Texas Legislature ends second special session marked by new political maps, slew of conservative wins
Between cracking down on abortion pills and restricting transgender restroom use, lawmakers also tackled flood safety and the STAAR test. Left untouched: Texas’ hemp industry.
Bill overhauling disaster emergency response misses final approval in Texas Senate
Both legislative chambers adjourned without agreeing on changes to Senate Bill 2, which aimed to create new training and licensing requirements for local officials.
Lawmakers redrew Texas’ congressional districts. See how yours changed.
The new maps, which aim to flip five Democratic seats to favor Republicans, will go into effect for the 2026 midterms, barring court intervention.
RFK Jr denies telling former CDC director to approve vaccine recommendations
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. accused his former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of lying about vaccine recommendations. Kennedy appeared before the Senate Finance Committee on Thursday for a hearing focused on President Donald Trump’s healthcare agenda, dubbed Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) on the campaign trail last year. HHS SECRETARY ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. TO FACE SENATE PANEL AFTER CDC TURMOIL But the recent turmoil at the CDC caused by the firing of former CDC Director Susan Monarez and the exodus of several senior officials, along with Kennedy’s view on vaccines, became a focal point for both Senate Republicans and Democrats on the panel. During a fiery exchange at the start of the hearing between Kennedy and Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, Kennedy accused Monarez of lying in a recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece. Monarez was fired less than a month after being confirmed by the Senate and charged in her op-ed that during a meeting with the secretary last month, she was pressured to resign or be fired after being ordered to “pre-approve the recommendations of a vaccine advisory panel newly filled with people who have publicly expressed anti-vaccine rhetoric.” BIPARTISAN FURY AT CDC: SENATORS DEMAND PROBE, REJECT VACCINE GUIDANCE AS ILLEGITIMATE Wyden questioned whether Kennedy did tell Monarez to “just go along with vaccine recommendations even if she didn’t think such recommendations aligned with scientific evidence?” “Yes or no? You have an opportunity to call her a liar. If you say that you didn’t, do it,” the Oregon Democrat said. “But I’d like to see you respond to this.” “No,” Kennedy said. “No, I did not say that to her. And I never had a private meeting with her.” PREVIOUS CDC DIRECTORS ACCUSE RFK JR. OF ENDANGERING ALL AMERICANS IN NY TIMES ESSAY Kennedy argued earlier in the hearing that the reason he fired Monarez, along with the entirety of the CDC’s vaccine recommendation panel to restore the CDC to the “gold standard” of healthcare. “America is home to 4.2% of the world’s population. Yet we had nearly 20% COVID deaths. We literally did worse than any country in the world. And the people at the CDC who oversaw that process, who put masks on our children, who closed our schools, are the people who will be leaving,” Kennedy said. “And that’s why we need bold, competent and creative new leadership at CDC.” “People are able and willing to chart a new course,” he continued. “As my father once said, ‘Progress is a nice word, [but] change [is a] motivator. And change has its enemies.’ That’s why we need new blood at CDC.”
Republican leader targets tax-exempt status of CCP-linked nonprofit tied to violent protests
FIRST ON FOX: House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith is demanding records from The People’s Forum, a tax-exempt nonprofit he says has operated as a de facto foreign agent for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) while using U.S. taxpayer benefits to fund protests and spread propaganda. In a letter sent September 4 to Executive Director Manolo De Los Santos, Smith accused The People’s Forum of directly inciting violence and unrest across the United States. “Using U.S. taxpayer-subsidized tax-exempt status to promote foreign propaganda on behalf of a nation hostile to U.S. interests, while simultaneously justifying terrorism, is unacceptable and potentially in violation of U.S. law,” Smith told Fox News Digital in a statement. “The American people deserve transparency, and this Committee will hold The People’s Forum accountable for its ties to the CCP and its role in spreading violence and chaos in our communities.” Within hours of Hamas’ October 7 massacre in Israel, Smith claims the group publicly justified the terrorist attacks, declaring that the perpetrators “have the right to resist”—a statement condemned by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul as “abhorrent and morally repugnant.” HOUSE COMMITTEE ALLEGES BIDEN ADMIN USED FUNDS TO BACK ANTI-GOVERNMENT PROTESTS IN ISRAEL Smith is now demanding that The People’s Forum turn over by September 18 a broad set of records, including donor lists, contracts, and communications with Singham and other foreign principals. If the group refuses, it could face subpoenas, depositions, referrals to the IRS for revocation of tax-exempt status, and possible criminal referrals to the Justice Department. The group also organized a Times Square rally the following day that drew national criticism. Beyond its stance on Israel, Smith said the nonprofit played a role in inciting riots and disruptive protests at college campuses, as well as violent demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including in Los Angeles where clashes with law enforcement resulted in dozens of arrests. Smith also pointed to The People’s Forum’s role in promoting pro-CCP narratives. The group has hosted