Democrats in Austin, San Antonio Flying ‘Guests’ from Border to Cities Nationwide

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Democrats in Austin, San Antonio Flying ‘Guests’ from Border to Cities Nationwide

(Bethany Blankley, The Center Square) – Democratic officials in Austin and San Antonio have announced a new plan to fly “guests coming from the border” north.

The plan is similar to one first implemented by the Department of Homeland Security under Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and by Democratic officials in El Paso.

Austin city officials said they were “coordinating travel support to help asylum seekers reach their sponsor destinations across the United States” by coordinating buses from San Antonio to Austin and flights out of Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to cities nationwide.

Democratic officials in Austin and San Antonio on Jan. 13 began their taxpayer-funded travel service for foreign nationals who illegally crossed the border.

The goal is to “proactively manage the flow of people” out of their cities to relieve pressure on local social services, officials said. Their partnership “is designed to ensure their transit is done in a humane and efficient manner.

“Austin and AUS are effectively serving as a pass-through point for guests coming from the border area who need air transport to their sponsors’ destinations.”

Over 50 Texas counties have declared an invasion at the southern border with Mexico, arguing those illegally entering the country are not guests but pose a danger to communities nationwide. They also express support for Gov. Greg Abbott’s efforts to block illegal entry between ports of entry.

The states of Texas, Florida and others have sued Mayorkas over policies leading to mass release of illegal border crossers. They argue Mayorkas implemented illegal parole programs and an illegal visa system facilitating the movement of millions of people from all over the world into the country when laws established by Congress prohibit their entry.

Over a dozen of Mayorkas’ parole programs violate laws established by Congress, U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., argues in impeachment articles he filed. The U.S. House Homeland Security Committee, which he chairs, passed the articles early Wednesday morning.

The announcement comes as Democratic mayors and governors have decried receiving any more so-called asylum seekers and have asked for federal funding to deal with the influx. It also comes as law enforcement agencies nationwide have warned about crime surges, and public health officials have warned about communicable diseases spreading, directly linked to illegal foreign nationals arriving in cities across America.

Austin and San Antonio officials say they “will seek full reimbursement from the federal government, which is currently reimbursing San Antonio and other U.S. cities.” El Paso’s operations have been funded through FEMA, according to city data.

After illegal foreign nationals are processed at San Antonio’s Centro de Bienvenida/Migrant Resource Center, city officials are sending up to three buses totaling up to 120 people a day to Austin to be routed to the airport. They will be transported using charter buses, not public transportation, officials said.

Catholic Charities of San Antonio is providing assistance, staffing a 24/7 phone helpline, with “rebooking asylum seekers who have delayed/missed flights” and coordinating travel arrangements.

Since January 2021, the city of San Antonio has received and moved 365,000 illegal foreign nationals to cities nationwide. In December 2022, San Antonio had a daily average of 1,206 arrivals, with some days exceeding over 1,800, according to city data. Since July 2023, San Antonio officials have moved more than 120,000 people crossed the southern border and were released into Texas by the Biden administration.

Since April 2022, the state of Texas has bused more than 100,000 foreign nationals unlawfully released into Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott argues, to self-described sanctuary cities. The busing scheme is voluntary and paid for by Texas taxpayers, not the federal government.

Since April 2022, Texas has bused over 12,500 illegal foreign nationals to Washington, D.C.; since August 2022, over 37,500 to New York City and over 31,200 to Chicago; since November 2022, over 3,400 to Philadelphia. Since May 2023, Texas has bused over 16,000 to Denver; since June 2023, over 1,500 to Los Angeles.

Last year, Abbott began flights to Chicago after its Democratic mayor attempted to block the bus arrivals. New York City also sued buses chartered by Texas, also attempting to block entry and make them pay for millions of dollars worth of sanctuary city services.

While Democrats have blamed Abbott for the border crisis impacting their cities, they’ve received a fraction of the more than 1.9 million people who inundated Texas in fiscal 2023 alone.

Speaker Johnson: 64 Biden Policies Created Border Chaos

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Speaker Johnson: 64 Biden Policies Created Border Chaos

(Bethany Blankley, The Center Square) – U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has identified 64 Biden administration polices he argues created the border crisis.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates has argued President Joe Biden “delivered the most border security funding in American history” and House Freedom Caucus members “repeatedly voted to slash that funding.”

