Democrats roll out new campaign ads targeting Republicans over ongoing government shutdown
FIRST ON FOX: House Democrats’ campaign arm is rolling out new ads to pressure Republicans to return to the negotiating table as the 2025 government shutdown is poised to enter its second week. Democrats have sought to make the ongoing standoff into a healthcare fight, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., insisting their caucuses will not vote for a funding bill that does not include an extension of expiring Obamacare subsidies enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is investing in a four-figure ad buy across 13 districts where Democrats believe they can hold or flip seats in the 2026 midterms. HERE’S WHAT TRUMP WANTS TO DO TO RESHAPE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DURING THE SHUTDOWN The ads point out that “Republicans control the government” and say, “They just shut it down.” The ads in Democrat-held districts say lawmakers there are “protecting affordable health care.” Three of those districts are held by Republicans, while 10 are held by Democrats. Both the House and Senate are out this weekend after the upper chamber tried and failed for a fourth time on Friday to advance the GOP’s plan to fund federal agencies through Nov. 21. The bill, called a continuing resolution (CR), is an extension of fiscal year (FY) 2025 federal funding levels, which also include $88 million in security spending for lawmakers, the White House and the judicial branch amid a heightened political threat environment. Democrats have argued that Americans who rely on the enhanced Obamacare subsidies are in imminent threat of seeing their health care premiums skyrocket if not dealt with in this measure. The Obamacare subsidies were given a temporary enhancement during the COVID-19 pandemic under former President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, and later extended through 2025 under his Inflation Reduction Act. GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN SPARKS GOP PLAN TO PENALIZE LAWMAKERS WITH NEW SALARY TAX Republican leaders have said they are willing to discuss reforming and extending the subsidies at a later date, while accusing Democrats of holding the government hostage at the expense of vulnerable Americans who rely on federal services. “Vulnerable House Republicans shut down the government because they don’t care about working Americans having access to affordable health care,” DCCC spokesperson Nebeyatt Betre told Fox News Digital. “While Republicans create a health care crisis, House Democrats will keep working to lower Americans’ health care costs. Make no mistake: vulnerable House Republicans own this shutdown, and the DCCC is making sure voters know who to blame.” House Republicans’ campaign arm, meanwhile, released an ad earlier this week on the heels of the government shutting down at midnight on Wednesday. Their own ads, also a four-figure investment, accused Democrats of refusing to “fund the government” at the expense of military paychecks, veterans, farmers and small businesses. Republicans have been pointing to Democrats’ counter-proposal for a CR as proof that Democrats are fighting to restore health care for illegal immigrants. The left’s plan called for repealing the health care changes made in the GOP’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill,” which, among other measures, tightened restrictions on who can access Medicaid. Democrat leaders have denied fighting for illegal immigrants, however. “Out of touch Democrats shut down the government to bankroll handouts for illegal immigrants and appease their radical base. Voters won’t forget who betrayed them, and the NRCC will make sure Democrats pay the price,” NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella told Fox News Digital at the time.
Shutdown ignites strategist debate: Will Trump and GOP pay the political price in 2026?
The 2025 government shutdown is about to enter its second week, with Democrats and Republicans still unable to agree on a federal funding deal. It’s the first government shutdown since 2019, when federal agencies were shuttered for 35 days. Both sides have been blaming the other for the dysfunction in Washington; Democrats are accusing Republicans of letting healthcare premiums go up for millions of Americans, while the GOP is blaming the left for putting vulnerable Americans at risk while holding the government hostage for partisan demands. HERE’S WHAT TRUMP WANTS TO DO TO RESHAPE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DURING THE SHUTDOWN Political strategists who spoke with Fox News Digital, however, have downplayed the shutdown’s effects on the coming 2026 elections. “Every time there has been a shutdown, there have been myriad of stories on winners and losers, who gets the blame, what does it mean for the elections, etc. And yet, every time the result is the same — voters aren’t thinking about the last shutdown when they vote,” GOP strategist Doug Heye told Fox News Digital. “Republicans ‘lost’ the 2013 shutdown. Impacts on the 2014 election? Zero. Could this be different? Maybe. But there’s nothing to suggest that yet.” Others have suggested Republicans could see some public blame, but similarly argued that other issues — namely, the economy and cost of living — would take precedence in voters’ minds next year. GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN SPARKS GOP PLAN TO PENALIZE LAWMAKERS WITH NEW SALARY TAX “Ultimately, what’s going to decide the midterms next year is going to be the economy. People are very upset about the economy. They’re very upset about inflation. They were promised that everything was going to get less expensive. Now everything’s more expensive,” said Mike Nellis, a Democratic strategist and founder of fundraising and campaigns firm Authentic. “So I think that’s going to be a much greater decider than the government shutdown.” In the short term, however, Nellis said he saw Republicans bearing the brunt of the blame — noting they control the House, Senate and White House. “Typically, neither party looks good during a shutdown, just broadly. But the party in power gets blamed for what’s happening,” he said. Meanwhile, John Feehery of EFB Advocacy, who served as press secretary to former Republican House Speaker Dennis J. Hastert, said blame would fall mostly along party lines. He added that Independents, however, would likely blame the GOP, “because they are the ones who typically like shutdowns.” “I would say that even though the Democrats clearly are to blame for this, because this is their strategy, I think Republicans are going to get blamed slightly more than the Democrats,” Feehery said. On the 2026 electoral impacts, however, he said, “There’s winners and losers in the parlor games in Washington, but amongst the American people…they blame both sides, and they don’t seem to really take it out on whoever the party in power is.” Brad Bannon of polling firm Bannon Communications Research, a Democratic strategist, said inflation would likely matter more than the shutdown in 2026. “If prices start going down, you know, the whole issue would not be a problem for Republicans, and it won’t have any impact,” Bannon said. “I think the key question is not how long the shutdown lasts, but how much, in 13 months, inflation continues to be a problem.” He pointed to a recent poll in the Washington Post that showed Republicans seeing slightly more blame for the current shutdown than Democrats in terms of short-term impact. That poll showed 47% of Americans blaming Republicans, compared to 30% blaming Democrats. Twenty-three percent of people were undecided. The shutdown is poised to enter its second week after Senate Democrats rejected the GOP’s plan for a fourth time on Friday. The measure, called a continuing resolution (CR), is a mostly flat seven-week extension of current federal funding levels. It also would include $88 million in security funding for lawmakers, the White House and the judicial branch — which has bipartisan support. But Democrats in the House and Senate were infuriated by being sidelined in federal funding talks. They have been pushing for an extension of Obamacare subsidies enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those enhancements would expire by the end of 2025 without congressional action. Republican leaders have signaled openness to discussions about reforming and enhancing those healthcare credits but are rejecting Democrats’ demand to include them in the seven-week bill.
