in the meeting with Tester, Bella D’Alacio, posted a photo to Instagram in August 2020 holding a sign that read “F— Trump” with a caption that read, “I am tired of seeing black people killed by highly militarized, improperly trained police.”
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The president of Voices for Progress, Sandra Fluke, has also made several statements regarding law enforcement, claiming officers “kill people of color” and “often for no reason.”
“Police kill people of color at higher rates – and often for no reason,” Fluke wrote in a June 2018 post on X.
Fluke rose to prominence in 2012 after delivering remarks in front of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, where she claimed Georgetown University, where she was studying law, should provide birth control to students as part of student aid.
Fluke praised the passing of California’s AB2119 in September 2018, a bill signed by the state’s then Governor that expanded access to gender-related medical practices for transgender-identifying minors in the foster care system.
Bob Fertik, president of Democrats.com, co-founder of act.tv, Vote-Pro Choice, Swipe Blue, and named representative for Voices for Progress on the Senator’s public schedule of the meeting, wrote that pro-life Republicans are “fanatical MAGA forced birthers.”
“There are no sane Republican “pro-lifers” – just fanatical MAGA forced birthers,” he wrote on X in April 2023.
Fertik also wrote that Trump is a “Racist. Rapist. Fascist. Crook” on X in May 2023, and posted a picture of him holding a poster with the former president on it that read “lock him up.”
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Colorado
Colorado mom, 6-year-old son found dead in Canyonlands National Park in apparent murder-suicide
A Colorado woman and her 6-year-old son were found dead in Canyonlands National Park near Moab, Utah, this week in what appears to be a murder-suicide, law enforcement officials said.
Park rangers responded to a suspicious vehicle parked in a no-camping area near Shafer Trail in the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands at 8:15 a.m. Thursday, the San Juan County, Utah, Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Park rangers found an unresponsive 6-year-old boy in the vehicle and started life-saving measures, but the boy was pronounced dead when he arrived at the hospital.
The woman was found dead outside of the vehicle.
Both were reported missing by family in Colorado on Wednesday, the sheriff’s office said.
Sheriff Lehi Lacy on Saturday confirmed to The Denver Post that the woman and her son were also from Colorado.
The sheriff’s office is not identifying the woman or boy out of respect and will release the names once the agency gets permission from the family, Lacy said.
The investigation is ongoing, but “based on all evidence so far, this case is being investigated as a homicide and suicide,” sheriff’s officials said.
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Hawaii
What’s Cooking: Celebrating Lunar New Year with Hawaii Dim Sum & Seafood
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A family-run Chinese restaurant in Honolulu’s Chinatown is gearing up for Lunar New Year festivities.
Hawaii Dim Sum & Seafood Restaurant owner Karen Tam and her son Kirave Liang joined HNN’s Sunrise to showcase their dim sum and Chinese specialties.
Lunar New Year specials include a special jai with 18 vegetarian ingredients and the sweet, sticky, steamed rice cake gau in brown sugar and coconut flavors, which symbolize good fortune and prosperity.
”We eat food with a lucky meaning to start the great year,” Tam said. “We have jin dui (sesame balls) every day.“
Feb. 17 marks the start of the year of the Fire Horse, when families gather to celebrate with big meals and auspicious dishes. Hawaii Dim Sum & Seafood will offer set party menus and special orders for foods not commonly found in Honolulu, such as whole stuffed duck, braised abalone in oyster sauce, and basin meal.
“It’s the biggest fest of the year. We celebrate Chinese New Year by eating with family in a round table,“ Tam said.
Hawaii Dim Sum & Seafood also has private rooms with karaoke systems and a banquet hall to accommodate small family gatherings to large parties.
Hawaii Dim Sum & Seafood is located on 111 N. King St. and is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, There is street parking and paid parking behind the restaurant on Nimitz and Maunakea.
For more information, visit hawaiidimsumseafood.com or follow on Instagram @hawaiidimsumseafood.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Idaho
Interstate 84 near Mountain Home back open after utility work
MOUNTAIN HOME, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — Interstate 84 near Mountain Home is back open after crews closed the freeway due to utility work.
Crews closed westbound and eastbound lanes on Saturday morning from milepost 90 to milepost 95 due to Idaho Power working on power lines in the area, according to the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office. All lanes are now back open in both directions.
The sheriff’s office and the Mountain Home Police Department apologized for the inconvenience, saying they were just informed of the closure on Saturday morning.
More information regarding road closures and traffic conditions can be found at the Idaho Transportation Department’s 511 map.
Copyright 2026 KMVT. All rights reserved.
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