The Washington, D.C., city council is fighting back against congressional efforts to overturn laws easing criminal penalties and allowing non-citizens to vote.

The 13 members of the capital’s council urged Senate leaders of both parties to not strike down the city’s controversial laws that have drawn the sights of House GOP leadership.

‘Today ALL 13 Councilmembers sent a letter to Senate leadership opposing the efforts to disapprove properly adopted DC laws,’ D.C. council chairman Phil Mendelson wrote Friday on Twitter.

‘We ask them to stand up against any attempts to undermine the autonomy of the District and the democratic rights of DC residents! #HandsOffDC,’ Mendelson continued.

In the letter, the councilmembers wrote that they ‘oppose the efforts to disapprove’ the two controversial city laws.

While D.C. has home rule authority and can pass laws without federal consent, Congress has the authority to strike down D.C. laws it disapproves of.

‘The District of Columbia has the right to self-govern as granted to us under the Home Rule Act,’ the letter reads. ‘Any changes or amendments to the District’s local laws should be done by the elected representatives of the District of Columbia.’

‘As those representatives, we alone are accountable to the voters of the District of Columbia,’ the councilmembers continued. ‘Just as Congress does not interfere in the local matter of other states, we compel you not to interfere in our matters.’

‘A vote against these two disapproval resolutions is a vote to protect that autonomy for the residents of the District,’ they added.

Washington, D.C., is not a state, but a federal district prescribed by the Constitution. Again, under federal law, Congress has the authority to disapprove of the city’s laws.

The councilmembers claimed the acts allowing noncitizens, including illegal immigrants, to vote and lifting criminal offenses are ‘responsible enactments’ and the ‘bills were approved after public hearings, extensive discussion, and thorough consideration by the Council of the District of Columbia.’

The council also claimed the new criminal parameters it passed ‘bring DC’s criminal code in line with the code of 50 other states’ and that the ‘current criminal code, dating back to 1901, is braodly considered outdated and incoherent.’

The letter also claimed that the voting law ‘simply extends the franchise as a number of other jurisdictions have done for local elections.’

‘It is highly problematic for the District if Congress steps in to interfere with Home Rule,’ the council claimed. ‘We could, of course, better explain this – and the legislation – if there were a hearing where we were invited to do so.’

‘We ask you to stand up against any attempts to undermine the autonomy Congress has granted the District and instead stand up for the democratic rights of District residents,’ the letter requests. ‘Thus, we urge you to reject any disapproval resolution or discharge of any such resolution from Committee.’

The letter was sent to Senate Majority and Minority Leaders Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as well as Senate Homeland Security Committee chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich., and ranking member Rand Paul, R-Ky.

When asked for comment on the letter, McConnell’s office pointed FOX News Digital to his remarks on crime after Minnesota Democrat Rep. Angie Craig’s D.C. attack earlier this month.

‘Unfortunately, the radical local government here is doing the opposite,’ McConnell said on the Senate floor. ‘The D.C. Council has responded to the crime wave with a new bill to make the city even softer on crime.’

‘It lowers maximum penalties for violent crimes and creates new ways to shorten the sentences of incarcerated felons,’ McConnell said. ‘Well, the good news is the Constitution actually gives the United States Congress final say over issues in our nation’s capital.’

‘And when the soft-on-crime local government has become this incompetent; when members of Congress can’t go about their daily lives without being attacked; when families cannot come to visit their own capital in safety; then it is high time the federal government provides some adult supervision,’ McConnell added.

Earlier this month, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., vowed that Republicans will ‘undo’ the D.C. city council’s law allowing illegal immigrants to vote.

‘Really? Does anybody in this country think that as someone working at the Chinese embassy here in Washington, D.C., should be voting in the presidential election? Absolutely not,’ Emmer said. ‘It’s insane what they did.’ Emmer also blasted a second law passed by the D.C. city council that ‘literally eliminates all mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines,’ quipping he ‘would argue is the Democrats full-employment-for-criminals bill.’

‘Literally, with the exception of first-degree murder, carjacking, et cetera, sexual crimes, all of this stuff, they are going to lift the . . . mandatory sentencing requirements,’ Emmer said.

‘Insane,’ he added. ‘We, the Republicans in the House, are going to reassert some common-sense conservative values.’

Emmer noted that Congress ‘is responsible for the District of Columbia’ and that there ‘are two resolutions that will get voted on in the House tomorrow’ to reverse the laws.