Major city police unions support federal troop deployments, but local leaders are pushing back
Multiple police union leaders have requested or supported federal law enforcement assistance to counter rising rates of violent crime in their cities, including in Charlotte, where the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska drew national attention. But, at least one union leader reversed course after city officials rejected the idea as illegal and unnecessary. On Thursday, the Fraternal Order of Police in Charlotte’s Mecklenburg County became the latest police union to invite the National Guard, having sent a letter to city leaders requesting federal law enforcement assistance after the city faced 15 murders in roughly a month. Prior to Charlotte, police unions from Milwaukee and Washington, D.C., also signaled support for the deployment of federal law enforcement by the Trump administration. The leader of Milwaukee’s Police Association, Alex Ayala, indicated last month he planned to request that the Trump administration bring federal troops and law enforcement officials to his city. However, he later walked the claim back following pushback from city leaders, calling the request a violation of federal law and unnecessary. OBAMA-NOMINATED FEDERAL JUDGE MARRIED TO HOUSE DEM RECUSES HIMSELF FROM OREGON NATIONAL GUARD CASE “We will not need the guard to come to Charlotte,” the city’s mayor, Vi Lyles, said in response to the city’s police union request for federal help. Her comments were echoed by numerous Democratic leaders in the region, from the city’s congressional representative to local city council officials. “These measures do not address the root causes of violence,” JD Mazuera Arias, a Charlotte City Council member, said in a statement after the request was made public. In addition to Charlotte, Ayala said last month he intended to make a similar request for federal assistance in Milwaukee. However, following pushback from Milwaukee city officials calling the request illegal and unnecessary, Ayala told a local news station that his remarks were taken out of context and that he has not reached out to the Trump administration. The District of Columbia’s police union, led by Gregg Pemberton, has also supported the president’s choice to bring federal troops into the nation’s capital. Pemberton told Fox News last month that the difference has been “night and day” since the federal deployment there earlier this summer. TRUMP CRIME CRACKDOWN IN MEMPHIS SEES EARLY SIGNS OF SUPPORT D.C. was one of the first major metropolitan cities in a series this summer that saw an infusion of federal law enforcement officials to help with crime. At the time, city leaders, like Mayor Muriel Bowser, similarly pushed back on whether federal assistance in the nation’s capital to help with crime was necessary. “I want the message to be clear to the Congress, we have a framework to request or use federal resources in our city,” Bowser told reporters earlier this summer when Trump began cracking down on crime in D.C. “We don’t need a presidential emergency.” In addition to Charlotte, Milwaukee and D.C., the National Police Association has also expressed support for the Trump administration’s federal deployment to help with violent crime in major metropolitan areas. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “This isn’t politics—it’s a fight for our neighbors’ lives. On August 22nd, Iryna Zarutska was savagely cut down on a Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) train, and since then, 15 more Charlottean’s have been gunned down in our streets,” the Charlotte-Mecklenburg FOP said in a post on Facebook Friday. “Just yesterday, two lives were lost in a double homicide—and a 16-year-old murdered in a busy Uptown shopping district. Our Uptown beat is reeling from nearly a 200% spike in homicides year-to-date compared to last year.” “I think it’s a great strategy for the president to bring in the National Guard along with other federal resources to Memphis to show the rest of the country that what happened in Washington, D.C. can work in other cities like Memphis and beyond,” National Police Association spokesperson Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith added in regard to federal officials being deployed to Tennessee’s second-largest city, Memphis.