The caucus argues Biden “delivered the most illegal border crossings in American history. All the money in the world won’t stop the flow of fentanyl and illegal crossings if the President won’t enforce the laws to secure the border.

Johnson, R-Louisiana, agrees, saying Congress won’t pass any bills, including funding requests by the president, that don’t prioritize border security.

“Since his first day in office, President Biden and his administration have worked to systematically undermine America’s border security,” Johnson said, pointing to 64 examples that he says created a “national security catastrophe.”

Below are details from Johnson’s report on Biden’s first year in office:

On January 20, 2021, on his first day in office, President Biden ended the national emergency previously declared at the southwest border, halting emergency construction of the border wall. He also issued an executive order expanding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which courts have ruled is illegal, and proposed a U.S. Citizenship Act “to provide amnesty to millions of illegal aliens in the U.S., demonstrating intent to reward illegal border crossers with a path to citizenship.”

Biden revoked a previous executive order related to enforcing immigration laws; issued an executive action ending restrictions on foreign nationals entering the U.S. from countries associated with terrorism; and issued a 100-day moratorium on deportations. Doing so communicated “to illegal aliens that they do not have to worry about the possibility of deportation,” the report states.

In February 2021, the Department of Homeland Security implemented a new policy of “alternatives to removal,” including “staying or reopening cases, alternative forms of detention, custodial detention, whether to grant temporary deferred action,” among others.

Biden also issued an executive order directing asylum claims to be processed at the border and ended the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP, “Remain in Mexico”). Secretary of State Antony Blinken suspended and began terminating Asylum Cooperative Agreements with El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, enabling hundreds of thousands to enter the U.S. instead of remaining in their home countries.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention exempted unaccompanied alien children (UACs) from Title 42 expulsion requirements, encouraging “parents to pay cartels to smuggle their children to the U.S. border;” “sped up releases of UACs;” and created a “major wave” of UACs, family units, and others heading to the border, the report states.

By March 2021, the administration had lost track of 20,000 UACs and expanded detention capacity to hold thousands more. During COVID-era lockdowns, the CDC directed facilities to open to pre-COVID-era levels.

Mayorkas reinstated the Central American Minors program, bypassing laws established by Congress, to release even more people into the U.S. from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. He announced DHS’s “lawful pathways” catch-and-release policy and instructed federal agents to release illegal border crossers and give them Notice to Report papers instead of Notice to Appear papers, which require appearing before federal immigration court.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement expanded the use of “Influx Care Facilities” to house UACs, “often using unlicensed facilities.” In March, April and May 2021, ORR expanded capacity to house another 23,849 UACs, without properly vetting sponsors and loosened background checks requirements.

By April and June 2021, wall construction funded by the Department of Defense was cancelled; the CAM program was expanded; asylum eligibility policies redefined familial relationships, gender and domestic relationships as a “particular social group.”

By July 2021, Border Patrol agents released at least 50,000 illegal foreign nationals into the country without giving them NTAs; by August 2021, more than 100,000 were released into the U.S. without NTAs. No one knows where they are. Additional parole policies were implemented; taxpayer-funded services to noncitizens facing removal were expanded.

In September 2021, Biden falsely accused Border Patrol horse patrol agents of whipping Haitians in Del Rio, Texas. “DHS Secretary Mayorkas knew the claim was false and even though the agents were exonerated in July 2022, the Administration proposed punishment for the agents,” the report states. Mayorkas instructed agents that illegal entry wasn’t a sole basis for removal contrary to federal law – one of over a dozen parole programs identified as illegal in impeachment articles filed against Mayorkas.

By October 2021, DHS canceled border wall contracts in Laredo and Rio Grande Valley CBP Sectors and suspended large-scale worksite enforcement. Mayorkas prohibited ICE agents from enforcing some federal laws and terminated the MPP.

By November 2021, Mayorkas formally implemented the alternatives to detention parole program, expanding en masse release. By December 2021, ICE had repurposed three detention centers to hold more “family units,” incentivizing further illegal entry, according to the report.

In fiscal 2022, the administration distributed over $300 million, 43% of total awards, to so-called sanctuary cities through SCAAP, Byrne, and COPS programs, “financially rewarding cities whose policies” ignore federal immigration law.

Many states sued over the policies, with Texas suing the most.