Victims would be able to sue over otherwise outdated claims of child sexual abuse under two pieces of legislation passed Friday by the Pennsylvania House, but it’s unclear whether the state Senate will take them up.

The legislation to temporarily waive the statute of limitations for sex abuse crimes had been on the verge of going before voters for the final OK two years ago, when state officials bungled the required advertising of the previous version.

The House voted Friday 161-40 to send the Senate a constitutional amendment that, if senators go along with it, could go before voters for final approval as soon as November. Separately, they also voted 134-67 to make the change as regular legislation that would take effect immediately if passed by the Senate and signed by the governor.

It was a major accomplishment for House Speaker Mark Rozzi, a Berks County Democrat elected to preside over the chamber early last month after both Republicans and Democrats could not muster enough support for their first choices, and for Rep. Jim Gregory, a Republican from Blair. Both Rozzi and Gregory have fought for the lawsuit window, and both have talked publicly about being abused as children.

‘I want to tell you that I am sorry and that I pray that you will have what you need to heal,’ Gregory said in remarks aimed at victims before the constitutional amendment vote. ‘It should not have taken this long.’

Political momentum to provide a way for those victims to sue was generated largely by a series of revelations regarding sexual abuse of children in the state by Roman Catholic clergy, but the proposed two-year window would apply to all victims who have not been able to sue under the narrow time limits formerly allowed by state law.

Rep. Tim Bonner, a Republican from Mercer and a former prosecutor who handled child molestation cases, said making the legislation retroactive was the right thing to do. He predicted it will be upheld by the courts against legal challenges.

‘Child molesters are like vampires: They just keep coming back to their victims time and time again,’ Bonner said. ‘So many children, so much evil, so many nightmares.’

It’s unclear what will happen to the bills in the Senate, which voted Jan. 11 for the constitutional amendment in a bundle with two other Republican priorities: expanded voter ID requirements and a lower threshold to invalidate state regulations pushed through by a governor’s administration. The three constitutional amendments passed the Senate on a nearly party-line vote.

‘It is time to bring closure to the conversation,’ Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman, a Republican from Indiana, said during that debate. He said that vote would ‘be the final time the Senate of Pennsylvania addresses this matter.’

Rozzi, who has said he was molested by a now-deceased parish priest, said concerns about Senate inaction should not stop the House from passing the proposals.

‘If the Senate’s not going to take it up, we might as well stop half the business we do in the House,’ Rozzi told his colleagues.

During the Friday debate, some Republicans expressed concern that one or both of the bills are vulnerable to legal challenges. Some focused on a procedural problem: Gregory was listed as a co-sponsor without his knowledge or consent. He stripped his sponsorship from the statute bill but not the constitutional amendment. Some were worried about the fairness and legality of changing the statute of limitations retroactively.

And there were predictions that lawsuits against public schools will prove costly to taxpayers.

‘I want justice for the victims, but it’s got to fall on the people that committed these crimes,’ said Rep. Eric Davanzo, a Republican from Westmoreland.

Rep. Matt Bradford, a Democrat from Montgomery, brushed off the concerns.

‘We have a path to justice in front of us today. Delayed, yes, but justice today,’ Bradford said. ‘The objections raised are meritless. The need for justice is real, it is upon us.’

Rep. Napoleon Nelson, another Democrat from Montgomery, said if the courts throw out the legislation, ‘then we’ll bring it back.’

‘It is always the right time to do the right thing,’ Nelson said.

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to limit oil companies’ profits was met with criticism by Democrats, Republicans and experts alike at a state hearing earlier this week.

During the hearing — hosted Wednesday by the state’s Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications — experts balked at a proposal to punish oil exploration and refining companies with a financial penalty if found to increase gasoline prices ‘excessively.’ The hearing was held to consider SBX1-2, legislation backed by Newsom and proposed by Democratic state Sen. Nancy Skinner in December.

‘Enacting SBX1-2 is not in the best interests of the consumer, will not reduce retail pump prices and is not in the best long-term economic interests of California,’ said Michael Mische, a professor at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business. ‘There are better alternatives.’

He added that the bill ‘will only make matters worse for the California consumer’ and ‘serve as a disincentive for investing in supply and new technologies for the refiners.’

‘Enacting it will reduce supply, force out producers and reduce employment in a high-paying sector,’ Mische continued, adding that gas and energy prices would increase as a result of the bill.