events glorifying the Chinese revolution, partnered with Beijing-aligned collectives such as the Qiao Collective, and maintained close ties to media outlets within former tech mogul Neville Roy Singham’s pro-China influence network. Public reporting suggests The People’s Forum has accepted $20 million from Singham and his wife Jodie Evans, the founder of Code Pink, from 2017 to 2022, routed through shell companies and donor-advised funds, according to Smith’s letter. MAJOR COLLEGES FACE HEAT OVER CHINESE SCHOLARSHIP TIES AS ESPIONAGE CONCERNS MOUNT Smith’s letter notes that The People’s Forum admitted to receiving money from Singham, a wealthy American expatriate now living in Shanghai with longstanding CCP ties. Smith argued that this financial structure, paired with the nonprofit’s activities, amounts to operating as an unregistered agent of a foreign power under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The chairman warned that using the privileges of tax-exempt status to spread foreign propaganda while acting as a foreign agent is “unacceptable and illegal.” He cited precedents in which the Justice Department indicted foreign nationals for similar influence operations using nonprofits as fronts. FBI records attached to the letter show Singham was investigated as early as the 1970s for ties to groups “inimical to U.S. interests,” while later working as a consultant for Huawei, the Chinese telecom giant with documented CCP links. The People’s Forum did not respond to a request for comment.
Lawyers challenge deportation of hundreds of minors to Guatemala
Immigrant rights lawyers asked a federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to block the Trump administration from deporting hundreds of Guatemalan minors, arguing they could face neglect or persecution at home. The migrants’ attorneys said their clients, who ranged from 10 to 17 years old, were at imminent risk of removal despite some having pending asylum cases or other legal claims that had not fully been vetted by the courts. The attorneys said trafficking and immigration laws “prevent unaccompanied children from being whisked off under cover of darkness at the whim of any government.” The minors in question are currently in Health and Human Services custody and have no legal guardians in the United States, the attorneys said. BIDEN JUDGE HALTS ‘SURPRISING’ ILLEGAL ALIEN MINOR REPATRIATION PLAN AFTER ADVOCACY GROUPS SUE The migrants’ legal team is now seeking a longer-term injunction to replace Judge Sparkle Sooknanan’s emergency order over the holiday weekend blocking the deportations for up to two weeks. Sooknanan granted the order after learning that more than six dozen of the minors had been transferred from HHS to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody overnight and placed on a plane bound for Guatemala. The case has drawn attention both because it involves what lawyers say could be about 600 minors at risk of being abruptly removed from the country and because Sooknanan, the judge initially presiding over the case, imposed an immediate restraining order on the Trump administration to halt the removals. Sooknanan’s order came after a separate judge in D.C. gave a controversial oral order in March to return alleged Tren de Aragua gang members to the United States, which the Trump administration argued was ambiguous and not binding. Seeking to avoid such a dispute, Sooknanan, a Biden appointee, left no room for interpretation. Sooknanan gave quick, unequivocal orders over Labor Day weekend to deplane the minors and return them to the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement. The judge demanded status updates from the Department of Justice every few hours until the process was complete. The DOJ complied with her orders. TRUMP DHS SUES ENTIRE BENCH OF FEDERAL JUDGES IN MARYLAND DISTRICT COURT OVER AUTOMATIC INJUNCTIONS The lawsuit was brought by ten underage Guatemalan migrants who were living in the country without a guardian or documentation. Their attorneys described them in court papers as “vulnerable children” entitled to “enhanced protection and care.” The attorneys said the Trump administration was blowing past laws and the Constitution in an effort to illegally deport them. Sooknanan granted a class action lawsuit so that the case would cover not just the ten plaintiffs but all other minors similarly situated in the custody of HHS. After Labor Day, the case was reassigned to Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee. Kelly has set a hearing for next week over the migrants’ new request for a preliminary injunction. The migrants’ attorneys said they had learned from media reports that ICE was planning to “imminently” deport them to Guatemala, where they “may face abuse, neglect, persecution, or even torture.” Federal authorities “woke children in the night and subjected them to the trauma of imminent removal,” the attorneys wrote in court papers. “But for this Court’s intervention while the plane sat on the tarmac in Texas, those children would have been expelled to Guatemala,” they said. A DOJ lawyer told the judge during the last-minute hearings over the weekend that the Guatemalan government had requested the return of the migrant youths and that “all of these children have their parents or guardians in Guatemala who are requesting their return.” A Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman called the initial temporary restraining order from the judge “disgusting,” contending that the DHS was simply aiming to reconnect the young migrants with their parents. “Judge Sparkle [Sooknanan] is blocking flights to *reunify* Guatemalan children with their families,” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin wrote. “Now these children have to go to shelters. This is disgusting and immoral.”