Soros-Backed Super PAC Spent Big to Keep Va. Senate Blue

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Soros-Backed Super PAC Spent Big to Keep Va. Senate Blue

(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) A super PAC that was founded and funded by a far-left billionaire George Soros spent hundreds of thousands of dollars into tight elections in Virginia ahead of the state’s contentious 2023 state elections.

Newly released Federal Election Commission filings indicated that the Democracy PAC II gave $200,000 to committees supporting Virginia Democrats running in competitive state senate districts and $250,000 to Virginia Future Generations PAC, a political committee that was dedicated to supporting state-level Democrats in July 2023.

The Daily Caller reported that control of the Virginia State Senate was decided by just one seat in 2023.

The FEC filings also showed that a committee supporting Democrat Danica Roem received $50,000 in support from Democracy PAC II in July 2023. In November 2023, Roem won Senate District 30 by four points, becoming the first “transgender” person who was elected to the Virginia State Senate.

Another $50,000 was given to Schuyler VanValkenburg, a Democrat who was running in Senate District 16, which was considered important for determining control of the chamber. VanValkenburg won by defeating the district’s Republican incumbent by 10 points.

Soros’s super PAC gave another $50,000 to a Democrat Russet Perry who ran in the competitive Senate District 31 and eventually won by about six points.

The Virginia State Board of Elections also revealed that Virginia Future Generations PAC gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Virginia House Democratic Caucus and other groups that are dedicated to electing Democrats after receiving financial support from Democracy PAC II.

The PAC received $25,000 from Soros himself in November 2023, according to the Virginia State Board of Elections.

Between 2021 and 2022, Soros donated $175 million to Democracy PAC II, the FEC reported. The commission also revealed that Soros was the only individual who donated to the PAC.

Michael Vachon, who works as a spokesperson and adviser for Soros, also works as the treasurer of Democracy PAC II. In addition to that, the PAC also pays Soros Fund Management in exchange for staff services, the FEC filings indicated.

U.S. Bombs Syria and Iran

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U.S. Bombs Syria and Iran

(Headline USA) The U.S. military bombed dozens of sites in Iraq and Syria used by Iranian-backed militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Friday, in the opening salvo of retaliation for the drone strike that killed three U.S. troops in Jordan last weekend.

The massive barrage of strikes hit more than 85 targets at seven locations, including command and control headquarters, intelligence centers, rockets and missiles, drone and ammunition storage sites and other facilities that were connected to the militias or the IRGC’s Quds Force, the Guard’s expeditionary unit that handles Tehran’s relationship with and arming of regional militias. Joe Biden made it clear in a statement that there will be more to come.

Iran has denied it was behind the Jordan attack.

It was unclear what the impact will be of the strikes. Days of U.S. warnings may have sent militia members scattering into hiding. With multiple groups operating at various locations in several countries, a knockout blow is unlikely.

Though one of the main Iran-backed militias, Kataib Hezbollah, said it was suspending attacks on American troops, others have vowed to continue fighting, casting themselves as champions of the Palestinian cause while the war in Gaza shows no sign of ending.

“Our response began today. It will continue at times and places of our choosing,” Biden warned, adding, He and other top U.S. leaders had been saying for days that any American response wouldn’t be just one hit but a “tiered response” over time.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the targets “were carefully selected to avoid civilian casualties and based on clear, irrefutable evidence that they were connected to attacks on U.S. personnel in the region.” He declined to detail what that evidence was.

The strikes took place over about 30 minutes, and three of the sites struck were in Iraq and four were in Syria, said Lt. Gen. Douglas Sims, director of the Joint Staff.

U.S. Central Command said the assault involved more than 125 precision munitions, and they were delivered by numerous aircraft, including long-range B-1 bombers flown from the United States. Sims said weather was a factor as the U.S. planned the strikes in order to allow the U.S. to confirm it was hitting the right targets and avoiding civilian casualties.

It’s not clear, however, whether militia members were killed.

Syrian state media reported that there were casualties but did not give a number. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that 18 militants were killed in the Syria strikes.

Iraqi army spokesman Yahya Rasool said in a statement that the city of al-Qaim and areas along the country’s border with Syria had been hit by U.S. airstrikes. The strikes, he said, “constitute a violation of Iraqi sovereignty and undermine the efforts of the Iraqi government, posing a threat that will pull Iraq and the region to undesirable consequences.”