School chief to suspect: ICE arrest of Des Moines superintendent exposes fake degrees, drug convictions
The Department of Homeland Security on Friday detailed a list of all the shocking charges and convictions against illegal alien Ian Andre Roberts, who was working as the head of Des Moines, Iowa, public schools until his recent arrest by ICE. Roberts is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service in Polk County jail, according to a Homeland Security statement. In the statement, DHS said that Roberts’ “rap sheet and immigration history reveal a long record of criminal conduct in the United States,” which the agency said proves “he should never have been serving in a role overseeing children in Iowa’s largest school district.” He is currently facing illegal weapons possession charges. The DOJ said a search warrant of Roberts’ home uncovered three guns, a loaded and chambered 9mm pistol was found underneath a seat cushion in the living room, a loaded rifle was wound in the master bedroom closet and a shotgun was found behind the master bedroom headboard. EX MICHELLE OBAMA AIDE LEADS DES MOINES SCHOOL BOARD’S DEFENSE OF SUPERINTENDENT ARRESTED BY ICE According to DHS, Roberts was previously convicted of reckless driving, unsafe operation and speeding in Maryland in 2012. The statement also said he was convicted in Pennsylvania of unlawful possession of a loaded firearm in 2022. Besides these, he also has charges of criminal possession of narcotics with intent to sell, criminal possession of narcotics, criminal possession of a forgery instrument and possession of a forged instrument in New York dating back to 1996 and charges of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and fourth-degree weapon charges in 2020. Additionally, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, its civil division served Roberts a sealed restraining order from Jackson County, Missouri, in August 2023. It is unclear what prompted the restraining order since the order was sealed. He was also discovered to be illegally registered to vote as a Democrat in Maryland, raising serious questions about the state’s voter registration system. Despite these charges and his illegal status, Roberts has held several high roles in public education in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., St. Louis, California, Pennsylvania and Iowa. After his arrest, he resigned his most recent position as superintendent of schools in Des Moines, a position he had held since 2023. Des Moines Public Schools initially placed Roberts on paid leave before changing it to unpaid leave and then finally voting to accept his resignation. There has also been confusion over the degrees that Roberts claimed to have attained on his LinkedIn page. Among several schools listed on his profile, Roberts claims to have attended Morgan State University from 2003 to 2007 and to have been an “incoming MBA candidate” at MIT Sloane School of Management. Morgan State University confirmed that he attended. However, it said he “did not receive a degree.” The MIT Registrar’s Office said that it “has no record of enrollment for a person with the name Ian Andre Roberts, and similarly, there is no record of enrollment in the MIT Executive MBA program at the MIT Sloan School of Management.” SOCIAL MEDIA ERUPTS AFTER ICE ARREST OF SUPERINTENDENT IN IOWA: ‘CRAZY STORY’ Before taking charge of the Des Moines public schools, he was superintendent of schools at Millcreek Township School District in Pennsylvania. During his time in leadership, the district was sued for sex discrimination by a male faculty member who claimed Roberts gave principal positions to less qualified women because of a “bias against males in favor of females.” According to local outlet GoErie, this was not the only sex discrimination lawsuit the district faced while Roberts was in charge. The outlet reported the district had to pay over $400,000 in settlements to resolve three sex discrimination suits. An immigrant from Guyana, DHS said Roberts first entered the country “classified as a visitor for pleasure” in 1994. The agency said he departed at an unknown date but returned again before his 1996 drug charges. He then re-entered the U.S. on a student visa in 1999. DES MOINES PUBLIC SCHOOL BOARD ACCEPTS SUPERINTENDENT’S RESIGNATION AFTER ICE ARREST In total, he filed applications for employment authorizations three times, in 2000, 2018 and 2019, each of which was granted and lasted a year, meaning that his last work authorization expired in 2020. U.S. Customs and Immigration Services issued Roberts a notice to appear before an immigration judge in 2020 and on May 22, 2024, an immigration judge in Dallas, Texas, ordered Roberts removed in absentia. He was arrested by ICE with the help of the Iowa State Patrol on Sept. 26. ICE said Roberts attempted to flee arrest and was found hiding in the brush. The vehicle he was driving was found with $3,000 in cash, a fixed blade knife and a loaded Glock 9mm pistol, which led to additional criminal charges of being an illegal alien in possession of firearms. Commenting on the revelations since his arrest, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said, “Ian Andre Roberts, a criminal illegal alien with multiple weapons charges and a drug trafficking charge, should have never been able to work around children.” “Under Secretary Noem, ICE will continue to arrest the worst of the worst and put the safety of America’s children FIRST,” said McLaughlin.