In December, Newsom announced aggressive actions to punish oil companies for ‘lying and gouging Californians to line their own pockets.’ The comments came after he called on the state’s legislature to develop legislation cracking down on excessive energy price increases, backed Skinner’s legislation and called on the Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications to hold Wednesday’s hearing.

In addition to Mische, Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) president and CEO Catherine Reheis-Boyd also criticized Skinner’s proposed bill during the hearing.

‘Our industry is strongly opposed to Senate Bill X1-2 because it misguidedly focuses on profits, rather than the root cause of price spikes — a lack of supply,’ Reheis-Boyd said. ‘The way to address prices and provide relief at the pump is to increase a reliable and safe supply.’

‘As the California Energy Commission and several state Attorneys General have repeatedly acknowledged, California continues to face serious supply constraints as it relates to crude oil, gasoline, diesel and jet fuel,’ she added. ‘These supply constraints, coupled with demand driven by the world’s fourth-largest economy and 35 million internal combustion engine vehicles, are the primary drivers of fuel costs in the state.’

And Democrats, including leadership, on the committee also expressed concerns with the proposal at the hearing.

‘In our pursuit to address gasoline prices, we must ensure our actions that we take first [do] no harm to consumers,’ state Sen. Steve Bradford said, according to Politico.

‘There is clearly a belief out there among many people that oil companies were profiting off the backs of Californians,’ added state Sen. Dave Min. ‘At the same time, we don’t really have a smoking gun as far as I can see, that shows intentional collusion.’

Following the hearing, Newsom said, ‘Big Oil’s lobbyists again used scare tactics and refused to provide answers or solutions to last year’s price spikes’ and that ‘even in a panel of experts, the oil industry’s influence was on full display.’

‘What we saw from the first hearing was broad support for taking action to prevent future gas price spikes and a strong desire for long-overdue transparency measures,’ Newsom spokesperson Daniel Villaseñor told Fox News Digital.

‘Even with that, Big Oil’s influence was on full display — four of the seven ‘independent’ experts who testified have taken money from the oil industry,’ he continued. ‘We always knew this would be an uphill battle, and it’s one the governor is more than willing to wage.’

Over the course of the last year, California has consistently recorded the highest average gas prices of any state, even surging past $6 per gallon in both June and October, according to data from the Energy Information Administration. While pump prices have fallen considerably in the state over the last two months, at an average of $4.76 a gallon, they are still the highest in the nation, barring Hawaii.

Meanwhile, the state has continued to place restrictions on the oil and gas industry as part of its climate agenda and push to rapidly boost renewable energy supplies.

Petroleum refining capacity, which is required for production of products like gasoline and jet fuel, has fallen by more than 17% in the West Coast region that includes California since it peaked in 2010, according to federal data. Overall, domestic consumption of all fuel types has increased about 5% during that same time period.

‘California consistently is the most expensive state in the nation for gasoline prices due to extensive regulations,’ Patrick De Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, previously told FOX Business in an interview. ‘Unfortunately, it’s the reason why prices are so high. Because politicians in California have chased away investment, they’ve chased away oil refineries.’

‘You compare it to a state like Texas where the oil industry is welcomed and regulatory burdens are much lower and, obviously, gas prices are lower,’ he said. ‘You can’t convince me in a solid argument that oil companies are only ‘gouging’ or profitable in California.’

The fallout from the toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio this month has given Americans a preview of what might come in the upcoming 2024 presidential race, as the environmental disaster has become the backdrop in the battle between current and potential Republican candidates seeking the White House, and President Biden.

The ongoing situation in the small town barely a mile from the Pennsylvania border has attracted national attention, including criticism of the Biden administration over its handling of the disaster and sharp rhetoric from candidates clamoring to help the residents.

‘You are not forgotten. We stand with you. We pray for you. And we will stand with you and your fight to help ensure the accountability that you deserve,’ former President Donald Trump told a crowd of local leaders, first responders and media gathered at a fire station in East Palestine earlier this week.

Trump, who was the first candidate to announce and  launch a 2024 campaign, handed out bottled water to residents, some of whom remain skeptical of drinking tapwater following the controlled release of chemicals from the derailed train that ultimately lead to thousands of animal deaths in the water and on land. He also used the opportunity to take swipes at Biden and his administration.

‘I sincerely hope that when your representatives and all of the politicians get here, including Biden, they get back from touring Ukraine, that he’s got some money left over,’ Trump said, while also slamming the administration for denying disaster relief funds to the town.