Kirby said that the U.S. alerted the Iraqi government prior to carrying out the strikes.

Just Friday morning, Iran’s hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi reiterated earlier promises by Tehran to potentially retaliate for any U.S. strikes targeting its interests. We “will not start a war, but if a country, if a cruel force wants to bully us, the Islamic Republic of Iran will give a strong response,” Raisi said.

In a statement this week, Kataib Hezbollah announced “the suspension of military and security operations against the occupation forces in order to prevent embarrassment to the Iraqi government.” But that assertion clearly had no impact on U.S. strike plans. Harakat al-Nujaba, one of the other major Iran-backed groups, vowed Friday to continue military operations against U.S. troops.

The U.S. has blamed the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a broad coalition of Iran-backed militias, for the attack in Jordan, but hasn’t narrowed it down to a specific group. Kataib Hezbollah is, however, a top suspect.

Some of the militias have been a threat to U.S. bases for years, but the groups intensified their assaults in the wake of Israel’s war with Hamas following the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

As of Tuesday, Iran-backed militia groups had launched 166 attacks on U.S. military installations since Oct. 18, including 67 in Iraq, 98 in Syria and now one in Jordan, according to a U.S. military official. The last attack was Jan. 29 at al-Asad airbase in Iraq, and there were no injuries or damage.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Judge Delays Trump’s Federal Elections Trial

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Judge Delays Trump’s Federal Elections Trial

(Brett Rowland, The Center Square) – A federal judge on Friday said President Donald Trump‘s trial won’t start as scheduled on March 4, the day before Super Tuesday.

It’s unclear when the case will go to trial. Judge Tanya Chutkan vacated the March 4 start date and said she would “set a new schedule if and when the mandate is returned” from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Prosecutors asked the Court of Appeals to decide if Trump has presidential immunity from the charges. Three judges heard oral arguments in the appeal on Jan. 9. The Court of Appeals has yet to issue a decision.

Trump has argued that he has presidential immunity in the D.C. case, where he is accused of using criminal conspiracies to subvert the 2020 election results.

The federal election interference trial was initially set to start March 4, the day before Super Tuesday, when 15 Republican primaries and caucuses are scheduled to take place.

During oral arguments in January in the appeal, the judges questioned Trump’s immunity from prosecution for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The panel did not indicate that it would adopt Trump’s immunity argument. Trump’s legal team said that presidents could only be prosecuted if they had already been impeached and convicted by the Senate. Trump was impeached twice in the House but never convicted in the Senate.

The judges asked skeptical questions. Judge Florence Pan asked if a former president could be prosecuted for selling pardons or military secrets. She also asked if a president could be prosecuted for ordering the assassination of a political opponent.

While the appeals court has yet to rule on Trump’s immunity claims, Trump is expected to appeal any unfavorable ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team of federal prosecutors charged Trump with four federal counts related to contesting the 2020 election and the storming of the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. The charges include conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstruction, and conspiracy against the right to vote and to have one’s vote counted, according to the indictment. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

MURDOCK: Americans Unite in Outrage over Biden’s Open Borders

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MURDOCK: Americans Unite in Outrage over Biden’s Open Borders

(Deroy Murdock, Headline USA) Police say that at least 12 illegal aliens pummeled two NYPD cops outside a taxpayer-funded shelter in Times Square on Jan. 27.

Among five arrested, four were released without bail, three hours later. Unrepentant, Jhoan Boada, 22, waved his middle fingers as he left court.

The New York Post reports that a church-affiliated non-government organization put these four suspects on a California-bound bus, three time zones from justice.

Gavin Newsom, the sanctuary state’s Democrat governor, likely will welcome them with open arms and fresh freebies.

Rather than, “Thank you for having us!” the illegals’ message to America is: “F*** You!”

“Why aren’t they in jail right now?” New York City Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry demanded Thursday.

“They brutally attacked a New York City police officer and a lieutenant,” he continued. “Our criminal justice system is upside down. It fails every day.”

This incident encapsulates life under the Joe Biden Democrats: BINO—a Border in Name Only, rampant illegal immigration, disdain for law enforcement, far-Left “prosecutors” who lionize criminals, pushover judges with bleeding hearts, illegal aliens fueled by entitlement rather than gratitude, and an ever-expanding sense of chaos.