Supreme Court’s emergency docket delivers Trump string of wins as final tests loom
President Donald Trump has an almost flawless record on the Supreme Court’s emergency docket this year, a streak that has delivered crucial moments of relief to the government as it fights hundreds of lawsuits challenging the president’s agenda. The Supreme Court has ruled in Trump’s favor on government cuts, nationwide injunctions, immigration policies and more, leading the White House to tout what it recently counted as 21 victories before the high court. Those victories are, however, temporary. The upcoming term, which begins Monday, will allow the justices to begin weighing the full merits of some of these court disputes and ultimately cement or undo key parts of the Trump agenda. Jonathan Adler, a William & Mary Law School professor, attributed the interim wins to the Supreme Court’s desire to narrow the judicial branch’s role in policymaking. TRUMP’S CONTROVERSIAL PLAN TO FIRE FEDERAL WORKERS FINDS FAVOR WITH SUPREME COURT Speaking during a Federalist Society panel this week, Adler said the high court’s thinking might be that “lower courts are doing too much. We’re going to scale that back because it’s not our place, and it’s for the executive branch and the legislative branch to figure that out.” The Trump administration has only challenged about one-fifth of the adverse rulings it has received from the lower courts. Adler said Solicitor General John Sauer, who represents the government, is strategically selecting which cases to bring to the high court. “If you go through them, setting Humphrey’s Executor stuff slightly to the side, what they all have in common is that there’s a kind of clear argument that … district courts were a little too aggressive here,” Adler said. He acknowledged that some might have a different view, that the Trump administration has been “too muscular” and that court intervention is a necessary check. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TORPEDOES SCOTUS WITH EMERGENCY REQUESTS AND SEES SURPRISING SUCCESS The emergency docket, sometimes known as the shadow or interim docket, allows the Trump administration or plaintiffs to ask the Supreme Court to quickly intervene in lawsuits and temporarily pause lower court rulings. The process can take a couple of days, weeks or months, and is viewed as a much speedier, albeit temporary, way to secure court relief than when the high court fully considers the merits of a case, which can include a long briefing schedule and oral arguments. The Supreme Court’s emergency docket this year has been extraordinarily active. Attorney Kannon Shanmugam, who has argued dozens of cases before the high court, said Trump’s high volume of executive actions is partly the reason for that. “[An increase in emergency motions] coincides with the rise of executive orders and other forms of unilateral executive action really as the primary form of lawmaking in our country with the disappearance of Congress, and that has posed enormous challenges for the court,” Shanmugam said during the panel. Through the emergency docket, the Supreme Court has greenlit Trump’s mass firings of career employees and high-profile terminations of Democratic appointees. It has curtailed nationwide injunctions and cleared the way for controversial deportations and immigration stops. The high court has said the government can, for now, withhold billions of dollars in foreign aid and discharge transgender service members from the military. In other instances, parties on both sides have construed Supreme Court outcomes as wins. In one such order, the Supreme Court said the Trump administration must attempt to return Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whom the government admitted in court to improperly deporting to a Salvadoran prison. But at the same time, the high court noted that district court judges must also be deferential to the executive branch’s authority over foreign policy. Similarly, the high court said the administration must allow deportees under the Alien Enemies Act a reasonable chance to fight their removal through habeas corpus petitions. The justices have not yet weighed in on the merits of Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act, one of his most aggressive deportation tactics, which the president employed to swiftly remove alleged Tren de Aragua members. KAVANAUGH CITES 3 PRESIDENTS IN EXPLAINING SUPREME COURT’S BALLOONING EMERGENCY DOCKET Conservative lawyer Carrie Severino, president of the legal watchdog JCN, told Fox News Digital one criterion the Supreme Court considers when making fast decisions is whether parties are at risk of irreparable harm. As an example, Severino pointed to the Supreme Court recently allowing Trump to fire Biden-appointed FTC Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, a case that the high court is now using as a vehicle to revisit in the coming months the 90-year precedent set by Humphrey’s Executor v. United States. Severino said, “If one assumes, ‘Okay, if Trump’s right,’ then this is a serious burden on the government to have a good chunk of their four years being taken up with not being able to actually staff the government as they want to. If Trump’s wrong, then Commissioner Slaughter should have been in that position, and they can remedy that by providing her back pay.” “When you’re balancing those types of harms, this is the kind of case where the government’s going to have a leg up,” Severino said. In a small defeat for Trump on Wednesday, the Supreme Court declined to allow the president to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and instead said it would hear her case in January. The move was a deviation from the court’s typical posture and underscored its unique view on the Federal Reserve compared with other agencies. The Supreme Court’s majority has often split along ideological lines and offered little reason for its emergency decisions. This differs from final orders from the court, which can be lengthy and include numerous concurring opinions and dissents. Attorney Benjamin Mizer, who served as a top DOJ official during the Biden administration, cautioned during the panel that the Supreme Court could reverse its shadow docket positions down the road. “As cases reach the court on the merits, we shouldn’t presume that the administration will win them all,” Mizer said.
