New Hampshire’s state police and the attorney general’s criminal bureau were subpoenaed by the lawyers for hundreds of people who say they were abused at a state-run youth detention center and are now demanding information they say has been deliberately withheld.

Close to 850 men and women have sued the state since early 2020 alleging they were sexually, physically or emotionally abused as children at the Sununu Youth Services Center, formerly called the Youth Development Center. The first lawsuit was filed six months after the state launched a broad criminal investigation into the facility in Manchester.

That case is not expected to go to trial until March 2024. Meanwhile, 10 former workers were charged in April 2021 with either sexually assaulting or acting as accomplices to the assault of more than a dozen teenagers from 1994 to 2007, while an 11th man faces charges related to a pre-trial facility in Concord. Six trials have been scheduled between this summer and July 2024.

The subpoenas delivered Wednesday order criminal bureau and state police officials to appear at a deposition on May 15 or provide all materials related to the investigation and prosecution of the former workers and any information disclosed to their defense lawyers.

Attorney Rus Rilee, who expects to file another 150 lawsuits soon, said his clients simply want access to the same information that has been given to their abusers. The lawsuits filed so far allege abuse by 150 staffers from 1960 to 2018, including gang rapes, forcing children to fight each other for food, and locking them in solitary confinement for weeks or months.

‘It has become clear that the state has no real intention of prosecuting all of its abusive employees, so our clients’ only recourse is through the civil justice system, which the state is now abusing through embarrassing defenses, ridiculous denials and transparent delays,’ Rilee said Thursday.

Department of Justice spokesperson Michael Garrity said both the attorney general’s office and state police were reviewing the subpoenas ‘and will respond as appropriate.’

The development highlights the complexity associated with simultaneous civil cases against the state, and criminal proceedings against the accused workers.

The attorney general’s office says it has systems in place to build strong ‘ethical walls’ to keep them completely separate. But legal experts, including the judge overseeing the civil lawsuits, have raised questions about the dynamic.

At a hearing last month, Rockingham County Superior Court Judge Andrew Schulman asked whether lawyers for the state would be contradicting each other at the separate trial.

‘You seem to be saying it’s fine, if the person hasn’t been convicted yet, for the state to go to court, seek bail, put somebody on trial, stand up, tell the jury this guy committed aggravated felonious sexual assault on that day — and for the state of New Hampshire to come into a different courtroom and say, ‘Oh, no, that never happened. The person we called the victim in the other courtroom is a liar,’’ Schulman said. ‘That seems incongruous to me.’

‘I’m not saying that, your Honor,’ replied Assistant Attorney General Brandon Chase.

Chase emphasized that he wasn’t privy to anything on the criminal side, and he argued that the civil bureau has ‘been very transparent’ during the discovery process about what information it has been able to find. For example, state police recently retrieved 15 million items from the hard drives of more than 300 abandoned computers from the youth center’s basement.

‘These are massive document requests. We are doing our best to obtain documents and produce them,’ he said.

The youth center, which once housed upward of 100 children but now typically serves under a dozen, is named for former Gov. John H. Sununu, father of current Gov. Chris Sununu. Lawmakers have approved closing it and replacing it with a much smaller facility, likely in a new location.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., left one Biden administration official without words Wednesday when he pressed him to answer one simple question: How much would spending $50 trillion in American taxpayer money to become carbon-neutral lower global temperatures?

‘If we spend $50 trillion to become carbon-neutral by 2050 in the United States of America, how much is that going to reduce world temperatures?’ Kennedy asked Deputy Energy Secretary David Turk during a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing.

Turk appeared unable to provide a specific number, and instead began arguing that the U.S. needed to do everything it could to reduce carbon emissions before being interrupted by Kennedy pressing for an answer to the question.

‘How much, if we do our part, is it going to reduce world temperatures?’ Kennedy asked again.