Trump admin to send workers abroad to boost US shipbuilding, counter China’s edge
FIRST ON FOX: The U.S. Labor Department is planning to partner up with allies like South Korea and Japan to train U.S. workers to become shipbuilders under President Donald Trump’s push to revitalize the industry. While China is massively outpacing the U.S. when it comes to shipbuilding, the Labor Department announced an $8 million funding availability Thursday for an international fellowship program that will pair up U.S. institutions with foreign counterparts to remedy this disparity. The four-year proposed project will team up U.S. training centers, registered apprenticeship programs, education institutions like community colleges with foreign training centers, and shipyards in Canada, Finland, Italy, Japan, South Korea and other countries to provide U.S. workers with advanced shipbuilding skills, according to the Labor Department. TRUMP DEPARTMENT OF LABOR TO ABSORB SOME EDUCATION DEPARTMENT RESPONSIBILITIES The fellowship, led by the Labor Department’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs, will prioritize training for boilermakers, industrial electricians, steelworkers, steamfitters, shipwrights and welders. Likewise, the funding will also go toward creating a specialized, internationally recognized trade curriculum aimed at fostering more advanced training in the U.S. The initiative seeks to garner knowledge from allies and distribute it more widely among workers within the U.S. to expand shipbuilding trade skills domestically. “Working closely with our allies will advance the Department of Labor’s mission to create effective shipbuilding apprenticeship programs right here in the United States,” Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “President Trump is restoring America’s maritime dominance by preparing our workforce to outcompete China and strengthen our national security.” HELP WANTED: US MUST FILL LOTS OF SHIPS-AND-CHIPS JOBS TO BEAT CHINA The U.S. is severely behind near-peer competitors like China when it comes to shipbuilding — and allies like South Korea and Japan. China is responsible for more than 50% of global shipbuilding, while South Korea is responsible for nearly 29% and Japan 13%, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. That’s compared to just 0.1% from the U.S. “The erosion of U.S. and allied shipbuilding capabilities poses an urgent threat to military readiness, reduces economic opportunities, and contributes to China’s global power-projection ambitions,” the Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a March report. But Trump has directed his attention to the industry, and told lawmakers in March that he would “resurrect” both commercial and military shipbuilding. Additionally, Trump signed an executive order in April aimed at reinvigorating the U.S. shipbuilding sector. Specifically, the executive order called for assessments regarding how the government could bolster financial support through the Defense Production Act, the Department of Defense Office of Strategic Capital, a new Maritime Security Trust Fund, investment from shipbuilders from allied countries and other grant programs. PENTAGON MAY SINK BIDEN-ERA DEAL TO SELL AUSTRALIA NUCLEAR-POWERED SUBMARINES It also instructed agencies to develop a maritime action plan and ordered the U.S. trade representative to compile a list of recommendations to address China’s “anticompetitive actions within the shipbuilding industry.” The new fellowship program stems from Trump’s executive order, according to the Labor Department. Those eligible to apply for the funding opportunity include any commercial, international, educational, or nonprofit organizations. That includes any faith-based organizations, community-based organizations or public international organizations. The application deadline is Sept. 26.