The American people did not vote for this, nor did they ask for the crime explosion that Biden and his border-hating Democrats have detonated.

This blast of lawlessness begins at the border, where everyone who has arrived without a passport has violated 8 US Code § 1325—Improper Entry by Alien.

To be clear: Every illegal alien became a criminal the millisecond his toes touched American soil. For that alone, all 8.8 million illegal aliens whom Biden waved in should be booted immediately.

Donald J. Trump’s promised mass deportations are his most tantalizing pledge. Once these people go home, they can apply for visas, wait their turn, and then enter legally—precisely as my mother and father did when they came from Costa Rica in 1962.

Tens of millions have entered America lawfully and then peacefully and patiently earned work permits, green cards and citizenship.

Goodie-grabbing illegal aliens insult these legal immigrants. The Biden/Democrat tsunami of lawbreakers needs to wash back out and do things the right way.

Period.

From the border, illegal-alien criminals march north. Immigration and Customs Enforcement recently arrested 171 illegal aliens in 25 cities. They were accused or “convicted of horrible, almost unspeakable crimes like assault against children, including sexual assault and murder,” ICE’s acting director, Patrick Lechleitner, announced Thursday.

Among those arrested:

  • A Salvadoran in Tacoma, Washington, 53, convicted of felony child molestation and child rape.
  • A Mexican in Chicago, 21, convicted of child pornography – victim under 13.
  • A Mexican in Denver, 32, convicted of first-degree murder, with extreme indifference.

In Fiscal Year 2023, ICE arrested 73,822 criminal foreigners, averaging four suspected or proved offenses each, totaling 290,708 collective charges and convictions. These included 139 potential or confirmed terrorists and 3,406 indicted or guilty gang members.

Among their crimes:

  • Kidnapping (1,655)
  • Homicide (1,713)
  • Robbery (3,097)
  • Sexual assault (4,390)
  • Burglary (6,964)
  • Weapons offenses (7,520)
  • Assault (33,209)

To avoid further preventable carnage, the U.S. House voted 274-150 Thursday to deport illegals who drive under the influence.

All 215 Republicans present (100%) backed this proposal, as did 59 Democrats (28.2%). But 150 Democrats (71.8%)—including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York and speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi of California—voted to keep illegal-alien drunk drivers cruising through America.

Biden and his co-conspirators welcome this massive foreign invasion as Future Democrats of America. If the path to the Democrats’ new margin of victory involves a simultaneous collapse in US laws and public safety, then those cracked eggs will compose their winning electoral omelet.

However these illegals might vote, if they are not removed first, they might not outweigh the backlash that has erupted among American citizens, Left to Right, who are disgusted with the Biden Democrats’ evil, twisted, dangerous, and too-often deadly scheme to maintain power and control by any means necessary.

Deroy Murdock is a Manhattan-based Fox News contributor.

Nikki Haley Voted for Dems Back in 1996, 2004

Dmytro "Henry" Aleksandrov
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Nikki Haley Voted for Dems Back in 1996, 2004

(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) Laura Loomer, a pro-Donald Trump activist and journalist, revealed that a Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley voted for Democrats back in 1996 and 2004, thus exposing her true colors once again.

Loomer posted the photos from one of the South Carolina newspapers on Twitter on Feb. 2, 2024.

“Uncovered Newspapers from 2004 prove @NikkiHaley voted Democrat. I have pulled archived copies of South Carolina newspapers and found that in the June 27, 2004, copy of ‘The State,’ it’s documented how Nikki Haley voted for Democrats and started using a different name to conceal her Democrat voting record. Makes sense when you see how she’s taking money from Democrats and using Democrat talking points against Trump,” she wrote.

The article that Loomer discovered, titled “Voters Embraced American Dream in Choosing Nikki Haley,” was written by then-editorial page editor Brad Warthen who wrote back in 2004 about Haley voting for Democrats, while adding that she also voted for Democrats in 1996 as well.

“She voted in a Democratic primary in 1996 when she was living in the Orangeburg County, and there was no Republican primary for the Senate seat vacated by the death of Marshall Williams,” Warthen wrote.

A conservative who follows the news would not be very surprised about the recent discovery by Loomer since there were many other times when Haley has been exposing herself as a controlled opposition, at best, or a Hillary Clinton replacement, at worst.