‘So, we’re 13% of global emissions right now,’ Turk responded, before Kennedy jumped in again, saying, ‘You don’t know, do you? You don’t know, do you?’

‘You don’t know, do you, Mr. Secretary?’ Kennedy asked as Turk appeared to continue dancing around the question. ‘If you know, why won’t you tell me?’

‘If we went to zero, that would be 13% —’ Turk said.

‘You don’t know, do you? You just want us to spend $50 trillion, and you don’t have the slightest idea whether it’s going to reduce world temperatures,’ Kennedy said. 

‘Now, I’m all for carbon neutrality, but you’re the deputy secretary of the Department of Energy, and you’re advocating we spend trillions of dollars to seek carbon neutrality, and you can’t — and this isn’t your money or my money, it’s taxpayer money — and you can’t tell me how much it’s going to lower world temperatures? Or you won’t tell me? You know, but you won’t?’ he continued.

Turk responded that in his ‘heart of hearts’ the rest of the world wouldn’t act on climate change unless the U.S. led on the issue, but did not provide an answer to Kennedy’s question.

‘Tell me how much it’s going to reduce — you can’t tell me. Either that, or you won’t,’ Kennedy said before moving on.

Some climate experts have claimed it will cost $50 trillion for the U.S. to reach carbon neutrality, which would include investing in so-called green energy and other things like electric vehicles.

Critics have, however, argued that there is no guarantee spending that amount would have any effect on climate change across the globe if other countries don’t take similar action.

Fox News’ Matteo Cina contributed to this report.

The White House on Thursday said it is ‘grateful’ to the government of Mexico for its efforts in aiding the U.S. with what is expected to be a massive migrant surge at the southern border when the Title 42 public health order ends next week.

Officials announced this week a number of collaborative measures on the topic of migration as the order, which allows for the rapid expulsion of migrants at the southern border, is set to expire on May 11.

Mexico agreed to continue to accept returns of a certain number of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans on ‘humanitarian grounds’ that it had been accepting as Title 42 returns as part of the formation of a humanitarian parole program for those nationalities in January.

On Tuesday, both the U.S. and Mexico announced joint anti-smuggling operations in addition to a 60-day surge campaign in the Darien Gap announced last week. The U.S. also said it intends to welcome as many as 100,000 individuals from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador under an expanded family reunification parole process also announced last week.

Separately, the U.S. announced that it is sending 1,500 troops to the border to assist Customs and Border Protection ahead of next week – although officials noted they will not be engaging with migrants.

White House spokesperson John Kirby was asked by reporters Thursday if Mexico would be making a similar troop deployment. Kirby said he would urge against the idea that ‘this additional force deployment has some … sort of reciprocal action that we’re looking for from Mexico.’

However, he highlighted the cooperation that the administration had secured earlier in the week.

‘It’s clear that we’ve got a good dialogue with Mexican authorities both at getting at drug trafficking as well as illegal immigration. And we’re grateful for the Mexican government’s willingness to continue to take and house migrants that illegally are trying to enter the United States,’ he said.

The administration has said that it has a plan in place to handle an expected surge in migrants, which officials have previously predicted could be up to 14,000 migrants a day. That plan includes regional cooperation as well as other measures, such as an asylum ineligibility rule, processing centers in Latin America, and a stiffening of penalties for illegal entry.

Republicans this week called for President Joe Biden to reverse his planned termination of the order next week, citing the estimates that massive numbers of migrants will come to the border.

‘This is untenable and will exacerbate what is already a national security and humanitarian disaster on our southern border,’ the lawmakers said in a letter to Biden.

The Vermont speaker of the House announced Thursday that she has initiated the first step in an investigatory process that could lead to the impeachment of a county prosecutor, accused of harassing and discriminating against employees, and a sheriff, facing an assault charge and a financial investigation.

A resolution was expected to be introduced in the Vermont House to create a bipartisan committee to investigate the allegations against Franklin County State’s Attorney John Lavoie and Franklin County Sheriff John Grismore.

