EXCLUSIVE: GOP Sens. Josh Hawley and Mike Braun have reintroduced a bill that would require the Biden administration to declassify all intelligence related to the Wuhan Institute of Virology and possible links to the origins of the COVID-19 virus, in light of the weekend report that the Department of Energy (DOE) that concluded the coronavirus pandemic likely stemmed from a lab leak.

A similar version of the senators’ bill, the ‘COVID-19 Origin Act of 2021,’ passed the Senate unanimously in May 2021.

‘For nearly three years, anyone asking whether COVID-19 originated as a lab leak outbreak was silenced and branded as a conspiracy theorist,’ Hawley, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital. ‘Now these prudent skeptics stand vindicated. The Biden administration must immediately declassify all intelligence reports pertaining to the origins of COVID-19 coronavirus and the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The American people deserve to know the truth.’

The bill specifically requires declassification of information related to activities performed by the Wuhan Institute of Virology with or on behalf of the People’s Liberation Army, coronavirus research or other related activities performed at the Wuhan lab prior to the outbreak of COVID–19, and all information related to researchers at the Wuhan lab who fell ill in autumn 2019, including dates of illness, their role at the lab and other factors.

The bill requires the Director of National Intelligence’s Office to produce a report on this declassified material, only making redactions to protect sources and methods – the intelligence community’s most sensitive information.

‘The Biden administration has called the lab leak theory a conspiracy theory from the beginning and has only started to publicly admit they were wrong as the evidence becomes overwhelming,’ Braun, R-Ind., added. ‘This bill passed the Senate unanimously in 2021, and since then, the Biden administration has continued to keep information about COVID’s origins secret. The American people deserve transparency, free from government censors or media spin. It’s time to declassify everything we know about COVID’s origins and the Wuhan Institute of Virology, now.’

The Wall Street Journal first reported on Sunday that according to a classified intelligence report provided to the White House, the Energy Department has concluded that COVID-19 ‘most likely arose from a laboratory leak.’

People who read the classified report told the Journal that the DOE ranked its conclusion at ‘low confidence,’ while the FBI ranked its same conclusion in 2021 that the pandemic was the result of an accidental lab leak at ‘moderate confidence.’

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Sunday that he couldn’t ‘confirm or deny’ the Wall Street Journal’s reporting on the DOE’s recent conclusion that the COVID-19 pandemic likely originated from an accidental lab leak in China, and he added that there is ‘no definitive answer.’

Similar calls to declassify the DOE report have been made in the Republican-controlled House.

Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, said Monday, ‘This administration must declassify all the relevant intelligence – protecting for sources and methods – surrounding the pandemic’s origins, and provide information as to who was advising the members of the intelligence community who have dismissed or downplayed the concept of a lab leak.’

‘We must also take concrete steps to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for their lack of transparency surrounding COVID-19,’ he said.

The office Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., released an update on Monday regarding his health after the democratic Senator checked himself into a hospital for clinical depression earlier this month. 

Fetterman’s communications director Joe Calvello said the Democratic senator was ‘doing well’ and working with doctors as he ‘remains on the path to recovery.’ 

‘He is visiting with staff and family daily, and his staff are keeping him updated on Senate business and news,’ Calvello said in a statement. ‘Our team is moving full speed ahead and working tirelessly for the people of Pennsylvania. Just last week we opened a new office in Erie and will be opening several more offices in the coming weeks.’ 

He added: ‘We understand the intense interest in John’s status and especially appreciate the flood of well-wishes. However, as we have said this will be a weeks-long process and while we will be sure to keep folks updated as it progresses, this is all there is to give by way of an update.’

Fetterman checked himself into a Washington, D.C., hospital on Feb. 16 to be treated for clinical depression. 

His hospitalization comes after a rough year in which the 53 year-old suffered a stroke just ahead of the May primary election and spent much of the summer off the campaign trail, recovering. He has said the stroke nearly killed him. He also underwent surgery to implant a pacemaker with a defibrillator to manage two heart conditions, atrial fibrillation and cardiomyopathy. After winning in November he entered the Senate in January, where he has had to adjust to life in Washington and the daily grind of a federal lawmaker.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

West Virginia’s Senate passed a bill Monday that would give $25,000 in tax credits to former residents who move back to the state to work.