Biden has yet to visit East Palestine following the disaster, and was heavily criticized earlier this week for failing to do so prior to taking a scheduled trip to Europe with a surprise visit to Ukraine to show support for the country amid its ongoing war with Russia.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg did visit the disaster site this week, though he faced ridicule for appearing in the town Thursday, weeks after the initial derailment on Feb. 3.

During his visit, Buttigieg bashed Trump and other Republicans, appearing to blame them for the disaster despite facing the intense backlash over his own performance.

‘You know, this is somebody who as far as I know never went to a derailment site when one of those happens on his watch. And there were thousands. Even ones with fatalities. Never even sent his transportation secretary to go. Now that it’s campaign season, I guess things are different. We were there to work. We were there to get things done,’ he said during a Thursday appearance on MSNBC.

Trump is so far the only declared presidential candidate to visit the disaster site, though former U.N. Ambassador and Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, as well as a number of other potential candidates, also chimed in, lining up to slam the president for failing to visit.

‘I would have gone to East Palestine before I went to Kyiv,’ former Vice President Mike Pence said during a Wednesday appearance on Fox News.

Marianne Williamson, the first Democrat expected to launch a bid to challenge Biden in 2024, has been vocal about the situation in East Palestine but has not directly criticized the president over his administration’s response.

Biden has yet to formally launch a re-election campaign, but has said for months that he ‘intends to run.’

Fox News’ Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.

The Missouri Supreme Court on Friday appointed Judge John P. Torbitzky of the Eastern District of Missouri Court of Appeals to adjudicate the legal action by state’s attorney general to remove St. Louis circuit attorney Kim Gardner from her post because she neglected the duties of her office.

Attorney General Andrew Bailey on Thursday filed a petition quo warranto, which is the legal mechanism under state law that allows the attorney general to remove a prosecutor who neglects his or her duties. Bailey will have to show Judge Torbitzky that Gardner neglected her duties and should be removed, and the decision is up to Torbitzky.

Bailey claims that Gardner was negligent, particularly in a prosecution case against 21-year-old Daniel Riley, who had been out on bail after violating his bond multiple times. Over the weekend, Riley struck teenager Janae Edmondson, who had been visiting St. Louis with her family on Saturday to play in a volleyball tournament.

Police say Riley was speeding, failed to yield and caused a collision, ultimately striking and pinning Edmondson, who remains in the hospital after both her legs were amputated after sustaining injuries from the crash. Bailey says Gardner is responsible for Riley’s release on bond, but Gardner on Thursday denied that claim and said she had told one judge to revoke Riley’s bond.

In response to Bailey’s petition, all St. Louis circuit judges recused themselves from the legal battle, citing conflicts, which means they could not be chosen to adjudicate the matter.

‘An actual conflict exists for each judge. Further, there is an appearance of impropriety for each judge. Therefore, 22nd circuit hereby recuses itself,’ presiding judge Elizabeth Hogan said in a court order on Thursday evening.

Bailey says this move is ‘significant’ because now those judges are potential witnesses against Gardner as the process moves ahead under Judge Torbitzky.

‘[T]hese judges are potential witnesses for my case, and who better to testify to willful neglect than judges who adjudicate claims of willful neglect?’ Bailey added.

Bailey says the next step in the case will likely be a preliminary hearing to set the table and a timeline for the case, followed by a brief discovery period, which will then lead to a court hearing.

‘It will be like a standard bench trial, where I’ll have the burden of proof to prove under a civil standard, willful neglect in office. And she will then have the opportunity to cross-examine that evidence, and put on her own evidence if she wishes, and then the judge hearing the case will decide whether or not I met my burden of proof,’ Bailey explained.

Bailey says that as recently as in her press conference on Thursday, Gardner has been dishonest about her office’s action in the prosecution. When questioned by a reporter why there is no record of her office making requests of the court to revoke Riley’s bond, said that her office did so ‘orally.’

But Bailey said no such request appears in the transcript of any court hearing.

‘So when the circuit attorney is saying she did things, we have evidence that those statements are false, and misleading, and flat untrue,’ Bailey said.

Bailey said that it’s possible a judge could decide to remove Gardner from her post while the legal proceedings play out.

‘We are hopeful that a judge will remove her immediately . . . and then she can have her day in court after that,’ Bailey said. ‘Because at the end of the day for us, the circuit attorney has to go the rule of law, and justice has to be restored to the city of St. Louis,’ he added.

