EXCLUSIVE: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday rolled out a list of more than a dozen school board members he plans to target in 2024 to protect Florida students and parents from ‘woke’ ideologies seeping into classrooms across the Sunshine State, Fox News Digital has learned.

DeSantis met with Florida House Speaker Paul Renner, Moms for Liberty co-founders Tina Descovich and Tiffany Justice and key leaders in Florida’s school board reform movement in a Tuesday morning meeting.

During that strategy session, DeSantis unveiled his initial 2024 school board target list, which features 14 school board members across the state who ‘do not protect parental rights and have failed to protect students from woke ideologies.’

The school board members DeSantis plans to target are from Brevard County, Duval County, Hillsborough County, Indian River County, Miami-Dade County, Pinellas County, Volusia County and Sarasota County.

Fox News Digital has learned that, ahead of 2024, DeSantis will work with key leaders in the state’s school board reform movement to identify the first round of opportunities to recruit new candidates to serve on boards across Florida.

‘Our children’s education is a no-fail mission. We will continue to support Florida school board candidates who promote the components of a world-class education and defeat those that are focused on the latest ideological trends,’ Renner said in a statement to Fox News Digital. ‘Make no mistake, we intend to win as Florida’s future is too important.’

Descovich and Justice said in a statement to Fox News Digital that DeSantis’ leadership in education and focus on school board races ‘has been a game changer for Florida.’

‘He is building the model for how governors should champion parental rights in every state in the country,’ they said. ‘We are so thankful for his willingness to take on this fight!’

DeSantis, who began his second term as governor of Florida last month, launched the ‘DeSantis Education Agenda’ in 2022, a 10-point ‘student-first, parent-centered’ initiative to ensure parental rights in education.

It was also established to prevent the ‘woke agenda’ from infiltrating Florida’s public schools.

DeSantis’ agenda is for school board candidates and board members who ‘are committed to advancing these priorities at the local school board level.’

The agenda calls for keeping schools opened and rejecting lockdowns, educating and not indoctrinating, ensuring parental rights and keeping ‘woke gender ideology out of schools,’ supporting civics education, expanding workforce development and technical education, rejecting the use of critical race theory in the curriculum, increasing teacher pay, continuing support for school security and mental health initiatives, and protecting and guaranteeing the right of parents to petition school boards with regard to curriculum.

Last year, DeSantis invited school board candidates to run directly on his agenda and apply for endorsements. Last cycle, the governor endorsed 30 candidates in the primary and another four in the general election.

Across the state, DeSantis invested more than $2 million in the targeted races. His office told Fox News Digital that he made his ‘entire political operation available to the candidates, offering trainings on policy, communications and field operations.’

In total, 29 out of DeSantis’ 34 endorsed candidates won their races and serve on school boards across the Sunshine State.

In his inaugural address last month, DeSantis vowed more education reforms in his second term, saying that Florida ‘must always be a great place to raise a family.’

‘We will defend our children against those who seek to rob them of their innocence,’ DeSantis said, adding that Floridians ‘reject this woke ideology.’

‘We seek normalcy, not philosophical lunacy,’ DeSantis said. ‘Florida is where woke goes to die.’

Democrats in the House and Senate said Tuesday that they were ‘deeply disappointed’ by a new Biden administration policy that aims to restrict the ability of some migrants to claim asylum after illegally crossing into the U.S.

‘We are deeply disappointed that the Administration has chosen to move forward with publishing this proposed rule, which only perpetuates the harmful myth that asylum seekers are a threat to this nation,’ Sens. Bob Menendez, D-NJ, Cory Booker, D-NJ, Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M and Alex Padilla, D-Calif., said in a statement. ‘In reality, they are pursuing a legal pathway in the United States. We have an obligation to protect vulnerable migrants under domestic and international law and should not leave vulnerable migrants stranded in countries unable to protect them. We urge President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas to reverse course and pave a better path forward that protects the right to asylum while addressing the real operational challenges at our Southern Border.’

The administration announced the new proposed rule on Tuesday to deal with the upcoming end of Title 42 — which has been used to expel hundreds of thousands of migrants due to the COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020. The rule is scheduled to end on May 11 with the end of the public health emergency and has renewed fears of a fresh migrant surge on top of the already historic number at the border.

To replace the order, the administration is proposing a rule which makes migrants automatically ineligible for asylum if they have crossed into the U.S. illegally and have not sought asylum in a country through which they have already traveled.

