President Trump announces $500B Black economic empowerment ‘Platinum Plan’

President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event, at the Cobb Galleria Centre, Friday, Sept. 25, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 2:45 PM PT – Friday, September 25, 2020

This week, President Trump announced a $500 billion Black economic empowerment plan. The President unveiled the so-called “Platinum Plan” at an event in Atlanta on Friday.

He touted the plan as an opportunity for “security, prosperity and fairness” for the Black community.

According to the President, the plan will help create 500,000 new Black-owned businesses and 3 million new jobs in African American communities.

It will also designate Antifa and the Ku Klux Klan as terrorist organizations. The Platinum Plan has even pledged to finalize a “Second Step Act” following the success of the President’s first prison reform initiative.

Supporters of President Donald Trump listen as he speaks at a campaign event at the Cobb Galleria Centre, Friday, Sept. 25, 2020, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Trump went on to slam the Democrat Party for how they’ve treat Black voters every election cycle.

“For decades, Democrat politicians like Joe Biden have taken Black voters for granted,” he stated. “They made you big promises before every election and then, the moment they got to Washington, they abandoned you and they sold you out.”

MORE NEWS: New Polls Show President Trump Taking Lead Among Texas, Fla. Voters

 

Trump signs 'born alive' executive order aimed at protecting abortion survivors

 

President Trump signed an executive order Friday ordering the Health and Human Services Department to ensure that federally funded facilities provide life-saving medical care for infants who survive abortions.

Trump announced the measure during an address to the National Catholic Prayer breakfast earlier this week, but was unclear on details. In the released order, the White House specifies that it will enforce the medical care requirement and prioritize funding for programs that either research improvements to life-saving care or train medical personnel to provide that type of treatment.

"Every infant born alive, no matter the circumstances of his or her birth, has the same dignity and the same rights as every other individual and is entitled to the same protections under federal law," the order reads.

The measure was celebrated by pro-life activists, who have coalesced around Trump in the lead-up to November.

The issue featured prominently in Trump's political messaging after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam indicated in 2018 that doctors should be able to refuse life-saving care to infants who survive abortions. Focusing on abortion will likely boost Trump's standing among social conservatives as he prepares to nominate another Supreme Court justice.

Outside of Northam's comments, recently released testimony from David Daleiden's civil trial has revealed that Planned Parenthood saw at least one infant born after an abortion, and may have seen more.

The order was intended to protect individuals like Gianna Jessen who claims to have survived a botched saline abortion. In a video posted this week, Jessen thanked Trump for his efforts.

NARAL Pro-choice America responded to the initial announcement by accusing Trump of misinformation and using a term -- "born alive" -- that's "not grounded in medical science," according to a news release. “It is downright cruel and a slap in the face to the American public that President Trump is deploying dangerous disinformation in a power grab for the Supreme Court, not to mention using executive powers to impose his own extreme ideology when he can’t jam through his agenda legislatively," NARAL President Ilyse Hogue said.

Earlier this year, House Democrats rejected a measure -- the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Act -- that would have applied penalties to doctors who refuse to provide life-saving care. While Democrats have argued existing law protects infants, that particular law has been touted as a way to ensure infants receive care.

Jacqueline Ayers, a vice president at Planned Parenthood Action Fund, argued Trump was trying to solve a "nonexistent" problem. “Health care providers already have an obligation to provide appropriate medical care," she said.

Former President George W. Bush passed the Born Alive Infant Protection Act in his first term, clarifying that infants born at any stage deserve the same protection as anyone else. Trump's order applies that law and EMTALA, which mandates emergency medical care, as benchmarks for whether federally-funded programs are in compliance.

"Despite these laws," the order says, "some hospitals refuse the required medical screening examination and stabilizing treatment or otherwise do not provide potentially life-saving medical treatment to extremely premature or disabled infants, even when parents plead for such treatment."

"Hospitals might refuse to provide treatment to extremely premature infants -- born alive before 24 weeks of gestation -- because they believe these infants may not survive, may have to live with long-term disabilities, or may have a quality-of-life deemed to be inadequate.  Active treatment of extremely premature infants has, however, been shown to improve their survival rates."