‘The people of Franklin County deserve justice and elected officials who they can trust to uphold the rule of the law and to represent their community with integrity,’ House Speaker Jill Krowinski said at a Statehouse press conference. Despite calls from Franklin County residents for Lavoie and Grismore to resign, they have refused to do so, she said.

‘It is clear that the only constitutional remedy for a county official who has committed a crime, gross misconduct or maladministration of office is impeachment,’ said Rep. Michael McCarthy, a Democrat from Franklin County.

Grismore was elected sheriff even though he was fired from a job as a captain in the Franklin County sheriff’s department last August after video surfaced of him kicking a shackled prisoner. In October he pleaded not guilty to a simple assault charge. Just before he became sheriff in February, the state police said that they were investigating the finances of the sheriff’s department and Grismore.

In Lavoie’s case, Vermont prosecutors announced earlier this week that they have asked that the Legislature to consider impeachment proceedings against Lavoie after an investigation found that he harassed and discriminated against employees.

An independent investigation found credible evidence that Lavoie mistreated employees through repeated discriminatory comments and actions including derogatory references to national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and body composition, the Vermont Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs’ said. The investigation also substantiated at least two instances of unwanted physical contact, not of a sexual nature, the department said.

Phone messages were left for both Grismore and Lavoie.

Lavoie acknowledged to reporters on Tuesday some inappropriate humor but denied any unwanted physical contact or racist comments. He said he apologized to staff and others and doesn’t think his actions warrant him stepping down. Grismore has defended his actions as proper when dealing with the prisoner.

EXCLUSIVE: One border state lawmaker is taking the Biden administration to task over what he says are its ‘lies’ about illegal immigration into the United States.

In a Thursday letter to the White House, Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, ripped Biden’s ‘egregious border policies’ that have led to a record number of migrant encounters with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents, and accused Democrats, including press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, of ‘continuously spreading misinformation’ about the border.

‘Under your tenure as president, our nation has witnessed a disastrous increase in illegal crossings at the southwest border, with more than 6 million encounters since the day you took office,’ Gooden wrote. ‘Instead of providing effective solutions, you refuse to even acknowledge the full extent of this crisis while favoring political agendas and capitulating to the radical left.’

Gooden specifically pointed to an instance earlier this week in which Jean-Pierre claimed during a daily White House press briefing that illegal immigration had fallen 90% under the Biden administration despite fiscal year 2022 ending with the highest number of migrant encounters ever recorded.

‘The American people do not believe the White House’s lies when surging crime at the border continues to destroy our communities and harm innocent families,’ Gooden wrote, before mentioning the capture of accused murderer Francisco Oropesa earlier this week.

Oropesa, a Mexican national who CBP sources have said has been previously deported four times, allegedly entered his neighbor’s house last week and killed five people, including an eight-year-old child. He was apprehended Tuesday after a days-long manhunt.

Gooden went on to warn that the pending end of Title 42 would lead to masses of migrants attempting to enter the U.S., potentially overwhelming law enforcement and military personnel deployed in anticipation.

‘Meanwhile, no real solution or plan to deal with yet another migrant surge has been announced by your administration. Lives have been lost, and communities have been destroyed due to careless open border policies,’ he wrote. 

‘Drug and human trafficking have endangered the American people in all corners of the country. The border crisis should surpass partisan politics, but this cannot happen if Democratic leadership refuses to work with Republicans on this issue. I hope you will open your eyes to this ongoing crisis and take decisive action to secure our borders and safeguard the American people,’ he added.

The White House did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Georgia’s 2024 presidential primary is set for March 12, despite pleas from top Democrats, including President Biden, to hold the election earlier the nominating calendar to attract a more diverse group of voters.

The date was set by Georgia Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who is the only person in the state with the power to set Georgia’s primary date.