The Senate passed the bill unanimously and sent it to the House of Delegates.

Those eligible for the tax credit had to live and work in West Virginia for at least 10 years or were born in the state. They had to live outside the state for at least 10 consecutive years prior to 2023.

Unused portions of the credit could be applied to future tax years. The credit would expire in 2029.

State officials have tried other cash enticements in the past few years to try to beef up West Virginia’s sagging population. The Department of Tourism is offering $12,000 cash plus free passes for a host of outdoor adventures to remote workers to move to certain areas of the state.

West Virginia lost a greater percentage of its residents than any other state from 2010 to 2020, when the population dropped 3.2%, or about 59,000 people. It’s been such a problem due to long-term declines in the coal, steel and other industries that West Virginia is now the only state with fewer residents than it had in 1950.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., revealed that she could be the latest Republican to have her private military records allegedly leaked to a Democratic opposition research firm by the U.S. Air Force, adding to the scandal already plaguing the Department of Defense.

The freshman congresswoman accused the Air Force Monday of likely leaking her own military records and failing to respond to official correspondence demanding answers about a series of leaks that has affected a number of other GOP lawmakers and former candidates.

‘The USAF leaked information of USAF candidates in the 2022 midterms to a DEMOCRAT OPPO research firm,’ Luna tweeted Monday. ‘Yes, I also have reason to believe my records were leaked. This is likely going to be a criminal investigation,’ she added.

Almost a dozen of GOP lawmakers and former candidates have now come out saying they were impacted by the Air Force’s ‘unauthorized’ release of military information. Much of the records appear to have been requested by and turned over to an opposition research firm that received money from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), the campaign arm for House Democrats.

Former GOP House candidate Jennifer-Ruth Green was another veteran whose personnel records, including details of a sexual assault that occurred during her time in the Air Force, were released to the public without her consent. The Air Force admitted in a letter that her military personnel records were released to a third party ‘without proper redaction.’

In an interview with Fox News Digital Monday, Luna said: ‘I believe that this is probably not the first time that this opposition research firm has done this.’

‘Obviously, being a service member, I think that, regardless of political affiliation, they need to be held accountable, and they can’t give our private information, whether it’s health or service records, to anyone without our consent,’ Luna continued.

‘In my opinion, it’s unacceptable, and it’s BS that they didn’t get back to us sooner,’ she later added.

Luna reiterated her belief that the investigation surrounding the leak will become ‘criminal in nature.’

The congresswoman explained she was contacted on Feb. 6 by one of her former supervisors from her time in the Air Force letting her know that a reporter had reached out asking about her time in the military.

Luna explained that the news outlet, which she requested remain unnamed, admitted to having access to her military records in the texts with her former supervisor, who she said they would not have known to contact without access to those records. She said her former supervisor did not respond to the requests for comment, but noted that the questions by the news outlet were related to her having an alleged relationship with Russia.

A member of Luna’s staff member then reached out to the news outlet. The reporter then allegedly accused Luna of having ‘paid off’ her former supervisor to not answer questions about her.

She told Fox New Digital that after receiving the message from her former supervisor, she reached out to former Republican congressional candidate J.R. Majewski, whose military records had been leaked, to ask if he had been notified by the Air Force of his documents being released. He said he had not.

She told Fox News Digital that only certain members of Congress were notified that their records were leaked by the Air Force, including Reps. Don Bacon, R-Neb., and Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, but that list did not include her.

Luna said she subsequently sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Feb. 13 requesting answers concerning the leaked information.

She provided Fox News Digital a copy of the Air Force’s response that they would miss the Feb. 27 deadline and respond by March 17.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Defense for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

National Security spokesman John Kirby on Monday affirmed President Biden’s support of gain-of-function research, saying it was necessary to prevent future pandemics. 