Justice Dept. calls on SF to end 'draconian' coronavirus rules for houses of worship

The Justice Department on Friday called on San Francisco Mayor London Breed to increase the allowable capacity in houses of worship, accusing the city of impeding on “religious freedom” amid the coronavirus.

In a three-page letter, Assistant Attorney General Eric S. Dreiband and U.S.attorney David Anderson of the Northern District of California called San Francisco’s policy of allowing just one congregant inside at a time “draconian.”

The letter acknowledged the city has the obligation to protect its residents from the deadly virus, but added, “there is no pandemic exception for the Constitution.”

“Even in times of emergency, when reasonable, narrowly-tailored, and temporary restrictions may lawfully limit our liberty, the First Amendment and federal statutory law continue to prohibit discrimination against religious institutions and religious believers,” Dreiband and Anderson wrote. “These principles are legally binding, and the Constitution’s unyielding protections for religious worshipers distinguish the United States of America from places dominated by tyranny and despotism.”

The letter said the one-worshipper-at-a-time order gives “no reasoned explanation why its one-size-fits-all limit on indoor religious gatherings, regardless of size, is necessary or appropriate.”

The Justice Department said the city's restrictions give preferential treatment to places like barbershops, nail salons, massage locations, tattoo parlors, gyms, shops and even childcare facilities, which can have up to 12 children indoors “even though children in a childcare center are together in an enclosed space for much longer than those attending a typical religious service.”

San Francisco Mayor London Breed speaks to reporters Jan. 15, 2020. (Getty Images)

They wrote the rules "plainly discriminate against people of faith and their ability to gather and practice their faith at churches, synagogues, mosques, and other houses of worship. Put simply, there is no scientific or legal justification for permitting a 20,000 square foot synagogue to admit only one worshipper while allowing a tattoo parlor to accommodate as many patrons as it can fit so long as they are six feet apart."

They said they understood the city plans to increase worship attendance by up to 25 people by the end of the month, but said that would still “burden religious exercise,” especially for larger houses of worship.

They said the Justice Department is reviewing its options and could take further action to protect “religious liberty rights.”

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera responded by citing the city’s low infection numbers relative to other large cities, adding “We must be doing something right.”

Herrera said with more than 200,000 Americans dead from the virus, the federal government “should focus on an actual pandemic response instead of lobbing careless legal threats. San Francisco is opening up at the speed of safety."

He said the city already plans to expand capacity for religious gatherings “beyond what is described in the federal government’s letter. It's consistent with San Francisco’s careful approach and follows closely behind what the State of California allows," according to FOX 2 of the Bay Area.

 

Sen. Thom Tillis says North Carolina's mail-in voting changes pose 'grave concerns'

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., this week warned he has “grave concerns” over North Carolina’s mail-in voting process after several tentative changes were made, including allowing more time for ballots to arrive after Election Day in November.

“I have said in the last two debates that I trusted the absentee ballot system in North Carolina, until yesterday,” Tillis said on a radio show, according to the News & Observer of Raleigh. “And now, I have grave concerns about North Carolina Board of Elections, non-legislators."

Tillis said the board of elections has “undermined the integrity of the process in North Carolina. It’s a sad day.”

U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C. speaks during a televised debate with Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham at WNCN-TV in Raleigh, N.C., Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020. (Associated Press)

The bipartisan North Carolina State Board of Elections on Tuesday unanimously agreed to a settlement in a lawsuit on behalf of retirees. The settlement still needs to be approved by a judge.

On Wednesday, the board’s two Republican members resigned, claiming they were misled about the changes.

Damon Circosta, chairman of the Board of Elections, said Thursday, “Our board, both Democrats and Republicans, agreed unanimously to make these commonsense changes to our process amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We have ensured that our election process is secure and accessible.”

A spokesperson for the board of elections added that the members were briefed by lawyers on the changes and given “thorough legal memos” before each meeting.