Unaccompanied children would be exempt, and there would be other factors that could rebut the presumption, including an acute medical emergency, being a trafficking victim and facing an ‘extreme and imminent’ threat to life or safety.

Migrants can still enter the U.S. to claim asylum if they have been denied by a third country, if they present themselves at a port of entry after scheduling an appointment via the new CBP One App or if they are paroled into the U.S. The policy would be a temporary one, and in place for two years.

The policy is in some ways similar to the ‘transit ban’ which was proposed by the Trump administration and ultimately blocked by the courts. Administration officials rejected comparisons to the transit ban, citing the existence and expansion of legal pathways available to migrants.

However, immigration activists have fumed over the policy and a lawsuit is likely. Democrats in both chambers were similarly unhappy with the move.

‘We are deeply disappointed in the Biden administration’s proposal to limit access to asylum,’ House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, who served as ranking member on the immigration subcommittee, said in a statement.

‘The ability to seek asylum is a bedrock principle protected by federal law and should never be violated,’ the lawmakers said. We should not be restricting legal pathways to enter the United States, we should be expanding them,’ Nadler and Jayapal said. ‘Last month, we saw the positive impact new legal pathways can have on irregular migration. We hope the Biden administration will reconsider much of this proposed rule.’

The lawmakers referred to measures rolled out last month, which included a humanitarian parole program to allow up to 30,000 migrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti to be paroled into the U.S. if they met certain conditions like having a sponsor and passing background checks. It was also accompanied by an expansion of Title 42 to include those nationalities.

‘We are a nation of immigrants, and we are a nation of laws. We are strengthening the availability of legal, orderly pathways for migrants to come to the United States, at the same time proposing new consequences on those who fail to use processes made available to them by the United States and its regional partners,’ Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement on Tuesday.

‘As we have seen time and time again, individuals who are provided a safe, orderly, and lawful path to the United States are less likely to risk their lives traversing thousands of miles in the hands of ruthless smugglers, only to arrive at our southern border and face the legal consequences of unlawful entry,’ he said.

The administration has pointed to a decrease in numbers crossing illegally between December and January as proof that the measures are working, while also saying the move needs to be accompanied by congressional action. 

Both the administration and Democratic lawmakers have called on Republicans to back an immigration reform framework, but the GOP have rejected it due to the inclusion of a mass amnesty for illegal immigrants already in the country.

Republicans, meanwhile, have blamed the ongoing migrant crisis on the Biden administration’s policies — particularly its moves to rollback Trump-era border protections. In the House, lawmakers have raised the possibility of impeaching Mayorkas over the crisis.
 

ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, funneled six-figure contributions to nonprofits aligned with the congressional Black and Hispanic Caucuses, disclosures show.

ByteDance donated $150,000 to both the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Foundation in December, its lobbying contribution report shows. It also transferred smaller amounts of $75,000 to the Asian Pacific Institute for Congressional Studies in December and $35,000 to the right-leaning Ripon Society last summer.

The Beijing-based company reported the donations as honoring congressional members on the nonprofits’ aligned Black, Hispanic, and Asian Pacific American Caucuses, the disclosures show. Additionally, they honored the Ripon Society’s congressional advisory board, which includes numerous Republican lawmakers.

ByteDance moved the cash as it faces national security concerns and ban threats in the United States. Critics say the Chinese government could access user data – such as browsing history and location – and push communist propaganda through the app. 

It’s unclear why ByteDance’s most significant donations went to the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. The company did not respond to a Fox News Digital inquiry on its donations, and the nonprofits who received cash did not respond to requests for comment.

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, established in 1976 by its caucus members, works to ‘advance the global Black community by developing leaders, informing policy, and educating the public,’ according to its website.

The foundation’s board of directors now includes several Democratic politicians, including Reps. Terri Sewell of Alabama, Troy Carter of Louisiana, Colin Allred of Texas, and Dwight Evans of Pennsylvania. 

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, meanwhile, was formed in 1978 by its caucus members. It now provides ‘leadership, public service, and policy experiences to outstanding Latino/a/x students and young professionals, and convenes Members of Congress and other public officials, corporate executives, nonprofit advocates, and thought leaders to discuss issues facing the nation and the Hispanic community,’ its website states.

The institute’s board of directors includes Democratic Reps. Adriano Espaillat of New York, Ben Ray Luján of Nevada, Darren Soto of Florida, and Tony Cárdenas, Nanette Barragán, and Norma Torres of California. Its advisory council has several other federal politicians, such as Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Joaquin Castro of Texas.