Raffensperger argued that Democrats never reached out to him specifically on the matter, according to a report from the Associated Press, adding, ‘If you want to get most things done in America, sometimes you have to build some consensus and reach out to both sides of the aisle.’

But Democrats have a different story and claim they spent months lobbying Raffensperger’s office and had discussions on the matter, despite the secretary of state’s efforts to avoid participation in those discussions.

In February, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) voted to alter its 2024 presidential nominating calendar, bumping Iowa and New Hampshire from their longstanding leadoff positions.

The party says the push is intended to give more presentation at the top of the schedule for Black and Hispanic voters in a party that has become more diverse in recent decades.

New Hampshire heavily opposed the decision because for a century the state has held the first primary in the race for the White House.

Instead, the party moved South Carolina to the lead position in the Democrats’ primary calendar. Under Biden’s plan, South Carolina would hold its primary on Feb. 3, 2024, with New Hampshire and Nevada holding primaries three days later, and endorsing the idea of Georgia holding its primary on Feb. 13 and Michigan two weeks later.

But after Raffensperger’s decision, snubbed the DNC’s proposal, which was intended to lessen the influence of Iowa and New Hampshire, both of which are overwhelmingly white states, the AP reported.

Raffensperger said he had no desire to approve separate primary dates for each party or jeopardize Georgia delegation votes at a national party convention.

This is the second hit handed down to the DNC.

Last month, the party announced it would host the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, disappointing Georgia Democrats after Atlanta was a finalist in the running.

Even though local officials saw Atlanta as a favorite, Biden chose to hold the convention in Chicago.

Raffensperger’s decision to hold the primary on March 12 moves Georgia’s voting day just one week after Super Tuesday on March 5.

He told the AP that waiting for that slot will make Georgia the clear ‘prize’ of the voting that day, as it will be the only major battleground state, alongside Washington, Mississippi and Idaho.

Although there are two named challengers in the Democratic Party that are looking to snub Biden, the likelihood is slim within the president’s own party.

In the Republican Party, though, there will likely be a more crowded field, and Super Tuesday traditionally yields a clear front-runner.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Iowa Legislature adjourned Thursday after approving most of the Republican majority’s priorities, including using public money for private school tuition, banning sex changes for transgender children, removing some books from school libraries and reorganizing state government in a way that gives the governor more power over top administrators.

Both chambers adjourned after approving an $8.5 billion budget. Earlier in the week, Republicans who hold large majorities in both chambers pushed through a $100 million property tax cut that Gov. Kim Reynolds planned to sign Thursday.

Earlier in the session, Republicans approved the bill allowing public money for private school tuition, making Iowa among a handful of states that allows such spending with few restrictions.

Democrats and educators had argued the bill to create education savings accounts would result in reduced funding for public schools, but Reynolds had pushed hard for the change. The governor argued it would make private schools available for everyone, rather than only those who could afford the extra costs.

‘For the first time, we will fund students instead of a system, a decisive step in ensuring that every child in Iowa can receive the best education possible,’ Reynolds said in a statement when she signed the bill into law.

The measure is expected to cost $345 million annually in its fourth year, after it is fully implemented, according to a nonpartisan legislative analysis.

Under the bill Reynolds signed into law banning gender-affirming care for those younger than 18, doctors will have to stop prescribing puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. That bill will also bar transgender students from using public school restrooms that align with their gender identity.

Another bill approved by lawmakers and awaiting Reynolds’ signature would require books with descriptions or visual depictions of a sex act to be removed from school libraries or classrooms. Exceptions would include the Bible and other religious texts.

The bill also would ban instruction about gender identity or sexual orientation in kindergarten through sixth grade, and require schools to notify parents if a child requests to use a different pronoun.

The government reorganization bill signed into law by Reynolds reduces the number of cabinet-level agencies from 37 to 16. It allows the governor to appoint more administrators, rather than leaving that to state boards, and will make it easier for her to pay them higher salaries.

Reynolds said the changes will result in a more efficient, less costly state government.