Along with allowing for mail-in ballots that arrive days after Nov. 3 to be counted, the settlement also gives voters the chance to fix a ballot mistake with a sworn affidavit and provides drop boxes for ballots if voters want to avoid mailing them.

Voters have long been able to track their ballots online.

During his Tuesday debate with Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham, Tillis said he encouraged everybody to vote by mail. He even challenged Cunningham, who said he planned to vote early in-person, to vote that way. Tillis has been slightly behind Cunningham is most polls.

Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, a Republican who is running against the state’s Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, also voiced his concerns over the changes and has asked the Trump administration to investigate state Democrats over the issue.

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein called Republicans’ protestations “political theater at its most destructive. ...The Republican Party needs to start respecting democracy, instead of undermining it,” he told the News & Observer.

More than 1 million North Carolinians have requested mail-in ballots for the November election as the country grapples with how to hold an election during the coronavirus pandemic.

 

Coronavirus Mask Cartoons

 

Florida's DeSantis may combat 'draconian' college coronavirus rules with student 'bill of rights'

 

Dr. Nicole Saphier, author of 'Make America Healthy Again;' Dr. Dyan Hes, pediatrician; and Dr. Kathleen Berchelmann, pediatrician, join 'Fox and Friends.'

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday balked at what he described as “incredibly draconian” university policies in the state, claiming they punish students for attending large gatherings amid the coronavirus, according to reports.

The Republican suggested he might be open to a student “bill of rights” and said the state was looking into options to protect students, FOX 35 in Orlando and Politico reported.

The governor’s comments came as some colleges across the country and in Florida have had to close their campuses soon after reopening because of coronavirus clusters attributed to student parties.

Some colleges, including Florida State University in Tallahassee, have threatened to suspend or even expel students who attend large parties in violation of school rules.

“I personally think it’s incredibly draconian that a student would get potentially expelled for going to a party,” DeSantis said at a Tallahassee news conference about public health. “That’s what college kids do.”

In a letter to students last week, Florida State University President John Thrasher wrote, “Noncompliance with the expectations outlined in our Fall 2020 plan will not be tolerated. We must demonstrate our commitment to each other and this great university by doing everything we can to stop the spread of COVID-19.”

That included attending large gatherings and failing to isolate if a student test positive for the virus.

“Students should be on campus,” Harvard University Medical School Professor of Medicine Dr. Martin Kulldorff, who was part of the news conference, said. “They should go. If they get sick, they should maybe stay in the dorm room until they are well if they have a cough. Colleges should operate more or less normally.”

Florida State has seen more than 2,100 students and staff test positive since March and the University of Florida in Gainesville has had more than 700 students and staff contract the virus, FOX 35 reported.

“We’ve got to be reasonable about this and really focus the efforts on where the most significant risk is,” DeSantis said, according to Politico.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar's security agent tests positive for coronavirus: report

 

A member of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar's security team tested positive for the coronavirus this week, according to a report.

Azar, who has regular contact with President Trump and was with him in North Carolina on Thursday -- for the president's announcement of his health care plan -- was tested following the revelation, Politico reported, citing two sources.

The Health and Human Services Department also took other measures to prevent the virus from spreading, such as deep-cleaning the headquarters, according to Politico.

"Secretary Azar practices social distancing guidelines as recommended by the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and wears a cloth face mask in any setting where social distancing isn’t possible," a spokesperson for Azar, who couldn’t confirm the agent's test results, told Politico. "Furthermore, he is tested regularly for COVID-19 before attending meetings at the White House and the results of all tests have been negative.”

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar delivers a speech at National Taiwan University College of Public Health in Taipei, Taiwan in August. (Associated Press)

"The health and safety of our agents and the people they protect is of utmost importance," Tesia Williams, a spokeswoman for the department's inspector general, said. The inspector general oversees Azar's security detail. "To that end, our agents follow the recommended guidelines to limit the transmission of the virus."

The outlet didn't report whether Azar tested positive or negative.

Azar on Thursday also said politics would not influence how fast a coronavirus vaccine is produced and distributed in reference to Trump’s claims that one could be ready before the November election.