The Kentucky Senate voted Friday to provide teachers with liability insurance coverage as a cushion against financial losses when forced to defend themselves against work-related lawsuits.

The bill would require Kentucky school districts to provide teachers with primary liability insurance coverage amounting to at least $1 million. The coverage would protect educators from civil legal actions ‘arising in the course and scope’ of performing their school duties.

‘In this litigious society that we live in, teachers throughout the commonwealth are faced with the prospect of having legal claims asserted against them by parents of students and potentially from others,’ said Republican Sen. Max Wise, the bill’s lead sponsor.

‘And often these claims have no merit, but the teachers are required to engage an attorney at great cost to defend against these claims,’ he added.

Senators passed the bill on a 32-0 vote, sending it to the House.

Senate Bill 3 would offer a second layer of coverage by establishing the Educators Employment Liability Insurance Program. within the state education department. The program would provide excess liability insurance coverage for teachers defending themselves against legal claims.

Both layers of insurance would be provided at no cost to teachers.

A funding request to support the liability insurance protection initiative will come next year, when lawmakers craft the state’s next two-year budget, Wise said,

The effort to extend liability insurance protection to educators comes amid discussions about how to overcome a shortage of classroom teachers in Kentucky. Wise said his bill would help attract and retain teachers by ‘providing them with comfort that they will be protected from legal liability and legal fees for their conduct while performing their duties educating our children.’

The liability coverage would not protect teachers against allegations of criminal conduct.

Environmental activist Erin Brockovich has arrived in East Palestine three weeks after the disastrous train derailment that devastated the small Ohio community to work with the victims so ‘they can get justice, know their legal rights, and so we can hold the railroad accountable.’

In a tweet, Brockovich announced her arrival to East Palestine and her plan to hold a town hall meeting on Friday, Feb. 24. at 6 p.m. to work with the victim’s of the disaster. The 5,000 residents in the small Ohio community are facing devastating damages after a Norfolk South train carrying toxic chemicals derailed, causing an ecological disaster. 

As an environment activist, Brockovich is best known for her film ‘Erin Brockovich’ which shares her involvement in a lawsuit against PG&E.

Her visit comes after U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and former President Donald Trump both made stops in East Palestine to address the train derailment earlier this week. However, Brockovich has made it clear that her visit is not political, tweeting, ‘I don’t care who you voted for, when crisis hits, we are all Americans, we are all human beings.’

Instead of focusing on President Biden’s absence from the disaster site, Brockovich has spent her time talking with local East Palestine residents about their concerns following the derailment.

In East Palestine, Brockovich tweeted images of her talking with the ‘wonderful people’ and sharing their experiences. 

‘@keithricheal074 lives 5 blocks from the derailment in #EastPalenstine, and he says local police knocked on his door the night of the derailment to warn them.’ Brockovich tweeted Thursday. ‘He says he’s worried about what will happen to his dogs months from now if they go outside and eat the grass.’

Today, Brockovich posted an image of visible oil in East Palestine water with the caption, ‘Taken today!! ‘All Clear’ My A–!’

Her tweet comes after Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine on Tuesday visited East Palestine homes and drank tap water from each in an effort to reassure residents that their water supply was safe for human consumption.

Last week, Brockovich was tweeting about the Ohio train derailment calling for the Biden Administration to ‘STEP UP NOW.’ 

‘The Biden administration needs to get more involved in this #PalestineOhio train derailment now.’ Brockovich shared on Monday, Feb. 13. 

She also criticized Republican Sen. J.D. Vance for his response to the situation sharing, ‘Hold them responsible. Hold them all responsible.’

Last week, the Ohio Senator set Twitter ablaze after sharing a video on Twitter of him scraping the bottom of a local creek bed with a stick, which appeared to show ‘chemicals coming out of the ground.’

‘There are dead worms and dead fish all throughout this water,’ Vance said in the video as he stood next to Leslie Run Creek in East Palestine, Ohio.

‘This is disgusting,’ he said. 

A preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board did not offer an exact cause of the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment but outlined several operational concerns.

‘Surveillance video from a local residence showed what appeared to be a wheel bearing in the final stage of overheat failure moments before the derailment,’ the report said. ‘The wheel bearing and affected wheelset have been collected as evidence and will be examined by the NTSB.’