The Senate approved a measure Wednesday evening to override President Biden’s move last year to allow Chinese solar panel makers to avoid tariffs for 24 months.

In a bipartisan 56-41 vote, the Senate voted in favor of the resolution — which was sponsored by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and co-sponsored by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. — the latest congressional action to face an expected veto from President Biden. The vote comes less than a week after the House passed a companion resolution with 12 Democrats voting in favor.

‘This measure is pro-American jobs and anti-Chinese forced and child labor. It’s that simple,’ Scott remarked on the Senate floor ahead of the vote.

‘It’s time for the Senate to finish the job in Congress and send this to President Biden’s desk. This isn’t partisan, it’s about human rights,’ he continued. ‘I will not stand by, and I hope the U.S. Senate will not stand by, and accept excuses to turn a blind eye to communist China’s human rights atrocities.’

Overall, Chinese companies control a more than 80% share in the global solar panel industry, controlling the supply chain in all the manufacturing stages of the product, according to the International Energy Agency. The Chinese solar industry has been tied to forced labor in China’s Xinjiang province.

In addition to Manchin, several Democrats including Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio; Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Bob Casey, D-Pa.; Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.; and John Fetterman, D-Pa., voted with Republicans in favor of the legislation.

‘Ohioans are manufacturing solar panels that can power our economy,’ Brown said Wednesday in remarks of his own. ‘They just need a level playing field. You can’t say you want American manufacturing to lead the world, while allowing Chinese companies, often subsidized by the Chinese government, to skirt the rules and dump solar panels into the U.S.

‘This comes down to whose side you’re on: Do you stand with workers in Ohio, or do you stand with the Chinese Communist Party?’

In June 2022, Biden implemented the 24-month moratorium on the enforcement of solar panel anti-circumvention tariffs introduced under the Obama administration to protect U.S. companies. The White House characterized the move as a two-year ‘bridge’ that would allow companies to build solar panel production capabilities on U.S. soil.

The move, however, came after the Commerce Department said months earlier it would investigate whether Chinese manufacturers were routing solar panels through countries in Southeast Asia to avoid U.S. tariffs. And in December, the agency published its preliminary findings showing four large solar companies had routed products through Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam to circumvent duties. 

The Commerce Department is expected to release its final findings this month. Still, the White House vowed last week that Biden would veto the resolution passed Wednesday if it made it to his desk, regardless of the findings. 

‘From day one, the President has prioritized investments that will create good-paying jobs and build secure supply chains in the United States, including for solar energy,’ the White House said April 24. ‘The Administration is working aggressively to support domestic solar panel manufacturing.’

The resolution, meanwhile, earned the support of pro-tariff groups like the Coalition for a Prosperous America and human rights groups like the Uyghur Human Rights Project.

Environmental groups and green energy organizations like the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) have opposed it.

‘We are urging senators to see through this political charade and examine the facts at hand,’ SEIA President and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper said last week.

‘The United States cannot produce enough solar panels and cells to meet demand, and the remaining 14 months of this moratorium gives us time to close the gap,’ she continued. ‘The United States can get there and become a global leader in clean energy manufacturing and development. Overturning the moratorium at this stage puts that future at risk.’ 

Following the vote Wednesday, Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., who sponsored the House version of the bill alongside Rep. Bill Posey, R-Fla., applauded the Senate vote.

‘I am pleased to see the U.S. Senate, in a strong bipartisan vote, pass my legislation that supports American workers,’ Kildee said in a statement. ‘We must hold those who violate U.S. trade laws accountable, including China.

‘When we fail to enforce our trade laws, it hurts Michigan and American businesses and workers. I will continue standing up for fair trade and the American worker, including support efforts to expand the domestic manufacturing of solar panels.’

Michigan Democrats continued efforts to protect abortion rights Wednesday as the state Legislature advanced a bill that would outlaw companies from retaliating against employees for receiving abortions.

