Utah Memorial Objection Dismissed
A judge has dismissed a Utah lawsuit seeking President Joe Biden’s restoration of two sprawling national monuments reduced by former President Donald Trump.
U.S. District Judge David Knuffer acted within his mandate on Friday when Biden issued a proclamation to restore Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in 2021. said. The monument is on land sacred to many American Indians.
Mr. Knuffer said Mr. Biden could issue proclamations to build monuments “when he sees fit,” and those actions are not subject to court review.
The area of ​​southeastern Utah, where the two monuments are located, is at the center of some of the country’s most heated land-management debates.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox said the state will begin working on an appeal immediately. The Republican predicted that the issue would ultimately be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.
President Bill Clinton designated the Grand Staircase a national monument in 1996, and President Barack Obama designated Bears Ears a national monument in 2016. In 2017, President Trump moved to scale down both monuments at the request of Republican lawmakers in Utah who had long complained about restricting how the monuments could be used.
President Trump’s decision opened parts of the monument to mining, drilling and other development, but low demand and high production costs have minimized interest from energy companies.
Biden called Bears Ears “a revered land and sacred home for hundreds of generations of indigenous peoples” when he restored the land in 2021. A coalition of tribes, including the Hopi, Ute Indians, Ute Mountain Ute, Zuni, and Navajo, fought to restore the monument.
General Counsel Leaves Fox News Parent Company
NEW YORK–Fox has announced that its chief legal officer, who oversaw a $787 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems over defamation allegations, is leaving the company.
New York-based Fox announced on Friday that Beit Dinh, Fox’s chief legal and policy officer, will step down effective December 31. He will remain a special adviser to Fox.
The company did not disclose why Ding left the company.
Fox News, a division of Fox Corporation, has announced that the network was broadcasting fraudulent reports about the 2020 US presidential election that many inside the company believed to be the case, following weeks of pre-trial disclosure. It agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by a voting machine maker in May. Not true.
According to internal records, Fox aired the claim on election night as part of trying to win back viewers who had fled the network after accurately calling battleground Arizona Democratic candidate Joe Biden. One of Fox’s vice presidents called the claim “mind-bogglingly nuts.”
Fox chairman Rupert Murdoch testified in a deposition that he believed the election was fair and not stolen from former President Donald Trump.
Texas killer released, charged with two murders
AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas man who fled several towns after being released early after being convicted of murdering an 8-year-old girl in the 1980s has been charged with new murder charges. Prosecutors announced his death sentence.
Raul Meza Jr., 62, was arrested on suspicion of murder in May 2019 after killing his roommate and a woman. Austin police said they were also investigating about a dozen unsolved cases dating back to 1996 that could be linked to Meza. .
An indictment filed last week by a Travis County grand jury includes the death penalty count in the death of Gloria Lofton, 65, who was found in her home. A grand jury also charged Meza with murder in the death of Jesse Fraga, 80.
Meza has been in jail since May in lieu of $1 million bail.
He called Austin police and confessed to one of the killings when detectives answered the call, according to court records.
According to the affidavit, the person on the phone said, “My name is Raul Meza.” “I think you are looking for me.”
Decades ago, Meza caused an uproar in a Texas town where she was trying to settle after about a third of her 30-year prison sentence for the rape and murder of eight-year-old Kendra Page. He was released on parole in 1993 due to his time in prison and his good deeds.
After being kicked out of six cities by picketers, Meza appealed to the public. “In my heart I know that I will not harm anyone on purpose,” he said, describing himself as a new Christian and not a threat to society.
Woman murdered at home improvement store in Florida
PENSACOLA, Fla. — A woman was killed Friday after a man opened fire at a hardware store in the Florida Panhandle, officials said.
Officers and officers found a woman shot dead. Two others suffered minor injuries, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
The suspect was quickly detained. The sheriff’s office said the shooter and the victim knew each other. “This shooting was not random,” he said.
A company spokesperson said the victim was a third-party contractor.