ByteDance’s nonprofit donations, which Sludge first reported, occurred as the company and its subsidiaries spent $5.4 million on lobbying activities in the U.S., its highest yearly amount yet. In 2021, the company had shelled out nearly $5.2 million on its influence campaign, its previous high. 

‘Our team in D.C. is focused on educating lawmakers about our company and our service, which is loved by millions of Americans and is creating economic opportunities for small businesses and individual creators,’ a TikTok spokesperson told Fox News Digital in January. ‘We plan to continue briefing members of Congress about the details of our robust and comprehensive plans to address their national security concerns.’

Fears surrounding the popular social media site grew following a report last year that showed a TikTok team in China accessed data of U.S. TikTok users, including two journalists. ByteDance fired four employees over the matter.

‘The evidence that China is using TikTok to spy on and influence American citizens is clear, and it only keeps mounting as time goes on,’ Republican Florida Sen. Marco Rubio wrote in a Fox News Digital op-ed last month.

‘Moreover, Beijing’s influence on ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, is undeniable. Not only does Chinese law compel ByteDance to hand over data at a moment’s notice, but the Chinese government also holds an ownership stake in the tech giant’s key domestic subsidiary.’

An increasing number of states are at least partially banning TikTok. Congress prohibited TikTok’s use on federal government devices in the omnibus bill President Biden signed into law. The U.S. armed forces have also banned TikTok on military devices.

While the effort to restrict TikTok has been bipartisan, Democrats still predominantly use the app on their personal devices. A States Newsroom analysis found that at least 32 members of Congress – all Democrats and one independent – had TikTok accounts as of early January. At least half of those members either ‘currently sit or have previously served on committees dealing with foreign affairs, the U.S. military, investigations and national security.’ 

TikTok has reportedly offered to increase its transparency by granting U.S. officials oversight of its algorithms as part of a $1.5 billion reorganization of its U.S. operations in an attempt to avoid sweeping U.S. bans. 

Fox News’ Jessica Chasmar and Breck Dumas contributed to this report.

A U.S. Department of Defense server was left exposed for the past two weeks, allowing internal emails to be accessed, a senior U.S. defense official confirmed with Fox News.

A misconfiguration with a Department of Defense server hosted on Microsoft Azure’s government cloud allowed the server to be accessed with a password, according to Tech Crunch, which reported that anyone with internet access could access mailbox data if they knew the server’s IP address and were using a web browser.

The server contained around three terabytes of military emails, with many related to the U.S. Special Operations Command, which is a military unit that conducts special operations.

According to the report, the emails inside the server appear to date years back and contain personal information, according to the report.

For example, one of the files left exposed contained a completed SF-86 questionnaire, which is a form filled out by government employees attempting to obtain a security clearance. The form asks for information such as the applicant’s Social Security number, address, as well as personal information of people that the applicant knows well.

The report states that none of the data hosted on the exposed server appears to be classified.

Tech Crunch reports that the exposed server was secured on Monday afternoon, about a day after it first reached out to the Pentagon.

U.S. Special Operations Command spokesman Ken McGraw told Tech Crunch in a statement, ‘We can confirm at this point is no one hacked U.S. Special Operations Command’s information systems.’

Fox News Digital reached out to Microsoft for comment.

Nebraska’s chief Supreme Court justice is warning lawmakers that staff shortages in the state’s judiciary branch and untenable backlogs in the mental health evaluations of those charged with crimes need to be addressed.

Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Heavican said in his annual State of the Judiciary address Tuesday that at last count in July, 12% of judicial staff jobs were vacant.

‘Many have retired, and some have been lured away by better-paying jobs in county or city governments or the private sector,’ he said.

Despite the Legislature’s recent approval of salary increases for about one-third of judicial branch staffers, courts have begun implementing ‘extraordinary measures’ to fill those vacancies, Heavican said, including giving hiring and referral bonuses and retention benefits. The branch is also offering programs for more career advancement opportunities.

Heavican highlighted the court system’s probation services, noting that in the nearly 40 years that Nebraska’s probation system has been overseen by the Nebraska Supreme Court, it has transformed into an office that ‘actively case manages its clients,’ providing job training, substance abuse and mental health treatment.