Aside from her running against Trump because he “let us down” — even though she previously pledged to support him if he decides to run for reelection — Haley exposed herself as someone who would have vaccinated-only events, support woke corporations like Disney, approve the mass verification on social media platforms, oust pro-Trump activists (including Loomer) from her rallies and push racial agenda despite previously identifying herself as “white” while voting.

Lotto-Winning Teachers Find Perfect Hiding Spot for $1M Powerball Ticket

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Lotto-Winning Teachers Find Perfect Hiding Spot for $1M Powerball Ticket

(Headline USA) Before claiming the prize last week, a group of employees and teachers from a Kentucky middle school who bought a $1 million Powerball winning ticket found a perfect hiding spot where nobody would think to look.

They tucked it in a math text book.

With literacy rates having reached some of their lowest levels in decades following the COVID-19 lockdowns, a textbook may have been the last place any meddling students would think to look.

The group of 30 educators, some retired, met at Rector A. Jones Middle School in northern Kentucky near Cincinnati and have been playing the Powerball together for eight years. They call themselves the “Jones 30.”

Members include counselors, administrators, teachers and some retirees from the school, according to a media release from the state lottery.

They’ve been playing the same Powerball numbers since 2019, when they drew them randomly from a hat.

On Saturday, those numbers, 7-38-65-66-68, finally hit. Their ticket matched all five white numbered balls in the drawing, but missed the Powerball, giving them a $1 million prize.

After school ended on Tuesday, the group carpooled to Louisville, about a 90-minute drive, with the winning ticket safely stashed away in a math textbook, page 200.

Arriving at lottery headquarters in Louisville, officials greeted them each with their individual winnings — $24,000 each after taxes.

Kentucky Lottery President Mary Harville handed them the winning checks.

”Kentucky Lottery games create fun for our players, and these winning educators were having the time of their lives,” Harville said in the release.

The group members said they plan to continue playing the lottery. Some plan to invest the money while others will use it for travel or home repairs, the lottery said.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Boston Doctor Acquitted of Lewd Acts Near 14-Yr-Old Girl on Plane

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Boston Doctor Acquitted of Lewd Acts Near 14-Yr-Old Girl on Plane

(Headline USA) A Boston doctor was found not guilty Wednesday on a charge of lewd acts near a 14-year-old girl on an airplane after a three-day trial in federal court in Boston.

Lawyers for Dr. Sudipta Mohanty, 33, said more than a dozen passengers sitting in seats near Mohanty and flight attendants charged with serving the passengers said they didn’t see anything consistent with the accusation while on the flight.

Mohanty said the accusation and trial have been incredibly difficult for himself and his family for a crime he didn’t commit.

“My fiancée was sitting next to me on that flight, and neither of us can understand why this happened to us,” he said in a written statement. “I have dedicated my life to caring for others as a physician, and it has been heartbreaking to step away while I dealt with these false accusations.”

Mohanty opted for a bench trial, meaning his acquittal was handed down by a judge, not a jury. He had been indicted on one count of lewd, indecent and obscene acts on an aircraft.

Investigators had said Mohanty was a passenger aboard a Hawaiian Airlines flight from Honolulu to Boston in May 2022 with a female companion and was seated next to a 14-year-old girl traveling with her grandparents, who were sitting nearby.

About halfway through the flight, investigators said, the 14-year-old said she noticed that Mohanty had covered himself with a blanket up to his neck and that his leg was bouncing.

A short time later, the minor said the blanket was on the floor, no longer covering Mohanty, and that Mohanty was masturbating, according to prosecutors. The minor moved herself to an empty seat in a different row. After arriving in Boston, she told family members, and police were notified.

Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said he was disappointed in the outcome, but he respects the verdict.

“Our office has no reservations about having proceeded with this case. Our office will remain steadfast in supporting victims, particularly minor children. It is critical that victims know they can come forward, and they will be heard and be fully supported by our office,” Levy said in a written statement.

Mohanty’s lawyer, Claudia Lagos, said the accusations have been devastating.

“Dr. Mohanty is a talented and dedicated medical doctor. He has absolutely no history of wrongdoing whatsoever,” she said in a statement. “The last six months have been a bizarre nightmare for him, and he is relieved this is finally over so that he can rebuild his life.”