The health secretary said he would be “first in line” to get a vaccine when its available and recommended for him.

“I will ask my family members to do the same from an FDA, gold standard-authorized or approved vaccine,” he told the “Today” show.

DOJ orders Pennsylvania county to change ballot practices after 'troubling' findings

Little Democrat Lady?

The presidential election is less than eight weeks away and all eyes are on battleground states like Pennsylvania. Board of Elections officials there are anticipating at least 50 percent of voters will vote by mail.

The Justice Department sent a letter to a Pennsylvania county on Thursday, ordering it to change its practices after multiple military ballots were found discarded.

The issue surfaced earlier in the day when the DOJ announced that it had recovered a small number of discarded ballots. While the Justice Department would not say where they had found the ballots, they did say there were nine recovered -- seven of which were cast for President Trump, while the other two were sealed by Luzerne County before the FBI recovered them,

In his letter to Luzerne County officials, U.S. attorney David Freed indicated that additional ballot materials were found in a dumpster. Freed said their investigation yielded "troubling" findings, including that the county allegedly improperly opened ballots.

"Even though your staff has made some attempts to reconstitute certain of the improperly opened ballots, there is no guarantee that any of these votes will be counted in the general election. In addition, our investigation has revealed that all or nearly all envelopes received in the elections office were opened as a matter of course," Freed's letter read.

"It was explained to investigators the envelopes used for official overseas, military, absentee and mail-in ballot requests are so similar, that the staff believed that adhering to the protocol of preserving envelopes unopened would cause them to miss such ballot requests. Our interviews further revealed that this issue was a problem in the primary election--therefore a known issue--and that the problem has not been corrected," he added.

"While the assigned investigators are continuing their work including reviewing additional discarded materials, it is imperative that the issues identified be corrected."

On Monday, Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis requested the investigation, which involves cooperation with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office. Her office claims it opened an investigation after hearing about issues surrounding the ballots last week, on Sept. 17.

Freed said that in additon to the military ballots, "investigators recovered four (4) apparently official, bar-coded, absentee ballot envelopes that were empty. Two (2) of those envelopes had the completed attestations and signatures on the reverse side.  One (1) envelope with a handwritten return address was blank on the reverse side. The fourth empty envelope contains basic location information and the words “affirmation enclosed” on the reverse side."

The majority of the recovered materials, he said, were found in an outside dumpster.

In a statement provided to Fox News, Chief County Solicitor Romilda P. Crocamo said: "Luzerne County thanks the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office, the United States Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Pennsylvania State Police for quickly accepting our request and for their professional work in this matter. The County will continue to work in cooperation with the authorities throughout their review. Due to the fact that this is an ongoing investigation, it is not appropriate for the County to provide further comment at this time."

The incident touched on widespread concerns about election integrity amid social distancing restrictions that arose during the coronavirus. "It is the vital duty of government to ensure that every properly cast vote is counted," DOJ's release read.

Republicans have generally resisted calls for mail-in ballots due to concerns surrounding potential fraud and error. Democrats have pushed the mail-in alternative as a way to ensure voters can cast their ballots safely -- although Axios reported on Thursday that party leaders are increasingly pushing in-person voting.

That could be especially problematic for swing states like Pennsylvania, which Trump won by less than a percentage point.

Luzerne has been held up as an example of Trump's appeal to swing voters. He won the mid-state county after former President Obama won it during 2008 and 2012.

State election officials recently sounded the alarm that thousands of votes could be tossed out in November after a state Supreme Court ruling last week that "naked ballots" cannot be counted.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The Court ruled that officials in the battleground state can reject mail-in ballots sent without a secrecy envelope, which prevents the poll workers from seeing how someone voted. The ruling rescinded previous guidance allowing counties to count "naked ballots," or those ballots not placed in the proper security envelope.

More than 100,000 ballots could be thrown out as a result of the decision, according to Lisa Deeley, the chair of the Philadelphia city commissioners. President Trump won Pennsylvania by just more than 44,000 votes during the 2016 election.

Fox News' Megan Henney contributed to this report.