There are about 14,000 adults and 2,500 juveniles on probation in the state, he said, adding that the annual average cost of supervision of an adult on probation is about $5,500 compared with $42,000 for an adult in prison.

‘If even a fraction of the 14,000 adult probationers were instead incarcerated, this body would need to build more than one new prison,’ he said.

The chief justice also called on lawmakers to address a shortage of access to 24-hour mental health facilities, which weighs heavily on law enforcement and the judicial branch.

‘Unfortunately, county jails are the default 24-hour facility if such services are lacking,’ he said.

Heavican also addressed ‘the ongoing and longstanding problem’ of inadequate services to evaluate criminal defendants to determine if they are mentally fit enough to stand trial.

‘The Lincoln Regional Center currently has a six-month backlog to perform such evaluations,’ he said. ‘This problem has festered for years and needs a resource supplement.’

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell, a Democrat, was caught making an obscene hand gesture during a parade event in the city on Saturday ahead of this week’s Lundi Gras and Mardi Gras celebrations.

During the Krewe of Tucks parade, Cantrell was captured on video outside the city’s historic Gallier Hall at a viewing stand speaking into a microphone and giving a raised middle finger to what appears to be people on one of the passing floats.

‘We love you. God bless you. I’ll see you. Happy Mardi Gras. Enjoy the ride. So glad your ride was good. Love you,’ Cantrell can be heard saying in the video, immediately before making the gesture.

It’s unclear why Cantrell made the gesture. Her communications director Gregory Joseph told local Fox outlet WVUE that it was intended to be playful.

‘Mardi Gras is a time where satire and jest are on full display,’ he said. ‘The City has been enjoying a safe and healthy Carnival and is looking forward continuing the celebration on Lundi Gras and Mardi Gras.’

Fox News Digital reached out to Cantrell’s office for comment but didn’t immediately receive a response.

Cantrell has already been under scrutiny in recent weeks after being accused of having an affair with a police officer formerly assigned to her. The officer was removed from his position on her detail following the discovery of irregularities in his pay.

Cantrell denied the allegations, attributed them to sexism, and claimed they wouldn’t have been made if she were a man. The officer’s wife, however, claimed in a divorce petition that her husband admitted to the affair.

WVUE and WDSU, another local outlet, independently verified that the unnamed woman in the petition was indeed the mayor.

Former Wisconsin Gov. Tony Earl suffered a stroke this week and is now receiving palliative care, his oldest daughter Julia Earl said Tuesday.

Earl, 86, is a Democrat, who served one term as governor from 1983 to 1987. He was a champion of gay rights and a staunch environmentalist.

Earl was defeated in 1986 by Republican Tommy Thompson. Earl’s political career ended after he lost a Democratic primary race for U.S. Senate in 1988 to Herb Kohl, but he went on to become a leading advocate for campaign and election finance reforms and a champion of environmental causes.

‘Our dad is surrounded by loved ones,’ Julia Earl said in a text message to The Associated Press. ‘He is receiving palliative care and is at peace and painfree. We appreciate the genuine support and love shared by family and friends.’

Current Gov. Tony Evers, during a stop Monday in Eau Claire, said that Earl was ‘seriously ill’ and ‘we’re praying for him.’

‘He’s an extraordinary human being and did a great job as governor and a good leader of the state of Wisconsin,’ WEAU-TV reported Evers as saying about Earl. ‘I saw him maybe a year ago now and he was in good spirits.’

Earl is one of six living former Wisconsin governors. In addition to Thompson, the others are Scott Walker, Jim Doyle, Scott McCallum and Martin Schreiber.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills signed a supplemental budget into law on Tuesday, touting help for nursing homes, hospitals and small businesses.

The Maine Legislature overwhelmingly approved the roughly $40 million in budget adjustments to account for final surplus revenue. Lawmakers spent most of the previous budget surplus on $450 in relief checks that are being mailed to 880,000 Mainers.

Mills thanked the Legislature for bipartisan support and said she hopes that spirit will continue as work progresses on her proposed two-year, $10.3 billion budget.

For now, the supplemental budget that updates the budget that runs through the end of June contains no new programs but includes extra money for a variety of needs including additional funding for long-term care facilities, including nursing homes, and for hospitals. It also includes money to extend through July $50 monthly payments Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan program to workers to sustain affordable health insurance.

Among other things, it also maintains $10 million in the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan for the potential dredging of Portland Harbor.

It authorizes the Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services to increase the hourly rate for attorneys from $80 to $150 per hour.