Mohanty had faced a sentence of up to 90 days in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of as much as $5,000.

Mohanty, of Cambridge, worked as a doctor at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. The hospital said last year that he is no longer practicing at the hospital.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

Grant Program Under Fire for Discriminating against Non-Black Women

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Grant Program Under Fire for Discriminating against Non-Black Women

(Headline USA) A small venture capital firm faced tough questions from conservative judges Wednesday as it defended a grant program for black women-owned businesses in a lawsuit that has become emblematic of a growing legal backlash against corporate diversity programs.

The Fearless Fund, which provides early stage funding for businesses owned by women of color, asked a three-judge panel in a U.S. federal court of appeals to lift an injunction against one of its programs, the Strivers Grant Contest, which provides $20,000 to businesses that are majority owned by black women.

The conservative group American Alliance for Equal Rights, filed a lawsuit last fall arguing that the program discriminates against people of other races.

The hearing in Miami on Wednesday was intended to decide whether the grant would remain suspended for the duration of the lawsuit.

Questions by the conservative-leaning panel—consisting of two judges appointed by former President Donald Trump and one appointed by President Barack Obama—suggested the Fearless Fund would have an uphill battle.

Judge Kevin Newsom, a Trump appointee, pushed back against the Fearless Fund’s argument that the grants were protected by the First Amendment because they were charitable donations. He asked the Fearless Fund’s attorneys whether the same protection would apply to a contest open only to white applicants.

That’s a question frequently raised by Edward Blum, the conservative activist who leads the American Alliance for Equal Rights and who was behind the Supreme Court case that ended affirmative action in college admissions.

“I think that’s a pretty simple yes or no,” Newsom said.

Jason Schwartz, the attorney for the Fearless Fund, replied that a white-only contest set up under the same parameters would indeed be protected by the First Amendment.

“No matter how repugnant I might find that, the First Amendment protects all speech,” Schwartz said.

Pressed to explain how the case differs from a business that excludes minorities, Schwartz argued that charitable donations intended to promote a cause differ from commercial transactions such as employment and housing.

The American Alliance has argued that the Fearless Fund’s contest is not a charitable donation but a contract whose racial requirements violate section 1981 of the 1866 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race when enforcing contracts. It was originally intended to protect formally enslaved people from economic exclusion.

The Fearless Fund case has become a rallying point for civil rights activists who argue that a ruling dismantling the program would endanger other donations or programs designed to help disadvantaged groups. The Fearless Fund was founded to address the huge racial disparity in funding for businesses owned by women of color. Less than 1% of venture capital funding, for example, goes to businesses owned by black and Hispanic women, according to the nonprofit minority advocacy group digitalundivided.

“Less than 1% of all venture capital funds go to women of color. And so we are here fighting them to say, can we at least have 1%? They’re saying, no, we want all the pie,” Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney who is also representing the Fearless Fund Fund, said a news conference following the hearing.

“That’s why this case is so consequential and so landmark, because it will have a chilling effect not only on women and women of color, but even diversity in America,” he said.

The Fearless Fund was founded with backing from prominent companies like J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Bank of America and Mastercard, which funds the Strivers Grant Contest. But since the lawsuit was filed, the Fearless Fund has had trouble securing new investment, said co-founder Arian Simone.

“When people hear lawsuits, sometimes the spirit of fear has gotten to them. So yes, we have been financially impacted due to this lawsuit. We were looking for upwards about eight figures of investments that fell through this past fall,” Simone at the news conference.

In court, Newsom expresses skepticism at the Fearless Fund’s arguments that its grants are not discriminatory given that it’s a tiny player in venture funding industry and business owners who are not eligible have many other avenues of accessing capital.

“The thing about that I just don’t think I either fully buy or understand is that it seems like, at its core, the premise of your argument is that, so long as there are lots of other sources of funding out there are not discriminating on the basis of race, we can,” Newsom said.

Schwartz argued that charities have the right to choose what to fund based on the problem they are trying to address.

“In the context of small giving, you can’t say it’s not remedial just because it’s not solving everyone’s problems,” Schwartz said. “The answer can’t possibly be give to everyone or no one.”

A different panel of the same court of appeals temporarily halted the Strivers Grant Context last fall, reversing a lower court’s decision that refused to block it.

Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press

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