Trump’s week in review: Shutdown showdowns and armed cartel conflict
The government shutdown underscored President Donald Trump‘s whirlwind work week after Senate lawmakers failed to reach a budget agreement in a stalemate that’s anticipated to spur “thousands” of federal layoffs. The shutdown took effect after the clock struck midnight Wednesday and has continued since. Trump championed earlier in the week that he did not want a shutdown to bring the government to a screeching halt, but remarked some “good” could come from it as he looks to further trim down the size of the government. “A lot of good can come down from shutdowns,” he said Tuesday. “We can get rid of a lot of things that we didn’t want, and they’d be Democrat things. But they want open borders. They want men playing in women’s sports. They want transgender for everybody. They never stop. They don’t learn. We won an election in a landslide.” “Thousands” of federal employees are set to face layoffs, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, while Trump met with Office of Management and Budget chief Russell Vought Thursday to map out which agencies and programs could be targeted. HERE’S WHAT TRUMP WANTS TO DO TO RESHAPE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DURING THE SHUTDOWN House lawmakers passed a short-term extension earlier in September of fiscal year 2025 funding, aimed at keeping the government open through Nov. 21. Senate lawmakers, however, could not reach an agreement on the budget ahead of the Oct. 1 deadline, sparking the shutdown. Democrats expressed frustration they were sidelined from spending negotiations, as well as the GOP bill excluding enhanced Obamacare subsidies from the Biden era that are set to lapse at the end of 2025. KAROLINE LEAVITT WARNS DEMOCRATS FACE ‘VERY REAL’ CONSEQUENCES IF SHUTDOWN STANDOFF DRAGS ON The Trump administration and Republicans have since pinned blame for the shutdown on Democrats pushing to include taxpayer-funded medical benefits for illegal immigrants. Democrats have denied the claims and pinned blame on Republicans for the shutdown. It is unclear how long the shutdown will last as the Senate comes to stalemate on votes. Outside of Capitol Hill buzzing about the shutdown, Trump also gave Hamas terrorists until Sunday to reach a peace agreement as the war with Israel, which started Oct. 7, 2023, continues raging. Trump met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday at the White House, where he announced a 20-point plan to end the Gaza war. Hamas is now left to agree to the plan or face the military wrath of Israel. TRUMP UNVEILS 20-POINT PLAN TO SECURE PEACE IN GAZA, INCLUDING GRANTING SOME HAMAS MEMBERS ‘AMNESTY’ “They will be given one last chance,” Trump said in a Friday Truth Social post. “THIS DEAL ALSO SPARES THE LIVES OF ALL REMAINING HAMAS FIGHTERS!” “We will have PEACE in the Middle East one way or the other. The violence and bloodshed will stop,” Trump added. “RELEASE THE HOSTAGES, ALL OF THEM, INCLUDING THE BODIES OF THOSE THAT ARE DEAD, NOW! An Agreement must be reached with Hamas by Sunday Evening at SIX (6) P.M., Washington, D.C. time.” U.S. generals from around the world were summoned to convene with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Trump at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia Tuesday, when Trump celebrated “reawakening the warrior spirit” within the military. “We’re bringing back a focus on fitness, ability, character and strength,” Trump said Tuesday. “And that’s because the purpose of America’s military is not to protect anyone’s feelings. It’s to protect our republic.” TRUMP DECLARES ‘REAWAKENING’ OF ‘WARRIOR SPIRIT,’ UNWAVERING SUPPORT FOR MILITARY: ‘I HAVE YOUR BACKS’ Trump criticized the military’s recent shift toward political correctness. “The apparatus of our country was not set up for merit,” Trump said. “It was set up for political correctness. And you can never be great if you’re going to do that.” “We will not be politically correct when it comes to defending American freedom, and we will be a fighting and winning machine,” he continued. “We want to fight. We want to win, and we want to fight as little as possible.” The Trump administration also sent a memo to Congress Thursday explaining the United States is now “in a non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels, which administration officials have designated as “terrorist organizations.” TRUMP ADMIN TELLS CONGRESS IT DETERMINED US ENGAGED IN FORMAL ‘ARMED CONFLICT’ WITH ‘TERRORIST’ DRUG CARTELS “The President directed these actions consistent with his responsibility to protect Americans and United States interests abroad and in furtherance of United States national security and foreign policy interests, pursuant to his constitutional authority as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive to conduct foreign relations,” the memo stated. The White House said the memo was filed following a Sept. 15 strike on “a Designated Terrorist Organization.” The memo follows Trump vowing to unleash the U.S. military on drug cartels amid a buildup in the Caribbean in August, and has signed off on a series of U.S. military strikes against alleged drug vessels from Venezuela to combat the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP The most recent U.S. strike on an alleged drug trafficking vessel was carried out Friday off the coast of Venezuela. Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind, Louis Casiano and Morgan Philips contributed to this report.