RealClearPolitics reporter Philip Wegmann asked Kirby whether the president believed the reward outweighs the risk when it comes to gain-of-function research, which involves extracting viruses from animals to artificially engineer in a laboratory to make them more transmissible and deadly to humans. 

‘Does the president believe that this type of gain-of-function research is prudent?’ Wegmann asked.

Kirby said the president believed the research was important to help prevent future pandemics. 

‘There has to be legitimate scientific research into the sources or the potential sources of pandemics so that we understand it, so that we can prevent them from happening,’ Kirby said. ‘But he also believes … that the research has to be done in a safe and secure manner and as transparently as possible to the rest of the world, so the people know what’s going on.’ 

Kirby’s comments after he said the Biden administration has not reached a consensus on the origins of COVID-19 despite an assessment from the U.S. Energy Department (DOE) that the virus likely originated from an accidental lab leak in Wuhan, China.  

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has admitted to funding gain-of-function research on bats infected with coronaviruses at a lab in Wuhan – despite repeated denials from Dr. Anthony Fauci that U.S. tax dollars were used in the funding. 

Earlier this month, House Republicans launched an investigation into the origins of COVID-19 by requesting documents and testimony for current and former Biden administration officials.

The Republican chairmen of the House Oversight Committee and the Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic are seeking information, including from Fauci, concerning the idea that the coronavirus leaked accidentally from a Chinese lab.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers wants bars to stay open until 4 a.m. next year for the Republican Party’s national convention in Milwaukee.

A provision in Evers’ budget proposal would allow bars in 14 counties surrounding Milwaukee to extend their hours to accommodate convention-goers, CBS 58 in Milwaukee reported Monday. The convention is expected to draw tens of thousands of people to battleground Wisconsin’s largest city from July 15—19, 2024.

Currently, Wisconsin bars and restaurants must close by 2 a.m. on weekdays and 2:30 a.m. on weekends.

Evers’ idea will need the approval of the Republican-controlled Legislature to become law.

A similar proposal died in the state Senate in 2020, when Democrats were scheduled to host their national convention in Milwaukee. The convention was delayed a month and ultimately became a largely virtual event.

Scott Stenger, government affairs officer for the Tavern League of Wisconsin, said the group was working on its own proposal to benefit its member bars and restaurants during the convention.

‘The ultimate goal is you want people to leave the great state of Wisconsin and say, we had a hell of a good time in Milwaukee,’ Stenger told CBS 58. ‘We don’t want a situation where people can’t have their dinner if it’s that late at night.’

The U.S. Marshals Service was targeted by a ransomware attack over a week ago, compromising sensitive information including data on fugitives, according to reports.

NBC reported that USMS spokesperson Drew Wade confirmed the breach.

‘The affected system contains law enforcement sensitive information, including returns from legal process, administrative information, and personally identifiable information pertaining to subjects of USMS investigations, third parties, and certain USMS employees,’ Wade told the news organization.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SEIZES HIVE RANSOMWARE GANG WEBSITE 

He also said the USMS discovered the incident, described as ‘a ransomware and data exfiltration event affecting a stand-alone USMS system,’ on Feb. 17.

Wade told NBC the system was taken off the network after the discovery, and forensic investigation was commenced by the Justice Department.

The U.S. Marshals Service did not immediately respond to questions from Fox News Digital about the attack.

Ransomware is typically a type of malicious software deployed onto a computer system that blocks access or threatens to publish personal or confidential information until a sum of money is paid.

Earlier this month, Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare in northern Florida was forced to take its information technology systems offline after it was hit bay an apparent ransomware attack.

The attack forced some emergency room patients to be diverted to other hospitals, though Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare was still accepting patients who were expecting babies.

On Feb. 7, a cyberattack at the Pipefitters Local 537 in Boston was discovered. After the discovery, the union retained a cybersecurity forensic investigator who learned the cyberattack on the union’s health fund resulted in the loss of $6.4 million. It did not appear that personal information of the union’s members was stolen or compromised, officials said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.