GOP duo unveils plan to force Congress to ‘face consequences’ as shutdown looms
FIRST ON FOX: A pair of congressional Republicans is determined to keep the government open and willing to force their colleagues to stay in Washington, D.C., to get it done. Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., and Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, plan to introduce legislation that would keep lawmakers in town until a short-term government funding extension, known as a continuing resolution (CR), or spending bills are passed to avert a partial government shutdown. TRUMP’S FOREIGN AID CLAWBACK RATTLES SENATE AHEAD OF FUNDING FIGHT Congress still does not have a plan in place to ward off a shutdown by the Sept. 30 deadline, and both sides of the aisle have already started the annual blame game as to which party would own the partial closure. So far, the Senate has advanced a trio of spending bills, while the House has passed only two — although lawmakers in the lower chamber were gearing up to advance the Energy and Water appropriations bill on Thursday. Lankford said in a statement to Fox News Digital that as the nation’s debt creeps beyond $37 trillion, “Congress cannot keep avoiding the hard choices to fix it.” GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, EPSTEIN FILES, DC CRIME: CONGRESS RETURNS TO MOUNTAIN OF DRAMA “Shutting down the government does not fix the debt problem, it just makes it worse,” he said. “The best way to finish negotiating the hard issue is to keep Congress in Washington until the budget is finished. That puts the pressure on lawmakers, not on families and important services.” If Congress fails to get a deal in place to keep the government open, the duo’s bill would trigger an automatic CR “on rolling 14-day periods” that would stay in place until lawmakers either pass all 12 appropriations bills or strike a deal on a stopgap bill. The bill would also force Congress, their staff and members of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to stay in D.C. until the job is done. It would require that no motions to adjourn or recess could be made for longer than 23 hours, mandatory quorum calls each day to ensure attendance, and no other legislation would be allowed to be considered until a CR or spending bills were passed. “In the real world, if you fail to do your job, there are consequences,” Arrington said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Yet, when Congress fails to pass appropriations on time, the burden falls squarely on hardworking Americans — taxpayers, seniors, and our men and women in uniform.” Meanwhile, appropriators in the House and Senate are working to find a path forward on a deal. WHITE HOUSE MOVE TO CANCEL $4.9B FOREIGN AID WITH ‘POCKET RESCISSION’ BLASTED AS ILLEGAL Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he hoped the CR would originate in the House, based off negotiations between House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole, R-Okla., and Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine. “My hope would be that whatever that CR looks like, it’s clean, and that it enables us to buy some time to get a regular appropriations process done,” he said. But the White House’s move last week to cancel $4.9 billion in foreign aid funding through a “pocket rescission” has some Republicans worried that it could jeopardize the bipartisan nature of the appropriations process in the Senate, where Democrats will be needed to keep the government open. So far, it appears that Senate Democrats aren’t ready to totally buck their Republican counterparts, but are demanding that they be involved in negotiations to craft a CR. “If House Republicans, however, go a different route and try and jam through a partisan CR without any input from Democratic members of Congress, and they suddenly find they don’t have the votes they need from our caucus to fund the government, well, then that is a Republican shutdown,” said Sen. Patty Murray, of Washington., top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
NASA says America will win ‘the second space race’ against China
FIRST ON FOX: In a newly released video obtained by Fox News Digital, NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy announced that America will travel back to the Moon before President Donald Trump leaves office, and declared the U.S. will win “the second space race” against China. The video reveals Duffy’s vision for the agency after Trump appointed him acting administrator while also serving as Secretary of Transportation. “We’re going back to the moon, and this time, when we plant our flag, we stay,” Duffy explains in the video. “I’m committed to getting us back to the moon before President Trump leaves office.” TRUMP PLANS TO MOVE SPACE COMMAND TO ALABAMA, COUNTERING BIDEN ORDER TO KEEP IT IN COLORADO “China wants to get there, but we’re getting there first,” Duffy added. “We will win the second space race.” The former Wisconsin Congressman is the first head of NASA who has acknowledged a space race against China, as the Transportation Secretary looks to accomplish the exploration goals Trump has long pushed for. Duffy says the Artemis program, named after the twin sister of the Greek Olympian god Apollo, will ultimately get the United States to Mars, indicating that the key space program originated under President Trump’s first term will be an important part of the United States’ dominance in space travel. RETIRED NASA ASTRONAUT EXPLAINS HOW ROBOTS COULD SHAPE SPACE EXPLORATION American astronauts haven’t touched the surface of the moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972. The Artemis I mission, completed in 2022, ended in a successful splashdown after launching the sizable Space Launch System (SLS) and orbiting the Orion spacecraft around the moon during a 25-day mission. Duffy indicated that the Artemis program is here to stay, despite the president proposing a 24% cut to the agency in his budget. CONGRESS RETURNS WITH DEMOCRATS REFUSING TO NEGOTIATE AS OCT 1 SHUTDOWN DEADLINE LOOMS The congressional vote on the federal funding budget was pushed through Sep 30, 2025, by means of a full continuing resolution to fund the government, but the deadline quickly approaches at the end of this month as Congress braces for an additional continuing resolution, passage, or a possible government shutdown. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP While the Artemis program was thought to be on the chopping block in the proposed multi-billion dollar slash to NASA, sources at the agency told Fox News Digital that Artemis will play a major role in space exploration and will not be fully gutted by the proposal. “Our program is called Artemis,” Duffy said. “And what we learn through Artemis gets us to Mars.”