The bill passed along party lines in the Michigan House after previously having been approved by the Senate in March. It would amend the state’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights act to prohibit employers from treating a worker differently for terminating a pregnancy.

‘No one should lose their job or have to worry about their employment when making a decision that relates solely to their bodily autonomy,’ said Democratic Rep. Felicia Brabec of Ann Arbor.

Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is expected to sign the legislation, and has emerged as a leader in the movement to protect abortion rights.

Dr. Sarah Wallett, Michigan’s chief medical operating officer, testified in March during a Senate committee hearing in favor of the legislation.

‘Whatever factors go into a person’s decision to end a pregnancy, it is certainly none of their bosses’ business,’ Dr. Wallett said. ‘Having an abortion has no impact on somebody’s ability to perform a job.’

It would be the second time this year that Democrats have amended the state’s decades-old civil rights law. In March, Whitmer signed legislation that added LGBTQ+ protections by permanently outlawing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Since the fall of Roe last year, protecting abortion rights has been a priority for Michigan Democrats, who control both chambers of the Legislature and the governor’s office. In last November’s midterms, voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure that enshrined abortion rights in the state’s Constitution.

Republicans who spoke out against the bill prior to the vote were opposed to legality of abortion as a whole and said it could be an infringement of religious freedoms. The Michigan Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the Catholic Church in Michigan, said in a statement that they were in ‘strong opposition’ to the legislation.

The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in employment, housing and public services based on religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status or marital status.

Lawmakers in Albany passed a $229 billion spending plan that will increase the state’s minimum wage, tweak its bail laws and attempt to curb illegal and unlicensed marijuana shops.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will sign the 10 bills into law Wednesday, according to her office.

Negotiations between the governor and her fellow Democrats who control the Legislature produced a deal late Tuesday that is packed with compromises, including many between the party’s left and center.

Under one of the bills, the minimum wage would increase to $17 in New York City and its suburbs, and $16 elsewhere in the state by 2026, with future hikes pegged to inflation.

Opponents of the wage increase said it could harm small businesses and family farms that were hurt financially during the coronavirus pandemic.

‘We ask our leaders to look for additional ways to offset mounting labor costs as the new minimum wage will keep increasing in the coming years along with inflation,’ the New York Farm Bureau, which represents farmers, said in a statement.

Lawmakers also approved a revision of the state’s bail law that will give judges more discretion to jail certain criminal defendants before trial unless they are able to come up with cash guaranteeing their return to court.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a former police officer, applauded those changes at a budget-related announcement with Hochul on Wednesday. He said his team met with the governor’s staff multiple times at the beginning of the budget process to push through the changes.

‘The governor heard us, she brought her team together, and we were able to zero in on those who are repeat offenders and that is important,’ he said.

Hochul insisted on the changes despite an outcry from some liberal Democrats who see it as partially rolling back changes approved in 2019 that eliminated pretrial incarceration for most nonviolent offenses.

State Senator Gustavo Rivera, a Democrat, criticized the bail changes.

‘It is short-sighted, but not surprising, that the governor made another attempt to reform bail laws to further criminalize poverty instead of focusing on the services and economic justice we need for safer communities,’ he said in a statement.

Another budget bill gives state regulators power to confiscate marijuana products from unlicensed pot shops, which have proliferated since the state legalized recreational marijuana.

The budget will also increase the state’s cigarette tax by $1, to $5.35, though lawmakers rejected Hochul’s proposed ban on menthol cigarettes.

For New York City, funds in the budget will improve the frequency of trains for the city’s public transportation system, as well as a pilot program that will give each of the five boroughs one free bus route. About $1.1 billion in annual funding for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will come from a payroll tax increase on the city’s largest businesses.

The votes came a little over a month past the initial April 1 deadline, with budget talks largely held up over the changes to the bail law and other policy issues. In New York, the state budget often serves as a vessel for passing major policy legislation.