Trump’s shadow looms large over heated races one month before Election Day
His name isn’t on the ballot, but President Donald Trump’s unprecedented second-term agenda and the federal government shutdown are top of mind on the campaign trail with one month to go until Election Day 2025. In the spotlight this November are New Jersey and Virginia, the only two states to hold gubernatorial contests the year after a presidential election. The races, which traditionally grab outsized national attention, are viewed as crucial early tests of Trump’s popularity and agenda, and key barometers ahead of next year’s midterm showdowns for the U.S. House and Senate. Also in the political spotlight next month is the ballot box proposition over congressional redistricting in California, the three state Supreme Court contests in battleground Pennsylvania and New York City’s high-profile mayoral election. HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON THE 2025 ELECTIONS Here’s a closer look at 2025’s top elections. New Jersey Trump is weighing heavily on this year’s ballot box battle for governor of New Jersey. And Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli, who enjoys the president’s support, says Democratic nominee Rep. Mikie Sherrill is trying to use Trump as a cudgel. “Listen, if you get a flat tire on the way home from work today, she’s going to blame it on the president. There isn’t anything she doesn’t blame on the president,” Ciattarelli argued in a Fox News Digital interview. BLUE STATE REPUBLICAN RIPS DEMOCRATIC RIVAL FOR BLAMING ‘EVERYTHING ON TRUMP’ Sherrill, in a recent fundraising email to supporters, charged, “As Trump has inflicted all this damage on our country, Republican politicians like Jack Ciattarelli have cheered him on every step of the way.” And at their first debate last month, she pointed to Ciattarelli and claimed that “he’ll do whatever Trump tells him to do.” The two candidates have also traded fire over who’s to blame for the federal government shutdown, which is impacting the Garden State. Ciattarelli, pointing to his rival’s vote in Congress, said, “I do know that there’s a bipartisan group of congresspeople that are trying to keep the government open. My opponent has decided not to be part of that bipartisan group, and she voted no. And so here we are.” Sherrill, who has repeatedly linked Ciattarrelli to Trump, placed the shutdown blame squarely on Trump’s shoulders, writing in a social media post, “This is precisely the extreme MAGA agenda that @Jack4NJ wants to bring to NJ.” The two candidates face off next week in the second and final debate in the race to succeed term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy. Ciattarelli, who is making his third straight run for governor and who came close to upsetting Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy four years ago, discounted talk that Trump is the dominant issue in the race. And Ciattarelli, a former state lawmaker and a certified public accountant who started a medical publishing company before getting into politics, charged that the Democrats are to blame, as he works overtime trying to link Sherrill to Murphy and the Democrats who’ve long controlled the state legislature in Trenton. The combustible ballot box battle was rocked two weeks ago after a report revealed that the United States Naval Academy blocked her from taking part in her 1994 graduation amid a cheating scandal. Ciattarelli and his campaign are calling on Sherrill, who went on to pilot helicopters during her military career after graduating from the Naval Academy, to release her military records to explain why she was blocked from attending her graduation ceremony. But a second report revealed that the National Personnel Records Center, which is a branch of the National Archives and Records Administration, errantly released Sherrill’s improperly redacted military personnel files, which included private information including her Social Security number, to a Ciattarelli ally. The news spurred calls by top Democrats across the country for an investigation. Virginia Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears is facing off against former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger in the race to succeed GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Youngkin is prevented from running for re-election, as Virginia’s constitution does not allow sitting governors to seek consecutive terms. Earle-Sears was born in the Caribbean island nation of Jamaica and immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 6. She served in the Marines and is a former state lawmaker who made history four years ago when she won election as Virginia’s first female lieutenant governor. Spanberger is a former intelligence officer in the CIA who won election to Congress in 2018 before securing re-election in 2020 and 2022. The winner in November will make history as Virginia’s first female governor in the commonwealth’s four-century-long history. Additionally, if Earle-Sears comes out on top, she will become the nation’s first Black woman to win election as governor. Trump and his policies are a major issue in the state’s gubernatorial showdown. The president’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been on a mission this year to chop government spending and cut the federal workforce. The moves by DOGE, which was initially steered by Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, have been felt acutely in suburban Washington’s heavily populated northern Virginia, with its large federal workforce. And this week’s federal government shutdown, which will likely hit Virginia hard, is also now a top topic in the race. New York City The mayoral election in the nation’s most populous city always grabs outsized attention, especially this year as New York City may elect its first Muslim and first millennial mayor. Democratic socialist 33-year-old state lawmaker Zohran Mamdani’s victory in June’s Democratic Party mayoral primary sent political shock waves across the country. And he’s come under attack from Republicans and from his rivals on the ballot over his far-left proposals. Mamdani is the clear frontrunner in the heavily blue city as he faces off against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who came in a distant second in the primary and is now running as an independent candidate. Cuomo is aiming for a political comeback after resigning as governor four years ago amid multiple scandals. Also running is
2 looming deadlines could be key to ending the government shutdown, expert says