DHS unveils extensive criminal history for Seattle-based illegal migrant who served in the US military
FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed that an illegal migrant from Pakistan, who served in the U.S. military, has an extensive history of criminal activity paired with “lies about his military service.” Muhammad Zahid Chaudhry originally entered the U.S. in 1998 on a B-2 visa after intentionally leaving out criminal history related to convictions in Australia for stealing goods, falsifying passports and committing financial misconduct, according to DHS. DHS told Fox News Digital that Chaudhry also claimed he was deployed to Iraq, though Department of Defense records show he was never actually deployed. An official with the Department of Defense told Fox News Digital that illegal migrants cannot serve in the military and an individual must have some form of legal status in order to serve. Green card holders (permanent legal residents) are able to join a branch of the U.S. military. Immigration officials at the U.S. Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) determined Chaudhry’s falsified forms and omitting of criminal history were grounds for removal in 2008, but the Pakistani native has been repeatedly appealing the decision for roughly 17 years. DHS RAGES OVER WHAT IT CALLS A NYT ‘SOB STORY’ ABOUT CONVICTED JAMAICAN MURDERER DEPORTED BY TRUMP “Sanctuary politician Bruce Harrell and the media are peddling a FALSE sob story on this serial fraudster,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital. “President Trump and Secretary Noem’s message is clear: Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the United States.” “Why do sanctuary politicians and the media continue to peddle sob stories of criminal illegals and smear our brave ICE law enforcement officers?” McLaughlin added. “Make no mistake, these types of lies are contributing to our ICE law enforcement officers facing a 1000% increase in assaults.” According to an Inspector General’s report obtained by Fox News Digital from 2021, Chaudhry collected $449,459.82 in taxpayer dollars from the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Veteran’s Benefits Administration (VBA) and currently owes the federal government $81,080 for a mortgage reduction grant from the VBA. Sources at the Department of Homeland Security told Fox that Chaudhry entered the country on a B-2 tourist visa and then was granted a green card. After officials discovered he previously lied to immigration officials about his criminal past, the green card was revoked — making him an illegal migrant in the U.S. KRISTI NOEM ACCUSES CBS NEWS OF ‘SHAMEFULLY’ EDITING HER INTERVIEW ABOUT KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA Chaudhry remains detained by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after being arrested during a citizenship appearance in Tukwila, Washington, on Aug. 21, 2025. He has been placed into removal proceedings after an immigration judge ruled he was in violation of federal immigration law. Protests in Seattle have since erupted as hundreds of demonstrators stood outside the ICE detention center demanding Chaudhry’s release last week. Seattle radio host Jason Rantz told Fox News Digital that Democrats have tried to “portray [Chaudhry] as some sort of victim.” GOP LAWMAKERS AIM TO HIKE PENALTIES ON ‘RADICAL LEFT’ AS ICE ATTACKS RISE BY OVER 800% “Muhammad Chaudhry has a criminal history which he failed to disclose, and has already had permanent residence status rejected by a judge,” Rantz from Seattle Red 770 AM told Fox. “And yet Democrats still portray him as some sort of victim.” “If you want to understand why Democrats continue to make no distinction between criminal illegal immigrants and hard-working ones who just want a better life, it’s pretty easy now,” Rantz added. “When you don’t believe in borders, you don’t see a difference.” Chaudhry’s wife Melissa, who did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, is running for U.S. Congress in Washington’s 9th District after losing in the Democratic primary in 2024.