With the government shutdown now in day four and no compromise in sight, a federal budget expert says two dates could send things “spiraling out of control”: the first day essential federal workers go without pay and the first day service members miss a paycheck. The next federal worker pay date is Oct. 10 and the next pay date for the military is Oct. 15, according to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service and U.S. General Services Administration. Richard Stern, director of the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget at the Heritage Foundation, explained that while both sides are blaming the other for the shutdown, neither wants to be responsible for essential government workers or the troops to miss out on pay, making those dates central to ending the shutdown. Stern explained that while Democratic leaders are attempting to blame the GOP for the shutdown, it was their decision to reject a compromise temporary spending bill that shut down the government. SPEAKER JOHNSON FLIPS SCRIPT ON DEM LEADERS WITH STAUNCH WARNING AGAINST GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN Democrats have insisted that any agreement to keep the government funded must extend tax credits for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) beyond the end of this year, a provision Republicans rejected. Some Democrats have even admitted it was their decision to close the government. In a viral video, Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., said, “We got to make sure Americans have the healthcare that they need, and if that means we’ve got to shut the government down, so be it.” Former Politico reporter Rachel Bade also went on the record recently, saying, “The pressure is just going to skyrocket on Democrats.” “I mean, it’s not just some people who live paycheck-to-paycheck. Most people cannot go without getting a subsequent paycheck. Like, that’s just the reality of things — troops not getting paid,” said Bade. “So, I think over the next, you know, week or so, if it lasts that long, we’re just going to have this … gut-wrenching reminder of what shutdowns mean.” Stern likened the Democrats’ actions to deciding to “stomp [their] feet and make a dramatic situation out of it.” REPUBLICANS ERUPT OVER SHUTDOWN CHAOS, ACCUSE DEMS OF HOLDING GOVERNMENT ‘HOSTAGE’ “Republicans passed a clean seven-week funding bill. They offered them the ability to fund the government for seven weeks and continue negotiations,” he said. “It was superfluous. It really was gratuitous of them to say, no, we demand the shutdown.” “Democrats are asking for a restoration of so-called foreign aid. But a lot of that is money for transgender surgeries and abortions overseas,” Stern continued. “They want more money to go to NPR and PBS, that spread left-wing propaganda. They want other grant money that goes to left-wing causes. But the big ticket item is they want one and a half trillion dollars of extension of a welfare program that largely hands money to very well-off Americans, and included in that, they want to remove anti-fraud provisions that were passed in the one big, beautiful bill. Not only would that increase fraud, but it will actually effectively expand these welfare benefits to legal aliens. So, it’s hard to understand where they’re coming from, but that’s what they’re asking.” “So, at the end of the day, I think they’re going to get the blame that I think they deserve.” President Donald Trump and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought have indicated the administration could use mandatory pots of money provided in the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act to ensure that service members, Border Patrol agents and other Homeland Security personnel paychecks are not interrupted, which could serve as a lifeline for Democrats, Stern noted. GOVERNMENT SHUTS DOWN AFTER CONGRESS DEADLOCKS ON SPENDING DEAL Even if this is the case, the White House noted shortly before the shutdown began that the government closure would jeopardize military pay, critical care for veterans, firefighter pay, disaster relief funding and many other programs important to Americans. Either way, Stern said that the longer the shutdown continues, the greater the danger that funding can fail, and essential services start buckling under the pressure. One example of essential federal workers who could be impacted by an extended government shutdown is air traffic controllers and other FAA personnel, who do not receive paychecks during government shutdowns despite being required to work to keep the nation’s flight schedules safe and on time. Though they are eventually paid when the government reopens, extended periods of time without a paycheck lead to stress on both the workers and the overall flight system. SOCIAL SECURITY, AIRPORTS, FOOD STAMPS: HOW ARE YOU AFFECTED DURING A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN? In 2019, on the 35th day of a government shutdown, ten air traffic controllers called in sick in Virginia and Florida, triggering ground stops at LaGuardia Airport in New York and cascading delays at Newark, Philadelphia and Atlanta. “This gets to the question of when do things start spiraling out of control?” said Stern, adding, “Some of these program expirations, as the shutdown drags on, might put more of a fire under Congress on both sides to reach a deal, whatever it means.”
North Carolina governor signs ‘Iryna’s Law’ after Ukrainian refugee’s brutal train murder
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein on Friday signed “Iryna’s Law,” which increases checks on criminals getting out on bail and prohibits cashless bail for some violent crimes and most repeat offenders following the stabbing death of a Ukrainian refugee on a Charlotte light-rail train in August. Stein, a Democrat, has said he doesn’t like every part of the bill that was passed by the Republican-controlled state Legislature, which also looks to restart executions in North Carolina, but he signed it because it “alerts the judiciary to take a special look at people who may pose unusual risks of violence before determining their bail. That’s a good thing.” Iryna Zarutska, 23, was killed on Aug. 22, and Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr., who had been arrested more than a dozen times, including an armed robbery charge for which he served five years in prison before the fatal train stabbing, has been charged with first-degree murder. RANDOM BLUE CITY STABBING DEATH FUELS NEW BAIL BILL AS ‘ACTIVISTS’ RIPPED FOR LACK OF CRIME CRACKDOWN: EXPERT He was most recently released in January on a misdemeanor charge. “Finally, we are getting dangerous criminals off our streets so we can make sure no one else suffers the heartbreak that Iryna Zarutska’s family endured,” Charlotte-area Republican state Rep. Tricia Cotham, who was involved with the legislation, said in a news release. Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have blamed Zarutska’s death on Democrats, accusing them of being soft on crime. “The blood of this innocent woman can literally be seen dripping from the killer’s knife, and now her blood is on the hands of the Democrats who refuse to put bad people in jail, including Former Disgraced Governor and ‘Wannabe Senator’ Roy Cooper,” Trump wrote on Truth Social after the attack. The violent stabbing sparked outrage, especially after security video showing the attack was released. “We can and must do more to keep people safe,” Stein said in a video posted to social media on Friday. “When I review public safety legislation that comes to my desk, I use one simple test: Does it make people safer?” He said that “Iryna’s Law” alerts the judiciary to take a special look at who could warrant an “unusual” risk for violence before determining their bail. NORTH CAROLINA DEM SAYS ‘NO CORRELATION’ BETWEEN CHARLOTTE TRAIN ATTACK AND ACCUSED KILLER’S REPEATED RELEASES “That’s a good thing and why I have signed it into law.” But, he said he had criticisms of the law, including that it focuses more on a defendant’s ability to post bail rather than the threat they pose, and “more alarming,” he added that a last-minute amendment to the bill that “aims to bring about execution by firing squad in North Carolina. It’s barbaric.” The last execution in North Carolina was in 2006. He stressed that he wouldn’t allow firing squads while he’s governor. The bill doesn’t specifically mention firing squads. He said he was also troubled by the bill’s “lack of ambition or vision. It simply does not do enough to keep you safe.” The governor said he wanted the legislature to pass his comprehensive bill that would add more police officers on the streets, violence prevention measures like keeping kids out of gangs, and would attempt to make sure that people who are violent or mentally ill don’t have access to guns via background checks. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Iryna’s Law” prohibits cashless bail for some violent crimes and for most repeat offenders; it limits the discretion magistrates and judges have in making pretrial release decisions; allows for the state chief justice to suspend magistrates and requires more defendants to undergo mental health evaluations. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Chelsea vs Liverpool: Premier League – teams, start, lineups
Who: Chelsea vs LiverpoolWhat: English Premier LeagueWhere: Stamford Bridge in London, United KingdomWhen: Saturday, October 3, at 5:30pm (16:30 GMT)How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 11:15 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream. Premier League champions Liverpool travel to Chelsea after a rare barren run under Arne Slot. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list The Dutchman led the Reds to their record-equalling title win last season – his first since replacing the popular Jurgen Klopp – but a recent blip has led to questions as to whether the club’s transition between managers will be more noticeable this term. Chelsea, meantime, are hoping to build on their FIFA Club World Cup victory earlier this year, but have not had the smoothest start to the season themselves. Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at the pick of the weekend’s Premier League fixtures. What is Chelsea’s take on the visit of Liverpool? Liverpool’s back-to-back losses over the last week have shown that they are vulnerable, but that will not make this weekend’s Premier League clash with the champions any easier for Chelsea, the London-based club’s manager Enzo Maresca said on Friday. Leaders Liverpool started the league campaign with five straight wins but lost at Crystal Palace last Saturday, before a defeat away to Galatasaray in the Champions League on Tuesday. Chelsea, who have lost their last two games in the top-flight and sit eighth in the table, seven points adrift of Liverpool, will look to build on the momentum from Tuesday’s 1-0 Champions League win over Benfica at Stamford Bridge. Advertisement “There is a vulnerability about any team in the world, not just Liverpool. But if a team wins every game, it is impossible to catch them. Now, they lost one or two games. That shows vulnerability,” Maresca told a news conference before Saturday’s home game. “I don’t think now it is better to play Liverpool. It is always a tough game, always a big team.” Do Chelsea have a disciplinary problem? Red cards have plagued Chelsea, with goalkeeper Robert Sanchez dismissed five minutes into the 2-1 defeat at Manchester United and Trevoh Chalobah being sent off in last weekend’s 3-1 loss to visiting Brighton & Hove Albion. “Most of the games we didn’t get the points were because of the red cards. Also, the injury situation, we have eight players out. It’s a mixed combination, but we don’t have any doubt that slowly we will be again where we need to be,” Maresca said. Has Chelsea’s blip surprised Maresca? The Italian, who has led Chelsea to the UEFA Conference League and Club World Cup trophies this year, said he had enjoyed the start to the 2025-26 season despite the struggles. “It’s normal. I am not thinking, [being] the Chelsea manager, everything is always going to be in place. You need to adjust, you need to evolve,” he added. “I consider [Liverpool] the best team in England at the moment because they have shown that, and they won the Premier League. We are improving and trying to solve problems. For sure, in the end, we will be there and close.” Alisson’s injury means he will miss @LFC‘s visit to Chelsea on Saturday 🤕 What do you notice about Liverpool’s record with and without the Brazilian goalkeeper? pic.twitter.com/CUjImBTlvw — Premier League (@premierleague) October 2, 2025 Alisson injury blow hits Liverpool Liverpool manager Arne Slot already said Alisson would miss the league match at Chelsea, following his injury in the defeat at Galatasaray in midweek, but confirmed on Friday that the keeper would not be joining up with Brazil for its friendlies against South Korea on October 10 and Japan four days later. Asked for a timescale for Alisson’s absence, Slot said, “It depends on how fast the recovery goes. It’s clear not Saturday, he’s not going to play for Brazil, and I would be surprised if he’d be there for the first game after the international break [against United at Anfield on October 19]. “From there on, things can go a bit faster or a bit slower. It’s always difficult to say.” It means Georgia international Giorgi Mamardashvili will get a run in the first team after joining on a full-time basis from Valencia during the offseason. Advertisement What is Liverpool’s take on their form before Chelsea match Liverpool is coming off back-to-back defeats under Slot for just the second time since he arrived in the summer of 2024. Slot said he saw opponents start to work out Liverpool’s style of play under him in the second half of last season – when the team was already well on its way to winning the Premier League title – and that it has continued into this campaign. Liverpool is also trying to gel after a $570m spending spree on new players in the summer transfer window, with the likes of Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak adjusting to life at their new club. Slot suggested Liverpool will start turning to being more efficient at set pieces – an approach he called the “new reality” in the Premier League – to break down opponents. “Jurgen gave me a lot of gifts, but one of the gifts he gave me was [finishing] third the year before and fifth the year before that, and him being so well known that a new manager came in and everybody thought, ‘OK, let’s start to play against Liverpool,’” Slot said. “Teams played in a completely different way in the first half of the season against us than they did when we were top of the league after half the season and top of the Champions League. I can see this going into this part of this season. We have to find answers to that, and last season, one of the answers was the set piece. Like many teams, we have to unlock low blocks with set pieces and this season we haven’t done that — yet.” What happened the last